Random Acts of Swatching- Lancôme Lip Love

It is time for another installment of random acts of swatching. This time we take a look at a couple of different lip-glossing options from that brand that we all know and love, Lancôme.

L’Absolu Crème de Brilliance is another fantastic newcomer, a lipgloss that thinks it is a lipstick- in an opaque, full coverage, brilliant color kind of way. Not only does this gloss keep its color like the very best creamy lipsticks, but it exhibits double duty beauty thanks to Pro-Xylane, a potent anti-aging ingredient.

Rose Mythiques is a stunning bright raspberry, absolutely perfect for the summer. Whenever I glide this onto my lips, the compliments just keep on coming. Color me pretty, color me impressed.

Swatched:

Juicy Tubes 100% Natural Origin glosses are a new twist on an old favorite with a cult-following. These squeezy tubes of glossy goodness are 100% all natural in ingredients, fragrance, coloring, and packaging. Now how is that for a gift to the Earth (and to us!) for the products tenth anniversary?

Sheerfully Sweet is a sheer, soft berry with just the barest hints of color. As with all the other Juicy Tubes, the shine is nothing to scoff at- it’s megawatt!

Swatched:

Lancôme brings the lip love in abundance, and that makes me all kinds of giddy. What do you think of the lip newness?
*Samples of the products mentioned in this post were provided by PR for consideration.

Epic Deals- Lancôme Friends and Family Event

Listen up readers, for I have some especially delicious sale news to share! From Friday, June 18th to Friday, June 25th, Lancôme is offering an exclusive Friends & Family deal at the Lancôme boutiques.

All you have to do is bring a copy of the invitation above to any Lancôme boutique, and you will receive 20% off all your Lancôme favorites. For a list of boutique locations, visit the Lancôme site.

Then come back and tell me what you got! ;)

Lancôme Definicils Precious Cells Mascara

When it comes to mascara, Lancôme does your peepers right.

My very first mascara was a sample (my sister’s gift with purchase) of Lancôme’s Definicils. I remember how my thirteen-year-old self would wake up every morning and religiously paint my lashes longer, always amazed at the difference an amazing mascara could make. Daily use of the mascara superstar not only meant I had to constantly pilfer my sister’s samples (what are little sisters for?), but it also solidified Lancôme’s place as a permanent mascara favorite even when I gained the beauty purchasing power.

Many moons later, I have more than likely purchased every single kind of mascara that Lancôme has released, loving them all. Much to my delight, I have a new mascara to introduce (and to fawn over). Definicils Precious Cells is the newcomer to the family.

Summer Foundation Perfection- Lancôme Teint Idole

Summertime is no time for heavy, matte, cakey cream foundations. We are abandoning the thick and pasty in favor of liquid, lighter than air formulations that leave skin looking flawlessly luminous while still giving that epidermis of ours precious breathing room. Lancôme’s newest Teint Idole does all of that, and more.

Makeup Quickies, Shu Oil and Lancome Bi-Facil Revisited

Lancôme and Christina Aguilera- Bionic and Beautiful at the MTV Movie Awards

Allow me to share one of my favorite beauty looks of the evening. Christina Aguilera is back, and looking like a modern pin up thanks to celebrity makeup artist Kristofer Buckle. Kristofer shared the scoop on Christina’s red carpet look, and here are the details.

Source: Just Jared

Lancome Had Me Chris and Tell- The Saks Event with Chris Benz

Every season has it, that one "it" shade of lipstick that every girl must have. Usually released as a limited edition color, beauty lovers go crazy and the product sells out in a hot New York minute. The lucky few who get their hands on it are stuck in a state of cosmetic induced euphoria (that would be me), and then there are those who were too late, and who are left to hang their heads in shame while frantically searching through ebay on the daily. I have been there, and it isn't pretty.

Not so this time, as I am now the proud owner of Lancome's newest lipstick in the Pout a Porter Lipstick, Chris and Tell. A collaboration with hotter than hot fashion designer Chris Benz, this creamy, sumptuous shade of coral is the hottest color of the spring season. I actually had the opportunity to meet Chris Benz today at a Saks event, as I got the story behind the shade.

Me: Who is the typical Chris Benz girl, what does she look like?
Chris: I don't have the specific look of the girl in mind, but I do have a general idea of what she would be like. She is funny and down to Earth, without being too serious. She is glamorous, but in a casual way

Me: Why a coral?
Chris: We were actually originally going to go with a nude beige. During the creative process, we had a look at the standout colors from the spring line, and then we just started mixing colors. A little bit of this, a bit more of that. In that sense, it was a very organic process.  In the end we had the shade you see here, and we were very happy with it.

Me: So why a coral?
Chris: The coral shade of the lipstick is a new update on a classic color. Kind of like your grandmother's coral, but fresher. It is chic, universally flattering, and easy to wear. Bright, but not too bright, a coral that is pink and not orange.

Me: So are you a fan of making the lips stand out?
Chris: Well, I do feel like a lively lipstick is an easy way to update an outfit. With each different lip color that you put on, you change your look, and how you feel.

And that folks is the inside scoop. Chris was an absolute delight to speak with, and extremely down to Earth. Oh, and he has the patience of a saint, as he waited while I pulled my camera out of my Mary Poppins-esque bag, to snap the pic you see above.

Unfortunately, Chris and Tell seems to be sold out almost everywhere. If you do visit the Lancome website, it might tell you which locations near you will still have it. Good luck beauties!

Stay tuned for swatches and a more in-depth review of the lipstick, if I can bring myself to open the box that is.

