May Birchbox

I've been super busy this week, so it was nice to come home last week to have a new Birchbox waiting for me.  Here's what I get to try out this week:

Amika Obliphica Hair Treatment: a fragrant hair oil that adds manageability and shine (full size: $34).  I hope this is better than the Amika shampoo I tested out a few weeks ago!

Cargo Lipgloss (in Sunset Blvd.): brand new gloss; comes in pretty hues and is clinically proven to keep lips hydrated all day long (full size: $14).  I can always use a new lipgloss.  Cargo stuff is typically pretty awesome, so I have high hopes.

COOLA Classic Face SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face: this is a mineral sunblock that is infused with organic anti-aging ingredients like evening primrose extract and borage seed oil (full size: $32).  I love the idea of an anti-aging SPF and adding cucumber should make it seem cooling and pleasant.

Isaac Mizrahi Fabulous Eau de Perfum: Isaac's first scent A fanciful blend of mandarin and jasmine laced with vanilla (full size: $20-$69).  I sprayed this to get a whiff and it was strong!  I need to give it another go.  On a side note, I just love Isaac Mizrahi.  He's fabulous!

Also included in this month's box was a pen from Pilot.  Since I love books, ink, and all sorts of wordy-nerdy stuff, the pen makes me just as excited as the lipgloss.  Lame, but true!

Award Winning Beauty

Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) celebrated this year’s breakthrough beauty products at the 19th Annual CEW Beauty Insiders’ Choice Awards. This year, CEW awarded 36 products across 30 product categories, plus Best Seller Awards, the Indie Beauty Award, Eco Beauty Award, and QVC Beauty Quest Award.

The award-winning products included bath and body care, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and the newly-added skincare tools and lip treatment categories. The CEW Beauty Awards is the only awards program in which the winners are determined exclusively by beauty industry professionals, CEW’s 5,500+ members who know the best in beauty.

The complete list of winners is below.  Did any of your favorites make the cut?

The 2013 CEW Beauty Awards winners are:

BATH AND BODY

Bath and Body Mass

Eucerin - Professional Repair Lotion Extremely Dry Skin Lotion

Bath and Body Prestige

Bliss - Fatgirlsixpack

SKINCARE

Acne Treatment

GLAMGLOW, Inc. - Super-mud Clearing Treatment

Anti-Aging Mass

Avon - Anew Clinical Pro Line Eraser Treatment A-F33

Anti-Aging Prestige

philosophy - Full of Promise Treatment Duo for Uplifting Days and Volumizing Nights

