This one's a little off the beaten path for me...

...but this week, we're talking men's skincare. More specifically, we're talking Kyoku for men, which is also known as "the best skin care products your guy probably isn't using."

I'd not ever heard of this line before, but was presented the opportunity to try it, and so I set about researching it, so I'd know more about it. Synopsis from birchbox.com - Kyoku for Men founder Asim Akhtar visited the Japanese hillside village of Yuzuri Hara. He was amazed to find that the inhabitants were not only remarkably youthful looking, but also lived longer than their Western counterparts. He learned that their secret was a combination of diet, as well as skincare with natural ingredients, such as sake, adzuki beans, and volcanic ash. Akhtar began incorporating those same ingredients in to his own life, and later in to the skin care line that he founded.

Neat, right? So if you're someone who prefers their products to be a little more natural, these products will be right up your alley!

Before I go much farther, the glamour shot;

I dig this, because if there were ever any products that were custom designed to give a guy, these are probably them, right? Nice packaging. Sleek. Clearly labeled, easy to understand, easy to use. Tailor made for the manly men in your life.

The two products that you see are the BDY-SC and BDY-BL, or body scrub and body lotion, both in the "Wind" scent. I gave these products two tries, once myself, and once on my absurdly dry husband. Serious, the man's got some real problems with dry skin. What I found out;

I love this stuff, you guys.

The body scrub will do the duty of body wash, but has some extra scrubbing power. Your guy might hear "body scrub" and think of that peach stuff of yours that they see in the shower sometimes, but nope. This will multi-task - you're clean, you're confident, you're on with your day.

The lotion does a little double duty too! This reminded me of one of my very favorite lotions, (Trader Joe's "A Midsummer Night's Cream", if you're curious), and I don't bestow such compliments on many lotions! Went on quickly, absorbed smoothly, and didn't leave me feeling slippery or greasy! Notice that those are all buzzwords that guys will LOVE, right?

And as for my salamander of a husband, the man with the chronically dry skin? Dude normally can't go a full 8 hours without reapplying lotion. Not even kidding. One application of Kyoku BDY-BL, he made it a full DAY before complaining of dryness! A full 24 hours! I'd pay nearly any amount of money for that!

As for scents - these are scented products. And they're musky enough that you'll know that you're using a mans product. But, you'll be pleased to find out that the scent dissipates pretty quickly, so you won't find yourself with people asking you if you inadvertently put on your husband or boyfriends cologne that morning. And as for your guys - they can get away with muskier scents, but it also layers well. By the time my husband got to the portion of the day where he was putting on cologne, the scent layered nicely in with his chosen cologne.

The only vaguely negative thing I have to say, honest, is a really small problem. The PUMP. The representative for Kyoku that I had the opportunity to speak to said that they were really excited for the pumps, because they believed that it would help the customers get the most product from the container, therefore getting maximum bang for the buck. And I believe that he's right in saying that - I think that they will. But I also think that the pump quality leaves a little to be desired. I received the lotion, the scrub and two pumps in the mail. Neither pump was labeled to go with a specific product. The pump I selected to go with the lotion was sealed really well. Like, it took me several minutes worth of standing there and turning for the pump to open. Meanwhile, the pump I put in to the scrub was sealed off so tight, and took so much effort to get a modest amount of scrub out, that I kind of started to question whether or not I actually knew how to use a pump at all. It was that bad!

Pump aside, I was tremendously impressed with their products, and have already been scouting out the list on Amazon for others I want to try! The Kyoku For Men products come in four scents - Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, and are available for sale on Amazon. They also have a skin care line for sale on Amazon, as well as an anti-acne line available from Kyoku.com. In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided these products in exchange for my review, however, all opinions are my own.

Ooh! I almost forgot! If you purchase any of the Kyoku For Men products on amazon, put in promo code "SRAFB3GT", and take $1 off each product! Thanks, Kyoku!

I'm well moisturized, and working on my video skills...

This week, I get well moisturized, and continue working on my videos! I don't feel like I've got a house that's very conducive for videoing - the best places to sit and film a video, have warm lights! And that's no good!

At any rate, this week we're discussing moisture, courtesy of our friends at Olay!

First up, the Olay Fresh Effects "Long Live Moisture!" moisturizer. This moisturizer promises the "rich hydration of a lotion, with the light feeling of a gel". And that's mostly exactly what you get. If you've got dry skin, or just otherwise like a richer feeling lotion, this ain't your guy. If you want a light, basic moisturizer that will absorb quickly and get you on your way, and you don't mind scents - you have met your match, right here!

