My CVS Haul

So I'm in CVS to get contact solution and I can't help but be lured to the beauty aisle. Like really, Candace? I happen to OWN an entire store of beauty products, yet I feel the pull of touch, feel, try and smell all that CVS, or drugstore brands, have over me. Coming in to spend $17.00 for the needed contact solution soon turns into $100.00 of beauty crap that literally fascinates me. I'm going to justify it as research and development-as I need to stay on top of all the beauty trends. Don't I?

My number one favorite this trip is:

Nivea-In-Shower-Body Moisturizer-Oh hell yes! Where has this stuff been my whole life? I am a girl who loves body products, and a daily user of body moisturizers. I never skip my lotion, if I can help it, and this stuff is my answer to skipping body lotion outside the shower. WHY I LOVE IT: It's so easy and about $6.00. After cleansing the body/hair with soap or gel and getting ready to exit, you step away from the stream of water and apply this gem directly to wet skin just like you would a regular body moisturizer IN THE SHOWER!. After fully immersing your body in the creamy goodness you then step back into the stream of water and rinse off. Voila! Moisture drenched skin that can go the day without applying moisturizer outside the shower. MY RECOMMENDATION: Apply moisturizer after drying off. Now I know you are thinking that it totally defeats the purpose here, but trust me, you skin will look moisture drenched all day long and be oh-so-supple to the touch.

Maybelline Rocket Volume Express Mascara- I had high hopes, really, but this one was an epic fail for me. Sorry Maybelline. (I'm going to stick to my Maybelline Lash Stiletto which I LOVE) This one just didn't hit the mark for me. At $7.99, it boasts "8x bigger, smother, explosive, most beautiful lashes ever instantly". WHY IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: It didn't deliver "bigger, smoother, explosive" lashes. As amatter of fact, the patented Supersonic Brush turned out to be goopy and messy, therefore the "instantly" part took twice as long as an instant to smooth out. When all was said and done, the formula didn't give me anything but pretty average looking lashes. 

Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lip Color- Never fail-for sure! Holy long lasting! If you are looking for a color that will literally not move all day, this is the lip color for you. I had heard about this product from my clients who are constantly asking me for "a lipstick that will last", so I was more than curious. The formula, infused with Marine collagen and Vitamin E, protects and conditions the lips while preventing moisture loss over time. The price is a real steal at $9.99 for all day color. The dual, mirrored compact includes two lip products in a 2-step process. You apply the lip color first, let it dry down (about 2 minutes) to a matte finish. Then apply the white, gloss over it and go! WHY IT DIDN"T WORK FOR ME: This product did everything it said it would do-a bonus for sure. The only re-applying I needed to do was the white gloss, maybe a few time in the course of a long day. But I'm a girl who wears nude/beige lipstick and glosses all day, every day. This was simply too much color for me for way too long! If that's a bad thing for you-like me- this product may well be better for you on a day that you can't get to your makeup bag easily. Other than that, this product is a great deal for ladies who want all day color. ALSO: Like I said, this stuff does not come off, so an oil based product for removal is recommended. 

Roc Daily Resurfacing Disks-I know I have blogged about this one before, because I love this product! I hadn't bought them in a while-(and My Guy stole my last batch) so I picked them up again. These dual-use pads are pre-moistened and a breeze to use. WHY I LOVE THEM: They are self-foaming! One side is textured to slough off dead skin cells and blur the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and the other side is smooth to gently cleanse and remove makeup and dirt. I use these babies at night, after a long day and swipe away everything them rinse. 3-5 times a week I will use the textured side to exfoliate my skin's surface so that my skin care products will be 50-60% more effective! What's better than that? at real bargain at $9.99.

Ponds Dry Skin Cream- This product is a no brainer for me; an absolute staple in my medicine cabinet and must have. I love this product so much that I would literally put a spoon in it and eat it if I could. 

WHY I ADORE IT: There are so many reasons but simply said, I use it for everything. Mostly as a fantastic body moisturizer but I do use it for my face, just not regularly. I always have Ponds Dry Skin Cream with me when I travel because it is so easy to transfer the cream into travel size jars and because it's a face and body moisturizer all in one! The Price varies due to jar size but safe to say you can get into one of these puppies for a mere $7.99. What can I say? My grandmother would be so proud!

I also bought a bunch of other stuff because I am a hapless, hopeless beauty junky who doesn't discriminate. Expensive or inexpensive, I have to try it all. Like it says on my Twitter profile, 

"If I can smudge it, buff it apply it and try it, then I gotta have it..."

Light The Strobe Lighting

In today's beauty world the YouTube vloggers have made it a snap for us to up our makeup game. Applying your makeup daily has suddenly entered into an unprecedented realm of technique. Contouring is the one that comes to mind, and the art of applying dark creams and powders to the hollows of your face to produce face slimming, face shaping effects can result in giving the average person an incredibly sculpted look. Truth be told, contouring does take a bit of skill and a bit of product to get the right result which can sometimes means it's not for everyone.

Rest assured there's a new makeup trend that is taking the beauty industry by storm and it's easier than you think. Strobing, is "the new black" in makeup application and it gives you the same sort of sculpted look as contouring, but in a much softer and dewy-er way. 

Strobing is all about the highlighter-which means that it's main component is focused on ONE product which you probably already own already!

