Beauty and Fashion Tech

Comparing the New Milani Mascaras and Finding Good Quality and Value.

Milani Cosmetics is one of the drugstore brands that I think people tend to overlook as they head straight for the big name displays such as Maybelline or Revlon. Well, next time you run by that Milani display, stop and take a look. They have some great items.

Milani recently sent me a number of products to try and of most interest to me were their four brand new mascara formulations. It isn’t often that I try several mascaras from one brand at once and seeing the differences back to back was rather interesting!

Power Lash-Thickening Mascara is a volume builder with a HUGE brush. It has Vitamin E, panthenol, and bamboo extract for conditioning. I normally am not a fan of larger brushes, but this one was fine. It is a nice thickening, yet light formula, that was basically clump free when I tried it. It reminds me a bit of Maybelline Great Lash, but without the running and clumping problems (sorry, I’m not a Great Lash fan).

Great Lengths-Lengthening Mascara, is a straightforward lengthening formula. Gimmick free–something that I find quite refreshing these days–the mascara has a standard brush and comes in a standard tube, and delivers good results. I got a nice amount of length and little clumping (be sure to carefully wipe the brush first on this one though). If you want a good value basic mascara, you can’t go wrong with one.

Distinct Lash- Separating and Lengthening Mascara was my favorite in the bunch. This one is much like what I wish Maybelline Define-A-Lash (read review) would have been. It has a small brush (my preference), with fairly delicate bristles (another plus for me), and it lengthens without too much thickening so that the lashes look more delicate and are clump free. Maybelline had that too, but it had fatal flaw that the Milani version takes care of–Milani made their brush wand stable. If you love Define-A-Lash but hate that wand bending, you should definitely give Milani Distinct Lash a try.

Build-A-Lash–Fortifying and Volumizing Mascara is a two parter that reminds me a lot of Maybelline Volume Plus Length (Read Review). Step one is a white primer that thickens and lengthens. After allowing it to dry, black mascara is applied for quite long and dramatically full lashes. Seriously do not skip the part about waiting one minute with this! I got impatient and made it clump to high heaven. But when I actually waited the full minute for the primer to dry, I got wonderful results. If you have the patience for two steps, this is a really geat mascara.

All of the Milani mascaras come in black. I am crossing my fingers for a brown, and a navy at some point. They retail at around the great price of $6.50 and can be found at most mass retailers and larger drugstore chains. I tend to buy Milani at CVS, which also tends to run some great cosmetic sales.

I tried some other Milani products as well, so watch for future reviews.

By Carleenp Posted in Mascara | 4 Comments

Hair Highlights

Looking for some haircare advice? Take a look at these posts from around the Beauty Blog Network.

Beauty Blogging Junkie tries out a Keratin treatment, gloss, and blowout at the Hiro Haraguchi Salon - and loves it.
Beauty and Fashion Tech reviews the Remington Style and Shine Hair Dryer with new conditioning technology.
Mischo Beauty loves Ted Gibson’s “Glimmering Gold” shampoo and conditioner in her weekly “Beautiful hair needs an expert” post.
Lipstick, Powder ‘n Paint tells us how to keep our coloured hair looking bright and shiny. Check out these products For coloured hair.
Dandruff. Yuk. Don’t worry, Lipstick, Powder ‘n Paint has dandruff solutions that work.
Styles from Fashion Week: Bionic Beauty covers Oscar Blandi’s creations.
Toya shares her hair-washing routine.
StyleBell uncovers What to Expect with Hair Extensions.

By Carleenp Posted in Hair Care | No Comments

Review: Dermaquest Dermaclear Acne Treatment

DermaQuest Skin Therapy Dermaclear (aka Rejuvaderm) has been my acne treatment of choice for the past six weeks. I chose it after careful research, searching for products with treatment ingredients that might also assist in treating melasma and that were non-comedogenic. Amazingly many of the drugstore acne treatment products, and some of the expensive ones as well, contain acne causing ingredients of fairly high concern.

I have been very pleased with my choice. As active treatment ingredients, Dermaclear contains Salicylic Acid 2%, Azelaic Acid 5%, and Glycolic Acid 10%. This is a fairly strong combination, especially with 10% Glycolic Acid, so those with sensitive skin might want tobe careful with this one because of the strength. Irritating your skin can actually cause acne. Personally, I like the high amount of Glycolic Acid and the addition of Azalaic Acid, because these do double duty for me by also treating melsama. The formula also contains ingredients to soothe inflammation, which makes the strength more tolerable. I have not experienced any issues with irritation or drying from the Dermaquest formulation, but my skin is not particularly sensitive either.

In my six weeks of use, my acne has cleared quite a bit. It hasn’t disappeared, and unfortunately I don’t think it is going to completely clear without a visit to the dermatologist. But I have seen a very large improvement. In addition to Dermaclear, I am using a Dermaquest cleanser and am alternating in Retin-A and DS Labs Trioxil as my other primary acne treatments. I also rotate in DDF Fade Gel for melasma and acne treatment (read review). I will be posting a review of Trioxil in the next week or so.

At $60, Dermaclear is definitely on the expensive side. I find that I need very little, so it lasts fairly long though. I have found it worth the price and will repurchase this item when it is gone.

