Indiana Jones and Adventures in Cosplay

As usually happens, time gets away from me and my best intentions aren't enough--hence, the lack of posts.  But finally, costume and prop photos from the recent exhibit in Santa Ana are herein presented for your reference and viewing pleasure, broken down into easily digestible bits.  Message me for higher res photos if you need 'em.  First up--

Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood:



 

 

Marion's Nepal outfit.  Two things I never noticed despite countless viewings are that Marion wears the same shoes Indy does (smaller of course) and the lion crest woven into the fabric of her shirt.  The pants are tweed and the scarf is a beautiful graduated blue-green with just enough sequins to add a little femininity to the outfit.

 

 

 

REVIEW: Skinceuticals CE Ferulic and Physical Fusion UV Defense

Finally a new review and it's a double header from Skinceuticals.

New Beauty Description: “Antioxidants protect from the inside. SkinCeuticals topical antioxidants neutralize the UV-induced free radicals not blocked by sunscreens and help provide the most complete photoaging protection. Sunscreens protect from the outside. SkinCeuticals broad-spectrum sunscreens shield skin by deflecting and absorbing harmful UVA and UVB rays before they cause aging photodamage. Full size C E Ferulic: $146 Full size Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50: $32last three weekd

Final Word: I've been using both products almost every morning for the last three weeks. The ferulic serum is a combination of vitamins C and E and feruluc acid in an antioxidant blend to alledgedly zap those nasty free radicals in your skin that can age you before your time. You only need to use anout 6 drops at most. I love the Physical Fusion Defense which is essentially a very light tinted moisturizer with a sunscreen. No weird smell, it blends easily and it doesn't have a greasy residue. I would buy this at retail. The serum is interesting. I like it and I do think it's been working. Keep in mind this particular product doesn't reverse damage, it prevents it. There's a mild funky smell but it dissipates almost immediately. It smoothes on easily and while I could feel it on my face, it wasn't unpleasant. It's pricey and I'm not sure I'd lay out the cash, but if you're rolling in some extra dough and want to treat yourself, go ahead.

Bzzagent Report: Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles

Hello lovelies! I'm not sure how NOT working this week made me even more busy than usual, but it's been a crazy week. Samples are coming in fast and furiously so I'm trying to test them as quickly as possible. Today I received my free pair of Dr Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles and I'm looking forward to trying them out and reviewing them them for you here. This is my first Bzzagent campaign. I also received my first Cravebox in the mail. More on that soon. Promise!

REVIEW: Bond No. 9 Bon Bon "The Scent of Peace"

The Company Propoganda:  "For the first time in fragrance history, a major, full-blown fragrance collection was launched as an homage to the fair city of New York.  In fact, fragrances either represent a specific Gotham neighborhood - from downtown, midtown, and uptown locales - or an island-wide Manhattan scent.  Headquartered in NoHo [North of Houston Street] at 9 Bond Street, the collection features women's, men's and unisex eaux de parfums - complete with seasonal debuts."

I'm a New York girl at heart.  (Yeah, I was born and raised in Jersey--whaddaya gonna do about it?)  Bond No. 9 has been a brand I've longed to try so my heart did a happy dance when I saw a Bon Bon in my Sample Society box.  I received The Scent of Peace.  It's creation was inspired by the events of 9/11 and in 2006, a portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold was donated to UNICEF.  It's a woodsy floral with grapefruit, blackberry and lily of the valley (which I normally hate but it works here).  It's got a base of musk and cedar which makes this "female" scent more of a unisex one if you ask me.  I love it, though it doesn't have a whole lot of staying power.  Within two hours it had faded considerably and after four it was GONE. 

Each Bon Bon is valued at about $45 a piece (about the size of a deluxe perfume sample vial) and you can buy the whole current collection of 18 scents for $260 here.

