Ok so after a couple of failed attempts at being schooled on how to apply the BE stuff at Sephora, I decided to make my way into the local Bare Escentual’s actual boutique (this is the 3rd time in a row that I’ve attempted to talk with a consultant - there usually is a waiting list).

Anyway, shout out to Nikki who took her time to show me and my mom how to put on a fabulous face, even under the pressure of being short a couple of girls. Just for the record - I ended up buying another batch of Rare Minerals because I bought my last one from amazon.com and didn’t really know how to put it on, and just washed my face with the Bare Escentuals cleanser, and I promise you all, my skin feels like SILK!! Raise the Roof!

I’ve got to call mama tomorrow morning and see how her cleanser is working out. It took off my makeup, but I didn’t have any mascara on so I don’t know how good its going to be on getting my chola-gunk mascara off, but will totally let you know. PEACE and happy monday tomorrow!

Technorati Tags anti-aging, Bare, bare-escentuals, cleanser, couple, day, didn, Escentual, Escentuals, face, Happy, mascara, mineral makeup, Nikki, rare-minerals, sephora, skin cleanser, stuff, time, tomorrow, way

Native to North America,  blueberries played an important role in North American Indian food culture. They work their protective magic by preventing free-radical damage, inhibiting enzymes from cleaving the collagen matrix, and directly cross-linking with collagen fibers to form a more stable collagen matrix. Bottom line? Eat blueberries on a regular basis. Not only will you have firmer skin for longer days, but you can also fuel your health by their ability neutralize free radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer. Throw a few on your cereal, in your smoothie or even better yet, by the handful - yummy and delish!

Click here to read more on the amazing properties of the super blue miracle berry!

Technorati Tags anti-aging, antioxidants, basis, Blue, blueberries, Bottom, collagen, culture, damage, Eat, firmer skin, food, line, magic, matrix, Native, North America, North American, phyto, role, Skin, Super, wrinkle solutions

Great…now my mom has yet another reason to get on my ass.

When I was in college, I got my tongue pierced and out of the blue I started receiving ‘anonymous’ newspaper and magazine clippings about how toxic tongue rings are and yada yada with yellow post-it-notes saying “Because I love you, mi hija”. Nothing bad happened from getting my tongue ring, although I do feel bad for the few that got horrible infections and loss of whatever.

Now…Newsweek has a new article out that is making it’s rounds all over the place stating that Botox injected into lab rats is showing that the solution can travel into your brain. Here is a rundown of the article:

• Botox can indeed travel from the facial muscles to the brain in lab animals
• Allergen (manufacturer of botox) thinks older studies of Botox not seeping into the brain are more credible. Allergen stated that the Italian research injected Botox directly into the brain, but they did not, Botox was injected into facial muscles and ended up in the brain.
  
• 28 people have died from medicinal Botox injections. 1,437 have reported adverse reactions from cosmetic injections.
• the FDA has launched a safety review of Botox and it’s cousin Myobloc.
  
• Allergen is currently under FDA investigation for promoting non-FDA approved use of Botox for headaches. They are cooperating fully.
• Botox and Myobloc carry labels warning of possible adverse reactions such as drooping eyelids as well as others. Most of the Botox related deaths have been related to those receiving them for medical reasons such as spasm disorders.
  

The bottom line? The FDA’s Katz says that people getting Botox for cosmetic reasons should “make their own personal best judgment about this” and “be aware that there’s the potential for” the neurotoxin to spread.

So there you have it. A simple breakdown for the botox prone, to debate and combat those loved ones in your life that are going to run rampant with this new study and try to ruin your day…like my mom. lol.

Technorati Tags Allergen, anti-aging, botox, FDA, Myobloc

How do you spend a glamorous day in the sun in today’s elements? A super foxy wide brimmed hat!

Check out this one by Badgley Mischka that I scored at TJMaxx for UNDER 30 BUCKS this week!

Now you can stop being scared of the sun, prevent sunspots & damage from the sun and look supercute at the same time.