Next up, on this Olay moisture-stravaganza, the "Bright On Schedule!" eye roller. I talked about this once via text, back in the Spring (read it here.), so gave it a video try, just to really cover all my bases.

Similar to it's sister "Long Live Moisture!", "Bright On Schedule!" is a light, fast absorbing, all purpose eye cream. If you need your eye cream (or moisturizer) to be doing something specific, if you like the feeling of a richer, creamer lotion, Fresh Effects is not the line for you.

If you need a basic, all purpose moisturizer or eye cream, and you don't mind scents, you'll be very happy with either of these products! If you need or want a richer moisturizer, or you need something specific from your products (sensitive skin, anti-aging, etc.), or you're bothered by scents, you need to keep walking past these two.

So, I like to think I'm doing alright with this video thing, for being a new kid at it at least. I'll keep trying. ;)

See you later, my lovelies!

I'm back, baby!

Sometimes, I'm a little optimistic. Last Monday, I had surgery, and told myself that while I was laid up, I'd be able to update every. day. I didn't count on that it was going to take me four days to feel like anything resembling a normal human being again, though!

At any rate, I'm here! AND, I decided to be adventurous this afternoon, and I tried my hand at recording a Youtube worthy video. I'll share it here, because otherwise how would you all know about it, but also, I realized afterward that there were a few things I wanted to speak to in the video, and didn't, so sharing it again here gives me a chance to address those things.

One of the things I wanted to address, that I didn't remember to:

When to use it. I've heard some people say that they apply foundation, and THEN apply primer, because they like the pore blurring effect of it. In my own personal experience, applying foundation and then primer over the top, number one - won't get you the nice, even surface, and two - it's only tended to draw attention to my pores. Like the silicone or whatever is in the primer, kind of broken up my foundation a little. The coverage wasn't as good or as smooth afterward, and the powder cosmetics I applied over the top, tended to grab really hard.

In my own personal experience, not all primers are created equal. I've got several primers in my bag right now (and my eye on a few more that may be joining us with some Christmas money after the holidays!!), and they're not the same. But Maybelline Baby Skin is a goodie. Goes on nice and silky smooth, evens out skin - without creating any sort of mask like feel, doesn't settle in to any fine lines or wrinkles, and that little bit you get in that container goes a long way! For $9 US, you'll get a lot of milage out of that little green container! I'm not shy about telling you guys if I wouldn't buy something again, but in this case, I totally would. If you want to talk about really getting some bang for the buck in the drug store, this guy fits the bill!

There is a second version of Baby Skin, which is supposed to give a more luminous finish, but I don't believe that version is for sale in the US just yet.

Wet N Wild Wednesday!

Today for Wet N Wild Wednesday, I've swatched a few polishes for your viewing and dancing pleasures. Wet N Wild, when it comes to their nail polishes at least, delivers exactly what they say they will - the colors in the bottle look exactly like they'll look on your nails, you are promised one stroke application (which OK, you don't exactly get that...), and five days of "chip free wear". And you'll get five, and not a second more! It's actually kind of weird, it's like there's some sort of timer in the polish, or something. You won't make it six days, but you'll get a full five. And if you're looking for a more "natural" alternative to typical polish, this is your guy. Wet N Wild advertises that their polish is, "Toluene, phthalate, and formaldehyde free".

Batter up! First up to the plate, "On A Trip". This is a cheerful, mid-tone lilac. I could see this being fun to wear in the spring. No sparkle, no glitter. This is one that especially makes me object to that "one stroke application" thing, because it was still a little streaky after two strokes. I could have stood for three, I think.

In action. Mid-tone lilac, what you see is what you get.

This polish also holds the dubious distinction of being the polish that showed me that photographing nail polish is harder than I give it credit for being! My digital camera overexposed every shot I took, so I switched to my iPad, and even still, this is a pinch darker than the polish looks in reality. Never work with children, animals, or nail polish? :D

And that contraption you see the polish on is a swatch wheel, I got a big package at the beauty supply for $6, so what you're seeing is what the polish would look like with a white base coat. If you need to swatch your own polish, or just want to practice your nail art before you go for it on your hands, I got this one at Sally's!

