The Beauty Sleuth

I am a sucker for pretty packaging. I admit it. But like dating a gorgeous hunk of a guy with not much upstairs, (was I too focused on what was downstairs???) the pretty packaging wears off really fast if there’s nothing there to give it substance. Ok to be fair, I must confess that I am a long- married lady so it’s been awhile since the dating scene, but you girl’s know what I am talking about, right?  Likewise, this same sentiment can be applied to the slew of new beauty products out there. Some look like tantalizing little nuggets of beauty wonder, and others not so inspiring. But what makes for really exciting nouvelle maquillage ? I think it’s a combination of effectiveness and straightforward good looks. I for one, tend to like simpler things but every once in awhile, I go off the track and clammer for the glamour. I guess it wasn’t surprising to me that I would be drawn to baroque packaging and sweet smelling MOR Cosmetics. These delectable little packages of lip balm and glosses are as sweet smelling as they are easy on the eyes. I test-drove the Cassis Noir Balm, which came in a gorgeous black metal tin, embellished with golden filigree design. Very pretty for sure, but I ran into trouble almost from the get-go. First of all, getting into the tin proved quite a challenge, with the lid on so tight once it was off, it was almost impossible to close. And  forget it  if you are in a hurry ( or if you are a working artist like myself, the lid issue makes putting this in your kit is an absolute no-no) , you’d never be able to get the top on without a fight, so mine stayed with the top ajar most of the time.

But what of the effectiveness? The long and short of it is: Not so impressive. I liked the balm ok, which was very similar in texture and feel to Smith’s Rosebud lip Balm ($ 8.00 )but sweeter smelling and a quite a few more dollars at $18.00 a pop but after a month test drive, I didn’t think it hydrated as well as it should have. The balm seemed to sit on the surface of my lips too much and somehow, even though I had a lot of the product on, my lips still felt a bit dry if that was possible. My benchmark for super effective yet yummy AND beautifully packaged lip balm is Dior’s Crème de Rose lip balm, but at $28.00 you may not want to splurge for that all the time. MOR did better with the lip-gloss and offered some redemption for the brand. It has a dense consistency  and stayed put and gave a really luminous, high gloss shine. The Packaging is snazzy, like the rest of this line, coming in a beautiful embellished box that reminded me of this amazing french candy my Mom used to get for me when I was a little girl.

I wanted to like MOR, I really, did. In fact I tested it out for longer than most cosmetic products. But in the end, what of the  results? My thoughts overall are that if you are looking for something that looks gorgeous just sitting there, (on your vanity or in your bathroom)  then get a few canisters of the lip balm and think of them as part of your room decor. It will do what it does best, which is look very, very pretty just being and there will be no there expectations for it to do anything else but that.

www.morcosmetics.com