Product Review - Marie Veronique

This is clearly a line that was born in Berkeley, CA and should have stayed there.  But the founder must have gotten married and wandered off to Mill Valley for a time, and promptly did Mill Valley-esque stuff like having inconsistent store hours and full appointment-only days etc.  Eg, became a hobby business.  Somehow, that didn't compromise the quality of her products, which a small, cult-like following devoured via her website, which despite being French and in Mill Valley did remain open.  Now MV is back in Berkeley and the product like has been re-vamped a bit.  (What happened to the miraculous once-in-a-lifetime turn-back-the-clock red algae stuff????)

Fortunately, MV has retained one of the best one-bottle-stop products I've ever tried, the Rejuvenating Face Oil.   It's loaded with anti-oxidants from multiple sources, particularly seed oils; mega-omegas, including from all-star sea buckthorn; and skin-balancing oils including argan and rosemary.  Plus it moisturizes and hydrates like crazy.

That combination makes it a terrific choice, in theory, for those seasonal changeovers when just sort of.....look like crap.  Breaking out while your face is flaking off sort of thing.  Plus it's organic, vegan, cruelty free, paraben free, etc. etc.

PACKAGING:  Brown glass apothecary bottle with dropper.  PLUS.  Glass, despite being a hazard in the bathroom, poses fewer toxicity risks than does glass (and won't interact with active ingredients).  The tint protects the contents from degradation owing to exposure to light, also a good thing, albeit somewhat superfluous for most of us since we keep our bottles in the cabinet once they're out of the box RIGHT?  If my products aren't packaged in a vacuum-sealed bottle with a pump dispenser, which keeps the product at its freshest, I like a dropper for hygiene and precise application.  Plus a bottle with a dropper allows the user to see how much is left (and get all the product out, a major gripe that most of us have with vacuum sealed opaque containers).

TEXTURE:  It's an oil.  Do I have to explain what that feels like??  OK fine a medium to light textured oil.  Happy?

USAGE:  Depends on how dry you are, and how fast your skin drinks up the product.  Personally, I like to use a hydrating mist before applying oils, which limits the amount I need to use.  Start with one drop for face, one for neck, one for the back of hands.  I put two on my chest as well.  I used a slightly bigger drop size at night than during the day, because I was applying sunscreen on top.

MIRACLE INGREDIENTS:  Too long to list, but topped by raspberry seed, blackberry seed, sea buckthorn, meadowfoam, kiwi seed, and marula oils.

THE VERDICT:  Does it work?  It does.  I used the oil instead of my usual arsenal for two weeks, keeping a retinol only.  I will say I immediately noticed less time in the bathroom.  Beyond that, once I got used to using less in the morning than I was tempted to use (here in Texas, you have to watch it or everything slides right off your face during the day), I liked the cumulative effect better than my typical daily anti-oxidant and hydration combo.  For one thing, my skin felt a lot more hydrated, and that the effect lasted longer than my usual product. For another, and this is one of those hyper-subjective words that means nothing and everything, but I felt...glowier.  

The Korean Influence

I'm getting a lot of accusations about being influenced by the Korean trend lately.  Specifically, the trend to follow a regime popular in Korea, eg using about as many steps in one's skincare routine as it takes to kick a hard-core meth habit.  Nay! Say I....they're imitating me!  Kidding of course.  I have, however, long been frustrated by the inability to find products that do as much as I'd like them to do:  unwrinkle, brighten, firm, hydrate, moisturize, protect from environmental damage....you get the picture.  So as much as it may appear that I enjoy beginning my bedtime skin routine while I'm still in the office or at dinner, that is not in fact the case.

Some ingredients are fiendishly difficult to mix together, either due to their inherent chemical instability or because they just don't play well together in the sandbox.  Some are most effective when applied in the morning, others at night.  Some are most effective applied to bare, dry skin, while others kind of boost up the effectiveness of other products that you've just applied.

