This post actually started as an "Ask The Non-Blonde" thing, as a reply to many similar emails asking the same question about different brands: What is the one product I should get to fully appreciate the line? As I was compiling my list and looking over my notes and your comments, I realized this would be a better subject for an open thread. Here are my own suggestions (and, yes, I'm cheating by recommending more than one item when applicable), but I'd really like to hear from you, so please chime in and tell us which products represent the best of the best- what would make someone new to the brand a true convert?
In alphabetical order:
Armani- Eyes To Kill Mascara, Rouge d'Armani lipsticks (avoid the lip wax).
Aveda- It's been years since I've bought anything Aveda, but I used to love their hair care line.
Bliss- Everything foot related.
Bobbi Brown- Long Wear Gel Eyeliners, brushes
Burberry- neutral colored eye shadows, lipstick and lipgloss
Buxom- mascara
Cargo- palettes (great value, great quality, lovely presentation)
Chanel- foundation, single eye shadows, Rouge Coco lipsticks
Chantecaille- the beautiful palettes
Cle de Peau- skin care (and then some), lipsticks
Dior- eye shadow quints (the singles are also gorgeous)
Dolce & Gabbana- lipsticks, eye shadow duos (the quads are a bit oddly edited in my opinion)
Edward Bess- brushes, lips products, eye shadows... absolutely everything just skip the mascara for now (the new formula will be out soon, though)
Estee Lauder- skin care
Givenchy- mascara
Guerlain- Meteorites, anything Terracotta, Rouge G (skip the mascara)
Hourglass- Film Noir mascara, lipsticks
Julie Hewett- Cheeky cream blush
Kanebo Sensai- skin care (best in the known universe), body care, lipstick
Lancome- mascara, skin care, blush, Artliner
Laura Mercier- brushes, palettes
Le Metier de Beaute- the eyeliner pen is phenomenal, but also you will want to start at the top: Kaleidoscope kits and Peau Vierge tinted moisturizer. You'll never be the same again.
L'Occitane- hair products, body products (be suspicious of their face creams)
Lorac- palettes, single eye shadows
Makeup For Ever- Aqua Creamliner
Nars- Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, brushes (skip the lipsticks)
Paula Dorf- brushes, Transformer
Shiseido- skin care, lip crayons
Shu Uemura- blushes
Sisley- skin care, eyeliners and lipsticks
Smashbox- brushes, Limitless Liquid Eyliner Pen, Soft Lights highlighter
Sue Devitt- Intensifier Eye Pencil
Trish McEvoy- brushes
Urban Decay- eye shadow primer, liquid eyeliners
Yves Saint Laurent- eye shadow duo and singles, luminizing powders
Your turn!
Yes to your Edward Bess and Sue Devitt recs!
ReplyDeleteA few of my own...
Lipstick Queen: Saint Red lipstick or Medieval lip treatment
Paul & Joe: Eye Gloss (love the brown shade)
Intelligent Nutrients: Organic Anti-Aging Serum
Caron: Peau Fine loose face powder
Fresh: Umbrian Clay Freshface Foundation (What is going on with this line's cosmetics? Anyone know?)
A firm second to the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner and brushes recommendations! Yay for Burberry as well.
ReplyDeleteOne of my faves is Rouge Bunny Rouge- I have not been disappointed yet! Their single shadows are gorgeous.
Also love Benefit SugarRush and Creaseless Cream Shadows.
I REALLY must try Edward Bess given how much love the line gets...it's going to be expensive I reckon! ;-)
I have to put in my vote for Chantecaille Just Skin tinted moisturizer. It's the best I've found, and I've tried dozens. Also, I'm impressed with Sue Devitt's Silky Sheen eyeshadow singles. I find myself reaching for the Esna shade (yellowish ivory) more than any of my other eyeshadows.
ReplyDeleteDior: DiorBlush and Dior Addict Lipstick both turned me into a convert this year. I have yet to come across a Dior product I didn't like.
