Review: L'Oreals Youth Code BB Cream...for the eyes

L'Oreal  Youth Code BB Cream
$16.99

I like BB creams because I love multi-tasking products. Still trying to milk the last glimmer of my recent tan, I have been mixing Garnier's BB Cream in Medium-Dark, with Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB cream in Deep.  I knew it was working when my friends commented that the longer I was home, the tanner I  appeared.

An odd thing happened the other day.  I must have applied this mixture fairly close to my bottom lashes and tear trough and I noticed the way it illuminated my eye area was very flattering.  It occurred to me that if I had a BB cream in  a light shade, it might be a perfect lightweight highlighter for my eye area and the top of my  cheekbones.

Traditionally, I have found that products that are created for the purpose of  "highlighting" are usually thick, glittery and artificial looking.  Might this be the solution?  By sheer coincidence, there was a sample of L'Oreals Magic Skin Beautifier in Light in a magazine I was perusing.  I tried it out the next morning and I was thrilled with the result, so I went to CVS to purchase it...and then another...and another.

Review: Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation

YSL's Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation
1 oz. $55

Devotees of Le Touche Eclat Concealer, (and they are legion) have long waited for YSL to create a foundation to complement it.

I too was quite smitten with Touche Eclat concealer. It's housed in a sleek gold pen, and with a simple click, the built in brush deposits just the right amount of product. It does a fine job of covering dark circles, diffusing fine lines and subtly highlighting.  I thought it was a Holy Grail product for me, until I noticed that I frequently looked like I had the dreaded "raccoon" eye in photos.

At that time, "Touche" only came in 3 shades. At $40 a pop, I was not going to invest in mixing two shades, so we parted ways. Today, it's available in 12 shades and I am sure that anyone would be able to find their perfect shade, myself included.

All of this brings me to Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation, which was generously sampled for me by Tyshon at Sephora in Greenwich.  I so appreciate that they are always willing to supply samples so you can try product on clean, make up free skin at home. It takes away all of the guess work and in this case, I realized the lighter shade that Tyshon had recommended was indeed the right one for me.

So, did it live up to all the hype???

Sonia Kashuk: Is Perfecting Luminous Foundation Perfect?

Sonia Kushak Perfecting
Luminous Foundation
Target Stores

I try not to visit Target all that often...It's not that I don't like Target--I love it, but something happens when I enter one.  It's like Alice slipping down the rabbit hole.  Once I'm in, there is no telling when I'm coming out.

All of my senses are overwhelmed as I weave my red cart, in a daze from aisle to aisle.  Naturally, I make a long pit stop in the cosmetics area.  I want to like Sonia Kashuk's products.  I appreciate her palette choices, the sleek packaging and I could never quibble about the price points.

Maybe I've just been less than lucky with my previous picks.

I have decided, to try to avoid bronzing powder if possible.  I find it too drying and mattifying.  I also don't like to see powder settling into fine lines...bad enough to have them, why would I want to accentuate them by making them cocoa?

Hence, I have broken the cardinal foundation rule:  Never apply foundation that is darker than  your natural complexion.  The thing is I don't really know what my, "natural complexion" is anymore...

Because I use self tanner daily, I really do need to go at least 3 shades darker just to match my neck.  Did I dare purchase "Camel" the deepest of all the offerings?

Yes. I did.