Archives for September 19, 2016

Skincare: Mediderm A+ Dark Spot Corrector & Skin Whitening Fade Cream

September 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Despite the religious use of high-factored, Full Spectrum SPF year round, I was recently a bit shocked to see a smattering of sun spots along my collarbone in addition to the ones on the top of my cheekbones. This was not due to a summer of frolicking on the beach for me – these spots are a result of walking into the office from the parking lot, heading out to the mailbox type exposure, all while wearing SPF. While Hydroquinone is effective, it is dangerous, and it can go too far in the other direction and cause hypopigmentation. So, I was thrilled to find Mediderm A+ Dark Spot Corrector & Skin Whitening Fade Cream for my sun spots.

Mediderm A+ Dark Spot Corrector & Skin Whitening Fade Cream

One of the things I like about Mediderm A+ Dark Spot Corrector & Skin Whitening Fade Cream is that it will only lighten your skin as far as your basic skin tone, and no further. It gets rid of the discoloration and leaves healthy, even-toned skin underneath. Best of all, it does it with natural, safe ingredients.

And what a list of ingredients it is. I knew Mediderm to be a fantastic skincare line, but I was thrilled when I saw just how many great ingredients were packed into this potent cream. They are an excellent balance of ingredients that sack sun spots and other ingredients that calm and soothe the skin, so there is no irritation. Some notable ingredients are Glycolic Acid, Squalane, Lactic Acid, Vitamin C, and Licorice Extract to get rid of discoloration, Tamanu Oil, Ubiquinone, and Alpha Lipoic Acid to regenerate the skin, and green tea, Jojoba Oil, Yarrow Leaf Extract, Vitamin E, and Botanical Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate and soothe the skin. There are several more natural and effective ingredients on the list, but these were the ones that truly excited me. Typically it involves several creams to get that kind of combination!

The cream, while thick, absorbs well and can easily be worn under SPF and makeup. It gives skin a dewy glow without being greasy and keeps my makeup from dry in the cold air conditioning of my office. So it is easy to use it twice a day as recommended. After cleansing and exfoliating at night, it soothes my skin and gets to work on the sun spots, but it also is doing an excellent job in tackling those little lines and gives my skin an overall luminous glow. Even if you don’t have sun damage, it is hard to find a cream with so many incredible ingredients packed into one jar.

I am thrilled to have found Mediderm A+ Dark Spot Corrector & Skin Whitening Fade Cream. My spots are fading, and my skin looks great!

Find it at Amazon.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7LqNJdMmXo[/embedyt]

I received this product at a discount for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!

Sensation Professional Electric Straightener Brush

September 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Sensation Professional Electric Straightener Brush

I have long work days, especially the days I commute into the city. My morning commute is about an hour, then a brief windy walk outside to the office building, a long day of work, and then usually some post-work socializing before going home.

My hairstyle has usually fallen flat by 5:30, so I was excited to try something that could quickly enliven my style, smooth my wind-blown hair and add some shine.
It heats up almost immediately and quickly gives a nice shiny and smooth look to hair.

The instructions outline how to hold the brush to add some volume to the roots, and the ends and length of the hair look smooth. It is no more work than brushing your hair. My hair did not feel dry or damaged like when I use hot rollers or other hot tools. My styling products such as any hair spray or spray in treatments like BlowPro Thickening Spray are not gunky or sticky after using the comb, which is a nice advantage over re-styling your hair with a curling iron.

There is a nice V-shaped tool for separating out sections – sort of a rat tail comb on one side, a thin brush on the other. I have found this useful with other styling products as well, such as when using hot rollers.

I also tried the brush on my Mom, who has dry, wiry hair that only briefly conforms to any straightening efforts with rollers. It smoothed her hair immediately with a very straightforward and quick brush through, it was smooth and shiny with a nice flip curl at the ends. It also imparted a bit of bounce.

There is an excellent swivel cord. Products often SAY they have a swivel cord, but this one completely swivels without adjusting how you hold your arm. This is a nice feature.

Of course, like other hot tools, I would advise using a thermal mat to allow the brush to cool down after use. While the handle is not hot to the touch when using it, the brush itself is 450 degrees. I use a simple thin silicone cooling sheet for cookie trays, though there are dedicated thermal mats available if you prefer that.

Sensation Professional Electric Straightener Brush

I’m thrilled with this brush and use it a few times a week. I don’t like using thermal tools too often because they damage my hair, but there seems to be far less damage and dryness using this brush than other tools, so I feel comfortable using it more often.

In the video below, it was incredibly humid all day with torrential downpours most of the day, and this brush left my mother’s hair smooth for hours. Nice!

Find it at Amazon.

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Travel: Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

September 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

The Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag comes in three different colors; we selected pink, and we use it to hold makeup and beauty supplies while traveling, going to the gym, or for makeup redo jobs if we are leaving for a social event directly after work.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

SIZE AND APPEARANCE
About the size of a purse, it is suitable for discretely carrying to the ladies room for a mid-day emergency beauty touchup (or total overhaul). It is also suitable for using as a handbag/carryall for the gym to hold my jewelry, phone, wallet, makeup, and toiletries for taking a post-workout shower and styling my hair afterward. There are convenient pockets to hold my gym membership card so I can quickly swipe my card and get to my workout.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
There is a black plastic hook to hold it upright in place when used in a locker or bathroom, and a handle for carrying it. There is a fair amount of cushioning within the bag to keep items safe in transit. It is waterproof and leakproof, which is particularly useful when transporting multiple beauty products that could cause a mess in your suitcase.

The bag comes with a black eye mask and earplugs, suitable for use to get some sleep while traveling. This bag would be very helpful if you choose to keep your beauty supplies with you while traveling, which I prefer to do whenever possible to keep them out of my luggage and avoid hot/cold weather extremes when luggage is in the trunk of the car.

There are two internal zippered pockets for holding more fragile makeup powders or perhaps jewelry during a gym workout. I use it to hold more expensive beauty items. For example, my Hourglass powder trio is very delicate so I keep it in the box when using it outside of the house, and having a secure pocket to hold it in is very useful to keep it safe.

The deep middle pocket holds a long thin can of hairspray or dry shampoo, face wash and a ton of makeup and beauty supplies, as seen in the photos.

It has multiple side pockets for various makeup pencils, makeup brushes, toothpaste and toothbrush and makeup palettes. The inner side pocket is useful for holding a wallet and different cards, or a small book or journal. The pockets are deep enough to hold a full 8-ounce size tube of lotion or face wash. I carry hand cream in this pocket.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONCLUSION: Useful for carrying all your toiletries and beauty tools while traveling, post-gym workouts, or to discretely redo your look after work before a night out, the Mr. Sleek bag holds a TON of stuff in an easy-to-find internal design that keeps even delicate items securely in place.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyKQ-6XRM1A[/embedyt]

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!