Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes

• 3-in-1 wipes: remove makeup, cleanse, and nourish the skin
• Designed for sensitive skin
• Dermatologically and opthalmologically tested
• Oil-free, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic
• Alcohol-free
• Biodegradable and natural cloth
• Enriched organic cucumber, aloe vera, dead sea minerals, and green tea

How to go from zero to clean in just a few seconds:

Lift the lid and remove towelette. Gently wipe face and neck to cleanse and rid skin of impurities and makeup. Don’t even think about rinsing… no need! You’re clean. You’re nourished.

I’ve been testing these Yes to Cucumber facial towelettes for a few days now, and I’m happy (and quite surprised) to report back that they did not irritate my sensitive skin! The cloth is soft, yet effective, and did a good job of removing my makeup. (I imagine that thick sunscreen may still need an oil cleanse) I don’t use waterproof mascara, so I can’t attest to it’s abilities in that department. My skin looked clean and even, with the exception of a few hormonal blemishes. (It’s that time of the month) I did not rinse, as directed, and while this worried me, my skin felt soothed so I went to bed. I woke up and my skin looked nice. No sticky residue, no irritation, no dryness, it’s a miracle!

While I still love a good oil cleanse, especially when wearing high spf sunscreen or a full face of evening makeup. I’m not opposed to using these on light makeup days, at the gym, or when traveling. They convinced me to say Yes to Cucumbers!

Yes to Cucumbers facial towelettes are available for sale at Target and Walgreens stores. For a limited time you can purchase these wipes Buy One Get One Free on YestoCarrots.com

Urban Decay Lip Love – Honey Infused Lip Therapy

Our honey-infused lip therapy feels cushiony, shines like crazy and moisturizes lips with essential fatty acids, moisturizers and antioxidants. With it’s hint of tint and luscious honey scent, you’ll want to keep one in your bag, one at your desk, and one at your lov-ah’s.

The tip is soft and angled, and applies the gloss nicely. I prefer squeeze tubes over lip glosses with wands. They are much more sanitary.

Drizzle, Failbait, Taunt, Lolita, Stung

The gloss itself feels very moisturizing and smooth. Thick like a balm, but not sticky at all. They do smell and taste like honey, and the scent is initially strong, but fades. These are pretty sheer and they have an incredibly high-shine finish. I get why these are marketed as a lip therapy, they make my lips feel smooth and healthy. I keep mine in my handbag and notice myself reapplying every few hours.

Drizzle, Failbait, Taunt, Lolita, Stung

Of course I’m drawn to peach shades, so Failbait has been my therapy of choice. What colors are you feeling the most? Urban Decay Lip Love Honey-Infused Lip Therapy is available for purchase on UrbanDecay.com for $16 each.

The JLo Glow never goes out of style. Every summer, girls around the world try to achieve the bronzed glow. I get asked for “Jennifer Lopez” recommendations all the time. Here are my most recent finds…

glominerals gloBronze in Sunlight and gloDust 24K in Gold

glominerals gloBronze is a bronzer for face and body. gloBronze in Sunlight is a bronze color with just the right amount of shimmer. The shimmer is finely milled so it shows up as a glow, rather than glitter. Lightly dust the face with a large fluffy powder brush. Concentrate on areas where the sun normally hits the face: the forehead, cheekbones, down the nose, and

even the shoulders.

glominerals gloDust 24K in Gold

gloDust 24K highlight in Gold is a finely milled gold shimmer powder. Highlight the high cheekbones, the inner corners of the eyes, down the nose, and decolletage. gloDust provides just the right amount of highlight without looking like a glitter bomb.

I’ve been using glominerals makeup for a couple of months now. I mentioned glominerals glopressed base in my May Beauty Faves and I finally found the perfect color match for me: Honey Light. I love how quick and easy it is to use. It’s pressed so it doesn’t make a huge mess like loose mineral makeup can. I use a flocked sponge or a kabuki brush and the coverage is impressive, while still looking like natural skin. All it needs is a spritz of rosewater to set. I’m loving the effect and I can’t wait to try more from this cosmetics line.

gloprofessional.com

LUSH – Playdoze bubble bar

Playdoze lures children into the bath with delightful colors and bubbles, only to get them clean and ready to sleep. Fluorescent colors have a magical way of drawing children near; so we made Playdoze as bright as can be. It makes for a glowing, bubbling bath so tantalizing that they’ll be playing about with bubbles before they even remember they hate baths! They’ll emerge ready for sleep due to our carefully concocted combination of soothing essential oils. Ha ha, we’ve tricked them again.

The bubble bar looks just like playdoh. It breaks in half easily and crumbles softly. The above photo shows my daughter’s bath using only half of a Playdoze bubble bar. The color is intense. The bubbles are plentiful. The scent is calming. My daughter smelled divine as I tucked her into bed. Moms will love this, for their kids and for themselves. Mommy duties all day and night deserves some pampering.

I’m saving the other half for myself

Playdoze bubble bar is a retro LUSH product and is available online for $5.95

LUSH

We all love eos lip balms. They look cute on our night stands. We get inquiries when we pull them out of our handbags. NOW for Spring/Summer ‘11 there is a limited edition twin pack available that features NEW passion fruit and strawberry sorbet flavors.My daughter loves the purple passion fruit, while I prefer the strawberry sorbet.

