Primer Time-L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

It's secret! It's magic! It's perfecting! It's a base (not really)!

First things first- this is not a base in the sense that a base is another word for foundation. This is a primer. What is a primer? A primer is a product that goes on before your make-up (or can be used in place of it) that can smooth out pores, soften wrinkles and make your make up last longer. Think of it as a type of "base coat" like you would use for your nails, but for your face instead.

If you are a get up and go, natural type of gal, I really doubt that you are going to use a primer if you barely wear make up.  It's not that it is hard to use, not at all, it is just hard to remember! For me, this would mean fitting in primer after two serums and a moisturizer. Woosh! That can be a lot for a girl who just woke up. Even a girly girl! (Primer goes on after any moisturizer and serums you use. You want to use it right before your put on your concealer, foundation, etc.)

Well, this morning I decided to give this L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base (what a mouthful!) a try. Honestly, I was not expecting a lot. I had used primer before, and wasn't all that impressed. But, then again, I never used a primer with "Magic" in the title.

The jar opening is about the size of your fingernail, so it is a little hard to get out. The primer has a slight pink color before you put it on, but it goes on colorless and leaves a matte finish on your face. You don't have to use a lot of it, which may be why there is not much of it in the tiny jar. Instantly, it made my face feel like velvet, and my pores seemed smoother. But, at this point, I didn't see that much of a change from my normal made up face. At least not enough to add this product in to my beauty routine every day. 

At lunchtime, I took a look in the car mirror to check out (car mirrors never lie the way bathroom mirrors do) my face. My make up looked better than normal. My skin looked clearer and fresher, the tone of my skin was more unified, and it looked like I was wearing less make up. Aha! It was the L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base!  I could really see a difference in my face in the natural light. My make up had gone on much easier, and stayed fresh.  It even looked great when I was leaving work, and in to the evening. They don't really talk about the lasting effect of this product, but that is my favorite part.  My skin is combination/oily, and by the end of the day, most of my make up usually has come off. With this product, my face looked great all day. Some reviews I have  read on this product call it oily, but I did not find it to be oily at all on my skin.

Pros- Lightweight, helps fill in pores and soften wrinkles. Makes your skin soft and velvety. Make up seems to last much longer and look fresher.

Cons- TINY jar of product. Expensive for just a little bit of primer. Easy to forget to use it.

Bottom Line- L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base is a great product for people who love make up and have the time to use a primer. I do wish it came in a bigger jar, and that there was more of it. The small jar is easy to lose in my make up kit,  and it is hard to get the product out of. It also seems like only a little bit of product for $13. At any rate, this product softens and smooths your skin and makes your make up go on smoother and last longer. I love the way it made my make up look, and my make up lasted all day.

Little Luxuries- Affordable Beauty Treats $13 and Under

                                                           You don't have to spend a lot to get spa-worthy treatments in your very own home. Surprisingly, there are some little known beauty treasures at a drugstore near you that are available for less than you would expect.

Here are some of my little beauty luxuries:

1. Johnson's Baby Oil Gel- With skin oils being all the rage nowadays, little attention is paid to this very effective classic, now available in a less messy gel formula. Kiehl's Superbly Restorative Argan Skin Oil (as fabulous as it is) is more than ten times the price!  Johnson's Baby Oil Gel comes in a Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter formula, Aloe Vera formula, and Original formula. It also makes my skin extremely soft in a way moisturizer never quite does (especially with all the fragrance they put in body moisturizer now), one bottle lasts for months, and it smells wonderful. Take a bath with Johnson's Bedtime Bath, wash with SoftSoap Nutri Serums using the Bath and Body Works Back Brush, then moisturize your skin with Johnsons's Baby Oil Gel (a little goes a long way) when you get out of the shower, and your skin will feel like you had a special all over body spa treatment. With Johnson's Baby Oil priced around $3, you never have to feel guilty about using as much as you need to make your skin fabulously soft.

2. SoftSoap Nutri Serums- Like a facial serum for your body, this body wash is around $4 a bottle, and is well worth the price. (See my post, Why are those purple and yellow beads floating in my bodywash?)

3. Olive Oil Replenishing Hair Treatment- Found in the ethnic hair section, this mask will leave your dry, damaged, hair marvelously hydrated. Sit under a shower cap, relax in the tub for fifteen minutes, and remember to shampoo very well when you are done. At under $5, this set of three hair treatments is a steal.

4. Johnson's Baby Bedtime Bath- This softening, lavender smelling, bubble bath is comparable to the L'Occitane Lavender Harvest Foaming Bath, and is much, much, less expensive. It is the perfect way to relax after a long day. With the $4 price tag, you can have a soothing lavender bath every night.

5. Bath and Body Works Back Brush- Everyone needs a brush like this, and not just for your back. This scrubbing brush gets the blood circulating and exfoliates dead skin cells so that your skin will be super soft. Give your body the attention your face takes for granted. $5 at Bath and Body Works.

