Product review: CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain

I have a confession to make: I know this blog is called Lipstick is My Crack, but for the past year or so ... I haven't really been wearing lipstick. I know! I'm not sure why, but suddenly lipstick feels unbearably heavy and unpleasant on my aging lips. It also looks a bit harsh with the natural/light makeup look I prefer. I've been gravitating toward stains and tinted balms instead, and that's how I discovered this absolute gem of a product.

CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain is a liquid lip stain in a felt-tip pen sort of applicator. It looks like a magic marker, basically. You just kind of draw it on your lips, give it a couple of seconds to set, and go about your business. The product applies very smoothly, giving sheer but buildable color, and it smells and tastes deliciously fruity.

There are about 10 shades of this stuff, and unfortunately the majority of them are WAY too bright and garish for most skintones, but I've found one that's just perfect for my pale coloring: shade #420, Sassy Mauve. It's pretty much an exact match for my natural lip color, but slightly more intense. I slick this on, top it with a swipe or two of Bonne Bell's Dr. Pepper Lipsmacker (I do recommend a balm or gloss on top -- this product does NOT moisturize), and suddenly my lips look luscious and most definitely do NOT feel heavy or overly made-up.

A couple of possible drawbacks: this lip stain does not actually last any longer than a typical lipstick would. It doesn't survive the viniagrette dressing test, but it does wear off smoothly without pilling up or flaking like some long-lasting lip products do. Like most liquid lip stains, it will tend to emphasize any really dry or rough patches on your lips, though I find that this product does that far less than some similar products. It has to be applied to dry lips, though -- applying it OVER balm will pretty much ruin the felt-tip applicator (ask me how I know). And some folks might not like the strong smell/flavor of this product.

None of these are enough to keep me from snapping up every tube of Sassy Mauve I can find, though. I love the portability of it, the smooth application, the sheer "my lips but better" color, and the lightweight feel on my lips. And call me crazy, but I think it tastes and smells delicious!

Oh, and a little tip: storing this product vertically with the cap facing downward will keep the felt-tip applicator from drying out. I keep mine in the same jar that I use to hold my makeup brushes.

Two thumbs up on this one for sure! For the price, this product can't be beat!

CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain is available at drugstores for under $8.

Product review: Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine

So hey, everyone! I am back with that review I promised you ... um, a couple of months ago (sorry about that) ... for a Garnier Fructis Style product that actually worked for my fine, stick-straight layered hair. I should preface this review with the disclaimer that I am no longer using this product, actually. My hair has grown out quite a bit more and I don't really need the same sort of texturizing that I did when it was shorter.

However, when it WAS shorter, I was loving the heck out of this Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine Water-Based Shine Wax. (I know. I don't make up the names of these products, people. I can only assume that who ever DOES is every bit as verbose as I am.) Do you like Redken Water Wax? Well, this is the same damn thing at a fraction of the price -- remember, Redken and Garnier are both owned by L'Oreal. And you can buy this stuff anywhere, for cheap!

Like Water Wax, Brilliantine Shine is a light-textured, clear, water-based wax. It doesn't feel sticky like other waxes -- it's very smooth and slippy. And it has that fabulous Garnier Fructis green-apple scent that I can't get enough of. Just a teensy dab of this raked through dry hair and rubbed into the ends gives a really nice separation and texture, particularly for shorter, layered styles. It's great for piecing out the ends and imparting a bit of body to the hair.

One word of caution: it's easy to overdo it with this stuff and end up with greasy-looking hair, especially if your hair is fine. Start off with way less than you think you need -- you can always add more. And there's no actual hold here, so if you're looking for that, you'll need a stronger wax. But if you just want a bit of separation and a finished look (not to mention fabulous-smelling hair), this is your gal.

This is definitely a two-thumbs-up product for me, even though I'm no longer using it. I have such a short attention span for hairstyles that I'm keeping my little half-used jar, just in case!

Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine is available at drugstores for under $5. What a deal!

Like paying for air: Two products that do absolutely nothing

Let me be clear right up front: I'm not saying these products are actively BAD. Neither one broke me out, caused an allergic reaction, stole my boyfriend or knocked up my sister. They didn't do anything TERRIBLE. In fact, they didn't do anything AT ALL. And therein lies the problem.

The first do-nothing product I tried was L'Oreal Bare Naturale Soft-Focus Mineral Finish. This is a loose mineral powder that's packaged exactly like the Bare Naturale foundation and blush -- a jar with a sifter lid and a mini kabuki-style brush in the cap. Soft-Focus Mineral Finish promises to "create a translucent, shine-free, poreless finish." Given the verbiage, I'm assuming this is L'Oreal's version of the Mineral Veil product from Bare Essentuals.

Now, I am no fan of Bare Essentuals' Bare Minerals line, as longtime readers know. I find the foundation to be WAY too shiny and weird-looking for my taste. That being said, the Mineral Veil finishing powder actually DOES something -- it helps tone down the shininess of the foundation. It makes for a nice, light-textured finishing powder over other foundations as well because it really does soften your look.

But here's the thing -- L'Oreal's Bare Naturale mineral foundation ISN'T SHINY. That's part of what makes it so awesome, and why I always recommend it over the Bare Minerals foundation (see also: L'Oreal is less than half the price of Bare Minerals). You don't NEED a finishing powder with this stuff -- it gives you a lovely translucent, shine-free, poreless (well, nearly) finish ALL ON ITS OWN. So that makes the Soft-Focus Mineral Finish product kind of unnecessary to begin with, don't you think?

That wouldn't matter hugely to me if this product did anything, but I am here to tell you, I bought the Translucent (#401) shade and when applied over my usual Bare Naturale mineral foundation it does not show up AT ALL on my face. It does not at all, even a little bit, change the appearance of my makeup one iota. There's no extra luminosity, no extra mattifying, no ANYTHING. The emperor has no makeup, people.

There are a couple of different shades of this stuff, including one that's supposed to be extra luminizing and another that's supposed to be extra mattifying, but I am going to strongly suggest that you save your money and give this stuff a pass. You may as well be running a completely clean, dry powder brush over your face. Thumbs down!

The next product I tried that did nothing whatsoever was one designed for hair -- Garnier Fructis Style Fiber Gum Putty. This product promises "pliable molding" with an extra-strong hold. Um, yeah. NO.

