Each year, when I’m trying to think of new ways to get my house ready for any holiday, I try to keep each of the 5 senses in mind and what appeases each when I think of that holiday.
So it’s the day after Thanksgiving and time for my Annual Holiday Gift Guide! This year I will be expanding it to include non-beauty related items as I’ve come across some things this year that would make great gifts.
And as usual, you’ll know something is a gift pick by the holiday-related picture next to the photo. This year I chose a cute snowman. So let's kick it off with this one...
As my first pick of the guide, I received this for my birthday and I’ve used it quite a bit and not just on my jewelry.
What It Is: BOGUE SYSTEMS Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner + Blitz Liquid Jewelry and Gem Cleaner - $23.49 @ amazon.com.
Why I Like It: You can use this big-as-a-small-loaf-of-bread machine to super clean not only jewelry but really anything metal that will fit into the 6” x 3 ½ stainless steel tank. It does coins, watches (there’s a special piece included so you can clean your watch), eyeglasses and so much more! I had a blast walking around my house and looking through drawers for items I could give a 3-minute run to.
This has truly brought quite a few of my items back to wearable condition again.
Kind of like this move, I’m so tempted to just throw out all my regular lipsticks. I mean, if they don’t last on my lips, what’s the point in putting it on in the first place? I guess this is a tiny bit different than the nail polish situation in that I don’t seemed to get as annoyed when my lippie starts to fade as when I chip a nail.
MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolour $25 @ maccosmetics.com
GIORGIO ARMANI Lip Maestro $33 @ sephora.com
MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Rouge $24 @ makeupforever.com
L’OREAL Infallible Lip Colour $11.99 @ lorealparisusa.com have been discontinued but they have the Lip Paint here
LIME CRIME Velvetines $20 @ dermstore.com, amazon.com
1. Scrub Love - LOTUS MOON Cardamom & Bamboo Polishing Cream Moisturizing Facial Scrub ($23.95/2.2 oz @ lotusmoonskincare.com) – made with good-for-skin-ingredients like bamboo stem and don’t worry, the exfoliates won’t harm your skin as this uses spherical jojoba beads to do the work.
2. Belly Love - USANA Probiotic ($27.45/14-1gram stick packs @ usana.com) - Let’s face it, if you don’t feel good on the inside, you won’t look good on the outside and it can certainly show up on your face. Probiotics help support digestion by balancing the naturally found bacteria in your gut.
3. Wrinkle Love - RODAN + FIELDS REDEFINE Acute Care Skincare for Expression Lines ($220/10 pairs @ rodanandfields.com in January 2015) – Using what they call Liquid Cone Technology, these crescent shaped patches contain Hyaluronic Acid that plump the area and the powerful Sh-Oligopeptide-1 peptide reduces the appearance of wrinkles, while increasing the skin’s firmness. And you can apply them anywhere like under the eyes, above the lips. By apply the patches three days a week (you wear them on the skin overnight) can give you up to either weeks of firm results. I used them on the outside of my eyes and could feel them, well, doing something for about the first hour I had them on before hitting the hay.
4. Eye Love - NYAKIO Firming Eye Balm with Baobab ($45/15g @ nyakio.com) – I tend to opt out of using an eye cream in my skin care routine but in the past few months have opted in and I’m not sure if it’s this specific balm that I’m using that has made the visible difference or the fact that I started using one in the first place.
5. Serum Love - ORIGINS Plantscription Anti-Aging Power Serum ($56/1oz @ origins.com ulta.com) – I’ve always believed in the power of the serum! And this one works quickly so improve visible lines and wrinkles. This would be a nice addition to your skin care routine.
6. Face Oil Love - L’OCCITANE Divine Youth Oil ($96/1oz @ loccitane.com sephora.com) – There’s a lot of buzz on this oil from L’Occitane and deservedly so – it has 7 plant oils and enhances and plumps the skin’s natural ability to regenerate collagen and each application only calls for a few drops.
Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.
Lining the waterline with eyeliner or as some call it, tightlining, is a really big trend these days, especially if you’re looking to do a really, really smoky eye. It requires you to line the top and bottom waterlines of your eye. Not sure what the waterline is? This site has a great illustration of it.
I have to admit my curiosity was majorly raised after reading Canadian-blogger, Beautezine's, declaration that SHU UEMURA Drawing Pencils ($24 @ shuuemura.com) were, “the best waterlining eye pencil on the market.” That’s a pretty bold statement, so I had to put them to the test as I’m pretty obsessed with eyeliners in general and applying color on the waterline but finding ones that last is the challenge.
They come in 18 shades, made from a silicon polymer that is able to stay on the skin, and are made to be used anywhere really, not just on the eyes. And they mix it up with the finishes like this palette does by including ones in matte, pearl, metallic and glitter (the letter before each name below tells you what the finish is).
So how did they work? Click after the pic to find out!
I’ve tried different versions of the below items in their categories and here are the ones I have found to work best. Yes, some may seem trivial (a nail clipper, really??) but only when I’ve used one that’s crappy, do I actually think about it. And now, you don't have to!
Do you have any beauty tools that you stand by? Do share in the comments!
