Lifestyle: Live the Lovely Life

Lifestyle: How to live a lovely life ... in style!

Fashion and beauty trends, home dÃ©cor, food, and recipe ideas, travel and reviews.

Product Review: Luminess Air X-Out

January 27, 2015 · Leave a Comment

At the end of the year I picked up a few items (well, maybe more than a few) at Luminess Air. One of them was new to me – Luminess Air X-Out, for under eyes. It’s not quite a concealer, it’s not quite an eye primer…let me explain.

X-Out is to be used with your Luminess Air airbrush around the eye. I picked the Light color, because let’s face it, I’m ridiculously pale. It is actually a peach color, which works well for the reason I’m about to mention.

Here is what I found interesting about X-Out: do you remember when YSL touchE Eclat made you look like you slept for 12 blissful hours, at which point you jumped out of bed full of energy (when in reality you were up until 3am for whatever reason)? Adding a drop of X-Out under Eclat gives the same super-bright eyed look. I am thrilled.

I found after a day in a very, very dry office that it got a bit dry, but nothing that a dab of moisturizer on a Beauty Blender couldn’t fix. As you see in the swatch below, it is a thin enough formulation that the moisture bleeds onto paper. Also, After about a week I went to open the bottle and the entire bottle ripped in half, which unfortunately has happened before on the large Luminess bottles I have used. I will probably pay a bit more and get the small bottles from now on to prevent it from happening again. I couldn’t retrieve much from the bottle, but I did experiment a bit with what I could retrieve, and mixed it with Hyaluronic Acid Serum(manually applied, not airbrush applied) and it stayed dewy all day.

Find Luminess Air X-Out at HSN.com.

On White Paper

Color Swatch (bottom) and blended (top)

Product Review: Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo

January 27, 2015 · Leave a Comment

I have been using my old bottle of Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo as a great hair clarifier. As I came to the end of my bottle, I picked up the new formulation in hopes that it worked as well. Here’s my thoughts on the new updated formulation of Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo.

The Good:

It’s a solid shampoo that doesn’t overly strip hair. The pear scent is lovely (though I preferred the apple cider scent in the previous version.) In the rotation of shampoos I use, it is a decent shampoo that doesn’t do damage.

The Bad:

It no longer leaves my hair silky and frizz free. In fact, it leaves a bit of a reside that, in my mind, disqualifies it as a clarifying shampoo. Lyn mentioned to me that she had to lather twice, and even then it didn’t give the results that the old formulation did.

Now, I will allow the proviso that the old formulation left hair squeaky clean, which can be bad for hair in the long term. However, whenever I needed to get rid of serious product buildup, it got the job done without leaving my hair dry. This won’t be my “get the buildup” shampoo now, unfortunately.

So what’s the alternative?

If you adored the old formulation, try using actual Apple Cider Vinegar when you need to clarify. Some people say to dilute it with water, some say to mix it with conditioner, I just use it straight when I wash my hair and end up with shiny, bouncy waves after. I definitely preferred the old formulation to this, but it is a decent replacement.

Now as a word of caution: I don’t color my hair, and straight Apple Cider Vinegar will likely make your hair color fade faster if you use it on a regular basis. But Lyn uses it occasionally and it does not adversely affect color.

So all in all, the new Frederic Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo is a good shampoo that I will likely buy again, and it is great that I can pick up a shampoo at CVS that doesn’t completely dry out my hair, but if you were devoted to the old formulation, it doesn’t match the wonderful clarifying results of the old formulation.

Find Frederic Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo at drugstore.com or wherever the Fekkai range is sold.

Commit to Being Fit Day: What to Know

December 27, 2014 · Leave a Comment

We don’t really cover fitness a lot on Style Chicks, but we probably should. Regardless of your size or shape, you can still be fit, and why not start now?

We heard about the Life Time Fitness Commitment Day coming up on January 1st and it sounds like a fun and healthy activity for the whole family. I’ll let the press release do the talking:

Join a Revolution | Life Time Opens Its Doors to the Community During Commitment Day Festival 2015

As the battle of the bulge wages on in America, we’re seeing skyrocketing obesity rates and lower life expectancies among children. Life Time–The Healthy Way of Life Company aims to inspire positive change by opening its doors to the community and hosting one million workouts across the country during its Commitment Day Festival (January 1), Fun Run (January 1-4), and Indoor Triathlon Workout (January 4, 2015).

Set to take place at 113 Life Time destinations from coast to coast, the Festival will feature healthy family events all weekend long. In addition, 52 Life Time destinations will host the annual Commitment Day 5K Fun Run on January 1^stfor all ages and abilities as participants join together in a symbolic commitment to lead healthier, more active lives in 2015. Plus, in partnership with IRONMAN, on January 4^th, 79 Life Time destinations will host an inaugural Indoor Triathlon Workout to encourage and educate people of all athletic abilities on the sport of triathlon.

