Fighting the Clock With Tay Eye Treatment With Apricot Kernel Oil

The lovely ladies over at Gloss48 sent me a gorgeous package of products that I’ve been trying out. One that I am super crazy about is Tay Eye Treatment with Apricot Kernel Oil ($78). I’d never heard of Tay before tearing into this box, but check out the wood (bamboo) jar — how could I not instantly fall in love with the company? (The logo & words are actually pressed into the bamboo! This may be the single greatest beauty product packaging I’ve ever come across.)

The cream inside is just as lovely as the bamboo jar. It has a pale, creamy lemon-yellow tint to it, but looks just like any other eye cream formulated for the eye area. It’s made from organic ingredients that are good for the skin, and help hydrate and combat signs of aging naturally. The consistency is thick and cushy, but not greasy. I’ve been applying it at night before bed, so it sinks in and does its thing while I sleep. It really does feel great going on; it absorbs quickly and easily, with minimal patting (always good for the delicate eye area), and it feels very light on my skin. Although I wear it at night, this is gentle enough to wear during the day under makeup, too. There’s no harsh or tingly feeling, even though the cream is working hard to get your skin looking better.

In addition to delivering crazy moisture to the area of your face that needs it most, this cream gently removes dead skin cells and helps prep the skin for cell turnover. (You can’t see or feel this happening, but you’ll notice that your skin looks glow-ier after using it for awhile.) The all-natural cream is infused with apricot kernel oil, which helps kick wrinkles’ asses, and dissolve fine lines, too. It also, over time, gently fades dark circles and pigmentation of the undereye area. Supposedly, I’ve only been using it for about two weeks, so I haven’t seen the full benefits of this cream yet, but it just feels so lovely on my skin that I wanted to tell you about it sooner rather than later.

Even though I have yet to see the results, I would recommend this based on how cushy and luxe it feels on my skin (and yes, because of that amazingly chic wood jar).

Tarte Holiday ’12

As we approach the holiday season, the beauty world gets bombarded with crappy gift sets every year. You know, the ones you buy for people or yourself because you think they/you might like one color in that 20-piece lipgloss set, and it turns out, the one you thought was great isn’t even that nice. That is so NOT the case with Tarte’s holiday collection, which I’m super excited about.

These gift sets truly are treats. And the packaging is so pretty and non-holiday-ish, which I love. See what Tarte has in store this holiday season.

Carried Away Set ($54, LE): This kit packs everything you need to take your look on the road. Tucked inside a metallic gold and purple ikat-print folding travel case is an eye palette with 24 eyeshadow shades ranging from matte neutrals to shimmery lush eggplants, forest greens, and charcoals. You can create so many looks for day or night from these shades. But that’s not all–you also get 8 mini Maracuja Lip Glosses; of a mini Amazonian Clay blush in Adventurous (shimmery rose); a mini Lights Camera Lashes mascara in black; a mini translucent finishing powder to balance skin and combat shine; and a fluffy face brush. It’s everything you need (and more) to hit the road in style.

Here’s a close-up of the 24 shadows included in this set.

SmolderEYES and Skinny SmolderEYES Collector’s Set ($39, LE): SmolderEyes is a chubby, highly-pigmented eyeliner that’s awesome for getting a smudgeable, just-got-out-of-bed eye look. This 6-piece set includes shades of Ash Violet (pearly violet), Rainforest Black (intense pearlized hunter green), Champagne (pearly nude), Gunmetal (pearlized greige), Gold (gilded bronze), and 1 Skinny SmolderEyes pencil in Onyx (black).

Fantastic Foursome Amazonian Clay Blush Enthusiast Set ($35, LE): You get four full-size Amazonian Clay powder blushes

LipSurgence Collector’s Set ($34, LE): This 5-piece set includes LipSurgence Lip Luster Matte Lip Tint in Escape (very pale rosy-pink), Enchanted (mid-tone red-tinted berry), Exposed (neutral nude), Sweet (cool light pink), and Elite (pinky-coral).

