Skin Care

Benefit Revamps Boo Boo Zap, Dropping the Comic Book Motif While Zapping a Couple of Ingredients

March 4th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

benefit boo boo zap

Meet the newest member of the Benefit B.Right Skincare clan, the repackaged and reformulated Benefit Boo Boo Zap ($16).

Its objective remains the same, even though it’s decked out in new digs — to banish blemishes and reduce the appearance of redness and swelling.

Like the current formula, this one’s clear, so it can be worn beneath or on top of makeup. It also contains salicylic acid (0.5%).

Say “bye bye” to boo boos with this fast-acting invisible acne treatment. It purifies & dries out blemishes and reduces the appearance of acne-related redness & swelling. Perfect for all skin types, this clarifying wonder is gentle enough to be used multiple times a day, but powerful enough to prevent new blemishes from forming.

—benefitcosmetics.com

I’m going to miss the comic book packaging, with that zit-fighting superheroin leaping high above the San Francisco skyline. It was always so easy to spot and such a favorite at the Benefit counter.

Benefit trades the comic book flair for more sophisticated beachy attire in green, tan and white, keeping it consistent with the rest of the B.Right line. They also increased the amount of product while decreasing the price, which is always nice to see. The old/current zapper held 6 milliliters and cost $20; the new one houses 7.4 milliliters and costs $16. A pretty significant change.

But even more important than that, Benefit adjusted the ingredient profile. It still contains salicylic acid, but they removed the witch hazel and camphor, and added glycolic acid, bisabolol (an extract of chamomile believed to soothe flaky dry skin) and a couple of acronyms, PPG-26 and PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, a compound some folks try to avoid.
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My Dry Claws Crave Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream

February 28th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream Review

Last weekend I did the unthinkable… I encouraged a friend to forgo a caramel cupcake in favor of trying a beauty product.

I know! My sweet tooth was so ashamed, but ever since I picked up Caudalie’s $19 Hand and Nail Cream from Sephora, I’ve felt compelled to push it on all my friends.

“Dude,” I said to her, inches away from the tantalizing treat, “put down that cupcake, because you need to try this hand cream I just got at Sephora.”

Normally, I’d never dream of denying someone the chance to get their sugar on, but that’s how moved I was/am by Caudalie’s cream.

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream Review
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Spring Has Sprung Like a Lilac Blossom Thanks to Pacifica French Lilac Body Butter

February 4th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Apparently, my deal with El Hub not to buy any more Pacifica Body Butters until I finish the tubes in the bathroom is officially null and void.

Poor guy actually asked, “Who needs four bottles of body butter?”

Uh, I do.

Of course, it’s not entirely my fault…

Okay, it is, but I’m still blaming French Lilac ($18). 🙂

Even though it’s technically the middle of winter, my heart has moved on to springy scents, and French Lilac’s moisturizing body butter is hitting all the right notes. I fell for the shower gel a while back and like the body butter just as much.

Light and delicate, French Lilac’s official fragrance notes include lilac, magnolia leaves, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, hyacinth and nectarine, but I detect more of the lovely lilac on my skin than anything else.
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Easy Does It With NARS Makeup Removing Water

January 24th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

Ahhh… If my dry skin could talk, that’s what it would say about new NARS Makeup Removing Water ($29).

Gentle. That’s the figurative word here and what I like most about the product, thanks to soothing botanical ingredients like cucumber, chamomile and hyaluronic acid. It works without any soaps, oils, fragrances or alcohol to remove makeup while, according to NARS, toning and moisturizing the skin.

And, even better, it’s supposed to work without scrubbing/rubbing.

MAC Cleanse Off Oil/Tranquil and I have been in a hot-and-heavy relationship for a while now, but when I heard that FranÃ§ois was releasing a new makeup remover that wouldn’t require rubbing, I was intrigued…

When I turned 36, fine lines seemed to crop up overnight! — so things like being able to remove my makeup without having to tug at my skin are suddenly a lot more important to me now.

