Love At First Sight: 10 Products I’m Smitten With
It’s a rough job but someone’s gotta do it: test out the latest and greatest new beauty products, assess their efficacy and impact, test again and again, decide which ones to share and which ones are not worthy of telling my readers about. And occasionally, there are products that just ‘WOW’ me right from the start, they often reveal immediately noticeable results or impact and they tend shout: “Check me out, I am FAB-UNIQUE-DIFFERENT or unlike anything you have ever seen before” and these are the products that I become immediately obsessed with, can’t get enough of and can’t wait to tell the world how darn fabulous they are! Lately, there have been quite a few products that have wooed me right from the start, so I am excited to share my robust list of the 10 products that I am currently having a love affair with:
1) Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pad for Body ($45 for 8 Applications)
Dr. Gross has done it again by creating this amazing swoon worthy Glow Pad for the body. This innovative textured pad is an exfoliating, anti-aging self-tanner with Active Vitamin D that firms, increases cell turnover, provides a natural glow, smooths bumpy skin and helps reduce hair growth. It contains, alpha hydroxy acid (AHAs) to tackle bumpy skin and deliver a smooth even application, the beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) address body breakouts, and the DHA and soy proteins deliver color deep into skin to prevent fading.
What do I LOVE about Alpha Beta Glow Pads for the Body? OMG, everything! This product is totally amazing! It is the fastest, easiest self tanning product that I have ever used. You don’t need to exfoliate before, it takes about 5 minutes, covers my entire curvy body, it’s mostly goof proof and delivers a gorgeous tan within hours! The trick is to immediately use a body moisturizer to blend the tan right after application. FAB!
2) Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum ($65)
Hourglass is an impressive collection of luxury cosmetics products and this new Primer Serum is a fabulous addition to the line. No. 28 Primer is a richly concentrated oil blend that nurtures your skin, hydrates your complexion, shields it against the elements and creates a smooth and supple canvas for makeup. The 28 in the name refers to number of amazing botanical ingredients used in the serum including 14 skin-softening essential oils, 10 lipid-rich plant oils and 4 vitamins.
What do I LOVE about No. 28 Primer Serum? This is a yummy, silky serum that my skin instantly drinks up and it immediately makes it smooth, supple and makeup ready. It has a pleasant light scent of lavender and rose geranium and I just love the way it makes my skin look and feel, it gives it a luminous hydrated glow. This inspired serum can also be used as a night time treatment or to seal your split ends. It’s a lovely, multi-purpose product and I am a fan!
3) NUDE Skincare Cleansing Facial Oil ($36)
Beauty editors have been raving about this miraculous facial cleansing oil for a while and I was excited to finally have the chance to try it out. This is a luxurious nutrient rich cleansing oil that gently and thoroughly removes makeup without stripping or irritating your skin. It contains Omega 3 and Vitamin E to nourish and protect your skin and an intoxicating combination of fresh jasmine and gardenia to stimulate your senses.
What do I LOVE about NUDE Cleansing Facial Oil? It smells divine and transforms into a lovely cleansing milk when you add water, which then effortlessly removes my makeup and leaves my skin soft, clean and vibrant. I can definitely see what all the fuss is about!
4) Sakura Silk Mild Exfoliating Gel ($37.95)
This is one of those ‘wow’ products that I was recently introduced to at a professional beauty show and was immediately impressed because they demonstrated the visible results right before my eyes. Sakura Silk contains an exclusive blend of natural botanical enzymes and active ingredients that adhere to and react with protein on your skin and remove the dead skin cells on contact. You can actually see the dead skin cells flake off instantly and it leaves your skin silky smooth.
What do I LOVE about Sakura Silk Mild Exfoliating Gel? You can immediately see and feel this product gently removing your dead cells (don’t worry it doesn’t hurt) right before your eyes and its pretty cool to watch. I love that you can see the transformation and truly know that the product is doing something wonderful for your skin. It gets rid of that unnecessary gunk on your skin and leaves it clean, smooth and ready to absorb your products. You will love this one!
5) Masque*ology Hydrate & Repair Facial Mask ($24 for 3 masks)
These single use facial masks are all the rage in Korea! Every time I visit one of my fav Korean Spa’s, women everywhere have their faces covered in these trendy masks while basking in a sauna. Well, Masque*ology has brought this trend to the US market with their collection of ten skin transforming masks that contain advanced nutrients and ingredients to give your skin exactly what it needs. The Hydrate & Repair Mask contains a multitude of vitamins, amino acids and most importantly, caviar extract, an antioxidant that nourishes, repairs skin damage, provides moisture and stimulates cell metabolism.