To wit:  Vitamin C, one of my top picks for anti-aging and anti-oxidant protection, is best applied on bare skin in the morning.  Why?  Because it's extremely strong, so it's hard to gauge how it will react to something already sitting on your skin, particularly something with active ingredients.  BUT once it's in, it's in, so you can (cautiously) layer other stuff on top.  Even better, it boosts the power of your sunscreen, so all other factors aside, it's a natural for day.  Similarly, retinol and related derivatives are all-stars in the anti-aging retinue, but are the sandbox bullies of skincare.  They need to go first, and should only come out at night.  (Certain evidence suggests that using retinol during sun exposure can increase one's risk for skin cancer.....eeek!)  AND retinol is notoriously unstable in the bottle, because it starts to break down when exposed to the elements.  Look for airtight packaging like a pump or a tube.  Brief aside, if you're the type who likes to slather, a pump is terrific because it will keep you in line.  More is NOT more with a lot of active ingredients.  Abuse retinol and you'll wind up with a red, scaly mess of a face.

Now, there ARE a few products that are basically one-bottle-stop miracles.  I've been testing out two, and will review shortly, (I swear, not in three months!)

The Holy Grail

I've found it.  Finally.  (And no I'm not using this quest as an excuse for not posting in, like, forever.  I'm just.....overwhelmed.  Sorry).

So I've gone on quite a bit about my travel schedule, and yes you're probably all sick of hearing about the trials and tribulations that air travel plus lack of space in suitcase plus changing weather plus differing mineral content in water blah blah blah can wreak upon my already difficult hair.  When you didn't care about my hair in the first place, you care about YOUR hair.  We all have the same issues with travel, though you straight-haired ladies probably don't come out looking like a roadie from Motley Crue like I do if you're not cautious.

I'm always trying to un-weight my suitcase, which comprises 90% beauty products at any second.  Carrying shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, de-frizzer, straightener, and curl cream is at direct odds with that goal.  My dream is ONE BOTTLE that controls frizz, defines curls, and maintains straight while not drying or crunching.  Until last month, I've thought of that as an absurdist fantasy.  But then I got around to trying Living Proof's Perfect Hair Day.

The claims this stuff makes are amazing.  I'd tell you how it works, but they're hiding their secrets with mystery acronyms.  Can't fault them for that, everyone in my industry counts on that trick to charge big fees, its a time honored tradition.  I can say that its resin (volumizing), silicone (smoothing and anti-frizzing) and oil (de-frizzing and conditioning) free, yet they say you'll achieve all of the desired effects at once.  (Cue photo of Jennifer Aniston with typically fab hair).

For me, the real test is whether or not I can actually straighten my bangs, which are the first part of my hair to curl, being the shortest, and keep them straight, while keeping my curls in some semblance of order when they air-dry.  The first time I tried it, I ignored the admonition to skip leave in conditioner, feeling as I do that this would be akin to leaving home without a bra, and to use a small amount, accustomed as I am to interpreting 'small' as 'size of a quarter'.  The first worked out well, since my hair is dry and brittle.  The second?  When they say small, they mean it.  I wound up with product-y looking bangs.  Not good.  On day two, I used half the amount, and found that my bangs dried to a perfect, smooth bounce in less than half the time it normally takes, and STAYED that way through a typically foggy San Francisco day.  Even more miraculously, the rest of my head looked nearly as good as it does when I use my top curl cream.  OK, not saying much, but its a product not a wig.

Downside?  Largest bottle is small, and costs a medium-sized fortune.  Bizarrely, my four product daily routine winds up being more cost effective than cutting down to a one-product regimen.  That being said, for sheer convenience and suitcase lightening, beyond worth it.    

Random Thought Bubble

I was going to post a long, holier-than-thou treatise on how to pack.  Starting with selecting the right suitcase, which should only be a Tumi or a Rimowa.  Yes, yes, who am I to tell you what to do, double platinum status on two different airlines or not.

You're right.  After #usairways did the following to my poor (practically new) Tumi on a recent flight, I'm just going to get my big trap shut.

The Horror that Has a Name

And they're called blackheads.  Gross, right?  Agreed.  Particularly when you can't get rid of them.  But in fact you can manage this little recurring nightmare, and it isn't even that much work.

When I was a teenager (you know, five years ago), I discovered what seemed to be a permanent constellation of blackheads decorating my nose.  I did what any teenager would have done during that particular decade, and assaulted myself with SeaBreeze.  Didn't work, but, attractively, my nose did turn red and peel.

Then, I developed a more sophisticated approach:  I tried sucking them out with sickly blue St. Ives mud masks.  Also didn't work, plus smelled funny.

