Skin Care

Soap & Glory’s $12 Winter Wonderhand Set Is Here to Help Dry Hands Across the Land

December 4th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Sleigh bells ring,
Are you listening?
In the lane,
Snow is glistening.
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderhaaand!

[insert applause here]

Aw, thank you! Thank you! You’re too kind… 🙂

LOL! Virtual Christmas caroling. We should make that a thing…

In related news, this $12 Soap & Glory Winter Wonderhand gift set couldn’t have come at a better time for parched paws across the land, because wherever temps have been dropping, dry skin has been itching and cracking.

The set comes with three large sample-sized 1.69-oz. tubes of Soap & Glory’s Hand Food creams in rosy bergamot Original Pink, sweet lime Sugar Crush and almond vanilla Smoothie Star.

To really get behind these, first, you have to like sweetly scented lotions, and I do this time of year, since all three of the lotions fit that bill. Second, hello hydration! I keep a full-size bottle of Hand Food on my desk year round because of how moisturizing it is (L’Occitane Shea Butter Whipped Hand Cream is another fave), and it’s nice to have a more portable bottle to keep in my purse.

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Two Lovely Limited Edition Paul & Joe Luxurious Bath & Body Collection Gift Sets to Help You (or a Lucky Recipient) Unwind

November 13th, 2015 by Karen 6 Comments

In our little household solar system of quantum mechanics, my upstairs bathroom is like a black hole, because I disappear into it every night for what seems like hours.

Actually, it is more than an hour sometimes.

Honestly, though, I feel like I earn it because I’m always rushing and trying to finish one thing or another during the workday, so at the end of the night, I can damned well take my sweet old time showering and getting ready for bed.

I’m sure that will change when Baby Girl arrives in March (heck, I’ll be lucky if I ever take a shower), but I’m gonna enjoy it while I can. 🙂

My nightly get-ready-for-bed ritual has been even more enjoyable than usual lately thanks to the $50 Paul & Joe Luxurious Bath & Body Collection Columbine set in 001.

One of two gift sets available now at Paul & Joe counters and online, it’s a lovely, lavish way to treat and clean yo’self at the end of a long day.

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Pre-Fall Ulta Haul!

September 16th, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

What the world needs now is 1) love, sweet love; 2) free pumpkin spice lattes (I finally had my first one of the season yesterday, and it was so good that I felt myself float out of my body and fly toward the sun, OMG!); and 3) more lady-dates.

MOAR LADY-DATES.

You know what a lady-date is, right? It’s when you go out with a friend — ideally, someone who likes makeup as much as you do — for coffee, snacks or what have you, and then, ya know, if you happen to wander into someplace where lipsticks and eyeshadows are available for perusal…so be it. 🙂

I went on one a couple weekends ago with my friend Marisol. We had acai bowls, then paid homage to our homeland, also known as Ulta.

Here are the things that came home with me that day.

It was mostly a nail-centric visit, because my nails have been very crabby lately (they’ve been splitting, boo), with a sprinkling of skin care and body care, and a dash of makeup for good measure.

PRODUCTS MENTIONED

As always, thank you again for watching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

4 Steps to Clearer Skin With the Neutrogena #LetsSolveIt Campaign

August 28th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Somewhere between trying to squeeze in as much outdoorsy time as possible in the second half of summer, a bunch of stressful side projects, a particularly bad bout of insomnia (I keep waking up around the Witching Hour and then can’t fall back asleep) and the steady stream of ice cream I’ve been eating after dinner (even though I know what happens when I have too much dairy), I’ve started breaking out.

It’s nothing too bad…yet (knocks on wood), definitely not as bad as the huge humdingers I get sometimes along my jawline. These are just little whiteheads on my chin and around the edge of my forehead, and a couple of body breakouts on my chest and booty.

Yes, girl, booty — specifically, my left butt cheek, if you must know.

Is that TMI? Probably, but it’s not like I’m the first person (or the last) to get a painful pimple on their bum.

Anyway! When Neutrogena and Walgreens asked if I was down to switch up my acne-fighting game with their #LetsSolveIt campaign and take the quiz at SolveMyAcne.com, I thought, “Good timing!”

I’ve had great luck with Neutrogena skin care over the years, and I dig Walgreens (I used to go there on my breaks every day when I worked in SF), so I said “sure!”

