Have 2010 Oscars Predictions? Get the New Vanity Fair Hollywood iPhone App

The Oscars are coming up in March and nearly everyone is abuzz with their predictions for this year’s winning people and films. Vanity Fair wants to know who you think will be taking home an award this year and have launched the Vanity Fair Hollywood iPhone app.

The app, said to be developed in order to engage the Vanity Fair readership with technology and social media, is sponsored by L’Oréal Paris, whose products can be found in the Gift Bag section of the app, including itmes such as the True Match Roller Foundation, Double Extend Lash Boosting Mascara (which we actually reviewed here–see week 1 and week 3,) Studio Secrets Professional Crystal Shadow Duos, Telescopic Explosion Mascara, Go 360° Clean Deep Facial Cleanser, and many others.

For those of you out there, like myself, who don’t have an iPhone or iPhone Touch, the Vanity Fair Hollywood app is also available as a web-based application. So get those predictions and votes in and tune in on March 7th for the Oscars to see if you were right!

L’Oréal Paris® Lash Boosting Technology — Week 1

I have never been one to wear a ton of makeup; I am a big fan of natural beauty and most often, I can be found wearing only some eyeliner and mascara. I love accentuating my eyes, I’ll dab on a little lip gloss or if I’m going out somewhere special I’ll apply a classic red lip, but that about covers me and makeup’s relationship. Needless to say, I go through a great deal of eye cosmetics, especially considering you should update your mascara once every three months; something I had not known until just a few months ago. Lucky for me, just around the same time I needed some updating, BzzAgent sent me a brand new mascara product from L’Oréal Paris®–their Lash Boosting Technology.

Of course, because I’m well, me, before even reading my literature on the product, I ran up to the bathroom and put it on, since I was getting ready to leave the house already anyway. With just the very first application, I was amazed. I ran into my partner’s office and started saying, “Look at my eyelashes! Look how much bigger and fuller they are, they look amazing!” He agreed, of course, and started comparing the literature on the product to how it really worked, such as the fact that it really does separate and accentuate each and every single lash you have, which let’s face it, most mascaras do not do without some major clumping. I was absolutely overjoyed with the product, but completely forgot that they are currently hosting a 4 week challenge to let you see just how much your lashes will change in 4 weeks while using L’Oréal Paris® Lash Boosting Technology.

So here we are at the beginning. Week 1. Here is a picture of me with absolutely no makeup on whatsoever. In fact, I have been sick with pneumonia for the past 10 days and this is what being sick, just waking up and having no makeup on looks like:

As you can see, without mascara, my eyelashes look nonexistent until I close my eyes. Hopefully this lash boosting technology fixes that. So be sure to check back here every Tuesday until February 9th to see if it really works!

After doing some research when it comes to lash boosting technology and eyelash growth cosmetics and products, L’Oréal is definitely one of the cheapest ways to go about lengthening your eyelashes in a safe, comfortable and easy way. Some products sell for up to over $100 and the entire product line of Lash Boosting Technology sells for up to $21.79. You can purchase it at Walmart and Target for pretty cheap!

Do You Know What’s in Your Cosmetics?

Very few people actually read the list of ingredients on the box of a cosmetic item. If you’re animal-friendly, you may check to see if there is a line that reads “not tested on animals,” which is most of the time at the bottom of the box, but besides that not too many people read through the list printed on their beauty products. In the same respect, what do all those grossly large and confusing words mean anyway?

If the word squalene [or squalane] seems familiar to you, it probably is. Squalene is a very common emollient used in beauty products such as lotions, creams and glosses and is used by big name companies such as L’Oréal Paris. However, squalene is being phased out of cosmetic products as of late due to the vast decline in numbers of deep-sea sharks.

Squalene, which has been an in demand ingredient for beauty products is found in large quantities in the livers of deep-sea sharks and due to the sharks being caught and killed purely for this ingredient, cosmetic companies are seeking the aid of olive extracts to replace the deep-sea shark liver oil. However, if all companies switch to olive extracts, simple supply and demand may be in trouble, as there are only so many olives to go around to big companies.

In 2006, L’Oréal eliminated squalene from their skin care products replacing it with a plant-based substitute and plan to eliminate the ingredient from 12 other lipsticks that they produce. Asian-based cosmetic companies may not be going the same route, though, as shark squalene still remains in very high demand.

So the next time you’re picking up your favorite skin care item, lipstick or gloss and you see squalene listed in the ingredients you can now say you not only know what it means, but know that the company has decided to continue to use deep-sea shark oil in their product and have not opted for either olive extracts or plant-based substitutes. Help eliminate the cause for concern over the dwindling numbers of deep-sea sharks.