July Birchbox

Birchbox is a monthly membership that you subscribe to, and for $10.00 a month (that includes shipping) you receive four to five deluxe samples of name brand products to try.  If you like any of the products, you can purchase them through Birchbox at a discounted price.

Birchbox enlisted designer, Cynthia Rowley, to guest curate this month's box.  I have to admit, I had to google her to find out who she is.  According to her website, she is a “fashion and style authority with a namesake collection that includes women’s wear, beachwear and wetsuits, men’s wear, eyewear, handbags, shoes, baby, home sewing products, tools, legwear, shapewear, and ‘dress-up’ band-aids”.

OK.... on to my Birchbox.  This is what the box looked like when I opened the shipping box.

 This is the pretty cover that was on the box

The card introducing Cynthia and product listing on the back

 After removing the paper

The products

Products in the box were:

- Philosophy Purity Made Simple – one-step facial cleanser - A pH-balanced cleanser that gently clears away dirt, oil and makeup without drying out skin. 
- Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-usage Dry Oil – A multi use oil that gives face and body a pretty glow (minus any slickness) and it works to smooth flyaways, too.
- Redken Shine Flash – Weightless spray gives hair a brilliant finish.
- Zoya Touch Collection Nail Polish in Pandora color – Creamy, slightly metallic nude.
- Kind Almond & Apricot Fruit & Nut Bar – No preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

I am really looking forward to trying these products and will let you know what my opinion is after I’ve used each product for awhile.  I already use the Philosophy Purity facial cleanser and I really like it.  It removes my makeup and eye makeup quite well and does not dry out my skin!!  (I gave my sample to my sister to try).

To sign up for Birthbox, go to www.birchbox.com.  Birchbox does not ship internationally, but there are similar programs in the UK from www.glossybox.co.uk and http://signup.boudoirprive.co.uk/. 

Take care!!

Great Hair Care Products at a Great Price

When I was a young girl, the kids at school would call me "frizzhead". Guess I don't need to tell you what my hair looked like when I was young!!! :) My hair was blonde, really curly and frizzy. My mom always had it cut short, in a "pixie" cut. Of course, I always wanted long, straight, smooth hair. You always want what you don't have, right??

Fast forward 30 years, and I now have straight hair thanks to professional relaxers. For the last 10 years, I've been getting a relaxer treatment put on my hair and I absolutely love it. I get a relaxer because it still leaves some body to my hair whereas a straightener is completely straight. My hair designer uses a Paul Mitchell relaxer and it cost around $100 A straightener would cost around $300.

Like all chemical products used on hair, the relaxer really dries out my hair, especially on the ends where I have a lot of breakage.  To help with that I've always purchased Nexxus products or Kenneth products (my salon brand) for hair conditioners. Both of those brands costing more money then I want to spend for hair conditioner.

I had the relaxer put on my hair in June and instead of leaving the salon with a expensive conditioner, I decided to research drugstore brands to see if I could find a good one that worked as well as a high end conditioner. The first drugstore brand I choose was Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition for dry/damaged hair. I purchased the Triple Nutrition Extra Nourishing Cream Shampoo. the Triple Nutrition Conditioner and the Triple Nutrition 3-Minute Undo Dryness Reversal Treatment.

I've been using the products for a little over a month now, and what a difference they made in my hair. My hair is thick, feels very soft, silky and really healthy. I absolutely love it. The product says it will make your hair 3X stronger and I really believe it does. I don't have near the breakage at the ends that I used to have. I use the shampoo and conditioner every day, and the Undo Dryness Reversal Treatment every two days.

Last week I went to my hair salon to have my hair cut and when my hair stylist was running her fingers through my hair she said, "I don't know what you're using on your hair but it feels fantastic and is in great condition". Well, that pretty much says it all!!!

I purchased my Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition products at my local Walgreens store and the cost was three products for $9.99. What a bargain for soft, silky, healthy hair!! I will be using these products for a very long time!!

Laura Geller Weekend Foundation

I wanted to find a foundation to use on the weekends that was lightweight, but had enough coverage to hide some age spots that I have on my face.  Unfortunately, due to way too many years of tanning, I have age spots on my cheeks.  I don’t like going anywhere without some type of foundation on my face to cover the spots.  As you know from my last foundation post I love the Chanel foundation, but since it’s so expensive I don’t want to use it on the weekends when I am just doing errands or sitting outside on the patio.

This search didn’t take as long as my previous foundation search.  What did I find, you ask?  Laura Geller’s Balance and Brighten foundation with SPF 15. 

It’s a color correcting foundation that starts out as a liquid and is baked until it becomes a powder.  It is mineral oil and paraben free and has the age-fighting, anti-oxidant protection of Centella Asiatica and White Tea.   I purchased the Laura Geller Lightness of Beauty 6-piece Color Collection from QVC (Item #A215552).   You can buy just the foundation for $35.00 (www.laurageller.com), or buy this collection from www.qvc.com for $59.76 and get the foundation, a whipped blush, eyeshadow & highlighter quad, eyeliner and a retractable baked powder brush

I’ve never used a powder foundation before so I was a bit hesitant to order it, but I have to say it is a really nice foundation.  It is weightless, buildable and leaves my skin feeling fresh and smooth.  It’s so weightless that it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing any foundation at all!  It doesn’t settle in my pores,  it covers my age spots beautifully and really evens out my skin tone.  It has just the slightest bit of shimmer which I really like.  I have to say though, that it doesn’t last all day.  I can see my t-zone start to shine after about four hours or so.  I didn’t use a primer, so that might help.  I just applied it after I used my moisturizer.  I also didn’t care for the retractable baked powder brush. It seems like the bristles are too long and doesn’t pick up enough product.  I use an Ecotools Bamboo Bronzer Brush.  I like it much better.