For the Love of Lip Gloss Maracuja Lip Gloss Collector’s Set ($30): 30 mini Maracuja-infused glosses in shades of pink, berry, and nude are perfect for your friend or sister who always has 20 glosses floating around on the bottom of her purse.

The Perfect Pink Holiday Exclusive Cheek Stain ($28): In this collection, Tarte releases a special version of their bestselling beloved Cheek Stain. “The Perfect Pink” is just what it sounds like: a gorgeous, flatters-all-skin-tones rosy cream blush. The push-up stick is super easy to throw in your bag or clutch and take with you at all times. And how much do you love the shiny ikat-print label?!

Mistletoe Must-Haves 24/7 Sheer Lip Trio ($21): These smudge-proof, budge-proof, long-wear lip sheers are perfect for when you want a little something on lips, but don’t want a full-on lip. Or when your lips are chapped and killing you, but you want a splash of color with your balm. Either way, these sheer lip sticks have you covered. Set includes shades Dawn, Monday, & Friday.

The Standouts Bestseller Kit ($25): A 4-piece set for stunning eyes and lips. Included is LipSurgence Natural Lip in Pouty (shimmery fuschia); Amazonian Clay gel liner in ; double ended eyeliner/smudger brush; mini Lights! Camera! Lashes! mascara in black.

Picture Perfect Eyelash Curler & Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara ($16): A special-edition Picture Perfect Eyelash Curler with pink and purple ikat-printed handles accompanies a deluxe travel-sized tube of Lights Camera Lashes 4-in-1 mascara

The entire collection is available now at Tarte, Sephora, and select retailers.

Do you love this collection, or will you be bypassing it this holiday season? Anything you’ll be purchasing as gifts?

Images via Tarte

Lulu Blossom Gimme Some Sugar, Sugar Scrub

Supporting independent business is really important to me. When you purchase from small businesses, you help support a local economy, and you know exactly where your money is going. Which is why I was so psyched when I received a lovely package of treats from Lulu Blossom, a small, all-natural skincare company based out of Chicago. Lulu Blossom’s products are handcrafted from scratch, with only natural ingredients.

Racheal Kash, the founder of Lulu Blossom, sent me an assortment of products. This review is for Gimme Some Sugar, Sugar ($46), a sugar scrub that promises to make your skin feel like a baby’s bottom. (Check back for reviews of the other products in the next few days.)

What first struck me was the ingredient label on this product: cane sugar, brown sugar, shea butter, grapeseed oil, raw honey, grapefruit seed extract, & fragrance oil. That’s it. Nothing you can’t pronounce. Everything is made from natural ingredients, and there’s nothing in here that can harm you.

First off, this product comes in a huge 16oz. tub. It’s SO heavy (in a good way). When I first opened the tub, a light, tropical–almost coconutty–fragrance hit me. It smells really good.Here’s a shot of the product in the tub. Doesn’t it look like the ingredients for a decadent dessert? It’s that brown sugar in there!

More details after the break.

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12-Hour Lipstick

Tarte’s signature Amazonian clay has been whipped into a rich, long-wearing lipstick. Glamazon Pure Performance 12-Hour Lipstick ($26) is the merging of luxury and eco-friendly cosmetics. This multitasking stick bucks the trend of drying long-wear formulas by hydrating lips while wearing comfortably for up to 12 hours, thanks to Amazonian clay. The clay also helps the color glide on smoothly, resist fading, and stay put for hours. And it helps battle fine lines around the mouth, while keeping your lipcolor in place (bye-bye, feathering). What can’t this lipstick do?

Skin Deep Cosmetics Database

I just found a great new resource that I wanted to share with you: Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. This website allows you to type in any ingredient from the label of a product, and the database will tell you the health concerns of the ingredient (rated from low concern to high concern). Results include its potential to cause cancer, developmental & reproductive toxicity, allergies, and more. If you’re concerned about what’s in your makeup, this is a great way to find out what all those crazy-sounding compounds mean.

