Natural Energy for all you New Mama's!

Sleepless nights then up at 8am for work, check! How do we new mamas do it? Well, Arbonne was wondering the same thing apparently and created these awesome energy fizz sticks, grab and go individual packet style :)

I literally have 2 of these minimum in my purse at all times. The great thing is that when I am at work  and when water gets boring, just pop one of these in my water bottle and instant pomegranate and citrus yumminess! All natural and powered with green tea and B-vitamins. I am so hooked on these! Try some for yourself ...

Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel

I was super excited when I discovered that Revlon created a gel formula which requires no lamps or anything other than the basic 3 steps: base coat, color, and top coat! And even more intrigued when I found my favorite Revlon shade from their regular formula (Vixen) available in their gel formula. This classic burgundy stain was renamed Velvet Rope for the Colorstay line, but is practically identical in color. 

So in order to "properly" use Revlon's new color stay formula, the color stay gel-smooth base coat and gel-shine top coat are required (pic above). They are sold separately and the price is just a little bit more that what you would pay for their regular formulas, which I think is great because I've noticed that some companies that sell regular and gel formulas tend to practically double the price of their gel products.  

                                                       (Revlon Colorstay in Velvet Rope)


Some pros and cons I noticed about Revlon Colorstay...

Pros:

• Nice array of color selections
• Affordable
• No lamp required
• Easy to apply
• Gel-shine top coat adds a nice shine
• Base coat dries rather quickly

Cons:

• The color formula is viscous and needs time to dry between coats
• Dries to the touch in 20 minutes but takes 2 hours to completely cure
• It is a "3 free" formula but has a strong smell

My overall recommendation for Revlon Colorstay is that it is a great alternative to those who love the classic Revlon nail color shades but want a longer lasting formula. It does however take a really long time to cure. Even after two hours, if you aren't careful you could put a ding in the polish. Which for me means that they aren't technically "gels" since the aspect of gel polish I love the most is that once they are dry you can practically do anything. 

Revlon and I are back together...

Let's see how long this lasts... :) Revlon has been improving their formulas and so I figured why not give them a second chance. They have also added a couple of new formulas I am excited to test out; one being Brilliant Strength (see below), and the other which I will try next is Revlon Colorstay, their gel formula (no UV required). So I recently got gels at a salon, and they lasted for a week and chipped (boo). As many gel-aholics are aware, gels are supposed to last 2 weeks at the very least! So double boo for my $40 manicure. Which prompted me to get back on the nail bandwagon to continue my quest for the perfect nail formula. 

 In the interim, I picked up Revlon's Brilliant Strength in Tempt (a pretty gunmetal with a hint of green) to strengthen my nails since removing the gels at home. 

If you enlarge the photo enough I think you can see the ingredients. I'll let you know how long this formula lasts, but since I'm only using it between gels, I won't do time lapse photos. 

For next time...Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel

Ice Ice Baby - Skyn Iceland

Recent Favorites - 2013

I've put together my favorite beauty buys as of 2013. I can't believe the year is already halfway over! So I decided to mention the products I really like that I have purchased this year up until now.


1. L'Occitane Almond Supple Skin Oil 3.4 oz $40
I have really been getting into almond oil lately. On their website, L'occitane is intending this to be used for stretch marks during and after pregnancy, but I love it for my skin, hair and nails. It is hard to find a good oil for the skin that isn’t greasy.  This oil smells wonderful and is so light and absorbs really well into the skin. I use it on my nails, hands, elbows, and rub a dime size into the scalp once a week before washing my hair. Almond oil is great to stimulate the hair folice. All around a great all in one oil for hair, skin, and nails!
usa.loccitane.com

2. Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blush $24
I am already a fan of their Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder, it lasts forever and I love the way they designed the compact so you can control how much product you want to use. So was very excited to try the new Halo blush and think that this product is genius. All of the Halo products are mineral based, talc free, and paraben free. Jackpot! I purchased the shade Passion for blush and am using the shade Bronze as a bronzer. 
smashbox.com, sephora.com

3. Jane Iredale PureLash Extender and Conditioner $16.50
I try to always use a conditioner before mascara, since mascara alone can be irritating and can dry your lashes and make them brittle over time. This lash conditioner is great to use before applying mascara, and also alone as a conditioner before bedtime.  I can literally see my lashes soaking up this product as I apply it. When I used regularly, I notice my lashes are longer and much healthier.
www.janeiredale.com

