Spring Cleaning: Product Updates!

A few weeks ago I made a post about upcoming and recommended spring cleaning products along with tips to make this cleaning season better than the last.

I recently tried a few new products compliments of BzzAgent.com, a website that holds campaigns for new & upcoming products. To initiate my spring cleaning, I thought it should first smell like spring with some help from Glade®.

What is your favorite Glade (or other home fragrance brand) candle?

On Rachael Ray: 90 Second Facelifts

These products were tested and examined on the Rachael Ray Show by dermatologist Dr. Youn. They were all determined to be great products for their price and the results were actually very surprising. To video clip from the show's segment can be found here.

Here are the product summaries by Dr. Youn:

Crow's Feet. Dr. Youn says one approach to fighting this common sign of aging is Botox, which costs $500 per treatment and involves using a needle. For a non-invasive treatment, he suggests trying the DermaSilk 90-Second Eye Lift. (Price: $39.99)

Under-eye bags. "One of the things that we get as we get older is puffiness or bags under our eyes ... This is caused by fat that protrudes," he says. "We can treat it surgically with a lower eyelid lift, it's removing the fat." For a non-surgical option that could possibly reduce that puffiness, he suggests trying Sudden Change Under Eye Firming Serum. (Price: $11.99) 

Sagging face. Dr. Youn says the surgical treatment for this is a facelift, but you can try to get a more instant result without surgery with the NutraLift Instant Results, which claims to reduce lines and wrinkles in 10 minutes. (Price: approximately $59 a bottle)

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know what you think of them!

Eye Shadow Goldmine

I stumbled upon Coastal Scents,  makeup & skincare site that has an AMAZING array of eyes shadow pallets of high quality pigments at reasonable prices. Based upon customer reviews, many of the pallets are M.A.C. quality! I can't be 100% sure, but the manufacturer of these fabulous eye shadow pallets may be LadyBurd Cosmetics, a top-quality wholesale cosmetic manufacturer in the U.S.


Take a look at Coastal Scents & their eye shadow pallets and let me know what you think! I can't wait to order mine.

Anti-Aging: Ingredients that Matter

Having fallen in love with Mario Badescu's and Olay's lines of skin care products, I wanted to find out what made these "over the counter" lines so great. 


I've been doing some research on the active ingredients that anti-aging & moisturizing creams contain, sifting through them, and making note of the few most effective ingredients out there:


Argireline - acts like Botox without having Botox! Prevents & minimizes wrinkles by actually reducing facial tension! 
"Works through a unique mechanism which relaxes facial tension leading to a reduction in superficial facial lines & wrinkles with regular use. In clinical studies depth of wrinkles were reduced by 27% following 30 days of treatment & new formation of wrinkles was inhibited as well. Can be combined with Tripeptide-5, Collagen Booster Peptide and Teprenone for enhanced anti-wrinkle treatment." - makingcosmetics.com


Hyaluronic Acid - the powerhouse of moisturizers, plumps & softens
"The most powerful moisturizer & humectant known so far, provides smoothness & softening to the skin, excellent anti-wrinkle effects, promotes growth of new skin cells after peelings, supports wound healing. "


Vitamin A - a.k.a. Retinol Palmitate


Revolution Complete A, B, C, E - all the essential vitamins in an easier-to-absorb form
 "A complete vitamin delivery system containing Vitamins A, B3, B5, C and E for enhanced protection and skin nutrition.  The encapsulation ensures delivery into the tissues where it can work to improve moisturization, the appearance of spots, uneven skintone and loss of elasticity...all of the support that your active anti-aging ingredients need to truly perform and minimize the signs of aged and prematurely aged skin.  All this with the addition of a single ingredient, our new Revolution Complete, developed to deliver the power of the vital nutrients deep into the tissues, making them 10x more effective than the vitamins alone. "


ElastiNew® - a new ingredient with a promising future
"ElastiNew ® has been developed specifically to preserve the elastic capital of the skin, and thus prevent skin’s slackening, as well as the appearance of striae (stretch marks), scars, and wrinkles."

Covergirl: 50 Years & Some Great New Products

This year CoverGirl cosmetics is celebrating the big FIVE-O Anniversary. I heard about this through bzzagent.com, which I am a member. Be sure to get involved in CoverGirl's celebration on facebook here and you'll be able to give input on future products like their upcoming mascara! 


To help kick off Covergirl's 50th Anniversary, they introduced a great new line that I am excited to get to know and comment about. 

Lately I received a free foundation sample (via the Walmart.com free sample page) from Cover Girl's new line, NatureLuxe. The NaureLuxe line focuses on achieving a natural look and natural beauty with good quality ingredients.


My review on the new NatureLuxe Silk Foundation: 
Rarely do the claims of a foundation actually achieve exactly what it says, but I found this to be the exception. The foundation felt light, natural, and blended in VERY smoothly over my face. Although the "Aspen" (320) shade was probably one shade darker than what I needed, I proceeded to apply it and it blended in better than any "over the counter" foundations I have ever tried so far. It really did feel "silky" but in the most natural way. I always prefer for someone to think I'm not wearing any makeup (because of not needing it!) rather than them actually noticing it. This is definitely the product for that! Here are the claims of the foundation:

• Luxurious, lightweight feel
• Infused with jojoba and cucumber extract 
• Silky formula goes on smooth for a polished finish

Verdict: So, I can confidently say that this will be my next foundation purchase when it goes on sale! I believe it retails at Target for about $11.


Looking forward to trying their NatureLuxe lipsticks as well.

Trying Glade spring scents

Spring cleaning is definitely around the corner and I am very excited to try Glade's new spring scented products. I'll be receiving some full size products to try for free (check out bzzagent.com if you're curious why I get to try them for free). They seem perfect for adding something extra to the spring cleaning season.

Check out this page for room by room cleaning tips from Right at Home .

I don't usually purchase scent products... I typically just clean whatever is creating the odor to stop the root of the problem, but I'm looking forward to trying these just to bring a new refreshing scent into the room.


If you're curious about the new Glade Spring scented line, take a look:
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Also, if you're thinking about trying them, make sure to use this coupon!

By the way, there are other SC Johnson coupons here that become available at their home centric website called Right at Home. They often have coupons available for their brands and when you join, you're the first to be notified when new coupons come up. Take a look at those coupons here! I'm a big coupon fan and you should be too!

Mario Badescu Products: Yes, they are that good!

I've been trying a few Mario Badescu products using a giftcard I had and I just had to write about them. They are priced about mid-line when it comes to skin care. There more than the regular face care products at Target or Walmart, but not by that much. Complete a skin care questionnaire and you may receive several product samples recommended for your skin situation in the mail.

My favorite products:

• Drying Lotion - acne spot remover ($17), best acne product I've ever tried!
• Healing Cream - prevents acne scars ($17)
• Silver Powder - absorbs excessive, stubborn blackheads ($12)

   

I have yet to try a product of theirs that wasn't completely worth writing home about!