Not as Good as Gold: Review of L'Oréal Colour Riche Lipstick in Gold Addiction

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Yep. That's the title I came up with for this post. Anyway, do you ever buy something with a specific and entirely unrealistic image of it in your mind, and then feel massively disappointed when it doesn't live up to that image, even though you know it's your fault for inventing it in the first place? What happened here is that, at the beginning of the metallic lipstick trend a couple of years ago, L'Oréal released their Gold Obsessions lipstick range in the U.K. Some photo I saw convinced me that the plain gold lipstick in that collection was the one. That unlike every other gold lipstick I had ever seen, it was shiny and metallic, rather than sparkly, and opaque, rather than patchy.

So when I saw that that collection had finally popped up on the Ulta website this fall, although with the name changed from Obsession to Addiction, I decided that I needed Gold Addiction, the pure gold option. I didn't do much additional research other than to confirm that this was the same collection. I ordered it.

Then it arrived and it was sheer. And sparkly. And slippery. And patchy. Sure enough, I can't find whatever photo it was that once upon a time made me think this lipstick was going to be special. Did I dream it?

I think maybe you can see in the photo above that the fine glitter has already started to migrate off of my lips, even though I only applied the lipstick two minutes before taking the photo.

Gold seems to be a difficult color to get high pigmentation from when it comes to lipstick. When Bite Beauty teased their zodiac lipstick for Leo this year, I saw the gold bullet and was intrigued. But then swatches demonstrated that it, too, was sheer. I may be the least Leo-y Leo ever, but even I think a sheer gold lipstick is a yawn. I have certainly seen other metallics that are more opaque, even from a bullet and not a liquid formula (though they do have a tendency to be slippery). I don't know if it's the yellow--it's hard to find a yellow eyeshadow or even nail polish that isn't patchy. But then it's not hard to find an opaque gold eyeshadow or nail polish! So the possible technical limitations in play here are eluding me.

Here's a comparison with the sheer gold from Bite's 2016 holiday duos (reviewed here). Gold Addiction is very similar, just a bit sparklier and warmer. The warmer yellow gold of the L'Oréal lipstick is harder for me to wear--I can't generally wear warm yellows on my face without looking a bit sick.

Maybe Pat McGrath's new gold lipstick will be the gold holy grail, but I don't think I'm going to gamble (much more!) on it. Probably I should just finally open up the PMG Labs package I won in the Makeup Museum giveaway and play with the gold pigment. That is if I really want to have opaque gold lips, which, let's face it, is hardly an everyday look for me. This might just be a dream I should let go.

If you're looking for a sheer, shimmery gold lipstick, Gold Addiction is . . . one of the ones that exists. But it's nothing very special. Do you do the whole extra glitter and metallics for the holidays? I like the idea in theory, but in practice I'm not going to be attending the kinds of events where I'll dress up like that.

The duochromes always get me: Review of L'Oréal Infallible Galaxy Lumiere Holographic Eyeshadows in Crescent Moon, Full Moon, and Moon Kissed

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Two duochrome posts in a row? Is that allowed? (As usual, we ignore the word "holographic" when it's in the name of a makeup product.) I love duochromes, and they make me pay more for drugstore eyeshadows than I normally would. More for eyeshadow singles in general (though there was that time I paid full price for Urban Decay X, and I don't even really like it). These (deep breath) L'Oréal Infallible Galaxy Lumiere Holographic Eyeshadows are $13 a piece, so I suggest waiting for a sale, which will always come sooner or later for drugstore makeup. I had a B2GO Free deal from, but if I hadn't also had Ulta points from my credit card to spend, I might have balked even at that.

None of that is to say that I don't think these eyeshadows are amazing and totally worth picking up if you are a duochrome fiend like I am. They're absolutely lovely.

The formula of these eyeshadows is interesting. Though they have the "Infallible" name attached to them, they're not the same as the regular Infallible singles (reviewed here), which come with little plates on top to keep them densely packed. These Galaxy shadows have a more spongey texture--not as squishy as Colourpop Super Shock eyeshadows, but if you press your finger into the pan, you can feel it compress a bit. I dropped Full Moon on the floor and, instead of shattering, the whole shadow came loose in one piece inside the pan. I was able to press it back in place with a finger. Like the L'Oréal Infallible eyeshadows and the Colourpop Super Shock shadows, these apply best with a finger. With a brush they go on very sheer and a little patchy.

How about I let my many, many photos do the talking? My swatches were made with a brush without primer. Each one is several layers, because these shadows are sheer, and in swatch form they don't show up clearly in a single layer.

Left to right: Crescent Moon (sheer beige with green shift), Full Moon (white gold), and Moon Kissed (purple with blue shift).

Shadow Swatches: Miscellaneous Eyeshadow Singles and Quads from Stila, L'Oréal, Tom Ford, Butter London, Revlon, and Urban Decay

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I didn't buy anything during the Sephora sale, did you? 20% off just isn't very exciting for me. I mean maybe if there was something I was definitely planning to buy anyway, it would be better to get 20% off than no discount at all, but there wasn't. Plus I have a bunch of Ulta points to use on frivolous shit.

Instead of shopping, lately, I've been playing with what I already have, including these eyeshadows which I realized I'd (mostly) never written about on my blog. Rather than doing a full review of them, I thought I'd just take some swatch photos and say a little about what I like or don't like about each. Not all of them are currently available, but I hope you enjoy the pretty pictures anyway.

The swatches below were made with a brush over primer (Black Radiance eyeshadow primer, reviewed here). If this were a proper review, I would have swatched them with and without primer for your information, but I just really wanted to show you the color and finish clearly. You can still tell which ones are shitty even over primer, anyway.

