Here are most of the products I brought along on my trip to LA.  Some remained off camera but you get the idea.  My favorites are the Smokey Rose pallette by POP Beauty (I’ll review soon) because I can make up my whole face with it and my afterglow mascara and kabuki brush in that little silver pouch.  All of the others deserve and honorable mention, the pink T3 iron and Global Goddess South Pacific Shimmer and another favorite (I have to come up with a new word — too many faves!!) Lancome Christopher Kane Juicy Tube!  I’ve got to run, toodles…

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Lancôme introduced Définicils mascara in 1991, can you believe that?  Where does the time go?  At the time I was attending college in New York and didn’t have a dime to spare on fancy mascara.  My experience comes from a summer in Paris, I think everyone in my family fully expected me to make something fabulash out of myself, so I had to get the “right French” in my head and they sent me to what would be the absolute worst experience in my whole life - EVER - L’Alliance Francaise. Why was it terrible, I was in this fab city, first off I got lost c-o-n-s-a-n-t-l-y and was sitting with all these ”old” studious people who really wanted to be there (remember I was 19 at the time).  Looking back it was incredibly dumb, I was proabably sitting next to futures heads of state from every corner of the earth.  But it was so painful, learning obscure French from an ancient man with 0 personality lecture style.   His main point of contention with me seemed to be that I was 1/2 French and didn’t speak well enough for him, he was much more lenient on the pure “foreigner” or at least that’s how I saw it. 

Of course I ended up cutting a lot of class and hanging out with new found friends at the brasseries, this was super dangerous and I ended up getting “caught” a couple of times by my aunts.  There were some hard feelings all around but they still stuffed my suitcase with lots of goodies! 

Being incredibly chic Parisiennes they couldn’t resist shopping with me as their muse.  The most memorable things were several Cacharel bras and panties, Guerlain compact and lipsticks, Chanel polish, jade jewelry, outfits from Galleries la Fayette, NAF NAF T-shirts and backpack, Chipie and Kookai jeans and sweaters with a gorgeous Le Dropt Briefcase that I still sport, and of course a tube of  Lancôme mascara! 

To be totally honest I have no idea which kind of mascara it was but for this post we’ll assume it was Définicils.  Just hearing Définicils sparked all these memories so that should be good enough, besides it doesn’t matter if you speak French or not to wear it! More than 25 million units of Définicils have been sold, the choice of chic women and discerning make up artists everywhere. You may already know the formula but now there’s a new application tool, ”The High Precision™ brush, with its soft rubber bristles, deposits just the right amount of product for optimum separation and no clumps.” So what are you waiting for? don’t go through what I did to try it.

The Définicils Family
*Définicils: Straight brush coats lashes evenly, from base to tips, for a perfectly defined and separated look.
*Définicils Pro: Curved brush deposits more product at the root of the lash for a fuller look.
*High Définicils: Soft rubber brush offers effortless glide for individually separated and lengthened look.

Retails for $23.95 www.lancome-usa.com, specialty stores, the five Lancôme boutiques and counters nationwide.

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Lash Out against cosmetics companies

Some people around me have told me in the past not to lash out, but I just couldn’t help myself in this case. NO, I didn’t snap, it’s just that I’ve been in my little rut of mascaras, I tried something last month, but what can I say, sometimes new information comes out and you just have to act on it.  For the past few days I’ve been using a new mascara that gives me pretty long lashes effectively AND safe!

Pure Soul Mascara creates luscious lashes that are soft and flexible, no rock hard lashes here!  The application is very light, perfect for every day use but at the same time this is not your everyday mineral cosmetics line. I learned that from the super-cute afterglow vegan kabuki brush I use every day - it’s holding up beautifully by the way.

Back to the Pure Soul Mascara, I even went without taking it off to sleep with no problem.  It didn’t irritate my contact lensed eyes at all.  No smudges on my face or pillow and absolutely no clumps.  A pure joy to wear and I’m even happier to report a company that cares about women’s health.  I used to blindly trust that what is out on the market has been tested and deemed safe but that is def NOT the case.

