Secret Clarisonic Weekend Sale!
Hurry, expires 03.31.08!
Powers of Rice - Origins’ new exfoliation products
I eat rice every time I visit my parents’ place. There are so many kinds of rice and they are all very nutritious to various degrees. Origins‘ new exfoliation product line called Modern Friction has ingredients derived from purple rice. Have you had purple rice? It is the king of all rice. Its nutritional values are 10 times better than the regular ol’ white rice. It’s high in anti-oxidants and fiber. And it’s so delicious Chinese people usually use it to make dessert. There’s even purple rice ice cream! Next time you visit China, you must try it. Yum! With Modern Friction, the rice starch wrapped in shea butter and aloe cream is said to be extra gentle yet extremely effective at sloughing the dead skin cells leaving your skin radiant, both for face and body. I tried to keep up with the scrubs in the long winter, but the skin on my body just can’t stay smooth and supple long enough. Don’t you just hate that crepiness on the legs? Now soon we’ll be ditching our tights, we gotta make sure our legs are shiny and smooth for the world, right girls? I just tried a sample and I loved it. I’m going to get a full-size and continue with it and see if the benefits are really long-lasting.
Modern Friction™ for the Body $49.
Modern Friction™ Nature’s gentle dermabrasion $39.50. This one is for the face.
Modern Fusion™ Skin transforming catalyst $36. I must try this purple rice serum since after the exfoliation you gotta treat your skin to some serious care. Load ‘em anti-oxidants!
dr. brandt Anti-Oxidant Water Booster - Blueberry
If you want to get a ton of anti-oxidants into your body instantly, you might want to try Dr. Brandt Skincare Anti-Oxidant Water Booster - Blueberry 2 oz
($35). You add a drop of this blueberry flavored water booster to your water and get the same amount of anti-oxidants from 15 cups of green tea! I am a green tea fiend. But I have yet to drink 15 cups of green tea in a day! Believe me I have tried, I ended up going to the bathroom a LOT, lol. If you are already drinking green (or black, red, white) tea daily and taking multi-vitamin pills, this is a convenient way to add more anti-oxidants. A girl can never have enough anti-oxidants to have youthful-looking skin, a stronger immune system, and overall body health. This is also available in the original and pomegranate flavors.
Philosophy the microdelivery peel mini peel pads
Do any of you get regular chemical peels? I’m scared of the whole idea of chemical peels. They always sound tres harsh for me. Besides I try to exfoliate regularly so I don’t know if they are that helpful for me yet. But once in a while my skin really needs a good sloughing, especially now after a long winter when my skin’s at its dullest. philosophy the microdelivery peel mini peel pads (60 pads) ($35) is the perfect solution for those of us who are a little timid about a full-on peel. Wiping on these pads is more like applying toner after you wash your face. They are really gentle, but with lactic acid it gets rid of the dead skin cells easily. And they are infused with loads of antioxidants to replenish the skin so it doesn’t feel like you are putting your face through a vigorous workout like when you are scrubbing your face. And if you are into the hard-core chemical peels, these can be a complement for between them. And remember to wear sunscreen ’cause your new smooth skin will need extra protection.
Clarins Summer Slimming Program
Even though we are still having so much snow here, but summer’s not that far away if I really think about it. Wanna get a jump on getting your body bikini ready? Join the Clarins Summer Slimming Program! I haven’t worked out one bit this winter. Like my guy says, I have been hibernating. I plan on dusting off my sneakers and stepper soon after we move into our new house. But I’m a lazy bum, if there’s a lotion out there that I can rub on myself in hopes of smooth tight legs, I will do it. Clarins’ anti-cellulite lotions have dominated the market for many years now. My best friend at work used it the whole time she was pregnant and a year after she had the baby. Her legs are dimple free. I suspect her healthy diet had a lot to do with that too. But hey, if you can get extra help from this, why not? Don’t expect to lose weight or inches using these. But if you are looking to tighten, tone, and smooth out the orange-peel thighs, definitely try them. In addition, I have a secret weapon too, drink loads of green tea, the loose leaf kind (I don’t trust the tea bag variety, you don’t know what kind of quality of tea was used to put in the bag). Green tea’s like the garage cleaner for your body.
Total Body Lift Double Edition $81 for two tubes!
With Bamboo Powders - Softens, Smoothes, Firms $34
Firming, Toning - 100% Pure Plant Extracts $47
Streamlines, Reshapes Waistline, Tightens Skin $87
SpaLook.com coupons galore
Anyone shopping for popular spa and boutique skincare and beauty brands? Spalook.com’s the best place to go to for its huge selection and low prices. Its lowest prices are guaranteed, or they’ll refund you for 115% of the difference in price! And every order comes with free samples. It’s a great site to load up on your dr. brandt, Molton Brown, Peter Thomas Roth, Freeze 24/7, Thalgo, etc. I have found a bunch of SpaLook’s coupons. Hope you find them useful! 
