Ruby Woo
I admit that I am a bit skeptical whenever I hear how amazing a product is, how it works for everyone and that you will never find another alternative. I felt like MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick was one such product that always popped up whenever I went on my mission to find the perfect red lipstick. It felt like every beauty blog, makeup professional and magazine was raving about this color, but I thought there had to be some comparable alternative, right?
Well, after trying many other brands and variations of red, I started to realize that maybe I should give Ruby Woo a chance. The other reds were always lacking in some way–the finish was too shiny or the red was too vibrant or wasn’t vibrant enough. I just couldn’t find one that worked for me. And so after years of avoiding the MAC store like it was a disease (my dermatologist convinced me that MAC makeup was the cause of all of my skin woes), I bought a tube of Ruby Woo.
Now this has become my favorite lipstick. I love the richness of the red, the matte finish and how it stays on no matter what. It was everything that I was looking for. While i don’t wear it everyday, Ruby Woo has definitely become the quintessential “pick me up”.
Do you have a favorite red? Or favorite lip color in general?
My Review: Kiehls Overnight Biological Peel
Image via Kiehls
Lately, it seems that I’m in some losing battle between myself and skincare products. When it comes to my skincare regimen, I’ve decided that I’m a pretty simple girl. I like my cleanser, toner, moisturizer, eye cream and the weekly facial mask. That’s it.
However, I’ve noticed that some problems arise where this regimen will not be able to address them thoroughly. My skin doesn’t keep the “dewy glow” that I have after a facial.
After milling about in the Kiehls store late last week, I came across the overnight biological peel. The selling points? Supposedly, it is good for those who experience hyper-pigmentation (check), has sensitive skin to chemical treatments (check) and free-radical and photo damage (probably yes). The formula contains HEPES (Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid) mixed with Sodium Hyaluronate and works to deliver softer, hydrated and vibrant skin.
After receiving positive feedback from staff, I bought the product and took it home. What I’ve realized? Overnight creams/peels/anything is just not for me with the way I sleep.
Example:
Image via We Heart It
Although the sales guy assured me that none of the cream would smear on to my pillow if I happened to sleep face down, and he was right–there were no traces on my pillow. There were no traces on my face, either.
I did notice my skin felt soft and looked a bit more fresh when I washed whatever residual formula was left off my face. I didn’t expect to have dramatic results after the first use as the description promised, but I do wonder if my inability to sleep in a “dainty” manner affected the performance of this product?
And so I do feel like this review isn’t tell you anything new and I did want to wait after using it for a few weeks, but I feel I failed at using this product to its full potential because of the way I sleep. With the minimal usage of the product? Yes, I do feel that I’ve seen some good results.
Now let me just work on my sleeping positions.
Clandestine Giveaway: Perricone MD Advanced Face Firming Activator
I’m really excited all, because this is my FIRST giveaway on Clandestine Chic! I hope it is something that you will all enter!
The product is Perricone’s Advanced Face Firming Activator.  If you are like me, and you tend to skip your nightly routines when it comes to your face, then this is definitely for you.  The activator is paraben-free and and contains Alpha Lipoic Acid (a great antioxidant for the skin) and DMAE (an antioxidant membrane stabilizer) which work together to give you a healthy, glowing appearance. So if you worry about your the size of your pores, fine lines and the texture of your skin, then this is a great giveaway! Enter now for a chance to win!
Here is how to enter:
Leave a comment and tell me why you would like to try this product. Please be sure to leave your email address in the comments section so that I may be able to contact you if you win.
And that’s it! Easy enough, yes? The contest will last until Monday, January 25th, and I will announce a winner on Wednesday, January 27th. Also, unfortunately, the contest is only for US residents.
True Red
With Fall increasingly approaching and marking its territory, I’ve been switching out my wardrobe and packing away the Spring/Summer items until next year. For my beauty palette, I’ve been switching out the lighter, summery colors for the darker colors.
And during this time, I had what Oprah calls (yes, collective eyeroll) an “Aha” moment.