Organic cosmetics are all the rage right now, there are a lot of choices out there, but like everything else - you get what you pay for.  As a prestige brand, afterglow not only chooses the most natural and safe cosmetics available, they carefully select the source of those ingredients.  Certified Organic Ingredients are used whenever possible. 

Check your makeUP bags please…

Have you ever thought about the chemicals that are in your cosmetics?  are they safe, any side effects, we’ve all heard the loooong disclaimers on the medications advertised on tv, but that is not true with cosmetics.  Just some pretty women modeling the product with very little actual information about the manufacturing process or chemicals used to make the cosmetics.  I for one don’t want them to get away with that anymore, I love that afterglow lists out the ingredients used to make each product!  Speaking of ingredients…

If you’ve got your make up bag handy, does your current mascara contain Thimerosal?  If so it is a mercury-containing organic compound that has been banned around the world but NOT in the US!! Minnesota is the only state so far to ban intentionally added mercury in cosmetics.  “Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities” said Sen. John Marty.  So check your cosmetics labels, and be sure to replace with something that is safe like pure soul.

Visit afterglow cosmetics  for the best all natural cosmetics, get pretty with safe cosmetics.  Pure Soul Mascara is available in two shades, mink (brown) and onyx (black).  Get glow-ing!

afterglow cosmetics are:

gluten-free, alcohol-free, paraben-free, synthetic dye-free, perfume-free, mercury-free, petrochemical-free, phthalate-free, mineral oil-free, and tar-free! 

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Estee Lauder is a brand I haven’t used much since leaving Japan, the base exchange only carries a few premium brands and EL was one of them.  When I wasn’t experimenting with Japanese beauty brands, I would buy loads of Estee stuff. 

I’ve been using the Projectionist Mascara for five days and really like it.  I totally missed the launch last March so I’m making up for lost time now!  Projectionist defines my lashes and makes them look longer with just a few strokes.  

My main lash issue is volume, sadly I didn’t notice much increase in volume while using Projectionist.   The mascara stayed in place, no smudge or clumps which is enought to get a good mark up from me. 

An added bonus: The bottle is gorgeous! a really great looking tube.

Get more beauty reviews from Total Beauty on Estee Lauder products, mascara and more.  

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Step up to the TV and present your Passport to Beauty.  Go through Global Goddess customs without the 1 quart baggy drama, you can read all about them right here on SteepingBeauty and see more on HSN (scroll down to see schedule).  Benefit from Shalini Vadhera’s global jetsetting with her collection of Global Goddess beauty goodies.

Global Goddess takes you to Egypt!  Cairo Eyes Cleo is a Black Liquid Eyeliner, the product sits in a little pot and the wand comes up.  The applicator brush is so small and fine it makes it super easy to apply a nice straight line.  If you’re feeling like royalty this Valentine’s Day, take inspiration from the Egyptian Queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra and line your eyes.  The eyeliner is infused with Egyptian moringa oil for hydration.  This eyeliner applies well and stayed put until I took it off.

Global Goddess takes you to  the South Pacific! Goddess Glow South Pacific Shimmer is an amazing Bronzing Powder.  Bronzing powder is one of my secret weapons, living in snow country, I sometimes get very pasty and pale.  South Pacific Shimmer has universally appealing shades in one compact.  Just brush on for a sun-kissed look no matter what the forecast.

Global Goddess gives you exotic eyes!  Exotic Eyes, the Blackest Black Mascara, coats your eyelashes with rich color, “your eyes will speak volumes” with this mascara.  It didn’t smudge or budge until I took it off.  This mascara does not run and has a curved brush.

 All of the Global Goddess products I’ve tried are exquisitely packaged.  I love the black and gold combination, if you like to love the way your products look when you pull them out of your makeup bag then make sure to take the leap and try this line.

Find out more about these products http://globalgoddessbeauty.com

Be sure to check out Shalini Vadhera on HSN: 

                 Thursday, February 14th, 2008 – 7:00 a.m. & 8:00 p.m. EST
                 Friday, February 15th, 2008 – 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. EST
                 Saturday, February 16th, 2008 – 8:00 a.m. EST

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