Glamour Germany Announces Best Beauty Products 2008

Glamour Germany announced best beauty products of 2008 in their winter-spring 2008 special Beauty Issue. Actually these products are nominees selected by magazines and the readers were offered to select a product of their choice! So, check it out.


Best of Luxury Skin Care (Face):
Multi Recharge, Biotherm – “Intensive energy kick for the skin”, contains ginseng and thermal plankton extracts
Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher, Estee Lauder – serum reducing pores
Aquamilk, Lancaster – rich moisturizer with coconut-, rice-, palm-milk

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Multi Recharge, Biotherm

Best of Luxury Body Care:
Soin Complet Special Vergetures (Stretch Mark Control), Clarins – promises to help reduce appearance of stretch marks
Amour Crème Corps Tres Parfum (Pure Fragrance Body Cream), Kenzo - perfumed body moisturizer
Donna Karan Gold Cleansing Lotion, Donna Karan – perfumed douche lotion, smells of amber and lilies

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Soin Complet Special Vergetures (Stretch Mark Control), Clarins


Best of Luxury Make-up:
Best Foundation:
* Mat Lumiere, Chanel –this light fluid foundation helps to keep oily skin matte
* Teint Majeur, Yves Saint Laurent – a combination of a foundation and an anti-aging treatment
* Supermoisture Makeup, Clinique – lightweight moisturizing foundation

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Soin Mat Lumiere, Chanel

Best of Makeup for Lips:
* Eclat Minute (Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector), Clarins – gloss and lipcare in one
* Kiss Kiss Liplift, Guerlain – smoothing basis for a lipstick
* Full Potential Lips, Clinique – lips plumping gloss

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Full Potential Lips, Clinique

Best Make-up for Eyes:
* Diorshow Black Out, Dior
* Bad Gal Blue, Benefit – dark-blue mascara “makes eyes sparkle”
* Virtuose, Lancome – specially shaped brush ensures that each lash is reached

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Virtuose, Lancome

Best of Luxury Perfume
* ck IN2U, Calvin Klein
* Midnight Poison, Dior
* Infusion D’Iris, Prada

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Midnight Poison, Dior

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Best Beauty: German Glammies - Best Hair Products

Today I’m continuing the list of Best Beauty Buys 2008 announced by the German Glamour. I am listing in this post Best of Hair Products Nominies and the Winners.

Best of Hair-Care

Age Densiforce, L’Oreal Professional - strengthens hair with Omega-6 and provides volume

Perfect Color Rich Protective Mask, Douglas Hair – intensive treatment for colored hair

14-day Treatment Shampoo with Almond Oil, Guhl – helps against split hair

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is 14-day Treatment Shampoo with Almond Oil

Best of Hair Styling

High Hair Style Foundation, Wella – spray that allows easier brushing and adds shine

Got2B Happy Hour, Schwarzkopf

Extra Volume and Shine Mousse, Dove – ensures your hair color lasts longer

The Winner as chosen by German Glamour readers is Extra Volume and Shine Mousse, Dove

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Beauty and Makeup: Concealer Overview, Application and Tricks

When I was looking for a good concealer, I did not have time to look into what actually makeup artists recommend and what application tricks they are using. So in this post I will mention the concealers I tried out and share some YouTube vids I found useful. A couple videos are by makeup artists and one is a show episode from Tyra Banks where she gives tips based on her experience as a model.

Concelaers/Highlighters I've tried:

So I've tried concealers from Bobbi Brown's Creamy Concealer Kit (available with loose powder), MAC (comes in a small container with a brush applicator), L'Oreal (comes in a pen with a brush applicator),Bourjouis(pen-brush), Laura Mercier's Undercover (combines Secret Camouflage & Secret Concealer in one compact), Dior's Skin Flash (comes in a pen-brush applicator), Helena Rubinstein’s Magic Concealer (comes in a tube without an applicator).
Now I am using

Highlighter - YSL's Touche Eclat (i think it is Luminous Ivory but they have no number on the pen so I need to make sure),

Concealer - Elizabeth Arden's Flawless Finish Concealer (Anti-Cernes)# 02 Medium



and am experimenting with a

concealer palette by Catrice that includes light salmon, green, beige tones.



Concealer Color and Application Technique:

First of all, what only experts don’t recommend! Some swear by yellow concealer tones, others, by salmon tones, some recommend to set concealer in with a powder, others don’t. Everybody has their own technique I guess.

In terms of the color choice, makeup artist Eve Perl made it clear once and for all. It should be salmon color! Sharing some makeup tips in her video, Eve said: “Think about it for minute, if you mix yellow with blue, what do you get? Green. That’s how we get these racoony undereyes…” Well, out of my experience, I think pink tones do help to neutralize dark under eye shades but I don't think concealer has to be intense salmon color. The light ivory tone with a touch of pink in YSL Concealer works for me excellent. See the video below.

I have not come accross many salmon colored concealers. But check Laura Mcier's Undercover.

