I Finally Met mark.

And seriously, we got along FAMOUSLY, I tell you. I got this mark. (the Avon-for-cool-kids spin-off line) lip gloss in a Makeup Alley swap -- it's a Shine Tube Hook-Up Lip Gloss in Butter Cream, but it looks like this one is an older product. Its newer iteration is Buttercreme Brioche -- which sounds much fancier:


Anyway, it's a really light neutral-goldish shade that basically just illuminates and enhances your lips with a light shiny glaze. It reminds me a bit of Stila's Lip Glaze in Vanilla, but honestly, I like mark. better (sorry, Stila!), as it's lighter and not as goopy and sticky. And, not to mention, it's way cheaper.

I couldn't find a photo of the product itself, but the swatch is above. Here's the same product in Cr�me Caramel:

($5, mark.)

I'd also deffo like to try the Sugared Almond -- you get a free connector to attach both products together when you buy two -- and for $5 each, I think I WILL!

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Spending YOUR Money: Philip B Truffle Conditioner

And now, it's time for a feature that will heretofore be referred to as "Spending YOUR Money" -- as in, things that I would gladly buy... with YOUR money. Get it?

($75, Philip B)

At $75 per 6 oz, Philip B White Truffle Nourishing Hair Conditioning Creme is SUPER pricey for a hair product. But here's the thing: it fucking empowers your scalp to grow ACTUAL TRUFFLES, which you can then harvest and sell at a premium. So, with the price of truffles having risen up to $3,500 a pound, the $75 is really just an investment in a lucrative future! Bonus: really gorge hair! Another unforeseen benefit: just sprinkle some head-grown truffles over some Kraft Easy Mac and voila -- your very own DIY version of Waverly Inn's now-$85 mac and cheese with truffles. (Grr, inflation! Because $55 for mac and cheese was SO much more reasonable!)

But back to Philip B's pricey fungus-infused conditioning creme: the site doesn't tell you much about it except that it contains amino acids (it'd better!) and "restores intense moisture and repair without weighing down your hair!" Um, for $75, I except a BIT more copy!

Only two Makeup Alley users and two Total Beauty users reviewed it; one of the former effused "the best hair I have ever had, It's just so gorgeous and lush!," while one from the latter claimed "meh."

I think I'll hedge my bets for a more middle-of-the-road option:

($27, Philip B, PeterLouisSalon.com)

Philip B Chocolate Milk Body Wash -- still a bit pricey, but ultimately, I'd probably rather smell like Quik than 'shrooms.

BTW: Because surely you were DYING of curiosity, this is what Philip B looks like -- a well-coiffed cross between Ty from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Fabio.

Now, Philip, bro, MOVE! THAT! BUS!

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A Tale of Two, If Not Sometimes Three, Mascaras

While MKHo may not be a beauty blogger, I am a little bit of one myself. Therefore, please enjoy a completely overlong post about one of my all-time favorite beauty products, mascara! Wee!

The other day, I was celebrating the fact that it was like 7p.m. on a Tuesday or something equally as irrelevant, and I impulsively decided I REALLY DESERVED to buy myself something. (Un-)fortunately I work about 30 seconds from a Sephora.

Due to the fact that, like a magpie, I am attracted to any and all forms of shiny packaging, I swooped down on Urban Decay's Big Fatty Mascara:

($19, Urban Decay)

The wand is basically the size of a fucking toilet bowl brush. Unfortunately, this mascara completely sucks. Nothing showed up at all. I even thought I'd perhaps gotten a faulty, dried-up one. I read a review somewhere that said this mascara is good for "the natural look," and I can only imagine that refers to the look of WEARING NO MASCARA AT ALL. I took advantage of Sephora's open-arms exchange policy -- you can return anything if you're not completely satisfied, which I wasn't. So I did!

In its stead, I got Diorshow:

($24, Dior, Macys)

Ah, the redoubted Diorshow. I was sooooo ready to believe the hype. And the first few tests, it was okay (maybe I just REALLY wanted to believe) -- it definitely lengthens -- but after a few repeated uses, BOOOO Dior! WTF? J'clump!!! Definitely a lot of thick coverage, but zero separation -- it did that thing where it made major clumps at the center of my lashes and then made them look stringy-string-McStrung-out at the tips. Boo for reals.

