Have A Perfect Hair Day with Living Proof

Seeing beauty products day in, day out (literally. My day job is firmly ensconced in the beauty industry), it all becomes a blur, so it's only when I settled down to write my review of the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day products that I noticed the "hair feels cleaner, longer" claim on the shampoo. In this day and age of hyperbole marketing, a brand's description of a product (24 hour moisture! 10 hour shine!) is akin to web banner ads – something savvy consumers have trained themselves to ignore – which is why I'm pleasantly astonished to report that the PhD Shampoo actually lives up to those four little words.

Rewind to my moment of revelation: five days post-shampoo+conditioner, I was mulling over whether I needed to wash my hair that day, and decided not to. As for the PhD Conditioner's claim to "improve hair over time," all I can say is my hair never looked better than in my two most recent photo shoots (you can see more pictures in my recent posts on Clinique's new blushes and Rouge Bunny Rouge's new sheer lipsticks).

Applying the PhD 5-in-1 Styling Treatment on damp hair and blow drying normally gives me sleek, straight, shiny Jennifer Aniston hair (sorry, couldn't resist). Unfortunately, in keeping with the tradition of yearning for what we don't have, I don't like wearing my hair completely straight, so the Styling Treatment is not my cup of tea.

All Living Proof products are sulfate-free (yay for chemically treated hair), silicone-free, and oil-free. The Living Proof Perfect Hair Day collection retails for $10-28 and is available for sale at Sephora and Ulta.

Products Used:
Shu Uemura Mechanical Brow Pencil
Guerlain Météorites Baby Glow in Medium 03
Clé de Peau Concealer in Ocher
Sisley Phyto 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Quartet in Dream
THREE Flash Performance Eyeliner Pencil 08
Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara
Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Nectars
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist Tinted Lip Balm in Candy

Full disclosure: This entry contains sample product(s) sent by the brand for editorial consideration. This entry also contains affiliate links.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Succulence of Dew Sheer Lipsticks

Sorry, I couldn't resist

I didn't know something was missing in my makeup drawer stash mountain until it magically showed up in the mail. I thought many of the lipsticks I owned were already pushing the limits of innovation, especially in terms of their amazing formulas (comfort, texture etc.). After all, I'm so picky with my lip products that I refuse to wear anything that's heavy, uncomfortable, or unnecessarily sheer (unless it explicitly functions as such, like tinted balms), yet I still own more lipstick than I can ever wear in my lifetime.

This is until I received the newly reformulated Rouge Bunny Rouge Succulence of Dew Sheer Lipstick, which completely changed my thinking of how good a lipstick could be. I'm actually thrown off by the naming, because as the images below show, these "sheer" lipsticks can be extremely pigmented. The formula is super moist but not in any danger of slipping and sliding all over your lips. No feathering, no scent, no heavy feeling. They're a downright pleasure to have on.

My only criticism is that the packaging picks up fingerprints like its life depended on it, but this should only matter to people who have to photograph it.

Jasmine-Weighted Air

Murmurings

Musings

Relish of Heaven

Perfume of His Gaze

Of the above, I was most intrigued by Perfume of His Gaze. The official brand description calls it a cool-toned rose taupe, which I never would have imagined as a lip color until I put it on. I think this could be the modern update of the 90s brown lipstick!

Rouge Bunny Rouge Succulence of Dew Sheer Lipsticks retail for $29 and are internationally available at rougebunnyrouge.com.

Products Used:
Shu Uemura Mechanical Brow Pencil
Guerlain Météorites Baby Glow in Clair 02
Clé de Peau Concealer in Ocher
Chantecaille Iridescent Eye Shade in Rose Gold
Rouge Bunny Rouge Long Lasting Eye Shadow in Eclipse Eagle
Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara
Three Flash Performance Eyeliner Pencil 08
Guerlain Météorites Perles De Blush
Ellis Faas Glow Up
Rouge Bunny Rouge Succulence of Dew Sheer Lipsticks

Full disclosure: This entry contains sample product(s) sent by the brand for editorial consideration. This entry also contains affiliate links.

Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes

The new Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes remind me of paint by number kits. While it's not an exact science, the three-step approach does simplify the process of contouring your cheeks: darkest shade below your cheekbones, medium shade on the apples of your cheeks, and lightest shade above the cheekbones blending into the apples.

This is where I mean when I say "below the cheekbone"

Below will largely be #picspam because there's not much differentiation between the three palettes in terms of texture and formula. Defining Nectars is peachier than the other two, whereas I can barely detect a difference between Defining Roses and Defining Berries on my skin. I think Defining Roses is just slightly muted.

They're perhaps not as finely milled as some other blushes I own, but they're $10-20 cheaper and still do a fine job, in addition to the added benefit of reminding you that a little contrast in dark and light goes a long way.

Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Nectars


Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Berries


Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Roses

Pro tip: cheekbones are more prominent when you you look like a deer in headlights.

Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes retail for $21 and are available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Clinique.com (which also stocks two online exclusives)./

Products Used:
Shu Uemura Mechanical Brow Pencil
Guerlain Météorites Baby Glow in Medium 03
Clé de Peau Concealer in Ocher
Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara
Sisley Phyto 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Quartet in Dream
Look 1 -
Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Nectars, Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist Tinted Lip Balm in Candy
Look 2 -
Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Berries, Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist Tinted Lip Balm in Chestnut
Look 3 -
Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in Defining Roses, Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist Tinted Lip Balm in Coral

Full disclosure: This entry contains sample product(s) sent by the brand for editorial consideration. This entry also contains affiliate links.

Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour and Highlight

The subject line of the email pitch for Clinique's new contouring collection was "Hello Cheekbones!" It's like they knew exactly how to tug at my heartstrings. I don't have any problems in this particular area (the older I get, the more prominent my cheekbones become), but for some reason I still like products that create the illusion of angles on the face. Anyone should be able to look like Tom Hiddleston, I say!

Today's post is about the Sculpting Contour and Highlight Chubby Sticks. Pretty straightforward: one darker shade to create the illusion of shadow and one lighter shade to create the illusion of light (for the uninitiated, here's a contouring tutorial I wrote three years ago). I draw lines with the darker shade on the bottom of my cheekbones, on the sides of my nose, under my jaw line, by my temples, then blend furiously – the key is to make the color look like a natural part of your skin. I run the lighter shade down my nose bridge to the tip of my nose, above my cheekbones, under and over the arch of my eyebrows, on my cupid's bow, and my chin. Again, blend it out. Considering that a contoured look is supposed to be undetectable, it sure takes a lot of work.

Though these two Clinique offerings happen to work for my skin tone, it's clear that it's made for a very specific customer (fair, neutral/warm-toned skin). While I absolutely love the Chubby Stick range and think they're a godsend when it comes to applying makeup on-the-go, these are not meant for beginners. Contouring requires specific placement, and you get less control when using fingers versus a brush. The formula, though, is what you'd expect: smooth and easy to blend out. I'm keeping these in my portable makeup bag for the days I'd like to look extra sharp.

Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour and Highlight retail for $21 each and is available at Sephora and Clinique.com.

Products Used:
Shu Uemura Mechanical Brow Pencil
Guerlain Météorites Baby Glow in Medium 03
Clé de Peau Concealer in Ocher
Jane Iredale Getaway Eye Shadow Kit
Jane Iredale Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner in Espresso
Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara
Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour
Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight
Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain in Forever Peach

Full disclosure: This entry contains sample product(s) sent by the brand for editorial consideration. This entry also contains affiliate links.