Old Fashioned Washing- Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash has what might be the most schizophrenic ingredient list I've seen in a while:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Rosa Canina Leaf Extract (rose hips), Silybum Marianum Seed Extract (milk thistle), Passiflora Incarnata Extract (passion flower), Chamomilla Recutita Leaf Extract (matricaria), Acetyl Hexapeptide 3, PEG 12 Glyceryl Distearate, Cocamide DEA, Glucosamine, Pentylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyethylene, Blue 1, Fragrance, Triethanolamine, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone

I'm definitely not one who is scared of old fashioned soap, and I'm well aware that the much-maligned SLS suffers from a bad rap mostly because of an urban legend, but it is still considered a skin irritant and many brands have developed more gentle products. The paraben issue is another controversy. Personally, while I'm not convinced it's going to kill me, I still prefer paraben-free products whenever possible. So, it is surprising that such an iconic product from a company that markets itself as modern and revolutionary could have just as easily be made in the 80s.

Crunchy vs. chemical debate aside, this face wash, while far less foaming than you'd expect from the name and the level of SLS it contains. Still, it cleans well, dissolving every trace of makeup and city grime while surprisingly not drying me out too badly. In two weeks of testing, I had no problem with skin irritation or extra sensitivity and have no complaints about this product, other than that those tiny exfoliating beads are quite useless. Not that it's a bad thing. I prefer to exfoliate using a warm damp washcloth rather than anything grainy.

Bottom line: it's a face soap. It cleans. Is the $22 price tag justified? Probably not. I'm pretty sure you can find more innovative cleansers at your local drugstore.

Bliss products are available from the company's web site, Beauty.com, Sephora and most department stores.
The travel size bottle I've been using for this review came as a gift with a recent order.

Image: Art.com

Old Fashioned Washing- Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash has what might be the most schizophrenic ingredient list I've seen in a while:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Rosa Canina Leaf Extract (rose hips), Silybum Marianum Seed Extract (milk thistle), Passiflora Incarnata Extract (passion flower), Chamomilla Recutita Leaf Extract (matricaria), Acetyl Hexapeptide 3, PEG 12 Glyceryl Distearate, Cocamide DEA, Glucosamine, Pentylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyethylene, Blue 1, Fragrance, Triethanolamine, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone

I'm definitely not one who is scared of old fashioned soap, and I'm well aware that the much-maligned SLS suffers from a bad rap mostly because of an urban legend, but it is still considered a skin irritant and many brands have developed more gentle products. The paraben issue is another controversy. Personally, while I'm not convinced it's going to kill me, I still prefer paraben-free products whenever possible. So, it is surprising that such an iconic product from a company that markets itself as modern and revolutionary could have just as easily be made in the 80s.

Crunchy vs. chemical debate aside, this face wash, while far less foaming than you'd expect from the name and the level of SLS it contains. Still, it cleans well, dissolving every trace of makeup and city grime while surprisingly not drying me out too badly. In two weeks of testing, I had no problem with skin irritation or extra sensitivity and have no complaints about this product, other than that those tiny exfoliating beads are quite useless. Not that it's a bad thing. I prefer to exfoliate using a warm damp washcloth rather than anything grainy.

Bottom line: it's a face soap. It cleans. Is the $22 price tag justified? Probably not. I'm pretty sure you can find more innovative cleansers at your local drugstore.

Bliss products are available from the company's web site, Beauty.com, Sephora and most department stores.
The travel size bottle I've been using for this review came as a gift with a recent order.