6. Ulta Conditioners- Don't think that just because this is just a store brand that it is not worth noticing. Ulta brand conditoners are comparable to salon brands and cost much less. The Ultimate Smoot and Ultimate Moisture conditioners will leave your hair soft and smooth. These conditioners sell for around $4 and are often available for Ulta as buy two get one free.

7. Neutrogena MicroMist Self-Tanning Spray in Deep- I have tried lots of self-tanners, and this one remains my favorite. You can spray your back and all over your body like crazy, and it is almost impossible to mess up or cause streaks. The color is believable, the formula is quick drying, and  it won't irritate your skin. Even though the color is listed as Deep, I find it to be more in the medium range. It takes about two+ uses to be get what I think would be considered a "Deep" color. Even so, this is the perfect color for light/medium skin. MicroMist can be used to create a self-tan or enhance an existing tan. Use it before a night out to get a believable tan glow. $13 or less at most drugstores.

8. Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask (picture above left)- An oldie but a goodie. This mask is often stuck at the very bottom of drugstore shelves, but it is a gem worth noticing. A minty-fresh mask to clean out pores that is perfect for  oily/acne prone skin. It is loaded with Sulfur, my very favorite acne fighter that is non-irritating to sensitive skin. Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask can be used as a mask or overnight as an acne treatment. Pro-Activs, Murad, and more use sulfur in their acne masks that cost much more money. Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask is only $4.  Warning: This mask will make you look and smell like a minty Wicked Witch of the West, so make sure to warn your significant other before use.

9. Wet n' Wild Eyeshadow, Lipgloss and Eye/Brow Liners- This inexpensive line of products is perfect to check out when there is an eyeshadow/lip/eye color you are not quite sure about. At under $3 a pop for almost everything, you can treat yourself every time you go to the drugstore. The Eye/Brow Liner in Taupe is what I use on my eyebrows every day. It is half the price as other drugstore brow enhancers, and lasts twice as long. They also have some amazingly great lip gloss colors that are very inexpensive. I love the Mega Slicks Lip Gloss in Bronze Berry. It is the perfect bronze/pink lip gloss.

10.  C. Booth Bath and Body Cleanser- As softening and wonderful as Kiehl's Liquid Body Cleanser (it even looks like it), and half the price. It can be used as both a cleanser and a bubble bath. Mix it with Johnson's Night Time Bath, or your SoftSoap Nutri Serums for an extra luxurious skin treat. $8 at drugstores and online.

You can get a lot for only spending a little with these little luxuries. I will post a follow up to this list in the Spring/Summer, so keep your eyes open. If you know of any additional beauty steals, send me a message so that they can be included in my upcoming post.

Get Him On Track!- Kiehl's Skincare for Men

No matter what they say, even the most manly man over 30 cares about lines and wrinkles. They just really don't know what products to use, and they don't want to ask. So, it is never too late to slip a couple of skin care products in to their shaving kit. Kiehl's has a great men's line that is easy to use and appeals to men with its' energizing and easy to use formulas (I also think they like the little blue airplane on the packaging). When my friend John requested an eye cream for his puffy eyes and I bought him one from Loreal', he turned the product backwards with the label facing to the back of his cabinet. Unlike his Loreal' eye cream, he proudly displays his Kiehl's products. They even have their own shelf. I also recently learned that my Dad also uses Kiehl's products! This bare-bones masculine facial care line really seems to appeal to all ages and types of men.

Now, if you have a reluctant-to-anything-that-might-seem-metrosexual man in your life, the best way to start him off is by slipping the Kiehl's for Men Facial Fuel moisturizer into his cabinet. Even the name exudes testosterone! According to Kiehl's:

Our vitamin-enriched and energizing non-oily moisturizer wakens and uplifts dull, fatigued skin. This "facial recovery accelerator" helps skin resist the affects of environmental stress for a healthy, invigorated appearance. The formula, with Vitamin C and E, Chestnut extract and Soy, helps waken tired-looking skin and helps improve skin's look and texture. With use, your skin will feel refueled, re-energized and revitalized!

My friend John loves this stuff so much that he rushes to the Kiehl's store as soon as it runs out and buys more. I snuck in to his cabinet the other day and tried it out for myself, and at the end of the day my skin was more moisturized than it usually was with my regular serum and moisturizer! I also have to admit that I am a sucker for the pepperminty feeling your skin gets when you apply this in the morning. The menthol and caffeine in the Facial Fuel moisturizer really helps to wake up your skin.

