MAC Cremesheen Lip Glass vs. Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss

As a gloss addict, it's kind of funny that I've never tried Bobbi Brown. A few weeks ago I read a comment online somewhere (sorry, I can't remember where) about someone who absolutely couldn't live without their Bobbi Brown lip gloss. It totally piqued my curiosity, so I ended up running to the nearest counter and picking up a tube.  To make it more fun, I decided to make it all about neutrals and to pick a close-as-possible shade in a similar finish in my tried and true MAC lip glass.

So, here are the contenders:

Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss in Pink Beige, $22.00

MAC Cremesheen Lip Glass in Deelight, $19.50


The challenger, Bobbi Brown had a great color pay-off - even in this lighter toned neutral peachy pink. It also wears well, lasting for hours, though not through eating or drinking, of course. The only down sides are the moderately sticky feel and the fact that it made my lips tingle a bit in a not too comfortable sort of way. It's important for you to note, however, that my lips tend to be a bit persnickety and can be easily irritated so this may not be your experience at all. Maybe it's just me as well, but the applicator of this gloss is what I call "stingy." The sponge tip is small and tight and the wiper inside the tube works a little too well because it takes several dips to get enough product for a complete application. One last tiny complaint - the smell - there's something weird about it - almost like a big pink eraser or some paste? That one could just be my nose, but I wanted to mention it anyway. I find things like that bothersome, do you?

Ok, on to the reigning champ (I say that only because it's the brand I'm more familiar with), MAC Cremesheen Lip Glass in Deelight. The company calls this shade a "mid tone neutral" and I see a slightly plummy-er base than the Bobbi Brown whose base is more peachy. Overall I'd call it a warm pinky rose brown - a super wearable everyday shade for fair to medium complexions. Even though it's a gloss, the Cremesheen line manages to put the kibosh on stickiness altogether which makes it very comfortable to wear. Speaking of wear, it will last on your lips for hours, but not through eating and drinking. And, just like the Bobbi Brown, the color pay off is amazing - made slightly better by the ease of generous application.  Unlike the Bobbi Brown, this applicator is soft and plushy and draws out plenty of product for an easy, one swipe application. There is some sort of barely noticeable scent, but you can't even smell it after you've applied it and that's a good thing in my book. Another plus is that this gloss stays put and doesn't bleed into fine lines at all whereas the Bobbi Brown had a tendency to get a bit cakey around the edges after several hours.

Bottom line: Both brands offer high quality glosses with excellent color pay off. For my personal taste, the MAC Cremesheen Lip Glass edges out the competition because of the superior applicator and better feel on the lips.

Do you have a favorite among these two brands? Other brands? I'd love to hear your picks!

Laua Mercier lipstick or finding your perfect your-lips-only-better-shade

Have you ever found a perfect lip color that looks like your own lips - just "dressed?" That's what I've been in search of for an eternity. Well, it's possible that I've found it! Laura Mercier has a great line of sheer, comfortable feeling lip sticks the company calls "stick gloss." Anyway, the range of shades flatters most skin tones in very natural colors -perfect for when you want to look pulled together, but not necessarily attention grabbing. The shade that is a dead ringer for my lip tone is called Brown Sugar which is sort of a pinky rose beige with a hint of lilac and it's so lovely. Like I said, they have a good range of shades to match your lips and the barely there feel is smooth and stick-free. Even though it is called a stick gloss, it looks and is packaged like a lipstick. The only caveat I can see is that it's pricey - I paid $22.00 at a department store Laura Mercier counter. Being a total makeup junkie, it's not necessarily unlike me to pay that much for a tube of lipstick....but I do feel a wee tad bit guilty. In fact, I'm currently in the process of trying out some lower priced lipstick brands and I'll be sure and let you know if I run across anything truly noteworthy. For now I'm pleased with this not-made-up-looking shade that suits my personal lips to a tee. (Oh, I neglected to mention that I have picky lips - some lip products leave them feeling tingly or swollen or super dried out. Needless to say, this Laura Mercier product passed the moody lips test!)

