July Favorites

Hi all! I know this is a little late, but considering the circumstances, I hope you'll forgive me this time. (Ok, so I'm usually late anyway, but I was trying to be on time with this one!)

I love a good cleanser - and especially one that exfoliates, yet is safe for sensitive skin. The Suki Skincare Exfoliating Foaming Cleanser covers all the angles. Its bright lemon fragrance, gentle exfoliation and generous lather leaves skin feeling soft, smooth and refreshed. It has become my staple cleanser because it preps skin perfectly for moisturizing.
I go to an Aveda salon, and they always have little samples of things to take home and try. One in particular has become a favorite and it's the Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Soft Creme. I like it because it's good for all skin types, it isn't greasy, it melts into skin fast, yet leaves skin with a moisturized feeling for hours.If you have dry skin, they also have a "rich" formula. Same great product, just more moisture for those with skin that needs a little more moisture.


I love a little luminosity on my face. Milani's Illuminating Face Powder in Hermosa Rose does a great job of making my face look lit from within, warming up my face with a hint of bronzer - without being too sparkly or shockingly highlighted. It just leaves a gorgeous all over glow. I use the Hermosa Rose, but there are two other shades, so lighter and darker skins can take advantage as well. Milani is a drugstore brand, and I typically get mine from CVS, because they have promotions a lot of the time. When I repurchased mine, it was Buy 1, Get 1 50% off. Not too bad!

Looks like I'm due for an August favorites - so keep your eyes open for that! ( I promise to get that finished before the end of September!)

xoxo,
B

Clarisonic: Hot Offer For Great Skin!

Clarisonic. You've heard of it, I'm sure. But maybe you're not sure what the benefits are - I mean, let's face it, we've been cleaning our face with soap, water and washcloth for years. And that seems to be working OK, doesn't it? Yeah, I thought so, too. And then I was introduced to the Clarisonic. I was a changed woman. (and you can be, too!)

The Clarisonic is a sonic skin cleaning system that removes makeup, pollution and helps you fight the aging process. How much better is it than washing manually? Six times! That's pretty amazing.

However, what sealed the deal for me is the way my face felt after just the first use. It was clean, it was soft, and my serum and moisturizer sunk in so much faster. It was a revelation!

Now that I've been using the Clarisonic for over a month, my skin just keep getting better. Less breakouts (yes, I have adult acne, especially during THAT time of the month), less dry patches (OK maybe no dry patches anymore), which has resulted in a much nicer appearance both with and without makeup. And at 36, it's nice to be able to go without makeup and not feel like a hot mess.

You can get the Clarisonic at many retailers, but beauty.com is running a coupon to save you $15 of a $75 purchase. There are several models of Clarisonic, but I believe the $99 Mia, is great and is what I use.

If you've been on the fence about trying the Clarisonic out, now is a great way to check it out at a less expensive price.

Do you have a Clarisonic? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with it!

Giveaway! Natural/Organic Skin Care

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I've got a treat for you! Since we began talking about natural and organic skin care and cosmetics products, you have shared with me that you're interested in taking a more natural approach to skin - and I couldn't agree more. While Earth month is still a ways away, we can celebrate now!

The great people from Michael Todd True Organics and Aurora DeJuliis M.D. European Medical Spa came to me with a generous offer - a giveaway of four products for one of my readers valued at approximately $150! I'm so excited to share this with you!

If you are interested in easing in to a more natural or organic line with your skin care regimen, this is a great time to try out some new products. I have tried them both and they're great. One of my favorite products is the Michael Todd Enzyme Scrub - it has a fresh citrus fragrance and works effectively without being too harsh, just like all of these products.

Here's a peek at what could be included in your prize:


The Charcoal Detox Cleanser is a detoxifying facial cleanser is particularly effective in caring for blemished and oily skin types as well as combination and normal skin. The creamy vegan cleanser is infused with Activated Charcoal to deeply clean pores of toxins and bacteria for smoother clearer skin. Activated Charcoal is an amazingly absorbent substance, widely known for its ability to effectively cleanse the skin, unclog pores, and remove deeper impurities and dead skin cells. Sulfate free "no tears" formula does not irritate eyes. $24.00

The Liposome Antioxidant Moisturizer is a soothing cream moisturizer made with organic ingredients and liposomes to transport antioxidants deep into the skin to restore and maintain healthy skin, counteract sun damage and fight premature skin aging and wrinkles. $24.00


From puffy skin to dark circles under your eyes, your skin needs to recover, rejuvenate and refresh.  Get some beauty sleep with Aurora DeJuliis, MD’s Retinol Night Crème, a unique encapsulated retinol delivery system that provides maximum release with reduced irritation typically associated with retinoids. Retinol diminishes the appearance of fine lines and deep wrinkles by stimulating collagen production and cell regeneration, which enhances skin tone and texture and reduces the appearance of discolorations, age spots, and occasional blemishes.  $59.00

Given how much we enjoy our daily dose of caffeine via a steaming-hot cup of tea, it’s only natural that we’d gravitate towards a skincare regimen with the same awakening effect.   Boasting a range of skincare benefits, Aurora DeJuliis, MD’s Chamomile Cleanser is quickly becoming a beauty bag staple.  Infused with chamomile, vitamins A and E, this gentle cleanser provides moisture absorption and retention properties as well as its antioxidant quality.  Harsh environmental conditions with pollutants or irritated skin conditions can be soothed by this rebalancing cleanser.  $35.00



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Clean up for Summer with these marine-inspired products

How do I love H20+'s newest line of body care products in Sea Moss and Sea Salt? Let me count the ways...

1. The first thing you notice is the SMELL. It's amazingly light and fresh with the scent of water lily and marine accords. Heavenly!

2. All of the H20+ line is great for your skin - whether you're using the body wash to cleanse, the body scrub or skin smoother to exfoliate, soften or smooth, or the delicious body butter to moisturize and hydrate. They use ingredients like sea fennel, sea lettuce, black sand and mineral rich algae to pamper skin with things found in the sea.

3.The products work great together - wash, exfoliate and moisturize and all still light enough for you to include your favorite fragrance on top.


Definitely give these products a try - you won't regret it! They're available online at www.h20plus.com

Meaningful Beauty

Ok let's face it, ladies. We should all be so fortunate to look like Cindy Crawford - my lord, does that woman ever age?? It just doesn't seem fair to the rest of us, does it?

Well, when a box of her line of skincare Meaningful Beauty arrived at my doorstep to review, I must confess, I sorta snubbed my nose at it at first. After all the celebrities who have smacked their name on label for this or that, I just wasn't sold.

So the poor box sat. And sat. And occasionally, I'd open it up and see what Cindy had to say about her miraculous products filled with this rare melon extract. And then I'd close it back up and go back to whatever I was using at the time.

And it's not that I have "bad" skin or "troubled" skin - but I want that "lit from within" skin. So a few nights ago, as I was taking inventory of my stock in my bathroom, deciding what to keep and what to toss, I decided to give Meaningful Beauty a try.

This is what true love feels like! I look forward to washing my face everyday now - this formula removes makeup without causing my skin to become stripped. Skin just feels clean and soft after using.
Combine that with the Créme de Serum, Skin Brightening Décolleté and Neck Treatment SPF 15 and my oh my will your skin feel amazing.  I can't speak to the anti-wrinkle effects of the line, as I don't have any wrinkles, but I will say that your skin will feel healthy and moisturized while using this line and that, I believe, is half the battle!

I did not encounter any sensitivity issues nor did I break out at all while using Meaningful Beauty - in fact, I noticed a decline in hormonal breakouts! I would definitely recommend this line to anyone looking to change up their skin care routine.