Romy Raves

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

Everyone once in a while I discover a really inspired new beauty product that makes me smile and say, “That is so genius, why didn’t I think of that?” Well, let me introduce to the Tassi.

What’s the Tassi? The Tassi ($14.99) is a fun and yummy headband/hair wrap that keeps your hair away from your face when you wash it or apply makeup (FYI this is a major concern of mine.) It is made of a comfortable stretch terry cloth, and unlike headbands, clips or turbans, the Tassi does not flatten, twist or mess up your “do,” so it’s perfect for protecting second-day blowouts. This is the brilliant part of it! I am always so careful when washing my face after a professional blowdry because I want to extend the life of it and not get a morsel of water on it or crease or dent the style, and the Tassi makes it effortless to do just that. Your hair is softly tucked away while you wash and then its perfect when you are done. Simple Brilliance!

The Tassi is the brain child of Shawna Ellsworth who created the inspired Tassi based on a hair wrap that her Aunt Dot used to make for her teenage daughters. Shawna regularly used Aunt Dot’s hair wrap and over the years she refined her aunt’s original concept and turned it into the Tassi.

And the fun and fashionable colors only add to the appeal of the Tassi for me. You actually look cute and feel a bit sassy and playful when you wash your face or apply your make-up. I actually feel kind of retro when I use this wrap, it feels like a throwback to the days when my mom was a young woman and wrapped toilet paper around her hair to preserve her ‘do’. The Tassi makes me smile whenever I use it  It comes in 18 fun colors and some of my favs are zebra, pink polka dot, grass green, lime green, hot pink, robin egg blue and turquoise. If you want to join in on the fun, you can find your Tassi HERE.

Do you have any secret beauty rituals or tricks to share that make the art of pampering more fun?  Please post a comment and share with us.

Tags: Hair Accessory, Hair Wrap, Head Band, Tassi, Unique

Is it just me, or do your lips take a beating this time of year? My lips constantly feel dry, tight, parched and cracked during the winter months and I hate this feeling, how about you? So my mission during this time of year is to use whatever beauty products are necessary to keep my winter lips hydrated, moist and supple. And let’s not forget kissably soft!

Here’s my top secret recipe for keeping my dry lips flake free, well hydrated and happy during the cold winter months:

Step #1: Exfoliate your lips a couple of times a week with one of my all time favorite products Sara Happ Brown Sugar Lip Scrub ($24). This relatively simple yet inspired product was created in the kitchen of self proclaimed beauty junkie Sara Happ. Sara was sick and tired of having to concoct her own at home lip scrubs to get rid of dry, flaky skin; so she created this yummy sugar scrub to exfoliate and eliminate chapped lips in a very tasty but effective way.

Just massage a little bit of this luscious scrub onto your lips using gentle circular motions, leave it on for a few moments to let it do its magic, take a taste if you’d like, and then wipe it away with a tissue. Your lips will be soft and supple and your yucky winter flakes will be gone, long gone. This scrub is available in seven flavors: cocoa, almond creme, peppermint, vanilla bean, limited edition creme brulee and my two favs cinnamon sugar and brown sugar.

Step #2 Immediately douse your lips with a very hydrating lip treatment product. My current fav is Lip Delivery Nutrition by Intelligent Nutrients  ($12) I adore this product because my lips feel instantly nutured and healed as immediately after I use it. I am totally addicted to the this product!

It is a beautifully made formula that feeds your lips with 100% certified organic plant ingredients like Intellimune Seed Oil Complex–an anti-aging, synergistic blend of black cumin, pumpkin, red grape, red raspberry and cranberry seed oils, and coconut, sunflower seed, castor seed and palm kernel oils. Given all of these wonderfully healthy ingredients, you get both external and internal nutrition and antioxidants every time you lick your lips. (FYI:I also adore Intelligent Nutrients Anti-Aging Serum and you can read more about it HERE).

Pssssst. . . . . have any lip secrets of your own to share? Whisper them here, I’ll never tell.

Tags: Dry chapped Lips, Lip Delivery Nutrition, Lip Fixes, Sara Happ Lip Scrub

If you follow beauty trends at all, you probably know that there has been an emerging trend in skincare towards using ingredients with caffeine to wake up the skin and make it glow. This sleep deprived mother and career woman needs all the help she can get in this department, and the right perk-up products make a WORLD of difference.