Cleanser & Scrub

Fresh, Inc. - Rose Cleansing Foam

Eye Treatment Mass

L'Oréal Paris - Revitalift Triple Power Eye Treatment

Eye Treatment Prestige

Lancôme - Génifique Eye Light-Pearl

Lip Treatment

Fresh, Inc. - Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy

Moisturizer Mass

Neutrogena Corporation - Naturals Multi-vitamin Nourishing Moisturizer

Moisturizer Prestige

Clinique - Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator

Skincare Tools

NuFACE - Trinity Skin Boosting System with Microcurrent and Red LED

Sun Product

Elizabeth Arden - Prevage Triple Defense Shield Broad Spectrum SPF 50+++

HAIR

Hair Care Product

Ojon™- Rare Blend Oil Total Hair Therapy

Hair Coloring Product

Rita Hazan New York - Foaming Color Gloss in Tones Down Brassiness

Hair Styling Product

Ojon™ - Super Sleek Restorative Blowout Perfector

MAKEUP

Eye Product Mass

Maybelline New York - The Mega Plush Mascara by Volum' Express Mascara

Eye Product Prestige

Dior Beauty - Diorshow New Look Mascara

Face Product Mass

Sonia Kashuk for Target® - Chic Luminosity Bronzer in Goddess

Face Product Prestige

Smashbox Cosmetics - Photo Finish More Than Primer Dark Spot Correcting

Lip Product Mass

Sonia Kashuk for Target® - Satin Luxe Lip Color with SPF 16

Lip Product Prestige

Dior Beauty - Addict Extreme Lipstick

MEN'S GROOMING

Jack Black - Dry Erase® Ultra-calming Face Cream

NAIL PRODUCT

Sally Hansen - Salon Insta-gel Strips™

SCENT

Men's Scent

Viktor & Rolf- Spicebomb

Perfumer- IFF

Women's Scent Mass

Coty - Closer by Halle Berry

Perfumer- Firmenich

Women's Scent Prestige

Coty Inc. - Dot Marc Jacobs

Perfumer- Firmenich

INDIE BEAUTY AWARD

Julep™

ECO BEAUTY AWARD*

* Sponsored by Givaudan and vetted by The Natural Step

Nourish | Organic Food For Healthy Skin

QVC BEAUTY QUEST AWARD

Neydharting Moor

BEST SELLER MASS

L’Orèal Paris Colour Riche Nail

BEST SELLER PRESTIGE

Estée Lauder Perfectionist [CP+R] Wrinkle Lifting/Firming Serum

BEST SELLER FRAGRANCE

Lancôme La Vie est Belle

A New Week Already?

I typically take some time during the weekend to update my blog for the coming week. This just didn't happen over the past weekend. Let's blame Mother's Day and genuine exhaustion for my slack. I'll do my best to post later this week, though I make no promises. Hope the coming week is a good one! I'll be back soon. 

Beauty Product of the Week: Kombucha Cleanser

What is it? emerginC's Scientific Organics Kombucha Cleanser is a "gentle, effective, deep cleanser for all skin types that helps remove environmental pollutants, excess oil and make-up without drying the skin.  The main ingredient is Kombucha, with grape stem cells, algae extract, glycerin, brightening complex with xylose and galactose from palmaria palmata, spirulina, green tea, white tea, aloe vera, and maritime pine bark."  Available online for $34.

What did you think? emerginC recently launched an all natural results-oriented line of skincare products under their Scientific Organics brand.  These products are made from organic ingredients and do not contain nasty chemicals like parabens and petro-chemicals.  In other words, this cleanser is pretty darn clean. 

I have combination skin, so it can be tricky to find a product that cleans well, controls my oily spots, and doesn't over dry my dry patches.  This cleanser seemed to be a good compromise.  It seemed to remove my makeup well and it left my skin feeling clean and fresh.  It has a light, bright, almost citrus-y smell that I really like.  It doesn't lather up as well as I would like, but that wasn't enough to keep me from liking it. 

Final verdict? This is a spendy product, but it seems to cleanse effectively without stripping all the oils from the skin (overdrying is a bad thing!).  Plus this smells amazingly good, so go for it if you have the cash. 

A Kiss for Your Mother

Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 12th. What better gift to give mom than a kiss! Kiss My Face has created gift baskets that bundle all natural skin love to pamper mom this May. In addition to these gift baskets, Kiss My Face invites you to raise the bar and let mom indulge in the new collection of all natural bar soaps. The traditionally drying properties that once supplied a bar soap have been reformulated into lush, hand made, triple milled offerings that are just perfect for mom.

All Olive Collection ($29)
Nourish mom’s skin with the unique benefits of olive oil with this five piece collection of soaps, moisturizers, shaves and balm. Includes:

• Pure Olive Oil Bar Soap 
• Olive & Aloe Moisturizer 
• Green Tea & Bamboo Moisture Shave 
• Olive & Aloe Liquid Moisture Soap Olive 

My Body Soothing Body Balm The Spa Collection ($99)
Bring the spa home for mom with this eight piece spa collection of premium body care products. Contains:

• C the Change Ester C Serum 
• Pore Shrink Deep Pore Cleansing Mask 
• Start Up Exfoliating Face Wash 
• Eye Witness Eye Repair Crème 
• Clean For A Day Creamy Face Cleanser 
• Balancing Act Facial Toner 
• Brightening Day Crème 
• Lavender Candle 

Kiss My Face Olive Oil Bar Soaps ($2.99 for 4 oz and $3.99 for 8 oz)
Olive Oil nourishes skin and fights aging. No foamers, artificial colors, or additives. Suitable for all skin types. Available in:

• Olive
• Olive & Aloe
• Green Tea
• Honey
• Lavender 

All Kiss My Face products are available at KissMyFace.com.

