Winter Blues Got You Down?

Filed Under Awareness, Bath & Body, Fitness, Home, Makeup, Seasonal, Skin Care | 3 Comments

Every year come December, January, and February we repeat a cycle. It starts with gaining a few pounds during the holidays, followed by making goals for the new year (possibly involving weight loss). These New Year’s Resolutions make us feel clean and fresh and give us hope that whatever was left undone last year will be fulfilled in the blank slate that lies ahead. We then forget about our list of ambitions as we bask in the river of chocolate at Valentine’s Day. Heart Day is then over and we find ourselves in a lull, it is cold and dreary and we are waiting for Spring to lift our spirits.

How about lifting those winter blues by putting a new charge into your intentions for this year? Recommit to your New Year’s Resolutions or make up different ones that inspire you. No matter what you want for this year the beauty world has a solution that is sure to put a smile on your face!

Have Beautiful Skin All Year Long: Save time and get gorgeous skin with PCA Skin’s Purifying Mask. Quickly becoming one of my all time favorites, this mask detoxifies and exfoliates in one step! Bits of micro pumice buff your skin to a healthy glow while algae from the Red Sea, French Red Clay and Red Wine draw out impurities. You will see your skin brighten the first time you use it. Best Benefit: This mask does incredible work at clearing up breakouts.

Go To The Spa More Often: Keep this resolution by bring the spa to you with Liz Earle’s Energizing Body Scrub. Made with ground olive stones, this scrub smells and feels fantastic. What else would you expect from the woman who brought you the cleanser British Vogue calls one of the, “top must-have products of the last Millennium?”

Lose Weight: If your need for sweets is constantly getting in the way of your desire to shed pounds, try steering your sweet tooth in a new direction with Jaqua’s treats for the body. Whatever your craving this fantastic company has something for you: Cocoa Buttercream Frosting, Pina Colada, Peach Parfait, or their original scrumptious Buttercream Frosting.

Go Green: You already recycle and are loving your hybrid car, but you’d like to take it a step further. Smashbox and Pangea Organics are here to transform you into a eco-contributing beauty goddess. With every purchase from the new Green Room collection from Smashbox a tree will be planted in a developing country. Not only that, but all the packaging is either biodegradable or recyclable and you will love the collection. Taking biodegradable to a new level, the boxes used to package Pangea Organics can be planted in the ground to spout in your garden! Soak the boxes for one minute and nestle in the soil for plants of sweet basil and flowering Amaranth. The best in these two collections include Smashbox Bamboo Shadow Quad and Pangea’s Egyptian Basil and Mint collection.

Get Organized: If you love makeup as much as I do then I’m betting you need a place to store all those eyeshadows. What could be better than a train case as beautiful and fun as your most colorful shadow quad? Fluff has just what you are looking for and tons of choices, I personally couldn’t resist the Chelsea Girls Train Case.

Finally Get The Guest Room in Order: Every guest loves to be pampered. Make them feel special with the new creamy Jaqua hand soaps in Pink Buttercream Frosting and Pink Champagne (they look especially pretty too). Surround your visitors with yummy scents, the candles from Beyond The Basket do just the trick, try the Apricot & Honey!

Use My Gym Membership: Make your workout twice as effective with FitFlops, the flip flop that builds muscle while you walk. These shoes are so comfortable and they work your muscles no matter where you go.

(Images Courtesy Keith Levit Photography, Liz Earle, Pangea Organics)

The Secret To Angelina Jolie’s Lips

Filed Under Makeup | 4 Comments

We all want them, those sexy, full, delicious lips that set Angelina Jolie apart from her peers. You can recognize them without even seeing the rest of her face and you start to think - how do I get lips that noticeable?

You might think its collagen, the latest lip plumper or just the proper liner application, but the truth is non of these thing are going to get you the look you want. What will? Hydration, pure and simple. Too easy you think? The first question I might ask you is, do you know that your lips are dehydrated? Chances are they might not even look like they’re missing that essential H2O, but all those years of glosses, lipsticks, and forgetting sunscreen for your lips have taken their toll. You probably don’t even remember what it looks like to have fully saturated lips without the help of a plumper or other “miracle” product.

