The Product of the Month is a new feature here on Bit By The Beauty Bug. Look for new knock-out products to be highlighted at the beginning of every month.

First The Beauty Bug tried Physician’s Forumla Eye Definer Felt Tip Marker. It was streaky, had a weak tip and the color got lighter with time. Read Her full review here.  She next tried L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Mistake-Proof Marker Eyeliner. Better, but She didn’t love the wider tip. She keeps it around for emergencies.  Next, The Beauty Bug tried MAC’s Penultimate Eyeliner. She thought Her search was over, but the color faded after several uses and what was once a bold black turned into a sheer black.

Then The Beauty Bug tried LORAC’s new Front of the Line Pro. And all She has to say is…Lauren Conrad. Eat.Your.Heart.Out. With this new gem of a product, The Beauty Bug has the best lined eyes on the east coast! This new miracle pen outlasts, out-performs, and is overall outstanding, which is why it earned itself the title of The Beauty Bug’s first ever “Product of the Month.”  The sleek, airtight gun metal pen effortlessly releases a bold, true, rich black to create clean, precise lines.  The Beauty Bug loves the smooth formula; She can line Her lid in one continuous stroke and control the thickness/thinness of the line like She has never been able to before. It’s no-smudge, no-budge, no hassle – just glide it on once for a strong, solid line.

This slick little number is like your favorite little black dress – it must always be within reach.

LORAC’S Front of the Line Pro is available at Sephora.com for $22.

The Facts: Emits 7,000 Ôscillations per minute. Was created by a team led by Jean-Louis Guéret, the designer of all Lancôme mascara brushes who is the father of nearly 400 mascaras. Prior to the national launch, the waiting list reached a whopping 21,000 names.

The Application: Practice your thumb exercises ladies, because Ôscillation requires you to hold down a button to activate the vibrations. While it may be a bit uncomfortable and foreign, it definitely shouldn’t be a deterrent.

Patience is KEY. Watch The Beauty Bug’s instructional application video here. In short, apply in slow, straight, steady strokes. Resist the urge to zig-zag or wiggle. No need to coat the tops of lashes – in fact, the people at Lancome recommend that you don’t. Don’t over pump the wand – there’s plenty of product on there for multiple coats. Apply to lower lashes by holding the wand vertically. When done, take an extra second and go back and re-apply to the tips alone for added length. Another tip – put the wand right at the base of the lashes, activate the vibrating action and hold in place for a few seconds. Then, slowly sweep to the tips of the lashes.

The Vibrations: Controlled, and a bit more exaggerated, palpable and visible.

The Bristles: Rubber

Price: $34

Flaking: No

Clumping: No

Formula compared to Turboash: A bit slicker, shinier , smoother and just a lick thicker and heavier. Separates and lengthens well, similar to Definicils.

The Verdict: Delivers amazing results to those who are patient and take the time to practice. For beginners, break it out on special occasions when you have a lot of getting ready time to spare and then work it into your daily routine when you perfect the gesture.

Estee Lauder’s TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara

The Facts: In July, became the world’s first vibrating mascara. Delivers micropulsing effect that allows brush to penetrate deep in the lash bed. Features a rapid release gel formula.

The Application: One twist of the cap, and the vibrations are activated. No buttons or multi-tasking required. With this mascara, The Beauty Bug DOES apply one coat to the top of Her lashes, and then multiple coats to the underside. Just like Ôscillation, apply with slow even strokes. Watch Estee’s application video here.

The Vibrations: A bit more subtle and less exaggerated than the Ôscillation. What seems like vibrations are micro-pulses in the bristles that allow the brush to penetrate deeper into the lash bed. The first time The Beauty Bug used this mascara, She noted that it felt like the wand was vibrating, not the wand.

The Bristles: Micro-pulse

Price: $32

Flaking: No

Clumping: No

Formula Compared to Ôscillation: A bit lighter and fluffier. Lengthens, defines, separates well and adds volume.

The Verdict: May be a slightly better choice for an everyday mascara. There’s really no transition or learning curve – just slow even strokes starting as close to the lash bed as possible.

The Beauty Bug’s mascara arrived on Saturday, and sat in its box until this afternoon. She already admitted that She was a little intimidated by it – putting motorized objects by ones eyes just isn’t normal. But Lancome is making it easy… and normal. Today She had the chance to talk one-on-one with Erin and Elizabeth from the Lancome team – watch the demo and you’ll see, there’s really no need to worry about poking or splattering or clumps at all.

