Today, I have for you a topic many shoppers tend to ignore: email subscriptions and loyalty accounts. Yes, almost every store ever has them, and yes, they seem very spammy and annoying (and they absolutely can be), but they can also be invaluable.
Case in point: I just saved 15%, received three free samples, a birthday gift, and an award gift all at the same time on my Sephora stop just yesterday. That means four full-sized products and three samples for the measly price of my one hair purchase. And I had to do nothing but give them a phone number.
Now, like I said, handing out phone numbers and emails can be bothersome. No one wants to be spammed with daily emails (sometimes even hourly) declaring sale after sale after sale. Yet these can also be useful when you are in the market for a certain product. My solution? Make a completely separate shopping email. Use a straightforward ID that you can comfortably spell to cashiers and is preferably not your full name. In about five minutes, you will have an organized and easy place to accumulate all of your accounts and emails without tainting your work or personal addresses.
Especially for beauty and fashion lovers, I absolutely urge you to make this tiny, free effort for your favorite brands and suppliers. I will shamelessly admit that I have dozens including Sephora, Ulta, MAC, Urban Decay, Too Faced, MUFE, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales…The least you will get out if is a nice sign-up bonus and/or sample, and the best is a lifetime of savings.
Morning, beauty lovers! It is such a gorgeous summer day here by the marina that I feel it appropriate to rave about yet another favorite in my beauty bag: NYX Butter Gloss.
NYX Butter Gloss, $5
Now, anyone who puts anything on their face on a daily basis probably knows about this gem of a brand and its many wonderful products. NYX thrives on the art of duping existing formulas and selling them on a much more reasonable price point, and we love them for it. This particular product, the ever-popular Butter Gloss, could be a dupe for many brands, but I like to use it as a backup for my favorite lip gloss of all time: Buxom Full-On Lip Cream.
Let me detour here for a second and give a quick overview of this incredible product. Buxom Lip Cream comes in a sleek, durable tube in two sizes (+1, I personally only buy the smallest size of any lip product for easy transport). As the name suggests, it goes on thick and creamy (+1) and begins to tingle almost immediately. This is supposedly an indication of “plumping action,” but as a rising surgeon, let me please disclose my professional cynicism toward any claims of this sort. Nonetheless, I enjoy the tingling. The color payout is very good (+1, see image above for my personal favorite, White Russian), and stays on longer than you want even through continuous sipping of hot caffeinated beverages (+1). Thus, with an inevitable -1 for the $20 price tag, Buxom gets a cushy +3total from me.
Classic NYX Butter Gloss Colors
Okay, back to NYX. Unlike its wallet-draining competition, this brand always gets the pricing right. At $5 a piece, I am able to buy four for the price of one Buxom and distribute them across my bags, pockets, and vehicles to my heart’s content (+1). In addition, NYX has produced an impressive arsenal of colors since its induction (+1, see image for the original 12). My personal favorite here is Creme Brûlée, of which I own about 5, with Madeleine being a distant second. You can see in the picture below that they offer very different looks, with Creme Brûlée being a more pink neutral that matches my natural lips very well versus Madeleine staining slightly darker and browner for a more apparent look.
Fortune Cookie, Creme Brûlée, and Madeleine
Now, I find that while NYX still goes on thick and glossy (+1), it does produce a slight stickiness under certain conditions (-1), though this is not often. And the initial pigment distribution, while delightful (+1), does wear off much faster than Buxom (-1). So if you plan on trekking through wind with your hair down and ready to stick to your face, or continuously sipping hot beverages while praying that your lips stay presentable, perhaps skip the NYX (or really lip gloss altogether for the first scenario). Oh, and for the “plumping” addicts: don’t forget there is no tingling with this one.
And thus, the final sum for NYX Butter Gloss is +1 for price, +1 for color choice, +1 for application, -1 for stickiness, +1 for pigment, and -1 for durability = +3 total.
That means a tie for NYX vs. Buxom, which probably explains why I keep purchasing them both.
…and armed with over a year of other new products!
I apologize for the brief hiatus that involved some of the most stressful months of my life, but c’est la vie on the lower steps of the long ladder of medicine. Thankfully, increasing limits on time mean increasing pressure to cut down my routine to the best products possible. Thus, in the spirit of the time constraints on the modern worker, I present to you a modern remedy: dry shampoo.
