Skin Care

Three Beauty Resolutions from Bath & Body Works.

Bath & Body Works brings you resolutions you can stick to for the New Year, with five essential beauty promises and the products to make them come true. From getting skin into shape to updating your beauty closet, Bath & Body Works helps you revitalize your beauty routine for 2009.
Beautify your year with five [...]

Bath & Body Works brings you resolutions you can stick to for the New Year, with five essential beauty promises and the products to make them come true. From getting skin into shape to updating your beauty closet, Bath & Body Works helps you revitalize your beauty routine for 2009.

Beautify your year with five easy resolutions:

1. Trade in last year’s fragrance for an enticing new scent from Signature Collection.

Vanilla Noir from the Bath & Body Works Signature Collection

Warm up skin as the weather cools down with this rich, lush fragrance. Madagascar Vanilla is transformed into pure glamour with this tantalizing fine fragrance blend of dark vanilla bean, black plum, bergamot orange and warm, seductive musk.

2. Make a promise to pamper yourself all year long with the caressing indulgence of Shea Cashmere.

Shea Cashmere from True Blue Spa

Luxe African Shea Butter and silky Mongolian Cashmere Extract deeply hydrate and nourish skin for a smooth, creamy finish. The rich moisturizers leave hands and feet pampered all winter long.

3. Make an appointment with your skin—no doctor’s visit necessary.

3-in-1 Treatments from Patricia Wexler M.D. Dermatology

Streamline your beauty routine this New Year’s with multi-tasking anti-aging formulas from Patricia Wexler M.D. Dermatology. Intensive 3-in-1 Eye Cream reduces signs of line and wrinkles, makes skin feel tightened and firmed, and moisturizes the delicate skin around the eyes. Intensive 3-in-1 Day Cream SPF 30 lifts and firms skin while preventing future damage and providing SPF protection.

All products are available at Bath & Body Works stores as well as online, of course.

The Clarisonic Skin Care Brush.

For those of you that guessed, you were right. My favorite beauty goodie of 2008 is definitely the Clarisonic.

I have only been using this high tech gadget for about two months now - if even that. It has made such a difference in the way that my skin looks and feels, though, that is definitely [...]

For those of you that guessed, you were right. My favorite beauty goodie of 2008 is definitely the Clarisonic.

I have only been using this high tech gadget for about two months now - if even that. It has made such a difference in the way that my skin looks and feels, though, that is definitely my favorite.

I use the Clarisonic twice a day. In the shower in the morning: I apply a pea sized dot of Philosophy’s Purity Cleanser in the center of the brush and start the brush up. I use it for one minute on my face and then another minute on my neck and chest. At night, after I remove my eye makeup, I use another dot of cleanser, usually Purity, but if I feel I am needing extra moisture, I might use a more creamy cleanser. I use the brush over my face for just a minute again, but skip the neck and chest as it is too messy to do that out of the shower.

Now, it could just be me, but I swear that my skin serums and moisturizers work much better too. My skin is obviously cleaner than by just washing, and I think this lets my products get right onto the skin - not the particles of dirt and oils that might be left behind without such a thorough cleansing.

Clarisonic is a more expensive product and the brush heads do need changing every 3 - 4 months at $25 a pop. But trust me. If you make the investment for the original $195, you will not be disappointed.

The Miracle of La Mer.

Remembering what La Mer Crème de la Mer was formulated for originally, I put it to the test when I got a pretty nasty burn trying to curl my daughters hair with a flat iron. My finger felt the heat and a blister appeared within the hour.
I went to my medicine cabinet to find something [...]

Remembering what La Mer Crème de la Mer was formulated for originally, I put it to the test when I got a pretty nasty burn trying to curl my daughters hair with a flat iron. My finger felt the heat and a blister appeared within the hour.

I went to my medicine cabinet to find something to help ease the pain and could not find what I was looking for. In fact, I really thought that I needed to search for something beyond my standard generic burn ointment, so onto google I went. As I was about to type in burn cream, I noticed my sample of Crème de la Mer sitting on my desk. I opened the jar and applied.