Oh, and before I forget:
+ Free shipping over $25 at Sephora with promo code B388C2, through April 30.
+ Also, did you know you can return any and all beauty products to CVS if you're not feelin' it? It's true!

Anyway, back to the mascara:
... So, just yesterday, my sister came to visit. Every time we see each other after having not seen each other for months, we first act a'fool about how much we wuv each other. Then, we go into giddy-overdrive mode over mascara. She reminded me how much she loves CoverGirl's Lash Blash (the one that looks like a small orange sex toy), and I was so glad she did:

($6.79, CoverGirl, CVS)

Huge, right? But even more importantly, hugely effective. It's perfect on its own (after a few coats of course -- please stop kidding yourself if you think any one mascara can do it all in just one coat. Do you give your walls JUST ONE coat of paint? No. Unless you're a crappy slacker.) or as a base -- I'd also completely forgotten my own trick -- find a great separating mascara, use it as a base to hit as many individual hairs as possible that the slightly clumpier mascaras can't deal with, and then layer with a bolder mascara over that. Yeah, it's a little extra time, but so is dealing with those crappy lash brushes which never really end up working.

But, you don't have to take my word for it -- some Lash Blash reviews:
+ Makeup Alley
+ Makeup Moxie
+ Makeup Minute
+ The Makeup Girl <---- impressive before and after photo!

I also remembered how much I like MAC's Zoom Lash mascara: ($11, MAC)

A VERY thick (think mud) mascara. For $11, t'aint (hee) bad, but I don't advise it on its own -- instead, use it as a top coat over a solid separating mascara like Maybelline's Define-A-Lash, which is the Bentley Continental GT of separating but the mid-to-late '80s LeBaron of volumizing:



PS: Non-sequitur, yes, and I know I'm like the 23rd person to tell you this today, but Muxtape is awesome.
MU

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Binge Beauty: Skin Savers, Part 1: Borba Clarifying Micro-Diamond Cleanser

Ok, so 'member when I was all in a tizzy because some random doctor told me I needed laser rubberband face treatment for hundreds of dollars to reduce my moderate redness? That unfortunate experience (I didn't undergo the treatment -- the experience of being told I should was unfortunate enough) inspired me to say FUCK THAT and instead blog about some of my favorite skin products, starting with... cleansers...


My very fave is: Borba Clarifying Microdiamond Cleanser:

($18, Borba)

Borba products are a complete line of "cosmeceuticals" created by Scott-Vincent Borba, who's basically like a fancy skincare guy who looks like the type of fancy, happy guy they'd bring in to fix your face on makeover shows. Anyway, he created a ton of skin products, ranging from vitamin powders you mix into water to look like Mary-Kate Olsen or something to cleansers to even gummi bears infused with acai and green tea extract:

($9.95, Borba, SkincareRX.com)

No lie. You're only supposed to eat a few a day, but of course I ate the whole bag in one sitting and almost barfed, and we all know barfing's bad for your skin. Good thing I didn't.

But back to the Clarifying Micro-Diamond Cleanser: it's actually created for oily-prone skin, which my skin isn't, but regardless, this stuff is fantastic. It's soft, smooth and smells light and clean, much like the product itself, which contains pomegranate, walnut and soybean extracts and hydrolyzed cotton fibers. The cleanser also has little "micro-diamond" beads that exfoliate and clean your pores, so by the time you're done, your skin is super soft and silky with zero grease factor or tightness. I definitely had way fewer skin mortses (perhaps because it cleans so well) after using this stuff.

