Oh, those wacky drugstore mascaras.

This is part two of a rant about mascaras--specifically, the crazy brushes. The department store part of it is here.

After being disappointed by Dior and Lancome mascaras,  I ventured into a local Walgreen's, hoping that my beloved L'Oreal Double Extend would be on sale.

Holy crap, people. The mascara section looks like Legoland.

Not Revlon's section; they're too dignified, I guess. And not Almay or Neutrogena; they're too busy trying to look pure. But Maybelline, Covergirl, and Rimmel? Their displays look like an explosion in a rainbow factory.

I blame Covergirl's Lash Blast, which came out in 2007. The fat orange tube promised giant fat lashes, and I'm pretty sure it delivers. Unfortunately, the few times I've tried Cover Girl Lash Blast, I've felt like I was trying to apply mascara with a baseball bat. I might be a late bloomer gym bunny, but my fine motor skills are excellent, so it was pretty disconcerting to try to apply this stuff

and get it on my nose. Or smack myself in the eye. I felt like a complete newbie. Me! But it's not my fault. Look at the size of the brush. And the stem that attaches it to the handle is as big around as my leg.

The mascara that promises super thick lashes gets packaged in a big fat tube, but wait!

The mascara that promises to build length is packaged in a long, slim tube.

And the subtle lash-darkening mascaras, that neither lengthen or thicken particularly dramatically, come in a nice green tube, to prove that they look natural.

(L) Bog brush (R) double helix.

Meanwhile, L'Oreal has apparently explanded beyond my beloved one-end-thickens, one-end darkens formula. Now their double ended mascara will alter your perception of my eye color! (Actually, it won't.) Also please note how the lower end of the wand resembles a bog brush. (I'm using an English slang expression so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of my American readers.)

And on the right, please check out the double helix that is wrapped around the brush on the new Voluminous brush. I've watched a lot of episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I know this can't be good. I'm afraid to try this mascara for fear that my lashes will mutate.

So, big fat tubes for the volumizing mascaras; long slim tubes for the lengthening mascaras ... I hate to say it, but the utterly transparent marketing efforts offend what's left of my intelligence. And anyway, why does everything have to be so huge? Don't they want their products to fit into my makeup bag? And what about travel? Do I want my pathetic single quart-sized Zip Lock bag to be filled with a monstrous mascara tube and nothing else? I do not.

And really, do they have to be this gaudy?

But I know which drugstore mascara is next on my list to try. CoverGirl Clump Crusher. And not just for the alliteration. No, it's for this video, by Christine at 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic. Watch how she applies 30 coats of it.



I don't know about you, but I'm sold. Even if it comes in a hideous lime green tube and makes me feel about as deft as a Muppet wielding a baseball bat.

Gym bags for the beauty obsessed

I suppose I could start a month-long series of blog posts devoted to diet and fitness with my stats--how much weight I've lost, how much more I intend to lose--that sort of thing. But I think I should play to my strengths and blog about what I know.

I run into a lot of "what's in my handbag" posts, but I don't read a lot of (read: any) diet/fitness blogs, so I don't know whether people talk about what they keep packed in their gym bags.

But over the past five months, I've kept a bag packed in the car because I've reached the point where I am hit by spontaneous urges to go work out. Yes, really. You never know when the urge to work out will strike! So here's what's in my gym bag--I mean, in addition to workout clothes and clean underwear and flip-flops and such.

Skincare

Even though my skin is, in general drier than it used to be, probably because I am, in general, older than I used to be--working out all the time has a mitigating effect. All that cardio definitely adds a glow, and my skin feels softer and more comfortable. This wouldn't be the case if I were spending two hours a day in a chlorine pool, but since I'm usually working with a trainer or on the elliptical, it's almost as if I'm hitting the steam bath on a regular basis.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm pretty much a walking steam bath. (Yuck!)

Anyway, I've learned that in the morning when I head to the gym, I should be absolutely bare-faced. I really dislike the sensation of sweating off a face full of makeup. I don't even wear moisturizer, since my moisturizer has sunscreen, and when I sweat the sunscreen runs into my eyes and stings. So I do my workout and then go clean up. And finally get around to using some products. But not many!

I always have a package of Oil of Olay wipes

because they're spill-proof, non-irritating, and refreshing.

I carry some Garnier Nutritioniste eye cream

because the eye area is the only part of my face that feels truly dry these days.

And right now, instead of a lot of different skin treatments, I'm just using beauty balm

to see whether it can take the place of moisturizer, sunscreen, and base. So far so good!

Body

I definitely need to put on lotion after a shower, so I've been relying heavily on scented body lotions. They're easier than carrying fragrance and lotion, and they don't break. Right now I'm enjoying Chanel #19.

Hair

Ack, hair. OK, I hate the hair dryers at my gym because they don't have nozzles to concentrate the air flow, and when I use them, my hair ends up a frizzy mess. That means if I really want to look good, I have to pack my own blow dryer. And a brush. And a heat-styling product. And maybe a flat-iron. Which adds up to a second gym bag just for my hair.

So what I really do is check to see how well my hair has survived my workout. If I think I can get away with it, I use a shower cap and skip the shampoo / blowout. Of course, I make sure I have some covered elastic bands. And some Klorane dry shampoo. I mean, I'm not totally without standards.

I can see your eyes rolling from here. Great. The internet thinks I'm gross. FINE.

