A couple of days ago I have thought about, what I would do if certain things would not have been invented. This is nothing beauty related. But can you imagine what life would be without all these luxury-goods like Internet, airplanes, a stove and so on. Of course this is nothing necessary, but it’s making life easier and more fun, right?!
That made me think about beauty/makeup products I don’t want to miss. I know that there is definitely more important in life, but I like to have this little bit of luxury in my life (please don’t mind).
So here you have my “All time favorites”…
Clinique-Dramatically Different Moisturizer Lotion:
I cannot thank Clinique enough for offering this moisturizer! Before I have found this HG I had gone through a long period of super dry skin (my Neurodermatitis was showing up). Everything else I have tried was still not moisturizing enough or made me break out. The first time I put this lotion on, even without the other components of the skincare system, I immediately knew that this is the right product for me! I swear my skin felt never that healthy before & it never looked that good. As a real Dry-Skin person I can say that this moisturizer is doing its job and so much more.
Clinique-Redness Solution Urgent Relief Cream:
There are a bunch of products, which are meant to be a Redness-Killer. I have never tried one of these before, therefore this is nothing I can compare to others. This cream/gel formulation is the first one I have tried and there is no reason for me to check something different.
This is like an emergency key item. Sometimes my skin is super red. I don’t know what causes this, probably one of all my allergies. I don’t want to feel the need to put on foundation just to cover the redness and sometimes even foundation is not providing enough coverage. If I see in the morning that there is something wrong with my skin I put this product on and everything is fine. Within one minute all the redness is gone and I can feel the relief on my skin!!! Also this works amazing as a base for your following foundation. It’s going to look more even and it is easier to blend into the skin.
Bobbi Brown-Moisture Rich Foundation:
It’s not that long ago since I have bought this foundation. But this one offers everything I was hoping for. It’s like the ultimate foundation for me! It’s made for dry skin; it is not going to make me break out; provides medium coverage without covering me (if that makes sense) & I have finally found a foundation in the right shade (which is not so easy for an extremely pale person like me).
Urban Decay-Eyeshadow Primer Potion:
In my opinion using an eyeshadow base is a key step to create a nice eye makeup! I’m not saying that this one is the only one that works, but for me it’s working the best. The eyeshadows are easier to blend and will stay on much longer.
Artdeco- Mineral Kajal Liner
It’s not possible for me to decide for just one color, which I love the most. I love them all so far. They are great for sensitive eyes; they last the whole day & they are so inexpensive. The colors are great for adding some pop of color, when I’m not having the time to do a complex eye makeup.
Clinique-Lash Doubling Mascara:
I was a little disloyal recently, but know I have come back to this mascara. I do not really know why I’ve tried something different, I am completely fine with this mascara, probably I was just bored of using the same mascara for so long right now. It always gave me full & long lashes; never irritated my eyes; lasts all day & I love the real dark black color it’s adding to my lashes!
(I’ve also written an entire review about this mascara, which you can read here:
http://preciouslilies.blogspot.com/2009/11/clinique-lash-doubling-mascara.html )
NYX-Lip Lacquer Pot
This is like a 2-in-1 product for me. It’s like a lips balm, because of the moisturizing effect. But it’s also adding a nice sheer color to the lips. Maybe you can call it a tinted lip balm, even if it’s not meant to be one. If I have dry lips then wearing a lipstick/lipgloss is not the best option, cause my lips will look super chappy (even in combination with chapstick or some Vaseline). In those situations I love to use this product. Note: The “Lip Lacquer Pot” is hypoallergenic (that means good in case of sensitive lips)!
I’m very curious what your favorites are! What would you always repurchase? Please let me know!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Favorite Drugstore Lipsticks (for dry lips)
To be honest for a long time I hated to wear lipsticks, because they were not compatible with my dry lips. I had the feeling that they are going to dry out my lips even more.
The only option I had were lipglosses, but I was never a huge fan of these. I did not like this kind of wet feeling on my lips and the fact that they do not really last long was a disadvantage as well.
I know times have changed & quality has improved. Now I’m also investing money on lipglosses as well. Note: INVESTING is the key term. I have found out that I have to go for high end brands, when I’m searching for a glossy lip product.
But I think there is a good & less expensive drugstore alternative, which makes me really happy. I like to have different options, when it comes to lip colors. It’s like the same with nail polish. You have that one color that always works for you, but you want to have the possibility to pick the color according to your mood or look. And drugstores are always offering a huge color palette, especially when it comes to lipsticks.