 All in all, I would highly recommend this foundation if you’re looking for something light to wear during the summer.

Just a few comments about the rest of the products in the kit.  The eyeshadow and highlighter colors are beautiful and apply nicely.  The eyeliner is waterproof and is a charcoal gray color.  The blush is a whipped blush, which I don’t care for.  I have a hard time applying it and getting it blended before it dries.  I doubt I’ll use it much.  The lip gloss is a beautiful shimmery coral color and I absolutely love it.  I apply it lightly over a neutral colored lip liner. 

If you’ve never tried Laura Geller before, this is a great starting kit.  You get a lot of products for the price.

In Search of the Perfect Foundation

The past few months I've been on a foundation search.  A foundation for mature skin that wasn't heavy, had medium coverage, that would help fine lines and wrinkles, and wouldn't slide off my face in the afternoon. That's not a lot to ask for, right???  I tried a lot of samples and narrowed my choice down to three:  Estee Lauder Futurist Age-Resisting Foundation, Lancome Teint Rénergie Lift R.A.R.E.™, and Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup.

I purchased the Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup and tried it for a week. If you haven't heard of the Hourglass brand, it is a fairly new, high end cosmetic brand.  Hourglass products are developed without the use of parabens, overpowering fragrances or animal-testing.  The Hourglass Fluid Makeup was a beautiful foundation with great coverage, but I just didn't like the way it looked on my skin, so I returned it.  

My second choice was the Lancome Teint Rénergie Lift R.A.R.E.™.  I got a sample of it and used it for about a week.  I really wanted to like this foundation because I read so many good things about it, but it didn't work out for me.  It seemed a bit drying and made my skin look cakey.  

My third choice was the Estee Lauder Futurist Age-Resisting Foundation and I used it for four weeks.  I loved the consistency of this foundation and the coverage was perfect, a light to medium coverage.  My makeup routine is to cleanse, tone, moisturize, wait five minutes for the moisturizer to absorb into my skin, then apply my foundation.  

The problem I had with this foundation was that I couldn't get it blended into the skin.  I used one pump of the foundation and applied it using several different methods, a flat foundation brush, a round foundation brush, my fingers, and a damp beauty blender.  When I applied powder to try to set the foundation, it stuck to the foundation in globs.  I couldn't apply the powder smoothly because the foundation was "wet" on my skin.  I applied the powder with either the powder brush or the powder puff, using a light rolling motion across the face. Nothing worked.  The powder ended up looking cakey and sat in the lines under my eyes, in the corners of my nose and in my laugh lines.  I even tried several different powders, the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Skin Smoothing Loose Powder and the Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder.  I used the foundation with and without a primer (Smasbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light) and it made no difference  After four weeks, I gave up.

So, the search was on....again!  I went to Sephora and Ulta and couldn't find anything I wanted to try.  I walked by the Saks Fifth Avenue store and saw their Chanel makeup section through the window.  I had never shopped at Saks before - there is never anything in there I can afford!  But, I figured why not, I'll check out the Chanel makeup.  I explained to the Chanel makeup artist what I was looking for and she recommended the Chanel Lift Lumiere Firming and Smoothing Fluid Makeup ($65).  She did a color match and I made the purchase.  I also purchased the Poudre Universelle Compact Natural Finish Pressed Powder ($45) and the Eclat Lumiere Highlighter Face Pen ($40).  

The next morning I did my usual makeup routine and used the Chanel Makeup.  OMGosh!!!!  This foundation is amazing!!!  It is weightless medium to full coverage, has a natural luminous finish and it goes on beautifully. The description of the foundation on the Chanel website is:   "A SOFT CRYSTAL LUMIÈRE™ complex visibly diminishes the look of wrinkles and fine lines, setting makeup imperceptibly and controlling shine without a hint of chalkiness. Emollients deliver essential hydration, and firming polymers provide skin with an impeccably smooth surface and the look and feel of an immediate 'lift'."  Let me just say, that is the truth!!!  My skin looks amazing and my fine lines and wrinkles are less noticeable!  Yahoo!  The Poudre Universelle Compact Natural Finish Pressed Powder is translucent with a natural matte finish and has a wonderfully soft feel.  It makes my skin look soft and smooth.  I use the Eclat Lumiere Highlighter Face Pen on my dark circles, my laugh lines and the corners of my nose.  It also reduces the appearance of fine lines and covers my dark circles beautifully.  It gives my eyes a nice brightening lift.

I'm happy to announce that my search for the perfect foundation is over.  The Chanel Lift Lumiere Firming and Smoothing Fluid Makeup will be my go to foundation for a long time.  It is a bit expensive but it is worth every penny.  If you can only afford to purchase one high end makeup item, save your money and buy this foundation. It is the perfect foundation for mature skin!! 

Take good care of yourself.....