susiej/reviews

Here’s a beauty book with a fascinating past. The writer, Nadine Haobsh (aka Jolie in NY) was an assistant beauty editor for some high-profile woman’s magazine. She got fired because she had a blog!! Well, not just any blog — she started giving away some of the best-kept secrets of the beauty industry. The editors didn’t like it — and she was nixed. The girl is passionate about beauty — her mother took her to the Clinque counter for a skin regime when she was young. She won’t let a few beauty editors stop her, and I truly admire her for this. So, she wrote a book; a nice collection of all the beauty tips and secrets she knows. And it’s all available to us, Beauty Confidential: The No Preaching, No Lies, Advice-You’ll- Actually-Use Guide to Looking Your Best.

She’s cute as a button, and I can’t believe she needs a beauty tip. If you don’t know your laser peels from your glycolic acids, Nadine will set your straight. Here are 13 of her top inside tips:

1. You know that section in a fashion magazine where they have list the products used on the models for the cover shot? Not true. Once the advertising department chooses which drugstore brand (Cover Girl, Max Factor, Revlon) they will promote that month, they study the pictures to see which Cover Girl color matches the expensive department store brand, like MAC, that was actually used.
2. The addicted to Chapstick myth? When you constantly add moisture to your lips, your body stops producing its natural moisture producing capabilities, so you need to keep applying more to feel ‘moisturized.”
3. If you have faint, light-colored eyelashes, apply mascara on the top and bottom of the UPPER lashes. Not the bottom lashes – as they can cause smudges.
4. Kiss Me Mascara actually forms little tubes on the lashes for lengthening. When you take the make-up off, the tubes actually slide off. This is the number two on the list of the best mascaras. Lancome Defincils is number one.
5. To apply lipstick correctly, start with a light layer of foundation on the lips, dust lightly with powder, and always use a lip liner in the same color as your lipstick.
6. Creed Fleurissimo is a perfume created over 50 years ago for Princess Grace on her wedding day. It is still available.
7. Cellulite creams do not work. I know that’s no BIG surprise. But, just letting you know, for sure.
8. Half an hour before a waxing session, spread LMX Topical Anesthetic Cream over all the regions to be waxed. It will help reduce the pain.
9. Bring your own nail kit with you whenever your splurge for a manicure. Even when you go to a fancy salon – she mentions a New York beauty editor who did get a staph infection at a fancy salon.
10. If you have oily skin, use Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil It’s true: using an oily cleanser like this is good for oily skin. The oil removes every trace of makeup and dirt, so there’s nothing left to clog your pores.
11. Mom was wrong on this one. You can make your hair grow faster. Straight from the book, Beauty Confidential, it says, “Try nail and hair growth vitamins containing keratin, such as Appearex, which you can find at drugstores and which can make a dramatic difference.”
12. The act of brushing your hair causes damage. Worth the money is the Mason Pearson Handy Bristle All Boar Bristle Hairbrush. It naturally detangles, gently re-distributes oils, and stimulates the scalp. (Go ahead, I dare you to click on the brush and see how much it costs.)
13. Want to give your hair more volume, and update your look? Part your hair on the other side. If you don’t normally wear a part, take a comb and draw a deep part on side of your head with the front part of your hair lying low across your forehead, or tucked behind your ears.

Although her product listings are in-depth, Haobsh pays little attention to the affect some chemicals have on your body. She does devote a section to organic products – but she misses one of the basic reasons behind many organic products: they are here to provide some protection against many of the harmful, cancer-causing chemicals that are in many synthetic cosmetics. She is focused more on whether the organic products work better than their synthetic counterparts.

For example, she mentions DDF Fade Gel 5, as a product to reduce redness from a zit that disappeared months ago.

FYI: In Europe, there are concerns over the safety of hydroquinone, which could be linked to cancer and is banned in some countries. I’ve used products with hydroquinone in the past and nothing’s happened to me yet, but proceed with caution.

I’m not interested in any product with that kind of risk. So, while it is great that Haobsh rated the products, you might want to see the product’s listing on to the Environmental Working Groups list.

Book review for the Parent Bloggers Network.

Thursday 13.

Filed under: beauty, fashion, products |