This week I am excited to bring you new reviews from our Panelist Kristen. When you are in the mood for something new, is the drugstore the first place you go? Kristen's been busy checking out all the new goodies and has these reviews for you!

Kristen is 26 years old and 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. 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. 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.

Now on to Kristen's reviews!

Neutrogena Shimmer Sheers
I love any product that is designed to provide some luminosity to my dull complexion and these little tubes are some of the best I've tried, and believe me when I tell you I've tried a whole lot. There are six shades to choose from; I bought Mesmerized (a soft pink) and Dazzled (a white shade) to start off with. I am rather hesitant to buy drugstore products in mass quantities until I've tried them at home since you don't have the luxury of a department store counter. Shimmer Sheers are designed for any part of your face, whether you want to use them as a cream eye shadow, highlight your cheekbones, or even put a bit on your lips. I personally don't care for it on my lips. I must reiterate that these are probably the best cream shimmer products I've used. They are so soft and silky which makes application a breeze and it's nearly impossible to not get the application right. It blends easy and provides a streak-proof hint of color. I was impressed with them so much that I went back and bought Charmed (a rosy pink), and Mystified (a bronze color). I like to mix Mesmerized with my foundation for a luminous glow. You don't need a whole lot or you'll wind up looking greasy, so be easy on it! I also like to mix Mystified with my foundation for a warm, summery look. Charmed is great for a blush. Dazzled is perfect for highlighting your cheekbones or brightening up your eyes. The best thing about Shimmer Sheers in addition to them being an incredible product? The price. Depending on where you buy them, they are less than $8.00, and I've had my tubes for a while because a little goes a long way.

Revlon Skinlights Custom Face Powders
I purchased most of the Skinlights line when it came out a while back and was very impressed with the quality of the products. I thought to myself then after loving the Golden Light Face Illuminator Loose Powder that I wish they'd come out with a pressed powder. Well, the powers that be at Revlon must have heard me because here they are. Revlon introduced three compacts to choose from: Bare Light, Golden Light, and Natural Light. The concept of this product is interesting because it has four sections (two square and two rectangular), each with a powder designed for a different purpose. For my skintone, I purchased Natural Light, which is darker than Bare Light, but lighter than Golden Light. Of the two smaller sized powders, one is for bronzing and the other is for brightening. The two larger sized powders are for the rest of your face where you don't use the other two powders. Basically, it's a luminous pressed powder. The compact comes with a small brush, but I found it to be useless. My big velour puff from Laura Mercier works great in applying the natural face powders. I must say that I am really impressed with this compact. After I've applied my makeup, I like to take my own powder puff and run it across the two face powders (or sometimes all 4 colors) and apply it to my face. It gives my face a much-needed boost. It creates a pretty, soft focus look and makes me look like I have perfect skin (which I don't). I also like to carry it with me for touch-ups. I personally don't think the bronze color is dark enough for me to match my tan to my face, but I still can use it with the other powders. The only thing I don't like about this compact besides the brush is that it has no mirror, but I don't really care. It's such a nice product for a great price. The entire Skinlights collection is wonderful. Their loose powder is some of the best and the lipglosses are exceptional. You can check out any of the products at your local drugstore, however, I could not find the Custom Face Powders compact at Wal-Mart, but I did get it at Walgreens.

Rimmel
I had never tried Rimmel until I purchased this foundation and pressed powder. First, I purchased Double Act pressed powder in Silky Beige, a perfect match for my skin. Double Act is for those of us that need some help in the oil control department. I'd recently lost two of my favorite pressed powders from Laura Mercier and Chantecaille, so I really wasn't looking to spend a lot of money on a touch-up powder, especially after having lost those two expensive ones. It comes in a nice, sturdy square black container with the most useless puff included. It was outlined in plastic, which means it wouldn't pick up powder or spread it around on your face. It had no absorption to it at all, so it promptly met the trash can. I used another puff on hand. This is truly a nice powder. You only need a little, so don't get your puff and press hard along the powder. I did that and it made my face feel way too dry and tight and looked a little cakey. I softened it up a bit and what I got was a nice, effective powder that banished any sign of the greasies. At under $5, I would definitely buy this again and recommend it to those who shop on a budget.

After having been so impressed with the Rimmel powder, I went back later when my skin was really dry. Dry skin is something I get every now and then and I certainly don't want to go buy my favorite Laura Mercier foundation (at $38 a bottle) in the moisturizing formula just for that twice a year dry-as-the-Sahara-Desert skin. So, I went back to Rimmel and bought Hydrasense Flawless Hydrating Makeup in Sand, which also proved to match my skin well. This foundation comes in a tube, so all you have to do is squeeze it out. I can't say that it worked as well at covering my sometimes splotchy skin as my favorite foundation from Laura Mercier, but it was okay to use for a few days. The coverage is more sheer than full coverage, so I didn't like it a whole lot for that reason. But it does apply well and doesn't streak. However, I would like to point out that this foundation was also less than $5, so I have to admit that it was a pretty good product considering the price.

Almay Bright Eyes Trio
I purchased a trio set that had the Bright Eyes Mascara in Black, Color Cream Shadow in Golden Gleam, and Defining Color Duo Eyeliner in Onyx/Pearl (black and white eyeliner, respectively). I've not tried any of Almay's cosmetics, so I figured I'd try this trio as a starter. The mascara is great in that it provides nice, full black lashes. It's not drying at all and it applies easy. Sometimes I find mascaras can be too "wet" and they smear everywhere before they dry, or they are too dry to make my lashes look full. This mascara was in between. I'd definitely buy it again. The cream eyeshadow is a lot like Neutrogena's Shimmer Sheers in consistency and ease of application. It's a nice pearly shade perfect for providing the "bright eyes" that it promises. It really doesn't crease or fade much. I am definitely heading back to the store to see if there are different colors available that are not like the Neutrogena product. The eyeliner is my least favorite product. This is a double-ended liner with black on one end and pure white on the other. Those of you who know me know I prefer a cake liner applied with a wet brush instead of a pencil. This is not technically a pencil, but it's still the same concept. I found the black to be very black and it really didn't glide along my lash line. Trying to fix a mistake is terrible because as I mentioned before, the color is very black and doesn't just come off without a fight with the smudgies. I did, however, find it useful to dot between my lashes before I line my eyes since it doesn't have a sharp tip like a pencil. The white liner on the other end was useless to me as I don't like to line my eyes in white, however, I have friends who do it and it looks good on them, just not on me. It does go on white, so if that's your thing, you might want to give this liner a shot. Two out of three ain't bad!

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner
Since I had so much success with Loreal's Smooth-Intense set, I was in a drugstore-buying mood in search of other cheap products that work as well as any salon product. At the end of summer, my hair is usually pretty dry because of either hanging out at the beach or pool and is serious need of help. It comes in the cutest green container with a screw-top lid, which means you have to put your hands in it and dig it out. After shampooing, I put it on for 3 minutes as the instructions say. Generally, with products like this, I leave it in for about an hour if I have time. But I wanted to see how well it'd work for the bare minimum. When I rinsed it out, my hair felt very silky and smooth. To me, that is very important. If I can't feel softness to my hair when I rinse, I don't like it. It is a nice conditioner and worked great using it every other day and using it once a week for about an hour. It did work well and got the tangles out and made my hair soft. I'd purchase the L'Oreal mentioned above first, but since they are both drugstore cheapies, I don't have to choose. They both can share my bathroom!

Thanks, Kristen! I hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!