Did you know there are different kinds of acne? Yes, there is teenage acne and adult acne but I figured they were kind of the same except that they happen to the different age groups but basically caused by the same thing, overactive glands. Then again, I am not a skin care expert so how could I know that there are different kinds. So I’m here to tell you when I’ve learned in the past few months. Not only can acne be different but it surely is caused by different reasons.

Now that I’m in my forties, I’m going through hormonal changes and have acne popping up around my jaw line and neck and it’s not your normal acne. It sits under the skin and never comes to the surface. So instead of using any ol’ acne product, which were not working btw, I started using MURAD’s Resurgence line, which is made just for hormonal breakouts. The Resurgence Introductory Kit is a great value at $39.95 and includes all the necessities: Renewing Cleansing Cream (1.5oz), Age-Diffusing Serum (.33oz), and a Age-Balancing Night Cream (.5oz) and this set includes samples of the Sheer Lustre Day Moisture Brand Spectrum SPF 15 | PA+++ and the Renewing Eye Cream. That way you can see which ones work for you. Keep in mind that by ordering this set, you will get a 90 day supply for 3 monthly payments of $39.95. But the good news is that you can cancel it at any time for whatever reason.

I’ve been on this system for a solid 4 weeks and I have seen an improvement in my skin around the jaw line. While it hasn’t gotten rid of all the acne, I’d say these have helped keep about 75% of it at bay, which works for me. And not only that but the products also have anti-aging ingredients in them, so I’m going to be on this system for a while! See if this line is right for you @ amazon.com. 

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

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What kind of face cleansing device do you use? I find that I’ve been quite loyal to my washcloth over the years with dips into the Clarisonic pool as well as the Konjac sponge pond a few times, among others. So what do you faithfully use? Well there is a new kid in town and he might keep me from my beloved washcloth for longer than I’m used to. The brand is called FOREO and the product is called the Luna. It just came out last year and instead of using a brush head that needs to be replaced every-so-often, it uses electric pulsations to deeply clean. Wasn’t it only a matter of time before someone used some major technology to clean our faces?

The Luna machine is housed in a glove of soft silicone and comes in three feminine shades, one for each skin type – White for Ultra-Sensitive Skin, Pink for Sensitive/Normal and Blue for Combination Skin. It fits snug in the hand and on the top part is where you apply it to the face. That’s where, what they call the “rounded silicone touch-points,” it touches the face.

It uses transdermal sonic, or T-Sonic as they call it, pulsations that go through the rounded silicone touch-points to clean each pore deeply, while at the same time helping to remove dead skin cells.

Simple start washing your face like usual and then press the button one time to put the device in Cleansing Mode and apply the touch-point part, that you’ve also wet, to one cheek by the ear and then oscillate back and forth from one cheek to the other by way of the chin for 15 seconds. Then apply it to the forehead and make like a windshield wiper and go back and forth over the forehead for 15 seconds and the last part of the face is the nose. Just glide the Luna up and down the nose for 15 seconds and you’re done. They also recommend using the smooth opposite side of the touch-points under the eyes in upward strokes but I’m not really comfortable with using it on such a delicate area.

They also say this has an Anti-Aging Surface, which you get to by pushing the button another time after putting it in Cleansing Mode. It’s basically using the device as a face massager, which I guess can help with aging by stimulation but I was more fascinated by the thorough cleansing it did! How do I know this? I went by how smooth the surface of my skin felt after using it. I even did a test a few times by alternating between my usual washcloth and the Luna and I truly felt a difference.

And because silicone is nonporous, you don’t have to worry about yucky bacteria getting trapped and there’s no parts to replace. Just charge it up and it’s ready to go.  

The Luna is $199 and you can also pick up the Luna mini for $139 and the Luna Luxe for $6,500. Yup you read that price correctly! And there are even versions of the Luna for men, so check them out and more @ dermstore.com, spacenk.com.

Will you be replacing your current face cleansing tool with this one? Do tell in the comments!

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

How often did you dye your hair at home when you were a teen or do you still do it? How did it come out? I have vivid memories of doing it myself and they’re not really fond ones since I didn’t really have any idea of what I was doing. Now, there are options like YouTube, which I don’t always recommend since I’m not sure most know what they’re doing each just short of trial and error!

But now there is an option for us DIY-ers and it’s the book DIY DYE Bright and Funky Temporary Hair Coloring for You to Do at Home. The author, Loren Lankford, has worked for quite a few popular magazines and helped launch Fab and Bookish. In DIY, she really explains step-by-step how do things clearly and answers she goes over some basics like toner is and how to use hair bleach. And then the fun really begins! Inside you can find hair chalk and Kool-Aid recipes, as well as how to make homemade hairspray and how to make glitter hair gel. Wah?

So there’s a lot of new ideas in this book, most of which I had not heard of, which is the huge plus and the reason I’m recommending this book for the diy-er beauty-er! $14.95 @ ulyssespress.com. 

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

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You don’t have to pay a lot for great beauty products and 5 here are worth the pennies that you can pick up right at your local drugstore. Two have totally unique scents, one leaves no white residue like some sunscreens can, one really kept my underarms super dry, and the last is an inexpensive hair hydrator.

1. HAWAIIAN TROPIC Silk Hydration Faces Lotion SPF 30 - $9.59/1.7oz @ ulta.com

2. AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle MOIST - $3.99/8oz @ walgreens.com

3. CARESS Aqua Sparkle Body Wash in Lilac Blossom & Aquamarine - $5.29/12oz @ amazon.com

4. DOVE Purely Pampering Beauty Bar in Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Scent - $7.39/4bars @ target.com

5. SECRET 'Paris Romantic Rose' Invisible Solid Antiperspirant - $4.29/2.6oz @ amazon.com

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

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How do you purchase your fragrances? Maybe see an ad for the new Gucci or Chanel and deciding to try it? I think we’ve all done that but when it comes to brands that may not have the big reputation of the aforementioned, it can be hard to decide and I’m sure more peeps would try indy brands like this next one if they had their system in place. They're called COMMODITY and their system allows you to try 5 or 10 of their scents at your own pace and in your own home. The below graphic easily demonstrates it!

