Almost Pretty

Borghese Splendore Brightening Makeup

We are naturally incredulous about shimmers and other ski brightening products. The appeal of brightening one's complexion is natural but we have never actually seen a product that delivered on the promise of a more luminous complexion through the power of sparkles! You usually look like you spent too much time in arts and crafts with the rest of the toddles. But we recently were given a sample of Borghese's Splendore Brightening Makeup at the opening of their new boutique at the Manhattan Bloomingdales.

We generally mix tinted moisturizers to achieve a color that goes with our unique skin tone but we were out of our lighter shade on this particular day. Searching for a solution to "mask face" we mixed our darker tint with the Borghese. It was love at first application. We literally glowed just as one does after a good facial or on one of those perfect good skin days. We may actually spring for this product when the sample runs out.

100% Pure Shea Butter

We are beginning to feel like we have full body chap with the frigid temperatures we have been experiencing. Having been up in the mountains we began to experience serious aprés ski skin on our face with full on red blooms and peeling skin.

We somehow ran out of our facial moisturizer and left in a bind we began applying the 100% Pure Shea Butter we had purchased at our favorite hometown herbal apothecary Rebecca's. And low our ski skin was repaired! We are seriously considering using shea butter on our entire body and chuck the rest of the products we dabble in. We would even go so far as to suggest bulk ordering shea butter as the prices one sees for shea butter products can be pretty astronomical. But if you like L'Occitaine has 100% Shea Butter. Its quite pricey at $8 for .25 ounces when you consider that buying in bulk will give you a pound for 7 dollars.

NARS Makeup Your Mind Beauty Guide

Russian-American poet Joseph Alexandrovitch Brodsky said that "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." And even if you prefer a life that is more visually inclined there is still much one can do to learn. This NARS Makeup Your Mind Beauty Guide includes 65 before-and-after photos of models of various ethnicities and looks, including Naomi Campbell and Erin O'Connor to help you learn about the entire process of makeup application from start to finish.

Tarte FRXtion Sugar Lip Exfoliant and Balm

We just got our hands on Tarte's FRXtion Sugar Lip Exfoliant and Balm and we are addicted. With its dual sided action it moisturizes and exfoliates all at once. Plus it has teeny tiny little mirror! Nothing like a touch up mirror when you are applying what is essentially chapstick. Not to mention it tastes FANTASTIC.



Whatever your oral affliction, Tarte has got just the Rx for you! One side of this stick contains brown sugar grains to scrub your pout smooth, and the other side, a vitamin E balm to help soothe dryness.

Origins Rich Rewards™ Intensive Moisture Treatment For Scalp and Hair

The changes in seasons always sends our hair for a loop. But lately we have been having a worse time with our scalp. Nothing like a little stress eczema to make you feel bad about your locks! But Origins Rich Rewards™ Intensive Moisture Treatment For Scalp and Hair is miraculously soothing to not only dry hair but an itchy scaly scalp.

Once weekly (though we say use it as often as feels good), after shampooing massage a handful of this rich cream into scalp and finger through hair to ends.

The Wheat Protein is great for  hair health but vitamins E and A really do wonders for the scalp. Plus it smells like Pear, a fruit that is at its best in the late fall months. It makes us want to settle in for half an hour with a good magazine and a nice bowl of Bartletts or maybe an D'anju or two!

I Care!

As a child of the eighties I was always a fan of the Care Bears. Thus when I see the new Stella McCartney beauty line "Care by Stella McCartney I can't help but remember the simple parables of everyone's favorite ethical bears. And indeed those bears would have been a fan of her 100 organic line that steers clear of petrochemicals and silicones. In fact, I could see a a whole pack of bears reciting "I Care" with tummies aflame buying out her entire line.

Sephora has a fantastic editorial feature on Stella and her rationale. I say we let her speak for herself.

My skin is important to me. It's one of the first things people notice about you. But for many years now, I have found myself dissatisfied with what is available in the world of skincare. Just because I don't want to put something unnatural on my face, doesn't mean I should have to make sacrifices. I ask the same things as you do from my skincare; I want it to help me feel and look younger, more radiant. I also expect it to feel rich and luxurious and to sit proudly on my bathroom shelf. It needs to fit into my lifestyle in an uncomplicated way. Why shouldn't it be possible to adopt a more natural, organic lifestyle without foregoing luxury?

This is what Care by Stella McCartney is all about. I believe it is possible to have all these things and not compromise one's personal beliefs and the safety of the environment. This range of skincare challenges the more conventional, chemical-based lines and asks the question: "Why are we more conscious of what we put into our bodies, but perhaps pay less attention to what we put on our skin?"

