Monthly Archives from March 2006

January 25, 2015

Top 3 Hardcore Winter Lip Balms, When Nothing Else Works - Good All Year Round {Beauty Reviews - Lips}

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We love you, lip balms, you here, you three!

Top 3 Hardcore Winter Lip Balms, When Nothing Else Works - Good All Year Round

by Chantal-Hélène Wagner

You know when you reach that point of near-desperation in the midst of winter when your lips are getting dehydrated fast and *NOTHING* seems to work? If you try something ordinary, it seems that the problem only gets worse because you start licking the area - as it's not an efficient product - and irritating it with too many applications? That's the moment when you have to push further and find a real hardcore solution, even if it doesn't look the prettiest product to carry in your purse...

Continue reading "Top 3 Hardcore Winter Lip Balms, When Nothing Else Works - Good All Year Round {Beauty Reviews - Lips}" »

August 4, 2014

Bioderma Hydrabio Brume - Mist for Dehydrated Sensitive Skin {Beauty Review}

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My Best French Pharmacy Find as Far as H20 Spray Mists Go

Bioderma introduced this new mist Hydra Bio Brume - Soothing, Refreshing Water / Eau Apaisante, Rafraîchissante towards the end of 2013. It's fairly new and I've been wanting to call attention to it for a while...

Continue reading "Bioderma Hydrabio Brume - Mist for Dehydrated Sensitive Skin {Beauty Review}" »

October 23, 2013

French Pharmacy Beauty Find: Caudalie Lip Conditioner with Grape Seed Oil {Beauty Review - Lips}

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Simply put, this Lip Conditioner - Soin des Lèvres by French beauty brand Caudalie, deserves the title of hero product. It is one of the best lip balms available on the international market. It does not just grease your lips but conditions them subtly. It also has a slight anti-oxydant effect as you experience it soon enough as your mouth appears perkier around your cupid's bow...

Continue reading "French Pharmacy Beauty Find: Caudalie Lip Conditioner with Grape Seed Oil {Beauty Review - Lips}" »

June 19, 2013

Senteurs du Sud Beurre d'Argan / Argan Butter (2013): An Excellent, Natural Brow Tamer {Beauty Review + Brows + Skin}

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Photo© MimiFroufrou.com - Beauty & The Salamander

This post is dedicated to girls with lovely big brows, those brows that need extra taming. Cara Delevingne, Kate Middleton Duchess of Cambridge, here is a product that will help you smooth down and keep in place your thickly endowed brows. The product is called Beurre d'Argan - Argan Butter by Senteurs du Sud. I picked it up initilally because I was looking for an organic, all-natural version of Josie Maran Argan Butter, which is great, but well, not all-natural...

Continue reading "Senteurs du Sud Beurre d'Argan / Argan Butter (2013): An Excellent, Natural Brow Tamer {Beauty Review + Brows + Skin}" »

June 4, 2011

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush Scent {Beauty Review - Hair} {Perfumed Beauty}

batiste_dry_shampoo_blush.jpgAs summer is approaching, as well as beach and swimming times, and travel times, it's the high season to consider using dry shampoo. I had not kept the best of memories of my early attempts in that area. But let's say it was probably prehistoric time in terms of dry shampoo (I'm not a fan a priori of the concept.) Spying a small pink canister of British brand Batiste Dry Shampoo Blush, I decided to give it a go because the packaging looked hip in a vintage way and the shampoo smelled good in the Blush scent, a tropical white floral meant to help you escape to Hawaï or some such place...

Continue reading "Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush Scent {Beauty Review - Hair} {Perfumed Beauty}" »

June 3, 2010

Uriage Bariéderm Cream is Like Caviar on the Lips & Elsewhere Too {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Lips}


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anapurna.jpgBariéderm by Uriage (US$24,95) is by a French skincare brand typically sold in France in what are called "parapharmacies" which look like pharmacies but are really beauty product stores with a health-conscious slant. They usually sell brands which look clean and clinical with a minimum of fuss over their packaging. They also sell dietary supplements, health books, fresh, toiletry-oriented perfumes and lately have started to carry more and more organic and natural products to keep up with the demand from the public. The sales assistants welcome you wearing clinical outfits reminding you of the medical, pharmacological mystique which Helena Rubinstein famously exploited to sell her beauty creams.

