MAC Lustre Drops, Like Liquid Sun!

Have you seen these Lustre Drops at your local MAC counter? They were part of the Style Warrior collection (I'll be featuring more of that collection soon), and I think they were pretty easy to overlook in their little bottle.

While they come in a few colors, I tried out the Bronze Hero drops. They are very liquid, with a consistency similar to coffee creamer (in other words, a bit thicker than water). Highly pigmented, you only need a very, very small amount of these drops. You can use them as high lighter (Bronzer Hero would be great for that, it's a tan with gold/bronze shimmer), all over as a bronzer or even add them to moisturizer for a lighter look. The possibilities are endless!

MAC Lustre Drops

Cellulite: Can You Fix it with a Topical?

We all have it. Pretty much no matter how fat (or thin) you are, chances are that if you are a female over the age of about 22 you have a dimple somewhere on your bottom or thighs. And as we trudge through summer in our bikinis, I'm sure there are a lot of us wishing that we'd lost that extra 5 pounds to help with this issue.

Well, would it have helped? Or can that $50 cream you saw at Bloomie's really smooth the bumps? There was an article yesterday in the NY Times that was an amazingly accurate and easy to read explanation of what cellulite is and what can be done about it. Truly, I encourage you to go and read it now, even if this isn't an issue for you. Why? Because sometime you will find a bump and you'll want to buy a $100 cream to fix it.

What have I been doing about my bumps? Honestly, not much. I try to control my diet a bit, I should exercise but I'm usually too lazy. I haven't tried any of those treatments that kneed you to a pulp. I have tried a few creams, most notably the Biotherm Celluli Laser treatment, which promises improved cellulite in 10 days. I received a freebie travel size tube (and some wand thing with rotating plastic bits to apply it with) sometime in the last year. I let it sit there for quite a while, but finally tried it out a few months ago. I didn't write about the product because really it doesn't live up to the stratospheric promises of no more cellulite. I couldn't see how the wand actually helped at all. Knowing what I know about cellulite (read that NY Times article and you'll know as well about the collagen issues and why a topical won't do a thing to address the underlying issue of the actual collagen architecture in a woman's skin), I couldn't in good faith recommend a cellulite topical treatment.

But really, for a topical cellulite treatment, it does a pretty decent job of what the article describes. It's a light orange gel with a light perfume scent. It quickly and easily absorbs into skin, though it doesn't hydrate at all. The skin is left non-greasy and you can't tell that anything is there. It does have some sort of plumping action because things do look a bit smoother for a bit after application, smoother than they do with just my normal application of Cetaphil Cream. I'm back to normal that night.

So, now that there's a great review of cellulite and exactly what it is, you can decide for yourself if a topical treatment is worth it. I found that one topical treatment did work as expected for a topical treatment, though I haven't tried any others. I do like that the Biotherm has a light scent and absorbs completely, though I would avoid the massaging plastic applicators.

More Allure Free Stuff?

My favorite magazine of all time is most definitely Allure! One of their greatest features is their Free Stuff, in which they give away great new products every month. From now until June 30th you can go to Allure.com/freestuff and enter to win 800 more of Allure readers’ favorites, including Bath & Body Works True Blue Spa There’s the Rub Body Scrub, Jergens Natural Glow Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer, and Bare Escentuals BareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation.

Good Luck!

Bobbi Brown's Illuminating Bronzing Powder

Here it is, my favorite bronzer of the season! This powder is ultra fine with a touch of shimmer, and once applied it is truly amazing. The color is light and easily layered. It blends in so well no one will ever know you're wearing bronzer. And the shimmer just makes you look luminous.

I'm reaching for it almost every day. I might need to stock up!
Bobbi Brown's Illuminating Bronzing Powder

Personal Help from Dr. Obagi, Yes Really!

Most of us can only dream of a personal visit with a world renowned dermatologist like Dr. Obagi. The man is amazing, with all of his media interviews, celeb clients not to mention the skin care line that I love! Unfortunately, even if you manage to snag that coveted appointment in his office you need to get yourself to Beverly Hills and pay $300 or so for that office visit.

Believe it or not, Dr. Obagi is starting a new program called "Mouse Calls", which will let you submit questions and concerns online and get Dr. Obagi's opinion. Why is he doing this? He says, "it has always frustrated me that people by skincare products blindly. They buy topical lotion in the drugstore because the product is on sale. They buy products for all of the wrong reasons. Maybe I can help change that."

While the Mouse Calls will eventually cost $75 each, for a limited time they are free! So, ask away!
Dr. Obagi Mouse Calls

Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder

This bronzer from EA is perhaps the darkest of the bronzers (I have the medium shade) that I'll be featuring this week. It is layerable and with the included kabuki brush (yes, not the highest quality brush but it definitely works better than a smaller brush that fits into the compact) you can get a easily layered, light application. There is just a touch of shimmer, in this bronzer it does seem to be a bit of a coppery shimmer which is very pretty.

Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder

Clinique's Almost Bronzer

When summer starts, I watch everyone around me with envy as they get a little tan and sunkissed. Personally, I don't change colors when I go out in the sun, I only get freckled. So, you can imagine that I'm a bronzer freak, I love trying them out. My favorite bronzers are sheer, blendable and easily layered. They don't look too orange or dirty, and while I do think a matte bronzer is the most natural a bit of shimmer can be very pretty as well. This year there are more bronzers than usual that have lived up to my standards. I'll be featuring bronzers all week, so stay tuned!

Perhaps the most versatile of the bronzers I'll be featuring is this duo from Clinique. It comes in light/medium or medium/dark, and I love that this bronzer comes with two shades. They are both sheer and very blendable, matte and the perfect tan shade. The included brush fits into a little compartment beneath the bronzer, which is perfect for on the go touchups!

Clinique's Almost Bronzer

Pedicure Bootcamp and Barefeet Fantasy

I've been neglecting my pedicure. Truly, I have. I'm one of those people that are frequently cold, and as such I love, love, love to wear socks and closed toe shoes. Which I do for months on end, even here in Orange County.

However, now that the summer is arriving even I am having trouble not wearing sandals on occasion, which means I need to pay a bit of attention to my neglected toes! I've broken out my ped egg and cuticle remover, but I really needed some heavy duty moisture for my neglected feet.

I decided that I'd try pampering myself. So, rather than going my typical Cetaphil or Vaseline and sock route, I've been using something much more decadent, Barefeet Fantasy by Kenzo! Looking at the list of ingredients, I will admit that this lotion has a lot of typical ingredients such as Shea Butter. However, they do seem to work really, really well. This product has a great light fragrance, which I honestly can't describe other than to say it is light and fresh. The lotion sinks in really well without leaving your feet feeling greasy and a few days into use my feet are definitely softer and looking better already!

I'm not sure that it works any better than another very heavy cream moisturizer, but I've really loved pampering myself with this product. This is one I'm sure I'll return to in the future.
Barefeet Fantasy by Kenzo

Dial a Shade: Avon's SpectraColor Lipstick

I'm sure by now we've all seen the Jessica Alba Revlon commercial where she changes her foundation shade each day to suit her complexion. I've been strangely allured by this ad. I check virtually every Revlon display I come across, and I've yet to find this foundation in a shade that will suit my complexion.

So, when I saw this new Avon lippie, I had to try it. I wanted it to ease my Revlon foundation cravings. Much like the Revlon product, this is two similar shades that are mixed in different proportions by turning a dial. Want light pink? Dark pink? Or something in between? Well, you can just pick which shade you want, push the button and out it comes.

Should be easy, right? Actually, this is a bit more complicated. Because you have to get that lippie onto your lips in a semi-organized fashion. The packaging actually makes it hard to do so. It comes out of a slanted, hard plastic tip, and if you try to apply from there it only smears the product around on you and creates a huge mess. I've found that once the product has come out if I apply the product to the back of my hand I can mix it there and then apply with either a lip brush or my finger.

The product itself if pretty nice. It feels hydrating, has a medium coverage and the color variations I got with mine (I tried The Pinks) were all very flattering. I liked having a bit more control over the results of mixing 2 lip colors (something I honestly do all the time by carrying around about 10 lip glosses). The Avon also lasts a good 4-5 hours without problems and survives some drinking (though not eating).

All in all, I liked this product. Just not the applicator.

Avon's SpectraColor Lipstick

Catching Up and Scrubbing Up

Once again, I find myself horribly behind in product reviews. Yes, I've been busy in my personal life, so much so that I've even been neglecting myself!

However, I find myself with a bit of extra free time now, so I'm trying to catch up with both my personal care and the blog. So, I've started the process with a massive exfoliation. Literally. I had this Qtica Grapefruit Surprise set sitting around, and as a lover of citrus scents I had to give it a shot. Inside this set are lotion, body wash and a scrub. Not to mention a set of gloves. Gloves??? Yes. Very important gloves.

Honestly, most of this set isn't particularly note worthy. The scent is a perfumed grapefruit, not great and not bad. The lotion is hydrating but not the best or worst I've ever tried. The body wash has a light lather and does clean me, but I found it to be a bit drying on my problem areas (aka- where my ezcema is). The scrub is a bit odd, it's almost a gel with some grit in it. Alone, this is a strange scrub. But, when combined with the exfoliating gloves, the combination is fantastic! Any other scrub or wash is not thick enough to stay within the mesh of the gloves. The gel stays put and works great with the gloves. Together they are a quick and easy way to get just the right amount of exfoliation. I felt shiny new when I emerged from the shower.

So, while I revel in my new found smooth skin, I'll let you know that I'm also working on getting back into sandals (so watch for pedicure stories and some great nail polish colors), I've been testing deodorants, a ton of new makeup and skin care lines, and a lot of other great products. I'm trying to get back into publishing at least a few times a week if not every day. So, stay tuned!
Qtica Grapefruit Surprise Set