Holy crap! Holy crap!@

This is not a review. This is a picture of something that I want so badly. We are supposed to be watching a movie in bed, yet all I can do is scour the internet until I find this. Ladies and gentlemen, behold...CHANEL LUMIÈRE D'ARTIFICES Metallic Eyeshadow 

Josie Maran 100% Organic Argan Oil

Photo and description from http://www.sephora.com/

Josie Maran Argan Oil is a legendary oil that's rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, and grown organically in Morocco. Argan oil is known to have many treatment benefits, including hydrating and nourishing skin, as well as toning and firming. It's gentle enough to use on all skin types and is believed to help with skin conditions including acne. The oil is housed in a recyclable glass bottle, and purchased from women's cooperatives in Morocco to support their social and economic welfare. These cooperatives work within a UNESCO biosphere reserve that ensures the protection and reforestation of Argan trees.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:

- Parabens

- Sulfates

- Synthetic Fragrance

- Synthetic Dye

- Petro-Chemicals

- Phthalates


I was beyond excited to try the Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil. Aside from it being organic, housed in a recyclable bottle, and benefiting women in Morocco, it also moisturizes cuticles, lips, skin, hair, and is said to be beneficial to those with acne! What more could this product possibly do?!
Now the site says that one oil is usable on both the face AND the hair, but there is also a separate Argan Oil Hair Serum, so I got one of each.
I'll start with the Hair Serum as I think it is absolutely amazing! About a year ago, my hair was literally breaking off from over-bleaching. I decided that trying to be glamorous by having white hair just wasn't working for me. I grew it out as much as possible (having trailer trash roots for MANY months), had it dyed back close to my natural color (thanks to Jodi at The Fringe and Shampoo Ink!), and started taking the best care of it that I could.
I use the Hair Serum at least 3 times a week. After showering, when my hair is still damp, I use three pumps of the serum, rub it in my palms until it's warm, and work it through mainly the ends of my hair. After I've gotten all the ends, I will run it through the rest of my hair. I'll either blow my hair dry, or let it air dry, and the results are beautiful. My hair feels soft, it has body, it is not frizzy - if it was longer, and thicker, I could almost have Victoria's Secret model hair! No lie!
My hair doesn't feel greasy or overloaded with product, but I can definitely tell a difference when I use the hair serum versus when I don't.

Now onto the skin serum! As I've mentioned before, I have oily skin. So to add oil as a moisturizer seems a bit crazy, right? Well, it's really not. I started getting into oil cleansers with Shu Uemura, but sadly, they have taken their line out of the U.S (More about that in a later post).
This serum IS oily. Meaning that I don't use this in the morning before I go somewhere, although, if my skin was extremely dry, I might try a few dabs just to hydrate. The best time I've found to use the Argan Oil on your skin is right before bed. While you sleep, it does some sort of magic, and when you wake up and wash your face, your skin is left feeling hydrated, not tight, and looking luminous.

Both of the serums have a sort of light, lemony fragrance, and I would definitely recommend both to anyone looking for a skin or hair moisturizer. I will be sure to pack these in my carry-on later this year when we head to London - we all know how stuffy and drying the airplane air is. I'm excited to see if these will stand the test!

Below is a link to the Josie Maran organic products on Sephora's website. I love ordering from Sephora, not only for the enormous selection of beauty products, or the free samples, but here's a little secret: Every time I order, I have them gift wrap my products (it's free!), and when I receive them in the mail, it's like Christmas! You're not just opening a brown cardboard box stuffed with packing peanuts; it's either a cute little drawstring bag, or a gift box. Christmas in July? No way, Christmas every month! Below is the link to all of the Josie Maran Organic products. I just saw a bronzing Argan Oil (fist pump!), and also a Primer Mist that look promising.