Uriage is named, like many other such parapharmacie brands, after the name of a thermal station and source of water which contributes its unique mineral and oligo-element properties to the products, like say, La Roche-Posay, Evian etc...

Continue reading "Uriage Bariéderm Cream is Like Caviar on the Lips & Elsewhere Too {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Lips}" »

June 2, 2010

Olay Definity Self Repair Serum: It Works Folks {Beauty Product Review - Skin}


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As I was fiddling around in my stashes of beauty products looking for a lighter cream or lotion to help me transition from colder to warmer weather, I happened on this little number, Olay Definity Self Repair Serum, which I had picked up during a previous drugstore run and never used it. I decided to give it a go. My main concern here was to find a moisturizer that would be light enough to use with sunscreen on top without it all becoming a stifling barrier for the skin. 

After a week or so later of (interrupted) use, I had to notice not only the immediate effects but the medium-term ones, and they were good...

Continue reading "Olay Definity Self Repair Serum: It Works Folks {Beauty Product Review - Skin}" »

March 26, 2010

The Lisptick that Won't Quit: L'Oréal Infaillible / Never Fail Lipcolour Compact in Target Red (2008) {Beauty Review}


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Infallible / Never Fail by L'Oréal is the signature Target Red which first came out in 2007 inspired by the red bull's eye logo that greets customers looking for a bargain with a dash of hip at Target stores. In August 2008, they added the Lip Colour Compact.

For these two reasons, one dealing with the culture of (red) color and the other with a vanity implement, I had to review the Target Red Lip Compact. Except that in reality, I just noticed the frank red and then when I opened the package - not even then -, when I read a press release, I discovered there is supposed to be a built-in mirror,

"Featuring a patented, transfer-proof formula that offers uncompromised comfort and beautiful, luminous color hour after hour. With a richly pigmented basecoat with superior elasticity and an ultra-glossy topcoat with moisturizing Marine Collagen and Vitamin E, Infallible redefines longwear lip color. Packaged in a revolutionary lip color compact with a built-in mirror and precision applicator, color goes on - and stays on - beautifully." (cf. pressroom.target.com)...

Continue reading "The Lisptick that Won't Quit: L'Oréal Infaillible / Never Fail Lipcolour Compact in Target Red (2008) {Beauty Review}" »

December 1, 2009

Limited Edition Crazy Horse Lipstick for Sephora (2009): The Red Lipstick Series


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I am going to explore with you a library of red lipsticks in the coming weeks. I already have a bunch I have been wanting to feature, am looking for some collectibles and all the while keeping an eye on new launches.

Like perfumes, lipsticks, and red lipsticks even more so than others, have stories. The pigment red is a highly desirable color for its richness and vitality -- it is the color of blood, amorous flush, and passion. It is so desirable that despite the fact that red paint for the lips have existed for centuries, they still can be the objects of an endless quest for the right shade. To drive the point further, consider the French who call all lipsticks made in all sorts of colors "rouge à lèvres" or "red for the lips" which in English also gave "lip rouge". Red is really the alpha and omega of lip colors.

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Rouge Crazy Lipstick for Sephora Brand

This November, a new makeup collection appeared on the shelves at Sephora which is inspired by the lifestyle of the girls dancing at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris. I mentioned it earlier here. We know thanks to burlesque artist Dita von Teese that the Crazy Horse gals use MAC Russian Red...
GG6QSVDFWQG8

Continue reading "Limited Edition Crazy Horse Lipstick for Sephora (2009): The Red Lipstick Series " »

August 6, 2009

Guerlain Cashmere Lip Gloss in Rose Pondichery 01 (2009) {Beauty Review}


cashmere-gloss-guerlain.jpgGuerlain says that the Gloss Cashmere Lip Gloss is inspired by traditional lip powder used by Indian women from the subcontinent. It probably sounds more exotic and interesting than to say "No need to powder your lips anymore after applying lipstick to make the color stay on and look matte." This is exactly what it does as an obvious new-generation lip gloss with an almost alien texture it is so high-performance...

