For many women, the days of spending $40 on a bottle of foundation or $25 on blush are over, at least temporarily. Many of us are discovering the joys or horrors of shopping for cosmetics in the local drugstore. Unfortunately, the average American drugstore is hopeless: the choices are bewildering and the displays are utterly depressing. Cosmetics companies don’t make things better: one brand’s packaging looks like every other’s, until all the products from Maybelline to L’Oreal to Revlon blend into one another seamlessly along a sad, poorly lit wall . . . that is until you get to Almay’s new Pure Blends cosmetics (see above).

Almay Pure Blends stands out from the rest. Packaged like Stila (a more expensive brand sold in department stores and Sephora) in cheerful cream and pink colors, Almay makes us feel good about buying inexpensive beauty products in an otherwise very depressing time. While the other brands stick to decades-old packaging, Almay has decided, even during the deepest recession since the Second World War, to go all out and grab the customer’s attention. And it worked! I bought the foundation which comes in a small tube that is perfect for traveling. I also bought the shimmer loose powder, three eye shadows, blush and lip gloss. Here’s my review:

• foundation: small tube, perfect for traveling, beautiful lightweight coverage – better than almost all expensive department store brands I have tried; makes pores smaller, skin look smoother and glowing.

• loose finishing powder: comes in matte or translucent shimmer  – I chose the translucen shimmer because when applied over the foundation, it makes the skin gleam, not in an oily shiny mess but in a healthy way. Perfect companion to the foundation.

• powder blush: 3 shades of blush and 1 bronzer – gorgeous subtle color that you can build up if you want a more intense blush. I recommend the Orchid shade for darker skin tones and honey for lighter ones.

• eye shadows: sheer, natural-looking eye shadows that go on smoothly giving you more control over the depth and intensity of the color. My favorites are stone, steel and cocoa.

• lip gloss: very natural shades, easy to apply but the taste and smell are awful. I do not recommend this gloss.

In summary, Almay Pure Blends cosmetics (except for the lip gloss) are much better than most department store brands I have tried. The packaging is beautiful and portable for travel: small, compact and lightweight. Prices are very budget friendly: $14 for the foundation, $7.50 for the eye shadow, $14 for the loose powder, $11.50 for the blush and $8 for the lip gloss. I bought these products at a Walgreen’s special promotion (buy one, get one for half price) so it was truly a bargain. Many online stores are also discounting these products so do your research before you buy.

If you own a laptop, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Moleskine notebook, Amazon Kindle and G1 phone and you’re looking for a cool new sleeve or carrying case, check out the New High collection from an Austrian firm called Hard Graft which uses Italian aniline leather and pure new wool felt for materials. There’s no reason to keep buying the same old boring cases you find in mainstream retail stores, or heaven forbid, computer superstores.

Link: http://shop.hardgraft.com/category/»-new-high-collection-«

I had just posted an article on Merci, a new store in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, when I found out that a new concept store called Hotel Particulier has opened in the 2nd arrondissement near the Rue Montorgueil (a pedestrian-only street filled with restaurants and food shops). Hotel Particulier is owned by Vanessa and Laetitia Roggwiller. It functions as an art gallery that also sells furniture, beauty products, perfumes from État Libre d’Orange, clothes from Gaspard Yurkievich and Kris Van Assche, and graphic t-shirts.

Hotel Particulier
15, rue Léopold-Bellan
75002 Paris
France
www.hotelparticulier-paris.com

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Check out all of my favorite shops in Paris.