Oh, and I took way too many photos, which probably all look the same, so here's a cut.

My Cheap Favorites: the best bath, body, and hair products for $10 and under

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It's been over a year since I wrote my last cheap favorites master post! I still stand by my choices there, and I don't think I'd change any of them now if I had to do it over. I've had in mind to write this additional post all along, but since I'm admittedly not that picky about products in this category, it hasn't felt so pressing. Still, maybe there's something here for you to discover (or something you can suggest to me!).

Favorite Body Washes: I don't really take baths, so all I've got here are shower products. My criteria for a good body wash or shower gel are simple: gets me clean, doesn't dry out my skin, smells good. There are lots of affordable options that check all of those boxes. I love almond fragrance when it's done well, and Tree Hut Almond and Honey Body Wash does it well. It's also very moisturizing and has a lovely texture. Luxurious, even. I like this so much that I haven't tried any of the other scents, though I suppose I should. The Almond variety is a bit difficult to find in stores. I got this one at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $6.

Drugstore Classics: L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black

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I've said before that my favorite mascaras are from Covergirl, especially their LashBlast Volume. Yet I constantly feel the urge to stray and find out what else is out there. My latest dalliance is with this L'Oréal mascara that was recommended to me by a friend with gorgeous eyelashes. Note to self: be cautious about taking future mascara suggestions from people with impressive eyelashes, because maybe they're born with it, and maybe it's not Maybelline or L'Oréal or Revlon.

You'd think after my last encounter with a L'Oréal product called Carbon Black, I'd stay away, but no. It turns out that, despite the tube being made out of the same horrible, slippery plastic as the liquid eyeliner, this mascara is not nearly as disappointing.

I have no idea why the tube looks metallic here. It's not.

The L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara brush is very, very thin, with tiny, spiky bristles. According to the marketing, it's mainly supposed to provide length and definition, and that seems about right. Because the bristles are so short and there are wide spaces between the rows, it deposits a lot of product without combing through the lashes very much. So while there is length and definition, I definitely don't get a full, fluttery effect with each of my eyelashes separated.

Here are my invisible lashes with no mascara:

Here they are with two coats of Carbon Black:

You can see that they are pretty spiky and not very lush. Usually when I first apply this mascara in the morning, I don't like it much, but when I look in the mirror a few hours later, I appreciate it more. It doesn't change during the day--I think it just looks better from a distance. Judging from my friend who recommended it, it works a bit better on naturally full eyelashes, I assume since in my case there are only 14 lashes for it to clump together. As for the whole Carbon Black business, is that supposed to blacker than other black mascaras? I mean it's quite black, but nothing special.

The thing I dislike most about this mascara is how long it takes to dry. I've had the tube open for a couple of weeks now, so it's not just that it's too fresh and wet. I always have to clean a few specks and smudges from around my eyes when I put it on. One day I sneezed five full minutes after I applied the mascara, and I had to completely redo my concealer. I don't have the patience for that.

I don't mind using L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black for the time being, but I won't buy it again. It's just not suited to my eyelashes, and the long drying time is a pain.

Anyone else use this mascara? I know it's a real favorite for some people. I'd be curious to hear how it works for you.

Drugstore Liquid Eyeliner Review Showdown: L'Oréal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black vs. Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black

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I've recently tried two black liquid eyeliners in an attempt to replace the Stila liner (reviewed here) that ended up getting so frayed it's now unusable. Normally I don't like to have two products open at the same time that perform essentially the same function (much less three), but I disliked the first replacement liner I tried so much that I bought another. So here's a spoiler: the winner of the showdown is Liner #2, the absurdly named Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black.  I'm going to review the drugstore eyeliner that I do not recommend first (L'Oréal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black), and the much more impressive PF Lash Booster (hereafter) second.

First, let's look at swatches of both of them, with Stila's eyeliner as a comparison. On the left, I drew a single line to show the initial opacity and thinness of the point, and then I went back over the same swatch several time to show what happens when you add multiple layers.

Left to right: PF Lash Booster in Ultra Black, L'Oréal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black, and Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black.

The Stila liner is more completely black on the first swipe than either of the other two and also has more sheen. Because of its frayed tip, that's as fine a line as I can get (and it's impossible to use on my eyelid, because there are fibers pointing in all directions). The PF Lash Booster is a close second, but you can see in the sheerer areas at the edges of the swatches that it's a warmer black than the Stila. It's also more matte, which can make it look darker on the eyelid. When you swatch all three of these eyeliners next to one another, the L'Oréal swatch in the middle looks almost brown. It's also much sheerer, even on the right where I tried to build it up.

Quick addendum to L'Oreal Miss Manga review

When I wrote my original review of this mascara, I had been testing it for 2-3 weeks. I noted that I hadn't had the problems with flaking that I'd had in the past with other L'Oreal mascaras. By the time it had been open for a couple of months, however, and got a bit drier, it became flaky as fuck. It's a mess now. So be warned: if you typically don't get along well with L'Oreal's mascara formulas, this one may not be any exception.

Foundation dealbreakers: Review of L'Oreal True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup in W1-2 (Porcelain Ivory)

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I know that the idea of a perfect foundation, one that blends invisibly and makes you look like you have naturally perfect skin with no makeup on it, is a fantasy. I get it. If you want full coverage or matte foundation, it's probably going to look you're wearing makeup. If you want a more natural finish, it's not going to cover everything 100%. And so forth. But I used to think that I could forgive almost anything for a natural-looking texture, and it turns out that that's not true. L'Oreal True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup does have a texture that pretty much disappears on the skin, at least when it's first applied, but there were a number of other issues for me that ended up being dealbreakers.