My burn was almost immediately soothed, the redness started to fade to pink and the swelling went down. Really - like right before my eyes. The next morning, my burn was barely visible. Two days out now, I can not see it, only feel a very tiny dryness, like a scab just fell off, but one never even formed.

Now, I am not telling you what this will and will not do to your face. I have not tested it enough on my face to see if I get a miracle happening around my fine lines and wrinkles. But this cream obviously contains some pretty miraculous properties to treat a burn like this, in such a fast and furious way. I also heed you not to take this as medical advice, only as a cream that worked a pretty thought provoking remedy on me.

I did remember that Crème de la Mer was originally formulated to heal scars, so I decided to check out the story again:

"Crème de la Mer was conceived under extraordinary circumstances. Years ago, Dr. Max Huber, an aerospace physicist, suffered a horrific accident — a routine experiment exploded in his face — covering him with severe chemical burns. Neither science nor medicine offered sufficient promise of help, so Huber decided to help himself. Twelve years and 6,000 experiments later, he perfected the Crème that would help give skin a dramatically smoother appearance."

Now, it worked for Dr. Huber, and it worked on my burn. Just saying, folks. There is something to this cream. I plan to really give my Crème de la Mer sample a thorough test out and will promise to report back how I feel it works on my face.

PerriconeMD Firming Neck Therapy.

What one area of your body do you neglect most often? I know it is not your face. Probably not your body. You care for your hands and feet. Hmmm, but what about your neck? It needs attention. Different attention from that of your body, especially different from your face as well. Leave it [...]

What one area of your body do you neglect most often? I know it is not your face. Probably not your body. You care for your hands and feet. Hmmm, but what about your neck? It needs attention. Different attention from that of your body, especially different from your face as well. Leave it to Dr. Perricone to come up with a targeted cream just for the neck. This is PerriconeMD Firming Neck Therapy.

So, if you want smoother, more firm neck skin, that appears more toned and refined, this is what you need. And, really, who doesn’t want their neck to look as polished as the face?

The neck skin is delicate so helping to improve skin firmness and elasticity by reducing the appearance of lines, wrinkles and neck skin creases can be difficult. Firming Neck Therapy contains anti-glycating qualities to help reverse the signs of premature wrinkles that develop as a result of excess sugar compounds that bind to protein fibers causing them to become dry, brittle and less tensile - often found in the skin of the neck. This unique formulation contains a combination of highly advanced and potent sciences rarely found in anti-aging products to address all these neck area concerns where the signs of age first appear and with time become more difficult to correct and reverse.
By using Firming Neck Therapy over time, you neck will be more toned and tight. A little bit of this thick but non-greasy cream melts into skin making it immediately more hydrated and firm looking.

The full 1.7 oz. size of this cream carries a $95 price tag, but your best best to try out this beauty wonder would be in this quarters BeautyFix. Remember I told you about the BeautyFix progam? Well, a large sample size (that lasts a good 6 - 8 weeks) is included in the beautiful train case (along with 8 other products in the fix!!!), and it is a great way to try this cream to see just how great it works. Then you won’t feel so bad splurging on the full size.

Lancome Holiday Beauty Box.

At Macy’s, when you spend $36 on Lancôme, for an additional $49.50, you can get this amazing Lancôme Holiday Beauty Box.

Take a look at what is inside this Lancôme signature train case (with Eiffel Tower zipper pulls).

DÉFINICILS High Definition Mascara [Full-Size]in Black
CILS BOOSTER XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base
MAQUICOMPLET Complete Coverage Concealer in Correcteur
TWO LE ROUGE ABSOLU [...]

At Macy’s, when you spend $36 on Lancôme, for an additional $49.50, you can get this amazing Lancôme Holiday Beauty Box.

Take a look at what is inside this Lancôme signature train case (with Eiffel Tower zipper pulls).

