Soap & Glory

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss Hurts So Good

July 20th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Sexy Mother Pucker, shakin’ that @ss! Shakin’ that @ss! Shakin’ that @ss!

Haha! I love that Prince song, and with a name like Sexy Mother Pucker, you know I had to go there.

I. Had. To.

Funny thing is, whenever I hear that song, I always think, “Why are these people yelling at me to shake my butt?” Although, I guess if there were anything to get really fired up about, it would be butt shaking…

WHOA

OK, so normally with plumping glosses, you expect a little, ya know, tingle, or maybe even a slight sting, but OH, MY GAWWWW, I feel like I’m making out with a beehive for the first two minutes after I apply these. Seriously.

Well, almost.

And my lips (especially my bottom lip, for some reason) really does look plump and stung. I mean, it’s not Real Housewives of Orange County lips caliber, but I absolutely see a difference.

soap glory sexy mother pucker k — Smile through the sting! I’m wearing the shade Rose & Shine, by the way.

The Sexy Mother Puckers are $10 each, non-sticky and come in five colors, and the two I tried, Candy Queen and Rose & Shine, are so sheer that they more or less look the same on my lips.

Oh, and they smell and taste strongly of brown sugar…but I don’t really notice it half the time because I’m too busy talking myself through the intense tingle.

As a temporary lip plumper, yeah, THEY WORK, but I’m a wimp, so I’m not sure how often I’ll wear them.

If you’re curious (or, perhaps, a glutton for punishment), you can find the Sexy Mother Puckers with the rest of the Soap & Glory line at drugstores, Target and Ulta.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Much of a Punch Does the Soap & Glory Kick Into Neutral Palette Pack?

July 17th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

soap glory kick into neutrals packaging — I wanna kick it with these Soap & Glory shadows.

There are nine shimmers and a matte in the $20 Kick into Neutral Eyeshadow Palette by Soap & Glory, of which the “kicks” are closer to light instep taps than drag queen chorus line high kicks.

This palette has plenty of things going for it, including a bevvy of everyday cool tones. In fact, the cool tones are why I wanted to try it.

First, though, before we get to that…Soap & Glory makes makeup now? Who knew??

I think it’s a relatively recent development, but yeah, they moved beyond the realm of body products and now have a pretty extensive makeup line, with lots of lip products (so many lipsticks!), a sprinkling of foundation and face powder, highlighters (of course), blushes and even a couple of eyeshadow palettes. Kick into Neutral is one of them.

soap glory kick into neutral swatches — Swatch it to me!

Most of the shadows in the 10-pan palette lean cool, so if you like your neutrals with a kiss of cool gray or taupe, this could be the palette for you. After busting it out a few times, though, overall…I think this palette might actually be TOO cool-toned for me.

I dunno… I’m not sure how I feel about the cool gray tones. Something about ’em isn’t sitting right with me. Normally, I like the contrast of cool shadows on warm skin, but in this case I feel like it’s a little jarring.

Oh, well. I guess you can’t win ’em all, Karen (although the #makeuphoarder in me really wants to!).

soap glory kick into neutral k — I’m wearing Cuddly Bare in my crease, Pink-a-little on my inner lids, Mice-tro in the outer corer and Spookstar on my lash line.

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Soap & Glory Righteous Butter Diamond Edition

September 29th, 2016 by Karen 8 Comments

I just rubbed a whole glob of Soap & Glory’s Diamond Edition Righteous Butter lotion on my limbs, and now there’s so much silver glitter on me that I look ready to rave circa 1995.

Just add glow sticks and platforms.

The Diamond Edition is more or less like the regular Righteous Butter, except with lots of silver glitter. It has the same sweet white floral fragrance (reminds me of the old Dior Miss Cherie, which I loved), and it’s just as moisturizing, too.

But the glitter! Duuude, there’s a ton! I can’t decide whether it’s more cheesy or Victoria’s Secret runway…

Whatever, I’ll still rock it. 🙂

I can’t seem to find it anywhere online here in the U.S. yet, so I’m not sure when it’ll be widely available, but keep an eye out for that sparkly silver glitter if you’re a Righteous Butter fan.

PRICE: $15 for a huge 10.1-oz. jar.
AVAILABILITY: Coming soon to Soap & Glory counters
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

For Sensationally Soft, Squeaky Clean Skin, Scrub-a-Dub-Dub and Exfoliate Before You Turn on the Shower

February 17th, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

Next time you exfoliate your bod in the shower, instead of wetting your skin first before you get down to it, try applying your scrub to your skin while it’s still dry, with the shower turned off. Then, after rubbing your little heart out, turn on the water and rinse.