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer

 Every makeup aficionado will tell you that one of the absolute essential products is a good eye primer. For some reason this particular product category seems to spark a somewhat heated debate. I guess it just goes to show how necessary this item is and that once you’ve found your promised land eye primer you tend to get a tad animated in your discussions on the subject. Well, I’m not trying to add to the debate... only to share an honest opinion. Hey, maybe my favorite is one you’ve never tried and you might find that it works for you. If you’re absolutely sold on the primer you use, more power to ya’, girl!

For those of you who don’t yet know me, let me clue you in - I’m a true makeup junkie. On the web we makeup junkies are a dime a dozen; what might set me slightly apart is how long I’ve been at it - decades. Yes, that means I’m old - not ancient but certainly “mature” by internet beauty circle standards. I could let that get me down, but I choose to see it as the advantage of experience. I still have my very first MAC lipstick which is close to 20 years old. I have eyeshadows from department store lines which no longer exist. I say all of this just to give you an idea of where I’m coming from and how much experience I have in being both a consumer and a professional in the beauty industry. 

When it comes to eye primers, I’ve been trying various incarnations of these eye shadow bases long before the current front runners even came along. What you want from these guys is pretty universal and basic: non-slip, no-crease eye shadow hold as well as ensuring a true, high intensity color pay-off. To be honest, there are several excellent eye primers that fill this bill. The question is how it works in real life for you!

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer is my go to pick time and time again. Even when I have other options on hand for reviewing purposes or professional use, I find myself digging through my bag for the Lorac. Why? Well, first of all it truly does make any eye shadow wear like iron - absolutely no smudging, budging, or creasing - including when you get caught in the pouring rain! I’ve even tested it at the gym -not even one hour of intensive, sweat-dripping cardio could dislodge that eye makeup! Amazing. 

Truth be told, though, there are several other very popular eye primers that do all of that just as well. What’s different about Lorac to me is the way it makes my eye lids look. The Lorac primer goes on smooth and easy (with no color, by the way) and leaves my lids looking and feeling hydrated and toned - not dry as the Sahara like some other primers tend to do on me. One really popular primer seems to suck every drop of moisture out of my eye lids and leaves them looking flaky and -dare I say it? - wrinkled.  For folks with super oily lids I can see that might be a plus.  My lids are neither dry nor oily, and the rest of my skin tends toward oily so I found it surprising how drying some primers can be on me. 

Anyway, Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer does it all in my opinion. It looks great and feels great and keeps shadow looking freshly applied even through sleeping! (I know, bad girl for sleeping in my makeup!) 

One thing I hadn’t mentioned much is the color pay - off question. Since Lorac goes on nearly colorless, it doesn’t compete with ANY shadow color.  All shades I’ve tried with it, from lightest to darkest, come up true and the intensity builds easily - even when used with much cheaper shadow brands.

At the risk of inciting a riot, I’d love to know what you use as an eye primer and why you like it. How many have you tried?

MAC Prep + Prime

Me + this product = a perfect match a long time in the making.


As an esthetician I'm always looking for a lip balm that keeps lips soft and hydrated but also works under lip color. Over the years I've collected a number of hopefuls and wanna be's but none was enough of a multi-tasker. Lots filled the bill as a hydrator, but add color to the equation and things started to go south. (No pun intended!) Slip-sliding color that wound up in unintended places, or big sacrifices in the color pay-off department. 


I'd never even considered a product calling itself a primer since I figured it would sacrifice lip comfort right off the bat. 


Enter: MAC Prep + Prime


I'm amazed at this product's performance. It goes on like a dream - hydrating and softening lips making them feel so comfortable. Top it with your favorite lip color in whatever texture you choose - gloss, stain, stick - you name it. Well that's when it really gets interesting! Your color goes on true and with the expected intensity. Then it wears that way for hours! No, your lip color isn't going to last through a slice of pizza or a chicken Caesar but it does noticeably extend lip color wear - even from a gloss or a tinted balm. 