4.  LaVanila Healthy Deodorant Vanilla Lavender 2 oz. $14
This is the only natural deodorant I have ever liked, and it works just as good as regular mainstream brands. It smells wonderful, they carry other scents but Vanilla Lavender is my favorite. I have been using this as my daily deodarant now. Unless you plan to run a marathon or bake out in the sun, this deodarant will do the trick and it is 100% natural so don’t have to worry about any harsh chemicals being absorbed into your skin!
Sephora.com 

Honorable mention: Burt's Bees deep cleansing cream

Ok...so I left out this cleanser because it was in the shower and I forgot I even had it for a quick second.  This is my only favorite creamy thick cleanser. It feels so refreshing, and removes all makeup - but is especially great at removing eye makeup as far as cleansers go. Even though it is a creamy cleanser it does not clog pores and is great for all skin types, esp. combination skin. 
burtsbees.com

The skin you live in...favorite facial cleansers

Lucky for you, and maybe not for me, I have combination skin. This means my cleansers range to accommodate oily to dry skin. These are my favorite 6 cleansers, yes 6 :) but they work all year round and depending on my skin or the weather, I have all my bases covered. 

1. Boscia 
Out of the brands mentioned, I am newly getting acquainted with Boscia, thanks to a Sephora sample of Detoxifying Black Cleanser that I adored. It warms to your skin, is non-irritating yet left my skin feeling clean and refreshed. I went ahead and purchased another cleanser, their Purifying Cleansing Gel, and am equally if not more impressed. The purifyng gel works great with my Clarasonic brush. Both cleansers work for all skin types but are especially great for combination skin. 

2. Burt's Bees Acne Solutions Gel Cleanser
I have tried a few Burt's Bees cleansers, but this one is my favorite. It's a super light, foaming cleanser that is great for oily skin because it contains salicylic acid. This also works great with the Clarasonic brush.

3. Jurlique Soothing Foaming Cleanser
This is an amazing creamy foaming cleanser for sensitive skin. I have the hardest time finding a sensitive skin cleanser because most of them tend to be very thick and leave a filmy residue. Jurlique made an amazing formula for this sensitive cleanser that rinses clean, my favorite among favorites. 

4. Neutrogena
Neutrogena is an old time favorite brand of mine, I don't think any girl hasn't tried their classic orange foaming cleanser and I was super excited when they introduced a natural skin line. My favorite of the line is definitely the Purifying Pore Scrub. It is super gentle and has a sudsing quality so it's a great dual purpose cleanser/exfoliating scrub. I use this 2-3 times per week on its own. I also really like the Cleansing + Makeup Remover, it's great to have to remove makeup and (hint hint) works super well if used w/Clarasonic brush.

Zoya - How long will it last?

On to the second non-toxic brand, Zoya. I picked this color because it reminded me of Tiffany Blue, and looks great with silver and turquoise jewelery. The color is called Wednesday. I took a photo of a Tiffany box next to the bottle just to see how close it came, it is slightly darker but still a really nice color. 

                                   

        Day 4  - Recoat. Total for Zoya - One Week! I managed to make my manicure last 7 days with only one recoat.

Julep - How long will it last?

I've decided to do a time lapse blog on a few of my favorite non-toxic nail polish brands to see which brand will last the longest! I will continually upload photos of my nails and will continue until I feel they are too chipped and remove the color. We will see who lasts the longest at the end! I am going to do this experiment with Julep, Zoya, Deborah Lippman, RGB, and Acquarella.

 I'll first start with Julep. I purchased their Oprah's Favorite Things a dozen shades set recently (below). Some of them are classics, and a few are unexpected shades I would normally stray away from but actually am surprised at how lovely these off beat shades actually look! Julep does a great job at this, since they have a creamy texture to many of their darker shades, it subdues the boldness which makes them very wearable. 

The color I am wearing right now is Amy. I used 2 coats of color on bare nail (no base or top coat). I then used one drop on each nail of their quick dry formula, which I love because it contains Vitamin E and Lavender Oil which nourishes the nail bed.