Continue reading "Guerlain Cashmere Lip Gloss in Rose Pondichery 01 (2009) {Beauty Review}" »

July 20, 2009

Nuxe Baume Prodigieux Levres Nutri-Protecting Lip Care Gloss Effect - SPF 15 in Charismatic Red {Beauty Review}


Nuxe-Rouge-charismatique.jpgThe Big Rave

Nuxe, a brand most famous for its Huile Prodigieuse, a multi-purpose and multi-award winning dry oil that I confess to having only used in its sparkling gold version as a cheek tint, launched a series of four so-called "Nutri-Protecting Lip Care Gloss Effect" or Baume Prodigieux Lèvres in April 2009. Although you might initially think like I did that this is just makeup and zoom in as I did on their Charismatic Red/ Rouge Charismatique for its great coral red tint compared to that of a poppy by the brand, this product turns out to be much more than that. It has simply become my go-to gloss and lip balm all in one as it holds such visible treatment effects for the lips...

Continue reading "Nuxe Baume Prodigieux Levres Nutri-Protecting Lip Care Gloss Effect - SPF 15 in Charismatic Red {Beauty Review}" »

July 8, 2009

Klorane Fortifying Treatment Shampoo with Quinine and B Vitamins: Fight Recession Hair Loss! {Beauty Review - Hair}

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Klorane offers a very good line of shampoos - they are well-known for their plant research - and over the years I have tried many of their products. One I always go back to whenever I need some strengthening action for my hair is their quinine-based shampoo called Klorane Fortifying Treatment Shampoo with Quinine and B Vitamins. My husband who is a more recent user also gives it two thumbs up.

There are a number of other shampoo brands that use Quinquina or Jesuit's Bark or Cinchona and it would be interesting to compare them, but at this point I can only say that this shampoo is effective and this is the reason why I have remained faithful to it.  Quinine was used as early as during the Inca period. Klorane's quinine is said to be grown in the Amazon region where the extracts are sun-dried for maximum potency....

Continue reading "Klorane Fortifying Treatment Shampoo with Quinine and B Vitamins: Fight Recession Hair Loss! {Beauty Review - Hair}" »

June 28, 2009

Bourjois So Delicate Lip Cream (2009): Cheeks to Lips: # 55 Fuschia Delicat {Beauty Review - Lips}


Bourjois-Rouge-so-delicate_55-fuchsia-delicat.jpgSo Delicate Lip Cream is the latest lipstick concept by Bourjois which just launched this month. Its originality is to propose a delicate new powdery texture for the lips. The traditional look you achieve by applying powder and lipstick and then biting in a Kleenex is recreated efficaciously here and even - important note - improved upon with just a few precise sweeps of the foam brush.

You may be yearning after a matte look but be weary at the same time of the drying effect. Or you may like the sophisticated, slightly retro powdery look but find it not versatile enough and aging and/or hardening. So Delicate is like a sheerer yet saturated, more luminous and truly powdery rather than matte version of this look...

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Continue reading "Bourjois So Delicate Lip Cream (2009): Cheeks to Lips: # 55 Fuschia Delicat {Beauty Review - Lips}" »

June 26, 2009

The Body Shop Tantalizing Lip Butter Yes, Yes, Yes / Oui, Oui, Oui (2009) {New Beauty Product - Lips} {Beauty Review}


Dragon-Fruit-B.jpgThe Body Shop have a new limited-edition extra-rich lip butter called Tantalizing Lip Butter, plus it stands for a good cause: Safe Sex. TBD have partnered with MTV and the Staying Alive Foundation to promote information on HIV and AIDS. Proceeds will go to further that cause. You can check out the dedicated site at http://www.yestosafesex.com Finally, the shea butter is sourced from Africa and respects Community Trade standards...