Swatches above are: (1) L'Oreal True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup in W1-2 (Porcelain Ivory); (2) TheBalm BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer in Lighter than Light; (3) Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation in Porcelain (reviewed here); and (4) Sephora Collection Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer in Fondant (reviewed here).

The first problem was completely my fault. I bought the wrong shade. I swatched this foundation at a Shopper's Drug Mart in Canada almost a year ago, and W1-2 (Porcelain Ivory) looked like a perfect match, even though I am more neutral than warm (W="warm"). How, I'm not sure, since it certainly doesn't look very close in the photo above. I sent an email to myself telling me to buy this shade! There is, in fact N1-2 (Soft Ivory/Classic Ivory) in the line, but in the store it looked too dark, so I went with W1-2. W1-2 is peachy color--too peachy for me, as it turns out, though it's not a terrible match. Here is an awkward photo I took of the edge of my face to try to see how far off it was. You can use this to get a sense of the coverage and texture as well.

If you look at my jawline where I've tried to blend it on to my neck, you can probably see that it's not quite right. The best thing about this foundation is that it's very natural looking, which I think helps disguise the color mismatch to a certain extent. You can hardly see that there is anything on my skin, with one exception: it settles into fine lines, like the ones on either side of my nose and mouth, immediately after application. It doesn't settle into pores, fortunately, and the problem with the lines can be helped to some degree with powder.

The coverage is light-medium, though it can be built up a bit. You may be able to tell from the above photo that my moles and freckles are still visible but redness is evened out.

This foundation feels light on the skin, not like you're coated in something heavy, but to the touch it's like a moisturizer that hasn't absorbed completely. And won't absorb, ever. I'm not sure if that type of formula would be appealing even to people with very dry skin, though I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone else. My hair stuck to the sides of my face, even after powdering. It was very unpleasant. Even though it feels sticky, it doesn't transfer much, at least.

Already I wasn't very happy with the sticky sensation, but then the oil in my skin broke the foundation down very quickly. In a couple of hours of wearing this stuff, I'm shinier than I would be if I wore no makeup at all (again, even when I set it with powder). In 4-5 hours, it starts seriously fading in some areas (nose, cheeks) and getting cakey in other areas (chin, forehead). It even interferes with the wear time of my concealer somehow, so that my favorite Sephora concealer gets cakey, which usually doesn't happen. Dealbreaker.

I understand that "dewy" and "luminous" foundations are usually targeted toward dry skin, and matte ones are usually meant for oilier skin. I get that it has to do with how the formulas function. But I still don't like it. I prefer a more luminous, or at least satiny, look, and I have oily-combination skin. It's tricky--and the fact that I don't wear foundation every day only make me pickier, I think, because if I'm going to go to all the trouble of applying it, I want to really like it.

I returned this stuff and bought myself a new bottle of an old favorite foundation: Boots No7 Lift & Luminate Foundation in Cool Vanilla. It's not a perfect fantasy foundation either, because the lightest shade is too dark for me (swatched here). But I can easily fix that with a little white mixer (I use the one from Lord & Berry), and it fulfills all my other requirements about natural finish, neutral tone (not cool, despite the name), and decent wear time. I'll write a full review of it some time in the near future.

How about you? What are your foundation demands and dealbreakers? I'm also curious if you've tried this particular foundation and if it works significantly better for skin types different from mine.

L'Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Extraordinary Oil Shampoo, Conditioner, and Lustrous Serum Review

Disclosure: Affiliate links. Products free from Influenster.
"Hey Lyn, how's that whole 'blog more often' plan going for you?" "Hahahahaha SHUT UP."

Anyway. I got this hair stuff from Influenster, and I like it a lot, so I thought I'd share it with you. (In case you're not aware, anyone can sign up to get free stuff to try from Influenster. You don't need a blog, though I think the more social media followers you have, the more things they send you.)

I was interested in trying these products, because I've had really good luck with some of the L'Oreal Advanced haircare in the past. For example, the Total Repair 5 Extreme line is excellent for getting dry, damaged hair under control. The conditioner feels (and smells) really similar to the magical stuff they include with home hair dye kits.

The Extraordinary Oil line is marketed for "daily care for dry, lifeless hair," and it claims to be, "lightweight" and "non-greasy." This sounds perfect for me, because the lengths of my hair tends to be very dry and the roots are oily, which means that sometimes products designed for dry hair don't clean the grease out well enough or leave my hair weighed down, while those meant for oily hair strip it too much. There are tricks I can do like coating the lengths in conditioner before shampooing and/or shampooing the roots twice, but I would prefer to cut down on the number of steps in my shower routine as much as possible.

My assessment of these three products (shampoo, conditioner, and serum) is that they definitely live up to the claims. They leave my hair very soft and shiny but not weighed down. Here are comparison photos. In the first one, I shampooed and conditioned with some mediocre products that I had in the shower and that I'd been using semi-regularly, and then let my hair air dry. In the second photo, on a different day, I used all three of the products pictured above (the serum on damp hair after washing and before detangling, with which it helps a lot) and again let my hair air dry. I think the difference in shine and smoothness is pretty clear--even though it turns out that it is very difficult to take a photo of the side of your own head.