I have to mention that the problem of dry lips is still a part of me. But as I said before, time has changed and cosmetic brands understood that they have to concentrate on their customers wishes. Of course the company decides what they are offering the market, but the customer decides what is going to be a winning product. And therefore cosmetic brands are focusing on the idea of covering any specific need a customer possibly could have.
That’s why we find products for oily skin, acne prone skin & sensitive skin and so on. I really like that and I like the idea of lip products especially for dry lips! Not just because of the fact that I have to deal with it. But have you ever heard someone saying I have too oily lips??? I guess dry lips are much more common, right?
Since I have recognized that there are moisturizing lipsticks available, I love to play a little with these and I’m not willing to stay away from lipsticks anymore.
Long story short and let me come to the point: I know I’m not the only person faced with that problem and that’s why I would like to share with you, my favorite drugstore lipsticks for dry lips.
The very first brand I have recognized offering these special products is MANHATTAN COSMETICS (I don’t know, if they really have been the first ones) and they call this lipstick line “INTENSE MOISTURE & GLOSS.”
On top no. 56E & down below no.53G
CONSISTANCY:
No difference to any other lipstick.
COLOR RANGE:
The color range is huge. On the German homepage there are 41 colors listed. But to be honest I have not seen a drugstore that would offer all of them. In addition to the basic collection they have additional categories called the “Silky Glam Collection” & “Natural Nudes Collection”. I guess everyone would find a favorite color in between.
FINISH:
They offer different finishes. The problem is that they do not mention which finish the certain colors have, therefore you need to try out. They have very sheer shades, which just leave some shimmer on your lips. They have luster, pearly and glittery colors. But I have not found any matte shade so far.
DURABILITY:
It requires a touch up every 1-1 ½ hours.
SCENT:
The scent is intense and smells like vanilla.
TOLERABILITY:
There is one color so far, that was not suitable for my lips and caused a little irritation. Probably that happened because of the included glitter.
FEELING ON LIPS:
At the beginning you won’t notice that you have anything on. But you will notice, when your lips need a touch up, cause your lips start to lose their softness.
PACKAGING:
It’s overall nothing special. It has a red color and a rectangular shape. But it lays good in the hands.
PRICE:
Roughly € 5,-
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
There is one disadvantage I would like to mention. It happened twice that the product itself loses the connection to the casing (it’s not broken).
The only option I had were lipglosses, but I was never a huge fan of these. I did not like this kind of wet feeling on my lips and the fact that they do not really last long was a disadvantage as well.
I know times have changed & quality has improved. Now I’m also investing money on lipglosses as well. Note: INVESTING is the key term. I have found out that I have to go for high end brands, when I’m searching for a glossy lip product.
But I think there is a good & less expensive drugstore alternative, which makes me really happy. I like to have different options, when it comes to lip colors. It’s like the same with nail polish. You have that one color that always works for you, but you want to have the possibility to pick the color according to your mood or look. And drugstores are always offering a huge color palette, especially when it comes to lipsticks.
I have to mention that the problem of dry lips is still a part of me. But as I said before, time has changed and cosmetic brands understood that they have to concentrate on their customers wishes. Of course the company decides what they are offering the market, but the customer decides what is going to be a winning product. And therefore cosmetic brands are focusing on the idea of covering any specific need a customer possibly could have.
That’s why we find products for oily skin, acne prone skin & sensitive skin and so on. I really like that and I like the idea of lip products especially for dry lips! Not just because of the fact that I have to deal with it. But have you ever heard someone saying I have too oily lips??? I guess dry lips are much more common, right?
Since I have recognized that there are moisturizing lipsticks available, I love to play a little with these and I’m not willing to stay away from lipsticks anymore.
Long story short and let me come to the point: I know I’m not the only person faced with that problem and that’s why I would like to share with you, my favorite drugstore lipsticks for dry lips.
The very first brand I have recognized offering these special products is MANHATTAN COSMETICS (I don’t know, if they really have been the first ones) and they call this lipstick line “INTENSE MOISTURE & GLOSS.”
CONSISTANCY:
The creamiest lipstick I can imagine.
COLOR RANGE:
There are not so many different colors (maybe a total of 8) and overall more neutral colors. The individual shades are very close to each other. When you are searching for a nude color, probably you will find the right one amongst this collection.
FINISH:
This lipstick looks super glossy and provides a good coverage with an opaque characteristic. No glitter or shimmer included. If you normally would prefer a lipgloss, but they are not thick enough for you when it comes to coverage, then you should try one of these lipsticks.
DURABILITY:
As long you are not willing to kiss or eat or drink, they lipstick will last a couple of hours.
