Send me things...

So due to the global economic crisis, I've had to cut back on my experimentation. I will be back testing shit out as soon as I have spending money to waste! Swear!

In lieu of me buying stuff, if anyone out there wants to send me things to try out because they are chicken, please contact me and do so. I am also accepting cash donations, luxury handbags and clothing as well as high-end electronics. Send away!

Moisturizer

As my readers know, I have acne-prone, oily and sensitive skin. This is the best moisturizer I have ever tried. I would highly recommend it to anyone out there with my skin type.

The brand is Dr. Hauschka and a brief description of the product is below:

"A light, activating moisturizer. Lightweight oils and healing plant extracts encourage the skin's ability to retain moisture, normalizing dry, mature and normal skin conditions.
Anthyllis, carrot and St. John'swort combine with nurturing oils to regulate moisture content

Absorbs quickly
Provides light protection
Refreshes and enlivens skin

A main ingrediant, Wild carrot or the familiar Queen Anne's lace. The root extract is highly nutritive and cleansing. High in antioxidant beta carotene and other flavonoids."

Yeah so all the aforementioned stuff is why I bought it. I do loves me some natural ingredients in my skin stuff! It ranges from $38 to $50 bucks a pop; the only place I've ever seen it is in a high end grocery store out here in California called "Whole Foods", but you can buy it online at

http://www.drhauschka.com/holistic-products/face-care/moisturizing/details.aspx?id=64&product=Moisturizing+Day+Cream+-+For+normal%2c+dry+or+mature+skin

It is very light and does not cause any breakouts or greasy feeling. The only drawback (in my opinion) is that it does not contain sunscreen.So yeah, I love it and would highly recommend for all my home skillets out there with bad skin.

THE Lip Balm

This is the best chapstick in the whole world. Go out and get it. It's the Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm and it rocks my friggin' world!

Please to compare this to a regular chapstick.Regular = paraben based (ie made from petroleum/oil byproducts), kinda feels waxy when you put it on.Burt's= Beeswax base with pure pomegranate oil. 100% all natural. Feels like silk on your lips!

The pomegranate oil adds a nice sheer cherry-stain to your lips or cheeks. This stuff is super and I always stock up and let people try it. I'm not a total bitch about this like I am with my perfume.

Why you should be reading this blog...

This is the $90 moisturizer that caused me to breakout.

I am such a sucker!

Listed below is what was on the back of the package that made me want to buy it:

• Derivatives of vitamins & vital trace elements like magnesium, copper

• Energizes skin to renew & rebuild itself to preserve youthfulness

•Blue Ginger PFA adds new radiance

• Leaves skin soft, moist, glow with vitality & well-being

• Fresh & light texture instantly melts into skin

You all know how I like natural ingredients and flowers in my beauty stuff, this really seemed to have it all. BLUE GINGER! What the hell is that? It sounded so exotic and potent!Listen to Mama: N-E-V-E-R buy a product that does not specifically state it is "oil free" or "non-comedogenic", no matter how much Blue Ginger it has in it.

But the saleswoman was so nice and she did let me try it; but after standing there and talking to her for 3 minutes with it on my skin I figured everything was gravy. Three minutes is NOT enough time to see if you will have a reaction. Get a sample to go and work it into your routine for a few days to see if you have a reaction. But as I've stated, I'm a sucker and I was so excited I couldn't wait and just bought the whole bottle.Don't do that.Read my blog and learn from my mistakes.This is a $90 one.

And as a shout-out to anyone working at Chanel: You all have VERY high-quality products, this one just didn't work with my skin. Please send me some of your equally high-quality handbags and shoes... I'm sure I won't have an allergic reaction to those!

Bronzer

If y'all have read the previous posts about sunscreen, then you know how I enjoy being the palest person in the room, in the middle of July, in California... but not for the reasons you may think.

My mother was a model for many years in the 70's and 80's; a skincare regimen was actually written into her contract that she HAD to wear sunscreen. Because of this, my 60 year old mother doesn't look a day over 40. THAT is the reason I enjoy being the palest person in California; pale = no sun damage.