Dove Dry Shampoo, $3
I previously had a passing tryst with Dove Dry Shampoo that I stole from my sister in high school, during the dry winter months when my hair got overly shiny in a day. See, at the time, I found the idea of this convenient, root-only and wash-free method of hair care life-changing. However, looking back, I simply liked this product for being yet the only representative of its kind in my life and not because it stands out in any way from its competition. I felt that, at a low price point (+1), Dove did a decent job temporarily clearing shine from my roots (+1); however, one bottle barely made it two weeks (-1) and it left some residue in my hair (-2 for being the most abhorrent quality of dry shampoos). Thus, I would give it a sad total of -1.
Now, my newest go-to product all these years later is completely random find that has since gained popularity: Batiste Instant Hair Refresh.
Batiste Dry Shampoo, $4
I met Batiste in the unrelated aisles of some wholesale beauty shop, and I will shamelessly admit that the only reason I picked it up was the promise of a coconut scent (I sternly believe that this aroma of the heavens is dismally underrepresented in the beauty world). Plus, at less than $4, it wasn’t a huge gamble. Well, my darlings, that little gamble paid off large. Once you have the handle of the shake-and-spray technique from a proper distance, Batiste does a great job covering the whole scalp (+1) and gives you piece of mind for the whole day (+1). The one thing I dislike is still the awful dandruff-like residue I sometimes get if I spray or brush just slightly wrong, which seems to be the bane of all dry shampoo existence (-1). Still, given the low price (+1) and of course the amazing scent (+1), that nevertheless gives a satisfactory total of +3.
Well, I’m off to spray my roots and head into a lovely 16-hour shift at the ICU. Watch for the many more beauty posts to come this week!
Hello again, everyone! I will be starting the year off with a review of one of the biggest trends right now: brow liner.
To be honest, I have never been very into bold or thick eyebrows; they usually look too harsh to me. I also do not love overly defined brows and prefer a natural look. However, I find that shaping your brows gently just to convey that subtle “put-together” feel can make a significant difference in your overall look.
Now, if you are blonde like me, or have light brows, you already know the pain of trying to find a liner that is neither dark nor brassy. My hair is currently a cool, ashy dark blonde, and every single “blonde” or “taupe” pencil I have tried comes off–if not brown, which is 90% of time–borderline orange. Some brands that I can list off the top of my head for you to not even bother considering are: MAC, Urban Decay, Stila, Sephora, Make Up For Ever, andany drugstore brand.Please feel free to prove me wrong.
Though I got seriously discouraged after facing strike after strike in the higher quality brands, I decided to try to pursue the elusive Anastasia Beverly Hills brow pencil. The reason I could not try this right away was that they are always out of stock at my local Sephora, but I managed to finally snag it at Macy’s. And my verdict? Maybe a 3/5. The consistency is decent (unlike many) and the color is the best out of the aforementioned brands, but to me, it is still brassy and a bit dry. I also tried their blonde Brow Gel, which is simply a sparkly golden mess.
The one higher-end brand that I had left to test before going to the next step was Too Faced, whose liner a trusted friend swears by, but I could not find their brow liner anywhere. I am not sure if they are discontinued.
Anyway, I then proceeded to dive into obscure cheap brands that I could afford to blow money on, because I figured I had nothing left to lose if my only other option was to settle for Anastasia. This turned out to be my smartest decision thus far. I found two high-rated brands, Prestige and Essence, on Ulta’s website (not in store though), and as they were around $4 and $2 respectively, I ordered them both in their lightest Blonde shade.
Prestige Brow Liner, Prestige Brow Gel, and Essence Brow Liner
Right off the bat, the liners are extremely similar in packaging, size, and presentation. I like that they both come with a little brow brush, which never hurts to use. I also received a Prestige Brow Gel as a nice bonus.
Prestige on left, Essence on right
Here are what the colors look like. This is exactly how they came since I have not sharpened either of them yet, though clearly Essence needs some of that sharpener (can you already tell which one I like more?). The main thing to note here is that, although their colors are similar, Prestige has sparkles in it!! This is essentially a dealbreaker for me–I hated it in MAC’s liners and so many of the gels, too. Why would anyone want glittery brows on a daily basis? If not for the sparkles, I actually thought Prestige’s color looked more taupe and promising than the slightly warmer Essence.
