Travelling in the "Parallel Universe"

One of the websites I subscribed to is Rachel Zoe's The Zoe Report.  I receive it daily and love reading her cheeky take on all the things that inspire her.  Two features that I especially love is that 1) she is operating in "real time", meaning if it's summer, she's raving about a bo chic sundress you can wear tomorrow and 2) she  makes suggestions that are available by link to a similar but more affordable style in the "parallel universe".

Nice!!!

I often ebb and flow back and forth between high end luxury cosmetics and my CVS hauls.  I also receive newly launched products from the P.R. companies that represent them. Often they will send me more than one shade, so I bring the non-match with me to work, to see if I can match up who it is best suited for.

Years ago, YSL's infamous Touche Eclat, the luxurious illuminator and under eye concealer, only came in two or three shades.  I thought it was a Holy Grail must have, until I saw a few photos of myself looking a tad raccoon, with two light crescent moons under my eyes...not a good look.  I also never felt like I was getting my $40 worth...either the brush or the product did not maintain its freshness before the product ran out.  They now have developed 8 shades so nearly every skin type can be perfectly matched...sooner or later, I will revisit this updated classic and of course I will let you know my results.  (My friend Nancy, who edits the delightfully versatile and newsy website A Sharp Eye  is working on a review and I promise to link it, if she gets there first)

In the "parallel universe", I received a new product from Rimmel London to try, their self-adjusting concealer and highlighter Match Perfection.  It even has a nylon brush tip, similar in concept to Touche Eclat, but housed in far less glam packaging. 

I was blown-away by how indeed Light Medium #355 perfectly matched my skin, covered under eye circles, a touch of redness around my nose and the last traces of hyperpigmentation from a treatment that I recently blogged about.  Match Perfection way surpassed my expectations.

Light Medium had a beigey pink cast, but the extra I received in Medium, was clearly yellow toned (see the picture above, can you guess which is the Medium)?  I brought it to the office and looked closely at my colleagues to see who would make a "perfect match". 

As I rode up the elevator with Anna, a young, bright star from our customer service team I knew I found her.  Anna is of Ecuadorian descent and does have fairly pronounced dark circles. By the time we reached the second floor, she was game to test it out and pose for this before and after shot:



Rimmel Perfect Match Concealer in Medium (right eye facing )

 This time Anna was blown away!   We were both pleased with the results and I was delighted to give "Medium" a happy home.  What do you think of Anna's match???  Perfection??? 

So there you have it, two ends of spackle spectrum the icon, Touche Elat, 8 shades, $40 and the excellent wannabe, Match Perfection,  5 shades, $5.99.

Choice is good and having good choices in the "parallel universe" is great.  What would your pick be?

xox,
DD