“Rouge” photo courtesy of Kanko
I love trying new cosmetics and beauty products, it’s one of my secret weaknesses! However, I can’t afford to spend a pile of money on these things (budgetary concerns!) and I want to use products that are going to live up to their billing. For this reason, I love reading blogs and magazine articles that review products, and tell us beauty junkies what REALLY works, and what is just hype.
When I received my latest issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, I was beyond excited to see an article in which they tested and rate anti-aging products. Their article “2002 AntiAging Awards” details the testing of 97 products on over 600 volunteers. They do the dirty work, and give you (and me) the real deal.
A few highlights that I would like to share with you include….
Concealers: Their winner was Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer. This concealer, which is available in most drug stores and mass merchandisers, retails for around $10 (affordable!). According to GH, it “lived up to its name: It excelled at hiding undereye circles as well as going on smoothly and providing lasting coverage. In the lab, it earned one of the highest scores for moisturization…” I love the fact that it has a sponge applicator, which should make it easy-peasy for applying. A definite must-have, in my humble opinion, and I’ll definitely be trying it in the near future.
Primers: Their gold winner was a product called Korres Quercetin and Oak Antiageing Age Reversing Face Primer. (Whew! That’s a mouthful!) I did not find the price too attractive ($33) and it doesn’t seem to be widely available, so I’ll skip to their runner-up, CoverGirl and Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer ($14). Not only is price nice, it is available in drugstores and most mass merchandisers. GH says that it had the “the highest lab scores for moisturizing…and did well at immediately minimizing the look of lines. Consumers commended the light texture and spreadability.” This sounds like a good primer for me, and it will definitely be on the “to buy” list after I finish up my current Smashbox primer (which I love, incidentally. But it’s expensive!)
Crease-Proof Eye Shadow: One of my major pet peeves about eye shadow is the tendency towards creasing. It makes me cringe to see this effect in the mirror, mere hours after I apply it. For this reason, I tend to avoid eye shadow on a regular basis. If I could find the right product, I’d be happy to give it a whirl. GH’s top eyeshadow went to MAC Paint Pot ($16.50) which to me is a bit steep for a single shade. Also MAC is not always easily available, so I will tell you that the runner up is Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eye Shadow ($7.49 for a quad). The testers stated that it performed equally well to MAC in their crease tests. According to GH: “Volunteers loved that it was easy to use and didn’t settle into wrinkles.” Sounds good to me!
STAY TUNED! Beauty Box giveaway is coming up this week! Lots of goodies for the beauty junkie!
Very good written blog. I like the content of the post.
Impressive blog and products are also available on affordable prices…..