Sunless Tanning Update

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Sunless Tanner Update:

I went to Bloomingdales this weekend with the intention of finally buying that Clarins Sunless Tanner that I have been coveting to start of my sunless tanning summer, but when I got to the counter I realized that the face tanner, while being non-comedogenic, was not oil-free! I am extremely careful about what I put on my face and oil is just not one of those things, especially in the muggy/hot/sticky summer months in NYC. The sales lady did not like the fact that I was not intending to purchase her oil-filled tanner and tried to persuade me to buy it anyway, stating that she uses it herself and never breaks out!

There were two things wrong with that statement. 1) The sales lady had visible acne and 2) The sales lady was as pale as a ghost. Even if the tanner did not cause her acne, she was either lying about using it because she was so pale or she really did use it and it does not work at all. In either case, she was probably the worst sales person for me. I am way too skeptical to take what is told to me at a beauty counter at face value.

Now that Clarins is out for the face I am thinking that I will ease myself into the self tanning process with a cheap-o line of tanners that are also the most widely recommended drugstore pick by beauty editors...the Jergens line. I have to try them out for a few days to be able to report back on my findings so keep an eye out for that post in the near future.

Dial Antibacterial Body Wash in Lavender and Twilight Jasmine

Dial Antibacterial Body Wash in Lavender and Twilight Jasmine:

I have always used this body wash. I can't remember a time before this was in my shower. It is my absolute favorite body wash of all time. It smells fabulous and gets me incredibly clean. When I get out of the shower I get about 4 or 5 comments on how awesome I smell. My cousin has asked me to buy this for her when she can't find it near her house in the city. It's that good.

So when I arrived at the store to pick up a new bottle I was mometarily terrified to see that they had changed the bottle. The first thing I noticed was that this bottle has about 8 more fluid ounces than the other. Why the increase I wondered? Even more worrisome, would the formula be different too?!?

After about a week of showering I can calmly say that this still feels and smells the same. There is even a bonus! The formula is MUCH more concentrated than in the old version so i can use way less in the shower. More liquid and more concentration?? I won't have to buy these half as often as I used to! I'm not sure what caused the people over at Dial to make the change, but I am seriously glad that they did!

Have you ever had a formula change happen to one of your favorite products?

The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter

The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter:

When I was out shopping with my mom the other day we just had to stop outside of the Body Shop because they had samples of their body butters and our hands were just parched. I had not stepped foot inside a Body Shop store since about the sixth grade, but I am not sure exactly why. I went through a crazy Body Shop phase where I had every product that they sold, but then I just ran out of steam. I remember using their Mango Body Butter all through middle school. It smelled so good and was so moisturizing. I figured I would try a little blast from the past and get a tub of the Coconut scent. It smells and feels just as good as I remember. Plus right now they are having a body butter sale where all butters are buy one get one half off so my mom got the lemon scented tub. I love how it reminds me of when I was younger and is still such a great product.

Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion

Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion in Botanical Blend:

I have to rave about my new lotion obsession! I used to use Vaseline's body oil, but it was just too, well, oily. It would get all over my clothes and forget trying to put on jeans with that on my legs! This lotion dries within about a minute and isn't greasy at all. It has the lightest fresh scent which I love because I like unscented lotions that won't compete with my perfume choice of the day. My skin feels the smoothest it has ever felt with any lotion I have used before and that says a lot because I had be quite the lotion collector. I have tried tons of lotions and those others just can't compare. It will take an insanely fabulous lotion to get me to ever stop using this one!

It has STRATYS 3 which you may have heard about if you have seen the impressive acrobatic commercials for this lotion. It basically means that it treats multiple layers of the skin. Hey, I believe it!

My Top Three Perfumes of all Time

My Top Three Perfumes of all Time: Marc Jacobs by Marc Jacobs, Miss Dior Cherie Eau De Parfum by Dior, and Nanette Lepore by Nanette Lepore:

You guys know that I love Lavanila's Vanilla Coconut perfume, but these are the three that I always have to restock, listed below in the order in which I adore them.

Marc Jacobs is my all time, hands down, number one favorite. I can wear it day and night all day every day. If I was stranded on an island this would be my perfume pick for sure. It is a blend of gardenia, wild muguet, musk, cedar, and ginger. If you ask me what wild muguet is I will have to admit I have no idea, but it smells great! This is a fresh yet sexy scent that I can't live without!