• DÉFINICILS High Definition Mascara [Full-Size]in Black
• CILS BOOSTER XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base
• MAQUICOMPLET Complete Coverage Concealer in Correcteur
• TWO LE ROUGE ABSOLU Reshaping & Replenishing LipColours [Full-Size]in Coquette and Luxe
• COLOR DESIGN Sensational Effects Lipcolor [Full-Size] in Groupie
• COLOR FEVER SHINE Sensual Sheer Color vibrant Lip Shine [Full-Size] in Provacative
• TWO JUICY TUBES SMOOTHIE Lip Glosses in Hallucination and Coral Rush
• COLOR DESIGN Sensational Effects 7 Eye Shadow Compact in Drape, Mochaccino, Statuesque, Honeymoon, Pose, Lezard and Gaze
• BLUSH SUBTIL and BLUSH SUBTIL SHIMMER Powder Blush Duo in Bronze Glow and Shimmer Mocha Havana
• BI-FACIL Eye Makeup Remover [Full-Size]
• 3-PIECE BRUSH SET

Now, this was available at Lancôme.com, but it has sold out already, so you need to look for it in person, and fast.

Top 5 Winter Skin Tips from Skin Care Expert Renee Rouleau.

Here are some winter skin tips from Renée Rouleau, a trusted skin-care expert whose products and facial treatments have been helping both women & men attain healthy, glowing, beautiful skin for more than 20 years.

Renée Rouleau’s Top 5 Winter Skin Tips
Instead of over-moisturizing, increase your exfoliation.
When the heat is on in the house and the [...]

Here are some winter skin tips from Renée Rouleau, a trusted skin-care expert whose products and facial treatments have been helping both women & men attain healthy, glowing, beautiful skin for more than 20 years.

Renée Rouleau’s Top 5 Winter Skin Tips

Instead of over-moisturizing, increase your exfoliation.
When the heat is on in the house and the air is cold outside, your skin will be depleted of its natural moisture, leaving your skin feeling tight and dry. People tend to load on the extra moisturizer to compensate for the dryness. This will not always solve the problem of dry skin. If your skin is dry, tight and flakey, it means that you have dry skin cell build-up on the surface of the skin. So rather than putting on extra cream to re-hydrate dead, dry skin cells (it doesn’t make sense!) try increasing your exfoliation with a gentle facial scrub to remove the dry skin cells so that when your cream goes on, it hydrates the new cells rather than the dry cells.

Avoid greasy hand creams if you’re prone to breakouts.
You may suffer from a condition we call ‘hand cream acne’ if you sleep with your hands on your face at night! We are more likely to use hand cream during the dry winter months than during the summer which leads us to using heavy hand cream to alleviate the dryness. Most often, this cream is applied right before you go to bed. If you sleep on your side with your hands on your face, the cream may be getting into the skin and clogging the pores. If you find that this may be happening to you, sleep with cotton gloves or change over your hand lotion.

Change up your routine.
Your skin acts differently from summer to winter and the best strategy for healthy, beautiful, problem-free skin is to adjust your home care routine to suit your skin’s needs each season. In winter, the skin produces less oil, so for many skin types, oil must be added back into the skin to maintain its balance. Look for moisturizers containing Safflower Oil, Avocado Oil and Shea Butter. Switch from a gel cleanser to a cream-based cleanser and eye creams are a must in the winter. Spring and summer products will likely expire or reduce their effectiveness for the following year, so it’s a good time to purge your products.

Don’t neglect your neck.
The friction caused from turtle necks and wool fibers can rub on the neck causing it to be dry and irritated. Use a hydrating cream mask on your neck once a week to replenish essential moisture. Make sure to exfoliate in upward motions with a mild facial scrub.

Properly care for your skin at the gym.
After working out at the gym, make sure to wash your face, use an alcohol-free toner and a nourishing moisturizer. At the end of the work out, the salts created from perspiration can have a drying effect on the skin, combined with the cold, dry air outside and the heat in your car. So removing the salts and locking moisture back in the skin will greatly reduce dry skin.