My only beefs:
1.) The Website is poorly organized and the product names seem confused -- there appear to be several different vague names for the same product -- Like, is this the same as this? And it looks like the Micro-Diamond Cleanser used to be the Fiber-Knit Facial Cleanser, which is the product I initially bought and used and loved, but now it looks like it's been discontinued and reborn into the Micro-Diamond Cleanser. But those complaints are pretty minor as a user (though I do have a minor in Technical & Scientific Communication, so you can see from where my taxonomic distress stems.)
2.) SHIT'S HARD TO FIND! Sephora used to sell Borba products until about a month or two ago, when I went in and had to ask about three different salespeeps who looked at me like I asked them to please show me something with good gas mileage and comes with a stereo, until finally I found a saleswoman who informed me that Borba products were "unceremoniously removed" from Sephora. (Ooh! Beauty scandal!) She did say they they're available at Ulta -- a tip I appreciated, except a.) there isn't an Ulta anywhere near me, and b.) like a giant squid, I've never seen an Ulta with my own eyes, so I'm not even fully confident they actually exist.

So, looks like I'll be doing my buying at Borba.com. Cool.

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Beauty Binge: MAC Fafi: Squeeze It Lipglass

Bingers, for those of you not really that into MAC, here's an SAT-style analogy to help you understand the subset of beauty enthusiasts who are completely die-hard:

MAC addicts : new MAC products

People genuinely obsessed with Lost : new episodes of Lost

Like THAT into it. Since MAC puts out at least one brand-new collection per month, there's much new material to keep MAC addicts busy -- and buying.

Buckets of beauty ink have been spilled, so to speak, over MAC's Fafi collection, which has been out for a little over a month now. And the build-up to its debut : the Pope coming to town.

For the uninitiated -- Fafi is an adorable French graffiti artist known for her Harajuku-esque Fafinette characters. She teamed up with MAC to create a limited-edition collection of Fafi-branded beauty products, with fun Fafinettes (Temptalia has a tremendous run-down of the collection, plus lots of pix) all over the packaging.

Anyway, while I appreciate a lot of the collection's colors, many are just too bright (think Rainbow Brite) for me, personally. With the exception of one of the Lipglass glosses: Squeeze It, which is now my very favorite lipgloss. Much of MAC's Fafi stuff is sold out (including the other three Lipglasses) yet this is one's actually still in stock.

Squeeze It is described as "brassy plum," but it's more like a ripe tomato/ strawberry. Like a shiny fruit basket for your lips. (Oh, and speaking of fruit baskets, is it really bad that every time those "Edible Arrangements" commercials come on, I kind of really want one? How trashy am I?)

I'd hit it.

Oops, back to Squeeze It -- it's vibrant but not overly loud -- a wonderful everyday color, and I wish it wasn't limited-edition, but MAC does tend to sort of reincarnate past products into new products with different names, so I'll be on the lookout for that when-/however it's reborn.

Here's a photo of someone else wearing it:

(Credit: Temptalia)

Now get it, girl, get it get it girl, before it's gone.

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All I Can See Is Red, Red, Red

So, the other day I go to the dermatologist for a rather mundane, routine matter - puffy eyelids of the not - so - major - anyone - will -really -notice- but- apparent- enough- to -me - to - go -to -the -doctor variety.

First of all, the doctor asks if I'd used any new make-up or nail polish (uhh, yes and definitely yes). Turns out that nail polish is the #1 cause of eyelid puffos in women! (Don't you love that there's a hierarchy of causes?)

Oh, so I'm at a large practice with lots of other docs -- I've really liked the other doctors I've seen there -- but this was the first time I'd seen this particular doctor. And I didn't really like her because:

a.) She didn't really seem to listen to me. I'd been to that same practice for the same issue before, yet she didn't take the time to check my record -- on the laptop sitting open with my chart on it right in front of her -- and see what the deal was. (That seems like the easy way out to me! Just look it up! Chances are it's the same thing! But maybe my inclination to take the path of least resistance is just one compelling reason why I'm not a doctor).

b.) She mentions a topical treatment I'd tried before and then like quickly tried to flip the script, changing the topic, and fucking UPSELLS me on some laser treatment to "reduce the redness in my face" to treat my super mild rosacea. Apparently I'd only need about three or four treatments... at about $450 or so A POP (!!!). Um, lady, I'm used to coming in here and paying a $30 copay. You really think I wanna shell out like $1600 (as if I had $1600 to spend on "mild redness") on fucking lasers? What irked me the most was that after I told her that the redness really didn't bother me that much, she kept on with "well, you know... something to think about."

