The First-Ever…2011 Epic Beauty Awards.

WINNERS – MAKEUP

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WINNERS – HAIR CARE

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WINNERS – SKIN CARE

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WINNERS – BODY CARE

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WINNERS – BEAUTY TOOLS

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WINNERS – BEAUTY FROM THE INSIDE

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Treasurrrrre!

Hey everyone! Just a super quick “FYI” post today:

I’m sure many of you have heard of the extremely popular Beauty Blender, which is a little pink (or black, or white) sponge that costs anywhere from $19-$30 at Sephora and other stores. This little sponge is amazing for applying makeup (i.e. liquid or cream foundations, loose mineral powders and mineral foundations, etc.) with an airbrush-like finish. Don’t get me wrong, BB is a great product, but there is a duplicate (a.k.a. dupe) that is almost identical and works just as well for half the price. I use the dupe to put tinted moisturizer and bronzer on my mum when I do her makeup, and to put concealer under my eyes if I had a crappy night’s sleep.

I bought mine for $10 and you can get your Beauty Blender duplicate right here – it’s latex-free and is a slightly different shape than the BB, but it doesn’t make a difference in performance. So if you’re on a budget, this will save you about $10.

Here’s the view from the top and bottom of the BB dupe:

~Steph  x

Sorry it’s been so long! How is everyone?

For my first post of June, I would like to share with you the skin care and beauty products that I’m loving for summer.

1. Tropical Traditions Gold Standard Virgin Coconut Oil. This is my staple, but I use it a lot more in summer than I do in winter. If I go out and wear eye make-up, I use this to gently remove it without stinging my eyes. I also use it to prevent blackheads and blemishes, since coconut oil contains lauric acid, which is a powerful non-toxic fungus and bacteria fighter. I just keep a jar of this in my cupboard, and in the summer it stays in a soft, semi-liquidy state so it’s easy to use a cosmetic spatula, spoon, cotton bud, or cotton swab to scoop out some coconut oil. Then you just put it on your skin wherever you want. Some people use it in their hair, but for my fine, curly hair, I prefer to use purely moisturizing oils (I list one below).

2. Best Bath Store Acne Treatment Gel. This stuff is amazing. You can dab this on at night and it dramatically reduces any pimple (and redness) to almost nothing by morning. Better yet, you can also put it on in the morning and no one will know. Oh! And it doesn’t dry your skin out at all. It has a funky herbal scent that I really like, and the ingredients are pure and 100% natural, of course. This gel will be especially useful if you workout a lot and tend to get sweat-related blemishes on  your back — this gel clears it right up.

3. John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli Detangler. This is a great conditioner for dry hair. I put a little on my ends before shampooing to prevent the ends from drying out, then once I rinse out the shampoo, I re-apply the conditioner farther up my hair and let it sit for a few minutes. I’m left with soft, delicious-smelling hair that’s not weighed down at all (which is easy to do to my hair!).

4. Organic Apoteke Detox Face Mask. This is a great face mask. I usually make my own, but I didn’t want to pass this up because I loved the ingredients and it got great reviews on Makeup Alley. I tried a spray tan about 2 weeks ago and my skin reacted pretty negatively to it (read: breakouts), so with the help of this mask and the BBS Gel (above), it cleared up 100% in 2 days. So this mask has a permanent place in my cupboard, and gets 5 stars for being very soothing, reducing redness, and eliminating existing problems as well as preventing any new ones. And again, love the ingredients for being pure, organic, and 100% natural.

5. 100% Pure Organic Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam. I love this company’s entire product line, but this is my favorite. I use this face wash most of the time — I’ll change it up occasionally by using goat milk powder mixed with water, or their cranberry foam wash. This wash smells wonderful, works well, and doesn’t dry your skin out. I even used this for a while in the winter, and still no bad drying effect, which was surprising considering the majority of face washes I’ve tried always cause some drying. About once a week I’ll mix my lavender wash with 1 tsp. of really fine organic sugar or some MSM powder to make an awesome scrub. If you have normal or oily skin, you can try mixing it with aluminum-free baking soda (I like Bob’s Red Mill variety).

6. Sircuit Skin Cosmeceuticals Handsome Creme. Everyone I know loves the incredible smell of this thick lotion, and the name (Handsome) is so cute and catchy you’ll never forget it. The ingredients are great and very healing, and even contains fructooligosaccharides, which is a prebiotic that helps to feed the good bacteria on our skin (this is why I also recommend yogurt for the skin all the time, even though yogurt is more of a probiotic than a prebiotic).

