How to Dramatically Improve Your Complexion

Product Review: Ageless Derma Stem Cell and Peptide Anti-Wrinkle Cream, $65 at agelessderma.com

Since I only report on the products I truly believe in I’m happy to inform you I have another great one to share with you.

Ageless Derma’s Stem Cell and Peptide Anti-Wrinkle Cream combines seven powerful and clinically proven anti-aging ingredients for one of the most effective anti-aging creams available without a prescription. Containing plant stem cells as well as special ingredients that mimic the effects of botox and fillers without any injections it greatly diminishes lines and wrinkles (including crows feet!) and improves skin-tone and elasticity for a firmer, smoother, brighter, younger looking complexion.

Powerhouse ingredients:

  1. Argireline reduces the depth of wrinkles in the face, especially in the forehead and around the eyes, by reducing muscle contraction.
  2. Coenzyme 10 is an antioxidant that helps the skin to retain moisture and prevents damage to collagen and elastin production.
  3. Matrixyl 3000 improves skin tone and elasticity.
  4. PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica uses the stem cells of a rare Swiss apple famed for its longevity – the Uttwiler Spätlauber – to improve the longevity of human skin cells, protect the skin from UV damage, and assist genes that repair DNA.
  5. Sodium Hyaluronate draws moisture to the skin and maintains the integrity of the barrier function.
  6. Syn®-Coll mimics the body’s mechanisms to produce collagen.
  7. Vialox Powder significantly lessens muscle contraction as an injection-free altnerative to Botox.

To purchase: Ageless Derma Stem Cell and Peptide Anti-Wrinkle Cream, $65 at agelessderma.com

 

 

 

Pucker Up!

Product Review: ChapStick mixstix, $2.99 at Walgreens or www.drugstore.com

If you’ve been reading me for a while you know from an earlier post how surprised I was to fall in love with ChapStick! FYI, I was actually feeling a bit anxious that my limited edition balm in Cake Batter (such an amazing flavor!) was almost gone and then ChapStick’s new mixstixs arrived…whew!

ChapStick has taken it a step further with two-sided lip balms (ie. two different yummy flavors!) that can be worn alone or combined for a third flavor. Choose from Lemon Berry Sorbet, Strawberry Banana Smoothie and Green Apple Caramel, each containing 11 moisturizing ingredients for soft, smooth, deliciously kissable lips for 8 hours.

Though I do apply it throughout the day, my favorite time to use it is bedtime. Hmmmm, not  surprisingly, my husband loves it too!

 

 

Bling it On!

Bold patterns have their place in my closet but I prefer clean lines, minimal details and basics for the majority of my wardrobe while injecting personality with a “notice-me” shoe, bag or other statement piece.

Lately, it’s blingy, bold necklaces that have been taking me from boring to seriously cool. I pair them with jeans and tees, button-downs and even sweatshirts or simple sweaters and sheaths.

Trust me…they make the outfit! Here, my current favorites at every price point.

 

Just Breathe…

I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. I have too many items on my to-do list and haven’t been delegating as much as I should. Instead of tackling things one by one I’ve been “escaping” a bit too much by reading. In the past week alone I’ve read, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Wonder and The Cuckoo’s Calling. FYI, I highly recommend them all!

Clearly, reading isn’t as unhealthy as many other ways people might choose to chillax…say drinking a whole bottle of wine or visiting their friendly neighborhood “pharmacist”…but  still, that’s a lot of books for 7 days, especially when there’s a laundry list a mile long hovering nearby.

This week, I’m back on track, focused and ready to hit my to-do list head on thanks to wellness expert, Dr. Frank Lipman. Click here for article on how to get and stay stress free. No wine glass required!

Share a Selfie…Change the World!

If you could help someone just by taking a photo of yourself, would you do it? Johnson & Johnson makes it that easy.

Their latest philanthropic campaign is simple. Just download their free Donate A Photo mobile app and for every shot you share, J&J will donate $1 to a pre-approved non-profit charity of your choice. You can protect a child from bullying, help children in Africa get clean water, help a baby in Bangladesh stay healthy….just by sharing a picture!

To do, visit donateaphoto.com for an easy how-to and register to get started. Choose a cause from the rotating list of charities, snap a #SelflessSelfie (or any other subject of your choosing) and upload your photo. Share it on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram to encourage friends to get involved, too.

One photo, once a day, change the world!

 

You Glow Girl!

Product Review: Pixi Perfection Palette in Lit-Up Lovely, $28 at www.pixibeauty.com

I’ve never been a huge fan of makeup palettes. I usually end up loving one or two shades and when “the chosen ones” are gone, I’m done with it. The second I saw Pixi’s Lit-Up Lovely, I knew that was about to change–I knew I’d used each and every shade and often! All the shades are neutral and sheer (even the darkest ones) so they truly complement all skin tones making it easy to create a variety of different looks with this one palette.

Eyes: There are 16 eye shadows ranging from vanilla to gold, peach, pink, bronze, chocolate and everything in between. They have a nice shimmer to them and can be worn alone or layered. Whether you’re going for a simple swipe of color or anything from pale and icy to dark and smoky, this palette can do it.