Don’t forget that even though you have protection with a sun, you totally still need your SPF.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, skincare, sun skin care, sunspots. spf

Ooo a free gift from Macy’s with any $21 purchase from Clinique full of spring colors, plus some new anti-aging products and the launch of the fake-bake no streak tanning product line is in too just in time for Mama’s day. Click here to check out the goods.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, Clinique, Gift, gwp, Macy, macys, Mama, mothers day, spring

Ok so I just finished swelling down from my 2008 wrinkle filler injections - this time with the latest and greatest, Juvederm. Last year, I had 2 treatments of Restalyn, on my face paranthesis, the corners of my mouth and on my upper lip (1 thread) but I had a couple of super minor problems - the first being a tiny lump that formed on the underside of my top lip, which to me wasn’t a super big deal because it wasn’t visible and didn’t hurt. It ended up dissolving about a year later. The other problem was that my side face filler was kind of visible under my skin - kind of like i had a baby slug under my skin -omg-gross, but it wasn’t really gross, it was just kind of weird. I’ll post a photo later to show you what I’m talking about.

ANYway, I went to Dr. Marks again to get this year’s filler upper - same places - nasal folds, lip crease, upper lip (2 threads this time) but this time with Juvederm - which has a waaaay more smooth look. No under-skin slugs, smooth injection sites, but the downfall (tiny actually) is that my lip bruised up at the injection site so I had to cover it up for a couple of days. And after the 3rd day the swelling goes down and the injections end up looking way more natural. I may have to go get the corners of my mouth retouched but other than that, I’m pretty happy and actually prefer Juvederm over Restalyn. And of course, Dr. Marks did a fabulous job with absolutely no pain whatsoever so I was a happy camper. Am a happy camper I mean.

The procedure will run you approximately $500 bucks for about a year of plumpness.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, botox, Dr.-Marks, fillers, juvederm, restalyn, wrinkle fillers, wrinkle treatments

Good lord, these women look SO dry and haggard this season - is it because I have a new plasma tv?? But it’s not even broadcast in HD (please don’t) and they just look SO lacking moisture and dusty! OMG drink your water ladies - you look so very skin-thirsty! AND….did you see the new clips from the new series The Real Housewives of NYC -? The dark haired girl was on another reality show - was it an earlier season of the Apprentice? And does Jo really think she can sing? JUST ASKING….Oh - I guess we will all find out soon enough because she’s going to be dishing it on her new reality show (gag me).

Technorati Tags anti-aging, cougars, real housewives of new york city, real housewives of orange county

I signed up for the free sample promotion over at Murad.com even after having the scary incident with the stingy Vitamin C facial, and after getting slammed with spam for about 3 months, I finally got a sample package that was 1/10 of what Beauty Gallery dished out, so blah on that note, but they did send me a tube of the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer which retails for about $150…and while it was really only enough for a week’s worth of application, it had the same stingy effect that my previous Dr. Murad face skincare has traumatized me with  — it STINGS! I’m starting to kind of feel like Murad stuff is in cahoots with the bullies of yesteryear - kind of always everywhere, and will more often than not hurt more than it helps.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, murad, skincare

omg, so as promised, I set out to do some research on the malibuwellness.com salesperson’s statement that sunscreen is actually toxic for your skin, and check out what I found:

“The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth. It’s a myth promoted by a profit-seeking tag-team effort between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to “prevent cancer.”

“The benefits of sunscreen are a myth. Proponents say sunscreen prevents sunburn, but in fact, the real cause of sunburn is not merely UV exposure: It is a lack of antioxidant nutrition. Start eating lots of berries and microalgae (spirulina, astaxanthin, blue-green algae, etc.), and you’ll build up an internal sunscreen that will protect your skin from sunburn from the inside out. ”

Click here to read the rest of this particular article.

It won’t be the first time that dangerous and toxic procedures were mass produced and readily available for the public’s consumption…(i.e. phen phen, cocaine in coca cola, the junk food epidemic, the lobotomy, norplant, vioxx, the list goes on) but like Oprah says, “people who know better, do better”.

Wow, I am SO glad that I was at the same place at the same time with the saleschick. I am going to go toss all my sunscreen away.

Additional linkage of sunscreen’s toxic disaster:
toss your sunscreen!
sunscreen chemicals cause colon cancer
sunscreen health disaster
sunscreen causes cancer
sunscreen is dangerous
sunscreen is more harmful than good
BBC - Sunscreen may be Toxic

Technorati Tags anti-aging, beauty-myths, Product-Reviews, SpaBlog, sunburn, sunscreen, sunscreen-is-toxic, superfoods, Tanning

Ok so Dr. Marks had to go out of town so he postponed my second mesotherapy / lipodissolve treatment that I am undergoing for my double chin until mid-november. I had O take a pic of my side profile before the first treatment so that I could document the actual results, and the second is 2 weeks later. I’m not seeing too much of a difference yet, but then again I’ve had two people tell me that my face looks thinner, so I guess maybe its more obvious in the whole view rather than the side profile. I will take full front pics too- for comparison shots. Dr. Marks suggests 3-4 sessions to get the best results, spread over a series of 2 week intervals.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, cosmetic-proceedures, Dr.-Marks, injectables, Medi-Spa, medi-spas, mesotherapy, Spa Treatments

Yay! I loooove this time of year - the markets are full of pumpkin stuff all over the place, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks (I had one yesterday before I started JC officially lol) and there are all kinds of yummy scented pumpkin products up for grabs.

