March 11, 2010

LilSis has been talking about using more frugal beauty products, and I have one to tell you about.  How about a facial moisturizer that costs you $18 for 4 ounces?  Not bad, huh?  A while back, the folks at Skin MD sent LilSis and me a bottle of their Shielding Lotion.  I’ve been using it for a couple of months now, so I think I can give you a fair review of it.

What’s special about it?  The literature says this about Skin MD:

• It can replace traditional moisturizers which temporarily restore moisture to the skin.  It binds to the skin to create an invisible shield around the skin to maintain moisture and  protect it from environmental chemicals and pollution.

• It contains natural ingredients like aloe vera, arnica montana, chamomile, vitamin E, and a proprietary humectant ingredient that is supposed to be more effective than glycerin.

• It is non-greasy and non-comedogenic so it should not clog pores.

How did the product do?  Did it live up to the claims?

I can’t say if it shielded my skin from pollution and chemicals, but I liked that it was really lightweight and soaked into my skin quickly.  It created a nice smooth base for my foundation.  And, this is huge…it didn’t break my skin out!

Absolutely everything breaks me out, so I hold my breath when I try a new serum or moisturizing cream or lotion.  90% of the time, it does cause a breakout, even it it’s supposedly non-comedogenic.  So the fact that Skin MD didn’t cause a flare-up is pretty darn big.

So, Skin MD has earned two big gold stars from me:  for smooth texture and for not instigating a zit attack.  The big question though is whether my skin seemed hydrated.  I’m afraid I can’t give out a gold star for that.  This product just hasn’t been enough for me this winter, even when I applied it twice in the morning.  I’ve had some dry areas, and some little flakies here and there.

To be fair, this has been a super cold winter, plus my skin has been drier than usual because of a prescription I’m taking to help prevent hormonal breakouts.  Even so, most people are still drier than me.  Skin MD is recommended for body, hands and feet as well as face, but if it wasn’t enough for my face, it definitely wasn’t enough for the rest of me in the wintertime.

I still have lots of Skin MD left, and my plan is to give it another try as a facial moisturizer in the summer when I typically need a lighter product under my foundation.  Overall, I liked it and thought it was a quality product; it just wasn’t quite enough for me during the winter.

Skin MD is available in my area at CVS and Walgreen’s drugstores, as well as Tom Thumb and Minyard’s grocery stores.

~BigSis

March 9, 2010

Last week I talked about the Origins Youthtopia eye cream that I bought recently to replace the “more expensive” brand that I’d been buying. As luck would have it, I ran out of my moisturizer at about the same time I ran out of the eye cream. So, while I was at the Origins counter searching for the eye cream, I took a peek at their choices in moisturizers.

After looking over several options, I decided to try the Have a Nice Day Super-Charged moisture lotion. This is Origins description of Have a Nice Day.

Your skin hasn’t a care in the world when stimulating Ginkgo Extract, firming Birch Extract and nourishing Soybean Oil fortify it with everything it needs to face the day in a positive way. Origins potent blend of UV protectors, including nature’s own Titanium Dioxide, defray the rays. Vitamin E stops environmental no-goodniks. Skin runs smoothly sun up to sun down. And one whiff of the gung-ho Grapefruit aroma gives you a sense of can-do optimism.

At first I wasn’t real crazy about the screw top lid on this container because I was used to having a pump, which just makes it a little quicker and easier to dispense, but now that I’ve gotten used to it, it’s not a big deal and I think that there’s probably going to be less waste. With a container like this, it’ll be a lot easier to get every last little drop out of the bottle, which is not the case with the bottles that have the pump. (I never could figure out how to hack into the Chanel bottle.)

There are a few things I love about this product. First, I love that it has an SPF 15 just like the other brand. Even though SPF is not a lot of sun protection, at least I know that when I put this on every morning, I’ve got some sun protection.  If I’m knowingly going to be out in the sun, I’ll put on a SPF 30 or 45 on top of this. I also love that when you apply this product, you get a whiff of the grapefruit aroma. I first fell in love with the grapefruit scent when I started using the Origins Gloom Away products. And, in my opinion, this product goes on just as smoothly and feels just as hydrating as the Chanel.

What I love most about Have a Nice Day is that it retails for $36.00 for a 1.7 oz. bottle versus the $86.00 that I was paying for the exact same size in the other brand. When you think about it, that’s $100 savings for every two bottles I buy. That’s huge!

Now if I could just find a more affordable “anti-cellulite” cream!

~LilSis

March 3, 2010

The last time I ran out of my Chanel eye cream, I decided it was time to try to find something comparable at a more reasonable price. Not to get into too much detail about the depressed economy and the effect that it’s had on my personal spending, but these days, I think a lot of us are trying to trim the fat from the budget and $75.00 for eye cream is just too much of a splurge.