What is Strobing? It's all about light-think soft and bright. It's about applying highlighter-light and only light-to the parts of your face that the sun would normally illuminate. The look is a fresh faced, dewy result that says healthy in a "I just had an amazing facial" kind of way. It's similar to highlighting but there's a bit more to it than simple highlighting. The best part is anyone can get the look if you follow these easy steps:

Start with a moisturizer. Add a gorgeous luminizer like Kevyn Aucoin's  The Celestial Skin Liquid Lighting to your foundation.This should be the base to give your face that gorgeous dewy look. Avoid anything with a matte finish unless you are very oily. Then apply a highlighter to the areas of you face where sunlight would kiss; the tops of the cheek bones, temples, down the bridge of the nose, the brow bone and the forehead. If you have an oily skin, you may want to use a light hand, so as to not leave the skin looking greasy and shiny.

Cream highlighters like Smashbox's L.A. Light's Lip and Cheek Color Stick in Hollywood & Highlight or Kevyn Aucoin's The Creamy Glow Duo #4  work best to melt into your skin and create a dewy, strobing sensation! Champagne shades of highlighter are great for all skin tones, but if you are super fair, opt for a whiter, silvery looking highlighter like Hollywood & Highlight.

Jump start you summer with the hottest new makeup trend  that's sure to leave you selfie ready! Of course you will want the whole world to see your bright, lit from within glow that is gorgeous and easy. Then you will want to turn up the disco music and strobe lights so you can dance the night away!

I Hate It When That Happens

Fred rushes in and announces loudly, 'I tell you, women drivers are a hazard to traffic.  Driving to work this morning on the freeway, I looked over to my left and there was this woman in a Jaguar doing at least 70 mph with her face up next to her rear view mirror putting on her mascara.

I looked away for a couple seconds and then the next thing I knew was she was careering all over my lane.

It scared me so badly that I dropped my electric shaver into my coffee, and it spilled all over my mobile phone.

Sweep Away That Winter Grey

In my business, I talk to both women and men about their appearance multiple times every day. Even when I'm not working, people tend to ask my advice on a plethora of beauty questions much to my delight! So it is with some acquired authority that I tell you that come January in most of the North East, we are all flaking and cracking our dry skin.

And it really freaks people out!

Even I get caught dry and flaky from time to time, but the biggest mistake that we make, I have learned in my experience over the years is this:

Women tend to mistake SURFACE DRYNESS and DEHYDRATION for wrinkles. 

In doing so, they also adopt a defeatist attitude and therefore neglect to treat the issue accordingly. Sometimes it's an easy fix, like a 15 minute at home mask that delivers hydration.Poof! Like magic, those "wrinkles" that you conceded to as bad genetics are suddenly smoothed, plump and dare I say it? GONE. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get results, like using products containing Vitamin C and hylauronic acid regularly. The one thing I know for sure is that during the Polar Vortex season, we need to work a bit harder taking care of our skin, hair, nails and any and all parts of us exposed to the elements.

My sure fire favorites for combating the dry and flaky dehydrated look are as follows:

• Serums

This is most certainly serum season. If you are not adding a serum UNDER your moisturizer, you are leaving your skin vulnerable to dehydration. BKamins has one of the best products on the market to help your skin to garner an immediate result after just one or two uses! The first two ingredients are Vitamin C and hylaronic acid, exactly what your skin needs to shed dead skin cells and bind moisture to you skin's surface, while giving you a brighter all over skin tone.  

BUY HERE

• Exfoliate

You have to exfoliate. I will state that again because it's super important, you have to exfoliate. Especially during this season. Twice or thrice times weekly (depending on skin type) exfoliated skins soak in beauty treatments 20-30% more effectively. Rodial's Super Acids Extreme Acid Rush Peel is an amazingly easy way to slough off all that unwanted dryness while leaving your skin with a gorgeous glow. This power packed mixture of fruit acids is so easy to use! Apply twice weekly for 10-15 minutes and feel it working with that telltale tingle then remove and apply serum and moisturizer immediately. Your skin is left with a gorgeous radiance that will a noticeable difference to everyone.

BUY HERE

• At Home Masks

Targeted for your skin's concerns, an at home mask can make a huge difference in the surface texture and appearance of a dull and dry complexion. Eve Lom's Moisture Mask is my go to for instant hydration and a dewy appearance. This water based mask with it's gel-like consistency is like a drink of water for today's dehydrated faces. No need to remove this mask when applied to just cleansed skin, it's a treat that leaves you skin supple and hydrated. 

BUY HERE 

• Moisture

Moisture is the most important element in any beauty regimen, in my opinion. Replacing moisture equates to smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles and protecting skin against anti-aging free radicals. Rodial's Bee Venom Moisturizer is a rich, creamy, highly moisturizing cream that delivers instant hydration.Created to compete with rich creams like Creme de la Mer, the venom from bees acts like an invasive injectable to blur the look of fine lines and wrinkles.Simply said, it's a rich, yummy cream all year but especially right now.

BUY HERE

It's a matter of maintenance.When the outside world is harsh and damaging, we need to work twice as hard at keeping our skin hydrated. Keep in mind-out with the old and in with the new-new skin, that is.
It will be well worth it.