Years later, Biore came out with the utterly addictive pore strips, which adhere to your nose, and when dry, peel off to reveal the little oxidized oil plugs sticking up from the tape.  Which provide an endless source of rapt fascination, but, oddly, one's nose still appears to have blackheads, despite the offending oil plugs just having been yanked out.  Why?  The pore itself is stretched out, so still looks dark.  Then attracts yet more dirt and grime, starting the cycle all over again.

So does anything actually work?  Sort of, yes.  First, exfoliate religiously; doing so keeps the dead cells from clogging up on the surface of your skin, and allows the turnover and shedding process to move along as it should.  Second, yes, go ahead and use the Biore strips, OR a mud mask (I happen to love Aesop's Parsley Seed mask) but plenty work quite well, look for ingredients like charcoal and kaolin clay.  And of course the epic Borghese mask is always a go-to favorite.  Just make sure to use the mud mask after exfoliating and steaming for best results.  If you use the Biore strips, try doing a gentle chemical exfoliation afterwards, it helps to tighten up the pores, even if temporarily.  Over time, chemical exfoliation can help to improve the appearance of pores more generally, so keep at it even on off weeks.

See?  Not so hard.  And minimal grossness.

That Took Way Too Long

Normally, one hears a lot of complaints about why it took so long to put wheels on suitcases.  I often wonder the same thing myself, usually while refusing to open a baby-blue relic of the pre-wheels era that I vaguely remember using for storage somewhere back in the early 90s.  My father, helpfully, put this giant, hard-sided bad boy into a shipping crate (weight:  14 pounds BEFORE I stored whatever I stored inside its capaciousness) and sent it to my tiny New York City apartment.  Sometimes I reflect on its small, hand-only handle:  who carried this thing, fully-loaded, with '60's weight hairdryer and all, over Chicago-sized snowbanks and through the unremitting hell of O'Hare airport, back in the day?  And why DID it take so long to think to put little wheels on the bottom.....a few thousand years after the wheel was invented??

It was with the same spirit of wonderment that I contemplated the new beauty vending machine in JFK's terminal 7 recently, stashed somewhere next to a Juicy Couture shop and behind an Embers restaurant.  (Digression:  when SFO was renovated, they put in: a Napa Valley Market;  cleverly designed restrooms with enough door swing clearance to allow one to get in while actually carrying a bag and not fall into the toilet plus stall doors that actually lock and sinks with raised dividers between that one can rest one's bag on without risking a soaking plus leaving a budget to actually clean said restrooms; eateries with things that are actually edible; seating that has some relation to human ergonomics.  JFK went from bad to bad.  How do they do that??)

But back to the beauty vending machine.  Despite the G-d awful non-upgrade to the terminal, featuring absolute shit food, filthy non-working bathrooms that one can't use, and nowhere to sit, they did put in this lovely, thoughtful feature, even if they did hide it somewhere totally random.

How many times have each of us forgotten, or run out of, a mission-critical item while in transit, like cleanser?  Or makeup remover?  Or sunscreen?  This machine is stocked with a thoughtfully edited range of medium to high end products that help out the intrepid traveler in virtually any beauty emergency.  Plus just the idea is fab.  I bought a Dermalogica cleanser duo (makeup remover and cleanser), which, despite my not needing either at all, was awesome.  I also violated a major rule of cosmetics shopping, and bought a Kate Somerville sunscreen without reading the ingredients.  While that didn't work out so well (not just oxybenzone, but a whopping amount of oxybenzone, PLUS retinol palmitate.....) it didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the experience overall.  After all, its me that exhorts any and all to read the label before buying, right?  

True Confession

They say that admitting that you have a problem is the first step in recovery.  So here it goes:  I am a non-practicing self-tanner addict.

That wasn't so hard, was it?  Since I may in fact be the ONLY non-practicing self-tanner addict on earth, you've probably never met anyone who suffers from this condition, but just in case, look for these symptoms:

• pale, almost greenish skin that can serve as a rescue beacon at sea
• phobia of actual sun or tanning beds
• existing and expanding stockpile of self-tanners, some expired, that never seem to get used up

Theoretically, the first two points make me an obvious candidate for self-tanner addiction.  And I get that, so I'm a sucker for any two for one special, anything advertised as looking uber natural on super fair skin, anything that a kindergartner can apply.... But why do I stockpile them until they expire, and sometimes well beyond the sell-by date?  

