MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer

Looking awake is a big goal of mine, and not one that I'm always very successful at. In the past my favorite concealers have needed to be very highly pigmented, easy to blend and I need them to last all day. I won't tolerate caking.

So, when Mac released their new Studio Sculpt concealer last month I was pretty excited to try it out. Mac promises that this concealer is a "creamy concealer that provides full coverage with a natural matte finish. Brushes on with enough blend time to conceal any size of blemish. Rich formulation allows you to use a micro-amount of product to even out skin. Water-resistant and long-wearing."

To me, this sounded like a holy grail product.

For the first week, I was incredibly, incredibly disappointed in it. I found it too thick to blend easily. Once I did get it blended, after an hour or so the area looked horrible. The area no longer looked like I had applied concealer. Well, most of it didn't. There was an odd layer of dry, peeling skin that was most definitely the concealer.

I was getting frustrated. I wanted the concealer to work. I wouldn't accept that MAC could make such an inferior product. So, I changed my eye cream. I went to a more hydrating formula, Prescriptives All You Need+ For Eyes, which is fab and I need to write about soon.

Once I made the change in eye cream, the concealer was acting very differently. I tried a few other creams as well, but it appears that the bottom line is the eye area needs to be very well hydrated. If you are really well hydrated, this concealer is amazing. It is very well pigmented, it blends well, covers up my undereye circles and lasts all day long. Without any peeling off, sinking into creases or anything else. It simply looks perfect all day long.

I haven't tried this on a blemish yet (haven't had a candidate in the past few weeks), but for the undereye area, the secret is moisture. With a well hydrated area I love this concealer.
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer

Red Hots in the Morning: From Philosophy

Lately every morning I've been enjoying Cinnamon Hot Dots. Really. It's not a flavor most of us crave first thing in the morning, but I've been a bit obsessed with it for weeks.

In case you weren't aware, Philosophy has this amazing selection of 3-in-1 products, which act as a high foaming shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath. I've never used it as a shampoo or bubble bath, but I love to use it as a shower gel. It has great foaming, cleans my skin really well without overstripping me of oils (aka- I don't become a big dry mess) and it rinses off very easily.

But, the real attraction here is the scent. The Hot Dots liquid really does smell like Red Hots. Which is great for waking me up and energizing me first thing in the morning. Philosophy comes out with new scents all the time, frequently you can find them in fun gift sets at stores like Sephora. At New Year's they offered a "diet" gift set (It had chocolate scents to help ease your cravings), they release great holiday scents every fall and I can't even begin to describe how amazing the fruit scents are.

My next scent is going to be the Pink Frosted Layer Cake, which one are you going to try out?

Philosophy's Cinnamon Hot Dots

Crabtree and Evelyn’s Rosewater Hand Therapy

When I was about eight or nine years old, my sister and I would create our own beauty concoctions in our backyard sand box. Mostly this consisted of creating mud and pretending that it was shampoo or something. But, if we were feeling very adventuresome we would visit the rose bushes my mom had planted in the corner of the yard. We would carefully select a few flowers to experiment with in our creations. I’m not sure if she ever knew we were stealing the flowers, but we were careful to select the blooms that were already drooping. We would carefully crush them with our plastic shovels and put the petals into mud or water to scent our amazing new inventions. On more than one occasion I snuck the petals into the house and created my own rose water in the bathroom, carefully hoarding the scented water in travel sized shampoo bottles. Since we didn’t exactly have a home supply of preservatives the water did not last long, but the scent of the crushed fresh rose petals was pretty addicting and I loved it.

For years I looked in vain for a rose scented product that smelled just as good as those childhood memories. Most rose scents are not quite right, smelling too sweet, artificial or even a bit rancid. I eventually gave up the search for a great rose product, and focused on other scents. However, recently I tried out the Rosewater Hand Therapy lotion from Crabtree & Evelyn, which to my surprise is the exact scent that I’ve been searching for all of these years!

The most distinctive feature of this lotion is obviously the scent. It really does smell amazing, just like fresh Rosewater. It is a standout.

The lotion is otherwise pretty standard. It is not thick, but not thin. It is white and creamy, feels silky when you first apply it to your skin. It does sink in right away and feels pretty hydrating. While it is not the most hydrating lotion I’ve ever used, it does a pretty good job. There is a bit of residual greasiness to the lotion, it seems to leave a film of shea butter on my skin. I do think that this layer helps it to last through a few hand washings, though I find it distracting. If you apply too much lotion be prepared for a pretty thick later of this on your hands. Today it rubbed off on my pants and left the residue on the pants, not a good look for work. So, be warned and don’t go too crazy.

This is a decent hand lotion if your hands aren’t too dry, but the scent is what sets it apart. If you’re a rose lover, you’ll want to check this one out.

Crabtree and Evelyn’s Rosewater Hand Therapy

Pretty Busy

I want to apologize to all of my regular readers for my lack of updates lately! For someone that once updated multiple times a day, posting only a few times a week (or even just once a week) is a huge change.

I have just been really busy in my normal, “every day” life, and that is reflected in the site. For me, this blog is a hobby, not a job. So, I tend to write when I have time and want to, rather than when I feel I must. Lately that hasn’t been often, as I’ve been spending more time at work, have been writing a few scientific papers (which sucks all of my writing impulses out of me) and have been getting my home ready to sell.

Luckily this weekend my home seems to have sold after only 24 hours on the MLS (A real feat in this market. No, we were not underpriced, we just have a lot of great upgrades and there was a lot of interest), now we’ll be moving out for a few months before moving across the country.

I have been testing products like crazy, and hopefully the weather here in So Cal will cooperate with me soon to give me sun when I have time to take some pictures so I can share with you my new lippie and eye shadow obsessions. I also have 2 new body wash loves (2! This is fantastic), have found some great foundations and even a new concealer. That doesn’t even include the new mascaras I’ve been trying out, one of which is from the drugstore and is truly the best one I’ve ever tried. It has completely creamed the competition.

So, I promise to try and write more in the next few weeks, just stay tuned!

Elizabeth Arden's Pretty

It's not that often that a company will create an entirely new note for a fragrance, but that is exactly what Elizabeth Arden did for their new fragrance, Pretty. They created a new floral note, named Petalia, which was meant to be unique and easy to wear.

I honestly have had a very difficult time coming up with a way to describe this note or the scent. Overall, this really is just a very pretty floral scent with a bit of citrus/peach added in. Initially the floral notes are more white florals (definitely due to the White Peony middle note), but after about an hour I smell a warmer floral, very similar to a violet note, mixed with the Star Jasmine.

Top Notes: Italian Mandarin, Orange Blossom, Peach Nectar
Middle Notes: Petalia, Star Jasmine, Pink Iris, White Peony
Base Notes: Fluffy Musk, Jacaranda Wood, Creamy Amber

I really do love wearing this scent. It is subtle and classic, but not like every other white floral out there.

I think my husband summed it up best a few days ago. He came to me in the kitchen and just started talking about how I smelled. I asked what he thought. "I like it, you just smell really pretty." Exactly.

Elizabeth Arden's Pretty