Best Beauty Always

Vitamin E Oil for Nails

Here's a quick tip from a friend of mine who has suffered with brittle, splitting nails. She has had success with some well known branded nail strengthening products, but after realizing that the ones that worked the best for her contained vitamin E oil, she switched to just that and says her nails respond very well to a daily dab of oil at the cuticle.

Let me know if this works for you!

Have a Lush Valentine's Day

Fan's of Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics will want to drop a hint early to get one of the limited-edition Valentine's Day gift sets, including the True Love Gift pictured. The set includes an aprodisiac-infused Sex Bomb Bath Bomb, red glitter Love Soap, moisturizing Yummy Yummy Yummy Shower Gel, plus Vanilla Dee-Lite Lotion and Heavanilli Massage Bar. The True Love Gift is SRP $44.95 and is available in stores and online.

Revlon Colorstay Mineral Lipglaze

 

It's another Makeup Monday - where did last week go? - so I thought I'd share a recent purchase that brought a little fresh color to my makeup routine. Revlon's long wearing mineral lip gloss has been on the market for some time, but I found it in two new colors and believe me, on these gray winter days a little pop of color is exactly what I need. The pink is called perennial pink and the coral is continuous coral.

The Colorstay Mineral Liplglaze is a gloss lip color in a single applicator. I've tried the long lasting lip products that have one end for color and the other end to apply shine, but here it is all in one. As Revlon says, it "provides a glossy seal of conditioning color," and it was comfortable to wear and did not feel dry. And I still had some on after a delightfully long meal with friends!

A new lipstick can be a fun and fairly inexpensive way to brighten up your day and even bring spring around a little early. I paid $8.99 each for the Revlon Colorstay Lipglazes.

Make It Your Own With Layers

We've layered our hair, and our tee shirts. We've had burgers our way for decades, ordering only those condiments that appeal to us. Kids serving themselves from the soft drink station mix flavors in ways that make me a little queasy just thinking about the results. We customize our cars and our phones. One-of-a-kind is the new mass appeal. So what's a great way to get just the fragrance or nail polish shade you want?

Nail polish maven Essie Weingarten tells More magazine that she customizes her fragrance and her nail polish by layering. "Clinique Happy plus Chanel Allure has become my signature scent. And I get a weekly manicure mixing two sheer Essie shades: Blushing Bride topped by Ballet Slippers," she says in the February issue.

Layering fragrance generally means using a favorite fragrance in multiple forms - bath oil, body lotion and perfume, for example - to make the fragrance last longer. Combining two distinct scents to create something different that smells great on you is called scent layering, and it can take time to perfect. I did a little research after I read Essie's comments, and found an article that explains the fragrance layering trend and offers a step-by-step approach to creating your own custom scent. Let me know what you come up with.

Seeking Illumination?

I wasn't on any particular mission today when I stopped by my local makeup counter, except perhaps to find something new to lighten up the winter gray that surrounds me. What I found was something both new and illuminating!

Revlon Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator (with SPF 18) goes on with a built-in brush anywhere you want a little glow or highlight. You can wear it alone or with foundation, or even mix a little into your foundation. I played with it a little bit, trying it alone, with foundation applied over primer and without primer, and over a favorite tinted moisturizer. I tried "Pink Light" on my cheekbones, above the brow and a little on my chin and I liked the effect.

I paid about $12 for 1 oz.

Will You Break Piggy for Beauty?

Women's Wear Daily reported this morning that consumers grew used to doing without in 2009 and are expected to focus spending on the important things in 2010. We're dining out less, holding on to cars that are still in good condition, and thinking twice about buying status brands. So what about beauty?

What kinds of decisions are you making about your beauty regimen? Are you cutting back on evenings out to maintain your cut and color? Will you make your expensive handbag last another season so you can have that weekend at a spa? Perhaps you've stepped away from the department store beauty counter - even temporarily - to buy skin care products at discount stores or drug stores.

I was talking with an esthetician yesterday about a skin analysis and facial and she told me her price range, so I know what I'm facing there. I have also been looking for a good hand treatment plus a manicure before an evening out with friends. That's not something I do every week, or even once a month, but I am not happy about the way my hands are looking. Oh, and I need a new night cream. Winter air is dry, dry, dry. What's a woman to do?

Get me a hammer. I'm going in!

Style Trend for Spring: Enchanted

Edelkoort, Inc.'s Trend Union report for spring says that when the winter snow and ice thaw, a fantasy world will await:

"Tired of watching reality news that undermines our happiness, we will take a well-deserved break from fear and compensate with creativity. Our beauty will take flight into a wonderful world of enchanted styles for hair and make-up, inspired by fairytales born from our imagination.

