Product Reviews

The Summer of Skin Care! Caudalie Vinoperfect Essence and Vinoperfect Serum

July 5th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

caudalie vinoperfect essence serum — The Summer o’ Skin Care continues…

Back when I was breaking “out on the regular,” Caudalie’s face lotion was one of a handful of products that got me through life. I’m a fiery fan of this French brand, especially their moisturizers. I’ve gone through more bottles of their face moisturizers, body moisturizers and their hand and nail cream over the years than I can count.

I know the brand, and I know their products work for me, so I couldn’t wait to pat-pat-pat and try their new Vinoperfect Concentrated Brightening Essence ($42).

First things first, it is NOT a toner. Let’s get that straight. It’s closer to a super watery glycolic serum, and girl, you know I’ve been all about those glycolics lately.

I just wish it listed the percentage of glycolic acid it contains on the ingredient list, because that would make The Summer of Skin Care sooo much easier.

Remember last week how I mentioned that I’ve been incorporating glycolic products of various strengths into my regimen — one mild, one medium and one strong? So I wish I knew which category to file Vinoperfect Brightening Essence under.

Based on how my skin feels after using it — which I know is completely not scientific AT ALL — I’m guessing that it’s on the very mild end of the glycolic spectrum. After I apply it (following the directions, I put a few big drops in my palm, which I then pat on my face and neck after washing my face), I get less of a tingly kick than I get from Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser, which is a 5% glycolic acid product. My skin just feels like it’s going, “Ah…” and it looks pleasantly plump and hydrated.

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The Summer of Skin Care! Glycolic Acid Goodness With Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser, Glow Tonic To-Go, and Overnight Glow Serum

June 30th, 2017 by Karen 24 Comments

In the many late-night hours I’ve spent ~~watching kitten videos~~ reading about skin care on my phone, a topic that has repeatedly come up over and over again is glycolic acid.

Actually, acids in general. In the skin care world, they’re a big deal, especially when it comes to anti-aging products.

There’s a ton of info available about them online, but this is basically what I’ve gathered: skin goes through a cycle of shedding and renewal, where it sheds old cells and generates new ones, and, as we get older, the cycle slows down. But glycolics kick the cycle into higher gear again, which improves skin tone and mellows out pigmentation, among other things.

In a nutshell, glycolics are today’s anti-aging all-stars, and if I’ve learned anything from skin care goddess Caroline Hirons (a.k.a. my BFF in my mind), it’s that you gotta get an acid up in the mix if you want to get “serious” about anti-aging.

A couple of the skin care peeps I follow, Caroline and Stephanie Nicole, recommend a potent glycolic acid toner called Biologique Recherche P50 1970 Toner, which I want to try eventually, but it’s supposed to be super strong, so I started with a few over-the-counter products first from Pixi.

You know Pixi. They’re a cruelty-free, paraben-free line available at Target, and all of their stuff comes in the cutest green bottles. I love how it all matches. 🙂

Anywho, they have a bunch of glycolic acid products and good-looking ingredient lists. The glycolic acids are usually listed up near the top along with the percentage included, which isn’t something that all brands do (and that’s frustrating!). Pixi also often adds soothing aloe vera (also up near the top of the ingredient list) to help offset the exfoliating power of glycolic acid.

Pixi Glow Tonic To-Go Exfoliating Toner Pads with 5% Glycolic ($18 for 60 pads)

Pixi soaked these travel-friendly pads with their famous Glow Toner, which I’ve used before and like. I think it makes a big difference in the texture and evenness of my skin. It makes it smoother.

I have these slightly darker spots, which I like to call my “freckles,” but let’s get real here. They’re more likely sun spots from sun damage. I also have larger patches on my cheeks that are slightly darker than my normal skin tone, but not as dark as those freckles (also likely from sun damage). Glow Tonic ever-so-slightly evens out the tone of those larger areas of uneven pigmentation.

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Get Glossy With Milk Makeup Eye Vinyl

June 29th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Glossy lids = least appropriate eye makeup look ever for a windstorm and/or for standing in front of Beyoncé-level stage turbines.

Don’t do it, girl!!

I wore one of these glossy Milk Makeup Eye Vinyls on a really windy day when I had my hair in a ponytail and thought I wouldn’t have to deal with the whole hair-sticking-to-my-eye-gloss thing, but those strands… They’ll find a way. Trust me on this.

Buuut, even with the drama that always accompanies glossy lids, gosh, there’s still something about ’em.

Yeah, I know — the stickiness, the creasing, and how they never stay exactly where you want them, but I go ga-ga for gleaming lids. I can’t help it.

milk makeup tunnel eye vinyl — I’m wearing the shade Tunnel on my lids. On my lips, I’m wearing NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in Give It Up

I’ve been lovin’ Milk’s Eye Vinyls lately. They’re $20 each and come in four colors that start out SUPER shiny and reflective but lose a little of their high-wattage shine over the course of a couple hours. Overall, they stay wearable for about four hours before I feel the need to reapply.

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Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in Dimitri, My Latest Red Lipstick Love

June 29th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

How many times have I said, “I’ve been going through a … phase”? A minimal makeup phase, a smoky eye phase (since forever), a cat eye phase, what have you.

I’ve been going through a red lips phase since, roughly, birth, give or take a few days, and $37 Chanel Dimitri is my latest red lipstick love.

Dimitri is a permanent color in Chanel’s hydrating Rouge Coco line. It’s a warm, semi-opaque red with a finish that begins as a smooth, luscious, low-level lip shine but starts to look more like a matte after 30 minutes or so, which is the coolest thing about it to me, because Chanel is sooo good at subtle shifts like that.