For one thing, most kindergartners are better at applying self tanner than I am.  For another, I can't reach my back, so unless the self tanner is hyper-subtle, I'll look ridiculous.  For a third, I want to walk out the door and go about my day, but you can't put sunscreen on top of any self-tanner that I've encountered.  Finally, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I don't like to skimp on my skincare routine, not even for a day.  Because I'm convinced that even a day will cause me to come down with an irreversible case of sagging and wrinkling. Then I stumbled across this little miracle.

Its light.  Its loaded with fabulous skincare stuff.  Its SPF 20.  Its a GRADUAL self-tanner, so you can't screw up too badly.  It doesn't transfer to your clothes.  And get this:  it has subtle, skintone correcting shimmer, so you look more amazing instantly.  Now why did  the founder pick such a retarded name?  Supergoop??  REALLY?

Their name may be funny, but they really have their stuff together when it comes to sunscreen.  Check it out:  NO oxybenzone, lots of good stuff like tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus, (Sunflower) Seed Oil, and Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract.

Even I'm using up this whole tube and going back for more.

Breaking News

I was at a conference recently, and joy of joys, found a vat of Eos lip balms on a vendor's table.  They were giving me the fish eye, so I could only take one.  I hazarded a guess that yellow would be lemon flavor (the labels on the bottoms require a magnifying glass), grabbed one and ran off.

In the last few years, Eos lip balms seem to have taken over the universe.  They're adorably spherical, which, handily, makes them MUCH easier to find in one's bag.  They come in bright colors and fab flavors.  They're 99% natural.  The best part? They're about $4 each.  Guilt free, you can buy enough to have one in every pocket.

My only wish was that they had SPF.  So imagine my delight when I walked into my local Ricky's, saw an Eos display, and there right at the top, the new lemon flavor trumpeting the addition of sunscreen.  Higher powers meant it to be, so I bought six.  Bonus:  the lid locks firmly into place, keeping sand, pocket lint, and all other gook out, so fear not leaving them wherever.

Sometimes beauty wishes do come true!

This is Extreme

Extreme Frequent Flier Syndrome.  I have the seat layout of United's entire fleet memorized.  The guy at Vin Volo at EWR yells "Hi SCG" when I walk in.  There are certain TSA agents that I recognize on sight, and loathe with particular fervor.

And I have the hair and skin to prove it.  Dry. Dehydrated.  Dead.  Lifeless.  Add on depressing adjectives as you will, I haven't even had time to blog about it, because I'm too busy being screamed at to power down all devices.  Last week, I had 18 hours between landing from a trip to Europe and hopping on a flight to the west coast, and ran, (literally, with a backpack stuffed with clean clothes) to my hair stylist's apartment to attempt to salvage some semblance of my appearance.

Now you know your relationship with your hair stylist is one of your most longstanding and durable when she not only cuts your hair in her apartment, but 1) lets you show up sweaty 2) lets you use her shower 3) lets you use all of her products and 4) gives you a nice clean towel.  I love you K!  Even better, K has a widely read blog of her own, styles celebrity hair, and has a shower that is absolutely JAMMED with amazing stuff.

So during this most recent shower, out of fear that K would declare half my length "DEAD" and chop it all off, I grabbed the richest looking gook I could find in her bathroom, Shu Uemura Silk Bloom Shampoo and Masque, used the combo, and hoped for the best.  When I rinsed out the conditioner, I could already feel the difference.  My hair felt smoother, and I combed it out without even needing leave-in conditioner or detangler.  Better, K marveled over how shiny my hair was, and miracle of miracles, it wasn't weighed down at all.  The jar describes it as 'firm touch'.  WTF?  No idea.


Of course it has Argan oil, everything seems to these days, but it also has Safflower oil (I'm a huge fan, see previous salad post) and black cumin oil, by which I'm intrigued.  Loaded with omegas, which are as good for the scalp as they are for the hair.  Super important to me, since I'm losing my hair, and fighting it like mad.

Not only was K not mad that I gobbed on the most expensive product in her shower, she gifted me a bottle of Clark's Botanical's Cellular Lifting Moisture Mist.  She is so terrified of frizz that no skin saving miracle will convince her to mist.  Ever.  Period.  I, on the other hand, have been moving this bad boy from bag to bag and have just ordered a replacement bottle.  It not only hydrates, but the essential oils actually do seem to lock in moisture, and the aromatherapy elements calm me down when I'm about to go ninja on someone in the airport.  Yes, the smell is pronounced, so smell it before you buy it!!

