Makeup and Go

Having recently realized that my favorite facial sunscreen, Paula's Choice Super-Light Daily Wrinkle Defense SPF 30, has gone from $28 to $ 37 (for 2 ounces) in just a few years, I have begun a hunt for a less expensive sunscreen for the face. Th is sunscreen is my favorite because it dries down to a matte finish very quickly after application. It never looks or feels greasy and works well with any other makeup I’ve ever applied on top of it, such as foundations and blushes .   As an aside, t he US sunscreen market is limited because of the way the FDA regulates sunscreen here as opposed to the slightly different rules and circumstances in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. We have relatively few FDA-approved sunscreen filters here in the US compared to other countries. I’m thinking that’s part of why so many US sunscreens are so goopy and thick. If you’d like to know more about limitations in American sunscreens, I highly recommend th e episode "Screening Sunscreen...

  Today I’m going to be discussing s even different lip balms that I have been testing lately. My lips always seem to look and feel dry , even in the middle of summer with all the humidity Texas can dish up . My lip balm stash continues to grow yet my lips are still dry, so I decided to dedicate a week t o try out different lip balms overnight and see which ones , if any, come out on top. That way I can focus on using what really works and ditch the rest!   My super scientific testing method (just kidding) was to apply one of the balms before bed and then check in the morning to see if my lips look and feel moisturized and if there is any of the balm left on my lips.   The balm I’ve had the longest is the Fourth Ray Overnight Lip Treatment . The one I have is in “ Clarice ” and was part of the “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” holiday collection from last year. Fourth Ray is ColourPop’s sister company, producing skin care and body care products. “Clarice” i s a thick...

  Today I thought I’d post about my beauty favorites for the month of September 2022. These were  the items that I used the most this month to create my going-to-work face. Sunscreen has to go on first so it has time to dry down! My tried-and-true favorite is Paula's Choice Super-Light sunscreen . It is a lightly tinted mineral sunscreen that is just the bee’s knees in my book. It dries down quickly and never looks or feels greasy, just as its name suggests. The tint is not meant to offer coverage, just reduce the white look that all-mineral sunscreens can impart. I have gone through several tubes of this sunscreen because it’s one of the few that is not greasy . The drawbacks are that it is only SPF 30 and is not water resistant. I would definitely use a water resistant sunscreen with a higher SPF for outdoor activities, but the Super-Light is so nice for days when I know I’m going to have minimal sun exposure, just running b riefly from car to building and back. Un...

PRODUCTS THAT DON'T GET ENOUGH HYPE This week, I’d like to give a little love to some products that I don’t hear much about. They are great products that I think are very useful and everyone needs to know about!   First up is Revlon's Kiss Exfoliating Balm . It’s really a 2-in-1 product that exfoliates lips a nd moisturizes them at the same time. The vanilla mint scent is a pleasant addition to the expe rience of applying the product to the lips. The exfoliation you get from the sugar grains embedded in the balm is effective but not extreme because of the moisturizing effect of the balm itself. The only caveat is that it has a slightly grainy feel that lasts for a few minutes after initial application until the sugar kind of melts down. It doesn’t bother me, but I’m pretty tolerant of lip balms and lipsticks that have a noticeable texture during wear.   Revlon Kiss Exfoliating Balm This next product is one that I really enjoy and think is worth trying, but it’s best...