Makeup

I always pack a stash of makeup in my gym bag, because when I get rushed, I am wont to do things like pack a full-on ladies-who-lunch outfit--and then forget to bring my makeup.

When I'm getting dressed at home, I'll amuse myself by coordinating my makeup to my outfit--say, gray and plum eye shadows when I'm wearing purple. But for the gym, I need to carry a bag of basic makeup that is guaranteed to look good with anything I'm wearing. It should also be non-breakable, leak-proof, and cheap, since it's going to be spending a lot of time in the car.

In addition to my beauty balm, I tend to carry a cream blush in a goes-with-everything shade of pale rose pink.

 Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Pink Truffle

Mascara and eyelash curler

Concealer

And an eye quad for when I really feel like putting on the dog.

Review: Chanel's Fleur de Lotus Joues Contraste blush

I came home from Nordstrom with the complete Anniversary Exclusive collections from Chanel, Dior, and Bobbi Brown. I'm planning on reviewing every item between now and August 6, the last day of the sale. Nordstrom card holders have early access to the sale, which doesn't start officially until July 20. 

American makeup fanatics started lusting over Chanel's Joues Contraste in 69 Fleur de Lotus when it was released in Asia in February, 2012. If the posters on the Makeup Board at Makeup Alley are any indication, this is one of the most eagerly-anticipated items in Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale Chanel collection. So it was with great anticipation that I opened my compact--only to discover that I appeared to own its twin.

Placed side to side, my dirt-cheap Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 20 Peach Satin (which retails for $7.99, but which I bought at CVS with ExtraBucks) seemed identical to my ridiculously expensive Fleur de Lotus, which retails for $43. Here they are out of direct sunlight.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in 20 Peach Satin on left; Chanel Joues Contraste in Fleur de Lotus on right

Hmmm ... on second thought, the difference shows up better in this picture than it does in in the sun. The Chanel is showing up pinker and shimmier, and it is. 

Swatched

Both blushes appear scary-dark in the pan, but both apply and blend down to a very wearable coral shade.

On the left, Maybelline, on the right, Chanel. Nothing else on face but my morning moisturizer. Note my youthful glow. ::coughs:: It was already 95 degrees outside!

I applied the Maybelline with a taklon foundation brush and blended it down, but it's slightly more opaque than the Chanel. I applied the Chanel with the brush in the compact. You can see my freckles much more clearly!

The difference shows up better on my arm when I apply them very heavily; Maybelline applies much more definitely coral, and the Chanel's pink shimmer shows up better.

On my arm, I used a the foundation blush to apply the Maybelline, which is way it shows up so well. For the Chanel, I used the brush in the pan, going over and over to make sure there was good color pay off.

Verdict

 
Fleur de Lotus is a beautiful coral-with-pink shade that would flatter complexions that are anywhere from porcelain pale to medium, and cool to warm. It applies very sheer, but can be built up. The brush it comes with is very soft and makes precise application difficult. For more color pay off, it's best to use a dedicated blusher brush. As for the shimmer, it really doesn't show on the skin. I don't own either Benefit's Coralista than Nars Orgasm, having swapped them both, but as far as coral blushers go, my impression is that Fleur de Lotus is more like Coralista than Orgasm--very soft and wearable, with no glitter, just a rosey shimmer. In fact, Fleur de Lotus shade reminds me of Chanel's Distraction nail polish, which is in heavy rotation this summer. I expect the same will be true of Fleur de Lotus.

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Elsewhere: My reviews of the rest of Chanel's Nordstrom Anniversary exclusives:

Quadra Eye Shadow in 35 Rives
Illusion d'Ombre in 87 Rivière
Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 86 Beige Clair
Aqualumière Gloss in 80 Alizé and 81 Roselin

30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 8: Make friends with concealer

If you can remember when concealer was pretty much limited to that lipstick-shaped "Erase" stuff you get at the drug store, you're old enough to have the kinds of problems a good concealer is designed to correct, such as under-eye circles, broken capillaries, and age spots.

The right concealer banishes all of these problems. It can also work as an eye shadow base, improving the wear and appearance of your eye shadow. And you can use it instead of, or in addition to foundation.


Right now, I'm using one of two concealers. I keep a tube of Cargo's OneBase in my purse. It's a tube with a sponge-tipped wand. The formula is very versatile. You can apply it with the sponge tip as a concealer, or squeeze the product out of the tube and apply it as a foundation. You can even mix it with your regular day-time moisturizer to make a tinted moisturizer.

It's handy for travel or trips to the gym, and for putting on makeup in the car. (Shut up! At red lights, duh.)



When I'm at home, I use Maybelline Age Rewind. It's very highly pigmented, which means it gives excellent coverage. It also means it's easy to use too much, so a lot of the time, I take the cap off and only use what I find on the end of the tube.

However, I'm having a lemming attack over Revlon's Age Defying Moisturizing Concealer. It's brand-new, and it's supposed to be great for older skin. It's received rave reviews from Makeup Alley. And it has SPF 25, which is fabulous. What better place to have high SPF than a product that is used around the eyes?



I'm super-tempted to pick up a tube of the Revlon, but I don't know that I need to add to my concealer collection. Yet.

Apply concealer here to take ten years off your face:

• To cover under eye circles, apply both below and above the eyes in the inner corners, near the nose. Don't use it on the outside corners; this will emphasize lines.
• Neutralize and brighten your eyelids by applying it across the eyelids, too.
• Pat on a bit to conceal age spots, red marks from healed blemishes, and burst capillaries.