Romy Raves

I don’t know about you, but when February rolls around each year, I find myself feeling more amorous, sexy and focused on all things red, chocolate and romantic. It’s the holiday that reminds me about love and staying connected to those we hold near and dear. In honor of this heart filled day, I thought I would share some of my current favorite discoveries that seem like a perfect sync with this holiday:

  1.  Black Magic Roses (pictured above)
These are the most amazing velvety black looking roses and they were the focal point of my wedding bouquet over 10 years ago. They still captivate me to this day–Stunning!

2.  Perfect Kiss Parfum
I am a huge fan of Sarah Horowitz Parfums (More Than Just a Fragrance) because her fragrances are so unique, beautifully made, and the kind of scents that people always stop me and ask what I am wearing. Perfect Kiss is a tribute to romantic love; it has a sexy blend of night blooming jasmine and honeysuckle that rests upon a base note of creamy sandalwood and warm amber, and it is made even more inviting by a hint of dark chocolate. I just love the smell of Perfect Kiss which I describe as warm, sensual and yummy which makes it a perfect Valentine’s Day fragrance.

3.  Flaming Heart T-Shirt by Sledge
I have always loved the fun, hip fashion forward tops designed by Sledge. I recently saw a picture of this top in Los Angeles Magazine and loved it! I think it will make the perfect Valentine’s Day date night shirt too!

4.  Jurlique Love Balm
This is a delightful little tin of love that I keep in my purse and use anywhere that my skin needs a little extra moisture. It is made of all natural oils and is scented with yummy tangerine oil. My dry chapped lips adore this little balm and I hope yours will too!

5.  Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Thriller
This is a super sheer, moisturizing “draw on” gloss that comes in a chubby jumbo-sized pencil. It even comes with a jumbo-sized sharpener and the original artwork on the boxes and shade names are all inspired by the Polanski film of the same name. I love the hint of blue red color (perfect for your V-Day pucker) and how simple it is to use.

6.  Vampire Kiss in Love Bite Red by Lip Seduction
This is one of my all time favorite lipgloss and treatment products because it provides a nice sheer hint of color and it heals, plumps and sooths my lips all at once (read The Seduction of My Lips for my full rave of this product). And Love Bite Red is the perfect sheer Valentine’s Day shade of red!

7.  China Glaze Nail Polish in Ruby Pumps 
This is a great sparkly red nail polish that was inspired by Dorthy’s Ruby Red Slippers.  Being a die hard Wizard of Oz fan, I could not resist The Wizard of Ohh Ahhz collection by China Glaze (what a fun packaging concept!). There are six great colors in this set, but I think I will be wearing Ruby Pumps for a fun blingy Valentine’s Day Look. I also love the sparkly blue shade in the set called Dorothy Who? and the fun shimmery purple called C-C-Courage. 

8.   Choclatique Fig and Peanut Butter Sea Salt Truffle
OMG! This is such an insanely good candy creation that I tasted it over a year ago at Expo West  and still cannot stop thinking about it. It is the perfect blend of creamy peanut butter, carmely fig and a hint of sea salt covered in divine chocolate—An Absolute Confection Perfection!!

9.  Gotta Have S’more Amore 
I recently discovered the addictive S’muffins by Gotta Have S’more and am totally hooked on these miniature s’more like cupcakes. They have a graham cracker shell dipped in chocolate and are filled with marshmallow, chocolate and other divine ingredients. And the S’more Amore is a Valentine’s Day spin on this amazing treat with red colored white chocolate on the outside and a candy red heart on top—Super cute and yummy too!

10.   Naja Tea
I recently discovered Naja’s divine tea blends at the Go Green Expo in LA and was immediately hooked! Naja’s mantra is to make ‘whole leaf hip’ and she masterfully fulfills this promise by creating aromatic and unique blends of tea that intoxicate you with their beautiful inspired smells and flavors. I am absolutely head over heels in love with the sensual Mix & Mingle blend of toasted coconut, chocolate, vanilla and rooibos, dee-lish! And I think the delicious Allure blend (white tea, tangerines, & schizandra berries) and the Wicked Plum blend (cinnamon, ginger root, hibiscus and rooibos) would make delightful Vday gifts.  

Tags: China Glaze, Choclatique, Jurlique, Lipstick Queen, Naja Tea, Perfect Kiss, S'more Amore, Sarah Horowitz Parfums, Sledge Clothing, Vampire Kiss

This savvy beauty maven is always on the hunt for the best beauty treatments and services around, and I recently had a delightful facial with Gayle Miller at Guy Matthew Salon and Day Spa in Agoura Hills, California.

 What made this facial so special you ask?  I would be delighted to tell you. First of all, Gayle is a gifted pro and knows her way around skin care products. She uses one of my all time favorite skin care lines called Epicuren. This is an active and effective line of products and I am always impressed with the results it delivers.