Sephora Website - Josie Maran products

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour

Description and photo from www.chanel.com:

**Classic and trend-defining shades from the runways of Paris. State-of-the-art formula strengthens and moisturizes nails as it delivers long-wearing, high-shine, chip-resistant colour. Applies evenly without streaking. **

OK, I love fancy. Like, a lot. Though I'm not technically a "label whore" (I have pants from Target!), I do love a good fancy-labeled item. For example, John and I are in a store, and me picking up a ridiculous looking high heel exclaims, "Oh, look! This is a Jimmy Choo!" and then it suddenly starts to look cute to me. If I were ever to buy a Louis Vuitton bag, I would get one that clearly exclaimed, "Look at me! I'm expensive!" rather than the plain leather one with a small name tag. It's just how I am. I figure, if I'm going to spend the money on it, I want people know I spent money on it. (PS: I don't own a Louis bag, by the way)

When it comes to Chanel, the whole brand intrigues me; the way it began, Karl Lagerfeld, the boucle jacket, the quilted handbag... I think my idea behind buying Chanel nail polish was that it was a way to own something of the brand, without going into debt over it. The first Chanel polish I ever bought was the color "Fire" and is, to this day, the best red-colored fingernail polish I've ever seen. It's got a certain brightness to it, without being overwhelming, and has just the right amount of both orange and pink in it.

I'll tell you this; when you're wearing Chanel fingernail polish, the world seems different. I find myself pointing to thinks, touching things, just basically being ridiculous about it all. The biggest letdown of this manicure situation was when two days into it, my nails looked horrible. The polish was wearing away at the tips of my fingernails and started chipping the next day. Now, I had done my regular base coat, then polish, then another coat of polish, then top coat, just as I always do. Still chipping!

How is it that $23 per bottle nail polish can look horrible after 2-3 days?! This just isn't fair!

I'm a sucker for original colors though, because I somehow have a collection of 10 bottles, even knowing that they are going to wear off quicker than a $3 bottle from CVS. You have to understand though, they were one of the first lines I saw to have a really great metallic gold nail polish! I can NOT say no to gold. It's a flaw, I know. Then came Black Satin, then Inattendu.... and the list goes on.

So while the new colors are great, and yes, you can have Chanel on your fingertips, if you are into staying power (which, who isn't?), then Chanel nail polish isn't the polish for you. I will continue to use mine, hoping to use them up before they get chunky (!), and I'll just know that I'll be doing my nails again before the weekend.

Ugh!

Zeno HOT SPOT Blemish Clearing Device

Yes, I am almost 30, and yes, I still get zits on occasion. It is weird, embarrassing, and frustrating at times, but something that I just have to deal with!

I am vigilant with my skincare routine, thanks to the Clinique 3-step system, and am always sure to do it, even if I'm sick or super tired. But even after ALL OF THAT, I will still get a zit (that usually comes up when we have pictures, a performance, or something else important!).

I have the normal arsenal of zit creams, but after noticing that none of them actually worked that well, and most ended up leaving me with dry, patchy skin surrounding a big ugly zit (wow....sexy!), I decided I should give the Zeno HOT SPOT a try.

I picked mine up at Target for about $40. Yes, that it is a lot to pay if you aren't sure something will work, but THIS WORKS!

I pretty much get three kinds of zits; the mountainous, under-the-skin ones that you aren't sure will ever pop up, the white ones that I can usually take care of myself, and blackheads which just multiply if I even look cross-eyed at them!

I have found that that HOT SPOT works best on the under-the-skin ones that haven't yet made their way to the surface. I have also tried it on ones that have already come to the surface, and it is effective, just not as effective as with the other type.

It gets its power from a battery, you turn on the power, and put the circle metal tip on the affected area. You hold it there for 2 minutes, and the HOT SPOT runs through a series of beeps, once every 30 seconds. It heats up, and does tend to get pretty warm, but nothing that was uncomfortable to me. There will usually be a small circle of red skin where you've held the HOT SPOT, but that goes away in just a couple of minutes. When it's done, it shuts itself off, you clean it, and put the cap back on. Easy! And no drying chemicals!

