We´re all heading off to various destinations for Thanksgiving, and I hope if you are too, your trip is a safe one. Everyone´s busy, so I thought today I´d blog slightly off-topic. I´m not a big beauty-product gal, and most of the testimonial fluff I read in, say, the Bliss catalog makes me snicker. But here are three things that I’m pretty much never without…
Olive Oil. I have dry, sensitive skin and dry (color-treated) hair. I keep a small bottle of organic olive oil in my bathroom and use it as body oil after bathing; makeup remover; moisturizer for my face and hands at bedtime; fragrance remover; and hair shine (I just pour a dime-size dab in my palm and rub my hands together, then run them through my hair). I didn´t invent the olive-oil thing – look at all the high-end beauty products touting its antioxidant properties. My oil comes from the co-op and it works great. Yes, I do smell like olive oil for a couple of minutes, but the smell fades very fast (and it’s a nice smell, anyway). In terms of an actual catalog beauty product, I highly recommend…
LipFusion lip plumper. I like them better than the cinnamon-based ones, which irritate my skin (which is also how they plump). This has some hooey about micro-encapsulated collagen or whatever, but man – it makes my lips soft and pillowy. The colors go on really sheer, and I recommend their two new colors — Dream and Smooch. Available at Sephora and elsewhere. A rare example of a product that lives up to the hype.
Naked Bee products, especially the shampoo/conditioner combo. It works; it´s super-concentrated; it´s gentle and doesn´t strip my hair color; it smells amaaaaaaazing; and its small size means you can take it on the plane. The lotion and soap are wonderful, too.
Finally, ladies – if there was ever a season for you to wear red lipstick, this is it. (Guys, if you want to wear red lipstick, who am I to stop you?) Seriously – right now there´s a red for everyone, not just Dita Von Teese. I´m partial to the Lancome line because they don´t have a waxy aftertaste (a pet peeve of mine). I have pale skin and red hair, and my new love is Lancome Color Design in Work It! Chanel has some awesome reds, as does the Guerlain Kiss Kiss line; the Guerlain cases are gorgeous.
Okay, what´s your favorite beauty product? What’s the one thing you’d never run out of?
Gaaack -I was just re-reading the responses to this post and I found an error in mine- of course Photo Finish primer is by Smashbox not MAC – but you all knew that…..:”>
Katie, I usually get it at Fred Meyer – but not all stores carry it, and it’s not always the bigger branches either. I stock up when I find it. I found it Safeway recently as well. (I will leave you a more detailed message over on your blog. 🙂
Flora – if I remember correctly, you live around the Portland area, right? Where are you finding the Sea Plasma? Please! We’re having the worst time finding it, and it’s the best thing ever for little kid hair! We have tried a number of the drugstore detanglers/leave-in conditioners, but they all trigger sneezing in my boys because they’re all over-scented. This used to be easier to find, but it’s been slowly disappering from our grocery/drugstore shelves lately. I would appreciate it so much if I knew where we could get it again 🙂
Just ONE beauty product?! Wow, that’s hard. I have a number of essentials, having reached the age when I need all the help I can get. I see someone else has cheated, so I will too:
A good black and/or dark green eyeliner that’s not too hard or soft, gotta be just right. Still looking for the perfect one though!
A good oil-free foundation, brands varying, with a primer beneath if at all possible. Still looking for the best combo, but Laura Mercier primer is my fave of the non-silicone type primers and MAC Photo Finish is the best silicone type by far.
Lancome lipsticks of course! Current fave color is “Wannabe”. a, nice cool but bright fuchsia pink. Yeah, I can wear that color, I am one of the Pink People. :”>
[for a red, I like their Cherries Jubilee (cool)or Mars (warm).]
L’Oreal Translucide loose powder. Best quality for a drugstore buy and you get a lot.
Lancome Dual Finish powder foundation. I keep a stock on hand and NEVER run out!
Drugstore essential: Focus 21 SeaPlasma spray moisturizer for hair and face – I drench myself in it all over, all winter. It keeps my skin comforatble and it’s the only facial moisturizer I can wear without breakouts, as it is oil-free and mostly water, with seaweed-based hydrating ingredients. Smells good too!
Lancome eyeshadows. ‘Nuff said.
Bed Head Creative Genius hair gel -works great giving volume and shape to my short hair and smells like coconut going on, but never interferes with my fragrance.