         
             

        
                                                                        (Day One)

                                                (Day 3 - chip on middle finger and pinkie)

  
Day 4-  My nails were too chipped, so instead of removing the polish, I did one touch up coat.  I will do this on all brands one time if needed to try and stretch to a full week

Day 6 - Even though I applied a re-coat, my middle finger managed to chip... a little disappointed, had hoped Julep would last until day 7.

Don't Make Me Blush

...unless it's talc free. I'm so excited to have found some amazing talc free, toxic free blush and bronzers. It was not easy, but my skin thanks me.  Here are three different brands that offer talc free blushes/bronzers.

1. Jane Iredale
I cannot say enough about Jane Iredale blush and bronzers. At first, I was a bit skeptical since the pots they came in looked a bit small, however my blush brush actually fits perfectly around the compact. Jane Iredale PurePressed Blush in Cotton Candy ($27) is the perfect shade of pink for my light olive skin tone. It seems to be a very versatile color, and I'm sure it would look great on many skin tones. Cotton candy provides just a perfect amount of subtle shimmer. I would compare this blush to my old favorite from NARS. Jane Iredale Bronze A Go-Go ($25) I am very pleased with this bronzer well, it gives a light glow without looking orange or obvious. Available at Janeiredale.com and Nordstrom.com

2.  Josie Maran
I was looking for a luxurious cream blush so I thought I would try Josie Maran Argan Color Stick in Petal Pink ($22). I am not usually a huge fan of cream blush because they can be tricky to apply. I do like this option because it is all natural and has Vitamin E and other goodies for the skin. I wish it was a little more blend able, but overall I am happy with it. My other purchase was the Argan Illuminizing Powder ($30). This is a great highlighting shade. I use it over the cream blush, it is a very loose formula with quite a bit of fallout, but it doesn't bother me as much since the shade is so forgiving. 
Sephora.com

3. bareMinerals
These were the first two talc free blush and bronzers I purchased. Unfortunately, they are on the back burner now because I much prefer the quality of the two other brands mentioned. I have only used the bronzer on a couple of occasions (Ready Bronzer in The Skinny Dip, $24), however as you can see from the photo (click to enlarge), it is already changing in consistency by darkening in some spots, which to me is a sign of poor quality. I do like their blush, however they did something clever and took up half the space with a virtually useless blush brush. - Ready Blush in The Secret's Out ($22). sephora.com

It's a Slippery Soap

I don't know why I've been neglecting bar soap for so long, and I know I'm not the only one. Body washes are dominating drugstore shelves and only a few bar soap options remain. Bar soaps are just as handy as body wash; they can be used with a loofah for extra suds and cleanliness, or alone the old fashioned way. The other reason why bar soaps are so great is the price! Fortunately, I found three amazing natural bar soaps to choose from and not one was over $4. Here are my favorite picks:

1. Tom's of Maine was my first bar soap re-discovery; I am currently in love with their calming lavender bar. I just picked up the olive oil & vitamin E which smells equally delicious that I will use during the drier winter months. 
$2.99 each at CVS.

2. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps are about $10 cheaper than their liquid body wash ($4 for the soap, $14 for the liquid) and come in the exact same scents: Peppermint, Lavender, Almond, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Baby-mild, Rose and Citrus Orange. I can't wait to try them all! 
www.drbronner.com and CVS

3. My bar soap fascination wouldn't be complete without a little Burt's Bees action. I found these two at Target and can't wait to try them - Honey and Shea conditioning bar and Mango & Orange Energizing Body Bar. The Mango & Orange body bar smells so good I want to take a bite out of it! 

The Eyes Have It

The first time I discovered mineral eye shadows was a few years back at beauty supply stores when they were available in the loose format only. The concept of applying loose pigmented powder to my eyelids was very foreign to me, and even though I love mineral makeup, I still longed for a neatly pressed set of Mac pot shadows. Thankfully, mineral eyeshadows have been gradually popping up in pressed form and I became excited again to try them out and finally trade up to mineral shadows. 

• Josie Maran mineral shadows are shimmery yet pigmented soft tones. I am definitely a fan of these for summery nights or when I want something less dramatic. I recently purchased the Argan beautiful eyes in Purples (shown below). These shades are great for brown or hazel eyes. The beautiful Nudes palate also looks amazing. Josie Maran eyeshadows are offered on qvc.com and sephora.com for about $36.