ReplyDeleteEstee Lauder: Foundations, if you're looking for long-wearing coverage.
Edward Bess, Guerlain, Armani, Givenchy, Shiseido, and Sue Devitt are all on my wishlist to buy in 2011.
Ellis Faas - Ellis Red in Milky Lips (skip the foundation pen from this line)
ReplyDeleteMAC - Eye Brows Crayon. This is the best brows product I've ever tried
Agree completely on the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliners and the Sisley skincare range.
I agree with a lot of yours - just a few more I think-
ReplyDeleteDior - I actually really like the new Rouge Dior lipstick formula - very underrated IMO!
Guerlain - rouge gs are the star of the show but the eyeshadows are also great for a polished pearly look.
Urban decay - if you love brights, the eyeshadows! for saving the palettes!
Chanel - joues contraste blushers- such a gorgeous glow, nothing comes close!
Aveda- Shampure Shampoo and conditioner is great for dry and fine hairs, i used to clean my make up brushes with.
ReplyDeleteChanel- Rouge Coco lipsticks, limited edition nail polishes, if you don't mind daily remove them. A small effort to be stylish.
Estee Lauder- skin care: soft clean lotion, time zone face cream, perfectionist serum.
Guerlain- i was a Guerlain lady for almost a decade. Super aqua serum, during cold months if your skin is dry, Issima Sos cream for soothing sensitive skin. Happylogy line if you are in your mid twenties, but avoid it you're scared about petrolatum, silicones and fragrances.
Kiss Kiss precious color lipstick.
Japonesque- Powercurl eyelash curler is a must for me. Kabuki bamboo-goat brush give a flawless application of powders.
Kanebo Sensai- I use kanebo sensai cellular performance from 2008 and my skin loves it. Face lotions are gorgeous, i did a lotion mask everyday using kanebo pads. THROAT & BUST LIFTING EFFECT.
Make up forever- Sens'eyes, a creamy gel eye make up remover.
Nars- brushes, Hydrating refreshening lotion (good for lotion mask), Nico blush is gorgeous for a very pale girl with neutral undertones, Copacabana The multiple as highlighter.
Shiseido- Hydro powder eyeshadows are good base for powder eyeshadows. The skin care range, Hydrating lotion, Relaxing massage cream, Smoothing veil make up base.
Sisley- Crème repatrice au beurre de karité is great for dry patches, sun burns and very dry skin during cold months, i don't mind the scent.
Yves Saint Laurent- black eyeliner, Top Secret make up base.
Bah, I didn't need to read this. Now I want to try most of the above.
ReplyDeleteBobbi Brown: Pot Rouge. Heavily pigmented, kind to the skin, and very affordable, esp amt for price you pay.
LMdB: Creme Fresh Tint, lovely texture and color.
YSL: eyeliner (black, such a sooty, powdery black).
LM: Nice mineral powder fndtn, Caviar e/l as well as her kohl (esp Black Gold).
NARS: Pandora e/s duo--perfection of sheer white and deep black. Lola Lola is a fantastic peachy bronze. Exhibit A and Madly blushes do not receive enough love.
Chantecaille: Aquablush (light for sensitive skin).
Chanel: La Ligne cake e/l (perfect cake, smidge of water needed).
Not a cosmetic/color line, but Caudalie and Decleor make fantastic oil blends for sensitive skin, great starting point to make your own oil blend.
Shiseido retinol eye masks (great to perk up skin), and Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator, amazing to soothe heavy inflammation.
Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel for very sensitive skins that still want a thorough cleansing.
So many recs are spot on. I would like to add the following:
ReplyDeleteGuerlain- in additition to the meteorites, the loose kohl for eyes.
Make Up Forever- HD High Definition Foundation. The texture, longevity, and shade range is great.
