Review of the Mia
So I have been using the Clarisonic Mia since Mother’s Day- how long has that been? About 3 weeks? And my skin has been crazy breaking out. I have been researching this horrible phenomenon, and it seems that this is a period of “purging” whereby my friendly Mia clears out old clogged pores. Some people on the makeup review boards never stop purging and end up returning their Clarisonics. I am literally convinced I will be one of these people. I am also much more oily than usual. Granted, this could all be pregnancy-related, but this has all cropped up after I started using the brush. The great thing about my Mia is that is does leave my skin super duper soft and smooth, so I am inclined to continue using it to see where this purging thing goes and if it goes away.
On another note, my little QVC box of Bobbi Brown goodies arrived, and I am so excited to try it tomorrow. The kits looks amazing with the perfect shades of lavender and brown and neutral lip colors. I am not super excited about the Popsicle lip gloss but my daughter seems to love it, so she can have that little piece of the kit for now.
While waiting for the Housewives…
What’s up with me ordering from QVC? I am literally sitting here waiting for tonight’s Real Housewives of New York City, and I just flipped past Bobbi Brown on QVC doing Dress for Success makeovers using the most amazing color collection- her Downtown palette. The colors looked truly amazing on air. The kit allowed for a subtle day look as well as a smokier evening look, and I am a consummate Bobbi fan so I simply couldn’t resist. I am excited to try the Popsicle lip gloss.
Beauty Booties!
I have found the coolest summer booties ever! They are sort of a cross between chunky, strappy sandals, booties, and gladiator sandals. I am obsessed. They are called the Rozene Wedge from Dolce Vita, and I am officially in love with this perfect cross between a funky/dressed up summer shoe. It can literally be worn with a hot dress for a night out, or, if you are me and wearing comfy prego clothes, these can totally be dressed down. Maybe it is that the height of this heel is perfect (because I literally teeter totter in anything more than a kitten heel right now as my stomach continues to grow.) Or maybe it is the chunky/embellished factor that makes them appear much more expensive than they were, but these little boots are going to be the perfect complement to black skirts and capris this summer. And, because I have about 4 pairs of black capris left over from my last pregnancy, I plan on wearing these a lot!
Keeping Up at LAX
And this is precisely why I love my husband. While down at LAX tonight catching his flight north, he managed to snap a pic of my favorite hair in all of America- that of Kourtney Kardashian. Even though you cannot see her face at all, her hair still looks wonderful in this picture. I think, for me, it is the color that just fascinates me. It is like ultimate dark drown but not black. This sort of color could wash out anyone with a paler skin tone (I can’t pull it off) but it looks great on her olive skin. I will seriously always be obsessed with her hair color, most definitely because I can’t achieve it. (Oh and FYI- those are Kris’s legs.) Ha.
New Pantene Trials
Have you heard about the revamped Pantene line? I read about this a few months back in WWD and was interested to note that the company was relaunching the line with a focus on different hair thickness and texture. The idea is that thick hair needs more of some things than thin, and the revamped line was created to address these different needs. I tried the Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner for Thick Hair last night and I really liked it. My hair was silky soft when I exited the shower. I then quickly applied the Smoothing Cream for Thick hair which is almost a gel/cream blend. The result is very soft and shiny, although not entirely as flat as I would like. But for like $12 total, I guess you can’t have everything you want. I suggest everyone give the line a whirl and let me know what you think.
Mother’s Day Treat
For a girl (and mom) like me, the best Mother’s Day present EVER is being set free in Sephora. (If I wasn’t pregnant I would also want to be set free in some fabulous clothing store) but for now, Sephora is the perfect treat for me. And that is just what happened today. After a delicious brunch at Ella’s in San Francisco (commemorating Mother’s Day and our last weekend here on the West Coast) we headed to the flagship Sephora in Union Square and I promptly purchased a Clarisonic Mia facial brush. I have heard so many terrific things about this brush and have been dying to try it. After arriving home, I got my chance. The brush feels amazing on the skin, almost like a soft massage. The instructions tell you to run the brush in circular motions for about 20 seconds on different areas of your face. My skin was left soft and so very clean. The best part, apparently, is that your skin is so clean and exfoliated after use that you it absorbs your skincare and moisturizer better. This remains to be seen. But on day one, I am super psyched about my Mia.
