ProductWhores

Be My BFF

Jaqua Beauty was one of my first beauty obsessions.  I'm such a fan of the dessert scents in body products (I had a sad obsession with Jessica Simpson's Dessert line when it first came out) and Jaqua does those flavors better than anyone.  Over the years, I've tried others, but I always find myself picking up Jaqua when the opportunity presents itself.  So when they introduced a new line of products called BFF: Buttercream Frosting Forever, I knew they had to come home with me.  The collection includes products in three different scents - the previously released Pink Buttercream Frosting (yum!) and two new fragrances, Orange Buttercream Frosting and Lemon Buttercream Frosting.  Each scent comes in four different products.  Here's how Jaqua describes them:

• BFF Body Wash ($14) – a sweet indulgence that leaves skin soft and nourished with aloe vera, evening primrose and jasmine extract
• BFF Body Scrub ($12) – an ever-so-gentle scrub for hands, feet and body that exfoliates refreshes the skin leaving it nourished with vitamins and aloe
• BFF Body Crème ($14) – a rich creamy way to indulge and renew your skin with aloe and avocado oil
• BFF Shimmer Lotion ($10) – nourish and illuminate at the same time with this decadent formula that includes aloe and jojoba oil

The formulas are great - rich and full of fragrance, but none of the products dry out my skin like some of the stronger scents tend to do.  I think I'm most in love with the scrub - it's exfoliating, but not harsh at all, so my skin doesn't sting when I use it.  The Body Wash is great too - it lathers up nicely and lingers on my skin after my shower.  And they all layer very well together, which makes me very happy.  There's nothing that annoys me more than when I have to use a body wash that doesn't match the scrub I use after it.  It might be a little OCD, but I like it when my products match, dammit!  (Although the nice thing about these products is that you can mix and match them because they're all in the same Buttercream family.  I don't mind using the Orange Scrub with the Lemon Crème - it just makes me smell even more citrusy).  Another great thing about the collection is that it's very affordable.  You could buy all four products in a scent for only $50.  (That would make a great gift for someone, by the way.  You'll look very generous!)  It's hard for me to pick a favorite scent out of the three, but if I was forced to, I'd probably go with the Orange Buttercream Frosting.  It's got a little bit of an energizing kick to it that I love.  But really, if you love frosting (and who doesn't?) you can't wrong with any of them.

For more info about Jaqua products and to order some of your own, visit jaquabeauty.com.

Wash In Style

I have a ton of body washes, but they all seem to be either the fruity kind (Pink Grapefruit is a favorite) or the sweet kind (Red Velvet Cake is fantastic).  So Liz Earle's Energising Body Wash (it's British, so it's spelled with an "S"!) is kind of a departure for me.  I should try to bust out more often because I'm totally loving it.  The scent is really hard to describe - it's fresh, but it has also this sort of zing to it (for lack of a better word - I don't think I've ever used the word "zing" before, but it just seems perfect in this instance).  The formula has Vitamin E and Damask Rose Water in it, plus a ton of essential oils - Eucalyptus, Geranium, Grapefruit, Peppermint, Petitgrain, Pine, Rosemary, Sweet Orange, and Patchouli.  (And as a side note, Patchouli always reminds me of being in high school and going to Grateful Dead concerts, but the Energising Body Wash won't make you smell anything like a hippie who hasn't bathed in a week).  It lathers up nicely and leaves my skin soft and smelling great, plus I really like that it doesn't dry my skin out at all, so I can skip the moisturizer if I'm feeling lazy (which happens a lot).  All in all, just a great body wash that's currently perched in a place of honor in my (way) overcrowded shower.

For more info, visit LizEarle.com.

Olive Oil isn't just good on pasta

I'm already such a huge fan of L'Occitane so really it's no surprise that the very second their new line of skin care came out, I had to stop by and give it a good once over.  Creme Scintillante (say that three times fast) is a luxurious body cream that has a very light, fresh scent to it and moisturizes better than I even expected.  The creme sinks right in, so there's no waiting, and it leaves a glamorous slight sheen on the skin.  Containing olive butter, olive oil, olive leaf extract (are you seeing the pattern here?) this creme is also paraben-free.  While I do love the scent and its ability to make my skin feel soft, I am a bit panicked because it's limited edition (gasp!) which means that as soon as I get obsessed, it'll be discontinued and I'll have to scour the pages of eBay trying to buy a container that is supposedly new in box.  The entire line contains a lovely hand cream, a body lotion (without sheen), shower cream and bar of soap.  But don't just take my word for it, get to the mall and test it for yourself.  At $34.00, it could make a nice Christmas present for Mom... or yourself.  I'm just saying.

