Nails | Romy Raves

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

Posted May 19th, 2012 by Romy and filed in Anti-Aging, beauty, facial, Favorites, hair, make-up, Nails, primer, products, skincare

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Want to Pamper Your Mom This Mother’s Day? Burke Williams Does It Right!

I don’t know about you, but I am always conflicted on Mother’s Day about how to best spend it: “Is this my day, a day of celebrating motherhood as I wish with my own family?” or “Is it it the day to focus on and celebrate my own mother?” Can you relate? It’s a tough choice no matter how you slice it. So this year, I came up with an inspired way to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom and make it really special without impacting my special day thanks to Burke Williams!

During a recent visit to my local Burke Williams in Sherman Oaks, I noticed that they were offering a fabulous Mother/Daughter Special Package in honor of Mother’s Day and suddenly a light bulb went off in my head: I would invite my mom to come up from Palm Springs and share a special spa day with me at Burke Williams, a week before mother’s day (show mom a slice of my beauty bloggin’ life ) My mom was more than delighted by this special invitation!

Here’s what the Special Mother/Daughter Experience Gift Card includes:

Both Mother & Daughter each receive a pampering Spa Pedicure
Each also has her choice of either a 50-minute Burke Williams Massage or Spa Style Facial with a peel
Use of all spa facilities
Relaxation and Mother/Daughter bonding time
Cost: $275 (valued at $360) and a priceless experience together
This special gift card package is available for purchase until Mother’s Day May 13, 2012, but you can use it whenever you would like at your convenience

Now, let me tell you all about the fabulous day I shared with my mom and why we have decided to make it an annual tradition! My mom was like a giddy school girl as we arrived at Burke Williams because we were spending this special time together and she hasn’t been to a spa in years

Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly and whisked back to the gorgeous, serene and relaxing Women’s Spa. I did note the pleasant music that was playing in the background as well as a calming signature scent (lavender with a hint of citrus I think) that they had wafting throughout the spa (I love when spa’s have this added touch because I really think it anchors the experience in your memory.) We immediately changed into our yummy & snuggly oversized robes

And we started our treatments right off the bat. We both opted for massages, although I decided to upgrade to the deep tissue massage because I carry so much tension in my neck and shoulders (computer work will do that to you) that a relaxing massage doesn’t do the trick. We both LOVED our male masseuses! My mom said her massage was perfect and sooooo relaxing and my masseuse (Michael) had the most amazing strong hands, he got into every one of my knots and went consistently deep enough to get rid of my tension (which is no easy task!) This was truly one of the best massages I have ever had, he had the perfect touch and it paved the way for an uber relaxing day. In all honesty, I usually have low expectations when it comes to spa massages and this one truly blew me away!

After we were kneaded into mush by our fab masseuses, my mom and I enjoyed some relaxing time in the jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. The Women’s spa is so clean (I noted that someone was always cleaning up the space in some way & I liked that) and beautiful we just loved it. I also noted and appreciated that there were attendants constantly on hand to attend to our every need. After we were steamed and relaxed, we headed to the quiet room for some further unwinding. My mom fell asleep and I was engrossed in Fifty Shades of Grey (steamy & FAB). I totally chilled out and read for about 45 minutes in the serene quiet room and my mom ordered a lovely lunch which they coordinated for her.