I'm back! With bonus Hillary.

We got back from Europe week ago. I should have checked in, but I was busy winding down from my trip. Also, the idea of blogging about what I bought before and during my trip has been overwhelming.

People, I bought. so. much. stuff.

You know that means I have a ton of new stuff to talk about, so let me get something out of the way first.

In my last post, Adrien of Looks Good from the Back asked for details about meeting Hillary Clinton.

So OK. I'm a supporter, and have contributed to the campaign. I got a phone call from them asking me whether I was interested in attending a fundraiser where I'd have a chance to meet her. When I said yes, I, who am wise in the ways of fundraisers, asked what it would cost. I won't be vulgar and spell out the price, but it was high. Now, I am as starstruck as the next registered voter, but I have my limits. You know ... two kids in college, upcoming travel ... must be sensible.

But then I had dinner with some friends who told me that they had gotten an email from the Chicago hosting committee offering them the chance to attend for far less money. The idea is to raise funds, after all, and the chump change that people like me could scrounge up would help at least a little.

To be extra generous greedy I also popped for a ticket for my daughter.

So of course, my stupid iPhone chose to fail precisely at the moment where my daughter spoke with Hillary. Luckily my friend captured the moment, if blurrily.

Miss Buxom and HRC

I bet that pantsuit is St. John, and let me tell you, Hillary is a great advertisement for them. She appeared that morning in Ohio with Elizabeth Warren, that afternoon with the PUSH on the south side of Chicago, and then met us at the cocktail hour--looking delightfully unrumpled, I must say. The next day she was in California.

So yeah, those St. John knits are just as packable as everyone says.

So anyway, we met Hillary. And she was on sale!

In the cab

I won't go into a lot of detail or make silly apologies, because somehow even as self-centered a person as I am can realize, if only dimly, that the Internet will get along just fine without her. Still I feel pressed to inform my invisible internet friends that I've:

1. Done a lot of shopping. Not for makeup, but OMG the skincare. And clothes!

2. Met Hillary Clinton

3. Boarded a cab to board the plane that will take me to Prague, after which I'll go to Vienna.

Also, I've missed you! Thank goodness for Instagram and Facebook.

P. S. I'm not bring my laptop, and I don't know how much virtual-keyboarding I can stand. We'll see.

P. S. S. Are you using a vitamin C serum every day under your SPF-at-least-30? If not, GET SOME. Nufountain's C + vitamin E + Ferulic is on Amazon and is dirt cheap compared with Dr This or Dr. That's product from Sephora. GET SOME TODAY!

Later, gators!

A Declaration of Pin-dependence

As I prepare for tonight's celebration of America's 240th birthday, I remember the hoopla over the nation's Bicentennial, which occurred when I was much younger and wasn't expected to cook anything.

So I mined Google Images and Pinterest for some nostalgic images. Enjoy!

Charlie's Angels dressed to celebrate. Is it bad that I would wear Kate Jackson's outfit today?

Back when cover models, like Model Ts, came in only one color. In this case, blonde.

I was more of a musk girl, myself.

OMG Halton!!!

A pattern by an American designer illustrated in red, white, and blue. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

And finally, three guesses as to what I was up to on July 4, 1976. Here's a hint:

Yes, the shame still lingers.

Off to start cooking. Happy Fourth!

Off with their heads! or, What we need is a cosmetics revolution

My favorite lipstick, Guerlain's Rouge G in Gracia, retails for $52. It kills me that it's not refillable, because the case with its built-in mirror is so elegant and so handy for touch-ups.

Currently available for $50.47 on Overstock

Over the years, I've used one tube up, have a second in my purse at all times, with a third in reserve, just in case Guerlain decides to discontinue the shade or formula.

I thought I'd get that out there before I start feeling overly smug about my thriftiness. Because I just found out that Tom Ford's Autumn 2016 collection includes a lipstick that will retail for $60.

Available for pre-order, if you must, here

Sure, it's pretty. But I think not. When I bought my first tube of Rouge G,  it cost $45, which was quite bad enough. The price has been inching up, and when it went over $50, I was already hooked.

But $60? The shades of my Puritan ancestors recoil in horror at the thought. In fact, I think I hear the distant rumbling of the tumbrils and the jeers of an angry mob of sans-culottes.

Oh, and if I ever pop for a Christian Louboutin nail polish

Christian Louboutin nail polish in Lady Peep, $50

lip gloss

Christian Louboutin "Loubilaque" lip lacquer in Bengali, $85

or lipstick?

Velvet Matte Lip Colour in Rococotte, $90.00

You have my permission to send me to the guillotine.

