Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Sparkling Lip Gloss

This product is Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Sparkling Lip Gloss is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. I was looking for something nude with a lot of sparkle, to replace a loved but lost product from Smashbox. That was a limited-edition holiday product, a lipstick rather than a gloss, and the density of sparkle was like the paint job on a lowrider Buick Riviera--layer upon layer of sparkle flake, essentially. This Victoria's Secret gloss is not what I was looking for, but it is great for daytime. It makes the nude lip more interesting to have a little shine going on.

MAC 3D Glass

This product is MAC 3D Glass is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect.

with this product you would like to explain a few things.

Boundless is the darkest, most red shade in the bunch sent to me by MAC. I put it on bare lips, no liner or lipstick. The results were sheer, shiny, and blessedly lacking in stickiness. For me, Boundless is not a great match, but it would be a fine standby gloss for an evening bag.

I decided to start playing with the MAC samples after a Saturday morning get-together with a friend got postponed until Tuesday. My friend called to tell me about her car woes just after I'd finished putting on makeup, timing which always strikes me as unfortunate. If she'd caught me just before, I would have gone back to bed, no question.

Instead, I did work around the house - it being far too hot even in the morning for any sane person to leave the air conditioned comforts of home - and was happy to have had some slap on my face when my new neighbors dropped by unannounced. Yes, at some point I will have to correct their mistaken impression that I put on eyeliner to clean the bathroom, but it made my maquillage seem like less of a wasteful tragedy.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick

This product is Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things.This is a brilliant multi-purpose product, and cheap to boot. It's a fat stick of Palmer's Cocoa Butter in a non-messy balm form. I bought mine from Duane Reade in New York City during a recent trip when my hands started to dry out within hours of landing. (The skin between my fingers is very fast to get parched and cracked, so that it burns to wash my hands or apply lotion.) But I love to use this as a lip conditioner in cold or warm weather. Do I need to mention that it smells lovely, too?

Bumble and Bumble Extra Strength Holding Spray

This product is Bumble and Bumble Extra Strength Holding Spray is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things.

Nadine has an intriguing post about a test of firm hold hairsprays that she and the This Morning crew did yesterday on ITV, which involved a speedboat on the Thames. Yep, that's a pretty rigorous test. What's more, the cheapest product tested - Silvikrin Maximum Hold Hairspray - came out on top.

My favourite hairspray at the moment is Bumble and Bumble Extra Strength Holding Spray. Like Nadine, I like a spray that combs out very easily and which is not visible to the naked, un-examining eye. As she notes, this means compromising a bit on hold, but I find the Bumble and Bumble to do just fine. Then again, I sadly do not find myself on many speedboats these days.

Minor Miracle Cream

This product is Minor Miracle Cream is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..
I am a skeptic when it comes to face creams that purport to do anything other than lubricate the surface of the skin and smell nice doing it, but I have been using Cosmesis Bruise Away cream, with arnica and vitamin K, on my face for a couple of weeks now, and dang it all to hell, it works. If you're wondering, no, I have not moved to Phoenix and hooked up with a meth-snorting roofer named Wayne who loves me stupid with his fists every night. I'm just of Scandinavian descent, which means that I have think skin and weak capillaries, and my cheeks are a bit spidery, and the Bruise Away is purported to work on spider veins. The worst of mine, acquired during pregnancy, I had zapped with a laser around ten years ago, which left a wee bit of brown scarring, but the fine lacy stuff has been there ever since. Until now. Now it's gone, and here I am shilling for Cosmesis

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser: Quickie Review

This product is Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser: Quickie Review is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. I'm afraid this was far too drying for my skin. The texture of the cleanser was similar to the Cosmesis Self MicroDermabrasion that I tried and liked several months ago, but that product never left my skin feeling dry. I'm not a big fan of granular scrubs in general, as I prefer to let acids eat away at my face on their own. If you're interested in the Murad line, you might like to check out Paula Begoun's take on some of their products:

At the beginning, Murad's products were all about AHAs and his products were indeed well-formulated in this regard. But Murad also had poorly formulated products (now there are even more) that contained alcohol and other irritating ingredients, ranging from arnica to citrus oils.