The Commitment Festival is open to both members and non-members and will kick off on January 1, 2015 with the Commitment Day 5K Fun Run taking place in 52 cities in 24 states. Commitment Day Festival offers a variety of educational and entertaining events, including:

Daily Fit Talks and Workout Workshops The FIT Talks series is designed to educate and empower participants with approachable, relevant, and simple life-changing actions, such as breaking up with sugar, eating fat to burn fat, and why counting calories won’t lead to long term results. Participants may also attend a Workout Workshop in which they’ll have an opportunity to learn and burn with a new workout, such as ViPR, LT Connect, Strength and Flexibility, Battling Ropes, Upper Body Strength & Tone and more.
Jan. 2^nd Alpha Madness The Life Time Alpha program is designed for anyone looking to lose weight or enhance performance. Participants will start with a Get Connected Seminar to introduce heart rate training via LT Connect, which helps them train smarter not harder. From there, they’ll have the opportunity to compete against themselves in an Alpha Workout focused on functional movements suitable for all ages and fitness abilities.
Jan. 3^rdYoga Commitment Jam Yogis and beginners alike will de-stress from the holidays and kick off a commitment to yoga with 90-minute Vinyasa Flow class suitable for all ages and abilities.
Jan. 4^thIndoor Triathlon Hour powered by Life Time Tri and IRONMAN Redefine your 2015: commit to tri. If you’ve ever wanted to try a tri, this is where to start. Inspiration without intimidation, the 60-minute indoor workout will feature a 10-minute pool swim, 30-minute spin, and 20-minute treadmill run. Athletes of all abilities from beginner to experienced are invited. All participants who register for and attend the Indoor Triathlon Hour ($25 fee) receive a lifestyle training shirt, swim cap, race bib, $20 off a $100 purchase at ironmanstore.com, one free month of Masters swim lessons with Life Time Swim (new participants only) and $10 a new LifeSpa service of $50 or more, plus, are eligible for a chance to win one of three slots to the 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria or, one of five slots to a Life Time Tri Series race. Learn more about event locations and registration at www.indoortri.com. Limited spots available per club.

Miracle Skin Transformer Vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector What to Know

May 22, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Miracle Skin Transformer Vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector touts “treatment benefits of a serum with the optical diffusers of a primer”.

What I Love

What I like about Miracle Skin Transformer Vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector is probably not quite its “traditional” use, but it sure works for me.

I prefer a diffusing primer to a foundation on my face, I never seem to get a good color match for my skintone. But since my dark circles are a very dark, bluish undertone to them and they really stick out with my very fair skin. I am also dark on my upper lids, so eyeshadow primers such as Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer just don’t give me enough opacity for a shadow base, I need some coverage so my shadow colors are true. However, I really dislike how cakey my eyeshadows look when I use foundation on my lids. I was surprised to see vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector addressed BOTH of these problems for me.

First, my shadow really STUCK far more than it does with any eyeshadow primer I use, and it did not get all creasy and looks FRESH hours later. The Instant Imperfection Corrector feels a little tacky after application, which was great to “lock” my eyeshadow and keep it looking fresh. I was surprised my eye looked as bright since the product is clear, yet instill managed to counteract the darkness of my upper eye area.

Second is my undereye dark circles. Normally I do a light moisturizer, wait for it to absorb, then a base, then re-apply Yves Saint Laurent Eclat throughout the day for some brightening around my eye. I am not crazy about how it fills into my lines and at some point in the day I usually give up or start all over.

But a little Miracle Skin transformer on my undereye area, I just used my trusty YSL Eclat and it did the trick! I need to use enough concealer that on close inspection it did not look like naked skin, but it did not crease in my lines. VERY NICE! I am excited to give this a try on a long day at work and see how the shadow holds up and if I need repeated concealer touchups during the day.

I can’t speak to the treatment benefits after one use, but there is a boatload of powerhouse ingredients in this: Vitamin C, ergothionene (antioxidant), lupine (brightener), Perennial plants, sesame, and grapefruit.

MY “CONS”

Some might find this a little sticky/tacky after application, I found that this dissipated as it dried down. If it really bothers you a light powder did the trick for me. It also made my powder contour/blush stick on well and look freshly applied.

I will give an update in a few weeks to see if I consider there to be benefits as a serum treatment as well. Stay tuned!

Where to Buy It

Miracle Skin Transformer Vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector, $58 for one ounce available at Ulta and Nordstrom.

Disclosure: We received a sample for review.