Drugstore Find: L'Oreal Infallible Stars Never Fail Lipcolour Compact

L'Oreal's latest rendition of their Infallible Never Fail Lipcolour Compact has a little star power to boot. They've chosen 6 of their celebrity spokeschicks to personally select the newest shades of the collection: Beyonce, Andie MacDowell, Diane Keaton, Eva Longoria Parker, Kate del Castillo and Linda Evangelista, hence the new name, Infallible Stars Never Fail Lipcolour Compact. It's like a MAC collab but with a drugstore price!

Just in case you're not familiar with the Infallible Never Fail Lipcolour Compact, here's a quick tutorial: It's two-sided - one side houses the color, the other houses the moisture balm to seal in the color. First you apply the color, second, the conditioning balm. In total, this lipstick lasts up to 16 hours without fading. It comes in over 30 shades and the compact has a built-in mirror perfect for on-the-go touch-ups. It's basically the holy grail of lipsticks.

Now, with the celebrity endorsements, enter 6 more shades:

Beyonce's Red (my favorite, pictured), Andie's Rose, Diane's Tuberose, Eva's Caramel, Kate's Plum nad Linda's Beige. The compact comes with a personalized celebrity autograph and is available NOW!

www.lorealparis.com

PRICE TAG: $11.99

Drugstore Find: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer

I'm a huge advocate of priming the skin before applying makeup. Like an artist with a canvas, it's imperative to prime the area before painting. Same is true with the face.

I love Make Up Forever HD Primer, Rock & Republic Primer and Smashbox's Photofinish Primer. But these can run you around 20-30 dollars and for something that is inevitably going to be coverd up and layered over, you may not want to spend the big bucks on primer.

Enter L'Oreal's newest secret: Studio Secrets Professional Primer. This 2-step pre-makeup process will leave skin smooth and resurfaced, even and neutralized.

STEP 1: There's also a Magic Perfecting Base which gives skin an instant matte look and silky finish (you use this prior to the primer colors). As with most primers, it also covers slight imperfections and evens out skin tone due to large pores and/or wrinkles. This particular one leaves skin SO soft it's literally transformed into baby skin.

STEP 2: The primer comes in 3 formulas which instantly neutralize color imperfections and add radiance: Anti-Redness, a green formula to neutralize skin redness; Anti-Dullness for light skin and Anti-Dullness for dark skin. Both illuminate and add warmth to the skin.

Using the 2 "primers" in conjunction really does leave the skin illuminated, poreless and flawless. It's so worth the extra step in makeup application.

So, remember prime before painting. Your face will thank-you.

PRICE TAG: $12.95

Eye Cream: From High End to Low End

I love me an eye cream that actually works. Despite the cost, eye cream is a must have in my beauty arsenal.

To me, aside from chapstick, eye cream is my skin care must-have. And a good old bar of soap. And exfoliator. And sunblock. Okay, I have many beauty necessities but eye cream is definitely up there.

I was delighted to discover L'Oreal's newest affordable eye cream created especially for morning and night with dual sided applicators. The Advanced RevitaLift 24 Hour Eye Repair Duo works night and day to give your eyes moisture, anti-wrinkle prevention and spf protection. The formula, made with Pro Retinol A, helps to repair broken skin fibers and the smooth the surface of deep set eyes. I like that it's thick without being greasy and really does leave a lasting impression on my peepers. $12.00

At a bit of a pricier splurge, Peter Thomas Roth has recently launched his version of the am/pm eye cream. Eye Overhaul Duo works on both protection and prevention.

The daytime formula has SPF 30 and suberlift to smooth and firm while the nighttime gel-like formula has Haloxyl, Regu-Age and light diffusers help and reduce the appearance of dark circles. Caffeine also helps to reduce under eye puffiness and tired eyes. It's like a giant glass of vitamins for the eyes. Everything just looks happier through brighter eyes. LOVE! $58.00

Drugstore Find: Kohl Eyeliner

Finally! An inexpensive product that takes the guessing work out of applying eyeliner. L'Oreal's HIP (High Intensity Pigments) Kohl Eyeliner is like an extremely pigmented, bold and finely milled loose powder stuffed into a tube with an extra long wand that completely absorbs the pigments for precise application.

The liner comes in 6 dramatic smudge-proof shades: burgundy, navy, teal, gold, brown and black. The velvety colors line and define any look, but are especially amazing when creating a smokey eye as the loose powder makes it ridiculously easy to blend. And this stuff stays... I mean, all day long.

