Getting Buff For Summer With True Blue Spa!

 

Summer is here people! Yeah, I probably didn’t need to tell you that, but just in case you missed the mild winter that skipped spring and TOTALLY dropped right into the hot months, I figure I’d give you a heads up. One thing I try to do for summer is keep my skin sleek and moisturized. One way I do that is using, surprise, surprise, True Blue Spa’s Fresh Foaming Body Buff with Shea Butter. This is one of my go to scrubs and also the all around scrub in my shower. Need to polish off that dead winter skin? Use Body Buff! Still have sharpie numbers on your upper arms from last night’s roller derby bout? Use Body Buff! Getting ready to shave your legs or pits & need to exfoliate first? Use Body Buff! From the Bath & Body Works website….

“If you’re like us, you never miss an opportunity to shower yourself with luxury. This pampering, cleansing shower scrub with soothing Orange Fruit Extract lets you buff and polish skin with gentle exfoliators, then lavishes it with a generous dose of nourishing shea butter beads. Shall we start the shower for you?

• Infused with Shea Butter beads for spa-soft skin
• Cleanse and exfoliate in one step
• Not tested on animals”

You can totally feel the shea butter working when you slather this on your wet skin, and the 2 in 1 cleanser & exfoliator saves me time when I’m trying to shower off sweat, grime, & floor goo from derby practice! I also feel good about them not testing on animals.   After using Body Buff in the shower, my skin always feels soft & smooth and totally ready to take on any moisturizer I want without old, dead skin blocking absorption. Give this scrub a try this summer and you’ll be buff in no time!

Confessions Of Makeup Newbie

I started wearing makeup later in life, and when I finally decided to hide the uneven tones and redness from my rosacea, I tried several products before I found one that I loved. And to this day, I feel like the absolute best investment I have ever made in my beginnings of a makeup collection is the Bare Escentuals Customizable Get Started Kit. This kit comes with everything you need to get started with using the Bare Minerals foundation – three brushes, a brush shampoo, a get-started DVD, and the three basic powders you need to start your day. I was hooked from day one, not only because of the $100 savings from not buying everything piece by piece, but also because I found I enjoyed the loose powder over other foundations I have tried.

Eventually, this lead me to wonder how I would like loose powder for my eyelids. I began with a neutral color, something that would look very natural. Because of my new desire to dress up my eyes, I was gifted with the Big & Bright Eyeliner Kit. The whole kit is fabulous, however, one of my favorite things in this kit is the Brightening Opal eyelid primer. Unlike the plain primer I was using to dress up my eyes, this one has a slight sheen to it that helps accentuate my eye shadow. I recently started to use the Brightening Opal primer instead of water as a base for making eye liner from my loose powder. The tricky part to this is cleaning up the brush after use, but the results are amazing. (My tip: use a little Jojoba oil to clean the brush, followed by the Well-Cared For brush shampoo.)

My number one secret to beautiful, healthy skin isn’t in the powders or primers though. If there was one thing that I believe helps my skin, whether I wear make-up or not, it would be moisturizer. Even though I am new to make-up, I have tried many moisturizers over the years. My current choice is the Purely Nourishing Cream for Dry Skin. This moisturizer has a fantastic floral and citrus scent, and even though the cream feels thick, which I love in the winter time, it doesn’t sit on top of your skin. Having become a huge Bare Escentuals fan, I even tried another one of their moisturizers and didn’t find it nearly as pleasant as the Purely Nourishing Cream.

Being relatively new to make-up, I have found the kits to be invaluable to building up my beauty collection. I haven’t cast anything aside in my BE kits, because everything works so well together. But, whether I am putting on my make-up, or taking it off, nothing beats a great moisturizer.

About Our Guest Blogger: Lynda lives in Northern California with her boyfriend and their two dogs. She currently is going to school to learn web design, training for her next Olympic weightlifting competition and enjoys reading, writing, and goofing off on Facebook when she finds some free time. You can find her blog at http://crazynerdybeautiful.wordpress.com and she has a private account on Twitter @lovelylynda (though she will probably add you if you don’t look like a Twitter spammer).

Friday Flop: Bliss Fabulous Rubberizing Mask

I love taking some time for myself, doing things that make me feel pretty and pampered. What I do not love making too much effort in the process, which is why Bliss Spa’s Fabulous Skin-Reviving Rubberizing Mask is a flop for me.

While I usually will not spend $38 on a face mask that will only last me six weeks (it comes in a package of six individual masks to be used once a week), I had a gift card. So I splurged and got the mask, reportedly one of Bliss’ in-spa favorites. I liked the idea of a peel-off mask because it’s much simpler than rinsing one off.

In theory.

The mask comes in powder form, along with six tongue depressors and a scoop. You put the powder in a bowl, fill the scoop with water and mix the ensuing gunk with the tongue depressor. Are you tired yet? Because I am and I still haven’t gotten this on my face. Once the mask is mixed, trowel it on , preferably with the tongue depressors because it’s messy. As you are doing this you must be careful to layer it on thickly or you will not be able to get it off easily.