All three of these products have a pretty strong fragrance that is a sort of warm, amber scent. I'm not great at identifying and describing fragrances, but it's the kind of thing you would expect from products that are supposed to be "exotic." If you're tried the Suave Moroccan Infusion line, it's similar. I know a lot of people love this kind of scent, but I don't usually like it. In this case, however, it's started to grow on me--and it doesn't make me sneeze like some others do. The first day I used the serum, I could smell it all day and it was a little overwhelming. But I have used it many times since then, and now it seems just mildly pleasant. So if you don't like this type of fragrance, it's something to consider, but you might end up enjoying it anyway, apparently. If you are a big perfume wearer, however, it may interfere with the scent you wear. I will usually avoid other perfume on days I use these.

I also tried each of the three products separately in case it was only one of them giving me these good results. That is, I shampooed with the Extraordinary Oil shampoo and used a different conditioner and serum/treatment product, and so forth, with each one. I saw some improvement with each product separately, but not as dramatic as when using them all together. I would say if you want to try just one, you should pick the conditioner if you don't want as strong a fragrance, and the serum if you are fine with the fragrance and want to get the most impressive results from a single product. (There's also a leave-in "transforming oil-in-cream" that I didn't get, but I am now curious about it. I wonder if it would be too heavy for my hair.)

In addition to other oils and silicones, the serum and conditioner both contain a lot of coconut oil, which has been shown to be particularly good for hair. One of the suggested uses on the serum bottle is to apply it to hair before washing to nourish and protect the hair, which is also a great way to use plain coconut oil. The silicones in this stuff add an extra boost of shine and smoothness, in my opinion. (Nothing wrong with 'cones in hair products.)

I like this stuff as much as or more than any of the much more expensive hair products I've tried. The L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil products are about $6 a bottle. If shine and softness are your main hair goals, definitely give one or more of these a shot. The only potential downside I can think of is the fragrance, but as I said, I actually enjoy it now in spite of myself.

What about you? Do you prefer mild scents in hair products or is the fragrance part of what makes you enjoy them? I prefer skincare products to be unscented, but I do want some fragrance in my hair products--I'm just picky about what exactly they smell like.

No Spider Lashes: Review of L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara

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This L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara isn't exactly new, but then I'm not exactly a cutting edge, new releases blogger--you may have noticed that. I was slightly worried that it would be discontinued by the time I got around to trying it, because I never hear anyone talking about it anymore. But it seems to still exist. Phew.

Based on the way this stuff is advertised, I fully expected to hate it and to write a fun (i.e. scathing) review about how much it sucks. I don't like clumpiness, and since I have quite thin, stubby lashes, globby formulas do not look good. This is one of those mascaras from the last year or so that exaggerates the spidery clumps (sorry, "mega volume") in its marketing. Here's part of the ad photo from L'Oreal's website:

This isn't the worse example of this marketing trend I've seen, but why is this happening at all? Are they getting inspiration from the worst photos posted on Facebook by Younique distributors and assuming that, because they are so widespread, this is the hottest style? Because I don't actually know anyone who wants their lashes to look like that (Younique sellers aside). Am I wrong? Do you? Not judging, just looking for a real-life source. If nothing else it seems like it would be distracting to have that much heavy crap on my lashes--but then I don't like how fake lashes feel, either, and those are becoming weirdly mainstream too (as in, I get the impression that some people now feel that they need to use fake lashes every day just to look presentable; see also: contouring).

Here's are stills from an animation on the same L'Oreal page that, I guess, is supposed to show what the mascara looks like in reality (not "simulated"). It's not terrible, but it's not great. A bit chunky for my taste. Actually, the thing that probably bothers me the most is that she doesn't have mascara on the tips or the back/top side of her blond lashes, which looks odd to me. As someone with invisible eyelashes, I've learned that they look strange when then are two-tone.

In actual practice, on me, this is just an impressive volumnizing and lengthening mascara--nothing too wild. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Here is a photo of my bare lashes (and eyebrow) and then a photo with two coats of Miss Manga:

Keeping in mind that mascara always looks spikier in a close-up photo than in person, I think this is pretty good! It adds volume and quite a bit of length as well. My lashes are sort of grouped into mini-clumps of a few eyelashes each, I suppose, if you really want to analyze them. That may be the extent of the "manga" effect. I don't think I would be able to achieve the results in the ad photos even with many more coats, but people with much thicker lashes could, perhaps. You might need to use the tip of the brush to push the lashes together to really get it to work. But then couldn't you do that with any mascara?

The design of the brush seems to be intended to apply a lot of product and to separate lashes into distinct clumps. You can sort of see in the photo below that the bristles have wide spaces between them, and the wand is very flexible. It bends easily at that indentation below the brush. I assume this is to prevent it from combing through the lashes too much so that is deposits more mascara. While recognizing how this is supposed to function, it doesn't really do those things when I use it. It works pretty much like a normal mascara wand.

In the past, when I've tried L'Oreal mascaras, my main complaint has been that they don't seem to interact well with my body chemistry, and I'll get a lot of flaking and smearing. I'm happy to report that I haven't had unusual flaking or smearing with Miss Manga. (ETA: See update on flaking here.) Overall, I was (shockingly) impressed with this stuff and might even buy it again. It's easy to use and creates moderate drama--exactly what I'm looking for. I would recommend trying this, especially if you have similar lashes to mine, and you're not, in fact, hoping to look like a cartoon. Amazon has it for under $6.

Sorry, the grumpy review will have to wait for another time. I actually have two disappointing products that I've tried recently on the docket, so stay tuned if that's your jam.

Drugstore Dupe for Anastasia Brow Wiz (from Budget Beauty Blog)

The Budget Beauty Blog is a great source for dupe info. Here she compares Anastasia Brow Wiz (the pencil) to the new L'Oreal Brow Stylist Definer, and finds that they are nearly identical. Nice!

