I know, I know, I know! It has been for-EVAH! Apologies my Lovelies, it's just truly hard to find the time...I promise I will do better, but my posts will definitely be briefer.
After having a neck to toe freckle zapping session this winter, and spending a month in a burqa covering my wounds, I SWORE to myself, that I would stay out of the sun this summer. Truly, why go through the discomfort, expense and fashion inconvenience only to have every spot resurface in mere minutes after a day at the beach or pool?
There is another problem...Self tanning, either professionally or self applied, seems to deposit and then expand, making any residual age spots or freckles look like my body has been pelted with pennies.
I had two recent epiphanies; 1) I have officially graduated to the need and use for a magnifying mirror for daily eye makeup and 2) I really am not all that talented at applying liquid eyeliner.
Big Sigh!!!
My preference for Stila One Step Waterproof Pencils topped with Lancome ArtLiner, is hampered by the fact that I have to go out of my way to Ulta to purchase them, since, annoyingly, only half Stila's collection is sold at Sephora...(C'mon. Either you in or you're out). In desperation, I recently tried Smashbox long wearing pencil, only to discover I'm allergic to it. No great loss as I found it a bit "grabby" while applying.
Totally over matte lipsticks? I hope so...Frankly, I've never understood the trend or liked the dry, mask like feeling they impart. Funny how matte, cycles its way back into fashion every couple of years, isn't it? I guess every 20 something should experience them at least once in their lifetime .
My favorite lipsticks feel almost balm like. Finding one that is highly pigmented, however, can be challenging.
Total Beauty did anice little slideof their reader and editor's favorite moisturizing lipsticks...I will absolutely being saying NO, to Cle de Peau Beaute's Chinoiserie Chic Lipstick for, deep breath now, $65!!!
And I thought Tom Ford's were outrageously priced at $50!
Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer Light, Medium and Dark $22
A few weeks back, I rhetorically asked if I would ever stop buying and trying new concealers. There is always that nagging hope, with any product I try, that this will be the one. My search will be over and I can just consider it the Holy Grail of its category and be done.
As you can imagine, Sephora, Ulta and CVS are some of my happy places... I roll from aisle to aisle in a zen like stupor, sifting, sorting and sometimes checking reviews as I go.
On an Ulta run the other night, where lighting is as flattering as a bus depot, I gasped as I spied my reflection. Who was that tired looking woman with the dark circles???
The first thing within arm's reach, was Laura Geller The Real Deal Concealer for, "serious coverage". Goodie! Loved that there were only 3 shades. 10 shades of concealer offerings is 7 more than I can wrap my head around.
Suffice to say, "HUUUGE" is not one of my favorite adjectives...let's just leave it at that...
I was at Sephora the other day to take advantage of my VIB Rouge 20% off perk. I ''needed" nothing, but figured I would stock up on a few faves, one of them being Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara.
I will never pass up an opportunity to sample a new mascara, so I asked them to use some of my beauty points towards a sample of Stila HUGE Extreme Lash Mascara.
Are you familiar with the term K-Beauty? K-Beauty refers to the trend of Korean skin care products, often in the form of 10-step nightly rituals, followed by a 20 minute mask....and I thought I spent a lot of time doing my toilette!
I received a sample of Belif The true cream-aqua bomb, with a Sephora purchase and some of my VIB Rouge points. (Brilliant marketing. I've boomeranged dozens of times to purchase the full product of my samples.)
Well, this was a delicious find! This fantastic gel refreshed my skin, hydrated it deeply with zero residue and left me glowing...all day.
I already knew I wasn't going to risk running it out of it, so I went running back to purchase it. The packaging and font made me think that what I sampled was actually something from Philosophy. When I couldn't find it, I asked for assistance and was directed to the K-Beauty section of select products from different brands....Interesting...
"Uh oh", I asked..."what am I in for?" I'm both familiar and comfortable with Philosophy's price points...what was I in for??? Imagine my delight, to find out that Aqua Bomb is sweetly priced at $38!!!
Bye Bye Eye Under Eye Illuminating Waterproof Concealer
4 Shades $24
Okay, Okay, I know...I might be starting to lose some cred with all of you Lovelies about flip flopping about my favorite concealers.
I thought I was loving Tarte's Shape Tape, but I noticed lately that I was looking tired, midday, requiring a touch up. It was almost like the concealer was breaking through.
When I was at Sephora the other day I asked Marlene, the Assistant General Manager for some recommendations; I wanted full coverage, but none of the creasing and caking. She recommended a new product from IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer. An upgrade that brightens, if both full coverage and waterproof.
I tried the Medium, which is on the lighter side, always my preference. The creators recommend choosing Medium if you are unsure, since it's the most popular shade.