After your man has become addicted to this product (which he will, I promise) you can slowly ease him in to the Eye Alert which fights puffiness, dark circles and fine lines. There is also the Facial Fuel Anti Wrinkle Cream for those men who are especially concerned with aging. You can actually purchase the entire Facial Fuel line, which ranges from cleanser to shaving cream to face balm, but this may be going a little overboard. Realistically, most men will probably pick three products maximum to use from this line and that will be it. Please let your man know not to expect miracles and that major improvements won't happen overnight. John put the Eye Alert on his eyes and asked me "Are my dark circles gone now?". The only thing that is going to get rid of dark eye circles immediately is make-up, and I doubt that your man wants to put that on!  Let your man know that even with the fastest working skin care products can take at least 4 weeks minimum to see any significant results, so patience and dilligence is key in every skin care regime.

If you have the rare, more -comfortable -with-his-feminine-side type of man in your life, you can also suggest the new Facial Fuel Healthy Bronze facial bronzer, which has moisturizers and a small amount of self-tanner. I suggested it to John and he laughed in my face (kind of the same response he gave me when I offered to give him a spray tan) Oh, well. Sometimes you've got to start slow.

Where to buy Kiehl's- Neiman Marcus, Kiehl's stores, http://www.kiehls.com/

Fashion Friday! Meli' Melo'- Hot London Bag Designer

I was looking online at a friend from London's Facebook page, and I saw a picture of the Meli' Melo' Guia bag, and I instantly fell in love. We don't know a lot about Meli' Melo' here in the States, but these handbag designs by Italian-Brit Melissa Del Bono are hot on the streets of London with the young and fashionable. The Meli' Melo Bon-Bon bag was a UK craze that started in 2007, with British starlets and actresses like Sienna Miller owning a bag. The Bon-Bon is still hot today, with British stylistas now sporting the fringed-suede monogrammed version this Fall and Winter (see pic). Unfortunately, Meli'-Melo' bags are hard to find stateside and are only available online through the Meli' Melo' website , My Wardrobe.Com. or Ly.St.Com . These stylish bags are not cheap, running around $200-$500 in U.S. dollars (depending how lucky you are in your internet search!). I also found a smaller version of the Guia and Bon-Bon bags available through Harrod's online . Yes, the Baby Guia and Bon-Bon bags are designed with little girls in mind (can you imagine?) but they are less than half the price of the originals and are half the size, which makes them the perfect size for a night out. The purple Baby Guia is adorable, and is currently on my wish list for Spring.  If the original Bon-Bon bag is more your style, the original and fringed-suede versions are available at http://www.ly.st.com./ (The fringed-suede Bon-Bon bags are currently sold out on this site, but should be available again soon).

Keep your eyes out for Meli' Melo' bags. I am guessing they will be making their way to the fashionable streets of the U.S. any day now. I certainly hope so. When they do, hopefully I will be able to find a cheaper Guia or Bon-Bon bag on Ebay...Well, a girl can dream!

Happy Fashion Friday!

Why are those yellow and purple beads floating in my bodywash? Softsoap Nutri Serums

A couple of years ago, my friend Jamie from work and I participated in a body wash study for fun.  The study was taking place really close to our office, and we were going to get paid to use bodywash, which we would do anyways.

Everyone who participated in the study received a clear bottle inside a paper bag to keep the body wash appearance secret. There were no labels, no descriptions on the bodywash, nothing to give away the true identity of the bodywash. Of course, Jamie and I compared our bottles after we left the study offices. Jamie's bottle had a clear bodywash inside of it, and my bodywash was also clear, but unlike Jamie's, mine had strange little yellow and purple beads floating inside of it. We figured that everyone participating in the study was given a different type of  bodywash, and that the one with the best reviews was the one that would soon show up in our neighborhood Wal-Mart next to the Caress body bars and Irish Spring.

Well, Jamie and I used our bodywashes for a week as instructed, and then came back to the study offices to complete a written review on what we thought. In my review, I suggested that the bodywash be more moisturizing, but that it had a nice scent. I also mentioned that I wasn't crazy about the yellow and purple beads. Sometimes, you had to smash the beads in your fingers to get them to realease the serum inside. I had used similiar products before with serum "beads" in them that ended up never breaking down and making a mess in the bathtub. To me, the beads appeared like more of a novelty than a necessity. After I finished my review, I made a special note to myself to keep my eye out for a new space-age looking body wash with yellow and purple beads in it, just in case the bodywash I tested was the one that was selected.

A year or so ago, I was in the soap aisle of my neighborhood grocery store when I stopped dead in my tracks. There, next to the Dove and Ivory soap was that crazy bodywash I had reviewed a year earlier, only now I could see what the brand really was. Well, hello SoftSoap Nutri Serums! I chuckled a little to myself, but I didn't buy it. I hadn't been that impressed with it during the study. At least not enough to spend $4 a bottle to buy it.

