Shopping – Page 12 – Forty, Flirty & Fabulous

Find a New Fragrance For Your Hair, Body and Home For Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a great time to try new fragrances for your body, hair and home to set the mood for romance and to make yourself feel sexy.

NEST Fragrances Bar Soaps ($16.00 USD) — These lightly scented French-milled soaps contain shea butter and almond oil to create a rich, luxurious lather while and nourishing the skin with antioxidant vitamin E. Available in: Moss & Mint, Bamboo, Moroccan Amber, Orange Blossom, Wasabi Pear, and Grapefruit. I tried the Orange Blossom and I loved it. This is a flowery, romantic scent that is perfect for this season! Purchase at Neiman Marcus or online at neimanmarcus.com

Designed for dry and frizzy hair, the LOVE Smoothing Shampoo ($22.00 USD) uses prickly pear extract to provide intense moisture to hair and scalp. Rice Proteins create a protective layer on the hair and Olive Oil acts as an emollient while Indian Fig Extract heals hair cuticles, leaving hair manageable. LOVE Smoothing Conditioner ($25.00 USD) works to replenish both hair and scalp, restoring heat-damaged hair with Vitamin E, moisturizing with rice bran wax and nourishing hair and scalp with borage oil. The blend of moisturizers and silicones leaves hair soft, silky and manageable and loved. The fig scent is fantastic, too. Visit www.davines.com for salon locations.

The Bath and Body Works Black Currant Vanilla Massage Oil ($16.00 USD) — This sexy oil is fragranced with at combination Black Currant and Vanilla. Vanilla Absolute soothes and calms to instill feelings of comfort. The soothing oil blend contains Sunflower Oil, rich in the antioxidant Vitamin E, to moisturize skin and help keep it young looking. Massage into freshly cleansed skin or add to warm running bath water for the ultimate relaxing bath. Visit www.bathandbodyworks.com to learn more and to purchase.

Designed to evoke over 19 different moods, emotions and locales from around the world, the moment you inhale one of TOCCA’s Candle ($36.00 USD) fragrances, you are instantly transformed to a place far beyond your current reality. Available in 26 fragrances ($36 each). I love the Bianca Candle. With notes of green tea, lemon and a dash of sugar, Bianca leaves you sitting seaside in Italy, enjoying life and sipping tea. Approximate burn time: 60 hours. Visit www.tocca.com or www.sephora.com to purchase.

Enjoy the romance!

Love QVC? Love tarte? Check Out These Exclusive Products!

Love QVC and tarte? QVC is lucky to carry select tarte products before they are available anywhere else. I tried a couple of fun tarte eye makeup products recently — the smooth operator™ Amazonian clay eye base and the emphasEYES™ aqua-gel eyeliner in indigo shimmer.

I have recently become a fan of eye base. A good one smooths the eyelid and increase the staying power of eye shadows. Tarte’s smooth operator™ Amazonian clay eye bas is naturally brightening and utilizes the intuitive power of Amazonian clay to balance oily lids and hydrate dry areas around the eye. The waterproof primer leaves your lids soft and smooth, allowing shadow to remain truer to color and last all day.

skinvigorating™ ingredients:
·         beeswax: is used as a waterproofing agent, and creates a natural protective barrier between the skin and the environment
·         Vitamins A: antioxidant that helps remove free radicals, promotes collagen production and retains moisture
·         Vitamin C: inhibits melanin oxidation which improves skin’s brightness and clarity
·         Vitamin E: natural preservative that also acts as an anti-inflammatory emollient and protects against free radical damage
·         Amazonian Clay: this nutrient rich clay is extracted from the banks of the Amazon River where the nutrients are at their highest concentration. As nature’s most perfect ingredient this multitasking and total skin balancing clay has been known to:
o    Remove surface oil to mattify lid area
o    Hydrate dry area around the eyes
o    Give skin area around the eyes an overall smooth and even appearance
o    Reduce the appearance of dryness and flakiness
o    Improve the appearance of skin clarity and texture

I love the matte finish of this primer. If you are in a hurry, applying this then a little eyeliner and mascara well get you out of the house quick and looking great! But if you do apply shadows over it, they will last all day long!

