Drugstore Beauty Buys: Bomb or Bargain?

L'Oreal's Colour Caresse
Wet Shine Stain
$9.99

I promised to update you on my recent CVS Haul...I have been remiss in also covering some of the terrific, less expensive products that are available at the drugstore.  The quality, packaging and price have come a long way from my Bonne Bell purchases as a teenager.

I have frequently had great good luck with L'Oreal products over the years. For a mass product, they are among my favorites. The lip color above, L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain is supposed to be a hybrid of a stain and a gloss. Sadly, I found it to be a mess!

Too much product comes onto to the soft sponge applicator, making for overdressed lips and a sloppy container.  It felt far too wet for my liking and worse still, tasted terribly of perfume, even after it dried.  As well, the color on the packaging and display were quite far off from my actual purchase.  The only upside was it made me realize that I really should reintroduce some spice tones into my lipstick wardrobe.

Oh well.  On to the next...

Drugstore Beauty Buys

It occurred to me after reviewing my DivaDebbi Best of 2013 Skincare and Beauty blogs, that I had nothing on either list that could be purchased at your average drugstore chain.

When I first started blogging, I frequently wrote about my CVS hauls. I'm not sure how I have gotten so far away from drugstore beauty purchases. All of my recommendations came from Sephora or Ulta.

My wonderful Mother-in-Law Joan, who discreetly sends me email with any grammatical mistakes I've made on this blog, (P2 their/there), recently gave me a gift card to CVS.  

Summer!!!

Summer!!! by divadebbi featuring a honey comb

Pennyblack , $190 / Nina Ricci honey comb / Abercrombie & Fitch / Wildfox Couture canvas tote / Hermès black vintage jewelry / J.Crew j crew / Tory Burch / Ole Henriksen / Sun care, $30

Taylor Swift: Get the Look

Taylor Swift: Get the Look by divadebbi featuring covergirl

The Melting Months

The humidity is already starting to creep up in New York, giving me pause to think about my eye cream/serum/moisturizer/primer/tinted moisturizer routine...somethings got to give.

As if a Genie was looking over my shoulder, that afternoon I received a sample, (via messnger)!, of COVERGIRL & Olay's Simply Ageless Serum Primer... Thank you Beauty Gods!!!

I used it yesterday for the first time. Multi-tasking as always, I applied it and then went to check in on what fresh commotion my new kitty was stirring up in the bedroom. When I came back, I looked in the mirror and literally hummed a few bars of "I Feel Pretty" to myself. Wow! Flawless. Primed. What I didn't realize was how hydrating it was. I could easily have skipped the additional moisturizer...by midday I was a puddle.

Today I tried again, this time just using eye cream, Simply Ageless Serum Primer and Revlon's Spa Illuminator in Bronze Light. A much better plan. My skin feels hydrated and dewy, not excessively oily---no mop and shine today.

I loved the light, creamy texture of this newly combined product, Olay's Regenerist Serum, on its own, as a slippery, eel like feeling, (that literally makes my skin crawl, despite a devoted following). It promises, "8 hours of continuous hydration, a facelift effect, Amino-Peptides to improve texture, glycerin to firm skin's appearance, and increased rate of exfoliation over time". As well, it is oil free and suitable for sensitive skin. Now that's multi-tasking.

CoverGirl & Olay's Simply Ageless Serum costs $13.99 and will be available in mass-market outlets nationwide in July. Don't fret...you will still have two thirds of the summer left to try it. If it really helps me achieve results, I will be sure to continue using it, long after the melting months.

Here's hoping...

xox,
DD

Hail to the Queen

I was doing a CVS run the other night for the stuff you actually might need from the drug store...of course I had to peruse the cosmetic aisles first. I wanted to revisit gel eyeliner, after hearing great buzz about Maybelline's new version...good luck with that. Apparently, they can't keep it in stock anywhere. NEXT!.

I have whined before, about the dearth of lip liners available in a natural looking nude rose, that might blend into my lip line. Mass or class, it's nearly impossible to find. Believe me, I have swatched every one's repertoire...it's the Hope Diamond of beauty. I, for one, never understood the whole MAC Spice hysteria...why would I want pecan colored lips?

Lo and behold, I found myself in front of CoverGirl's Queen Collection. It makes perfect sense, to market Queen Latifah's radiant beauty to African Americans and it made me wonder why CG hadn't thought of it sooner, (I also wonder what QL's friends call her...anyone)???

I would have thought a display featuring Queen's (?), collection would be vibrant and hip, but it looked dour and muddy and could easily have been missed. I still couldn't resist checking out the lip liners. Who woulda thunk it??? Q135/Plum lasting lip pencil was looking spot on. $6.99???... I'm in.

The next morning, I tested Q135 on my hand with the last remnant of Clinique's Plush Pink, (which maddeningly, still has a few inches left, but will have to be trashed, because the ill fitting sharpener no longer fits on the end).

Ohhhhh happy face! I can barely tell one from the other, can you??? If I ever have the opportunity to see QL, I love to tell her how happy I am that she solved this beauty conundrum for me. I still have no idea how I would address her...so maybe I will just curtsy.

xox,
DD







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