I've been growing my hair out just a bit -- it's currently collar-length with long layers (not exactly a layered bob, but same functionality when it comes to styling and whatnot). I have fine but abundant, stick-straight hair that does not hold a style well at all, and I've been hoping to find a drugstore product that would give me a bit of texture and separation for my layers. Unfortunately this product is NOT it.

Fiber Gum comes in a generous 5-ounce tub (for under $4 -- can't beat that!) and smells FANTASTIC, like green apples. I could sniff it all day. The texture isn't really what I would think of as a putty -- more like a thick gel-cream. You're supposed to scoop a small amount into your palm, rub your hands together to "activate the fibers", and work it through damp or dry hair. I'm pretty sure they were aiming for a drugstore knockoff of Redken Rewind with this stuff (both Redken and Garnier are owned by L'Oreal).

But people? I have tried this on damp hair. I've tried it on dry hair. I've tried varying the amount of product I use and the way I work it INTO my hair. THIS PRODUCT DOES NOTHING. I can't even tell it's on! It does not change the appearance, feel, texture, whatever of my hair AT ALL, even a tiny little bit. The only thing it does is make my hair smell like green apples for maybe 30 minutes after I apply it.

So yeah, insanely cheap and mouthwateringly aromatic or not, I am going to recommend against this stuff, too. In this case, the emperor has no hair product! Thumbs down AGAIN!

Fortunately I HAVE managed to find some halfway decent drugstore crappe for my hair, and it's from the Garnier Fructis line, too! So stay tuned for that review, coming up Real Soon Now. Promise!

I don't generally give purchase information for thumbs-down reviews, but if you're a glutton for punishment, you can find both of these duds at your local drug or discount department store for pretty dang cheap.

Product review: L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Eyeliner

I know each type of eyeliner (pencil, liquid, pen, cream, etc.) has its devotees but I am a powder girl all the way. I find it so much easier to get a nice line with powder -- I just don't have the fine-motor control for the other methods. In the past I've used whatever dark shade of eyeshadow I had lying around (my all-time fave being Jane Eye Zings, as longtime readers know) and that worked great, but I was eager to try a powdered product that was actually intended for use as eyeliner.

L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Eyeliner is, like most of the rest of the Bare Naturale line, a powdered mineral product. Like the concealer, the eyeliner is packaged in a tiny replica of the foundation package with a sifter under the lid and a brush in the cap. In this case the brush is of the flat, slanted variety like you would use for the "push" method of applying eyeliner.

I will be honest: I don't love the brush. It's not that it's a BAD brush, it's just a little large for my small eyes, and the fact that it's attached to the cap makes it kind of unwieldy and hard to control. Unless I'm going for a thick, smoky line above my top lashes -- in which case the included brush works great -- I apply this with my beloved MAC #266 brush (shaped the same, but smaller and with a longer handle).

The product is easy to apply, as long as you make sure to tap any excess off the brush after dipping it into the powder. Since this is a powdered MINERAL product, it's very concentrated and a little goes a long way. If you get little specks of it on your eye area and try to wipe them away, you'll end up with smears all over the place.

That being said, once this stuff is on it does NOT budge. It wears all day without migrating into wrinkles and creases or fading away to nothing (a problem I've had when using powdered eyeshadow as liner). I really love the way this stuff looks freshly applied all day long, even in humid weather!

The shade I bought, #809 Defining Bronze, is gorgeous for those of us who like a nice, deep brown liner. It also comes in four other shades, including black, blue, olive and another brown. Can you spot the glaring omission from this lineup? No purple! I personally love a deep plum eyeliner for my olive-green eyes, so I really wish this product came in that shade. Why two browns and no purple, L'Oreal? Gah!

Anyway, I am giving this product a thumbs up for the sheer quality of the minerals and the fantastic staying power. Will I wear it every day? Nope. Not until they expand the shade offerings a bit. But it really is a terrific liner if you're a powder gal like me!

L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Eyeliner is available at drugstores for around $10, give or take.

Product review: L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Concealer

Hey, everyone! Remember me? I know, it's been almost an entire year since I posted anything! I have commitment issues, you have abandonment issues; let's just acknowledge that and move on, shall we? Because I have been trying a bunch of new products over the past several months, and we need to talk, people!

This L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Concealer has been out for a while now, but I resisted trying it until recently. Why? Because it's a POWDER. I don't know about the rest of you over-40 gals, but my skin has been getting drier as I've gotten older, and putting powdered ANYTHING around my crepey, crowsfoot-bedecked eyes sounds like a horrible idea. Most powders tend to settle into my fine lines, emphasizing them to the point that they may as well be glowing neon.

Well, I am happy to report that this concealer doesn't settle into fine lines AT ALL, in my experience. In fact, I think I kind of love this stuff!

Let's start with the packaging, which is very cute -- like a mini version of L'Oreal's Bare Naturale powdered mineral foundation (which I already love, as you know). Like the foundation, the concealer has a built-in brush in the cap that is actually not entirely useless! I know! I was shocked, too, but it's just the right size for the undereye area and the bristles are nice and soft. However, if you need more precise application like for blemishes and whatnot, you'll need to use a smaller brush.

The product itself, while a powder, actually feels a bit creamy on the skin. The finish is completely matte, though -- no dewiness or sparkles -- which is a plus. It blends very easily and again, I am actually shocked by the degree to which this does NOT settle into fine lines or emphasize crepiness at all. For me this stuff lasts all day without budging, and the Light shade coordinates nicely with both the Soft Ivory and Light Ivory shades of Bare Naturale foundation.

The only area where this concealer falls a bit short is in coverage. If you have very dark circles or are trying to cover up some deep pigmentation, this is not the concealer for you. It does a fine job evening things out and brightening the eye area, and it does an okay job covering my fairly mild undereye circles, but it will not magically erase dark circles or hyperpigmentation.

Since my major eye issue is sagging/wrinkling rather than dark circles, this stuff works just great for me. I'm giving it a thumbs up!

Coming soon: reviews of Bare Naturale Mineral Finish and Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Eyeliner. (Yes, I went on a bit of a spree. Or a bender, if you will. A makeup bender. There are worse vices to have, right?)

L'Oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Concealer is available at drugstores for around $12, give or take.

