I've discovered Ulta, a Sephora-like cosmetic chain. Had to check it out. I mean, I can't let you, my faithful readers, buy from a store that doesn't meet my standards. :)
Here's a pair from Elizabeth Arden. For those of you who said "Who?" or "They're still around? I am happy to reply that EA is alive and kicking.
Candidate #1: Elizabeth Arden Ceremide Plump Perfect Lipstick, #15 (Perfect Pink)
Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/
Cost: $21.50
Candidate #2: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick With SPF 15, #4 (Plum)
Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/
Cost: $16.00
Brand Info: Elizabeth Arden, Inc.
Young Florence Nightingale Graham, a Canadian nursing student born in 1878, forsaw ways to use burn creams and skin salves as not just medicine, but preventative skin care to maintain healthy skin throughout life. At age 30, Florence moved to New York City and befriended a chemist, and together they began researching skin care lotions and potions. Florence also studied facial massage techniques with some of the city's best beauticians, the beginnings of what would become the Red Door Spas. Rechristening herself "Elizabeth Arden" in 1910, Florence opened her first Red Door Salon. She began putting together tinted rouge powders in 1912, and by 1916, Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics was fully born. In the 30s, the company expanded into fragrances; by the 40s, they'd added a clothing line; and by her death in 1966, Elizabeth Arden Beauty was a $60M business. After Arden's death, the company went through various corporate buyers until the board of directors took the company back from Unilever in 2003, creating "Elizabeth Arden, Inc.", a self-contained company once more.
The Tube: #1 is plastic-covered gold-toned and squarish, with slightly rounded edges. #2 is white plastic with a rubbery finish. The white tube has a silver ring mid-join that has "Elizabeth Arden" engraved on it. The gold tube has a gold-metallic disk at the top with the "Red Door", an engraved pic of Arden's "Red Door Salons". #1's top is about 3/4 of length of the whole tube and has "Elizabeth Arden" in gold metallic lettering. #1 has a goldtone sticker with black markings to indicate the color info, while #2 has a smaller white sticker with black print.
The Product: #1 is dark rose in the tube; #2 is plum. Bullet-shaped products with teardrop delivery point.
The Application: Both go on quite well. #1 is far pinker than it first appears. #2 is a sheer, gorgeous plum.
The Taste: #1 has no scent. #2 has a strong citronella scent.
The Blot: Both blot the same way--heavy first blot, light second blot.
The Wear: #1 stays and stays and stays #2, OTOH, comes off with minimal wear and tear (snacking, drinking water).
The Verdict: I'm not a fan of sheers or pink lipstick that screams "Pink!". I'll reserve judgement until after I review a red EA lipstick
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- A Pair From Elizabeth Arden
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Cargo Plant Love Sheer Lipstick ("Mariska")
Though I'm a red lipstick person, I enjoy looking at other lipsticks. This one's from CARGO's Plant Love line, an eco-friendly line.
Candidate: CARGO Plant Love Sheer Lipstick (Mariska)
Purchased: Sephora (Columbia, MD)
Cost: $20.00
Brand Info: CARGO Cosmetics of Canada
Cosmetics artist Hana Zalzal had a mission in life that she finally acted upon in 1996: To create a professional color cosmetic line that top makeup artists would covet, yet would be easy enough for all women to enjoy. She recognized that makeup is an intimate part of a woman's identity; it's her "cargo," a form of self-expression that also enhances a woman's well-being, With the 1996 launch of CARGO, she succeeded.
CARGO is constantly making innovative changes in the packaging, especially in its "Plant Love" line of lipsticks--makeup tubes created from a type of corn and boxes made of paper impregnated with wildflower seeds (just plant the box under soil and water well).
The Tube: White, odd-feeling plastic (probably due to the high content of corn syrup in the plastic manufacturing). Decorated in red and orange 60-ish wacky hippy flowers. The word "Plant Love" is in a heart on the tube with the word "CARGO" in red beneath it on the top 2/3 of the tube; a white sticker with pink rimmed printing "CARGO Cosmetics of Canada" surrounding black print that contains the color information "Mariska".