Well, my dears, I should have learned after all those trials: no matter how neutral a brow pencil looks, it will always look warmer on you. When I put both brands on, the winner became glaringly clear.
Prestige on left, Essence on rightEssence on top, Prestige on bottom, after an hour on my hand
As you can see, Prestige is so brassy, it hurts. It is more like a bad shimmery bronze eyeliner than a brow liner. I have tried using it a few times to give it a second chance, but it only gets oranger as the day wears on. And it is longer lasting and buildable (see above pic), so it looks darker as well. 2/5
On the other hand, Essence looks more like a stain than a liner, and appears more natural on blonde brows than any other pencil, cream, or gel that I have tried. The color first seems too brown when you overapply it, but it spreads out and ends up looking the best on. The one con is that it is not long wearing in terms of staying put in a sharp outline, but I am fine with this since, as I’ve stated, I prefer a more natural look anyway. Plus, I strongly suspect that this could be improved with primer. And at less than $2, I don’t know how you can beat the performance. 4/5
Bottom Line: Essence > Anastasia in my opinion, and I would not recommend Prestige at all.
Hope everyone is off to a good start on their new year!
If you frequent beauty blogs (especially a specifically talented vlogger who swears by this stuff), you have no doubt come across this Maybelline foundation as a recurring drugstore mention. I know I did, hence, as always, I put the hype to the test–over the course of an entire semester.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Foundation
Even going to the store to pick up a stick, I already had trouble choosing a shade to match my light/medium skin. The color selection is extremely limited (-1, there were maybe 6 or so in store), which for me already takes away from 50% of the foundation’s use: i.e. evening skin tone. However, in the name of blogging, I picked out 190 Nude and carried on.
Applicator
The foundation itself is typically sized with a unique container as shown above. If you’re weirded out by the fact that nothing on there actually reads “foundation,” you’re probably onto something. I would have had no idea without blogger tips, especially since there is a concealer that comes in an identical but smaller package.
Anyway, I actually like the applicator tip for its ease of use (+1). The twist mechanism is interesting, but it was not difficult to use and I did not feel that it was eating up the foundation. In fact, I would say that even the very last layer that I just finished using the other day got out when I twisted down enough. I usually chose to swirl bits of the liquid directly onto my face using the applicator and then even it out as I wished with my buffing brush. Overall, a no-mess application (+1).
Now for performance. Here is where the review begins to slope downward. Even from the first use, I knew the foundation was way too liquidy and sheer (-1) to be anywhere near Holy Grail status for me. I usually had to spread a thin, runny layer all over my face, wait for it to dry, dab another light layer over the spots I really wanted covered, wait some more, and then cake on finishing powder to make sure I stayed matte and put. Even then, coverage was medium at best (-1) and I was shiny within hours (-1). Now, I by no means have dry skin, so I’m not speaking to those of you who do, but I’m also no oil well. My skin is mostly normal with some oilier areas, but this foundation makes it look like shine central without powder. Yet again, in the name of beauty and completeness, I endured three months with this thing.
Also, to return to the color problem: yes, the color did end up looking a bit dark and too beige on me, but this was easier to fix by blending it into my neck area and using concealer and highlighting powder in conjunction with it. Still, it’s not a great color.
All in all, I do not really recommend this foundation unless you have extremely dry skin, want light coverage, and one of the shades luckily happens to match you well. My final rating is -1 for limited color choice, +1 for ease of use, +1 for cleanliness, -1 for texture, -1 for coverage, and –1 for shine for a grand total of -2. Ouch–but hey, we have to be picky when it comes to what we put on our face every day.
As a beauty lover, my earliest obsession was probably nail polish. Starting as a toddler stealing mommy’s top coat to now owning my own mini-salon in my bathroom (which I definitely recommend for both budget and time savings!), I have always seen nails as being a significant detail that can express personality as well as complete a look.
Unfortunately, I also inherited my grandma’s teeny hands with the shortest fingers possible. What that means is small nail beds and little work space for a nail artist. Did this stop me from experimenting with everything anyway? No way! Did it affect my eventual preferences and maybe my slight love affair with acrylics? Indeed.