Vita Liberata is best known as a company that produces self tanning products.
The only one I ever tried was a self tanning bronzing powder for the face. I love, love, love multi-tasking products. Even more so, when they work. This one didn't. It was a lovely enough bronzer, but I didn't get even a hint of a self tanning element. I hoped to wash it off and essentially, look like I did 3 minutes before...
No such luck and back it went to Sephora.
I often have a boat load of Sephora points, which nicely entitles you to deluxe samples upon checking out. I spotted Vita Liberata's Body Blur, and instantly requested it.
Anastasia Eye Shadow Quads $12 each/ 4 for $40 when you purchase the quad pan
I don't remember ever looking at an eye shadow quad, no matter how luxe, ie. Chanel, and thinking yes! Every single one is just the right shade for me. 2 maybe perfect, 1 meh, and the last a complete dud.
Boo hoo.
Another thing I've learned, is that if you are beauty bargain hunting, eye shadows are not best scrimped on. A beautiful, finely milled powder will glide on evenly, have more pigment and last longer.
Juice Beauty Phyto-Pigments Satin Lipstick 8 Shades $24
I mentioned on Labor Day, I did my version of Back To School shopping; a three stop sweep of CVS, Sephora and Ulta. Two of the products I was on a mission for, a new volumizer by Living Proof and Tarte's oddly named "Shape Tape" a concealer that is only available at Ulta and Tarte's website were sold out. Shape Tapes 5 star raves have caused a bit of hysteria in the beauty world and it is sold out, almost everywhere. Naturally, that only heightens my own, "gotta have it" mania. I did sample the light/medium and I must admit, I was mightily impressed...Their list price is $24. It can be had for a premium of $28 plus shipping from QVC, but I'm just going to wait it out. In the interim, I still happy enough with my new Too Faced Born This Way Concealer.
Once at Ulta, I found myself in my usual zen like trance and wandered from aisle to aisle. It drives me absolutely INSANE, that there are no mirrors at Ulta, save for the occasional smudged hand mirror, left lying about. I also would like to see a lot more alcohol, tissues, makeup remover, cotton balls and waste baskets. Isn't the whole point to try this stuff on?
The first thing that caught my eye was Juice Beauty's beautifully hued Phyto-Pigments Satin Lip Cream. Where did these come from??? It took a moment for me to remember that Juice Beauty is Gwyneth Paltrow'sbeauty company.
Ohhhhhhhh.... Gwyneth, who has the distinction of being named Star Magazine's "Most Hated Celebrity in the World", is admittedly, not a fave of mine either. I thought her "conscious uncoupling" from then husband, Coldplay's front man Chris Martin, sounded, nauseatingly pretentious. And then their is poor "Apple". Seriously, who names their kid, "Apple"???
But, for beauty, Gwyneth, GOOP, her vaginal steams, all get a pass...
Hello Lovelies!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I got to spend some wonderful time in Newport with old and new friends, laughing, chatting, napping, eating lobster rolls, drinking lots of coffee and wine and honoring that age old tradition, perusing the Yellow Page like tomes, that make up the annual September Fashion Books.
I like to pretend that the stunning and stylish Kendall Jenner isn't really one of "them." She seems stitched from a whole other family cloth and her 'off duty' street style never fails to impress; flat out fabulous, every time.
Though I had the entire summer, I was hoping against hope, that Manus x Machina, Fashion in the Age of Technology, this years Met Costume Institute Exhibit was extended. As luck would have it, I and the rest of the tri-state area were in attendance, (no doubt after abandoning beach plans for the hurricane that wasn't). We got lucky. Labor Day was the end of its extended run.
It was nothing short of spectacular, exceeding all expectation. I wrongly imagined that it was going to show the mechanical elements of design. Instead, the exhibit focuses on the end product; the incredible creations that incorporate the handmade and the machine-made, primarily in the ateliers of the haute couture.
The 170 coutour designs featured were magnificent fabrics, embellished with embroidery, pleats, beads, hand and machine made flowers, sequins and raffia. Others were created solely from leather and feathers. The imagination, vision and skill that is required to produce a single garment is artistry, and team and machine work at its best..
Chanel Metallic Duck Feathers
Chanel
Raf Simons for Dior
Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Raf Simons for Dior
Monsieur Dior 1950's
Karl Lagerfeld's 2014 Wedding dress, Chanel Couture
The 20 ft. train is ivory scuba knit material. The gold embroidery computer generated, than hand stitched. The rhinestones were printed by machine. Pearls and gemstones were applied by hand for the finishing touches. Simply breath taking.
I almost didn't write about this, knowing some of you would feel badly about having missed it, but I was too inspired not to share my good fortune.
