To streamline my travel beauty routine and the airport screening process, I try to avoid packing products that 1) are liquids and 2) require a bunch of steps to use.

That’s why, for my trip last week, I grabbed a pack of Clean and Clear Makeup Dissolving Facial Cleansing Wipes ($6 for a pack of 25).

They’re pre-moistened and come in a re-sealable bag that fits snugly into my carry-on luggage (a suitcase small enough for an overhead bin).

These beauties do double duty, making them ideal for travel. They remove most kinds of makeup (gloss, foundation, powder, blush and eyeshadow with ease) and cleanse skin at the same time. Even better, you don’t have to rinse.

After late nights playing Kitty Glitter, I liked returning to my room and removing my makeup in a flash.

They feel soft against my skin, have a light soapy scent that smells fresh and clean, and I don’t detect a residue or sticky film (I use them on my face and neck) after using one.

But when pitted against waterproof makeup, they kinda disappoint.

It took a lot of gentle rubbling to thoroughly remove long-wearing products like MAC Fluidline, Stila Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara and Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner.

It’s not a dealbreaker for me, but it does keep them from earning flying colors.

Being just $6 per pack, feeling great on my skin and smelling so nice, I think they’re a great bargain, but I do wish they worked a little better on waterproof stuff… Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Casual Fridays

Tabs is taking advantage of the new MBB Casual Friday work attire policy. What do ya think of his new outfit?

Continue Reading…

Silicone-free drugstore conditioners are like pop stars who write their own songs — few and far between.

That’s why my eyes lit up when I read the ingredients on this bottle of Garnier Fructis Body Boost Conditioner ($5 for 25 oz.) at Tar-ghay.

I’ve been searching for a new product to condition wash my hair with, and I wanted something silicon free (for an explanation of condition washing from an old 2007 MBB post).

Why no silicone?

Because I’ve been hearing good things about silicone-free condition washing. From a hair performance point of view, silicones are said to add smoothness, slip and shine (from my experience, I agree), but many women refuse to use them, believing that they build up and weigh hair down over time.

Condition washing with Garnier Fructis Body Boost

Continue Reading…

The year was 1999… I’d finished school and moved back in with my parental units while I looked for a job and tried to unwind.

My BFF/dancing buddy J. Money and I were also deep in our clubbing phase. I’ll never forget — it was the same thing every time we’d go out. One of our Filipino parents would ask, “Are you girls going to the disco?”

LOL!

Or, “Are you going disco-disco?”

Hearing parental units refer to “the club” as a disco… That’s just so funny. It always cracked us up.

Still, there are times when “disco” just feels like the better word, ya know? — like when it comes to Lippmann Collection’s Happy Birthday ($18), the newest addition to their permanent nail polish line.

This stuff’s so blinged out and sparkly that it would be a shame not to wear it to “the disco,” ha!

It’s all about taking glitter to the next level, with bits in a plethora of shapes, colors and sizes — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and silver.

For a full-on, eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-the-head glitter-gasm, try three coats.

Three coats!

Two coats — when you’re in the mood for quieter glitter

So far I’ve only worn Happy Birthday by itself, but I’m guessing it would look extra festive layered beneath a polish in solid black or red.

Continue Reading…

Girldom Rule #3,654: Within any given group, there’s always at least one girl with an obscenely large bottle of hand sanitizer in her purse.

Homies, I’m one of those girls (bit of a freakshow when it comes to germs).

And if we were chatting over coffee, I’d be baptizing you in Burt’s Bees Aloe & Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer ($5).

I blame it on the countless hours I’ve spent people watching. The fingers picking noses and cleaning ears, teeth and, OMIGOD, butts! — I done seen it all.

Purell used to be my standby, but Burt’s stole me away. I think the liquid spray absorbs faster than Purell’s gel does, and it doesn’t leave a film.

My nose feels Burt’s also beats Purell in the scent department. It smells like fresh cut lemons to Purell’s overpowering vodka.

Continue Reading…

No joke, $31 DiorSkin Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer is expensive, but daaaaym, it works miracles on my Frankensteiny dark circles.

It’s a liquid concealer that’s been part of Dior’s product lineup for a while now and comes in three shades (see colors below; Ivory 001, Beige 002 and Honey 003), each one packaged in a convenient easy-to-carry tube with a doe-foot applicator.

Texture-wise, Dior Sculpt feels slightly thicker and less runny than other liquid concealers I’ve tried — airy, like it’s been whipped.

Not only does it cover my dark circles and skin imperfections, but Dior claims it also minimizes fine lines via something they call “new generation powders.” They also say it improves skin tone with “A-Resist complex.” Hmm…

So what’s up with all the fancy talk?

I’ve been using it in Honey for about a week so far and haven’t really seen any difference in lift and tone, but as far as dark circles are concerned, Sculpt does appear to do two things way better than other concealers I’ve tried.

Applies easily and doesn’t settle into fine lines

After a few hours of wear, concealers usually settle into the fine lines beneath my eyes, but Sculpt doesn’t. It looks natural, like I’m not wearing any product at all, and stays that way all day long.

And it builds and blends like a breeze. Using the wand, I dot concealer directly beneath my eyes and blend with my fingers or a foundation brush. Badabing, badabang! Liberation from dark circles in less than a minute.

Testing 1-2-3

Sculpt proved her worthiness to me last week on my trip to Vegas. I didn’t get much sleep, so my dark circles were in full effect.

Continue Reading…