A few warm spring days has got me looking towards warmer weather and sun-kissed skin! My skin is pasty and could really use some sun (fake of course, I make sure to use SPF everyday).
A good substitute for sun or sunless tanner is CARGO’s Voyages Bronzing Collection ($25.00 USD). This includes CARGO’s Bronzer in Medium packaged in a signature tin, a Kabuki Brush, and a cute travel bag.
This is a really pretty bronzer and the brush is perfect for application, plus the whole kit fits in your purse. Very nice for traveling. CARGO is known for their fab bronzers and the look is so natural, but has a little shimmer to it.
This kit is sold exclusively at Sephora inside JC Penney. Enjoy!
EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone – 5 Piece Brush and Case Set
Hi All — Don’t forget to enter my fab giveaway! I am giving away this awesome brush and makeup case set by EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone ($15.99 USD). These brushes are earth friendly, so soft and apply makeup like a dream. I have used many EcoTools brushes and love them all. Environmentally minded Alicia Silverstone designed the set. The details are:
Box is made from 30% post-consumer recycled content and printed with non-toxic inks.
This limited edition EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone Brush Set and Case includes a Finishing Brush, Blush Brush, Angled Eye Shadow Brush, Lash & Brow Groomer and Brush Case. All the tools you need to create Alicia’s natural look!
Contest is open to United States and Canadian residents. To win, leave a comment on my blog. For extra entries follow me on Twitter @fortyflirtyfab and/or subscribe to my blog at the right side of my site’s home page. I will draw the winner on Friday, March 18, 2011. Good luck!
Looking for the hot new nail trend for 2011? Two-toned nails with a “crackled” top coat, is the it thing right now. And you can do it yourself with China Glaze Crackle polish (8.00 USD)! China Glaze brings a whole new level to the game with “Crackle” polish! Create endless edgy looks and make a statement with fun, fearless, color. Everyone has asked for it, and now China Glaze is giving it to them! The six different Crackle colors include:
Lightning Bolt – White Crackle
Black Mesh – Black Crackle
Broken Hearted – Pink Crackle
Cracked Concrete – Grey Crackle
Fault Line – Purple Crackle
Crushed Candy – Teal Crackle
An innovative technology allows you to play with a wide array of color combinations and achieve an edgy, new wave look. This unique formula was developed to give your nails a “crackled” design over traditional nail color. Contrasting colors are used one over another to achieve a deconstructed shatter look that takes place right before your eyes. Instant art for your nails!
How do you do it? It’s easy! Apply your favorite China Glaze glitter, shimmer or crème. Depending on the color you are using, apply either one or two coats for full coverage. When the colored enamel is dry, brush on a thin layer of the Crackle color. Allow the Crackle to work its magic during dry time. After approximately 5 minutes when the crackled design has completely formed, apply a top coat to seal the design for prolonged wear.
I applied China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint (a soft mint green from the Up and Away collection), let it dry completely, and applied Cracked Concrete over it. It works almost like magic as it shatters apart right before your eyes! Once that dried, I applied a top coat to seal the look. It lasted almost a week! Remember to apply a thin coat so it cracks apart easier. This is a really cool look, not too office friendly (unless you work at a casual office like I do), but perfect for night out!
China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.
China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze
With gas prices rising, I am on the lookout for affordable beauty products. If you want hair styling products that work well and are extremely affordable, try V05 Perfect Hold Styling Line. This line consists of 4 different products are formulated with a unique polymer blend that assures long-lasting, all-day hold and a lightweight feel. The products in the line are:Perfect Hold Aerosol Hairspray — This lightweight aerosol hairspray is formulated with a select blend of polymers to provide strong hold while still leaving hair feeling healthy.
Perfect Hold Non-Aerosol Hairspray — This non-aerosol hair spray has a multi-polymer system known for benchmark levels of humidity resistance, providing strong hold while leaving hair feeling soft.
Perfect Hold Styling Mousse — This mousse prevents frizz and holds curl in place with it’s unique multi-polymer system, while giving hair the bounce and shine it deserves.
Perfect Hold Styling Gel — This gel is formulated from a base designed for simplicity to provide great styling hold without stiffness, even in humidity.