Sleepwear: A Cream from Bioelements.

Bioelements Sleepwear is a heavy duty cream…

Not to be confused with lacy pretty things that you go to bed in, this is an anti-aging cream that you will put on before bed - along with your pretty jammies.

Bioelements Sleepwear is a heavy duty cream made to do what your skin needs it to do, while it is at rest - or sleeping. You know, the skin actually works best at rest, so a targeted cream is essential at night time.

This cream is a rejuvenation cream, meaning that it will not only help to keep the signs of aging away, it will help to reverse these signs. All while sleeping.

“Sleepwear contains a never before-used scientific complex of topical calcium, time-released retinol, cranberry seed oil and protein peptides. This rejuvenating “dream team” works all night long to rebuild firming collagen and elastin, replenish antioxidants, improve moisture retention and strengthen the skin’s protective barrier layer. Plus, it blocks the production of damaging substances called “MMP’s” that cause wrinkles, sags and premature aging.”

Sleepwear sells for $59 at spas and salons, as well as being available online at Spalook.com.

My Glycolic Peel at the Lancome Boutique.

One Winter Saturday morning, well, 11:30 - which was early after a very late night, or early morning in - I arrived at the beautiful Lancome Boutique on the upper west side of Manhattan.

I was there to have a Glycolic Peel, and it was honestly something I was not in the mood for. I was [...]

One Winter Saturday morning, well, 11:30 - which was early after a very late night, or early morning in - I arrived at the beautiful Lancome Boutique on the upper west side of Manhattan.

I was there to have a Glycolic Peel, and it was honestly something I was not in the mood for. I was exhausted and was not ready to have someone poking at my face. But my attitude changed within the first three minutes of my arrival.

I relaxed onto the warm treatment table in the treatment pod, and was covered in a nice warm blanket. The lights were soft and sensory music was played in the background making for the ultimate in relaxing before the treatment even began.

The aesthetician was just as calming as the surroundings. She gently cleansed my skin, toned it, exfoliate it, applied the glycolic treatment, and then treated and moisturized my skin. A constant steam mist was gently going all the time over my face which was amazing. As I felt myself drifting, I told her to wake me if I feel asleep, but I don’t think I did. My arms and hands were also massaged.

I can honestly say that my Lancome treatment was the treat of my crazy four days in the city. I cannot believe that I even hesitated for a moment before arriving.

A combination of Absolue bx products were used in the treatments as well as some standard products of theirs. I know that I am now a lover of the Cleansing Foam and Absolue bx Serum.

There are five Lancome Boutiques around the country:

MANHATTAN
201 Columbus Avenue
(at 69th Street)
New York, NY 10023
212 362 4858

THE MALL AT SHORT HILLS
1200 Morris Turnpike
Short Hills, NJ 07078
973 258 0790

VALLEY FAIR
2855 Stevens Creek Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95050
408 244 8334

NORTHPARK
1030 NorthPark Center
Dallas, TX 75225
214 750 9364

THE BREA MALL
1065 Brea Mall
Brea, CA 92821
714 671 0267

You can call the boutique closest to you for an appointment and list of services.

Thank you so much to Lancome for making my day!

Holiday Specials from Clarisonic.

I just started using this famous skin care brush, the Clarisonic…

I just started using this famous skin care brush, the Clarisonic. Let me say that after just a few uses, I am so very impressed I will update more about the Clarisonic and how much I love it in another post, but I needed to let you know about these super great deal that the folks at Clarisonic are offering up, just for the Holidays.

Starting today, customers will have the ability to personalize their Clarisonic! As if that wasn’t enough Clarisonic is allowing customers to break their $195 payment into 4 easy payments to make those holiday budgets stretch a little further. The easy payment program is only applicable for the month of Dec, so you’ll want to hurry to take advantage of this spectacular deal!

And for those shoppers paying in full there is an incentive as well. With a $195 purchase you will receive a ½ oz renewal serum and travel bag ($55 value) just for paying in full at time of purchase.

Shop at clarisonic.com to get these Holiday Specials.