So, I walk in to get eyelid medicine or some whatever and potentially leave in debt? WTF?

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not fully against laser treatment or anything. Especially if I had a beard or something I couldn't get rid of. (Eep!) But the redness in my face is just MINOR part of me, and not a very big or important part of me either. It's probably like maybe the 14th thing people notice about me? If that? And it's redness I've earned through a combination of factors both within my control -- drinking too much coffee and probably not enough water; Jack Daniels; tacos and other vices -- and a few beyond the stretch of my dominion -- being really really incredibly white. That aside, I'm pretty proud of the fact that my skin is generally clear, through a combination of sheer luck, never going to bed with make-up on (sick!) and maintaining my situation via moisturization. So why would I risk this shit (granted, if I did get some kind of laser treatment done, it would not be at a spa, but still) for an outcome that's not guaranteed, for a "problem" that only really seems to be a problem to my doctor -- who most likely stands to make a fat commission -- but not to me?

I'm not even 30, so I'm in slight disbelief that I've reached an age where people want to zap my face with lasers and pay them for the privilege.

Soon I'll be bring you some happy, healthy skin and beauty products I've recently discovered. Until then, I say fuck a bitch! Point your frikkin' laserbeams at someone else!

Sing it, Fiona...

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New York Times To New York Ladies: Don't Wash Your Hair

If the New York Times told you to jump off the Williamsburg Bridge, would you do it?

I know that I personally would jump off the Brooklyn Bridge because it's so much cooler than the Williamsburg Bridge. But for realzorz, the Times is all like, hey, looks like ladies aren't shampooing their hair.

Um, duh. Any good pageant queen will tell you -- dirty hair is stylish hair!

And anyone who's heard me go off on my curly haircare rant KNOWS that I've been preaching the no-shampoo gospel for nigh on five years or so. I bought the book Curly Girl (yes, I actually bought a book about hair care, but only because it was just $10 and because I had a Barnes & Noble gift card and because one of my gay bestie's other girl besties bought it and swore it changed her life, so I figured, why not change mine?), written by Devachan founder Lorraine Massey, who's quoted in the article.

I followed her #1 cardinal rule of curly hair -- no shampooing. That was back in the day, and now I haven't used the shit in YEARS, except for maybe once when I went swimming or something. And, no joke, my hair went from "blah" to "huzzah." If you've got curly hair, chances are it's dry (I can't speak to the greasy haired ladies, but you've told me that the idea of not washing daily is a totes no-go, and I believe you). And shampooing, per Massey (AND, supes importantly, per ME!), will only dry it out even more. Seriously, as soon as I stopped using shampoo, it was 1,2,3 Impacto on the hair hotness tip. I still wash it -- probably up to five times a week -- scrub it and use a shameless amount of conditioner. Just no shampooey. It's all the difference in the world between frustrating, frizzy hair and totally transformed curls that take almost no time at all.

I also totes recommend Devachan -- I've been going there for years. It's expensive but worth every cent, especially if you don't wear your hair curly but you're ready to make the jump. They totes takes tons of time to walk you through the whole curly hair maintenance process.

If you don't live in New York, Devachan (I swear to God, I don't work for them -- that's how miraculous their skills are), check out Stylist's Devachan curly hair photo gallery.

Also, the Times article goes on about shampoo alternatives (cheesecloth? uhhhh no thanks), and I've been loving on "Dry Clean Only" by Sebastian ever since I was old enough to legally enter bars, back in ye olden days when smoking anywhere within four inches of an alcoholic bev was still allowed. It's essentially Febreze for your hair. That sounds gross, but if your hair be rockin' it, what's the point in wasting all that water (and time) if you were only in a smoky spot for like 10 minutes -- long to enough to pick up some smokage but not enough to merit a total rewashing, IMO. Or if you have a rad -- and expensive -- blowout. It's not so easy to find, but it's worth the time spent tracking it down. Just a few spritzes and you're good.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, there's absolutely no reason to wash your hair every day. Skipping a day or two is good for the planet and good for your hair. That also means that it's time to substitute the "I'm washing my hair excuse" with "I'm color coordinating my sock drawer."