I always wear darker colors during the Fall and Winter months when I do wear makeup. For my lipsticks and glosses, I tend to go with colors such as mauve or almost like a deep brown. I even wear a light purple-ish tint as well. One color that I have stayed away from–year round–has been red.
Once, a well-meaning lady at the Nars makeup counter was trying new looks on meand pulled out a red lipstick tube I held up my hand and told her, “Oh thanks, but uh, I don’t do red.”
She looked at me quite stunned and said, “Oh honey, everyone does red You’re just not ready right now.” I shrugged off her comment and let her finish her makeover and walked out with an almost nude lip color.
Now, as I’m putting together an almost black wardrobe this Fall, I’ve become a bit bored of my current lip color selection. The nude colors are too Spring/Summer and the other dark colors aren’t vibrant enough to stand a chance against the black. So I went out and bought a red tube of lipstick. I started out small. I bought a Maybelline Moisture extreme lipcolor tube in “Ruby Red” and wore new color out to dinner with a friend:
What did I think? I liked it. I liked it a lot.For some reason, I felt more vibrant, more confident. Even if I looked like complete and utter crap with my outfit and hair, it didn’t matter because my lipstick made up for it.Is this what wearing red lipstick does to you?
I know I’m late to the party on this one (as I am with most things), but I really didn’t know what I was missing out on. So my apologies to the Nars counter lady and I shall continue to wear red lipstick throughout the Fall. And if there is one thing that Gwyneth Paltrow and I agree on, it would be this:
Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick
Image Source: We Heart It
In Praise of Bobbi Brown
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that my intentions the way I wear my makeup has changed. When I was in high school, I was all about the glitter with Urban Decay and Hard Candy (R.I.P) eyeshadows, eyeliners and lipsticks. I would only wear concealer, powder, and foundation on special occasions. During my college years, I slowly introduced concealer, foundation and powders with MAC cosmetics, but the colors were never quite right, the makeup would appear to be caked on, so I never looked natural.
These days, I still wear bright eyeshadow and bright lipsticks, but in a more classic sense. I have, however, changed the way that I look at foundation,concealer and powder. For the longest time, I didn’t feel like I needed these items in order to complete my look. I still don’t feel it is something that I need, but I know that my dark circles can be hidden with concealer, foundation can even out my skin tone and powder can brighten my face..
So when a nice representative approached me at Nordstrom about trying Bobbi Brown makeup, I was pretty hesitant. As a former glitter-lover, the color pallette choices didn’t do much for me. And on an even more superficial note, the packaging never jumped out at me. Well, this lady was not about to take no for an answer and persuaded me to sit down and at least try the concealer.
She was right. The concealer blended right in with my skin tone and the dark circles were drastically diminished. Before I could stop myself, I yelped out, “I’ll take it.”
A few weeks later, I was looking for a new foundation and I immediately went back to Bobbi Brown’s counter. The representative suggested Bobbi Brown’s Moisture Rich Foundation and applied it to my face. The foundation felt weightless, went on smoothly and blended in for a very natural look.
Needless to say, I’m now a Bobbi Brown convert. All of these years, the line has been in existence and I’ve walked right past the counters. I didn’t give it a chance. Or maybe I just wasn’t ready.
Source: Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
Review: Thevi Cosmetics Mineral Pressed Powder
Finding the right makeup to match my skin tone has always been something of a challenge. Sure, there are plenty of lines out there, but it has always been something of a trial and error process to find which lines work best for me and my medium brown skin tone.
So whenever I hear about a makeup line that is geared specifically towards women of color, I’m immediately intrigued. This was definitely the case for Thevi Cosmetics, which was founded in 2008 by wife, mother and entrepreneur Thevaki Thambirajah. Here is a bit of info about their inspiration:
THEVI was created in 2008 to celebrate color influenced by our ethnic lifestyles and traditions. We embrace color in all aspects of our lives. Color is empowering and sensual.
Ethnic cultures of Asian, South Asian, Hispanic, African, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean influence the color palette of the THEVI collection. These cultures express color in all aspects of their lives – food, home, spirituality, fashion, and femininity.