Fresh (one of my all time favorite brands) has been using instant results ingredients like caffiene for a while–in products like Lotus Eye Gel (one of my Hall of Fame Favorite products) because it hydrates and wake up the eyes rapidly. And now, Fresh is using Black Tea (as a skincare ingredient, not for drinking) in several of their products because it is a wonderful anti-aging, hydrating and instant results ingredient. I have become addicted to a couple of products in Fresh’s Black Tea line:

Black Tea Age-Delay Eye  ($65)

This delightful eye cream utilizes the powerful antioxidant and enzyme inhibiting properties of black tea to firm and smooth the eye area. This eye cream hydrates, maintains elasticity and firmness, diminishes under-eye circles, reduces puffiness, and instantly illuminates the eye area.

The active ingredients include: Black Tea extract which defends against free radicals and maintains the skin’s elasticity and firmness; Lychee seed extract which stimulates collagen growth; Blackberry leaf extract which preserves collagen and elastin; Peptides and antioxidants to diminish under-eye circles and reduce puffiness; Hyaluronic spheres to hydrate, smooth, and firm the skin; Illuminating microspheres to instantly brighten the eyes; and rose flower oil and cucumber flower extract are soothing and smell fresh and clean.

What I love about this eye product is that it is the perfect amount of moisture for my eyes, absorbs instantly, quickly refreshes and perks up my eyes and has a yummy fresh cucumber scent. I definitely notice diminished puffiness and a smoothing of my fine lines after I use this cream.

Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask ($85)

This is an intense hydrating treatment mask that immediately reveals softer, more supple, and younger-looking skin. This innovative product firms the complexion and improves the skin’s elasticity; it leaves skin feeling velvety, soft and smooth and looking resilient and radiant; it smooths the texture of the skin and decreases skin roughness; and it hydrates, nourishes, soothes and improves skin tone.

The active ingredients include: Black tea to refine the skin’s texture, enhance radiance and smoothness; Lychee seed extract; Firming polysaccharides which give an immediate lifting effect and work to reduce fine lines and wrinkles over time; and Hyaluronic spheres to immediately hydrate and plump up the skin.

I absolutely LOVE this product! It is uber cool to use and touch because it has a very silky lighter than air texture that glides on beautifully, is slightly cooling calming hydrating and plumping all at the same time. My skin adores this mask, especially when it is dry and irritated (like now). My face drinks in the moisture and it instantly looks plumper, refreshed and brighter (I use it before special occassions for the that ‘wow’ effect). And I think the best part about this product is that the user experience is SO good, you feel it working to heal and transform your skin. You can find all these wonderful Fresh products HERE.

Tags: Anti-Aging, Black Tea, Fresh, Skin Products

I am not talking about jewelry ladies, I am talking about a fun new high tech looking therapeutic relief product called TheraPearl. These inspired reusable hot/cold packs are kinda cool looking and very comfortable because they conform to your skin and provide consistent therapy for the affected areas. I think this product is a creative improvement on the frozen peas concept and it can be used on sore muscles, post waxing or peeling and post surgical procedure. And another plus is that it can be used two different ways: either warm to increase blood flow, relax muscles and ease pain or cold to reduce pain, inflammation and bruising.

What I like about this product is that it is fun, kinda high tech looking, feels comfortable because it molds to your skin, and it is affordably priced. My favorite product in the line is the TheraPearl Eye-ssential Pack because it is perfect for use after those late nights out (or in my case in ) when you have the tell tale dark circles or swelling under the eyes, and after a few minutes of this blue pearl mask your raccoon eyes are a lot less noticeable.

There are four products in the line: an eye mask, sports pack, contour pack and a round pearl pack all designed to fit the different areas of your body. And I am thinking this is the perfect product to help you deal with your post New Year’s Eve symptoms (read: hangover). So in honor of the New Year, I am giving away 2 sets of all four of these Therapearl Products (valued at over $40) to some lucky Romy Raves readers.

All that you need to do for your chance to win one of these great therapeutic sets is post a comment on this blog post telling me your best remedy for those late nights or how you deal with the aches and pains of life. That’s all you need to do. I LOVE comments and want to encourage my readers to regularly post comments and share your thoughts. This contest will end at midnight PST on Friday, January 8th, 2010 and two winners will be selected using Random.org. You must have a U.S. shipping address in order to enter and only one entry per person. Happy New Year!

Tags: Eye Mask, Healing Treatments, Therapearl, Therapeutic Treatments