The revolutionary emphasEYES™ aqua-gel eyeliner has been around for awhile now. It claims to capture the high pigment concentration and staying power of a gel pot in an effortless pencil, no brush required! Even more unique is the proprietary formula which encapsulates rich mineral pigments in a 50% water concentration. By a process of hydrous pigmentation, cooling and refreshing pure water absorbs into skin to hydrate and replenish the delicate eye area, leaving behind an intense, long-wearing and pigment-rich color. Fortified with vitamin E, cucumber and aloe this soothing aqua-gel eyeliner maintains moisture balance in the skin while treating with healing free radical fighters.

Skinvigorating™ benefits:
Water: pure water delivers and retains moisture to replenish and hydrate skin
Aloe leaf extract: soothing, healing and antiseptic properties help maintain moisture balance in the skin
Cucumber extract: rich in vitamins A &C and helps soothe skin
Mineral pigments: colors and dyes derived from natural minerals soothe and soften the skin
Vitamin E: natural preservative acts as an anti-inflammatory emollient and fights free radical damage
Due to this unique formula:
DO NOT over advance the pencil tip. Due to the soft nature of this formula breakage may occur of pencil tip is over-advanced.
ALWAYS secure cap tightly after use to prevent drying.

Indigo shimmer is the new color exclusive to QVC. It is very dark, almost a black-blue with a little bit of shimmer. Very dramatic. I love rimming my eyes with this pencil before going out. The only thing is that the formula is so soft that you have to apply it very lightly. I have broken off the tip a couple of times. But the pigment pay-off and smoothness of application is worth it.

Both product are formulated without:
parabens
mineral oil
petrolatum
phthalates
sodium lauryl sulfate
synthetic dye
synthetic fragrance

Visit www.qvc.com to learn more and to purchase. Enjoy!

CoverGirl’s New NatureLuxe Collection

Taylor Swift is the face of the new CoverGirl NatureLuxe collection. She is a fresh face for a fresh new idea for drugstore cosmetics. Both products below are light and have natural ingredients in them. They are perfect for women of all ages because they are fresh and light.

The NatureLuxe Silk Foundation ($12.00 USD) is a super light foundation that gives good coverage. It is infused with jojoba and cucumber extract. I like this foundations because it goes on smooth and has a nice slip to it. It also smooths out skin tone. This foundation is available in 14 different shades.

NatureLuxe Gloss Balm ($6.00 USD) is a luxurious sheer color with a hint of shine and a SPF of 15. This is like a shimmery balm– it is so pretty on. This is perfect for someone just beginning to wear makeup or for someone who wants a very natural, yet polished look. Plus it is available in 16 colors so there is something for everyone!

Visit www.covergirl.com to learn more. These products are available at drugstores and mass market retailers near you. Enjoy!

Soften Your Dry Winter Skin With Caudalie Hand And Nail Cream

I seem to be slathering on hand cream constantly in this cold, dry, winter air. I have been looking for a hydrating, but not greasy, hand cream that smells great. And I have found it! Caudalie Hand And Nail Cream ($19.00 USD) is my new favorite winter hand cream.

Why? Because is it nourishing for both hand and nails and it is also anti-aging. It contains patented grapevine polyphenols, organic shea butter from equitable trade, grape-seed oil, avocado extract, Vinolevure® and plant-derived glycerin. It is also infused with a sweet orange fragrance that smells fantastic!

Visit www.caudalie-usa.com to learn more and to purchase. Enjoy!

Biomega Hair Care

I love finding hair care that is natural, safe for my color-treated hair and will leave it soft and shiny. Having tried Biomega shampoo, I am happy to say that it didn’t leave my hair stripped and dry! Want to learn more?

Biomega is the first haircare system designed to replenish and replicate hair’s natural oils with a potent, highly active infusion of nature’s precious, lightweight Omega-rich oils and nourishing plant extracts that penetrate deep into the hairshaft to replenish hair’s depleted natural oils, infusing vital moisture and brilliant shine, repair damage for maximum strength and elasticity and renew the healthy look and feel of color-treated hair and deliver longer lasting color results.

Biomega’s exclusive cross-linked polymeric grid suspends potent amounts of nature’s precious, ultra-light oils into each formulation. This keeps the oils from separating and allows them to be infused directly into the hairshaft for the highest beneficial levels, replenishing and replicating the healthy benefits of hair’s natural oils.

