L’Oreal’s True Match Roller, to answer her question. Yes, a mini paint roller that applies foundation.

Gimmick? Maybe. But, The Beauty Bug is just going to come out and say it – She likes it because it’s….fun.  And simple. The creamy, smooth formulation and the buildability factor aren’t half bad either. With this product, L’Oreal combines a novelty applicator with a solid, matte,  foundation, and it works.

A few things to about the roller..

• Before going to purchase, make sure you know what color family you belong and about the undertones in your skin (warm vs cool). The display will help guide you by asking what color jewelry looks best on you, but for a quick refresher course, refer to the second paragraph here.
• Yes, it’s silly and it’s probably not the best choice if you apply your makeup in public, or on the subway while you’re going to work, but… the roller contraption just makes sense.
• Have tissues handy when you’re using it. They will help you roll off any access product and clean the roller.
• Don’t worry, the roller doesn’t leave any streaks or striations.
• Contrary to the claims, the roller isn’t bendy, but it is semi-flexible and you can maneuver it into the crevices around your nose.
• The roller is a great tool for those who suffer from “my face is darker than my neck” syndrome.
• It’s easy and quick! For those that have shied away from liquid or cream foundation due to fear of properly blending it, this is a welcome, affordable segway.
• The foundation and the roller yield seamless, smooth, beautiful coverage.
• It lasts throughout the work day.
• No, it’s not the best drugstore foundation, but all things considered (the unique, easy application experience paired with the better-than-average foundation) it’s a pretty good option.

Thanks, L’Oreal for adding some fun and enjoyment to The Beauty Bug’s morning makeup routine.

L’Oreal’s True Match Roller is available at CVS for $13.99.

Disclosure: A press sample was provided to The Beauty Bug by CVS.

What looks like just another gimmick, is actually a solid little facial “scrublet” and cleanser that thoroughly cleans and exfoliates without being overly harsh or stripping. The small rubber disc is made up of 500 tiny, gentle, feelers that massage skin and remove all makeup and dirt.  The scublet is super soft, and as The Beauty Bug sweeps it across Her face,  She’s soothed and relaxed…and so is Her skin. She especially loves its flexibility because it lets Her get into the crevices near Her nostrils and slough off the dead skin, and remove stubborn  leftover makeup.

The cleanser smells of delicious apricots, and contains salicylic acid and natural apricot seed powder to exfoliate, leaving skin smooth, refreshed and velvety soft. The Beauty Bug applies the cleanser directly to the damp scrublet and then glides it across Her face, moving it in circular motions, letting the cleanser lather and foam.

Bottom line, this little-disc-that-could cleanses a face like no one’s business. It’s great for traveling, stocking stuffers, or just because there’s room left in the medicine cabinet for one more product!

The Beauty Bug will soon be heading back to CVS for seconds  – She wants to try the Deep Facial Cleanser with mint!

L’Oreal’s Go360 Facial Cleanser is available at CVS for $6.99

Disclosure: A press sample was provided to The Beauty Bug by CVS.

CoverGirl Exact Eyelights – Were you sucked in by the Rihanna magazine ads? Unfortunately, The Beauty Bug was.  This is nothing but ColorGirl VolumeExact repackaged. No popping, no light reflecting, no brightening (r as they claim, eyes are 4x as bright).  Something to remember when buying a mascara  – it only effects your lashes, not your eyes, as this one says (unfortunately, The Beauty Bug didn’t remind Herself of this as She was checking out at Her local CVS).

The Beauty Bug tried Black Pearl, which is spefically recommended for brown eyes, and it’s nothing but plain black mascara with minor traces of metallics if you close enough at the bristles.  The formula and the rubber bristles perform, but skip this mascara because it’s exact-ly average.

CoverGirl LashBlast Luxe - The newest of the bunch, LashBlast Luxe is yet another disappointment from CoverGirl – it’s just another gimmick. The mascara promises a tinted formula with shimmer. The Beauty Bug tried Black Platinum and the supposed tint/shimmer is non-existent. It seems as though we’re seeing a trend among  Cover Girl mascaras, which leads The Beauty Bug to advise sticking to the basic mascaras which don’t over-promise.

L’Oreal Carbon Black Voluminous – Only true beauty junkies know the pure joy you experience after re-discovering a stellar product.  The Beauty Bug rediscovered this gem back in December when She forgot to pack a mascara when traveling for Christmas. The rich, deep black formula produces full, dramatic, long lashes with no flaking or clumping. Before The Beauty Bug would have relied on this marcara as a fall-back, but now She reaches for it as a first choice.

L’Oreal DoubleExtend Beauty Tubes -  The newest addition to “tubular” mascaras, Beauty Tubes coats each individual last with its own tube which stays in tact until it is washed off with warm water.  Yes, this product does fulfill its promise of being budge/smudge-proof, but it doesn’t provide that extra length (the “lash-extending beauty tubes” promise to lengthen up to 80%) or any volume. The Beauty Bug has been testing this mascara for quite a while now, and it’s nothing more than mediocre. The formula is thin, and the bush is a wire-y and flimsy. The major unavoidable drawback? It’s a  a 2-step mascara.