Rating:  3.5 out of 5 (4 for the scent, minus a half point for lack of staying power)

Next Up: May 2012 Sample Society Box

Hello lovelies!  While I'm currently testing my last samples from the Spring New Beauty TestTube (get it here), I thought I'd show you what came in the next sample program delivery that's up for review, Sample Society: 



At first glance, I'm pretty happy with what came in my May box.  Here's the rundown:

• Alterna UV+ Color Fade Proof Fluide Deluxe Sample-0.3oz.
• Bond No. 9 New York Bon Bon Samples
• Colorescience Pro SPF 20 Travel Puff Deluxe Sample
• StriVectin SD Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks & Wrinkles Deluxe Sample
• Stila Cosmetics Forever Your Curl Mascara, Deluxe Sample
• 15% off coupon for purchasing full size versions on their site.  (Or was that $15--gotta double check)

I was a little bit disappointed that there wasn't a single full-size product in here, especially for a sample program that's a little pricier than the standard, but maybe I'm just spoiled by the New Beauty TestTube.  All in all, I'm very happy with the selection and I like the box it comes in (more places to store my bits of junk).  My only negative is that according to the website, I was supposed to receive a mini-issue of Allure magazine as well as a year's subscription to the regular rag.  Gotta look at the fine print on the website, but it seems pretty clear to me.  Time to make a phone call.  I'll let you know how it works out.

REVIEW: Memoire Liquide Fragrance & Body Cream

New Beauty TestTube Description:  From the Bespoke perfume line, Memoire Liquide, is the reserve collection of fragrances and body creams that utilize the powerful sense of smell to evoke memories from the past…or to create new ones for the future.

Final Word:  There were three different items from the Memoire Liquide line included in my TestTube:  Two fragrance vials in Amour and Soleil and a full-size tube of body cream in Encens.  All three scents were very sensual and I liked them a lot (I'm already keeping the Amour in my purse).  The body cream is very rich and the scent is luscious, rich, almost earthy.  It’s way too intense in both scent and texture for the summer and it’s already getting warm here in Southern California so I’ve put the body cream away until the fall.  Now for the scents themselves:

Amour:  With notes of Madagascar vanilla, tonka bean and incense, it has a burnt sugar and vanilla scent with a hint of incense.  Not in any sort of stank-masking hippy kind of way.  Just warm and earthy.  I prefer clean, light scents in the summer, but the rest of the year, I could easily see this being a fragrance I’d wear daily.

Soleil:  Fresh grapefruit, tangerine, red orange, neroli, sandlewood and white musk.  It's citrusy, candy-sweet, but cut with a hint of sultry.

Encens:  Amber, white musk, black tea and Hinoki incense.  Wow.  Definitely an evening scent.  It’s sweet, ambery, woody and smoky all at once.  I love it.

All three of these scents had good staying power, varying  anywhere from 4-12 hours.  I’m also eager to try out their counter at Fred Segal (there’s also one at Henri Bendel in NYC).  They have more than 150 notes available where you can custom blend your own, unique scent.

Eau de parfum

Full Size Price:  $95

Sample Size Value:  $1.68 x 2 = $3.35

Body Cream

Full Size Price:  $48

Rating: 3 overall.

0 – Too early to tell.

1 – If you want to gross people out for Halloween—go for it.

2 – Useless, in my humble opinion. Don’t waste your money.

3 – Like it but not worth going into debt for it.

4 – Love it. Will treat myself for Christmas, birthday, etc.

5 – OMG. I would sell my mother for the last bottle/jar/tube of this stuff.

REVIEW: ybf Eye Liner in Plum Noir

New Beauty TestTube Description:  Rich plum hues are all the rage and ybf has converted this look into one supreme silky stick. The decadent hue of this “plum noir” eye liner emulates a deep burgundy to merlot color that defines and refines eyes any time of day or night.

Final Word:  First, the positives:  The color goes on smoothly and lasts a good while.  I LOVE the built-in sharpener in the cap.  I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to use a makeup pencil--whether eye, lip or brow--the tip has broken off, and I'm without a sharpener.  This is genius in it's simplicity.  The negative:  The color is awful.  Too much plum and not enough noir makes a color that gives me "pink eye."  Either that, I look like I've been on a crying jag.  I would definitely buy this pencil in some shade of brown or black or maybe even some other funky color like green, but I honestly don't know what they were thinking with this color.  It was nice of New Beauty to give me a full-size item, but since I'll never use it, it's kinda useless.  Oh, but wait--there's always Halloween...

Full size
Price:  $14.5

Rating: 1 for the color, 3 for the pencil in ANY other color but this.

0 – Too early to tell.

1 – If you want to gross people out for Halloween—go for it.

2 – Useless, in my humble opinion. Don’t waste your money.

3 – Like it but not worth going into debt for it.

4 – Love it. Will treat myself for Christmas, birthday, etc.

5 – OMG. I would sell my mother for the last bottle/jar/tube of this stuff.