Watch the video and remember:

• No more applying your mascara with a zig-zag motion – just let the brush do all the work!
• Start at the base and apply root to tip, slowly!
• It’s a buildable mascara, so apply that extra coat!
• While applying, make sure you hold the button down. You control the vibrations.
• Again, applying it slowly and evenly is the key.
• Don’t be scared – you’re no more likely to poke yourself in the eye with this mascara than you are with others.

Lancome Ôscillation Mascara Demo from The Beauty Bug on Vimeo.

A special thanks to The Daily Obsession and The Beauty Bug Fiance for their help with editing and uploading this!

Givenchy’s Phenomen’ Eyes Mascara – Even though it’s not polite to stare, in some cases you just have to. This new Sephora exclusive is one of those cases. Looking a bit like a mascara inspired by Pinhead from Hellraiser, it’s giving mascara a new face and starting from scratch. Those little spike/Koosh ball type things are designed to grip lashes at the root. The Beauty Bug hasn’t had the opportunity to try this mascara out yet, but Cavewoman from Blogdorf Goodman has. The entire review is a must read – she says “In less than one minute I saw every lash on my eye beautifully and evenly coated with mascara, bottom lashes too, invisible lashes I did not know I had, all coated and glossy and thickened and lengthened and even curled!”

Givenchy’s Phenomen’ Eyes Mascara is available exclusively at Sephora for $27.

Estee Lauder’s TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara – This brand-spanking new “performance mascara” is now available Saks Fith Avenue as of today. It talks a big game too, promising a “lash revolution.” The advantage of the micropulsing wand? It claims to combs through lashes quickly and more effecitvely. Housed in a flashy blue and gold striped tube, the vibrating LashSonic brush is automatically activated when the cap is unscrewed, releasing the gel formula. The Beauty Bug will have Her hands on one of these very soon. The anticipation is killing Her!

TurboLash is available now at Saks Fifth Avenue Estee Lauder counter and online for $30.

Ôscillation by Lancome – One day only! Get it while you can! Limited Edition! While supplies last! Be the first! Yes ladies, Lancome is pulling out all the one-liners to call attention to their new vibrating mascara that offers 7,000 micro-oscillations per minute. Do the math and that’s 116.67 micro-oscillations per second. Ridic. Famed Beauty Editor Jean Godfrey-June predicts that women everywhere will be throwing away their lash curlers after they try this, and Andrea, beauty colunmist from Glamour agrees. That’s a pretty bold statement.

If you want this, you really do have to act fast. This new power mascara will only be available on Lancome.com, Sephora.com, and at several Lancome counters. To see if your city is ones, click here. Once again, Boston gets no love. If your city isn’t one of the lucky ones, get those mice clicking at 9AM sharp – it’s ok if you’re a little late to work.

Ôscillation by Lancome retails for $34.

So, are you buying into the vibration frenzy, or have you mastered your own battery-free application technique?

On another note, who wants to bet that The Beauty Bug pokes Herself in the eye one of the first times She uses it?

More about the collection and the palettes in the coming weeks!

]]> http://www.bitbythebeautybug.com/2008/06/19/honoring-shu-uemurawith-lashes/feed/ 6 http://www.bitbythebeautybug.com/2008/06/11/755s/ http://www.bitbythebeautybug.com/2008/06/11/755s/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:27:24 +0000 The Beauty Bug http://www.bitbythebeautybug.com/?p=755 This morning The Beauty Bug started Her day off with a breakfast sponsored by Philosophy. In the coming days She’ll tell more about what She learned, how the brand secured its place on the map, and about some new products to look out for in the coming months. But for now, She must gush about one of their newest launches, Purity High-Foaming Daily Cleanser. She clapped and cheered in room full of fellow editors when She found out She’d be going home with a bottle because She was curious to see if Philosophy could top themselves. Why mess with a good thing? In this industry, the original Purity is SO iconic; was there room on this pedestal for another cleanser? The Beauty Bug is happy to report that the answer is yes!

The gentle sulfate-free formula lathers into a rich, thick foam that dissolves makeup, dirt and oil. The Beauty Bug was particularly excited about this foaming action because so many foaming cleaners that She’s tried have been light, watery and separated easily.

Purity High-Foaming Cleaner shares the same recognizable, fresh scent as the original, and leaves skin soft hydrated, and most of all, refreshed. Think of it as Purity’s lighter, frothier cousin….

Even if you’re just an occasional foamer, this is a must-have for your cleanser repertoire.

foaming purity made simple is $21.50 (6 oz.) and $34.50 (12 oz.); both are available on philosophy.com, at sephora stores, sephora.com, nordstrom stores, other specialty stores.

