Product Review:Smooth Away

I don't usually go in for "as seen on TV" products. As a matter of fact, when I first saw Smooth Away I thought it was about the silliest thing I'd ever seen; an over sized nail file that was supposed to magically and painlessly buff away hair. I wouldn't have given it a single thought, but when it began making the beauty mag editorial rounds, it was garnering some surprisingly decent reviews. When I found a $2.00 off coupon in my Sunday paper, I decided that I'd try it.

I purchased Smooth Away at my local Walgreens. After my coupon, I paid $7.99 plus tax for one large and one small applicator, 5 "flex-crystal" replacement pads of each size, and a travel case. The Smooth Away system consists of a flexible plastic oval shaped mitt that you stick the hair removal pads to. The pads feel and look like an old-school blackboard and kind of gave me the willies when I handled them. The self adhesive pads are fairly easy to apply, just peel and place. The adhesive is pretty heavy duty, so I had to take a second to make sure I was placing it correctly on the applicator. The package also states that it's important to make sure there are no air bubbles under the pad, which was easier said than done.

Being the instant gratification person that I am, I ignored the package directions that stated that skin should be thoroughly cleansed and dry before using the Smooth Away. After all, I figured: "The major benefit of this product is that it can be used anytime, anywhere. If I have to shower right before I use it, why not just use a razor while I'm in there?" The directions also state that hair should be no more than 1/4" long. Sorry if this is TMI, but I failed on this directive as well. Was I supposed to shave, then wait another 3 days before I tried my new toy? I think not.

After prepping my Smooth Away and practicing the suggested buffing pattern (3 rotations clockwise, then 3 counter clockwise) I went to town on my lower leg. As I buffed, I noticed that the fine regrowth on my leg was actually disappearing! Though the circular buffing pattern did feel awkward at first, I noticed no discomfort as my hair was being removed, and no redness afterward. I had read Smooth Away reviews that listed the amount of time it takes as a con, and I have to say, I agree- it took much more time to use this product than it would to shave, not to mention the physical exertion of the wax on/wax off buffing method. My second issue arose just minutes later, as I realized that the pad seemed to have stopped working- one large pad only removed hair from about half of my lower leg. Of course, it occurred to me that the pad's short life could have something to do with my failure to follow directions, so I decided to try again another time.

After seeing that the Smooth Away did indeed remove some hair without any apparent irritation, I decided to take a chance and use the small applicator on my upper lip. I followed directions to the letter, cleansing my skin, pulling it taught and gently buffing the area. The package insert states that it is normal to notice a bit of redness after hair removal, so I didn't think much when my lip began to look rosy- there was still hair to be removed, so I continued. When my skin began to burn (with plenty of hair left) I decided that this was not for me, and stopped. That's when I noticed a little spot of red seeping out from the corner of my lip-I had actually drawn blood!

Anyone who follows me on twitter may remember the post "Smooth Away? More like abrade away". This pretty much sums it up for me- though I had no ill effects on my legs, the product left me with a severe friction burn on my lip- the skin actually formed a scab (yuck, sorry, but you should know, right?) and remained dry and broken out for over 3 weeks (it's still not back to normal!) To literally add insult to injury, the hair in the area wasn't even gone! I did try the large pads on my legs several more times, this time closely following the package directions. I ended up with the same results no matter how I used it- while the hair was removed from a small area, the removal was not as close or as uniform as shaving- I was always left with errant hairs, and it would have taken me around 5 pads and probably 2 hours to do both legs. Refill pads cost $9.99 for 12 large and 6 small- about 2 or 3 uses. A refill pack of my Venus razors are also $9.99, but since one razor lasts me several weeks, they are definitely the more economical option.

I give Smooth Away a 1/2 out of 10. If you have infinite time to buff away at your legs and don't mind having to change pads every 3 minutes, go for it. For $8 I'm not going to complain about wasting my money- though the Smooth Away may be destined for the yard sale basket, at least I get to save you all from spending your hard earned cash- skip the Smooth Away and put the ten spot in your rainy day jar!