Alright, 'Bingers. True confessions: how often do you wash? And... to shampoo or not to shampoo? THAT is the other question!

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Pop Beauty Nail Polish Coming to the States!

($13, Asos.com)

Yes, $13 is, to me at least, an absurd amount of money to pay for one bottle of nail polish, and that's what I thought too when I paid almost exactly that while at the Oxford Circus Top Shop over the holidays. But $20 is a lot to pay for nail polish too, and laydeez be plunkin' that down for Chanel nail polish like it's their Goddamn vocation!

So after spending 13 bones on UK line Pop Beauty's nail polish in turquoise, shown above, and trying it out, I did a little happy dance of superficiality and beauty products around my hotel room, because this is, (hands and nails) down, the best nail polish I've ever used. It's strong, thick (in the good way), absolutely opaque and barely chips even after days. It ends up looking more like paint than polish -- zero streaks, lumps, bubbles or squeaks.

And while you can buy Pop Beauty cosmetics at Sephora here in the States, they don't have their nail polish here - BOOO - however, I recently read that they're about to bring the polishes here too -- YAY! Step on it, Pop! I've got more superficial nail polish dances to do!


Want:

And...

Also want:

($42, Pop Beauty, Sephora)

A treasure trove of 24 eye shadows in a cute silver palette!

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Make Up For Ever: Fascinating Lip Gloss

Recently, I received the lovely Make Up For Ever Diamonds Forever Kit ($49 at Sephora). The whole kit was quite cute -- I really liked the Waterproof Lengthening Mascara it came with (I generally don't use waterproof mascara, but if I did, this would probably be my new fave. I am now, though, tempted to try Make Up For Ever's washable mascara).

Anyway, my favorite element was the Fascinating Lip Gloss Pearly Transparent 1. It's a sheer glitter shade, but fear not: this is no candy raver goop. (By the way, in the Trends section of Allure's Feb. 2008 issue, Michele Tacconelli of QVC was quoted as saying that glittery makeup is essentially out. Jump 28 pages, and you get a six-page spread on glittery looks. Uhhh, okay? Per Allure, shimmery looks are in. I say, shimmer = maybe. Glitter: almost never. )

It's much more of a glassy shine than a discoy-glitter gloss, if that makes sense. It's very light with absolutely not stickiness -- it's extremely light, which might explain why it comes off a bit more quickly than thicker glosses, but it's a fair trade for not having to unstick your hair from your lips. Because that's always sexy.

Oh, and the best part: it tastes and smells like fruit punch. Specifically old-school Hawaiian Punch.



The rub: The only photo I can find of the Pearly Transparent gloss right now is the pic of the Diamonds For Ever kit. But that's okay, because it's clear, so there's not much to see.

The gloss is $18, but here's the other rub: it's currently sold out on Sephora, but I've got my fingers crossed that they'll restock soon, because at the liberal rate at which I'm applying this ho, she'll be gone faster than a white line up Lindsay Lohan's right nostril.


Speaking of Hawaiian Punch, check this amazing vintage Punchy phone I found at Bigfootsden.com. There's never been a more compelling argument for me to spend 89 bucks.

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Hair Miracle! Cristophe Beverly Hills "Purely Natural" Conditioner

($7.99, Cristophe Beverly Hills, CVS)

The other week, I was sent Cristophe Beverly Hills' new "Purely Natural" conditioner and, admittedly, thought little of it. But, since my hair is long, dry, curly, thick, often unruly and usually frizzy (lucky me!), I go through about a bottle of conditioner a week. I ran out of whatever else I'd been using (the fact that I can't even remember what it was should highlight my indifference), and I figured I might as well give it a shot.

