Tea with Sugar

Spring always makes me rethink my skincare and makeup routines. The weather is warmer, and I like to switch to lightweight products. On a recent trip to Sephora, I decided to try products from Korres, the line of natural apothecary products from Greece. I have never tried Korres products before but I've always been curious about them. So I purchased a cleanser and moisturizer.

White Tea Facial Fluid Gel Cleanser, $19.50, is non-drying, unlike many gel cleansers. My face feels fresh and clean, but not tight. And it smells comfortingly like tea. Sugar Crystal Cream Multivitamain Skin Shield, $36, contains vitamins A, C, E, F, and B5. It's lightweight but moisturizing.

The Korres white tea cleanser and sugar moisturizer feel great and smell divine. Basic, natural skincare that feels good and is good for the skin. Isn't that what everyone wants in a skincare routine?

It's Hip to Be Square

My apologies for the Huey Lewis and the News reference.

Method, that eco-friendly line of house and home products, have introduced a line of personal care products. Called Bloq, this line of body wash, body lotion, shave cream, and soap come in square containers (hence the name - geddit?). The body wash, body lotion, and soap come in four fragrances: Beach Sage, Citron Leaf, Green Mint, and Water Flower, while the shave cream comes in the Green Mint and the Citron Leaf. I bought the body wash in Beach Sage and the shave cream in Citron Leaf. The body wash is very creamy and makes loads of rich lather, especially when you use it with one of those net lather poufs. The shave cream is unlike traditional shaving creams. It isn't a foaming lathering mess in an aerosol can, like most creams on the market. Instead, it's a non-lathering lotion that is very moisturizing and gives a smooth, close shave. And I adore the fragrances. Beach Sage is so comforting. It's reminiscent of those "oceany" perfumes, but with woodsy notes as well. Citron Leaf is both citrusy and green. As wonderful as the fragrances are, they are surprisingly unisex, so men as well as women would enjoy them. I look forward to trying more of the Bloq products. For under $6 each, they're a little bit of heaven in the bath.

Bloq by Method can be found at Target stores, or at the Method website.

Hello Pretty-Expensive

If you're like me, but afraid to admit it (also like me), you're old enough to remember Hello Kitty when she was just for little kids, and you were among her first generation of fans. But beyond elementary school, you would have been considered too old to like Hello Kitty. Back in the day, if I had brought a Hello Kitty notebook or pen with plastic Hello Kitty dangly charm to class when I was in junior high, I would have been teased worse than the kid in the Star Wars t-shirt and floods. Heck, even he would have made fun of me. But now that Hello Kitty has reached such iconic status, it's cool for women of all ages to love her. Take Kimora Lee Simmons, for example. The model, cosmetics mogul, and fashion designer for Baby Phat has her own line of gem-encrusted Hello Kitty jewelry. This pave diamond pendant (above, below left) is available at Nieman Marcus online, and retails for $4,250. Too rich for your blood? Mine too! That's why I have Avon's version (below, right) for the low, low price of only $9.95.



I know what you're thinking. Sure, the Avon version doesn't even come close to the Kimora Lee Simmons version, but with the money I've saved, I could put a down payment on a car or take a vacation to Europe. Remember, cute doesn't have to cost a lot.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month

With spring here, and summer just around the corner, now is a good time to make sure you protect yourself against the harmful rays of the sun. The months of May, June and July have more hours of daylight than any other time of the year. Not coincidentally, the month of May is skin cancer awareness month. Check out this article from the American Cancer Society to learn how to detect and protect your skin from skin cancer, including the proper use of sunscreen.



Always remember, no matter what your skin tone or type, no matter what the weather or season, it is important to apply sunblock every day. Make sure that your sunblock contains either Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, or Avobenzone (also called Parsol 1789). These three ingredients have traditionally been considered the only ones that provide broad-spectrum sun protection, shielding the skin from both UVA rays (the ageing ones) as well as UVB rays (the burning ones). For the face, try a lightweight facial sunblock like the new Clinique City Block Sheer SPF 25, the latest in Clinique's City Block line of facial sunblocks. You can also protect your face with a daily moisturizer or tinted moisturizer with an SPF of 15 or higher. And in the warmer months, when short sleeves and pants mean more skin is exposed, apply sunblock to your arms, legs, back, and any other exposed area. Neutrogena has launched their new line of Sun Protection products containing Helioplex (TM), which can also protect the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Try Ultra Sheer Dry Touch SPF 30 or SPF 45, sun protection for the body in a lightweight, sheer mist forumula for easy application.