Image: Art.com

Old Fashioned Washing- Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash has what might be the most schizophrenic ingredient list I've seen in a while:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Rosa Canina Leaf Extract (rose hips), Silybum Marianum Seed Extract (milk thistle), Passiflora Incarnata Extract (passion flower), Chamomilla Recutita Leaf Extract (matricaria), Acetyl Hexapeptide 3, PEG 12 Glyceryl Distearate, Cocamide DEA, Glucosamine, Pentylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyethylene, Blue 1, Fragrance, Triethanolamine, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone

I'm definitely not one who is scared of old fashioned soap, and I'm well aware that the much-maligned SLS suffers from a bad rap mostly because of an urban legend, but it is still considered a skin irritant and many brands have developed more gentle products. The paraben issue is another controversy. Personally, while I'm not convinced it's going to kill me, I still prefer paraben-free products whenever possible. So, it is surprising that such an iconic product from a company that markets itself as modern and revolutionary could have just as easily be made in the 80s.

Crunchy vs. chemical debate aside, this face wash, while far less foaming than you'd expect from the name and the level of SLS it contains. Still, it cleans well, dissolving every trace of makeup and city grime while surprisingly not drying me out too badly. In two weeks of testing, I had no problem with skin irritation or extra sensitivity and have no complaints about this product, other than that those tiny exfoliating beads are quite useless. Not that it's a bad thing. I prefer to exfoliate using a warm damp washcloth rather than anything grainy.

Bottom line: it's a face soap. It cleans. Is the $22 price tag justified? Probably not. I'm pretty sure you can find more innovative cleansers at your local drugstore.

Bliss products are available from the company's web site, Beauty.com, Sephora and most department stores.
The travel size bottle I've been using for this review came as a gift with a recent order.

Image: Art.com

If I could turn back time I wouldn't buy this- TimeBalm Concealer by TheBalm

It's very rare nowadays that I get caught up in a Sephora hype over a brand, buy it and then desperately try to make it work, until finally giving up and just tossing it out. Seriously, this is a humbling experience, because I should know better, right? I have good beauty instincts that normally save me from the god-awful. Just not this time.

I bought a TheBalm concealer in Medium, based on the promises it would do away with my dark circles, cover imperfections, sleek the unsmooth and clean the litterbox. I never got to test the last one, because the concealer caked, refused to blend into either a foundation or my skin and the worst part was when it came to that under-eye issue. It set into the skin texture in an ashy color that showed what a future without botox would look like.

I tried everything: a brush, my finger and makeup sponges, including the one that came in the tin. It didn't imrove any. This concealer was the most disappointing beauty product I've tried in a very long time.

If I could turn back time I wouldn't buy this- TimeBalm Concealer by TheBalm

It's very rare nowadays that I get caught up in a Sephora hype over a brand, buy it and then desperately try to make it work, until finally giving up and just tossing it out. Seriously, this is a humbling experience, because I should know better, right? I have good beauty instincts that normally save me from the god-awful. Just not this time.

I bought a TheBalm concealer in Medium, based on the promises it would do away with my dark circles, cover imperfections, sleek the unsmooth and clean the litterbox. I never got to test the last one, because the concealer caked, refused to blend into either a foundation or my skin and the worst part was when it came to that under-eye issue. It set into the skin texture in an ashy color that showed what a future without botox would look like.

I tried everything: a brush, my finger and makeup sponges, including the one that came in the tin. It didn't imrove any. This concealer was the most disappointing beauty product I've tried in a very long time.

If I could turn back time I wouldn't buy this- TimeBalm Concealer by TheBalm

It's very rare nowadays that I get caught up in a Sephora hype over a brand, buy it and then desperately try to make it work, until finally giving up and just tossing it out. Seriously, this is a humbling experience, because I should know better, right? I have good beauty instincts that normally save me from the god-awful. Just not this time.

I bought a TheBalm concealer in Medium, based on the promises it would do away with my dark circles, cover imperfections, sleek the unsmooth and clean the litterbox. I never got to test the last one, because the concealer caked, refused to blend into either a foundation or my skin and the worst part was when it came to that under-eye issue. It set into the skin texture in an ashy color that showed what a future without botox would look like.

I tried everything: a brush, my finger and makeup sponges, including the one that came in the tin. It didn't imrove any. This concealer was the most disappointing beauty product I've tried in a very long time.

