Need An Instant Eye Lift? No Surgery Required!

I have some awful genetic eye bags.

They aren't from being tired.

They are "fat pads" that bulge out when your skin loses it's elasticity and strength as you age.

Aging sucks.

A plastic surgeon told me that there is only one way to cure bags like mine...

go under the knife for Blepheroplasty.

 

Farmacy Natural Anti-Aging Serum Review & Giveaway

Can a NATURAL serum give real results?

Absolutely Yes!

Six weeks ago I received a bottle of Farmacy Invincible Anti-Aging Serum for experimental review purposes.

Farmacy also sent me 10 of their deluxe sample sizes of Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm to give away after I finished my self-experimentation. Nine of you will win one of those now, and one I'm saving to send to the winner of my Spring 2016 Big Beauty Product Giveaway (coming within about 2-3 weeks).

The Perfect Gift for Moms or Moms to Be

Recently, I was introduced to a new subscription service for moms like me...moms who care about being healthy, about the health of their children, about the health and wellbeing of our earth.

That subbie box is Ecocentric Mom.

 

What is Ecocentric?

My Newest All Natural Subscription Box: Bello Crate!

What's more fun than getting a gift in the mail?

Getting one each month!

 

You guys know I love subscription boxes.

Since switching out my beauty product from chemical-laden to all natural, I had to give up several subbies, like Glossybox and Ipsy, because their products tend to be full of icky stuff.

There were only a couple of all natural subbies to start, but as people are beginning to realize what you put on your skin goes into your system, too, the world of natural beauty is expanding to meet the demand.

 

My newest all natural subscription box in this beautiful, good-for-you (and good for the world) niche:

Bello Crate

 

All Natural Mask with Only ONE Ingredient!

Sometimes when you read through the ingredients list of beauty products, you can feel like you need a PhD in chemistry...trying to figure out all those weird sounding ingredients.

Even with some "Natural" products, it can be tough, because some natural ingredients can have really scientific sounding names.

But with a new mask I just tried out, there's only 1 ingredient, and it's all natural: Moroccan Lava Clay (Argile).

My NATURAL Serum Kicks Butt With Vitamin C, Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Salicylic Acid & Naicinamide!

My serum is better than yours!

(Boasted with complete childish sarcasm!)

Seriously, I have found THE serum.

It's my Holy Grail face care product.

In my (almost) 42 years, I've never used a product that not only delivered so much, but did it affordably ($22.89), AND its NATURAL!

Yes...it's all that, Girls.

Check it out:

Get Your Glow On! All Natural Dead Sea Mud Mask Review

I've been having a touch of hormonal acne

(thank you Time Of Month), so I was needing a little extra-special facial care.

 

I decided to try out the "Pure & Essential Minerals Dead Sea Mud Mask" this weekend. In my quest to find all natural beauty care, I had recently come across it. It is available on Amazon, currently for $24.77.

 

 The mask's main ingredient (and first on the ingredient list) is lovely greenish-gray Dead Sea Mud. This comes from THE Dead Sea...you know...the one between Israel and Jordan?

Going Natural For Cheap?! Radha Skincare's WorkHorse Duo of Organic Oils to the Rescue!

As previously mentioned, I'm trying to slowly convert more of my life to natural, organic and sustainable products.

I can't do it all at once, because that would be costly and a bit emotionally painful (goodbye to most of my current makeup!)...but I can do little bits here and there.

 

I recently found a few GREAT products that fit into my plan BEAUTIFULLY.

Dreaded Sunspots! A $125 Japanese Serum to Fix Them?

A little over 3 weeks ago, I received a brand new

(so new that it's just now available in the US)

product that originated in Japan. It's supposed to diminish the appearance of spots and also help brighten the appearance of skin. 

I got it free from Influenster for testing/review purposes.

This EQUITANCE Brightening Serum & Spot Corrector retails for $125 HERE.

 

Youthful Wear Spotless Serum Foundation Review & Demo (A Dupe for bareSkin)

I was super excited when bareMinerals came out with their new bareSkin liquid/serum foundation back in May.

