Sunday, November 23, 2008
Review of Estee Lauder: New website and cosmetics review for Blogher
I was given the opportunity to order $100 of makeup from esteelauder.com to review their new web site and their products through BlogHer . As I received money to order product, this is a paid review, but it does not influence the opinions expressed here.
The main word I would use to describe Estee Lauder cosmetic line and their website is PRETTY. They are packaging and marketing geniuses. Everything about their site and their line is very pleasing to the eye. The site itself is slow loading on my computer but that is mainly due to the fact that I have an Internet connection that runs at the pace of cold tar.
Their site is easy to navigate and has several tabbed options to look at that include how-to tips, instructional videos, what's new and special offers. I have always loved Estee Lauder's gift packages. Right now there is a 5-piece gift option for purchases over $50.00 to die for. The eyeshadow pallet alone would be worth it.
As I navigated the site I noticed that they have several options for the user to get help with questions and to find the right product. They have a tool called imatch foundation finder that helps you find the right foundation for you and your lifestyle. I will admit to being frightened about trying to order foundation that I had never used online. I have difficult skin to match and so I was not sure that I could trust ordering something I had never tried that would look good on me. However, since it was not on my dime, it made me a little braver and so I tried imatch out.
It took me through questions about my skin tone, type, and my preferences for coverage and then recommended two different foundations for me. I ended up selecting Resilience Lift Extreme in fair. I love this foundation. It gives a nice, medium coverage that isn't too sheer or too thick. The best part about it is that it is very creamy and applies like a dream. Often, because I have combination skin that leans towards the dry side, foundation that I select that doesn't feel drying often ends up leaving my face feeling like it is slathered in a layer of oily goo. This foundation left my skin feeling creamy and lovely hours later. The shade was PERFECT. I couldn't believe it. Of all cosmetic products, it is essential to get the right foundation shade and I couldn't believe how well the imatch tool worked. Big thumbs up for it!
I also used their skin care finder to select a face wash. This wasn't nearly as scary as thinking about ordering foundation online. I have found a moisturizer that I LOVE (sorry, Estee...it's from a different line), but I have been unable to find a face wash that I am happy with. I wanted something that did not exfoliate (I have one of those as well) but would also be non-drying and non-oily. They recommended Soft Clean Foaming Moisturizing Cleanser.
For me, this purchase was the most bang for your buck. It's a reasonable $19.00 for 4.2 oz. I was surprised at how large the tube was and you only need to use a tiny bit because this product goes a long way. It did a great job and felt sooooo good on my skin. It left it feeling soft and dewey and supple instead of taught and dry like a lot of cleansers. It moisturized without going overboard by feeling greasy. The only drawback is that the scent is rose petal and a little too strong for me. It almost borders on grandma smell, but still doesn't cross the line, so it's fine. I think I am going to be very happy with this product and will buy it again.
I spent the rest of my stipend on lip products. I have plenty of lipsticks and so I ordered a lip pencil and two different lip glosses. I have to admit that I was disappointed in everything else I purchased. My main complain is that there are no real options for sheer or even neutral lip glosses. The colors are very bold and bright and that really is not what I am looking for in a lip gloss. I wanted to get one bold lip gloss and one sheer, moisturizing lip gloss.
For bold color, Pure Gloss lip gloss is your product! It has coverage as good as a lipstick and a brilliant shine to it. The biggest drawback, and it is a big one, is that it is quite sticky. I don't see me wearing this every day but I do like that I have it in my makeup bag for nights out. Because their Carmel color was sold out, I ended up ordering Tender Lip Balm in Berry. HELLO PINK! It is very shiny and very pink. It does moisturize my lips well and has an SPF of 15, but the size of the tube is not very generous, it has a slight taste to it that I don't really care for and is a bit sticky. The main drawback is the color, though. I don't know how often I'll wear it.
My last product was the Twist Up Automatic Lip Duo. I think I would have been happier ordering the regular lip pencil. While the brush on the end is helpful, the refills are a bit of a pain and I wasn't happy with the color selection. There really weren't many options for a neutral shade and while I do like that the pencil is highly pigmented for long use, I just don't care for the color.
They do have a live chat option with a beauty consultant that I wish I had taken advantage of to ask for help with ordering my lip product, but I find those sorts of functions intimidating. I regret not trying it out, though. If only they had a tool for finding lip products that they do for skin care and foundation!
