We will be back to regularly scheduled reviewing...

I have to apologize for light posting this last week. We over here and Primp & Tell have been a bit under the weather, but promise Monday to be back in full force. We have a couple of interesting reviews in the works and are excited to share them with you. Have a fabulous weekend!

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Tip o' the Day - Baby Pink Nails

"Remember how you hated black polish in the nineties (too goth) but couldn't get enough of it in 2006 (where there was a waiting list for Chanel Black Satin), only to watch its popularity fade for... eggplant? Trendy nail polish come and go, but pale pink remains. 'It's glam, it looks great on all skin tones, and it really hides chips,' says celeb manicurist Jin Soon Choi.

"The trendy length: short. 'Less maintenance, easier to text!' notes Choi. You know the drill - file, base coat, two layers of color, topcoat. Our beauty staffers' fave baby pink is OPI Nail Lacquer in Kiss on the Chic. If the shine dulls, rub on cuticle oil."

- taken from Glamour, April 2009

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Physician's Formula Eyebrightener Multi-Colored Eyelighter

I don't buy a whole lot of Physician's Formula, not for any particular reason that I can think of. Perhaps they don't advertise enough? Maybe I'm not intrigued enough? I don't know... At any rate, these "Eyelighters" are only two of three things I have ever purchased from that brand. (The other being this powder that neither of us was crazy about.) I do like these a lot. They give a very sheer, subtle burst of light shimmery color. They are ideal for highlighting the brow bone. Or I'll also use them on my eyelids on days that I just want to look kind of natural and soft. They come with a nice little brush that works well, plus the mosaic of colors is so pretty to look at! You can find them at most drug stores for roughly $7.99.

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Winner!

The winner of our 100th Post Giveaway is: jcranfill! Congratulations! Please e-mail us with your name and address and we'll get the brushes, loofah, lip balm, and tote bag right out to you!

Thanks to our readers and please keep coming back! We'll be reviewing products as long as there are products to review, and we'll do as many giveaways as we can possibly manage!

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L'oreal HiP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner

Okay, so I admit it. I'm having an all-consuming, passionate love affair with everything in L'oreal's HiP line. Everything. There's a glowing review here, and another one here. I have more in the works. But this cream eyeliner is perhaps my absolute favorite of all they carry. I have it in three colors: Eggplant (pictured), Black, and Midnight Blue. It comes with the brush you see pictured, which is the perfect tool for applying this eyeliner. (Although I will say, for some reason the brush that came with the black eyeliner was STIFF and it really hurt to use, so I had to toss it.) I use any of my eyeliner brushes, whichever one I grab first, and they all also work well with the product. It's easy and soft to work with, draws a dark, dramatic line, and if you want the smudgy look, it's easy to achieve if you act quickly. BUT if you don't act quickly - this stuff stays put. Which isn't a problem at all as far as I'm concerned. I've talked often about how much I hate when my makeup runs and smudges - which is almost impossible to prevent here in one of the humidity capitals of the U.S. But once this stuff dries, it doesn't move. Just the best, beautifully stark colors, sleek, expensive-looking packaging, and an all-around fabulous product. I LOVE IT. (I just sang that in my head. You should, too.)

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A 100th Post Giveaway!

Last week I posted our 100th review, and as a thank you to all of our readers, we wanted another giveaway! One person will win a package of five makeup brushes from Ecotools (reviewed here), an Ecotools body buff, a Burt's Bees Lip Balm, and a cute little bag to tote it all around. Please leave a comment on this post, up until Friday at noon, and we'll announce the winner Friday at 5 pm. Good luck and thanks for reading!

**This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering!**

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Stay tuned...

... for a celebratory giveaway of our 100th post!

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TRESemmé Tres Mousse Extra Hold

A few weeks ago I finally got to get a new hair dryer. Mine died about a year and a half ago and I've been using this cheap travel hair dryer my husband bought years ago. Needless to say, it was time. I had kind of a stupid episode when first using this hair dryer because it didn't just have an on and off switch like the one I'd been using for so long. I had basically been drying my hair on the cool setting inadvertently which was taking forever, making me seriously frustrated and causing me some major hair flatness!

I'd bought this mousse after using the hairspray in the same line and really liking it. I intended to use it for making my hair curly, but it really isn't great for that. Maybe it was just a bad hair day or the humidity levels were too low that day. It did a really poor job of keeping my locks perfectly curled like many other products I've used. I had written it off because of it then decided to give it a try when I was dealing with the flat drab post lame blow dryer use hair. I've been out of my favorite root lifter so I really had no choice.

And it worked perfect! Just dabbed a bit through my hair while it was still damp and too the roots, blow dryed with a round brush and my hair looked SO much better. It was an instant change. Then I finally figured out how to get my dryer on its hottest setting and have been much happier since.