Andrew Bolton, the shows brilliant curator, did an overview on this YouTube video above. I hope you will enjoy it.
I no longer have to worry about Back To School Shoppingthank God, but I did do my annual trek for my version of it, which includes starting off the fall "term", with a visit to CVS, Sephora and Ulta.
Naturally, there will be tales to tell...
Kind of...That is if if you want to achieve a big bump in curl that holds, directly from the lash line.
I have a 5 year old Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler. For years, it was the Holy Grail of EC's by anyone's standards. Why they chose to stop selling this iconic product at U.S. retailers is an enigma; profit, is good...No??? For die hards, you can still purchase it on their website though.
I am a little obsessed with my equally beauty obsessed cousin Karyn's lashes. After seeing her recently, I wanted a full report on every product in her current arsenal. She, unlike me, is someone who can successfully use Latisse, without looking like a bunch of fire ants march over her irises. Her lashes are spectacular.
Besides that, she also uses Kevin Aucoin's The Eyelash Curler, which she swore was even more effective than her old Shu.
Have I ever left Sephora or Ulta empty handed??? Truthfully? Not. I popped into Ulta with a pit in my stomach... I had a feeling that my beloved Bare Minerals Chasing Your Dreams Lipstick was a summer romance and I was right... It was over.
Thank heavens for the Internet...
As I was leaving, I saw a display for Too Faced Born This Way Concealer and stopped in my tracks...Back in September, I was enamored, to have found the best shade match to my natural skin, with Too Faced Born This Way Foundationin "Golden".
It was the first time I put my big girl panties on, and tried a medium/full coverage foundation. Crushing my fears of looking old and overly made up, my skin looked natural and flawless. I proclaimed it my Holy Grail foundation and pledged monogamy for life... Or so I thought.
Born This Way turned out to be a sensation, so Too Faced smartly decided to up the number of shades it was offered in. I went back to Ulta and purchased a new bottle of Golden, (perhaps the first time I have ever used a foundation to the Q-Tip swabbing end, I might add), giving it no thought, until the next morning when I opened it to apply it.
Surprisingly the color was perceptibly different! How could this be??? Fortunately, I still had the original, plus my receipt for the newly purchased one. Assuming it was just an off bottle, I went back and inspected each and every one, side by side with my original, nothing matched. I corralled several associates to confirm my assertion that I wasn't a madwoman. The verdict was unanimous. Crazy shade not crazy woman.
Return accepted.
My hope was, the problem was just Ulta's , so I tried my luck at Sephora. Same sorry tale. Here's the thing. Too Faced did a greatthing by expanding the shades it is offered in, because, in theory, minus one, many more people would be able to use it. It really is an amazing product and I highly recommend you sample it.
So, bitterly, we parted ways, yet still, I couldn't resist buying Too Faced Born This Way Concealer. Some how, some way, I hoped my love affair could be rekindled.
Lovely longtime DivaDebbi readers know I am a well known face at CVS and Sephora in Greenwich. Nicely, they are situated just a few doors down from one another. Yes, I have a soft spot for certain high end products, but nothing makes me happier than when high end products and formulas are copied launched by mass market brands. Why??? Because they are now more affordable.
Glamour.com is a site I visit often. I was curious to see what their beauty editors were liking best at CVS these days. Here is the link for you to peruse. I already made my first purchase above.
DivaDebbi and Michael Kors at Richards (lashes intact)
I've been a Personal Shopper for over 20 years. Within that time I have experienced dozens of fashion emergencies; broken zippers, sensors left on dresses, imploded seams, peek-a-boo linings... I've seen it all. A few weeks back, my husband literallysewed me into a gown that would have benefited greatly from two more hooks and eyes. My mistake? Not heeding my own sage advice to my clients--always try on an altered garment, well in advance of when you will be wearing it, not 15 minutes before you have to be out the door.
Late Thursday afternoon, I had my first beauty 911. Michael Kors was coming to Richards to present his Fall 2016 Runway Collection to a small group of devoted clients. I considered this a special enough occasion to glam up with a half fringe of false lashes in the morning. 30 minutes before arriving, my eyelash strip was hanging by a lash...
Maybelline Skinny Precise Gel Waterproof Eyeliner $7.99 ish
Not surprisingly, I have about a million VIB Rouge Beauty Points with Sephora. It's a nice program and if you shop at Sephora, it certainly makes sense to sign of for their generous rewards program.
Often, I just take a pass on whatever is being offered when I checkout; who knows why? The last time I made a purchase, something finally did appeal. Marc Jacobs Ulta Skinny Blacquer Gel Eye Crayon had the teeniest, tiniest tip I'd ever seen. Yes please do give me one of those.