Review of L'Oreal Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in Choco-Lacque (and how to get free stuff if you are willing to experiment on your face)

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Let's start with the best part: free stuff. I got the lipstick I'm reviewing here as compensation for doing some L'Oreal Consumer Testing. You sign up at that link, fill out some questionnaires, and they send you unlabeled products to test. Then, a few weeks later, they send you some other shit as compensation for doing the testing and reporting on your results.

It took over a year before I got into any trials. You will probably get disqualified from a lot of surveys before you get into one. That's normal. They also rarely notify you when there are new questionnaires, so you have to remember to check the site often to find them.

The things you test (and the compensation) could be from any brand under the L'Oreal umbrella, and could be makeup, skin care, or hair care. I've tested several mascaras and a couple of hair mousses (I think that's it). I have also heard about people testing eyebrow products, lipstick, foundation, and contouring kits, among other things.

The above photo shows some of the stuff I've got as compensation. Usually you get 1-3 products in return for each test you do, though the size of the compensation depends on the length of the trial, etc. In addition to the brands below (L'Oreal, Maybelline, and Lancôme), I've received a Garnier face wash and some other L'Oreal products, as well as a second Lancôme eyeshadow quint. I know other people have got Kiehl's as well. No Urban Decay, as far as I am aware! Too bad.

It can be a fun way to try new things, if you like surprises, and you're willing to risk using a product for a few days - or even a couple of weeks - that you don't love. (Of course, if you have a bad reaction to it, you stop using it immediately and notify them.) You also have to follow the rules: no discussing what you're testing online (or at all?), sometimes you have to return the test product when the testing period is up (though not usually), and you can't sell or trade your compensation products. Oh, and obviously you have to be a willing cog in the whole evil cosmetics marketing machine.

The lipstick I'm reviewing today is one that I got as compensation for doing L'Oreal testing. It's one of my favorite things I've been sent.  The whole thing is a bit of a crapshoot - the Maybelline lipstick in the photo above looks like this. I'm guessing the products they send are overstock in most cases. But I'm glad they had extras of this one.

I posted this photo of Choco-Lacque on Instagram last month, because I wore it to speak at a symposium, and it was great for that purpose. It's your typical work-friendly rosy-mauve or pinky-neutral or MLBB or whatever. It's also really comfortable to wear (not drying) and it lasts a long time. That's important for teaching or anything else where you're going to be talking for a long time. It won't survive greasy food, but that's a long shot anyway. It's sort of thick and sticky, but in a good, comfortable way, and I expect it's that texture that makes it last. I also like the packaging. I find lipsticks in crayon form or anything with a smaller tip and a longer case to be easier to apply neatly.

L'Oreal has two variations in this line: Colour Riche La Lacque and Le Matte. The latter is oviously supposed to be matte, but it was never quite clear to me what La Lacque was supposed to be. And now that I have one . . . still not totally clear. The Revlon Lacquer Balms are a little sheer and shiny, which sounds about right for "lacquer" to me. This La Lacque lipstick is neither. It's not matte, but it's also not particularly shiny. Satin at best.

See? Come to think if it, I suspect there are some brands that would label this matte (like Bite or Urban Decay). (The swatch color below is more accurate. For some reason it wanted to photograph really pink in the lip close-up. You can also see it on my face here, and the color is more accurate in that photo as well.)

Here's Choco-Lacque compared to some other products in the same general color family  - demonstrating that I have too many, but they're just so damned easy to wear (except when they're too easy):

Swatches of L'Oreal Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in Choco-Lacque, Revlon Balm Stain in Honey, Lord & Berry Crayon Lipstick in Intimacy, Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands, Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice, and Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Lust for Blush

Revlon Balm Stain in Honey is very close to the same color, but less opaque. Lord & Berry Crayon Lipstick in Intimacy is darker with more brown in it, with a similar finish, but not as good wear time. Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands is sheerer and more beige/nude. Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice has more reddish-brown in it, is much darker (very similar to L&B Intimacy), and is, of course, more matte. Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Lust for Blush is cooler and more matte.

If you like Revlon Honey as much as I do, Choco-Lacque is like a more opaque version of it, and equally comfortable to wear, in my opinion. I don't hate having them both on hand. These are exactly the kind of lipsticks I like to wear when I want to feel like a competent, serious adult, without boring myself.

Here's the potential dealbreaker: The floral fragrance in Choco-Lacque is really fucking strong, and it lingers for a long time. I'm not the best at identifying scents, but to me it's a combination of rose and violet. This is (apparently?) my only L'Oreal lipstick, but I believe it's the usual L'Oreal scent. I happen to be a big fan of rose-scented lip products, so I completely love it. And it doesn't have a perfumey taste, from what I've noticed, so that's good. If you hate scented lipsticks, however, stay far away from this one.

Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise for me, and free! (Well, technically I paid for it with my time and labor testing whatever it was I tested.) I don't know how easy the La Lacque lipsticks are to find in the drugstore at the moment, because I haven't really been looking, but I believe they are now permanent. ULTA has them online, though (they mislabel this one "Coco-laque"). Have you tried any of the La Lacque or La Matte lipsticks? Are the others as good as this one? Can you handle the (beautiful) stench?

Maybe I don't own all the eyeshadows yet: Swatches of L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy with comparisons

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L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy

I bought this eyeshadow after a particularly brutal job interview, when I was wandering around CVS and got sucked in by one of their "spend $15 on L'Oreal and get $5". I like the formula of the Infallible shadows, but $8-9 always feels like a bit of a splurge for a single shade (though most of them are cheaper on Amazon at the moment). For comparison, they come out to almost $67 per ounce (or $2.30 per gram), while Urban Decay Naked palette shadows are $87 an ounce - and that's on the more reasonable side for a higher end palette (most are $100+ per ounce).

