So Sad To See It Go

  My most favorite foundation and overall favorite make-up line, Stephane Marais, is no longer for sale. This means I must begin another flawless foundation quest… In the meantime, you can snatch up what remains on ebay - while it lasts.

Best and Worst: Eye Make-Up Remover

If you’re love a smokey eye or blackest black mascara, then, like me, you know what hell it is to get it off at night… or sometimes the next morning. I have favorites and I guess what you would call “hateorits” in the eye make-up remover department. Starting with: 

• Best:

Klorane Soothing Eye Make-Up Remover With Cornflower Extract

Pros: Gets it off. Gets it all off. Gentle and completely non-oily. 

Cons: Currently not available in the US (you can order it on drugstore.com). Gets the “funny eye make-up remover” smell eventually

   

  

 

      

 Vichy Thermal Spa Water Eye-Make-Up Remover

Pros: Gets most of it off, gentle, non-oily, no funny smell, and totally available at CVS.   Cons: Gets most of it off.   

• Worst 

 M.A.C.  Pro Eye Make-Up Remover

Pros: If you are a stage performer or drag queen, this will take everything off… including glue.   Cons: Feels like you washed your face in an oil slick, and will continue to feel that way for days. Plus you’d have to be a pro to but this product at $17.00

   

 

And last, and unfortunately least, I must say something that pains me… because the absolute worst eye make-up remover award goes to my beloved: Neutrogena. Unfortunately their eye make-up remover doesn’t stand the test of time like their skin products. Oh well, no one can be perfect.  I don’t know how they can call this “oil-free” eye make-up remover when in fact it feels like “nothing but oil.”

(* In a pinch: use lotion or cream as eye make-up remover when you have none!)

 

Best Skin Care Line

I have wishy-washy skin… Sometimes it behaves and looks radiant and other times I feel like it’s a blackhead bonanza. When I was in puberty is was like whitehead heaven. But over the course of 15 years of unreliable and inconsistent skin problems, I have found that there is one brand I can always turn to to clear up the problem:

 

 

 That’s right. Look no further. For over 10 years I have religiously used Neutrogena products to keep my skin spazes in check. Breaking out? Try the RapidClear. Aging? Try the VisiblyFirm. Both? It’s HealthySkin you need. Personally, I’ve been using the latter for the last 5 years… and only when I deviate from my blessed Neutrogena regimen does my skin freak out.

 

 

 

 

Besides, who doesn’t love a reasonably priced

fabulous product? 

How To: Look Instantly Sun Kissed

I did a two-year professional make-up school and learned a trick or two about how the experts cheat. For a super natural sun kissed tan, start off by keeping a foundation that is at least 4 or 5 shades darker than your skin tone. If you are very dark skinned, try something with an orangey hue to it. I personally use a professional stage make-up stick foundation by Mehron.

 

While technically it’s supposed to only be available to professionals, you can order it online here. Trust me when I say the dark brown works on everybody, it’s just a question of how much you use. Otherwise any foundation that’s significantly darker will do. The key is to use less in the winter when you are pale and more in the summer when you are tan:

 

1. Rub two fingers across the top of the foundation stick (just put a tiny dob if you’re using a liquid) and lightly tap it across your cheekbones, starting at the top and moving in towards your nose.  
2. Tap the areas just above your temple on the right and left side of your forehead
3. Lightly tap the bridge of your nose. (This is to mimic the way the sun actually hits your face)You should look a little strange at this point, so don’t freak out. 
4. Wash any excess foundation off your hands and towel dry. 
5. Begin to blend the color from your cheeks up across your cheekbones, rubbing gently and dragging your fingers in an upward motion. If you feel like the color is way too dark, just use a sponge or foundation brush to wipe of the excess and blend at the same time. 
6. Be sure to blend “down” on the lower half of cheekbone and up on the “upper” half. 
7. Use your fingers to blend the two spots on your forehead down towards your temples. This should mimic the way the sun naturally tans your forehead.
8. Use your fingers to blend the color on your nose.
9. Dab a little blush on the apples of your cheek.
10. You’re done. 

There are many variations to how this can work, for example mix hydrating cream with the color before applying for an even more subtle and sheer effect. You can also use the same very dark foundation mixed with some face lotion or cream (about 70% lotion to 30% color, just mix it on your fingers) to give your face a little extra color, not unlike a self-tanner. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that one make-up product has many many uses, so mix and blend in a way that works for your skin tone. 

In Need of Volume?

This particular product didn’t work for me because I have very thick hair, but for those of you in need of a serious volume boost, you may want to consider Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Hair Care Collection: 

 

 I felt like it gave me too much of a “fluffy” texture, but my finer-haired friends were all very fired up about the instantaneous lock lift. With shampoo starting at $18 for 8.4 oz, Kielh’s is a more reasonable alternative to forementioned hairdresser favorite, Crede.

Super Deal: Best Lipgloss

I have tried every lipgloss known to man. Literally. All of them. From Chanel to Lancome to Clinique to Revlon to Wet ‘ Wild to Cover Girl and I could keep going but I will spare you.  My most recent test venture was a tube of Philosophy Raspberry Sorbet that I bought on sale at Sephora; overall it was a nice lip gloss but I ended up losing it like so very many tubes of lipgloss and at $10 a pop plus the line at the mall I wasn’t exactly ready to re-stock. Besides, no matter what I try I always end up going back to my staple… the reliable, the affordable, the available at CVS which is oh-so-convenient - Loreal Color Juice.

 

 At $7.59 a pop and minus the line at the mall, it’s by far my favorite lipgloss. Never to sticky, never to slimy, and available in every color under the sun. Why argue if it’s drugstore cheap and good? 

How to: Have Flawless Cheekbones

Do you ever feel like your blush or your bronzer won’t blend all the way, leaving a line or blotchy areas? It’s a problem I used to have all of the time, especially with dry winter skin, which sucks because I am a big fan of blush for a little freshness. 

 When I discovered Smashbox Soft Lights  I knew that I would never have to do the “am I even” mirror dance under the halogen light ever again.  The color I recommend for most skin types is called “Tint” and has a light peachy pinky hue. Sweep it over your cheekbones as a last step (can be used instead of powder to set) and watch the lines magically blend away. You’ll note that your cheekbones now look perfectly sunkissed and blended in every way without being sparkly. Yes! 

Perfect Hair Shampoo and Conditioner

If you’ve got unmanageable hair, fly-aways, dry ends or any of the other problems that typically occur from over treating or over styling your locks, Crede shampoo and treatment conditioner is the way to go. This ultra concentrated formula only needs to be used every 2-3 days (3-4 if you can make it) for maximum effect. We should all know by now anyway that hair always looks better when it’s 2nd day dirty and this intensive hydrating duo from Japan will leave your hair silky, smooth, and totally fly-away free. 

 

 Pro: Keeping up a regular regimen keeps hair in tip-top condition, even through major styling trauma.

Con: It’s pricey as far as shampoo goes, with the bulk bottles going at over $80.00 a pop. It can also get a little heavy if you have fine hair; those looking for a major volume boost may want to consider Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Shampoo and Conditioner.

How To: Get Super Straight Hair

 

If you use a flat iron to straighten your hair, or just a lot of heat appliances in general,  this is THE product that you must know about: I.D. Care. This Japanese-made “heat silk lotion” was originally recommended by my hair dresser and comes from the makers of my favorite shampoo and conditioner: Crede. Rub a tiny amount all through hair, focusing on ends, and use any heat-based appliance for instantly shiny, ubersoft, ultrastraight, perfect hair. I absolutely promise it works, and at around $16 for 6 ounces, this product is totally worth it.