Two reviews: Alpha Hydrox AHA Souffle and DHC Extra Nighttime Moisture

I was sure I had reviewed these products already, but a quick scan through my archives tells me I haven't. I guess I discovered them during my fall/winter blogging hiatus and completely forgot to review them. I have been a BAD BLOGGER. These two products, used together, more or less saved my skin this winter. (Incidentally, I purchased both of these products; they were not sent to me for review.)

First let's talk about Alpha Hydrox AHA Souffle. This is a skin cream with 12% glycolic acid, a type of alpha hydroxy acid. We are talking some SERIOUS exfoliation here. The cream itself blends easily but feels a little bit heavy on the skin. It's not that it's overly emollient or greasy or anything, but you can definitely feel it. Frankly, that took me a while to get used to, and at first I wasn't sure I loved this product because of it.

The cream also produced a slight burning tingle the first few times I used it. You will DEFINITELY want to do a patch test if your skin is even remotely sensitive. You'll also need to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen religiously when using this product -- it pretty much sloughs off the top layer of dead cells on your skin, revealing new skin cells underneath, and those new cells need protection!

As far as results go, I am beyond thrilled with this stuff. I use it at night only, and after a couple of weeks my skin was noticeably smoother and softer to the touch. It also helped even out some redness and some old acne scarring (not the pitting kind, the pigment kind), and when I use this stuff at night, my makeup applies like a dream the next morning.

The best part about this is the price -- about $15 at the drugstore, for a jar that has lasted me a good five or six months (again, only using it at night). I would put the performance of this product right up there with Z. Bigatti's Re-Storation Skin Treatment, a product I've used in the past that costs -- are you ready for this? -- $150 per jar. I KNOW! Do my paltry math skills fail me, or is that TEN TIMES as much as the Alpha Hydrox stuff costs?

My only problem with this product is that it's pretty no-frills. It's a kick-ass skin-stripper, but it doesn't provide anything in the way of moisture, despite its cream base. That means I have to use a moisturizer on top of it, and that's where DHC Extra Nighttime Moisture comes in. I tried a sample of this stuff over the Alpha Hydrox one night, when I was desperate for a little added moisture, and discovered that the two products compliment each other wonderfully.

DHC Extra Nighttime Moisture is also a no-frills product. There are no retinoids in here, no AHAs, no peptides or whatever the latest sexy skincare ingredient is. It's just a really lovely, extremely emollient but non-greasy cream that moisturizes like no one's business and feels wonderful on the skin. This stuff is chock-full of emollients and humectants -- olive oil, squalane, glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, to name a few. It is, quite simply, a kick-ass nighttime moisturizer. I'm not going to claim it's drugstore-cheap, but at $30 per jar (it sometimes goes on sale for less -- that's when I bought mine) it's on par with lower-end department store skincare lines (think Clinique, etc.).

These two products used together every night have been my winter skincare magic bullet. Winters in central Texas are kind of weird -- it can be humid and rainy one day, dry and windy the next. You just never know, and I spend most winters switching back and forth between products to try to keep up. I still break out hormonally, or if I use an ingredient to which I'm sensitive, but when the air is dry my skin is a parched, flaky mess. I've been using these two products every single night since the temperatures first dropped below 80 with any degree of regularity, and my skin has stayed balanced, hydrated, clear and smooth throughout.

As we move toward warmer weather I'm not sure how my skin is going to do with this routine, but you can bet both of these products will be in my skincare rotation NEXT fall and winter as well. And of course, if I find something that works better for me in spring and summer, you all will be the first to know!

Alpha Hydrox AHA Souffle is available at drugstores for around $15 per 1.6 oz. jar. DHC Extra Nighttime Moisture is available from DHC for $30 per 1.5 oz. jar when not on sale.

Dollar store soap deathmatch: Pears vs. Yardley

Longtime readers may be shocked to learn that in recent months, I have thrown aside my beloved Softsoap Milk & Honey body wash in favor of bar soap. This is due to a couple of factors:

1. I got bored.
2. I spotted some non-sucky bar soaps at my local dollar store.

Yeah! It's not all Irish Spring and Lifebuoy up in there anymore, y'all! And it's not all no-name generic soaps made out of battery acid and bacon grease (I just made that up; don't email me) anymore, either. I am here to tell you that the dollar store has GOOD SOAP.

The first one I spied with my frugal little eye was Pears.


Ah, Pears. I remember this soap fondly from my childhood in the '60s and '70s. I can't remember actually using it all that much, although the scent (which to my nose is reminiscent of spiced fruit compote) is certainly familiar. I think I remember the magazine advertisements more than I remember the soap itself.

Regardless, I snapped up a few boxes and brought them home. They languished in my guest bath, looking retro-cool, for a couple of months before I finally broke down and opened a box to actually use it.

I looove the fragrance of this soap. LOVE IT. I could sniff the bar all day. And it makes a wonderful lather. HOWEVER, and maybe this is a function of the particular hardness/softness of my water, it does not rinse clean. No, it leaves a sort of sticky, squeaky film behind. And I do not like that.

So, back to the dollar store, where this time I picked up a bar of Yardley Oatmeal & Almond soap.
I do NOT remember Yardley from my youth, except in passing, but I know it's a longtime favorite of anglophiles the world over. The scent of this one won me over in a heartbeat. I am a sucker for all things almond.

In the bath, the fragrance of this bar is wonderful. It's especially nice in the winter, all almond-creamy and comforting. The lather is nice and thick, and most importantly, it rinses clean and leaves my skin wonderfully soft with just a wisp of that almond fragrance left behind. Score!

I don't even mind the scrubby bits in this bar (they are oatmeal and not almond shells, I don't think) because if you use a washcloth/pouf/hands they don't seem to come off and get stuck all over you. You CAN get some exfoliation going by rubbing the bar directly on skin, though.

I was so enamoured of the Yardley soap that I went back to the dollar store for more, and that's when I noticed they had the lavender variety, too.
So, you know, I had to try THAT one as well. I like this just fine -- it has a nice lavender scent that is especially soothing in the evening, and it rinses clean just like the oatmeal/almond variety -- but my skin didn't like this one as much. Or rather, er, my girl bits didn't. Yeah, I don't know how else to say it, y'all. Something about this was slightly irritating to my delicate parts, if you know what I'm saying. It has since been relegated to the sock drawer, to act as a sachet.

So for me, the clear winner in the battle of the dollar store soap is Yardley Oatmeal & Almond. I am in love with the fragrance, the lather, and the way it makes my skin feel.