Getting back into the swing of things at school after summer break is stressful enough. Who needs the ADDED stress of a bad breakout? Get expert skin care recs with the Neutrogena #LetsSolveIt campaign by taking the Acne-Fighting Quiz at SolveMyAcne.com, and feel fabulously confident in clearer skin.

First step: the quiz. And it’s not one of those quizzes that they say is only going to take two minutes but ends up taking 20. It really is just a handful of easy questions.

Like so…

Based on my answers, here are the four products the quiz recommended for me and my combo dry/oily skin:
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Latest Loves: Body Oils by Fresh, NARS and Ren

June 23rd, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

For reasons that elude me (I think it has something to do with the heater in the house), when summer arrives, my scaly alligator-like arms and legs become slightly less…alligator-like. My skin isn’t quite as dry, so I’ve swapped out the heavy-duty body creams I used in winter for lighter, but still moisturizing, body oils. They keep my skin satiated and, more importantly (haha), when I wear dresses, the oils give my arms and legs a snazzy sheen.

I keep a small arsenal of oils on my bathroom shelf and alternate among them depending on my mood. I also think they look pretty cool in mah bathroom. 🙂

Here are three of them I’ve been loving lately…
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Skin Care Spotlight: Sunday Riley Charisma Creme and Ceramic Slip Cleansers

June 19th, 2015 by Karen 8 Comments

Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Serum was one of the things that rescued my chin from a bad bout of hormonal acne a couple years ago, so even though her plant-based skin care stuff is kind of expensive, I keep an open mind about her products because of the good things Good Genes did for my chin.

At SpaceNK a while back with my friend Mary (who has amazing skin), I was just getting into my usual “Good Genes saved my life!” spiel when Mary said that she had a great experience with the Sunday Riley face cleansers.

That’s all it took! I started using their Ceramic Slip and Charisma Creme Cleaners later that day, and now I know why Mary raved.

Ceramic Slip

Ceramic Slip, a gel-based cleanser with French clay, is for normal and combo skin. The clay is supposed to tighten pores and remove impurities, while vitamin C ester is supposed to make your pores, wrinkles and discoloration less noticeable.

I have sometimes oily, sometimes dry combination skin, and on the days when my skin is oilier, my face loves this stuff. When I wash with it in the morning, more skin feels tighter, and my pores don’t appear to be as “in yo’ face.” My skin also doesn’t feel dry or uncomfortable after using it.

A 4.25-oz. bottle costs $45, which, I know, is expensive for a cleanser, but you can stretch it out. I shake the bottle, then dole out half a pump for my entire face, massage that in (it doesn’t foam up), and then rinse with water.

Ingredients
-Refined French Green Clay: Tightens pores, removes impurities, and infuses skin with vital minerals.
-Vitamin C: Helps reduce the appearance of large pores, wrinkles, and discoloration while stimulating collagen growth.
-Black Pepper: Stimulates circulation for naturally warming cellular revitalization.
-Sandalwood: An anti-microbial agent that helps with skin irritation, inflammation, allergic conditions, and eczema; promotes radiance.

Jasmine, Frankincense.

FYI, the scent is something you’re probably either going to love or hate… I call it grassy and earthy, and I like it, but you might want to get a sample first to see how you feel about it.

$45 for a 4.25-oz. bottle. Available now at SpaceNK, Sephora and online.
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10 Things Under $10 at Sephora

June 18th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Sometimes a girl (or guy!) just wants to treat herself to a trip to Sephora, and while she’s there, maybe find herself something that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Ya feel me?! I think you do. 🙂

I was there earlier today under the guise of “searching for a Father’s Day gift for my dad,” while also looking for an inexpensive treat for…myself. Here are 10 potential beauty treats for less than $10 each, whoop-whoop!

1. Purely Pure Organic Cotton Facial Pads ($6)

2. Express Dry Shampoo ($9)

3. Instant Nail Polish Remover Wipes ($5)

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Aw, Sheet, Gurl! These Face Masks From The Face Shop Are Only $2 Each

June 5th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

Face masks!

Homegirl has a face mask addiction, it’s true.

Especially sheet masks, and not just ’cause they give me an excuse to do my best Friday the 13th Jason Voorhees imitation.

Last weekend after lunch with my brother in the city, we stopped by Japan Town to do some shopping and sightseeing, and while I was there I grabbed a few $2 face masks from a store called The Face Shop.

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