Sweet sassy molassey! This stuff is a mini hair miracle! It's tamed my not-so-"fierce" frizziness and added a lovely layer of shine without the gunky greasiness, AND it's kept my scalp from doing undesirable things.

It has a nice light fragrance (I detect a hint of what smells like anise), and it's got no parabens (yay!), and apparently that's very good because they're apparently bad. What it does contain: alcohol (boo!), but it also clearly contains magic! Oh yeah, and here's more magic: it's only $7.99 (at CVS). I've spent far more on far lesser products, so I'll definitely be dropping that when I run out -- which will surely be soon.

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Chloe Sevigny: Blonde Beauty

Yes, we know we hated on her clothing line, but that doesn't mean that we, like MollyGood, can't admire Chloe Sevigny's most beautymous hair. Here she is, at her Samsonite Black Label party (Anyone go? We were gonna but we were working AND we feared the Fashion Week lines at Cellar Bar given its proximity to the tents), embracing two of-the-now trends at once: florals and conservative 1950s/60s-style silhouettes with cornsilk hair like that of a beauty queen.

Sigh. Anyone know how to affect this look without actually being born Chloe Sevigny and/or rich enough to afford a live-in hair stylist?

And speaking of Chloe, here's one party we're grateful we weren't invited to!

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Happy Hooker Heels For Valentine's Day

I know they've got a touch of the hook to them, but Valentine's Day, like Halloween = embrace your inner tramp. Accordingly, these candy-pink heels are fun. And hi, they're only $26. Plus, Lulu's has a 15% off coupon code, y'awl: VDAY.

($26.50, Lulu's)

Parfait con...

($9, Bourjois, Sephora)

And speaking of polish(ed):

($52, Pink, Lulu's)

A lovely alternative to "FM" hooker heels, for those of you more Rive Gauche than Paris Hilton.

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Beauty Bloggers Unite!

As you may've noticed, we�ve been starting to do more beauty coverage on the 'Binge lately. Why? Because eyeshadow is like crack to me, and, as I told Mary-Kate, I realized one day that I have about 20 lipglosses in my bag at any given time, so I might as well do something constructive about it.

On that note, last night I went to a dinner thrown by MAC and met some wonderful beauty bloggers and editors including, but not limited to...

+ Erika at Makeupbag.net
+ Fellow New Yorker Anne of TheJetSetGirls.com
+ Marina of Makeuplovesme.com
+ Amber of Beauty Blogging Junkie
+ SpoiledPretty's Daneen
+ Shannon of GottaSpa and MakeupMinute (she lives on top of a mountain!)
+ Canadian Beauty's Henna
+ Kristi of Beautiful Decay mag (she has extremely awesome hair that in my wildest dreams I could never achieve. Wah! Annoying.)
+ And the fiesty, fiery Julia of All About The Pretty

We laughed, we boozed, we exchanged cards, and yes, there was lots of talk about �that New York Times article.�

When I read it the other day, I found it fairly ridiculous. (The beauty bloggers I spoke to (there were a few who were quoted in the article and pretty much poorly represented) all agreed that they DON�T write positive reviews about products they actually hate (if they hate them, they either don�t blog about them or they SAY that the product sucked) AND that of all of the products they receive for free, they spend exponentially more on products they�re going out and buying anyway. It�s the job of PR people to send out products out to review. Companies are getting smart and listening to bloggers. But beauty bloggers would be going out and buying products even if they weren�t receiving them. And they�re putting their share of cash back into the industry too (and, yes, you could argue that the industry doesn't need any more money, but that's not the point here).

I loved that Julia of All About the Pretty railed against the article, saying that what wasn�t highlighted was the $300-some-dollar Chanel face cream she walked into the store and bought.

And BeautyBloggingJunkie has aggregated a ton of responses from beauty bloggers here.

The products beauty bloggers buy often get as much attention as the ones they get for free. (Music bloggers go to free shows all the time � and there�s no backlash about that, as well there shouldn�t be. If they see a show for free and the band sucks, they still sucked, you know?)

The NY Times piece also seemed to make these women out as though they sit around on life-sized white powder puffs, wearing silk robes, drinking (free) champ, looking like a pre-Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson while their live-in makeup artists apply free buckets of NARS eye shadow by the shit-ton or something.

