Gel Eyeliner (yet again)

About one hundred years ago, we were having a discussion on this blog about gel eyeliners. I promised to try out my new MAC gel eyeliner and get back to you ASAP. I didn't follow through on the ASAP part, but I did try the gel eyeliner, and I'm here now to report that it's wonderful. It's right on par with the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner I originally recommended.

I used a deep plum eyeliner (I actually used it with my non-Halloween look in the previous post). It dried quickly and stayed in place the rest of the day. It's easy to apply as thick or thin a line as you want.

MAC's gel eyeliner is $15, and Bobbi Brown's is $21, so MAC is definitely the better deal and they have a wider variety of colors. I still haven't tried the Clinique liner that Erin recommended, but that's my next step when I am next at the Clinique counter.

Halloween Is Over

Did anyone else buy make-up especially for Halloween? I was an 80s pop star for Halloween, and, of course, I couldn't be an 80s anything without blue eyeshadow. I popped into MAC for some blue eyeshadow, where Kristen (my stunning MAC-anista) played with a dark blue and smoky black eye to go with my Halloween costume.

The color was impeccable, and I wish I could share with you the looks I received when I popped into White House Black Market next. I was definitely the brightest thing in there.

The blue eyeshadow was perfect for Halloween, but the next morning I still woke up with a full pot of blue eyeshadow, one I didn't want to waste now that Halloween was over. I mulled over how to wear it stylishly, finally deciding on a day when I felt bright eyeshadow would compliment my outfit.

I started with a soft, muted purple from The Body Shop over my whole lid. I took a darker purple in the crease of my eye, and I ended the look by applying the blue in the outer corners of my eye.

I liked the look. The blue added to the pallate without becoming overpowering. I hope to use it often and find other ways to wear it before next Halloween.

Does anyone else have Halloween make-up they aren't sure how to use? Let's help each other find ways to use these seemingly-useless looks.

Phenomenal

After a girlfriend told me she loved Givenchy's new Phenomen'eyes mascara, I decided it was worth a shot. I sort-of liked the look of the wand, and I wondered how it would work on my eyes.

My girlfriend was right. This is a great mascara. The small ball at the end of the wand is especially great for those hard-to-snag lower lashes and the lashes on the inner corner of my eyes. I'm surprised no one has come up with something like this sooner, and I would definitely recommend it to friends and blog readers. It's still not my favorite mascara, but it isn't one I regret buying, and as I become more adept at the wand, I may like it even more. At $28 this would make a great stocking stuffer.

Reader Question: Shu Uemura Painting Liner

I had someone write to ask if I knew anything about Shu Uemura Painting Liners. At the time I didn't, but they sounded fun, so I decided to investigate. I ordered the product online in gold, and I wanted to give it a fair shake by using it a couple times before writing a review (hence the delay - sorry, Julie!).

The first time I used the eye liner was to attend a friend's wedding. The liner comes in a pot, and in order to use it properly, you need an eye liner brush. I have Bobbi Brown's Ultra Thin Eye Liner brush that I purchased along with a pot of Bobbi Brown eye liner. I was having an off-night and applying make-up as if it were my first day of junior high school. So when the liner traveled onto my lashes in the evening (even my husband pointed it out, so you know it was a lot of liner on my lashes), I figured it could be user error.

I tried again several days later. I used my ultra thin eye liner brush, but the line I created didn't turn out ultra thin. It was smudgy, and I had eye liner in a lot of places I didn't want it by the time I was finished. Fortunately, by the time I left the bathroom, it had dispersed so evenly all around my entire eye area, that I didn't have to worry about a smudgy line. I just had sparkly gold eyes. I wasn't impressed.

This morning I gave one final go at it. I think I've found a way to make it work. I applied it before my eye shadow (with my liner brush again, and then swept the eye shadow over it, hoping it would keep it in place. In fact, I do have a nice sparkly line around the rims of my eyes, although some of it has traveled to other parts of my general eye area. That isn't a bad thing since I purchased a sparkly gold color, but it would be a bad thing if I had purchased black or brown.

Overall, I don't think it's a terrible product. I just don't think it's a great product. I've been very happy with my Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner. With my thin eyeliner brush, I can create a very tiny, straight line. Bobbi Brown does not have the colorful pallette that Shu Uemura has, and her products are not going to be sparkly either. If you are looking for a neutral color, however, I believe that's the way to go. For those of you who want to be a little more daring with your eye liner, I am planning to explore the gel eyeliner option MAC has next week.

