Nars Radiant Cream Compact Foundation

Not too long ago, I was introduced to the Nars Radiant Cream Compact Foundation and couldn’t wait to try it out. During the summer, I usually stick to very sheer formulas (like tinted moisturizers, BB Creams and Mac Face & Body) but almost as soon as the summer ends, my skin starts getting dryer and I need much more moisture. Radiant Cream has proved itself to be the perfect transition foundation!

Nars describes it as a cream foundation with a lightweight, luminous finish and it is just that. The foundation texture is somewhat “slick” and feels very smooth and moisturizing upon application. It comes with a square sponge but I use a makeup brush to apply in thin layers. Although meant as a buildable, medium coverage foundation, it’s easily sheered out for a lighter application. What results is a very natural finish that, for me, lasts all day with no touchups necessary. This week, I’m wearing at a conference and, due to my schedule, wear it for a minimum of 12 hours per day. I literally have not had to touch up my face for the past two days. This stuff is great!

I purchased mine at Sephora, where fifteen shades are available (my match is Deauville---see swatch and blended out swatch, above). About the only thing I don’t love about this foundation is the packaging. First, you purchase the empty compact for $10 and then you purchase the refillable foundation for $38.  Not ideal, but I can overlook this. For my money, this is one great product!

My skin is on the dryer side (and right now I’m in the desert where it is REALLY dry and I’ve had to drink water like crazy) and my skin just loves this foundation! I would say it absolutely works for Normal to Very Dry skin. As for oilier skin, I think it is definitely worth a shot. Those of you with combination to very oily skin may have to powder, though. Definitely a product to take a chance on---it’s that good!! And, if you travel a lot, like me, Radiant Cream is perfect!!!

Check it out at your local Sephora! You won’t be sorry!!

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think?

Ages of Beauty rating: *****

Product Showdown: Best High End Black Eye Pencils for the Waterline

To set the stage, a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to try lining my lower waterline with black liner, like I have seen on many You Tube videos. Now you may think, “Wow, Denise! Get with the program! I have been doing that for ages!!!” Yeah, I know. I guess I am behind the times because I had never tried it on myself. So it was time! I decided to do a product showdown between high end liners and drugstore liners to see what I could find in each category. The lower waterline is really a special area---it’s wet, sensitive and some liners do not “transfer” well onto that area, leaving the color patchy or non existent. My objective was to find a black eyeliner that didn’t smudge, provided a deep, dark color and stayed put on the waterline at least four hours. Today’s showdown is on high end  liner pencils and after I finish testing all of my drugstore finds, I will post about the lower cost liners.

For each of these tests, I used the same eyelid primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion), mascara (Trish McEvoy—upper lashes only), gel liner on upper lid (Bobbi Brown), under eye concealer (Bye Bye Undereye, set with loose powder) and eye shadows that I find to be long lasting (Mac and Wet N Wild). None of these products smear on my eyes.

Top: Mac Smolder

Center: Chanel Ebene

Bottom: MUFE Aqua Eyes 0L

Mac Smolder

I was in Nordstrom when I remembered that Mac had a deeply black eye pencil that I should check out. The SA told me that the Smolder kohl pencil was the only one that was rated for the waterline and that it provides the best coverage and is long lasting. She said that she got about 4 hours of wear out of it and that it was the best on he market. Skeptical that four hours would actually be consider “the best,” I decided to take a chance and purchased it. True to her word, the color was the richest of the three high end pencils I’m reviewing. See below how great it looked when it was applied!

Mac Smolder upon application

Beautiful, right? Well, unfortunately, after one hour, I had smudging under the both eyes and virtually none of the liner left on my waterline. At four hours, the smudging was significantly worse and at eight, I had black eyeliner deeply down into the troughs of the eyes. For some reason, I am unable to find the pictures. It’s possible I was so disgusted that I didn’t take pictures, LOL! Beautiful pencil, but definitely a fail on the waterline. I will, however, try it on the upper lid and also use it in future smoky eye looks!

