taiwanesegurl, I love love love my Skin Balancing Daily Mattifying Lotion- I hope it works for you! I found that applying it in thin/light layers, works best. I do one light even layer and then let it soak in in a few minutes while I do something else- like brush my teeth. Then I add another layer and let it sink in too, before adding my concealer & foundation. (I try to make sure that I use a teaspoon amount, since I use it as my sunscreen- and layering it helps to let it all soak in better imho) My favorite thing about the lotion is that it multi-tasks for me and cuts down the number of products I have to put on my face (I have very oily skin, and too much stuff seems to make it worse..)- the lotion is my primer, moisturizer, and sunscreen all in one.

Thanks Karen!:bigsmile:

:smile: Thanks Judy! love your little icon!

I use neutrogena's ultra sheer too- but as much as I tried, I could never get it to not turn my face into a grease pit wearing it :sad: So now I just save it for my neck & arms (if going short sleeved/sleeveless). I've got Paula's BHA lotion too, plus the extra strength blemish fighting lotion. great great stuff all-around, that Paula has.

Now that I'm thinking about it- the paula's choice, UD & L'oreal weren't my only makeup purchases, I forgot about the Sally Hansen Diamond lip treatment lip gloss (curse those Lt ed. fall colors!), MAC viva glam VI lipstick & lipglass, and Pigment in sweet sienna. Oy. No wonder I'm always broke. (Well, that and I'm paid an academic's salary :tongue: )

That's odd... I have super-oily skin and have found that the ultra sheer does not make it worse. Of course, my face is always oily either way so I guess it doesn't matter.

mmmm...vanilla cake batter...*drool*

So I didn't buy the Glossing Cream at ULTA, but I did buy a Smashbx "Try Me Kit". It came with a foundation primer, photo op under eye brightner, sheer lip enhancing gloss, brow tech and cream eyeliner, and a double ended eyeliner brush and brow. I'm not sure what to do with it all. I know I'll have fun learning. It came with a CD and was only $29. Also I bought an ULTA brand face wash...we'll see how it works

Sylvie--I was too....I am very bad sometimes at the holidays :wink:

potentavive--The CD is only a few minutes long and tells you exactly what the insert says. I like the model they used because her skin was not perfect. The eyeliners are AMAZING!

Karen--you should. The eyeliners are SO easy to use...this coming from me...the eyeliner idiot. AND I have never even thought of using a brow color...I used the too dark one yesterday so it looked kind of funny until I took it off...but very cool

taiwanesegurl--oh so jealous! They look very pretty! You're going to have so much fun!

Tai, the makeup looks nice but your cat is BEAUTIFUL.

I'm going lipstick shopping tonight. I've promised myself that I won't buy more than two tubes. We'll see how that goes.

Grrr..... Can't wear pretty eyeshadow colors like taiwanesegurl just got........*mudders to self*

Adambeauty.com is actually based in Hong Kong. Basically Hong Kong and Taiwan gets all the same goodies as the Japanese market, but us here in the US and Canada just misses out.

Adambeauty carries tons of Japanese cosmetics brands, or European brands that are only marketed in Japan (and most of Asia). Shiseido has tons of different lines that are just not available to us here, but all of them are just wonderful!! Same thing with Kanebo products. I can only find SOME Kanebo skincare products in Asian markets here in the US, but Lavshuca? I've never seen it outside of blogs.

Adambeauty charges only $2 extra for shipping, because supposedly, he includes shipping and handling into the price of all the products themself. The thing is, with the way Japanese yens are converted to Hong Kong dollars, and how Hong Kong Dollars are translated to US Dollars, you actually get everything for a much cheaper price.

Those 2 pretty T'estimo pallets costs 3500 Yen in Japan. Adam charges $199 HKD on his website. 3500 yen converts to around $31 USD, while $199 HKD converts to $25 USD. Add $2 USD for shipping and you are STILL saving money. Buy even more things, still pay only $2USD for shipping.

