Category — Pretty Girl: Cosmetics and Beauty Finds

Summer and barefoot go together: freedom, casual, easy living. Heading to a wedding on the beach? An afternoon on your yacht? Poolside at the resort? Don’t let your toes go bare with just a little polish: flash your feet with style!

No, I’m not talking ankle bracelets or toe rings: they’re soooo last millenium. I’m in SoFlo and the trendy beachwear are almost sandals…. literally: Almost Sandals.

I’ve seen them on the beach, but hadn’t seen them in stores until I saw Almost Sandals in the window of  The Legacy in downtown Delray Beach.

Perfect for when you want to go almost bare…with style! $19 at The Legacy or online. Personally: I like the shell style!

The Details:

The past 6 weeks we’ve hosted 5 different sets of overnight guests. Our guests use the guest bathroom, aka TBG’s bathroom. Other than checking to see that it’s clean and fully stocked, I pretty much never go in there. But after the 4th guest commented on the jars of salt scrub TBG has in there (the 5th guest was a 10 year old boy and I’m guessing not alot of scrubbing took place in there) I decided to actually go inspect his shower and sink.

I was with TBG this August in Charleston when we ate at Hyman’s Seafood Restaurant. As they don’t take reservations – and the food is worth the wait – we spent alot of time browsing the Hyman’s Gift Shop, and TBG found the wet bar and started sampling the Holy City Sea Salts. In the end, he purchased 2 jars of the sea salts: Eucalyptus and Lavender. Holy City Salt Scrub leaves your skin feeling clean and soft and moist and smelling wonderful!

Made with all natural ingredients:

• Dead Seas Salt
•  Other Sea Salts
• Coconut Oil
• Grape Seed Oil
• Other Essential Oils

Holy City Sea Salts come in a range of scents:

• coconut
• vanilla lavender
• Ed Hardy
• French Lavender
• chamomille

(I remember sampling something citrusy, but not sure which one that is.)

If you’re not in Charleston any time soon, you can purchase Holy City Sea Salts online at www.holycityskinproducts.com or at 888.456.0382. About $20. Each jar comes with a wooden spoon. Warning: the jars are glass, not my favorite for the shower.

Lucky for me my shower is broken and I’m showering everday in TBG’s bathroom…and using up his supply of Holy Sea Salt Scrub.

From the bed of…

Little Sister Mary is unexpectedly in town this week: she flew from Texas to Chicago for an unplanned surgery, so arrived with 1 suitcase and 1 daughter, 1 husband and 1 son to follow shortly. In all the rush and confusion of course things were forgotten, so from her hospital bed Mary started giving me lists of things she needed from Target, Gap, Bed Bath and Beyond, grocery store, etc:

• hot pink pillowcases
• pink eyemask
• cotton t-shirts
• bottled water and Crystal Light packets
• Monistat Chafing Powder

Monistat Chafing Powder? Wait: you’re in the hospital, shouldn’t we check with your Doctors before you order yeast infection ointments?

Mary looked at me like I’m crazy: Don’t you read the blogs? I use Monistat powder as a primer for my BareMinerals makeup.  Hunh?

Once home I spent an hour googling it: she’s right. Since being introduced, women have discovered that Monistat Chafing Powder has similar ingredients to much more expensive makeup primers: $7.99 for Monistat v $20, $30 or more for similar cosmetic primers. I just converted from wearing moisturizer and concealer to BareMinerals make-up, and living in very humid climates, had been trying to deal with makeup dripping down my face. That’s why I need a primer!

(What’s a makeup primer? I didn’t know either, so I looked it up: it’s a basecoat for your foundation, that leaves your skin smoother and helps the makeup adhere better. So on hot humid days, your expensive powder foundation isn’t running onto your white tank top! Apply after moisturizer, before foundation.)

Who knew? Monistat is now in my medicine cabinet…and happily not for a yeast infection.

Thanks Lil Sis!

We recently decided to split our time between Chicago and SoFlo, which led to all sorts of chaos, challenges and problems. But no problem was greater than the scourge of all women in South Florida: the humidity.

In the North and Midwest humidity is at a critical level only a few weeks each year: rain was the bigger problem. But on rainy days a chic ponytail, brimmed hat and sturdy umbrella could meet the challenge, and all women were equal.

But humidity? To moi eyes there is some secret that South Florida women know to keep their hair sleek and straight instead of the crinkly droopy hair that I was trying to contain with a growing collection of hairbands, elastics, decorative barrettes, and huge plastic clippies. I have thick coarse hair: and lots of it. Normally I just blow my hair dry with a round-brush styling dryer. Which looks fine in SoFlo. For about an hour. [Read more →]

A few months back I was searching for a tinted moisturizer…I never found one I really liked, and resorted to mixing my SPF moisturizer with a few drops of liquid foundation. But my readers had some great ideas. Recently I was killing time at the mall (I hate malls, even the gorgeous Gardens Mall in Palm Gardens) while TBG was at Apple trouble-shooting a software problem. I wandered past Sephora…and remembered the advice of Toma T, who suggested I check out Bare Escentuals.

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I was born blonde…really! On lazy summer days in junior high we laid out in the yard slathered in baby oil, squeezing fresh lemons into our hair: for that natural sun-kissed look. By high school I’d graduated to spraying my hair with Sun-In. And by 16, I’d become a Clairol Girl with natural blonde hair straight from a box.

I'm the blonde

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Just like everyone else I know, one of my 2011 goals was better health: exercising more, eat healthier and sleeping better. A few days ago I saw a blurb online in the Wall Street Journal on NikeWomen’s updated online Training Club. Sounded promising: I travel a lot and having a free online personal trainer sounds like a deal to me!

So I quickly tapped into Nike.com and (with a good deal of effort that I’m saving you here) found the NikeWomen’s Training Club information. After reading through (an overcomplicated) series of information pages and sample workouts, I realized all I had to do was go to iTunes and download the app. Done.  (you must have an iPhone or iPad to use NTC).

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Is the harsh winter weather affecting your skin?

Perfect for dry winter skin: Dove Deep Moisturizing Body Wash $8.99 at CVS, Walgreens or drugstore.com.

I prefer a pump bottle in the shower, so I decant the creamy soap into a plastic pump-style bottle (that I recycled from another soap):

I had coffee, cake and a chat with a friend and she shared her latest beauty tip with me. In town for her daughter’s wedding, the bridal party had manicures at a local day spa. The new discovery? OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go

What’s so special about Avoplex oil?

• leak-proof squeeze tube package
• no-drip thick gel with a paintbrush applicator
• purse size: only .25 oz
• lightly scented replenishing oils: vitamin E, avocado, sunflower, sesame, and kukui nut oils

I found Opi Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go all over the internet for $3.50-$8.00. It was not at my local Walgreens or CVS or Ulta. I suggest a nail salon near you or buying online.

Moi tip: The small size is perfect in your carry-on bag for air travel. Give yourself a little hand treatment while you fly. That’s what my friend is doing right now!

I try to visit a day spa for a facial several times per year, for deep skin cleaning, moisturizing, mini-peels, and general skin maintenance. Often when I’m traveling or if a local spa advertises a special rate, I’ll schedule an appointment as a special treat, and try out a new product or procedure.

But what about at home maintenance? Recently I discovered Olay Regenerist Microdermbrasion and Peel System at my local CVS drugstore. I was shopping for tinted moisturizers, and saw the box, and decided to try it out: encouraged by a $5 off coupon from CVS: $22.99. [Read more →]