Pros:
- Really, none. This is a hair removal device that barely removes hair. It does exfoliate somewhat, how's that?

Cons:
- Limited availability
- buffing method is awkward and does not uniformly remove hair
- caused extreme irritation on my face
- pads have a very limited usage life-you'll need several to do both legs.
- very time consuming- each area needs to be buffed repeatedly to remove all hair.

HauteLook Update

It looks like Jonathan Product is off of the HauteLook menu on July 2nd. Taking it's place will be eco-beauty line Exuberance on July 3rd. The largely organic face and body care line is free of parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances and petrochemicals and does not conduct tests on animals. If you're looking to green up your beauty ritual, this line may be for you!

120 Palette Inspiration: Taco Bell at 3AM

A few weeks ago, I finally gave into my curiosity and purchased the 120 palette on Ebay. I figured, for $15 what did I have to lose? Friday, my palette arrived from Hong Kong and despite seeing warning after warning that they usually come with at least a few broken pans, mine had not a single chip. I couldn't wait to play, but with so many colors, where does one begin? So I asked my tweeps for some inspiration. My pseudo brother-in-law replied thusly:

"Makeup Inspiration Suggestion: taco bell at 3AM after a drunken rager of a party. AND GO!"

So, for those of you that don't follow me on twitter, here it is:


Though this is obviously not a look you're going to wear to the grocery store, without the bled-out mascara, it's actually quite wearable. In case you didn't pick up on it, the colors on my lid- yellow, fuchsia and purplish-blue are the colors of Taco Bell's logo. The bleeding mascara, well, that's the 3AM after a drunken rager part...

I enjoyed playing with the palette; give me a few weeks to play and evaluate and I promise a more comprehensive review. I should mention, the photos are not the greatest (it was getting ready to storm outside, so I just couldn't find good light!) The colors look a bit washed out- they were much brighter in person.

I primed my lid and applied a white cream shadow to the inner third of my eye, just up to the crease. Then, using a small, dense brush I applied a vivid, matte yellow to my lid over the white, again, just to the inner third of the eye. Using my pencil brush, I layered a lighter, slightly shimmery yellow over the matte shade in the very inner corner of my eye, extending it down onto my tear duct and slightly under the inner corner of my lower lash line.

Next I took a bright, matte fuchsia and patted it on the outer two-thirds of my eye, being careful to just blend the edge of the yellow with the fuchsia. Switching to a domed shader brush, I took a deep purple and applied it to my crease, extending the line into a soft V shape to connect it to my upper lash line. Using a pencil brush, I added in a bit of cobalt blue over the purple and slightly into the fuchsia, just to blend the colors.

After cleaning off my domed shader, I applied a matte white to highlight my brow bone and fade out the purple. I added a bit more purple along my upper and lower lashes, stopping short where the yellow was applied (yellow+purple= mud).

If you've never purposely smudged your mascara, here's how I did it: I applied regular black mascara to my bottom lashes only. Then I put a drop of Visine in each eye, and blinked my eyes shut rather tightly. This gives a bit of smudge to start with, for added drama I took a fan brush and lightly dragged it through the wet mascara. Now that you know how to do this, promise you'll only use your knowledge for good, OK?

Product List:

Eyes
Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eye Lids: 120 Palette (the one with the row of marbled shades)
For a view of the 120 palette with the specific shades I used outlined, CLICK HERE.
Brows: Automatic Brow Pencil Duo in Soft Brown (Estee Lauder)
Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black

Brushes
MAC 239 (small dense eyeshadow)
MAC 219 (pencil brush)
MAC 222 (fluffy, domed shader)
Fan brush (mine is a discontinued Estee Lauder brush)

This Week's Sale Invites:Napoloeon Perdis, Jonathan Product, Oscar Blandi and More!