Second, Gayle has a very gentle yet thorough technique that really gets your skin clean and glowing. She gives your skin a thoughtful analysis and designs the facial to meet your needs. She decided that this beauty blogger needed the works, so in addition to cleansing, a relaxing massage and extractions, I tried two of her different exfoliation services and finished it off with an oxygen treatment. And let me tell you, my skin looked and felt divine after this triple whammy!

Let me tell you a little more about each of these wonderful services. First, I had Diamondtome Microdermabrasion, a gentle yet effective microderm treatment. This got rid of my surface flakes and unevenness.  Next, was my personal favorite part of this facial, the Hot Enzyme Three Layer Peel (sounds scarier than it is, I promise.) This consists of three different Epicuren products that are layered on the skin to pack a powerful punch. I liked the spicy zingy first step and how smooth and supple my skin felt after all three steps–this was a pretty unique feeling treatment to this savvy beauty junkie. And the last step and icing on the cake was the Echo2 Plus Oxygen Treatment, which gently sprays vitamins, minerals and oxygen right into the skin and gave my skin a fantastic and youthful glow, a perfect special occasion treatment.

Gayle has a delightful demeanor and I would highly rec giving her facial a try, especially if you like a more gentle and renewing facial with beautiful skin results.  And here’s the BEST part: Right now she is offering Romy Raves readers a special introductory price of $65 which includes a classic facial with all the trimmings PLUS ANY 2 of the special treatments I have reviewed above. That means you can get a facial with microderm and/or a three layer hot enzyme peel and/or an awesome oxygen treatment all for for a steal. These treatments typically cost about $100 each or $20 to add on to a regular facial which is regularly $85, SO needless to say this is a fabulous bargain not to be missed!

Guy Matthew Salon and Day Spa is located at 30115 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills, California. To book a facial with Gayle call (818) 889-0212. And remember to tell her Romy Raves sent you!

Tags: Agoura, Diamondtome Microdermabrasion, Echo2 Plus Oxygen Facial, Epicuren, facial, Gayle Miller, Guy Matthew Salon, Hot Enzyme 3 Layer Peel

Happy Monday Beautacious Babes! Yesterday, I attended the International Spa and Salon Expo in Long Beach for the very first time. I was there scouting beauty trends and looking for new and inspired products to share with you. This is the largest professional cash-and-carry beauty exposition and educational event on the West Coast. It was a crazy energetic event with professionals from all aspects of the beauty biz on the hunt for the latest and greatest products and bargains. The show floor was packed, lively and filled with lots of colorful characters, and I really enjoyed it. 

Some of the trends that I noticed were hair extensions galore, hair bling, all things argan oil, fun bright pastel colors in make-up and nails for spring, lots of variations of Brazilian hair straightening, several instant results skin care products, and a plethora of enhanced features and upgrades on heat styling tools and hair appliances.  

Here is a list of the products that caught my eye (and that I am planning to conduct the standard Romy Raves in-depth trial and share my favs with you at a later date):

Stamp Me Fabulous Eye Brow Stamps: You select a stamp that best fits your own brow shape, cover it with semi permanent eyebrow color and stamp it on your brow. This is especially great for someone with sparse eyebrow hairs (like me). I thought this was a very inspired idea and I can’t wait to try it!

Belvada Cosmetics Mascara and Lipgloss: This company has a patented one handed mascara and lip gloss package that gives you more control of your product application. It also has a two layer wipe system to minimize product clumps and excess. I’m intrigued.

Macadamia Natural Oil Hair Products: YUM!  Hair care products made out of macadamia nut oil, count this foodie in! I love the gorgeous brown floral and lime green packaging on this product line and can’t wait to try these beautiful sounding products. Oh, and they had the most insanely delicious tasting macadamia nuts to nibble on at their expo booth–great branding!

Essie Chinchilly Matte: Uber chic new taupe-y grey color by nail industry leader Essie, and its bundled with an on trend matte top coat. Very cool and different, I cannot wait to try it!

Genie Instant Line Smoother: This is an instant results product that is supposed to immediately and visibly smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and the demo was impressive. I can’t wait to take this product for a spin myself, stay tuned.

Dermasurface Surface Bright: This is a face brightening product with a new ingredient that I haven’t heard of called tranexamic acid which is supposed to reduce the activity of melanin (brown spots). I new face brightener, count me in!

Velana K Lip Gloss in Jennifer: All I can say is that she got me to try a pink color (I am SO NOT a pink girl) and it looked really good! This beautiful looking and feeling gloss has a unique golden seaweed mixture that moisturizers and fills in the lips. And she has also added to the appeal by naming each gloss after a woman who is important in her life (can you say Romy Red ). I likie!

