.:: CybeleSays ::.

What do you need to make sure you have on hand this summer to look great at all times? Here are some suggestions. From L to R clockwise:

A Quick Way to Clean Your Skin - SIMPLE Soothing Facial Toner - $6.99/6.7oz @ simpleskincare.com – Witch Hazel, Pro-Vitamin B5 and chamomile help calm and rebalance the skin.

An Anti-Aging Sunscreen – AMWAY Artistry Time Defiance Day Protect Lotion SPF 15 - $64.10/1.7oz @ amway.com -  protects skin with their own Artistry Defense Complex 4 anti-aging ingredients while protecting from  UVA and UVB rays.

A Summery Scent To Tie It All Together – ESCADA Especially Escada EDP Spray - $62/2.5oz @ sephora.com – a fruity flowery mix of pear, rose, Ambrette Seeds, Ylang Ylang and musk.

A Bronzer to Boost My “It’s Summertime!” Look – PHYSICIANS FORMULA Bronze Booster - $14.95 @ physiciansformula.com – a little here and a little there help brighten and accentuate the face.

A Won’t Budge Eye Shadow Primer - MAKE UP FOR EVER Eye Prime - $19 @ sephora.com – I used this one to test out yesterday’s shadows and it really made a difference.

To Keep the Eye Area Hydrated – BASQ Cucumber Tea Soothing Eye Gel - $24/.5oz @ basqnyc.com – cucumber and green tea soothe the area around eyes.

I think of the TALIKA brand as the eye gurus as in they know what kinds of products work for the eye area. I mean, they’ve delved into other areas but it all comes back to the eyes. They just came out with a new product called Skin Retouch Eye Contour ($31 @ talika.com), and was inspired by photo retouching techniques, funny enough, like using the blur technique or light diffusion. It’s a serum for those times when you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, have bags or just want to try and conquer any aging in that area.

It comes with 7 single-use applicators (why so few??) and inside each Q-tippy is an exclusive polymer that infuses Siberian ginseng to smooth out the area and plump it up a tad in just seconds. And seeing is believing! And the effects will last up to 8 hours. Are you in the market for some new eye products?  

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

Yes, it’s hot everywhere this week. Yes, everything just sticks to the skin and ugh, makeup, now, really? Nah, taking a small break from all things beauty right now, except from one product. While it’s really not makeup, it’s a beauty product so it does fall into the category. So what is it? SIMPLE SKINCARE’s Revitalizing Eye Roll-On. It uses a metal roller ball to dispense the product for under the eyes and it is sooooo cooling and nice!

It’s made for depuffing and waking up eyes and contains good-for-skin ingredients like Pro-Vitamin B5, cucumber extract and glycerin. And like the name states, they keep it simple with no perfumes or dyes that can irritate so close to the eye area. Nicely priced @ $10.99/.5oz @ ulta.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

Heard the buzz loud over the anti-aging benefits of Retinol but have sensitive skin? If your skin gets red just at the mention of the word, the RoC line has one for the eye and one for the face just for you. RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream ($22.99/.5oz) and RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Night Cream ($22.99/1oz) will help with wrinkles and lines and the prices on both are phenomenal. Both @ drugstore.com.

Will you become a Retinol user now?

I had a conversation over the weekend at a holiday party about beauty gifts (go figure!) and they thought that giving skin care was a strange gift to give someone. And they compared it to giving a set color of foundation. While I thought that was a tad too far, I can see where she was coming from but there are so many great deals out there, how can I resist? One I don’t think you can go wrong with is any of the PREVAGE items from ELIZABETH ARDEN. There are a few gift sets that are a total bargain, like the PREVAGE Day Anti-Aging Gift Set ($120 ($210 value!) @ elizabetharden.com).

Gift Set  includes:

PREVAGE Day Ultra Protection Anti-aging Moisturizer SPF 30, (1.7oz)
PREVAGE Body Total Transforming Anti-aging Moisturizer, (2.4oz)
PREVAGE Eye Ultra Protection Anti-aging Moisturizer SPF 15, (.17oz)

ESTEE LAUDER Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex is a one, two, three really, knock-out product for the eye area. It incorporates their exclusive Chronolux Technology that works with your skin’s own process to help reduce the look of 1) lines and wrinkles, 2) overall eye puffiness and 3) dark circle. And for the price of $49.50/.5oz @ esteelauder.com, it’s oh so purse-friendly!

Because the skin around this area is so thin, we tend to see the signs of aging their first, so if you are trying to stay ahead of the clock, this gel-serum might be a good one to try.

The size of the bottle may seem small for the price but know that you only use 3 dots patted in around each eye at bedtime, so it does last for a few. Big recommendation.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

The area around them is much thinner and more delicate than the rest of the face. And now-a-days, a good eye cream or treatment must take care of everything having to do with the eye area – wrinkles, bags and circles. These next two are the latest to take care of it all and then some.

ALCHIMIE FOREVER Rejuvenating Eye Balm ($69/.5oz @ alchimie-forever.com) – the antioxidants inside this one comes from grape seeds and blueberries and they add vitamin K to work on dark circles and jojoba oil for moisture.

APOT.CARE Irido-Radiant Eye Contour Care ($125/.5oz @ spacenk.com) – contains a Hyaluronic acid to moisturize and firm and NAC-A, Shea Butter and chamomile to really soothe the area.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Eye cream, schmi-cream. They’re probably one of the most un-fun beauty products but a necessity. But I did come across one that is not your typical cream or balm. TALIKA Eye Therapy Patch ($56/6 packs @ dermstore.com) is a fun way to get nutrients to your eye area and they work! Ceremide III (good at reinforcing the natural lipid barrier of dry and aging skin) and essential oils like avocado and safflower kick up moisture in the area and work on puffiness and wrinkles in the area. Each under-eye patch is like a really thin piece of gel that can be used up to three times so if you look at the price again, each use breaks down to about $3.11.

The fact that RELASTIN's Eye Silk has won Allure magazine’s Best of Beauty Editors’ Choice award for the “Best Wrinkle Eye Cream” for the third year in a row, is quite an accomplishment. How many other beauty products have done that even once? And this one won’t cost you hundreds of dollars! Like all three of their products, this one has their key Zinc Firming Complex that helps the ingredients reach the dermis, to stimulate elastin production, which most products can’t. That’s what makes this one stand out and it only takes about 4 to see results on wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles. Big recommendation. $69/.5oz @ relastin.com.

I was recently asked by a reader why I’m not talking about fall products yet. My answer was simple and straight forward – I’m too busy still enjoying the summer products! See, that’s the beauty of being online, we can be and are here and now, not 4 months from now. I mean, looking ahead at what’s coming up is fun but summer products are my favorite so I’m sticking to the now. And this one is perfect for now!

Have you tried Preparation H for under eye bags yet? I have but I feel really strange putting it on my eyes. There’s just something so wrong about it. To calm puffed eyes, I am really liking LUMENE’s Instant Cooling Eye Stick ($21.99 @ cvs.com) instead. It comes in the shape of one of those mini-deodorants and packs a cooling punch that instantly calms and lightly moisturizes the eye area. It also claims to help with dark circles but I didn’t see any difference in that area, but then again, I’m not exactly the right candidate for that.