And to remove long-wearing eye makeup, like waterproof mascaras, eyeliners and highly-pigmented eyeshadows, there’s NARS $25 Eye Makeup Remover. Described as a “high-performance, extremely mild makeup remover that removes all types of makeup, including waterproof,” the non-greasy, oil-in-water formula glides across skin, leaving a silky, smooth feeling without leaving a residue behind, and it contains soothing natural ingredients like aloe and cucumber to calm sensitive skin.

When I’m out running errands and wearing a moderate amount of makeup — maybe a primer, a little bit of tinted moisturizer, powder, eyeshadow, blush, gloss and mascara — I’ll soak one cotton round with Makeup Removing Water, and that’s enough to do the job (without my having to scrub/tug) in between 1-2 minutes.
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L’Occitane Cherry Princess Proves That Every Girl Can Be a Princess From Provence

January 22nd, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

L'Occitane Cherry Princess

Never underestimate the healing power of a shower, cute pajamas and new Cherry Princess bath and body products from L’Occitane. They combine to create one of the most powerful trifectas of recuperative relaxation known to womankind!

Drill Sergeant Tabs worked me hard this week, and by Friday I was totally beat. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to go out (he’s such a party animal!).

So while Tabs went out clubbing with his new BFF, Bruno Mars, I stayed home, took a long shower with L’Occitane and rented movies instead.

I discovered a few fabulous new L’Occitane treats from the new five-piece Cherry Princess collection of bath and body products (coming Jan. 30), like their Pearlescent Shower Cream ($20 for an 8.4-ounce bottle), Eau de Toilette ($40 for 1.7 ounces) and Hand Cream ($10 for 1 ounce). These three items, along with a Solid Perfume ($12 for 0.35 ounces) and a Silky Body Gel ($25 for 8.4 ounces), comprise the limited edition release.

This time around, L’Occitane takes us straight to Luberon, an area of Provence in France that stretches 30 miles along rugged hills east of Avignon, incorporating cherry extracts from the region into each of the products in the Cherry Princess line.
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Skincare for the Changing Seasons: Pamper Your Skin with These 3 DIY Recipes for Skincare Treats

December 15th, 2011 by Karen 51 Comments

This post is part of a series sponsored by Dove.

I have a love/hate relationship with my kitchen…

Sometimes, like when I have a long, lazy Saturday afternoon stretched out in front of me and very little on my plate, I enjoy cooking and preparing meals from start to finish. Other times, though, like after a busy day on an average Wednesday night, even the thought of tearing open a bag of baby carrots is enough to wear me out.

Last Saturday wasn’t exactly a lazy day, but I did have a little time to explore the culinary arts. While rooting around the cupboards, I realized that my pantry contained the fixin’s for more than good eats. It also had some great ingredients to make a number of do-it-yourself skincare treats.

All three of these recipes rely on ingredients you may already have in your kitchen at home, and the best part? — they only call for two ingredients each. 🙂

What do you get when you mix two great things together? Well, if they’re olive oil and sugar, you get one heck of a skin scrub. I like to use this rich, moisturizing scrub on my hands, feet and body at least a few times every winter. The gently exfoliating sugar grains buff the flakes away from even my roughest, driest patches, while the olive oil helps to moisturize and repair.

If you happen to be out of olive oil, substitutions are allowed. You can swap it out for body or facial oils, like jojoba or argan.

The quantities listed here should make enough to scrub both of your hands and feet, but if you’re hoping for a full body scrub, you’ll want to use more.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Mix the sugar and olive oil into a thick paste, which should just take a minute, and then buff where needed using small circular motions.

Rinse with warm water, and follow up, if you’d like, with your favorite moisturizer for even more hydration.

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Lush’s New Ro’s Argan Conditioner Works Like a Hair Conditioner for Your Bod

December 1st, 2011 by Karen 12 Comments

lush ro's argan body conditioner (3)

I’ve been applying body lotion since the tender age of 12. Day in, day out, just me, my perpetually parched skin and a tube of moisturizer going to work on each other like it’s a job, yo, like cubicle BFFs 4-ever.