Once you’ve gotten it all on your face, don’t rinse the bowl. Leave it to dry. The directions explicitly say not to wash the mask down the drain, but to throw it away. I guess you don’t want it to rubberize in your pipes. Pitch the tongue depressor.

After you’ve done all this, you can finally relax. For about 15 minutes. Then you have peel the thing off because if you wait too long it will overdry and then you have to wet it and that defeats the whole purpose. If you’ve gotten it on thickly enough (which you probably haven’t, no matter how many times you’ve done this before), you just peel the whole thing off. Except for those places where you put it on too thinly. Like all the edges. So you have to wet your face so you can scrape those off. When it’s off, you throw the mask away, peel the remains from the bowl and put them in the trash too. Then you’ll have to wash it anyway because stuff will stick.

Really? So not worth it.

Your skin will feel good. At least mine did. But the amount of effort totally negates any benefit. There are other, cheaper masks that require less effort and make my skin feel good. Thanks anyway, Bliss. I’ll save it for the spa.

Featured photo credit

Almay Wake-Up Hydrating Makeup

This past week I noticed the new Almay commercial with Kate Hudson for their wake-up hydrating foundation makeup.  I admit it, they had me as soon as they mentioned the instant cooling of hydrating water and cucumber.

Lately I feel like I look permanently tired.  It has been a few years since I left the house on a daily basis with anything more than my mascara and lip gloss on.  The thought of putting on a foundation that in a sense could wake you up, had me curious.

Almay products are already great because they are hypoallergenic.  Sometimes I come across a product that makes my skin break out a bit, but I know with Almay that is not going to happen.  I went down to Ulta and picked one up in ‘naked’.  (Choices are ivory, buff, naked and beige.)  It came in a small compact container complete with a brush you pull out of the top of the lid, which makes it super easy to throw in your purse and go.

Upon applying the makeup, I did notice a slight cooling sensation that actually felt nice.  While the color is a pretty good match to my skin and my husband didn’t notice any difference, I did feel like my skin was… well… a bit healthier looking.  I really feel like I could wear this every day with my mascara and lip gloss and look a little more put together – not to mention awake – without the need for a heavier foundation and added blush.  I felt like I gave me a natural looking glow.  It is also SPF 13 so you have some protection when you are outdoors.

My only real complaint about this product is that while you are supposed to be able to pop the brush out and put it into a locking position, mine tends to fall back into it’s compartment when I use it.  Still usable though.  I just hold the brush where it’s supposed to lock when applying the makeup.  It would just be nice if it held in place on it’s own.  Not a deal breaker though, I like the product enough to purchase it again.

I purchased mine in store at Ulta for $12.99.  Since I’m all about the bargains I took my Ulta coupon for $3.50 off a purchase of $10 or more that I received in the mail for being a Rewards member.  Not an Ulta rewards member?  You can print the coupon directly from their website.  No store near you?  No problem!  You can find it on Amazon.com for as little as $10.99.

Inexpensive Facial Exfoliating Brush

I hear that the Clarisonic Cleansing Brushes are fantastic.

I also hear they start out at $149 and can cost as much as $225.

I have never been able to bring myself to spend that much money or waste a gift request on a facial cleansing brush.  Perhaps it’s because I’m married and am not all that concerned with having movie star skin.  Or maybe it’s because I work from home and have plenty of time to photoshop myself before anyone sees me.  Whatever.

Fortunately, I’ve found a very cheap knock off that keeps my skin clean and exfoliated.

Conair Facial Sauna System

I asked for the Conair Facial Sauna System for Christmas last year because I wanted to face steamer.  Yes, you can hold your face over a bowl of hot water for free, I know. But I wanted it.

Ironically, I very rarely use the steamer (which supposedly can also steam your sinuses with the smaller attachment), but I use the free exfoliating brush that came with it every day.

OK, fine, almost every day.  Often.

The brush does exactly what you’d think it does.  It spins the bristles around in a circle and gently exfoliates your skin.  I use it with a daily cleanser or with Bioelements Pure Scrub.  Occasionally I’ll use the padded sponge attachment to apply lotion, because I read that massaging the face helps skin look firmer.

And the best part?

It costs less than $20 on Amazon. It’s also available at Target.

Bright Skin, Beautiful Complexion: GoodSkin Labs’ Lumecin

Bright.

One might think that applies to a person’s ability to figure out newly downloaded software in ten minutes or less.  But, skin can be bright, too.  A stellar complexion isn’t necessarily the absence of wrinkles or fine lines.  Other indicators factor into the equation of having great skin: evenness of skin tone, the absence of enlarged pores, and yes, brightness. I assume this is why when someone’s skin looks absolutely fantastic, we proclaim that they look radiant. Bright skin, beautiful complexion.

It started last July.  One night, I went to bed with skin I was happy with and the next morning I woke up with skin that implied I’d sleepwalked my way through an all night bender.  The verdict is still out on whether I actually partied or not, but the dull skin seemed permanent.

Or so I thought.

Cruising the product expo floors at BlogHer ’10, I stumbled across GoodSkin Labs.