Well, my boyfriend - who is the least hippy-dippy person you could ever wish to meet - swears by the all-natural arnica for making bruises go away, and a friend of ours even used it to help her recover from the soreness of childbirth. So perhaps take Paula's reviews, as you would any others, with a pinch of salt. (I've also found that exfoliating products for the face can successfully be repurposed as foot scrubs, always to be followed by a very emollient cream applied at bedtime and covered with thick socks.)

Rubber ducky, joy of joys

This product is Rubber ducky, joy of joys is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..
Yeah, that title is a Sesame Street shout-out. And, heaven help me, I don't even have kids.

As my boyfriend and I prepare to move out of the flat where we currently live, I'm taking as many opportunities as possible to enjoy our delightfully retro (now that I've stopped thinking of it as shamefully dated) bathroom and its avocado green sink and bath. I've spent hours on end in that bathroom - most of them in the bath itself.

I know full well that taking baths in scalding hot water depletes skin's moisture and is just an all around bad idea. But as with tanning and wearing 28-year-old eye shadow, sometimes one feels the risk is worth taking. I get more pleasure out of a boiling bath on a frigid winter's evening than I could ever get out of having skin that didn't need moisturiser. Indeed, a life without hot baths is no life at all.

Rubber Ducky of the Damned

This product is Rubber Ducky of the Damned is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. On my next-to-last day in Portland, I went to the Last-Thursday event in the Alberta Arts district, a kind of hippie-Burning Man street fair where people sold paintings, jewelry, hash pipes and corn on the cob. The highlight for me was this booth where a husband and wife team sell handmade soaps and perfumes under the label Arcana Soaps. I bought a bottle of a scent called Swashbuckler, which is redolent of clove and bay rum--it's piratical indeed, and unisex, and has a skull and crossbones on the label! (that's the bar soap in the picture, next to "Breakfast with Marilyn".) I couldn't help picking up a demonic rubber ducky from them, either.

Miss Milkie

This product is Miss Milkie is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. One of my favourite things about Italy - as in France and Spain - is that there is an abundance of perfumeries and other shops selling make-up and other pretty things. Even the most clinical and sterile of pharmacies is usually worth a look-in for this very reason.

Upon arrival in Rome, after a much-needed nap (4.10 AM check-in for our flight - 'nuff said), the very first shop I headed for was a perfumery near the Vatican. I couldn't resist but walk off with a combo pack of Miss Milkie chocolate-scented shower cream and body milk. I know, I know: Chocolate-scented products are so played out, but it was the packaging that sealed the deal for me. How cute is it? I'm sure these products are aimed at 10-year-old girls, and they're perfect for me, too.

Skin Milk

This product is Skin Milk is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. Thanks to Jamie at Shop PR for sending me a big box of Skin Milk goodies a couple of weeks ago. There's nothing like a huge box full of products to make a girl happy.

The Skin Milk line is made up of products - bubble bath, shower cream, body moisturiser, facial cleanser, and facial moisturiser - that all smell milky. This is one of my favourite scents; of course, the cosmetic version is not quite authentic, but it's definitely improved on reality.

The products themselves vary in their usefulness for me; the facial cleanser is too drying, and the facial moisturiser is not emollient enough. But my skin is somewhat problematic, so I imagine that someone with decent skin wouldn't have any trouble with these.

The shower cream is more useful to me, especially when backed up by the body moisturiser. If you've got extremely dry skin on your body, though, you might need something more substantial to deliver more moisture.

At $4.99 a pop for all products, it's a cheap and cheerful way to stay clean. (I'm recycling the facial cleanser as hand wash, as I often do with inexpensive cleansers or shower gels that I just don't love enough to use for long. The facial moisturiser could be used for hands, too.) You can buy these products in Walgreens and stores like that. They'd make a good gift for a tweenie.

Elemis Sharp Shower

This product is Elemis Sharp Shower is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. If you can't have THIS kind of sharp shower, I recommend Elemis Sharp Shower as a substitute.

Antoine nabbed several travel sized bottles of this from his hotel room in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this year for me, and I can see that I am going to have to buy a full size bottle as soon as I run out. It contains chamomile, nettle, wild marjoram, spearmint, and peppermint, with the last two being the most clear and fragrant. I typically like minty products anyway, but others do not fare well in comparison to Elemis Sharp Shower, which lacks any chemical or artificial overtones. It's almost as close to nature as a shower on the beach.