That Should Have Been Great

I WANTED it to be great, it would have changed my life.  OK, that's a bit dramatic, but it certainly would have freed up a lot of space in my hyper-overcrowded hair products drawer.  I'm wailing about Arrojo's Styling Whip, Argan-Infused Does It All Styler.

This mousse brags that it tames frizz, adds shine, controls curls, and enhances straight styles.  So in theory, replaces straightening gel, anti-frizz serum, curl control cream, and setting lotion all in one.  Right?  RIGHT?  My dream come true.  I tested in out during the Mission Impossible - Hair Episode trip that I took recently, which involves the polar extremes of bad hair, eg, San Francisco, CA and Park City, UT.  San Francisco is more humid than Miami, causing frizz, curly bangs, and limp lengths all at once.  Park City is bone dry, with weird water, causing straw dry hair that sticks out in odd directions for no particular reason.

In San Francisco, the mousse was...basically useless.  My bangs wouldn't straighten at all.  Period.  Plus curled into hair horns the second I turned off the blow dryer.  My curls looked like frizzy seaweed.  DRAG.  In Park City, it worked like a dream.  Defined, fluffy, shiny curls and bangs that straightened in a second without losing volume and laying down dead on my forehead.  Almost worth the fright that I presented in San Fran for a full week.

Was it worth checking my bag, given that my arsenal of three products can all be decanted into tiny bottles?  No.  But for a dry winter at home, it gets a lot of love.

Puff the Magic Dragon

There are days when we leap out of bed, looking fabulously fresh as daisies, rosy cheeked, ready to take on the world.  In general, New Year's Day is not one of those days.  I'll hazard a guess that any number of you woke up looking like me:  as if a horde of blackflies attacked your eye areas in the middle of the night.  Not a good look.

I almost passed out when I saw myself in the mirror this morning, and wasn't exactly thrilled when J dragged me out to go...shopping.  What the hell would be open on New Year's Day in Miami anyway?  It turns out that Sephora is open.  Or was still open from the night before.  Hard to tell.  But while J suffered from a fit of Sephora Rage (characterized by actually shoving me out of the way in order to get to the Clarsonic display a nanosecond faster), I wandered over to the Sunday Riley shelf, and picked up a bottle of Start Over.  It says 'instantly de-puffs and cooling', so like the zombie I felt myself to be, I obediently patted a bit on under my eyes.

Whoa!  This stuff is indeed ACTIVE.  My eyes watered a bit and I actually felt a cooling sensation.  I looked in the mirror...and....yes, my eyes were pretty much totally de-puffed.  In seconds.   This deserves a longer review.  But not today, because I'm going back to bed.

Product Review - IS Clinical Super Serum Advance Plus

Now that's a lot of superlatives in one title, even for an industry hell-bent on simultaneously making us insecure and promising to solve all of our problems at exactly the same time.  (And yes, it works, damn them.)  I've been using the same vitamin C serum for quite a few years now, and I love it.  Within a week of starting it, a co-worker gasped, 'your skin looks like glass!' So as you can imagine, the bar is set pretty high.  Vitamin C is one of the most powerful tools in the anti-aging arsenal, and has the bonus effect of increasing the efficacy of sunscreen.  Downside, unless stabilized, these serums tend to oxidize quickly, losing effectiveness (and starting to smell funny on occasion.)  Don't be a scrooge, use daily, and get the smaller size even if it seems uneconomical!

PACKAGING:

Brown glass apothecary bottle with a dropper.  De rigeur for this type of product, which is a straight-up liquid, and one which needs to be protected from light exposure.  Yes, glass is hell in the bathroom, but plastic reacts badly with vitamin c, so there's no getting around it.



TEXTURE:  Nearly clear liquid that turns slightly yellow-brown as the product runs down.  I found that this serum oxidized more slowly than my go-to serum, which was a plus.

USAGE:  I use this stuff in the morning, on a clean face, step one.  Do NOT combine with a retinol, save that for your night routine.  New users may find that its a bit strong; if so, use every other day until you build up a tolerance.  (This can be an even bigger problem for people with compromised skin barrier function, eg, those of you who suffered from acne in youth and baked in the sun.)  Use two to three drops for face and neck, and two drops for the decollete.  Let it absorb, then do your usual routine.  Bonus:  once absorbed, the serum cannot be rubbed, sweated, washed off.  Period.  Once its in there, its in there.

