Edward Bess Deep Shine Lip Gloss - French Lace - Swatches and Review

I always feel weird saying anything less than positive about any product, especially one by a brand that I have come to know and love. There I said it - confessions of a beauty blogger. With that being said, I resolved to be objective and point out both the positive and negative in a product, aiming in the hopes that with enough feedback from enough people the appropriate people catch wind and changes can be made turning the negative into a positive.

The product in this review is Edward Bess' Deep Shine Lip Gloss in 'French Lace' - a pale, creamy pink gloss. I was in the market for a more subdued pink as I have plenty of peachy pink glosses and plenty of bubblegum pinks in my arsenal. Toss in a couple of hot pinks and that rounds out my collection. What I do not have is a faint pink gloss. Enter 'French Lace'. It seemed serendipitous that I stumbled upon The Everyday Beauty blog where she just happened to be featuring said lip gloss and I just happened to be needing wanting the exact lip gloss she was describing and by Edward Bess of all people!!! I think I rushed off to the Neiman Marcus website to order before I could even read the rest of her review, I was that excited. I think if I didn't have that darn beauty ADD of mine, I may have just paused enough to read the rest before hitting 'order' on my computer screen. I may have just saved myself $30.00. Oh, who am I kidding? I would have probably still ordered it because I was looking for a reason to order this and then this review practically fell in my lap!

Shown here: three swipes of gloss 

The good about this lip gloss:

• It's lanolin-free. 

• The color is really pretty. I do like the fact that I don't already own something in the same family as this color. 

• The lip gloss smells good as you are hit with his signature fig scent when using this. The smell doesn't last too long, but if you are sensitive to smell heed this as a word of caution.  

The ok about this lip gloss: 

• The applicator is not my favorite either. My favorite is the doe-footed ones ala Chanel's Rogue Allure's. The sponged tipped applicator is sufficient but considering this is part of a premium cosmetic line I expect something above sufficient. 

The not so good about this lip gloss:

• It is sticky and I do not like the way it feels on my lips. I want to grab the nearest napkin and rub it off, not what I had in mind when applying this. The lipgloss claims to be hydrating, I disagree -sticky does not equal hydration. 

• It is rather a pain in the you-know-what to apply. I have read he changed his packaging rather recently and from what I have gathered not all those changes were welcomed. Seeing how this is my first lip gloss from him, I have nothing to compare it too. I can attest to the fact that if he did make the opening to this gloss smaller and make it more of a challenge to get enough gloss to adequately coat your lips, then I would say no dice! Do not think you can swiftly put this on without going unnoticed in public unless you were trying to bring attention to the fact that you are putting on your lip gloss after dipping the applicator several times. 

• The gloss also claims to have an exclusive treatment (not sure what???) that "ensures fullness" - my lips look the same to me before as after wearing this. 

The lip gloss can be purchased for $30.00 at http://www.neimanmarcus.com or http://www.edwardbess.com. You can find it at brick and mortar stores at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills or in New York City at Bergdorf Goodman's. For those in the UK, you can purchase Edward Bess products through http://www.zuneta.com/. 

What is your holy grail lip gloss? Mine is Chanel (Glossimers, Rogue Allure's, etc.) 

May 2011 Favorites

Even though May had 31 days in it, it did seem to go by rather quickly. Here are the products (some I have talked about before, some I have not) that I got a lot of use out of and helped keep me purdy throughout the month: 

• Le Metier de Beaute eye lash curler is in a class of it's own. This replaced my Shu-Umera curler the instant I tried it. Ever since, I have been giving Shu the cold shoulder. Retails for $18.00 and is worth every penny.

• Butter London's nail lacquer in 'Snog' looks great to use in a summer pedicure or for those more daring, just as great on the fingers. It is as hot-pink as you get without venturing into neon territory. Retails for $14.00

• Chanel's Base Lumiere is a fantastic illuminating makeup base that gives you that "glow from within" look, perfect for layering under your foundation. Retails for $42.00 

• Edward Bess' Ultra Luminous Shadow in 'Storm' is my holy grail shadow to date. I love how buttery soft the texture is and the color is gorgeous! I have a weakness for silvery/mauvey taupes (and yes that is a color! ;) ). Retails for  $30.00 

• Le Metier De Beaute's Crease Brush is a recent acquisition of mine. From the day I received it, I wondered how I got by without it. The capability to make my makeup look blended is awesome with this brush. Retails for $45.00 

• Chantecaille's Brillant Gloss in 'Love', with one swipe my lips look perfectly kissable. *mwaaa* It is also such a delicate pink -- perfect for running my errands in. Retails for $28.00

• Another one of my favorites is Le Metier De Beaute's Dualistic Eye Pencil in 'Tamarack' which can serve as both an eye shadow base or as a liner. The color depth of this gorgeous brown is something that one can only be appreciated in person. Retails for $36.00

What were your May favorites? Please share, I love finding new product discoveries.

