Loreal

The power of visualization…

Picture it — we’re at Ulta together standing in the L’Oreal area. We see a display for the new Colour Riche Extraordinaire Lip Colors, and we see that they’re only $10 each and come in 16 shades, which are more like glosses than anything else.

We start doing our makeup tag-team thing, persuading each other with things like, “Yeah, you should TOTALLY get that one,” and “Duuuuude, they’re just like MAC Cremesheen Glasses,” and “Oh-em-gee, only $10? What a steal!” And then we start dropping tubes in our baskets like lipgloss fiends on a bender, mwhahahaha!

But then, at the exact same moment, we both notice Blushing Harmony, a rosy pink that has “everyday purse gloss” written all over it, but — ruh-roh — there’s only one tube left.

I’d let you have it, of course. 🙂 Even though I’d be seriously tempted to keep it for myself. It’s a perfect my-lips-but-better shade.

After trying a couple of new products from L’Oreal and letting ye olde mop (also known as my naturally wavy hair) air dry, this was the result…

First thing I tried was the new L’Oreal Color Vibrancy Instant Shock Treatment ($7). L’Oreal calls it a “lightweight melting mask,” and it’s designed to add shine and moisture to color-treated hair.

It’s pretty neat.

It’s a conditioner, so you use it after shampoo. Here’s the kicker: when you work it through your hair, it doesn’t feel like it’s coating the strands, but instead like it’s melting right into them. Can’t say I’ve ever tried anything quite like it before… Really cool.

After I got out of the shower and towel dried my hair, I applied about four pumps of the new L’Oreal Curve It Curl Taming Creme ($5) to it. It added soft definition to my waves without leaving them crunchy or weighed down. I like how my hair looks with this stuff — slightly wild, but not too wild, LOL! Thumbs up.

Wavy hair don’t care! 🙂

Both products are available now at drugstores, Ulta and ulta.com.

My nails and I are totes feeling the holiday spirit now.

That’s what happens when you spend the weekend watching yule log television and listening to Christmas music. 🙂

Candy canes and gingerbread cookies for everyone (including the cats)!

Feeling festive, I swapped the green Sally Hansen Dive In polish I had been wearing for golden glittery The Statement Piece ($6.99), one of nine shades in L’Oreal’s new limited edition Gold Dust Colour Riche collection of textured nail polishes.

It’s a gritty, glittery yellow gold with flecks of silver glitter swimming throughout — very shimmery and sparkly, and a fun shade to wear if you’re into the whole textured nail trend.

If Zoya’s Tomoko and OPI’s It’s Frosty Outside Liquid Sand (from the Mariah Carey holiday collection) got together and had a love child…it would look like The Statement Piece. Or to put it another way, picture Urban Decay’s Midnight Cowboy Glitter Eyeliner in nail polish form.

Thanks to the wide brush, painting with it goes quickly. Two swipes completely cover one nail, and I can even get away with a single coat (although, per usual, I’m wearing two for this swatch).

I think textured polishes, especially ones with lots of glitter, are great for people who are tough on their nails. They wear extremely well and are generally pretty resistant to chipping.

That said, I can already tell that this one’s going to be a pain in the butt to remove.

Oh, well… I guess that’s the tradeoff for something this sturdy.

I haven’t been able to find The Statement Piece online, so you might want to keep an eye out for it at the drugstore. Oh, and while you’re there, would you mind picking up some Temptations Treats for Tabs? He’s running low… 🙂