And ohh.. the shadows... so creamy and pigmented and long lasting. I ran around work the whole day, sweat my butt off, then went to the gym afterwards. I even went into the sauna after working out, and my shadows are barely creased. I never thought I could do blue, but oohh, my eyes look so pretty!!

I sometimes walk out of ULTA, empty-handed, too, but I always seem to find things to play with just like you, Judy!

I never have any luck at Ulta, either. I just moved to an area that has one and for some reason thought that they were cheaper than Sephora. Nope. And their sales people are never helpful to me. It also seems like they are always missing testers and then if you ask, they just tell you that if you don't see a tester, there isn't one for that product and they can't get a new one. So some colors in a line will have testers and others won't.

Sephora is soooo much nicer. It seems the people are nicer and more helpful, there are always testers for things, and if there isn't, they'll find one for you. I once went in to get a new eye look and the MA used a sparkley black pencil on me. They didn't have a tester for it, so he opened up a new one. Then, while he was doing my makeup, a woman came by and really liked the way the black pencil looked, so she asked what it was and proceeded to buy the last one. So when I wanted to buy the pencil, there were none left except for the one that the MA had just opened to use on me that was supposed to be the new tester. So he gave it to me for free! It was brand new aside from what he had just put on my eyes. So nice.

MAC is always hit or miss for me. If it's busy in there, I'll usually just poke around and go. If it's not busy, I get help no problem, but if they are busy, it's really hard. They tend to stick really close to one customer and ignore everything else that is going on around them until that customer is done, which is great if you are that customer, not so great if all the MAs are busy. Maybe they just never have enough staff on? The times that I do get an MA's attention, they are just wonderful, so knowledgable. Interestingly, I tend to go shopping bare-faced because it's usually on the weekends and I don't feel like bothering with makeup, but I think I get more attention from the MAs at MAC if I'm wearing makeup... like they see me as a better potential customer that way, maybe?

I love the C.O. Bigelow line. It's a really old apothecary that The Limited company (which owns B&B works) bought a few years back and somewhat revitalized, but some of their formulas are supposedly the same as they were back in the early 1900s (not sure if that is a good thing or not!). I love their lemon collection and their extra light moisturizer. At home (back in the Northeast), we had C.O. Bigelow stores, they were great! So many awesome products! I also like B&B works' True Blue line. They have some great products. I don't really like anything in their signature line anymore, though I loved it when I was about 15.

I admit, I've never set foot inside a Ulta store. From the outside, it didn't seem like Sephora at all, more like a CVS without the pharmacy. If they do have testers and stuff, then maybe I'll give it a try. The store near me is definitely less crowded than Sephora!

As for purchases, I'm more of a lotions/facial products type buyer. Oh, but on my last sephora haul, I picked out a concealer pen by Bourjois, just so I could qualify for free shipping. But it turned out to be a great little buy! I've been using some green pencil-thingy by Physicians Formula (?? the drugstore brand) to cover the occasional red spot on my face, but the Bourjois pen works even better for me. It was hard for me to get the green color to blend into my face (go figure) but the concealer pen is already flesh colored. Plus it is easy to hold and apply. I guess I got lucky with my random buy!

I love the King of Prussia Mall. Sometimes I come up with excuses to visit my parents just so I can shop there. They live on west side of Philly so traffic isn't an issue. The Sephora there always seems exceptionally loud and loaded with teenagers. The Sephora in the Natick Mall is much, much calmer. There are no Ultas by me. I keep meaning to check one out when I'm in PA but I haven't gotten there yet. And my mother's telling me that there's a new outlet mall in the area that has a Neiman Marcus Last Call so I've definitely got to plan another trip down there. The problem is, what to do with my kids. My father will only babysit for so long.

Hi cate
the new Sephora in center city is really nice, much less crazy than King of Prussia
and bad for me because it's so close now
I like that I can go for brunch to a nice place and then to sephora!!
not to mention that the lululemon showroom is half block away too

You look so pretty! And your brows ARE fantastic!!! That is a great shape for your face and they look so professional.