Spa DIY

As much as I enjoy going to a spa to get pampered, I also like being able to have a DIY spa day in the privacy of my own home.  As the summer season is finally upon us, Josie Feria, Director of Lapis Spa at Fontainebleau, shows us how to bring luscious Lapis Spa treatments home and get rid of dry, unseen skin just in time for summer!

Pre-Summer Body Exfoliation Simulates Spalicious Body Scrub 
Skin softening natural all body exfoliating treatment
Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
¾ cup fine sea salt
drops of your favorite aromatherapy oil (Keep in mind the oil selected should be specific to treatment goal – citrus is energizing – lavender relaxing – peppermint stimulating)

Place all items in a bowl and blend together.
Next, step into the shower and moisten the body; apply the blend by hand in circular motion or for increased exfoliation apply with loofah mitt or body brush
Rinse off thoroughly.
Skin will feel smooth and soft and supple. For further hydration apply body lotion directly to moist skin.

Pre-Summer Facial for Extra Dry Skin 
Skin softening avocado mask for combination or dry skin
Ingredients:
½ avocado
1 egg
1 tablespoon of plain yogurt
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of baking soda.

The avocado and coconut oils work as an instant skin softener as the baking soda works as a mild exfoliator.  Place all items in bowl and blend well together
Apply the mixture to your face and leave on for 10-15 minutes
Rinse off with warm water

Foot Scrub for Dry Feet and Heels Simulates Foot Rehab Pedicure
Begin by soaking feet in ¼ cup baking soda to reduce inflammation and cleanse feet thoroughly for 10 minutes
Using a wet pumice stone rub heels thoroughly yet gently to remove dry callous
Next, apply coconut oil to feet
Finally, wrap feet in plastic and cover with soft socks for 30 minutes. The plastic and warmth will help the oil to soften the skin.

Shady Lady

Now that it's May, it is finally time to fully welcome warm weather and a whole lot more sun.  This weekend was the nicest weekend of the year so far in the Seattle area.  We've had a string of sunny days and warm, bordering on hot, temps.  To prep for the change in seasons, I got my first pedicure of the year.  I also did something much more important: I threw out my stash of old sunblocking products and restocked with new stuff.

When it comes to sun exposure, I think you can't be careful enough.  I really believe that tanning is deadly...because it is.  In my mind, excessive tanning is the same as smoking: completely unnecessary, potentially lethal, and entirely foolish.  People tan because they want to look good.  They think that pale is gross.  Well, I find premature aging, cancerous moles, and orange skin to be gross.  If you're a regular tanner, stop it.  Now. 

If you're sensible, you already know that you should be wearing SPF every day--no matter what the weather is like.  I prefer to use cosmetics that have SPF built in, and it's easy to find it in moisturizers, foundations, and lip balms.  When I'm going to really be out in the sun, I like almost all the sunblocks from Neutrogena.  Most of the sunblocking products provide broad spectrum helioplex protection, which means they'll fend off skin-aging UVAs and burning UVBs.  My three faves are:

Neutorgena Clear Face Broad Spectrum SPF 55: This is breakout free formula, which I appreciate.  It is oil-free, feels light, and absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy mess behind.  It also has a very light scent that doesn't linger.

Neutrogena Beach Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 70: This formula provides a barrier to both water and sun, so it's perfect for the beach.  Like the Clear Face SPF, this is not greasy at all.  It has a pleasant tropical smell that feels very beachy!