“It’s a ring… with an egg.” -Selenas

Well it’s not a ring, and they call them spheres, but the shape is definitely egg-y.

Bottom line: If you like sweeter, fruity scents then this duo is for you.

I haven’t seen this twin pack in stores yet, but I did see it on Target.com

eos fans.. Get em while you can!

Clean, Fresh, Invigorating, Sexy

These four words perfectly describe the new DIRTY unisex grooming range from LUSH. Dirty is targeted to people who care about their appearance but can’t be bothered with too much paraphernalia in the mornings. They are pretty active in their lives and want something to keep them smelling good throughout the day.

Dirty takes the common idea of ‘layering‘ with beauty products a little bit further. Dirty as a complete fragrance was broken down to its individual components, each of which is a beautiful fragrance in its entirety. Each of these fragrances was then used in a different product in the Dirty range.
When you use the individual products, you will be ‘layering‘ the fragrance notes up to the combined scent of Dirty. Top it off with the body spray and you will be smelling fresh all day long.

• Dirty Spring Wash Shower Gel – Don’t be a dirty rotten scoundrel. Recreate your very own mountain spring and wash with this tingly, softening, minty shower gel for the body and hair.
• Dirty Shaving Cream – Shave it all of using our ultra-softening oats and benzoin shaving cream. There’s also lavender and honey in there to soothe any irritations.

• Dirty Body Spray – If you don’t have the time for a full-on Dirty routine in the morning, take a quickie instead and spritz yourself liberally with this body spray before you head out the door.

The shower gel smells like straight up spearmint gum. It is very invigorating. The shaving cream has a lavender scent and my legs felt soft and smooth afterward. I think it may leave a bit of a residue though. This line may be targeted at men, but ladies who are fans of scents that lean on the masculine side will love the body spray. (Angelina Jolie is known to wear mens cologne) If you aren’t a fan of unisex scents on yourself, then you’re going to love this on your man. It’s incredibly sexy. I still can’t decide if I like the scent more on myself or my hubby! The spray bottle gives off an incredible burst of mist. Once is enough to get the whole body. I heard it feels ultra-refreshing on bare feet on hot days!

Look for these DIRTY products in LUSH stores at the end of this month.  A hair styling product and toothy tabs will also be available in the range.

Sonia Kashuk Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15

This lightweight tinted moisturizer, housed in a sleek, convenient tube, delivers UVA and UVB protection while subtly enhancing skin’s natural glow.

The hydrating formula is infused with a vitamin complex to help stimulate collagen production, for younger-looking skin.

Light reflecting pigments balance skin tone while blurring the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for a naturally radiant complexion. There are four colors available: Fair, Linen, Beige, and Tan.

Shown here in Linen and Beige, if you look closely you can see the light reflecting pigments.

L-R: Linen and Beige

I recommend Linen for NC25-NC30 skintones and Beige for NC35-NC40 skintones.

Blended in… See the radiance?

This tinted moisturizer did a really good job of evening out my skin. My complexion looked glowy, but NOT greasy. No powder was needed! This tinted moisturizer has decent coverage, but concealer may be needed for spots.

Sonia Kashuk Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 is available at Target for $12.99

“I love Vita Coco! It’s real coconut water from handpicked coconuts. It’s delicious and so good for you”

Coconut water drinkers…

Tell the truth. Is coconut water really delicious? I could have sworn I picked up this exact brand from Asian Market and it smelled rotten, so much that I didn’t even bother tasting it. I’m an islander myself, and I LOVE coconut… did I get a bad batch? Those of you who DO drink coconut water, which brands have you found to be the best as far as taste goes? Or is it just one of those tastes that you need to get used to? I want to be healthy and hydrated too.. HELP!

Have you ever had a favorite product be reformulated, only to have it no longer work for you?

It’s difficult for me to find products that work with my sensitive skin, so it really irritates me when companies change the formulas on my favorite products. Case in point, the above Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion with Spf55 for Face and Body that I raved about in my “Dont Be a Magda” post from March 2009. It dried with a matte finish and made an incredible makeup primer for oily skin. The new Spf60 version has an added chemical filter and a greasier finish. Why fix what isn’t broken?

Oil of Olay broke my heart, and broke OUT my skin last year when they reformulated their classic Olay Complete spf 15 to contain avobenzone rather than zinc oxide.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one displeased, because they recently re-released the zinc oxide version now called the classic/gentle formula.

Have you had this happen to YOU? What was the product?

Did you contact the company and complain?

You don’t need fancy scrubs to get rid of dry, flaky skin. You may even have everything you need for soft, smooth skin right in your kitchen cabinet.

• Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda into your palm with your regular gentle face cleanser for some extra exfoliation. Rinse off thoroughly to reveal a smooth and bright complexion. (Once a week should be enough, Don’t over do it)

• Make a paste out of a handful of baking soda and water to scrub your body. This works great for the feet when you can’t get in for a pedicure.

• Add a cup of baking soda to your bath water for super soft skin. I noticed sodium bicarbonate is a main ingredient in many of LUSH’s bath products. It doesn’t quite compare to the experience of a LUSH bath, but it’s a nice alternative for when you don’t have a LUSH bath bomb laying around.

• Sprinkle some baking soda into your palm along with your shampoo. This is especially good for people with dandruff problems. Massage away the itchy, flaky skin and your scalp with feel clean, and hair clarified.

What are some of YOUR favorite DIY beauty tips using household products?