I'm Your #1 Fan

Excuse me, Mr. Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel--

can I have your autograph?

Shampoo for Teeth

I've been on a mission to take better care of my teeth. I'd like to keep them for awhile, and I figure that they're getting older, so they may need some extra T.L.C.

But, I'm also pretty lazy, so I was looking for something to take care of my teeth that takes little to no effort (preferably no effort). Well, leave it to Walgreens to inspire me. "Free" by "Register Rewards" last month was a giant bottle of Crest Pro Health mouthwash.

Side note: "Register Rewards" are an awesome secret at Walgreens. It's when you buy an item, and then you get a coupon for the total amount of that item that can be used for anything on your next Walgreens visit. In this case, I bought the mouthwash for $4.50 (minus $1.00 with a Crest coupon). Walgreens then gave me a coupon for $4.50 to use on anything my heart desired the next time I shopped at Walgreens (I'm sure my heart desired a new shampoo). Note, with the $1.00 Crest coupon, it was actually a profitable transaction!

Anyhoo, I've been using the mouthwash, and I have to say that I really like it. It's kind of fun, and I look forward to using it. It almost seems like shampoo for teeth, and so it makes me smile.

LypSyl Lip Balm

I'm on a beauty product kick...

Free by rebate last month at Walgreens was this cute little lip balm that I had never heard of. I bought it (got my rebate) and have been using it every morning for about three weeks. I have to say, I like it. But the thing I like most, and the reason that I'm recommending everyone buy it, is because it has a tiny bee that you use to slide the lip balm up and down. It's too cute to be missed. Go buy some right now.

Beauty Product Review: Origins Peace of Mind

This is my current favorite beauty product in the entire world. (It's not even really a beauty product-- it's more of a "feel like you're at a spa when you can't afford to go" product). It's called Peace of Mind by Origins. It costs $10.00 and will last a super long time since you only use 3 drops at a time. It's pleasantly minty and tingly. You rub a few drops on your fingers, then massage the back of your neck or temples or forehead for instant (albeit fleeting) bliss.

Overboard

I just don't see the need to market American Idol via deodorant. And this is coming from someone who still hoards items from Jessica Simpson's now defunct Dessert beauty line.

Lip Service

This is a highly recommended beauty product by me: Mary Kay's Satin Lips Lip Mask. I'm a big fan of beauty products that are masks (face masks, hair masks-- just not the Jim Carrey Mask).

But I recommend this product with a warning. Should you ever buy this, or any other Mary Kay product, you will need to go through a Mary Kay sales rep. And then you will need to enter the Mark Kay Purchase Protection Program and live under an assumed name for the rest of your life. But for as soft as your lips feel after using this, it might just be worth moving to a new town so that your sales rep can be one step closer to a pink Ford Escort.

WANTED!

I want this I want this I want this, but not for $20.00.

I'm going to ask Santa for this.

But in the meantime I keep looking at it and wanting it...

I'm in love...

...with Runny Honey Shower Gel from The Body Shop.

This is a highly recommended beauty product.

Summer Beauty Staples

June 1st is the first day of summer in my book, which is a mixed blessing to me. I enjoy many many things about this fine season, but--truth be told--I hate heat. In fact, it makes me rather miserable. The only thing, besides A/C, that helps me cope is beauty products. Here are some I can't live without until September.

V05 Moisture Milks Blueberries & Cream shampoo. Nothing says summer like blueberries & cream! Wash your hair with this before heading out into the sun and your hair will smell pleasantly fruity all day. (Sorry men, like Pantene, creamy fruit shampoos are only for women.)

Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar. A must have for facial cleansing in humid weather! I use it morning, afternoon, and night. It's much better than Neutrogena's facial cleansing bar.

Plain old Noxema. Forget saving it for sunburns. Use it anytime, anywhere on your body to cool off.

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If all else fails in a need to beat the heat, sit inside an air conditioned room and watch General Hospital. It works, I swear!

Spirit Soap

Circa 1990 there was a new bar soap on the market that I discovered via free sample in the mail. (That may have been when my beauty product addiction began.) That free, tiny sample of light blue bar soap was called “Spirit,” and it had the most awesome scent I had ever savored as far as soap goes. I remember using that miniature soap bar until the entire thing literally dissolved. I loved it so much that I nagged my Mom to buy me a few regularly-sized bars of Spirit, which I continued to use with glee.
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Then one day, circa 1991, Spirit soap was suddenly gone from the shelves. I was so sad, and today I still wonder what happened to Spirit soap. Even Google doesn't know. Did it fail in market tests? Was it the product of a De Lorean-esque soap company? I don’t know, but to this day I still long for the fresh scent of Spirit soap. Even with the extreme amount of choices in soap nowadays, I’ve never found one even close to the scent of Spirit. R.I.P. Spirit soap—I miss you…

Warm weather skin care

As Memorial Day approaches, and the white clothes come out of storage, the time is upon you to hibernate your normal facial moisturizer and plan for summer. The Great Lakes area (where I live) can be particularly humid in the summer; I don't do well with it. Last year I finally discovered the perfect summer moisturizer to deal with humidity: Origins Matte Scientist. This wonderful little bottle is filled with a magic potion that offers the delicate skin on your face the perfect amount of moisturization without leaving it oily-- and manages to cool your skin at the same time! Seriously, it cools your skin. I love it! This is a highly recommended beauty product for summer.

Febreze for Hair

Real Simple magazine, which I read on a regular basis, often has articles featuring alternative uses for common household products. For example, they say that you can clean your dishwasher with a pack of lemon Kool-Aid. Get the idea? Well, it got me thinking...are there alternative uses for hair products? I kind of came up with one last night as I was frying some chicken (just wait, you'll see the connection).