And while you're protecting yourself from those harmful UVA and UVB rays, don't forget to protect your children. As a redheaded, pale complexioned person, I can still remember the horrible sunburns I used to get every summer as a child. Consequently, I was the nerd who wore a t-shirt over her bathing suit at the pool, but that was the best my parents could do at the time because there just wasn't that same level of awareness of sun protection that there is today. And experts say severe sunburns from childhood often are the cause of skin cancer later in life. Now, however, there are many excellent sun protection products for children. Crunchy-granola brand California Baby offers Water-Resistant, Hypoallergenic Suncreen SPF 30 that won't come off in the pool or at the beach. And it's free of chemical sunscreens.Remember to apply sunblock at least 30 minutes before leaving the house, and always reapply after swimming.



Of course, if you insist on looking like a bronze goddess instead of Casper the Ghost this summer, self-tanners are the way to go. There are many great formulas that look natural, not orange. Origins' Great Pretender Shimmery Self-Tanner for Body uses sugar-derived DHA to create a natural-looking tan. Use their Faux Glow Radiant Self-Tanner for the Face to ensure that your face matches the rest of your body.



In addition to preventing skin cancer, another benefit of using sunblock is that it prevents premature ageing of the skin. Skincare experts agree that there is really no such thing as an "anti-wrinkle cream," except for sunblock. So if you spend a lot of time outdoors and don't want to end up looking like one of the California Raisins, don't forget to "block up" before you leave the house. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of tretinoin.

Sheerly Beautiful

I've grown weary of new fragrances that try too hard to be modern and different. They'll mix an odd combination of notes, taking something traditional like florals and blending them with something "edgy", like black pepper, or tobacco, or hemp. The result is the same: a not-unpleasant but instantly forgettable fragrance that smells like every other new fragrance out there. I'm talking to you, Rock 'n Rose by Valentino, or anything by Calvin Klein. But I'm always willing to try out a new fragrance just the same, in case there's an exception to the rule that pleasantly surprises me.

When the original Stella fragrance by Stella McCartney debuted a few years ago, I spritzed myself with some at my local Sephora and decided I didn't care for it. It was too heavy on the amber. I prefer lighter fragrances to those exotic, "sensual" ones. As a result of this experience, I never bothered with the subsequent Stella McCartney fragrances. And what did I miss as a result of my perfume pickiness?

I think I must be the last woman in the world to try Sheer Stella by Stella McCartney. I recently bought some at Sephora.com when I saw it was a new offering. The Sheer Stella eau de toilette is a lighter, more "floral-y" (not a word, I know) version of the original Stella. Sheer Stella's notes are lemon, green apple, celestial rose, and lastly, the amber which features so much more prominently in the original Stella fragrance (which is why I didn't like it). But I am loving the Sheer Stella. It's a bit strong at first, but it fades to a lovely soft citrusy-floral fragrance that is delicate and romantic. Sometimes I detect the fruity notes, which remind me of a green tea perfume I bought years ago at Barney's, even though there are no green tea notes in Sheer Stella. Other times, I detect the rose, which reminds me of the rose notes in the long-discontinued Laura Ashley No. 1 perfume, which I still miss twenty years later. Coming from such a modern young designer, Sheer Stella is surprisingly traditional, but not stuffy. And in my book, traditional has a better chance of becoming a classic than edgy does.

Being a new convert to Sheer Stella, I also didn't realize that the perfume is a limited edition. Each year around springtime Stella McCartney perfumes releases the scent in a different bottle. This year's bottle is of clear pink glass with a delicate floral design in gold. The bottle is as exquisite as the perfume. And, oddly enough, Sheer Stella has become somewhat of a panacea for me. I sometimes suffer from insomnia, and I've found that if I spritz myself with Sheer Stella about a half an hour before bedtime, it dries down to such a calming and relaxing fragrance that I fall asleep sooner. And at $52 for 3.4 ounces, it's more cost-effective than Ambien, without those pesky sleep-driving or sleep-binge-eating side effects.

I still haven't tried any of the other Stella McCartney fragrances, but I'm sure as heck going to the next time I'm in Sephora.

It's Back!

"It's Back!" That's what the banners read inside Boots stores nationwide in Britain yesterday as the popular retailer received new stock of their wildly successful No. 7 Protect and Perfect Serum. The serum completely sold out all over Britain a couple of months ago after an independent research study on skincare products sponsored by a popular British television program concluded that the Boots serum was just as effective at preventing and repairing signs of aging as prescription creams. Boots stores yesterday were packed with shoppers no doubt going through withdrawal after being unable to obtain the serum for several weeks. So newsworthy was this event that, here in the U.S., CNN Headline News ran a story on it, with a correspondent "embedded" in a Boots store in London as swarms of shoppers swooped in to grab their bottles. To prevent people from buying the serum just to sell online, Boots limited purchases of the serum to one bottle per shopper, but that didn't stop some people from buying a bottle, leaving, and then returning later to buy another bottle.