Moroccan Oil Again
I am using Moroccan Oil again after several months of Aveda Smooth Infusion Glossing Straightener. I really did love the Aveda straightener, but I needed a break. I am in that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad period in between straightening processes where I have about 3-4 inches of wavy re-growth on top of my head and completely stick straight ends thanks to my existing Japanese straightening process. This period of time in the life of my hair requires strategic analysis and much wrangling to marry the 2 varying textures. Aveda did an amazing job of smoothing, but it also left my hair rather stiff. I really hate the look of hair without movement and after running my iron through my hair, that is exactly what I was left with. Straight hair with no movement at all. Moroccan Oil does a great job of smoothing and adding movement, but it doesn’t flatten my hair as well. I need to be creative with head bands and clips with this product. I need a combo of the two lines to create the HG of styling products for this unique problem. One I deliver baby 2, I will be promptly racing to the salon for permanent straightening salvation. Now if I could only have perfect beachy waves like the fabulous model below, I would be all good. Its too bad my hair ventures into the crazy curly realm.
Musings on Gold Sandals
Gold sandals are the perfect summer shoe. They go with everything, from casual shorts to summer sundresses. I first discovered the joys of gold shoes when I purchased my first pair of Jack Rogers in Charleston, SC at Copper Penny about 4 years ago. When I say that I wore those shoes into the ground, I am understating. I literally wore them every day of summer. I flattened the sole and rubbed the gold leather raw. The shoes were the perfect summer solution, and they went so well with several pretty J. Crew shorts I had purchased (and also wore into the ground.) I debated whether to purchase another pair for the past few summers and would always end up trying a new pair of gold sandals, but nothing officially replaced them. When I would see new Jack Rogers styles, staring at me from the shiny tables of shoe stores, I would feel a pang of guilt in not inviting them into my closet. Earlier this year, before a trip to Jamaica, I ordered a pair online and inadvertently shipped them to my old work address in New York instead of to my current home/work address. After much tracking with Fed EX and an attempted retrieval from the old office while I was in NY last month, I realized that my dream of Jack Rogers 2010 was, again, not happening. So this week I purchased a new pair of gold woven sandals from Bernardo (Miami). These are equally classic if a bit less identifiable than the Jack Rogers, and they just arrived today. I am excited to wear these all summer.
Is Anyone Watching The Hills Anymore?
I hope not! This show is still programmed into my DVR from way back when it was actually watchable (or somewhat watchable, it was never anything really worth investing a half hour in) and at 4am in the middle of what has become a nightly bout of pregnancy insomnia, I pushed play and watched last night’s episode of the show. I used to be mildly amused by LC’s eye makeup and the whole Cali fashion thing the girls had going on, but now the show has moved from the realm of harmless reality fluff into the real of mind-rotting television. (It’s almost right up there with Pretty Wild- also HORRIFYING.) Anyway, to watch Heidi parade her crazy new body and face around, to see a crystal toting Spencer devolve into what can only be described as sheer madness, and to watch Kristen (who cares) fend off rumors of drug use is simply aiding and abetting MTV in propagating this sort of awful display. Even in my hazy state at 4am I had the clarity to turn the show off and delete it from my DVR forever. Now The City, on the other hand, I can still watch that 
Sun Kisses
I realize I am probably overloading my site with drugstore reviews and products, but I am a firm believer in the fact that beauty is all about packaging and that literally the same caliber of products are now available at your local CVS and your local Saks. The only difference is packaging and price point. That noted, another little drugstore gem worth sharing is the new L’Oreal Touch-On Highlights kit. This product is super smart because of its ingenious applicator. The kit comes with a tiny finger cap with little comb-like bristles on it. You simply smooth the highlighting mixture through your hair using the little finger cap and you emerge with perfectly natural highlights. I used Toasted Almond, and I am loving the result. All major beauty sites will tell you not to highlight your own hair. I think that it can be a perilous process fraught with major, unrepairable damage to your hair. But, of course, I love to throw caution to the wind and try EVERYTHING– and I really loved the result with this kit. Perfect sunkissed locks that aren’t too obvious, just perfectly toasted almondy.