Ingredients are listed in order of their presence in products. So if you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce the first few ingredients listed on the product, it’s worth checking out just to see what exactly it is.

One more thing: there are no currently regulations on cosmetics. A company can call any product “natural,” regardless of its ingredients. Just because it says “natural” or “organic” on the package doesn’t mean it actually is naturally-derived. Another great reason to check this database.

Image via Shuji Kobayashi/Lifesize

FDA Finds Lead in 400 Shades of Lipstick; What Can You Do About It?

Yesterday The Washington Post reported disturbing news that the FDA tested 400 shades of lipstick and found considerable traces of lead in many of them. Lead was found in both mass-market brands and specialty brands. The biggest offenders (who all earned slots in the top 10 most contaminated) came from L’Oreal, Maybelline, Cover Girl, and NARS.

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, there are no regulations in place for cosmetics, which is ridiculous, considering that we internally absorb a good percentage of what we put on our faces and bodies. For a refresher course on how this affects our bodies, see my post on the animated short film “The Story of Cosmetics” (you can watch the video here). The lack of regulations applies to “organic” items, too; any company can slap the word “natural” or “organic” on a product (regardless of what ingredients it contains) and face no repercussions, because nobody is regulating this stuff. Also, keep in mind that no regulations exist for products marketed for babies, either.

When you think about it, what we rely on to make us look beautiful could potentially be killing us. (A bit dramatic, but not entirely overhyped.)

So, what does all this toxic news mean for your safety and health? It means that in general, we need to be more diligent in educating ourselves on which ingredients are harmful and which are ok, and then checking ingredient labels carefully. Also, we need to be more vocal in demanding safer cosmetics and products. To start, contact your local representative and ask him/her to support the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 (H.R.2359), which will allow the FDA to regulate which ingredients go into health & beauty products. If the FDA can ban harmful ingredients, we can feel better about the choices and purchases we make. If passed, H.R.2359 will also force companies to disclose any potentially harmful ingredients in their products–something they’re not required by law to do now.

Another option is to seek out more organic/natural products. They cost more, but when weighing the effects of toxic chemicals on your long-term health, they’re worth considering. Here are some of my favorites.

Click through for links to other organic products I’ve reviewed in the past.

Guest Blog: A MAC Lipstick For Every Woman

Today’s guest blog comes from Zara Husaini, a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer and graduate of Drexel University in Philly. Zara is a pop culture aficionado who loves sequins, stilettos, and wearing too much black.  Follow her on Twitter @zarhus and on Tumblr at Maybe You Should Blog About It.With the hundreds of makeup lines out there, it’s hard for brands to really carve out their own niche in the cosmetics industry.  Quality alone won’t get you recognized in this market.  In order to really stand out, a line has to do something that other lines can’t – and that’s why MAC is arguably the world’s most well-known cosmetics line.  The thing about MAC is, there truly is something for everyone; the brand is especially famous for creating some of the most popular lipsticks in every shade imaginable. From bold to bashful, there’s a shade of MAC lipstick for every facet of every woman’s personality.  The seemingly endless options can be a little bit overwhelming, but not to worry – this guide will help you pick the perfect shade for your lifestyle.

Who she is: A modern-day woman who loves to evoke the glamour of days gone by.   She can be found dining on filet mignon, sipping on Cabernet, and sporting the season’s most fabulous LBD.
Celebrity Equivalent: Anne Hathaway
Her Perfect Shade: “Russian Red,” a timeless matte scarlet.

Who she is: The consummate girl next door.  This little lady rarely wears makeup, but she’s a girly-girl to the core.  She’s usually the first one to help out a friend in need, and flowers and freshly baked cookies are the way to her heart.
Celebrity Equivalent: Taylor Swift
Her Perfect Shade: Brave. Don’t let the name fool you, this shade is really quite tame.  It’s a perfectly creamy, soft pinky-biege.
Who she is: A fearless fashionista who loves being the only one rocking a certain look – the problem is, everything she wears seems to catch on like wildfire.
Celebrity equivalent: Rihanna
Her Perfect Shade: Morage. It’s all orange, all the way.  If you can pull off this neon shade, more power to you.