What I loved about using it was the level of control I had. It is nearly impossible for me to line my inner upper and lower lid with a liquid liner, without somehow getting it in my eye. Not. Pretty.
With the use of this tiny pointed pencil, I was able to achieve the "doe eyed" look I covet, handily. The trick is to line both the lid, especially the inner most corner and the upper waterline and then connect it after flaring out beyond the eye, with a full sweep underneath to the inner most corner. Hard to describe, but this should give you the idea:
The problem unfortunately with the Marc Jacobs Eye Crayon, is that it both ran and faded, leaving me with a gloppy mess in the corner of my eye and no liner on my lid.
Oh well. I had never saw a pencil that skinny and didn't think I would again but dreams do come true! There it was front and center with the newest offerings at CVS in the Maybelline section.
Certain beauty brands and products are emblazoned in my childhood brain because they were favored by my Mom; Nivea Lotion, Dove Soap, Finesse Shampoo and Conditioner, Arpege, and Maybelline Eyebrow Pencils.
In my family, vanity skipped a generation. My obsessions are more closely aligned with my grandmother Connie. My mom is naturally pretty, shied away from the sun and had great skin. She literally could be coiffed and out the door in 10 minutes. Sister Loren is not that far behind in a pinch. Me??? Uh...no.
I always loved the smell of Nivea products. I truly have seen a difference using their Skin Firming Moisturizer, and no, I don't give a whit about whatever chemical combination they brewed up that make it effective on my knees and upper arms. It works. Period.
We didn't have a cold Northeast winter, though this spring was unseasonably chilly. I was surprised during a recent pedicure when it was pointed out how incredibly dry my legs were. No matter how much she slathered, they still looked distressingly reptilian.
Fortunately, CVS and Sephora are just a few steps from Cozy Nails in Greenwich. I knew immediately where I was headed next.
After perusing the skin lotion aisle, I settled on Nivea Extended Moisture Body Lotion for extremely dry skin, that promises 48 Hours of hydrated skin. I would have been content with 24 hours, but sometimes more is more.
Can I tell you how much I love this lotion? First of all, the first pump and whiff always brings me back to my childhood. Isn't it wonderful how aligned smell is with memory? It has just the texture I prefer; rich, gel like and instantly absorbed. And it gets better; it plumps, totally alleviated my dry skin and made every inch of my body feel like a silk sheet. I can't believe how soft my own skin is to my touch.
This is drugstore beauty at its best; affordable and totally effective. Mom loves it too. So will you...
Travelo Refillable Perfume Atomizer Price Varies from $9.99 to $19.99. Google!
I adore perfume and would no more consider leaving the house without it on then I would my panties. The trouble is, no matter how fine the fragrance, and my current love Diana Vreeland's Devastatingly Chic is way up there, nothing lasts on me.
This brought me to the conundrum of finding an atomizer that actually worked, without my precious perfume dissipating into thin air...who needs a devastatingly chic smelling handbag? Not me... I have purchased several purse refill atomizers from Sephora, one from CVS and a lovely looking finely cut crystal one on from Amazon. Same gig, everytime.
My blogging juju aligned nicely with a reach out from the team at 3D Sales & Marketing who wanted to know if I was interested in trying Travalo's, all aluminum, TSA approved, leak proof refillable atomizer, with a patented Genie-S pump system that guarantees no air exposure.
I was at Sephora recently and spotted Givenchy's very lovely Ombre CoutureWaterproof Cream Eyeshadow, available in 10 subtle shades.It occurred to me, that I have never used a cream eye shadow on my lids or crease. Why, I have no earthly idea. Probably, because powder shadow simply dominates the category.
I first tried Nude Plumetis #14 on my lid. I was amazed how nicely it glided over my existing makeup and how instantly refreshed and alert I looked. I loved the texture and how it created a fresh canvas and what looked like more lid to work with.
As I scraped to the bottom of my 4th HourGlass Mineral Veil Travel Primer, I realized, I might have to rethink this strategy. I love the HourGlass Primer, I do, but I have yet to make the leap to the $52 full size bottle. Instead, I dribble along at $18 a pop.
This week TotalBeauty did a roundup on the 10 Best Drugstore Primers. I like TB's roundup's, because they are based on the the aggregates of scores provided by readers who provide feedback. I rarely take the time to write reviews on websites like Sephora, MakeupAlley or TotalBeauty, but I'm ever grateful for those who do.
Nothing really struck my fancy from the drugstore lot, so I dug a little further and found a another TotalBeauty roundup that was not predicated on my price, the 11 Best Primers. I was fascinated to see that Maybelline's Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser, for $6.99 was better rated than my beloved HourGlass Mineral Veil, despite being 7x less expensive.