Miss Dior Cherie Eau De Parfum is my European love affair. While studying abroad for a semester I took 14 airplanes in four months all around Europe and at each airport I always had to wander the duty free section to smell all of the perfumes. This was the one scent that I kept coming back to and by the time I took my 14th flight (back to America) I knew I had to buy it and I have been hooked ever since. It has notes of green tangerine, pink jasmine, patchouli, crystalline musk, strawberry leaves, and more. This is perfume with a punch. When I wear it, people smell it, and I like that.

Nanette Lepore perfume (I have the roller ball version because I keep it in my purse) is the ultimate girls girl scent. It is so fruity and flowery I feel like it should spew rainbows and kittens out of the roller ball...but in a good way. It has notes of moonstone rose, white peach, magenta nectar, black currant, orange jasmine, Persian lime juice, violet, amber, Indian sandalwood and more. This mini version is ultra-convenient to tote around- just don't ask your guy friend to hold it for you while you hunt for a stick of gum in your purse because he may just drop it...and it may just shatter...all over the floor of Grand Central Terminal. Sometimes I roll some of this on the edge of my pillowcase before I go to bed so that I can smell it while I fall asleep. Mmm!

These are my absolute favorite scents...what are yours?

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve:

My hands get dry in the winter time and I don't mean they feel a bit dry and maybe look a little dull. My hands peel and crack and bleed at the knuckles in winter time. This wasn't always the case, but living in a college house and being a fairly clean person I am always washing my hands or worse...doing dishes! My hands plus scalding water plus extra strength dish soap equals the state of my hands at their worst. This cream, after one application, can turn them from something that may scare small children to soft, smooth and delicate lady-like hands. It absorbs fast and doesn't feel greasy and it also works wonders on dry elbows.

Just a tip: As much as I love this cream, I think Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream works just as well, but for a fraction of the price.

Lavanila Vanilla Coconut Fragrance

Lavanila Vanilla Coconut Fragrance:

This line of products comes with fragrances, candles, body lotions, and deodorant. I originally got this scent in a candle and every time I would burn it my roommates would pop their heads into my room to comment on how good it smelled. I burned the fairly large candle right down to the pan and went out to buy the fragrance of the same scent. It does smell exactly like vanilla and coconuts- like you were baking something sweet on a tropical island. It is truly a heavenly smell.

The bonuses? The brand is all natural and "healthy" because, in the case of the perfumes, it contains 30 different vitamins and minerals and 19 amino acids. The candle was considered healthy because it was clean burning, meaning that it did not eject possibly dangerous chemicals into the air when it was burned down. This fragrance happens to contain anti-oxidants and oils so that it isn't drying like some fragrances that may be loaded with alcohol.

I bought it because it smells fantastic, but that's quite a long list of bonuses don't you think?

Lush Bubble Bar!

Lush Bubble Bar:

When my sister asked what I wanted for the holidays I did not hesitate to answer. I knew I wanted some Lush body products. I had been hearing about Lush for a long time but had never actually tried it myself. Due to the lameness that was FedEx I actually got this mid January, but it was better late than never with this gift! The set came with two bath bombs and two bubble bars. I was too excited to hold off on using the bath bombs to take a picture of them for this post so they are long gone, but the bubble bars last a while because you crumble just a small piece to use at a time.

First of all, they smell AMAZING! My bath smelled great, but I figured, like most bath products, that the scent would not linger past the water. These surprised me by making me smell delicious for hours after my bath. The bubble bars create very little bubbles- maybe just enough to skim the surface of the water- but again, they smell fabulous.

The bath bombs were very fizzy and fun. I had a white one that deposited creamy oils into the tub that made my skin feel like silk. I also had a pink one that deposited little pink plastic hearts all over the bath which was a bit of a surprise. A Lush suggestion? Make all of the bath products 100% dissolve in water! Other than that I can't think of a better gift! I will be a Lush bath product junkie from now on!

The Lush face treatments are another story because I have heard too many people tell me that those products have made them break out. I am serious about my skin care regime and hardly deviate from it...ever. Should I do my day/night skin care as a post?