Kristen had fun recently with some new products, so in this issue of The Cosmetic Report she shares her experiences including reviews of EmerginC, Lucky Chick and Paper Doll Cosmetics.

Kristen is a 26 year-old government employee and mother of one from a Texas town just east of Houston. Kristen frequently makes trips to Houston for cosmetics and skincare and the people at the Laura Mercier counter and the Sephora store know her by name. In fact, she named every color on one of the makeup artist's face and she offered Kristen a job working for Laura Mercier! She has combination skin that is exacerbated in the summer (due to the extreme humidity in Texas) and normal to dry in the winter. She is acne prone with redness around the nose and chin and a handful of red acne scars, which she is always looking for something to even those out. Until then she has settled into finding the perfect foundation/concealer/powder system to cover it. Kristen has large, almond-shaped blue/green eyes that she considers to be her best feature. She is a natural brunette but highlights so it's blonde and "Julia Robert's curly" that she straightens.

EmerginC
I'd never heard of this skincare line until recently. I must admit I am somewhat afraid to try unknown skincare lines, as I simply don't know what I am getting into and my skin sometimes doesn't like for me to stray too far. Fair enough, but it leaves out the possibility of finding a good product or line, like this one. I was lucky enough to have gotten a hold of a bunch of goodies that I really like.

First, I started out with the Deglazing Cleanser, which is a dark colored and I think it smells like chocolate, but I may be weird! It does a fine job of removing my makeup and really doesn't make my face feel stripped since this line is for acne prone and oily skin. Next up is the Deglazing Lotion, which is not a lotion at all, but an astringent/toner that is rather minty and removes any trace of makeup you didn't get with the cleanser (note: I didn't have any residual - the cleanser worked great). Like I said, it's kind of minty like most astringents are, but it didn't burn my skin. For spot treatment of those pesky blemishes, Dessicator Drying Lotion (spot drier-upper) is a liquid-type flesh-colored tint that erases the redness while getting rid of the blemish. I like it because the consistency is watery and you can't see it gooped up on your face. It also got rid of most of my blemishes within a couple of days while hiding it. Be warned, though. I used it 2x daily and it did dry out the spot and I noticed some flakes, but it was nothing that the Crude Control moisturizer couldn't fix. A lightweight daily moisturizer, it is jammed pack full of antiseptic goodies to help out oil and acne. It was nice and light and my skin did not freak out and it also worked well under my makeup. The next product is a concept I've not seen before. Deglazing Matt Velvet Dust is a pure white powder that is also chock full of acne-killing goodies. It is supposed to soothe and calm irritated and red skin. I found that when my skin did flare up, this powder helped out the redness, but it mainly made my skin feel better. It can also be used after you apply your makeup to minimize oiliness while working on fighting blemishes. One of the ingredients is "couch grass" - I don't know what that is, but it works. My makeup stayed on longer without getting shiny. What would a good skincare line be without a weekly treatment? The Deglazing Mask is a clay mask for weekly use. It says you can use it twice a week, but I didn't find that necessary. You leave it on for 10-15 minutes and it, like the rest of the line, absorbs excess oil. It made my blemishes less red and irritated and made my skin feel like skin again - nice and smooth. My skin surprisingly didn't feel dry and tight after all the products I used before it. The only thing that I felt dryness with is overuse of the drying tint, but it wasn't so horrible that I had to back off for a day.

I am pretty darned impressed with this line and definitely want to get some other products from them. I can't say it banished every trace of redness (I don't think I've found a product that has accomplished that feat), but sometimes my skin will break out and it seems like the redness just wants to hang around for so long, I think I should charge rent! This system did exactly what it said it would do, while not making my skin go even crazier like some antiseptic product can do. You can check out EmerginC at emerginc.com. I can't wait to see what else will work for me, and as soon as I find out, you'll be the first to know!