Review: MDSolarSciences Mineral Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 50 UVA-UVB Sunscreen

This is a series in which, in an attempt to work my way through my sample overload, I spend the weekend trying out samples, then inflict capsule reviews upon the internet. 

Available at Beauty.com, DermStore, MDSolarSciences, Nordstrom, Sephora,

Product Claims

According to the MDSolarSciences website:

This lightweight and silky-smooth crème blends seamlessly to help blur fine lines and wrinkles, making it a must-have for any daily beauty or grooming routine. Our exclusive “barely there” formula leaves a matte finish that is perfect to wear both under and over makeup. Naturally derived and safer Eco-cert zinc oxide helps reduce the risk of photo aging and skin cancer. Non-irritating and oil-free, this water-resistant sunscreen won’t clog pores, is gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin types and suitable for kids 6 months and older.

The Ingredients

Again, from the website:

The Good

This is a high-SPF sunscreen that feels weightless on my dry skin and looks and acts like a makeup primer. (It feels very similar to Boots Prevent and Correct, a best-selling silicone-based serum that a lot of people like to wear as primer.)

The sun protection seems great, although I haven't tested it with a full day of outdoor wear. It doesn't claim to be waterproof, so I wouldn't wear if I were going to be swimming.

The cream has a very slight tint and gives the skin a whitish cast, but this isn't a problem for me, as I am fair-skinned and wear it under makeup.

There is a very slight sweet masking fragrance, but no sunscreen reek.

Mild-to-moderate activity doesn't appear to affect it, at least, from the getting-in-to-my-eyes school of sunscreen torment, which is no doubt caused by the chemicals in chemical sunscreens. Since this is a physical sunscreen, it's very bland, and good for sensitive skin (or eyes, as in my case.) Also, I've walked and run with it on and it stayed put well without holding in sweat and making me feel suffocated, which is what happens to me when I wear waterproof sunscreen.

The product is paraben-free.

The Bad

First, there is the whitening effect, which could be a problem for people with skin darker than mine.

The high level of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide might product flashback in photographs, although I haven't actually tested this.

Verdict

Although I wouldn't swear by it for truly active/watersports days, if you are pale, or have dry skin, are comfortable with silicone-based skin creams, and are looking for something that plays well with makeup, I recommend it highly.

Bonus! a second opinion from my friend Wendy

Last May, when blackbird, Susie Sunshine, and Wendy visited me in Chicago, I gave out a few samples, and Wendy was gracious enough to email me her thoughts on some of the products she tried. She also gave me permission to quote her on my blog. This is what she said:

This is on my shopping list!!  I love the level of protection and I love how it goes on and feels when it dries.  It feels almost like make up primer when dry and says that it goes matte.  I agree.  There is a sheer white cast to it, but on my fair skin that's no big deal - I also follow it with powder foundation which is part of why I love how it feels like primer.  It's comfortable to wear and what I feel is enough to truly protect my skin.  No scent. I've been wearing it every day since I opened it and sadly have run out.  Like I said - I'm buying more tomorrow.  

How much? And where can I buy it?

The retail price is $30.00 for 1.7 oz. It's available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Beauty.com, and Amazon.

 

Would I buy it?

I already did! I followed a link from Brutally Honest Beauty and snagged a 1.7 oz. tube from DermStore using a coupon code that got me 30 percent off.

Because it's pricey and available at lots of different stores, I'd shop around to get a better deal--at the very least, free shipping.

a quick peek at some new goodies

Internet, I have been beside myself. When I returned from Oklahoma, it was to the news that our elderly clothes washer needed a $580 repair. That would have been a foolish waste of money, even for me, so I went to local electronics and appliances wonderland, and bought a very fawncy LG top-loading HE washer.

I was severely tempted by the matching dryer, but talked myself out of it, because my older dryer is working fine. And I don't want to be too matchy-matchy.

Anyway, picking out a washing machine, was, for me, the work of an instant. Getting it installed? Quite another deal. It was almost a week and a half between credit card swipe and the first load going in. And honestly, I didn't know what to do with myself.

Naturally, the laundry situation got pretty dire, so I couldn't wait to start washing. And then I acted like Zippy the Pinhead, mesmerized by the sight (through the clear glass lid) of my wash swishing around.

But you don't want to hear about laundry.

While waiting for the delivery of my new hardware, I did a little shopping. Here is a picture of some new loot, some from Net-a-Porter (fancy!)

That, my friends, is a Givenchy iPhone 5 case. Somebody out there with a degree in art history, tell this hapless English major the source of the artwork. It's dark and Pre-Raphaelite and sort of Goth and I love it, but I'm feeling like an idiot, as though I bought a pair of those Icon shoes because of the pretty dark blue sky and didn't realize I was walking around with Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on my feet.