Stay posted. And if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at explorefashion@gmail.com

September: Fashion's January

I have started a new project, and I hope you will join me in it. I have always loved fashion, and a while back I had a blog in which I wrote about the fashion in places where I traveled. However, I haven't been traveling as often, but I am still passionate about fashion, and I'd still like to write about it. So, I started a new blog about fashion, and if you are a fan of the beauty blog (or just a fan of me - hi, mom!) I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think.

The blog is: http://ineedfashionrehab.blogspot.com/

And you can let me know your thoughts at: explorefashion@gmail.com. Or you can comment on this post.

Vegas Baby

In a post I wrote long, long ago, I extolled the virtues of body oil for skin. For a long time, I have been using Neutrogena Body Oil with vicious enthusiasm, going through bottles quicker than Target can stock them (almost). I decided to try Johnson Baby Oil Gel because gel seemed a little cleaner than oil.

The baby oil is stocked in the baby section, at least in my local Target, and since every Target I've ever been in looks identical to my local Target, I'd guess that's where it's stocked in your local Target. They have two types: Aloe Vera & Vitamin E and Shea & Cocoa Butter. I opted for the Shea & Cocoa Butter because it smells divine.

The directions tell "you," which I think means people who are old enough to read the directions as opposed to babies, to use the gel while still in the shower, but after you have shut the shower off. More or less, when your skin is still wet. Unlike my body oil, which just runs off my body with the same ease as water, the gel adhered to my skin. I felt like I was getting more for my money because half the product wasn't dripping down the shower drain. There was no greasy after-feel, and I patted myself dry, as the directions instructed and applied lotion over the gel.

I don't know if this will lock in moisture better than my body oil, but I don't think it will do any worse. And it's cheaper, cleaner, and smells better. It actually smells exactly like Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (sans the cigarettes and stale sweat). And I happen to have just read an article about how Vegas hotels pay a fortune to pipe in their smells. Imagine: you could smell like that for just a few dollars. I don't know too many mothers who want their babes to smell like Las Vegas, but for us adult babes, it's a-okay.

At Long Last

I only decided to buy a Revlon lipstick because there was a coupon in my Lucky magazine. I turned out to be lucky, because I love it. I have two problems with lipstick:

1. The color fades from my lips as fast as reality TV show contestants fade from my memory.

2. They often crease on my lips, making me look old and weird.

My experiments with this lipstick have shown neither of these problems. I apply the lipstick, and after one Starbucks, three hours of talking, and dinner, my lipstick is only slightly faded from the wear-and-tear. I might switch from my MAC lipstick. Because Revlon is cheaper, and I have to say I think it's getting the job done better.

I love lipstick. It's my absolute favorite thing to wear (next to clothing, of course, and maybe mascara). I am excited to find a lipstick that is going to stick with me for the long-haul, and I think you will be too.

Bad Gal Lash

I have a new mascara that I love, especially for the summer. It's called Bad Gal Lash by Benefit, and it makes my lashes really long without making them really thick.

The past few summers I've worn a lot of skirts, but this summer, because it has rained just about every day, I have been wearing jeans with layered tank tops. The look feels so casual (or maybe I am just lazy) that I haven't been wearing a whole lot of make-up. So when I put on Diorshow, which is a wonderful mascara, I feel like it is too much for my otherwise bare face.

Bad Gal Lash has provided me with dark, long lashes without the drama that other mascaras can provide. I give it two thumbs up and recommend you hurry to your nearest Sephora to pick up a tube.

8

I just downloaded a new application to my iPhone called 8. It's the closest thing to a game I will ever download to my iPhone. There are eight glasses of water sitting on a kitchen table, and the goal is drink all eight of them before the end of the day. You don't actually drink the virtual glasses, of course, you just tap on one each time you drink a glass of real water and the virtual glass empties. I am pretty good about drinking water, but this is a great way for me to keep track of how much I am drinking and make sure I am drinking enough.

The reason I am bringing this up is because how you treat your skin from the inside out is more important than what products you put on it. Drinking enough water is going to do more for your skin than La Mer, and it's going to be a lot cheaper too.