• Jane Iredale shadows come in individual pots, duos, trios, and palate kits. What I appreciate about the Jane Iradale shadows are that many of them are matte, which is harder to find in the mineral eyeshadow world. I am gradually building a collection of individual pots, and also am eyeing the 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' Shadow kit to replace my Urban Decay Naked 2 palate. I was also happy to discover that select Nordstrom stores now carry Jane Iredale cosemetics, and of course at janeiredale.com. Shown are Jane Iredale single pots in Supernova (top) and Champagne ($19 each).

•  Bare minerals newly pressed shadow quads are worth mentioning if you are looking for a more mainstream/accessible mineral makeup brand. Their BareMinerals ready quad is $30, and offered in many different shades. Their quads are the most shimmery out of the brands I mentioned. I would be a little more excited about Bare Minerals shadows if they had more matte shadows, but I still enjoy the color options. Shown is bareMinerals Ready quad in The Truth available on sephora.com

Pucker Up

I finally completed one of my toughest missions thus far for my non-toxic beauty transition... lip products! It was easy to turn all of my lip balms into natural lip balms thanks to Burt's Bees and Yes to Carrots. The second less stressful task was finding great toxic free lip glosses - Bare Minerals and Josie Maran came to the rescue. My third and most challenging mission were toxic-free lipsticks. I personally prefer gloss or tinted lip balms, however my collection wouldn't be complete without the occasional red or burgundy moment. Here are my favorites for each category:

1. Lip Balms
I am a big fan of Burts Bee's honey and original lip balm. I also like their tinted lip shimmers (photo left). I found the toughest to find were lip balms with chemical-free SPF (Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide).

The best SPF balm I have found is Yes to Carrots SPF 15 in sweet fig (middle photo) and pomegranate. They're really hard to find... carried at Target but are always out of stock so the best thing to do would be to order online. This is a great daytime spf lipbutter; it literally goes on like butter. Love it! 

2. Lip Gloss
There are a gazillion lip glosses on the market, but so many are riddled with chemicals and some even contain traces of lead. I've found the best quality non-toxic lip gloss to be bareMinerals and Josie Maran. Bare Minerals glosses are super luxurious and last a really long time. Josie Maran glosses are lighter but great for summer and goes on evenly. I absolutely can't live without bareMinerals in 7 layer cake (photo left) Both are available on sephora.com

3. Lip Stick
So far my two favorite brands for non-toxic lipsticks are Pur Minerals (Ulta.com) and bareMinerals 100% natural lip color (sephora.com). Pur Minerals lipsticks are super moisturizing and contain shea butter and natural oils - Dusty Ruby is my favorite, a gorgeous must have deep red shade. (photo left)

Exfoliation: Mechanical vs. Chemical

If you're like me and have combination/oily skin, then you are probably aware of how important it is to slough away dead skin than can potentially clog pores. There are actually two different methods of exfoliating away this dead skin, mechanical and chemical.

Not all mechanical exfoliating techniques are safe for the skin, they can become too abrasive and sometimes do more harm than good. For example, some exfoliators use ground apricot seeds or shells to slough away dead skin. The grounds have potential to cut the surface of the skin. There are many safe mechanical exfoliators, such as micro-beads or sugar that provide a gentle yet safe exfoliation. Mechanical exfoliation is effective in smoothing out skin texture. Microdermabrasion is a popular mechanical exfoliation treatment. Also, shaving your face (believe it or not) is an effective way to remove dead skin, however it is extremely important to use a top quality razor and to be very careful with this method.

Chemical exfoliation usually contains acids or enzymes that get rid of dead skin. Common enzymes and acids include: salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, fruit enzymes such as papaya, alpha or beta hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA). Chemical exfoliation is very effective for the treatment and prevention of acne. Finding the right chemical exfoliator for your skin can take some time because certain skin types respond better to salyclilc acid than glycolic, and vice versa. It is also important to remember that when using a chemical exfoliator, especially at home, that the product is not left on too long as to cause excessive redness and/or peeling.

