Beauty is Easy

A Canvas For Your Masterpiece: shu uemura Face Architect Remodeling Cream Foundation

BeautyDiva — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:58:07 +0000

shu uemura’s Face Architect Remodeling Cream Foundation is more like an art supply than a foundation. It comes in a pot with a little scoop and encourages you to build layers until you reach your desired coverage. It reminds me a bit of clay modeling. But the formula isn’t clay like at all. It’s actually a smooth, kind-of runny foundation. As fun as the pot and scoop are, I found it a bit messy to use and would have prefered the formula in a squeeze bottle.

Although I was worried about the oil content of this foundation on my acne-prone skin, I was curious to see what building layers felt like. The foundation goes on smooth and has a nice finish that has a hint of sheen to it. It is one of the more natural looking sheens I’ve seen in a foundation and didn’t make my skin look oily. I liked that it contains an SPF for sun protection and anti-oxidants are a bonus you get with wear.

The foundation stayed smooth all day and didn’t crease or dry out. It did feel a bit moist on my face and at the end of the day I came out a bit oilier than usual. But if you have normal or dry skin, I think you’d really enjoy this foundation. It’ll help hydrate and give you the bonus of the SPF. The buildable layers is a nice feature so that you can wear a light layer or heavier coverage depending on your skins day to day needs. It just might take some practice to use the little scoop.

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FREE! 1oz bottle of Lisa Hoffman’s Day Cream SPF 15 - a $75 value!

BeautyDiva — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:46:17 +0000

Lisa Hoffman is giving away free bottles of her Day Cream with SPF 15 (read the review I posted last week). This cream is luxurious and not inexpensive! Here’s how you get it:

1. Send an e-mail to info@lisahoffmanbeauty.com.

2. For the subject line type: “Friend of BeautyisEasy.com - complimentary Day Cream”.

3. Include your name and mailing address in the e-mail.

Be sure to act quick - these are only available while supplies last!

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Brighter Complexions: Biore Daily Recharging Skincare Collection

BeautyDiva — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:12:43 +0000

Earlier this year, Biore released a new line of products aimed at detoxifying and renewing skin. They are also, very nicely, oil free. I tried the Nourish Moisture Lotion with SPF 15, the Restore Skin Boosting Night Serum and the (not new, but still awesome) Purify Self-Heating Mask.

Both the Moisture Lotion and Night Serum contain vitamins A and C to provide antioxidant protection and natural extracts of celandine, rose hip, chamomile and aloe to moisturize, strengthen and soothe with anti-inflammatory properties. They also contain humectants and emollient ingredients to keep skin moist. The Moisture lotion also has oil-absorbing silicone to help keep shine down.

I tried the Night Serum alone and under my usual night lotion and both mornings woke up with soft skin that was a little on the greasy side. The Moisture Lotion was nice during the day and did seem to help keep my skin from getting shiny. They were both super light formulas with a subtle fresh scent. I’m not sure if I looked more radiant after a week of using these products, but I certainly liked them as oil-free moisturizers.

I’ve been using the Self-Heating Masks for years and love them! They come in individual packets that you rub on your damp face after you wash. It warms on contact with your skin and stays warm as you rub it in. Rub around for a minute and then rinse off. The heat is aimed at helping to open pores so they can be cleaned out. They are great for when you feel like your skin could use a little TLC, but you are short on time. They are also great for travel - throw one or two into your makeup bag and have a mini facial while traveling!

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Help for Your Colored Hair: Avon Advance Techniques Lock-In Treatment and Grey Root Touch-Up

BeautyDiva — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:08:38 +0000

I don’t currently color my hair, so I gave my sister Avon’s Advance Techniques Lock-In Treatment and Grey Root Touch-Up to test out for me. The results? One was awesome - the other, not so much.

The Lock-In Treatment is a silicone based product aimed at maintaining your color while keeping hair soft and strong. My sister loved this product. She said it has made her hair super soft and didn’t leave a greasy film on her hair or hands like some other silicone serums do.

The Grey Root Touch-Up is a mascara-like wand that comes in colors for light brown, brunette and black hair. You brush it on areas where your roots are starting to show, to cover them up between colorings. My sister said, “I didn’t like it. I can see were it would be great for short hair, but it just left my hair a bit matted and greasy along my root line. But the color was nice and didn’t brush out, but washed out when I showered.”

Have you tried either of these products on your colored hair? What’d you think?