According to Luis Alvarez, Vice President and co-founder of Biomega, “Unfortunately, everything we do to hair to make it beautiful, such as thermal styling, hair coloring or relaxing also damages the hair, this is why we created Biomega. We wanted to create the most luxurious, naturally-derived shampoo and conditioner collection on the planet. We’re passionate about healthy, vibrant hair and selected only the most precious natural oils and plant extracts known for their highly active levels of nature’s most powerful moisturizer, Omega Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) because of their unique ability to replicate the benefits of hair’s missing natural oils and the elements of brilliant, healthy hair.”

That approach has found expression in 3 regimens that are designed to meet every hair type’s distinct needs and includes:
Biomega Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner for dry, damaged and lifeless hair.
Biomega Silk Shampoo and Intensive Conditioner for coarse, curly or frizzy hair.
Biomega Volume Shampoo and Moisture Mist Conditioner for fine, limp or thinning hair.

What I think: I’ve tried the Volume Shampoo and Moisture Mist Conditioner. I really love the shampoo, but the leave in conditioner isn’t moisturizing enough for my dry winter hair. It might work well for me in the summer when my scalp gets oilier. I do have to say that both of the products smell wonderfully fresh and leave my hair very soft. I love that these products replicate the benefits of the hair’s natural oils, which my dry, over-processed hair needs.

The Biomega product line is available exclusively at independently owned salons and spas nationwide, and each product has a retail price of $17. Visit www.aquage.com for additional information and a salon location near you.

In And Out Different Beauty Anti-Aging Products

With three kids, a husband, 4 cats and a Great Dane puppy, I don’t get to splurge on much for myself. But if I were going to, I would treat myself to really good skincare.

Luckily I get to sample lots of different skincare, like this duo from In&Out Different Beauty™. The Anti-Age Collection from this brand contains concentrated plant extracts, vegetable DNA, vitamins, peptides and amino acids that replicate a healthy skin’s lipid barrier and encourage surface cell renewal. The unique formulas of the products below, the Phenomenal Anti-Age Night Repair Cream and the Phenomenal Anti-Age Wrinkle Synergy, will leave skin feeling soft while revealing younger looking skin. In combination, the products provide the ultimate anti-aging experience this winter.

Phenomenal Anti-Age Wrinkle Synergy ($125.00 USD) –Revitalize skin while improving elasticity with this anti-aging elixir that includes a concentrated blend of essential oils sourced exclusively from Switzerland. Just one or two drops of this formula are all that is needed to rejuvenate skin.

Ingredients and Benefits:
Grape Seed Oil, Olive Fruit Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Ylang Ylang Flower Oil, Clary Sage Oil, Soybean Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil , Matricaria Flower Oil, Carrot Seed Oil – This combination of essential oils deeply moisturizes and mimics the skin’s natural tissue composition to help fight against free radicals.

Phenomenal Anti-Age Night Repair Cream ($300.00 USD) — Keep skin balanced and healthy while you sleep. Packed with a bevy of amino acids, this rich nighttime treatment encourages cell turnover while leaving skin looking radiant.

Ingredients and Benefits:
Vitamins A & E – Antioxidants that help to slow the visible signs of aging
Rosemary, Chamomile, Ylang Ylang – Calming botanicals that help improve skin tone
Squalane – Natural moisturizer that easily penetrates the skin
Argan Oil – A Moroccan oil that intensely hydrates the outer and middle layers of the skin

What I think: This is a luxurious and very moisturizing evening skincare treatment, but definitely not for those with oily skin — especially the Anti-Age Wrinkle Synergy as it is an herbal oil. My favorite of these products is the Night Repair Cream. It is light but extremely hydrating. I apply it to my face and neck and I have noticed that my skin seems brighter, clearer and very smooth. I luckily don’t have a lot of wrinkles, but the ones I do have are less noticeable. I realize that this is very expensive, but if you can splurge, I would recommend the night cream. It is wonderful!

The Phenomenal Anti-Age Night Repair Cream and Phenomenal Anti-Age Wrinkle Synergy are available at www.inoutbeauty.com

Create a Flawless Canvas With Palladio Primers and Foundation

I love the herbal and vitamin infused Palladio products. They give good coverage and are good for you — at an affordable price! Below, I review the new herbal primers and foundation.