Sooo, why would anyone do it this way?

LOL! Good question… No, but seriously, I think I get a better, more intense scrub when I scrub while my skin is dry. My skin feels softer and squeakier clean than when I scrub while it’s wet.

The first time I heard about doing it this way was at a spa years ago, but, wouldn’t you know it? After getting home, I promptly forgot.

But I remembered after seeing it mentioned recently in a magazine. I think it was this month’s Allure… There’s an article in there about multitasking and getting the most out of your shower time.

Anywho, I did it last night with three different exfoliating scrubs. I hopped in the shower (with the water off) and used one of the scrubs on my arms, one on my torso and the other one on my legs. Then I stood there for few minutes scrubbing everything south of my neck.

Doop-da-doo…

After I turned on the water and rinsed, my skin felt smooth as a baby’s bottom — smoother, I feel, than it would have had I used the scrubs on wet skin.

And I’m sure I also ended up using less product.

By the way, the three scrubs I tried last night were…

Tree Hut Vanilla & Honey Gentle Oatmeal Scrub ($7.99) — This gentle, non-abrasive creamy scrub smells faintly of yummy oatmeal cookies. Mmm… Oatmeal cookies…
Soap & Glory Flake Away ($15) — This highly moisturizing, fragrant scrub (the strong scent reminds me of the old Dior Miss Cherie, which I loved) contains shea butter, sugar and pretty big scrubby bits, so it’s a little more intense than the Tree Hut Gentle Oatmeal Scrub. It also leaves behind a slightly oily residue.
I really like this one. It did the business, and my skin felt soft and great.
Clarins Exfoliating Body Scrub for Smooth Skin ($38) — This creamy concoction has medium-sized scrubby bits made from natural bamboo fibers and a very faint, almost imperceptible peach scent.
It also did a great job. Plus, I didn’t have to use much, and it didn’t leave behind an oily residue.

Have you been using any good scrubs lately? And do you usually use them on wet skin or dry? Inquiring minds want to know…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Soap & Glory’s $12 Winter Wonderhand Set Is Here to Help Dry Hands Across the Land

December 4th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Sleigh bells ring,
Are you listening?
In the lane,
Snow is glistening.
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderhaaand!

[insert applause here]

Aw, thank you! Thank you! You’re too kind… 🙂

LOL! Virtual Christmas caroling. We should make that a thing…

In related news, this $12 Soap & Glory Winter Wonderhand gift set couldn’t have come at a better time for parched paws across the land, because wherever temps have been dropping, dry skin has been itching and cracking.

The set comes with three large sample-sized 1.69-oz. tubes of Soap & Glory’s Hand Food creams in rosy bergamot Original Pink, sweet lime Sugar Crush and almond vanilla Smoothie Star.

To really get behind these, first, you have to like sweetly scented lotions, and I do this time of year, since all three of the lotions fit that bill. Second, hello hydration! I keep a full-size bottle of Hand Food on my desk year round because of how moisturizing it is (L’Occitane Shea Butter Whipped Hand Cream is another fave), and it’s nice to have a more portable bottle to keep in my purse.

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

October 8th, 2015 by Karen 39 Comments

1. Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill

I read a very interesting story the other day in this week’s Entertainment Weekly about Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. The album turns 20 years old this year (GULP!). Can you believe that…? It seems like I was just listening to it yesterday in my college dorm while doing o-chem and pondering the meaning of life… LOL!

So the article had some interviews with people who were involved in making the album, like Alanis, of course, who was 20 at the time, and her writing partner Glen Ballard. They had a very organic writing style, apparently. At times they’d write an entire song a day, and they finished with the whole album in weeks.

I hadn’t listened to the album in years, so I put it on the other day, and ya know what? It holds up really well! My favorite song used to be One Hand in My Pocket, and it still is…

I’ve been singing it to Baby Girl a lot this week. 🙂

2. Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo ($22)

At the risk of sounding totally and completely gross, I haven’t washed my hair since Sunday night.

It’s Thursday afternoon now, sooo… Yeah. I’m trying to see if I can make it to Saturday. Which will be five days.

Why am I so excited about this?

Well, Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo. Stuff is pretty great.