When I want to change things up a bit and blend in with the tanorexic population of my state, I slather on this bronzer by Murad. I also let it set in for 10-15 minutes because you know how I like to do that.This stuff is really great for people with sensitive and acne prone skin! I have never had a problem with breakouts or it leaving my skin feeling greasy.

But I should clarify that this is NOT a self tanner. You put this on everyday with your makeup and wash it off at night. Also, this stuff WILL stain your clothes if you don't let it dry before getting dressed... what a perfect opportunity to try out the my patented "sit and wait for 10-15 minuets" beauty routine!Another drawback is that this crap is like, $50 a pop. That being said, a little goes a looooooooooooooong way! Just a pea-sized amount will cover your whole face and neck and you will be DARK!

I'm not a fan of self tanners (besides the breakout factor) because I can never tell if I'm putting on enough and it never seems to be dark enough. A small amount of this stuff will make you look like you just spent a week in Bali; just put it on your legs and shoulders/arms too. Oh yeah, and it has SPF 15 already in it. Thats a plus for all you non-sunscreen wearers, but as for me its just covering to go on top of my SPF 70.

So long story short: this is a great product for ME, perhaps not for YOU unless you are as sun/self-tanner-phobic as I am. It is $50 smackeroons and it WILL stain your clothes so keep that in mind.

Masques

This is a drug-store find but I have also seen it at Sephora; it ranges in price from $4 to $7.This is the Booth's Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask and I love it.

If you've missed the previous postings I will reiterate that I love 3 things in my face masks:1) All natural ingredients, 2) Flowers, 3) Slathering it on and letting it set in for 10-15 minutes. Hmm, I should change it to four things, the 4th being if they call the mask a Masque, I live for that shit!

This comes from a friggin' V-O-L-C-A-N-O, how much more all-natural can you get? While its true there are no flowers in it I think the Volcano thing makes up for it, and it does say to slather on your face and let it sink in for like 20 minutes, so I went ahead and bought a whole tube of it without trying it first.

Fortunately it seems to work pretty well; specifically on the enlarged oily pores I have on my nose. Seriously, the rest of the mask on my face will be bone-dry and peeling off but the section on my nose is still wet and I can actually SEE the outline of every pool of oil the mask is soaking up. GNARLEY!

So go out and get it if you have oily skin or large pores, this will really clean it out. Any girls with sensitive skin will experience some redness and tingling but the end result is well worth it. Also of worthy mention is the Origins mud mask. I like that one more but only because they call it a masque. Such a sucker.

Cleanser

This is the only acceptable skin cleanser.

End of story.

Go out and buy it.

And relax, its like, $6 at any rite-aid.

Really.

Thats it.

Were you waiting for more?

Its not really open for discussion.

This is it.

Oh, yeah this company doesn't license out their product for knock-offs so don't go getting the Safway or Target equivalent. If the beauty Gods gave me an ultimatum that I had to pick one item and use it forever this is it. Its good for babies too! Ok, its good "on" babies, not "for "them like to eat.

Don't feed babies Cetaphil!

La vive en Rose (Rose Face Mask)

If anyone out there is not familiar with the Fresh line of products, I highly recommend them. This is a fab toning mask (or masque-hee!) with real roses in it.

I originally bough it because I am a sucker for the following: all natural ingredients, flowers, and putting shit on my face and letting it sink in for 10-15 minutes.Saints be praised, this one worked quite well in addition to offering me the three aforementioned things.

Left my skin firmer and glowing! Be sure to cleans thoroughly though; any remaining blackheads will not be magically healed, they will just be shinier.This stuff is like $5o bucks a pop, so my suggestion is to get thee to Sephora and ask for a sample.

The "other" Perfumes

So here are some other (lesser) favorites. Like when you want to go to Jack in the Box for one of those Jack's Spicy Chicken Sandwiches but your douche parents take you to McDonald's and you have to get like, some sort of "fiesta" Chicken Sandwich and its not the same and not as good but you'll eat it because its not Burger King.