In the next video a makeup artist applies concealer on the inner corner lower lid, of the eye (not completely over the whole lower lid) and a bit of it on the outer corner. As she says, "everybody has a bit of the red eye" on the outer corner of the eye. I tried this technique and I like it a lot - it does open up your eyes and make them look brighter.

In the next video below a makeup artist addresses the problem of a concealer creeping into fine lines and looking so obvious that you actually look better without it! So she recommeds to apply it only in the inner corner where the darkness is most intense and set it with a loose powder. She claims the loose powder will prevent concealer from getting into the lines.
As I have mentioned above, applying concealer only in the inner corner works great for me. However, I don't really think setting it with a powder makes a huge difference (at least what I noticed). I believe, it still mostly depends on the consistency of the concealer if it will eventually get into the fine lines and accentuate them or not. If you want to apply concealer to the whole undereye circle area, choose a very light texture. When I have very intense dark circles, I apply Elizabeth Arden's Flawless Finish Concealer (that has quite thick texture) close to the inner corner and then tap a bit of YSL on top and all over the circle. So the bottom line is that I would recommend using high coverage (thicker type) concealer when the circles are really-really intense and only on the inner part of the eye. See 2 videos below.

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Sisley Gentle Eye and Lip Make-up Remover

Product Tag Line:

Perfectly cleansed eyes and lips, with gentleness and respect.

Product Profile in short:
(as described on Sisley Website)
•Dissolves makeup quickly and thoroughly
•Does not dry out skin
•Instantly provides a feeling of freshness and comfort

Promise:
Removes make-up thoroughly without making skin dry
“Particularly suitable for sensitive, fragile eyes and contact-lens wearers”

What’s Inside:
•Matricaria, Cornflower, Gardenia, Orange Blossom.

Close-up on Active Ingredients:
Water
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis- Orange flower extract, also contained in Sisley’s Eye and Lip Contour Cream
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate – nonionic surfactant (very mild), derived from coconut.
Gardenias Florida Extract – used in cosmetics to impart fragrance and as an antioxidant
Butylene Glycol - humectant (attracts moisture to the skin)
PEG-40 Glyceryl Cocoate - conditioning, cleansing agent derived from coconut
Propylene Glycol - emollient, hydrating agent
Chamomilla Rewcutita (Matricaria) Extract – provides gentle soothing, healing, anti-inflamatory effect
Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract – Cornflower extract, very often used in products for the skin around the eye, has soothing qualities, beneficial for sensitive skin. In addition, provides gentle stimulating and effective moisturizing, refreshing effect
Panthenol - the provitamin of B5, humectant, emollient and moisturizer, panthenol is able to penetrate into deep skin layers, provide essential moisture and a plumping effect. Panthenol is used to treat/releave minor various skin disorders and irritations
Sodium Coceth Sulfate-mild surfactant
Phenoxyethanol – has multipleuses as antiseptic, antibacterial, fixative in perfumes etc.
…

As always in Sisley products, a couple parabens at the end are used as preservatives.

Experience

Texture: light liquid with no oil additives
Smell: Very very light and natural, I believe, I did not find perfume in the ingredient list

This is another product from Sisley that I just love! It removes makeup easily and effectively and is simply a pleasure to use it. Just as Sisley promises, Gentle Eye and Lip Make-up Remover gives you an instant refreshing feeling and eyes feel comfortable, soothes and clean! I love that it doesn’t contain oil and your skin doesn’t feel oily or sticky after using. Niiicccccee!

However, what is not mentioned on Sisley’s website is that Gentle Eye and Lip Make-up Remover is not suitable for water resistant makeup. my own observation is that it works just fine with “long-lasting” products. When I was buying this product, the sales girl explained that Sisley promotes philosophy of balanced healthy skin and waterproof makeup is not at all healthy for your skin. I agree and use waterproof mascara VERY seldom.

Price Tag:
about $ 50-55

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Sisley Cosmetics Roundup and Free Samples

This is a roundup of my reviews on Sisley products.

I tried and reviewed six products by Sisley:
-All Day All Year
-Sisleya Radiance Anti-Aging Concentrate
-Sisleya Eye and Lip Contour Cream
-Buff and Wash Gel
-Sisley's Energizing and Foaming Exfoliant
-Confort Extreme Body Cream for Very Dry Areas
-Gentle Eye and Lip Makeup Remover

My favorites are exfoliating products for body and face and the Sisleya Radiance Anti-Aging Concentrate.