MIRACLE INGREDIENTS:  Vitamin C (duh) at a level of 15%, copper tri-peptides (which is a peptide consisting of three amino acids joined by a peptide bond.....which was not enlightening at all.  This particular set of amino acids delivers copper into the skin, which is particularly handy at healing, promoting firmness, and encouraging collagen production.) Also Asiaticoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid (antioxidants), Vitamin B5(hydrates), Arbutin, (increases cellular metabolism, aka waste elimination), and Kojic Acid (inhibits melanin production and lightens brown spots).

VERDICT: Super Serum Advance Plus is super.  Really.  Working together, you not only prevent future damage, but rapidly see improvement to past sins, particularly in the firmness and brown-spottedness departments.  I did the dread half-face test, using my proven powerhouse product on the right side of my face and Super Serum on the left side (which is kind of unfair, anyone who drives has more damage on the left side), and actually saw improvement in a stubborn sunspot, and a bit of improvement in a basset-hound type line that's been bugging me.  Bonus points for the stability of the formula.  Downside:  pricey, but then again, most of the Vitamin C serums are on the high end.  Enjoy!

Who Doesn't Love a Sale?

I can't resist one.  Exhibit A:  the number of pairs of shoes in my closet.  Cosmetics almost never go on sale, but every now and then, we all get lucky.  Evologie, reviewed previously, is not only having a sale,
http://www.evologie.com/shop-now.html (20% off with the promo code 'heather') but is also having a giveaway.  Shop and get a chance to win a full size Clear Skin Set, wahoo!  Good luck y'all!

Random Thought Bubble

But first, I have been totally absent.  Sorry, this work nonsense is....nonsense.  I will be better, I promise!

So I do a lot of shopping for skin, hair, nail stuff this time of year (no snide remarks like "when do you NOT buy lots of that stuff").  And the level of insanity that goes on in department and specialty stores has to be witnessed to be believed.

Case in point:  I recently visited SpaceNK, seeking a body scrub.  I specifically asked for something moderately priced, in a tube or a bottle, and NOT in a tub.  Personally, I cannot for the life of me understand why ANYTHING intended for the shower comes in a tub; you open the jar, it fills with water, you have to scoop it out, you no longer have a hand available to close the damn thing.  So what does the salesbabe show me?  The most expensive scrub in the store.  In a jar.  And she actually had the temerity to say that they don't carry anything in bottles or tubes, when on the shelf above, the shelf below, the shelf to the left and the shelf to the right, were tubes of body scrubs at one-third the price of the scrub she directed me towards.

To add insult to injury, she actually congratulated herself on helping me to find exactly what I was looking for when I shoved her out of the way and grabbed what I had asked for in the first place.  Remind me not to ask her or her colleagues to help me to find my dream hair product.....

How to Wear Red Lipstick

Something every woman should know, because it never goes out of style, takes you from day to night in a flash, and lets you be super lazy about eye makeup.  Bonus:  its sexy as all get out.  Unless, of course, you've chosen a horrid shade and/or your lips are chapped, cracked and flaking.  Maddeningly, the wrong formula can actually CAUSE these problems, so what's a girl to do, buy every lipstick at Saks?

No, of course not.  I've already done that for you, many times over.  (Don't laugh, its sad, really.)  The first step is commitment.  Meaning exactly how committed are you?  Wearing red lipstick is a bit like strutting around in a bikini, you need confidence.  And confidence is partially material, partially spiritual.  You're on your own with the spiritual stuff, but the material can be broken down into three parts:  formula, shade, and preparation.

Choose a formula that has the right mix of pigment, shine, and emollients for your skin and your personality.  Not feeling bold, and suffering from a change in seasons?  Less pigment, medium to low shine, high emollients.  Channeling Veronica Lake?  True matte, tons of pigment, don't forget the liner.  Need a suggestion?  Email me, I'm happy to help.

Shade shouldn't fight with your skin tone, and I don't want to hear any nonsense about not being able to find a red that doesn't fight with your face.  Red is universally flattering, though not every red is universal.  I'm sallow and pale, but a brunette, so I generally trend toward more yellow-y reds.  Bluer reds will whiten your teeth.  Olive skinned types can lean to coral.  Porcelain blondes can rock a true red.  Raspberry looks amazing on virtually everyone.