These product each retail for $2.00 USD — which is phenomenal for the quality you get. The non-aerosol hairspray is my favorite because it imparts a shine and leaves my hair soft. The gel also gibes great shine and the mousse is perfect for curly girls. Plus, the scent is very nice — my teenage daughter took the aerosol hairspray and uses it over expensive hairsprays that she owns because of the great scent!
These products are available at drugstores and mass-market retailers near you. Enjoy the savings!
Looking for a great, portable fragrance? Lavanila Laboratories presents the Healthy Fragrance Collection in two pretty, portable, and airplane friendly renditions—The Healthy Roller Ball Fragrance and The Healthy Fragrance One-Ounce Collection. Completely free of harsh chemicals typically found in fragrance, now you can enjoy Lavanila’s fresh, clean blends and revel in powerful, skin-healthy ingredients anytime, anywhere.
Lavanila has changed the way we spray and roll on fragrance with the World’s First Healthy Fragrance collection. The first to fuse luxury fragrance with natural science, all Lavanila scents are free of chemically-laden alcohol, petrochemicals, phthalates, synthetic colors, silicone, synthetic preservatives, sulfates, parabens, and propylene glycol that can dry and damage the skin and are instead formulated with 100% natural ingredients such as pure essential oils and skin soothing botanicals. With each spray or roll, a daily dose of 30 essential vitamins and minerals and 19 amino acids is delivered to the skin and locked below the skin’s epidermis via an exclusive marine technology.
Lavanila Healthy Roller Ball Fragrance ($19 each): Housed in a sleek, spill-proof bottle, this travel-sized roller-ball perfume eliminates the risk of spills—a must for any purse or cosmetics case.
Lavanila Healthy Fragrance One-Ounce Collection ($39 each): These cute and convenient minis fit in your carry-on cosmetics case so you never have to be without your favorite Lavanila fragrances, even on the plane.
The Lavanila Healthy Roller Ball Fragrance and One Ounce Fragrances are available in the following scents:
Pure Vanilla: a soothing blend of rich Madagascar vanilla and soft freesia
Vanilla Grapefruit: a refreshing blend of pink grapefruit and warm Madagascar vanilla
Vanilla Coconut: an exotic blend of fresh coconut oil, tiare flower and warm Madagascar vanilla
Vanilla Lavender: a tranquil blend of Spanish lavender, rose absolute, violet leaf, and warm Madagascar vanilla
I have tried the Healthy Fragrance One-Ounce in Vanilla Coconut. I love the sweet, tropical scent that has a warm lasting note. Very nice!
I love Olay’s skincare, but sometimes I forget that they make fabulous body care, too!
I really like their Luscious Embrace body care collection. The scent is a gorgeous floral that contains crushed Orchid extract. The collection includes:
Olay Bath 4-bar Luscious Embrace, ($3.99 for 2) — The bars are massage bars which means it has massaging bumps on it to sooth tired muscles while cleansing and leaving a fantastic scent! It also contains Jojoba butter for extra moisturizing!
Olay Luscious Embrace Moisturizing Body Wash ($5.99 USD)– I love this amazingly creamy body wash. It has a nice lather and leaves skin so smooth. It also works well as a shaving cream.
Olay Luscious Embrace Moisturizing Body Lotion ($5.99 USD) — The lotion is great for after a bath — especially nice on legs after shaving.
These products are very affordable and are a nice change from your usual body wash and lotion. Visit www.olay.com to learn more and they are available for purchase at drugstores and mass market retailers near you.
New lip balm alert! Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm ($7.00 USD) — Care for your lips with beautiful, sheer color. These new tinted balms give you a hint of color with a soft, sweet flavor and natural ingredients that moisturize and condition your lips. Available in six flirty shades – Hibiscus, Honeysuckle, Tiger Lily, Pink Blossom, Red Dahlia and Rose.
The main ingredient is shea butter. This natural fat obtained from the fruit of the karite tree is a valuable, nourishing addition to moisturizers for the reduction of wrinkles and to improve the elasticity of the skin and protect it against environmental aging.
What I think: I like these balms. They are very moisturizing and have a sweet taste. They also impart a soft color, like a light stain. The great thing about Burt’s Bees is that you can feel good about using these all-natural products.
You can purchase these at www.burtsbees.com and at drugstores and mass market retailers near you. Enjoy!