Neutrogena UltraSheer Body Mist Broad Spectrum SPF 100: If you like a spray-on sunblock, give this a try.  It goes on cold and covers easily. You can also spray it in your hands to apply to your face. I like the high SPF, and on a warm day, the cold spray feels good.
Before you go, here are a few reminders to stay safe with the sun:

1. Replace your SPF products every year--they may seem ok, but you really need to toss them out and replace them regularly.  Buy smaller bottles if you hate being wasteful.
2. Apply the product before you go out in the sun and later if you're still in the sun.  It doesn't last forever.
3. Don't forget to use SPF on weird places like your ears, the back of your neck, your lips, etc.  You don't want to get a burn anywhere, but these places are easy to overlook.
4. Wear sunglasses and a hat.
5. Check your skin regularly for abnormal moles, dark spots, etc.  If something looks weird, get it checked out by your doctor or dermatologist.  
6. Be smart.  Even one burn can increase your chances to get skin cancer.
7. Make sure the men in your life use sunblocking products, too.  Men have high rates of death from skin cancer, probably because they don't take precautions.  Insist that they use something before getting out in the sun.

May 2013 Free Beauty Events

Love beauty products?  Love free events?  Then check out freebeautyevents.com for free makeovers, free samples and a chance to win beauty products in our monthly contest. Below are highlights of this month’s best events that are being featured on freebeautyevents.com.

For example, on May 10th and 11th, demonstrators will be at Rite Aid giving free samples and coupons of the new Revitalift Miracle Blur just in time for Mother’s Day. You can also celebrate Mother’s Day at H-E-B in Texas with a complimentary Almay makeover on May 12th.

Freebeautyevents.com also features a blog on product reviews (http://www.freebeautyevents.com/beauty-blog) and a monthly contest http://www.freebeautyevents.com/contest. They also do a contest each week with a smaller prize on their blog. For the month of May 2013, they're giving away 10 prizes. Each prize will consist of Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash with NutriumMoisture, Dove Sensitive Skin Body Wash with NutriumMoisture, and Dove Beauty Bar for Deep Moisture. The Contest runs from 5/1/2013 to 5/31/2013, winners will be chosen on 6/2/2013 and notified by 6/15/2013.To enter, all you have to do is go to http://www.freebeautyevents.com/contest and supply your name, email (only used to contact winners), and zip.

Beauty Product of the Week: Stay-Matte Oil-Free Makeup

What is it? Clinique's Stay-Matte Oil Free Makeup, "helps you stay matte all day. This patent-pending formula absorbs shine, controls oil, and resists sweat.  This formula has been tested for streaking and fading at 88°F with a constant 80% humidity."  Available at Sephora and department stores in 20 shades for $23.

What did you think? I am currently at the start of what may be some of the most stressful weeks of work I've dealt with in a long time.  I do not have time right now to be worrying about my foundation slipping or my skin feeling greasy.  I have long days of intense meetings where I need to be constantly focused on the task at hand.  I need simplicity and products that work without much effort on my part.

So far, Clinique's Stay Matte foundation is doing exactly what I need it to--not cause me any grief. It goes on easily and the shade I got seems to be just right for my skin tone.  The foundation feels light when I'm applying it, but it does a good job of providing coverage without being heavy, thick, or uncomfortable.  It lasts all day long and it does seem to be keeping the oil in my T-zone at bay.

Final verdict?  This foundation makes my skin look better and it feels good.  Combine that with it's all-day wear, and I'm sold.  Nice job, Clinique!

Redemption?

As I mentioned in my shampoo review on Monday, I am a bad girl and I wash my hair every single day.  I've tried going every other day, but I always go back to my daily habit.  I've also tried my share of dry shampoos, and I either don't know how to use them correctly, or I just hate them.  I'll stick with the hatred theory.

Since I'm trying out samples, I decided to give a bottle of  Serge Normant Meta Revive Volumizing Dry Shampoo with Cedar Bark a go.  I did this on a Sunday when I knew I was staying in and I didn't care what my hair looked like.

