Jennie's Best of Beauty - Nov '08

I am a cosmetics junkie. But I am a frugal, and smart cosmetics collector, and I review all purchases before bringing them home. This is especially important since I buy a lot of products at the drugstore rather than at a department store, so I buy a lot of products without testing them.
Drugstore? Heck you say!? One of the biggest beauty myths is that department store brands are superior to drugstore brands. In fact, many department store brands are owned by companies who also own drugstore brands, and guess what? The ingredients are often identical, but with flashier packaging and a price tag that will set you back that new pair of shoes you have been eyeing. Having said that, there are some fabulous beauty finds on the high price end, and some real crappy ones at the drugstore that aren't worth a dime. Here's a breakdown of my current favorites.

Best Foundation
Cover Girl Trublend. LOVE LOVE LOVE this product. It is easy to blend, has several natural colors, and has a light to medium coverage. Best of all, it comes it at about $10. Be careful chosing shades. A couple of them are orangy. No one has naturally orange skin. I use #2, Creamy Natural.

Best Concealer
Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Concealer. Very good wand-type concealer. I love it around my eyes, and it doesn't slip into the creases to highlight creases. It stays put. Again, it cost less than $10.

Best Eyeshadow
Great eyeshadow is hard to find. The older we get, the more we need to avoid shimmer and sparkle. Nothing says "Look at my lines and creases!" like shimmer settling into wrinkles. Having said that, I do like a tiny bit of shimmer on occasion, but I use it on the brow bone in a the form of a light eyeshadow color as a highlight. It makes the brow bone pop, and visually increases the distance between your brows and your eyes, which makes you look more rested and younger. Yay! You want something silky with enough pigment to allow you to layer on color.

My favs are:

• M.A.C. Eyeshadows. I love em. They are like velvet. At $16 per single, they aren't cheap, so make sure you have someone at the M.A.C. counter help you pick out some good neutrals. On the plus side, these last forever, and hardly crease, even after a 12 hr day.
• Quo Eyeshadow. Superb eyeshadow. The texture is heavenly and the price is right. $19 for a quad (4 coordinating colors).
  

Best Cream shadow/liner
Using creamy eye color is new for me. I have always steered clear due to fear of creasing. I am not a convert. Creamy eye colors and liners and perfect to using under powder eyeshadow, to help intensify color and set it. Since I use powder as eyeliner, I find this to be an invaluable tool.

My favs:

• M.A.C. Paints - I use a color called "Stilife". It is a golden beige with a slight shimmer. I apply it with my finger from lash line to brow bone. It serves as an excellent base for the rest of my shadow, and it adds a slight shimmer to the brow bone area. It costs about $18 but one small tubes lasts me a year.
  
• Paula's Choice Gel Liner. This product ROCKS! It is the best eye liner ever. It doesn't budge. Unfortunately, it is mail order only.
  
• Smashbox Cream Liner. I find this to be a little too greasy to be a good liner. It fades and slides after a while. However, it is a great base for powder eyeshadow on the upper lid when doing smokey eyes, as seen here: http://www.smashbox.com/classic_smoky_eye. Smashbox is available at Shoppers Drug Mart but is on par with M.A.C. prices. This product costs about $20. The color LAVA is awesome for smokey eyes.
  

Best Brow Pencil
My brows are kinda sparse, so I need to fill them in. I like a pencil because I find powders messy. I am currently using Maybelline's Define-A-Brow in blonde, and I love it. It is cheap! About $7.

Best Mascara
There are a lot of great mascaras out there, and the new ones with the rubber cone shaped bristles are quite good. I find that Cover Girl is doing a great job with these, and you can't go wrong with Lash Exact and Lash Blast. Last Blast does have a bigger brush so it takes some getting used to. Both are under $10.

Best Lip Gloss
For my money, nothing beats M.A.C. in this catagory. Lipglass is fabulous, but sticky. I put up with the stickiness because it means the color stays on for hours on end. It costs about $16. the Viva Glam release every year is always a great option for many skin tones. It is usually on the nude end with some pink or gold highlights.
On the low end, Rimmel Vinyl is also a very good, non-sticky lip gloss, and is under $10.

Best Longwear Lipstick
I find these tough for everyday use, as they are drying, but they are great for evenings out. They are usually double sided. One side has a liquid color with a brush or sponge wand applicator. The other side contains a high moisture topcoat that must be reapplied at least hourly, lest you want your lips to resemble a raisin.
I currently using Maybelline Superstay, and find it long lasting and less drying than some alternatives.

Best Cleanser
Cleansers wash down the drain. They don't leave behind special vitamins and age fighting chemicals. Their main purpose is to remove makeup and dirt. This means you don't need to break the bank. My favorite is an old standby, Cetaphil. It does a decent job of removing even heavy eye makeup, and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight and dry. Best of all, at about $16 for a big bottle, you will have money left over for those shoes. Lately, I have been buying the grocery store brand version for $10 and the ingredients are identical.

Best Moisturizer for Day
By far, my favorite is Oil of Olay Regenerist with SPF 15. It doesn't leave my skin greasy. It is a great base for my foundation. And it has sunscreen. Win win win. It is also under $20.

Best Moisturizer for Nighttime
At night, you can go with a heavier moisturizer, and one that has a nice AHA or BHA for exfoliation. I swear by Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion with AHA. Again, for under $20 you get a kick-ass moisturizer with ingredients often reserved for high end products. The amount of alpha-hydroxy acids in this lotion help keep skin clear from breakouts, but is gentle enough to use daily.

Best Eyecream
Why bother? The skin around your eyes may be more delicate, but it has the same requirements as the skin on the rest of your face. Some people feel better for using eye creams, and there are some good products out there, but you don't need to spend 10x the price of a good all over facial moisturizer. Again, save your makeup $$ for some nice M.A.C. eyeshadows, and some killer brushes....

...speaking of brushes

Best Brushes
M.A.C. on the high end
Quo on the low end (very very very good!)
Body Shop for man-made bristles for those who don't want natural hairs.