My Beauty Space

Sephora came out with two new eyeshadow pallets for the holidays, and I have to say, I was a big fan of both of them, but I had to actually go with the one with the toned down colors that I knew I would realistically probably wear more of.  The other one, the pallet I did not buy, had a lot of very pretty mauves and purples that were shimmery and fun. 

I do love mauves and purples, but I don’t wear them as often as browns, greens and greys because you simply can’t wear purples with just anything, while you can wear a lot of the muted greens, greys and browns with quite a variety of clothes and styles.  The other fun thing about their new holiday pallets of eyeshadow was that they come in a sleek silver compact, and in each pallet, there are quite a few colors included.  I believe it’s eight or ten. 

I ended up choosing the pallet with the more earthy tones, even though they were shimmery-earthy.  The tones included in my pallet are greens, a muted army green with some shimmer to it, a pale, almost white eyeshadow, two muted greys, one with shimmer, and of course my favorite color - brown.  The browns were slightly different in shade, and one was a little more coppery with shimmer in it while the other was more of a warm, cocoa brown with not too much sparkle in it. 

I had never purchased any Sephora brand makeup, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As far as the stay-put factor, it was satisfactory, although not outstanding.  One thing that gets on my nerves with any sparkly eye makeup is that it tends to fall off the brush and onto the hollows your eyes beneath and you end up with shimmers where you really don’t want them.  This might be mitigated by using a sponge applicator instead of a brush, as I use, but I still think you might find you end up with a little extra sparkle where you don’t mean there to be.

Bottom line is I got some really fun colors that I probably wouldn’t normally buy, a very pretty slimline carrying case with a mirror, and colors that won’t go out of style (except maybe the sparkly ones).  It does come with a very skinny sponge applicator that is all of useless, just to warn you.  It’s stiff and too skinny, so I just pitched it.  Price was $26 for the pallet.  Not bad - not cheap, but not ridiculous either. 

Hmm, very interesting.  There’s a new phenomena cropping up lately which is termed “medical tourism”, and it is due to the fact that foreigners can go to far off places and obtain plastic surgery procedures as well as other medical procedures for a fraction of the cost that they can get it for here in the US. 

The US actually has some of the highest medical costs in the world believe it or not, and that does not exclude the booming cosmetic surgery industry.  However, you think it’s booming over here, wait til you get a load of the amount of women who spend a lot of money on plastic surgery in efforts to look beautiful in the soouthern parts of America, like Brazil, Columbia and Argentina.

In fact, South America has some of the most highly trained and skilled cosmetic surgeons due to the popularity of the elective surgeries there, and also due to the fact that they perform some of the most high tech, new wave surgeries and techniques in the world.  This and the low prices definitely add to the appeal of travelling abroad to obtain plastic surgery and cosmetic improvements.

Not only is the surgery cheaper, but the fact that the exchange rate is usually attractive makes it all that much more appealing.  Plus you may even get a little mini vacation out of the deal if you decide to stay a little while.  Popular cosmetic surgeries in south America include breast enhancements, liposuction and other cellulite treatments, and face lifts, including nose jobs and other facial reconstructive surgeries, as well as the non-surgical botox and restylane injections. 

The travel industry is booming with these “medical tourism” tourists, and there are even agencies that will help travellers coordinate the surgeries as well as their stay in the foreign country.  It is said that the cosmetic surgery industry is so popular in the southern part of America that even the poor save up for years just to get themselves breast implants and other procedures, many times in hopes of elevating themselves or catching themselves rich boyfriends, so it’s actually kind of sad why it’s so popular….

I’m a big fan of the dandruff shampoo Selsun Blue and wanted to add it to our hair product reviews.  Ok, ok, so it’s not really a beauty product in some people’s eyes, but to me, if I don’t have flakes coming off my head, than it most certainly does fall in the cosmetic improvement category.  Oh, and it’s wonderful to not have an itchy dry and flaky scalp too, all of which the Selsun Blue medicated shampoo does for me and my significant other. 

We both tend toward drier scalps that get irritated very easily, and are both incredibly dandruff-prone, especially when we are under stress or are experiencing a period in life with a lot of change and anxiety, so it is a necessity for us to use a good dandruff shampoo that is kind to our scalps. 

