Category Archives: Multi Use

Line High/ Low: Laura Mercier

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I’ve used a ton of Laura Mercier, both personally and professionally so here are the products I love (and buy) along with those that just missed the mark.

High:

Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer is probably their most recognizable product out of the bunch due to its many accolades over the years from magazine editors and real women alike. It maintains the impossible balance of weightless coverage that all skin types can enjoy.

Tight Lining is a technique I use all the time on myself as well as most girls in my chair because it’s an undetectable way to make eyes pop and lashes seem longer. Mercier created the technique and the Eye Liner specifically for it.

Satinée Crème Eye Colours are suitable for all women. On the go? Swipe em’ on with your fingers. Want staying power? Layer them with powder shadow. Mature eyes, young eyes, and everything in between, they will settle and wear perfectly.

Low:

I totally get what they were trying to do with their Flawless Fix Pencil- make an easy concealer for touch ups and also hard to reach areas like around the mouth for bleeding. Unfortunatley the consistency is too dry to blend into blemishes, and too creamy for along your lower waterline to brighten eyes like the one I use.

Their Mascaras aren’t horrible, but they aren’t great either. With nothing that special about either formula, why spend $20 when you can choose from several stellar drugstore finds for well under $10?

I’m all for some pretty, well-placed shimmer from time to time, but their Shimmer Bloc (and Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Bricks) are a shimmery nightmare waiting to happen. Pair this compact with a woman who hasn’t been shown how to use it, and the result can be a disaster.

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Envision Beauty The Solution

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You like to keep it simple. You will never be the girl who has a separate skin care routine for am and pm, and taking your makeup off before bed is an accomplishment all its own.

But you still want results.

The Solution by Envision Beauty is your dream come true. Inside this beautifully crafted bottle is your anti-aging treatment, antioxidant, eye cream, primer, and moisturizer all in one. One bottle, one step, so many benefits.

It contains all the best, most advanced ingredients in skin care.

Covering all your bases as far as skin concerns.

It’s also free of Parabens, Mineral Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Urea, Glycol, and Alcohol.

Now for the goods. For once the pump gave just the right amount of product, not too much forcing you to consume way beyond your usage, the scent was light if nonexistent. As for moisturization, its lightweight texture will soak into most skin types leaving a naturally moisturized feel behind. They really did formulate this for all skins. However, if you’re incredibly dry, or if you like a dewy feel to your skin, you might need a little added moisture.

Clear out whatever you’ve bought and don’t like/use/have room for. Make way for your new one and only.

1oz $74 Envision-Beauty.com

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Jane Iredale Dot the I

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When it comes to all things beauty, it’s the fun extras that make the world go round. Jane Iredale continues churning out delightful originals like her latest creation Dot the I.

This container that can house your regular Q-Tips once it’s empty, holds 50 double ended cotton swabs with the middle portion containing a reservoir of a liquid made from natural botanicals to remove eye makeup smudges. Just snap off the marked end and the opposite cotton tip will fill with just the right amount of fluid to erase what they call ‘accidental smokey eye.’

I now have a few in my bag at all times, and use them a lot more than I thought I would. What I really love about the liquid is its ability to gently erase the smudge without affecting the entire area underneath.

Jane Iredale Dot The I

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Jurlique Calendula-Lavender Hydrating Essence

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Do you ever have those moments of total and complete clarity when you feel like your mind is so still that problems seem distant and the answers so available? Uh- yeah. So before you write that off as total weirdo hippie nonsense, this happened to me today after a particularly grueling yoga session when we were in savasana, my favorite yoga pose ever.

Our instructor came around with the usual post-practice treat of washcloths they submerge in a mix of ice water and lavender essential oil to be wrung out and placed into our hands. I carefully created a tent over my face with mine making just enough extra room to breathe in, filling my lungs with the crisp lavender while cooling my body back down. Amazing right?

What’s even more amazing is finding that same experience right at home with a quick remedy for stressed skin and minds. Just drop a few drops of Jurlique’s Calendula-Lavender Hydrating Essence into a basin of water and allow your washcloth to soak up the goodness pressing it into the face to calm and soothe skin that’s inflamed, dry, before a mask, and in the tub. Two calming essences come together for a powerhouse experience in one huge bottle so you can find your Zen without the sore muscles.

Jurlique Calendula-Lavender Hydrating Essence

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Doctor T’s Supergoop SPF 30

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We all know how important sunscreen is, but which one is the right one for you? Are they all created equally?

Supergoop has a formula that stands out from the crowd- it’s a water-resistant, weightless (it’s so lightweight you can’t tell it’s there), chemical free formula that’s meant for daily use on the whole family. It’s so easy to wear daily in fact, that it’s commonly purchased in the big 15 oz size (shown above.)

What’s the difference between this and other sunscreens? Simple, it doesn’t breakdown as easily when exposed to sunlight so the effectiveness surpasses most other brands. You’re also fully covered from both UVA and UVB rays.

SPF ratings are based on UVB rays (think of the B for burning), so with an SPF 30 you’ll be 97% protected from sun burns. Supergoop isn’t available in a higher SPF because they’ve found that even an SPF 50 only increases your coverage to a 98%, but the added chemicals can irritate sensitive and children’s skin.

UVA (think of the A for aging) rays are more deeply penetrated into the skin, and do the most visible damage like wrinkling, discolorations, and an overall aging effect from the collagen breakdown. You’ll always want to make sure your sunscreen specifies UVA/UVB protection.

My verdict? Supergoop is very light and undetectable on the skin- even my face- so applying it daily to my neck, arms, and declote on my way out the door was easy since I couldn’t feel or smell it.

$11 for 1.6oz, available online.

Supergoop

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Backstage Beauty at Lela Rose Fall 09′ Arcona

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Los Angeles based Arcona provided the skincare to the makeup artists at Lela Rose which wouldn’t typically be news except for the fact that I overheard several of the jaded and difficult to wow LA/ NY makeup artists raving about it over and again

Since 1989, Arcona has been waiting for other lines to catch up. Hosting an array of antioxidants, amino acids, and enzymes, and doing without parabens, fragrances, stabilizers, and a host of ingredients more and more companies are leaving behind as the trend shifts away to more natural options. But in 89′, Arcona wasn’t trying to start trends, their philosophy was (and still is) to offer active, safe skincare that makes a visual difference in the skin produced by hand in small batches.

So what’s all the fuss about? First, everyone loved the Triad Pads drenched in their bestselling Cranberry Toner that cleanses, removes makeup, and hydrates the skin in convent, use-anywhere pre-moistened pads. I swept the city off my skin in seconds removing even eye makeup and leaving behind a fresh, clean feeling that felt balanced- not stripped or oily.

I’m coveting just about everything on their site, but for now I’ll Find My Basic Five to see what’s right for me. I’m already longing for their Peptide Firming Complex and Desert Mist!

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