Ages of Beauty rating (for lower waterline): zero stars

Chanel Ebene Eye Pencil

This pencil has been in my collection for awhile and I’ve enjoyed wearing it, with good results, on my upper lid. It’s a nice, dark shade of black but not as intense as Mac’s Smolder. The pencil glides easily over the waterline and transfers color easily to that area. See the pictures, below, at application, after 4 hours and after 8 hours.

Chanel Ebene at application

Chanel Ebene 4 hours after application

After four hours, the Chanel pencil had slight smudging under each eye but nothing too serious. There was still a little bit left on each waterline.

Chanel Ebene 8 hours after application

After eight hours, Ebene left significant smudging but no where near as bad as the Mac pencil. the worst of it was on the right eye (the left side of the picture) at the outer corner. In real life, I would have cleaned this up at the first sign of a smudge so this wouldn’t have been that bad after a full day of wear, although it was completely gone from the waterline and definitely would have needed a refresh after four hours.

Ages of Beauty rating (for lower waterline): **

Make Up for Ever Aqua Eyes in 0L

This pencil is part of the famous “Aqua Eyes” line that was supposedly developed for synchronized swimmers. I have many of the cream eye shadows from this collection and they definitely stay put. The color 0L is a slightly muted black, making it the least intense, color-wise, of the three high end pencils I tested. It went on very easily and didn’t pull the skin upon application.

MUFE 0L at application

MUFE 0L 4 hours after application

Four hours after I applied the MUFE pencil, I experienced very minor smudging at the corner of the eyes but there was nothing left on the waterline. Since smudging is the bane of my existence, I was very pleased with this (if only it would have stayed on the waterline!!!).

MUFE 0L 8 hours after application

After eight hours, the smudging at the corners was only very slightly worse, making the Make Up for Ever pencil the winner of these three pencils, for lower waterline use. Since there was no color left on the actual waterline, this pencil isn’t a home run, but it is definitely what I would consider usable!!

Ages of Beauty rating (for lower waterline): ***

Interestingly enough, I tested one drugstore pencil in between these three and it performed better than all of these (I was shocked!!). Starting today, I’m testing a few more and should have a post on my drugstore results later this week!

I’ll keep testing high end brands as well and will let you know if I find anything better than the MUFE pencil for the lower waterline.

Do you use a black liner on your lower waterline? Have you found anything that doesn’t smudge and stays put? Please share!!!

Product Showdown: Revlon Colorstay Gel Liner vs. Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner

I seem to be fascinated by the differences between drugstore products and high end products. In many cases, I've found makeup in the drugstore that is just as good, or even better than its high end counterparts. Sometimes most of the difference is in the packaging (I'm not big on packaging) and at other times, it's the texture, the staying power or even the depth of the color. Since I love finding a good deal, I'm thrilled when I find similar drugstore products that do a good job.

For this Product Showdown, I'm reviewing two brands of purple gel eyeliner that can be purchased in most drugstores.

Product Showdown: Covergirl Lashblast Fusion vs. Mac Zoom Waterfast Lash

Covergirl Lashblast Fusion vs. Mac Zoom Waterfast Lash Mascara

Welcome to my first Drugstore/High End Product Showdown! In this post, I'm reviewing two popular water resistant mascaras.

I have a love/hate relationship with most mascaras because more often than not, I end up with flaking or raccoon eyes even when a mascara is touted as being "waterproof." For years, I used L'Oreal's Voluminous Mascara with great success (and not even the waterproof version of it) and sometime last Spring, as I replaced an empty tube, the unthinkable happened---smudges, flakes and overall nastiness. Practically heartbroken, I thought, "Well, I'll just try a 'waterproof' version of this mascara." Nope, nada, non! Then I reached for their "Million Lashes" waterproof in the gold tube. Smudge City. Thus began my quest for the perfect mascara.