TiGi Bed Head Superstar

I know I've raved about other volumising products in the past, but my quest for the holy grail of big hair products never ends. I've got fine but thick tresses, and they need all the help I can give them.

This product is TiGi Bed Head Superstar is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..

I picked up a pleasantly curvaceous bottle of TiGi Bed Head Superstar at KMart in Los Angeles last week. (It's nearly half the price; they don't call this country Rip-off Britain for nothing.) It's a lightweight liquid blowdry lotion which is supposed to protect hair from thermal styling while giving super volume and body. I try not to blowdry my hair very often, but this stuff is giving me reason to do so much more often. It's also slightly sticky when you first pour it into your hands, but seems to dissolve from skin as soon as you've rubbed the lotion into your hair. Plus, as TiGi products always seem to do, it smells nice. Highly recommended.

Stila quality - or lack thereof

This product is Stila quality - or lack thereof is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. I know that Hillary is but I have to say that I'm far from impressed with my Stila #17 retractable bronzing brush. I use it as a blush brush, and in shape it's quite good for that. But it would be nice if I could use it just once and not end up with a million bristles all over my skin. Usually I spot them all and pick them off before leaving the house, but every so often, I'll find one stuck to the side of my nose at around lunchtime. Muy attractive, no?

Thing is, I'd expect such poor quality from a drugstore-bought brush. But this is Stila, and I paid $26 for it, thinking it a sound investment. I do still love the Stila blush (colour unknown, thanks to the poor packaging) I bought recently. But between this crappy brush, the lack of labelling of colour on their blush, and the cheap, ineffective cardboard packaging (as one commenter here noted, "cardboard + bathroom fog = Stila soup"), I wonder what Stila is playing at. If those high prices aren't going towards packaging or quality, what are we paying for?

Foundation odyssey

This product is Foundation odyssey is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..I like powder foundation, even though my skin is dry, for the soft, blurring matte effect I associate with movie stars from the 40s and 50s. It may clash with my 70s hair, but what the heck. I recently broke my much loved and abused Tarte Provacateur Compact, and was tempted to go buy another, but decided that as a responsible beauty blogger I should get out and try new things, if only for the edification of you, dear reader.

So off to Sephora I went, where I suckered myself into buying a Bare Escentuals mineral makeup kit for $60. I reasoned that the brush set justified the price, though I already own a top of the line kabuki brush from Valerie Beverly Hills and don't need another. As I left the store I felt that the stuff was laid on a little thick, but thought it was just because I had let the shopgirl "do" me. But even at home using a lighter hand, I didn't like the way this wore--too chalky, too heavy, and a bit itchy. So I took it back.

MAC Holiday Brush Set

This product is MAC Holiday Brush Set is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. I've been having a love/hate relationship with my MAC Studio Fix powder foundation of late--it is great for evening out my red, blotchy Norwegian complexion, but can also cling unattractively to patches of dry skin, emphasizing their scaliness, and I often seem to get too much of it on during the blending process. Solution: The Mac Duo Fibre Brush, which is far less densely furred than the kabuki brush I've been using, has made it easier for me to blend just a little bit of powder on my cheeks, where it does the most good, and blend it imperceptibly and avoid my nose and chin, where I can live without it.

This brush was included in the Heirlooms holiday brush set MAC sent along for review. Normally I wouldn't advise giving anyone makeup as a gift--it's too personal a choice, and textures and colors are fickle. But makeup tools are another matter, and a good brush set is one of those items that only makeup junkies tend to buy for themselves. Which is too bad, because using good brushes can change your experience of cosmetics entirely. If you feel inept applying makeup (especially if you feel you always end up wearing more of it than you intended) a good brush set can change that.

Yuroll Face Massager

This product is Yuroll Face Massager is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..
I was perusing commenter Mikaela's Jet Set Beauty blog today and came across her post on the Yurolll, a jade facial massager. My acupuncturist used to use one of these on me, and I remember how astonishing a sensation it was--smooth, cool, immediately relaxing. I don't know about the farther-fetched claims about jade's ability to "stabilize the personality," but it hardly matters. The devices are pretty objets d'art in their own right, so I think of this as jewelry that makes your skin feel wonderful. I also like the Yuroll Website, which is clever and simple, the way all cosmetic sites should be but aren't.

My legs are on fire and look like it

This product is My legs are on fire and look like it is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..

