Skin Care

A Sephora VIB Sale Strategy (and a Skin Care Haul)

November 13th, 2018 by Karen 27 Comments

kate somerville skin care — New from Kate Somerville

I have revised my plan of attack for the Sephora VIB sale, because, let’s get real…only a few of the items I want are things I can’t function without (I’m talking to you, Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion). Most of the things are things I only want because they’re on sale… I’m 100% my mother’s daughter that way (“It’s on sale? BUY IT. Don’t you ever pay full price, ever!”).

But really, how much do I actually need another bronzer, all-matte neutral palette or another coral lipstick?

Not much! LOL. But I still want them all, especially with new makeup coming out every five seconds, so I gotta check myself before I wreck myself…

How do I weed out unnecessary or spur-of-the moment purchases?

On the very first day of the sale, I put everything I want to buy into my cart, and then I wait… And wait. And wait. I let it all simmer there, brewing and stewing (and taunting me?). Then, juuuuust before the sale ends, I’ll see what’s left in my cart, and most of the time when I do this, there are things that have sold out, which whittles the list down, and from there I reevaluate what’s left and see what fits into my budget.

This tactic reduces the likelihood of me getting a whole bunch of things I mostly only want because they’re on sale.

sephora vib haul — ‘Twas a skin care haul (regular prices shown)

Um…but K-Dawg, does this actually work?

Dude, it totally does! Forcing myself to wait and really think about my cart and the grand total $ staring back at me helps…because I know who I am, and I’m a spur-of-the-moment shopper.

Waiting also forces me to look around at what I already have in my stash.

For this last sale, I knew I needed another bottle of Kate Somerville Anti-Bac, sunscreen/face moisturizer for winter (ugh, dry skin), an eye cream and some chemical exfoliators for mature skin, because every morning lately when I wake up and look in the mirror, instead of seeing my face, I see freakin’ Gollum’s!

What my heart was telling me I wanted, though, was a bunch of makeup — a Charlotte Tilbury palette, Shiseido eyeliners and eyeshadows (they recently revamped their entire makeup line, and it’s supposed to be REALLY good), some Charlotte Tilbury blushes and bronzers, and a Dior foundation.

OK, and maybe a few other things were in there too, ha ha ha. You know me too well!

Step 1: Shopping my own stash

The Charlotte Tilbury palette ended up being sold out, but everything worked out because I rediscovered my BECCA Chrissy Palette, which more or less serves the same purpose. I’m a little sad panda, 🙁 but if the CT palette is still around for the next VIB sale and I’m still lusting after it, I’ll get it then.

becca chrissy teigen swatches — Hello, old friend…

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Introducing Cake Beauty! (And Body Products That Smell Like Dessert)

November 8th, 2018 by Karen 9 Comments

Is there a sourdough-scented soap? A breadstick body butter? A rye loaf hand cream? To the best of my knowledge, most beauty products that smell like baked goods are of the sweet variety — cake, cookies, frosting.

YUM!

I like sweet scents as much as the next Nutella lover, but there’s a fine line between juuuuuust sweet enough and gag-inducing.

Remember Jessica Simpson’s Dessert beauty line of edible products that was at Sephora about a billion years ago? It had lipglosses and body glitters and lotions you could eat? Even though I am THAT PERSON who shamelessly orders two desserts at dinner, every time I caught a whiff of one of the products I wanted to toss my cookies. They were too sweet for me, but lots of people loved them. (Side note: Apparently there weren’t enough people who loved them, though, because they were hit with a few lawsuits and subsequently went out of business.)

Everyone has a different opinion when it comes to fragrances. One woman’s cloying is another woman’s perfection. Like, right now I’m into a kinda up-and-coming Canadian cruelty-free brand called Cake. They make dessert-scented body and hair products, and they’re coming soon to the U.S. in Rite Aid stores.

cake beauty — A few of my favorites from Cake Beauty, coming this month to Rite Aid.

I’ve been metaphorically devouring (because the products aren’t actually edible) the shampoo, conditioner (why do I love that it’s called a “creme rinse”?), body cream and the hand cream, and every time I sniff my hands or my hair I go YUM! — but I’m sure there’s someone out there who would totally barf instead. LOL!

Unsurprisingly, I like products that smell like things I’ll eat, so anything with caramel, vanilla and honey, but usually only if the products also have some bitter notes for balance, like coffee, dark chocolate or lemon…

Yes, I know I’m weird, ha ha.

Anything too artificially sugary, like strong buttercream, meringue or cotton candy, turns my stomach.

While we’re on the topic, how do feel about body products with a “milk” scent? Are you in the “love it” or “hate it” camp? I’m in the middle. I can take it in small doses, but my friend Cindy CANNOT stand anything that remotely smells like milk because she dated this dude once whose skin smelled like sour milk, and it ruined milk for her. But she’s all about green tea scents!

Yeah, you know someone’s a good friend when you know their fragrance loves and hates and why, ha ha!

Your friendly neighborhood neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Collosol Eau de Lait Cleansing Milk

October 8th, 2018 by Karen 8 Comments

Once upon a time, my crazy Uncle Karl (Lagerfeld) told Allure that before he bathes in his giant tub, he has his maids pour an entire bottle of Collosol Eau de Lait cleansing milk into crystal bottles, which are then poured into the tub.

First of all…if Karl’s maids are pouring cleansing milk into crystal bottles only to then pour them into the bath, does that imply that they’re probably also doing equally redonk things like pouring Choupette’s water into crystal bottles before filling her water bowl? Second, AN ENTIRE BOTTLE OF THIS STUFF EVERY DAY? Doesn’t that sound a wee bit OTT? Even for KL?