By now, I know what works for me and what definitely does not. For winter, one of my favorite designs is a baby French with spakly variations–classic, yet fun and holiday-spirited. Here are some that I love:
French with metallic lace detailDiagonal French acrylics with glitter detail
This time, I was undecided as to what design I wanted, so I just went to the salon and got some simple French acrylics to hide my winter-ridden nail beds:
My simple pink French manicure
Now, I was a little dissatisfied with the thick white tips (I like them thin!) so I filed off some length after this picture. Then, I decided I wanted to go full-on iridescent glitter with a protective top coat, so I sprinkled on some Nail Art glitter over a gel base, applied two Gelish top coats, and UV-set those sparkly babes right at home in my bathroom salon (maybe a total cost of $1 and about 15 min). The result?
My gel-set glitter French pinky (same one from above)
As you can see, much healthier color and definitely winter-spirited–goes well with all your holiday parties as well!
I just received this beauty in the mail after ordering on their Black Friday sale (still on, plus free shipping–link below!) in my search for the perfect purple liner. Shipping takes so long when you’re this excited!
I ordered the color Retrograde, a dark, shimmery indigo shade. It came in a colorful little box (pictured above). The weird thing is that it opens on what I thought would be the “cap” side–i.e. the smaller one without writing–and apparently this is the liquid-containing side, which did make me feel a bit cheated compared to the nice long size of the pen (-1). But what can you do, it’s Urban Decay.
Super thin tip!
Anyway, onto the performance. You will notice right away that the tip is extremely thin–much thinner than Lancome’s Artliner or really any liner I use. I’m not sure about whether or not I like this yet, but at least you know that it will be easy to draw a fine line (+1). You can also see that it is a satisfyingly dark, sparkly color that is, in my opinion, finally a neutral purple (+1).
Extremely fine lines. Tiny hands for scale.
I first messed around with it a little bit by drawing on my hand. The pattern above is entirely on one go of a tiny amount of liquid, which is why it slightly fades off on the right, but let’s take a minute to appreciate the thinness of the lines. And let me tell you–I have minuscule child hands. This thing is fineee.
Retrograde on top lid, over black liner. Excuse the harsh flash and lack of makeup.
Now, I didn’t have any eyeshadow, mascara, primer, powder, concealer, or really anything on, so please excuse my shiny discolored skin. I did want to give as accurate a picture as possible, and I think you can reasonably perceive the darkness and shimmer. Keep in mind that I applied Retrograde over Artliner in Noir, hence it is probably looking even darker than it really is. However, it is easily as richly pigmented by itself (+1) and easy to apply (+1). One thing I did notice is the slightly long dry time (over a minute, -1), but it could be my bias due to the lightning-fast Artliner or just that I applied over another layer of liner. I also love that the purple sheen brings out the green in my hazel eyes and the blonde in my hair.
Finally, I used my magic Bi-Facil eye makeup remover to wipe it off, and although this is “waterproof” (which has never been a positive feature in my experience), it thankfully wiped off just as clean as any other liner or mascara (+1). Now, I can’t confirm whether it’s the skill of the liner or the awesomeness of the remover (likely the latter), but you can be assured that the combo will work.
Now for the exciting part! This liner does sell for $19 on UrbanDecay.com (and likewise in retailers like Sephora), but it is currently on sale for $10 (as is every other one of the 11 colors)! You can find the retailer page here, and if you order now, you will be mailed a coupon up to $5000!
So the final score? Size deception (-1) + finesse (+1) + color (+1) + pigmentation (+1) + application (+1) + dry time (-1) + easy clean (+1) + special price (+1) = a whopping +4. I will definitely be ordering a few more colors with my new 20% coupon, so look for an update soon!
You read correctly–bloggers have been going crazy about this Monistat gel (for which I still do not completely understand the intended purpose) as a dupe for the popular Smashbox Photofinish Primer, so I put the hype to the test.
Let me start by noting that I do not use Smashbox primer, nor have I ever bought it. I have tried it multiple times in trial sizes, and it’s ok, but it did not do enough for me to justify either the cost or the effort of putting it on. With this hype, though, I figured $6 was worth a retry. (Also, I have combination skin with zero need for extra moisture, hence your dry skin experience may be different.)
