Beauty Balm

                           


                                  ONE  OF THE BEST NEW BEAUTY PRODUCTS




Maybe you've noticed one of the newest beauty products on the market.  It actually crawled in under my radar and onto the shelves without attracting my attention.  A sales person at the Body Shop first introduced me when I said I was looking for a tinted moisturizer. " Try this,"   She held a small tube marked BB. "It's Beauty Balm" I then recalled seeing ads for it but they had failed to pique my interest.   So many products .. so little time.  She must have read my mind.  "Just give it try. It's  a bit different from what else is out there.  
 I smoothed some over my face and checked the mirror. My skin  had that luminous glow I'm forever in search of.  Best of all it didn't look like I was wearing makeup

Beauty Balm, I think originated in Asia . It is a combination of primer, color, moisturizer and  sunscreen.    It is light and impacts a nice healthy look when you chose the right shade (go lighter rather than darker). It's inexpensive.  Maybelline's, which I tried next was under $10.  I then moved on to Cover Girl (also good )and L'Oreal which  is marketed for mature skin and is a little more moisturizing  than the others.  However it didn't impart as much color.

On a trip to Sephora, I found that they too had hopped on the Beauty Balm bandwagon with everyone from Benefit to Dior hawking their versions. I decided to be extravagant and try a high end balm.  After taking a good look at my face the salesperson returned with a jar.  This BB was a water based gel and was one of several from a line I  had never heard of, Dr. Jart.  The product was rather thick and not easy to apply.I was skeptical,but she was convincing and I had a train to catch so I put another  $35plus tax on my credit card and took it home.   If  there was a glow, I couldn't see it and the gel like texture wasn't to my liking.     Back it went no questions asked.  For now I'm sticking with  the drug store brands .
The balm is a great idea for those of us who like to think we really don't need foundation but look much better with it.  Foundation? Me?  Of course not! Just a little BB Balm. 


Cheers,

Barb

The Premier Primer


There I was after a two month hiatus back in Sephora not knowing which way to go first. So many new products, so little time. I headed for Benefit where I found that they too had jumped into the primer parade with an entry called"that gal" brightening face primer.
While most primers are housed in a pump bottles or tubes Benefit's is presented in a plastic cylinder capped with a wide perforated top. When you twist the bottom of the cylinder a luscious petal pink cream wiggles its way out.

I headed for the mirror and smoothed it over my face on top of whatever makeup was left from earlier in the day. It had a cool silky feel and I looked brighter immediately. "But you know I still have some other makeup under it" I said to the sales girl when she complimented me. Not to worry, she said. The product could be used alone, under or even on top of makeup. But she still insisted it was a primer??? I had an almost full bottle of Smashbox primer at home so I didn't purchase the new product.
When I started to cleanse my face that night I noticed I looked better than I usually did at that hour which is most often, just this side of hagged. Then I recalled the label which read brightening face primer. Benefit is a bastion of brightening products. Witness their It Stick, High Beam (a favorite of mine)and Eye Bright. All deliver a brightening radiance. This latest product carries on the tradition and an almost full bottle of Smahbox or not I have to add it to my collection.
Cheers,
Barb