7. Hair Therapy Wrap Cordless Thermal Turban Heat Wrap. Michelle sent me one of the wraps to try and I’m really glad she did because I’d been thinking about buying one for a few months. I use this with my John Masters Organics Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner or Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil (see below). First I put the conditioner/oil on, put on a shower cap, put the entire therapy wrap (it has microwaveable heat pads inside) in the microwave for a minute or two, and then pop it on my head over the shower cap. It’s a bit heavy for my head (they’re coming out with lighter gel-packs soon), so I usually leave it on for about 20–40 minutes. It stays hot for a long time, which I like, and you can always re-microwave it if you think it’s not hot enough. I’m glad it’s not super-hot because I’m not a fan of any kind of heat damage. ;D I love the results, it makes the conditioner work that much better. This is a must-have for summer, especially if you’re swimming in hair-damaging chlorinated pools or the salty ocean.

8. Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil. Rosemary and burdock are two of the main ingredients in the all-natural oil, and both are known for promoting scalp balance and hair growth. I use this oil at least once per week and my hair feels and looks so amazingly healthy that I went out and bought two more bottles so I’d never run out. ;D I pour a bit into my hands and take my time gently massaging it into my scalp (I pour more into my hands as I go along, my goal is to coat all of my hair) and smoothing it through all the way to the ends. Then I wrap my hair in a bun and either put my heated hair wrap over it (see above), or I do a BodyRock.tv workout which heats up your scalp (and your whole body, for that matter) and helps the oil works its magic.

9. Aura Cacia Vanilla Essential Oil (in Jojoba Oil). Oh…my…goodness. This smells so incredible. I love natural perfume oils, and this one is my favorite along with their Jasmine essential oil. I just dab a few drops on my skin and smooth any remaining bit into my hair. Mmmm! If you’re sensitive to commercial perfumes and tend to sneeze or get headaches around scents, then you’ll absolutely LOVE this because it’s completely natural and only has 2 ingredients — jojoba oil and real vanilla extract. Plus, it’s cheaper than commercial perfumes and even if you use one or two drops a day (which is all you need), it’s going to last you at least two months.

10. Sweet Bee Magic All Over Skin Cream. Sweet Bee sent me a jar and two little samples (which I gave to some friends so they could get hooked) of their product a few months ago, and haven’t had a chance to try it until now. It really reminds me of Egyptian Magic, but for some reason, it works a lot better for me than EM ever did. If you ever get dry patches or if you’re prone to dry feet because you walk around barefoot a lot or do yoga, this will soon turn into your holy grail of skin creams. I had a little dry patch on the my left cheek yesterday, and when I woke up this morning is was 80% gone. It’s very soothing and incredibly moisturizing. Hoorah!

Just an FTC note: I’m never paid by or affiliated with any of the products I recommend, and I always tell you if I received an item for free (the hair wrap and bee magic, in this case).

Let me know if you use or try any of my favorites! I’d love to know what you think.
~Stephanie  x

All right, so I finally recorded a review of my Clarisonic Plus skin care brush that I bought on January 28th, 2010. As of today I have been using it every night (far more than the 3 times I mention in the video!) and I love this brush even more than I expressed in my video review. As you may know from earlier posts, I get really dry skin in the winter and I had dry patches on my face and arms, which have 100% gone away since I’ve been using my Clarisonic. It took about a week for them to disappear entirely. My brother is prone to acne and his skin looks clearer than it has in about a year. The redness on his cheeks is greatly diminished, and he hasn’t gotten any new blemishes in almost 2 weeks. I’m really happy for him.

So here we go! Video is below (sorry if I’m looking and acting tired…it’s because I was tired haha).

Here is the link to my previous entry, where I announced my purchase and included a few details/video reviews from other people: I Bought a Clarisonic Skin Care Brush.

{FREE CLARISONIC PRODUCTS}

I mentioned in the video that I do not use the Clarisonic products – so if you use them or are interested in using them, let me know and I’ll send them to you.

{MY 7 TIPS FOR USING THE CLARISONIC}

1. If you’re on more of a budget, go with a Clarisonic Mia ($149). You can still use it on your body, it will just take longer! Be sure to use a normal brush head for your body, and a sensitive brush head for your face.
2. Wet your skin well with warm water first and apply your cleanser to your skin, instead of on the brush head. Also be sure to run the brush head under warm water prior to using it on your face.
3. Do not use sugar or seed scrubs with the Clarisonic — they can tear your skin when used with the brush. Use only rounded bead exfoliation, such as jojoba beads.
4. Use only the factory speed setting, unless you have very tough or thick skin (like some men). Otherwise, you may irritate your skin and can cause problems.
5. Wash your brush head after each use with warm water and soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s) to keep it clean and bacteria-free. Pat the brush head with a clean towel and let it air dry.
6. Use the Clarisonic once per day if you have sensitive or delicate skin (I use it only at night). Otherwise, it’s perfect to use twice per day. No more than twice, though!
7. Buy the Clarisonic straight from their website or a qualifying spa or dermatologist listed on their website. The reason is that Clarisonic does not warranty units sold on Amazon or eBay (bummer). It’s worth the extra $10 or $20 to have the 2-year warranty, so if anything happens to your unit, you don’t have to pay for a brand new one.

I hope that was helpful! If you have a Clarisonic, feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts on it.

~Stephanie
xx

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