Lip Scrubs

I've been hearing a lot lately about "lip scrubs" and "lip exfoliators" lately. I've used the bristles of my toothbrush in the past to help get rid of flaky dry skin on my lips, but that can be awkward and rough so I was actually considering buying one of these new lip products.

Then I was lying in bed this morning and thought "Wait a minute... can't I just make one myself?!?" Now, I'm not normally your DIY beauty product person. I'm not sure why, but I just don't get around to making my own concoctions of stuff. But this one seemed like it could be so easy. So I tried it out. Here's my "recipe":

1. Squeeze some of your favorite thick lip balm onto your finger (I used my Philosophy Kiss Me lip balm).
2. Sprinkle some sugar on top of your glob of lip balm.
3. Gently scrub your lips with the mixture.

It's that easy. Since you're using sugar, it even tastes nice if you get some into your mouth. Then, simply rinse off and- TaDa!!- you'll have gorgeous, soft, plump-looking lips.

Purity Made Simple: Update

Last week I gushed over how much I've been loving Philosophy's Purity Made Simple facial cleanser. However, I have something to add:

Do not take this bottle with you when travelling.

This past weekend I drove to Lake Tahoe with a bunch of my family. I took my 4oz bottle of Purity Made Simple with me. When we got there and I started unpacking all my toilettries, I found that a bunch of Purity Made Simple had leaked all over the bag. I gues it just got squished, or something with the altitude.... I don't know. However none of my other liquid toilettries leaked.

I probably wouldn't have thought much of it, expect I then remembered TheMakeupGirl having a similar experience several months ago.

This makes me sad, as this is the one facial cleanser I know of that takes off ALL makeup (including heavy eye makeup) easily, and I was so excited to finally have a good way to remove all my eye makeup from nights out when travelling without having to bring separate eyemakeup remover or deal with raccoon eyes. I think I'll have to find a new travel bottle to use, that won't leak. I don't know if the larger-sized bottles have this same problem. I'm just kinda dissappointed. Oh well. Again, I'll just find a different bottle to put it in for when I travel.

Pure and Simple

I've traditionally been a drugstore face wash girl. I just couldn't really justify spending big bucks on fancy face wash, since my skin is, overall, pretty normal. But a few weeks ago I noticed that I kept finding myself feeling irritated by red splotches on my face, or dry/oily spots, etc. So, on a whim, I decided to splurge and brought home a small bottle of Philosophy Purity Made Simple($10-$32).

I'd heard great claims about this product. I liked the idea of it being an all-in-one cleanser, eliminating the need for seprate makeup removers or toners. I also feel an affinity towards Philosophy's stuff, since their products and packaging are just so damn cute! lol

Anyway, so I started using Purity Made Simple to wash my face with. At first I noticed that I got some funny bumps on my face (very small and colorless, so only I could tell they were there when I felt my face). I'm not sure if this was caused by the new facewash, or by the new lotion I was using, or what. I switched to an old face wash for a few days, and then gave Purity Made Simple another try. I have been a very satisfied customer since. My skin feels sooo soft and smooth. If I forget to put lotion on right after washing, my face doesn't feel all tight and dry like with other cleansers. And it takes off makeup like a dream!! Many times after a night out, I'd use eye makup remover and then wash my face, and I'd still end up with black smudges under my eyes from leftover liner and mascara. Purity Made Simple takes it ALL off, no issues.

I have to say, I'm kinda perplexed by Philosphy. They make such yummy smelling 3-in-1 washes and lip glosses, etc, yet their skin care products all have kinda funky smells. Purity Made Simple isn't too bad, but I couldn't get past the "scent" of their Hope in a Jar moisturizer (as much as I loved the way it made my skin look and feel). I also have their Kiss Me Red lip balm, and I've gotten used to it now but it also smells funky. I guess they're trying to be unique? I don't know. I've read others complain about this, too, so maybe if we all compalin together Philosophy will take notice and change this?

Wishlist: Holiday Gift Sets!

Ok, so as I was looking through the Sephora website for yesterday's post, I stumbled upon all sorts of new, incredibly yummy-sounding goodies that Philosophy is offering as Holiday Gift sets. And... I want them all!!!