I love fried chicken but hate smelling like a deep fryer after cooking it. And when you have long hair, the scent of grease gets trapped in there like a backup dancer in Britney Spears's bedroom. It.is.gross! So I tried a little something new last night. I sampled different hair products on my fried-chicken-smelling hair seeking something that could double as Febreze for hair. And wouldn't you know-- I found one! And here it is: Influx 33 Leave in Conditioner available at Sally Beauty Supply. Check it out-- you'll thank me later.

OPI Celebrity Nail Polish?

OPI nail polish is fun and awesome. Besides being a fantastic beauty product, it also has clever names for each color, such as "All Lacquered Up", "The Grape Lakes", "OP-I Love this Color!" and many more. Check them out! (After you read this post of course...)

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Each season OPI launches a new themed line of colors. Past themes include Mexico, Great Britain, and some non-country things that I can't remember right now. Well, of course I think that they should launch a celebrity line, and I've taken the liberty of naming some possible colors here on my blog. See what you think...

• Drew BERRY-more
• CARAMEL Electra
• PUNCH Drunk Lohan
• BALDer than Britney
• Fergie-liciously FUSCHIA
• JUSTIN time for the Oscars

And for kids...

• CANDY-APPLE Martin
• VERY-VIOLET Affleck
• Since when is Lola short for Lourdes?!

I'm sure I'll think of more. Is it obvious that my dream job is to think of nail polish color names for OPI?

"Ahh, Aveeno!"

Buffalo is under a winter storm warning today, but not the fun, "stay-at-home-and-drink-hot-chocolate" 2-feet-of-snow storm; it's the crappy, "you-still-have-to-go-to-work" freezing rain kind of storm. I usually don't let the weather get to me, but WOW would I love to be under the covers watching Uncle Buck right now. I think it's the weather combined with the fact that I have to work on MLK Day that has me blue.

So I might as well blog about some beauty products that I have tested and can now recommend. "Aveeno." Their products used to be synonymous with chicken pox relief and dematologist samples. In the last couple years, however, they've launched some new products for face and skin care. Less medical than Cetaphil, more natural than Neutogena, and better quality than Dove, Aveeno is successfully tapping into this market (in my opinion). So, without further adieu, here are 2 more beauty products that I have sampled and can recommend. For more info, visit www.Aveeno.com.

Beauty Product Recommendation: Eyeshadow & Lip Gloss

Santa Claus gave me some fun new eyeshadows and lip gloss in my stocking. I've been sampling them this week and am prepared to give them my seal of approval.

These are from the Beauty Rush makeup line at Victoria's Secret. Each item is $7 or 3/$15. The lip glosses are very tasty (I have Grapefruit Blast). The eye shadows are wonderful. Long-lasting, blend well, easy to apply. I have 4 shades (Brown to Earth, Jet Set, After Midnight, & Too Too Pink) and would recommend any of them.

I wish I could say that they made you look like a Victoria's Secret model, but unfortunately they don't have those magic ingredients. But they're still worth a try.

Bath product review: Origins Spice Odyssey

I treated myself to this product while I was on vacation in Phoenix. I've been waiting for the perfect moment to use it and decided that today was it. After my morning coffee, brief yoga session, and opportunity to catch up on journaling I was feeling all "organic" and decided to use all natural products today, including this body wash:
Spice Odyssey™ Foaming body rub.

Here's an excerpt of the product description: Experience the magic and mystique of Morocco. Breathe in the exotic aromas. Feel the tantalizing textures. Explore the captivating culture. Ras El Hanout (“the best of the best”) is a famed fusion of the finest, freshest, most unique spices – some, reputed aphrodisiacs. And now it makes for a great escape. ...Even the roughest of skin is left exceptionally soft, seductively smooth.

It was quite fantastic, I must say. My skin was totally clean and noticeably softer. The scents transformed my shower into something like the marketplace in Cairo where Indiana Jones fought Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Bottom Line:

• Highly recommended product for men
• Recommended product for women, although I suspect some may not like the scent
• Perfect gift for a metrosexual
• Pros: Exotic scent, results on skin
• Cons: Made a mess in the shower and price (too expensive at $27.50) (I didn't pay that much for mine, of course. I got mine at Dillards for $7.50 plus tax with two $10 off coupons. Where there's a will there's a way!)

Body Butter

I love this stuff, and it's not just because it has the word "butter" in it. As far as beauty products go, body butter is like gold (maybe even platinum) for caring for skin, especially during the winter. This pictured product is Strawberry Body Butter from The Body Shop. It's priced from $8-17. I got this as a gift, and it is very good quality with a pleasing scent, but I would never pay so much for lotion. So I'll share one of my shopping secrets with you. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have the world's best body butters for $4.99. Over the years I've gotten banana, citrus, fresh milk, shea butter and olive oil body butters from these fine stores, and they're awesome. A highly recommended product (as long as you get it cheap).

A dream come true, Chocolate Shampoo!

I found a miracle yesterday! A true masterpiece of human ingenuity. I couldn't believe my eyes. Could it be? Could such a perfect product be real? But it is real, and it's wonderful! The best thing about it is that it's a 3-in-1 product; shampoo, shower gel AND bubble bath. I was skeptical that such a product would properly cleanse, condition and prepare my hair for styling, but it was as good as, if not better than, my recommended Herbal Essences line. This is a limited edition product made by Philosophy available in Sephora stores and at Sephora.com, and I give it two combs up and a Godiva truffle (that's the equivalent of like 7 stars!).