Apr 9, 2013

Luxury Lusting for La Mer Cream

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Here’s a post category I haven’t hit for a while: Luxury Lusting. Chances are you’ve heard of the cream I’m featuring today because it is a cult favorite. It’s also a cool $275 for 2 ounces. La Mer face cream is on my luxury lust list for a variety of reasons but mostly because I just think it’d be fun to see if a $275 face cream could outdo a $50 face cream.

Description: At its heart is nutrient-rich Miracle Broth™. Exclusive Lime Tea, a powerful antioxidant, is also utilized in its original concentration to repair skin. Sea kelp, a natural humectant, moisturizes and gives skin an airlight feel.

Naturally, it has 5 out of 5 stars on every single site I checked for reviews. Users rave, “This is the best moisturizer I ever tried” and “Nothing else works for me.”

Would you spend this much on a face cream? What have you heard about La Mer products? Let me know in the comments! And of course, if you’d like to splurge on this amazing cream, click here to buy it .

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Apr 3, 2013

My first eyebrow waxing experience

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Believe it or not, I’ve never waxed my eyebrows. Well, up until last week! They either needed some serious plucking or a quick wax so I scheduled an appointment across the street with Jenn at the Oxford who is also my go-to facial gal. I’ve always heard mixed reviews about eyebrow waxing. Some say that it hurt so much the first time they’d never do it again and some say they will never pluck their brows again.

Well after my brow wax, I fall into the second category and will be saying goodbye to my tweezers!

The whole experience took less than 15 minutes. I was in, waxed and out before I knew it. Jenn used a slightly warm wax and after applying would edge it off just slightly (pull just 2-3 tiny times on the edge of the strip) then pull it all the way off in one quick motion. Did it hurt? Honestly, not really. After waxing the top, bottom and center of my brows, she cleaned up any stray hairs with tweezers and then I was out the door.

I was concerned I might have a little redness after the waxing so I scheduled my appointment in the evening. I easily could have gone right back to work because there was no redness, lingering tingling or anything I’d heard from friends with waxing horror stories.

I’m interested to see how long it lasts! Typically, I would use the tweezers to catch stray hairs every other day. After 5 days, I have a few hairs I might tweeze but certainly am not ready for a wax again. Do you wax your brows? Let me know in the comments!

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Mar 11, 2013

This week in beauty

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It’s been a big week for random beauty treatments. I went to a wedding last weekend and needed to catch up! All in all, I received my second upper lip laser hair removal treatment, a facial, a shellac manicure with rhinestones and a spray tan. And I’m exhausted. Okay, totally kidding.

Check out my nails…

Nails

Love them!

The spray tan was the newest experience in my beauty testing and I’d never actually spray tanned before. I went to Zolarium on Blake St in downtown Denver and here are my thoughts:

1. Thank you to my friend Michelle, a veteran spray tanner, who gave me great advice!

2. I wanted to take a shower sooooo baaaadly but one of the keys is to let it sink in for 24 hours. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a very splotchy tan.

3. After about 4-6 hours, it really begins to absorb and you no longer feel sticky.

4. Don’t wear socks right after your tan or anything tight that could rub off a lot of the tanner.

5. I loved it. I had a perfectly, light golden glow with no orange or streaks.

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Mar 5, 2013

Alterna Hair Products

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I love my Alterna shine spray. It adds so much luster with so little weight and never makes hair look greasy. It’s been so dry in Colorado lately that I thought my hair needed an extra boost (since I was using the shine spray more as a leave-in conditioner than a fishing product…) so I turned to the same brand for an additional conditioning product.

I came away with the Alterna Bamboo Anti-Breakage Spray, which protects against heat styling and is a true leave-in conditioner. So far, I really like it. Of course, I’m adjusting since it definitely has more moisture oomph than the Alterna Shine Spray.

After 3 weeks, I don’t have any cons to report! But here is my list of pros:

1. Nice, subtle smell

2. No added grease or weight

3. Seems like it will last a long time since only 2-3 sprays easily covers all of my hair

4. Adds shine and “seals” hair before you heat style

Want to try Alterna Anti-Breakage for yourself? Click here to buy it and support the reviews on this blog! Love you all.

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Feb 28, 2013

Purses! (and Kate Spade sale)

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I received an e-mail this morning that completely distracted the beauty-related post I was working on. KateSpade.com has an extra 25% off their sale right now!

And then I started looking for Kate Spade on Zappos and found this little guy that I love and I’m not entirely sure why…Car Clutch anyone?

Anyway, click the link above to see the little car clutch on Zappos. Or click the banner below to go shop the adorable Kate Spade sale and enter the code SAVE25 at checkout for an extra 25% off your sale purchase!

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Feb 25, 2013

Jurlique mist goes back to Sephora, not a win

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Approximately a month ago, I purchased a moisturizing spray in hopes it would boost my daily moisturizer (I didn’t plan to wear it at night, knowing the REN Frankincense night cream I love is enough on its own) and help maintain balanced skin during the harsh Colorado winter.