What do I LOVE about Masque*ology Masks? These masks give your skin a concentrated and potent dose of skin transforming ingredients and immediately after I use it, my skin is moist, supple and radiant! I recently used the Hydrate & Repair Mask before an event and everyone kept complimenting me on how good my skin looked! Now you know my secret 
Spreading The Love This Mother’s Day Courtesy of AVON
Being a Brand Ambassador for AVON has it perks as you might imagine, and using my influence to bring joy to others is truly what makes my heart smile. So I had an inspired idea that I brought to AVON a month or so ago, that I would like to select a handful of women who are mothers and are very special to me, and gift each of them with their own personally curated assortment of my favorite Avon products in honor of Mother’s Day. I especially like the idea of gifting AVON products because they have such a vast selection of amazing products that are very affordable and high quality. Fun idea right?
So here is a glimpse of the lovely gift bags I sent out
And here are some of my favorite AVON products that I included in these special gift bags:
ANEW GENICS Treatment Cream ($38)
ANEW GENICS Eye Treatment ($36)
ANEW CLINICAL Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid ($38)
Foot Works Beautiful Marine Salt Hydrating Balm ($5)
Jillian Dempsey for Avon Professional Perfect Eyes Kit in Smokey Eye ($9)
OUTSPOKEN by Fergie Eau de Parfum Spray ($30)
And who are these special women and amazing mothers that I sent these wonderful gifts to, you ask? Well, of course my own amazing mother, my two sisters-in-law whose mothering I respect and admire, my very dear friend who recently became a mother for the first time after 40, my dear cousin who is an amazing mother and recently got divorced and one of my favorite mommy bloggers whom I respect and admire.
I wanted to wish these special women a spectacular Mother’s Day and wanted them to know how special they are to me and how much I respect and admire each and every one of them as women and for being the beautiful mothers that they are.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL
THE AMAZING MOTHERS
ENJOY & CELEBRATE!
Disclosure: I wanted to extend a special thank you to AVON for being such an amazing brand to work with and for allowing me to send out these wonderful gift bags to the special women in my life!
Mother’s Day 2012 Gift Guide: Fabulous, Fashionable & Inspired Ideas
OK moms, mommies, mutha’s, mother luvahs, Mother’s Day is a week away (in case you didn’t know) and I thought you might like a little gift inspiration to stir the pot and perhaps share with your family?! Below are some fabulous and fun fashionista worthy gift ideas for both big and small budgets. I had so much fun curating my assortment of gifts this year and I hope you enjoy these inspired finds as much as I do. Psssst. . . . if you see my hubby, perhaps you can tell him to read my blog every once in a while so that he might get some ideas about what I want for Mother’s Day this year 
Enjoy!
JEWELRY
La Mer Collections Women’s Carbon Multichain Wrap Watch ($120)
I just love this edgy, stylish and chic gunmetal multi-chain wrap watch. It is more than just a watch, it is a statement making accessory too! People stop me all the time to ask were I got my fab watch from and now you know. So cool!
Kendra Scott Tana Ring in Light Blue ($85)
It is no secret that adore the gorgeous and unique pieces of jewelry from Kendra Scott! One might say that I am just a wee bit obsessed with her creations ever since I discovered her store in Beverly Hills. I wear her show stopping jewelry all the time! This light blue quartz Tana ring is my latest obsession, I love the chunky lucid stone and the see through filigree detailing, it is ridiculously gorgeous in real life = LOVE!
Blue Candy Jewelry Lolipop Sky Blue Quartz ($125)
I recently discovered Blue Candy Jewelry at the Angeleno Magazine Red Carpet Ready event and absolutely fell in love with these chic gorgeous semi-precious stone works of art by local designer Lisa Shapiro. She has so many swoon worthy pieces it was hard to pick just one for this Mother’s Day guide, but I went with her signature Lolipop Sky Blue Quartz earrings in gold vermeil. The facets of these earrings is what makes them truly amazing and the color is just stunning!
SHOES
Sole Society Taryn Peep Toe Wedge in Tangerine ($49.95)
I just discovered this amazing site that you join for free and they have a fabulous selection of designer quality, on-trend shoes at unbelievable prices (and free shipping both ways, love that!) The Taryn Peep Toe Wedge in Tangerine is da’bomb! It is a fabulous suede platform wedge espadrille in the ‘it’ color of the season, tangerine! It’s a super comfortable, well made shoe that can take you from day to night, love it!
Sanuk Ibiza Gem Black ($34)
Sanuk shoes are super cute, fun and crazy comfortable! They are a new rival for my beloved Havaianas which is saying alot! I just love this circular rubber strap with black bling, comfy and chic at the same time. This will make a great vaca shoe that you can wear on the beach or for evening cocktails.
Matiko Echo in Light Blue ($194.99)
I saw these shoes on a stylish fashion blogger at the Lucky FABB conference last week and was instantly smitten! These are a gorgeous statement making platform shoe in a fabulous combination of spring pastel hues, aren’t they sexy? These shoes will definitely get you noticed!