SCENT:
It smells very sweet & reminds me on cotton candy.
TOLERABILITY:
As mentioned before, there definitely has been some scent added. That’s always a risky thing for sensitive lips. But I did not notice any irritation.
FEELING ON LIPS:
You can immediately feel that your lips become moisturized. But it feels how it looks, glossy & wet. I can imagine that this is not likeable for everyone.
PACKAGING:
It Looks classical with a mainly deep red body and black detail running around the center. It has a metal finish. In my opinion it looks like a premium lipstick, but a little boring as well. The known cursive written M is not obvious, because it has been molded onto the top cap.
PRICE:
Roughly € 5,-
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
This is probably just my opinion, but I prefer products which have a significant name, for each individual shade/color I can identify with. Of course the colors of the Intense Moisture & Gloss range have individual names, too. Or better say codes like 53G. But that’s not what I want to call a significant name.
The creamiest lipstick I can imagine.
COLOR RANGE:
There are not so many different colors (maybe a total of 8) and overall more neutral colors. The individual shades are very close to each other. When you are searching for a nude color, probably you will find the right one amongst this collection.
FINISH:
This lipstick looks super glossy and provides a good coverage with an opaque characteristic. No glitter or shimmer included. If you normally would prefer a lipgloss, but they are not thick enough for you when it comes to coverage, then you should try one of these lipsticks.
DURABILITY:
As long you are not willing to kiss or eat or drink, they lipstick will last a couple of hours.
SCENT:
It smells very sweet & reminds me on cotton candy.
TOLERABILITY:
As mentioned before, there definitely has been some scent added. That’s always a risky thing for sensitive lips. But I did not notice any irritation.
FEELING ON LIPS:
You can immediately feel that your lips become moisturized. But it feels how it looks, glossy & wet. I can imagine that this is not likeable for everyone.
PACKAGING:
It Looks classical with a mainly deep red body and black detail running around the center. It has a metal finish. In my opinion it looks like a premium lipstick, but a little boring as well. The known cursive written M is not obvious, because it has been molded onto the top cap.
PRICE:
Roughly € 5,-
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
This is probably just my opinion, but I prefer products which have a significant name, for each individual shade/color I can identify with. Of course the colors of the Intense Moisture & Gloss range have individual names, too. Or better say codes like 53G. But that’s not what I want to call a significant name.
(Here you can see swatches of the colors I own)
On top no. 56E & down below no.53G Let’s continue with Jade Maybelline’s version “MOISTURE EXTREME”- Lipstick.
CONSISTANCY:
No difference to any other lipstick.
COLOR RANGE:
The color range is huge. On the German homepage there are 41 colors listed. But to be honest I have not seen a drugstore that would offer all of them. In addition to the basic collection they have additional categories called the “Silky Glam Collection” & “Natural Nudes Collection”. I guess everyone would find a favorite color in between.
FINISH:
They offer different finishes. The problem is that they do not mention which finish the certain colors have, therefore you need to try out. They have very sheer shades, which just leave some shimmer on your lips. They have luster, pearly and glittery colors. But I have not found any matte shade so far.
DURABILITY:
It requires a touch up every 1-1 ½ hours.
SCENT:
The scent is intense and smells like vanilla.
TOLERABILITY:
There is one color so far, that was not suitable for my lips and caused a little irritation. Probably that happened because of the included glitter.
FEELING ON LIPS:
At the beginning you won’t notice that you have anything on. But you will notice, when your lips need a touch up, cause your lips start to lose their softness.
PACKAGING:
It’s overall nothing special. It has a red color and a rectangular shape. But it lays good in the hands.
PRICE:
Roughly € 5,-
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
There is one disadvantage I would like to mention. It happened twice that the product itself loses the connection to the casing (it’s not broken).
From left to right: no. 115/pink porcelain (or no. 403/porcelaine rose); no. 128/silver rose (or no. 77/rose argenté); no. 117 (or no. 417)/satin sunrise; no. 485/lush papaya (or no. 406/ tendre papaye). The numbering & names in brackets are probably meant to be the identification in France.
The last candidate and probably my favorite product line is “Moisturizing Color” by ESPRIT. It’s also the line that made me feel the most skeptical as well. Just because of the fact that Esprit is well known as a clothing brand. Often a company that tries to expand their product supply and adds a completely new field will offer nothing as good as the original work is known for. But I can say different about Esprit!
CONSISTANCY:
At seems to be dry in comparison to other lipsticks cause it does not go on very smooth.
COLOR RANGE:
You can decide between a lot of different colors (25 in total) and you will find every possible tone no matter if you prefer darker reddish or brown colors or really bright summer colors.