Continue reading "The Body Shop Tantalizing Lip Butter Yes, Yes, Yes / Oui, Oui, Oui (2009) {New Beauty Product - Lips} {Beauty Review}" »

June 20, 2009

Nivea Natural AKA Pampering Oil: Basic Body Wash for Dry Skins {Beauty Review - Body - Bath}


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Nivea is such a global brand that you really need sometimes to track down their products across countries. You have these Asia or Europe exclusives that might just suit you. Nivea Natural Oil is one such product. Fortunately there are e-tailers that import it to the US....

Continue reading "Nivea Natural AKA Pampering Oil: Basic Body Wash for Dry Skins {Beauty Review - Body - Bath}" »

June 16, 2009

Leonor Greyl Bain TS Shampooing: Oily Scalp, Dry Ends {Beauty Review - Hair - Shampoo}


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Leonor Greyl hair products are pricier than average but on the other hand they do seem to deliver pretty consistently. As I had fond memories of their honey shampoo (Shampoing au Miel), a former staple product of mine and as I was looking at some of their shampoos, I decided to try their Bain TS Shampooing which targets the specific problem of people who get oily hair without really having oily hair, i.e. the curse of oily scalp and dry ends.

The excess sebum might be due to stress, pollution, an over-abrasive shampoo on your scalp which might be counteracted by the use of a soft baby shampoo except that your ends will still remain dry if you shy away from conditioners that might accelerate the greasing process. If you have long hair then the discrepancy between the roots and the ends becomes even more noticeable. Having said all that, I was a bit skeptical about the "engineering" of the solution and was wondering really how intelligent a shampoo can be...

Continue reading "Leonor Greyl Bain TS Shampooing: Oily Scalp, Dry Ends {Beauty Review - Hair - Shampoo}" »

December 3, 2008

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set (1930/2008): Rediscover Your Classics! {Beauty Review - Lips - Skin}

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This year's Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set is absolutely darling to behold as a vanity item. The set immediately caught my eye with all its apricot-y hues and pretty Atomic-Age feel. For Arden, it is "...the first in our "Celebration of the Decades" series."

The cream was originally created in 1930 and reportedly developed by founder Elizabeth Arden to nourish the hoofs of her Kentucky horses to prevent them from cracking.

In the past it was advertised as a highly medicated cream, capable of repairing blemishes and taking care of rashes for all the family, not just women.

According to the ad copy today retelling a founding tale, the cream earned its name due to its remarkable healing properties reported by a loyal client who had used it to treat her child's skinned knee, "...and "eight hours later" the skin was all better."

And 8 hours later, my lip balm was still on, and 18 hours later my skin was still exceptionally soft, are my own twists...

Continue reading "Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set (1930/2008): Rediscover Your Classics! {Beauty Review - Lips - Skin}" »

September 20, 2008

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss {Beauty Product Review - Lips}

Sexy-Mother-Pucker.jpgWhile being on the subject of plumping action in lip glosses, be it visual as with the Ultra-Gloss Reflect series by Dior or attempting to be real, I remembered a really bad gloss I tried from the brand Soap and Glory: Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss.

There was this hell of a cute retro vintage packaging with all the catchy lines printed on it that can turn it into a billboard in any shopping aisle. It makes you think the lip gloss might be as trendy as the outside shell.

The reason I bought it was that it is so easy, too easy, to throw an untested tube of anything at Target into your cart...

Continue reading "Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss {Beauty Product Review - Lips}" »

September 19, 2008

Dior Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Lurex Plum from Dandy Lady {New Beauty Product Review - Lips}


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Lurex Plum 877, a lovely, deep eye-catching plum with antique rose thrown in it and fine multi-colored shimmer, is a new color born from the conjunction of Dior's reformulation of their Dior Addict Lip Gloss line into the Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect one and of the launch of the Dandy Lady fall 2008 collection. The collection is dominated by taupe and plum colors and Lurex Plum stands out for its depth and refined shimmer.

