.:: CybeleSays ::.

As you know, I totally love soap and believe there’s nothing like a really great one. A new line that uses ingredients from the Rainforests is called WEMBE (the name is a name given by a Guaraní tribe to a tropical plant considered as the Amazon's rare jewels). Handmade in Paraguay, each soap can be used on the body or face (spot test first, of course). And whole plants and herbs are packed inside and all are sulfate and paraben-free and go organic when possible.

I was sent two to try out so let’s investigate:

Coconut Exfoliating Blend ($7/3.75oz) – contains an astringent and uses two types of coconut pulps that are rich in essential oils and moisturizing butters. I’ve been using this one on my heels and elbows.

Green Blue River Cleansing Blend ($9.75/3.75oz) – has a layer of sand at the bottom to help exfoliate the skin. This soap is particularly good to soothe some of harder areas of the body like the feet. This one is Vegan.

All @ wembe.com. 

Ooo, this my favorite time of year and a lot of the brands are celebrating it too with NEW products. Here some more good ones we are loving right now. From L to R clockwise:

UVSunSENSE Wristband 7 Pack ($10 @ uvsunsense.com)
CLINIQUE Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Bamboo Pink ($25 @ clinique.com)
PRESCRIPTIVES Calyx Sheer Exhilaration ($38.50/1.7oz @ prescriptives.com)
ISADORA Crystal Gloss Stick in Coral Rose ($12 @ amazon.com)
THEBALM Mary-Lou Manizer ($22 @ sephora.com)
ORLY Nail Lacquer in Teeny Bikini ($7.50 @ orlybeauty.com) from the Tiki Time Collection.
T!NTALIZE The Premier Concealer for Feet ($15/7 packettes @ tintalize.com)

Lately, I’ve been feeling like the only one that suffers from foot sweat and stink. I know, how lady-like is this topic? With some shoes, you just can’t wear socks or tiny peds or, god forbid, nylons. Bare is the only way to go with most of my summer shoes and have I got your solution to feet that tend to moisten up in shoes - LAVILIN Foot Deodorant Cream. One application keeps your feet virtually sweat-free for one week and this one doesn’t have any strange chemicals or aluminum to keep them that way. All you do is swipe some of the white cream on the ball of your foot from the middle to where the toes start, wait for about 5 minutes for it to absorb and you are ready to go. They recommend you apply it at night so it has time to work its magic. And the reason I say that it kept my feet virtually sweat-free is that my feet felt warm in my shoes but I don’t think they were sweating or it they did, it was very minimal. Great product.

And what a great deal the site has - $1 for a trial size and good for at least 2 or 3 applications or $16 for 2oz, which should last you months.

We found a few products that focus just on the hands and feet and I’m not talking about just ones that moisturize, as we’ve seen hundreds of those. *Yawn* These are anti-aging product specifically targeting the two areas and they come to us from AB SKiNCARE. We wrote about their Sun product back in May but there is so much more to this line than I initially thought. We’ve all heard the benefits of glycolic acid in beauty products but because we are all on info overload, here’s a reminder - because of its tiny size, glycolic acid is excellent at being able to penetrate skin layers to lessen the appearance of fine lines and scars, clear up acne and even fade sunspots. AB Skincare has some products for the face but as I mentioned, what really perked up my ears are the products made just for the hands and feet. Love that! It’s true that if you want to guess a woman’s age, to look at her hands but she may now confuse you if she regularly uses AB Hands. Each pad is dripping with the super-strength formula to help eliminate age spots, lines and work on sun damage.

Let’s next work our way down to one of my favorite areas to pamper, the feet! AB Happy Feet pads are infused with 20% pure glycolic, vitamins A, C, E, and even the popular anti-aging ingredient Q10. The glycolic works on the tough rough calluses and the other ingredients help the skin out. They even claim that using a pad daily will strengthen the nails and keep nasty discolorations at bay. Hmmmm. I don’t know how many days you’d have to use them to get that benefit but I’ve got about 46 of them left.

There is one aspect I reckon they might want to rethink with these. While I agree that a pad is a great way to carry the ingredients from the container to the location on the body, the pads tend to roll and bunch up if I don’t swipe in a straight line. Maybe a bigger size would work? I’m not sure what the answer is but I just had to throw it out there. Otherwise, two great products! $95/60 pads each @ abskincarestore.com

It’s surprising how much dirt I pick up on my bare feet just walking around my apartment on the hardwood floors. Yes, I clean them regularly (floors and feet) so I can’t figure it out. It was with much delight that when SPA DiONiS’ new Foot Scrub and Foot Butter came across my desk, I instantly had to try them. Look for this frosty mint Foot Scrub to not only deodorize your soles but it uses walnut shell powder, botanicals and rich butters from Shea and mango to really get to the deep surface dirt.