Photo courtesy of L'Occitane

Cool as a Cucumber!

With the summer heat in full swing out here on the west coast, I have been so thankful to have my Soothing Aloe Relief lotion by Jergens to slather on at night.  Not only does this lotion smell amazing (cucumber and eucalyptus) but it really softens and cools down skin on contact (even without having to store in the fridge).  The lotion contains glycerin, which we all know helps to seal in moisture, but it also contains aloe (well, no duh since it's in the name) which helps to heal sunburned skin.  If I even spend a minute in the sun without sunscreen (which I never do, Mom!) I burn ridiculously fast, so having a great lotion like this one on hand would make the healing so much less painful.  I find it especially useful at night when I can't seem to cool myself down.  I just put some of this on my feet and neck (or anywhere feeling particularly hot) and I instantly feel more relaxed.  Breathing in the sweet smell of cucumber never hurts either!  At $5.99 for a 10 oz bottle, it's a mistake not to own it during the summer.

Photo courtesy of Jergens 

Honey Bee Mine

In the interest of full disclosure, as much as I like Laura Mercier's Crème Brulee Honey Bath, I've only used it twice - both times when I was visiting my parents - because they have a fabulous whirlpool tub that just begs to be used, especially when compared to my apartment bathtub that, well, doesn't. Since I'm a sucker for the sweet smells, it seems obvious that I would love the crème brulee scent, and I really did. It immediately made me wish I'd thought ahead and brought some sort of dessert into the tub with me to go along with my glass of wine. And as far as a bath product, it did everything it promised - there was a good amount of bubbles and my skin felt soft when I got out (for another glass of wine, naturally). Also, there is nothing cuter than the little wooden honey dipper that comes with it. It reminded me of something that Winnie the Pooh would carry around with him. Of course, since the honey bath is $40, Winnie probably couldn't afford it, which is kind of sad because that's its one drawback - the price. $40 is a lot of money and considering how infrequently I take baths, it's not really worth it to me. (I used a sample to test it out - thanks, nice lady at Bloomingdales for hooking me up - hope you don't get in trouble if anyone reads this). So I guess I've finally found the place where I draw the line and that place is $40 bubble bath. My mom will be so proud...

Fresh Again!

When Bath and Body Works (sniffle sniffle) discontinued my favorite scent "Fresh Waterfalls," I sort of went into a depression.  There was a span of a few weeks where I couldn't even set foot in the stores, in a lame attempt at a protest I suppose.  Once I finally got over my disappointment, I spent time writing the company begging them to bring the scent back.  I heard nothing.  Zip.  Nada.  Now, however, it appears they are launching a new line of scents in the "Fresh" family (appropriately named the Fresh, Cool & Clean Collection) so I am hopeful they heard my cries.  The first (of two) to be sold in those itty bitty bottles (which are now only $1.00) is Freshwater Cucumber and it's delightful.  It smells of cucumber- but without the melon (as in their other cucumber scent) it has a more mature, spa-like quality to it.  The scent really lasts through hand washings and doesn't conflict at all with any of my perfumes.  I'm especially excited about the other scent - Dancing Waters - that will be debuting later this summer.  Please, please let it smell like my old fave.  If there is any sort of product God, my wish will be granted.