Get 10% off your $100 or more purchase at SpaLook.com. Coupon Code: Spa10
Get a FREE Sundari 5-piece set for dry skin when you spend $125 or more! Code: ASUND
Get a FREE SuperSmile Whitening Toothpaste (a $19 value) when you spend $45 or more. Code: AST
My new favorite store - StrawberryNET.com
On the weekend I went to Toronto’s Pacific Mall (North America’s biggest Chinese mall. Anybody from Toronto? Raise your hand :). I freaking love that mall, I can spend a whole afternoon there. With some vendors you can even haggle the prices ;). You can find all the popular skincare brands from Asia there. I splurged on some Kose products. Kose is so immensely popular in Asia, and its toner is one of the most highly demanded skin-brightening products. My cousins all sear by it. I got this Kose Medicated Sekkisei for $65. Then I went on StrawberryNET.com and it’s only $45! Now I know where to check first before going to the stores. StrawberryNET.com’s awesome. Their prices are really competitive, up to 50% off all skincare, cosmetics, and fragrances’ retail prices. And they offer FREE SHIPPING worldwide! So it’s great to try out brands that aren’t available in your area or if they are, they are probably marked up ridiculously in stores. If you become a new customer this month you can get a FREE Lancome lip color with any purchase over $25
!
Ask Petite Chou - favorite drugstore brand moisturizers
So dear reader Lisa emailed me asking what my favorite drugstore brand moisturizers are. I love to experiment when it comes to skincare and I’m open to both department store brand ones and drugstore ones, I literally will try anything except the ridiculously priced ones (’cause the claims usually are ridiculous too). I definitely have my drugstore favorites. If they work great on you, why go for the pricier version, right?
Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum, Fragrance Free $17.52. Olay used to be such a ho-hum brand. But ever since the Regenerist line came out, it’s been a favorite for me. This serum’s truly amazing, it makes my skin unbelievably silky and smooth and because it’s so light weight it’s perfect for my oily T-zone. And it fights the appearance of skin discoloration and wrinkles. There’s also a SPF 15 version, which is perfect for day wear. It goes perfectly under makeup, doesn’t pill or ball up like many other sunscreens, which is tres icky!
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle, Anti-Blemish Cream $11.60. I’ve been using Neutrogena since my teen years. It used to be a line focusing on teenage pimple-proned skin. But they’ve expanded to have great anti-aging products too. When this anti-wrinkle and anti-blemish cream came out, I thought it was really thoughtful of Neutrogena to address two problems in one cream. It is antioxidant-rich and also contains salicylic acid which exfoliates the pores to help prevent blemishes.
Almay Daily Moisturizer for normal/combo skin with grape seed SPF 15 $10.49. I didn’t pay too attention to Almay’s skincare stuff until not long ago when I read some great reviews about this excellent moisturizer (Almay’s One Coat Nourishing Waterproof Thickening Mascara
is amazing!). I figured anything that is suitable for my oily t-zone and has sun protection AND has antioxidants (ones extracted from grape seed are potent) is definitely worth a try. It’s been one of those moisturizers that I recommend to friends and usually get a surprising reaction out of them.
Dove Sensitive Essentials Sensitive Skin Facial Lotion, Sensitive Skin $6.75. Definitely not a fancy one, but a really solid moisturizer that does its job. I find sometimes after I put on a very light-weight serum, some parts of my face still need more moisture, this is a great way to layer over the serum to seal in the moisture. The antioxidants and anti-irritants (hence good for sensitive skin) ingredients are terrific for everybody
Aloette Night & Day Face Cream Duo
Aloette’s been around for almost 30 years. It’s one of those brands that aren’t interested in being trendy or gimmicky. Their products contain ingredients that are proven to be effective with aloe being their star ingredient, and over the years they have made incredible advances in the technology. I remember watching Aloette’s CEO Christie Cohen sell her line on the Shopping Channel over 10 years ago and last week I was killing time channel surfing and she happened to be on the Shopping Channel promoting her latest new products. She still looked so youthful. It’s like she doesn’t age, she’s been looking the same forever. The latest anti-aging powerhouse from Aloette is this Night & Day Face Cream Duo ($119.90). I love it when beauty companies put SPF in their day cream. It’s really a necessity. Like all Aloette skin care products, these two contain a high percentage of aloe, an antioxidant with anti-microbial and antiviral agents. Aloe is so gentle, perfect for sensitive skin. I’m definitely putting this duo on my wishlist.
Ask Petite Chou - doctor’s skincare lines
This is a question that I’ve been wondering too.
Dear Ma Petite Chou,
There seems to be so many Doctor and Dermatologist created skincare lines. They all have incredible claims and because they are doctors they must know things that we don’t, right? It’s really hard to pick one. Do you have a favorite?