We started off using the Selsun blue shampoo that is medicated and formulated for dry scalp and hair, and that shampoo really worked well, not only to treat our dandruff, but it also made our hair look shiny and smooth, an unexpected side benefit of a dandruff shampoo, at least the dandruff hair care products I used previously.

Well, I decided to try Selsun Blue’s new line of “Salon” shampoos called Selsun Salon, since they offered them in larger bottles and the price was more reasonable.  I didn’t buy the conditioner, just the shampoo, but a conditioner is also available for anyone interested.  I tried it for the first time yesterday, and I like it, but not as much as the original Selsun Blue line.  It seemed to make my hair appear more dry and brittle, but it still did the trick on my scalp, as I have no itchiness of flakes. 

On average, it’s about two bucks less than the smaller bottle of straight up medicated dandruff shampoo, but in my opinion, may be an inferior product.  Good example of trading cost for quality in thise case unforutunately.  If anyone has a different opinino that has tried the Selsun Salon line, please feel free to post! 

Many of us experience tooth darkening in our adult life due to coffee or tea drinking, smoking or just time itself.  The yellowing and darkening of our teeth detracts from personal appearance and often people don’t smile as readily as they are self conscious of their teeth.
Teeth whitening systems vary in affordability and effectiveness.  Professional teeth whitening treatments done by dentists are the most effective means of restoring the white gleam to your teeth.  The estimated cost of this method of teeth whitening is $300.00 to $800.00. 
Dentists use a light therapy together with hydrogen peroxide to lighten teeth signifigantly, up to 10 shades in about an hour.  At the dentist’s office, you can purchase a bleaching kit custom fitted to your mouth to use for 1 to 2 hours per day or at night.
Over the counter teeth whitening products are affordable for the most part for the general public to purchase.  One of the better home teeth whitening products if the Crest Whitestrips Premium at a cost of about $35.00.  The Crest Whitestrips need to be worn for 30 minutes 2 times a day for one week and usually whiten your teeth about 3 shades. 
The Go Smile Advanced Formula B1 sells for approximately $90.00 and is tubes of gel that come with a small brush.  It is the most convenient home teeth whitening product as you can use it anywhere and you don’t have to remove the Go Smile.
The effectiveness of your teeth whitening option will depend on the amount of peroxide and the duration of time the product is on your teeth.  Other choices in the teeth whitening products are pastes, chewing gums and liquids that you paint on your teeth. 
Certainly, get your dental cleaning done regularly and try to avoid habits like smoking, drinking coffee and tea and other teeth staining beverages.  Then try some of the teeth whitening systems that are available over the counter and see how they work for you.  The home teeth whiteners are convenient and affordable today.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the power duo twins who have made themselves in to a money making machine since a very young age, have grown up right before America’s eyes, many times unwillingly in the spotlight, especially Mary Kate for her struggle with anorexia, these twins grew into some pretty young ladies, and they still had managers that knew how to market the power duo to their niche market, which changed from tweeners to teens as they grew up.

I was reminded of what a marketing powerhouse these twins are when I was shopping at Wal-mart for some last minute touches to my Halloween costume, and was searching the makeup and cosmetic section, only to come upon a huge section dedicated to the Olsen twins cosmetic offerings.  A lot of their makeup looks like it is made fairly cheaply, and that doesn’t surprise me, since the prices are very reasonable on their line.

I ended up purchasing an eyeliner duo, with one black eyeliner pencil as well as one black eyeliner liquid liner for about four bucks, which was way less than what I could have purchased even if it were, say, Cover Girl instead.  Cover Girl is still pretty big too, which is interesting to me, because I don’t think I’ve ever used a Cover Girl product that I liked, but to each their own!  If you have a good review of a Cover Girl or Mary Kate and Ashley product, please let us know and comment on this one! 

I have been using the Juice Beauty Extra Strength Green Apple peel now for about a total of two and a half weeks.  I do leave it on for longer than recommended, at about 20 to 30 minutes (recommended is 15 minutes) but I notice I seem to get better results if I do that.  I’m not recommending it, especially if you have sensitive skin, but I happen to have fairly thick skin, and other than an initial slight stinging sensation, I do not feel any discomfort whatsoever.