It's a beauty heavy week over at HauteLook! The site starts out on Monday June 29th with Clean, a soap-inspired fragrance line for body, hair and home. On June 30th they'll host a 2 day engagement with Hollywood makeup artist Napoleon Perdis' eponymous line. Then beginning July 1st, D.L.& Co offers an opulent collection of home and personal fragrance, in scents ranging from citrine to rhubarb. Rounding out the week, catch Jonathan Product on July 2nd. All sales begin at 11AM EDT.

Over at Gilt Groupe, Oscar Blandi haircare will be on sale starting June 30th at 11AM.

Both sites are members only- If you haven't signed up for a free account yet, CLICK HERE for a personal invite from me and have fun shopping!

Beauty Buzz Word: Prestige

The word "prestige" is the industry term used to describe makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrance brands sold exclusively at department stores (like Macy's, Saks, Dillards, etc...) salons and specialty boutiques (Sephora, Ulta).

Too Faced Sale

Too many sales, too little time! Here's another one for you. Now through Sunday go to Too Faced Cosmetics to score some of their legendary Too Faced Shadow Insurance. If you're all set on eyeshadow primer, check out the chocolate scented bronzer or pinpoint mascara. No matter what you order, you'll get 20%. As if that weren't enough, you also get a free gift with any purchase of $35 or more. Just enter the code SIZZLE when you check out

Product Review:Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder

Influenced by Bumble and Bumble's auspicious reputation amongst beauty editors, I finally decided to pony up the cash for what I was sure was going to be my holy grail hair care product: Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder. I have long, fine, color treated hair- washing it daily is simply not an option if I want to keep the hair on my head, well....on my head. Hair Powder is Bumble and Bumble's answer to dry shampoo- it is designed to be an alternative to daily wet shampooing, I was intrigued by the fact that unlike any other brand I know of, Bumble's powder is colored. It also comes in a spray form, which I looked forward to since I tend to be a bit messy.

I purchased the powder when I went to my salon for a cut and a blow-out, and I have to tell you, I've never wished for dirty hair so much in my life. When I finally got around to using it a couple of days later, I couldn't suppress the feeling that I'd used something like this before. I've tried baby powder and cornstarch on the occasional "alarm didn't ring" morning. They do work in a pinch but can leave you looking looking like one of our founding fathers if you're not careful (powdered wig, anyone?) Finally, I realized where my déjà vu was coming from: my $35 can of designer haircare suspiciously reminded me of the temporary hair color spray we all used to buy for Halloween. The spray we used to pay $3.00 for.

I can say that this spray "powder" did what was advertised. The product absorbed oil, and added some texture and lift to my lank roots. Unfortunately, that's really the most positive thing I can say about it.

The first thing I noticed was the color. My hair is vibrant true red (I do add a touch of red-violet just to keep it from looking brassy.) Despite this, I still found the red powder a bit too bright. It only blended well on my hair if it was freshly colored- once my dark blond roots started to grow out, it looked as if I had a blotchy, botched dye job. The powder also made my hair incredibly dull looking, which I'm not sure is any better than having unwashed hair. It was easy to apply, but required a once-over to remove the errant specks of red from my face.

While overall it wasn't horrible product, it definitely was not worth the price for me. I purchased the large 4 oz can for $35 and barely got 10 applications out of it. The only way I could be persuaded to buy this again is if the price went down about $25. Somehow, I don't see that happening, so for now I'm keeping my eyes open for another option on lazy days.

I'd give this product a 3.5 out of 10. It's workable and has it's uses, but is not widely available and hardly justifies it's steep price. Not something I'd suggest searching out.

Pros:
- absorbs excess oil from the scalp to help prolong time in between washes.
- gives hair a bit of grip or texture to make styling easier.
- has a root lifting effect, adding volume to the hair.
- could be used as a root touch up if you can find a matching shade.
- 5 shades available: white, blonde, red, brown and black.

Cons:
- powder color is very opaque, making it difficult to match
- makes hair appear dull
- limited availability
- small amount of product for the cost (the can looks almost as big as my 10oz hairspray, but only holds 4oz of product. Go figure.)
- can be messy, product creates a mist that will land on skin, countertops, etc...