And I refuse to tell you how many boxes of this stuff now occupy my bathroom closet.

Product review: Olay Definity Illuminating Cream Cleanser

Okay, so here's what happened: I ran out of my beloved Juice Organics Nourishing Cleanser, and CVS had stopped carrying it. Rumor has it that it's available at Ulta, but I was too lazy to schlep myself all the way to Ulta. I wanted to shop at CVS! CVS, dammit! So for some reason, I bought this new-ish Olay cleanser. I think because it had "cream" in the name, and I really didn't want anything foamy. In the winter, foamy cleanser = alligator skin, for me.

First of all, can we talk about the packaging of this product, and how very badly it sucks? Olay Definity Illuminating Cream Cleanser comes in a squeeze tube that sits on its cap. Which is all well and good. But the way you dispense it is to twist the cap -- not OFF, mind you, just give it a counter-clockwise twist -- and squeeze out the cleanser through a teeny hole in the center of the very large cap. Not only does this cause nasty wads of dried-out cleanser gunk to accumulate all over what is essentially the BOTTOM of the container, creating a huge mess if you store it cap-down like you're apparently supposed to, but it's also damn near impossible to twist the cap open, dispense the product, and twist the cap closed with wet, slippery hands. This is seriously the stupidest packaging idea in the history of ever and I'm frankly a little pissed off about it. In case you couldn't tell.

Okay, now let's talk about the actual cleanser itself. Fortunately, it doesn't suck as badly as does the packaging. It is indeed a non-foaming cleanser, though I'd describe it more as a milk/lotion than a cream because it's not all that thick. On the plus side, it hasn't caused any breakouts or dryness whatsoever and it does seem to smooth and clarify my skin somewhat. On the minus side, it has a strong perfumey fragrance and it has little scrubby bits in it.

Now, I like scrubby bits just fine in my MORNING cleanser. They sort of wake me up and make me feel like I'm starting the day with a clean slate, face-wise. But I bought this to use at night, as the second step in my two-step cleansing routine (the first step being DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, as always), and scrubby bits at night annoy the hell out of me unless I'm doing it on purpose, like using an exfoliating scrub AFTER my cleanser.

Yes, I'm picky. Hello, have we met?

I am not saying I hate this cleanser. I don't. I hate the PACKAGING, but the cleanser is okay. However, I would not repurchase it because of the whole packaging/scrubby bits/fragrance deal.

Looks like I'm going to have to make a trip to Ulta after all. Damn.

The NEW Lipstick Is My Crack FAQs

Hi there! Can I send you a sample of [insert product here] to try and review on your blog?

No, sorry. I'm no longer accepting samples for review. And for those of you who read a lot of beauty blogs and have heard the buzz, I want to make it clear up front that my decision has nothing whatsoever to do with that ridiculous New York Times article that came out recently, claiming that beauty bloggers are only in it for the swag. I was not at all involved in that article and made this decision long before it was published. (And hello, I had been blogging for nearly two years before I even began accepting free crappe for review.)

The basic reasons, if you must know, boil down to these: First, if you send me something then I feel obligated to try and review it in a timely fashion, which puts a deadline on me, which makes it feel like work, which sucks all the fun out of it for me. I'm weird, I know. Second, given that I've decided not to go commercial with this blog (see below), I can't justify the cost of renting a mailbox so you can send me stuff to talk about on my blog that isn't making me any money. You dig?

Hi there! Can I rent ad space on your blog?

No. This is a non-commercial blog. There are plenty of other blogs that would be more than happy to sell you ad space; go ask them.

Hi there! Will you print my press release on your blog?

No. This is a non-commercial blog. There are plenty of other blogs that would be more than happy to print your press release; go ask them.

Hi there! Can I maybe persuade you to at least mention my product/website/coupon/contest/event on your blog?

No. Do I have to say it again? This is a non-commercial blog. If I have actually tried your product, it will eventually get a mention. If I love your website and know you or have done business with you in some way and feel confident that my readers will have a pleasant experience on your site, it MIGHT get a mention eventually. I don't run contests, share coupons or plug events as a general rule.

Hi there! Your blog is swell and so is mine! Can we do a link exchange?

Ew, no. I have no idea why this type of request always creeps me out, but it does. Sorry. If you want to link to me, feel free. If you don't, that's fine too.

Hi there! I left a comment on one of your posts -- why isn't it showing up?

Because comments on this blog are moderated, meaning that I have to manually approve them before they appear. And the reason comments are moderated is that people keep leaving comments that attempt to circumvent the whole non-commercial blog thing. This is spam, and I won't have it clogging up the works. If your comment isn't spam, it will get approved and thus appear on the post eventually. If your comment IS spam, or if it strikes me as even remotely spam-like, it goes away forever. Mwahaha!

Hi there! You seem kind of bitchy!

Well, yeah. I kind of am. The thing is, I have thought long and hard about making this blog commercial -- selling ads and printing press releases and coupons/contests and that whole bit -- and I've decided that I just don't want to. I started this blog as a place to talk about the makeup, skincare, fragrance, clothing and accessories I was ACTUALLY BUYING/USING at the time, the stuff I loved and hated, and I want to get back to that and keep it that way. I want my readers to know, when they read one of my product reviews, that I've actually purchased and have been using that product. I want them to trust that I'm giving them my absolute 100% honest opinion with no outside influences.

There are PLENTY of blogs out there that feature targeted ads, print new product releases and event notices, run contests, and share coupon codes. I read and love several of them, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with running a blog that way. But this is MY blog, dammit, and I want to have FUN with it. Turning it into a commercial venture, while tempting from a financial standpoint, would not be fun for me. Not right now, anyway. If I change my mind, you all will be the first to know.

So for now, it's back to writing about the stuff I'm buying, using, loving and hating, along with the occasional tip/tutorial/obsession, in a 100% commercial-free environment. I hope some of you will stick around for it. Because IT WILL BE FUN.

OR ELSE.

Oops

Um, yeah. Sorry for the long absence, there. I'll be back soon, I promise! This week, even! With some reviews and stuff!

Stay tuned.

Product review: Rimmel Light Beam After Hours Lip Gloss

Sometime over the summer I was sent three tubes of Rimmel Light Beam lip gloss for review. I've been so busy using them and trying to pry them out of my daughter's hands that I sort of ... er, forgot to review them. Heh. Sorry about that! It was a weird summer, y'all.