If you’re looking for a mascara that doesn’t budge for anything, spend the extra $5 or $6 and opt for Clinique’s Lash Power. This is the red-headed step child.

After reading that, and seeing that all of the L’Oreal Skin Genesis products were on sale at Walgreens for 25% off, the Beauty Bug was sold. On Sunday afternoon when She should have been moving (The Beauty Bug and The Beauty Bug Boyfriend just purchased their first condo – no doubt She will be installing a beauty closet soon), she made her way to Walgreen because getting this new product was clearly the priority.

She quickly located it on the shelf (the packaging the very sleek) and headed to the check-out counter. The extremely talkative and cheerful 60-something cashier raved about the product – she had just come back from a local L’Oreal class where she learned about it. The cashier, we’ll call her Tabby, then proceeded to instruct The Beauty Bug on how to open the serum – nothing more than a slight counter-clockwise motion (a trick The Beauty Bug surely would have never figured out). While demonstrating, she awkwardly twisted her wrist – which already had a brace on it, a result of racing her cat from the kitchen to the living room Tabby explained. While The Beauty Bug kept a smile on her face, She was trying to take in every detail so She could tell The Beauty Bug Boyfriend about her odd encounter – the weird cat-lady Tabby who probably shared the serum with her cat.

The Beauty Bug exited Walgreens with a smile, happy that she had opted to go to Walgreens instead of her normal drug-store favorite, CVS. Surely, the trip wouldn’t have been half as interesting….

A London woman recently “lashed” out against L’Oreal after she suspected that Penelope Cruz was wearing false eyelashes in the commercial for its Telescopic Mascara. She protested to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority who surprisingly listened and act. Refreshing, isn’t it?

If you recall, The Beauty Bug made the same claim a while back.

According to an article in the Daily Mail, “It (the ASA) found the TV commercial misleading and said the magazine advert failed to be accurate and true. During the investigation, the French company admitted that the star had been wearing individual false lashes.

The ASA has ordered L’Oréal to add a disclaimer to future adverts whenever models are shown wearing false lashes.

It also told the firm to make it clear that its “60 per cent” claim referred to the appearance of the lashes – not to an actual extension in the length that could be achieved by using the mascara.”

L’Oreal added that “Penelope Cruz was wearing a few individual false lashes inserted into her natural lashes to fill in the gaps in her natural lashes for a consistent standard of lashes.”

A signed affidavit from the star and her make-up artist supported this.

The Telescopic mascara was applied on top.

Few things come to mind after hearing about this. How did L’Oreal think they were going to get away with this? It’s SO blatantly obvious.

The Beauty Bug is surprised that we don’t hear about this more often with other cosmetics companies…L’Oreal got the slap on the wrist that they deserve, but they also need some time out in the corner. Shame on them…

That day marked the first purchase of what would become many, many more L’Oreal mascara purchases. The Beauty Bug never forgot what her friend and MAC artist told her that day – some may even say that that piece of advice was as valuable as a good piece of motherly advice (look both ways before crossing the street, if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it at all, etc.).

Fast Forward to this weekend when The Beauty Bug bought herself a tube of L’Oreal’s new Telescopic Mascara. She had been wanting to try it ever since She had seen the commercial during the Golden Globes, and it was on sale at Walgreens. A low-risk purchase – right up the Beauty Bug’s alley!

The Telescopic Mascara is another hit for L’Oreal. The packaging is novel (the tube actually looks like a mini-telescope) and the comb wand is strikingly similar to Lancome’s Fatale. The comb allows for ideal separation and length with very minimal clumping. The formula allows for multiple coats to be applied without becoming thick or heavy. The telescopic mascara is a solid mascara for the price – just be careful not to bend the wand putting it back in the tube!

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Dior Show – I really want this mascara to work on me, as it works on other people – but for some reason it doesn’t – maybe it’s the way I’m applying it.

Dior Unlimited – The sales lady convinced me to buy this to put on after Dior Show – I like it.

Anna Sui Mascara – You used to be able to buy this at Sephora, I guess you can’t anymore. Anyways, a friend recommneded this to me, and I don’t like it at all. All the little loose fibers on the brush fall from my lashes on to my face throughout the day. I don’t recommend.

Lancome Definicils – This is by far my favorite – I do venture out and buy others, but always seem to fall back on this one – my old stand by.

HIP by L’Oreal High Drama Volumizing Mascara – I read somewhere that this was a good prodcu, and I think L’Oreal in general makes good cosmetics, but I’m not a huge fan. I think I need to give it another try, but I don’t think I will be purchasing another one.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara – Again, I buy what I read, and Max Factor has always received praise for their mascara – both for this one and their Lash Perfection. This one is pretty good, it reminds me a lot of the Dior Show.

So, as you can see, I contributed to the $244 million in that were spent in 2005 on department store mascara ( this figure does not include drug store mascara – stats came from this article) and plan to continue to spend. Next on my list to buy is the Shu Umera mascara -review coming soon!