Beauty is Easy

Skip The Waiting List And Win shu uemura Art Of Hair Essence Absolue

Storey — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:21:59 +0000

Known for their fun and fresh cosmetics, shu uemura launched their Art of Hair line in the Fall of 2009. They promptly sold out of the Essence Absolue, a multipurpose oil that finally became available again only recently (they had to set up a waiting list!).

I asked my PR rep to send me a sample as soon as I saw it was available again and oops! she accidentally sent me two. Lucky for one of you – that means I have one to giveaway (details at the end of the review).

So what’s so special about this Nourishing Protective Oil? Well, you can use it as a leave in conditioner. You can use it as a pre-shampoo treatment. And you can use it as an overnight treatment for dry hair. The formula is a very light, “dry” oil that doesn’t leave your hair feeling greasy. It adds moisture to dry hair, tames frizzy hair, and leaves your hair looking super shiny.

I tried out the product in all the suggested ways. One word of caution – I have shoulder length hair and using one pump as a leave-in before blow drying was a little too much. It left my hair looking like it needed a washing. On my second attempt, I used a half pump and only applied from mid-shaft to the tips of my hair. The result? Super soft, super shiny hair.

Using as a pre-shampoo treatment is a good idea for those with damaged hair. The oil can help protect your fragile tips while you suds away at your scalp (they suggest 4 pumps). This technique with my usual shampoo and conditioner left my hair feeling super soft.

As an overnight treatment, they suggest 4 pumps applied in sections to your hair and massaged into your scalp. I love they scalp treatment, but 4 pumps was a lot for my hair and left me with a greasy pillowcase and a breakout along my hairline. Next time I’ll opt for a showercap before hitting the hay, because it did leave my hair in great shape for a week and gave me relief from my dry and itchy scalp.

If you want to skip the line and see what all the fuss is about, enter for a chance to win a bottle for yourself.

You can enter up to 3 times:

Sign up to receive our updates by e-mail
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BE SURE TO LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENTS ON THIS POST TELLING ME IF YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER, FOLLOWER AND/OR FAN IN ORDER TO RECEIVE AN ENTRY!

One winner will be randomly selected after March 21, 2010 at 11:59pm MST. Open to US Residents only. Good luck!

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Quiz: What Five-Minute Celebrity Makeup Look Should You Try?

Storey — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:01:51 +0000

Even out your skin tone and brighten your eyes the way A-listers do — in no time flat

Got 10 minutes to spare? First, take this quick quiz to find your celebrity muse (we’re pretty sure it takes about five minutes). Then use your results to try a totally customized five-minute makeup routine.

Take the quiz

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Convenient Natural Beauty: ONE Natural Beauty At Target

Storey — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:55:09 +0000

Target has brought you, yet another boutique-style line. Adding momentum to the natural product movement ONE is a line of bath and body products in recyclable packaging. I tested out the Bar Soap in Sweet Honey and Lip Butter Balm in Coco-coconut.

The Bar Soap comes in a recyclable conatiner and is a large bar of glycerin based soap. The ingredients are 98% natural and the Sweet Honey is made for sensitive skin. The soap smells faintly sweet and very soapy. The bar is a creamy soap with a clear pink strip. It looks pretty, but I have no idea what each section is supposed to do. The soap lathers well and left my skin feeling clean. It wasn’t as drying as your typical bar of soap, but did leave my skin feeling a bit tight without using a moisturizer.

The Coco-coconut Lip Butter Balm comes in a small metal tin packaged in a recyclable bag. The balm has a pina colada scent to it and is a nice consistency – it goes on smooth and isn’t greasy. The balm absorbs nicely and left my lips feeling soft for hours. I’m not wild about pina colada, but there are 5 other varieties.

The products are pretty basic with pretty colors and simple scents. But there are some interesting products I’d like to check out, including bar shampoo and conditioner (I bet they’d last a looong time!) and a solid lotion bar. With prices ranging from $2.99 – $9.99 it’ll be affordable to check them all out.

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Best Products For Oily Hair

Storey — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:33:34 +0000

Part ways with your oily strands and start loving your hair again

Are you part of the “I hate my oily hair” club? Well now you can cancel your membership. We’ve got the best products and remedies to keep your hair under control — everything from clarifying shampoos that get rid of oily build-up to thickening mousse that helps your thin, oily hair look fuller.

See products

No 11: Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion, $23

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 8.1

“It gives the hair some “tooth” so it’s not slippery …”

No 10: Bumble and bumble Sumowax, $27

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 8.2

“It doesn’t weigh down my thick hair, perks up my roots, and lasts …”

No 9: Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo, $5.59

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 8.4

“Makes my hair feel deep down clean without stripping the natural oils …”

Want to see what other products made the list? Click here!

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Vote For Your Favorite Beauty Products

Storey — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:31:32 +0000

The polls for the first annual TotalBeauty.com Awards are open!

We’ve got 59 categories of beauty products up for awards — everything from mascara to shampoo. And while our editors are busy testing products to choose the official Total Beauty Award winner, we’re inviting you guys to name the “Readers’ Choice” winner. Hurry — voting ends March 31!