Anyhoodle, you've probably seen this stuff in stores by now, and if so you know that the selling point is the packaging. The tube is squat and rectangular with a mirror along one side -- big whoop, we've all seen that before. The unique part is the cap -- there's a little push-button operated light in it. Yes, a teeny, tiny flashlight. Open the product, depress the button in the top of the cap/handle, and a tiny spotlight shines down the length of the wand and thus onto your lips as you apply the product. Kind of like in this dramatic photo provided to me for purposes of illustration:


So with the light and the mirror, you can apply this stuff in the dark! Cool, huh? The light also works while the cap is on, so you can dazzle everyone around you with your mysteriously glowing tube o' gloss, like in this picture I took myself in a dark (bath)room:


Yes, I AM easily amused, thanks for asking!

So let's talk about the product INSIDE the cool tube, huh? Light Beam is a thin, very sheer gloss that's only a little bit sticky. I received three shades -- In The Mix, a sheer pale pink; Spotlight, a shimmery raspberry pink; and After Hours, a sheer brownish-plum -- and they all look the same (read: clear and shiny) on my lips except that Spotlight is shimmery and the others aren't. They all taste fabulous, though. In The Mix is sort of fruity, Spotlight tastes like bubblegum, and After Hours has some nebulous sweetness (maybe a little vanilla?) going on.

The thin texture combined with the yummy flavor means these glosses don't really have much in the way of lasting power. If you don't eat them off your lips, they're going to wear off pretty quickly anyway. And let's face it -- do you really NEED a light and a mirror to apply what is essentially, on lips, a clear gloss? Maybe it's because I'm old and have been applying lip gloss to my own lips for 30+ years, but I really don't. Now if this gloss were actually pigmented, and I were the type to spend a lot of time in dark movie theaters and night clubs and ... basements? or something? then the swell packaging would be extremely helpful.

Now, as mentioned in the first paragraph of this review, I HAVE been using and enjoying this gloss all summer. No, it doesn't really show up at all, but it's yummy and I certainly don't hate it. However, my local supermarket is charging nearly $10 per tube for this stuff, and I really don't think I'd pay that much for this product. I guess if you think of it as a combination flashlight/mirror/gloss -- sort of the Swiss Army knife of the lip gloss world -- then it might be worth $10 to you. Or, as mentioned above, if the gloss were heavily pigmented then I can see the packaging being worth a couple of extra bucks for the convenience factor.

But for a delicious yet very sheer gloss with an admittedly cute gimmick? Eh. I don't think so.

Product review: Yonder & Green Moisturizing Lip Balm and Moisturizing Face Cream

Yonder & Green is a New York company founded in 2006 and dedicated to providing fresh, handcrafted skincare products. All products are handmade in small batches, contain no synthetic, animal-based or petroleum ingredients, and are never tested on animals. Recently the company sent me samples of their Moisturizing Lip Balm and Moisturizing Face Cream for review.

As long-term readers know, I'm a bit of a lip balm 'ho. I carry it with me everywhere and have tubes of it stashed all over the house (including one that sits above the function keys on my computer keyboard in my home office; it's shameful, I know).

My personal (picky!) requirements for a daytime lip balm are that it has a soft texture, works well under lipstick, and doesn't have to be reapplied a bazillion times a day (even though I totally WILL reapply it fairly often, because I'm addicted). The texture of the Yonder & Green lip balm is really a bit more waxy/crumbly than I'd like. It's not that it's dry, exactly -- it doesn't drag across my lips or anything -- it's just not super soft and slickery like I prefer. It also seems to kind of sit on top of my lips rather than sinking in, which means it doesn't work all that well under lipstick (or at least, not the ones I tried) and it tends to rub off fairly easily. In that respect, it was a bit of a disappointment.

My nighttime lip balm requirements are vastly different; I just want something that forms a protective barrier and doesn't irritate my lips or migrate all over my face and pillow while I sleep. I'm happy to say the Yonder & Green lip balm fared much better under these requirements. It does form a nice protective barrier on my lips and it stays put.

However, every night I wore it, I woke in the morning to slightly irritated lips. I've looked over the ingredient list and the only things I can pinpoint as possible culprits are the orange and lemon flavorings. My lips are REALLY sensitive to citrus flavorings/oils for some reason -- they tend to leave me an inflamed, peeling mess (I know, pretty!). While fortunately I did NOT have any sort of severe reaction to this product, I did have enough of an irritating tingle to make me think I'm probably just sensitive to one or more of the ingredients.

So instead of lip balm, I've been using it as a cuticle/nail conditioner and it's working great for that. Go figure! It's still a bit crumbly, so I have to rub it in, but it does a great job of softening my cuticles and giving my nails a natural, healthy shine. And I like the citrus scent okay; I just can't wear it on my lips.

Now let's move on to the Moisturizing Face Cream. Each jar comes hand-lettered with a batch number and a "freshness cycle" -- a date range during which the product should be used. There's a seal under the cap, and the texture of the cream is very soft and buttery ranging toward slightly liquidy/lotiony, depending on the temperature of the room in which you store it.

This is not a treatment product. You won't find any retinol or AHAs or peptides or whatever in this stuff. This is straight-up moisture, and how. The product is packed full of plant oils and essential fatty acids (hello, sweet almond, evening primrose, grapeseed, olive, shea butter, need I go on?) and does a fantastic job of moisturizing without irritating skin.

You all know I love to smear anything oily on my face, but this stuff really isn't oily/greasy, just very emollient. I used a light hand with it (it's been very rainy/humid here so I don't really NEED extra moisture right now) and it did an awesome job of plumping and hydrating my skin without irritating it OR causing breakouts. I'm not sure you'd love it if you're an oily gal, but used as a night cream, it did not cause any extra oiliness for my normal/combo skin during the day.

Moisturizing Face Cream comes in three varieties: Unscented, Rose-Lavender, and Rose-Ylang Ylang. I was sent all three and found that they performed the same on my face. I love that the product comes in an unscented version because often the scent of a product determines whether or not I can even stand to have it on my face (I'm looking at YOU, loathsome Nivea). I was a little leery of the fragranced versions because I HATE most rose scents, but I'm happy to report that the Rose-Lavender just smelled of lavender to my nose, and the Rose-Ylang Ylang was all ylang. The fragrances are all-natural -- just plant oils -- which helps, and they're very subtle and don't linger very long once the product is applied.

