A.G.E. Eye Complex by Skinceuticals is a rich formula designed to dramatically improve severe signs of aging around the eyes. Although it’s for more mature skin, I thought I’d give it a test drive anyway.

The Skinceuticals website says that “immediately, optical diffusers improve radiance and minimize the appearance of dark circles and capillaries,” and within 4-12 weeks, “a complex of flavonoids and synergistic peptides strengthens blood vessel walls, improves lymphatic drainage, and eliminates hemoglobin’s colored end-products to dramatically improve dark circles and puffiness. By twelve weeks and beyond, blueberry extract interrupts the formation of advanced glycation end-products (A.G.E.) and Proxylane restores water and nutrient content to the dermal epidermal junction (D.E.J.) to increase skin elasticity and thickness for dramatic improvement of wrinkles and crow’s feet.”

Just so you guys know… I don’t have crow’s feet yet.  But I do want to stay young-looking and the skin around my eyes tends to get really dry.  A.G.E. Eye Complex is intensely moisturizing and definitely helped with puffiness and dark circles.  I have sensitive skin and this did not irritate the delicate skin around my eyes.

The holiday party season is just around the corner and the Estee Lauder Holiday 2009 Ultimate Red Color Collection is here.  This collection contains an array of beautiful winter colors, shimmer powder, reds, purples, and lipsticks in  sexy deep colors.

Seeing the collection has gotten me excited for all of the upcoming holiday parties and weddings I will be attending this season.  It’s made me think I’ll need some sexy red satin peep toe pumps.

For the Face:

• Limited Edition Opulent Shimmer Powder

For Eyes:

• Limited Edition Gel Eyeliner in Black
• Limited Edition TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara in Gold
• Limited Edition Signature Eyeshadow Quad in Gold Opulence
• Limited Edition Signature Eyeshadow Quad in Lavish Plum

For Lips:

• Limited Edition Signature Lipstick in Gold
• Limited Edition Signature Lipstick in Simply Red
• Limited Edition Signature Lipstick in Cranberry
• Limited Edition Signature Lipstick in Blackberry
• Limited Edition Opulent Shimmer Gloss in Gold
• Limited Edition Opulent Shimmer Gloss in Cranberry

Nail Color:

• Limited Edition Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Burgundy
• Limited Edition Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Gold

The look in Ultimate Red:

The look in Lavish Plum:

I’ve already been playing with some colors from the collection.  I HAD to have the shimmer powder.  It works well on your face but also looks great with evening wear if you just brush it lightly on your shoulders and décolletage.

My favorite for eyes was the eyeshadow quad in Lavish Plum!  The colors had such a dramatic impact but were easy to apply and I got a great going-out look (lately I’ve been attending a ton of bachelorette parties!).
My husband loved the Simply Red lipstick.  I have full lips, so I tend to shy away from colors that aren’t neutral, but this was so fun for a nighttime look – perfect for ANY party!

When I was a little girl, I was occasionally so lucky that my mom and my aunt would bring me along for a shopping trip.  Sometimes we’d go through the cosmetics department of a major department store – most often Macy’s – and I would be mesmerized by the array of colors, the testers on display, each shade varying slightly from the last: a painter’s palette.  It was delightful.  There was one brand that had these little eyeshadow samples on pieces of paper covered in plastic you could peel back.  I remember my mom admonishing me when I sought to have one in every color.  I was too young for make up but not too young to play.  I wanted to possess every beautiful shade.

I have always  liked to color and paint, work in charcoal or oil pastels, and always loved fashion.  It came as no surprise that I love makeup.  Now that I am old enough to not play with my mom’s makeup, I like the peruse stores in search of an array of beautiful colors to play with: a cosmetics-obsessed Goldilocks looking for the perfect shade, the perfect application, the perfect shopping environment.  I LOVE both department store and drug store makeup (I’m no snob), but sometimes the department store feels wrong.  Samples and testers abound, but the  employees are TOO helpful and I just want to browse, to take in the colors and breathe in the scents.  The drugstore employees are often not specialists, and the lack of testers and samples has left me with a cabinet full of duds.

So, I guess it’s no surprise that on my way home last night – after a hectic day at work – I stopped at Sephora.  I was feeling dejected, and knowing the hubby would be home late, I needed to shop.  I needed the perfect pick-me-up and today it wasn’t new shoes (just got some) or sweaters (the closet’s overcrowded).  It was new COLOR for my face.  That is what I needed.   I like the more laid-back sales approach there, and the rows of eye candy lined up by brand, then application, then shade.

That’s when the Sephora Brand caught my eye, followed by the $5 price tag next to some twenty or so shades of eyeliner, lined up by color like a rainbow.  It was Sephora Brand Nano Eyeliner,  a highly pigmented eye pencil, and it was pulling me in like gravity.  It goes on nice and smooth and (so far) has lasted me all day.   And how often do you see eyeliners in beautiful colors like this  – and only $5?!  I was stoked.   I ended up going home with a Glitter Black, a Glitter Brown, an Iced Brown, a Pure Beige, a Kaki Green, a Silver Green, a Gri Gri, a Lagoon, a Blue Jean, and a Wild Spirit – and yes – definitely a wild spirit.  It was like standing in front of those paper samples with tiny bits of eyeshadow on them.  A little reckless abandon, but I’m definitely young enough to play.

Get Extra Long Lashes!

It’s no secret that COVERGIRL‘s LashBlast is my favorite mascara, but now they have even improved it! I already love it because it makes my lashes super thick, but now I get extra length out of it! I hope I don’t stop traffic by batting my long, thick lashes….

COVERGIRL’s new LashBlast Length Mascara creates expertly defined, beautifully separated lashes. The long brush provides more control, plus special product reservoirs at the top of each bristle grasp even the tiniest lashes to lengthen them by up to 80%. The clump-free formula contains nylon fibers, the same material used in expensive lash extensions, to extend your lashes without flaking, smudging or smearing.

You have to see it to believe it! Try on COVERGIRL’s new LashBlast Length Mascara in Daily Makeover’s virtual Makeover Studio now.