Who she is: The crusader who would never dare wear makeup that isn’t eco-friendly.  She was born beautiful, but a little bit of makeup never hurt anyone – and she’ll be sure to participate in the “Back to Mac” program!
Celebrity Equivalent: Natalie Portman
Her Perfect Shade: Myth, a pale, peachy-beige that goes on smoothly and lasts for hours.

Read more of Zara’s picks after the jump!

Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover

I’m getting really into organic and more natural products lately. Skincare brands are leading the revolution on the eco-beauty front, with so many natural ingredients going into their creams, lotions, and cleansers. Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover ($8) is a great mass-market pick at a pretty price.

The cleanser is formulated with out the big bad chemicals: sulfates, parabens, dyes, petrochemicals, and phthalates. It does have Peruvian Tara seed,  South American seed rich vitamins C & B. It works with your skin to hydrate without drying, and strengthen your skin’s nautral moisture barriers. When you press the pump, a creamy, pearlized formula is dispensed. It’s low-lathering, but deep-cleaning.

The reason I like it: it gets my skin squeaky-clean in 1 step. Not only is my face free of dirt & oil post-wash, but all traces of makeup are totally gone. Very few other cleansers do this while still being gentle on your delicate skin. It’s earned a permanent spot in my shower caddy.

The line also includes Purifying Facial Cleanser (a clear formula), Purifying Pore Scrub, Face & Body Bar (soap), and a lip balm.

Smashbox Summer 2010: Naked Beauty

Smashbox‘s summer 2010 collection, Naked Beauty, is inspired by natural beauty. It’s all about enhancing what you’ve got, which is great – because who wants to slave away in front of a mirror when you could be outside, enjoying the summer weather? You won’t find any bright pops of blue or lavender in this collection; it’s all nudes, pinks, and bronzes that are made to make you glow.

Halo Hydrating Perfecting Bronzer ($39) is fresh-ground bronzer in a sleek compact. Each time you flip it open, twist the dial to produce freshly-ground powder (like coffee beans). Even, flawless coverage that is bronze — not orange.

Naked Beauty Highlights/Creamy Cheek Color ($26) is perfect for girls who love the look of radiant skin and are searching for more bang for their buck. You get 2 great products in 1 convenient compact. The silvery-pink highlighter is sheer and complements all skintones. Blend onto cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, and just above the Cupid’s bow to make lips look fuller. Dab it on the browbone for added luminosity at night. Your skin will glow with this! The creamy, universally-flattering nude-pink blush glides onto cheeks and blends easily. The result is your natural skin, perfected.

The Naked Beauty Mini Lip Gloss Kit ($25) may be my favorite piece of the collection. You get 8 travel-sized glosses for such a good price. These are my kinds of colors, too: pinks, nudes, a bronze, and a raspberry make for the perfect range of summery shades. In the collection, you get (above, from left):

• Buff (sheer bare pink)
• Sunkissed (golden brown)
• Exposed (bubblegum pink)
• Bare (sandwashed pink)
• Nude (creamy nude pink) – horizontal on bottom
• Naked (shimmering champagne)
• Pure (juicy berry melon)
• Natural (rosebud pink)

Naked Beauty Photo Finish Lid Primer in Golden Nude ($20) is perfect for ladies with darker or olive-toned complexions. The regular Photo Finish is my favorite eye primer (I’m still scraping the last bits out of my tube). Slick this onto clean lids before applying eye makeup, and you can practically run a half-marathon before anything shows signs of sliding or smearing. Your liner & shadow aren’t going anywhere with this stuff underneath.

The entire collection is available now online. Free standard shipping with any order.

Look Into the Crystal Ball: 2010 Beauty Trends at a Glance

A little bit more reliable than a Boardwalk psychic at the beach, Mintel is a company who forecasts trends, and they’ve just released their latest predictions for the beauty world. Keep reading to find out what you may be seeing more of after the new year.