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Suave Moroccan Argan Styling Oil Review

Moroccan Oil is all the rage for the benefits of argan oil on both skin and hair. Suave's Moroccan Infusion line of hair care products aim to deliver incredible shine, softness and conditioning to your hair. I had the opportunity to try the new Moroccan Argan Styling Oil from Read more

EnvyDerm Lip Volumizing and Conditioning Plumper

As I get older I notice the collagen making a prompt exit from my lips leaving them looking lifeless and thin. The best way to combat thinning lips (or if you have thin lips to begin with) is to keep them hydrated and to use a lip plumper. When Read more

No3 Berry Face Oil Review

Can I use face oil if I have combination skin? Of course you can, simply avoid pore-clogging oils and use only the ones intended to moisturize your face. L.A. Christine's No3 Berry Face Oil is comprised of Lingonberry, raspberry and acai berry, yet smells of an herbally sweet concoction. High Read more

Need for Speed: New Quick Drying Nail Polishes

Today's modern polishes promise to dry faster than a speeding bullet, but which ones actually save the day? Top manicurists have known about pro top coats for years - those specially formulated clear coats that left lacquer intact for an extended wear manicure. Compatible with nearly every brand, topcoats like Read more

Verb Detangle+Defrizz Conditioning Leave-In Mist Review

To be completely up front about things, I hate washing my hair because it's a nightmare to comb afterwards.  It’s much like that of a 6 year old little girl. It tangles like nobody’s business and is a nightmare to comb after washing. It’s so bad that my hairdresser Read more
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moisturizer

MOR Cosmetics Luxurious Body Care

I recently added MOR Cosmetics to my bath and body collection when Hautelook offered the collection for sale. I’ve been wanting to try this brand ever since I saw the elegant, feminine , old world packaging online.

MOR is proudly Australian and recognised globally for its range of innovative, luxurious pampering body care and lifestyle products.  The philosophy behind MOR is to provide a personalised sensory journey. We aim to awaken your senses, through creating a memorable pampering experience from the visual packaging to the product offerings. Welcome to the World of MOR.

MOR offers an astounding 19  fragrances! I prefer light floral or citrus scents so I chose  Neroli Clementine Body Butter ($16) and Hand Lotion ($14).  The fragrance is make up of fresh neroli and sweet clementine resting on a base of bright yuzu and candied orange. The scent immediately opens with the clementine note, (the body butter seriously makes me want to eat it) and the candied orange appears to add dimension to the fragrance.  If you like bright, refreshing citrus scents you’ll LOVE Neroli Clementine!  Read more

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Cindy in bath and body, beauty, skin care 1 Comment

Review: Andalou Kukui Cocoa Body Butter

My beauty regimen isn’t complete if I don’t start off with a well moisturized body regardless if it’s below 10 degrees or a sizzling 90. You can look like a million bucks in that cute dress, but if your skin looks itchy and dry, it ruins the whole outfit and not to mention, a good time.

Living in Minnesota, it can get a bit tricky finding the right body moisturizer with the change of seasons. In winter, you need something a bit more moisturizing, but come the hotter months and humidity you don’t want to use that same heavy moisturizer and feel like you took a bath in cooking oil. Finding a light but effective body moisturizer can sometimes be a bit overwhelming with all the choices out there so you (me) may end up grabbing the one with the pretty packaging only to find out that the smell is way off or it feels tacky on your skin. Pretty packaging doesn’t necessarily means effective… Read more

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Gail Lewis in bath and body, beauty, skin care Leave a comment

What’s in My Summer Bag? e.l.f. Lotion Wipes and Clinique Chubby Stick

As much as I enjoy playing with makeup, one of the reasons I adore summer so much is because I don’t need to wear as much product as I do during the colder months.  Thanks to a (very gentle) kiss from the sun, my skin is clearer, allowing me to nix foundation, concealer, and bronzer.

On days when I dare to go especially bare, I pack only the essentials in my beach bag.  Aside from a standard SPF 45 and a sun hat (must haves!), there are two secret weapons I’ve yet to leave home without this summer.

The first: tinted lip balm. After floating from brand to brand, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Clinique’s Chubby Stick. The tried-and-true classic packs a triple punch with a kiss of color, SPF 15, and serious moisturizing properties.  I’m a personal fan of the “Chunky Cherry” shade, but the color is so subtle that almost any shade will do the trick.  Read more

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Amanda Huggins in beauty, lip gloss, Makeup, skin care, Travel Beauty Leave a comment

Moisturizer Review: Theraplex Ultra

A lot of moisturizers claim that they will provide relief from dry chapped skin. Sometimes they do…right after being applied to the skin, but not for much longer than that.  And on those rare occasions when they do provide dry skin relief for longer than a couple of hours, they tend to make my skin feel like a greasy, oily mess.  But I’ll deal with a greasy mess any day if it means healthier, more hydrated skin. Thanks to a product I started using this week, I can have relief from dry, chapped, cracked skin without being a hot greased up mess.  Read more
Posted on April 16, 2012 by Gail Lewis in bath and body, beauty, skin care Leave a comment

Sensitive Skin Solutions: Lara Beauty

I have notoriously sensitive facial skin and am always searching for the next best solution to my winter woes.  Thankfully, I recently came across Lara Beauty, a great fragrance-free skincare collection catered towards those with sensitive skin.