The formula of the Infallible eyeshadows is really nice, much better than the vast majority of drugstore eyeshadows in my experience, so having calculated it that way, I feel better about my purchase. In general, with the exception of a handful of gems, including Wet N Wild permanent shadows and Maybelline Color Tattoos (and MUA palettes if you are in the UK) good eyeshadow seems to be one of the most difficult types of makeup to find at the drugstore. So the Infallibles are worth checking out if you haven't already done so. I've included swatches of the three I have below.

I picked out the shade Gilded Envy in part because it reminded me of an e.l.f. eyeshadow I had years ago that I loved and lost. But I also picked it out thinking that surely by now, in my vast hoard, I had already replaced that with something comparable. I knew I shouldn't buy it, but I was letting my mood do the shopping.

When I got it home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in fact I didn't already have anything like it. SHOCKING. It's a fairly unusual shade, obviously. Gilded Envy isn't easy to describe. Antique gold it the first phrase that comes to mind. I think the closest reference from the natural world is pyrite, which features the same grey-gold and glitter that this eyeshadow has. At some angles, as you can see in the many photos below, it reflects a bit of green. At other times, it looks mostly silver. This one is a shapeshifter. Depending on the lighting, you can get anything from old gold to khaki to forest green to steel gray. It's pretty spectacular. The differences you see in each photo below aren't inaccuracies from poor color adjusting - they reflect this stuff's true shiftiness.

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy

Here are swatches, the first without primer and the second with the mediocre Nars primer I reviewed here. The primer does make a difference for swatching, but when I used Gilded Envy on my eyelids with the Nars primer, it was a patchy mess, so I took replacement photos after opening my new tube of Wet N Wild primer. (That's also the main reason this post took so long to finish. I took the original photos on the way out of the house earlier this week and then had to redo them today.)

Swatches of L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy (without primer and over primer)

Here it is on my eyelid (below). The best way to apply it to get a smooth, even layer is with your fingertip. You can use a brush if you must, but it will make more of a mess under your eyes. Blending the edges with a brush works fine. This is definitely a powder eyeshadow, not a cream, but it's very fine and not completely pressed in the pan, so it comes with that little extra lid to keep it from exploding, which you can see in the first photo in this post. I'm not sure how absolutely necessary that extra piece is. I've never seen any signs of my Infallible shadows disintegrating. Traveling with them might be different, but I haven't done that. On my eyes, in these photos, the gold comes through a little more than in the swatches.

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy

Despite all the glitter that shows up in the swatches, it's not too crazy once you put it on your eyes. To me, it seems perfectly acceptable for daytime/work wear. I've noticed almost no glitter fallout throughout the day, either.

Unfortunately for you, but fortunately for me, I don't have any dupes to show you. Dupes are good for blogging, but bad for my wallet. I picked out three eyeshadows for comparison, simply as a point of reference, since I thought these might be familiar to some people: Urban Decay Mushroom, Urban Decay , and Maybelline Color Tattoo Bad to the Bronze.

Comparison swatches of L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gilded Envy, Urban Decay Mushroom, Urban Decay Mildew, and Maybelline Color Tattoo Bad to the Bronze (no primer)

I also wanted to show you comparisons with the two other Infallible shadows I have: Eternal Sunshine and Sultry Smoke. These shadows come in a range of finishes, as you can see. Gilded Envy is glittery and shifty, as I've said - at some angles the glitter is hidden and at others it's very sparkly. Eternal Sunshine is straight up metallic. Sultry Smoke is completely matte (I've written about this one before, because it doesn't perform quite as well on my eyes as you would expect from the swatch).

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadows in Eternal Sunshine, Gilded Envy and Sultry Smoke

The swatches are slightly blurry, but that helps bring out the level of sparkle.

Swatches of L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadows in Eternal Sunshine, Gilded Envy and Sultry Smoke

As it turns out, I didn't fail too hard. I'm happy that buying my feelings actually worked out for once. Gilded Envy is unusual, versatile, and really pretty. I'm already getting a lot of use out of it. Still, it was a close call, and self-medicating with makeup shopping is not a good habit to get into - especially since there are undoubtedly many other terrible job interviews in my future. It's nice to know that there's still new shit out there for me to discover, nevertheless.

ETA: If you're having trouble finding this particular shade, Ally helpfully pointed out in the comments below that Gilded Envy is part of the Butterfly Collection, not one of the core Infallible eyeshadow shades (though I found it in the regular display at CVS).

Any other Infallible shadows you'd recommend (or suggest avoiding)?

Quest for Coral

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Settle in, because this is going to be an epic quest. Sometime in April, when I'd had about enough of the gloom, I decided I would declare this the Summer of Coral. It's kind of like the Summer of George, but on my face. I was going to find a bright coral lip product that I loved and wear the fuck out of it. I already owned some options, but none of them was quite right, so I started shopping. Here I've laid out all the lip products I now own that are coral or coral adjacent. There are some that turned out to be orange or orange-red, but if nothing else they provide a basis for comparison.

Here is the full array (lip swatches and more info for each below):

Left to right: Stila Lip Glaze in Melon, Revlon Moisture Stain in Cannes Crush, BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in What's Up Doc?, Wet N Wild MegaLast Lipstick in Purty Persimmon, ULTA Automatic Lip Liner in Scarlet, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Apoptosis, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Recursion, L'Oreal Pop Balm in Caring Coral.