Finally, last week I broke down and decided that I would try the bodywash out again, just for fun. Well, I am not going to give myself too much credit and say that with the possible hundreds of people across the country that may have participated in the study that they listened to my opinion, but now the formula is amazingly moisturizing and luxurious! Much more so than before. The purple and yellow beads are still there, but they break down really well now, and I have not found any lingering in my bath tub. The best thing is, my skin is so soft! When used with a body brush like my Pink Back Brush from Bath and Body Works (on sale right now for $5,and it is great), your skin feels like a baby's. The serums used in the body wash contain Vitamin E and Omega 3 and 6, which are incredibly moisturizing to the skin and also help repair past damage as well. I also still enjoy the scent, which to me has a sweet fruity-cranberry-clean smell, kind of like something they would sell at Bath and Body Works at Christmas time. SoftSoap also calls the beads "pearls" on the label, which makes me laugh.

Bottom Line- I don't think the packaging does this product justice, also the fact that it is from a brand that is known for the inexpensive hand wash that has the see-through aquarium in it doesn't help either. This product is great, and is well worth the money. It feels like a luxury bodywash! Almost like you took a expensive, high-end facial serum and covered your body with it.  Plus, it is only around $4 a bottle. I love this body wash! I am hooked. I even like the purple and yellow floating serum "pearls". Good job SoftSoap!

Eye Shadow 101- Baby, where'd you get those eyes?

I'll admit it. Doing your eye make up can be tricky. I am still deathly afraid of liquid eyeliner (eek!). But, there are some products out there that can make things a little easier.

For eyeliner, brown eyeliner pencil is always a good option. If you have darker features or are going out on the town, black eyeliner pencil is great as well. When I was younger, I didn't even use eyeliner. I pressed the wand of my mascara along the base of my lower lashes for a more natural eyeliner effect. If you are ready for a step up from brown and black eyeliner, I love, love, love Almay's line of Intense I Color eyeliner pencil collection. I have brown eyes, and I adore the Purple Amethyst pencil. It really makes my eyes pop, and it is sharpened automatically, so you don't need a pencil sharpener.  Also, you don't need to know ahead of time what color looks good with your eyes, Almay will list the matching eye color on the product packaging. One of my roommates in college (Hook 'em!) always used Clinique Quickliner For Eyes in True Khaki on her hazel eyes, and it made her eyes look amazing.

For eyeshadow, I am not as crazy about the Almay Intense I- Color eyeshadow line. In my opinion, the colors they choose can wash your eyes out rather than intensify them. A better option for step-by-step, color selected, no hassle eyeshadow sets is the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips collections. They come with 3 blendable eye shadow combos (lid, crease and browbone) that you can also mix and match. I have the original collection set for brown eyes that come with great purples, browns and a golden color. I have my Shimmer Strips in my purse for quick touch ups, since it includes just about every color I wear on my eyes, and it is all in one package. The gold eyeshadow color is also great to put right on the center of your lid, so that your eyes catch the light when you blink. This trick can also be done with every eye color. Try this on your own using a color like MAC Goldmine.

Some complimentary eyeshadow colors:

1. Brown Eyes- Soft purples, such as Sugarplum by Trish McEvoy. Darker skin
can use darker purples such as Marvel by MAC.
2. Green Eyes- Khaki browns, and soft greens such as Clinique Color Surge
Soft Shimmer in Key Lime Pie
3. Hazel Eyes- Rosy browns such as Loreal Infinite Wear for Hazel Eyes
4. Blue Eyes- Rusty browns, such as Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow
Quads in Sunlit Bronze.


For a quick, no brainer, every day eye make-up look, follow the steps below:

1. Cover eye lid area and under eye circles (if needed) with a concealer (or eye base) that matches your skin tone.
2. Use brown eyeliner along upper and lower lash lines
3.Use sparkly or matt beige/light brown/shell eyeshadow on lids.
4. Darker brown (rust for light eyes) eyseshadow on the crease of the eye.
5. Brown or Black/Brown mascara for light eyed, light haired ladies to complete your look. Black mascara for dark haired and dark eyed ladies (those brown eyed blondes with brown eyes who were once brunettes. Ssssh!)

I don't really like the Cover Girl Eyelights mascara collection or the Almay Intense-I collection mascaras. I don't think they bring out the eyes any different than regular mascara. If you want your eyes to sparkle, lightly dust your lashes with shimmer powder over your mascara, or line your eyes with a sparkly eyeliner (I love the Palladio Glitter Eye Pencil. It is cheap and works great!)  Dark haired or dark eyed girls can really make their eyes pop by using mascara in colors like Blackest Black or Carbon, like the volumizing and lengthening Jemma Kid Lash Extension Volume Mascara.