Comparison shop for Dermaquest skin care products

By Carleenp Posted in Acne products, Skin Care | 2 Comments

Ten Years Thinner by Dr. Christine Lyndon, M.D.: Week Five of the Diet and Fitness Plan

I have now finished week five of the Ten Years Thinner diet and exercise book, by Dr. Christine Lydon, M.D. I have one week formally left to go.

This week essentially saw no changes. No gain, no loss, either in weight or size. I found that interesting because while I did cheat with Easter dinner, I wasn’t terrible about it–I kept portion sizes low, especially on the high glycemic items. I also felt that the week went particularly well in terms of exercise and I feel stronger despite the lack of any results this week.

Total weight lost through five weeks: 10 pounds (most lost generally in the first 2 weeks)

Total inches off so far: Thigh 1 3/4, Hips 1 1/2, Stomach 2 3/4, Arm 1/2, Chest 4 (losses were generally spread across the weeks).

The diet now allows grains and high glycemic vegetables in limited amounts and allows a bit of dark chocolate. I found that I adore Planter Nutrition Energy Mix, which has Almonds, Honey Roasted Sesame Sticks, Peanuts, Walnuts, Pecans & Dark Chocolate Covered Soynuts. That would not be compliant with the first 4 weeks, but I think is OK now. The calories are slightly higher with it than other nut mixes, although not horribly so. If other chocolate is not added, it does not add any more calories than a person would get following the diet and adding chocolate separately. I still am eating a more standard nut mix for some snacks as well.

I also found a decent eating out option. Outback Steakhouse has a chopped ahi tuna salad that is terrific. It is a basic chopped lettuce salad with chunks of cucumber, and it comes with a light wasabi vinaigrette. Thin slices of rare ahi tuna are laid across the top. The salad does include crunchy tortilla strips, so ask for those to be left off in weeks 1-4. It also is a rather large salad, so consider saving half. The hardest part about eating at Outback for me was not eating the bread. Somehow I managed to stop myself. My husband, however, ate the entire loaf and then asked for a second!

Next week will mark the end of the 6 week program and will be my last weekly update. However, I will likely update again one month after that.

Jump to:

PreDiet Writeup
Week One Recap
Week Two Recap
Week Three Recap
Week Four Recap
Week Six Recap
One Month After the End Review

Comparison shop for diet books and plans

By Carleenp Posted in Book Reviews, Diet and Fitness | 2 Comments

Revlon Spring Collection, Nice Colors at a Nice Price

Revlon has a number of really nice items in their Spring collection. I picked up a bunch and have made good use of them.

Revlon Soft on the Eyes Palette Eyeshadow

For the eyes, I purchased a set of Revlon Soft on the Eyes Sheer Loose Shadow in a palette with beautiful pink and brown shades. This loose powder is great for a sheer, light look. It isn’t as well pigmented as say M.A.C., Stila, or any of the better mineral shimmers out on the market, but for a quiet, daytime look, it is just fine. It also comes packaged with a very usable brush. If you like loose powder shadow and are on a budget, this one is worth checking out.

Revlon A Floral Affair Sheer Powder Blush, in Pinking of You is another excellent sheer color for Spring. I adore all of the pretty pink sheer blushes that Spring is bringing in and this one is a current favorite. I have seen quite a few people raving about this one.

For the lips, you can get some incredible shine with a hint of berry red color from Revlon Mix & Mingle Lip Palette, in Chatty Cherry. For more, see my review over at Girl Gloss.Finally, there are some great spring shades in the Revlon SuperLustrous Lipgloss line. Revlon is generally my favorite drugstore gloss. It has the shine and quality of many of the better and more expensive glosses, yet carries a decent price tag and has a great selection of colors. Revlon also tends to put out particularly nice limited edition shades. This season is no different. There are some gorgeous new shades available!

Revlon cosmetics are available both online and at major drugstores and big box retailers.

Shop for Revlon cosmetics

By Carleenp Posted in Blush, Eyeshadow, Lip Products, Palettes and Collections | 2 Comments

M.A.C. Cosmetics Strobe Liquid Lotion and Cream

The M.A.C. Strobe Collection consists of a number of tinted lip conditioners (read Girl Gloss Review), a re-release of M.A.C.’s Strobe Cream, and a new Strobe Lotion Liquid.

I tried M.A.C. Strobe Cream years back and found that it broke me out something terrible. I heard similar reports from a good number of other women as well. I can’t speak for the new version because I did not try it, but looking at an ingredient list at Spektra.net, I see a number of suspect ingredients, such as Glyceryl Stearate SE, Steareth 10, C13-14 Isoparaffin, and Propylene. So I plan to just avoid trying that one again. I did, however, try the new lotion.

The ingredient list for the lotion is not overly scary, but I did notice that it contains Hexylene Glycol, which is on some lists as a moderate risk for causing acne. It also has Bismuth, which is an irritant for some people, although I have never had an negative reactions to it.

The Strobe lotion is very light. This is quite a contrast to the cream, which I remember as being particularly thick. It provides a nice luminizing effect, that can add radiance to your look as long as you don’t cover it up with a bunch of foundation. I like the liquid for just a bit of cheek highlighting when I am only wearing powder mineral makeup on my lower face. I have not broken out from it, but I also have not used it on my entire face and have been restricting it to areas where I don’t typically get acne.

If you like illuminating lotions, you might want to check this one out. I does have a very nice effect.

Shop for M.A.C. Cosmetics