There was a time, not too long ago, when I would run out of all three of my favorite Chanel beauty products at the same time and I wouldn’t think twice about running to Macy’s to replace them.  Since I’m trying to be more “budget conscious”, I decided that there had to be something out there that’s just as good with a smaller price tag. You know BigSis and I both love Origins and since I already use several of their other skin care products, I thought I’d check out their eye creams.

After looking over several choices, I decided to try the Youthtopia Firming Eye Cream. This is how Origins describes the Youthtopia:

If aging signs are staring you in the face, but you worry about harsh, sci-fi sounding chemicals in some treatments, discover Origins revolutionary approach to aging skin around the eyes. Youthtopia™ Firming eye cream with Rhodiola, the legendary Siberian herb linked with longevity, visibly de-ages, reduces puffiness and helps empower fragile eye skin to rebound from damaging stress. Your eye area looks firmer and more youthful with none of the potential wrinkles.

I’ve been using this eye cream for a little over a month now and I’m really happy with it. At $39.50, this product is much kinder on the wallet and I like it as much as the more expensive brand. I have to be careful with some night time eye creams because they tend to make my eyes puffy in the morning, but I haven’t had that problem with the Youthtopia.

If you’ve got a favorite eye cream that’s reasonably priced and gives great results, I’d love to hear from you.

~LilSis

February 11, 2010

Origins has a Valentine’s Gift for You!

I received an email from Origins this morning about this offer so I had to share it with you. It just wouldn’t be nice to keep it to myself; would it?

From February 11th – 14th, order any two products from Origins online or in any Origins store and you’ll receive a free full-size lip gloss as a Valentine’s Day gift from Origins.

Why wait til the 14th to get yourself a treat? Order now as supplies may be limited. And shipping is also free on any orders over $50.00. Sweet!

~LilSis

January 18, 2010

Have you been really disciplined with your New Year’s resolutions and want to reward yourself?  Maybe you’ve already lost a couple of pounds and need a non-food treat?  How about getting yourself a Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not an early-adopter.  I’ve only had an iPod for a year, an iPhone for a few months, a Wii for a couple of weeks, and I’ve yet to buy a blu-ray player.  My television is over 20 years old and weighs as much as I do.  Oh yeah, and my car will be 10 years old in a couple of months.  With all that in mind, I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that I’ve been hearing about the Clarisonic for over a year and just now got one.

Why did I wait so long!  My skin is already dramatically different in only two weeks of using the Clarisonic:

• It feels much much cleaner deep down, and clogged pores are becoming clearer

• It’s radically smoother in texture

• The color is healthy

• Pores look smaller

• It feels firmer!

I noticed some of these benefits immediately, and I continue to be pleased with the cumulative improvement I see in my skin, which is a pretty big deal for me.  I’ve never had pretty skin in my life.  I started making weekly trips to the dermatologist when my skin started breaking out at age 12.  In my early 20s, I was one of the first people to use Accutane, but by then I had scarring that really bothered me.  In late 2007, I had 6 Fraxel laser treatments at a cost of well over $5000.  By the way, I have a high tolerance to pain, but that was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced.  Thankfully, I did see substantial improvement in my skin’s texture and scarring was reduced somewhat.

But even so, I’m still not happy with my skin and I’ll always be looking for ways to improve it.  The Clarisonic is an excellent tool, and it cost much less than $5000!  I got mine for $225 through QVC because their deal came with some extra goodies like cleansers and additional brush heads.  The model I got comes with a brush for your body, as well as 3 facial brushes.  You can also buy the Clarisonic through Amazon, Ulta, Sephora, and probably lots of other retailers.

I highly recommend the Clarisonic…don’t wait forever like I did!

~BigSis

January 15, 2010

Do this.  To your hair.  Now!

I’m not kidding, you’ll thank me!  You may already have this product in your pantry, but if not, you can easily pick up a jar.  You don’t need to go to the beauty supply or the salon though.  And you don’t need to take out a loan to buy it!

What is it?  Coconut oil!  You can get it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or any health food/natural foods store.  You can order it online from Swanson Vitamins or Vitacost and probably tons of other sites.  You may even be able to find it at a well-stocked grocery store.  I get mine at my favorite hippie health food store called Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage.  For a 16 ounce jar, you can expect to pay only around $10.

I have coconut oil in my pantry because I put it in my smoothie each morning.  I never thought about smearing it on my hair though until I was reading on Beauty Brains about an expensive hair treatment called Ojon ($55).  Ojon is made of palm oil from the rainforest, plus fragrance and some extracts. The Beauty Brains said that coconut oil and palm oil are essentially the same thing, and each will actually penetrate the hair’s cortex.  Most conditioners only coat the surface of the hair shaft, and don’t get into the hair itself.