My end verdict is that there are lots of great things to find at Estee Lauder and with their new website. I will be back to look at more of their skin care and foundations. I don't know if I will give their lip line another go, but I will definitely shop here again. Maybe I'll order $50.00 of stuff just to get my hands on that awesome gift pack, because it looks amazing.
Labels: cosmetics, estee lauder, review
Saturday, April 21, 2007
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
I moved n' stuff.
CLICK HERE for my new site.
It's been fun.
Lots of Looney wishes and Diet Coke dreams,
Ms. Tunes.
P.S. I made a disasterous decision to delete the posts from this blog. I got to September before I realized how MUCH this would affect my new blog, so if you are wondering why the next post is from September, that should pretty much cover it. Oh, except I forgot to say, "Yes, it was a stupid decision and YES, I'm a dork."
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Is it totally obvious I am trying to get yesterday's post off of my main page???
- I am 31 years old
- I have 5 siblings, of which I am the youngest
- I have an identical twin sister who is 8 minutes older than I am
- My sister Linny, calls me "Pee"
- My brother Rhett, calls me "Whiner"
- My brother Brad, calls me, "The Sister". This is an improvement from our childhood when for various, odd reasons he called me "The goat cheese in the little, linen sack". That's Ok. I called him, "Bradley Brown Burrito Socks", so I guess we're even.
- Loraina calls me, "Flee"
- I refinished my first antique at age 7. I learned it from my Dad, Bob. It was a dresser from the 1890's.
- I obsessively LOVE Diet Coke. If I could just strap an IV to my arm with it 24/7 I would, and that says a lot because...
- I have a rather unhealthy fear of needles.
- I have a clotting disorder, Leiden V Factor, that almost killed me.
- Due to wretched blood clot, I was on Oxycontin for 8 months and getting off of it was HELL ON EARTH.
- I have been married twice.
- My hairline is funky.
- I have almost no pinky toenails.
- I love buying high heels and looking at high heels, but I rarely wear them.
- I despise panty hose
- I have had my ears double pierced before. I wouldn't recommend it.
- I love being loved. It is as necessary as air.
- I don't understand, "Space".
- Chocolate is my FRIEND
- I love to cook
- Giving and receiving gifts makes me HAPPY.
- I have 3 children: James, Christopher and Matthew.
- I am married to Jonathan. He is a computer geek extrodinare. He knows everything. He also KNOWS that he knows everything, but is often kind enough to keep that fact quite from the "Common Folk".
- I have had my heart broken.
- My son, Matthew died at 3 1/2 months from SIDS on September 23, 2003.
- I am in religion limbo. I don't know who, what, where or why at the moment.
- I've always wanted a little girl.
- Red is my favorite color (Oxblood, if you want an exact shade)
- I skipped the third grade.
- My spelling and grammar suck.
- I went through a really disturbing obsession with KC Masterpiece BBQ Potato Chips.
- Umm...Same with Reeces' Peanut Butter Cups
- I sing
- Fairly OK actress as well
- I like my neck
- I love having my hair colored
- Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons
- I have been PTA President for three terms
- There is something I want that I can never have.
- I had a good friend that died in 1994 waiting for a heart/lung transplant. I still miss him.
- I have flown in a Lear Jet
- I have been mistaken for a prostitute wearing a cardigan sweater.
- Laughing is the best thing in the world
- My children are adorable and say the funniest, weirdest things in the world
- I love my siblings so much. They are some of my best friends.
- I rarely cry.
- Telling the doctors to stop working on my son was the very hardest moment of my life
- I suck at knitting
- I have pressure of speech. It is worse around some versus others.
- I cannot seem to leave well enough alone. EVER.
- I keyed my principal's car in high school
- I have fainted onstage
- I've been skydiving
- My dream is to go to England and Scotland
- I have been blessed to have friends that love me "Just as I am". For some reason, they see craziness as a "Plus".
- I have had three roommates named "Candy"
- I am allergic to mold and grasses
- My cat, Wilbur is a serious, SERIOUS whore
- I have undergone "Breast Augmentation"
- My husband was self employed until last year
- All three of my children were born under Medicaid (See above)
- Uniforms turn me on
- I love cops (Except for this one in North Logan. He's a dick)
- My hair stylist Stephanie has a friend named, Loralee and I have a friend named, Stephanie.
- I am technically challenged
- I can pronounce 6 languages pretty well but have no idea what I'm saying
- I am in love with Southwest Black Bean Salsa from Wal-Mart
- My friends are very, VERY important to me. I have a core of 4 that I hang out with reguarly.
