Cosmetic Gadget War Heats Up, Vibrates, Rotates

There’s a veritable mascara war going on out there, and it’s getting serious. It started off small, pitting two vibrating mascaras against one another -- Lancome Ôscillation and Estee Lauder’s Turbo Lash, but now it’s spreading with Givenchy eschewing a traditional brush or comb for a porcupine-eque spherical applicator, while SpinLash has a rotating version. What do we make of all these newfangled lash-lengthening devises?

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For starters, we’re going to painful lengths to avoid perverted jokes. That aside, when it comes to battery-operated mascaras, SpinLash works best for an even, non-clumpy application, but the rotations are so painstakingly slow we can’t bear using it. As for those that vibrate—call us crazy, but the only difference we see between Lancome and Estee Lauder is in the price ($34 and $30, respectively). Intended to mimic the zig-zag motion makeup artists use to apply mascara, both wands vibrate at the base (not at the tip like we expected), and both make an obnoxious headache-inducing vibrating noise and leave us with a slight tingle in our fingertips (think mild frostbite). As for the Givenchy wand, while the diminutive brush makes it impossible to apply mascara in one clean swoop, it allows for a precise, clean application. Add to that the fact that it’s refreshingly compact, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Speaking of vibrations, we love Sonicare toothbrushes, so we’re all over one of the brand’s newest product—Clarisonic. Expect the same buzzing noise you get with their toothbrush when you move the large skincare brush over your face, and marvel at the copious amounts of oil, makeup, and dirt painlessly wiggled out of your pores by sonic waves. Continue to spice up your routine with the Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser, which uses a vibrating motion and foaming pads containing blackhead-dissolving serum to exfoliate dead surface skin and remove dirt and oil.

Conversely, to tackle blemishes that are still in their developing stage, hold Zeno’s Pro Acne Clearing Device’s heated tip to a would-be pimple, and a controlled, low amount of heat is applied, causing the bacteria within the pimple to self-destruct (how sci-fi!). It only takes 12-24 hours for a noticeable result, but despite the heat being surprisingly relaxing, it leaves some unfortunate temporary redness, making this a device best left for lone nights and solitary days. .

Moving from cleansing to more hairy situations, we all know that men have got it the worst. Thankfully, Hommage has the Monaco Shave Set. Priced at $250, this luxurious grooming experience doesn’t come cheap, but with the razor and brush suspended via a patented magnetic technology, the device is light years away from Gillette when it comes to both efficiency and aesthetics. For the same price, ladies can pick-up No! No!, a portable device that promises to destroy hair painlessly using pulses of heat. Effective? Yes. Worth enduring the smell of burning hair? NO! NO!

Of course, that’s not where it ends. ModelCo keeps the gadgets coming with Lip Lights, a gloss with built-in LED lights and a side panel mirror so you can touch up without being relegated to long lines or dirty bathrooms. The Aussie brand also has an eye pencil with a sharpener built into the lid, as well as a heated eyelash curler, which, despite being cool, we haven’t yet tried—something about heat near our eyeballs scars us. Speaking of scary, if you don’t mind being caught wearing a mouthpiece, iWhite Light Activated Teeth Whitening Kit bleaches your teeth via foam strips placed in a tray which are, as advertised, activated by built-in blue lights.

Those that remain steadfastly gadget-averse need not be completely sidelined. You can head to a Prescriptives counter where the gadgetry is left to the beauticians. Using what looks like test tubes and other oddly shaped devices, they’ll make a gloss created to your specifications using a vast array of base shades, color extenders, pearls, and finishes. Did we mention you can pick flavors ranging from Latte to Bellini?