For an evening look, try smokey eyes. They are not as scary as they seem! All you need is to follow the steps above, except trade in the brown eyeliner for black, and the dark brown on the eye crease for a dark brown or smokey gray shadow. Instead of a light fanning of shadow along the crease, fan your eyeshadow out more dramatically to where the corner of the sideways "V" lines up with the end of your eyebrows, and then fan it down diagonally towards the corner of your eye. Top it off with carbon mascara and you are good to go! The Too Faced Smokey Eye Kit has all the colors you need for the basic smokey eye, along with how tos. On extra special nights, try a sparkly dark shadow in your crease such as Trish McEvoy Charcoal Diamond Eye Definer (used as eyeshadow rather than liner. Not for the inexperienced).  Brown eyed girls look great in Deep Amethyst by Trish McEvoy (used as eyeshadow rather than liner. Not for the inexperienced) For a really cool site with step by step instructions and tutorials on smokey eyes, visit http://www.smokeyeyetutorial.net/.

Some people also like to put a dab of off white sparkly eyeshadow in the corner of the inside of their eye as a highlighter, but it has always looked odd on me when I have tried it!  Also, a lot of people use a beige color above the eyeshadow crease to highlight the brow bone, but I don't do this myself. I think using a concealer as a base color is fine. Shimmery pale colors on the brow bone can make people look like a raccoon in my opinion.

Now, if anyone can figure out how to do a straight line with liquid eyeliner, let me know. I don't quite have that down yet!

Don't Smoke! Don't Tan! Don't Drink Too Much! Three Beauty Sins that you should give up...

  1. Don’t Smoke- I know that you can probably guess that the worst of the Beauty Sins is smoking.  DON’T SMOKE.  Just don’t do it. Smoking cannot only kill you, it will 100% most definitely make you look like a prune long before your time. Next time you want to smoke, think about Magda from There’s Something about Mary (see pic above). If you don’t stop smoking, that is what you will look like.

 2.  .Don’t Tan- My parents always warned me that I would regret my tanning days, and I really do. I know tanning is especially hard to give up if you are a twenty year old bronzed babe and you think that you won’t care when you are 30 if you start to look like a leather bag (trust me, you will). You may even say to yourself what I once said to myself, “By the time I am old enough to get wrinkles and sunspots there will be a cure for them or I will be married with kids and my family won’t care”.  Face the facts, your skin is plump, clear and even now, but by the time you are in your thirties you will probably start to see some lines and discoloration, and the more you tan now, the more damage you will see. See picture above for your future if you don’t stop tanning now.  Start learning about self-tanning and start using sunscreen, and if you have any suspicious moles on your body, SEE YOUR DERMOTOLOGIST.  Nothing looks hotter with a tan than a big scar across your stomach from where your skin cancer was removed. Don’t believe me? According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 40-50 percent of most people that live to be 65 will have skin cancer at least once.

3.   Don’t Drink Too Much- I know most of you will say, “Drinking isn’t bad for my skin”. Have you ever looked at yourself after a night of drinking too much? Not only is your make-up running down your face, but your face is also sagging and you have lost a large amount of your skin's natural hydration and Vitamin A, which is your skin’s first line of defense against aging. You do not look hot, no matter what you think at the time. Don’t believe me? Take a close up picture of yourself next time you drink too much.

For those people who are going to do what they want to do anyways (I was one of them for a long, long time), there are some ways to help save your skin:          

1.    Take your vitamins! Take vitamins every day! Read my post titled Take your Vitamins for some more information on which vitamins are good for you and your skin.

2.   Use self-tanner- It is not the 80s when self-tanner turned you the color of an Oompa-Loompa (I know, it happened to me). There are now a lot of great self-tanners to try that will give you believable color and are easy to use. Xen-Tan and Fake Bake are great high-end brands to try, and I love the Neutrogena MicroMist line. It is so easy to spray your back and it is almost impossible to mess up.

3.   Become a moisturizer junkie- Look for moisturizers with Peptides and Vitamin C to help plump up your skin and heal the sun damage that has already occurred. You must use moisturizer every day, morning and night.

4.   Eat a diet of fruits and vegetables and protein- You are already loading your body with damaging free radicals, so do something healthy for it. Many of the vitamins that your skin needs to stay healthy are available naturally in fruits and vegetables.

5.   Use sunscreen everyday- If you tan, at least use a sunscreen.  The closer the SPF is to 30, the better. No more baby oil!

6.   Use a hydrating mask after a night out- Lay in a tub, steam your pores and put on a hydrating mask loaded with Vitamin C, A, Peptides, Collagen, etc. You should also make sure to load up on the fruits and vegetables as well, rather than eating a big cheeseburger or loading up at Taco Bell. Your skin needs it.

