Beauty Product Reviews

A Cut Above

I love, love this product. The color, Taupe, is perfect for me. It's lighter than my hair color so doesn't look harsh, but dark enough to define my brows, and has no hint of red. The unique, self-described "calligraphy" tip makes for fast, easy, and varied application. Depending upon how you hold it, you can apply fine lines or broad swathes of color, and it covers any grays you might have. The sharpener screws out of the spoolie/brush end, and acts like a plane to sharpen the tip. I've used it everyday since I bought it and will repurchase when I run out.

Long lasting, water-resistant, perfect finish!

The last impossibly humid weeks of September 2011 gave me a new appreciation for what a workhorse this tinted moisturizer is! It’s oil-free, SPF 20 fragrance-free, buildable, and water-resistant. It never budged, lasting at least 15 hours with no fading. Unfortunately they don't have a wide range of colors, but their darkest, Dark Bronze worked for me (I'm NC45). The moisturizer is a little heavier than the Bobbi Brown and the now defunct Prada tinted moisturizers I've tried, and hides flaws and slight discoloration better. The finish is perfect: not too dry, not too moist, and it really illuminates.

Very black, doesn't run or clump.

Can I say it's L'Oreal Voluminous on steroids? It volumizes as promises, and it's subtly blacker than its cousin YSL Faux Cils. It doesn't crumble at the end of the day like Voluminous, and though it isn't advertised as waterproof, it doesn't run as easily as some (Eyes to Kill, I'm thinking of you!) You do have to be careful to close the tube tightly, as it does have a tendency to dry out quickly. Since it's expensive, I like to buy it during Nordstrom's one-day Mascara Madness event in which you buy two tubes and get one free. I go in with a friend if I can, or I buy when Nordies offers double points.

Great product!

I immediately loved the glow this product gave my face and have used it almost every day since I won it in a Neiman Marcus drawing. At the time of my review, it had not lived up to its claims to lessen dark circles, smooth fine lines, blur blemishes and tighten pores within a week of once-daily use. It took longer than a week, but my skin looks much better now, most noticeably my skin tone has evened out, and fine lines smoothed out. It's expensive at $125 for 1 oz., but a little goes a long way: 1oz. lasted six months.

Excellent foundation with great staying power!

After my experience with Chanel Perfection Lumiere (PL), in which I learned that my complexion can fall between shades, I decided to test a couple of samples of Burberry Sheer Luminous Fluid Foundation, (1 oz., $52) before buying. Because the weather is much cooler than when I tested PL, and because this formula is supposed to hydrate, I prepped my skin with a light-weight moisturizer with SPF, but no primer, before applying Trench No.9, then Trench No.8, the two darkest colors. I wore each for two days.

I applied the foundation with a kabuki brush, switching to a foundation brush for under eye application. It has a moderately strong, but pleasant scent that dissipates quickly. Though it is sheer, the foundation is buildable, and nicely covered slightly dark areas, including under my eyes, in lieu of a concealer. It dried down quickly into a natural skin-like finish neither dewy, nor matte. It lasted the eight hours that I wore it, without any signs of fading.

Trench No. 9, the darkest shade, seemed to be the best color match when applied to my jaw, so I tested it first. For reference, I match MAC NC45, Chanel PL Beige Amber 44 and Beige 60, and Le Métier Flawless Finish Foundation #10. It darkened a half-shade after drying down (if that's possible) than my neck, but was the same shade as my hands. I only needed light blotting in the T zone by noon, which, for me, is par for the course. Thumbs up!

Trench No.8 was a tad too light on application, but darkened to my natural shade and blended nicely from the jaw line into my neck. Perfect!