Collosol Eau de Lait ($18, 3.4 fl oz)

This stuff has been around in France for about a billion years, but now it’s easily available here in the U.S. Word on the street is that it’s a favorite among famous French actresses and models for face washing, removing makeup, and as a body cleanser in the bath.

Because of this, I had high hopes!

INGREDIENTS

AQUA (WATER), PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, PHENOXYETHANOL, STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, OLUS (VEGETABLE) OIL, GLYCERIN, LAURYL GLUCOSIDE, POLYGLYCERYL-2,DIPOLYHYDROXYSTEARATE, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE), CITRIC ACID, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, ACRYLATES/BEHENETH-25, METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, GLYCERYL OLEATE, COLOPHONIUM

Incidentally, it smells exactly like the bottles of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Cologne my relatives in the Philippines would bring me whenever they visited, which I’d dab on my tiny eight-year-old wrists like I knew what I was doing, LOL. It makes you smell like lemons and lilies and lasts all day long.

The scent is *very* strong — as strong as that old-school Baby Cologne — and you could totally get away with using it as a perfume, which is what I do (I just put a little on my wrists), but I can’t recommend it for much else…

Sadly, as a face makeup remover, or even as a general cleanser, it’s barely adequate. It’s for sure not as capable as DHC’s Deep Cleansing Oil.

Also — IMPORTANT — got sensitive eyes? Yeah, me too. If this gets anywhere near my eyes or my lash lines, my eyes start to water and sting.

I haven’t tried it in the bath yet… I will. I just have to track down my crystal vase first. 😉

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Scrub-a-dub-LOVE! I’m Sweet on Trader Joe’s Grapefruit Ginger Sugar Scrub

October 3rd, 2018 by Karen 11 Comments

My friend Jen and I joke that the best thing about fall and winter is that you can stop shaving. It’s one less task to do in the shower, and the velvety coat of fur serves a dual purpose by keeping you warm, ha ha!

Be that as it may, just because I take a week (or two) off from shaving every once in a while when it’s chilly doesn’t mean I neglect my skin situation entirely. I’m still deeply serious about exfoliation, and Trader Joe’s Grapefruit Ginger Sugar Scrub makes the experience infinitely more glam.

Babes, this sugar scrub is so rich, so creamy and so moisturizing that you might be tempted to skip your daily dose of lotion. AND THE SCENT? One whiff of this tangy ginger and grapefruit will instantly teleport you to a five-star Hawaiian hotel and spa.

I can’t believe this huge 8-oz. tube is only $5.99, because it’s just as good as Origins’ $32 Ginger Body Scrub. Stock up while you can, because I’m pretty sure it’s limited edition.

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[The Shower Files] Gel Cream Dreams! The New Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream, Body Balm and Hand Gel

September 27th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

A few times… Alright, alright, alright, more than a few times, I’ve stared at the shelf in my bathroom where I keep all of ‘ze body lotions and thought to myself, “K, there’s only so much skin real estate on your person, so you don’t really need another bottle of lotion.” Then I come to my senses and realize that I totally do. Ha ha ha!

I’ve had dry shins for 43 years (had to stop there for a second to remember my age, OY VEY), so it’s not like I’m never NOT going to need to moisturize… It’s exactly like my glam granny always says, “Boys come and go, but dry skin is forever.” (OK, she really didn’t say that, but I bet she would!)

Anyway, Neutrogena launched a new line of pretty good gel cream body lotions, but first…what the heck is a gel cream?

Gel creams are water-based moisturizers with a formula sort of halfway between a watery lotion and a thick cream. Most of the time, they’re slippery, jiggly and translucent, and their main selling point is how quickly they absorb into your skin. You won’t have to spend forever and day working them in. They’re also usually packed with humectants, which are capable of holding many times their own weight in water, like hyaluronic acid in the case of the Hydro Boost line, and silicone, for that signature slippery feeling.

Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream ($8.99)

Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream comes with a pump in a scented and a fragrance-free version that both quench thirsty heels and shins equally well (I swear, my legs go “Ahhh!” when I put it on), but I’m all about the scented one, which smells like lemons and freshly folded warm laundry to me. If you’ve worn any of the CLEAN fragrances, you’ll love it, as will anyone who smells you, and I have proof!

The other night after I showered and lotion-ed, I walked downstairs and plopped next to El Hub on the couch to watch the season finale of American Ninja Warrior. As he was falling asleep (at 8 p.m., ha ha ha! He works for a finance company and gets up before the chickens, so it’s a miracle whenever he stays up past 7:30), he sleep-mumbled, “You smell really good.”

This is a moisturizing CHAMP! My skin is dry, dry, dry, and it feels happy, happy, happy when I use it. It should be sufficient for fall and winters here in the Bay Area, and I bet it would even handle more extreme weather. #TeamLizard

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Ingredients, original scent:
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cetearyl Olivate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide

Ingredients, fragrance-free version:
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cetearyl Olivate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Fragrance, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Blue 1

Hydro Boost Whipped Body Balm ($5.99)

Body balms are usually the big guns of the moisturizing world, but this one doesn’t work anyway near as well as the Body Gel Cream does for me.

Weird, I know!

It’s sightly thicker and heavier than the Gel Cream, which I thought would mean more moisture, but the Body Balm never completely sinks into my skin… It just sits on top like a layer of frosting. I’m not the biggest fan, but if you like a thick, silicone-y layer (and I know some people do), it’s worth a try.

❤️❤️ 2 out of 5 hearts.

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