La Mer's The Eye Concentrate

The cream, the myth, the legend...La Mer

So I want to mix things up a bit on my blog and talk to you about skincare. I know that 99% of my posts have focused on cosmetics but I am also very passionate about skin care. I feel that unless you invest time and money into skincare and really take care of your skin, then the world's priciest makeup is pretty useless and will only make you look so good. You really do want to focus on the literal foundation of our face, which is our skin. I am not going to lecture you on the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and drinking enough water, we all know that by now (goes to heed her own advice and consumes some leafy greens).........

One area of the face, I would really pay attention to is your eye area. This is especially important given the fact that the skin surrounding your eye is not only more delicate, but thinner than any other area on your face (so are your lips, but I will talk about that in a later post). For those two reasons alone, it helps to explain why many women, myself included, suffer from product allergies.

The cream I use and have been a loyal devotee to is La Mer. As I approached 30 I really started to take good care of my skin. I've never been the type to sleep in my makeup, but I really stepped up my game and got regular facials and really started using great products - enter La Mer.

The Eye Concentrate is a high-end, luxury eye cream that retails for $165.00 for 0.5 oz., but before you completely discredit it on price alone, know that it lasts me on average 9 months - no kidding - using it once daily at night! For daytime, I like to use an eye cream that contains SPF in it. It is full of active ingredients and a little really does go a long way. It disappears into my skin, is non-greasy, and does not irritate my eye area, while at the same time moisturizing it. It comes with a silver-tipped applicator to dab the product on with, but I have an allergy to metals (I have sensitive skin, I'm telling you) so I just use my ring finger. Before discovering that I had that metal allergy, I remember using the applicator to apply the cream and feeling how cool it felt to my eye area which help accelerates in reducing puffiness. *Remember to always dab creams/gels onto your surrounding eye socket in a clockwise motion and never tugging at the eye area.*    

I will just say that even if I could not "afford" this eye cream I would find a way to buy it (kidneys fetch a high price on the black market, right?) I kid, but honestly, I do think this eye cream is that good. I've been using this particular eye cream for about 3 years now and have really noticed a difference. I notice it helping diminish my fine lines and wrinkles. It may not all be the eye creams credit (thanks mom and dad), but I am not willing to take that gamble to find out. It also helps fight puffiness and dark circles. This little gem has been my secret weapon for years; that and YSL's Touche Eclat into tricking people that I am well-rested! Ha, I am a mom after all! 

Here is some more information about the Eye Concentrate per La Mer's website:

"A deeply conditioning cream formulated with hematite, a magnetically-charged mineral, to help dramatically dissolve the appearance of dark circles, surface discolorations and unevenness. The look of lines and wrinkles is softened. Over time, a visibly healthier, smoother and more luminous look is revealed." 

Bottom line: You get what you pay for! A terrific product that really does deliver results! 

What eye cream do you use? 

Becca's Tangerine Dream Nail Polish

I was thrilled when I was presented with the opportunity to do an international swap and pick up some new products from lines that I had zero experience with. Suddenly the vigor to try makeup that I could not pick up locally sparked some enthusiasm in me! Besides, I need to break out of my beauty rut.

I had seen reviews on Becca in the past, courtesy of some stellar UK bloggers (Visionary Beauty, and Modesty Brown, etc.) but admittedly I never paid that much attention since I knew that brand was not available to me. When the idea of the swap was presented with Jane, from Modesty Brown my interest in these brands were sent into high gear. I am swiftly becoming quite the nail polish aficionado and knew I wanted to try a nail polish. I went to Becca Cosmetics (an Australian company) website and settled on 'Tangerine Dreams' - described as "a bright sunset coral." Becca's 'Tangerine Dreams' is part of her Halycon Days collection, which now includes nail polishes, and was inspired by the flower child in all of us. I have always been a fan of coral and love that every summer it reappears in stores, gracing both fashion and cosmetics.

