Lancome Faux Gloss: Shimmering Highlights For Face & Body

Introduction

The last time I heard of body glitter was in the early ‘70’s, when body-painting was a big hit. The hardest part was staying still while someone used a paintbrush to create psychedelic patterns on your skin, and quite frankly, it tickled like crazy.

So, in the spirit of "what goes around, comes around," I experimented with face, hair, and body glitter. I bought a pot of silvery glitter gel at one of those kiosks in the mall, run by someone who looked about as old as my 14 year old stepdaughter. It was easy to apply and fun to wear, but looked a little alarming in bright sunlight. There seems to be a higher glitter content in it, which is just fine for the young, but it’s a bit too much for anyone older than 18.

I enjoyed the Faux Gloss much more because of the ease of use—no dunking your fingers into a jar of goo—the fragrance, and most of all, the effect.

Usage

Use Lancome Faux Gloss - Shimmering Highlights for Face & Body to add some shimmer to your look! This silky lotion smoothes on easily with your fingertips, and adds sparkle to your hair, face, shoulders, arms, hands, feet—wherever you want some sparkle. Please note: Do not use this product on your eyes. Unlike some of the similar teen-focused products, it gives a more subtle look.

It washes off easily with plain soap and water, so if you put it on and don’t care for the effect, it’s easily removed.

If you want to use some on your hair, simply put a drop between your thumb and forefinger, and grasp a small section of hair at the scalp. Stroke the lotion up from the scalp to the end of the hair section. Allow to dry for a few seconds. It’s a look that works well on any hair color. My own hair is dark brown, and the Faux Gloss looked fantastic!

Packaging

This product comes simply packaged in Lancome’s trademark colors of black and silver.

Ingredients

Water, dimethicone, cyclohexasilozane, dimethiconol, polyglyceryl-10, decaloeate, polyvinyl alcohol, ammonium polyacryldimethyltaurmide, diazolidinyl urea, fragrance, butylparaben, cyclopentasiloxane, acrylates/C10-30 alkul acrylate cross polymer, sodium methylparaben, polysorbate 60-BHT. May also contain titanium dioxide mica, chromium oxide greens, ferric ferrocyanide, iron oxides, polymethyl methacrylate, ultramarines.

Fragrance

The fragrance is light, with a pleasant lemony scent.

How I Tested This Product

I used Lancome Faux Gloss - Shimmering Highlights for Face & Body on my face, hair, arms, hands, and feet. Even in office lighting, it casts a very flattering light on your skin. Outside, in the sunlight, the effect is wonderful, but it looks stunning in low light or candlelight. I usually avoid getting suntanned, and it works well on regular, untanned skin. I imagine it would be devastatingly beautiful on tanned skin. In fact, all skin colors could use the Faux Gloss to great effect.

Use a lighter hand when you apply this product to your hair. If you put a lot on in one place, it tends to flake. Besides, you don’t need to use more to have it sparkle more.

Remember, beauty for the most part is illusion. This product helps you get the look of dewy, sun-sparkled skin. People seeing you won’t always be able to put their finger on just why you look good, but they will notice that you do.

Summary

One of the things I liked the most about this product was the way I felt wearing it. Seeing it glint on my skin, I was transported back in time to when my best friend and I would swim and play for hours at the little sandy beach in our home town. There was a big rock we liked to bask on, half in and half out of the warm water, minnows nibbling our toes as we exchanged secrets on those long, lazy summer days. As the sun dried our upper bodies and arms, tiny flecks of mica from the sand would cling to our skin and sparkle in the sunlight.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, just because you are a "certain age" that you can’t use products like this.

The subtle shimmer reflects out, highlighting skin surfaces to enhance your overall look.

Similar products made with teens in mind tend to be harsher and more glittery, which is fine for young, unlined skin. But for those of us over 20, the Faux Gloss gives the skin a soft and complimentary glow. And then again, it’s just plain fun to wear!

Hair Boutique Notes

Jane Bullock is an ongoing special features writer for the Hair Boutique. Jane is the Hair Boutique's "ace" short hair reporter.

A writer by profession, Jane loves to "play with her hair" just like Karen does.

Jane has very thick hair that "grows like a weed" and has to be cut about every 2 weeks. This gives Jane lots of opportunities to try all sorts of new styles and products on a regular basis.

You can send email to Jane if you have any questions about this or her other product reviews. You can also look for Jane on HairTalk or HairBloopers which are her two favorite Hair Boutique boards.

If you want to talk more about this or other hair care articles on HairBoutique.com or anywhere else, please post a message on HairBoutique.com's Hair Talk Forums.