Cheeks: The 3 cheek powders are luminous so you’ll want to be stingy, a little goes a long way. Depending on your complexion they can double as highlighters.

Face: The face powders (a highlighter and a bronzer) are more matte and very natural looking. I like the highlighter for subtle contouring and the bronzer for a natural sun-kissed glow.

Pixi Perfection Palette in Lit-Up Lovely will give you a luminous, flawless face. Talk about appropriately named!

 

 

Trend Report: Spring/Summer 2014 Runway Show / Richard Chai

I love the androgynous hair and understated makeup from James Kaliardos at Richard Chai’s Spring/Summer 2014 runway show.

Using Maybelline products he created bold brows, glossy nude lips and subtle eyes plus a bit of light at the temples, cheekbones, bridge of nose and chin for a finished look that enhanced, rather than competed with, the clothing.

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The Not So Forbidden Fruit

The fall season always gives me visions of apple pie and apple sauce and baked apples and apple everything so this past weekend we piled into the car and headed about 30 minutes away to Alstede Farms, a great pick-your-own farm (and so much more) about 30 minutes away. If you’ve never taken a bite of an apple straight from the tree I highly recommend you run, don’t walk, to your nearest pick-your-own farm and give it a go. Every apple is crisp, juicy and better than anything you could possibly buy in a grocery store.

Besides apples Alstede’s has pears, peaches, flowers, eggplant, blackberries, corn, potatoes and so much more, but it was apples we came for so after petting a few horses, goats and sheep and checking out the fancy chickens, turkeys and peacocks we headed into the orchards to pick. Of course we tasted a few just to make sure they’d be as scrumptious as we knew they would be and then we filled up our carton as high as it would go. When it was all said and done we had over 20 lbs. of apples!

We planned on baking something that very night but were too exhausted to do anything more than watch the Giants get defeated. A few days after putting them in the fridge and snacking on them every chance we got I noticed the pile was dwindling…it was now or never! We decided on The Barefoot Contessa’s Old Fashioned Apple Crisp. After school yesterday the kids and I got to work peeling, coring and slicing apples, zesting and juicing lemons and oranges, adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that and before we knew it we had the most delicious dessert ever. Truly!

Ready to give it a go yourself? You will not be disappointed! Click here for recipe.

 

Exceptional Epsom Salt

When I was a child, we had a huge box of epsom salt under the bathroom sink. My mom said it was good for me and would pour some in the tub before my weekly (!) bath. Then I grew up, went off to college and didn’t think about Epsom Salt until now actually. Turns out my mom was right, it is good for you.

Magnesium, a naturally occurring mineral is important for many systems in the body, especially the muscles and nerves. Epsom Salt, also known as Magnesium Sulfate, is easily absorbed through the skin when dissolved in water and can help you boost your magnesium levels. Here, some other uses:

  1. Soothe sore muscles by adding 2 cups of Epsom Salt to a tub of warm water. Soak for about 20 minutes.
  2. Polish skin by adding a tbs. of Epsom Salt to your usual face or body cleanser.
  3. Relieve a headache. Evidence suggests that soaking in a soothing epsom salt bath helps.
  4. To soften, deodorize and refresh tired feet add 1/2 cup Epsom Salt to a basin of warm water.
  5. Get textured, beachy-hair with a homemade sea-salt spray. Mix 1 cup hot water, 2 tbsp. Epsom Salt and a small squirt of hair conditioner in a spray bottle. Spritz hair and let air-dry.
  6. Draw out a splinter by soaking the affected area in an Epsom Salt bath.
  7. Easily clean tile and grout with a mixture of equal parts Epsom Salt and liquid dish detergent.
  8. Relieve itchy skin and bug bites by dissolving a tablespoon of Epsom Salt in 1/2 cup of warm water. Allow to cool before applying to skin with a compress.
  9. Boost plant growth, by adding a tablespoon of Epsom Salts to the soil below them weekly.

for product information or locations, visit www.drteals.com.

OroGold Rush!

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I recently met Denise Richards, accomplished actress and new face of OroGold Cosmetics. We were at the Grand Opening of NYC’s OroGold  store for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Q&A session.

I have to admit, I’m a gossip junkie so I was more than excited to meet Denise and ask away…but then I found out I wasn’t allowed to ask any personal questions. What I was allowed to ask her about was beauty. And truth be told, this collaboration might help explain why she looks like she hasn’t aged a bit. Though she credits her looks with a clean, healthy lifestyle, eating lots of fruit, vegetables, olive oil and avocados she also uses OroGold’s skincare products containing pure 24K gold and cutting-edge ingredients. She absolutely raved about the Termica Energizing Mask, $598, which she says “you can actually feel working–you put it on and it heats up your skin and goes to work.” The heating action opens the pores allowing the active Vitamins A, C, E and Algae extract to really penetrate.  Another favorite is the 24K Vitamin C Booster Serum, $198, for instant illumination and anti-aging properties.

There’s no doubt about it, in person Denise is even more stunning than she is in photos…and that’s saying something. She has a glowing complexion and that “it” factor that can’t quite be quantified. The Denise I met seems smart, hard-working, down-to earth, relatable and clearly has very good taste in beauty products. For more information or to purchase, go to www.orogoldcosmetics.com.

 

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