7.    Invest in a product with hydroquinone to lighten sun spots-  Your dermatologist can prescribe you a high level of hydroquinone cream, or you can buy a product with a lower level of hydroquinone over the counter. Keep in mind that hydroquinone takes a couple of months to work and you have to use it religiously.  The lower the level of hydroquinone, the longer it is going to take to see results. Ambi Skincare Fade Cream is loved by dermatologists and is under $5 dollars at your local drugstore. You can use it as a spot treatment to help reduce any sun spots you already have and it also has a SPF of 15. Hydroquinone should always be used with sunscreen. If you do not protect your skin with sunscreen, any lightening you do will be reversed as soon as you are in the sun. It took me over 6 months to lighten two sun spots on my face. Both spots came back after only 6 days at the beach in the Caribbean.

Follow these tips and you should help erase some of the damage you have already done  to your skin.  Cut back or erase some of the Beauty Sins from your life, and you will stop even more future damage. I have actually managed to turn back some of the (big) damage I did to my skin in my twenties from tanning, drinking and smoking (eek!) So, it is never too late. Well, maybe it is for Magda.

               

          

Cinnamon and B2- Two Fat-Fighting Supplements

I am a big fan of vitamins, and I don't think they ever get enough attention, especially with all the ways they can help your body and skin that many of us don't even know about!

I recently learned about Cinnamon and Vitamin B2, two big fat fighters.

Here is how they work:

Cinnamon- Helps lower blood sugar levels and helps control cholesterol. This is especially helpful for those suffering from Type 2 Diabetes.

Vitamin B2- Helps your body metabolize carbohydrates and fats. (It is also known to help with migraine headaches)

Most Cinnamon supplements advise you to take the supplements prior to meals. Dosage varies by product, but I located a great formula by Good n' Natural that also contains Chromium Piccolinate, another fat metabolizer. With this formula, you also only have to take one tablet per day. It is available at Amazon for $17.99 online. Good N Natural Cinnamon with Chromium Piccolinate, 1000 MG.

For Vitamin B2, Good N Natural also offers a deal on Amazon for $6.99, Good N' Natural Vitamin B2. Females aged 19 years and older should only take 1.1 mg (RDA) maximum per day.

Order the two together  on Amazon (or any vitamin combo over $20), and you get a free bottle of Omega 3- Fish Oil, (see my post on Take your Vitamins!) which is great for your heart and skin.

Xen-Tan Scent Secure- New Self-Tan Scent Blocker!

This product has not even come out yet, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle, and this is a great product that anyone who uses self-tanner and hates the smell has been waiting for!

What it is: Xen-Tan Scent Secure is a moisturizing scent blocker that blocks out the self-tan scent.  You apply it just as you would a regular moisturizer, and according to the label, it can be used one hour after you have applied self- tanner, and anytime after your self- tan has processed.

Why it is great: This product is great because it actually works. Self-tanning products smell because the proteins in your body mix with the DHA in self-tanners to produce the tan color in you skin.  As anyone who has self-tanned knows, the self-tan smell can begin as soon as the "tan"starts to develop in your skin, and can last for days. The good news is Scent Secure can be used with ANY self-tanner, whether it is from Xen-Tan, or the drugstore, and it will help block out the terrible self-tan smell. It is also oil free and has a fresh cucumber scent that is a nice change from the sometimes cloying vanilla scents found in most Xen-Tan products.

Any drawbacks?-  You have to make sure that you have covered every part of your body that has been self-tanned, or that area will retain the self-tan smell. Also, according to the directions on the bottle, you have to wait an hour until you apply if if you are applying it with self-tanner. In my opinion, if you add the Scent Secure while your self-tanner is first processing, it does not work very well. From my experience, it is best to apply Scent Secure after you have finished processing your tan and have bathed or showered. Scent Secure also has to be re-applied every time you bathe or exercise. If you get really, really close, you may still be able to smell a small amount of self-tanner on your skin depending on your body chemistry (my boyfriend could still smell it on my face and neck).  I have gone to work all day wearing Scent Secure the day after self- tanning, and have worn it to bed, and I was very comfortable, and I normally hate the smell of self tanner. Scent Secure really made self-tanning more appealing to me.The price of Scent Secure is also not cheap, it is $32 dollars for a 8 oz bottle.

Bottom Line- Even though this product did not work well on me while the self-tanner I used was processing, it does work great at blocking the stinky self-tan smell after I had tanned and bathed. It also left my skin fresh and moisturized. Scent Secure is also oil free, meaning it won't irritate acne prone skin. I do want to mention that I was only using Light-Medium self-tan products, so those people who are experienced deep tanners may have to use a lot more Scent Secure, and it may not work as well. For daily or light-medium self-tanners looking to minimize the self-tan smell after tanning, it is definitely worth the $32.
Where to buy it-  You can't buy Xen-Tan Scent Secure until sometime in February, but when it is available you can purchase it at Nordstroms, or http://www.xen-tan.com/.