If you've picked your ideal formulation and shade, but failed to prep, you could be toast.  Flaking lips, bleeding, smudging.  All potential disasters, and I've committed every possible sin in this area.  First, exfoliate your lips using either a baby toothbrush (soak it for five minutes in warm water please), a warm wet washcloth, or a scrub made of almond oil and coarse sugar.  Blot well, and apply a super hydrating balm (that absurdly expensive Sara Happ stuff really can't be beat) OR a super hydrating plumping balm if your lips tend to have lines.  After you've done your hair, makeup, etc., blot off all of the balm.  If you're not using a long wear formula or a matte, prime using a tiny bit of the gooped foundation from around the neck of the bottle, dabbing onto the entire lip, upper and lower.  (Skip this if your going for the stained look.)  Trace around the edge of your lips with a concealer pencil.

Now decide if you want defined and bold, or stained and casual.  If the former, use a liner in a very close shade.  If you want your lips to look fuller, stop 2/3 of the way toward the center of the lower lip on each side.  (Bonus fullness fakery:  dip a tiny stiff brush into sheer highlighter, trace just the outer top of your cupid's bow.) Fill in with lipstick (use a brush), blot, then fill again.  If the latter, simply press the lipstick into the center of your lower lip and to each side of your cupid's bow on your upper lip straight from the tube.  Press your lips together and rub a bit.  Voila!  You're glam and ready to go.

Lovely and Amazing

There are few places on earth quite as wonderful as French pharmacies.  You don't need a prescription for most medications that you have to jump through three hoops to acquire in the US, the pharmacist will actually give you advice on everything from stomach upsets to cellulite, and they have a glorious bounty of beauty products found nowhere else on earth.

Slimming water! Slimming spray! Slimming bubbles (don't ask)! No, none of those actually work but they do come in lovely bottles with pictures of 14 year olds with perfect bums on the box. At the same time, one can find amazing creams, lotions and oils that do what they promise to do, and then some.

During my most recent trip, I discovered that the evil geniuses at LaRoche (evil because they ship a crap version of their amazing line to the US) have developed an SPF 50 body oil.  And not a greasy, stinky Hawaiian Tropic-y oil either.  No, this oil sinks right in but moisturizes all day, leaves a dewy sheen behind that doesn't stain one's clothes, AND protects one's skin amazingly well.  This alone is worth a trip to Paris...plus the macarons at Gerard Mulot.

Discontinued

One of the most disappointing words in beauty-dom.  My sister and I were hopelessly devoted to Pureology Real Curl, which was an absolute miracle worker:  it produced curls that all looked like they sprouted from the same head, stayed together, and didn't frizz.  Oh, and it didn't have a horrible perfume-y smell.  So naturally, they discontinued this product, and replaced it with something more expensive and totally ineffective.  Despite the Facebook pages that continue to mourn its demise, it ain't coming back.


So my sister and I, between us, have probably tried about 17 replacement products.  No contenders yet but we're looking for suggestions.  Comments welcome!

A Winner and a Loser

So I've been busy, busy, busy testing out new sunscreens, while trying to address two chronic obsessions:  a daily body lotion that is equally sun protective as it is moisturizing; and trying to avoid checking my luggage.  To those ends, I tried two new sunscreens, one of which I loved, the other.....not so much.

Let's start with the love.  Murad Essential-C Sun Balm comes in an adorable mini-deodorant style package, flat not round, solid not liquid, cream or gel.  (Ha, take THAT TSA goons!)  However, despite being a solid, its a remarkably moisturizing product, yet not at all greasy.  The texture is silky, and it glides on smoothly.  Even better, its packed with fabulous anti-oxidants like broccoli extract, and vitamins A, C, and E.  For an overnight trip, you can combine three products with this little beauty, making it that much more likely that you'll make it through security without having to check your bag.  Despite my love for this product, it does have its downsides.  The first is cost.  It comes with a very tiny amount of product in that cute little package, and frankly, it costs a fortune on a per-use basis, so don't even think about using it every day.  The second is the type of sunscreen, which is all-chemical (but no oxybenzone, yay) which requires more frequent application, and also requires a full 20 minutes to absorb before achieving full effectiveness.  But for the frequent business traveler, all totally worth it. 