I want good skin, I thought, and they’ve named themselves after exactly what I want.  Obviously, this is my destiny.

GoodSkin’s cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Frank, who happens to be quite dishy, informed me that, yes, my skin was looking a little dull.  He also informed me that what I thought was white dry patchiness creating uneven skin tone was actually something called “pregnancy mask” or melasma.  My baby boy was born a full year earlier, but apparently the hormones from nursing were still wreaking their havoc on my skin.  Excellent.

Anyway, Dr. Frank checked off a list of products that I needed.  Of course, continuing the long string of gestures in which I procrastinate on any activity that has anything to do with taking care of myself, I stuck that paper in my purse and forgot about it.  Because, you know, if I’m anything… I’m consistent.

Six weeks ago, I found a plain brown box filled with the exact products that the doctor had recommended on my doorstep.

In this package, there was free stuff from GoodSkin Labs including a six inch tube that said “Lumecin: Overnight Brightening Gluco-Protein Treatment.”

And in this tube?  Was pure, unadulterated MAGIC.

I’m a recovering beauty junkie.  There was a time that I would have slathered kitten poop on my face if it came in a pretty bottle and promised even the slightest bit of results.  That fanaticism has been aptly replaced by a strong degree of cynicism.  I’m not easily impressed when it comes to skin products.

So, when the name of the product implied one should expect to see brighter skin overnight, I thought, “Yeah, right… good thing for them this was free.”  My experience is that when a company promises results “overnight,” this is the furthest case from the truth and there’s a good chance your face may end up smelling like kitty poop.

But, really?  They’re right.  I got results overnight.

I went to bed with dull, tired looking skin and woke up slightly fresher the next morning.

Every single day, in fact, my face looked a little better than it had the night before.  Three weeks later, the pregnancy mask was gone, and my skin was, in fact, bright. I also noticed that the beginnings of enlarged pores in my T-Zone were completely gone.

The word radiant actually does come to mind.

Lumecin scores more  points with me because after three weeks of using it every day, I now only need to use a dime size amount two to three times per week.

The product is not expensive, but it retails around $40 which I realize is not exactly cheap.  Six weeks into regular use, though, the quantity left suggests that I’m good for at least another two months before I have to purchase it again.

So, based on the fact that Lumecin is the most magical thing I’ve ever used a highly effective skin brightener that has delivered on the dramatic results promised, I’d recommend it to pretty much anyone who mentioned the word “bright.”

Even if they are just talking about downloaded software.

Lumecin and other products from GoodSkin Labs can be purchased in store or online exclusively through Kohl’s.

Photo credit: Chris Willis

Cleansers for oily AND dry skin?

I love it when people ask me questions.

It makes me feel smart and better than you.  I mean, helpful.  It makes me feel helpful.

My point is – someone asked me a question.

Elizabeth asked:

“do you know of any good facial cleansers that control oily and dry spots? As in, both at the same time? My forehead is both. I have no idea how this is scientifically possible, but my old cleansers aren’t working anymore. Help!”

Allow me to pretend to be an expert in skin care.

My immediate answer is your skin is probably not actually both oily and dry.

Truly oily skin is very, very rare.  And while cosmetic companies have been talking about “combination” skin for pretty much EVER, that is also pretty rare.

And yet, you’re breaking out AND having parts of your skin flake off, right?

Been there.

In fact, I actually had black heads and zits once right not top of skin that was dry and flaking off.  I googled and googled and then finally broke down and scheduled an emergency facial.

And then I rolled around for a few minutes in the idea that I was someone that scheduled emergency facials.  I started imagining myself using terms like “the help” and “my Jimmy Choos” and “that lovely woman who does my toes.”

But back to my schizophrenic face.

As it turns out, what was actually going on was that my face was really, really, really dry.  The blackheads and zits and oiliness were a result of my skin trying to work overtime to make up for the fact that I was stripping away the moisture in my skin by trying to fight the zits.

At least, that’s what the very expensive esthetician told me.

I didn’t believe her, of course.  Because it doesn’t make sense that dry skin would have blackheads and oil slicks.  And also – maybe I made my skin more dry by trying to fight the acne, but I had to do that because the acne was there in the first place, right?

My very expensive esthetician told me to shut up and do what I was told.

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Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel – Because no one is too fat for a dress

I wear dresses because I feel too fat for shorts.

There.  I said it.

It’s not my keen fashion sense or my desire to dress up every single day.  It’s my overly ripe, pear shaped hips.  And ass.  And thighs.

I live in Florida and there is no freaking way I can endure 100+ temperatures in jeans.  No matter how fat my thighs are.  That leaves me with skirts and dresses.  Or nudity (which I hear is frowned upon in the Sunshine State).

Because dresses – especially this season’s maxi dresses – are my go to outfit for camouflaging thunder thighs, I am always amazed by women who tell me that they don’t think they can wear dresses because they are too heavy.

That’s like a super model telling you she doesn’t wear a bikini because she’s thin.

Why, oh why, were all of my female friends dismissing my oh so flattering fashion advice?

Oh.  Right.

Chafing.

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