"We will express our joy through a feast of colors, from the sweetest pales and pastels to dynamic brights. We will take some rest with soothing grays and invoke a dream world with the darkest hues of the night…and following up on the past seasons trends, we will call upon metallic shades to express our seduction."

Just thought you'd like to know. I think it sounds lovely.

Photo by Romain Lienhardt.

KaplanMD Lip 20

Happy Saturday! For the past couple of weeks I've been trying a lip product I received at a recent trade show. Lip 20 Moisture Therapy +SPF from Kaplan MD is part of a line of skin care products designed to treat signs of aging caused by what Beverly Hills dermatologist Stuart H. Kaplan calls natural hormonal progression, and estrogen loss. You can read about it here.

The lip product comes in a great looking lipstick tube that is easy to use. You turn the bottom of the tube as you would a regular lipstick, and up pops a little door in the top of the tube, revealing the lip treatment stick. No more worries about smashing the lid down on the lipstick I forgot to turn down! I've seen a lot of lipstick packaging over the years, and I really like this one.

As for the product, I like the way it goes on and that it makes my lips look and feel moisturized. Any plumping going on is subtle and that's fine with me. It is marketed as a complete anti-aging treatment for lips created to moisturize, contour, plump and protect with SPF 20. It comes in a clear shade, which is all treatment product, and in four sheer colors that have the treatment ingredients in a Treatment Core. Those treatment ingredients are seabuckthorn berry extract for moisture, hyaluronic filling spheres to help smooth out fine lines, a complex including soy, grapeseed and black cohosh for anti-aging benefits, C10-30 esters for skin conditioning and repair, and peptides and marine collagen to redefine the lip line and contour. It is made without parabens, castor oil and petroleum jelly. It sells online for $30.

I find that the clear product makes a nice base for my regular lip products and I wear it on its own, too. I'm going to keep using it to see what it does for my lips in the harsh winter that I know is on its way!

Clinique at Ulta

I stopped by my local Ulta store yesterday for a few hair care items and was greeted by the consultant/esthetician at the new Clinique counter. She walked me through a computerized skin care consultation (also available online at the Clinique Web site) and I received a printed list of three products matching my skin care needs. The consultant then showed me each of the products and explained how to use them. In case you're curious, the computerized consultation showed that I am skin type 3/combination oily and said the best daily care product combination for me is Liquid Facial Soap Oily Skin Formula, Clarifying Lotion 3 for daytime, and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel with Pump for night. I found this consultation helpful because I am not personally familiar with Clinique skin care products.

I proceeded through the store to pick up the shampoo and conditioner I needed and then remembered that I wanted a good, moisturizing lipstick. I went back to the Clinique counter and the friendly consultant helped me select a tube of "Different" lipstick, so called because its smooth, comfortable feel makes it different from other lipsticks.  I chose a good daytime pink called sweet honey.

LashControl Mascara

Nothing takes the flirt factor out of batting your eyelashes faster than smudged, clumpy mascara or lashes that are barely there. And never mind flirting – my eyes just need some definition. Even on no-makeup days, I don’t feel ready for the world without a little mascara. If you have lash issues or just like to play with mascara and eyelash products, the past few years have seen a fresh focus on the eyelashes, with new technologies in packaging and formulation. From vibrating brushes to Latisse prescription eyelash lengthener and Four Day Stay from Tarte, beauty brands are putting the fun back in flirting.  

LashControl Mascara launched in 2006 with a lot of interest in its packaging and formula and is still winning innovation awards. The packaging was designed to let users decide how much mascara gets onto the brush by controlling the pressure applied to the center of the tube. The brand owner says that the unique package eliminates the need to wipe excess mascara off the brush and tube, minimizing the introduction of foreign matter into the product and reducing contamination. It was invented by a woman, and here’s what the she said about her idea:

“The innovative thought behind this design concept began with the trust I have in the user.  LashControl® is a real tool – something to be manipulated, played with, so that the user can continuously customize the application. This package hands over the control - offering a way to contain excess within the packaging. If you wipe your brush with a tissue, you bring back into the package those fibers which contaminate the formula and cause microbial issues inside the package. Also, if we can conserve waste and extend the life of the formula, we increase value. Just consider how many boxes of tissues are used daily if even one half of one percent of people use a tissue to help in the application. ” --Jennifer Paulson Lee  

LashControl® mascara is currently offered in three versions: A lengthening and conditioning formula in natural black, color-coded with a pink wiper sleeve on the package; a high-performance zig-zag brush for those who want more immediate coverage, color-coded with a purple squeeze sleeve. The “Luscious” brush offers multiple options with every stroke; and, just out is a water resistant formulation also in black. It is a soft, sheer formula featuring botanicals and a light, feathered brush for a "Sheer and Sexy" look.

LashControl is available online and at select stores.