Thevi Cosmetics is a simple vibrant everyday color collection for women to whom “Natural look is colorful.”
Thevi Cosmetics gave me the chance to review one of their products and try it out to see how it would work for me. I decided to try the Mineral Pressed Powder SPF 8 in Mocha since I still haven’t found a mineral powder that I’m completely in love with. I applied the powder over a bit of moisturizer and concealer before work and I wanted to see how it kept during the day. Here is my picture (note: please remember that I took this before work and I’m in no way a morning person and it’s a Wednesday morning! Plus, yes, my brows need to be touched up. Eep. ):
What I thought: Overall, this product works really well. I felt there was a lot of coverage, but it didn’t feel heavy at all. I felt the mocha worked just right for my skin tone and made my skin look more even.
Would I Buy It: Yes. For $20, and for the “just right” coverage, I think it’s a good buy, especially for the summer. The biggest sell for me is that it is Hypoallergenic, oil-free, talc-free and fragrance-free, so I don’t have to worry about how it will work with my sensitive skin.
Now, I’m anxious to delve even further into the line and try out more of their products.
Have you tried Thevi cosmetics?
Sometimes Beauty Doesn’t Cost a Fortune: Mario Badescu
Who said that good beauty products have to cost a fortune?  For me, it doesn’t when using Mario Badescu products. I posted awhile ago about skincare products I was using and Mario Badescu’s Chamomille Night Cream was on my list.  Recently, I bought a few more products and I’ve been using them to find some great results! Plus, it helps that I could get three-four products for the price of one of the more expensive creams on the market.  Here are my picks:
I always dread whenever I feel my face is about to suffer from a mini breakout. I can feel the oily skin and the itchiness along along with an emerging bump that will subsequently become a pimple. This drying lotion has worked wonders for taming the redness and reducing the size of the pimple overnight. I apply to a clean face before I go to bed only on affected areas.
At first, I wasn’t sure of the purpose of the buffering lotion if I’d already bought the drying lotion. The sales clerk kept trying to convince me that they were two separate entities and had different purposes, but I wasn’t buying it. She gave me a sample to take home and told me to use the buffering lotion in the day if I used the drying lotion at night. Now I understand her when she says that they are separate. I use the buffering lotion during the day on areas that are affected instead of night like the drying lotion. It has a more calming and soothing effect than the drying lotion while still working at getting rid of the breakout.
Healing and Soothing Mask: $20
I also use this mask once a week when my face is in breakout mode for the soothing and calming aspects. Even when my face isn’t breaking out, I use this mask because it’s pretty light and great for sensitive skin. Especially if your skin is just recovering from a breakout, it’s a great mask that won’t feel like it’s clogging up your pores again.
I use this Aloe Moisturizer everyday under makeup or alone and it does a great job. It blends in well and it’s it’s not greasy at all, while my skin feels hydrated and moisturized. It has also worked really well with all of the above products. The only thing I don’t like is the SPF 15 since I usually try to wear a moisturizer with an SPF of at least 30.
If you’re looking for some great skin care products that wont’ necessarily break the bank and are effective, I’d say Mario Badescu products are pretty good.  Especially if you have acne-prone or sensitive skin, you will definitely find something for you.
Sources: Mario Badescu
A Few Words from a Product Junkie
Sofia Coppola’s medicine cabinet. Source: TFS
I’ve always been interested in the contents of one’s medicine or beauty cabinet.  I’m always curious to know what products someone uses on their hair, skin, and face.  When I first saw this picture of Sofia Coppola’s medicine cabinet in French Vogue, I thought, “Whoa”. But then again, who am I to talk?
I took this picture after cleaning out my my drawer of hair products. Mind you, these are just the styling/leave-in products. The shampoo and washing conditioner stay next to my shower.  For some reason, I couldn’t bare to throw any of these products away. For myself, and probably plenty of other women, a product promises dramatic results if you use it and you are automatically stuck on the idea. Even if it doesn’t initially work, you still keep it around in hopes of what might happen someday. That is the true essence of successful advertising and the reason why the hair/beauty industry–especially for women of color–is booming. Here I am, keeping it alive and well.