And here are swatches of all of them:

Swatches (left to right): Stila Lip Glaze in Melon, Revlon Moisture Stain in Cannes Crush, BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in What's Up Doc?, Wet N Wild MegaLast Lipstick in Purty Persimmon, ULTA Automatic Lip Liner in Scarlet, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Apoptosis, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Recursion, L'Oreal Pop Balm in Caring Coral.

More below the cut, because I have a thousand photos and a million words to go.

L'Oreal's FTC settlement for deceptive advertising of the Youth Code/Génefique lines (from Truth in Advertising)

I hope we all assume that most skincare advertising claims are bullshit of some kind or another, but I guess this goes beyond slippery, confusing marketing language into actual deception. A jar of goop that can manipulate your genes? I seriously hope not. Or if so, I would like to rub the gene for being able to do math on my face or find some lotion that will kill my hereditary anxiety.

Oh, and L'Oreal doesn't have to pay a cent as the result of this settlement, despite having made well over a billion dollars from selling this crap.

L'Oreal Project Runway "Electric Fantasie" nail polishes (limited edition from Fall 2012) on clearance

Disclosure: This post contains no affiliate links.
So probably this doesn't sound like the most exciting deal in the world, but hear me out: drugstore.com has the L'Oreal Project Runway nail polish collection on clearance for $3.79 each. The colors in that collection are really interesting and unusual. I couldn't find a good link with swatches of all of them in the same place, but you should definitely google the ones you're curious about. There are 6 of them left, and I have not seen these in stores since they first came out in Fall 2012. The only one I own is The Temptress' Power (the names are kind of ridiculous), which is seriously spectacular (swatches here). I'm not supposed to be buying more nail polish, but maybe these constitute a special exception? Maybe?

You can get free shipping over $35, as well as an extra 4% back using Ebates (invite link).

ETA: A few people are still selling some of these on Amazon and ebay, but the prices are generally higher, which is why I wanted to point out the drugstore.com price.

A whole fucking dissertation on eyebrow products for blondes and redheads, plus a mini review of L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara (photo-heavy post)

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So this is the latest installation of a quasi-series in which I pull out all the products I have in from single category and try to decide what I should keep and what I should get rid of. Spoiler: I decided that I'm going to keep all of my eyebrow shit, because it's practical and really won't ever expire, so I'll use it up eventually. I did come to the radical conclusion that I should stop buying more, though. Duh.

All my eyebrow products (top to bottom): NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Auburn/Red; e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light; Milani Brow Tint Pen in Natural Taupe; CoverGirl Brow and Eye Makers in Soft Blond; Avon Ultra Luxury Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde; and Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium. 

My hair color over the last few years has run the gamut from blonde-blonde to strawberry-blonde to dark-blonde to red to really-fucking-red. Some of the products below have served me well no matter my hair color, such as the e.l.f. kit and the Avon pencil. Others, like the NYX kit and the CoverGirl pencil really only well with certain hair colors - but then they work very well.

You can tell from the photo above that almost every brow product I have has been well used, so I know them intimately. Look at those stubby pencils! The one exception is Benefit's Gimme Brow, which I got as a graduation present in May. It actually came from the Benefit vending machine in the Minneapolis airport. That's a thing that exists.

In the past, when I thought about my minimum makeup - like what I'd wear if I was running out the door and only had time for a couple of things - it was always just mascara and blush. Maybe under-eye concealer. Lately, though, I feel like I can really take or leave those things so long as I've filled in my eyebrows a little. They're fairly invisible on their own, and as I've pointed out before, they really do make a difference.

I used to use the sort of technique where you define the bottom edge of the brow completely and then fill the rest in, but recently I've much preferred Lisa Eldridge's method of focusing on the peak of the arch and working lightly out from there. (If you have never watched a Lisa Eldridge video, do it some day when you're in a bad mood or stressed - trust me, she's so soothing.) This method really does create a more natural-looking effect. I do fill in the part closest to my nose more than she does, however, because that's where the hair on my brows is the lightest and thinnest. If I don't add a little extra there, my eyebrows look too far apart - I think they still do sometimes, honestly, but I'm not (yet) totally comfortable filling in where there's no real hair at all. Anyway, as you can see in the photos below, this isn't the super-defined and polished look that you tend to see in closeups of dramatic eye makeup. It doesn't look flawless. Super-defined is pretty, but it's just not what I'm going for. My brows might look a little less than perfect in a super closeup, but no one is looking as closely as my camera is getting in these photos - and the lack of perfection is what makes them look natural, I think. Here's what they usually look like at a normal distance (scroll down).

I hope you have a couple of weeks to read the rest of this post, because as usual I am long-fucking-winded.

Adequate product roundup

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

I realize that most of the time I post about things either because I really love them or because I really hate them. It's just easier and more fun to write about something if I have strong feelings about it or if it's particularly intriguing in some way.

But I have a bunch of shit lying around that I thought at one point I would review here and just never got around to. Not because it's bad, but just because it's not exciting. I think, however, that pointing out that something isn't exciting can be useful, even if it doesn't make for the most enthralling blog post (or one filled with a lot of expletives). So I decided to make a single post with brief reviews of bunch of things that fit into the category of "adequate", rather than writing eight separate "meh" posts. They are not bad, but they are not wonderful. They are perfectly functional, and I don't feel like I have wasted money on them, but I wouldn't necessarily buy them again. They do their job, but they don't fill me with joy. They're adequate.