Now the 'not so much'.  I was super-psyched to try CeraVe's body lotion with SPF, as CeraVe makes amazing moisturizers, packed with ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and I am constantly looking for a more economic alternative to my beloved EltaMD body lotion.  This lotion comes in 30 and 50 spf, advertised as 'inVisibleZinc'.Now that right that is a total non-truth in advertising.  While I love zinc, and think it is one of the best options available in the US, until some genius figured out how to micronize it, it had a well deserved reputation for looking hideous and being difficult to apply.  This particular formulation is far from invisible, and is super difficult to apply.  It takes approximately eight minutes to rub it in thoroughly enough to avoid looking like I walked through a chalk mine, and I still have clearly visible white residue.  Am I moisturized?  Yes.  Am I shielded from UV rays?  Yes.  Do all my clothes now have white streaks that only the dry cleaner can remove?  Unfortunately, yes.  

Brace Yourselves

Because this topic is....gross.  But it has to be addressed, and I am just gonna come right out and say it:  fungus toenails.  

Everyone OK?  Good.  Now let's move on.  It is quite common to be afflicted by fungus toenails (or even fingernails), which are unattractive at best, painful at worst.  As the infection digs in, the afflicted toenail thickens, yellows, crumbles.  Eventually, the nail plate thins, and pressure on the nail can become very uncomfortable.  And did I mention that its a very unattractive condition?

Roughly a zillion things can cause a fungal infection under the nails, including the gym locker room floor, your pedicure place, moldy socks, a cracked nail.  Easy to get, fiendishly difficult to get rid of.  If you've seen those (disturbing) television commercials, it seems as easy as taking a few pills.  Which is sort of true, but those pills have pretty profound side effects, including potentially fatal liver damage.  (!)  Paint-on treatments take forever to work, and cost a fortune.  So what can you do?

Try this at-home remedy, which actually works, and costs virtually nothing, particularly when compared to prescription options.  First, stop polishing the effected nail.  Yes, it will look strange, but fungus thrives in the dark, so keeping polish off will both allow the treatments to actually reach the nail, and allow light to get in at the same time.  Second, keep the nail as short as possible.  Third, every day, soak the nail in a mixture of 1/2 apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 hydrogen peroxide, which will raise the PH of the nail and surrounding skin to an inhospitable level.  Fourth, after the first soak, do a second soak in a 1:3 bleach:water mixture (you only need a few minutes for this step.)  Fifth, once the nail is dry, swab on pure tea tree oil or monistat (yes, monistat) and wrap it in a band-aid.  Within a few weeks, you will see remarkable improvement, and within a few months, totally cured.

So You Want To Be A Texas Prom Queen

Or maybe you just want nails like a Texas prom queen, because they're long, they're bright, they're fierce, and they're back.  And not a minute too soon, I say.  I was so over sheer non-color that I practically did a backflip of joy the first time I saw a hot pink talon in Vogue.  The only thing that might make me happier would be a TPQ worthy hairspray that actually keeps my hair from curling once I've laboriously straightened it. 

Once we're all comfortable with nails that look like they belong in an 80's music video (or a sci-fi flick), we have to figure out how to actually get those nails without (shudder) slapping on some sort of fakies.  The style has been androgynously short for such a long time that we all forgot about the hazards of long-nail fashion, which include splitting, chipping, peeling and flaking.  Most of which are made dramatically worse by colored polish, which is MUCH more drying than boring sheer polish.

If your nails chip, crack, or flake, they're dry.  The best defense is religious use of cuticle oil, and either sleeping with gloves on (see "Horror Paws"), or at least keeping them on long enough to ensure that the oil totally absorbs.  Almost as important is the type of base coat you use, and how frequently you change your polish. 

Use a protein base coat, one specifically for dry nails.  I use Rejuvacote, and since I've started on it, my nails have been in amazing shape.  Finish your mainicure with an anti-chip topcoat, and you can change your polish half as often.  It won't hurt that Rejuvacote and similar protein treatments require multiple applications (yes, on top of color) in order to be effective, which keeps your polish shiny, and somehow flexible enough that it resists chips even better than the anti-chip topcoat alone.

Now rock on with your fabulous self and stay tuned for a step-by-step tutorial on how to DIY an ombre mani.