I know there must be more, but I won’t get greedy. 🙂
I know I’m late and catching up – hope your Thanksgiving was great! Thanks for the Naked Bee suggestions! For face moisturizer Sea Chi Creme by Sea Chi Organics saved mine during a stressful period, and I don’t think I will ever go back to anything else – not even tempted. She has a great gel face wash, too which is Rose & Geranium – but it is really earthy smelling – definitely more geranium than rose. They have a nice sample pack, too – and I’m all about the samples! I love Nivea Q10 for a body moisturizer and olive oil, too in the winter – my husband thought I was odd, so I can show him!
I agree everyone should I have a red lipstick – or 20 – my collection is completely out of control and I’m still tempted to try these new ones you list. Chanel has awesome ones. For really different reds I love MAC Dubonnet and Hot Tahiti.
Great topic!
Patty, happy Thanxgiving to you and your family! Hugs
Ooh, I’d never heard of Naked Bee, and I hadn’t ventured into that site yet, so now you’ve got me busy cruising through the site to look at all the different things.:x
My never run out of stuff:
Beauty Without Cruelty’s AHA face wash. It’s cheap, works the best out of everything I’ve ever tried on my acne-prone/oily skin, and comes in a pump bottle. What more could a gal ask for?
Orginal Bombshell’s SPF 30 face lotion. It’s a wee bit rich for me, but it does NOT break me out in zits or make me greasy like most sunscreens do. Love, love, love that brand in general (the body stuff works well, too) but the facial one I can NOT be without.
Lola Cosmetics pressed powder. Because it comes in great yellow-undertoned colors that make it an easy match for my pale self, and it’s so finely milled that I tend to use it in place of loose powder even.
Dior Capture eye cream. It is way too expensive. But it is also very awesome, and therefore I try to pretend the cost is all justified.
Perfumeria Gal’s Violet Lip Balm. It is really just fancy Vasoline in an art nouveau tin. And it smells so lovely that I gladly reach for my fancy Vasoline.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Patty!
It’s been a while since I last tested men’s scents, but I do remember liking Cade and Vetyver and loving Eau de Badian. Will retest Cade!
Happy Thanxgiving to you and your family! Can I come over for a slice of that yummy pie? 🙂
Christine — aha! The oil is getting some play! I’ll have to try castor (wonder what it smells like?)
Well, I WAS a brunette with medium (hazel eyes.) I look just like my gravatar up there on the right in the see-through negligee! Or not. Anyway, I’m 50% gray now, so my wonderful stylist dyes it a demipermanent immoral shade of red. The dark brown strands are deep, dark auburn. The gray strands are … absurd. It looks very Euro, it fits right in in Paris and Vienna. It’s fun.
Cait — anyone who lives in AK gets a complete pass on the product. I’d probably have to smear myself with lard. (Blubber?):-?
P — I’ve been drinking a lot more water because of the hot yoga. So I don’t know if it’s the water, the yoga or both, but my skin! It looks amazing.
Happy Turkey, blogmate!~:>
Tom — that’s a GREAT idea!! (I think we have the same hair.) I keep it shaded from the sun. The shea would style and … sort of beat into submission. (My hair in the humidity is WILD)
Elle — bath and body stuff is a fun, easy splurge. I’m still looking for the perfect mascara, I’m going to try your recommendation.
Leo — oooooh! Dont’ shower, I’m coming over right now!
:”>
Marina — how do YOU feel about the glorious American Thanksgiving? I eat until I pop.
Dusan — I think most of L’Occitane stuff smells great, and I use several of their products. Their olive oil stuff is good (but I like mine better!) Have you smelled the men’s Cade? Boy, it’s nice.
Sybil — I’m looking for a better sunscreen, they always make me break out.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
Flor — thanks for the recommendations! My sister-in-law wears Four Reines, it smells gorgeous on her.
Ronny — thanks. I could use a lottle pore reduction.:-“
Wow — you guys!!! I run off to get the last few things to bake some more pies, and look at all of you!
Cheez — it’s nice to have oily-skin recommendations too, because my daughter and the B.C. are oily. I’m going to look for the Avalon, it sounds like something I’d like.
Those Pacifica soaps! If I were doing a soap post, they’d be in there. I am happy a local place sells them. I think my favorites are frankincense, lemongrass and blood orange. They are amazing and they last forever.
A friend of mine’s father recently had a hip replaced and a doctor commented on how in his 70s my friend’s father has the softest skin he’s ever felt. The secret? He puts some olive oil in the bath. He also recommends pure castor oil for the hands and rough skin. I’m actually going to invest in some now that it’s freezing and my skin hates me.
Also, I always pictured you as a brunette with dark eyes. How wrong I am.
For beauty products, I use Eucerin for dry skin before bed. LOVE it. But may be switching to castor oil. We’ll see how it goes.