Tags: Belvada Cosmetics, Dermasurface, Essie, Genie Instant Line Smoother, ISSE, Macadamia Natural Oil, Trends, Velana K

Inquiring minds want to know what this fabulous trend maven is up to and where does she get her latest scoops and insider information? Lucky you, here is a glimpse of events that I have recently attended or am planning to attend, all in an effort to share the latest and greatest with you:

Go Green Los Angeles Expo

I attended this all-things-green and eco friendly this past weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I must admit that I find the trend towards all things green very encouraging, and like that many companies in all categories are creating products that showcase the best of the green movement.  A few of the products that really caught my eye at this expo were:

Vapur

A completely collapsible reuseable water bottle, that is designed to be rolled and tucked away. It is perfect for airline travel cause you can fill it on the other side of security. What an inspired eco friendly idea and I love the pink color!

 Further Hand Lotion

Both the beauty maven and the foodie in me was pretty impressed by this fully sustainable beauty product concept. This yummy smelling lotion is made out of used vegetable grease that is sourced from restaurants like Mario Batali’s Mozza (can you say squash blossom pizza? ). Basically, this used oil is turned in biofuel (which is used to drive cars BTW) and glycerin happens to be the byproduct of the biofuel distillation process. This glycerin then becomes the base of this citrusy green lotion thus taking the recycling process further–too cool!

  People Towels

A quick-drying, reusable personal hand towel that you carry with you and it is made of lightweight, 100% organic, fair trade cotton. This is an inspired green alternative to paper towels in public facilities and I adore the LOVE design (what a perfectly green V-day gift).

Bag Lady Promotions Los Angeles: Kick Off Your Heels and Network Event

This is a members only local networking group geared towards women entrepreneurs. It attracts a diverse assortment of women who all have the common goal of growing their business locally and I always meet amazing women at these events (like my new soul sista SavvySassyMoms and the addictive S’muffins created by Carmen at Gotta Have S’more) This months event was held at Focus Self Defense Fitness in Culver City and we had a lot of fun learning Krav Maga and schmoozing.

The International Salon & Spa Expo (ISSE)

I am SO excited about attending ISSE in Long Beach, California this weekend because it is the biggest professional cash-and-carry beauty exposition and educational event on the West Coast. I cannot wait to scout the latest and greatest beauty trends and products. And please make sure to follow me on twitter @romyraves for my real time trend updates from the expo floor. And stay tuned for exciting blog posts in the near future about my newest discoveries.

Natural Products Expo West March 2010

Natural Products Expo West is the premier trade show for the healthy products industry, it is attend by over fifty thousand industry leaders and it is ranked as one of the top 100 shows in the US. This is a huge intense, overwhelming and amazing show and I love every minute of it.  The foodie and healthy gal in me loves discovering the latest and greatest in the natural food world. Stay tuned for more discoveries after the expo.

Tags: Bag Lady Promotions, Expo West, Further Soap, Go Green Expo, ISSE, Krav Maga, People Towels, S'muffins, Vapur

Even though I am California girl and am blessed with living in this beautiful mild climate, winter time still wreaks havoc on my skin. I tend towards normal to dry during most of the year, but during winter and I am even drier and my skin gets flaky and a bit sensitive–and it is buggy and annoying. So now more than ever I need effective yet gentle exfoliating products and great hydrating products to keep my skin smooth, moist, supple and well hydrated–and a couple of Kate Somerville’s fabulous products are really doing the trick right now and I’d like to share them with you.

 Mirco Glycolic Polisher ($90)

This is a professional-strength treatment peel (this is used on celebs in the KS Clinic BTW) that contains a wonderful combo of glycolic and lactic acid which gently exfoliates, resurfaces and restores the skins texture. It also contains blue lotus extract which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits to calm the skin and fight against free-radical damage.

The reason I am loving this product so much is because it does a wonderful job of exfoliating my skin in a very gentle yet effective way.You can put this peel on your skin for a few minutes (no scrubbing necessary this is a non-abrasive exfoliator) and instantly see a smoother texture–however a KS insider recommended leaving this product on overnight and the results in the AM are AMAZING. After a night time application of the Micro Glycolic Polisher, my skin is soft, smooth, even toned and free of my pesky dry winter skin. Genius!

Quench Hydrating Face Serum ($65)

This is a Kate Somerville cult favorite product because it has a superior hydrating complex that locks in water so your skin stays quenched 24/7. It also contains the most advanced form of Vitamin A which counteracts aging for a more youthful appearance. This magical product gives your skin continuous hydration and a gorgeous, glowing dewy complexion.

This is my all time fav KS product because it truly delivers constant moisture to the skin. I especially love this product in winter because my skin is starved for hydration and this really does the trick. I use it immediately after cleansing and then apply my moisturizer on top which results in luminous, happy, hydrated and healthy looking skin. This product ROCKS! You can find all of these wonderful Kate Somerville products HERE. Got winter skin fixes? Please share and post here.

Tags: Kate Somerville, Micro Glycolic Polisher, Quench Hydrating Serum, Skin Products, skincare