Mostly I was impressed with the quality and effectiveness of Sisley cosmetics. I also liked the natural herbal smell and the texture. I’ve read several articles about Sisley which developed my respect for this luxury cosmetics brand. The two articles I came across recently were from Russian Glamour and from German Vogue Beauty Edition (winter 2007). In addition to the information I already knew, I found out a couple more interesting facts. As I have mentioned in my first post on Sisley, it is a family run business owned by the d’Ornanos. What I like is that the d’Ornanos are very passionate about their work and their cosmetic/perfume creations. Hubert d’Ornano, a descendant from a long line of French aristocrats (according to Vogue he is related to Napoleon’s cousin), started Sisley brand after working with his brother and father in Orlane – another wonderful cosmetics brand that the d’Ornanos co-founded together with Jean D'Albret. Hubert’s wife Isabelle d’Ornano is Polish and is the Vice-President of Sisley. According to Vogue, she personally tests Sisley’s products through all the stages of their development and her bathroom shelves are filled with samples of products that are just in the process of creation. She is also 100% faithful to Sisley’s products and does not use any other brands. Well, according to Vogue 99% as she cannot resist Touche Blush by YSL. Otherwise she lays hands on competitors’ products only when she wants to check out their presentation and packaging or how consistent the product description in various languages is. Hubert’s and Isabelle’s son Philippe and daughter Christine work together with their parents at Sisley to keep up Sisley’s success and bring new projects to life.

And finally, I have some precious samples of Sisley’s products to give away! They include Moisturizer with Cucumber (4ml) for all skin types, Buff and Wash Gel (5 ml) with botanical extracts, Phyto Teint Eclat, fluid foundation, oil-free – long lasting (2ml). If you want to try your luck, just leave a relevant comment on any post of my blog and send me an email to beautyhealthinfo at yahoo.com marked Sisley samples in the subject line. Let me know under what nickname and where you left the comment. As soon as I have 10 relevant comments, I will randomly select the winner and send the samples.

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Beauty and Makeup: ArtDeco Eyeshadow Eye Designer # 50

I think I found the best (for now) eyeshadow tone to create Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” look! It is Long-Lasting Eyeshadow powder by ArtDeco # 50 in the Eye Designer line (photo above: on the left #50 on the right #49). To use this shadow you have to buy a special applicator as well– see the photo.
ArtDeco, founded in 1985, is a Germany company that manufactures skin care and makeup products.
ArtDeco is available in more than 50 countries in Europe as well as in Brazil, South and Middle America and some other lands.
www.artdeco.de



Color:
#50 - I love the color! Hard to describe it though – it is something like dark earth color with green/brown tones. It also has tiny gold sparkles. Ladies who have green eyes (and Leona does) will be amazed by how this shadow brings out the green color of your eyes without actually looking green…

Applicator:
Love the applicator. On one end it is rounded - which is good for blending (or blending in another color), on the other end is pointed for more accurate targeted application. You can use the pointed end to apply shadow close to eyelashes and in the inner corner. Found this applicator very convenient for doing both a dramatic eye and a more reserved eye makeup.

Texture:
Smooth and silky. Easy to apply and correct mistakes. However you won’t get VERY intensive color. For a more dramatic look I use eyeliner pencil under the shadow and a liquid eyeliner over it. I also noticed that if you apply a lot of ArtDeco shadow to achieve maximum intensity, it becomes hard to blend in another shade. The shadow kind of gets wiped away by the next tone I am trying to blend in. And you do need to blend in case you want to create a smoky eye. (Sorry, but the color looks a bit different in the photo)

Lasting Time and Smudginess:
It does last. I should say it will easily last the whole night out or a day in the office but with some touch ups, the color will fade a bit but eyes will still look made up. It stays in place but it leaves an imprint on the upper lead.

Bottom Line:
I really like the color, how it makes my eyes stand out and how it brings out the green of my eyes. Even though this eye shadow has some room for improvement (e.g.: I wish it had better blending properties), I already bought another refill #50 and another applicator with a golden shadow.

Price:
Applicator approximately 20$
Refill approximately 10$

PS: ArtDeco has a perfect Eyeliner Soft Kajal Liner 86 to match Eye Designer Eyeshadow # 50. It is very soft and easy to apply - like it a lot!

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Beauty Fact: Smoking Can Be Worse For your Skin than Sunbathing

Did you know that one puff of a cigarette subjects your body to more free radicals than a UV-dose needed for a suntan?

Most of us know smoking is bad for your health on the whole and for your skin as well. Inhaling tobacco smoke results in restricted blood vessels and, subsequently, reduced amount of blood flow to the skin. As a result your skin is deprived of the vital oxygen and nutrients and soon smokers develop this grey or yellowish complexion.

Another fact related to the nasty habit may make some smokers finally quit. According to German Vogue (Apr 2008), one puff of a cigarette creates over 100 times more free radicals than a UV dose enough to get a suntan. In an interview to Vogue, Professor Dr.Leonhard Zastow, Senior VP of Coty in Monte Carlo, explained that smoking also brings down body’s ability to protect itself against sun damage. Another striking fact is that only 8 hours after your last cigarette oxygen flow in the body comes to normal and only 48 hours later nicotine is completely out of your system. You will have to wait for two more weeks to get back a healthy skin color!

If a smoker is reading this post and has not yet decided to quit, let me rub it in. According to some studies quoted by skincarephysicians.com, statistically smokers develops premature signs of aging much sooner than a non-smoker and even in 20 year old smokers “facial wrinkling, while not yet visible, can be seen under a microscope.”

Wow! I am glad I am not a smoker!

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