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Tip o' the Day - Wing out

To elongate lashes, work from the outer to the inner corners of the eyes. "You'll deposit more on the outer corners that way," says makeup artist Pati Dubroff. "By the time you get to the inner corners, you'll have just the right amount of mascara left." To increase the effect, apply another coat at the outer corners only.

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Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara

Well, here we are again reviewing another mascara. It's shameful, really. I have more mascaras in my makeup case than I could use in a week. I mostly use my Beauty Tubes because of that whole "no smudging, easy to wash off" thing, but next most often I'll use this one, 3D Extreme by Revlon. I bought it not because I needed another mascara, or that I'd even been curious about it. I bought it only because it came with a free full-size Illuminance Creme Eyeshadow quad. When I opened the mascara, I was initially disappointed in the relatively small wand. It didn't look like it could deliver much punch. In fact, during our photo session including this product, Missy took one look at the wand and thought it would be a negative review. She was very surprised the wand could do a good job. But it did. I love this mascara. It makes my lashes so nice and full and separated. It's supreme, truly. Because I hate waterproof, I do still deal with a very minimal amount of smudging with this product, but it isn't nearly as pronounced as other brands of mascara. It's very faint, if at all. You can buy it for roughly $9 at any drugstore or beauty chain.

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L'oreal De-Crease Eye Shadow Base and Urban Decay Primer Potion

I had been looking for a good eye shadow base/primer for ages, not really knowing where to look outside of the more expensive professional lines. I found this one by L'oreal on a fluke at Target, and paid around $8 for .20 fl. oz. And... that's about all there is to say. I bought it, I used it, and may as well not have. It didn't stop the smudging, it didn't stop the creasing, and my eyeshadow was gone by afternoon, just like any other primer-less day.

I can especially say this with authority now, because for Mother's Day I was given leave to spend some extra money at Ulta and bought Urban Decay Primer Potion. It's much more expensive at $22 for .55 fl. oz., but it's very true you get what you pay for. (I don't have a picture of it, but check out the link, it's the coolest little bottle.) We technically pride ourselves on reviewing stuff for the wee, tiny budgets we all have right now, but we also want you to get the biggest bang for your buck. So, I don't want you to waste the money on something that doesn't work, and if you are able, splurge on something that really does, like this Primer Potion. The stuff is insanely awesome. You can't tell after you've applied and let it dry that you have anything extra on your eyes. Before I started using it, often immediately after applying eyeshadow or eyeliner, I would already have a lovely little "reflection line" of what I had applied right under my brow bone. I actually stopped wearing eyeshadow for a while because there was no point since it ran and smudged immediately and was gone by early afternoon. Since I started using the Primer Potion, I've been having so much fun going crazy with unusual colors and combinations because my shadow and liner stay put in a major way. My colors are just as vibrant and beautiful when I go to take my makeup off at day's end as they were when first applied. I now can never be without Urban Decay Primer Potion ever again.* It's one of those things I'll have to scrimp in other areas so that I can stay supplied when I run out. It's completely and totally worth it, especially since you don't have to use much and the bottle should last a very long time.

*I realize I sound like a commercial, but I just love this stuff so much. I swear by it.

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Neutrogena Energizing Citrus Sugar Scrub Body Exfoliator

I'm a sucker for a great body scrub, especially sugar scrubs. This one is fabulous, one of my favorites, and I have tried MANY. It smells nice and fresh and really gets that yucky, dead skin off of your body and leaves behind nothing but softness. I especially love to use this on my hands, and follow it up with Neutrogena's Deep Moisture Butter Cream Body Cream. My hands afterward feel... just... trying to think of good metaphor... really soft. That's the best I can do. But really - SOFT. After I use it I just rub my hands together over and over because they feel so fantastic.

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Revlon Age Defying Spa Foundation

Revlon Age Defying Spa Foundation is another one of those products I would probably never have bought had it not been on clearance. It was on for half price one day, and I'm a sucker for half-price. I did like the package in that it has a built-in foundation brush - and a very soft one. It's very easy to use: you simply turn the top into the "on" position and gently squeeze as a small amount of foundation comes from the brush. You then use the brush to blend it in. I am a fan of foundation brushes - they really do work well to give a polished, even tone to your skin, but they require a lot of of blending. With three kids, I'm often running low on time and makeup application has to be done on the fly , so I often skip out on the foundation brush and use a sponge instead. But when I do have the time to use the brush, it works very well. My favorite thing about this foundation is the smell. I can't quite describe it, although in a tiny way it reminds me of roses. It's a good product and I like the results. Because I change my makeup routine around a lot, I can't say I've noticed any improvement in my skin from this product since it hasn't really had time to "work." I'm going to try and use it more consistently for a few weeks to see if I notice any extra benefits. Bottom line: I like it, although I can't necessarily say I'd be clamoring to buy it again. Unless those extra benefits I mentioned are spectacularly obvious.

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