I was so excited to get to try a new brand of nail polish, a brand that I had heard good things about overall. For the last two days I have been walking around with three different nail colors and decided that enough was enough -- a proper at home manicure was in order. Time to give 'Tangerine Dreams' a go.

I had just read a review that the nail polish was on the thicker side so after that the bar for this bottle was set pretty low. I could not have been more pleased when applying this. There was first, little to no odor and it applied like a dream. It was not thick at all and in fact I got away with just one even coat, something that always impresses me! The brush was wide, not as great as the newly redesigned Dior nail polish brush - my favorite nail polish brush! Like Deborah Lippmann, Le Metier De Beaute, and Butter London polishes, these are formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, and DBP free. Becca polishes are not tested on animals either, something I know is a concern to many of you.

With Memorial Day weekend being the unofficial kickoff to summer, what better way to usher in the new season than with a bright, cheery shade that screams "SUMMER"?!

I cannot attest to the staying power of this polish since I just did my nails, but for the life of me I cannot seem to get a polish to last on me longer than three days without at least some minimal chipping. I think being a mommy it is part of the territory, especially a mommy that still begrudgingly lovingly changes diapers and washes her hands constantly! It doesn't matter if it is a drug store brand or a department brand polish they all have pretty much the same staying power on me.

You can buy Becca cosmetics stateside from b-glowing.com, dermstore.com, or beautyhabit.com. For those living in the UK you can find Becca Cosmetics at Zuneta.com. Zuneta will also ship worldwide. Australian beauties can pick up Becca from Adore Beauty or Active Skin.

Retails for $15.00 USD or £12.

What are your favorite coral/orange nail polishes? I would love to know! 

EOTD Le Metier De Beaute Penelope

I just happened to be walking through utopia the cosmetic section of Newport Beach's Neiman Marcus when who do I stumble upon, but none other than the fabulous Kayla from Le Metier. You know, the charismatic brunette who does all those fabulous Le Metier Youtube videos we are all fascinated by, and also widely known by Twitter followers.

I was greeted with a great and warm response. I'll admit I was a bit starstruck shy to meet her. I was immediately put at ease by her down-to-earth attitude. We conversed about makeup and Le Metier as if we were old friends.

The best part was sitting in her chair and having her do my makeup! I was so excited to see the look she created on me unfold in front of my eyes. First, she lined my lower lid with Le Metier's Dualistic Eye Pencil in 'Tamarack' and smudged it onto my eyes. Then she used their 'Penelope' kaleidoscope and applied 'Black Emerald' and put it over my lid focusing on the lower half. Then, she skipped to 'Satin Amethyst' and blended the dark, forest green in with the lavender (that alone was beautiful). She then applied my favorite shade, 'Bronze Topaz', and finished off blending in 'Blonde Amber'. She lined my waterline with 'Tamarack' and applied some of the color below the eyelid as well. She mentioned that you need the bottom of the eye to reflect the top of the eye for balance. I thought that was a really good makeup tip and something worth passing on to those with these wonderful kaleidoscopes. She then used their Precision Liquid Eyeliner in 'Noir' to make the smallest line along my lashes over the 'Tamarack' pencil. The finishing touch was Le Metier's Anamorphic Lash Mascara in 'Midnight Blue' (which is now on my wish list). That complimented the green and purple from the kaleidoscope so well. Afraid of color I am not and I really loved the dramatic effect she created for me. I think it really brought out my eye color!

Onto the rest of my face. She touched up my Peau Vierge in the lightest shade and used their Classic Flawless Finish Concealer in shade number 6 (they do not go in order from lightest to darkest), then used their Blushing Bronzed Duet in 'Travita' to bring out my cheekbones.

(Sorry, Kayla if I missed a step. I really hope I didn't. I was enjoying myself too much to pay full attention to the details of it all).

It was also a delight to see how much fun Kayla was having doing her "job" - she really came to life applying my makeup and it was a real pleasure sitting in her chair and "playing". I encourage anyone who is fortunate to live near her (she travels to throughout the West Coast frequently) to go pay her a visit. I'm so glad I worked up the courage to introduce myself -- she even recognized me (*blushes*). I seriously could not stop staring at my makeup. I just wish I could do half as good of a job as she did!

Here are the pics of the finished look:

Close-up shot

With my eyes open, doesn't the color pop?

I promise this looked so much better in person. This was also taken with a flash and I'm sure that washed the coloring out a bit.

Thanks again, Kayla!