Let's see, first there's The Ski House ($35), which includes a 4 oz Double Rich Hot Cocoa ultra rich, award-winning 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, a 2 oz Marshmallow Body Souffle, and a .5 oz Kiss Me Pink peppermint lip balm. I mean, my god, who doesn't want that? If I had Hot Cocoa body wash and marshmallow lotion, I don't know if I'd ever leave the bathroom. Ever.

Then there's Holiday Rescue ($25), complete with an 8 oz 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, plus a 3.5 oz Exfoliating Hot Salt Scrub. Another reason not to ever leave your shower.

And let's not forget some of the men that can make the holidays so sweet... Like The Ice-Cream Man, The Milk Man, and The Gingerbread Man. Each kit contains an 8 oz 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, a 2 oz Pampering Shimmer Body Souffle, and a .5 oz. Delicious High-Gloss Lip Shine, for $38. If you're not a one-man kind of wioman, there's always A Few Good Men ($25), a lipgloss trio including one lip gloss in each of the scents above.

I've already added a few of these to my Amazon.com wishlist, and am considering getting them as gifts for friends and family. They just look too cute (and sound way too yummy) to pass up!

No Time Like The Present

I've been hearing a lot about makeup primers lately-- they're supposed to help mattify the skin, and keep your makeup from fading throughout the day. I wasn't quite sure how much to believe these claims. But then a couple weeks ago I couldn't resist and wound up bringing home Philosophy's The SchoolBook kit($35), and when I tried The Present clear makeup ($25 on its own)... I was amazed.

I actually didn't even take note of the difference at first, which, looking back, is amazing in itself. It was only later in the afternoon that I noticed that my normally shiny forehead was not shiny at all. The next morning I used The Present again, and after waiting the 2 minutes to let it sink in I looked at my face and, sure enough, the shinyness that had been there, that was normally there, was completely gone. I was left with beautifully matte skin, that lasted all day long. I didn't even need any powder at all, as there was no shine to try to cover up with it.

This is my first foray into the world of makeup primers, and I'm curious as to what other brands are like. But Philosophy definitely has me very impressed so far!

Philosophy Hope in a Jar

As I was going through my recent purchases from Sephora, I was thrilled to find a sample of Philosophy's Hope in a Jar included in my bag! I'd been eyeing this product for a while and was itching to try it, but at $35 I wasn't prepared to splurge (especially when I still have plenty of my regular moisturizer, Olay Complete).

So, that night, I tried out my sample after washing my face. I was immediately very pleased-- the lotion felt so light, not at all greasy, and it absorbed into my skin almost immediately (I tend to need to let my Olay moisturizer "sit" for several minutes as it absorbs in the morning before putting on my makeup). The cincher? I swear the few fine lines I've started noticing around my eyes and mouth were less noticeable after using this lotion, even just once or twice. Maybe it was my imagination, I don't know. But my skin just felt... nice. Happy. Not dry, nor oily.

The only downside (and unfortunately it's a big one) is the scent. The scent is just wierd. At first I thought it smelled kind of like eucalyptus, which would have been nice. But as I continued getting small whiffs of it in the minutes after applying it, I realized it didn't smell like eucalyptus at all, but rather something stranger. My best guess is some cross between eucalyptus, citrus, and something medicinal ,and the result is something that lands more on the unpleasant side. I used my Hope in a Jar sample 3 times in a row (night, the next morning, then that night) and by the 3rd application I knew the scent was a dealbuster for me. Which is really a shame, because other than that I was almost ready to run out and buy it.

This experience has, however, reawakened in me the desire to look into other well-known pricier moisturizers, such as Clinique's imfamous Dramatically Different Moisture Lotion. Or perhaps I'll look into Good Skin and Grassroots lotions, as this may be another MAC vs Flirt! type of deal (Clinique, Grassroots, and Good Skin are also all owned by Estee Lauder).


EDIT: Ok, after a bit of online browsing I discovered, to my surprise, that Clinique's moisture lotion is actually less expensive (for the 1.7 oz size) than the Kohls brands.... Interesting. This certainly tips the scale in Clinique's favor, now being cheaper and more well-known, but I will still have some fun doing my comparison shopping. If any of you have any feedback about any of these brands I'd love to hear it. =) Thanks!