Blue Angel- Creed Angelique Encens

It seems like incense is the note du jour in fragrance, isn't it?

(Well, right along with orris, oud and lychee, that is. And I hope to never come across a perfume that combines all of them together)

But going back in time, we can find one of the most classic incense scents that dates from 1933 and back then could be considered a celebrity fragrance, because it was inspired by Marlene Dietrich, who in 1930 starred in the movie Blue Angel and established herself as an iconic, mysterious and enigmatic temptress who would lead men to their doom.


That's quite a reputation. For an actress and for a perfume.

Angelique Encens is and isn't what you might expect. Its opening, famous for the herbal angelica note, registers in my nose as tinged with lavender. It's not supposed to be there, but the feeling both of the color and of the flower can almost be tasted. It's melancholy in a sweet, nostalgic way, like a forgotten sachet in an old drawer. But that drawer is more than it seems. Some of its content is quite lacy and racy. And incensy. Don't forget that part.

The incense here is different than many of the ones we know from modern perfumes: it's not ceremonial and aloof like the CdG Incsense series and it has none of the Darth Vader darkness of Black Cashmere or YSL Nu. Instead, it's sweetened by vanilla and ambergris into a soft and tempting dry-down that while different than Shalimar, it shares a common sensibility with it.

One of the things I like best about Angelique Encens is how it shifts and changes on my skin. Sometimes I get the full vintage, black-and-white sense of a perfume from long ago and far away, while it never feels dated. A vanilla-incense combination could have come from any contemporary perfume house, though I doubt they'd make it better or prettier.

Angelic Encense is part of Creed Private Collection, which means it's only sold in huge 8.4 oz flacons with a hefty price tag ($300, but fragrancenet.com supposedly has it for $205). Here and there you might be able to find a better deal, but since Creed is prone to faking and counterfeiting, I'd personally avoid them. Besides, who even needs a lifetime plus several incarnations supply of perfume in one bottle? My personal recommendation is to go for a decant.

Blue Angel- Creed Angelique Encens

It seems like incense is the note du jour in fragrance, isn't it?

(Well, right along with orris, oud and lychee, that is. And I hope to never come across a perfume that combines all of them together)

But going back in time, we can find one of the most classic incense scents that dates from 1933 and back then could be considered a celebrity fragrance, because it was inspired by Marlene Dietrich, who in 1930 starred in the movie Blue Angel and established herself as an iconic, mysterious and enigmatic temptress who would lead men to their doom.


That's quite a reputation. For an actress and for a perfume.

Angelique Encens is and isn't what you might expect. Its opening, famous for the herbal angelica note, registers in my nose as tinged with lavender. It's not supposed to be there, but the feeling both of the color and of the flower can almost be tasted. It's melancholy in a sweet, nostalgic way, like a forgotten sachet in an old drawer. But that drawer is more than it seems. Some of its content is quite lacy and racy. And incensy. Don't forget that part.

The incense here is different than many of the ones we know from modern perfumes: it's not ceremonial and aloof like the CdG Incsense series and it has none of the Darth Vader darkness of Black Cashmere or YSL Nu. Instead, it's sweetened by vanilla and ambergris into a soft and tempting dry-down that while different than Shalimar, it shares a common sensibility with it.

One of the things I like best about Angelique Encens is how it shifts and changes on my skin. Sometimes I get the full vintage, black-and-white sense of a perfume from long ago and far away, while it never feels dated. A vanilla-incense combination could have come from any contemporary perfume house, though I doubt they'd make it better or prettier.

Angelic Encense is part of Creed Private Collection, which means it's only sold in huge 8.4 oz flacons with a hefty price tag ($300, but fragrancenet.com supposedly has it for $205). Here and there you might be able to find a better deal, but since Creed is prone to faking and counterfeiting, I'd personally avoid them. Besides, who even needs a lifetime plus several incarnations supply of perfume in one bottle? My personal recommendation is to go for a decant.