After extensive review research, I decided to test the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing mist for $22. Unfortunately, the mist just took a trip back to Sephora because it wasn’t for me. It had some great pros. It sprays very evenly, adds zero shine and has a very light, pleasant scent. It definitely adds more moisture but without adding oil. But for me personally, the biggest con was that it gave me an extra pimple or two that I certainly wasn’t expecting.

I had the same result on both my face and my chest where a few small pimples popped up that easily disappeared after a few days with my favorite spot treatment. I used it for 5 days but the breakout continued. Didn’t give it long enough? Possible. But not going to chance it, especially considering there were no other factors or changes that could have caused the breakout.

Stay tuned for future tests of moisture mists! Do you have one you love? Let me know!

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Feb 20, 2013

Upper Lip Laser Hair Removal Hurts Like Hell

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…just in case you were wondering.

So if you saw my post a few weeks ago, I wanted to bite the bullet (little did I know how true that statement would be) and get laser hair removal on my upper lip. Even with really lightly colored hair, for some reason you should still see very tiny hairs on my upper lip. Gross! I had my first laser hair removal appointment recently and it hurt. A lot more than I thought it would. This wasn’t my first foray into laser.

I had my bikini line done last year. And while that hurt, I came to the conclusion that having it done on your face hurts a helluva lot more. It absolutely felt like a rubber band snapping and it makes your eyes water. My skin felt very hot, which wasn’t necessarily as noticeable when I had my bikini line done.

I forgot to mention, up until this point, I’d used Olay Facial Hair Removal Duo. It worked extremely well. It begins with a moisturizing stick and then the white hair removal cream follows. You can buy it here from Target.com for $22.

While it smells awful, it works great and for me, results lasted about 2-3 weeks. But I was ready for a more permanent and apparently more painful solution.

Ahh the price of beauty.

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Feb 8, 2013

Sephora 500-point Clinique Reward

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You might have seen the e-mail…but Sephora has a new 500-point reward! It’s a 4-item Clinique sampler, which I cashed in for during my last Sephora trip for two reasons: I had over 1,000 points and I really wanted to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick. You can find the full tube here from Sephora for $15.

By the way, for clarity sake, I noticed this reward is not available online, so if you’d like to give it a try, you’ll have to head to the mall and pick it up in person.

Overall, I can see how this lipstick is touted as a color for everyone, but I thought it needed a little more. More shine, more subtle sparkle, more something. It seemed too matte on my lips, despite the pretty color.

The whole tube is only $15 but I’m not sure I’d buy it. It is just missing something.

As for the other products in the 500-point reward, my favorite is the anti-puff eye roller. It’s called the All About Eyes Serum and you can buy the full-sized product here from Nordstrom for $28. I really like the light, cooling feel of the serum and I think it actually does de-puff your eyes. It’s something for night use because during the day it can make the skin around your eyes a little tight.

Overall, while nothing in the Clinique kit wowed me, it was fun to try a few samples of new things. And that’s the good thing about Sephora rewards! It’s a risk-free way to add a few new products to your drawer. Are you a fan of Clinique products? What’s your favorite? Leave it in the comments!

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Jan 30, 2013

Dior Addict Lipsticks

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I recently asked my absolutely beautiful friend Brittany who has the most fabulous taste in makeup what lipstick she was wearing in a picture. It was such a gorgeous color and I wanted to give it a try! Brit told me it was one of the Dior Addict lipstick so I went in search…and naturally bought two.

In my last online shopping trip I purchased the lip glow, which you can see on the left below. But on a quick run to the store last week to return the Billionaire Boyfriend roll-on for the .5 oz spray bottle, I bought it in Silhouette, the color Brittany had been wearing. Silhouette is a beautiful rosy pink with some peach undertones.

You all know me, I’ve always loved Dior products and their Lip Addict collection is no different so far. Both go on smoothly, evenly and provide fantastic (but VERY different) color.

The Lip Glow is designed to bring out your natural lip color. It goes on clear, then after about 15-20 seconds, your lips look pinker and very slightly shimmery. Only downside is it doesn’t last very long. It seems to stay on for between 1-2 hours and then has completely worn away.

Silhouette is a great rosy peach color without too much pink or too much orange. It’s a beautiful natural lipstick to wear during the day or with evening makeup when you don’t want a dramatic lip color. It’s moisturizing and lasts hours.

I would highly recommend either Lip Addict lipstick and also love the lipstick in the colors Avenue (darker, more pink) and for the holidays, Sunset Boulevard, which is a rich plum red.

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Jan 29, 2013

Update to Emily’s Everyday Beauty!

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Hello Ladies!
Click over to Emily’s Everyday Beauty for an update to my makeup drawer photo as well as a few key changes. I’ve updated my daily eye shadow from Yves Saint Laurent No 5 to the Dior Nude Palette and changed my foundation to Bobbi Brown. I’ve also updated my Everyday Lipstick from NARS to Dior Glow!

Below you can see the Dior palette, Bobbi Brown shimmer brick, Bobbi Brown foundation and the LaVanila lip protector.

Makeup drawer 1-29

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