So grab a glass of water and start sipping. Your skin will thank you for it.

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Body: Worthless

27 Dresses on DVD: $12.99

One Large Dominoes Pizza: $11

Loofah: $1

Dove Soap: $2.49

Dr. Brandt's Microdermabrasion Body: Worthless

A while back L'Oreal used to make a neck and chest microdermabrasion product that I could only buy at Walgreens. I loved it, and I don't know why they don't make it anymore, but they don't. In my search for a replacement, I came across Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Body, which was the biggest waste of $45 I have spent on beauty products in a while.

I cannot find anything good to say about this product. It was really expensive. It didn't work as well as my (much cheaper) Body Shop scrub. I had to rub it in to my skin forever for less results than (again) my Body Shop scrub. It didn't smell fun (although it didn't smell bad either). It only lasted me five scrubs (which equals $9 per scrub). Did I mention it was expensive? Unless you have not exfoliated your skin since your junior prom, you probably will not notice a difference between this product and your 75-cent loofah.

I have to watch out for the beautiful people who read this (all 1 of you): do not buy this product.

Mix and Match

I have a new favorite beauty trick. I have a lot of mascara because I like the lightweight daytime look one gives me, the thick, black nighttime look another gives me, or the long, spidery lashes another gives me. So, I collect mascaras and choose which one to wear based on the events of my day.

About a week ago, I decided I didn't know why I had to choose between the lengthening properties of one mascara and the thickening properties of another. Why don't I just start combining them? So that's exactly what I've done. One coat of this, another coat of that, and - voila! - long, dark lashes that I couldn't ask just one mascara to provide.

My favorite combination is Benefit Bad Gal Lash (because it makes my lashes so, so long) and MAC Fibre Rich Lash (because it makes them so thick). Try it with any combination of mascaras you have and come back to report to us what your favorite combos are.

A+

Vitamin A, more commonly known as retinol, has become an increasinly popular way for people to control fine lines and wrinkles. Today we are going to discuss retinol, and the benefits it can have to your skin.

As I said, retinol (also known as Retin-A and Renova) is Vitamin A. Retinol is the natural form, while both Retin-A and Renova are synthetic versions only available by prescription. Retinol is a great way to diminish fine lines and wrinkles and even your skin tone. Because of retinol's healing and antioxidant properties, you don't have to wait until you have fine lines and wrinkles to use it.

Retinol products should be used at night because they increase your sensitivity to the sun. Additionally, sleep also provides a rest for the skin, and therefore provides an ideal time for concentrated products like retinol to work well. Begin by using retinol every other night until you feel your skin has adjusted to the concentration. Because retinol is potent, it can cause flaking at first. This should clear up, but if it is really bothering you, switch to every third night.

If you already have fine lines and wrinkles, you may notice a difference when using retinol products after just a few days. Acne sufferers may also notice that some of their acne is clearing up. If you are still young, you may not notice a difference in your skin until forty years from now when people are still carding your for margaritas.

There are two retinol products I would recommend. Philosophy's Booster Caps are easy to use. Just pop open a cap and mix in the product with your nighttime moisturizer. They are fairly gentle, so if you have sensitive skin, you shouldn't experience problems with this. The second product I like is DermaDoctor's Poetry in Lotion. The product rubs on smooth, and it seems to be a bit more aggressive if you have specific skin concerns you want to tackle. I haven't used Poetry in Lotion long enough to determine how long the bottle lasts, but I can tell you that you will need to use one Booster Cap every night (or every other night, depending on how you use it), which means you are looking at about $1 per cap. All in all, retinol is not a cheap product, but the results are said to be worth it.

Product Review: Solar Tan

I hate to diss Hourglass because as I’ve stated before, I love their products. And they just started to carry them at Sephora, and I want them to continue to do so, therefore I want people to buy their products. But when a company comes out with a product I can’t stand behind, I must tell you.

