Review: Revlon Velet Touch Lipstick (Discontinued)

I apologize for not posting much lately.  My doctor has put me on a bizarre new eating regimen, so I haven't really been able to actually, y'know, cook food. So I haven't tried any awesome new recipes lately.

And now for the good news.  Earlier this year (in January, to be exact), a moratorium on buying stuff was put into effect.  Absolutely nothing was supposed to come into this house that wasn't absolutely essential.  But, now that the moratorium has lifted, I've decided to put all of this extra money that comes with not eating awesome food to good use:  by buying a bunch of crap that I've been dying to have.

Lately, I have been on a vintage lipstick kick.  Something in my brain has just been pushing me to long for the scents, the feels, and the colors of my youth.  It is in this spirit that I present a review of a vintage product which I've recently acquired through the magic of eBay: Revlon Velvet Touch lipstick!

Now when I was a mere slip of a girl in perhaps 8th or 9th grade, this shit was all the rage.  The commercial was so elegant, grown-up, and sophisticated... the one that I was remembering seemed to harken back to old-fashioned Hollywood glamour.  Unfortunately, all I could find on YouTube was the Cindy Crawford version which came out later.  I like the original better, though admittedly this slice of 1990s nostalgia makes wearing Velvet Touch lipstick look like a party in a tube!



The lipstick names all had sexy, sensuous, velvety sounding names.  With a lifelong fetish for velvet and a love of vintagey glamour, how could a youth like me resist that seductively colorful eye-popping display at the local smalltown Hills department store?  At the time, I was going through a zany "orange makeup" phase (blame it on my love of Halloween!), though the shade that I settled on was called "Cherry Crush," -- a deep blue-toned crimson which was perfect for that bloodred look that I craved.  Oh, how I loved it.  I bought others, too, later... which included a metallic coral shade that just barely fit in with my orange repertoire.

The feel of this lipstick was unlike anything I had previously experienced.  It truly did have a soft, velvety, long-wearing consistency with a slightly powdery feel and a highly pigmented finish.  The smell of this formula was distinctive, too.  I can't describe it -- it's a subtle powdery/perfumey/chemical scent that stuck in my mind for two decades after Velvet Touch had come and gone.  The color and staying power had earned Cherry Crush a place in the "active" section of my teenage lipstick collection (which was an impressive 3-digit array of all sorts of delectable shades!).

Recently, I was siezed with a longing to possess more Velvet Touch so that my lips could relive the experience.  I checked eBay, and to my surprise, there were some 20-year old tubes available for sale!  However, they were fairly expensive (at about $20 each).  I was able to find a smaller version for $7.95.  It's somewhere between a sample and full size.

The color is called Plum Velour.  Online, it seemed to much deeper and darker than it was in person.  In actuality, it's more of a magenta color.  In fact, when I opened the tube, the first thing I noticed was that it was the same color as my hair!  (Here's one with my hair so that you can see what I mean.)  And that smell!  It was exactly the same as it was back in the day -- miraculously, the lipstick hadn't gone bad or anything!  I was ecstatic that even 20 years later, the product is still so wearable!  Although this is touted as a "creme," the color does have a very slight shimmery finish.  It isn't glossy or sparkly per se, just has a nice bit of shimmer to the color, so that it still looks 90% matte with a 10% shine factor that seems to add a little more texture and velvet-y-ness to the product.  It is a fairly long-wearing formula, though I didn't attempt "6 velvety hours" in it just yet!  All in all, I have to give this product a good strong "A" for its awesomeness.

Can anyone recommend a style of lipstick that has a similar consistency or texture so that we can have a "dupe" of these classic colors?  Have a favorite vintage lipstick that you'd like me to find and review?  Comment below and maybe we can help each other!

Review: Kline Honey Bee Farm

Since spring came into bloom a few weeks ago, I had been having a pretty strong craving for something that I almost never have the opportunity to enjoy: raw honeycomb.  I love everything about it... the gem-like color and smooth consistency, the pretty hexagon shapes of the wax, the slow and sensual flow of the honey.  I also love that when I crave something sweet, a little bit of honey can scratch the itch long before the craving has me reaching for something less healthy.

The first time I ordered some honeycomb online was probably 2007 or so (from a company I don't even remember) and all I can really remember is how expensive the shipping costs were as most of them were sending them in heavy glass jars; so it was with trepidation that I checked the prices of eBay's honey farmers, and with annoyance that I noticed very little had changed -- the thought of having a bit of raw honeycomb seemed wonderful, but at $16 a pop plus another $8 for shipping seemed like just too much.

I decided to try Etsy; people sold honey-based beauty products and beeswax there, after all.  It was there that I discovered the Kline's Honey Bee Farm store on Etsy.  Kline's offerings were quite impressive -- honeycomb, pure standard honey of many types by the ounce or the gallon, even creamed honey and individual-serving-size honey sticks!  There were also blocks of pure beeswax and beeswax candles, honey soap and beeswax lotion.  It was clear to that these folks do honey, and they do it well, so after checking a few more places for price comparison and seeing that Kline's had them all beaten -- I placed my honeycomb order.


Less than a week later, I had a lovely package of honey in my mailbox!  It came through the mail just fine.  The honeycomb was in perfect condition.  Unlike some places where I've seen honey surrounding a tiny piece of honeycomb, this was a big generous slice of comb with all the little honey pockets perfectly intact.  It looked and smelled delightfully fresh, as if someone had gathered and packed it just for me. Beautiful!

