Good Skin Soft Reflections Illuminating Loose Powder

I've been intrigued by the new trend on "illuminating" powders and shimmers, etc. So when I went on a shopping trip to Kohls and perused the Good Skin counter (one of their 4 beauty product lines), I felt the need to buy their Soft Reflections Illuminating Loose Powder ($18). It was a splurge, yes, but I just liked this stuff for some reason, and had to have it.

The label claims this :"water-infused" powder will "provide a barely-there luminosity that instantly refreshes and delicately minimizes the appearance of lines and wrinkles for a silky smooth radiance." I didn't really know what they meant by "water-infused" and just kinda sdhrugged my shoulders at it.

(As an aside, this idea of a shimmer powder minimizing the appearce of fine lines is complete bull. Wearing shimmer on your skin is like wearing a tight, satin dress-- any and all odd bulges or lines WILL show up, and will be magnified to proportions you were previously unaware of. Shimmer is still good, but you have to choose wisely where you will apply it).

As soon as I got home I opened up the box to try out my new powder. I was pleased to find a small travel brush inside the box (very handy). I sprinkled some of the powder onto the jar lid, swiped a large blush brush over it, and applied it to my cheeks. "Wait a minute," I thought, "why does my brush feel wet?" I touched swiped the brush on my hands, but felt nothing. Then I dusted more powder onto it and tried again.. and again it felt wet! Then it clicked-- that's what they meant by "water-infused!" I have no idea how they did it, as the powder is clearly a dry powder, or what the advantage is... It does feel kinda wierd at first, so be warned.

The shimmer itself is very subtle, which is nice-- none of this in-your-face, bright shimmer. I've found myself using a touch of this over my blush for a bit of luminosity. Again, one must be careful where to apply shimmer as it can make skin imperfections more obvious. But it can add a nice touch, especially if everything else you have on is matte.

Good Skin Megabalm Ultra Soothing Lip Treatment

I LOVE this stuff. Good Skin's Megabalm Ultra Soothing Lip Treatment$9.50) is the BEST. It's so thick that it actually has staying power, and is so amazingly glossy so can be worn during the day as a gloss on its own. I usually slather some on each night, and it's definitely helped stave off dry-lips syndrome. All last week I was fighting a cold that rendered my nose useless as a breathing device. Normally the breathing through my mouth would leave me with dry, cracked, bleeding lips. But thanks to my awesome Megabalm, all I got was a bit of dryness.

Yes, it's a bit pricey for the small tube, but I swear it's worth it!

Good Skin All-Calm Redness Tamer

I don't know if it's winter dryness or what, but I've been noticing more redness and blotchiness on my face lately. As a result, I've been using Good Skin All-Calm Redness Tamer($15, now on sale for $13.50 at Kohls) almost every day. This is a product that I actually bought months ago, but noly really started using a lot lately.

It's a tube of green paste, with an applicator very similar to a sponge-tip lipgloss applicator. You dab a touch of the green stuff on your skin, wherever you happen to have a pimple or just some redness, and use your finger to pat the cream in, blending it in. Redness is gone, there's no obvious greenness, and skin looks fabulous. I've been using it a lot around my nose, and just above my eyebrows (I seem to have a red spot just above them, perhaps from plucking?).

If you need all-over face coverage for redness, this stuff may not be the best option. However if you have pimples or smaller red spots on your face that you want covered up, this All-Calm Redness Tamer works like a dream.

By the way, Kohls is currently offering a 10%-15% discount on all beauty items (online, not sure about in-store).

Introducing: Good Skin Color

Good Skin, a skin-care line created by Estee Lauder and sold exclusively at Kohl's stores, has just launched its beauty line. I'm already a huge fan of Good Skin's Megabalm Ultra Soothing Lip Treatment ($9.50), so I was my curiosity was definitely piqued about what fun and fancy new products they might have. So today I made my way to my neighborhood Kohls... only to be dissappointed by the fact that they didn't have the new make-up section in yet! Not one to easily give up, I decided to drive the 15 minutes to the other Kohls I know of in the area. Voila! They had the new makeup. And how fabulous it all looked!

You can imagine my joy at discovering that their Megabalm, which I love for its beautiful glossiness and its ability to quench and soften my lips like nothing else, now came in tinted forumlas ($9.50) as well!




I immediately fell in love with Bronze Raisin, a sheer and gorgeously shimmery shade (the picture on the website does not do it justice!). I also liked Mocha Pink, but couldn't afford to buy more than 1 tube at a time (...yet) so that one will have to wait. But it looked like a nice neutral shade.



The next product to catch my eye was their Smooth Color Eyeshadow Duo ($14.50). The shades all looked soft, subtly shimmery, and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately when I tested the shadows on my hand the shimmer didn't show up really well. I know for me with certain colors I need that bit of shimmer, otherwise the color looks odd on me. Again, I definitely suggest going into the stores to check out the color selection b/c the online pictures don't really tell you much. Anyway, I bought a shadow duo in Sweet Sherbet. The colors are very soft and subtle, but sweet and pretty. They also feel silky soft going on the lid.

I looked at some of their blush options, they had a powder blush and a cream blush ($15 each). I tested the cream blush on my hands and noticed that you need to be pretty careful about how much you use-- it felt a bit sticky and went on kind of boldly. Basically, if you want to use that product you just have to make sure to go little bits at a time so you don't end up looking like a clown. I may have to try one of their powder blushes sometime, though. They had a nice range of colors, and many of them also had a bit of that shimmery quality that made them look really pretty.



I may also have to try their mascara ($12.50) sometime in the future. It's a two-sided version, with a fortifying serum on one end to nourish and strengthen lashes, and black or brown mascara on the other to lengthen.

I had fun today checking out the different products. I left a few products out of this post, so if you want to check them out you can go to Kohls online or to one of their stores (check website for locations). I wonder if this will be the entire line, or if they've got some new things up their sleeve that they will unveil later on down the line...


*Note: I will be out of town tuesday and wednesday and will be unable to post. I'll be back on thursday.*