I’ve noticed lately that administering this peel every couple of days, along with my pumice peel microderm home kit, that it is helping to fade some of the little age spots that have crept up on the sides of my face.  They were very light and probably no one else noticed them except for me, but it does make me feel better that this peel combined with home microderm has helped so much.

Chemical peels in doctors (dermatologists or licensed estheticians) offices are a lot more expensive.  Even if you’re paying forty to fifty dollars for a chemical peel kit, you’d still pay less than all those doctors office visits.  Many women like to get chemical peels and chemical peels in conjunction with microdermabrasion to get results that make skin look newer and fresher. It’s really an anti aging and wrinkle prevention and treatment, but also can be used on younger people to achieve evening of the skin tone and other therapeutic benefits.   

It also can help with fine lines, discolorations, acne scarring and hyperpigmentation.  Chemical peels are pretty much not usually recommended to women with skin conditions or very sensitive skin, but there may be exceptions if you wanted to discuss it with your doctor or your dermatologist. 

If you’ve ever been to a Mystic tan booth, or any of the other copycat spray tan booths, you know that it has its pluses and negatives, and once you’ve gone a couple of times those negatives tend to rear their ugly head and make themselves abundantly apparent.  The upside to the tanning salon spray tan is pretty obvious.  It only takes a couple of seconds, and you don’t have to do any work besides stand and turn around. 

So, what is the downside?  Well, the way it sometimes distributes on the skin is very uneven, and the fading of the tan is less than desirable looking.  If you don’t partially lotion your hands at least, watch out, because you will have very orange hands in comparison with the rest of your body.  What I mean is not the palms of your hands, but the upside of your hands, which you wouldn’t necessarily think of protecting with the cream that helps the tan not to take as much, can become very overly tan if you don’t partially moisturize them so they don’t soak up as much of the self tanner.

You can even see how the salon spray tan can look horrible after it’s worn off on stars like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan.  I once saw a picture of Lindsay Lohan, who is naturally very fair skinned, with the tan that was obviously a couple of days old, because her legs were two toned and should not have been.  I’ve experienced this uneven fading a lot as well with Mystic tan and other self tanners.

If you want to get a better spray tan, you may want to opt for an airbrush tan by a really good technician who is experienced at spraying people with self tanner.  Either that, or you could try it yourself with some of the spray self tanner that are available today, one of the more notable and popular ones being Neutrogena.  You just have to be careful and don’t believe that all you have to do is spray and let it dry.  You still should be rubbing the sprayed on self tanner in very well so that you can ensure an even fake bake, and a little bit better fading as well.

We all know the devastating effects that excess sugar consumption can have on our waistlines and even on our mood stability and ability to focus and concentrate, but what about our rate of aging when it comes to the youthful appearance of our skin?  It’s something we probably haven’t given a lot of thought to, considering most of the emphasis on anti-sugar consumption is related to maintaining weight and promoting even moods.

However, new research is confirming something that many skin care specialists have thought to be true, and that is that sugar is a very big enemy of our skin’s elasticity, anti aging and wrinkle defenses, youthful glow and wrinkle control.  And why is that? 

The process by which sugar destroys the skin’s healthy, youtful appearance is called glycation, and here’s how it works.  When you eat sugar, it creates harmful molecules by attaching to key proteins in your blood stream.  These unhealthy cells then accumulate throughout the blood stream and begin to destroy healthy skin cells systematically, until the skin becomes drab, tired, stretched, and more wrinkled in appearance. 

The worst part of what they do is destroy the natural substances in your skin called collagen and elastin, and when this happens, they break down and become brittle and more fragile, which leads to the dullness and increased wrinkles and breakdown of elasticity and resistence of the skin. 

Remember the days of youth when your skin cell turnover was fresh and your skin had the glow that only youth can give?  This glycation process helps speed the aging process of the skin and takes away that fast cell reproduction even faster than if it were just the aging process itself occurring. 

In essence, you are helping to speed the aging process of your skin, and skin care products can only help so much.  Too bad too, because I love sugar, especially chocolate, and cannot imagine a life with minimal sugar.  However, knowing this, I will try to limit the sugar intake for a little while. This is also really interesting because when I’ve been on diets that are extremely low in sugar, or only allow natural sugars such as those from fruits and vegetable, I do notice that my skin looks better than it ever has, so this does make perfect sense.