Beauty

 Off the beaten path of fall traditions, Joseph Domingo offered a vitalizing contrast of the sleek, sassy “vixen.”  Featured at LA’s Fashion week, Domingo’s Fall 2008 collection, surprisingly naughty yet nice, played dress-up with plunging neck lines, feline accents,  and not so macho sophisticated styling that ushered in the return of the pin-stripe pant. And staying true to his original game plan, Domingo flaunted sexy pieces meant to wow and flatter with the most delicate detailing of satin lace-up closures and embellished metallic accents. Some memorable moments included the entrance of Domingo’s “Red Halter Fortuni dress” and several notable fans that appeared front row, such a Shar Jackson, Shondrella Avery, and Cassandra Hepburn. Hair was tousled, teased and wiry while make-up was reflective of that of the catwoman, emphasizing beckoning eyes and plenty of drama… 

Since trying Suki's Exfoliating Lemongrass Cleanser, I've been obsessed with trying more of her products. One I recently picked up was Suki's Lip Repair Butter. At first I was a little dismayed by the price tag. In one local store, it was selling for $14 plus but I ended up going to Whole Foods and picked it up for just under $9. If this was in Nordstrom's, I wouldn't think twice but I guess buying this in grocery store made me think twice. I went ahead and did it anyways, I took the hit for my readers. smile

Suki's Lip Repair Butter is an all natural lip balm that features organic ingredients like jojoba, sunflower and grapeseed oils infused with chamomile and calendula, beeswax, Vitamin E and steam distilled essential oils. Based on this, I imagined this to be an amazing lip balm but I was a little disappointed when I tried it on.

 

Continue reading "Suki Lip Repair Butter" »

The other product I've been using from Nude Skincare is their Moisture Balance, which is a gel based moisturizer for oily skin. I usually love this type of formula but in this case, I'm a little torn.

At first, this moisturizer seems to have everything that I'm looking for. It's got a nice, light texture to it, has a nice rose scent and my skin drinks it in quickly. My skin feels a bit tight and dry to the touch at first but as the day goes on, it gets better. I've also noticed that my skin stays shine free a little longer with this moisturizer, that's thanks to the laminaria seaweed in the product. It doesn't keep me 100% shine free but any little bit helps.

I do think that this moisturizer could be a bit more moisturizing. It's a little to light for my taste but this could very well be due to the colder, drier weather. I'm going to tuck this away for now and give this another try when it's more humid out. This might be the right amount of moisture for me then.

I'm a little under the weather today but I thought I'd post about a contest I'd kill to win right now.

The amazing Total Beauty team has something new for us this week. From now until Friday evening, you can win your very own personal consultation with the famous dermatologist Dr. Murad of Murad Skincare. Not only that but he'll send you all of the products he recommends. That's a pretty great prize, is it not?

To enter, just be the first to review a product on Total Beauty. Two winners will receive the consultation and basket of goodies. Five winners will receive products suited to their skin type and ten winners will receive a full size Murad Intensive Wrinkle Reducer worth $150 and a $50 gift certificate to Sephora.com.

Good luck! You can find more information on this contest here.

My friend Lea has opened my eyes to organic products and Suki's Exfoliating Lemongrass Cleanser is one of those products she raved about so I just had to try it.

I'm so glad that I was able to try this product because I'm absolutely loving it. When you open this heavenly little jar, you're blown away by the scent. This product features all natural ingredients. The lemongrass and orange scent is completely invigorating. It makes it such a joy to use this product. That's not the only thing though... it's great as an exfoliator. If I don't moisten my hands or face, I can just go to town on my skin and it's not too harsh. I try to avoid that though because I have some other exfoliating products I'm testing. Instead, I just press it up my wet skin, let it foam up a bit and gently spread it around. When I'm done, my skin feels great. My skin is not tight or dry, just soft to the touch. The only thing I worry about is how to make this jar last longer.

One thing to note about organic products is that your skin may react to it's new "diet" but I haven't experienced any side effects. So let's hope it stays that way. Since I started using this product, I've been obsessed with trying more of Suki's products. Lea and I even drove 15 miles to the nearest Whole Foods with the Suki Color line.

So stay tuned, there will definitely be more on Suki's products in the coming week!

Total Beauty is running a great contest right now and it's so easy to enter. They are giving away an amazing trip to New York City for you and two of your friends. It includes airfare and two night's hotel accommodations. In addition, you will all receive makeovers, $1,000 in beauty products and tour all the great beauty spots NYC has to offer. That's one prize I wouldn't mind winning myself.

To enter, all you need to do is review three beauty products on Total Beauty. Every three reviews gets you another entry in the contest. There are no forms to fill out. Your reviews automatically enter you in the contest. One hundred runners up will also receive $50 gift certificates to Sephora.

Get going on those reviews and good luck! May the beauty force be with you.

Lately I've been looking high and low for anything that can calm my skin down. I've been battling some redness, dryness and acne that I'm desperate to get rid of. When I was given a sample of Skyn Iceland's Pure Cloud Cream, I had hopes that this product would be the one I turn to from now on.

The first thing you notice about this cream is how it smells and feels. Its got a nice citrus scent to it that I really enjoyed and it's soft to the touch, almost fluffy. The texture of the cream is not heavy thanks to how airy it is. This product features peptides to relieve irritation, aloe to moisturize, oat extract to heal, vitamins A, B and E and other ingredients all aimed at comforting and healing stressed skin. Sounds good so far, right?

When I applied the product, it absorbed fairly quickly and my skin felt hydrated and smooth. This wasn't what I expected for a healing cream but I still liked the way my skin felt and it did indeed soothe my irritated areas well. As for my skin's appearance, I used this product for 4 days and I noticed a slight reduction in the amount of redness I was seeing prior to using the product but it did nothing for the dry, flaky patches I've been battling, which is what I was really hoping to improve upon.

Even though it certainly calmed my skin down, I still need something more that what Skyn Iceland's Pure Cloud Cream is not doing for me. However, if my budget was not an issue and my skin issues were resolved, this is something I'd seriously consider as a regular moisturizer for drier, colder weather.

Intervene foundations is a liquid makeup product by Elizabeth Arden. It contains Biodormin™ which helps fight signs of aging. The mineral pigment helps create a smooth and even surface and hide imperfections. And Intervene contains SPF 15 so it is perfect for the upcoming spring and summer months. I was asked to try Invervene and I was really happy with the product. It left a nice glowing finish to my skin and it blended in perfectly to create a natural look. Here is a picture of me wearing Intervene.

Starting March 1st, you can experience a scent that's inspired by "the first smell of spring in New York" as Andy Warhol once said. Bond No.9's Andy Warhol Union Square is a floral scent with top notes of lily of the valley and green stems, middle notes of blue freesia and white birchwood then base notes of mellow amber and musk.

Individually, the scent retails for $195 for 100ml and $135 for 50ml but Bond No.9 is introducing their limited edition portfolio of ten bottles featuring a different print of Andy Warhol's famous Flowers piece. This is for the "serious collector", the ones willing to part with $1500 for ten 100ml bottles.

After discovering my new love "Chinatown," this scent seems to be right up my alley. On March 1st, you can find this scent online at Bond No. 9. Aren't the bottles gorgeous? I think I'd be alright with just one for now.