But from the women I met, that couldn�t have been farther from the truth � these women are working day jobs (some have more than one), they have kids, they're supporting themselves (and others), and they�re going to Fashion Week on their own dime. For almost all of these women, beauty blogger (like most blogging) is a labor of love. It's a relief. And like Gottaspa�s Shannon said: even if she never got free products, she�d still be buying products.

Anyway, it was great to meet these women � they�re smart, funny, well-informed women who know how to hustle. They�re basically running online business for free. No one�s paying them. They�re working for free because they love it, and they�ve turned their passions and hobbies into communities and constructive creative content they can share with others, which, at least for me, is most of the fun of � and the point of -- blogging.

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Lash Out: Falsies From Make Up For Ever

I was in Sephora yesterday and paused to admire Make Up For Ever's delightfully ostentatious false eyelashes. They're very Cabaret/ Paris Is Burning. Since I don't hang out in WWII-era Berlin speakeasies, and I don't Vogue, I don't really have where to wear them, yet still, I covet.

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Beauty Buys That Blow!

Styledash has the 12 beauty products that basically suck, according to TotalBeauty.com.

The funny thing is, I actually use about four of them. Here's their take versus mine, which is obviously far superior, because it is.


Smashbox Lip-Enhancing Gloss
Their beef: "Color only lasts through a half-hour commute, and it's hard to ignore the plastic aroma and grainy texture while you're wearing it."
My take: I agree that it doesn't last long, but I have their True Color gloss in Protege, and it's a perfect non-megawatt simple neutral gloss for daywear. And I disagree about any funky texture or smell of yuk.


Revlon Tourmaline Ionic 1875 Watt Hairdryer
Their beef: "... don't let buzz words like 'ionic' and 'ceramic' seduce you into buying it. Bad design and bogus claims had me ready to go back to the louder, heavier Elchim 1800. Despite having multiple settings, this dryer's heat was too intense and its frizz-fighting 'Ion Select Dial' futile."
My take: I agree that there's not much super ionic or tourmalinic (???) about this dryer, but it absolutely fights frizzos (and I should know), and it gets lotsa points for its lack of jet-engine-blast volume. And hello -- it's $35. Perf.


Redken All Soft Gold Glimmer Perfecting Shine Treatment
Their beef: "'Shine treatment' brings a serum texture to mind, but this was a thicker, gel-like goo infused with golden flecks. When sparingly applied from hair ends to mid-shaft, you can expect to get some separation and added texture -- which is odd because it's meant to soften and add shine to hair. (It didn't.)
My take: WTF? I absolutely adore this product. It's a frizz-fighting WEAPON OF FUCKING MASS DESTRUCTION! And it adds an overwhelming amount of shine with a minimal amount of gooey goopiness. The only thing I agree with here is yes, it does smell like a tropical isle. Which rules.


Maybelline New York Define-A-Lash Washable Lengthening Mascara
Their beef: "A mascara that promises "zero clumps" with "stunning length" and "clean definition" at this price sounds too good to be true -- and it is. The reason it doesn't clump? The formula is so thin, you'll need at least two coats to get decent lash definition. Then it starts clumping."
My take: Um, did we use the same product? Yes, this is a VERY thin mascara -- I'll give them that. And you need to use about four coats, not two. BUT, it's an indispensable tool for lengthening, lifting and separating. It's the Wonderbra of mascaras, if you will. I use it as a base and then add a thicker mascara on top of it for maximum effectage. Next to Maybelline's sub par, super-overhyped Great Lash mascara, this thing Speaking of thickening mascara -- I used to use Benefit's Bad Gal mascara, which nearly gives you Tammy Faye Baker eyes, in an awesome way, until my sister and I both concluded -- it ends up migrating from your eyelashes to your undereyes by COB, no matter what. Boo. So now I'm kind of back on the market as far as thickening mascaras go.


Anyway, tell us which beauty products you love/hate/feel indifference/ blind rage toward.

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