Red Velvety Goodness

I'm kind of fascinated with the south.  I feel like if I lived there, I'd spent the weekends sitting on my wraparound porch, sipping mint juleps and walking down to the local swimming hole to cool off.  I could be sort of like a modern day Scarlett O'Hara, only without the petticoats... or Rhett Butler... or slaves... I also really like some of the southern foods, like red velvet cake.  Why did we not have this on the east coast when I was growing up?  It's the perfect cupcake flavor!  Yes, it's a little alarming to eat something that looks like it's the color of blood, but once you taste it, its pretty easy to get past that.  When I went into Sephora today (again, I was Christmas shopping - it's not all about me, people), I stumbled upon a brand new, limited edition release that Philosophy is putting out with this scent in their 3-in-1 shower gel/shampoo/bubble bath.  It smells just like the cake, all buttery and cocoa-y, so it's perfect for the holidays.  And even better, it's a really original flavor - I've literally never seen a shower gel in this scent before, so that kind of helped me justify purchasing it (okay, fine, sometimes it is all about me...) because I know that I don't have 16 other similar smelling products in my closet.  One thing to be aware of - it's a limited edition and it's only scheduled to be on the shelves for a little while, so you should definitely go get it as soon as possible if you're interested.  The Sephora I was in had only gotten them in the night before and they were already down to just 6 bottles left, so if you wait, you might just be out of luck.  And then you'd just have to go get the real thing to make yourself feel better.  Oh wait, is that just me?

Fresh Baked Cookies

Ever since I read an article about the brand Carol's Daughter years ago, I wanted to try it.  But I'm always a little sketchy on ordering something online without having seen it in person first because I feel like it's a little like online dating - you never really know what you're going to get.  You want to believe that you're going to buy the makeup equivalent of George Clooney, but sometimes you get stuck opening the package to find Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds."  So I was really excited to hear that Sephora had decided to carry the entire Carol's Daughter line this year.  So far, the product I'm really liking is the Body Cleansing Gel in the Almond Cookie scent.  It smells just like a fresh baked almond cookie, which is a nice change of pace from the usual food scented body products.  It foams up nicely and doesn't dry out your skin, which is always a plus.  And most importantly, you can layer the scent with bath oil, body scrub, shea souffle and other items, so if you like it, you can go all out and REALLY smell like almond cookie.  The coolest thing of all is that the company was started by one woman out of her apartment and now it's grown into something so successful, Sephora wanted to sell it.  How awesome is that?  If I had any patience at all, I'd try doing the same thing, but then how would I justify all my trips to the mall?

Does Joss Whedon get residuals for this?

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was one of my favorite shows. In fact, it's probably on my top ten of all time list, so I might've been a little predisposed to liking this product just because the name makes me smile and think about the brilliance that was Buffy and Angel and Cordelia and Willow and Xander... Well, I'm happy to say that Lush has done the show proud because Buffy the Backside Slayer is fantastic. It's basically a bar of cocoa butter with scrubby bits (ground rice and almond and abduki beans) in it that you use to exfoliate. The best part is that even though it's really great at getting rid of dead skin (much like Buffy got rid of vampires), it's not drying, so you don't wind up looking like one of the undead yourself when you get out of the tub (yeah, that one was a stretch, but I'm going with a vampire theme here, so just work with me). I also love it because it makes my skin so soft after using it that I don't even need to use lotion, so if you look at it that way, I'm actually saving money by scrubbing with this. A few things - make sure you're really wet when you use it, otherwise it's kind of scratchy and the experience isn't nearly as pleasant. It's also worth noting that since the bar is mostly cocoa butter, it melts easily, so don't leave your Lush bag sitting in your car in the middle of summer unless you want your purchase to melt and disappear, much like Angel did when Buffy sent him to that hell dimension at the end of season 2. Wow, I know entirely too much about this show...

This Takes the Cake

Satin Sugar from Cake is one of those things you never knew you needed until you use it the first time and then you're hooked (I guess that makes it the product version of heroin. Or, you know, frozen hot chocolate). It's a light mist that comes in a small spray bottle that you use to "refresh" your hair and skin whenever they're asking for it. It's the perfect size to throw in a carry on for a long plane trip, although you should definitely spray it in the bathroom so the cranky guy next to you doesn't have a reason to hog even more of the armrest. I also keep it in my purse for when I'm walking around a city all day - it really cuts through the grime of city life and helps keep you feeling fresh and clean. Even better, it smells like lemon cookies, so it doesn't give you that lingering scent of alcohol other sprays do, leaving everyone to wonder if you're a closet drinker. It's hard not to feel perked up after you spray this on, and at only $16 it's worth it, if only so you don't lose that zen feeling when tourists from Iowa block the crosswalk when you're trying to get to work.