My long hair is a pain in the booty to style, so I’ll usually wash it on something like a Sunday night, then curl it the following morning. Then I’ll try to see how long I can go before washing it again, because I just dewnt like to deal with the drama.

Dry shampoo really help. With a good one like this one from Living Proof, my roots don’t get too oily or stinky throughout the week.

The one I’d been using is from Klorane, and I still think it’s very good, but I think Perfect hair is even better. Like, “change your life” better!

So, about dry shampoos, after I’ve used one for a few days in a row, the powder, which is what they’re made of, starts to build up at the roots, and I can feel it piling up and sitting there… Usually after three days or so, I’ll get to the point where I just can’t stand it anymore.

Living Proof is supposed to have some newfangled dry shampoo technology, and the way I understand it, you’re supposed to brush the fine powder spray through your hair, and when you do this, it sort of whisks away the oil, dirt and funk, to “clean” (air quotes) your hair. 🙂 There’s also a fresh, light time-release fragrance that I like.

I bought it on a whim at Sephora a few weeks ago and have been using it a lot since. It works great! Straight up, this is the cleanest and freshest my hair has ever felt while using a dry shampoo, so homegirl is already making plans, yo! When the next VIB sale hits, I’m gonna stockpile.
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Soap & Glory Now Available at Ulta

September 17th, 2015 by Karen 32 Comments

It’s a good thing my immediate supervisor is a cat because most human beings would wonder why I’m sitting here at my desk sniffing my arms and hands…

It looks pretty weird, especially when my eyes roll back in my head. I’m glad I don’t have to explain myself to a disinterested 20-pound tabby. 🙂

But if I were to do it anyway, I’d tell him, “Hey, man! I’m wearing Soap & Glory Righteous Butter body cream, and it smells divine!” — just like one of my favorite fall/winter scents, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (although some gals feel that it smells more like the now-discontinued Dior Miss Cherie).

I LOVE this brand, and not only because their products smell amazing (although that’s a big plus) and their pink packaging is way cute (also helps too!), but also because of the size of the line.

They have a full range of face and bath stuff, and everything I’ve tried works great for my dry skin. I really like their Righteous Butter body cream, their exfoliator, their hand cream (which is on my desk right meow) and their foot cream. My skin is considerably less alligator-like when I regularly use them.

soap glory flake away — Soap & Glory Flake Away

I began to panic a little starting a few months ago when I noticed a dwindling amount of Soap & Glory stuff being carried at Sephora, and then one day, it was all gone! Panic much!? Maybe a little…

But as it turns out, my panic was for naught because — yay! — Soap & Glory is now available at Ulta!

Homie, seriously, if spend any more time at Ulta, they’re going to have to set up a rollaway bed and a feeding station for Tabs, and I’ll be going even more often now that I know I can get Soap & Glory.

Remember when the brand lowered their prices a few months back but kept the same sizes? (Really, who does that??) I thought that was very cool.

soap glory hand food heel genius — Soap & Glory Hand Food, and Soap & Glory Heel Genius

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Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Scrub Hits the Gentle Exfoliating Spot

May 27th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Alligator legs — I will not have them!

Allow me to regale you of a tale of woe surrounding one Novato woman and her dry skin…

But before we start, I feel like I should warn you. The full tale is much longer than a tabby’s, and we could be here until the freaks come out at night.

(The freaks come out at night…)

So, in the interest of expeditiousness, in the Cliff’s Notes version, I have epically dry skin.

How dry and epic?

Like Star Wars trilogy epic, especially on my lids, but using hella moisturizing body scrubs like Soap & Glory Flake Away ($15) helps keep my reptilian tendencies under wraps.

This gentle body scrub polishes and buffs away my flaky-flakes with peach seed powder, sea salt and sugar, while simultaneously moisturizing with shea butter and sweet almond oil.

It smells great! — like Soap & Glory’s The Righteous Butter body butter (incidentally, the scent also reminds me of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and the old-school discontinued Dior Miss Cherie).

As for its exfoliating powers, I’d call them moderate. It’s not as scrubby as a scrub with bigger granules (like Fresh Sugar Body Scrub), but it totally hits the spot when I’m in the mood for something gentle. I use it in the shower, and after I step out, my legs feel noticeably smoother and softer.

The big 10.1-oz. Flake Away jar is $15 now at Soap & Glory counters, and also online exclusively at skinstore.com, beauty.com and drugstore.com.

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