Penetrating the hair’s cortex can help replace the natural oil that we lose simply by washing our hair.  When you replace that oil, you’re “refatting” the hair.  The Beauty Brains suggested that using a coconut oil based conditioner could be as effective as Ojon.  I’ve since seen online that lots of girls are just using plain ol’ coconut oil, and getting good results so I had to try it.

Coconut oil is solid in my house right now since it’s 60-something degrees, but it will be liquid when the inside temp is in the 70s.  Since it’s solid I took a blob and warmed it in my hands a bit til it softened.  Then I just started rubbing it into my hair.  My hair’s almost shoulder length and is a little thin now (dang hormones), and I used three walnut-sized blobs of coconut oil.  I combed it through, and let it sit for about an hour.  Ojon recommends leaving their treatment on overnight when possible, so I may try that with the coconut oil when I can.

After an hour, I rinsed really well with pretty warm water, and then had to shampoo twice before the oil was out of my hair.  I did use my regular dab of Pureology conditioner afterward, since the coconut oil is supposed to work inside the hair and not outside.

What were the results?  My hair was softer, shinier, fuller and had more body.  It even had less frizz before flat-ironing.  After the next shampoo two days later, the results are still there.

I’m planning to give my hair this little tropical treat once a week.  It’s easy, it smells fabulous, I can do it myself, and it makes my hair happy.  What more could I want?  Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

~BigSis

January 13, 2010

Are you an Urban Decay fan? If you’ve been reading BigSisLilSis for any time at all, then you already know that we’re both crazy about our Urban Decay products!

I thought that I’d take a break today from all the talking I’ve been doing about my 2010 goals to share with you my latest Urban Decay purchase. I’ve only been using the Urban Decay Ink for Eyes for a few days now, but I’m already in love with this product.

Here’s how Urban Decay describes the Ink for Eyes: It’s everything you want in a cream eyeliner! More precise than a pencil, more forgiving than a liquid, this super-smooth formula offers more control, play time, and buildable coverage than your average liner.

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes

Honestly, what’s not to love? First of all, I’m crazy about this case! It’s long and slender and comes with a mirror and a double ended applicator that has an angled brush on one end and a smudger on the other end. Before I started using the Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencils, I always used my angled MAC brush to apply my eyeshadow as a liner, so that may have something to do with why I like this applicator so much.

The color that I bought is Demolition, which is the chocolate brown color shown in the photo. I really love this color!

Now, let’s talk about what’s in this pretty, shiny little case. This creamy liner just glides on with such ease that it’s really quite surprising. No skips or smears! Really. Urban Decay does have a secret ingredient, though, it’s Nylon 12, a high-tech polymer that decreases drag for flawless application while softening and absorbing any excess oil. Urban Decay doesn’t claim this is waterproof eyeliner, but when I remove my makeup, this liner is just the same as it was when I applied it, just like the 24/7 pencils.

The liner comes in several other beautiful colors, so now that I know how much I love this product, I’ll have to try some other colors.

Luckily, we don’t have a Sephora nearby, but anytime I go into Ulta these days, I have to browse the Urban Decay counter. BigSis is ultimately responsible for my new-found Urban Decay addition. She is the one that originally turned me on to the Primer Potion and 24/7 pencils.

In case you missed my Urban Decay Hacker Tutorial, I mentioned that Urban Decay was changing the wand on the Primer Potion. When I finally broke down and bought my new tube, I noticed that it does have a new wand. We’ll see if it cuts down on the wasted product at all.

I just bought a friend of mine the cute little case of Urban Decay nail polishes for her birthday. I’ve never tried any of their nail polishes but I’m hoping that she’s happy with them since I’ve never been disappointed with any Urban Decay product. (And, no, I’m not getting paid to say that.)

Do you have any favorite Urban Decay products that you’d like to share with us?

~LilSis

December 10, 2009

If you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE MAC products like we do, you’ve probably already visited the nearest MAC store or gone online to check out their 2009 Holiday Collection. MAC never disappoints! Once again, they have some beautiful products that are only available for a limited time.

If you still have someone on your Christmas list that you’d love to surprise with a sparkly, shiny gift from MAC, you’ll want to hurry to take advantage of this deal!

MAC Cosmetics is offering free standard shipping on any purchase AND free gift wrap until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 13th.  To take advantage of the free gift wrap, use code GIFTABLE09 at checkout.

Happy Shopping!

~LilSis

November 20, 2009

You’re right, LilSis; I do have something to say about great body creams that don’t give you a financial guilt attack!  I love everything about L’Occitane, but their shea butter products are a bit of a splurge.  There are times for splurging, but there are also times for being a little more frugal (like now).