Lurex-Plum.jpgDior has re-introduced shades from the previous line into the new one, but with added glitter with a star-dust effect. (Sephora very usefully lists the old color names next to the new ones whenever appropriate.) Lurex Plum 877 is a new tint that is exhibited in Paris as part of the Dandy Lady collection although Nordstrom does not list it there....

Continue reading "Dior Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Lurex Plum from Dandy Lady {New Beauty Product Review - Lips}" »

Patyka Organic Face Scrub - Gommage Visage Bio: How Organic Is It? {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Face}

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Patyka is a French brand established in 2004, after having taken over the originally Hungarian label meaning "apothecary". It is known for its line of organic perfumes, and in 2006 had decided to diversify and reinforce its beauty offerings with a collection of organic skincare products developed in conjunction with laboratories Cosnessens. In October 2008, Patyka will also start proposing a makeup line answering to organic standards. Continuing to grow, it is set to open its first boutique in the US next month, a 450-foot-square space located in Manhattan's West Village.

Today, I would like to review their Organic Face Scrub. What drew me to this scrub was the name-recognition of a rather confidential perfume brand I know, the petite-sized bottle packaging which is unusual for a face scrub (and very cute) and the mention that it is fragrance-free. I am always on the lookout for perfume-free skincare and body products as I do not need any more sensory overload that I already get from my involvement with fragrances. In a sense, and for this reason, you could see Beauty and the Salamander as the reverse and complementary side to The Scented Salamander (don't worry, we are not going to just cover scent-free products in beauty)...

Continue reading "Patyka Organic Face Scrub - Gommage Visage Bio: How Organic Is It? {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Face}" »

June 22, 2008

Index of Beauty Reviews by Brand Names

Benefit Cosmetics

Dandelion Highlighting Powder

Bioderma

Hydrabio Brume - Soothing, Refreshing Water / Eau Apaisante, Rafraîchissante

Bourjois


So Delicate Lip Cream in #55, Fuschia Délicat (2009)

Casswell-Massey

Dr Hunter's Rosewater and Glycerine Hand Creme

Caudalie

Lip Conditioner - Soin des Lèvres (Grape seed oil, shea butter, castor oil) (99,5% natural)

Huile Divine (2013)

Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face & Eyes

Chanel

Les Noirs Obscurs lipsticks (2009)

Chi Tea

Organic Green Tea Liquid Extract

Crazy Horse Cabaret with Sephora

Crazy Horse Lipstick (2009)

Dior

Ultra -Gloss Reflex in Lurex Plum

Elizabeth Arden

8 Hour Cream & Lip Balm

Fresh

Cannabis Rose Body Cream and Shower & Bath Gel

Guerlain

Cashmere Lip Gloss in Rose Pondichery 01 (2009)


Klorane

Fortifying Treatment Shampoo with Quinine & B Vitamins

Leonor Greyl

Bain TS Shampooing

Lush

Big Shampoo

Lutsine

Cicamosa Repairing Emulsion

Mac Cosmetics

Bat Black Cream Colour Base (2009)

Seriously Hip Nail Polish (2009)

Suntints SPF 20 Lip Balm in Lilt of Lily (2009)

Fafi Collection (2008)


Mustela

Baby Shampoo

Naturelle d'Argan/Naturelle d'Orient

Pure Argan Elixir

Nivea

Pampering Oil: Shower Oil/Huile Douche

Nuxe

Baume Prodigieux Lèvres / Nutri-Protecting Lip Care Gloss Effect SPF 15 in Charismatic Red

Olay

Definity Self Repair Serum

Pacifica

Body Butters in French Lilac & Tahitian Gardenia

Patyka

Organic Face Scrub/Gommage Visage Bio

Senteurs du Sud

Beurre d'Argan / Argan Butter (2013) (97,5% Organic)

Sephora

Boar Detangling Brush

Crazy Horse Lipstick Limited-Edition (2009)

Soap and Glory

Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss

Uriage

Bariéderm

Tadé

Hammam Black Soap

Red Clay Hair Conditioner

The Body Shop

Tantalizing Lip Butter Yes, Yes, Yes / Oui, Oui, Oui (2009)

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