Next up is "Through The Grapevine" a polish that worked hard to restore my faith in photographing nail polishes. A mid-toned, cool toned, pink-y purple, this one is pretty striking on. And this one has enough opacity to it that you could almost get away with one coat. Unless of course, you're like yours truly, and want more of a color payoff, in which case, go ahead. I don't judge. :D

Wet N Wild, by my own admission, is a tricky line to get on board with. They have their hits, and they have their misses. And their misses are usually catastrophic level misses (I've got an eyeliner that seems to have no pigment what so ever, that I'll offer as proof of that...), but when they do hit it, they knock it out of the park. I was super impressed with this color in particular. This would be a steal at two or three times the price!

It got it's own spot on the color wheel too. Gorgeous, right? But this is another Spring or Summer color, that'd look smashing with a tan!

Last up to the plate, "Under Your Spell", an absolutely perfect color for Fall this time, a deep red, that reads almost to a deep bronze, with a slight red glitter running through it.

You know one of the things I've always appreciated about Wet N Wild? Even though their price point is inexpensive, it doesn't look it. That polish, or either of the other two, could turn up in any nail salon, and you'd never question it. I think that's fantastic.

At any rate, this is the gorgeousness that is "Under Your Spell", which I totally am. I'm not rocking it right now - my nails are too long to also be that dark*, but I kind of can't stop staring at it.

*I'm a big believer in balance in nails - I don't feel like long nails should be dark colors like this. Your milage may vary of course, if you want to have long, duck footed nails that are jet black, than you do you, and be proud of who you are. It's just not my scene.

 "Under Your Spell" takes it's turn on the big wheel;

You can see a little bit of that fine red glitter running through it in this pic. It's really fine, you won't feel like you're trying to look 17, rocking some glitter again. It's just a little extra sass.

With these colors - I swatched them on white, up against white fabric, so you might be wondering what they'll look like on you, if you're any darker than...say, Snow White. Worry not - each of these colors go on really true to the color in the bottle. Even "On A Trip", which the swatch picture didn't do justice, came out the color of the bottle in real life.

Some of these, I see being a little more seasonally appropriate than others. Like, I think "Through The Grapevine" would look fantastic with a summer tan, "On A Trip" is a great Spring color, "Under Your Spell" is a great Fall/Winter color. But if you've got someone in your life that loves to paint their nails, and likes to add a lot of color to their collection, the Wet N Wild Megalast nail colors are a great drugstore brand to start with!

Within the next few weeks, I hope to get through a lot of these colors, and collect all the pictures in one spot (a swatch collection, if you're familiar with blogger vernacular). I also hope to be getting around and investigating some possible dupes for these colors to let you guys know about those. I make no promises (naturally...), but I do know OPI has some really exciting purples, there's probably some dupe potential in there.

I've not been doing great at keeping up with you guys, but I hope for that to change. I'll be talking skin care coming up in the next few weeks, going to be looking for some dupes for some of these nail colors, and I've got some exciting eyeshadow I can't wait to dig in to. We'll talk soon, I promise!

Later, lovelies!

When last we were all together...

We learned that the good people at NYX Cosmetics have never met a pale person. But boy howdy, the staff at Rimmel sure has!

So I did a bit of a "second verse, same as the first" gig here. You'll see the NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat powder foundation, Enigmatic Illuminator, and Matte Bronzer in light. The ELF Brow Powder also makes it's debut appearance in the testing.

Here I am, washed, prepped and primed. I was recently part of a product test for a company I won't name, just to keep myself covered, and I used one of the face washes that I tested, the Olay Long Live Moisture! moisturizer from the last test, and L'Oreal Miracle Blur just like last time as well. And yes, I'll be waxing my brows in the morning. :D

I used the Rimmel Stay Matte mousse foundation, that everyone raves about. I used Light Ivory, which is their second lightest shade.

Is much better, yes? I initially was using my beauty blender, and couldn't get it blended down enough that I was happy - I've got weird flakiness in my t-zone that never goes away (serious, I'm freshly exfoliated, still look that flaky. It never leaves me!), and the beauty blender seemed to be drawing attention to it, rather than detracting from it. So I kicked it old school, got my foundation brush out, and smoothed it down as much as I could with that.

Then I added in the bronzer, powder, whole shebang, and got this; I messed this pic up a tiny bit, because I wanted to check my contouring work, so I turned to get a bit more of a straight on effect. It also gave me a little shadow. And I tried to brighten it up, but couldn't brighten without it looking overly fake. 

