Lady C's Skin Must Haves

Welcome to Part II of the Four Part series for Lady C's Must Haves! Below are the products I use almost daily on my skin.

Crest Extra White with Scope Outlast - Ok, I know this isn't technically a skin product, but I love it so much I had to mention it first. You know those toothpaste commercials where the people go about their day smiling and "feeling fresh all day long?" This toothpaste gives you that fresh feeling for at least 3 hours. NO KIDDING. If I could give one product to each American, it would be this hands down. I give it two Blackberry Messenger thumbs up! Oh if everyone could have fresh, minty breath!

Purity Face Cleanser- I buy this in bulk from Philosophy's website. I have the 32 oz. bottle with a pump sitting in my shower as we speak. Its mild formula is wonderful for all skin types and still strong enough to remove makeup. A quarter-size amount does the trick. I use it every night in the shower (the hot water opens up your pores and allows for all the dirt/oils to come out easier.)

Fresh Sugar Face Polish -- Two words: Ob.Sessed. Okay, one word. But still. The wild strawberries and brown sugar make this smell --and I'll admit-- taste yummy. The grainy texture really polishes the skin without feeling rough.
Rub Rub Rub -- with citruses like lemons and orange, floral components like Jasmine and sea salt, this body scrub doesn't mess around. I stir it up to mix the salts at the bottom and dab a dollar coin-size amount on my loofah and scrub-rub-rub away about once a week. This is great to polish your skin and get it ready for any self-tanners you may use.

Neutrogena Micromist Sunless Tanner- I lightly mist myself with this after rubbing in some of Loreal's Sublime Bronze tanner into my skin. I like the combination of using a gel tanner, then misting with this spray tanner to get overall coverage and a deep, glowy, natural color.

Loreal Sublime Bronze Clear Self-Tanning Gel - I wasn't the biggest fan of the Sublime Bronze line of tanners from Loreal. Most of them left me glittery- getting sparkles all over  my clothes- and splotchy. Worst of all, my skin looked patchy as it wore off. HOWEVER, the GEL product is great. The light clear formula dissolves into your skin and mixed with the Neutrogena mist above, gives great color payoff, without getting splotchy or patchy.

Victoria's Secret Heavenly Mist- I have really bad allergies, and I usually wake up feeling pretty nauseaus so I stay away from heady, strong perfume. I love the Heavenly body spray-- call me old school, but it does the trick and the scent is, well.... heavenly. The boyfriend likes it too.

Bubble gum Lip Scrub-- Any flavor of Lush's lip scrubs do the trick. It's got jojoba oil and castor sugar, so it's not honey-like or sticky. I stand over the sink after I brush my teeth at night, and crumble the little crystals all over my lips. I wash the extra off and dab on my lip balm, which is coming up...right below.

Fresh Lip Balm -- This product is so worth the $22. I have the clear one for night time and the Plum shade for day that I wear under my gloss.

Creme de la Mer -- I don't want anyone thinking I'm a big spender here, because I'm living off of a sample of this stuff lol. In a perfect world, Creme de La Mer face cream would cost $10 a jar, and I would slather it all my body. *Sigh

When Hope is not Enough Serum  -- Can't get enough of this anti-aging serum! I squeeze two drops onto my fingers and pat it onto my skin like I'm playing the piano. Safe to use around the delicate eye area. I top off with a moisturizer like Creme de La Mer or Philosophy's own Hope cream.

St. Ives Replenishing Mineral Therapy -- This is a great basic lotion for hands, feet and all over. I particularly love the smell...it smells like a soapy rain forest, if you can imagine that. It's one that the boyfriend and I share, so I call the scent "man-friendly."

Lady C's Hair Care Must Haves

This is Part 1 in a four part series! Many of you ask me what  kind of beauty products I use across the board (not just makeup) so let's start with my hair must-haves.

Side Note: I've decided to stop dying my hair, especially since I've basically been dying it the color that grows out of my head (pointless.) I want to enjoy my natural color before the grays start kicking in! I've got millions of products I receive from people and try, but I've decided to stick to the ones mentioned below as I use them almost everyday.

SHAMPOO- Lush's Karma Komba Solid Shampoo: This stuff is amaze-balls. A couple of swipes on your hair is all you need to lather up to a bubbly full foam. It smells absolutely divine, and the delicious-ness lasts the whole day. Made with all natural ingredients, I actually bathed my doggy with this the other night, and he smells like the rainforest now. I also noticed he isn't scratching like he used to, which leads me to believe this has softened his dry, itchy skin.

SHAMPOO Option 2- Head and Shoulders: I have the worst itchy, flaky scalp ever known to mankind, and I simply adore the Dry Scalp Care line. I use this about once a week to keep my dome in check.

CONDITIONER- Loreal Eversleek Sulfate-Free Conditioner: I use the "Smooth" collection, and it keeps my hair shiny and bouncy, without extra chemicals. I also use conditioner to shave my legs! I just smooth on a thin, filmy amount all over and WHAT A DIFFERENCE. You get a smoother, closer shave and your legs are softer than a down comforter afterward. I haven't used shaving cream in years.

MOUSSE- Goldwell Flexi-Whip: This has a flexible hold, so I can still whip my long Armenian hair back and forth without losing style or volume.

SHINE SERUM- Joico Shine Serum: One tiny pump into my fingers and I smooth it over the ends of my hair to lock in the moisture and pump up the shizzine

HAIRSPRAY- Elnett Hairspray by Loreal: I really only use this when I'm curling my hair or pulling it into a high ponytail and need to control the flyaways. But it's pretty amazing for the price.

HAIR THICKENER- Kerastase Lipo Recharge: Don't worry. Just because there's "lipo" in the word doesn't mean this product is fattening. Back in January, my mom kindly pointed out the fact that the hair around my forehead is thinning due to the fact that I used to bleach my bangs white-blonde years ago (don't ask). She handed me these cute little bottles. I apply a few drops to the parts that are thinning and there is major improvement. Just be sure to wash your hands afterward (I'm always afraid hair will grow on my fingers if I don't, haha). If you have hair that is falling out, or thinning due to hormones -or like me, damage- I highly recommend this stuff! Totally worth the price.

ROUND BRUSH- I have a simple, big wooden round brush with boar's hair bristles for blow-outs. What's great about this kind of brush is that there is no metal on it, so it doesn't overheat and damage your hair. The boar's hair bristles distribute your scalp's natural oils evenly so you end your blow-drying session with Pantene Pro-V commercial-worthy, shiny-smooth hair.

Anastasia Pro Wax Kit-- Product Review

Hola Senioritas!

I wanted to share my thoughts on a poquito (sp?) little wax kit that was given to me by a friend to try. Anastasia is known for coming up with great tools and products for perfecting your eye brows. The Pro Wax Kit is an unbelievable $12 at Sephora. It's third of an ounce of wax is easily microwavable and manageable. Surprisingly, this small amount of wax lasts quite a while. Contrary to its name, you don't have to be a "pro" to use this. While I consider myself a connoisseur at plucking and trimming brows, I have never ventured into the wax arena and was a little nervous. However, the tiny little birchwood sticks the kit came with made it easy to control where the wax went, and how much of it went on my skin. I use one muslin strip each time I have to wax my brows (about once every 3 weeks). You can use them over and over again in one sitting.
I rubbed a little baby oil to the areas I waxed immediately after to help remove any stickyness and soften the skin, then finished off with a creamy moisturizer. Done and done.

DISCLAIMER: when waxing, do not re-wax the same area -your skin will be highly sensitive and may form a rash from being so raw. Again, I am by no means an esthetician, but simply a Middle Eastern girl with facial and body hair expertise.