I had a pumpkin facial last season at Burke William’s spa and they sent me home with a pumpkin enzyme peel mask which was pretty good. Pumpkin is rich in vitamins A, C and zinc and will get you glowing in a good way. I’ve got a coupon code for Spa-View readers to save 15% from Greatskin.com just use coupon code HW15 at checkout on any pumpkin products - and please send in your review for your favorite pumpkin stash!

Click here for a green-friendly at home pumpkin facial: Continue reading ‘Pumpkin Season is Here!!’

Technorati Tags anti-aging, anti-aging-skincare, AromaTherapy, burke-williams-spa, Coupon Codes, Fragrance, greatskin.com, GreenSpa, Home Spa, pumpkin-enzyme-peel-mask, pumpkin-facial, pumpkin-spice-latte, superfoods, vitamin-A-facial, vitamin-c-facial

Bad news luxury product mavens…I’ve just completed a full 6 week trial of La Mer’s Lifting Serum…and guess what? Nothing lifted. At $240 approximate USD price point at your local Neiman Marcus or Saks, the joke really is on y0u. I honestly have not seen any difference in my skin in the 6 week routine & religious trial that I ran it through…AND it wasn’t even a pleasant experience ; i.e. it didn’t make my skin feel any better or worse, nor did it have any scent to it, which I suppose could be a good thing in serums. I just checked out the website and it’s bulletpoint claims were totally not experienced by me.  But of course, it states that it should be used in conjunction with the La Mer Lifting Intensifier which is an additional $150.

Haha very funny.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, La-Mer-Lifting-Serum, La-Mer-Skincare, Luxury-skincare, Product-Reviews, skin-serum

Part of the anti-aging “age reform” line from Murad - and yes, I do realize that I was mad at Murad for a little while when I almost burned 2 layers of my skin off doing the at-home vitamin C facial. but all is forgiven now.

I absolutely LOVE this stuff. I swear to you - it almost feels as if you are putting a protection barrier against the gunky stuff in the air (read: free radicals), and it drys to a sheer powder kind of finish that actually allows you to have that ‘glowy’ look to your skin that just only seems to occur when you are sweating and in your 20’s that everyone is always trying to achieve.

But anyway, back to the Murad stuff - I found some free samples that are available via Murad.com so you can try it out too.  You know you love the hook up! If you are a super skincare junkie like me, then you will appreciate some of the Murad.com’s skincare blog for quick reads too.

Technorati Tags anti-aging, Coupon Codes, free_radicals, free_samples, murad, Product-Reviews, skincare, skincare-blog, SpaBlog, vitamin-c-facial, vitamin_c

I just tried DDF Skincare aka Doctor’s Dermalogic Formula’s Glycolic Exfoliation Wash, and I must say, I am intrigued. It didn’t sting, it left my skin super smooth AND it didn’t have any granular stuff or stingy stuff going on that I have found in alot of the glycolic/exfoliation cleansers. AND I totally feel a difference - my skin feels smooth, and believe me, I am a hard sell. Plus I just checked their website DDFSkincare.com and noticed that they have kits, which I am totally a fan of to get a true trial run of the product - happy day!

plus I’m not even gonna lie…the website says they have a free gift and samples with every order LOL! I’m thinking of trying the 2 step to radiant skin kit. The pricing is mid-range - a bit more than the drugstore stuff, but not even close to the stuff you get at Nordstrom’s. Will definitely follow up with results.

Oh! I musn’t forget the importance that the product is not tested on animals

Technorati Tags anti-aging, DDF-Skincare, exfoliation, glycolic, Home Spa, mua, not-tested-on-animals, Product-Reviews

seriously…if you don’t drink your water on a daily basis, you are just gross. I mean it. Drink up or stink up!

Technorati Tags anti-aging, Everything-Else, superfoods, things-that-will-change-your-life, water