My new discovery is a lotion called Complex 15. It actually gives me my real skin back even in the Alaskan winter. I am a product junkie so I will stop there.
*too many beauty/moisturizing products to list that I can’t live without*
Water, and lots of it.
and a flat iron for my hair.
That’s it, everything else is negotiable or I get a free sample of it in some beauty bag somewhere.
I like pure shea butter for my hair. After a shower, i put a small dab in my palm, rub my hands together and rub into my wet hair. (then I rub my palms into my elbows) I have big wavy 40’s film noir heroine hair, and this keeps it from going too crazy. I’m told that it’s also a natural sunscreen, but I don’t know about that.
Happy Tday! I’m pretty low maintenance in the beauty dept. I should use more moisturizer, but I don’t. I keep Shiseido’s Day Essential Light on hand at all times to try to remind myself to use it, though. I should get decant some of my olive oil for the bathroom. I only wear lipstick and mascara, but I wouldn’t be caught dead w/out either. Right now I’m addicted to Chanel’s Aqualumieres (Tahiti and Casablanca are my fav reds from this line) and Shu Uemura’s Mascara Basic (*no* clumping or smudging). Pricey, but considering I use nothing else, worth it. The only other things I will never go w/out are bath gels (*loathe* soap and Magno is my fav gel) and exfoliating scrubs. Currently am loving Molton Brown’s Julipe Cleansing Scrub, but I change brands constantly.
Blimey, girl talk. Here’s your opportunity, Leo.
*sprays Yatagan all over*
You ladies, eh? I just need a splash of water and a rub down with coarse sandpaper.
Happy Thanksgiving to March, Patty and everybody whom you love!
😡
The retard meant to write ‘no lipstick for ME’!
For an olive lover, you might wanna try L’Occitane’s olive based line. My GF also has dry skin which has literally become smoother than mine (moi, mixed-to-oily) ever since she started using the products. She also combines it with Immortelle anti-age and eye treatment creams which smell amazing!
Moi, je use the wonderful L’Occitane Honey Cream (can you see the pattern here?) for sensitive skin and I love how it brings instant comfort while not being in the least bit heavy!
Um, no lipstick for my, thank you 🙂
I’m a big fan of Aveeno sunscreen (SPF 30, for the potato-white Irish skin) and I like the L’Oreal microdermabrasion stuff. And I like Neutrogena lip blush (SPF!) and readily available at Target (Hooray!). Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!
I live in a tropical climate so I don’t use very heavy moisturizers. I love the shea butter soap bars from L’Occitane and their light moisturizers like Eau de 4 Reines (I love it!). I’ve been using a night cream around my eyes from a company called DS Laboratories. It’s very light, the smell is very discrete, it’s gel-like, but leaves my skin around my eyes and the corners of my mouth baby soft. The one product I cannot live without is Shiseido’s compact with SPF. You can use it with a dry or wet sponge and there is perfect coverage and sun protection.
welll… at the moment, i am loving Bliss Sleep Peel, which has significantly improved my skintone.
Am working my way through a sample of Dr Brandt’s Pores No More, which actually works to lessen oil in the t-zone.
with these two, i don’t really need foundation, which makes me a happy bunny.
I’ve never been a big moisturizer gal, because I’ve always been troubled by oil-slick skin. However, as I get older, I find that I enjoy a little pampering. (I’m also grateful that what caused me great misery in high-school, has kept my skin relatively unlined as a grown-up).
Here are a couple of my favorites:
Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewing Facial Cream
I have no idea if any of the “benfits” of Vit C actually work, but I’m a huge fan of this stuff and use it often. Positive reviews on MUA spurred me to buy & try.
I was dismayed when I opened the jar, because it looked ultra heavy and waxy inside. To my surprise, it went on nicely and did not feel sticky or greasy. My skin is invariably soft and smooth after applying. It does not contain any scary ingredients, and can be bought relatively cheaply in health food stores.
The absolute BEST thing about it is the scent: a heavenly orange scent, that is so bright and natural smelling, you’d swear someone had just peeled an orange. Seriously, it’s like a mood-lifter in a jar. I would purchase this just for the fragrance alone.
Speaking of heavenly fragrance, my OTHER favorite products are from Pacifica. Their soaps and body butters are among my favorites ever. They come in a huge variety of scents, (fig, spice, sandalwood, floral, tropical fruits) and all of ’em smell great. My personal ffave is French Lilac: I’ve never smelled a truer more natural rendition of lilac blossom anywhere. A close second is the Neroli (orange blossom)- very soft and airy. These products are also relatively inexpensive, but their scents take me to another place. 😡