Clarins Colour Tint in Sunkissed
This is definitely the time of year when my skin needs a little pick-me-up. Since I really love the Bronzing Gel from Laura Mercier, I figured I'd venture out and try another. I've never really liked liquid bronzers because some can be tricky to apply without looking dirty. I first used this one from Clarins after I had my foundation on. I applied too much and it went on way too dark. Be warned! It is hard to just squeeze out a little, so whatever you squeeze out, use half on one side of your face and blend where you want with your fingers, then use the rest for the other side. I spread it around as best as I could, but it was still too dark. I washed my face to start again, then mixed a small amount with my foundation. This seemed to be the way to go and it gave my face more warmth without looking "dirty," which a lot of liquid bronzers can do. It does work nicely if you already have your foundation on and you want to apply it to your cheekbones, but, like I said, more than you need comes out, so be light on the squeezing. I find that if you have no problems in applying liquid products like this, I think this is more difficult to apply and get it right than the Laura Mercier product (which is like bronzing for dummies, it blends so easy). This also has a strong perfume smell, so those of you that either do not like perfumed products or have a sensitively to them should either steer clear or proceed with caution.

Lucky Chick
This is my first introduction to the line and I really like it. I tried a lot of pampering products for your feet and hands. First, I used the Tingling Tootsies set, which is a little set infused with peppermint for your feet. I first soaked my feet in the Eucalyptus and Mint Foot Soak. Then, I scrubbed my feet with the Peppermint Foot Scrub, a very grainy exfoliator. The set also comes with a pink pumice stone shaped like a little foot, that I scrubbed my heels with. How cute it is! I patted my feet dry and applied the Foot and Leg Lotion. Then, I finished it all off with a spray from the Peppermint Foot Mist. I must say that my tired feet got a boost from the peppermint and my feet were definitely softer. I would like to say with regards to any at-home pedicure or foot products, it always feels significantly better when someone else is applying these products to your feet :). They were very nice and relaxing to use.

I also tried the Foot Fetish Spearmint Foot and Leg Cream and if my feet could talk, they'd thank me. This light green, pasty stuff is rather minty and feels sooo good on tired feet. It feels even better when I apply it to my calves. It makes my skin nice and smooth. And the smell is so yummy. I like the Spearmint better than the previously mentioned Peppermint.

Since I am on a severe bath kick, I was excited to try a large tub of the Mimosa, Jasmine and Violet Sugar Body Scrub. It is a pink scrub that looks like a bunch of wet sugar. I grabbed a healthy dollop while taking a bath, but be careful and scrub lightly. The granules are quite rough. This reminds me of Urban Decay's Cream and Sugar, which I also said to be very easy because of rough granules. The first time I used this Lucky Chick scrub, I scrubbed a bit too hard and my skin felt irritated on my shins. So, be very careful and you only need a bit. It does make my skin very soft and the smell is so wonderful and almost sweet, but not overpowering.

The Mimosa, Jasmine and Violet Hand Cream is a nice-smelling hand cream, but it is not the most moisturizing cream. I generally don't need hand cream, but on the few sporadic days I did, I noticed a couple of hours later than my hands had that chalky look to it. It smells wonderful and goes on without being greasy, but those of you that need more moisture than I do (and I hardly need any), this won't work for you, so don't let the scent seduce you!

Brigit True Organics
After having surgery on my jaw recently, combined with the onset of cooler months, my lips were unusually dry and chapped. I would freak out without my Carmex. Hoping that these Chap-Stick looking lip balms would be a nice alternative, I hoped for too much. The Honey Red Lip Balm did provide a nice sheer red tint to my lips, but didn't do much for the moisture and almost felt a little dry. Same for the other two balms, Honey and Peppermint. The Peppermint one tingled a bit, but I needed lots of moisture and this didn't do it. For those of you that live farther North than I do (I live in southeast Texas), where it gets much colder than it does here will likely not care for these. Regular 'ol Chap Stick goes on much smoother and provides more moisture. You can find Brigit True Organics online at organicsoapsandbalms.com.

Paper Doll
I love lip colors and these from Paper Doll come in the cutest little twist top container. It has a "lip window," showing you what color is in the pot. I tried Buh-Bye (a sheer red tint), Renaissance Girl (violet tint), and Trophy Bride (a sheer frosty pink). If you like almost nothing on your lips, these may work for you, but I didn't really care for them. The really don't provide much color and not the most moisturizing lip product. The red tint has the most color of the three, but Renaissance Girl and Trophy Bride almost made me look cold and sick because of their colors. Since they are more matte instead of shimmery, I am guessing that is why because I have lipsticks/glosses in very similar colors, but do not look like that on me. I would like to say that their website (paperdollcosmetics.com) is the cutest website out there and I have to give them props for that.

Thanks for that report, Kristen. We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!