Last Day for Origins Friends & Family
Enter code 0508FF at checkout for a deal
on Origins.com.
If you're fresh out of
creative gift ideas fo yo Mama, there's nothing wrong
with playing it safe with something you know she'll
love. Here, I'll help you: head on over to Origins.com and order
something spalicious for her. While you're there,
use this F&F coupon, good for 25% off any
purchase for the rest of today. You're welcome.
Need more help? Check out my must-haves from the brand:
more...New Skin Resolutions
Tarte's 'We Wish You Health' Skinvigorating™
Gift Set, $30,
available at TarteCosmetics.com,
makes it a cinch to honor your skin care promises—and
keep them— well into '08.
Last week, the
Times health blog referenced
a poll that said one-third of people who make
New Year's resolutions aren't truly committed to
their goals, and will most likely break them
before February. The obvious answer to why this
is: we set our standards unrealistically high,
make our proclamations too broad and subsequently
let ourselves down and get discouraged when we
don't see results. Bettering yourself shouldn't be
this stressful... should it?
I never like to make New Years resolutions, and if I
do, I never make them out loud. (Who needs
your lunch buddy calling you out when you order a
cream-based soup instead of vegetable? No thanks.)
This year—since it's YBLAG's first New Year's
celebration— I've decided to make a resolution to be
extra good to my skin. Read: Wash, tone, treat
every morning, every night, and
totally eliminate all sun worshipping. Gulp. Ouch.
Omg.
I know it sounds easy enough, but I've been known to
fall asleep with a full face of makeup (lazy!) and
bask in the sun with minimal SPF in the summertime
(dummy!).
As you can imagine, I was psyched to discover the
above gift set from Tarte while I was looking through
my Christmas goodies. It has four of the brands star
makeup products—each with an awesome skin care
benefit. My absolute favorite part is the Clean Slate
Primer, which hydrates my mug with avocado oil while
keeping it calm and healthy with echinacea, rosemary
and hibiscus oils. I'm obsessed.
The gift set is a perfect companion to my stellar skin products, and it's
making my New Years resolution totally easy to
stick to. I'll let you know how it goes.
(...As if I'd tell you if I break it
before February.)
Emmy Makeup Look Cheat Sheet
Above: Celebrity
Makeup Artist and Emmy Makeup Guru, Bruce Grayson
Emmy recaps have been
everywhere this week, and I love reading them, but
sometimes I wish these people would give it to me
straight:
Dear (so-and-so-weekly/website/mag),
I agree that (fill-in-the-blank-actress)'s 'bold lip look' from Sunday Night's Emmys was gorgeous. I appreciate how the sunset inspired her makeup artist when they chose the color. Way to go on the behind-the-scenes-investigation. Writing now to ask for one tiny detail: what's the name of the lipstick she wore, or one close to it? That's really all I need to know.
Love, YBLAG
Luckily, I didn't have to wait for them to write me back. Instead, I pulled some strings and found out for myself. This report comes straight from the horse's mouth, via Primetime Emmys Make-up Department Head and Olay spokesperson Bruce Grayson. What's a makeup department head, you ask? Basically, not one actress was allowed down the red carpet or on stage until Bruce gave his stamp of approval. Here are some Cliffsnotes for Emmy-ready lips, eyes and cheeks.more...
The Hottest Bath: Mangosteen
Above: Fresh
Mangosteen Bath & Shower Gel with pomegranate
extract, $25, Fresh.com.
The exotic "superfruit"
Mangosteen has received tons of attention this year due to its
limited supply in the U.S. Some NYC vendors
reportedly charge $45 a pound! A member of the
citrus clan, Mangosteens are packed with
antioxidants like Vitamin C and Xanthones, known
for its mood-enhancing properties.
A mood-enhancing food? Tell me more.
What with all the buzz about "superfruitness," it was
only a matter of time before we'd be able to bathe in
the stuff. Leave it to an on-the-pulse-of-everything
brand like Fresh to launch a
Mangosteen line and make it even more
succulent by pumping pomegranate into the mix. Even
better: for the price of about one Mangosteen, your
skin can enjoy its nourishing benefits for weeks.
Sweet deal!
Post-Season Skin Saver
Has
summer left you with sun-parched skin? Behold, a
sprouting secret weapon: my very own aloe vera
plant
I rarely (slash never) have the patience to get all organic in my beauty routine, despite knowing full well that preservatives found in some makeup, creams and cleansers can really beat up your mug. About a month ago, however, I was forced to re-evaluate my behavior after facing two harsh realities:
⁃ I have visible sun spots, and maybe a few fine lines. On my face.⁃ I do not, at the moment, have the cash for laser skin renewal.
I did some product research as a first step to see what was new on the anti-aging/skin lightening front. Not surprisingly, everything I would have tried had aloe vera extract as a main ingredient. We all know that aloe helps calms burns and heal cuts—but did you know the same healing acids in aloe extract (alpha hydroxy, malic acid) can also be put to work on dry skin, sun spots and wrinkles? I swear. Ask these guys.
So, I went straight to the source— I headed to a local florist to purchase an aloe vera plant. (It was about seven or eight bucks.) Every other day, I slice off a small section and stick it in the fridge for about twenty minutes before I scoop out the gel and apply it topically. My sun spots aren't totally gone, but they're lighter, no doubt. Lines? Definitely less noticeable. Plus, my skin is softer and I get to feel like a tree-hugger, which I enjoy.
The Man Speaks the Truth
I try to not be deadly serious about
too many things, but the subject of skin care has
always been on my no-kidding-around list. Acne-laden
teen years combined with a lifetime of sun
worshipping has left me praying to the skin gods for
forgiveness.
("I'm sorry. Please don't make me wake up with
raisin-face tomorrow. Amen.")
I was introduced to Dr. Dennis Gross during a meeting
at Cosmo where he took me through MD Skincare
(his product line) and explained his philosophy
behind it: to create multi-tasking products that'll
save you a trip to the dermatologist. Ok, sounds good
to me. Then I tried his Alpha Beta Daily Face
Peel It.
Changed. My. Life. The stuff works wonders on so
many issues: fine lines, discoloration and
breakouts. Don't have major skin concerns? The
peel will keep you lucky ducks glowing and
moisturized.
Dr. G recently added four Truth Serums
to his lineup. Have I
tried them yet? No. But experience tells me that
the man doesn't lie, so you better believe I'll be
testing them soon. I'll keep you posted.
The Stuff Works, Clearly
The first item I purchased after I
stopped hanging out in beauty closets was
Origins Clear
Improvement, $20, www.origins.com. You'll learn I'm much more of a
skincare chick than a makeup chick, and I would
spend $20 on a face mask before I would on a tube
of lipstick any day (umm... besides the lipstick
you see here on my layout! I'd TOTALLY spend $20
on that hot shade!)
Charcoal, the active ingredient in Clear Improvement,
works like Drano on my pores. After a day of
walking around the city, it's perfect for (gently)
getting rid of grime. The best part: it gives the
experience of an old fashioned mask—you know, the
thick, non-glamourous mud-like ones all boys think
girls paint on each other at slumber
parties.