FINISH:
Most of the colors have a matte finish as far as I have seen, some of them do have a little touch of shimmer.
DURABILITY:
This lipstick last the whole day. Of course it’s not looking the same in the evening anymore, when you have applied it in the morning. It loses some intensity during the day, but there is always a little bit of color left, so that your lips are never looking naked. Even if you drink a lot it will remain on your lips.
SCENT:
These ones have the typical flavor that a lot of lipsticks implicate. It smells slightly waxy, but not displeasing.
TOLERABILITY:
First of all Esprit Cosmetics have been declared as hypoallergenic. But this is easy to say. I have not tried anything else besides their lipsticks until yet. The lipsticks really do not irritate my lips. FEELING ON LIPS:
The lips are feeling super healthy and soft and I often forget that I have something on my lips. Most important is that I still have moisturized lips the next day!
PACKAGING:
Again the packaging is nothing special, but it looks elegant with the reddish-brown color and silver details.
PRICE:
Thinking of this as a drugstore product it is a little pricey. It cost round about € 8,-, but the quality makes it worth to pay for it.
no. 208/bohemian pink
I hope I was able to help you with my experiences and thoughts! And if you have any recommendations please let me know, I’m curious what else is there on the market.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Need a shopping/ styling assistant?
Since I had a little chat with a friend about some Trend-Forecasting , which was the topic of a university project last Friday, I recognized how undefined the trend of this spring/summer season actually is. Normally you will find clear mood & color boards for every season, but this time it’s a little bit of everything.
From my point of view I would say, that this is going to be easier for the consumers, because you can pretty much wear whatever you want, without looking strange. And I always considered that an individual style is more interesting than a copied look.
But there are people/consumers who want and need these kind of guidelines, to feel more secured during their shopping trips and thinking about this seasons (not really existing) forecast I can understand that.
Therefore I decided to try helping my friend and maybe you as the consumers as well, with this tricky topic.
But let me clarify something first: Even if I’m a fashion student and have joined an ‘on-the-job training’ after school, I never learned the profession of a Trend-Researcher. It has been just a little (and very tiny) part of one of our lectures and is the topic of a current project (which seems to be very interesting to me). Therefore I’m just more or less translating what has been said regarding this by the professor, who is leading my project.
The easiest thing you can do is: Just wear what you have worn during last year’s spring/summer season. Cause if you have bought/ worn things in pastels or find things in your wardrobe with some floral print then you are still (let’s call it) up-to-date.
And for those who felt in love with the purple-/ or coral-colored garments, I have good news: They are still trendy colors.
In addition there are also some new designs and developments, of course. Cause companies want to sell new products to make money. Therefore they cannot live with the sureness of consumers, who already have everything they need to be well dressed.
Let’s have a look at the favored colors for the spring/ summer season 2010
– ICE CREAM:
Have you heard of the “Ice-Cream colors”? This is basically what is described as this seasons ( it’s going to last for the whole year) trendy colors!
There is not one single color, to concentrate on. But there is a color-family, which has won the run for the first place: Soft and creamy looking colors like baby-pink, light-blue, pastel-green, syringa & lavender.
And here is a quote from my professor corresponding to this: “Think of words and feelings, which are touching your heart and come to your mind, when you think of a puff. This puff you should have in mind, when you are looking at these colors.”
Okay, I know this sounds stagy, but somehow I was able to understand what she wanted to mediate.
The ‘Hot-Topic’ print of spring/ summer season 2010 – JAPANESE STYLE:
I can imagine what you will think when you are going to hear of the ‘Japanese-Style’. But you don’t have to be afraid. You are not supposed to where the traditional kimono.
I’ve mentioned the floral print before as a still wearable print and this is the addition to that. The special thing about this look is that you have to concentrate on cherry blossoms and orchid inspired prints.
But you can also find the Japanese features in the range of the cuttings. Think of wrapped dresses and loose fitting sleeves.
Still an Evergreen in spring season/summer 2010 – CARDIGAN & USED LOOK:
Who does not love to wear something comfortable? A nice fashionable garment for this comfy look is the cardigan, but it has a new form. The buttons have been deleted and the front section is longer than the back part. And one key item too make the cardigan look more special, is the belt. Just put it on top and create a gathered look. One note must be included: These new cardigans are made to look casual, it’s working as a disadvantage to wear them too narrow!
And how to cover the legs? Just go for your good old washed-out jeans. And you should decide for the slim fitting ones. Because this season is still concentrating on lose fitting tops and long shirts. And we all know that we have to balance somehow that oversized look of the upper part that is covering our body.