- My friendship with Michelle is the best thing that resulted from my son dying.
- I am about to build a house.
- Vancouver B.C, is my favorite city I've visited thus far.
- Going out to eat is one of my favorite things to do on the planet
- I love the TV series "Dead Like Me". One of the best TV shows ever made. EVER.
- Reading is my friend.
- I love this blog.
- I have been trampled by a horse
- While visiting San Francisco, I had a very drunk biker throw up on my shoes on Haight Street.
- I love massages.
- When I was young I used to wish to be either the Queen of England or Princess Diana. Either would be acceptable.
- I like playing board games, but cards are not my favorite
- I enjoy being friends with people of all ages, race, religion, blah blah blah.
- Mean people suck.
- I am unable to look at things in a black or white way.
- I am the Queen of Vacillation.
- I had a full-ride scholarship to school.
- I have 400 semester credits and no degree.
- I tried going back to school this summer and fall. I had a complete breakdown and withdrew.
- Jonathan and I separated for 5 months.
- I miss people too much.
- I am capable of pulling of VERY cool things under circumstances deemed "Impossible".
- I want to be a better person
- I love the smell of freshly turned earth
- Grey, cloudy, rainy days make me HAPPY!
- I have a lot of anxiety
- My biggest goal in life is to find whatever peace and laughter I can
- I want to have a room with red walls one day
- I am trying to control my obsessions and my life
- I haven't given up. I hope I never will.
AMY
I was going to lay low for a few days because, well, I just was.
However, there was a person who was in my comments section (And all of them were lovely, Thank You.) and I have to ask the question.
Amy e-w?
Is that YOU, Chicken Little?
God, I hope so.
If it is, there is so much I have to say to you. How much I have to thank you for. I was such an non-coping ass. You have been on my mind for three years and my behavior just SUCKED. I have no decent excuse, just an explanation that my coping skills over the last few have been less than stellar.
I closed my old email account w/out importing my addresses. New cell, new home phone.
I tried Googling you, but I have no idea how in THE hell your last name is spelled.
I think it took me a year to SAY it correctly.
That said, I could have tried harder. I felt so stupid about the distance and what to say. Which is a pathetic excuse for as much as we went through.
Just know I have been THINKING ABOUT YOU.
I wrote about you earlier in a post about all the important people in my life:
THE AMY'S Then: Amy E was my first roommate in college. I was scared to death to meet her because I looked awful in high school and college. (See photo) We hit it off right away and spent the whole night talking. We roomed together until I married Gideon. So much history there. I love her like a sister. We had so much in common. She flew me out for her wedding to the greatest guy: Phil. They drove all night from Portland after Matthew died. Her boy was born 3 weeks before Matthew. Now: I haven't seen her since Matthew's funeral. My fault. I SUCK. She has tried to call and talk, but because our sons were so close in age I felt overwhelmed and I SUCK SUCK SUCK. Memories:Trying to make a stupid statue cry in the cemetery, theater, Harold and Maude, Mark, Journals, Elder Scott, Her body crying out for "Fresh Veggies", She cannot stay up past 9 pm without getting a bit testy! The bat in our apartment. Ficus tree, "Nice pants. They're red. I hate red".
If it IS you. Please know that I feel bad. I love you. I miss you.
If it isn't you, I will still try to find you.
***EDIT***
It was her! I am so happy about that.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Loss
**Edit**
In regards to the comment in this section (And the three emails from the same individual) I don't think I have ever said that suicide is "Ok" and I need to clarify that.**
There are times that I am smacked upside the head by loss and the reality of my life.
I read this post from "Very Mom" , and I cried.
My blog has just been so trivial and stupid lately.
I do know enough about myself to realize that I deal with grief by laughing. This blog has saved me and I love every friend I've made and every comment you all leave here. Please don't stop just because I am a downer right now. It is just that there are times I just want to throttle myself with how inimportant I make my life.
This is one of them.
Suddenly, I am back exactly where I was three years ago (Warning on the link. It is a hard thing to read. Trust me, I just re-read it. For those who are reading yet another post about my son, I'm sorry. It's just hard this time of year.).
Right now I just feel like I will never smile again.
My heart hurts.
From the Inbox
Sent at 3:39 am
In Asia now, and bored, so I caught your blog.