Hourglass has created a facial self-tanner called Solar Tan. It’s clear, it doesn’t smell bad, and it doesn’t break out my skin (and if something doesn’t break out my skin, I can almost guarantee it won’t break out yours). It has a lot of things going for it, to be honest with you. Here is the problem: it dyed my eyebrows orange. To be fair to Hourglass Cosmetics, my eyebrows are so blonde they are nearly white. So if you had raven-colored eyebrows, you may not experience the same problem. But for you fair-haired maidens, I strongly advise against this otherwise-splendid product. I quit using Solar Tan on June 27 when I realized it was creating small, perfectly-arched carrots above my eyes. On July 6 I was asked what in the world was going on with my eyebrows. And on July 13 I could finally say they were back to their normal color. My skin was not a glowing golden either. I would call it more of a brassy yellow, and I’d rather be white than yellow and orange, so do not spend $60 on this product (unless as I said, you have dark hair and then maybe (just maybe) it may be worth your well-earned money.

You Are (Not) Golden

It feels like it went from spring to summer overnight here. I live in what is technically classified as a desert, and we’ve had rain nearly every day for two months. And several days ago, the clouds parted. It’s been ninety degrees and sunny ever since, and I’m expecting several more months of that before the temperature starts to descend. However, even the winters here are sunny. In fact, despite Florida’s claim as the sunniest state, I live in a state that boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.

So I figured now would be the perfect time to review the rules of sunscreen. First rule: you must wear it. I know you don’t want to wear it. I know you want a sun-kissed J-Lo glow. You want to look good in white, especially if you are getting married this summer. You want to look good in pale pink if you are a bridesmaid this summer. You want to look like you just breezed into work from your yacht in the Grand Caymans, and let’s face it: even the best self-tanners give an orange glow and, to boot, smell bad. I get it. I am so white that some cosmetic companies don’t make foundations light enough for my skin. I’d like to look like Penelope Cruz as much as the next woman, but here’s the truth: I don’t. Neither do you. And even if you are as dark as Iman, wear sunscreen. Your skin will thank you for it when you are older. And that cheerful, bleach-blonde, dark-as-night lifeguard at your community pool will be envying your wrinkle-free face and freckle-free shoulders in twenty years when she peers out at you from her Botoxed face.

Now that we’ve established that no matter what you look like you need to wear sunscreen, let’s review what to look for in a sunscreen. The most important rule of sunscreen is to buy one that is broad-spectrum. Often the labels on sunscreen advertise in bright white numbers the SPF. And yes, the higher the SPF you have the better, but broad-spectrum is just as important. You want your sunscreen to have both UVA and UVB protection. The sun emits two types of rays - UVA and UVB. You want protection from both.

UVA rays are the rays that age your skin (just think Ultra Violet Aging to remind yourself what the rays to do you). Basically, UVA rays penetrate into the second layer of skin. This second layer of skin stops reproducing itself abundantly after the age of 28, so take care of it because you have limited time to enjoy it. When the UVA rays penetrate the skin, they basically dry it up and cause it shrink. Once the second layer of skin has shrunk, the first layer hangs off it causing loose skin and, yes, wrinkles.

UVB rays burn your skin (think Ultra Violet Burning to remind yourself). UVB rays cause your skin to produce more melatonin, which is what causes a tan, but it is also what causes burning and sun spots.

I recently spent some time in Ecuador where one local girl told me she used to envy the white girls she saw because they could get a rosy red glow in the sun. She tried and tried to emulate the color, but she couldn’t do it. Her skin just got darker. Don’t give naïve, young Ecuadoran girls something to envy. Just wear your sunscreen. For more info, you can read this post from several years ago.

Magic Wand

I have a new favorite product. I kept reading about the luminescent miracles of Yves Saint Laurent's Touch Eclat Radiant Touch. All those unprounouncable French words just to say "amazing highlighter."

The product comes in a gold tube and product is dispensed like an ink pen. It's simple to use and even simpler to say "thank you" when someone comments on how well-rested you look. I have added the luminizing pen to my morning eye make-up routine, and no matter if I have gotten two or twelve hours of sleep, I look well-rested.

The product is lightweight, which is one of my favorite things about it. Often, when I put on an undereye concealer, I feel like I am creating wrinkles by working so hard to get it spread onto my skin smoothly. Because the product can be dabbed on with the pen and spread into your skin with the slightest dab of your pinky finger, you won't feel like you are wreaking havoc on your skin in order to apply product.

I'm not the only who loves it. It has 570 reviews on Sephora.com, and it gets a 4 1/2 star rating out of 5 stars. YSL's Touch Eclat Radiant Touch is available for $40. If you need another reason to spend the money on it, just think of it as an homage to the recently late, always great designer whose namesake it carries.