Always on the look out for ways to make my 40 something skin look fabulous, I have been using this one-two punch from Olay at night for a few weeks. The products are the Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System and the Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Moisturize Night Resurfacing Elixir. They are from two different Olay lines, but they work together to help aging skin look younger and glowy. The products are:
Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System ($29.99 USD) — This includes a battery-powered brush with bristles that rotate to cleanse the skin deeply plus Pro-X Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser. Designed by a team of dermatologists along with Olay, the Advanced Cleansing System claims to be as effective as a system sold by skin professionals for nearly $200.
I have not tried the higher end systems (like the Clarisonic), but I really do like this one. I have used it with the Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser and with other cleansers as well. To use, dampen facial skin and brush head lightly with water. Dispense cleanser in your hand and massage over face. Turn on cleansing brush and gently move around the face for approximately 60 seconds. Avoid the eye area. Rinse face and brush head with water. After cleansing, skin is soft and so clean!
After cleansing, I apply Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Moisturize Night Resurfacing Elixir. What does it do?
When applied each night, the non-greasy, fast-absorbing formula with glycolic acid works over a normal sleep cycle to give you uninterrupted exfoliation while antioxidants and moisturizers continuously provide soothing hydration to tighten skin’s surface
Light glycolic peel resurfaces skin nightly for tighter, smoother skin
This treatment is a great daily exfoliater and is easy because it does its work while you are sleeping! I have noticed that my skin is tighter and my skin tone is more even. I have very sensitive skin and it makes my skin a little red, but doesn’t irritate. When I wake up in the morning, my skin looks brighter and smoother.
The combo of a good cleansing and nighttime treatment has really started to improve my skin. Olay is always introducing technologically advance products at really affordable prices. So go ahead and try these. Visit www.olay.com to learn more and you can purchase at drugstores and mass market retailers near you. Enjoy!
Style expert and two-time New York Times best-selling author, Charla Krupp (www.charlakrupp.com) celebrated the paperback release of her wildly successful book, HOW TO NEVER LOOK FAT AGAIN this week and is also about to unveil her new and improved website, a haven for women who never want to look fat or old. The site will be updated daily with videos, tips and product recommendations.
Charla Krupp, former InStyle and Glamour Editor and best-selling author of HOW NOT TO LOOK OLD and the newly released HOW TO NEVER LOOK FAT AGAIN, believes you can look good at any size or age, and her theory has nothing to do with surgery, diet, or exercise. What’s her secret? Something only years of magazine and media training can teach – fast, simple and effortless styling tips to get you looking like your most gorgeous self!
I am going to be reviewing this awesome book in a few weeks. In the meantime check out www.charlakrupp.com for tips on how to look your best!
This Spring there are a lot of fun and glamorous collections of color cosmetics debuting. I have reviewed a lot of them and plan to review more! The thing is that most of them are available at department stores and they are fairly spendy. The solution? Hard Candy is available at Walmart — and it is cool and affordable.
Hard Candy’s spring line includes lots of skin brightening blushes and bronzers and really fun glitter lip glosses. The products I tried are:
Glossaholic – Sequin Saturated Shine Lip Gloss ($5.00 USD) — One dip covers your lips! Ginormous applicator with gloss cup deposits gloss to your whole mouth in one swipe! These super lustrous lip glosses are infused with prisms of color that make lips appear fuller and plumper. Out of this world hyper-reflective prisms of pearl make lips sparkle like crazy! Feeling tired or wired? Two Glossaholic sparkling clear top coats are infused with mood altering elixirs to help you Chill Out or Rise & Shine! – You can wear alone or as a top coat.
Glow All the Way – Instant Bronzer & Gradual Self-Tanner ($8.00 USD) — Improve your tanitude! A tinted, sunless self-tanner that gives you an all over Tropical Tan. The light, airy formula instantly bronzes face and body while the self tanner gradually builds a lasting tan that darkens with time. This light and airy formula moisturizes and will not streak or rub off onto clothes. Infused with 24 carat gold!
Fox in a Box – bronzing duos & blushing quads ($6.00 USD) — A highly pigmented multi-color powder compact that will surely bring out your inner foxy lady. Each box contains coordinated shades that blend together perfectly and a custom Hard Candy applicator brush. Sweep across chin, cheeks, and forehead and unleash the foxiness in you! This is such a cute box and the shades are gorgeous!
Forty, Flirty & Fabulous 