Monistat Gel
When you first squeeze out a pump, you will get excited. Wow, this thing really looks like Smashbox. You will analyze the clear blob, maybe take a careful sniff. Hey, it also smells like it. Then, with a deep breath, you will finally pat it on. Success–it feels like it too!
You will then continue with your makeup routine, maybe some concealer, some foundation, some powder. You will tell yourself that it basically looks as Smashbox would, and, feeling like the smart shopper you are, go ahead and go for the well-deserved self-pat on the back. You just saved $30!
Yet, deep down, you’ll know something is off. Maybe it’s the slightly cloudier way it dries. The sheen it leaves before you go for the powder. Or just the fact that you are putting the #1 name in vaginal creams on your face. Whichever it is, you’ll begin to see a little runniness as hours pass, and by the end of the day, you will be questioning whether you had ever put on primer that morning at all. Was it all a dream?
Half-serious stories aside, this gel was somewhat less great than Smashbox on the performance side (more runny, less durable -1), and also broke me out a bit (-2!). It didn’t do much in the way of smoothing anything either, but then again, neither does Photofinish. To me, the only possible worth is that my undereye concealer did stay on somewhat longer with this under it, so we’ll go ahead and donate +1.
An okay dupe if you love Smashbox and will forgo a few performance points, but not for me.
1) $185. I think expecting perfection is justified at that price tag.
2) No heat settings. Getting really annoying that my old straightener had 100 of them and I can’t even do hair maybe that is 5% wet with this one.
3) It’s not that special. Does it straighten faster than my oldie? Yes, by a couple swipes. Does it straighten faster than nice new irons for less than half the price? Doubtful. And does it do anything impressive besides heat up lightning-fast? Well…not really.
4) Oh, and did I say $185?
Went from 3 stars to 2, and for that, went back home. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great iron and cheers if cost isn’t an issue to you, but to me it is definitely not worth the extra dollars–I prefer to think of it as $185 off a new bag instead.
I was going to wait to do any Black Friday posts until the weekend deals were over, but I am almost positive that this Lancome set–with FULL-SIZE mascara and liner–takes the cake out of any find in terms of value, quality, and convenience. Plus, you get a choice of mascara between the Hypnose Drama (pictured) and Definicils.
Lancome Hypnose Mascara Set, $29
Note: While pasting the above picture, I found out that Nordstrom now has them on sale for $29 here–hurry while you can!
Now, I may just slightly be biased because I ended up getting this as a complimentary gift with my Macy’s purchase, but it would have been worth every cent of the $29 that they had it for as a doorbuster for the following reasons:
Lancome Artliner Eyeliner, $30.50
(1) The Artliner: Anyone who knows beauty knows that the Lancome Artliner in Noir is simply top of the line. At $30.50 for the full size, it already overcompensates for the cost of the set–need you further reason? I have bought this liner multiple times (on sale for $20-25) before, because it is just that good–never flakes, perfect applicator, long-lasting color, and extremely easy removal. The only thing keeping it from Holy Grail status is the color (it is very matte and I sometimes prefer a blacker, shinier black), but honestly, it is the most reliable everyday liner I have ever tried. I ran out of my last one just recently, so this would have already been a no-brainer buy for me.
Bi-Facil Double-Action Magic
(2) The Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover: Speaking of Holy Grails, this is one. Oh. My. Goodness. I had been meaning to try this because it is quite the superstar in online reviews and I hate, hate, HATE eye makeup removal. It pulls, stings, takes a long time, and by the end of it my skin is red and puffy around two beaten black eyes. But with this travel-size gift from the beauty gods, I think I can finally let myself wear mascara more often. It got both my eyeliner and mascara in one swipe–with a napkin! (Shh, I had no cotton on hand.) Plus, the name has a pun, and how often do you get that in brands like Lancome?
Disclaimer: not my picture, but too accurate not to post.
(3) The Hypnose Drama Mascara: Much better than expected! This was basically the cherry on top of the dynamic duo above. I had no idea if Hypnose or Definicils was the better mascara, but I picked this because of the unique shape. No regrets! It has a nice consistency, easy applicator, and dries fairly quickly. Did I mention it goes for $27.50 by itself?
So there you have it. An amazing buy for those of you needing to restock eyeliner, mascara, or even this Holy Grail makeup remover. Doctor out.
Vogue, M.D. 