Best Foot Exfoliator and Nail File - FAN OUT Foot Scraper (small $35, large $42) and Nail File ($42). Both @ fanout.com – when did I write about both of these? Wow, back on September 7, 2011 and both are still going strong and I use them quite regularly! Now that’s proof in the pudding.
Best Nail Clipper - REVLON Deluxe Nail Clipper - $2.49 @ ulta.com and bedbathandbeyond.com - I’ve tried a lot of different nail clippers over the years and these from Revlon truly are the best. They're always sharp and never break. I keep one in the house, one in the car, one in my purse. I think I own about 6 of these total!
Best Tongue Cleaner - BREATH RX Gentle Tongue Scraper - $6.99/3 scrapers @ amazon.com – I know, I know, who wants to talk about something as sexy as cleaning your tongue? Food can get caught in there and simply using your toothbrush to clean it just doesn’t do the job so invest in some of these scrapers and really get that tongue clean.
Best Hair Styler - INSTYLER 3-1 Rotating Iron ($99 @ kohls.com, ulta.com) – a great tool for quickly taking out bedhead kinks in the morning. And they just came out with a new MAX version. Details coming soon!
Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.
Beauty products that promise us healthy skin and to slow the signs of aging will always exist but have you ever thought about anti-aging hair care products? Actually, I think I have, one time. Though I can’t remember the brand, I do remember hearing about how our hair ages as it gets longer and blah, blah, blah… have no idea what happened to the line or what their name was.
Anyway, a new brand of hair products by the name HEALTHILOCKS has risen amongst us and distinguishes themselves as the “ultimate in anti-aging hair care & repair.” The products were created to complement an in-salon treatment that goes by the same name and repairs the hair by adding a safe healthy protein, called PlexProtein, to strands. This protein coats the hair and retains water, which is good in this case, so no more dry fly-aways! See their site here to find a salon near you that does the Healthilocks procedure.
Now I have not had the treatment but I’m sure liking the products as they seem to really soften and tame my flyaways better than the shampoos and conditioners I’ve been using of late. And with the humidity being sucked out of the air right now, my hair needs to extra TLC this trio brings.
Healthilocks Daily Shampoo $22/7oz
Healthilocks Daily Conditioner $24/7oz
Healthilocks Leave in Conditioner $38/3oz
Also in the line not shown here is a Heathilocks Hair Clarifier available so check out their site @ healthilocks.com for more info about the line.
Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.
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From L to R clockwise:
Matte Lippie Love - CAILYN COSMETICS Extreme Matte Tint in #3 Illusionist - $19 @ dillards.com, cailyncosmetics.com – matte lippies are my thing right now, what can I say and this rosy nude goes great with everything.
Shadow Love - DOLCE & GABBANA Perfect Mono Cream Eye Color - $36 @ dolcegabbana.com and nordstrom.com – this is the first go-around in the category of cream shadow for the brand and I must say they’ve done a good job – 14 long-lasting shades with great textures and finishes like matte and pearls to choose from. Color picks: Dahlia (shown here) and Cocoa.
Hot Pink Lippie Love - SHU UEMURA Vision of Beauty – Rouge Unlimited in Fuschia - $30 @ shuuemura.com – I’m a sucker for hot pink lippies and this one from Shu, with its hybrid pigment, is a really nice surprise for fall.
Nude Gloss Love - AERIN Weekday Lip Gloss - $30 @ neimanmarcus.com – it’s not often that I reach for a lip gloss but for some reason, a true nude lippie makes your look, well, look the most polished. And this nude gives color! Nothing worse than a nude that skimps on the pigment.
Primer Love - COVER FX Calming Primer - $38/1oz @ sephora.com – if your skin is sensitive or you have Rosacea, this face primer was made just for you. The Endothelyol inside relieves redness and they’ve also included St. John’s Wort inside to handle inflammation.
Face Illuminator Love - MIRABELLA Faerie Sparkle Swirling Pearl Brilliant - $40 @ dermstore.com – holiday parties are upon us, so why not add a touch of pearly glow to your cheeks and décolletage? This mineral-based highlighter is one of the better quality ones I’ve seen in some time.
Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a whole face of makeup or *gasp* lipstick but if I'm hitting up a holiday party, they're kind of required. Well, PIXI BEAUTY seems to understand as they just came out with a Shea Butter Lip Balm Trio in Balmy Winter ($16 @ target.com) and there’s a vanilla-scented, color-tinted one for every occasion you'll have this season – Comfort Clear (no color), Honey Nectar (nude) and Ripe Raspberry (raspberry pink). Since each contains Shea Butter, vitamin E, you can certainly count on them to keep lips moisturized and protected from the cold and with two outta the three containing color, they will at least make your lips look like you're holiday party ready, even if the rest of you isn't.
You can also pick these balms up individually for $8 each and there are an additional 3 colors available!
I’m a sucker for any kind of hair tool so when I saw this VOLOOM Hair Volumizing Iron, it was a must-try. Since I have been unable to master teasing my hair with a comb or teasing brush, I’ve resorted to other means to achieve volume in my hair inserts like the bumpit and some others but they never really felt right to me. So is the Voloom the answer? Click after the jump to find out!
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