My package even included a little sample of honey soap which smells a lot like Lush's "Honey, I Washed the Kids."  I was thrilled with every aspect of this purchase.  The honeycomb was a lovely and impressive addition to the dinner party I had.  I saved my beeswax, and there's enough to make a massage bar (or maybe two!).

Since I've been watching my carbs, I think my next purchase will be a batch of honey sticks.  They're portion-controlled and portable, so it seems like a great idea for the next time my sweet tooth hits me.  They even have honey in wacky flavors like root beer and pina colada!  I'll let you know how it goes!

P.S.  I borrowed this picture from Kline's store on Etsy.  Hope that's OK!

Halloween Shopping Tips

If you're anything like me, you get a special thrill out of going to the store to shop for Halloween stuff!!! (This is because you'll probably use it all year, and not just until Halloween's over.) Here are a few tips on what to look for, and what to avoid, this Halloween when you're out scavenging for goodies:

* CLOTHES: Anything non-seasonal that you can use all year 'round. Look for skeletons, spiders, bats, skulls. If you like pumpkins and will wear pumkin-themed clothing all year, go for it. Buy stuff in any colors you like... I like black & purple, which are easy to find at Halloween!

* MAKEUP: Hit the makeup section and see if you can find anything interesting. Always seek black lipstick and nail polish. Also worth having: Lip or nail colors in dark, dramatic, or unusual colors; jewels or other cool accents for the face; "normal" cosmetics in cute gothy containers; special-effects cosmetics or theatrer-type makeup items that are hard-to-find normally (such as eyebrow plastic or spirit gum).

* ACCESSORIES: Halloween is the best time of year to find accessories with bats, skulls, or other spooky themes. You can find just about anything you need, with a spooky style... hair accessories, purses, hosiery (gotta love striped stockings!), shoes, wigs, jewelry, and more!

* HOME DECOR: Be very careful of items offered in this category, lest you get overly cheesy items in your enthusiasm! You can find some good stuff, though... like skull/death themed pieces, even spooky or cool-looking kitchen ware. DEFINITELY look for candles, as you can get fantastic styles and colors during the season! Be careful of plastic, cheaply or badly-made items. Remember that many of these are meant to be used only for a short time and then tossed away. It may take awhile to find quality items that will last in your home for years, but the efforts are so worth it!

* EDIBLES: I like Halloween candy and treats all year 'round. Some of my favorite treats are things like General Mills Monster Cereals, Pillsbury Halloween cookies (just cut and bake), and of course, Halloween Pop Tarts. Many companies are beginning to release special Halloween edition things with either special packaging, or unusually-decorated versions of their regular products, so this is the perfect time of year to stock up!

* CRAFT ITEMS: Absolutely nowhere is more fun than a craft store at Halloween... but take my advice and DON'T wait 'til the last minute! You can find all kinds of wonderful things here, to fulfill your crafting fetishes well into next year!! Look for fabric, notions, beads, ribbons, even cool accessories and must-have crafting essentials in creepy Halloween styles! Some craft stores do pre-season Halloween sales in September or even August, as crafty folks will often make their own costumes and come looking for their ingredients in advance. The early bird will catch the cutest stuff!! Latecomers may be surprised by a fantastic rare find or two, but I'd try to hit the craft shops as early in the season as possible.


More tips...

1. Timing is key. It's always best to start browsing as soon as the Halloween stuff goes up, usually around the middle of September. If you see something that you absolutely MUST have, snap it up at your earliest convenience -- it may not be there next year, or even next week! You can also try to wait until November 1st to make the most of clearance sales (one of my personal missions in life!), but remember that Halloween stores typically close before then. My favorite place to try on November 1st would be drugstores, as they're practically giving the stuff away. (The best stuff may be picked over -- or gone entirely -- if you wait too long!)

2. Location. If you see something that you absolutely MUST have multiples of, in a chain store, try visiting the same stores in different cities. For example, this year I found an awesome coffin container in the Target near my New England home; a few weeks later I visited my in-laws in NYC and came across the same one! (I should have bought it the second time around, but fortunatley coffin number one is in my office now!)

3. If you're picking through clearance stuff, don't be afraid to haggle. Lots of Halloween stuff is going to be seriously marked down come the first of November. Some pieces will just be thrown into the clearance bin without even being tagged! One year I found a thick faux dungeon chain (it was made of styrofoam and painted to look metallic and old/rusty) just sitting around with a bunch of cheap Halloween makeup, and even though it wasn't tagged, the checker "decided" to sell it to me for 99 cents. A true Halloween find!

4. Plan ahead. Make lists of what you need, who's having sales, or of where you got the best hauls in Halloweens past. Try your favorite "haunts" but don't be afraid to plunge into uncharted territory. You never know what you'll find! (My favorite discount store to Halloween shop is definitely Target, as their stuff is high enough in quality to last for many years... as for drugstores, it's gotta be either CVS or Rite-Aid for their wide selections of makeup and costume-y pieces. I tend to avoid Wal-Mart, which sells cheesy "rustic" fall crap, and Halloween-themed shops, which are mostly filled with overpriced junk. I did get a nice ceramic skull-shaped serving tray at the Halloween store last year, though, so as I said... be flexible, and don't be scared to travel off your beaten path!)

I've gotten some good stuff this year so far, but will be making my last Halloween run on November first. Happy hunting, all!