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What better way to wrap up the past year than with our all-knowing, woman-with-her-nose-to-the-ground regarding all things beauty, home and loveliness? Our Cost Cutting Cutie will be here every day this week as we ring in 2011. Check for her insightful tips, particularly now that you’ve bought a little something special for everyone, isn’t it time for Y-O-U?

Brand: Maybelline
Product: Instant Age Rewind Foundation

I just turned thirty-five, and according to every skin care and cosmetics company out there I must not only start a ridiculous twelve-step skin care regime, I must also start investing in makeup for “mature skin”. All signs of age must be reversed, defied, rewound, erased, etc. etc. Who wants to age gracefully when you can wage outright war on your aging skin.

On impulse last week, I picked up a bottle of Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind foundation. Maybelline claims it’s Goji berry and caffeine improves skin’s condition and evens skin tone. I’m not sure that it made my skin any firmer, but it did even out my skin tone. It covered well, and lasted throughout the day. It glided over my pores and made them less visible. It did
not irritate my dry sensitive skin, nor did it emphasize the dry patches near my nose. The finish was not quite dewy and not quite matte, and it did not feel at all like a mask.

My main gripe is simply that the color I selected, Classic Ivory was a tad too dark. I think I could achieve the perfect shade by mixing that shade with the next lightest shade, but at almost $9 for a 1 ounce a bottle, I’m just not going to do that.

BTW, What Not to Wear tells me I need to stop wearing mini-skirts. I’m not
going to do that either.

Cut Costs Cuties!
Gemma

Brand: L’Oreal
Product: Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

So, here’s the deal. This is an excellent primer. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. It fills the lines. It creates a smooth canvas. It adds luminosity without being greasy. It is probably the best primer that I’ve used (high-end or low-end). But, and this is a BIG but…… it costs about $11 dollars for .5 ounces. Yikes! Sure, the high-end stuff costs considerably more, but I just can’t believe that L’Oreal can justify the price for this product. That being said, I will re-purchase until a less expensive, equally effective option presents itself.

Cut Costs Cuties!
Gemma

Brand: Olay
Product: Definity Color Recapture

I love the idea of paring down my makeup routine in the summer. Moisturizer, sunscreen, foundation; it all seems a bit much at any time of the year. In the heat and humidity of the summer, such a routine seems unbearable. A tinted moisturizer with SPF seemed like it would be the answer to my prayers.

For years I have coveted Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer. Reviews for the product are extremely favorable. Users rave that it is lightweight, provides excellent coverage, and moisturizes very well. It’s SPF formula protects skin from the harmful summer rays. It is the perfect product, except for the $42 price tag.

Olay seemed to have the answer for my woes in their Definity Color Recapture line. Here was a moisturizer with a touch of foundation wrapped in SPF 15 goodness. Sadly, it was not to be. The color selection was poor. The lightest shade is way to dark for anyone with very fair skin. My own skin is middling fair, and the moisturizer turned up a strange shade of orange on me. DCR is moisturizing, and the sunscreen surely works, but it is not at all weightless. The product seems to sink into the pores. I happened to glance in the mirror about an hour after application and was taken aback by what I can only describe as the “beading” of the product on my face. Not attractive. Not even a little. At $25 a bottle, Definity Color Recapture is certainly less expensive than Laura Mercier’s offering. However, at $25 a bottle, DCR is not at all cheap. I expected quite a bit more. I’ve noticed Olay price points are escalating, while the quality of their products are declining. This disappoints me as I’ve always respected Olay for creating quality skin care for babes on a budget. Olay may be a household name, but if the company believes that their name alone is enough to sell their product, they are mistaken. I seem to remember an ill-fated cosmetics line that once bore the Olay name.

Cut Costs Cuties!
Gemma

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