Lancome Bi-Facil

You know that one product that you always go back to no matter how many other versions of it you try?

Well for me, that product is Lancome Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover

Taking a sweet trip down memory lane, I can say that the love affair began back when I was a dancer and beauty maven in training. For those of you who have performed on a stage before, you know that stage makeup goes way beyond mascara and lipstick. Stage makeup is heavy folks, designed to be visible to a faraway audience while bright lights are shining on your head. Not wanting to bring out the powerwasher after a long evening of rehearsals and performances, I resorted to stealing my sister's blue bottle of bi-facil. It was the only thing that could gently remove the layers upon layers of makeup, without rubbing off half the skin on my face in the process. My sister wasn't pleased, but boy were my peepers happy! Bi-facil was definitely a sight for sore eyes at the end of the day.

Of course the good stuff never comes cheap, and at a cost of $26, I savored each and every bottle of this coveted blue liquid goodness that I could get my hands on. Deterred by the price, I tried to convince myself that there was a cheaper alternative out there somewhere. I scaled and searched, tried and tested; but to no avail. Nothing even came close to Bi-Facil in performance, period.

Having been to the edge and back, I have finally closed the book on my search and have gone back to my beloved Lancome Bi-Facil once and for all. Life without bi-facil was scary, filled with endless nights of rubbing stinging, tired, eyes with subpar makeup remover. The moral of this story is that you cannot put a price on quality and comfort. There is a reason Lancome Bi-Facil has won so many beauty awards, because it works like no other! It is gentle and effective, luxurious and useful. Yes it is pricey, but this stuff is worth its weight in gelt.

An oldie but most definitely a goodie, Lancome Bi-Facil is a gift from above, and hands-down the best makeup remover that I have ever used. It is available wherever Lancome is sold, or by visiting the Lancome website here.

Clash of the Mascara Titans

In today's mascara market, there is always a search for the bigger better thing. We hop from product to product; trying to keep up with the new launches and new promises to make our lashes go from wimpy to wonderful.

Up for battle today we have 3 new heavyweights to the Mascara world, Lancome Oscillation (one of the first mascaras with a vibrating wand), Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes (the world's first mascara brush with a round head) and Make Up For Ever Smokey Lash (a new product designed to give you enviable thickness in the blackest black).

So what are they all about, how do they work, for the small fortune they cost- do they cook you dinner, and which one comes out on top? Find out the answers to these questions and more. Read on to find out :)

Lancome Oscillation- Is that your phone vibrating- nope, its just your mascara. Lancome was one of the first high end brands to offer up a mascara application using a revolutionary concept- a wand that moves so you don't have to. The wiggle method need not apply here, and application is fool-proof, if you can get past the fact that this sucker is buzzing at the push of a button and coming to a cornea near you. This brush comes with a short bristled rubber comb which is intended to grab all them lashes and lengthen like crazy.

So how does this one apply? Simply pull the brush out, position it at the base of your lashes, press the button, and drag it up the lashline. Repeat till you achieve your desired affect. Wiggling or rotating are not necessary here, as the brush does all that for you with the push of a button. Using this gave me impressive length and moderate volume with little to no curl.





Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes- Upon first glance, the brush to this mascara is pretty darned scary. I am not going to lie, the first thing I thought of was a medieval weapon. No way did I want that anywhere near me eye. The spherical brush is designed to grab every single lash and hit it from all angles, resulting in lush, gorgeously curled and separated lashes. Essentially, this mascara is intended to fan out the lashes, and open your eyes up wide.

Getting the hang of this one is tricky. It feels counterintuitive to have this coming nears your eye, and the brushes handle it very thick, making it a little bit difficult to maneuver. The best way to apply this (for me at least) was to hold the brush perpendicular to the lash base and drag up. Unfortunately, wiggling here might result in an eyeful of mascara so move slowly! Once you get the hang of it, you really do grab each and every lash, resulting in an impressive panoramic effect with lashes that are beautifully separated and curled.


Make Up For Ever Smokey Lash- This one is the most like what we are used to in the mascara world. The brush on this is dense and full, with the pigmentation of the mascara gel itself being the blackest black. This mascara is touted as being ultra thickening, with curling and lengthening properties as well.

This mascara is very user friendly. Simply drag the brush up the lashes from the base, wiggling while you work your way up. The result is a lush fringe of lashes in the blackest of blacks.















So which one is the best? That all depends on how you view it. Personally, I feel that each one gives somewhat different results. I feel that the Smokey Lash excelled in volumizing (my personal favorite quality to have in a good mascara) while Oscillation excelled at lengthening, and Phenomen'Eyes excelled at curling and separating.

Here is a handy dandy summary chart:

	Smokey Lash	Phenonmen'Eyes	Oscillation
Lengthening	A	A	A
Curling	B+	A+	B
Thickening	A+	B	B
Price	$22	$28	$34 (ouch!)
Ease of Use	A	C	C
Delivery System	A	B+	B
Overall Rating	A	B+	B

And because pictures are louder than words, here are some photos for you :)




































































All are labeled, but in case you can't tell 1st is Givenchy, followed by Lancome and Make Up For Ever. Front and side views provided ;) 2 Coats used :)

I am not going to lie, these are all pretty pricey. I know many of you are devoted to your drugstore mascaras, but I don't get the results I want from those and I am the adventurous sort who needs to be up to date with the latest and greatest (and sometimes most expensive).

Do you need to shell out the big bucks to try these new bad boys and be in the loop? Nah, I do that so you don't have to :) I do recommend you checking these out in person if you are curious, because they are all excellent mascaras, and fun to play with too ;)

;) :winks: