Prestige
March 2017 FavoritesWorth it? Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner
Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner, $24 for 8oz
This was a legacy post that I gave a facelift because I seriously cannot tell enough people about this product. If you’re an artist? Lifesaver. If you aren’t, it means you can avoid buying thirty seven thousand brushes, because you can use the same one over and over in a look.
I’d seen this brush cleaner in blog posts and on YouTube. I was curious but…really, how good can it be? It’s a brush cleaner. I had come close to buying it a few times for myself but always talked myself out of it. My current system is good; why invest in another product – especially with that price tag? Fortunately, a wise friend sent this wee little spray-bottle of it to me.
I tested it that night, but was not prepared to record or demonstrate my findings. Spoiler alert: I was blown away and wondered how the ever loving hell I haven’t had this product in my life before.
Let me just show you.
Before
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Review
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso
This is a post from the Beauty Skeptic archives that has been given a facelift, but content and opinions are the same. Favorites are being rescheduled and will appear by next Wednesday.
I don’t always bother with liquid lipstick, but when I do, it’s Stila Beso. I wrote about receiving a compliment on some bold red lipstick that made my morning. In turn, that inspired me to compliment someone else, and an awesome chain reaction resulted. Time to talk about the lipstick itself.
Reeeally Red
My skin is pretty agreeable to reds – so I didn’t have to go on a crazy hunting spree for, “the one,” because my options are plenty. Friday was National Wear Red Day; I opted for a red lipstick, specifically Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in the shade Beso. Stila and Sephora describe this shade as a, “true red,” meaning it has no blue, pink, or orange undertones, and is not particularly warm OR cool.
When I first got this lipstick, I swatched it on my lips not having looked up swatches online or having any idea of how pigmented it was; I exclaimed when I saw it. A little goes a very, very long way. Given how pigmented it is and how quickly the color takes, the doefoot applicator wand can be a liiiiiittle bit difficult to work with. Doefoot applicators are awesome for speed and ease of use, but a bold red lip requires careful application. If you have a lip brush, I recommend keeping it handy to help ensure clean edges.
The Bold Claim
Clinique Dramatically Different Dupes
I’m still slowly working my way through a bottle of Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. I use less of it these days since I’m having good luck with my Mountain Rose Herbs argan oil, but it’s still a good lightweight moisturizer for those with combination to oily skin. At this point, I don’t think I would repurchase unless I bought it from the CCO at less-than-retail or managed to catch it on a rare sale like Macy’s recent VIP sale.
Generic Price, Perhaps Prestige Quality?
In my internet wanderings, though, I’ve come across TWO Clinique Dramatically Different dupes or generics. Until now, I’ve never seen Clinique Dramatically Different dupes, or any other Clinique dupes for that matter. They are both generics of the lotion version of Dramatically Different.
One, from Sally Beauty’s GVP (Generic Value Products) line:
GVP Distinctively Unique Moisturizing Lotion
With a Sally’s card, it’s $9.69 and they frequently offer B1G1 50% off on the GVP line. It only has one review, which is glowing, but still. For less than half the cost of the, “real deal,” I’d probably venture the money and give it a shot if I were in the market.
Two, from Wal-Mart’s Equate line:
Equate Strikingly Unique Moisturizing Lotion
Using Gimme Brow (Or Why I’m an Idiot)
Benefit Gimme Brow, $24
My brows hadn’t been touched in months; literally nary a pluck. I’ve been attempting to grow them in so that eventually a semblance of shape could be cultivated from them. Fortunately, I had a voucher for a free brow wax at the Benefit Brow Bar and redeemed it this weekend. In minutes, my brows were whipped into glorious shape. Sweet success!
After mapping, waxing, plucking strays, and cleaning up, my Arch Expert deftly swiped Gimme Brow, my current go-to brow product, through my brows.
Boy, am I an idiot.
Worth it? Color Switch by Vera Mona
I picked up the Color Switch by Vera Mona during the most recent BI sale. I find myself using the same few brushes again and again, even in the same look. Wiping brushes off on a tissue doesn’t do much, and although I love Cinema Secrets, I don’t want to use it in my brushes every day I wear makeup.
Okay, but what is it?
The $18 Color Switch is a tin filled with a disc-shaped, rough mesh sponge not unlike the material used in a bun ring . As bristles are drawn across the surface, product is jostled away and falls down into the cells of the sponge.
There is a slightly smaller $14 one as well.