This week I am pleased to bring you my review of Sundari skin care and Bourjois cosmetics. I also just got in some Anna Sui cosmetics and Jules and Jane skin care. Thanks for all your suggestions!

Sundari is a fairly new skin care line created by Cavan Mahony, Ayla Hussain and supermodel Christy Turlington. It is based on the principle of Ayurveda, the Indian practice of herbal medicine. By answering a few questions about yourself at the sundari.com website, you can determine if you are a Vata (Air), Pitta (Fire), or Kapha (Earth) type. Vata usually relates to dry skin, pitta to normal/combination, and kapha to oily. If you want to learn more about doshas, check out the sundari.com site.

Sundari was kind enough to send me samples of the Kapha products to try; unfortunately, I didn't realize until after I tried them that I am not a Kapha. I thought maybe with the warmer weather that my skin would be oilier, but it's not so these products ended up being wrong for me.

Sundari Lemon Cleanser for Kapha Skin ($25 for a 4 oz. tube)
This is a cream-based cleanser/scrub (from apricot seed powder) made of some fairly basic cleansing ingredients that aren't particularly botanical, like sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate and cocamidopropyl betaine (when was the last time you saw those growing on a tree?). If you have sensitive skin, this cleanser is not for you - it is very rough and scratchy. Even if you can tolerate rough scrubs, I still wouldn't recommend this product. It doesn't clean very well and leaves a bit of an oily film on the skin.

Sundari Essential Oil for Kapha Skin ($60 for a 1/2 oz. bottle)
This is one spendy little bottle of oils. This blend of sweet almond, safflower, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, basil, and cloveleaf oils is supposed to balance and purify oily skin, but all it did for me was make me feel oily. I have used essential oils in this capacity before with better results (like Astara Microserums), so I think it's this blend that doesn't quite work. Another thumbs down.

Sundari Cornflower Oil-Free Hydrator for Kapha Skin ($52 for a 1.7 oz. jar)
I like the light, gel-cream texture of this moisturizer, and I think it would be work well for normal or slightly oily skin, but you would need a separate sunscreen. It has cornflower, willow bark, horse chestnut, rosemary, and witch hazel extracts along with moisturizers and soothers like glycerin, sorbitol, and allantoin. It absorbs quickly and leaves a slightly matte finish on the skin. Of the Sundari things I tried, I liked this one the best.

Sundari T-Zone Oil Control Treatment ($30 for a 1 oz. bottle)
This clear gel is supposed to be good for all three doshas to control shine (why someone with dry skin would need oil control is a mystery to me...), but it's really just a basic oily skin product made of alcohol (second ingredient after water), camphor, salicylic acid (but it doesn't indicate a percentage of concentration), witch hazel, and a few token herbs at the end. Please save your money and don't buy this! Straight witch hazel on a cottonball would work better.

All in all, these Sundari products that I tried are mediocre and just not the best fit for me. I visited the Sundari site and took their Dosha quiz to find out if I am a Pitta, Kapha or Vata, and I am actually a Pitta. Looks like I need to get the Pitta products and do another review!

In terms of Ayurveda products in general, I think Better Botanicals has the most natural ingredients and is a better choice if you want to experiment with this type of herbal skin care. Sundari claims to follow Ayurveda but has the same fillers, thickeners and chemicals as so many other (cheaper) brands.

Every so often, I like to visit one of the online beauty stores and pick up a few things sight unseen, just to see how well I can pick products based on the colors and details they have online. Recently I bought these cosmetics from Bourjois, a French line carried on Sephora.com. Bourjois has some unusual items like nail art stencils, body art stencils and stamps, and shimmery hair and body gel; I decided to stick with more run-of-the-mill goodies :)

Bourjois Dis-Moi Oui Lipstick ($14)
This is a long-wearing, transfer-resistant lipstick that also claims to be waterproof. I wish I could say I could vouch for these attributes, but the color I chose, rose champagne, was so pale and pastey on me, I couldn't stand to wear it long enough to really test it! It's a gamble sometimes buying color cosmetics online, and this time I lost. Dis-Moi comes in an unusual range of browns, pinks, beiges, and a few promising looking reds, but when I placed my order most of the reds were sold out. I might try exchanging mine for a different color and try it again...

Bourjois Effet de Nacre Non-Transfer Cream Eye Shadow ($13)
I've had a thing for cream makeup lately, so this eyeshadow fits right in. It comes in a long, thin tube with a sponge applicator wand, like a lipgloss. Also, each shade is packaged in a tube that is the same color as the shadow (handy when you are fumbling in a makeup bag for a particular shade). The color I bought, eclat de mauve, is more of a lilac purple than a mauve, but it's fresh, pretty, and I have not hesitated to wear it. Compared to other cream and glossy eyeshadows I've tried lately, this one wears pretty well and doesn't settle into the eyelid crease as much as, say, Stila Eye Gloss or Fresh Eye Shine.

Bourjois Shock Resistant Nail Enamel ($8.50)
I never do my nails at home any more, so I took this polish to the salon the last time I got a manicure and pedicure. I love reds, so "rouge venise" was just my speed, and it looked great for the first day until it started to wear at the tips and chip on the edges. Knowing how rough I am on my hands, I think this would happen to me with any polish, so don't expect any miracles from this one. I think naming it "shock resistant" is going too far...

Bourjois cosmetics are available at Sephora.com and Sephora retail stores.

In Cosmetic News
A few months ago I reviewed a great fresh skin care line called 310 (reviews are at http://www.cosmeticconnection.com/310.html). They have the most amazing banana mint face mask and now you can get it and all their other cool products with free shipping on orders over $75! This is no small offer, since FedEx shipping on their Fresh Fare products is sometimes $25! This special offer ends on July 20, so don't wait!