Romy Raves

Once in a while, amongst all my trend forecasting and my beauty blabbing, I like to throw in a post with some real substance, a post that can really make you think and shift your perspective and today is one of those days.

Recently, I had a transformational experience with a group of girlfriends that I adore, that really challenged and frustrated me, but most importantly it helped me grow and become a better person by going through it. It also made my relationship with these women even stronger because we were honest, real, confrontational yet constructive.

Do you have friends like this? Friends that call you on your shit? Friends who don’t let you off the hook easily and make you really look at the way you live your life in hopes that you will learn and grow from the experience? I DO!! At times I don’t like it, the self-absorbed little girl inside me says “whatever, I don’t care what you think, I know I am right so there!” but the adult woman inside me knows better. I know I have hurt them by making a decision that impacts their lives without thinking about the consequences of my actions beforehand. My adult self knows how important self-less-ness is, and how in the future I need to think about the consequences of my actions on others before just doing whatever I want. I have learned that its time to be a grown-up, less impulsive and more thoughtful. And it’s not easy, it’s hard but worth it becasue that’s where the growth opportunity—Oh yeah, and admitting you were wrong, that’s hard too.

Is this at all relatable to you? Do you have friends that raise your game? Friends that by being in relation to them, you grow and become a better person? Fluffy relationships are a dime a dozen, but real in-depth honest relationships are the ones that enrich your life and help you grow.

To these women (The Sage, Hippie and Do-Gooder), I say thank you for being in my life, for not letting me off the hook easily and for making our relationship stronger because of your brutal honesty. To those of you reading this, I want you to know how precious these more challenging relationships are and that they definitely are worth fighting for–treasure them because they are rare and special.

Being the beauty trend maven that I am, I am ALWAYS on the hunt for inspired and innovative products that solve annoying and common beauty challenges. Take frizzy hair for example, not an earth shattering problem, but typically a nusance when I don’t get every ounce of moisture out of my hair or have the flawless pulling technique of a seasoned pro to obliterate pesky frizz. However, the L’Azzio Hot Air Smoothing Brush has changed all that.

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L’Azzio has created a unique patented straightening and smoothing ionic ceramic barrel brush that easily smooths your hair with very little effort. The interchangeable ionic ceramic barrel brushes are made out of wood which allows hot air to flow through the bristles like a blow dryer without overheating. The ceramic and ions improve luster and control frizzies while the natural boar bristles gently help distribute the hairs natural oils.

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But aside from all this high tech innovation, this cool new brush REALLY WORKS! After the traditional blow-drying is done, you use this tool on DRY hair to smooth and finish your style—and that’s where this product really impresses and works its magic. With minimal effort and only one styling tool at a time (I think this is my favorite feature because rolling, pulling and holding a blow dryer all at once usually makes me feel like a bumbling idiot), you are able to effortlessly wrap your hair around the brush of your choice (the interchangeable brush heads come in small, medium and large BTW–I prefer the Large brush) and get a nice taut grip so that you seemlessly smooth your hair all the way down.Â

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To me this is like a high quality roll brush, flat iron and blow dryer all in one with the muscle of a pro–I LOVE it and think it does a fantastic job of imparting smoothness and shine in one fell swoop (not to mention the cost savings of having three tools in one!) Very inspired and very cool! This is definitely a keeper in my beauty product arsenal.

Gamila’s Secret  that is. Gamila of Galilee is a Druze healing woman who was taught at an early age by her grandmother that a mixture of wild herbs and hand pressed olive oil had a cleansing and healing effect on the skin. These early lessons were so powerful that she made it her life’s mission to share these ancient healing remedies with the world and give everyone the opportunity to have healthy, radiant skin for as long as they live.

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Her SECRET is a divine bar of handmade soap that I was delighted to discover at Cosmoprof this year. This is NOT your ordinary soap, this is a beautiful, lovingly handmade bar of soap with 15 herbs from the hills of Galilee (seven being a proprietary blend of hand picked herbs carefully selected by Gamila herself) and 80% pure virgin oil olive. This soap is created using ancient methods of combining various oils and herbs, then boiling it for up to forty hours, hardening it for up to sixty hours, and then like a fine wine, each bar of soap is slowly aged for three to six months (talking about soap like it is wine is a comparison that totally intrigues me ). Then as the icing on the cake, Gamilia herself inspects every bar of soap before it is packaged and sent out into the world, much like a mother prepping her child to go out on its own. How could you not fall in love with a product that is created with that much nurturing?

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And then you try it and can see what all the fuss is about. It smells divine (my fav fragrances are Soothing Geranium and Lavender Heaven) and then lathers into a creamy, luscious, frothy foam that feels cleansing and nurturing at the same time. And I must admit, I am totally hooked on this product—I like aromatherapeutic scent that instantly calms me and the way this healing hydrating foam feels on my skin, as well as the refreshed feeling I have when it is rinsed away ( I even love the ancient looking stone dish that they recommend to keep the soap from getting mushy).  But I think it is the ancient lineage of this remedy that really grabs me the most—You feel the history, love and attention to detail that goes into the creation of this marvelous product, like you are part of something bigger, and that feels GOOD.

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And then there are all these wonderfully natural, healing ingredients in this magical soap: pure olive oil and secret herbs that moisturize, boosts skin’s elasticity, and stimulate self healing. It’s also 100% natural, has no preservatives or artificial colors, is even suitable for sensitive skin types and can be used to wash your face, body or even as shaving cream or a facial mask. Because of its tremendous healing properties, it is recommended that you leave Gamilia’s Secret on the skin for a few minutes before rinsing it off and try it for at least one month to help put your skin back in balance. You can buy these wonderful bars here and please let me know if you can feel the love.

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This just in: Gamila Secret would like to extend a special offer to Romy’s Raves readers—a discount of $5 off your order by entering this code on the web order form: 17082009

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This offer is good thru September 2009.