The Mascara Chronicles: Part V

The verdict is in!

Lancome Hypnose Mascara gets...(girly drum roll, please)...

A big old A, ladies!

Hearts and flowers indeed. We won't talk about the things my local Sephora didn't have but totally should have (which means I've got to go to the one five blocks further away!). Instead, we're talking Hypnose! Or is that HypYESse?

Mascara. That elusive beast. First, she must lengthen. The Hypnose is perhaps not as lengthening as its popular cousin, Lancome Definicils, but I would say it's certainly close! To get the optimum length from your Hypnose, a wee bit of effort is involved.

SKB noted in last post's comment section that her lashes uncurled when she used Hypnose after her lash primer. I can see how this might happen--especially with a primer. Without primer, the Hypnose slightly uncurled the upper tips of my lashes. HOWEVER, ladies, this can be easily corrected. Just hold the wand at the tip for a few sections and gently press the curve. After holding the wand at the tips for very little time, I was fully satisfied with curl and length. Quite lovely!

Now, about that wand. It's not my usual favorite, which is a fat tip with closely packed, soft bristles. (That's not dirty sounding, right? I mean, unless you're an Ewok.) This wand (as pictured above) is a stiff, separating dealie, but I must say it's one of the best separating wands I've ever used. I'm thinking this is why Hypnose is low on clumps. Yay for that! Low clumpies!

And volume!? Check plus! What a nice volumizer--especially since I'm so impressed how the wand manages to make lashes look both plumped and separated. I've seen mascaras that offer more volume, but not without the clumpy consequences.

But do we get the dreaded Racoon Eye Phenomenon? Nope! The non-waterproof worked just fine in this God-awful NYC humidity. So unless you're thinking of crying up a storm (and by the way, why did the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants make me bawl like a baby??), don't worry about getting waterproof.

A side note, my friends, on that volume. It's adjustable! Adjustable mascara volume! That should be written on the bottle! See, the beauty of the Hypnose separater wand is that you can layer your coats with only minor risk of clumpage. One layer would be fine for day--a nice dose of oomf without a theatrical result. But if you go for two or three coats? There are those knock-out, take 'em out at night, lovely lashes.

Finally, in comparison with the Maybelline combo of the World Renowned Mascara Chronicles Part IV, I'd say the Hypnose offers more volume, while the Maybelline combo gives a bit more length. Both rock, though, and will remain Real Girl Beauty staples.

Which means they have been blessed by the goddesses of the Cosmeticos. (You know, the little fairies who live under my bed. What, you don't have any?)

Come on girls, we're talking mascara! Or anything else you want to share!

With love,
From one Real Girl to another
xx

Help! My List Must Shrink!

UPDATE: Holy Crap! I'm in Page Six today (Saturday). Ok, gals. I'm telling you all about the novel as soon as I get the time to do it justice! xx





Surprise! My Things To Buy At Sephora list is way too long. And also segmented into which products I'm interested in buying and which I'll need to test first. (Should I be worried about myself?)

But before we listify, guess what? Guess what! My publicist tells me my novel will be mentioned on Page Six in the next few days. Will I be mentioned in the same breath as Paris Hilton? I would say I hope not, except I'd rather say, Oh God, please no. She be sooo skanks! Don't worry, I'll let you know if the mention actually happens, and I'll tell you ALL ABOUT my charming and funny book when it's in stores.

Know what else? In a meeting of the beauty minds that may have left a rift in the space/time/lip gloss continuum, I had the loveliest drinks date with "Beauty Chick" of Beauty Hatchery. She recommended some super new products, and I must say her mascara was gorgeous. (And it's now on my Sephora list!) BC's about to go on a trip around the world, and she promises to report on exciting and exotic beauty treatments that could blow our minds.

Ok, so now you can tell me which Sephora products I need, and which I shouldn't bother busting my budget for.

DY.ING. FOR.
Sephora Nailpolish Corrector Pen (Wow!)
Lancome Hypnose Mascara (Will it look as nice on me as it did on Beauty Chick?)
Laura Mercier Undercover Concealer Dark Circles. Bane of my existence.
Sephora Light Touch Highlighter (Poor woman's YSL Touche Eclat? We'll see.)
Clinique City Block SPF 25 (Perfect Sunscreen, we will find you yet.)
Clarins UV Plus SPF 40 (Could it be you, Clarins?)
Lorac Gloss Stick in Brownie (A color not shown online. Will they have it?!)
Lancome Photogenic Skin Illuminating Concealer SPF 15 (Are you my perfect concealer??)

What I Might Be Dy.Ing. For. (But I have to test first)
Clarins Sun Wrinkle Control Eye Contour Care SPF
Clinique Repairwear Deep Wrinkle Concentrate for Face and Eye
Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel
DDF C3 Plus Serum
Sephora Whipped Body Delights in Marshmallow Fluff
Jonathan Create Volume Thickening Foam
Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream
Ojon Conditioning Shine Serum

Okay, ladies. Help a girl out! Have you tried any of these? Any advice to give before my upcoming Sephora trip (for which I have gift cards! That are long overdue to be SPENT!)? Any products I should totally take a look at?

Let me hear you say HEY-EY!

xx
Real Girl

GLOWY!

I am searching now, my friends, for the perfect bronzer. But in the meantime, to keep my well-sunscreened faccia from looking winter pale, I've been using a great new product--one I was totally wishing for last year. Remember? I had been so scared of self-tanner--what if I messed up and looked like Ernie with no Burt?--but then the perfect, flawless Jergens Natural Glow hit the market.