The Rolls Royce of Anti-Aging Creams: M LAB Anti-Aging Treatment Cream.

M LAB is one of the premier…

Who the heck doesn’t want a treatment cream that does what it is designed to do and more?

M LAB is one of the premier skin care companies (behind many of your favorite brand name formulations, I might add - yes, this is an insider secret) that has developed a treatment cream, that delivers on it’s promise - plus so much more. M LAB Anti-Aging Treatment Cream, is, as I said, The Rolls Royce of Anti-Aging Creams. You will immediately notice that aspect just from the hefty price tag this wonder cream carries. But if you look further into the science and ingredients in this cream and give it a good try, you will quickly understand why it is in this “Rolls Royce” category.

This cream contains a superior combination of peptides, anti-oxidants and hydration ingredients. This heavy duty combo helps to soften skin while firming and strengthening it, and helps develop more elasticity - all while helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Phew - a mouthful. Rather, a jarful of superior scientific skin care.

As there is so much science put into this cream, I felt it important to point out the ingredients and what they do:

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
- A stabilized form of Vitamin C allowing for excellent skin penetration
- Proven to be a highly effective anti-oxidant
- Promotes skin firmness
Squalane, Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q10)
- Aids in strengthening the natural moisturization barrier by delivering essential fatty acids to the skin
- Provides a very strong anti-oxidant protection
Sodium PCA, Urea, Trehalose, Polyquaternium-51, Sodium Hyaluronate
- A combination of hydrating materials that help maintain water content in the skin surface
- Promotes soft and smooth skin
Avena Sativa Kernal Extract
- Aids in strengthening the skin against effects of environmental exposure
Epilobium Angustifolium Extract (Willowherb)
- Soothes and calms stressed skin conditions - Provides anti-oxidant benefits
Phytic Acid
- Provides exfoliation through mild keratolytic activity
- Contributes anti-oxidant protection from free radicals
- Helps to even skin discoloration
Aminobutyric Acid, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Panax Ginseng Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract
- Rapidly reduces the appearance of age lines and wrinkles resulting from repetitive muscle movements
Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Pisum Sativum Extract, Glucosamine HCL
- Increases firming of the skin
- Reduces the appearance of wrinkles
Saccharomyces Lysate Extract
- Provides soothing and calming effects to the skin
- Stimulates cell renewal to minimize fine lines and wrinkles
- Aids in smoothing and moisturizing the skin
- Skin rejuvenator to improve overall clarity
Arbutin
- An extract of the Bearberry plant that improves skin tone properties
- Helps to protect the skin against damage caused by free radicals
Saccharomyces/Xylinum Black Tea Ferment
- Helps to smooth and improve the appearance of skin texture
- Helps to reduce the negative effects of sugars on collagen that weaken the skin structure
Evodia Rutaecarpa Fruit Extract
- Soothing and calming agent
Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate
- Excellent anti-wrinkle compound for rapid reduction in the appearance of expression lines
Superoxide Dismutase
- Provides long-term anti-oxidant protection
- Protects the skin from oxidative stress - Helps to delay early skin aging
-Promotes skin firmness
Squalane, Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q10)
- Aids in strengthening the natural moisturization barrier by delivering essential fatty acids to the skin
- Provides a very strong anti-oxidant protection

68% of the ingredients are clinically active, meaning that it is “infused with concentrations of ingredients which have been tested and proven in studies to have beneficial effects on the skin. The result is effective solutions for all problems associated with aging skin from fine lines and wrinkles, skin discoloration or uneven skin tones, skin texture, under-eye circles, and sagging skin.”

2.4 oz $260 6.7 oz. $650
M LAB

If you are in shock and want to give this wonder a try, I would highly suggest you checkout the sample size version that is included in BeautyFix. (Read my BeautyFix review to be reminded of what it is.) Honestly, I would not have tried this cream if it were not for the .5 oz deluxe sample that is included in this quarters collection. The cream alone is worth the $50, plus the rest of the products.