Incidentally, while the label says Face Cream, you can really use this stuff anywhere. It works great on cuticles, heels, elbows, and I love it on my legs after shaving. Which is nice, because there's no way I could use up the entire 2-oz. jar within the four-month freshness cycle if I were only using it on my face, particularly this time of year!

Yonder & Green Moisturizing Lip Balm, priced at $5 per tube, and the Moisturizing Face Cream, ranging from $30 to $35 for a 2 oz. jar, can be purchased from the company's website. Sample size jars of the face cream are available for a small fee.

Heads up to Austin-area readers!

If you're in the Austin, Texas area and have ever thought about making a donation of hair to Locks of Love, here's your chance!

My fabulous stylist, Miss Virginia Lake of Artists Hair Studio, is doing a special event this Monday, August 13 in her salon. Loris Lowe of KLBJ-FM will be broadcasting live and getting a haircut her own bad self. And rumor has it there will be free swag! What's not to like?

Here's the info.

Who: Anyone with at least 10 inches of clean, dry hair (that's mostly NOT grey) they're looking to lose for a good cause.
What: FREE haircut and style if you donate at least 10 inches of hair!
When: Monday, August 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Artists Hair Studio, 9911 A Woodland Village Drive (right off 183 near Anderson Mill Road), call 447-HAIR to make an appointment.
Why: To benefit Locks of Love, a fabulous non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.


I first met Miss Virginia several years ago through Locks of Love, in fact. I was looking to make a donation and she was one of the few stylists listed in my area. It was a fantastic experience and I fell so in love with the 'do she gave me that I've kept it short (and let no one but her cut it) ever since! My husband also donated to Locks of Love through Miss Virginia a couple of years ago when he finally decided to cut off his long hair. He is EVEN CUTER with short hair, I have to say.

Get out there and do it for the kids, y'all! And tell them Mrs. Badger sent you!

Product review: Carolyn NEW YORK nail color

Recently, a representative from Carolyn NEW YORK sent me some nail polish for review.

Actually, that's a lie. It wasn't recently. It was several weeks ago. I didn't have a chance to test it right away, and then when I actually did apply it, I wanted to wait until it chipped to post the review so I could tell you how long that took.

Um, yeah. That was two weeks ago. It still hasn't chipped.

Carolyn NEW YORK was founded by celebrity manicurist and Bronx native Carolyn Cianciotto. The company offers a line of polishes and hand care products that are free of dibutyl phthalate and that feature flat brushes and soft-grip handles. The colors (and the names thereof) were inspired by Carolyn's native city of New York. The products were designed for professionals, but they are available to everyone on the CNY website.

I was sent three shades for review: Park Chixs, a sheer pale pink that would be great for a bridal manicure; Tribecca Spirit, an absolutely gorgeous dusky purple; and Staten Italy, a vibrant but nicely sheer (and thus not scary) hot pink. All of the colors applied very smoothly and dried quickly. They're all quite sheer but surprisingly un-streaky, and they have a lovely pearly luminescence to them. Not frosty or sparkly, just GLOWY somehow. They're all super shiny, too.

I abuse my hands too much to bother with fingernail polish, but I've been wearing this stuff on my toes for two weeks now -- with NO base or top coat, just two coats of the polish on naked nails -- and it has not chipped at all. I've worn everything from sandals to socks and sneakers and NO CHIPS. In addition, the polish has not become dull or mangy looking -- it still looks vibrant and glowy and freshly applied. This is some good stuff, y'all.

This polish is a bit pricey -- prices range from $9 for one bottle of polish to $22.99 for a kit containing one bottle of polish, one bottle of Miracle Oil, one bottle of base coat and one bottle of top coat. But honestly, this stuff has such staying power than unless your nails grow very quickly, one bottle will last you a LONG time. I like it enough that I would seriously consider shelling out for it (there are some deep bronzes and reds that look AMAZING on the website), and I don't even WEAR polish all that often!

Two thumbs way up on this fabulous product!

Product review: Imju Fiberwig mascara

I was recently sent a tube of Imju Fiberwig mascara for review and I have to admit, I was scared to death. I mean, the big selling point of this stuff is that it contains "micro-fine interconnecting fibers" that latch onto your natural lashes.

I'm sorry ... fibers? Little hairy things? And you want me to put them on my lashes? My lashes, which are near my eyes? My eyes, which are extremely sensitive and irritation-prone due to a corneal dystrophy? I don't THINK so.

But, you know, free mascara! And reading further, I discovered that this stuff supposedly removes with just warm water and a little pressure like my beloved Blinc Kiss Me. Plus, it's reportedly a best-seller in Japan, and the Japanese know from good skincare/cosmetics (see: DHC, Boscia, et. al.). So I tried it.

And Oh. My. Goodness. I think I'm in love.

Fiberwig comes in a lovely red tube with a nice full brush, and you really can see the fibers in the product. You would think this would make it really clumpy and hard to work with, but it's not AT ALL. It applies like a dream with no clumps whatsoever and lengthens lashes like nothing I have ever seen. We are talking MILES long.

Fiberwig dries fairly quickly and once it's on, it feels completely weightless, like you're not even wearing mascara. And here's the thing that impresses me most -- it lasts ALL DAY LONG. I've been wearing this stuff nearly every day for weeks now, in the unbearably hot and damp/humid weather we've been having here in central Texas, and I've had absolutely NO flaking or smudging whatsoever. It stays on until you remove it, and it really does remove exactly the same way as Kiss Me -- just warm water and a bit of pressure -- WITHOUT getting in my eyes at all! In fact, I've had absolutely no irritation of any kind with this product -- not while applying it, wearing it, nor removing it.

I think this stuff might ACTUALLY be magic.

Fiberwig bills itself as "paint-on false lashes" but while it does lengthen like crazy, it really doesn't add volume, at least not to my lashes. My natural lashes are already fairly long and dark, but they're getting rather sparse as I age. If you have abundant but fairly short and/or pale lashes, you probably WILL get a true false eyelash effect with this stuff. As for me, I got "my lashes, but longer -- WAY longer!" And heck, I'm willing to sacrifice volume for a lack of clumping and irritation!

Fiberwig only comes in black, as far as I can tell, but it doesn't look harsh at all. If you like Kiss Me but it doesn't have quite enough "oomph" for you, or if you find it too wet/heavy, give this one a try! It's a couple of bucks cheaper, even!