Ahem,……….SEX TOYS??????Loralee to "Concerned Older Brother"
Dear Loving Brother,
It figures that you would check my blog on the one designated "Naughty Day" of the month.
Sisters have sex, too. Even Little Sisters.
Shh...it's a big secret, though. We wouldn't want to spoil it for every other brother out there.
Grin.
Your Sexy Sis
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Loralee
Names are important.
One of the best things I have read about names (Aside from Sue's infamous, "My Child, Lac Lavon" post that I am so terribly fond of.) was an award-winning piece by Natasjia about why she selected the name she would be known as for the rest of her life.
Loralee is a very unusual name. There are times that I think that my parents must have been smokin' too much Metamucil when they named me, but there it is.
I wish I could say that my name meant something amazing and honorable.
Nah.
I'm the chick that sings on the rocks and then lures in unsuspecting navy guys to their immanent death and destruction.
Pretty fitting name, actually.
I grew up never having my name belong to anyone else. I never had my name on a bicycle license plate or key chain, and I didn't meet another Loralee until college, and then it was always spelled differently.
The asshole I dated in college hated my name. He was forever pestering me to "At least" spell my name differently. Because then maybe he could stand to be seen with someone who spelled her name "Laura Leigh". Those 5 different letters would somehow make me a more acceptable girlfriend, I suppose.
I actually love my name in a weird way. I suppose that it is because it is one of the few true possessions that I have and will always have. You can't put a price on it. For all the damage I bring to myself and my name, I still find things to admire and be proud of.
I love the fact that Loralee Christiansen has found my blog. The fact that she found Looney Tunes by Googling herself at 4 am just speaks to my soul. She is the first true, "Loralee" that I have known. I love that she calls me "Thing One" and I call her, "Thing Two". It is damn strange sometimes to see my name on all the blogs that we both visit. Sometimes I have to do a double take and remind myself that, no, that is the OTHER Loralee.
In order to get my mind off of some things, I decided to play around on Google a bit.
Wow. The Loralee's of the world?
Not so much.
What a wierd lot we are.
It didn't start out too bad. Apparently, I'm a foxy comic strip character:
Then I saw that a couple of authors share my name.
Let's take a look at some of their work:
Hmmm...$1.99 bargin book romance novelist
A $1.99 bargin-book Mormon romance novelist.
This author edited a book on how to tell your friends you are gay. I suppose after you read this you are supposed to be able pull off such a moment as coming out with the same ease this title suggests: "Hey, I've been meaning to tell you that we are out of toilet paper. Oh, and I'm gay. "
Not only are there Loralee authors, but also Loralee CHARACTERS:
"When Loralee arrived at Fort Apache as the new schoolmarm, she had some hard realities to learn..and a harsh taskmaster to teach her. Shad Zuniga was fiercely proud, aloof, a renegade Apache who wanted no part of the white man's world, not even its women. Yet Loralee was driven to seek him out, compelled to join him in a forbidden union, forced to become an outcast for one slim chance at LOVE FOREVERMORE."
It got a little interesting when I found my name at churchofsatan.com.
Satanic Witch Baphomet
I discovered what an ass I am:" We are so blessed to have Loralee! She finally got here Wednesday about 4:00 PM. The kids are in love with her. She is so gentle and never seems to mind them brushing and petting her. I am so amamazed how different her temperament is from a horse. We are thrilled with Loralee."
Despite the rumor that I am freakishly weak, I am a kick-ass piece of machinary that carts people around Anartica and am this girls B.F.F! I love my name on the door.
Another Loralee and her sister donated 400 copies of cassettes with religious/patriotic songs on them to deployed troops. I TOTALLY should do that with copies of my "Dancing in Cache Valley" video.Totally hot.
This Loralee in Australia discovered a $300,000 hunk of Whale vomit on the beach.See?
A bunch of weirdo freaks.
Obviously, something is going to have to be done about all of this. I mean, come ON people! We should have enough pride in ourselves to be stellar humans that give "Loralee" a proud heritage. Enough of this whale vomit, 1890's Indian reservation S&M, and having donkey's named after us!!!!
The Loralee's of the world need to unite to make our name a whole heck-of-a-lot less lame.
What? Days of our Life is on and go the hell away?
FINE, then!
I suppose it will be up to Thing Two and I to make sure that there are "Non-Lame Loralee's" on the internet!!!
Uh...
Ok.Point taken.
I suppose it will be up to THING TWO to be the "Non-Lame Loralee" on the internet.
Sigh.