Here's the deal: I have very dark hair, and it grows fast. If I had my way, I'd shave my legs every day. As it is, even doing it every other day still leaves me with legs that burn all day and have tiny red dots all over them.

Yes, I use warm water on my legs first.

Yes, I use shaving gel.

Yes, I moisturize like crazy.

Also, I have a ton of bruises all over my legs, which is annoying, considering all the money I just spent on pretty summer dresses. I'm using arnica on the bruises, but still, is there any way - apart from not being a born klutz - to avoid bruising? Maybe I'm missing a mineral or something? Somebody please, help me.

Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel in Alluring Avocado + Venus Embrace

NOTE: This product is not available in stores until next month.
This product is Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel in Alluring Avocado + Venus Embrace is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..

I went through a phase of having my legs waxed, but found it so unbearably painful - much more so than having, er, other body parts waxed - that I finally had to give it up. My friend Nancy Rommelmann falls asleep while getting her legs waxed, something I could only do with the help of a fistful of narcotics.

So I'm back on the never ending quest to find the holy grail of razors. A PR firm wanted to send me the Venus Embrace, and I eagerly accepted. Have you priced razors lately? I think they cost more per ounce than gold.

This razor does such a thorough job that you can hear it squeak against your skin as it glides over it. The blades - all five of them - are supposed to curve so that they stay in contact with your skin over areas like knees and ankles. All I can tell you is that I got a smooth enough shave out of it, and as I've grown increasingly disillusioned with my Schick Intuition, this is welcome news.

I also quite liked the fresh scent of the shaving gel. Okay, so avocado oil is third from last in the list of ingredients, but I've never thought of avocados as particularly "alluring" anyway. Whatever it is smells good, but not cloying or overpowering.

Post-shave moisture came from Carol's Daughter Mango Mélange Shea Soufflé, a product I don't think I'll ever tire of employing. I suppose a more conscientious girl would worry about smelling of both avocado and mango, but then a more conscientious girl would probably take whatever painkillers she had to take to get through regular leg waxing.

Alba Bath & Shower Gel

This product is Alba Bath & Shower Gel is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..
Fickle as I am, I don't like to use the same shower gel for very long before I switch to a different scent and texture. So I'm guessing the bargain lover in me took over when I bought a couple of Alba shower gels in industrial-sized bottles, complete with pump for easy use. (They came from TJ Maxx, where I find so many wonderful products for next to nothing, and cost $9.99 per gigantic container.)

Here's some hippie stuff some of you will probably like, but which matters not a jot to me:

• Hypo-allergenic
• pH balanced
• No sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
• No synthetic colors
• Paraben and phthalate free
• 100% vegetarian ingredients and no animal testing

I bought these back in April and have barely made a dent in them. One is the Honey Mango Sparkling Mint. They are both, as the labels claim, very emollient. But they do not, as the labels claim, make for very good bubble baths. These are strictly for shower time. Still, I'm a fan, even after all these months. For me, that's saying something. variety, the other

Aveeno Eczema Care

This product is Aveeno Eczema Care is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. I don't have eczema, but I know plenty of people who do, so this product grabbed my attention right away. (I was made aware of it by Aveeno's PR firm, which also supplied me with the products for this review.)

My stepmother suffers from eczema and is always on the lookout for products that will give her some relief. I mailed her the Aveeno Eczema Care Moisturizing Cream and Eczema Care Body Wash to see what she thought of them. Here's an excerpt from her email to me:

I didn't even know Aveeno made a product for eczema. I started using Aveeno over a year ago and I like the regular product. So I was thrilled to open it and see that they now make a product especially for me! I started using it immediately and I like it very much. It is creamy and yet not greasy, which is often a problem. It didn't burn, another common problem. I'm very encouraged after just using it two times. Many thanks from me and my dry skin.

This was a few weeks ago; I saw her shortly after and she was still happy with the products. I noticed during that visit that my father was showing symptoms of eczema, too, with red, blotchy skin around his nose. He'd complained a few months back of dry facial skin, so I'd supplied him with a moisturizer, but what I saw a fortnight ago made me encourage him to try the Aveeno products.

I spoke to my dad on Sunday night, and he said that he's been using these products and notices a big improvement. My stepmother is still singing their praises, too. So I'd recommend these even if you just suffer from parched winter skin. Even better, since several of my friends' children have been afflicted with eczema: These products are safe for use on babies as well as adults.

