A few months ago I was in California, and my awesome sister Emily (by the way, I have three sisters, all awesome) gave me a grab bag of goodies from SKINFOOD. Knowing that her little sister loves makeup, Emily wanted to share this line of Korean products that are now sold in San Francisco, where she lives. I haven’t tried all the products she gave me yet, but I did try this Vita Tok Lipgloss. It’s fabulous!
I’ve gushed long and often about my love of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. But for all its greatness, it does have one fatal flaw: the price. Thanks to a lifetime of dental drama that had another flame-up last year, 2013 may see a record number of “Beauty on a Shoestring” posts as I tighten the belt on my beauty budget.
When my bottle of Luminous Silk dried up late last year, I was forced to find an affordable alternative for a daily foundation. Sad, I know. But this beauty tale has a happy ending. I’m ecstatic to report that I have found an outstanding drugstore brand foundation that has exceeded all my expectations. Let me tell you about Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation. Continue reading
Earlier this year, Hard Night Good Morning sent me a slew of products from their skincare line. In July, I reviewed their Facial Cocktail Serum, which I liked. The last couple of months I’ve been using their Daytime Moisturizer. Will I view it as positively as I did the serum? In a nutshell, yes.
I’ve talked to you about Badger Cocoa Butter Lip Balm (with the help of some friends) and Badger Foot Balm. Next on the lineup of Judicial Reviews is Badger SPF 16 Sunscreen Lotion.
This is a new and improved product formulation of this sunscreen. Per the Badger website, “It features a light, moisturizing, USDA Certified Organic Aloe Vera lotion base that is perfect for daily use on face and body. Like all of Badger’s sunscreens it offers broad spectrum protection using only non-nano Zinc Oxide. This is a good option for those who found our original sunscreen creams too heavy for everyday use.”
A few months ago, I received an email from Hard Night Good Morning, a Dallas-based line of skincare products created by D’Andra Simmons. They asked if I would be interested in trying out some of the products, which are sold at Whole Foods. When I said “yes”, little did I know that they would ship me a box filled with almost the entire product line! Even more impressive was the handwritten note from D’Andra sharing important facts about a few of the products.
Since I only write on Beautypendence about products that I have personally used, and it takes a while to truly evaluate a skincare product’s efficacy, you may be seeing reviews of HNGM products sprinkled over the next year. First up is perhaps their most beloved product, Facial Cocktail Serum.
Back in March, I (with the help of a couple of friends) reviewed the Cocoa Butter Lip Balm from Badger. That was just one of several balms the friendly people from Badger sent me to try from their line of organic skin and body care products. One choice item in my box of goodies was their Foot Balm. The small tin reads along the edge, “Do your feet a favor. This stuff works. Rub it in.” Badger speaks the truth! My feet are totally in love with this product.
When I was last at Neiman Marcus to pick up a new bottle of my favorite Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Martina, the wonderful Armani beauty sales associate, gave me some goodies. One sample in my bag was Eyes to Kill Excess Mascara. I gave it a test drive, and here’s the story.
It’s for wizards! It says so on the bottle.
If you haven’t been reading Beautypendence since the beginning (Welcome! And what took you so long?!?), then let me debrief you on the current state of my hair.
As a true Texan, I like big hair, but due to the quantity of weighty, long strands on my head, my hair can look limp. My beloved hairstylist Mark gave me a styling product by Davines to try, their No. 14 Sea Salt Primer FOR WIZARDS. A few Davines products are already longtime staples in my hair care arsenal – Momo Conditioner and No. 10 Universal Polishing Coat (also for wizards). I think I’ve added something new to my line-up.
It may be pseudo-winter here in Austin, but the weather is still dry and killer on my skin. And in order to avoid picking up yucky germs, I’m an avid hand washer (see graphic above). Consequently, my hands require extra attention during this season. As you may have gathered from reading this blog, I *might* have a slight obsession with caring for my hands. Several months ago, a friend gave me the Mary Kay Peach Satin Hands Pampering Set, and I’m very grateful.
Perhaps its the spring-like weather we’ve been having in Austin, but I’ve had a strong desire to wear bright pink nail polish. So when I was last at H-E-B, I combed the cosmetics aisle for some vibrant pink shades. One contender I came across was Revlon’s new ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel. I had seen an ad for this polish in InStyle magazine claiming “Gel-Like shine and up to 11 days of shatterproof color”, when worn with ColorStay base and top coats, per the fine print. It was $8/bottle, but there was a $1.50 off coupon, so it was worth a try. I’m happy to report that this may be my new go-to line of nail polish.