Dana
Doctor created skincare lines are so seductive, aren’t they? Every time I hear about a doctor’s line, I want to try it. I naturally want to believe what the doctor says about the miracles their products can perform. But alas I can’t try them all, most of them tend to be very expensive. I love reading reviews about these products. If you don’t regularly check out MakeupAlley, you should. It’s my fave cosmetics review site. So back to the question, I wish I had a much better picture of all the doctor lines on the market, I can only speak with my very limited knowledge that MD Skincare by Dr. Dennis Gross is my favorite. All of the products are fragrance-free so they do not irritate any sensitive skin. The serums and moisturizers aim to protect and repair skin. So if you are looking for great anti-aging products, invest your money in some of its moisturizers and sunscreens.
MD Skincare Hydra-Pure Oil Free Moisture $75. The best seller for the brand, seriously a formidable moisturizer. I wish this could be a staple on my bathroom counter, but it’s just not cheap. I got it when I was going through a pretty bad phase of breakouts on my face. My doctor prescribed Diffrin for me. It made my skin so dry, red and itchy. But I was scared of putting any moisturizer on my face in fear of making the breakouts worse. My pores just love to trap everything and anything inside them. This moisturizer really helped me through the tough time. Besides containing a boatload of antioxidants and cell-repairing agents that your skin will just happily soak up, it also has this high-tech compound called Chelating Complex which prevents metals in the tap water from binding to your skin cells. Sounds complicated huh? I don’t understand it. I just know the moisturizer makes the skin all nice and smooth.
Powerful Sun Protection SPF 30 Sunscreen Lotion $42. I have a friend who swears by this sunscreen, says it’s much more than a sunscreen, it’s got all the good stuff of a moisturizer plus the sun protection. She just forgoes any moisturizer and wears the sunscreen alone. It also contains the compound Chelating Complex.
Continuous Eye Hydration Advanced Technology $45. This is an all-encompassing eye serum. It provides intense hydration, delivers antioxidants, boosts collagen production, de-puffs the eye area, AND protects against milia-causing residue, you know those pesky white little bumps that grow around the eye when you use a cream that’s way too rich for your skin, well you don’t have to worry about that with this eye serum.
So does anybody use MD Skincare and love it? What other lines do you like? If you have a favorite, please recommend!
Filed under Skincare | Comments (2)Yves Rocher - your best botanical beauty care line
I think I mentioned before that my mom is a loyal customer of Yves Rocher, has been for as long as I can remember since way back when she was ordering from a catalog. Yves Rocher, originally a French company now also available in North America (they have an American site and a Canadian site), believes that the nature is the source of beauty. They use organic botanical ingredients in their products. As a teenager, I had my own skincare problems and I had my own favorite products (still do) so it never occurred to me to try any of Yves Rocher’s products just because my mom was using them, although they do have products geared towards young skin. But now as my skincare needs are changing, I’m open to try different lines. My mom always has a ton of the stuff in stock (she’s a little compulsive about ordering from Yves Rocher’s catalog). And she gets free gifts and samples to try all the time. That’s a company that knows how to take care of their customers. So I’ve been stealing from her stash when I ran out of moisturizer, face wash, and shampoo. I’ve been very happy about using them and I really recommend these to you girls. The price point is very affordable too.
Phytum Nutrition Replenishing Shampoo $8 and Phytum Nutrition Replenishing Conditioner $8. These are the shampoo and conditioner that I’m using for dry damaged hair. Silky texture and fabulous scent. Many of the shampoos and conditioners are having the “Buy 1 get 1 Free” deal right now!
Inositol Végétal Optimizing Moisturizer Day 1st Lines Refill $24. I get a little neurotic about aging signs on my fac e sometimes. I’m not happy when I see fine lines under my eyes even if they are temporary. I’m using this anti-wrinkle cream as an eye cream. It’s a little too rich for the oily parts of my face, but just rich enough for the delicate skin around the eye. I don’t like to shell big bucks for a tiny jar of eye cream, this works out great.
Bio Specific Pore Regulation Purifying Cleanser $12.50 and Bio Specific Pore Regulation Mattifying Toner $12.50 $6.25. This cleanser and toner combo works great for my oily/combo skin. Because of the micro-particles in the cleanser, my face is super clean after the wash, the scrub is not harsh at all. I don’t know what the magic is in the toner, it really controls the shine in my T-zone.
Hamamélis Moisturizing Body Lotion $11 $5.50. I seriously love this lotion because it works great and it’s so cheap, you can almost always get it half off. The fruity scent is not fancy, but is very comforting. If you get this, get the shower gel $9, too.
Avon’s Spring Trimmings 6 Piece Beauty Collection
Boy, does Avon have a hot deal for you — Spring Trimmings Beauty Collection a $70 value for only $22.50!