Only pure organic extracts contain exceptional levels of essential nutrients. Care is formulated with 100 percent organic active ingredients and zero percent petrochemicals and silicones. Officially Ecocert-certified as organic and ecological, the gentle formulas are completely free from chemical preservatives and are protected by simple airless packaging, when required. The fragrance is also made from 100 percent organic essential oils, so your skin can really benefit from nature's resources to help ease the stress that everyday life brings.

I hope you enjoy the benefits.
—Stella

The benefits seem clear, but then so does the price tag. Most products run in the $60 to $70 range, but with titles like Radiance+Youth Elixir it is easy to see the appeal. Let's just hope that those of us who don't have the unlimited resources of CareaLot can afford to indulge in ethical behavior.

Jason Red Elements Red Clay Masque

One of the best natural solutions to irritated, red, broken out skin that I have found is Jason's Red Clay Masque. Does like treat like as they say in homeopathy? This cleansing and detoxifying masque is gentle enough to use on sensitive skin but still packs a punch for even the most problematic oily skin.

Red Tea, Peptides and Copper increase collagen production for softer, healthier skin while Red Clay absorbs impurities, minimizes breakouts and reduces excess skin oils. I find the mask works just as well on breakouts as it does on ezcema, instantly soothing whatever ails me. It is hypo-allergenic, fragrance and paraben free so you can feel good using it.

Bésame Delightful Rose

In the dead of February the city can be a pretty bleak place. When all you can see is dirty slush and oily water it is tough to remember nature. One product that can help evoke some of the scents of life outside the urban landscape is Bésame's Delightful Rose.

Besame Delightful Rose Balance Moisturizing Lotion is specially formulated with natural botanical oils and rose extract to help promote and maintain soft, smooth, and youthful looking skin.

With all natural wild rose extract it smells sweetly of rose on a spring day. If you are looking for a facial moisturizer with no mineral oils, lanolin, or color additives but with super effective all natural moisturizers like squalene this might just be a good fit for you. The light scent sticks with you for hours too. At $45 it is priced comparatively to most major facial moisturizers.

Honey Honey

Honey in your morning tea is soothing to the throat so it makes sense that honey would be soothing to other delicate areas. Holy Mud's delicious Wild Oat and Honey Mask is perfect for delicate or dry skin. The moisturizing mask is exceptionally gentle even as it is packed with antioxidants.

Farmaesthetics

Everyday our skin is subjected to dust, dirt, pollution and a host of industrial toxins that are simply part of living in America. Add to that harsh temperatures, hormones, and stress and it is no wonder that many of us look for beauty products that are not only pure but counteract many of nastier elements of life. The natural and sustainable beauty movement aims to do just that.

Farmaesthetics is on the forefront of the natural beauty movement.

Committed to Sustainable Beauty, Farmaesthetics products are made with organically grown herbs and flowers from American family farms and are free of artificial preservatives, parabens, petroleum products, dyes, fillers, fragrances and talc. We believe what is not in a product is just as important as what is. …so please read your labels !
I was lucky enough to try the Fine Herbal Cleanser, Sweet Milk Exfoliate and Nourishing Lavender Milk.

I have been experiencing dry, itchy, red skin and even ezcema with the cold weather so I was intrigued to see what these products could do for me. The cleansing milk with its Geranium extract was smooth and sweet smelling and apparently just right for winter skin.

This herbal formulation is perfect for cleansing all skin types, including skin that is overly oily, or skin with dry or oily patches. True geranium (different from the scented plant used for ornamentation) combined with lavender and witch hazel, has astringent, antiseptic properties and is useful in balancing the production of sebum (the skin’s own natural moisturizer). The balancing of extreme conditions is precisely the premise of herbalism - to restore balance thus restoring the optimum condition for a clear healthy complexion. The balancing action arrives from the fact that geranium stimulates the adrenal cortex. This is important because the hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex are primarily “regulators”, governing the balance of hormones. In addition, True Geranium is known to stimulate the lymphatic system, helping the body to eliminate fluid. Lavender has been used for centuries to tighten slacking, crêpey tissue. These two herbal oils, combined with witch hazel and glycerin (which attracts moisture), cleanses and counters damage from exposure to harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants.

In fact my skin did feel noticeably better afterwards. I then went to try the Sweet Milk Exfoliate. This ended up being a little tricky as it is dry product in a glass container and I was wet in the shower. Measuring out dry product to use while soaking wet presents a unique challenge because you don't want to ruin the product that you aren't using! That said, once I got it measured out it created a fantastic creamy lather. Mmmmm!

But my favorite product? The Nourishing Lavender Milk. For the first time in days my skin didn't get itchy within a few minutes. No wonder Harper's Bazaar called it their favorite organic product.