Eye Primer ($8.00) — Meet the new industry standard in eyeshadow primers—one that retails for LESS THAN HALF the cost of department store brands! Enhanced with 5 different herbal extracts as well as Vitamins A, C and E, this sheer, silicone-based formula glides on like silk and then vanishes instantly. It’s the ultimate makeup kit accessory, that eliminates creasing and ensures maximum shadow vibrancy all-day long.

Face Primer ($12.00) — Our unique silicon formula creates a velvety seal that literally treats the skin by delivering active ingredients such as Gingko Biloba (which promotes blood circulation) and Aloe Vera (which contains soothing properties). Also enriched with several key herbs and vitamins that combat elasticity breakdown, this foundation base smoothes fine lines and imperfections by filling pores, allowing a flawless foundation application. (Suitable for all skin types.)

Herbal Liquid Foundation Tubes ($10.00) — This unique, oil-free formula contains light-reflecting pigments which diffuse and bend to create a natural, matte appearance. Vitamins A and E, as well as Ginseng and Gingko extracts, aid in reducing the look of fine lines, large pores and other imperfections. Enrichments like Cucumber, Aloe Vera and Chamomile extracts sooth and moisturize the skin while evening its complexion. Designed with convenience in mind, this all day, sheer-to-medium coverage comes in an easy-to-squeeze tube that ensures no product (or money) goes to waste. (Suitable for all skin types.)

What I think: I love that all three of these products are so great for my skin. Although skeptical at first, I use eye primers every day. They make the eyelids smooth and help shadows last all day and do not crease. The face primer makes my skin so soft and had a great slip that makes my concealer and foundation slide right on. The foundation is the perfect touch to balance my color, gets rid of my read cheeks and makes my pores look smaller. Beautiful!

Visit www.palladiobeauty.com to learn more, and you can purchase at Ulta. Enjoy!

L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Hydra-Nutrition Day/Night Cream

My skin is getting drier as the weather gets colder. I usually have to amp up my hydration during the winter months, and L’Oréal Paris’ Age Perfect Hydra-Nutrition is the perfect nourishing day/night cream to help skin stay soft.

Specifically designed for mature skin and perfect for women who don’t have time to follow an extensive skincare regime (day treatment, day lotion, night treatment, night cream, etc.), Age Perfect Hydra-Nutrition treats skin to deep hydration and intense nutrition in one step and can be used both morning and night. The cream combines a unique Nutrient Complex enriched with calcium,and it envelopes skin to effectively nourish parched, sagging skin and leave it supple, fortified and resilient. Plus, the always classy Diane Keaton is the face of the product.

What I think: I love the texture of this product. It is almost like a balm, so thick. But it melts right into the skin and doesn’t leave it greasy, just really soft. I even use it in the morning before applying makeup. It keeps me hydrated all day long and my skin looks so smooth.

Price: $16.59, Available at www.lorealparis.com and chain drug, food and mass market retailers. Enjoy your younger looking skin!

Fab Beauty Stocking Stuffers Under $10.00 Part 2

Stuff her stocking with really original gifts that are $10.00 and under. Choose natural solid perfumes from Burt’s Bees, a delicious chocolate lotion from Philip B. and new nail polishes from Twilight Beauty — yes, THE Twilight franchise has a high-end makeup line so she can look like her favorite vampire or vampire lover!

Burt’s Bees has recently released solid perfumes ($10.00 USD) in four scents, Naturally Beautiful, Naturally Happy, Naturally Fresh and Naturally Sensual. The descriptions are:

Naturally Beautiful– Feel beautiful with this 100% natural fusion of Peach, Jasmine, Black Tea, Ylang Ylang and Vanilla. A perfect balance of fresh fruits and flower blossoms infuses a solid base of skin-loving natural oils, waxes and butters to provide a pure, lovely fragrance for her.

Naturally Happy — Fill your days with smiles with this 100% natural solid perfume bursting with bold citrus-floral notes from Brazilian Oranges, Florida Grapefruits, Rose Petals and Cedarwood. This solid perfume is formulated with some of the best ingredients found in nature – fragrant botanical oils fused with skin-loving natural oils, waxes and butters.