Choose from 2 palettes (Warn Honey or Cool Rose) in this 6-piece collection. Each collection includes:
1. Ruffled Beauty Bag
2. Glazewear Liquid Lip Color
3. ANEW Alternative Intensive Age Treatment SPF 25 Day AM
4. Daring Definition Mousse Mascara
5. True Color Eyeshadow Single
6. Ultra Luxury Eye Liner
Here’s what they say about the collection:
“For skin: Anew Alternative Intensive Age Treatment SPF 25 Day moisturizes, evens out skin tone and protects against age damage.
For a fresh, flirty Spring look: Apply Ultra Luxury Eye Liner along the lash line. Smudge for a subtle look. Apply True Color Eyeshadow Single shade all over eyelid from lash line to crease and lightly under your lower lashes for a halo of color. Finish eyes with one to two coats of Daring Definition Mousse Mascara, starting at the base of lashes and gently moving wand back and forth while sweeping out to the tips. Finish your look with Glazewear Liquid Lip Color for irresistibly colorful shine.”
Sounds pretty good to me! I need to try Anew’s SPF 25 daytime moisturizer. Anew is Avon’s hottest anti-aging line. This moisturizer alone costs more than $22.50. And I love the Glazewear lip glosses. The colors are much richer than the other glosses and they are uber moisturizing.
Lip Guard for your guy
We know the cold weather and indoor heat will wreck our lips if we aren’t constantly slapping on lip care products. Only if our guys knew how to take care of their lips too. For the best softest smooches this Valentine’s Day, get your guy ClarinsMen Lip Guard ($10.50). It’s non-oily and invisible, so your guy doesn’t have to worry about looking like he’s wearing lip balm. And it’s got this ingredient called Centella Asiatica that has a strong healing capacity. His cracked lips will heal in no time.
Gifts are secondary. Love is the most important thing. But gifts are nice…
I love Valentine’s Day not just for the gifts and flowers and candy, but it is a day when you unabashedly declare your love for somebody, even if you have been with your loved one for a long time, you will feel the love you have for each other renewed and strengthened. It’s a day for promises for the future. I know it somehow has become sort of a cliche, in a lot of people’s minds, for guys to propose on Valentine’s Day, but I still think it’s incredibly romantic and sweet. I guess I’m not jaded. And I hope I will never be. I really encourage the self-proclaimed non-romantics (although I don’t believe it when people say they are not romantic, everybody needs romance in their life) to confess and profess their love to their loved one with reckless abandon. That in itself is a precious gift. Other gifts are just icing on the cake. It’s always so nice to see the twinkle in their eyes when they open the gift box, right?
For Her:
Marc by Marc Jacobs Padlock Heart Charm Watch, Red $125
Me&Ro Flowers & Beloved Pendant $190
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Peek-A-Boo Watch, Black $175
Molton Brown Celestial Maracuja Gift Set $149. Luxuriate in a rich body experience. A sublime infusion of organic Amazonian maracuja passion flower and rich essential oils, this is indulgent bathing at its very best, all packaged in a stylishly zipped, blush-hued vanity case. Including Body Soufflé, Shower Crème and Aromatic Dew, the ultimate gift for someone special.
DuWop New Mini Venom Trio $21, the most popular lip plumper on the market, just the thing to help her look and feel sexy on V Day.
The Tink Treasure Chest Pendant in Cream by Disney Couture Jewelry $60, the little chest can be opened and closed. There’s a Treasure Chest ring as well, so cute.
For Him:
Paul Smith Love Heart Cufflinks $95, your man can’t be shy to wear these.
Paul Smith Heart Polka Dot Cufflinks $115, for the guy who’s not afraid to show his softer side.
Anthony Logistics The It Kit $50, set of six best-sellers for the ultimate clean, smooth shave for the guy who’d rather eat dirt than shave. The kit includes Glycolic Facial Cleanser, Facial Scrub, Pre-Shave Oil, Shave Cream, After Shave Balm, Sea Salt Body Scrub.
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Aviator with Top Bar Sunglasses $135, I don’t know what guy doesn’t look fab in a pair of sleek classic aviator sunglasses.
Lacoste ‘Sport Retro’ Messenger Bag
$125, clean, fresh, and no fuss.
Birthday gift from Sephora
It’s my birthday today. If you sign up for Sephora Beauty Insider newsletter, you get a free gift on your birthday
So when I opened my mailbox this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I can go to Sephora to pick up a free super moisturizing Sephora Brand Bubble Bath ($16)! The Vanilla Cupcake flavor is the one that I’ll be getting. Yipee! If you’ve smelled these bubble baths, you know they are heavenly. There are so many soothing scents to pick from. I’m not big on baths, but for my special day who am I to deny myself the luxury?
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