The Product: Brownish red. This lipstick was "inspired" by Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU), so it's a dark brownish color to go with Mariska's olive complexion. Bullet-shaped product with teardrop delivery point.
The Application: Goes on quite smooth. It's sheer, so it takes several coats to get a real color on the lips. Sculpting is perfect. The finish is matte.
The Taste: Somewhat crayon-like.
The Blot: The first blot is chocolate. That's the best description of the color. The second blot is lighter.
The Wear: Shockingly, it wears like iron for a sheer. It's a matte finish, even for a sheer; if you want shine, put on lip gloss.
The Verdict: It's brown, it costs $20, and it's really not my color. But if you like your lipsticks eco-friendly, check out CARGO cosmetics.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- A Selection From Sephora
When I started this search for The Perfect Lipstick, I realized I'd be spending a lot of time in Sephora. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
Sephora makes their own brand of makeup that covers the gamut of products, colors, formulations, etc. Here's a set of selections from Sephora that I've used within the past few months.
Candidate #1: Sephora Lipstick Creme, #49
Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics
Cost: $10.00
Candidate #2: Sephora Lipstick Creme, #50
Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics
Cost: $10.00
Candidate #3: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #227
Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store
Cost: $0.21
Candidate #4: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #308
Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store
Cost: $0.21
Candidate #5: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #436
Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store
Cost: $0.21
Candidate #6: Sephora Ultra Brilliance Gloss, #24
Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics
Cost: $10.00
Brand Info: Sephora USA, Inc.
Born in France in 1969, Sephora has become one of the largest cosmetics retail outlets in the world. Since its first store opening in America in Manhattan in 1998, Sephora has filled a niche for the fashionistas who just have to have the latest lipstick/perfume/hair product/etc., which only seems appropriate, as Sephora's parent company is luxury standards corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy). Sephora has their own house brand of cosmetics with prices well below their counterparts within the store (the average unit of Sephora cosmetics costs $10 or less), including a massive selection of lipsticks in four coverages: Cream, Shimmer, Metallic, and Gloss. The Satin finish lipstick was discontinued several years ago and is often found on the secondary markets like eBay.
The Tube, Lipsticks: Black lacquer tube with a clear acrylic bottom that ostensibly contains a bit of product that resembles the actual product in the tube. Modern Sephora lipsticks have the name "Sephora" in capitals applied in silver ink around the bottom of the lid at the join, and a long, stylized "S" on the bottom of the clear acrylic; earlier versions had neither of these features. On the barrel of the tube is the name "Sephora", the product's code number, and a batch number, written in white on a small black sticker applied to the barrel.
The Tube, Lip Gloss: Long, narrow clear plastic tube with a black lid. Brand information printed in black on the clear tube. Color number is on a clear sticker with black lettering on the bottom of the tube.
The Product: #49 and #50 are deep purple, almost black in color, bullet-shaped products with oval delivery point. #227 is tomato red (slightly orange). #308 is fire engine red (true red with a touch of yellow). #436 is a gorgeous dark red, almost maroon. The three 3-digit products are bullet-shaped with half-oval delivery points. The lipgloss, #24, is true red, with a long sponge-tipped wand for application.
The Application: Sephora lipsticks go on beautifully, smoothly, very moist. Oval and half-oval tips cause some issues with sculpting the Cupid's bow and corners, but that's my only complaint about the application.
#49 and #50 go on deep, dark purple, but clearly purple and not black. It's very striking against my pale skin.
#227 is almost orange, even moreso than it looked in the tube. No, thanks.
#308 is not quite as orange-red as it first appeared, which is a nice change.
#436 is the most gorgeous garnet red shade I've ever seen from a Sephora product.
#24, the lip gloss, goes on bluish red and quickly accents any lip color it's applied to. It's slick and shiny but not sticky at all and stays where you put it, a nice change from most lip glosses.
The Taste: Older Sephora products (#227, #308, #436) have a distinct raspberry taste that's quite pleasant. Newer Sephora products (#49, #50, #24 lip gloss) taste like grape jelly, again a very pleasant and not overpowering taste.