Josie Maran- Argan Oil
Loreal - Elnett Satin Hair spray
Sara Happ - Brown sugar lip scrub
Shu - the cleansing oils
YSL Touché Éclat
Great idea for a post! I agree with most of your choices, yay especially for Edward Bess (my new makeup god), Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows, Le Metier de Beauté and D&G eyeshadows.
ReplyDeleteMy own two cents:
YSL Rouge Pur and the new Rouge Pur Couture. Great texture, amazing color payoff. I don't like Rouge Volupté, however - I find it too creamy so the color never sits properly on the lips.
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil: I noticed you said you don't like the brand's lipsticks but I recommend this product to everybody. Miraculously, it's not drying at all and lasts forever.
Aveda- Spray protector for the sun.
ReplyDeleteBobbi Brown- eye liner
Chanel- lip pencil, lipstick like Lune Rouge
Dior- lip Gloss, mascara
Estee Lauder- skin care, blushes
Givenchy- mascara
Guerlain- Meteorites, khol
Kanebo Sensai- I used to buy the hair care products, sily, precious.
Lancome- mascara,eye shadow
L'Occitane- Karité mask for the face
Nars- Mascara
Shiseido- skin care, pressed powders
Shu Uemura- Don´t know if they still make the cleanser (oil) I loved it.
Sisley- skin care, eyeliners and lipsticks
Urban Decay- eye shadow primer, liquid eyeliners
Yves Saint Laurent- blush, eye shadow, eye pencil, make up base
Have you ever tried anything from Rouge Bunny Rouge ?
ReplyDeleteArmani- Eyes To Kill Mascara, Rouge d'Armani lipsticks.
ReplyDeleteAveda- I’ve got major curly hair, their Be Curly leave in conditioner is great, it defines the curls and has a natural-look hold.
Bliss-I like their clog dissolving cleansing milk, cleans oily skin but doesn’t overstrip.
Buxom- mascara (I couldn’t agree more, it’s fabulous).
By Terry-Love the lip glosses, but do not like the rose scent that comes with the product, it’s cloying.
Chanel-I’m in love with their Teint de Innocence compact foundation and Rouge Coco lipsticks.
Cle de Peau-I just tried CdP skincare this year, their products are lovely.
DDF-Glycolic Toner in 10%, it gets rid of blotchiness and brown spots in a hurry.
Dior-Love their eye shadows and their Addict High Shine lipstick in Model Brown.
Givenchy-Mascara, and their Ysatis body cream/gel. I wish more lines would make this formula, it’s richly moisturizing yet lightweight on the skin. It almost has a whipped consistency.
Guerlain-I love their Kohl eyeliners, Marine was a major go-to this past season.
Lancome-I love their mascara, skin care, blush, have their Artliner in Brun Mystique-I wish they released it in a forest or olive green.
Laura Mercier-I love her brushes.
La Roche-Posay Mela D serum for night and Active C for day.
Le Metier de Beaute- I just tried the Kaleidoscope kits and all I can say is wow….. amazing products. Peau Vierge tinted moisturizer is next on my list to try.
Nars- Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, it’d be nice to see what’d they do with a brown or green pencil. Their lipsticks are quite drying.
Shiseido-Have used their skin care on and off for 16 years, and the lip crayons (LC6) are marvelous.
Shu Uemura- All I can say is I wish I’d stocked up before they were moved from the US.
Sue Devitt- Intensifier Eye Pencil.
Brands on my must try list for this year are Edward Bess, Burberry and Julie Hewett. Things I’d like to see less of: all the sparkly products!
I agree with your choices from the brands I know, so I think I need to bookmark this for future purchases.
ReplyDeleteFor Rouge Bunny Rouge my recommendations would be the lipsticks, eyeshadows and their liquid liner (a true rival to the LMdB).
RMK - undereye concealer
Lancome - try the Eclat Miracle. I use it as a highlighter but you can use all over or mix with foundation. A hidden gem in my opinion.