Now, the time can really add up if you've got more than a couple of areas to be treated, but I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who suffers from the occasional breakout. And if I've had a really stubborn zit, I'll use the HOT SPOT a couple of times a day, and haven't had any negative reactions to it.

Dos Gringos!

Friday night is usually the time I decide to forget about healthy eating, and drink until I fall asleep. This Friday was no different!

We were going to Off Saks 5th Avenue to get some discounted accessories for our band photo shoot, and wanted to eat somewhere in that area. I'd never been to Dos Gringos, so we decided to give it a try.

Walking up on the patio, I was surprised to see it so crowded. Being that it's over 110 degrees here in Phoenix, and humid, not many patios are full of restaurant patrons. Dos Gringos keeps theirs cool with plenty of misters, and it was full of young dude-bros on summer vacation, old dude-bros at after-work happy hours, and girls with fake tans.

We opted to sit inside, and took our seats in the sticky booth. Inside was warm, but it was basically empty, and that's something I always like.

I ordered the taco salad with beef, minus guacamole (my nemesis). I also ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, and we got our complimentary chips and salsa.

The chips didn't taste very fresh, and the salsa was pretty mild. I get that not everyone likes spicy, but if you're eating salsa, I feel like you'd assume it'd be spicy over assuming it'd be mild. I salted my chips and downed 2 Long Islands.

The salad arrived and was enormous! It was in a light and fluffy taco shell bowl, the ground beef was hot and delicious, and there was a sour cream sauce across the top. I'm not sure if there is anything better than sour cream. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the black beans were well cooked, but not too soggy.

Overall, Dos Gringos was good, and would be a fun place to go with a group of friends. Seeing that I have a hard time finding any place where I can only drink two drinks, but still start feeling good, I'd give this one a thumbs up! Lets just say that drunk shopping at Off 5th was definitely a fun experience. Good thing I didn't have control of the debit card that night!

CoverGirl SmokyShadowBlast Eye Color

I just have to say that when I first saw the commercial for this new CoverGirl product, I was very excited. Anyone who knows me knows that the majority of my makeup is eyeshadow, eyeliner, anything and everything for the eyes! I love creating different looks, wear a different color every day, and rarely (if ever) go without some sort of shadow on my eyes.
The commercial promises a quick and easy "smoky eye" and there are a few choices of color. I chose the Silver Sky Duo as my eyes are brown, and I thought that the purple would look great. I couldn't wait to do my makeup the next day and try it out!
I primed by eyelids as I do every day with my Benefit F.Y. Eye, which I have just discovered is discontinued! Hold on while I have a small panic attack! Uhhh... I guess I'll be reviewing eyelid primers later!

I applied the "step 1" silver color on my eyelid, and found the color to be a bit sheer. It wasn't vibrant like the commercial shows, but I figured that was lighting, photoshopping, etc. I kept applying. I then applied the "step 2" purple that is supposed to go in the crease of your eye and under your eye. I had a hard time getting the purple color to go on over the silver, and it too was very sheer. The overall appearance of the finished product was so-so. Nothing special that I couldn't have created with the bazillion shadows I already owned. It was, however, convenient to have both colors in a handy stick.

I made the drive to work, and then checked my mirror to see how my new shadow was looking in natural light. To my horror, the shadow was already creased and cakey, with a big silvery-purple line on my eyelid. Yuck.

This stuff is not worth the $7-$8 that you'll pay. Yes, I do have oily skin, but using my primer every day helps all of my shadows to stay in place. Not this one though.

Welcome!

I have always been one to adventurously try new products, new places, and new things, and have often been approached by friends asking, "Have you ever tried ______ (insert name of the newest beauty product, type of food, etc)?

I decided to create a place where I can rant, rave and warn you about products that don't deliver, and give praises to those that have found their way into my heart, and stayed. I hope you enjoy!