Imju Fiberwig mascara is available for $22 at Sephora.

Product review: BeautyADDICTS HydraSUNRays Matte Bronzing Powder and PocketSIX Brush Set

In addition to a couple of swell palettes, the fine folks at BeautyADDICTS also sent me a bronzing powder compact and a cute little travel brush set for review.

HydraSUNRays Matte Bronzing Powder comes in a compact the same size as the RelationLIPS and SolutionEYES palettes -- about the size of a drugstore pressed powder compact, and very easy to tote along for touchups throughout the day. There's only one shade available from what I can tell -- a nice medium terracotta.

This powder is truly matte, as in no shimmer/glow whatsoever, and it's very sheer. It looks really pigmented in the pan, but if you apply it sparingly, you'll get just a whisper of buildable color. I would definitely characterize this as a warm-toned bronzing powder, so if you're a cool-toned gal who prefers a bit of pink in her brown, you might find that this stuff is too orange for you. It doesn't actually look orange on my warm-to-neutral skin at all -- just a soft, matte bronzey-brown.

I'm not self-tanning yet this summer (I know! what am I waiting for?!) and don't wear bronzing powder very often, so I don't know that I'd consider this product a must-have for my own personal makeup routine. But the sheerness makes it very wearable, even for a pale gal like me, and the lack of shimmer makes it very appropriate for my "mature" (groan!) skin. Now that I have it, it'll be the first thing I reach for when I need a little touch of sun!

HydraSUNRays Matte Bronzing Powder is available for $32 on the BeautyADDICTS website.


Ever since I received it, I've been using the PocketSIX Brush Set to death. There are six short-handled brushes included in the set -- one for lips, one for eyes, one for powder/blush, one for contouring, a rounded synthetic brush that I've been using for concealer (you could also use it for cream eyeshadow), and a flat synthetic brush for using with the "push" eyeliner method -- all packaged in a cute little clear envelope.

All of the brushes are a great quality -- very silky, and I've had no shedding with them whatsoever -- and do exactly what they're designed to do, but my favorite by far is the flat eyeliner brush. The short handle makes it so easy to use, and the shape and size are perfect for applying powdered eyeshadow right into the lashline. It may even replace my beloved MAC #266 brush as my eyeliner brush of choice!

The PocketSIX Brush Set is perfect for travel, and at $22, it's an absolute steal.

Product review: BeautyADDICTS RelationLIPS and SolutionEYES palettes in Express

Hey everyone! Has it really been almost a month since I posted a review? Crap! Sorry about that. The whole end-of-school/beginning-of-summer thing really zapped me this month and left very little time for trying and reviewing new products.

But I'm back, courtesy of the fabulous folks at BeautyADDICTS! (Beware -- the site plays music and I can't figure out how to turn it off.) This is a fairly new cosmetics company with an interesting approach -- instead of offering seasonal color stories, they have four color "families" featuring products that coordinate nicely together. Recently the company sent me a couple of palettes from their Express color family -- the warmest of the bunch -- and I was delighted to try them.

First let's take a look at the ExpressLIPS palette. It features four shades of gloss -- one matte, one high-shine, one glossy and one "sizzle", all in the caramel-to-nude range of colors.

I will tell you right now, I freakin' LOVE this palette.

The matte shade is the deepest of the bunch, a nice rosy caramel. It's not really matte the way some lipsticks are matte -- it's a gloss after all, so there is some shine to it. It's really lovely and falls under the heading of "your lips, but better". The "sizzle" is a lovely shimmery warm caramel that layers nicely over the matte shade for a bit more oomph, but it also looks great on its own. The high-shine gloss is a GORGEOUS warm nude that really is super shiny. I'm of the opinion that if you're going to do a nude lip, shiny is the way to go. Otherwise, the lips just look kind of dead. I'm not sure this shade would show up if your lips already have a lot of pigment, but on my bloodless lips this is just lovely and it's the one I'll probably use up most quickly. The glossy shade is a shimmery pale nude that's a bit lighter and cooler than the "sizzle" shade. It layers nicely with the shiny nude gloss or any of the other colors in the palette.

I absolutely love all the glosses in this palette and have been wearing them to death since summer vacation started. My only beef is that they're not very long-lasting. They do have a nice texture and an inoffensive flavor/smell, though, and the palette is small enough (about the size of a drugstore pressed powder palette) to make it easy to tote along for touchups throughout the day.

The BeautyADDICTS folks also sent me the eye palette from the Express color family. ExpressEYES features four shades of powder shadow -- a velvet matte, a shimmer, a frost and a definer, all in shades of chocolate to ivory. Like the lip palette, this one is absolutely gorgeous!

The velvet matte shade is a lovely vanilla-ivory. It makes a fantastic base for the other shadows. The shimmer is a lovely sand shade and I was thrilled to find that the shimmer itself is very fine and subtle. I'm not wild about shimmer on my eyes at my age -- you 40+ gals know what I'm talking about. But this was really pretty and did not emphasize my creping at all. The frost is a shimmery copper that's also nice and subtle, though a bit too orangey on my eyes. The definer is a matte dark chocolate/espresso brown that makes an AWESOME eyeliner.

I've been wearing these shadows over a base of Urban Decay Primer Potion and they last all day. They're highly pigmented and really do have a nice, silky texture. I'm desperate to find a way to wear the shimmery copper shade because it's gorgeous and I'm not sure why it looks more orangey on my skin than it does in the pan. But the other three shades are flat-out lovely on me, go figure. I don't wear eyeshadow very often but when I get the urge for it, this little palette is really all I need!

Stay tuned later this week (promise!) for reviews of BeautyADDICTS Hydra SUNrays Matte Bronzing Powder and PocketSIX Brush Set. And coming soon (I swear!), reviews of BeautyADDICTS Mineral SheerTINT and Imju's Fiberwig Mascara, along with other goodies!

The ExpressLIPS palette is $28 and the ExpressEYES palette is $35, both available from the BeautyADDICTS website (again with the music).

Product review: DHC Make Off Sheet

It's no secret that I adore DHC skincare products. My picky skin just seems to respond very well to whatever it is they're doing, and I love the company's quick shipping and generous sampling policy. While ordering a refill of my beloved Deep Cleansing Oil (which I've decided I really do prefer to the Whip product) last week, I happened to notice that the Make Off Sheet was on sale, so I added one to my cart just for the heck of it. I have never been a huge fan of wipes, pillows, poofs, etc. for daily cleansing, but they are really convenient for travel and we have an out-of-town wedding to attend later this month.