Blue Angel- Creed Angelique Encens

It seems like incense is the note du jour in fragrance, isn't it?

(Well, right along with orris, oud and lychee, that is. And I hope to never come across a perfume that combines all of them together)

But going back in time, we can find one of the most classic incense scents that dates from 1933 and back then could be considered a celebrity fragrance, because it was inspired by Marlene Dietrich, who in 1930 starred in the movie Blue Angel and established herself as an iconic, mysterious and enigmatic temptress who would lead men to their doom.


That's quite a reputation. For an actress and for a perfume.

Angelique Encens is and isn't what you might expect. Its opening, famous for the herbal angelica note, registers in my nose as tinged with lavender. It's not supposed to be there, but the feeling both of the color and of the flower can almost be tasted. It's melancholy in a sweet, nostalgic way, like a forgotten sachet in an old drawer. But that drawer is more than it seems. Some of its content is quite lacy and racy. And incensy. Don't forget that part.

The incense here is different than many of the ones we know from modern perfumes: it's not ceremonial and aloof like the CdG Incsense series and it has none of the Darth Vader darkness of Black Cashmere or YSL Nu. Instead, it's sweetened by vanilla and ambergris into a soft and tempting dry-down that while different than Shalimar, it shares a common sensibility with it.

One of the things I like best about Angelique Encens is how it shifts and changes on my skin. Sometimes I get the full vintage, black-and-white sense of a perfume from long ago and far away, while it never feels dated. A vanilla-incense combination could have come from any contemporary perfume house, though I doubt they'd make it better or prettier.

Angelic Encense is part of Creed Private Collection, which means it's only sold in huge 8.4 oz flacons with a hefty price tag ($300, but fragrancenet.com supposedly has it for $205). Here and there you might be able to find a better deal, but since Creed is prone to faking and counterfeiting, I'd personally avoid them. Besides, who even needs a lifetime plus several incarnations supply of perfume in one bottle? My personal recommendation is to go for a decant.

A Closeup On Oscar Looks

Today I'm almost happy that I haven't joined the HDTV crowd just yet.

My planned post for today was a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar hair and makeup looks. I did the red carpet live blogging last night based on what I could see on my modest sized regular TV screen. Today I have already gotten emails asking for specifics, how-tos and general advice about achieving a super glam look. To reply them and for my own post I started going through the closeup photos on Just Jared.

Short answer: Don't do it. Please.

You all know that there's often a big difference between gorgeous and elaborate makeup for a special night out or even a big event when you are face to face with people, and a camera-ready look. When it's "real", you don't want to appear caked-up and painted. You don't want to look artificial and you don't want to scare children and small animals. Notice the "you don't want" theme. What else you don't want? Cameron Diaz skin:


Except for serving as a warning for the hazards of smoking and sun exposure, I'm not sure what good is this picture.

Heidi Klum was the glamorous of them all, right? The most exuberant dress, the most done hair, the furriest creature that died for her eyelashes... She also wears way too much bronzer.


Something that I see in most of the pictures is the old trick of dabbing a very shimmery eye shadow in the inner corner of the eyes. This is a good highlighting technique as long as you don't abuse it. Nars have many colors that would work well here. I'd suggest to avoid real metallic silver. It's just too much and tends to look sci-fi.


If you're not playing up your eyes too much, consider a bold red lipstick. Katherine Heigl got it almost right. Except for the extra bronzer and the smoker's skin, that is.


I have full respect for Tilda Swinton's choice of wearing a dress that doesn't cling or reveal anything she doesn't want to show and not making it about her cleavage. I can also deal with a no-makeup look. I hesitated about even posting her picture, because I don't want this to be a discussion of her wrinkles. Ms. Swinton is 47 and opts not to do botox. It shows, but in my opinion (and I'm very pro-botox and surgery. In five to 10 years you'll find me at the doctor's office regularly), it's a better look than whatever taxidermy procedure that creates the face we've come to recognize as Renée Zellweger.
All this was just the escape clause for the following: Tilda still needs mascara.