My favorite exfoliator of the moment is a mechanical/chemical hybrid - Say Yes to Tomatoes Daily Pore Scrub. The chemical exfoliator in this is salicylic acid. The mechanical exfoliate is bamboo, which is very gentle, non-irritating and bead like. Also paraben-free and 97% natural, it is great for morning use to keep you skin feeling fresh throughout the day. I am also a fan of Philosophy's Purifying One Minute Peel that contains lactic acid; it's a super effective fast acting chemical exfoliate.

Say Hello to Toxic-free Mascaras!

Yay for me! I am a toxic-free mascara convert as of today. I hesitantly yet refreshingly threw out my last tube of mainstream chemical ridden mascara this afternoon and am now left with 3 non-toxic options in my makeup drawer. I figured I'd save my favorite for last, so in reverse order, here are my 3 current non-toxic mascara options.

#3. Jane Iredale Longest Lash Thickening Mascara. This was the priciest one, I believe it is $33. Looking back, I am laughing at myself for paying $33 for mascara. I totally fell for the sea minerals conditioning aspect. It does lengthen, but thicken it does not. It also comes in a soft tube, which I am not crazy about for mascaras.  Out of the three, it is the most natural looking... by natural meaning I can go without mascara and barely tell the diff. Sorry :( I love Jane Iredale products, but not this one. Jane does have a few less expensive mascara options that I will give a go next purchase.

#2. Physicians Formula Organic Wear Mascara. This is another lash boosting mascara hybrid. (Love the fact that I am conditioning my lashes while looking pretty :). Overall, the effect of this mascara is the most dramatic out of the three. I would label this one as the Dior Show of non-toxic mascaras. The only thing is the formula is on the dry side, so it probably won't last long. It's the most inexpensive and convenient option ($9.99 at drugstores). They also have other organic formulas to choose from. Overall, I would definitely repurchase this brand, and love the thick voluminous brush and ergonomic design.

#1. Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Mascara. I love that I got this as a free sample and it turned out to be my favorite mascara. My all time favorite mascara before becoming a natural beauty convert was Chanel Intimitable... I can now sleep at night knowing that I have found a comparable non-toxic option: clean wand, high pigment, thickening, lengthening, build-able. LOVE IT!

Non-toxic Nail Polish

This is a follow up to my initial Non-toxic Nail Polish video where I discussed the harmful ingredients present in mainstream brands. I have been testing different non-toxic brands over the past few months and have found that most are just as good of quality compared to the likes of Essie, Chanel, and OPI.

 I have yet to try the highly touted water based Acquarella (shipment is in the mail). My first purchase, and to this day, the longest lasting and overall best quality was a brand I found at Whole Foods called NoMiss. I purchased two bottles, unfortunately since then they've stopped carrying it! NoMiss is still available online, but I loved the convenience of picking up a baby pink nail polish while grabbing my OJ and mixed greens.

Both NoMiss colors I tried went on evenly and dried nicely. They didn't chip at all for a good 3 days which for me is excellent since I am really rough on my hands (cleaning, playing piano, typing, etc.) and am not necessarily paying attention to the fact that I'm wearing polish. My nails always chip at the very top so the easiest solution is to give them a quick file and they're like new. I could stretch my NoMiss mani for a solid week with in between filing and it still looked fresh.

 On to Zoya...I really love their customer service and ordering online is a cinch. Their colors are to die-  I would compare this brand as the OPI of non-toxic nail polish - due to the color variety and growing mainstream populartiy. The Zoya mani I used was the color Gia - a must have cherry red that looks good on every skintone (middle color in photo). By the second day the color was chipping. By the 4th day I added an extra coat just to try and drag out the mani... by day 6 I changed out the color. However, I recently got a pedicure with Zoya nail polish in Noel - and lasted 2+ weeks no chips. Disclaimer ...I don't and rarely ever use top or base coat for my manis, however I will start using a top coat for Zoya.  Zoya colors are so fun and vibrant, and relatively cheap for a bottle (about $7 each)

My last and most recent find was from Julep. I was sucked into their Shades of Grey promo - $19.99 for 3 shades of Grey. We all know what these shades are about by now.... but getting back to the nailpolish. I love the long skinny tube idea, taking up less shelf space scores mucho brownie points for me. The first coat was running into my cuticle, I wouldn't necessarily say it is a thin formula, but for some reason the first coat runs off a bit. Second coat I had no problems. I am impressed with Julep mani staying power - I think I'm on day 4 right now and I'll prob stretch it a couple more days.