Make Off Sheet is a packet of 50 pre-moistened wipes for makeup removal. The sheets are a nice size -- rectangular and slightly larger than my hand. I've been using them on a dry face and I'm pleased to find that they don't bunch or ball up when I'm trying to wipe my face with them like a lot of wipes seem to do.

I'm also pleased to find that they do a GREAT job of removing makeup. I've been wearing powdered foundation lately (CoverGirl Tru Blend) because of the awful humidity we've been having here in Texas, and one little wipe is all I need for my entire face. It even did a great job of removing two coats of Besame mascara last night, with absolutely no stinging whatsoever! (Thanks so much for all of your recommendations for eye makeup removers, by the way! I have noted them all for future shopping missions, but it looks like we may already have a winner!)

The only thing I don't like is that it leaves a bit of a sticky film behind. I've been following it up with another cleanser, usually Juice Organics Brightening Cleanser, and while that makes my face feel cleaner, it also proves that the wipe alone is removing all of my makeup -- there is absolutely none left on the washcloth. I should probably try just rinsing alone after using the wipe and see if that gets the slight film off, but as you all know, I'm a sucker for a double-cleansing routine!

Make Off Sheet definitely gets two thumbs up from me. If all cleansing sheets/wipes were like this, I might become a convert!

Make Off Sheet is available from DHC. The regular price is $6 for the package and $5 for refills, but through the end of May the $6 package is only $5!

Product review: Boots Botanics Randiance Renewal Night Serum

Ever since I used up my (free, sent to me for review) bottle of the fabulous Juice Beauty Green Apple Antioxidant Serum, I've been determined to find a lower-cost replacement. The first one I tried, as you may remember, was Juice Organics Brightening Serum from CVS, which sadly was not up to par (although it was less than half the cost of the Juice Beauty product, which was a bonus).

The most recent contender was Boots Botanics Radiance Renewal Night Serum, which I spotted at Target recently and snapped up for a mere $16 -- even cheaper than the Juice Organics stuff!

What I loved most about the Juice Beauty serum was its ability to smooth my skin and even out my skintone. When I was using it, my skin was so soft and smooth to the touch and just looked clear and luminous and fantastic! The info on the package of the Boots product made it sound as though it might have a similar effect, so I decided to give it a try.

During the first few days (well, nights actually) of use I thought I had found a winner. While it didn't have as dramatic an effect on my skin as the Juice Beauty serum did, it was far superior to the Juice Organics product. The texture of the Boots serum is very similar to the Juice Beauty serum -- a sort of semi-transparent gel that blends easily into the skin. But while the Juice Beauty serum disappears into the skin pretty much completely, the Boots stuff leaves a sort of silicone film behind. Which is fine, what with it being a nighttime serum and all. My skin did feel wonderfully smooth in the morning and it evened my skintone to some degree at first.

However, after a couple of days (nights) of use, I started getting clogged pores and little mini-zits. I discontinued use for a week and my skin cleared up; tried the product again and broke out again. (That's what took me so long to get this review up, by the way -- I was trying to determine whether the serum was really the problem. And it is.)

And so sadly, we are at strike two. While I do think this is a very good serum, particularly for the price, it would appear that this is yet another product that my extremely finicky skin can't tolerate. Rats!

Okay, enough messing around. I'm just going to shell out $45 for the Juice Beauty crappe and have done with it!

Product review: Besame Sculpture Lash mascara

As longtime readers know, I am loyal to one mascara and one mascara ONLY: Kiss Me by Blinc. This is because I have a cornea condition that makes my eyes EXTREMELY sensitive to any sort of irritant whatsoever. While not all mascaras irritate my eyes while I'm wearing them, most do upon removal because there's just no good way to do that without getting some product in the eyes. Since Kiss Me removes with water only and does not dissolve but instead slides off in little tubes, it's pretty much the only mascara I've found that I can both wear AND remove without irritation.

However, the fine folks at Besame, makers of truly fabulous cosmetics, recently sent me a tube of their new Sculpture Lash (in Black) for review, and I decided to give it a go.

Like all Besame products, the packaging for Sculpture Lash is just beautiful. It comes in a substantial (I mean, not HUGE, but not a skinny little thing either) shiny gold tube embossed with Besame's signature floral logo. The brush itself is fairly large and full but I didn't have any trouble maneuvering it around my lashes. The product applied easily with virtually no clumping and absolutely no smudging. I only wear mascara on my upper lashes, so I can't speak to how the brush would work on lower lashes.

Once it's on, this stuff is GORGEOUS. My lashes are fairly long and dark already (thank goodness ONE aspect of my face has not gone all to hell -- YET) and this product didn't make a dramatic difference, but it did noticeably enhance the appearance of my lashes. They were just more THERE. It was very natural looking -- think "my lashes but better" -- but so lovely and soft. Speaking of soft, my lashes stayed that way the entire time I was wearing the product. No crunchy lashes here! I had no smudging at all through normal wear, though one day when I forgot and rubbed my eyes, I did get some smudging on the lower lid.

I experienced no irritation while actually wearing this product, and was tempted not to remove it AT ALL, but I knew that would be bad. I ended up trying two different methods of removal: DHC Whip Cleansing Oil and Clinique Naturally Gentle eye makeup remover. With the cleansing oil, I just took a little that was left on my fingers after applying it to my face as usual and sort of rubbed it on my lashes. Then I rinsed my whole face with a wet washcloth. The product removed very easily, but I did get some eye irritation with it. With the Clinique product, I massaged a small amount into my lashes and then wiped it off with a tissue. Yowza -- MAJOR eye irritation. In fact, two days later, my eyes are still burning a bit.

So here is the deal: if you are able to wear most mascaras and remove them without irritation, I do absolutely recommend this mascara. It's really, really gorgeous and performs well (unless you want really dramatic lashes, in which case it might not have enough oomph for you). If you have sensitive eyes but have found an eye makeup remover that works for you without irritation, you might want to give this mascara a try as well. (And also, please let me know what remover you're using! I'm pretty sure I've tried them all, but you never know.)

I absolutely love this product but unfortunately, until I find a way to remove it without irritation, it's not something I'll be able to wear every day. I'll just have to save it for special occasions!