It’s the magical time of year when Space NK does one of their edit events with an epic gift with purchase. This season (while supplies last) they are offering 18 deluxe beauty samples from brands including Ren, Bumble and Bumble, Tata Harper, UMA and more yours with any $165 Space NK purchase. Spend an additional $30 an choose from two Omorovicza products the Moor Mud Cream Cleanser of the Queen of Hungry Mist!
Follow them at @SpacenkUSA #DiscoverSpaceNK, learn more at https://www.spacenk.com
In world filled with knock offs and a beauty world that’s obsessed with what’s new, sometimes it’s the OG’s, the tried and true, that we need to continue to give our attention to. The Original Beautyblender just launched in a new Limited Edition canister at Sephora, fit for a queen; because lets face it, she’s the queen of makeup tools!
Beautyblender’s unique, latex-free, super soft material is aqua-activated. Meaning, you add water to and squeeze until it grow 2x in size, creating a second-skin effect when bouncing and melting product into the skin. Plus, when damp, makeup sits atop the sponge (rather than soaking it in) eliminating product waste.
You can use your Beautyblender with just about any formula from liquids, creams, and powders. Fun tip, I recently used is you can use it for “baking” for precise and mess-free application in those hard to reach areas. PRO-TIP: Before baking, slightly dampen your already wet beautyblender to ensure easy and efficient powder pick up and placement!
Personally, I just use it for foundation but I need to broaden my horizons. Cheers the QUEEN, you’re perfect.
Check it out ($20) at Sephora.com
Gua sha is a technique used in traditional East Asian medicine to relieve muscle tension, improve circulation and for lymphatic drainage. We’ve seen them in everything from Rose Quartz, Jade to and beyond. Dr Elizabeth Trattner sells ethically sourced tools on her site and shows us the proper way to Gua Sha (spoiler alert, you’ve probably been doing it wrong. And goes above and beyond in her demo below on how to tackle wrinkles and problematic areas like the jaw for a lot of us that grind our teeth! My friend, Dr. Nadia just launched a Bian Stone one that contains over 40 mineral and trace elements, and produces negative ions (which has an anti-aging effects).
Dr. Elizabeth Trattner is known for the Gemstone Acupuncture facial which includes gentle facial cupping, Gua Sha treatment, gemstones and acupuncture.
Learn more at elizabethtrattner.com
Last night was epic. Jamie Kern Lima, Co-founder and CEO of It Cosmetics took us on a confidence journey (complete with passport holder) as the brand welcomed four new products into their ever expanding Confidence collection.
Confidence in a Foundation ($32, 1 fl oz), 48 shades, 24 hours of full coverage in a velvet-matte finish. I watched as it covered acne, hyper-pigmentation and rosacea in the swope of a brush — and oh yes, I highly recommend applying with one of It Cosmetics skincare makeup brushes (brush No707 to be exact). The duo = flawless skin. It’s also filled with skincare loving ingredients like ceramides, peptides, hydrolyzed collage, hyaluronic acid and squalane and great for all skin types including sensitive skin.
Confidence in a Neck Cream ($52, 2.6oz), hits all the buzz words of elastin, collagen, hyaluronic acid, shea butter, ceramides, seaweed extract and niacin to help lift and improve firmness, elasticity and smooth skin. It’s clinically tested to reduce the look of horizontal neck lines and it comes with a face and neck citrine roller. Because citrine takes out the bad energy and puts in the good!
Confidence in a Gel Lotion ($36, 2.5 fl oz), the Hydra-Plumping Skin-Transforming Weightless Moisturizer offers 72 hours of hydration (what, what?) It’s oil-free and light weight for all of those who crave hydration but feel like moisturizers are too heavy and make their skin feel “oily”. It’s velvety smooth and wake up tired skin. And as I still can’t get over 3 days of hydration in one step.
Confidence in a Cream Rosy Tone ($48, 2oz), Surface Cell Renewal Rosy Tone Vitality Moisturizer, which translates to this moisturizer helps wake up dull, sallow skin. Whether that’s due to having mature skin, living on an airplane or you’ve been up partying all night, this moisturizer infuses some instant vitality back into skin. Enhanced with rose tone pigments it also gently exfoliates dull skin and stimulates surface cell renewal for a more youthful appearance.
Before we went through rooms of bubbles, cotton candy clouds and experienced the products in the most magical of way, Jamie Kern Lima talked about Confidence. I mean look at the visuals of this event (this was the Confidence in a Cream Rosy Tone display):
Empowering messages, chic packaging and strong, beautiful pigment lipsticks… welcome Fempower Beauty Virtumatte Lipstick. A range of four universally flattering lipsticks with black magnetic packaging, strong pigment, that go on matte with just a touch of sheen.
First came candles, then fragrances and now NEST Fragrances has launched a new range of eight innovative products exclusive to Ulta. NEST Fragrances innovative, new body care line boasts patented technologies to deliver a long-lasting fragrance experience to shape and elevate a mood. And are formulated free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, artificial colors, and mineral oil.
The range features four scents: Bamboo & Jasmine to help you stay balanced, Ginger & Neroli to invigorate, Grapefruit & Verbena to elevate happiness and Ocean Mist & Coconut to calm.
