Category Archives: cosmetics

Marissa’s Pick of the Week – Lip Stain!

On my venture to buy makeup for my Drug Store Beauty Queen Tutorial, I found a precious gem. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain in Cherry Pop (Target.com, $6.49). I’ve tried department store stains like Benefit’s Bene-Tint ($28), but I like this one better for 2 reasons; convenience and price point. To me it looks just like the product that costs $21 more, except instead of having a messy loose liquid, it’s all contained in a little pen. The coverage is buildable, so you can keep coloring until your lips are as dark as you want it. It stays on all day. I’ve even slept with it on and my lips were still red the next morning. Color Sensational Lipstains are perfect for someone who doesn’t like to reapply lipstick or gloss though out the day and wants a natural looking lip. I like to wear it with a moisturizing lip balm on top. Even Chapstick would work. Love it!
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain Demo:

Marissa’s Pick of the Week – Brighter By Nature

Radiance and clarity are my main concerns for my skin, so naturally I had to try Origin’s new Brighter By Nature High-potency brightening peel with fruit acids ($37.50). These mini-peel pads are loaded with skin brightening, anit-oxidant packed fruity acids from blueberries, Goji berries and grapes. Chamomile, aloe and lavender soothe redness and sensitivity. Test results showed that this treatment can be comparable to a 30% glycolic peel.

While this product claimed to be a “glycolic peel without the redness,” I did see a little red. The box also indicated that a “tingling” sensation is normal, but what I felt was more of a sting. It wasn’t unbearable, just a little uncomfortable. Both of those side effects are well worth the face I woke up to the next morning. My skin was noticeably brighter and acne scars were faded.

I recommend only using the peel pads two nights a week. Don’t use them in the same 24 hours as your regular scrub and mask. You should use a broad-spectrum SPF everyday, but it’s especially important after this treatment. Your face just shed several layers of dead skin, so your skin would be more vulnerable to UV rays.

Remember: Not every cosmetics counter girl knows what they’re doing. The employee turnover rate in cosmetics is high, and most don’t get formally trained until they’ve been there for a few months. It’s not rude to ask how long they’ve been there and if they’ve gone to class yet. This is YOUR skin. Don’t put its care in the hands of an untrained sales person who hasn’t got the proper product knowledge.

Marissa’s Pick of the Week – The Perfect Red!

So, a few days ago I made the mistake of walking by a Sephora. I swear that store pulls me in like a magnet. I left with a list a mile high of everything I wanted, but what stuck out to me the most was Make Up For Ever’s new Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick called “Moulin Rouge.” ($19)
I remember the whole magical experience exactly how it happened. I walked into Sephora and headed straight for the Make Up For Ever counter (naturally). I was excited to see that they finally came out with some new stuff. As my eyes wandered up to the new lipsticks, the perfectly shaded red was the first I snatched. I swiped it on the back of my hand, then gushed over that little stick of color as if I just gave birth to it. Not too orange. Not too pink. Just red.
I know everyone has a different perfect red, but I am positive “Moulin Rouge” will be red red red on most of you who try it. So if you “can-can-can,” stop by a Sephora store to try it or buy it.

Beauty Junkies CAN Travel Light!


9 Free Samples with any $25 purchase! Online Only.

Leave those train cases at home! With a few of tips, we Beauty Junkies won’t have to sacrifice any part of our makeup regimen when we travel. I remember the days when airlines allowed each person 3 pieces of luggage and 2 carry-ons. Now, we’re restricted to 1 suitcase under 50 lbs. Anything over 50 lbs. costs extra. With all our skin care and makeup that won’t even fit on our vanities, how do we choose what to bring? I hope this short video will help. Happy Travels!


20% Off your entire purchase at ULTA Beauty

Marissa’s Pick of the Week- Moisturize Your Stress Away

YES! YES! AND YES!!! Clinique’s Superdefense Triple Action Moisturizer had everything i wanted in a day cream. Then they went and changed it on me…for the better! The original formula launched back in 2005 when I was a proud lab coat wearing skin care geek. Since then, I haven’t tried a moisturizer (almost a dozen) that I liked better. I loved it it because I was a fresh faced 20-year-old concerned with preventing skin damage and signs of aging such as fine lines, age spots and loss of radiance. The original formula was a skin care technology break through, offering broad spectrum protection and pollution filters in 3 formulas for different skin types.
Jammed packed with potent antioxidants, Superdefense shielded you from UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays with an SPF of 25 (the highest SPF I had seen in a basic daily moisturizer at the time), and had IPF (Immune Protection Factor) technology.
At the time, most moisturizers with SPF only protected you from UVB rays, leaving your skin vulnerable to the harsh effects of UVA damage. Remember that UVA are the sun rays that age your skin. It attacks the layers of your epidermis that can attribute to age spots, wrinkles, and The Big “C.” Yes cancer. The Langerhans cell, which identifies skin cancer cells, is a big fat target without UVA protection. Can’t get much better than that! But wait…
The new formula IS better than that! This amazing face armor, now called Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer ($42.50) does all of the above PLUS battles emotional stress damage and repairs signs of aging. How? I don’t know. That’s the stuff only Clinique people know, but it’s pretty awesome!