Saving Face

Estee Lauder Day Wear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme Oil-Free Broad Spectrum SPF 25 and Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex

$45.00 and $55.00

Most aspects of getting older are fun. I say that but I am also not that old. But time, stress, poor diet etc., have taken a toll on my skin. I was starting to look say, a few years older than I should. I do have good genetics on my side, but also an inflammatory condition that I think causes my skin to look less than awesome. Enter the search for the fountain of youth, appearance of youth or at least the appearance that I sleep and eat well. Continue reading

Loose lips sink ships

The Lip Slip by Sara Happ

$24.00

Its getting colder and I am starting to wear gloves. Therefore, I need a luxe lip balm to apply at home that is going to last until I get to my destination so I don’t have to take off my gloves to apply more when I am on the go.

This is that balm. Continue reading

Toxic Tuesday Turkish Delight

Lush Turkish Delight Shower Smoothie

$34.95

More info HERE

Free samples are a blessing and a curse. In this case a curse, because this stuff is amazing, smells like magic, leaves you soft and scents your entire bathroom like the most luxurious spa you have never been to. This stuff turns your shower into a bath- for real. Continue reading

Toxic Tuesday on a Friday

Limited Edition Bobbi Brown Creamy Color for Lips & Cheeks

$20.00

More info HERE

I love lip products. Clearly. So when a lip product comes out that promises a hint of color that says my lips just look like this normally, not overdone but balanced perfectly between subtle and obvious, I am hooked. Continue reading

Magic Powder Forever

Magic Powder aka Bobbi Brown’s Illuminating Finish Powder Compact Foundation

$ 44.00

More info HERE

This stuff is ridiculous It’s just pure perfection. I don’t know how many powders I have used over the years that barely do the job. Cheap stuff, expensive stuff, nothing every really did the trick. This powder on the other hand magically outperforms all others. Hands down.

So, I wrote this post a few days ago before the Hurricane Sandy stuff started and planned to post it tomorrow 10/29 and its funny because the product in this post originated in Hurricane Irene.  It looks like we might not have power tomorrow, though hopefully we will, nevertheless I am going to post this Toxic Tuesday Post today.

During Hurricane Irene last year, a bunch of my friends camped out at my apartment seeking higher ground. We had been up for a while drinking beer, and eating our survival snacks because thankfully the hurricane was not going to hit us– we were all very worried. But before my friends could return to lower ground, we had to ride out the watch because even though it was probably not going to hit and the city was urging residents to stay put.

We had been camped out for hours in my living room looking pretty ragged when my friend Sophia pulled out this powder, dabbed some on and, well, she looked amazing, like she had just washed her face and put on a fresh dash of make up. It was unreal. Even though the coverage was amazing, you really could not tell she was wearing any makeup at all–a tell tale sign of powder usage– instead she looked super fresh.

Powder can make one look older as it can settle into lines. Nevertheless, despite having just used powder, her face looked better, more even, shine free, certainly not like she had been hunkered down in a city apartment for hours drinking beer watching CNN. I was instantly curious, what had Sophia put on? I had to know what it was. While she was sitting on the floor of my apartment she told me it was Bobbi Brown. I asked her if I could try some on, she said yes and handed me the glossy black rectangle compact and I went to town. I tried some on, and I was instantly in love, my face which tends toward redness was markedly less red, the powder seemed to hug my face, in a way that made the powder not obvious. The best part was that it had the power to hide some of my blemishes in a way that was not cakey and overly done. Hello, Holy Grail!

After the hurricane, a few days later, I went to Bloomingdales to purchase this. I have been using it for over a year and I have been nothing less than super pleased. The compact is pretty enough to pull out when I need to powder my face and the color is spot on. It never looks obvious or dries me out. At the end of the day, a swipe of this, instantly lifts my look, and I am ready to tackle the next thing on my agenda without having to reapply a full face of make up. The best part is that it does not make me break out, and this one compact has lasted over a year.

As I near the time where this compact needs to be replaced, I attempted to replace this with lesser brands and nothing, NOTHING comes close. This stuff is amazing, it will make your life better, make you look awake and will make you a happier, better person. Well, maybe not, but it will bust through shine, hide things worth hiding, and never make you look like a powdery mess, which I looked like at one too many occasions with other brands. The powdery mess only becoming obvious afterwards through pictures posted on Facebook, but this is something I no longer worry about, thanks to Magic Powder.

Toxic Tuesday: Tainted Love

Tom Ford Lip and Cheek Stain in Tainted Love

$48.00

More info HERE

Enter my favorite activity, going out to eat with my high school girlfriends and immediately upon seeing them asking them if I can look into their purse. Well, this time, it was not so immediate   After a delicious birthday dinner for our friend Sarah (Congrats BTW!), I asked my friend Chrissy if I could look in her purse, she obliged, but this time instead of letting me explore, she pulled out this square lipstick case and was like “You have to try this, your gonna love it.”

I took the luxe tube from Chrissy, and in the small cramped bathroom of a NYC restaurant went to town. I instantly knew it was Tom Ford by the imprint in the product and got really excited. I put it on, and it was as Chrissy had warned me, the most perfect universally flattering color ever. I was in love. The color, just slightly burnt brick, a really subtle red whose texture is not glossy but rather leaves a nice scheen to your lips. It  was also completely moisturizing like a balm. The most luxurious tinted balm ever.

I kept putting it on, and then Chrissy told me I could use it on my cheeks too. I had just powdered my face so I needed a little something and this too was the perfect color for my cheeks. Just a nice healthy flush, nothing special, but nothing overdone. I love a multitasking product, but so often, the color just does not work on one part of your face. This one at least for me worked really well. I tend to have a reddish face so I sometimes shy away from blush because in my head I think it makes the redness worse, but this really just made me look healthy.

Chrissy then delivered the worst news: It was limited edition. Chrissy, being smart, bought two and told me if I could not find it, she would gladly give me one. I have such smart and nice friends. As soon as I could steal a moment away from the group I took out my iphone and searched for it. I found it at Neiman Marcus, and, I may have bought two and I could not be happier every time I pull it out to put it on.

*Above image used without permission from HERE

Toxic Tuesdays

So, I have been toying with the idea of having a Toxic Tuesday series for a while, but was worried about the implications for the products I review. So here, is an explanation of the series.

While, I am striving to make my beauty routine super green, its been hard, not only are there not replacement products for certain things, some of them I simply can’t try because they have ingredients in them that will cause my skin to flare up.

Thus, Toxic Tuesdays will be about the not so green products I still keep in rotation, because these products are amazing, they work and they are super hard to replace!