Each set of fragrances is available in Body Wash (10oz/$22), Body Lotion (10oz/$26), Body Mist (3.4oz/$38 and 0.27/$20), Hand Cream (3.4oz/$18), Lip Balm SPF 15 Sunscreen (0.15oz/$16), Water-Activated Foaming Cleansing Towelettes ($22/pack of 10 individually wrapped), and Fragranced Body Wipes ($22/pack of 8 individually wrapped wipes).
Makes a great gift! How chic is a Body Wash and Body Lotion set? Bamboo & Jasmine is my favorite.
Check out the full range at ulta.com
It’s been six weeks since I posted this photo on Instagram announcing I was testing out TRU NIAGEN, and I’m happy to announce the results today!
As many of you know, I had a milestone birthday this year and one of my commitments was to take better care of mind and body. When TRU NIAGEN approached me, I did a ton of research including consulting my Naturopathic Doctor, Dr Nadia (@_drnadia). She encouraged me to try it, telling me that NAD research was fascinating and her clients have had great results. And believe me, I’m excited about TRU NIAGEN.
With stellar reviews (I mean if you Google it, the internet is obsessed), TRU NIAGEN is an ‘age better, live better’ supplement that contains a unique form of vitamin B3 proven to increase NAD levels..
NAD is essential for healthy cellular function and aids in our body’s metabolism (converting food to energy at the cellular level). This molecule helps our cells produce energy to keep them functioning at their best. As we age, our NAD levels decline due to certain stressors. TRU NIAGEN is clinically-proven to safely increase NAD levels. And an added bonus is the pills are vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free, and caffeine-free.
I had the best time sharing our top holiday beauty picks on Michael Yo’s SiriusXM show today. Here’s a quick breakdown of tips and sets to have on your radar, that makes gifting stress-free and most importantly FUN! Here are the questions Michael asked and links to the products mentioned (with a few added bonus products in the mix). I attempted to stay under $50 for all my picks.
To overly simplify moisturizers, there are two types of people, ones who like cream moisturizers (your standard cream formula), and ones that like gel moisturizers (that’s more of a watery gel texture). If the person you’re shopping for has more oily skin then they will generally opt for a gel moisturizers. Don’t worry if you don’t know their skin type or texture preference, I picked universal favorites for both categories that are almost-all skin type friendly!
You can’t go wrong with any of the NARS holiday gifts. Their palettes to makeup sets have the coolest packaging. Our favorite no-brainer pick is the NARS Orgasm Infatuation Palette ($42, $62 value) featuring their top selling Orgasm blush, Laguna Bronzer and the new Orgasm Highlighter, also the Infatuation Palette is great if you’re into blush. Other favorites include Becca highlighters (our must-have is Becca Mini Macaroon set featuring 4 mini highlighters). The ‘It Palette’ of the season is the Urban Decay’s NAKED Cherry palette. We’re also partial to Benefit Cosmetics Sweeten Up, Buttercup! Makeup Set ($39, $109 value) featuring our favorite mascara, brow gel, bronzer and primer from the brand. There isn’t a shortage of It Cosmetics holiday that isn’t on my list, but their brushes are a great pick for any beauty lover, also the BeautyBlender makes a great stocking stuffer — you literally can’t have enough. Milk Makeup also has the cutest mini’s! Their Meet the Fam set is epic, so is the fact that they collaborated with Wu-Tang on a lipstick collaboration (although that may be lost on some of you) makes us so happy!
Whether it’s a hostess gift, Secret Santa or little something something for someone in the office you don’t know well enough to guess their favorite beauty products, candles, hand cream sets, pretty lip balms and liquid soap + moisturizer sets are always a safe bet. Basically anything that’s practical but also pretty that bonus they can re-gift if the don’t it it or use to stage a beautiful bathroom for guests to admire you can’t go wrong with. Plus they
This weeks BOSS series features one of my all time beauty hero’s, Dineh Mohajer. She’s the original founder of Hard Candy, back when they had that chic rectangular packaging with a plastic ring on top (I used to wear them on my pinky) and introduced pastel nail polish into the industry. I used to shop them Urban Outfitters in high school and will never forget seeing Alicia Silverstone on the David Letterman show (scroll to 4min 28seconds) rocking her Sky Blue polish and being obsessed!!! Since selling the company she re-entered the nail polish industry starting another iconic nail polish brand Smith & Cult, which has legendary packaging and art direction and has grown it to a full makeup line featuring lips, eyes and face. She is wildly creative (follow her @dinehm and @smithandcultmy), my spirit animal, and can’t be more excited for her to be sharing her awesomeness and advice with us in this weeks BOSS series.
I think my friends would describe me as kind, passionate, cuckoo for cocoa puffs, loving, warm, guilt-ridden, ADHD, germaphobic, neurotic-ish, silly, funny, fun, having good skin, obsessive-compulsive…my husband would use seven words: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful, Sneezy.
I never returned because I never really left. After Hard Candy was acquired by LVMH, my partner from Hard Candy, Jeanne Chavez, and I created, developed and sold another baby, called Goldie, to the Limited Brands. Smith & Cult was just another step in a natural progression for me.
Some aspects have remained identical at the core. The underlying motivation to feel happier, healthier and prettier is still intact. The joy of discovery, experimentation and success regarding product, packaging, imaging, education and branding has also remained the same. Our technological advancement has changed the manner in which we do all this, in some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. For me, technology has allowed me to better articulate my creative vision more quickly and fluidly.