The Blot: One of the great things about Sephora lipsticks is that their blots stay true to the color applied, and these are no exception. The first blot is bright; the second is pale.
The Wear: The only complaint I've ever had about Sephora is that their lipstick wear isn't that long; you have to reapply about once every 2 hours on the lighter colors and about once an hour on the darker colors (when lack of color in spots becomes obvious). Also, #436 broke off in its tube, which was very disappointing; I managed to dig out the remnants of the tube and put it in a small Tupperware container, where I use a lip brush to apply instead. If you can find a matching lip gloss to apply to the color, it will last longer (#24 lip gloss over the top of #308 pushed its wear past 3 hours).
The Verdict: Between Sephora and M-A-C, I've found a great set of everyday lipsticks. If you're still looking for a good lipstick and you haven't been able to find a color you like, try Sephora. For $10, it's hard to go wrong.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: A Trio from Pout
Remember back when I first started this that I had a few ground rules, two of which were "No lip gloss" and "no lip plumpers"?
Well, I'm still less interested in lip plumpers, but recently lip glosses have gained some ground.
In fact, follow the jumpcut to a trio from Pout Cosmetics of UK that go together quite well.
Candidate Lip Gloss: Pout Cosmetics of London Lipslick, #LW29 (Prim Girl)
Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)
Cost: $16.00
Candidate Lip Stick: Pout Cosmetics of London Lipstick, #LS07 (Kinky)
Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)
Cost: $16.00
Candidate Lip Plumper: Pout Cosmetics of London Pout Plump Colors, #PP10 (Forbidden Fruit)
Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)
Cost: $24.00
Brand Info: Pout Cosmetics of London
Pout is one of the latest UK brands attempting to break into the U.S. market (along with Rimmel and Boots No.7). Unlike the other two, however, Pout has targeted fashionistas who shop at places like Victoria's Secret and Sephora.
The Tube, Lip Slick: Pale pink, with almost a fishnet stocking pattern over the top half of the tube. Bottom of the tube is clear, giving a glimpse at the product inside. The brand name "Pout" is printed in black ink on the plastic portion of the tube. A stylized pink "P" adorns the top and a very tiny pale pink sticker with the color and brand information resides on the bottom.
The Tube, Lipstick: Pale pink, with almost a fishnet stocking pattern over the entire tube. Tube is metal. A stylized pink "P" adorns the top and a pale pink sticker with the color and brand information resides on the bottom.
The Tube, Lip Plumper: All plastic; tube itself is clear and cover is black. The tube itself is decorated with flourishes and the name of the product "Pout Pout Plump". The packaging is of an overinflated shipping bag, which you have to pop to retrieve the product.
The Product: The lipstick itself is a metallic fuschia, something I normally hate. But I was assured that adding the lip gloss and lip plumper would hide the metallics. Both the lip gloss and lip plumper are rubelite pink. The delivery point for the lipstick is a tear-shaped slant on the bullet shape; the lip gloss has a sponge tip on an long wand, and the lip plumper is basically, squeeze and apply, just like lip balm.
The Application: Lipstick goes on nicely, with the teardrop shape helping to tailor the Cupid's bow and the corners. It's a lot pinker than it looks, and the metallics aren't as in-your-face shimmering.
The Taste: Sugary, vanilla in the lipstick. The lip gloss smells more floral-like (almost rosy). The lip plumper is pepperment.
The Blot: The application of this combo is as follows: Apply lipstick; blot, dust with translucent powder to fix the first layer, add the lip gloss, blot again, then add the lip plumper without blotting. This takes off the metallic shine on the first layer, then removes some of the stickiness of lip gloss. If you don't like the feel of the lip plumper, just blot it lightly. It held for over two hours this way without needing a retouch, which isn't bad for layered lipsticks.
The Wear: All that comes off on things is the lip plumper; this is one of the advantages of layering three products together.
The Verdict: It's nice to be able to compliment these colors and preserve some wear on the base color, but let's face it; you've just spent $56 on lip care. That's a bit much for my taste, but if you're a lip gloss lover, this is probably the best way to wear it.