And after all of those hundreds of tubes and jars, I think I even figured something out. For the most part, with a few exceptions, lotion is pretty much lotion, and it’s rare when a brand actually shakes things up.

That, fellow beauty lurver, is why I’m smitten with Lush’s new Ro’s Argan Conditioner ($29.95). It actually makes moisturizing easier than usual, faster than normal, and dare I say it? — kinda fun.

Lush calls it a “body conditioner,” but no, it doesn’t come with a Jillian Michaels DVD (I wish!). 🙂 What it does come with are moisturizing ingredients like cocoa butter and argan oil.

It’s a rich lotion designed to be used in the shower on wet skin. After washing and rinsing, I apply it from the neck down, where it leaves a thick, but not sticky, hydrating film.

SIDE NOTE: Now I know what a pan feels like when it gets greased up with butter! But(ter) seriously, Ro’s Argan Conditioner is a little greasy…but not annoyingly so. For the record, though, it does leave behind a moisturizing layer/film that remains after rinsing and towel drying.

Because my skin is so dry that it makes the Atacama Desert look like Waialeale on Kauai, I went into this pretty skeptical. I really didn’t think Ro’s would do much for me at all, and I didn’t think the results would justify the price.

But hold up! — wait a minute. Ro’s turns out to work quite well. It hydrates most of my trouble spots, and that includes my dry @ss shins. I still feel like I could use a little more help on my chapped elbows and feet…but there I can’t say I’m surprised, because those are my most troubled spots.

lush ro's argan body conditioner (2)

lush ro's argan body conditioner (1)
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Skincare for the Changing Seasons: 5 Tips to Soothe and Protect Dry Winter Hands

December 1st, 2011 by Karen 15 Comments

This post is part of a series sponsored by Dove.

I was tickling the ivories on my computer keyboard the other day (I l-o-v-e R-y-a-n G-o-s-l-i-n-g) when my eyes settled on a frightening sight.

My hands!

Something — probably a combination of biting winds, indoor heaters and obsessive hand washing — had turned them into two chapped chunks of leathery turkey jerky.

Not cute.

“Tabs!” I screamed, reaching out to him for emotional support, but as soon as he took one look at my wretched paws, he hissed and ran away.

Okay, well, maybe not, but I think he did sort of cringe. 🙂

When the holidays get rolling and the tasks pile up, that’s usually when I forget to take care of my hands. This year, I’m giving my talons some extra TLC, because the last thing I want on New Year’s is to have hands like that guy on Tales from the Crypt.

Here are five handy (pun intended!) tips to soothe and protect your paws and keep them looking their best.

1. Grab your gloves!

No, not the lacy fingerless kind, a la Madonna (although those are cool, too). Wearing gloves, both indoors and out, helps protect them from the elements.

As long as you’re not allergic to latex, consider keeping a bag of disposable ones around to wear while preparing meals with acidic ingredients, and then to avoid detergents while doing the dishes, keep a pair of rubber gloves near the sink. You might even stash an extra pair to use while cleaning the house.

If you spend a lot of time behind the wheel like, say, Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive, driving gloves are a stylish way to protect your paws from the sun.

I also keep a pair of cotton gloves on my nightstand and slip them on after I put on hand cream before bed. I’ve mentioned this tip before, but it’s one of my faves. It’s a great way to hydrate your hands overnight.

2. Scrub-a-dub-dub

I think I’m pretty good about remembering to exfoliate my face and body on a regular basis, but I always forget to exfoliate my hands. Why is that?

To jog my memory, I’ve been keeping an exfoliating scrub on my bathroom sink; if you happen to have an exfoliating face serum (for example, something with an active ingredient like AHA or BHA), you can also mix a couple of drops into your regular hand cream and apply that to your hands instead.
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