Update 6/28/11- I have found several people searching for this product online to see if it really works, and I want to add that this product works best with lighter DHA formula tanners, such as tanners from the drugstore, like Neutrogena MicroMist, and Loreal' Sublime Bronze, and works less well with Xen-Tan's actual products, since they are higher in DHA. You have to use quite a bit of this product to get it to completely cover the self-tanning smell, and it only works for me after I have waited three hours and bathed, and then applied it to freshly-cleansed skin (it also may need to be re-applied throughout the day). Still, I find this product to be a must-have for self-tanners. Any blocking of the self-tan smell is a blessing to me!

Fashion Friday- Shop it to Me!

I know I normally talk about  beauty products, but I wanted to work in some fashion every Friday, so here goes the start of Fashion Friday!

If you are like me, you are probably registered to recieve daily e-mails from The Rachel Zoe Report, Daily Candy, Hautelook, etc. For the most part, those e-mails are automatically deleted from my inbox unless something in the headline actually catches my eye. There is one daily e-mail I actually read pretty religiously, and it is from Shop it to Me.

Shop it to Me lets you select from designers and retail outlets you are interested in and then sends you daily sales based on the selections you chose. You can add or delete designers at any time.

What I like about the site is the clothes that are sent are actually on sale (and you can actually afford them!), you can get additional deals from being a Shop it to Me customer, and they are actually styles that I like. Even though I am guessing that these sales are run through a server and have nothing to do with me personally, the clothing and accessories are so cute, that I feel like they were chosen just for me!

From this week's selection for Shop it to Me, I have my eye on these Michael Kors Collete Clogs from Nordstrom, and  Peep Toe Oxfords from Nordstrom.  (Picture above is of the Michael Kors Collete Clog)

To sign up for free for Shop it to Me, go to http://www.shopittome.com/.

Happy Fashion Friday!

You may have Rosacea and not even know it... Rosacea and Reactive Redness

According to PRNewswire -- More than 16 million Americans are estimated to be affected by rosacea, but most of them don't even know it.

What is Rosacea? According to The International Rosacea Society:

The symptoms of rosacea include facial redness and flushing, inflammatory papules and pustules which can occur and persist for weeks.

I remember when I was in Junior High, a boy I knew had Rosacea. His cheeks were always red and flushed and I thought it was cute. My roomate in college also had it, and again, I thought it was cute. She was always able to cover up the redness with make-up if she needed to, and it reminded me of permanent blush. I never once thought that I could have Rosacea myself. I never had the flushed cheeks...I just had redness on my face that never went away, and every time I had a pimple it left a red mark behind that would last for months, if not years. Finally, in my 30s I went to my dermatologist for a check up, and for the first time since I was in Junior High, they actually took a look at my facial skin. When the doctor was finished examining it she said to me "It looks like you have Reactive Redness, a mild form of Rosacea." What??? So, was this the reason my skin never healed quickly and was always red when it was touched? It didn't seem like Rosacea to me, at least the Rosacea I was familiar with. Well, I went home and did some research online, and lo and behold, having red skin that never goes away, broken capillaries on my face, and itching is not normal (as I thought) and is, as my dermatologist mentioned, Reactive Redness.

When I arrived home, I looked up some of the ingredients that can irritate Rosacea or Reactive Redness prone skin. Guess what two ingredients shocked me the most? Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid. Benzoyl Peroxide? The cream that every teen with acne buys at the drugstore? Salicylic Acid? The ingredient that seems to be in every acne wash for adults and teens and is in several of my products at home? Yup. All the products that I thought were supposed to help my acne may actually have been hurting my skin and could be the cause of my irritated, acne prone skin in the first place.

Wow. Well, I threw out every single product I had that contained Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide (and there was a lot!).  Instead, I looked online for facial products that contain Sulfur. Sulfur is one of the only ingredients that soothes Rosacea/Reactive Redness and is good for acne as well. There are several sulfur face bars available on Ebay that are very inexpensive (look for those without Salicylic Acid), for a liquid cleanser face wash you can try Rodan and Fields Umblemished,  Rossette Hello Kitty Acne Wash (sounds silly, but this is a great product with Licorice and Sulfur. It also smells great!) as well as prescription only products available from your dermatologist that include Sodium Sulfacetimide and Sulfur. I have used only Sulfur products since that day and I have found my skin to be better than ever. I hardly ever break out now, and my skin is calmer and has less redness than it ever has before.

If you are one of the lucky types that does not get acne and think you may have Reactive Redness or Rosacea, you may also want to check out the milder Eucerin line of Redness Relief products as well, or use them in conjunction with a sulfur wash if you have combination skin. If you wear make-up, Clinique Redness Relief also offers several products for Rosacea/Reactive redness, including a redness relieving powder. A cheaper alternitive to the Clinique products is Physician's Formula Mineral Wear, which is available at almost every drugstore. I am a huge fan myself of Everyday Minerals, a make up company based out of Austin, TX, (Hook 'em!) None of Everyday Minerals products contain Bismuth Oxychloride and Sodium Laureth Sulfate,  ingredients present in the popular Bare Minerals line and many other mineral make-up lines, and an ingredient that can cause cystic acne and irritate the skin. Everyday Minerals is an inexpensive, high-quality make-up and skin care company that I have been very happy with.

