ProductWhores

Big Deals

There really are no words for how excited I was when I walked into Sephora recently and saw this bargain.  I love, love, love the entire line of Bliss' Blood Orange + White Pepper scent, but Bliss can be kind of expensive and I really can't justify it at the moment because of how much I already have.  But this?  This I can justify.  At only $18 for a 16 ounce bottle, you can't afford not to buy it.  The Blood Orange + White Pepper Soapy Suds Body Wash + Bubbling Bath can be used as a body wash or to create gorgeously fruity scented bubbles for an energizing bath.  I can't wait to try it!  (Especially with the Sephora Friends & Family coupon coming up for 20% off).  It's like the product Gods want me to have it! 

Unconditional Love

 

Anytime I hear that Philosophy has released a new product, I get instantly happy.  It's kind of a neat trick.  I wish I could harness that power and use it for other things, like say when my credit card bill shows up.  ("It's the Visa bill!  Yay!  I thought it was never going to get here!")  Philosophy's new scent, Unconditional Love, is so pretty - it's light and fresh and perfect for summer.  It's a mixture of fruity and sweet (for those of you Trish McEvoy fans, it reminds me a lot of her Blackberry & Vanilla Musk scent, which I adore).  You can definitely detect a hint of vanilla, but the fruity notes stand out as well, which is what makes the scent so interesting to me.  And as a huge fan of layering my scent, I'm loving the fact that there's three new products in the fragrance.  You can use the Shampoo, Bath and Shower Gel when you're in the tub (like all their bath products, it lathers up nicely and leaves your skin so clean), then moisturize with the Firming Body Emulsion (it makes my skin soooo soft), finishing with a few spritzes of the Unconditional Love fragrance.  Layering is so key to me because it makes everything last that much longer.  (And let's be honest, no matter what magazines and beauty editors say, how many people are going to reapply their fragrance during the day?  The last thing I need to drag around in my already overstuffed bag is a bottle of perfume, no matter how small it might be).  You know what else I love about Philosophy?  They're totally not stingy with their products at all - the bottles are a whopping 16 ounces each, so you won't have to re-buy them every two weeks.  Who doesn't love that? 

Take Me To The Sea

I find it constantly funny that for someone who hates the beach as much a I do, I gravitate toward products that smell like it.  Anything fresh instantly makes me happy, so it goes without saying that I'm all about H20+'s Sea Salt Collection.  Made up of a variety of products that all smell clean and fresh (kind of like the salty air that blows in from the ocean, but with a little bit of a citrusy edge to it) the entire line is great.  When I'm in the shower, I start off using the Sea Salt Body Wash, which contains sea salts that help eliminate toxins and replenish depleted nutrients.  It lathers up nicely and leaves my skin feeling super clean and soft.  I also like that it's really gentle - I have sensitive skin that can get dry and flaky and the Sea Salt Body Wash didn't irritate it at all.  Every other day or two, I follow that up with the Sea Salt Skin Smoother.  This product is recommended for intense exfoliation and it lives up to its claim.  The European sea salts work like magic to help smooth out the dry, rough areas of my skin and it's just oily enough not to sting or scrape away at my skin.  (Is there anything worse than a scrub that actually hurts?  Who wants to pay money for that?)  The oil in it actually helps to keep skin hydrated too - when I wash the Skin Smoother off, my skin feels soft, not dry, which makes it ready for when I get out of the shower and put on the Sea Salt Hydrating Body Butter.  The lotion is packed with natural coconut and vegetable oils as well as vitamins C and E, so it's full of all sorts of moisture building ingredients.  It goes on easily and blends right in - no greasy residue at all.  The entire three step process takes barely any time at all and it makes my skin feel SO great.  It's soft and clean and leaves it smelling light and fresh, which blends perfectly with most of the perfumes I wear on a daily basis.  There's even a cute little Sea Salt Purifying Collection travel-sized kit - totally convenient for when I travel.  See?  With products like this, who even needs the beach? 

Delicious Sugar in Cream Form

I am downright obsessed with the Cleo line of bath products.  Made with yogurt (they spell it all funky - yoghurt - because they're foreign) their line of soaps and shower gels are incredibly moisturizing and smell fantastic.  I can't speak for all the products (because I have yet to own the entire collection - but I will, oh, yes, I will) but the Sugar Shower Gel smells lightly of baked treats and makes my skin softer than I've ever felt with any other shower gel.  It's a lotion consistancy so a little goes a long way on the loofah and the softness really sticks on your skin all day.  The chocolate shower gel is delicious, too, and smells just like Bath and Body Works now-retired "Wickedly Hot Chocolate."  The entire Cleo line is really affordable (just $4.46 for the shower gel) and is conveniently online at drugstore.com.  If you do anything for yourself this Holiday season (which you should) purchase some of these treats and spend a little extra time indulging in your shower - oh, get your minds out of the gutter, you know what I mean!

