L’Oreal | Beauty and Fashion Tech

L’Oreal Deep Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream

L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream comes in a double sided tube. One side for night and the other for day. As far as eye creams go, it is pretty standard, but a decent enough choice for a product with Retinol at around $20.

The day creme is really a light lotion that includes SPF 15 and moisturizers for basic conditioning and protection. It absorbs well, feels fine, and I really can’t find anything to complain about other than it doesn’t really stand out either. It basically is a just a good everyday basic eye cream.

The night creme is slightly thicker (but not much) and includes Retinol for anti-aging and wrinkle treatment. Retinol is pretty much the ingredient of choice for night treatment and L’Oreal’s cream feels good and absorbs well. However, without knowing the concentration of Retinol, it might not be the best choice available. If you are not sensitive to Retinol, look for an eye cream that includes the full amount allowed over the counter, such as ROC. I have my doubts that L’Oreal includes it to that concentration. Also, keep in mind that this cream, or any eye cream for that matter, regardless of the amount of Retinol, is not going to repair your deep set wrinkles. They might help with the appearance some, or better yet, prevent worsening, but no cream is a cure. Sorry.

Overall, L’Oreal’s eye cream duo is pretty standard. It has an OK price point for its ingredients, but mostly I just like the combo of a day and night cream in one package and I think it is particularly nice for travel.

Note: this review was based on a product given to me by a representative of the company. For more, see my disclosure page.

Popularity: 1% [?]

L’Oreal True Match Roller Foundation

Makeup companies are always looking for new ways to get you to spend your money. Lately it seems like applicator gimmicks are all the rage. Just look at all of the various vibrating mascaras out there! Anyway, L’Oreal has a new foundation with a new roller applicator: L’Oreal True Match Roller Foundation. It has been in Europe for a while and has just recently arrived in the United States. I saw a TV commercial for it and was curious, so I picked one up at Walgreens to do a review, where it appears to be pretty popular—I got one of the last few left and was lucky that they had my shade.

The L’Oreal Roller Foundation is a pressed cream foundation. The applicator is a foam brush on a roller. The idea is that you roll the brush over the foundation and then onto your face, which L’Oreal claims will create a streak free airbrushed look. However, that wasn’t exactly the case for me.

The first time that I used it, I found that the foundation went on a bit streaky and I had to smooth it out with my fingers. I also thought that the roller brush was difficult to use under the eyes and around the nose. The second time that I used it, I put a lot less on the brush and had less streaks, but didn’t get very good coverage that way. In both instances though, once I smoothed out a few areas and put on some tinted powder over the foundation, things looked OK. Not spectacular, but OK. Coverage is on the sheer side.

The upshot is that I am not particularly impressed with the L’Oreal True Match Roller Makeup. You can get a better look using a standard makeup sponge as an applicator and, at $14 for the foundation, I didn’t think the quality was worth the price. Basically, there are better drugstore foundations for less. For example, I love Sally Hansen Natural Beauty (link is to previous review). However, there is one upside to the product that will keep me using it on occasion. I like the idea of the applicator being included in the case for travel, since I tend to prefer to not have used makeup sponges floating around in my makeup case. So I’ll save it for that.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Glam Beauty Expert: Solve Skin Concerns With Vichy

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Mascara Monday: L’Oreal Voluminous Naturale Mascara

Ulta.com L’Oreal Voluminous Naturale Mascara is a very nice thin rubber brush mascara that provides good length and definition. I tend to prefer the smaller rubber brushes because they provide better definition without clumping issues.

The formula for Vouminous Natural is light, yet it provides very good length. I loved the look that I got with this mascara and it wore very well for me. Removal was also fine. The one downside is that the brush handle was a bit flexible, and I once smeared the mascara onto my hand when putting it back in the tube because the brush bent back and snapped out instead of sliding in. I had the same problem/complaint with Maybelline Define-a-Lash—a mascara that overall is nearly identical to this one.

Overall: a very good mascara, but be careful when putting the brush back in the tube.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Mascara Monday Review: L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion

Total Beauty sent me a sample of the not yet released L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara. The mascara will be on the market in November, 2009. I had very mixed feelings about it the first time I used it, but with use, I warmed up to it.

It seems like mascaras are always looking for a new gimmick in order to get people to keep buying. I suppose I can see why that is. It is not like eyeshadow or lipstick where a company can put out limited edition shades to keep the buyer coming back. The gimmick with L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion is a little round brush. It basically looks like a little ball on the end of a rather long wand. If you are familiar with Givenchy’s Phenomen’Eyes, it is very similar.

On the good side, the brush made getting into the corner of the eye easy, and I kind of liked it for lower lashes. It is meant to be used from any angle, and it indeed works well for that. I also got some incredible length from the formula, but, at least the first time that I used it, it came with price—thick clumping on some lashes. At first I thought I hadn’t wiped the brush well enough so I tried again—still more clumps. It also takes some work to coat all of the lashes with the tiny brush. I worked from one side to the other, but would occasionally accidentally overlap an area which, of course, led to even more clumping.

The second time I used it, I fared better. I thoroughly wiped every bit of excess from the brush and was careful not to overlap any areas. When applied with caution, I got a very nice clump-free look from it, with very nice length. I think the little round brush takes some getting used to. The overall look from this one, applied with extreme caution to avoid clumpage, is very long spiky and well define lashes. I found the look to be very similar to that of Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto.

The mascara also wears well. No smudging or flaking, yet it removes very easily.

Popularity: 1% [?]

L’Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes Mascara

L’Oreal has come out with a very effective version of a “tube” type of mascara. If you are not familiar with how tubing works, it essentially coats the lashes all around and lengthens them in a manner that forms tubes around each lash. These tubes look like little strings when you wash off the mascara. Blinc Kiss Me Mascara (read previous review) is the original of this type and is wildly popular, although I wasn’t really crazy about it. I do like L’Oreal’s version quite a bit though.

L’Oreal Double Extend Lash Extension Effect Mascara (also see the product at Ulta.com) is a two part system. First, a primer is applied, then a tubing mascara is applied over it. I am fundamentally lazy, so I get a bit annoyed by two part systems, especially if they aren’t really good. Fortunately, I found the L’Oreal Beauty Tubes mascara to be quite nice, so I didn’t mind the extra step.

L’Oreal Double Extension does a great job at lengthening. I got more length out of this mascara than any other that I have tried in the past several months. I also had few problems with clumping, and the mascara wore well–no flaking and such. It wears OK with contacts, but be careful about removing the mascara with your contacts still in because it removes in little strings. I don’t think one of those in your eye with a contact lens in would be pleasant!

Overall, I was quite happy with this one. I like it better than Blinc Kiss Me Mascara. Plus, it is much cheaper and can be found at any drugstore. I highly recommend this one!

Comparison Shop for L’Oreal Mascara

Popularity: 2% [?]

L’Oreal Paris Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Shampoo and Conditioning Treatment

Total Beauty sent me a set of L’Oreal Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Shampoo and Conditioning Treatment to try. If you are looking for a damaged hair formula, along with an affordable way to obtain silky smooth hair, this is definitely an option to try!

The Shampoo is nicely moisturizing, with a pretty heavy lather. A little goes a long way with this one. The Conditioning treatment does a nice job at providing deep moisture and also acts as a pretty good detangler. When I used both together, my hair was very soft and the frizzies were kept at bay.

One thing to note, however, is that I didn’t find the treatment to be that much more conditioning than a regular conditioner. So for a truly deep treatment, you may still want to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, the overall results from the pair were quite nice. At around $5 or less, these are great value products.

L’Oreal products are available at most drugstores, big box retailers, and grocery stores.