If you think you may have Rosacea or Reactive Redness, check with your dermatologist and visit The International Rosacea Society online for additional information on Rosacea. Also, as always, check, check, check the ingredients of any products you put on your face and body and research and become familiar with the ingredients to avoid that pertain to your type of skin.

Believe the hype! Clarisonic MIA Face Brush

This Christmas, I was lucky enough to receive the Clarisonic MIA. The MIA is a portable, less expensive, less complicated version of the traditional Clarisonic. My Stepmother bought me my MIA, (and she knows me pretty well) so I was lucky enough to receive the breast cancer version in pink! I had heard a lot about the Clarisonic face brush and I have wanted one for over year.  Despite all the hype, I had realistic hopes. Seriously, what is a face brush really going to do? It is not going to change the world! But, I had heard that it makes your skin feel great and look great as well, so I was excited to try it out and see if it works.

A small bummer about the Clarisonic MIA is that you have to charge it on the charger for 24 hours before you can use it. After that, the brush is ready to go. I have the brush in the sensitive version, so it comes with the white head. The normal brush head is gray. What I love about the MIA is it comes with all it needs and there are not a lot of additional parts to keep up with. The original Clarisonic comes with additional heads; including a body brush, and alternating speeds for the brush head. Honestly, I like my MIA because it doesn't have all that stuff. It has the brush head, charger and a sample cleanser. That is all I need. I would just lose the additional parts anyways.

Well, the brush feels great on your skin...it is actually invigorating! You use the brush for a minute total by brushing over each area of your face, and it shuts of automatically when it is finished.  The MIA pamphlet gives you time suggestions for each area, but I use it where I feel my face needs the most attention. You can use the cleanser the MIA comes with, or any cleanser that you have available. I love to use the MIA in the morning, especially when I am tired. It helps wake me up and it feels amazing. A few days after I started using it, my boyfriend told me my skin had never been so soft. I also noticed that my make up and moisturizer went on easier, my skin was also smoother and clearer and it felt amazingly healthy. I even noticed a small reduction in the red discoloration and sun damage on my cheeks. I had read additional reviews on the Clarisonic on the web that mention that some people break-out at first due to the removal of dead skin, but that did not happen to me. I did have two extra pimples appear that week, but it was also the week before my "friend" came to visit.  It was also only two pimples, so I can't be sure what they were caused by.  At any rate, it was not enough to alarm me.

Bottom Line- This is not a miracle product. It won't eliminate your wrinkles or acne, but it can help. It will help your skin absorb your moisturizer and serums better, your make up will go on smoother, your skin will be softer, and it will make your skin glow. It also feels great and is easy to use. That is enough for me! I love my Clarisonic MIA. I am hooked.

Update 6/13/11- I see a lot of viewers stop by my post looking to see if you need to charge the battery for 24 hours. The answer is yes. You can probably get away with not charging the MIA for the full 24 hours, but for the life and care of your battery, it is always best to fully charge any and every battery operated device before use.

Take Your Vitamins!

Vitamins are not just important for keeping you healthy on the inside, they are also a part of  you looking healthy on the outside. After suffering a bout of cystic acne in my 30s, I am a believer that vitamins can help a lot in making sure your skin looks it's best! I take Zinc for Acne by Good n' Natural every day and my skin has been clear for years now, and I used to break out all the time. I never skip a day!

Some important vitamins for you to consider adding to your day are the following:

1. Fish Oil- Keeps skin soft and supple, and it is good for the heart! I love Fish Oil. It makes my skin incredibly soft.
2. Zinc- If you have acne, zinc is especially important. A great brand to try is Zinc for Acne by Good N' Natural. It includes Vitamins C,D, and E in it already, so you get a great boost from two daily tablets! Make sure you read the warnings on the label though, Zinc can be toxic if you take too much.
3. C- Helps fight past sun damage.
4. A- Also helps with Acne and wrinkles.
5. E- Plumps skin, fights photodamage and wrinkles.
6. K- Can help with dark circles.

This is just a sample of vitamins that I use personally. Do some research online to find additional vitamins to help you with whatever issue you are most concerned with. I am a big believer in vitamins. If you are spending a ton of money on face creams, try adding vitamins to your beauty routine. You will be surprised how much they can help.

As a side note, if you are suffering from acne, a great website to visit is Acne.org. It has tons of information about acne products, both prescription and natural, and tons of reviews. I cleared up my acne by following a crazy-sounding vitamin supplement program on this site, and it worked! This site has nothing to sell either, so you can trust that the reviews are honest.