I've tried shampoos from Serge Normant in the past and have always been underwhelmed.  However, I was hoping that somehow my past experience with the brand AND my negative experiences with dry shampoos in general would disappear and that the Serge Normant Dry Shampoo would somehow be the magical product I never knew I needed.

Boy was I wrong.

I followed the directions to a T and gave my scalp and hair an enthusiastic spray.  The scent almost knocked me over.  It was harsh and too perfumed...it was a smell that got trapped in my dirty hair so that I could not escape it.  The dry shampoo itself left my hair much too volumized.  It felt like a thick rat's nest made of overly perfumed rope.  It was difficult to get a brush through my sprayed hair, and it just hung down around my shoulders--poofy and limp at the same time.  My hair felt heavy, my scalp still greasy, and everything was bound by the overly fragrant scent.  It was a disaster and all I wanted to do was wash my hair properly.

Needless to say, this sample went right in the trash.  It seems as though my luck with Serge Normant and dry shampoo is all bad.  Oh well...I'll stick to my daily washing.  

Pick Your Pleasure

In one of my recent Birchboxes, I received three samples of Caldrea Body Creme, one in each of their scents: No 1 water apricot,  No 2 tea olive lime, and No 3 coconut fig leaf.

I've been trying out all three scents over the past few days.

The body creme itself feels good going on.  It absorbs quickly and leaves my skin feeling soft all day long.  It is not at all greasy or heavy.  Caldrea focuses on plant-based botanical ingredients that you can feel good about applying to your body. Rice bran, a staple in Japanese skincare, stimulates collagen to increase elasticity and hydration. Nourishing chia seed oil optimizes skin health. Plus, Caldrea products are vegan and free of phthalates, parabens, formaldehyde, and artificial colors.

All three scents are amazing--they all smell fresh and light.  The scents are not long lasting and don't seem to clash with my daily spritz of perfume. Aloe Water Apricot is a modern white musk with floral notes; Tea Olive Lime is a green citrus scent with vanilla and orchid; and Coconut Fig Leaf is fresh and exotic with top notes of white fig, plum, and coconut.

It's hard to pick a favorite of the three!

This is a really nice body lotion.  It feels and smells expensive, and is a joy to use.  It would also make for a great Mother's Day gift!

This is a Test...

Two cute samples in their Birchbox.

 In the spirit of Spring Cleaning, I've decided to dig though my Birchboxes and other samples and start trying some of my mountains of stuff out. To start, I tried two shampoo samples from Birchbox: Amika color pherction shampoo and Lumiere d'hiver Clarifying Shampoo.

I tend to favor Pantene for daily use...and yes, I do wash my hair every single day (I know it's not good, but I do it anyway...we're all sinners deep down!).  Lately I've been using Pantene Ultimate 10 shampoo and conditioner.  It leaves my hair clean and looking somewhat decent and I have no complaints.

Both of the shampoo samples I tried did not come with conditioner, so I used a little bit of the Pantene Ultimate 10 conditioner with each shampoo.

First up,  Amika color pherction shampoo, $22 for a full size.
Here's what Birchbox says about it: The hair experts at amika went to the ends of the earth to source this color-friendly shampoo. It contains Siberian sea buckthorn berry oil, which is loaded with omega acids and vitamins to promote hair health. The silky shampoo sinks into each hair follicle to quench dryness and repair damage. The sweet scent comes courtesy of wild cherry extract.

My thoughts: On first use, I did not like the scent.  It was way too sweet for me and seemed cloying.  Not good, since I prefer a more clean or neutral scent.  The shampoo didn't lather well and when I dried my hair, it didn't look particularly clean, shiny, or good.  My hair felt heavy all day--very greasy and stringy.  Not good.  Thankfully, this was just a sample, because for me it is a huge NO.

Next up:  Lumiere d'hiver Clarifying Shampoo, $32 for a full size
Here's the Birchbox description: At the end of a long week we could all use a fresh start—the same goes for our hair. When product buildup and styling stress leave your locks feeling dull, use Number 4 Hair Care Clarifying Shampoo, subtly scented with white freesia, golden amber, and warm musk, to gently cleanse without stripping moisture or color.