I like putting the Foot Butter on my feet and then putting socks on. Better to dirty the socks than feet, right? This one uses beeswax, jojoba oil, and Shea butter to nourish your newfound layer of skin. Hello high heels…
$13.95/6oz each @ dionissoap.com

I have long been fascinated with the ingredient Shea Butter. The two words are luscious and how it is used in beauty products is very nourishing. So we decided to do a four-part feature on Shea Butter products that are out there and ones that are worth trying out.

A little history – the nut is indigenous to Africa and how they get the butter is by extracting the yellow to ivory-colored fat from the fruit from the Shea tree. This is achieved by either crushing it or boiling it. It has long been touted for its superior moisturizing traits as well as its ability to fade scars, heal rashes and even work magic on stretch marks.

I’m sure you are aware that the closer to the top an ingredient appears in an ingredient list on the back of any product, the more of that ingredient it contains. But what I find funny, well peculiar actually, is that a product with the word Shea in the name can sometimes have it listed far down the list. So check the back of your products when it comes to this awesome ingredient to see how concentrated it really is. It should be listed in the top three at least and these all below are list it second and will appear as either Shea Butter or Butyrospermum Parkii. Here are some with Shea right up at the top, where it should be.

• LUSH Buffy ($10.75/3.3oz @ lush.com)
• VON NATUR Grapefruit Whipped Butter ($42/5oz @ vonnatur.com)
• BATH AND BODYWORKS 'Shea It Isn’t So' Shea Butter Foot Cream ($15/4oz @ bathandbodyworks.com)
• MISTRAL Shea Butter Hand Cream in Milk ($17.50/2.6oz @ mistralsoap.com)

I am a longtime lover of manicure tools. I have a shoebox full of files, cuticle oils, nail creams, orange sticks and more for both my hands and feet. Let’s focus on the feet here. Since spring is in full bloom, the shoes will be getting skimpier and skimpier so my soles have to be in shape. I’ve been using BORGHESE’s Satina Softening Callus Remover ($14.99 @ walgreens.com) for the past couple of weeks and I think my feet are the softest they’ve ever been. This one is a two-parter: one is a magic marker-like pen that has a roller ball end and tea tree infused gel inside. After a couple of pumps on the end, rub it on your calluses and then use the rasp and foot file tool to exfoliate the dead skin. What I like most about this file is that it is slim and I can get around the big toe very easily. I’m not sure which is doing more work here but it seems that the combination of the two work really well to soften those tough areas.

I don’t know of one female that has not slathered moisturizer on their feet, applied socks and went to bed. The next day, feet are just so soft! I just discovered the greatest way to super moisturize your feet and hands without the time or mess. SPASENSiALS Moisturizing & Deep-Conditioning Foot Treatment and Moisturizing & Deep-Conditioning Hand Treatment are socks or gloves that contain a light coating of moisturizer infused with aloe, jojoba, avocado and skin softening vitamins. Just open the sealed bag that keeps them fresh and put them on. Easy! I’m not sure what material the disposable socks and gloves are made of but they are really great at keeping the moisturizers from seeping through. Something I can’t say for my cotton socks that I normally use to do this. And you only have to wear these for 15 minutes instead of all night. Choose the box with just gloves or just socks or a box containing both. The packaging says to throw them out after each use but as I mentioned, they are made of a thin material perfect in every way for this kind of treatment. Hopefully they will put out reusable socks and gloves, as I know I can use them. $11.99/2 pairs @ spasensials.com

Show you really care with FOOT PETALS Stiletto Stylist Kit ($44.95 @ footpetals.com). I challenge you to insert these pads into your stilettos at the next holiday party and then dance the night away. They really take the load off. Available in Buttercup, White Lily and Black Iris (shown here).

Each contains: 1 pair Tip Toes, 1 pair Killer Kushionz, 2 pair Strappy Strips, 1 pair Heavenly Heelz, 1 pair Haute Heelz, 2 pair Sole Stopperz. 

I know it’s a little early to be talking holidays but keep this next one in mind, or rather, start making your Christmas list with this next one right at the top. RED BY KISS Contoured Pedicure File & Toenail Clipper Duo ($4.99 @ walgreens.com) will keep feet smoother than a baby’s bottom or rather, feet. I don’t know one female or male that won’t thank you for this one.