Beautiful Makeup Search Top Ten Things I'd Like to Forget.

Oh yes, things are not always beautiful, now are they. There are obviously some items I did not talk about this year or things that I just wish were not so - blah. This is the "Things I'd Like to Forget" edition of 2008. Please feel free to chime in after the post (in the comments) with what beauty related items of 2008 you would like to forget.

1. The Economy - I wish the economy were just not so bad right now. I have known for over a year that we were in a recession and those money people are finally admitting it. It is really tough on a gratuitous industry as beauty. Besides people in the beauty industry getting laid off (CHANEL just reported they are laying off 200 people!), women are giving up their manicures/pedicures, facials, massages, even hair care services. And this affects those in the beauty service industry and the small salons that we will probably see close during the year.
2. Moving Mascara Wands - This still scares me. I know that Oscillation set records for being the fastest selling mascara ever, but I still don't see the point. A good mascara and a steady hand always works - no moving parts needed.
3. NY Times Article Bashing Beauty Bloggers - The end of January, the NY Times pegged beauty bloggers as product whores or just in it for the swag. I don't think I ever wrote about how I felt about the article, but simply put: I started Beautiful Makeup Search in 2001 before blogs were even called blogs. I wrote here for years and years with just a passion for writing about beauty products and that is still why I write it. Yes, there are plenty of bloggers that have started since then just for the swag, as they say, but when those said bloggers realize that the swag just doesn't come, you see their blogs quickly disappear. 
4. Black Lip Gloss - These black hued lip glosses sold out - yes, sold out. I think they sold out for the collector's aspect, as I never EVER saw anyone wearing black lip gloss. There is simply no way to (in the word's of Tim Gunn) make it work.
5. The Posh Bob - Need I say more?
6. Splendicity as a Community No Longer - The wonderful community of beauty, fashion and style bloggers that I put together for b5media was dissolved with no reason except to use the name for something else. It made me mad, but now I am just sad as it was a fantastic community of bloggers. I do cherish the friendships I made through the bloggers though, so if anything good came of it, the friends I found was definitely it.
7. Diversion - I never realized how much of a problem that diversion was until I started seeing Bare Escentuals at Target and the best of hair care brands at cheap variety stores. This is not necessary just to save a buck/make a buck. Please only buy beauty products from authorized retailers.
8. Overpackaged Products - Products with oodles of extra boxes or cartons are not doing us any good. A pretty bottle or compact is all I need. The extra layers of outer packing on beauty products is getting ridiculous. Even though some of them are pretty, the environment would be much better without so much extra packaging.
9. Zit Zappers - I have tried most of the over the counter gadgets this year, and not on myself. I enlisted my hormone raging 13 and 16 year old for numerous tests and trials. Unfortunately, there is not a single one that I would recommend.
10. Imitators - From beauty innovators to magazines, to those of us who author beauty and fashion blogs, there is always someone trying to copy someone. Or something. Yes, imitation can be a form of flattery, but we can do without most imitations. The products and people rarely live up to the hype.

Again, share your worst beauty products/trends/moments in the comments.

FDA Approves Latisse for Growing Longer,Thicker, Darker Lashes.

The FDA just announced that they have approved pharmaceutical company Allergan to market Latisse. Latisse will be a prescription only eyelash growth drug that you dab onto your upper lash line. It is a different form of a glaucoma treatment drug called Lumigan.

Doctors and patients noticed that the glaucoma treatment had the unusual side effect of lengthening and thickening eyelashes, so Allergan is reformatting it into a single applicator dosage that you will dab onto the lash line, as I said above. The FDA just approved this drug for this use.

"Latisse fulfills a significant and previously unmet need in the medical aesthetic marketplace with a product approved by the FDA that increases the growth of eyelashes, making them longer, thicker and darker," said Scott Whitcup, M.D., Allergan's Executive Vice President of R&D. "As the global leader in medical aesthetics,Latisse exemplifies our continuing commitment to developing innovative treatments that are studied in well-controlled clinical trials, manufactured to pharmaceutical standards, appropriately labeled for use, and available to consumers as a prescription product."

Allergan states that "Latisse users can expect to experience longer, fuller, and darker eyelashes in as little as eight weeks, with full results in 16 weeks." If Latisse is stopped though, eyelashes will gradually return to their previous appearance as new eyelashes grow in. That is the part that I do not like. As the company will start marketing the treatment in February for $120 for a 30-day supply, this is definitely an expensive investment.

I am also not so sure of another one of the side effects, as Allergan has it listed that Latisse may cause darkening of the eyelid and surrounding skin, which may or may not be reversible, and it "may also cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye, which is likely to be permanent." They also state that Latisse may also promote hair growth in other skin areas that it frequently touches.

Of course, they are expected to be side effects, but these seem pretty dramatic to me. I rather just coat on the mascara as I do now, because let's be honest - I bet Latisse users will still use mascara for that extra control and oomph.

Time will tell and I am anxious to hear what real women think after using the treatment. Allergan expects sales upwards of $500 million per year. WOW!

To find out more, you can read the release from Allergan here: Allergan Latisse Release

Beautiful Makeup Search Top Ten Beauty Posts of the Year!

This is a little play on my Top Ten lists. I thought I would go back and search for the most read posts right here on Beautiful Makeup Search for 2008. Please note that not all of these posts were written in 2008 - so very strange. It goes to show you the power of search engines, I guess. It also helps me to better understand what readers are really looking for when searching for the best in beauty info.

10. Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual.

9.   CHANEL Fall 2008 Makeup Collection.

8.   Holiday Gift Guide - Makeup Sets.

7.   Introducing BeautyFix.

6.   L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara.

5.   CHANEL Moscow Nail Colour Collection.

4.   New Mascara Must-Try's.

3.   Gifts under $25.

2.   Make Up For Ever Diamonds For Ever.

1.   MAC Cosmetics: C Shock with Eve.

I guess you all really like MAC & the Eve C-Shock collection and the Make Up For Ever Holiday Collection from last year. By going over this, I also see that two of my most popular posts were from the gift guide, no surprise, and that a lot of you obviously are still searching for great beauty info and learning about Bobbi's Makeup Manual. Also, it seems that many of you readers like CHANEL and are obsessed with mascara - who isn't? It also shows me that I must be getting the word out about BeautyFix, which I am really thrilled about. You have heard about BeautyFix, right? lol

Here is to make great beauty posts in the new year. It will be fun to see what the most popular posts for 2009 will be as the year unfolds and new beauty innovations are brought to life.