Place an order for what they call a Fitting Kit (spray vials sealed in plastic packs) – either 5 samples (their best-sellers) for $5 or the full 10 samples for $9 (free shipping on both). Try each scent out and if you find a fave, you can order The Trio (set of three 10ml sprays for $48) or The 100 (a 100ml spray size for $108) in that scent. And your Fitting Kit cost is free if you order within 30 days of them sending you the Fitting Kit (the cost of the Fitting Kit will be deducted from your purchase of either of the bigger sizes when you order through their website). Can I type the words Fitting Kit one more time in the previous sentence?? :)

The men’s frags are in black packaging and the women’s come in white (all are eau de parfums). Yes, I think the sealed packs are a bit excessive and wasteful but maybe they will come up with another presentation for the samples. 

So let me break the scents down for you: the women’s fragrances come in three categories – Fresh Scents (Tea, Moss, Mimosa),Warm Scents (Gold, Paper), Floral Scents (Ivy, Rain, Dew, Magnolia, Pinot).

The men’s is also broken down into three categories – Fresh Scents (Cloth, Moss, Cane) Warm Scents (Wool, Gold, Whiskey, Paper), Woodsy Scents (Gin, Book, Oak).

Don’t you just love the simple names of these??

So there you have it. Very simple and very easy. I've smelled all of the women's scents and almost all of the men's scents and this company knows quality. Each scent is made in small batches to ensure freshness and they bottle them up right here in California!

As far as my favorites, I surprisingly leaned towards the floral ones (must be the time of year!) with Ivy and Pinot coming out on top and for the men's, I'm holding the Cane to spray on the next man in my life. 

Is this something you want to try? Check out more about this company @ sephora.com, commoditygoods.com. 

A men's Fitting Kit and women's Fitting Kit were sent to me gratis for this review. 

Are you into the whole face sculpting trend yet? I’m still working on getting it down; I always feel like I have too much makeup on when I do it! Anyway, if you’re not into it and just into ol’ fashioned blush, read on! MAKE UP FOR EVER recently came out with HD Blush and HD Pressed Powder. I am so behind on getting to these but better late than never, so onward! 

Click here to read more

I’m a total body scrub fan and I’ve only become a fan of coffee in the past few years and this one from the brand FRANK combines both so yippee!

I tried the Original ($14.95/7oz @ amazon.com) and here are the ingredients:

Coffee Robusta Seed Powder (coffee), Sweet Almond Oil, water, salt, brown sugar, Orange Oil, vitamin E and fragrance. Not sure what kind of fragrance is added to this as the coffee and combination of oils would be sufficient.

The other “flavor” they offer is Coconut & Grapeseed ($17.95/7oz), which contains … can you guess? Heehee. These two added ingredients to the above base help with cellulite, stretch marks, psoriasis, varicose veins, eczema and acne.

Overall I really liked this scrub but I did have an issue with the packaging. While I really think the brown paper bag packaging is quite clever, it’s just not practical since I can’t keep it in the shower as the brown bag would get quite wet. On their site they say the packaging is waterproof (the inside is lined), I just think it will look like a mess if I leave it in the shower.

It’s looks like they use it on the face or suggest you can but I wouldn’t. Coffee grounds are much too jagged and could create fine tears in the face. Just use this one on the bod, K?.  

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

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I’ve always had a soft spot for lipsticks from the ESTEE LAUDER brand. Like their mascaras, they rarely put out a dud, it seems. So how do the new Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks fare? Click after the jump to find out!

Click here to read more

LORAC Lip Luxe 8 Hour Lip Color in Orchid ($16 @ dermstore.com) – this color is so right now! It’s not the typical red I tend to gravitate towards and wow, does it last a long time on my lips. And it’s infused with good stuff like Acai Berry, Pomegranate, Grape Seed and vitamins C & E, so glad to have this on my lips for hours.

ESCADA Born in Paradise EDT ($45/1oz, $45/1.6oz, $75/3.3oz @ lastcall.com) – I think half the country has been praying for spring and this new scent from Escada just brings my nose to it full throttle! The notes are sweet and springy – green apple, guava, watermelon, pineapple, coconut milk, jasmine tea, all on a base of sandalwood, cedarwood and musk.

SUN BUM Continuous Spray Sunscreen ($15.99/6oz @ walgreens.com and dermstore.com) – every season it’s a good idea to update your sunscreen and this season I’m trusting the Bum!  Available in SPF 15, SPF 30, SPF 50 and SPF 70, I think one of these will have you cover (no pun intended) and since the continuous spray is widely available, is there any other way to go?

DOLCE & GABBANA The Brow Liner - Shaping Eyebrow Pencil ($45 @ saksfifthavenue.com, nordstrom.com) – when I first saw under the cap, it instantly reminded me of this one with its teardrop shape. Though I’m a fan of a harder formula like this one, I wouldn’t say this one is soft by any means, and, dare I say, I think that it lasts longer on my brows than my Holy Grail one. Yikes! Available in 4 shades,

GILLETTE Venus Snap Razor ($12.99 @ ulta.com) – yup it’s cute (so tiny and colorful), yup it’s compact (fits in the palm of your hand), and yup it has 5 blades. Weren’t we up to 4 last check? So now here’s 5! And it’s surprisingly easy to wield in the shower and the handy blue case makes it a travel no brainer. 

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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