Let me give you the scoop on an AWESOME inexpensive cream that you can get at pretty much any drugstore or discount store.  It’s Gold Bond Ultimate Cream.  I’ve tried both formulas: Ultimate Healing has aloe, and Ultimate Softening has shea butter among other ingredients.  My favorite is the shea butter formula since it’s even richer.  You can get the cream in a pump bottle or in a tube.  I prefer it in the tube because it’s SO ding dang thick and rich that it’s hard to get all of it out of a bottle.

I love the Gold Bond cream year-round for arms, legs, feet and hands.  It’s heavy-duty enough for winter dry skin, but it soaks in quickly and isn’t greasy so it’s great for summer too.

The bonus?  You can frequently find a coupon in the Sunday paper for $1 or $2 off this great cream.  It’s a touch more expensive than Jergens or Vaseline Intensive Care, but I think it’s much more effective.

But wait!  There’s more!  I have an incredible foot cream for you too.  It’s Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme.

Wowie!  This creme smells beyond scrumptious, and will moisturize your dry feet beyond belief.  This is an extremely thick creme; I would even say it’s goopy.  Deliciously goopy!  If you need a thick creme to slather on your feet overnight, this is the one!  Rub it into your feet and cover with socks, and you’ll wake up to super smooth soft tootsies!  Plus it’s pretty cheap…only $9 retail.

When I think of this coconut creme, I always remember how I used to rub it on HayHay’s Fred Flintstone feet when he was a little guy.  That may embarrass him, but it’s a happy little memory for me.

There you have it, LilSis, my favorite inexpensive but uber-effective creams that will obliterate your dry winter skin!

~BigSis

November 19, 2009

I still can’t believe that November is over halfway gone. It doesn’t even feel like Winter here in California because it’s still relatively warm during the day, but the air is really dry right now. Luckily, we don’t have to run our heater very often because that just seems to make the air even more dry.

And what goes along with dry air and winter weather? For a lot of people, dry skin can be a real problem in the winter. It definitely can be for me if I don’t do everything I can to prevent it. I slather myself every morning right out of the shower with a variety of lotions, potions, and creams, in an effort to avoid the dry, itching, pasty looking skin. We’ve talked about our favorite eye creams, more than once, moisturizers, more than once, and hand creams, but I don’t think we’ve ever talked about foot creams, so here goes.

I have to admit, I love a good foot cream! My absolute all time favorite EVER is L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Foot Cream. I recently ran out and haven’t yet ordered a replacement.

This amazing foot cream contains lavender essential oil and in my opinion, there is nothing better than the heavenly smell of lavender. That’s one reason I love putting this foot cream on at night. The scent of lavender is so soothing. It also contains anti-inflammatory arnica extract to reduce redness and irritation and mint to cool the feet.

With that being said, this 5.2 oz tube of foot cream sells for $26.00. I definitely think it’s worth the money during the best of times, but when we are all trying to scale back on unnecessary expenses, I need to try to find a cream that is a little more reasonably priced.

The other night, I was finally able to stop, sit down, and take off my shoes around 8:00, just in time for Dancing with the Stars. When I took off my shoes, I noticed that just in the past couple of days, my heels had become so dry that they were almost starting to crack. (Sorry if that’s TMI.)  So, I grabbed the nearest tube of cream from my cabinet in the kitchen to put on my feet. What I ended up using was Eucerin Calming Creme. I keep a larger tube of this in my nightstand for my hands but I just happened to find a sample size that SirHoney’s dermatologist gave to him. I had never used this on my feet before but it worked great!

After rubbing this into my feet that night and keeping my footies on til I went to bed, I woke up the next morning to almost normal heels. This creme is pretty darn impressive and costs less than $7.50 for a 8 0z tube. This creme contains oatmeal and glycerin to help with itching caused from dryness. This creme is so rich yet not greasy at all. I was surprised at how quickly it soaked into my skin. It also happens to be fragrance-free and non-comedogenic.

And, in the winter, when necessary, I use Eucerin’s Dry Skin Therapy Original Creme. I use this on my hands and on my face, only on the dry spots. My sister-in-law is the one that told me about the Original Creme when I asked her once how she kept her face so young and soft looking; and she was over 55 at the time! I bought a 2 oz tube of this for less than $4.00 and it has lasted for months and months.  This is a very rich and thick creme so it’s probably not meant to go on everyone’s face, unless you have really dry skin like me, but it’s perfect for dry hands.

I know BigSis is a HUGE fan of Eucerin’s Aquaphor products and my husband’s dermatologist also recommended some of those for him. I’ve used the Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment and I love it. It’s great for hands, feet, or lips!

So, if you’ve got any secrets for beating dry skin this winter, please let us know! I bet BigSis has a few new favorites that she hasn’t yet shared with us!

~LilSis