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BeautyDiva — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:14:14 +0000

TotalBeauty.com content:

Your Makeup Products Could Be Causing Acne

Maybe trying all those free makeup samples at once wasn’t a great idea. Take this quiz to see if your beauty supply needs a makeover

Stress, the environment and hormones all contribute to unsightly blemishes … but could part of the problem be your makeup? Even seemingly acne-friendly products can clog your pores if they’re not right for your skin — or if you’re combining them with not-so-skin-friendly habits. Take this quiz to see if your makeup products and practices put you at a higher risk for acne.

Test your routine

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Good, But Not Great: Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Overnight Regenerating Cream

BeautyDiva — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:10:40 +0000

I was excited to see that Garnier Nutritioniste’s Skin Renew Overnight Regenerating Cream was a anti-aging cream that won’t clog pores. That combination is hard to find and somewhat of a holy grail for us, no-longer-teenagers-but-still-prone-to-breakouts girls who are concerned about starting to fight off fine lines and wrinkles before they take too strong a hold.

Like other Garnier products, this cream includes natural ingredients to help increase their effectiveness. This one contains Vitamin C to aid in cell turnover, magnesium to energize and hydrate the skin and lycopene to fight daily skin damage. The product is a pretty thick cream that goes on light and isn’t greasy. It has a nice, light scent and left my skin feeling incredibly soft in the morning. Unfortunately, it did make my skin breakout a little. I’m not quite sure why since it isn’t supposed to clog pores. I tried it for two weeks and while my skin seemed more moist and plump, I still had more zits and blackheads than when I started my test. And they cleared back up within a week of stopping the product.

So the hunt for the holy grail continues. Have you tried this product? What did you think? Any trouble with breaking out?

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BeautyDiva — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:12:42 +0000

TotalBeauty.com content:

Trendy, Tacky and Wacky Celebrity Nails

Think You Know Who’s Who? Play this beauty game by matching celebrities to their hands, from chipped polish to crazy acrylic nail designs

We often check out celebrities’ hair and makeup but we don’t always think to look at their nails. Turns out we should be paying more attention. Here we bust stars wearing everything from extra long and red faux nails (yikes!) to short and dark chipped polish. We even discovered a nail biter in the group. Test your knowledge and see how well you can pair the celebrity to her nails.

Guess the nails

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For The Preggers In The House: Miss Oops Popper Stopper

BeautyDiva — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:59:08 +0000

I didn’t really get a chance to test this product during my pregnancy. Yes, my inny became an outty about 7 months in, but I was going to try this product on Saturday. My baby came on Friday morning - about 10 days earlier than expected. What can I say, she was eager to meet me!

I personally didn’t mind the outty. It actually became a comforting little nubbin to play with when bored. And my husband thought it was pretty cute. It was kind of like a turkey timer - it really popped out when my baby was done cooking. But some women HATE it! Or maybe you are one of the few out there with a natural outty.

Miss Oops, has a solution for you! The Popper Stopper! It looks like a giant bandaid, but it helps smooth out the bump on your tummy. Kind of like nipple covers for when you are going braless (although they make different ones for hiding your nips).

Since I didn’t get a chance to try these, I’d like to send you my (unused) package. Be the first to leave a comment telling me why you’d like to hide your outty (preggers or not) and I’ll contact you for your mailing address. Then you can tell us all how they worked for you!

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BeautyDiva — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:10:43 +0000

TotalBeauty.com content:

Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadows

Guest review by TotalBeauty.com editor Sarah Carrillo

Made for the daring, most of the 12 Urban Decay Deluxe Eye Shadow powders are intense and fluorescent — anything but subtle.

See review

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My Mom Loves Them! Avon ANEW Rejuvenate Flash Facial and Rejuvenate Night Cream

BeautyDiva — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:40:55 +0000

When I got samples of Avons new ANEW REJUVENATE Flash Facial and ANEW REJUVENATE Night Revitalizing Cream

I gave them to my mom to test for me. She was pretty excited to get samples of a product that hadn’t even been released to her friend, who is an Avon rep, yet. She’s been a big fan of Avon products, but is pretty weary of anti-aging products as she says they are often too greasy, don’t really show results and too heavily fragranced.

These new products in the ANEW line both aim to shrink pores, resurface skin and reinforce cell bonds to make skin look smoother. The Flash Facial is actually a day cream (not a rinse off mask like I had incorrectly assumed). It’s a light lotion in a pump bottle that is non-greasy. My mom said it worked well under makeup, creating a nice base for foundation. The Night Cream is slightly heavier, but is a lightweight gel-cream in a pot.

She liked that both formulas had a creamy, but light texture. They were unscented, so she loved that they didn’t interfere with the scents in her other products and fragrance. After 2 weeks of use she said that her skin looks brighter and felt that they did a good job of removing old, dull skin.

When you get a chance to try out these new products, let us know what you think of them.

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