To end on a positive note, Anne Hathaway looks perfect with a luminous and balanced makeup. Not too much on the eyes and not too little on the lips. Of course, she's also twenty five, so how hard is it to look great at that age (very, if my memory serves me right, but that's not really relevant)?

Instead, let's look at a few 30-something faces that actually got it right: a very black volumizing mascara (and probably some individually glued lashes), some highlight on the eye and a my-lips-only-better lip color:





All images except the ridiculous first one are from Just Jared, where you can try facing the real closeups at your own risk.

A Closeup On Oscar Looks

Today I'm almost happy that I haven't joined the HDTV crowd just yet.

My planned post for today was a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar hair and makeup looks. I did the red carpet live blogging last night based on what I could see on my modest sized regular TV screen. Today I have already gotten emails asking for specifics, how-tos and general advice about achieving a super glam look. To reply them and for my own post I started going through the closeup photos on Just Jared.

Short answer: Don't do it. Please.

You all know that there's often a big difference between gorgeous and elaborate makeup for a special night out or even a big event when you are face to face with people, and a camera-ready look. When it's "real", you don't want to appear caked-up and painted. You don't want to look artificial and you don't want to scare children and small animals. Notice the "you don't want" theme. What else you don't want? Cameron Diaz skin:


Except for serving as a warning for the hazards of smoking and sun exposure, I'm not sure what good is this picture.

Heidi Klum was the glamorous of them all, right? The most exuberant dress, the most done hair, the furriest creature that died for her eyelashes... She also wears way too much bronzer.


Something that I see in most of the pictures is the old trick of dabbing a very shimmery eye shadow in the inner corner of the eyes. This is a good highlighting technique as long as you don't abuse it. Nars have many colors that would work well here. I'd suggest to avoid real metallic silver. It's just too much and tends to look sci-fi.


If you're not playing up your eyes too much, consider a bold red lipstick. Katherine Heigl got it almost right. Except for the extra bronzer and the smoker's skin, that is.


I have full respect for Tilda Swinton's choice of wearing a dress that doesn't cling or reveal anything she doesn't want to show and not making it about her cleavage. I can also deal with a no-makeup look. I hesitated about even posting her picture, because I don't want this to be a discussion of her wrinkles. Ms. Swinton is 47 and opts not to do botox. It shows, but in my opinion (and I'm very pro-botox and surgery. In five to 10 years you'll find me at the doctor's office regularly), it's a better look than whatever taxidermy procedure that creates the face we've come to recognize as Renée Zellweger.
All this was just the escape clause for the following: Tilda still needs mascara.


To end on a positive note, Anne Hathaway looks perfect with a luminous and balanced makeup. Not too much on the eyes and not too little on the lips. Of course, she's also twenty five, so how hard is it to look great at that age (very, if my memory serves me right, but that's not really relevant)?

Instead, let's look at a few 30-something faces that actually got it right: a very black volumizing mascara (and probably some individually glued lashes), some highlight on the eye and a my-lips-only-better lip color:





All images except the ridiculous first one are from Just Jared, where you can try facing the real closeups at your own risk.

A Closeup On Oscar Looks

Today I'm almost happy that I haven't joined the HDTV crowd just yet.

My planned post for today was a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar hair and makeup looks. I did the red carpet live blogging last night based on what I could see on my modest sized regular TV screen. Today I have already gotten emails asking for specifics, how-tos and general advice about achieving a super glam look. To reply them and for my own post I started going through the closeup photos on Just Jared.

Short answer: Don't do it. Please.

You all know that there's often a big difference between gorgeous and elaborate makeup for a special night out or even a big event when you are face to face with people, and a camera-ready look. When it's "real", you don't want to appear caked-up and painted. You don't want to look artificial and you don't want to scare children and small animals. Notice the "you don't want" theme. What else you don't want? Cameron Diaz skin:


Except for serving as a warning for the hazards of smoking and sun exposure, I'm not sure what good is this picture.

