I’m a huge fan of salves because they have so many uses: skin (both face and body), cuticles, feet, really anywhere. And this next one from UK’s NEAL’S YARD REMEDIES is called a balm and when I looked up the definition of each, they are the pretty much same thing! The only difference seems to be that a balm is fragrant and a salve is not.

So moving on, their Wild Rose Beauty Balm ($70/1.76oz @ nyorganics.com) can be used everywhere like a cleanser face mask, body balm or even a facial treatment. I tried it as a cleanser and then as a moisturizer and I think I’m liking it as a moisturizer best. While I’ve never used a salve or balm to remove makeup, I can see why I never did, it doesn’t really work, and as a cleanser … eh, again, I think it worked best as a moisturizing ointment.

Another great trait of these salves/balms is the ingredients inside. They are usually of high quality and this one is right up there: rosehip fruit oil, jojoba seed oil, beeswax, Shea Butter, hemp seed oil, borage seed oil and the list goes on with nothing to raise a flag at. However, if your nose is sensitive to patchouli or frankincense, you might want to pass on this one because the scent is kind of strong.

This one also comes with a muslin cloth, which is a very popular cloth to use for exfoliating. It’s used to gently exfoliate the skin without using another product. I think they are becoming quite popular amongst hardcore beauty aficionados, so you might want to look further into that too. I know the Liz Earle line is really into using the Muslin cloth with their cleansers.

I’m sure I will be trying out more of these Neal’s Yard Remedies products as their vision, mission, values and this product alone, have me very curious about the rest. 

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

For some reason I always thought the MAKE UP FOR EVER line had makeup brushes in it and good ones at that. Or maybe they did and just retooled (no pun intended) them to perfection, which is what I think they did with this release. Let me introduce you to their Artisan Brush Collection. Designed by Creator & Artistic Director Dany Sanz, this seems like a well thought out selection of makeup brush essentials and it each went through 25 stages of creation and was hand-crafted by 30 people from start to finish over a 5 year time period. Let’s take a further look ... 

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When I first laid eyes on the BENEFIT COSMETICS’s new Rockateur Box o’ Powder ($28 @ ulta.com, benefitcosmetics.com) I thought it looked a lot like Dallas, which is one of my favorite all-time blushes. But upon further inspection, I see that this one is not as bronzy and described as a rose gold, while Dallas is a more of a rose bronze color.

And while this Rockateur is certainly easier to wield because it’s lighter and buildable, I still think Dallas suits my tone better because it helps give cheeks some definition because of the bronzer color mixed with some pinky blush color.

Wanna see more pics? Click after the pic!

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Since discovering the benefits of marula oil, I’ve come to discover a line built around it. Simply called MARULA, THE LEAKEY COLLECTION, which is a lifestyle company that creates and distributes sustainable materials using Fair Trade practices.

I tried Marula – The Leakey Collection Cleansing Lotion ($38/4.23oz @ marula.com) and according to the ingredient list (in order), it uses aloe vera leaf juice, marula seed oil, glycerin, coconut oil, Xylitylglucoside (a moisturizing and restructuring agent derived from a natural vegetable origin), and sugar cane, among others to cleanse the skin, as well as adding an Alpha Hydroxy Acid complex made up of natural sugars and fruit extracts to work on skin cell turnover. So it cleanses and gently exfoliates.

As mentioned in the name, it is a lotion, so it won’t strip the skin of its naturally needed oils and this one also contains Eco-certified surfactants products from plant materials. When I see something like that, and because it’s a lotion cleanser, they mostly don’t foam, which I have to admit, I look forward too. So putting this one to the test and its claim, it does do some foaming. Not a lot but I get some, which I like. So clean but not tight and stripped.

Overall, I really like this cleanser but I wouldn’t recommend using it to remove eye makeup like some face cleansers as some of the ingredients can irritate eyes. 

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

MARC JACOBS just released a 16-piece line makeup called Marc Jacobs Beauty through Sephora a few weeks ago and the buzz is deafening! I got my paws on two of the products, the Style Eye-Con No. 3 – Plush Shadow in #106 The Rebel ($42) and the Lovemarc – Lip Gel in #128 Seduce Me ($30). I love the black lacquer of the packaging and colors look great but looks can be deceiving sometimes, so let’s take a closer look after the pics!