A young brunette that was in her mid-late 20′s boarded the T with The Beauty Bug and immediately began applying her makeup. This has always fascinated The Beauty Bug because in Her wildest dreams, She could never imagine applying makeup on a moving train car without Her entire stash at her disposal, a full mirror, and proper lighting.

After the brunette started her routine, and elderly woman, probably 85 or 90, took the seat next to her after paying her fare in nickels and dimes. The elder hadn’t even been sitting for 25 seconds before she said to the young girl, “You better be careful there, you’ll poke your eye out!” The girl just nodded and smiled politely.

The Beauty Bug had to watch the comedy that was unfolding before Her eyes. She tried not to stare, but it was almost impossible. The elderly woman continued to instruct the brunette about makeup, and the brunette continued to apply her Neutrogena powder, her eyeshadow, her L’oreal Voluminous Mascara, her Maybelline Clear Mascara on her brows, and her lip gloss. In fact, it took her over 4 T stops to apply her mascara. She meant business with her mascara. During the mascara application process, the elderly woman grunted that that “goop” was terrible for her, and again warned her of the dangers of eye makeup.

At this point, The Beauty Bug pulled out Her cellphone to capture the pair and sneakily took photos.

Never at dull moment on the T.

More BeautT tales to come!

Jane Iredale’s Dream Tint SPF 15 – This product wins the lofty title of The Beauty Bug’s Product of the Month! She’s been waiting so long to gush about this new tinted moisturizer/base, and it’s finally hit the shelves. The Beauty Bug especially loves the texture of it – it’s not wet or runny like others She’s tried. It boasts a unique lightweight mousse consistency feel weightless on the skin. Other product benefits include UVA/UVB SPF 15 protection, sea lipids to help to improve skin’s elasticity and prevent water loss and boron nitride to minimize the appearance of fine lines and enlarged pores. Even The Beauty Bug’s co-workers agree – they love the sheer coverage, smooth finish. Dream Tint is available in 5 shades ranging from light to dark and is $36.

theBalm Two Timer Mascara - The Beauty Bug has just welcomed two new men into Her life – Marcus Lashalot, and Johnny Finetune. The brush duo is quite a pair. Marcus is twisted, and provides Her with volume without any smudges or flakes, while Johnny is meticulous and can always be counted on to define and lengthen. At times they bicker, but in the end, they work well together. Two mascaras in one for $19.

Bobbi Brown’s Bronzed Pink Collection – This sun-kissed collection gives you that “I just spent a day at the beach look”. It includes two limited-edition metallic eye shadows (Bronze Pink and Penny), three new shades of her award winning tinted lip-balm (Golden Pink, Desert Bronze, Bronzed Pink) and Bobbi’s new Oil Control Lotion SPF 15 with seaweed and lavender. The Beauty Bug loves the tinted-lip balms – they are slowly becoming Her go-to summer lip product.

Yes to Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter - Available in berry, carrot, citrus, melon and mint – these are the first 95% USDA Certified Organic Lip Balm to hit drugstores. Find these Paraben-free, petroleum & phthalate-free balms at Walgreens for $3.69.

June Jacobs Cooling and Soothing Masque – The Beauty Bug could smell the delicious mix of tropical ingredients in this masque before She even took it out of the box. What she was smelling was the pineapple, mango, papaya and coconut extracts. The an ultra-gentle, paraben and preservative free gel formula helped to refresh and moisturize Her skin, while softening and revitalizing. The Beauty Bug will definitely reach for this masque on those sweltering 90 degree days in the middle of the summer while She sips a mojito.

This morning was a typical morning in The Beauty Bug household, that is until The Beauty Bug went to kiss The Beauty Bug Fiance goodbye before She left for work. She hadn’t followed her typical routine; usually She purposely kisses Him goodbye before She puts on the lip product of Her choosing, but today was different. As She got closer to Him, He shied away a bit because He knows kisses are pretty much off-limits when She has gloss on, but The Beauty Bug surprised him. What was the reason for this you ask? Stila’s latest must-have, Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain.

The Beauty Bug prefers to use this strictly on Her lips for the simple reason of when it dries, it dries and stays put – She prefers something a bit blendable for Her cheeks. That being said, the stain on lips is marv! It contains cherry and pomegranate extracts, and Vitamins A, C & E to keep lips healthy, protected and cherrylicious.

To get your perfect shade of cherry red, apply a small amount, let it dry for a few seconds, and then blot soon after if necessary. If you’re happy with the color, you’re good to go for quite sometime…The Beauty Bug applied at about 8:45AM and it was still giving Her that bitten look by the time lunchtime hit. If you want a more intense red, click that red pen until your heart and lips are content…and red!

File this under products that go the distance…

Stila’s Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain is available at Sephora and Sephora.com for $24.