My thoughts: I was prepared to hate this shampoo.  It says right on the bottle that it is a low lather formula, and I do love a good lather.  At first, I thought it had a too-floral scent, but it grew on me as I washed.  While the shampoo didn't lather as well as Pantene, it did give enough lather to make me feel like my hair was being cleaned.  After styling, my hair looked full, healthy, and much better than it did with the Amika product.  Despite the spendy price and my initial reservations, I give this a thumbs up.

April Birchbox

I realize I haven't written up a Birchbox review for a few months.  I'm not quite sure why, so it's time for me to rectify that situation and tell you about the April goodies from Birchbox.  Instead of a usual Beauty Product of the Week, here's what's up with this month's Birchbox!

Birchbox and Women's Health have teamed up to curate this month's box, filled with products designed to help us fine-tune our lifestyle.  Their guiding philosophy is that tiny tweaks can make a big difference.  You can even follow #TinyTweaks on Twitter to see how people are using the products to make small changes to better their lives.

So...what's in the box?

• Johanna Vargas Daily Serum (full size $85): This brightening serum is packed with vitamins and hyaluronic acid.
• Kerastase Age Premium Bain Substantif (full size $36): This shampoo has UV filters that fortify hair against damage.
• LAFCO Fleurs de Baies Bath Soap (full size $17): This bar soap is infused with wild roses, black currants, and raspberries, and smells oh-so good!
• Mirenesse Glossy Kiss Lipstick (full size $26.55) This is a Birchbox exclusive.  It's a lip pencil that goes on easy.
• Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll On: This month's box included a fill size of Simple's new eye roll on that is designed to wake up tired eyes.  They suggest keeping this in the fridge to maximize the revitalizing potential.  Included with the full size is a $1.00 off coupon.  

Overall, this box has some pretty good stuff.  I love that it included a full size product to try.  That's awesome! I'm looking forward to using the soap since it was the first thing that I smelled when I opened the box.

What Lurks in Your Products?

I'm on the theme of the environment lately!  Keeping with that theme, I thought it would be a good time to give you an overview of some of the yucky things that manufacturers put in their beauty products. Companies are getting better about leaving these products out, but as a consumer, you need to know what to be on the look out for. 

Here's a quick (not exhaustive) list of some nasty ingredients.

PARABENS
Found in: Almost everything, used as a preservative (esp. shampoos, shave gels, moisturizers)
Why it's bad: Potentially cancer-causing--since parabens are everywhere, there is a lot of research currently going on to better examine their negative effects

MERCURY
Found in: Eye drops, deodorant, and ointments, labeled as "thimerosal"
Why it's bad: Potentially cancer-causing and toxic to the human reproductive system

LEAD ACETATE
Found in: Hair dye and cleaners
Why it's bad: Human reproductive and development toxin; currently prohibited in Europe

FORMALDEHYDE and TOLUENE
Found in: Nail polish and nail products
Why they're bad: Formaldehyde an cause allergies and irritation, currently banned in Sweden and Japan for cosmetic use; Toluene can cause you to get high if you inhale it and is potentially toxic

PETROCHEMICALS
Found in: Some hair relaxers, shampoos, mascara, perfume, foundation, lipstick and lip balm
Why it's bad: As byproducts of crude oil they can contain carcinogens

PHYHALATES
Found in: some nail polish, fragrances and hair spray
Why it's bad: Human reproductive and development toxin--also banned in Europe. This stuff is everywhere and is seriously bad, bad, bad. Be especially careful because there are tons of phyhalates in jelly style sex toys. Sounds stupid, but still...you should know this stuff.

PLACENTA Found in: Some hair relaxers, moisturizers, and toners
Why it's bad: Can interfere with normal hormone function and can lead to serious health problems like breast cancer

For more information, please visit The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics at www.safecosmetics.org.