Cranberry Queen

I love cranberries. Enough even to eat them over chocolate sometimes, which is just crazy talk, because normally people who say they'd rather eat fruit than a Snickers bar freak me out. I mean, fruit is good and all, but it's no peanuts, caramel and chocolate. But for some reason, I just love everything about cranberries - the smell, the taste, the way they look... I think NJ is known for its cranberry bogs, so maybe it's just in my blood. Although I've never seen these bogs, so maybe that's just a urban legend, like the Jersey Devil. Or the fact that we all have high hair (Seriously, we're very stylish people. Well, most of us...). Either way, I pretty much love everything cranberry. (On a related side note, if anyone else likes cranberries, you have to try Trader Joe's Sparkling Cranberry Juice. It's amazing. The best drink ever, not containing alcohol). So imagine my delight when I walked into Sephora and saw Philosophy's new Memory Cranberry gift set. (Do you think I should be worried that so far, all of the Christmas gift sets I've bought have been presents to, uhm, myself?) It's a duo of their popular 3-in-1 Shampoo, Body Wash and Bubble Bath and a matching lotion, both in Cranberry. Awesome. They smell just like I imagine the alleged cranberry bogs would - sweet and tart. And I like that it's a matching set because it allows for the layering that I enjoy so much. Still, as much as I love it, I think this sentence in the Sephora description might be just a tad bit of overkill: "The sweet, tangy scent of cranberry will help you unwind and remember times of love, laughter and joy." Really? It does get me clean and make my shower smell pretty, but sadly, that's the extent of its power. But I have to say, cranberry is a nice change from the other fruity shower gels and lotions that I have and I like that Philosophy is thinking outside the box a little. (Or outside the gift set, as it were). Now, who wants to start placing bets on how long it'll be before I own the Memory Cranberry Candle too? I'll start the bidding at an even two days...

If You Like Pina Coladas...

If you haven't become friends with the Jaqua Girls, you need to spend a little time getting to know them.  They create the most wonderfully fragrant delicious treats for your body!  Native California girls, the Jaqua sisters have always been in the spa business, but after traveling the world, they realized that the scents and products they so craved couldn't be found in the U.S.  So, they founded their own company!  I'm just so jealous that they had the drive to do that.  Most of the time I think something would be a neat invention, I can't even muster the energy to write it down, nevermind create an entire business.  The girls decided that tasty treats deserve to be slathered onto our bodies and not just in our mouths.  However, as much as a HUGE fan I am of the other products I've bought from them, the Pina Colada Shower Syrup fell flat.  The scent is coconut-y/pineapple-y but for some reason it doesn't stick to the skin.  The syrup lathered up well and I could smell the tropics when I was putting it on in the shower but as soon as I stepped out, the scent was gone.  I really like a body wash that stays on my skin and this is not one of them.  Since I am such a big fan of their line, I can't be mad at them, but I will know I'll stick to the lotions and body mists instead of wasting my money on their shower gels. 

She's just so creamy

The people at Dove have created a great, new product - Creamy Oil Body Wash.  While I can't seem to find any "oil" in the ingredients, I am impressed with this stuff.  Wonderful lather and it actually made my skin soft enough that I didn't even have to use a lotion when I got out of the shower - talk about conserving time!   Creamy Oil Body Wash comes in three levels of moisture, but the problem is each level has a different scent.  I don't like that Dove controls what I smell like based on the lack of moisture in my skin.  I mean, I could just use the scent I like, but will I be getting enough of the moisturization?  It makes me feel bullied, and just like in fifth grade when Michael Lawrence would threaten to take my lunch, I feel the need to speak up so I won't feel cornered anymore.   I chose the best scent, Cherry Blossom, but it was only the medium moisture level.  I really know I would benefit from the top tier of moisture, but the scent of that one reminded me of wet carpet (you don't think you know the smell of wet carpet until you smell something and go "Oh, yeah, that's wet carpet."  All in all, though, if you can find a scent you like, check out the wash - your skin will thank you for it.