Naturally Fresh — Fresh and energizing, this 100% natural fragrance sparkles with sunny notes of Lemon and Grapefruit mixed with woodsy Cedar. This vibrant solid perfume is infused with some of the best ingredients found in nature – fragrant botanical oils mixed with skin-loving natural oils, waxes and butters.

Naturally Sensual — Exude feminine sensuality with this 100% natural fusion of Italian Lemon, Sweet Pineapple, Rose-Geranium, Vanilla and woody Patchouli. A perfect blend of fresh fruits, floral and woodsy notes infused a solid base of skin-loving natural oils, waxes and butters to provide a pure, sexy fragrance for her.

Visit www.burtsbees.com to learn more and to purchase.

Philip B. 2oz Chocolate Milk Body Crème ($10.00 USD) A rich, happy smell – the finest Chocolate and Vanilla Extracts are blended in this subtle and sophisticated crème. This very moisturizing product makes a great stocking stuffer for your sister or BFF! Available at www.philipb.com.

Nox Twilight nail polish ($6.99 USD) is the newest edition of products from Twilight Beauty. Inspired by the powerful Cullen coven, this line of professional quality nail polish prominently features the enduring Cullen crest on the center of each bottle. Buy your favorite shades or splurge on the Ultimate Collection of all 12 shades at a TwilightBeauty.com exclusive price of $65 $40 (a $84 value).

To reflect each unique member of this clan, Nox Twilight provides a wide array of shades:

Red Velvet – Classic cherry red
Chiffon – Soft delicate pink
Debutante – Fresh peachy-pink
Sugar Plum – Plummy iridescent
Disco Darling – Glimmer shimmer
Wine & Dine – Sparkling champagne
Talon – Forbidding navy
Sangria – Vampy bordeaux
Black Tie – Best-dressed black
Poseidon – Sky blue
Crush – Sassy hot pink
Citrus – Energizing bright orange

Right now I am loving Sugar Plum. It is bright and shiny, which is perfect for the holiday season. Afterwards, I can see my self wearing Sangria or Talon for the rest of the winter. This is very good quality polish, but I suggest wearing a top coat to keep color chip-free for longer. I wore it without a top coat and it didn’t chip for about 3 days, which is pretty good! Visit www.twilightbeauty.com to purchase.

Give The Gift Of Relaxation With Comfort Zone, Dr. Hauschka and AHAVA This Holiday Season

Looking to give the gift of relaxation (or to or purchase some for yourself) this holiday season? Below are three natural and spa brands that you may never have tried before, but each one includes wonderfully smelling and calming products that will help you get through the busy and stressful holiday season.

Comfort Zone Tranquility Shower Cream ($38.00 USD). Transform your shower into your very own blissful oasis by using this Tranquility Shower Cream. Specially formulated with vanilla and rose oils, this shower cream provides a two-in-one process of cleansing and moisturizing the skin while relieving stress and muscle tension. I love the soft scent and the fact that the cream makes my skin so soft. It works well for shaving, too. Visit www.comfortzone.it to learn more.

Dr. Hauschka The Aromatherapy Bath Kit ($19.95 USD) has everything to create the ultimate bath experience. A perfect gift for anyone your list who deserves a little indulgence and at under $20, it won’t break the bank. It contains travel sizes of Lavender, Lemon, Sage, Spruce and Rosemary Bath products that help calm and soothe. I like to combine a few drops of Lemon and Sage in my bath. So nice! This is available at www.drhauschka.com

AHAVA Mineral Sparkles Holiday Gift Set ($20.00 USD). Put a little sparkle into your Holiday beauty routine with AHAVA’s Mineral Sparkles gift set. This exclusive set features three effective treatments to pamper and address the needs of the body and hands. These unique formulas are clinically proven to restore skin’s natural moisture balance for healthy and radiant skin. Powered by 21 essential Dead Sea minerals including potassium, calcium and magnesium, these treatments will renew your skin with soothing moisture. Includes Mineral Body Lotion, Mineral Hand Cream, Mineral Shower Gel and AHAVA’s Deluxe Chenille Bath Puff. Available at AHAVA.com

Enjoy!