Dry Brushing

This product is Dry Brushing is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..
Daily dry skin brushing is supposed to help stimulate circulation and lymphatic drainage. I've been doing it for several days now, and can attest that my skin is softer in texture. I hope to see more benefits the longer I do it--I'd certainly like tighter skin here and there, thank you very much, and I have heard that dry brushing can do this. I'll keep you posted.

For a description of how to do it, I like Kris Carr's approach (quote: "It's dry brushing, not rocket science!").

You can buy a long-handled body brush, if you want to be able to reach your back. For now, I am using a natural bristle hairbrush, and use the need for back-brushing as an extra excuse for some morning intimacy. If I am still doing this after a week or two, I may have to order the brush pictured for $12 from Daybreak Lavender Farm. The angle looks just right for reaching the backs of the legs.

Flirty Little Secret Body Butter by Booty Parlor

This product is Flirty Little Secret Body Butter by Booty Parlor is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..This stuff is amazing. So emmolient, non-greasy, gives a nice shimmer and smells like a dream. (Full disclosure: I didn't pay for this, but it's $26.)

I just love the texture - there's nothing else like it on the market that I've found. Not sure I buy into all of the pheremone claims, that's for sure, but I haven't used a body moisturizer this enthusiastically in a very long time.

Essence of Beauty Walnut Whip Body Cream

This product is Essence of Beauty Walnut Whip Body Cream is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..

Walnut Whip is one of my favorite classic British sweets (the vanilla variety only, thank you very much). Something about breaking the semi-hard candy shell with one's teeth and sinking into the vanilla softness within is incredibly satisfying. (Frankly, I find the walnuts on top surplus to requirements.)

So I was intrigued to come upon Essence of Beauty Walnut Whip Beauty Cream in a friend's bathroom recently. The bottle was a dead ringer for Bath and Body Works body cream, and I guessed that Essence of Beauty was some cheap knock-off brand. I was right, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the product itself. It smelled delicious - not cloyingly sweet or babyish - and left my skin softly scented.

Alas, this product that once graced the shelves of CVS pharmacies everywhere now seems to be out of circulation. Google results reveal multiple boards where people are desperately seeking replenishment, and a few people are flogging them on Craigslist.

However, with the embarrassing amount of body creams I own, I definitely don't need to buy any more. But if I did, I'd shell out for this one - if I could find it.

Anthony For Men Blue Sea Salt Body Scrub

This product is Anthony For Men Blue Sea Salt Body Scrub is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now.. I'll tell you something: That "for men" in the title should be read only as a suggestion. I made a big show of giving this to my fiancé, and have since made a lot less of a show of pilfering it on a daily basis.

Anthony For Men is now selling a giant 32 ounce bottle of its (brilliantly) Blue Sea Salt Body Scrub with pump for $32. All of the proceeds from the sale of the product are going to fund prostate cancer research; the company is a big supporter of the Aureon Protocol Study at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The scrub has very fine grains of sea salt to exfoliate, with aloe vera to soothe and a clean scent with a hint of nutmeg about it. Unlike a lot of scrubs, it rinses away easily. A dollar an ounce for the huge pump bottle is a fantastic value, and that's before you get to the fact that its sale goes towards prostate cancer research. Christmas is only a few months away, and this would make a great gift for any of the guys on your list (and as a wrap-and-stash present for when someone unexpectedly gets you something and you haven't anticipated it).

John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze

This product is John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze is available in the market under the name. I heard that they are quite happy using the product and I tried. Then I discovered the perfect. with this product you would like to explain a few things and I will explain to you how this product was now..

But first, I had to find it. I searched high and low, in every Duane Reade I passed in Manhattan, and couldn't find it. They all seemed to stock the Luminous Color Glaze Clear Shine, which does not impart any color "re-awakening" as the Luminous Color Glaze does, but I wanted the real deal. I may have gotten a bargain on my new hair color, but I was willing to spend $9.99 to keep it fresh.

Of course, I found the brunette version of Luminous Color Glaze at the CVS right around the corner from my apartment.

I've only used this once, today, and it's supposed to take three uses before a difference is apparent. You're also supposed to use it every time you wash your hair - a minimum of three times per week. (No sweat for me; while I usually try to go every other day between washes immediately following a color treatment, usually I have to shampoo daily or I just feel unclean.)