I can see two main responses to reading this: (1) you were excited about something, and you subsequently become less excited about it; or (2) you were excited about something, and you subsequently remain excited and are satisfied that it's not utter shit. No wait, the third possible response is that you didn't care before and you still don't care. Okay, a fourth possible response is that you are enraged that I am dismissing one of the BEST PRODUCTS YOU HAVE EVER USED. Be aware that there are few things on my list that many people out there seem to looooooooove, so if you're curious, you might as well give them a shot, knowing that they are not going to turn out to be garbage. You might turn out to be one of their fans.

Not Your Mother's Knotty to Nice Conditioning Detangler

This stuff is fine, but not exciting - which has been my experience with every product I've used from the NYM brand. It's a leave-in spray conditioner that does make wet hair somewhat easier to comb out. It smells okay, but not too strong. Sort of like fruity candy. I don't find that it has much effect on the appearance or condition of my hair. I can spray it very generously, and my hair doesn't get stringy looking.

Nivea A Kiss of Olive Oil & Lemon Moisture Rich Lip Care

Normally I'm not a big fan of these Nivea/Labello lip balms, so I'm not sure why I bought this one. This version does seem to be a little more effective than most, though. Less waxy and more moisturizing. The scent is pleasant: slightly citrusy, not too sour, like Sprite or 7Up. It has a faint perfumey taste, but it's not obnoxious. It has very little sheen. Good enough, but I wouldn't buy it again when there are a million other lip balms out there to try.

CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion

I know that people swear by this one, and it does have a good ingredients list. There are some things I really like about it and other things I find disappointing. For example, I absolutely love the way it feels when you apply it. It's like a refreshing drink of water for your skin. It soaks in very quickly and doesn't leave a greasy feeling. On the other hand, I don't find that the moisture it provides lasts very long. On dry days this winter (i.e. all of them), my skin feels parched again a few hours later, which doesn't happen so much with lotions that are less pleasant immediately. Maybe this would be best layered under something heavier, though that would mean more greasiness.

Smith's Rosebud Salve

Another popular one. Personally, I don't love it. I've tried it a bunch of different ways. On my cuticles, it's too greasy during the day, and it doesn't seem to have much effect when applied before bed and left overnight. I don't like it on my lips. I actually find it a little drying in the long run, and the floral scent means it doesn't taste very good. I have found a very specific use for it though. I tend to have dry, flaky skin on my nose. If I put some of this stuff around my nostrils before I go to sleep, it definitely cuts down on the dryness by morning. Plus it means I have a pleasant rosy scent to fall asleep to. $6 is kind of a lot of money for dedicated nostril balm, though. I don't advise buying it at Sephora, since you can get it cheaper elsewhere (like drugstore.com, link above).

Suave Moroccan Infusion Shine Conditioner

I had high hopes for this one after reading many, many positive reviews. My opinion is that it's a decent conditioner, but nothing special. It doesn't make my hair any shinier or smoother than other decent conditioners do. It may be that it works better for people with hair types that are different from mine (which is fine, but not thin, and quite straight). I also really don't like the scent, though I think that is one of the major selling points for a lot of people. It's very strong and sweet, slightly spicy. I'm not great at identifying/describing fragrances - sorry. But this is the sort of fragrance you get in a lot of drugstore products (like body wash) that are supposed to be "exotic" or "eastern". Maybe a hint of incense?

Here are swatches of the last three products on my list, the makeup:

Swatches (left to right): L'Oreal 24 Hour Infallible Eyeshadow in Sultry Smoke, Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Fig Jam, Revlon Photoready Eye Primer + Brightener

L'Oreal 24 Hour Infallible Eyeshadow in Sultry Smoke

Matte grey eyeshadow is tricky. It tends to be patchy and dry and not very pigmented. This one is very smooth, but it takes several layers to build up the color to anything other than very sheer. The swatch above is not over primer, which does increase the pigmentation somewhat. Like the other Infallible eyeshadows, it works best when applied with your finger, rather than with a brush. But it's not nearly as impressive as the shimmery Infallible shades, and it's not the answer to all your grey eyeshadow needs. Better than average, but not great.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Fig Jam

I heard that this was a dupe for the beloved Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. I don't think that it really is, especially if "universally flattering" is the main attraction of the Clinique stuff. From photos, this Lip Butter seems to be warmer - it has more of a brick red/brown thing going on. It looks okay on me, but it's not something I find particularly attractive. The formula is just as nice as the other sheer Revlon Lip Butters, though.

Swatch of Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Fig Jam

(I guess I did include this Lip Butter in my previous post about them, but it seems worth talking about in more detail for its potential dupe status.)

Revlon Photoready Eye Primer + Brightener

I've had this for ages. I'm not sure why I bought it, either. I guess maybe I was wondering if it was a dupe for YSL Touche Éclat, though I don't have that, so I'm not sure how I would be able to tell. It's the same type of product, though: highlighter in a click pen with a brush. This packaging seriously suffers from the click-click-click-click-nothing, click-click-click-click-SPLOOGE effect. It it definitely not a concealer - it provides almost no coverage. It does seem to reflect the light from undereye circles in a way that makes using it slightly better than using nothing. It is not reflective enough to be used as a highlighter, though, at least on someone pale like me, and I have no idea what sort of priming effects it's supposed to have. It's not very good layered under something else, because it doesn't apply especially evenly. Overall it's just not that impressive. I use it on days when I'm not going to be out and about much, since it camouflages my dark circles a little bit, provided that no one looks too closely at me. I'm basically just trying to use this up at this point.

So there you go. None of this things are disasters, but none of them are revelations either, in my opinion. Feel free to rage at me in the comments about how shockingly wrong I am.