But my favorite part of this liner has got to be the brush... after all, it's always about the brush. It's like a hard sponge that has some give to it so it moves nicely with the contours of your eyes. Application is so effortless, you can literally just dot on and blend a bit and still get a great looking line.

The only thing to be cautious of are the miscellaneous remnants of application feathering. The powder has a tendency to get a bit all over... I just put a piece of tissue under my eye before applying and it seems to do the trick.

PRICE TAG: $13.00

Warning: Do Not Try This Product At Home

In fact, don't try this product anywhere, ever. L'Oreal's New Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer Self-Tanning Lotion is all shades of wrong. Literally, look at what it did to my skin:


There's nothing worse than streaking and now I look like I have some sort of skin disease.

Let's asses:

The company gushes, "Go from pale princess to luminous bronze goddess in an instant." True, except I'd replace "luminous bronze goddess" with "tragically streaked skin."

"A beautifully radiant sun-kissed look, streak-free, sun-free." NOT TRUE (save for the sun-free part)! Just glance at my arm - does that look streak-free to you?

"All with a new deliciously fresh summer scent." If summer smells like a tanning bed, then yes, this is summer's very own scent. Delicious and fresh? Not quite.

The color is so obviously from a bottle (a very dark brown that is anything but natural), the formula is sticky and, sadly, it even smells fake. I'm usually a huge fan of L'Oreal bronzers - their Sublime Glow was one of my picks for best bronzers of 2007. Not this product.

Seems to me that someone at the L'Oreal chemist's lab needs a refresher course on self-bronzers.

You've been warned, ladies, you've been warned.

Now excuse me while I spend the rest of the day scrubbing my arm with cleaning detergent. No, seriously.

Have YOU ever experienced a horrendous fake tan?
What did YOU do?
HELP ME!!!!

WEEKLY MUST-HAVE!

I love finding a great hair serum! The oil can literally change the texture and life of your hair... it's like a trip to the salon without ever leaving your house!

I've long been a fan of Kerastase's Oleo-Relax. It's a brilliant smoothing serum for dry hair. Other serums have come and gone, but Kerastase has remained a permanent staple in my hair care cabinet. One tiny problem: it's a bit pricey - at $43.99 my hair better be shining like a 10 karat diamond! But, I get it, not every wants to spend almost 50 bucks on hair drops!

Well, fellow beauties, I have finally found an alternative that is just as amazing yet a fraction of the price - L'Oreal Serie Expert Liss Extreme Shine Perfecting Serum.


It's ultra light, full of shine, and perfectly suitable at punching up your natural (or fake) curls. Plus, this serum actually makes highlighted hair "pop." I don't know how, but when you apply to your hair, it gives contrast and texture to your highlights. This product is definite salon-quality (so soft, so smooth, so stunning!).

PRICE TAG: $18.10 for 4.25 oz.

A word (or several..) from the company:
"L'Oreal Serie Expert Liss Extreme Shine Perfecting Serum smoothes and soften with a unique combination of Bio-Mimetic Ceramide, Smoothing Agents and Amino Essence Complex."

Beauty Secret: Both Kerastase Oleo-Relax and L'Oreal Liss Perfecting Serum are made by... L'Oreal! So, rest assured, you're getting pretty much the same quality ingredient in both products!

L'Oreal Auction for Ovarian Cancer Research

We, here at Beauty Banter, love when companies give back... after all, true beauty is the ability to help others...

This just in...

L’Oréal Paris is continuing its tradition of honoring Hollywood’s most talented women with the L’Oréal Paris 2008 Red Carpet Compact—an exclusive gift from L’Oréal Paris to film’s leading ladies. The stunning star-inspired compact features Swarovski crystals set in 18K white gold on classic plated 18K yellow gold with a “red-carpet” ruby crystal embedded in the push-button opening.


Now L’Oréal Paris is auctioning two diamond versions of the compact made with 115 brilliant-cut Kwiat Diamonds, for a total of 3 carats of diamonds, set in platinum on yellow gold, with a ruby clasp. Valued at $4,900 the compacts are being auctioned through eBay Giving Works (www.ebay.com/lorealparis) to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF).

So, check it out by visiting www.ebay.com/lorealparis and make a bid!

(Let us know if you win!!!)