Last night I bought myself a Chanel Glossimer in Waterlily, two Chanel polishes (Two!) in Rose Satin and Azure. In my defense, I was only planning on getting the Rose Satin but I tried the Azure over Blue Satin and it looked great; I think it will layer well over a lot of blues and purples so I was practically obligated to buy it. I also got a Laura Mercier eye shadow duo in Burgundy, which is my new favorite eye shadow color.

When I got home, my order from The Perfume Court was waiting for me so I have 9 new perfumes to try out.

Hi
hope you all had a merry Xmass
just back home
got the fiberwig nascara and loove it!! thanks to the recoemndations here

it freaks me out thought that when you take it off it looks like your lashes are falling out
I also go Marc Jacobs perfume, the actual marc jacobs only, love it
I alsways like his perfumes
hope you all start the new year with a bang
I am going to a pretty nic eparty and I've been plannign my outfit for a while

Damnit Purple! I had actually made up my mind not to buy the Lippmann polish at the last minute and had put it out of my head after a mini shopping spree at Sephora. I still wanted it but was trying not to think about it. Now I've gone and bought it. Well, I'm sure it will be wonderful. To spend the minimum for free shipping on beauty.com, I also bought a Lorac set. It has lipstick, gloss, and mascara. The lipstick is actually the one I wanted to buy, and the entire set is only $25, so I figure it's a really good deal.

At Sephora yesterday I bought some Stila matte shadows after the Stila makeup artist put them on me and I really liked them. I never thought I would like matte shadows, but they look great! You can contour and blend all you like and then swipe on a light shimmery shadow over them to add a touch of shimmer. The only thing I didn't like about the Stila shadows is that they make you buy a container for them! They only come in a cheap, thin pan and you have to buy either an entire pallette or individual eyeshadow compacts at $2 each.

I picked up a lip gloss, lipstick and nail polish from the new MAC N collection. Basically, I was determined to spend money that evening and wasn't finding much that I liked so I bought brown lipstick, gloss and nail polish.
In general, I'm not loving the spring collections (makeup or clothing) this year. In theory, that means I should spend less. We'll see about that.
I also picked up one of the MAC lipstick trios that are exclusive to Nordstroms at the Cosmetics Company outlet store. It's all plummy colors and cost $16. These are a great way to try out MAC lipsticks without breaking the bank.
 
 

Cate & Judy: I really like Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Enhancer tinted moisturizer. It also has retinol in it and has an SPF of 20. Paula Begoun LOVED it and that's how it first got my attention. (Go to her product reviews for the specifics) It's only $12 per bottle, if memory serves me correctly. Drug stores are continually putting Neutrogena products on sale, as well as Ulta, so you can get it for less if you time it right. An Ulta coupon will get the price down, too.
As far as covering the redness, it's okay.....but not as good as Revlon's Colorstay "Stay Natural" foundation. (Be careful when buying it: Revlon has three foundations that are all very similiar in name.) This stuff doesn't budge and gives me complete coverage. The shade I use is a perfect match to my skin color so that's a real plus, as well. Like you, Judy, I have the greatest issue with redness around my nose. It's a foundation I can't live without right now.
Here's my routine: I put the Revlon Colorstay on my nose first, then follow with the Neutrogena tinted moisturizer on the rest of my face, and do a touch-up of any other areas that have redness with Benefit's You're Bluffing stick, their product for covering redness. I won't buy Bluffdust powder again that Benefit recommends to follow up with, though. That just ends up looking like too much makeup on me.
I used Metrogel for a year myself but found it didn't do much of anything for me so......I decided to go forward with lasering at the dermatologist. I'm tired of trying to cover it all up and spending so much time at doing so. Plus, it's getting worst. My first laser appointment is a week and a half away (1/24). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll only need two appointments. If anyone wants to hear the details after I have it done, just let me know and I'll post.
 
 
 

Good info, Cate! Keep us posted with your thoughts on You Rebel tinted moisturizer. (Who's the lucky person who has the job of coming up with crazy names for Benefit products?!)
 

Just curious, how much are laser treatments at a dermatologist?
if you don't mind me asking