Do I really need all of these products? Nope. I should only be keeping about 3-4 at the most. Most of the products have the same functions, but on any given day, I might decide to switch it up with another product. I kept them because they are so far my “tried and true” items, but I’m thinking I can still stand to lose a few if I’m not in love with them.
And I’m not even going to start on my beauty/makeup case…
Check out those threads
If there is one facial feature that I always strive for perfection then it’d be the eyebrows.
I’m a part of the school of thought that believes the appearance and shape of the brows transform the rest of your face and raggedy brows just aren’t a good look.
Plus, I’ve got something of a wonky left brow that leaves estheticians puzzled when I walk in and they spend countless minutes trying to tame the wild brow.  The hair sticks straight up and no amount of coaxing can make the hair conform.
I have friends that pluck their own brows, but I never could quite get the arch I wanted with plucking. In high school, I’d get my brows overly waxed into a pencil-thin arch that was so laughingly unrealistic that I cringe when I look back at my pictures. .
One day, I was reading an article in Vogue magazine about eyebrow threading. I’d never heard of threading before, but I was desperately trying to find a new, inexpensive avenue for finding the perfect arch. What further piqued my interest was that the author tried a salon here in Chicago, Dilshad’s Hair Design, and said the cost for a perfect arch would be $5.
Needless to say, I made the trek across town and went to Dilshad’s very soon after. There was pain and discomfort, but the arch was great. Two weeks later, my brows were thicker with a great arch.  The total cost for this was $7, with tip.
Now, I’ve been getting my brows threaded for about 5 years and I’ve yet to have a bad threading job as I’ve had with waxing or plucking. I suppose it’s all a matter of preference, but the threading is a bit more painful than waxing in my opinion, but the results are great. Threading is able to grab hair at the root so that there are no strays left behind.
Here is a picture of my freshly threaded eyebrows while out on Saturday night:
I guess it’s more like eyebrow, since you don’t get to see most of the other side, but I thought this would be a good example nontheless. I especially wanted to highlight this particular brow because it’s my “wonky” brow.  It’s not the best job in the world since the arch is usually a bit higher and more defined when I go to my usual lady, but I think they will grow out nicely.
If you haven’t tried threading yet, I’d definitely say give it a go. Â It’s cheap, effective, and the results last way longer than that I’ve experienced with waxing or plucking.
Feeling adventurous? You can try to thread your own eyebrows, too! See Eily311′s awesome how-to video on threading below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVmbHB2p4WM]
Real beauty doesn't require makeup or Photoshop according to French Elle
I know, I know, another magazine post, but I had to write about this one. I was actually gearing up to write another beauty post about beauty and pampering products I’ve been into lately, when I saw a link to an article posted on Twitter from Yahoo’s Shine Fashion and Beauty Blog about French Elle’s May 2009 “No Makeup” issue.
Images from Shine at Yahoo
That’s right, Eva Herzigova, Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, Charlotte Rampling appear in French Elle with no makeup or Photoshopping.  It’s shot by Peter Lindbergh and the women are already completely gorgeous as is, but I still say it’s a refreshing view from the insanely airbrushed covers on US stands.
And to quote, Shine’s author, Jennifer Romolini, it’s once again a sign that the European mags have taken steps leaps and bounds ahead of their US counterparts:
And, honestly, French Elle’s April ’09 issue is not the first time our women’s mags have been out-classed by the Europeans. Last year–in protest of the serious lack of diversity on catwalks, ads and in women’s magazines–Italian Vogue published an all-black issue featuring models of color from around the world. It sold out in days.
Amen. Let’s also not forget Paris Vogue’s cover with a Black male dressed in woman’s clothes and he was working a full beard.
But I digress.  Would women be open to seeing beauty represented at face value without all of the tricks and manipulation? Or is the escapism and fantasy that we may feel when we look at a dolled up model/actress what we want to see, because hey, it is Elle/Vogue/Bazaar, ya know.
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