These perfumes are kinda like that: not as great but they'll do because the alternative sucks (read- I will smell like eu de Moi = not good).

The pink bottle in the back is Lucky Brand's Lucky You, the squat blue fellow is Ralph Lauren's Ralph and we have Marc Jacob's Daisy in the front.

So, the Lucky Brand is a bit more masculine than what I would normally wear. Its great for an internship/office job with a heavy co-ed makeup. Girls will like it b/c it smells kinda like roses and comes in a pretty bottle and is a pretty pink color. Them boys will like it b/c is also smells kinda like cologne and psych 101 teaches us that the person everyone loves most is themselves and will actively seek it out. The average man/boy (or manboy) will go through this thought process when he smells it:"Hmmm smells a little like me. I like me. This chick really gets me. We should hang out b/c I like hanging out with me. She is non-threatening b/c she understands me like I understand me."This scent will make you the casual office hang out girl. That is great for an internship, which is what I used it for, because you are not trying to "get ahead" in those situations. This is not a perfume for the ball-buster, the vixen or the workaholic (workaholics scare the poo outta me and they smell like coffee and neurosis).

Ralph is great for everything from weddings to funerals to working lunches. The boss wears this but so does the coquettish new girl from the Sweden office. Many will ask you what you are wearing. Please refer to the previous post for tips on how to handle that. Ralph is fresh and interesting. Think lemons and jasmine on the ocean. A very feminine sent. The boys won't likey. As I was spritzing some on to describe it my boyfriend asked me if I was drinking something that smelled like hookers. Don't wear this for the boys, wear it to impress your boss and hang out with girlfriends who will appreciate it.

Daisy is sweet and fun. Fresh flowers and honey come to mind. The boys like it and it is appropriate for most places; just not anywhere too corporate or old-school.

My Perfume

Perfume is tricky. Most perfumes give me a headache, and not the figurative kind like "Oh, I've got so many apothecaries in which to adorn myself for the Bauhaus tonight I just can't choose. I feel faint! My head aches! I must retire for a brief respite before this eves festivities". I mean they give me a real friggin' headache and I have to leave the room if someone is wearing something too strong. Its pretty common; my best friend is at least doubly if not thricely worse than I in this regard, girl can't even have scented candles in her bubble bath she's so sensitive. That means its NOT EVEN a real bubble bath, your just sitting there in soapy water getting pruny. Gross Sarah. Gross.

When I do find a perfume I like, I buy in bulk and then lie to people about where I got it, how much it was, the brand and so on so they can't copy me. But odds are good we will never meet so you can go ahead and have dibs on these. The picture above is my current fav. Its Juicy Couture but I'm not a vapid skank... it just smells good. When you get compliments on this scent (and you will from everyone from grandma to bosses to boyfriends to creepy old men hanging out at gas stations) you can choose whether or not to divulge the brand. I am a heinous bitch and compulsive liar. I've told people everything but the truth: 1) "Oh, its a custom blend with strong Hibiscus notes and a vanilla undertone", *2) "Why thank you! Its a limited edition trial run for Dior by John Galliano." 3) It was a gift that came in a vintage Victorian-era atomizer... I don't know the brand".*Should anyone press you further on #2 you can go three ways. If the person knows you and KNOWS you are poor, you should say "It was a gift". If they don't know you but you LOOK poor, just say "I got it at a sample sale". If they nod their head and say they were thinking of getting it as well and are excited for the new line, punch that person in the mouth and walk away. There's no honor among liars and we can sense our own.If you do decide to incarnate the knowledge of your perfume unto a lucky few, you may have to deal with the reactions of two specific groups of people.

The first group is comprised of poor to lower-middle class/skanky/whoreish/superficial girls who think buying Juicy Couture is cool. Listen to mama- these girls are not your friends. Put Nair in their conditioner and call it a day.The second group is mainly normal people who find Juicy offensive and gauche. They can range in socio-economic background from educated upper-middle class to über-rich ( but not the nouveau riche, those are just lucky trash).The first group will squeal when you tell them this magical potion, this aromatic ambrosia, is Juicy. The second group will cock one eyebrow and say "reeeeee-aly". The first group has shit for brains, the second thinks you ARE shit for brains. Surprisingly both groups can be placated with the same response:

"I GOT IT FOR $10 AT TARGET"

This lets the first group know that they have built up a brand that ultimately wants to profit and is willing to go low-rent to do it; it will also align you firmly with the second group, letting them know you are in on the joke that is Juicy.And you WILL have these conversations!