Heidi Klum was the glamorous of them all, right? The most exuberant dress, the most done hair, the furriest creature that died for her eyelashes... She also wears way too much bronzer.


Something that I see in most of the pictures is the old trick of dabbing a very shimmery eye shadow in the inner corner of the eyes. This is a good highlighting technique as long as you don't abuse it. Nars have many colors that would work well here. I'd suggest to avoid real metallic silver. It's just too much and tends to look sci-fi.


If you're not playing up your eyes too much, consider a bold red lipstick. Katherine Heigl got it almost right. Except for the extra bronzer and the smoker's skin, that is.


I have full respect for Tilda Swinton's choice of wearing a dress that doesn't cling or reveal anything she doesn't want to show and not making it about her cleavage. I can also deal with a no-makeup look. I hesitated about even posting her picture, because I don't want this to be a discussion of her wrinkles. Ms. Swinton is 47 and opts not to do botox. It shows, but in my opinion (and I'm very pro-botox and surgery. In five to 10 years you'll find me at the doctor's office regularly), it's a better look than whatever taxidermy procedure that creates the face we've come to recognize as Renée Zellweger.
All this was just the escape clause for the following: Tilda still needs mascara.


To end on a positive note, Anne Hathaway looks perfect with a luminous and balanced makeup. Not too much on the eyes and not too little on the lips. Of course, she's also twenty five, so how hard is it to look great at that age (very, if my memory serves me right, but that's not really relevant)?

Instead, let's look at a few 30-something faces that actually got it right: a very black volumizing mascara (and probably some individually glued lashes), some highlight on the eye and a my-lips-only-better lip color:





All images except the ridiculous first one are from Just Jared, where you can try facing the real closeups at your own risk.

Oscars 2008- Blogging Live

Does anyone even cares what Lisa Rinna is wearing? It's blue, her lips are inflated. What else is new?

Heidi Klum, on the other hand, is magical in a Galliano red dress and Gallianoed hair. No soft-messy 'do for her, thankfully.

Excuse me and Ryan Seacrest for a minute while we both go drool over George Clooney. We'll be back soon.

Drooling is over. Anne Hathaway is another one in bright red (Marchesa). And lots of bones. I like the color and she looks glamorous and pulled together, but I'm a sucker for red dresses.


Is the entire Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise going to come after me if I say how horrible John Travolta's hair piece looks? It appears painted or glues or whatever. Ridiculous.

I'm not a Kelly Preston fan, but her very yellow Cavalli dress is an improvement from her tacky self. I can't help it: I like colors and tonight we see a lot of it. Amy Adams in Proenza green, Jessica Alba in a plum Marchesa and all that red. It's a long departure from the days Jenifer Aniston ruled the red carpet in her black dresses. So far, it looks like not many a-listers wore black. Among the few who did, Jennifer Garner and Hilary Swank stood out. Jennifer pulled it off, even through that bizarre Gary Busey attack. Hilary was ok, but for a fashion icon, her dress failed to excite. On the other hand, black is sort of original all of a sudden, and for a Versace dress it looks more classy than anything Donatella has touched in a very long time. I'm still not crazy for the floral applique.




While I couldn't care less what 15 year old girls wear on the red carpet, I much prefer to talk about someone who chooses her clothes by herself. Helen Mirren is, as always, glamorous and classy, proving that red is a timeless color.

Katherine Heigl is another one in bright red, and as Ryan Seacrest pointed, her lipstick was the reddest ever. I think I like her look, despite the bronzer explosion on her face.


Cameron Diaz looks sad and uncomfortable. Between the way too pale (though well constructed) Dior dress she keeps tugging on to prevent a nip-slip and that just-got-back-from-the-gym hair and face, she's not doing herself any favors.

Photos: Faded Youth Blog, Just Jared, DListed