Accessories of spring/summer season 2010 – PIMP YOUR STYLE:
Probably you think that the look for this season is going to be a little unspectacular, but we have not included the accessories, yet. And now it’s becoming interesting. In contrast to the pastels we will see on the fabrics, we can now play with lively and flashy bracelets etc., which have an extraordinary shape or neon color.
I think this is a nice overview of current “It-Pieces” and it should be able to create something nice with these explanations.
And now leave the house for some shopping ;)
Copyright of the pictures belong to jolie.de and the cooperating brands. During our project we have worked with the following website, which I like to mention as a research resource.
http://modetrends.suite101.de/article.cfm/modetrends_im_fruehling_2010
http://mystyle.jolie.de/jolie/outfits/14507
From my point of view I would say, that this is going to be easier for the consumers, because you can pretty much wear whatever you want, without looking strange. And I always considered that an individual style is more interesting than a copied look.
But there are people/consumers who want and need these kind of guidelines, to feel more secured during their shopping trips and thinking about this seasons (not really existing) forecast I can understand that.
Therefore I decided to try helping my friend and maybe you as the consumers as well, with this tricky topic.
But let me clarify something first: Even if I’m a fashion student and have joined an ‘on-the-job training’ after school, I never learned the profession of a Trend-Researcher. It has been just a little (and very tiny) part of one of our lectures and is the topic of a current project (which seems to be very interesting to me). Therefore I’m just more or less translating what has been said regarding this by the professor, who is leading my project.
The easiest thing you can do is: Just wear what you have worn during last year’s spring/summer season. Cause if you have bought/ worn things in pastels or find things in your wardrobe with some floral print then you are still (let’s call it) up-to-date.
And for those who felt in love with the purple-/ or coral-colored garments, I have good news: They are still trendy colors.
In addition there are also some new designs and developments, of course. Cause companies want to sell new products to make money. Therefore they cannot live with the sureness of consumers, who already have everything they need to be well dressed.
Let’s have a look at the favored colors for the spring/ summer season 2010
– ICE CREAM:
Have you heard of the “Ice-Cream colors”? This is basically what is described as this seasons ( it’s going to last for the whole year) trendy colors!
There is not one single color, to concentrate on. But there is a color-family, which has won the run for the first place: Soft and creamy looking colors like baby-pink, light-blue, pastel-green, syringa & lavender.
And here is a quote from my professor corresponding to this: “Think of words and feelings, which are touching your heart and come to your mind, when you think of a puff. This puff you should have in mind, when you are looking at these colors.”
Okay, I know this sounds stagy, but somehow I was able to understand what she wanted to mediate.
The ‘Hot-Topic’ print of spring/ summer season 2010 – JAPANESE STYLE:
I can imagine what you will think when you are going to hear of the ‘Japanese-Style’. But you don’t have to be afraid. You are not supposed to where the traditional kimono.
I’ve mentioned the floral print before as a still wearable print and this is the addition to that. The special thing about this look is that you have to concentrate on cherry blossoms and orchid inspired prints.
But you can also find the Japanese features in the range of the cuttings. Think of wrapped dresses and loose fitting sleeves.
Still an Evergreen in spring season/summer 2010 – CARDIGAN & USED LOOK:
Who does not love to wear something comfortable? A nice fashionable garment for this comfy look is the cardigan, but it has a new form. The buttons have been deleted and the front section is longer than the back part. And one key item too make the cardigan look more special, is the belt. Just put it on top and create a gathered look. One note must be included: These new cardigans are made to look casual, it’s working as a disadvantage to wear them too narrow!
And how to cover the legs? Just go for your good old washed-out jeans. And you should decide for the slim fitting ones. Because this season is still concentrating on lose fitting tops and long shirts. And we all know that we have to balance somehow that oversized look of the upper part that is covering our body.
Accessories of spring/summer season 2010 – PIMP YOUR STYLE:
Probably you think that the look for this season is going to be a little unspectacular, but we have not included the accessories, yet. And now it’s becoming interesting. In contrast to the pastels we will see on the fabrics, we can now play with lively and flashy bracelets etc., which have an extraordinary shape or neon color.
I think this is a nice overview of current “It-Pieces” and it should be able to create something nice with these explanations.
And now leave the house for some shopping ;)
Copyright of the pictures belong to jolie.de and the cooperating brands. During our project we have worked with the following website, which I like to mention as a research resource.
http://modetrends.suite101.de/article.cfm/modetrends_im_fruehling_2010
http://mystyle.jolie.de/jolie/outfits/14507
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