Author: Lindsay

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals READY™ Eyeshadow 4.0 The Truth

I am back on the Bare Escentuals bandwagon! Bare Escentuals’ new bareMinerals READY™ Eyeshadow 4.0 is bringing me back to a brand I thought I had grown out of 10 years ago. I haven’t used Bare Escentuals since my San Francisco days when I had a store just down the street from my apartment. I loved their mineral makeup, especially for my early-20s skin, but once my skin moved into its drier stage, I started experimenting with other brands. Thanks initially to a really catchy song on the commercial, bareMinerals The Truth Eyeshadow Quad gained a place on my vanity,

The Truth quad is a subtle, neutral palette. The shades, Serendipitous, Magnetism, Fate, and Apropos, are a graduated range of taupe that would do well on a wide range of complexions. I have been laddering the shades from lash line to brow, darkest to lightest. Blending the adjacent shades, you can achieve this really natural looking, smokey eye. The shades are a perfect balance between matte and iridescence, making it perfect for day time wear.

The powders have a smooth, creamy texture, powdered with SeaNutritive Mineral™ Complex. This stuff, oddly, contains cold-pressed borage oil, caffeine and cucumber. I never thought I would get excited about “borage oil” but, along with these other antioxidants, it can depuff the eye area. So the creamy powder can actually make your eyes look revitalized from the inside out!

L’Oreal Visible Lift Smooth Absolute Instant Age Reversing Foundation

Brilliant – turn the foundation bottle into a wand with a built-in, high quality brush. Add in L’Oreal’s Hydra-Collagen Complex for an anti-aging, plumping effect and you have have an easy-to-apply, smoothing foundation with SPF 17. Not to mention serious bang for the buck.

As you twist the product up into the brush, somehow the perfect amount is provided. I do a quick swipe on my nose, chin, forehead and cheeks and then blend. The brush is unique in its high quality, streak-free application. Turning the brush on it’s side, you are able to get around the nose and underneath eyes. While it is medium coverage, the effect is natural because it isn’t too matte. Only downside is a lack of shade range with only eight options, all in the fair-skin range.

L’Oreal Visible Lift Smooth Absolute Instant Age Reversing Foundation is available at Target for $13.48.

Kiehl’s Since 1851 Ultimate UV Shield SPF 50

I kinda feel like I found the sunscreen holy grail. I just stumbled upon it running errands. And it was just too monumental not to share immediately. It is powerful, lightweight, effective sunscreen. Bonus points for Kiehl’s always pleasant packaging so it looks great on your vanity.

The formula is oil free, but it is so lightweight, those with drier skin can layer with moisturizer. The sunscreen doesn’t cake on the skin – the smooth, thin layer of SPF is the perfect canvas for makeup. And this is broad-based. That means is blocks more of those suckers that will lead to premature aging, freckles, dark spots and skin cancer. I hope you are as excited as I am. You can find it at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

butter London Nail Skins

butter London is one of my new favorite polish lines. Their colors are unique and diverse – with a 3 free formula (NO Formaldehyde, NO Toluene, NO DBP). In true form, their new nail skins are the prettiest I have seen. That leopard is so cool. $10 and not available in the UK.

Retro Style

Retro revival has been inspiring me all year and I decided to collect some of my favorite products to recreate the look. Yesterday, I picked up Red Revival lip color from Maybelline. It is so incredibly hydrating and long-wearing. (side note: I also recommend Fifth Avenue Fuchsia) The application is creamy, but highly pigmented. What a great color range! And the price, great excuse to pick up two or three!

For the eyes, my first step was a rediscovered favorite: Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eye Liner Black Ebony. I spray some Shu Uemura Depsea Water Facial Mist in Bergamot on the Laura Mercier Flat Eyeliner Brush, a couple swipes on the cake, and tuck the brush along my lash line. Don’t drag the brush , just press and repeat until you have covered the entire lash. The look is definining and demure – but utterly sexy.

A bold brow is the cornerstone of the retro look, and requires a brow pencil. My favorite these days is Le Metier de Beaute Brow Bound Eyebrow Pencil. It has a gel consistency and I work it onto the hairs rather than the skin. I blend and tame flyaways with the brush include on the other end of the pencil.

Dramatic mascara extends the pigment from the lash line through the lashes. Lancome Hypnose Custom Volume Mascara adds just the right amount of volume. A little highlighter like the gorgeous Lumière Sculptèe de Chanel Highlighting Powder on the inner corner of your eyes and cheekbones and you are set!

Fall Drugstore Beauty

I had the opportunity to try a luxury brand of skincare, but unfortunately my skin reacted poorly. So, I decided this was an excuse to give drugstore skincare a whirl. In the past, I have relied on drugstore brands for all or part of my ritual with average results. But now, there are formulas available that have beauty editors and dermatologists raving, namely Olay Regenerist. So I picked up the Regenerating Serum and Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum. They aren’t cheap – each will run you $21.49 at Target. But they are a far cry from luxury skin care lines at department stores where night cream can be over $500.

But that’s not all… I also picked up some long-time staples including Cetaphil, Lubriderm, and Orly polish. Going to give the Bonder a try – Eva Chen swares by it. Fifth Ave Fuschia and Revival Red Maybelline lipcolors were irresistible. Snuck some candy corn in there – it is October after all…

What are your drugstore staples?