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.

REVIEW: Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick

New Beauty TestTube description: A creamy, glide-on shadow Evercolor Shadow Stick won't crease or wear away, leaving you with gorgeous color all day--right where you put it. The innovative silicone system seals color in place while the creamy formula helps smooth away fine lines.

Final Word:  This was one of the full-size products included in the Tube and while I was initially sceptical that the color (one of three--silver) I received would be something I'd wear, I was pleasantly surprised.  In a nutshell, it lives up to it's description and the twist-up stick form makes it very convenient to use.

Full size
Price:  $25

Rating: 4.

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: Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex

New Beauty TestTube Description: “This comprehensive wrinkle reducer combines Olay moisture with advanced micro-fillers to visibly smooth the sink's surface immediately, while a biopeptide-B3 complex continues to reduce deep lines within 14 days.”

Final Word:  I haven't come across a single over-the-counter skin care product that lived up to it's advertising 100%, but I've always liked Olay products.  They're gentle on my skin, they're not nearly as expensive as their department store counterparts, and they do seem to make my skin look better as long as I'm taking good care of myself (exercise, good diet, lots of water, yadda, yadda).   Olay's newest product is no different.  I used it faithfully for two weeks and I did see minor improvement, though not to the degree Olay claims.  Perhaps if I had a month's worth of sample I'd continue to see further softening of my deeper lines, of which thankfully I still have few.  It's scent is hardly noticeable and the product goes on smoothly, with no greasy feel (hate that grease).  As a basic moisturizer, you can't go wrong.

Sample Size:  .23 oz

Sample Value:  $3.79

Full Size:  1.7 oz

Price: $28

Rating so far: 3 – Like it but not worth going into debt for it.

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: Moroccanoil Frizz Control

New Beauty Description: “...keeps hair frizz and static-free in any weather.  This extraordinary formula contains weather resistant properties that weightlessly safeguard hair, keeping it smooth, calm and manageable in the most damp or dry conditions.”

First Impression:  I love the packaging of Moroccan Oil but I never would have bought it because my hair is super fine and straight and the idea of putting any product with the word "oil" in the name sends me running.  I am so glad this full-size product was included in my New Beauty Test Tube.  I gave it a try just to review here, fully expecting to pass the rest onto my niece who has long, thick, super curly hair that frizzes when you look at it funny.  Not now.  I am AMAZED at how well this stuff works on my hair.  It is very lightweight and made my hair silky and soft--no added weight or grease whatsoever.  I combed it through damp hair and let it air dry before I went to bed.  Woke up with smooth tresses that I didn't even need to put a comb through and that never happens.  NEVER.  I have a feeling this bottle will last a long time but I'll definitely be buying it when it runs out.  Can't wait to try it before a blow dry and style.  I also suffer from crazy flyaways during the fall and winter when it's dry as a bone here in SoCal.  If this stuff can tame those, I am a customer for life.

Full Size:  3.40 oz

Price: $32

Rating so far: 4 – Love it. Will treat myself for Christmas, birthday, etc.

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: Perlier & Elariia Body Cream

New Beauty Description:  “Take a mini vacation to the Mediterranean with body cream formulas created by Italy’s premier manufacturer of bath and body products, where fresh ingredients are cultivated and blended into natural, functional formulas.”

First Impression:  The jar is adorable and it’s very easy to chuck in your purse.  It’s glass but it’s pretty thick and sturdy so I don’t think you’d have any issues with breakage.  Unfortunately, the full-size jars seem to be opaque white plastic from what I could tell online, which isn’t nearly as romantic and I’m trying to get away from using plastics as much as I can.   The particular scent I received in my TestTube was Frangipani (a.k.a. plumeria).  Made with sunflower oil and Vitamin E, the cream feels very rich going on but melts into your skin.  I HATE feeling greasy and this stuff turns out to be as light as a feather.  The fragrance is delightful.  It’s flowery but not cloying and it’s very subtle.  You have to get really close to the skin to smell it.  I’d love to try all the scents in this line.  Typical ingredients used in Perlier body cream, depending on the scent, are organic honey, olive oil, citrus extracts, white jasmine, etc.  P & E also operates their own 150-acre farm to grow the ingredients used in their creams.  Nice.  The price isn’t too shabby either.

Sample Size:  1.0 oz

Value of sample size:  $3.66

Full Size:  6.70 oz

Price:  $24.50

Rating so far:  4 – Love it.  Will treat myself for Christmas, birthday, etc.

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.