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I think out of all the hair styling products I use, smoothing creams seem to be my most go-to ones. Since I recently ran out of one, I was in dire need of another and this JANE CARTER SOLUTION Creamy Leave In Styling Smoother ($15/8oz) arrived just in time. And wow, was I surprised at the good-for … just about everything ingredients! The first few on the list are water, shea butter, mango butter, glycerin, kokum butter (a prize botanical butter from India) and rosemary leaf extract. Nice!

A little about this fascinating line I had no idea existed – Ms. Carter has been working in the industry since the early 80’s and came out with her first product, the Hair Nourishing Serum, back in 1992, way before any line was really touting the power of essential oils and extracts in hair care; reminds me of the Carol's Daughter story a bit.  

Now, the 23 sku strong line can be found in Whole Foods and some at Target, so I can’t wait to try some of the others in the line. Check out the other items @ target.com.  

True story – I was listening to Howard yesterday and happened to tuned in when he was talking about Van Halen’s 'Hot for Teacher' and exclaiming the song was a game changer. A game changer in rock because of the complexity and intenseness of the song. While I agree that the song totally gets me amp’d and is one of their best, I’m not sure it’s a total game changer, which brings me to this lippie from BARE ESCENTUALS that was sent to me in its own mailer, so it must be important. Oh and the name? Game Changer!

The color in this Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss ($18) tube looks red, I mean RED RED, so I thought what I saw is what I would get but backing up to what these Moxie lippies are really like, read my previous post about them first.

So you see, it’s not a big red but rather gives a sheer-to-medium coverage to lips and wears for quite a few hours. So if you have reservations about wearing red, this would be a good one to give a spin. And these have a great application wand and a slight minty smell and feel to them. 

This shade also comes in the Marvelous Moxie Lipliner and the Marvelous Moxie Lipstick.

All @ amazon.com. 

The BUTTER LONDON line just expanded their line this month by adding makeup items to their nail polish line. Comprised of WINK Mascara ($20/6 shades), WINK Cream Eye Shadow ($18/6 shades), WINK Eye Pencil ($18/6 shades), LIPPY Tinted Balm ($20/6 shades) and CHEEKY Cream Blush ($20/4 shades). I tried some of their glosses here so I guess this was in the works for some time. 

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Upon first swipe of URBAN DECAY’s latest Revolution Lipstick in F-Bomb, I first noticed the bright red color. YES! Then the super moisture. YES! And the real test … longevity? First, let’s get to what these are exactly.

What it is: Creamy, badass luxury. Our Pigment Infusion System delivers insane color payoff with creamy shine, Maxi-Lip plumps and nourishing oils leave lips cushiony soft. 

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Seems like a lot of the hair oils out there are just a bunch of silicones, which aren’t bad, and at the end of the ingredient list you’ll find the argan oil the product is named after. So I’ve become skeptical. I must say though, the copper box and container of REDKEN’s Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense really had me intrigued! So fancy that it just has to work, right? The old beauty adage, “if it smells/looks good, it must be good,” right?

The first place my eyes went when I received this in the mail after oooing and aahhhing at the aforementioned in my head was the ingredient list, of course.

Helianthus Annus Seed Oil/Sunflower Seed Oil, Isopropyl Myristate (an alcohol that can be irritating to the scalp), Olea Europaea Oil/Olive Fruit Oil, Octyldodecanol (a skin conditioning agent), Simmondsia Chinensis Oil/Jojoba Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil/Coconut Oil and so on (see photo just below for full list). Yes, this does contain a man-made fragrance, so if you find yourself allergic or don’t like products with synthetic fragrances, you may want to skip this.

BUT, if performance is your thing, read on …

As I mentioned before, most hair oils are nothing but silicones but this one doesn’t contain any ... maybe one of the ones towards the end of the ingredient list acts like one but isn’t considered one? Things that make you go hmmm…

Anyway, with the many good ingredients this one contains, it can be used in a few ways – a pre-shampoo treatment, a few drops before blow drying or as a polish to tame flyaways.

What you should also know is that it contains their own Shine Strong Complex, which is an infused blend of some of the other oils in the formula, coriander, camelina, and apricot, to seal in moisture and give hair lots of shine and who’s hair doesn’t need that?

Read more about it @ amazon.com, walgreens.com, or pick it up for $40/3.4oz at salons nationwide.