See, a little shadow-y. But also a considerably better match for my skin than the NYX was, I think we can all agree!

I've now had this foundation on about 5 hours, and I'm not yet confident in it's long term wear - I've got some settling in to the large pores around my nose. It's not visible unless you're looking really close up, which of course, no one but me would. But the problem remains.

I used Light Ivory, which is the second lightest foundation they make, and guys? If you are a pale girl...meet the good people at Rimmel. This is pale enough that there were times that it started to feel a little kabuki mask line. I really had to work with it, to get it where I was satisfied. This matches my neck and all, but in truth, I maybe even could have stood one darker.

So right now, I'm giving this a solid "probably". It's got full coverage - I don't think anything is showing through this stuff! It's matte, exactly like it advertises. It comes in a wide variety of shades, feels light going on, but really stands up to the test. The "long lasting" issue is the only one that's stopping me from fully, enthusiastically signing off on it. The settling in to the pores is giving me a little pause. But I'll keep testing, and let you know soon!

See you later, my lovelies!

Road Testing a Look...

Also known as "I'm sure glad I trusted my instincts on this one!" Tuesday.

My husband's company Christmas party is this coming weekend. I love it. It's one of a handful of times a year where I just get to go all out, full fledged, no holds barred, glam. Yes, I'm sure you're surprised to find out, being a part time grown up like yours truly, doesn't allow much opportunity for glamour.

So, since it's one of my few chances, I take it. New dress, get my hair done, new makeup, the whole nine. This year, while I was out on Black Friday, I picked up a few things, with an eye toward them being part of my Christmas party look. Instinct told me I should probably test 'em out, so tonight I grabbed up a few, and gave it a dry run.

Here's my guys. All by NYX. In this pic, you see:

Stay Matte But Not Flat liquid foundation in Nude

Stay Matte But Not Flat powder foundation in Nude

Matte Bronzer in Light

Illuminator in Enigmatic

Cream Blush in Boho Chic

The SMBNF power foundation is actually perfectly fine as a foundation in it's own right, just for this particular occasion, I wanted more coverage. Enter the liquid foundation. I was intimidated by the Illuminator too, because it was pink, and I typically buy illuminators in gold. And it was light pink, and illuminators never give off much color in the first place, but even still. Sometimes you get freaked out, know what I mean?

Just so you can see what I'm workin' with, here I am, washed, prepped and primed:

I used the Olay Fresh Effects mattifying face wash, and "Long Live Moisture!" moisturizer, along with L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur (Oil Free). Not bad. Some big pores, a little ruddiness, nothing major and tragic to cover, right?

I get out my Beauty Blender, the SMBNF liquid foundation, and go to town. I pretty quickly realize the error of my ways. In fact, I took a picture of my realizing it, in my bathroom. I don't like to take pictures in my bathroom if I can help it, the lighting is a little warm, but even still. This is no exaggeration;

Do you see the problem I have? As in, I went from "a little redness and some big pores, but nothing terrible..." to looking like a jaundice patient?! In one round with a beauty blender?!

That's the SMBNF liquid foundation only. That's it! But for some reason, at this point, I didn't stop, I kept going. I dutifully powdered, and highlighted, and contoured, and bronzed, and blushed, and did everything I could. I got it up to here;

Yeah. That's what I got to. And this isn't even a super great picture, as quality pictures go, but I like it because at the bottom, you can see the light hit my collarbone, and you can see just how wildly off in color and tone this Stay Matte But Not Flat foundation is.

The kicker? "Nude" is the second to lightest shade they make in this line. Kid you not. It's this dark, and it's the second to lightest shade that they make. Whoever is in charge of shades for the SMBNF line...apparently doesn't know any pale people. This is madness.

And oddly, Boho Chic, the cream blush? Was one of the darkest my CVS had. I had to resort to just stippling it on with my finger, and not even attempting to blend it, just to be able to see it!

Although the bright spot, if you want to look for one? The Enigmatic illuminator? The one I was so intimidated by? I didn't notice any difference between it, and any other illuminator I've ever used.

So a foundation that's bonkers, it's so dark (the formulation is nice, it's just a shame that no one that's any lighter than, say, a Kardashian sister, can possibly use it), a blush that has almost nada for pigmentation, but a nice illuminator. I wasn't exactly batting 1000 on my last NYX shopping trip, was I?

Sure glad I tested this before the day of the party! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an Ulta reciept to find! Until next time, my lovelies!