Go vote

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Smell Like Summer With Atelier Cologne’s Orange Sanguine

Storey — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:55:40 +0000

Citrus seems to be popping up in new fragrances left and right. It’s a trend I’m on board with. The citrus is incredibly refreshing and reminds me of warmer weather. I’ve been test driving Atelier Cologne’s Orange Sanguine. The scent has top notes of blood orange and bitter orange, heart notes or jasmine and geranium and is tempered by base notes of amber woods, tonka beans and sandalwood. The base notes help this scent from smelling floral and would actually make it a good unisex scent.

Atelier Cologne is a pretty exclusive line of fragrances, sold only at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. The raw materials come from two companies in Grasse, France that have been around since the 1800s and the glass bottles come from a Parisian company founded in the 1623. The 5 fragrances in the line come in simple, substantial, rectangular glass bottles with an old world apothecary feel.

All that luxury does make the fragrances a little pricier than your usual bottle of perfume ($145-$175), but you are getting a pretty unique fragrance.

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Solve Your Skin Care Woes — For Good

Storey — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:29:48 +0000

Proven tricks, tips and secrets to look and feel forever young

Whether aging has been creeping up on you since last year, or just hit you like a ton of bricks this morning, it’s a huge, depressing realization to us women. But there are proven ways to slow (and even reverse) the signs of aging — from the sagging skin under your chin to brown sunspots on your face. See what dermatologists and makeup artists say will keep your skin in great shape, no matter your age.

See tips

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Reduce Your Risk – Sunscreen Everyday! We Check Out Lavera

Meghan H — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:37:43 +0000

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you know that it’s important to wear sunscreen everyday. Of course, if you have been living under a rock then you’re completely shaded and therefore don’t have to wear sunscreen; so rock liver-unders, you are hereby excused. Another trend in just about every product under the sun (pun intended) is natural/organic/botanical-based/paraben-free/vegetarian/fill-in-the-blank-good ingredients. I recently took a deeper look at this eco-beauty trend and found that not all natural products are created equal. In that light (couldn’t help the addition of one more pun), meet my new buddy: Lavera Naturokosmetik Anti-Aging Sun Screen ($24.99 Target). Along with my human-lab-rat reaction to the product, I’ve checked it against what the experts at the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database (www.cosmeticdatabase.com) had to say.

First, the screen is SPF 15 BUT it blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Current standards in the U.S. only require a measurement in the level of UVB protection (so, you may see “broad spectrum” protection advertised on your sunscreen but the Skin Protection Factor, SPF, is only measuring UVB rays blocked) but European regulations require UVA and UVB protection in a 1:3 ratio. UVB rays only penetrate the epidermis (top layer of your skin) and are not as strong during winter months when the sun is farther away. UVA rays are stronger than UVB rays, are the same strength year-round, penetrate much deeper into your skin (as well as through windows and light clothing), and have been scientifically proven to cause greater harm. Lavera conforms to European standards, so it has a guaranteed level of UVA protection that you may not find with other screens.

The product goes on pretty thick. The box claims that the “new improved formulation results in less white film,” but it still feels Kabuki-esque with out a vigorous rub in. You Twilight fans out there may go for this aesthetic, but, though another company claim touts this screen as the “perfect makeup primer,” I probably won’t be using it as such. One thing that I like about the application is that you can definitely see if you’ve missed any spots! Unlike synthetic screens that do a good job of instantly penetrating the epidermis, I could feel the weight of the product, but I appreciate knowing that there is a physical sun barrier on my fair skin (not to mention the knowledge that there are no harmful synthetics making their way to my bloodstream).

The EWG gives Lavera high marks for sunscreen effectiveness and scores it at a 1 for hazard level (with 10 being extremely hazardous and 0 as the least hazardous. For kicks, I checked what the EWG had to say about my normal daily screen/moisturizer and found that it has an 8 hazard for exposure to UVA rays as well as a level-6 overall hazard level – yikes!). I dig that you can apply this and don’t have to wait 20 minutes before going out in the sun; mineral-based screens are a physical shield and therefore effective immediately. The smell can best be described as Pumpkin Spice Latte… like Pumpkin Spice Latte held right under your nose… and it’s strong but not entirely offensive.

Because most of my days are spent hanging at home and exploring the great outdoors with my little girl, I’m comfortable sporting a bit of a pasty sheen knowing that my fair skin is well-protected and not being subjected to a chemical bouquet. However, for public outings, I’ll keep looking for something with a little less kick.

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Gorgeous, Put-Together Women Spill Their Beauty Secrets

Storey — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:27:19 +0000

Find out what products and tricks these beauties swear by to look on top of their game

From managing celebrity clients to running major beauty empires, these successful women don’t have a moment to spare. Here are their tricks to always looking put-together no matter their level of stress. Not-so-stressed yourself? They work on a simple, day-to-day basis too.

See secrets

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Your Go-To Five-Minute Makeup Routine

Storey — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:37 +0000

How to look fabulous even when you’re pressed for time

Just because you only have five minutes to get ready in the morning doesn’t mean you should run out the door looking like it. (Unless you’re going for the bedhead, just-woke-up look. In that case, heave ho!) This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to get a gorgeous makeup look in under five minutes.

See tutorial

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