 

I used to LOVE bareMinerals loose powder foundation, but as I aged (and gained lines *sigh*), that powder tended to settle into those lines and actually age my look. I still drag it out every once in a while, hoping for great results, but find that it just doesn't work for me anymore.

A Miracle for Wrinkles!...Sort-of?

As I approached 40, I became a bit more aware of my forehead wrinkles and lines.

They've been there for a while now,

but I've successfully ignored them for the most part. 

After all, I've been fairly focused on

disliking my under eye bags
and lamenting the way they age me.
Ha.

But, apparently the wrinkles,

especially the one above my nose,

just between my brows,

have become more noticeable to me.

They seem deeper.

I do use a fairly strong OTC retinol treatment (.5%), and I think it helps, but it's not good enough.

I wanted something to help make them disappear.

Like immediately.

 

Enter: L'Oreal Miracle Blur

($24.99 at Ulta HERE)

Freeman Facial Paper Masks Fail

Disclosure:

I bought these items through my Ipsy subscription. I pay for the subscription, and therefore paid for these items. I receive no compensation for this post. My opinion is entirely my own.

 

Generally, I like Freeman's masks. Over the years I've bought several different kinds and enjoyed using them. I was excited to receive these 3 different masks in my September Ipsy Bag.

Does Hemorrhoid Cream Really Depuff Eyes?

Most of us have that One Thing we wish we could change about our appearance.

We spend big money to try and fix it...might even be willing to have surgery to change that One Thing.

For me, the One Thing is my eye baggage.

 

They appeared in my late 30's.

They are not caused by late nights, too much salt, or inadequate sleep.

 They're genetic.

The derm told me that they are "fat pads" under the eyes, and you can camouflage them SOMEWHAT with makeup/concealer, but the only way to get rid of them is to have surgery. (No, losing weight won't work either). Basically, they make an incision in the inside of the under eye and remove the fat.

Sounds scary, costs about $2500, and it's not in my foreseeable future.

So, even though I know the best I can really do is camouflage with concealer, I still occasionally try remedies I've heard rumors about (yes, I'm a sucker).

One of those widely circulated remedy rumors (supposedly endorsed by models everywhere) is using hemorrhoid cream to shrink puffy eyes.

Sounds plausible, right? I mean, it functions similarly for hemorrhoids.

I figured, what the heck...I'll give it a go.

Strivectin-SD for eyes...is it worth $65?

Many of us are on a quest.

A quest for the ultimate eye cream.

You know the one...it will make dark circles disappear, crows feet a memory, "chicken skin" under eyes smooth like a child's, and perhaps, even, make puffbags go poof!

Strivectin has been around for some time, and seems to get good press, and hey, it costs a small fortune, so it must work, right?

Does Olay Facial Hair Remover Work?

I bought the Olay Facial Hair Removal Duo months ago.

I wanted to test and see if it would effectively remove the unwanted peach fuzz I have.

 

Here's what I've discovered over the last few months of use:

Ever wonder about those stick-on masks? Masqueology Review



In my June Birchbox, I received one of those stick-on type masks.

I've seen this type before, though most of the ones I've seen have been small area application patches, such as for the eye area, or for the forehead. I'd wondered if they really do any good. Here was my chance to try out at least one brand's take on the stick-on mask.



Photo: Birchbox

 Masqueology has a "Pore Minimizing" full facial mask "with Mushroom Extract" that is supposed to "minimize the visible appearance of pores" and "refine skin's overall texture and appearance". You can read more about what it has in it and what those ingredients supposedly do, or purchase 3 masks of your own for $24 at Birchbox HERE.

It's Potent! Eye Cream...Is It, Actually?

I detest my genetically inherited dark undereye circles. I'm forevermore trying to find a product that will help diminish them, if not make them disappear completely (a girl can dream, right?). They really age me and make me look like I'm tired and haggard. Doesn't matter how much sleep I get. Really, I've come to expect that there isn't anything out there to treat this, short of seeing a plastic surgeon, but I keep hoping that the great minds of cosmetic science will stumble upon the answer to this dillemma that a great many of us gals (& guys) have. So when the sweet rep at Ulta gushed about how fab Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream was, and how she herself used it with great results, I was suckered in.