I'm also wearing a quick swipe of Charlotte Tilbury's iconic Pillow Talk lip pencil, and people, I am in LOVE. It has the softest, softest texture, and it's the perfect color, neither too brown, rusty, or mauve. If you're fair-skinned with not-particularly-pigmented lips, it could be your jam. Well worth the $22.00.

My nails are a base of Revlon's Parfumerie in Lavender Soap, which is almost impossible to apply evenly, as it is a very pale shade with lots of pearl in it, a/k/a streak city.  I applied a third very thick coat to smooth things out and of course munged up a couple of fingers. I'd just received a package from an Amazon seller with OPI's The Color to Watch, so I used some. It didn't help things, because it too, has a tricky/frosty finish. There's a reason these things get marked down.

I love a purple nail, but I've got to get ready for a cocktail party tomorrow and redo fingers and toes with a nice coral creme. I hope. Surely I have a bottle SOMEWHERE.  I'm wearing this

with a pair of gold sandals. And a ton of leg makeup.

I'm busy listening to a Librivox audiobook version of Our Mutual Friend, and it is fabulous. One crazy character after another. And the social climbing is epic! It makes the laundry folding fly.

Review: Cane&Austin Miracle Pad+ exfoliating pads

It's been a while since I've done a Sample Saturday report, mostly because I kept discovering products I liked and wanted to keep using.

Case in point: Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads, reviewed here. (If you're new to these parts or don't understand why I'm obsessed with exfoliating my skin, you can read this post from 2013. Nothing has changed; I'm still engaged in an ongoing battle with my skin's unfortunate tendency to pile up in various crusty and unappealing ways.) I tried the sample, liked it, and popped for the full-sized jar of 60 pads, which I'm still using.

But here's my latest, greatest (spoiler!) find!

While we were traveling around Lake Michigan, I knew I was going to be spending the bare minimum of time primping. Not only because the dress code was Early Summer Lumberjack.

But because when you're sharing a bathroom with three other people, it behooves you to get in and out quickly.

Also I was packing light. So I brought a three-packet sample of Cane&Austin Miracle Pad+ 30% pads. Which I used up in a week, using them on alternate nights.

The Claims

The package say this product

delivers the results of a 30% Glycolic clinical treatment to restore luminosity and vitality to skin

and will

even skin tone, reduce fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores & the appearance of age spots

This is the most potent exfoliating pad Cane&Austin sells. On their site, they show you the following:

The Dermstore site says that the Cane&Austin 20% pads are

Since I pretty much have all of the above except for oily skin and acne, the stronger product seemed ideally suited for me.

The directions said to swipe the pad over a clean face morning and night, avoiding the eye area. I only used the product at night, because I only had three pads, and anyway, overkill.

The Ingredients

Here's a screenshot of the ingredients from the website:

I think it's important to point out that these pads promise the equivalent of a 30 percent glycolic peel; they don't actually claim to contain a 30 percent glycolic acid solution. As you can see from the above, there are other acids in this product: lactic, phytic, and tartaric acid, as well as willow bark extract and salicylic acid phospholipids. In this respect, this product resembles Radical Skincare in being a virtual cornucopia of active ingredients.

The Results

I've mentioned that I'd been bothered by milia, and although I'd gotten rid of most of them, a couple of outliers still remained, including a closed comedone (GROSS) on the side of my nose.

A couple of days I brushed my finger over the area of my nose where this tiny, stubborn bump had been located, and it was gone. Just ... vanished. There was no sign left of it, but no signs of any trauma, either. No red mark, no hole, nothing. I was delighted, yet somehow disappointed that I hadn't noticed the moment when it fell off.

That's gross, right? Still, it would have been kind of gratifying.

The Verdict

Naturally, I'm thrilled, and I want more.

Where can I get this stuff?

Cane&Austin Miracle Pad+ can be found at the Cane&Austin website and Sephora. Unfortunately, the product is not stocked in every store that sells Cane&Austin products. A lot of stores only carry the lower percentage glycolic products, so be sure to check the numbers.

How much does it cost?

It's expensive. You get 60 pads for $88.  There are many, many options for glycolic acid pads, though. Click here for the result of an Amazon search.

One word, though. If you have Roseacea or simply know that you have sensitive skin, proceed with caution. That holds if you simply haven't been beating up your face on a regular basis, as I have. For some reason, getting my brows waxed or my hair blown out reddens my skin like crazy, whereas I pile all kinds of products onto my face with no ill effects whatsoever.

Oh, and one more thing (she said, challenging Columbo.) When you are using products like this, which are pH sensitive, be sure to use them on a clean DRY face. Water will buffer the acid and the pads won't be as effective.