Beauty

What is Beauty?

Beauty comes in many forms. Here are a few of our favorites...

Spa Economy: Facial Acne Extraction

November 17, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I don’t want to startle anyone, but apparently there is some rumblings about a recession. If you’re faced with cutting back on your spa beauty routine but don’t want to give up the luxury and results, watch for the rest of our series on spa service replacements that will keep you looking and feeling pampered.

Today we’re going to discuss how to duplicate facial acne extraction at home – with no pain, to boot!

Yes, there are those blackhead remover tools on the market, but you can do more harm than good by trying to extract blemishes on your own. Personally, my hand isn’t that steady. You can get the same results with Avon’s ANEW Rejuvenate line. After a week of using the ANEW REJUVENATE Night Revitalizing Cream and ANEW REJUVENATE Flash Facial Serum, you will marvel at how your skin is free of blackheads and your pores are tight. It does this through “Mini-Extraction Technology” – which makes a macro difference. To give you some idea how well it works, before I started using the line, I counted up how many tiny blackheads I had on my nose – the kind that you can only see with a depressing magnification mirror, but are stubborn and make your the skin on your nostrils look dull. The number was 11 (telling you that feels like too much information, but hey, this was a highly scientific beauty experiment!). After three days, I was down to five, after a week, just one teeny-tiny one that I needed to have my face next to the mirror to even see – not a bad change for one week’s time. True, it’s not the in and out nature of a spa, but consider this: I didn’t have any downtime, no red blotches, and I could wear my regular makeup during the day all week as these two great products got out even the tiny blackheads that a facialist wouldn’t be able to extract anyways. And believe me, those little blackheads make the difference between flawless skin and dull skin.

Alternatively, check what your insurance covers as far as dermatology – while it won’t be the relaxing ambience and cucumber water of a spa, a derm can get rid of a pimple with a shot of cortisone and can rid your face of whiteheads with a special tool.

Stay tuned for our next feature in our Spa Economy series on Facial-worthy exfoliation!

Review: Stila Lip and Cheek Stain | We Love Cherry Crush

November 3, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Review: Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry Crush

As you know, I’m a huge fan of lip stains like those made by my favorite brand Liptini. So of course I had to give Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry Crush a try.

About Stila Lip and Cheek Stain

The great things about lip stains is that you can layer them, so you can get just a hint of color with one coat, or a dramatic pout with two or three layers. And while you can add enough layers of Cherry Crush to create a nice pop of color, it gives such a great “your lips but better” look with one layer you may choose to stop there.

The Stila Lip and Cheek Stain Experience

It is formulated to be a color that is universally flattering – and it certainly works on me. Think of that color your lips get when they just look great on their own – after you bit into a cherry or a juice strawberry, after sucking on a cherry popsicle, or after a hard workout – this is the color that Cherry Crush seems to produce on everyone who I’ve seen try it.

One of the ways it works on everyone is by reacting to the pH level on your skin. While there isn’t that much of a difference between one person and the next when it comes to pH levels, it’s enough to cause a change to the color of Cherry Crush.

Add to that the fact that it contains antioxidants and cherry and pomegranate extracts, and you have one impressive product.

Of course, the fact that it reacts to pH brings out the mad scientist in me, so I’ve been trying to see how different products of varying pH levels tweak the color, and the results are pretty cool.

Another pH reactive lipstick line is Lipstick Queen transformative shades. These include the beloved Frog Prince blush, gloss and lipsticks.

Stay tuned for my findings…

Other Stila Lip and Cheek Stain Shades

We also tried Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Mango Crush and Acai

Stila Crush Lip and Cheek Stain Mango Crush

Stila Crush Lip and Cheek Stain in Mango Crush

Where to find Stila Lipstains

Find Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry Crush at Sephora.com

Shoe Saturday’s Liptini Lip Color Match

November 2, 2008 · Leave a Comment

For this week’s Jimmy Choo Suede Boots, as well as the last two Saturday’s heels, add two thin layers of Liptini Lip Liqueur Lip & Cheek Stains – Kirsch and let them dry in between coats. It’s a sheer garnet color, so it’s not too harsh if your complexion is fair, but it also gives a hint of plum so it looks really fresh this time of year. Add a dab of Liptini Topper Lip Gloss in Crushed Ice in the middle of your lips to make them look fuller.

I’ll post a pic of this combo as soon as I get it off my camera!

When your under eye concealer gets a little thick…

October 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Ever notice how some mornings your undereye concealer somehow makes you look older, more wrinkley, and incredibly dry?

Try patting (not rubbing) a bit of under eye cream on over your concealer to soften the look and get it back to a good consistency (of course, always start with an eye cream and then the concealer will not go on as thick initially). Start just at the top of cheekbone and then work up and over in each direction. It keeps the coverage sheer and in place (as long as you are very light with your patting motion) and gives a dewy, creaseless appearance.

I find I get great results with Avon ANEW REJUVENATE 24 Hour Eye Moisturizer SPF 25 (stay tuned for a super high-rave review of this new amazing eye cream this week) using this technique. It gives an amazing luminosity to the eye area (both under and over concealer) and will gives you the dewy eyes of a five year old.