The collection combines natural ingredients with anti-aging compounds to create powerhouse products that aren’t abrasive or damaging.  As a girl who has gotten more reactions than results from many name-brand lotions, I was eager to find out if Lara Beauty lived up to its name.

Toners have always been especially damaging for me and I used to go to bed with red blotches and painful stinging after my daily cleansing ritual– not an ideal beauty regimen!  Lara’s Revitalizing Daily Toner is the first toner that I continue to use and didn’t leave me wincing when I applied it to my face.

My skin was left perfectly prepped for Step 2: Lara’s Anti-Aging Daily Therapy for Sensitive Skin. This moisturizer was thicker than I expected, but it absorbed easily and after about two weeks of use I noticed a very real difference in my normally-dull skin’s radiance.

I’m so happy to find a product that doesn’t irritate my winter skin (and it doesn’t hurt to throw a little anti-aging protection in there, either!) Visit Lara Beauty to learn more about the collection. Have you used any of their products?

*Disclosure, press sample

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Amanda Huggins in anti-aging, skin care Leave a comment

Moisturizer Review: Merle Norman Matte Oil-Free Moisturizer

I don’t know about the rest of you out there with combination skin, but for me, finding a moisturizer that is suitable for my skin type can be a challenge.  My skin can end up looking too dry or too oily depending on the consistency of the moisturizer.  Before relocating to Miami, Florida I had done much research and was finally happy with my moisturizer, but once arriving in Miami, my beloved moisturizer seemed much too heavy.  Once again I would be on the hunt for a new moisturizer…hello trials and errors.

The first moisturizer I tried as a part of the new research process was Merle Norman Matte Oil-Free Moisturizer.  I loved the clean, fresh fragrance of this moisturizer as well as the really pretty matte finish that it gave my skin but unfortunately that is all I loved about it.  My skin still felt dry after I applied the moisturizer and the pretty, matte finish that I loved was replaced by shiny, oily skin after 1/2 hour.  I really wanted this moisturizer to work for me and am still hoping that the reason it did not work as well as I had hoped is because the temp has dropped quite a bit in Miami so it has been colder than normal and once it’s back to the usual heat and humidity I hope that I will be singing the praises of this moisturizer.  Until then, looks like it’s back to trials and errors.

Have you tried this moisturizer? How did it work for you?

*Disclosure

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Gail Lewis in beauty, skin care Leave a comment

Review: Smith & Vandiver Aromatherapes Moisture Balm

So ladies, a lot of us love our ginormous purses.   What’s not to love…we can load them up with all those things we think that we “need” to carry around on a regular basis, they’re our fashionable security blanket.  But the days of lugging around everything but the kitchen sink in our purses seem to be coming to a very sad end.  It seems as though every  fashion magazine I flip through lately has been featuring a much less compact version of our favorite everyday suitcases.  These “new, fashionable” purses seem barely capable of holding  a respectably sized makeup bag much less my fold up flats in a bag, magazine, snacks, bottled water and change of clothes…  It looks as if  it’s about time to downsize and what better way to start the process  than by trimming my beauty products.

Although I knew I might face a few anxiety provoking moments while undergoing the trimming process, I was very unprepared for just how much trimming would be required to make the fit…no wonder we couldn’t find my younger brother, he was squatting at the bottom of my super sized hobo! The process was going to be tougher than I thought, but thankfully I had one product that made the process less painful, My Smith & Vandiver  Aromatherapaes All-Over Balms.  The balms come in a .5 ounce very easy to carry stick (very lip balm like) and are available in two aromatherapy blends; Sweet Orange and Vanilla for REFRESHING Moisture and Neroli and Lavender for SOOTHING Moisture.  Besides smelling great, not too heavy or cloying, but more natural and being the perfect size to fit into any sized purse and easy to carry, the balms are very moisturizing.  I use it on my hands, cuticles, lips sometimes, heels of my feet (especially on airplanes), to smooth flyaways …I use it just about everywhere and it works great on just about every part of the body.

I don’t know if it was the knowledge that I had an all over moisturizing product that would fit in my new teeny purse that erased my anxiety, or if it was the Neroli and Lavender essential oils in the Soothing Moisture Balm. Either way, the balm works great, smells great and can give me energy when I need it or relax me when I need it…fashion can be as fickle as it wants to be…carrying around my Aromatherapaes All-Over Balms shall remain a constant.

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Gail Lewis in bath and body, beauty, skin care Leave a comment
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