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The Viseart Neutral Palette Is The Best Nude/Neutral Eye Palette Around

June 28th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

If I were forced by some malevolent makeup entity to KonMari Method my makeup collection down to the barest of the bare bones — which, gawd forbid, I can’t even imagine doing because #makeuphoarders — the Viseart Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette would survive the brutal final cut, FO’ SHO.

It’s expensive, OK! It’s $80, which is why I put it off getting it for a really long time, but I finally took the plunge on the last Sephora VIB sale, so I got it 20% off, but even then I walked around the store for 30 minutes debating whether or not I should actually “go there.” I’m so glad I did, though, because THIS IS THE BEST NUDE/NEUTRAL PALETTE AROUND.

I’ve combo-ed the hell outta this palette, and hello, makeup voodoo! — somehow it always works out. Neutral Matte has 12 matte shadows, none of which are too cool or warm. These beige, brown, peach, gray, taupe and black shades are basically workhorse colors that work in an endless number of combinations and looks. You can use this palette for smokey eyes, daytime work looks, smoldering date night makeup… So many different things! You can even use some of the shades as eyeliner and to fill in your brows.

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The Summer of Skin Care! Thoughts on Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, Shaba Complex Eye Serum, Lala Retro Whipped Cream and Umbra Tinte Physical Daily Defense

June 28th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

drunk elephant skincare review top — This particular elephant is not drunk

The summer of skin care is in full effect! — and I’m currently using and loving the heck out of products from Drunk Elephant.

You’ve probably heard about them already. They’ve been makin’ major waves lately, and it seems like everyone is talking about them (including me!).

For the record, this Drunk Elephant did not have too many Coronas. It’s a cruelty-free brand out of Texas, and I really like their no-nonsense, balanced approach to skin care.

Here’s some cool backstory on their website, but, basically, they see themselves as a “clean” skin care line, rather than a “natural” skin care line, and they incorporate both natural and synthetic ingredients, but the synthetic ingredients are things they believe are effective but aren’t going to disrupt the way your body is designed to work.

And their name, “Drunk Elephant,” comes from an ingredient they use in several of their products called marula oil. Legend has it that when elephants eat the fallen fruit of the marula tree…the fruit ferments in their tummies and gets them completely crunked!

Cheap drunks, those elephants.

drunk elephant k after 2 months — My bare skin

C-Firma Day Serum

The product that lured me into loving the line was their C-Firma Day Serum ($80), which contains 15% l-absorbic acid, ferulic acid and vitamin E.

I heard it was comparable to Skinceuticals CE Ferulic, which I used for years to mellow out my pigmention probs, but I stopped using it when I got pregnant with the Coywolf.

Dude…sh*t is crazy expensive. It works, but dropping $165 on a bottle of CE Ferulic got old real quick.

C-Firma costs half as much ($80), which, I mean, isn’t exactly budget…but it’s A LOT less expensive than Skinceuticals.

Anyway, I’m into it — so much so that I plan to snag a refill when I finish this bottle, whenever that happens…and I have no idea when it will happen because the bottle is opaque to prevent light from breaking down the Vitamin C.

But good luck figuring out how much is left in there, LOL!

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BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Gloss Officially Has Nothing to Do With “The Dark Crystal,” But I Feel Like It Should

June 23rd, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

becca rose quartz seashell liquid crystal 3 — When you hold your lip gloss like a magic wand… I’m wearing BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Gloss in Rose Quartz x Seashell ($22 and one of six shades), by the way!

So, I realize that the new BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Glosses officially have nothing to do with the 1982 Jim Henson classic, The Dark Crystal, but I feel like they should, because the movie featured a cracked gem, and these glosses are inspired by gems that have been melted down to liquid form…

Um…leave it the the girl who named her kid after the heroine in the Terminator movies to find the sci-fi angle, LOL.

becca champagne dream liquid crystal 1 — This one is my favorite: Champagne Dream x Bellini

Anyway…I like these a lot. Some more than others. They’re a new line of sheer glosses with different levels of glitter, pearl and shimmer, and you can wear them as standalone lip glosses or layer them on top of lipstick.

“Buuuuut, Karen,” I can already hear you saying, “Can’t you layer any old gloss on top of lipstick?”

Why, yes, sweet thing! You certainly can.

becca amethyst geode liquid crystal 6 — Amethyst X Geode

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Milk Makeup Highlighter Is Lit

June 22nd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

milk makeup lit highlighter k1 — That glow, tho! It’s from Milk Makeup Highlighter in Lit ($24), which I’m wearing on my upper cheekbones, in the inner corners of my eyes and along my brow bones.

Once upon a time, super early in the morning, I almost took a stick of Milk Makeup Highlighter and put it under my arms. Like deodorant! I caught myself at the last minute, so I didn’t actually do it, but if it had, my underarms would’ve been the most perfectly highlighted underarms in armpit history.

This sounds less crazy when you see Milk Makeup Highlighter next to my favorite deodorant. Check it:

Right? That’s what I get for fumbling around in the dark…

Milk Makeup is constantly surprising me. Their vibe, the marketing and their packaging cater to teens, methinks, and being a crabby 40-something-year-old lady (Just kidding! I’m not crabby…except on Tuesdays!), I didn’t think the brand would appeal to me, but that’s been sooooo far from the truth. I’ve loved their Blush Oil and Sunshine Skin Tint and have now entered into a serious relationship with Lit, their stick highlighter.

And it truly is lit.

Lit is a sheer, shimmery, peachy champagne highlighter from the Milk Makeup permanent line that you can wear sheer for a natural look, or layer for a striking, visible highlight, and while cream highlighters aren’t particularly innovative, Milk has perfected this one’s shine.

Or, rather, its dewy glow. That’s a more apt description.

milk makeup lit highlighter — When subtle peachy champagne highlight dreams come true…

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