In the U.S., the serum is called Restore and Renew. It can be found at Target or at Boots.com for $20.

Mechan-eyes Your Makeup

Image courtesy of maybelline.com

As much as I love makeup, and you know I do, one thing I've never really been able to get the hang of is eyeliner. In fact, I never line my eyes, unless it's for a special occasion, and then I feel that it doesn't look right. I don't do well with eyeliner pencils. I can't get them close enough to the lash line, so the line it leaves encircles my eyes too much, making my peepers look huge. Liquid liner leaves too harsh a line and is hard to control. Ditto those creme liners in a pot that you apply with a flat brush, and they smudge, contrary to their manufacturers' claims. So what's a girl to do? I think I've found the answer. Mechanical eyeliner pencils. They come in a plastic case, and you swivel up the liner as if it was the lead in a mechanical writing pencil. The tip of the liner is so small that it makes it easy to get a thin, natural-looking line right up in the lashline, or inside the rim of the eyelid. Tarte Cosmetics introduced their Emphas-eyes retractable liner (set of two for $28, in black only) on QVC last month specifically for lining the inside rim for a more natural look.



In addition to Tarte's liner, a number of less-expensive versions can be found. Avon's Glimmersticks eyeliner comes in six colors and costs just $6. Maybelline's Line Stylist is also available in six colors, including white, and retails for $7. Max Factor, which just revamped their entire line, offers MAXeye Liner, in eight shades that can be used on your brows as well as your eyes (because I've always wanted "Green and Bare It" eyebrows!). They also sell for $7.



A new twist (excuse the pun) on the mechanical pencil is the Estee Lauder Automatic Eye Pencil Duo for $23.50. It's a double-ended pencil featuring the retractable eyeliner at one end, and the blending sponge tip usually found on wooden eyeliner pencils at the other end. Also unlike the other mechanical eyeliners, this one is refillable. It comes with one extra eyeliner cartridge, and refill cartridges are available for $11 each, in seven colors. The genius of this is that you can choose to refill it with a different color if you want to try another shade but don't want to pay another $23.50 for the pencil.

In addition to making it easier to line your eyes, mechanical eyeliner pencils have an advantage over traditional pencils in that they're self-sharpening. Thus they eliminate the need to carry a pencil sharpener in your makeup bag, or deal with the messy shavings they leave behind. I think I've finally found the solution to my eyelining problems. Now I, too can have those smoldering all-around-the-eyes liner look, just like Paris Hilton or the Olsen Twins. Hello, Gorgeous!

Britain's Next Topshop Model

British supermodel Kate Moss can now add the title of fashion designer to her list of credentials. Last night the controversial covergirl unveiled her new line of fashions for British retail chain Topshop. She appeared at the Oxford Street shop in London, posing as a mannequin in the shop's window (above) as customers waited in line for the store to open. To prevent people from buying items just to sell on eBay, Topshop allowed customers to try on a maximum of eight garments, and limited the number of garments that they could purchase to just five during last night's preview. Moss's collection of fifty pieces includes skinny jeans, leather jackets, t-shirts, and minidresses. A summer collection is set to hit the stores in June.

Moss is the latest celebrity to create a fashion collection for a major retail chain. In March Madonna launched her collection for H&M.

Tea Zone

We've all heard the old adage about drinking eight glasses of water a day to help your skin look its best. But what about drinking tea to help your skin? That's the idea behind the Get Gorgeous Herb Tea for Clear Skin from The Republic of Tea. Get Gorgeous is a red tea made with the South African rooibos herb. Rooibos is an anti-oxidant, and the company claims that drinking three to four cups of the tea a day will help improve the appearance of your skin by fighting free radicals, which break down skin cells and lead to aging. This caffeine-free, herbal blend also includes chamomile, orange peel, hibiscus, red clover, chaste berry, and burdock root.

I've been battling a nasty cold and sore throat for the past few days, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and try to improve my skin while I improve my health. I've been drinking several cups of Get Gorgeous tea every day and I've gone through an entire container of the stuff. Do I see visible results in the appearance of my skin? Frankly, no. Granted, it tastes good -- kind of fruity -- but I think it's better for clearing the mind, like any good cup of tea will do, than for clearing the skin. And at $10 for 36 bags of tea, it's a bit steep (no pun intended). I'll just stick with my Twinings Indian Spiced Chai Tea, $3.49 at Shaw's Supermarket, thanks. The Get Gorgeous Tea is one of nine teas in the Republic of Tea's Red Tea line. All are equally pro-active, with similarly witty names (puns intended), including Get It Going Herb Tea for Regularity, Get Some ZZZs Herb Tea for Rest, and Get Lost Herb Teas for Weight.