My bias against expensive terry-cloth aside, its a wonderful scent. Very fruity and fresh. Good times. Check it out.

Sunscreen

So I did it again! I wasted all my money on a bunch of different sunscreens and they all suck. Ok, first things first. I AM A SUNSCREEN PERSON! Even in the middle of July in California I am bone-pale and thats the way I like it.My normal sunscreen routine, that I never should have deviated from in the first place, consists of Clinique Super City Block with SPF 40 and Bare Minerals Fairly Light SPF 15 on my face and Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moistureizer with SPF 45 on my neck, chest and body. All of these area non-comedogenic and oil free and were working fine but I am a sunscreen hound and the higher the SPF the better so I thought I'd try out some with more protection.

I tried:Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 70 with Helioplex (for face)Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Body Mist SPF 70 with Helioplex (aerosol)J/A/S/O/N Sunbrellas Kid's SPF 46Coppertone Water Babies SPF 50Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection SPF 55Solar Sense Clear Zinc SPF 45 (roll on sick, for face)So, I didn't like any of them for my face as much as my regular stuff, but some of the body products I enjoyed and will probably switch over to.

The Bad:Specifically, the Solar Sense Clear Zinc was a HUGE disappointment. I guess it just goes to show, if you have oily skin like I do, you NEED to look for labels that say NON-COMEDOGENIC and OIL FREE. This one didn't clearly say it but y'know, "CLEAR" and "ZINC" I figured I was good to go. Not true.The J/A/S/O/N Kid's sunblock was too greasy, the Coppertone Water Babies was slightly better but still a little on the heavy side.

The Good:Once again, the Neutrogena products were great, but not for use on my neck or chest as they were still a little greasy. I really liked the aerosol and will for sure incorporate that for when I go ridding and my shoulders are out in the sun all day.

The Find:I really enjoyed the Aveeno Baby SPF 50 sunblock. When I run out of my current Neutrogena I will use this stuff for my neck, chest and maybe my face.So yeah, these were fun to play around with but please leave me comments if you know of anything better!
P.S. WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello all!

This is my first adventure in blogging and I'd like to give everyone a glimpse of who I am and why I'm doing this.So, this is a blog devoted to my manic obsession with beauty products. From foundation to conditioner to sunscreen to diamond powder eye-shadow (yeah, I'm serious. I'm such a sucker!), I have a serious problem so why not share it with you all!
Name a brand I own it, name a product I've tried it, name a body part and I've for sure slathered some sort of fancy cream or self-tanner on it. So why not read about my experiences with different potions to see if its right for you before you go out and blow $98.50 on a face cream that gives you acne (I'll get to that in latter posts; like I said, I'm a sucker!).

Just to let you know where I'm coming from, here are some stats:
Me:24 year old Caucasian female, recent college grad, living in a mild Mediterranean-type climate (California!!!) with cold wet winters and hot (106 degree) summers.
Skin:Ivory with yellow undertones, dark under-eye circles (genetic so not really fixable), mild cystic acne, normal to oily skin, VERY SENSITIVE. Keratosis pilaris (those tiny little white bumps) on back of arms.
Hair:Fine and oily with very dry, fly-away ends. A natural level 6 color (mousy dark blond) highlighted a level 2 blond (think cool ash, very pale) forever. In light of the economy, dyed my whole head a level 7 brown. Not happy with it but I can now devote more money to random crap and NEVER worry about it again. Anyhoo, the important thing to know is I have fine, thin, oily hair that has been severely chemically treated.
Eyes:Blue, deep set, baby-fine eyelashes.
Nails:Bite 'em. You'll never read a post about nail polish so don't get your hopes up and just push it out of your mind.