I used it the other day under a light weight tinted balm and was stunned to look in the mirror after a full day of clients and see soft, moist, tinted lips. Yep, the color was still there along with the subtle shimmer in my balm of choice for the day. Amazing!


Ok, so that's why MAC Prep + Prime has now earned a permanent spot in my "daily essentials" makeup bag!


What "underwear" product do you choose for your lips? I'd love to hear your picks.

OPI Nail Envy

Here's something I'm so loving right now! I've seen this product, and others like it, for years and never gave it much thought. You've seen one strengthener you've seen them all, right? Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! The back story of this is a little embarrassing. The reason I found myself needing a nail strengthener in the first place is that I succumbed to the siren song of perfect nails and got myself a set of acrylics. I'm certain that lots of folks end up with the utter gorgeousness I desired - I've seen them with my own eyes! Unfortunately I ended up with a very chunky - looking, obviously fake set of pink and whites that were uneven and pulled away from my natural nails making them look even worse. I know, I know, go to a better nail tech. Anyway, I was so mad at myself that I did my own botched removal job and, well, you can imagine the pitiful state of my nails after all of that. I honestly was missing layers and layers of my natural nails and thought for sure it would be at least 6 months before they could be restored. I picked up a bottle of OPI Original Nail Envy on a quick stop through CosmoProf about 3 weeks ago and have kept it on my nails ever since. I throw an extra coat on a couple of times a week and take it off completely once a week. After only the first week I was honestly stunned at the improvement in my nails. The missing layers were growing back and the entire surface was smoothing out. Now after 3 weeks my nails look fairly normal and they are growing and haven't peeled, chipped, or broken at all. That's a lot of abuse to heal up in such a short period of time! I haven't compared this with any other products and honestly don't think I will since my nails have done so well with this. I can say with absolute certainty that I highly recommend this to anyone whose nails need a strengthening boost - and who doesn't, really? I know they also have a variety of other formulations to address specific needs and tastes. The one I'm using is the original and it has a shiny finish, but I've seen their matte formula as well if you'd prefer no shine. 
Ok, enough on my nail rant for now! Thanks for listening....

Hello makeup world...

Ok, so I'm new to blogging, but not new to beauty. I'm a licensed esthetician and licensed esthetics instructor - though I'm not teaching currently. I work as an esthetician in a lovely, tucked away retreat. When it comes to esthetics my great loves are facials and chemical peels. Throughout my career I've worked in every setting from tiny skin care clinic to large medical spa as well as professional trade schools, and I've found you can get the best results and fewest complications from the low tech end of the treatment spectrum - like chemical peels and cosmeceutical at home care. 


Of course what brought me to a career in esthetics was my absolute passion for makeup. When I say passion I am not even coming close to overstating it - I am a massive makeup and beauty product addict! I also love to write and actually find myself writing about my product finds in my head all the time. I'm finally creating a place to put those thoughts! Even if no one else ever reads it, at least I'm clearing out a little space in my brain. 


One of my absolute obsessions is mascara. It's one of those deserted island products for me. Can't. live. without. it.  The problem is finding the BEST one. In my opinion a mascara has got to be extremely black, lengthening and thickening with absolutely no clumping, and no flaking or smudging while you wear it. It should also not break the bank because it's one of the only beauty products you've absolutely got to replace every few months or so, right? Whereas I might spend $30 on a really great eyeshadow or amazing lip stick (cause I'm gonna keep it forever), I won't spend 30 bucks on a mascara I'm going to have to throw out soon.  


So I'm currently testing out some mascaras and will be talking about my findings very soon. Mascara is a product that I should just go ahead and identify as a "theme" on the blog because I'm always testing out new ones! Plan on seeing several.




I'm also currently looking at some lip colors from Cover Girl, Revlon, Laura Mercier, and Nars. 


Another upcoming group of products I'll be looking at: Makeup Wipes


All makeup lovers use them, pretty much, so which one's work the best without stinging your eyes or leaving your skin raw? Or do you choose a baby wipe? Let me know your thoughts and I'll share my review soon.