I have news for you, having lips as plump as Ms. Jolie’s is just as easy as a little care, nurture and quenching. How do I know this? For years I have had dry lips and been covering them up with my favorite glosses and lipsticks. Secretly I’ve been hoping that some balm or lip therapy would work well enough that I would only need to wear something on my lips when I wanted to, not when my lips were screaming for it. A few months ago, to my completely surprise, my wish came true. I started using the new Pin Up Balms whose pure natural ingredients include only Avocado Oil, Beeswax, Apricot Kernel Oil, Vitamin E, and Flavor. I was charmed from the start by the retro slide top tin and the great flavors that remind me of my favorite lip balms from my childhood. What I got next I never expected, I started to notice my lips looked fuller and were so soft. This trend continued and now after a month of daily use, I just can’t get enough of this stuff, my lips are a good 30% fuller!

These lip goodies are great alone or as a base for gloss and lipstick and each tin has a gorgeous 1940’s pin up girl motif. Available in eight yummy flavors: Vanilla, Mocha, Raspberry, Citrus, Lemonade (my personal favorite), Peppermint, Grape, and Coconut.

Insider Beauty Tip:

Mix Pin Up Balm with your favorite shade of lipstick for a creamy look. This will help your lips stay hydrated and the color stay on longer. To update your look top this off with a bit of gloss. My latest favorite? Too Faced Cosmetics new Fuze Slenderize, guilt free lip gloss in Blueberry Raspberry. This tasty gloss is infused with Fuze, the slenderizing beverage. A shot of sweet fruit will keep your cravings to a minimum, plus this gloss is great because you can wear it as a high impact shine or just a hint of glaze.

(Images Pin Up Balms, Too Faced Cosmetics)

Benefit Cosmetics: Free Next Day Air!

Filed Under Gifts, Holidays, Makeup | 1 Comment

Looking for last minute gifts? Benefit Cosmetics is offering free next day shipping today only (December 20)! Benefit is known for making the products that makeup artists trust to turn you into gorgeous, fast. Dark circles? You’ll want to try EyeCon and Boi-ing, two amazing products that will have you dark circle free.

For the most gorgeous party look on New Year’s Eve make sure you have Brow Zings, the ultimate eyebrow kit, and the BadGal eye pencil, the fastest and easiest way to get sultry smokey eyes.

To take advantage of this offer just enter code: JINGLE07

(Image Courtesy Benefit Cosmetics)

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Haute Face Lipsticks

Filed Under Makeup | 2 Comments

When I read that,Cassandra Mills, former record producer and creator of Haute Cosmetics made her line to flatter any skin tone, I have to admit I thought, nice idea but I’ve heard this before. Little did I know I was in for a surprise.

The two lipsticks I was trying looked nice, but I thought the colors looked a little dull for my coloring. I was also wondering what the heck the difference was between matte lipstick and cream lipstick, they’re both not shiny, right?

Well let me tell you the difference both in the colors and in the texture! As I put the matte lipstick in “fresh” on I was so surprised to see how well it blends in with my complexion. This is different than complementing my coloring, this actually at the same time looks like it blends in with me (like it was made specifically for me) and it draws my look together making my skin, hair and eyes pop. All this without looking dramatic or bright.

The difference between creme and matte lipstick, I learned, is a pretty huge one. Neither are shiny or glossy, but creme is creamy (as you might expect) and matte is flat. Matte almost looks as if it’s a part of your lips. Similar to the difference between asking for your photographs with a matte finish or a satin finish, they both create different looks.

This is one of my favorite lipsticks I have come across in a long time, even the case is super chic, chocolate with a matte finish and a hip shape. It will make a perfect finish to a dramatic smokey eye and looks great for the everyday natural look.

One tip, the matte lipstick is a bit dry and works best when worn over a moisturizing lip balm, such as Brown Bag Botanicals Shea Lip Repair.

(Image Courtesy Haute Face)