Well now? They've made one for your FACE!! It's like Jergens came to Real Girl's apartment last year and watched her slathering on her self-tanning lotion, while moaning ecstatically, "If only they made it for my face!" (Mmmkay. Mayyyybe not so much.)

So here, now, are my glowy tips for glowifying your face with the glow of Jergens Natural Glow Face!

1) Don't be afraid to opt for "Medium" unless you're really, really pale. I've heard reports that the lightest shade doesn't do much.

2) Use at night. Because you're using your other daily moisturizer and/or sunscreen during the day. If this product had sunscreen in it? It would have been too perfect to bear. I might have burst a blood vessel.

3) Start slow. I started using the product every other day and then less frequently when I reached the color I wanted. But if you want to go darker, then use every day.

Alrighty! Sunscreen? Check. Antioxidants? Check. Perfect glowy tan? Check.

Now let's go to Sephora and pick out something shiny and delicious!!
And in the meantime, do you have a favorite facial tanner? Or anything else to report??
xx
With love from,
Real Girl

Tuesday Musings

Herro!!

I've got pressing matters to share with you before this week's beauty post.

1) WOW. I just held the final, soon to be published version of my novel for the first time. It's gorgeous, all pink and pretty and scrumptious! Of course I'll share more with you once it's out in the world! But--yay!!

2) I need new makeup brushes. In particular--and in this order--blush, concealer, powder. MAC brushes get great reviews--any specifics to recommend? Any other brands you love? I'm going for high quality here.

3) Retinol. I'm not loving the way the skin looks around my eyes, and I need to add a retinol product to my nightly regimen. Any recommendations, my dearies?

There you go. Some food for thought before the products fly by. Like beautiful ships in the night. Except on land. And not ships.

Love you guys! Holla at me!
xx
RG

Who Doesn't Love Vintage?

Vintage Real Girl Beauty:

I have loved this product for five years, and I've gone through at least 20 tubes. Doesn't it say something when a product junky professes that a certain product is her very, very favorite?! What's more? In the whole healthy vs. sparkly debate, this product covers both. It's so pretty. So very pretty. And with the best sunscreen ingredients out there. So, my lovelies, enjoy this trip down memory lane. I've got to go tend to my lips now. (But share your favorite balms! Balms away!!!!!)
xx
RG



Brace yourself. No, really. Grab the back of a chair, or better yet--sit down. There. Ready?

This next product combines the qualities of a lip balm, a lipstick, and a lip gloss. In one tube. In one little, joyous tube. Cue Heavens to part and Angels to sing. Ahhhhh! Hey wait. I see you, Cherub. Get your hands off my lip tint.

This is Real Girl's most staple make-up product. The must-have. The bare minimum. You know how some people have nightmares about being suddenly naked in public? Well, in mine, I'm fully clothed. Except for my lips. They are not moisturized. They have no bronzy shine. The sparkle has vanished.

In short, I'm not wearing my Aveda Lip Tint SPF 15.

Aveda lip tint gives you moisturizer, color, shine, and sparkle all in one. I love lipstick, but sometimes it makes my lips feel so dry. And I love gloss, but how long does it last? Smack, smack the lips a few times and it's time to reapply. With the Aveda, swipe it over your lips once, and you get a sheer, lovely color--with an almost glittery (though not glassy) shine. Swipe it two or three times (as I do) and the color's as bold as some lipsticks. And it lasts! Real Girl wears her lip tint on its own all day long. For night, sometimes I spice it up with an added coat of similarly colored gloss. But it's always in my purse. Twenty-four hours a day. I even have an extra for emergencies.

As to color, remember they go on lighter than they look in the tube. My very favorite is the bronzy "Spice." Soooo hot. "Peony" is a delight as well, for those with light skin and hair--a dusty, pinky rose. Other colors include "Apricot," "Berry," Verbena," Currant," and "Copper."

The price is $11. Certainly more than I've paid for any other lip balm. But that's the thing. It's not just a balm! It's not just a tint! AND it's SPF 15!

No joke. I have been stopped on the street by someone just to be complimented on my Aveda lip tint. It's that good. I have tredged through the snow for miles (ok, seven blocks, but two of them are avenues and very long!) to get to the Aveda store for nothing else but my lip tint. Lip tint, you are so special. I don't say it enough, but it's true: I love you.

But if anyone else has their own favorite lip product that colors while moisturizing...well...What are you waiting for? Do tell!!

With love (and a clear dose of madness),
Real Girl

P.S. Oh, crap. I just found a website called NaturalSkin, and they say it so much better:

Give your lips the shade they've been looking for-sheer, shimmering, conditioning color that protects with naturally-derived sunscreens protecting from UVA and UVB rays, with titanium dioxide (mineral-derived) and oil of wintergreen conditioning-with avocado and mango-and smoothing, with certified organic babassu, jojoba and olive oils with astaxanthin-an anti-oxidant 25 times more powerful than vitamin E a refreshing flavor that blends certified organic orange and spearmint with pomegranate in a 100% recycled carton. Key Ingredients: Alfalfa, Algae, Avocado oil, Babassu oil**, Bilberry*, Blueberry*, Cranberry*, Jojoba oil**, Mango butter, Wintergreen oil.

Now that I know it's organic, I love it eeeeeeeven more.