Eye Makeup Remover

TGI...Tuesday?

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Mine started out quite well...after rolling out of bed Friday morning and grabbing something for breakfast, then getting dressed and doing my make up, I checked my email only to find that classes had been canceled due to the snow...it was a nice surprise, so I just went back to bed!

I myself am in the midst of midterms and the stress and papers and exams (oh my!) are making me really look forward to spring break. Usually when I'm this busy, my makeup routine gets a little bit lax, and I tend to neglect a certain portion of my regime that is crucial to maintaining good skin...that is, removing ALL of my makeup. Usually it just happens to be a little eyeliner and mascara, but for every night you sleep in your makeup, your skin ages even more quickly! So I thought I would do a post on perhaps one of my favorite kinds of beauty products, which is, eye makeup remover! It sounds very odd to say that it's one of my favorites, but removing all your makeup will not only keep your skin looking beautiful (and healthy) but it will also keep your new makeup looking fresh when you apply it.

I've decided to post on a few different products, all varying in cost and type.

The first product I'd like to share is Blum natural eye makeup remover pads. I found these while browsing the beauty products at Whole Foods one day and the concept of natural remover pads that were only $5 a jar and were not tested on animals was very appealing to me! I think these pads do a pretty good job of removing light eye makeup (e.g. a little eyeliner, mascara, some light shadow) but not so much for something as strong as a smoky eye. The convenience factor though is huge to me, because there are always those nights that I'm too tired to do anything but take something that's already pre-moistened and wipe away my makeup. If you generally don't wear much eye makeup, and prefer something natural and decently priced, these Blum pads are the thing for you!

Another one of my favorite eye makeup removers is Aveda's Pure Comfort Remover. You will see a lot of Aveda products on my blog because I spent the last two summers in an Aveda Concept Spa and Salon. Some of the products are fantastic, others could be improved, but the eye makeup remover is perfect as it is! The thing I really love about this product is that it removes all of my eye makeup and is VERY gentle. I have very sensitive eyes and the generic store brands burn my eyes too much. I love how Aveda's product is also all natural, very effective, and easy on the delicate skin. I usually have the most problem removing eyeliner, and the best way I have found to do this is to take a q-tip and squeeze some of the Pure Comfort remover onto it and then remove your eyeliner that way. It works wonderfully!

Speaking of q-tips, if you are a busy gal and are on the go most of the time, you may want to consider Bare Escentuals q-tips. It usually costs around $5 for about 20 of them. Each q-tip comes filled with their makeup remover formula, and you snap one end which releases it to the tip of the swab, and voila, you are ready to remove your eyeliner! I say eyeliner and not eye makeup because it is really too small to remove anymore than your eyeliner, unless you used several. These are great though to keep in your purse, backpack, or makeup bag if you need to make a quick touch up.

(picture from the Bare Escentuals website)

But perhaps my favorite of all makeup removers is the one that is made by Benefit. I am a true lover of Benefit products because they are not only effective, but their ingenious marketing techniques make using their products a lot of fun. I love how there is a large quantity of product and I get the most bang for my buck with Benefit's Gee That Was Quick makeup remover. It is gentle enough to use around your eyes but also does a fab job getting rid of the rest of your maquillage. My only advice is to not travel with the bottle! For some reason, despite my best efforts to keep it from leaking (even tying tissues around it and rubber banding it shut with the lid firmly on), it always looses half the quantity of the bottle if I take it on a trip. Other than the packaging problem, this is one terrific product!

(picture from the Benefit website)

I hope you all have a great week and good luck with all of your work!

Midterm Beauty

Bon matin everyone! I can't believe how fast the weekends tend to go by. It seems like after one stressful week, I get to breathe for a minute and then it's off to another! This week especially seems to be a busy one, at it doesn't look like there will be much time to do anything but study until spring break.

I'm sure that many of you are feeling the same way, and I thought that perhaps I would share some makeup tips that will enhance your natural beauty without taking too much time in the morning. I don't know about you, but as midterms approach I like to relish every last second of sleep in the morning, and getting up early to "prettify" myself is low on my list of priorities, however I do know that whenever I feel I look good, my confidence goes up, and who doesn't like a little extra confidence?

After working with makeup all of last summer, I picked up a few tips about how to make applying makeup fast and easy, but leaving you with a gorgeous result that looks effortless. Here now is my 2 minute or less face!

Step 1: If you want to look fresh faced in the morning, the best thing to do is to wash your face when you get up with the appropriate cleanser of course. What I like to do is use a small face loofah or facial scrub pad with some cleanser on top. It takes care of your cleansing and exfoliating all in one and preps your skin beautifully for your makeup! But don't forget that moisturizer with SPF!

Step two: Apply some kind of foundation, just to cover up any blemishes and even out the skin tone. You really don't need to apply a ton of makeup, and a fresh looking face is always in style! The way I recommend picking a foundation is to think about your skin type. If you have dry skin but don't tend to get a lot of blemishes, a tinted moisturizer is a fabulous option. It evens out the skin tone, hydrates your skin, and most of the time will contain SPF to give you the sun protection you need. Now, I know that one concern many women have is putting too many chemicals on their skin, so if you are looking for a great all natural tinted moisturizer, try Aveda's Inner Light Tinted Moisturizer. Aveda uses naturally derived SPF from Cinnamon Bark and so you don't have to worry about those icky chemicals.

(picture from the Aveda website)

If you have dry skin but tend to have a lot of blemishes, then a liquid foundation would be a good bet. Liquid foundations tend to be a little heavier and give you more coverage, but it is important to make sure to pick one out that doesn't clog your pores!

If you have oily skin, you would definitely want to try a powder formula. Powder will soak up that excess oil and even out your skin. The problem with liquid foundations or tinted moisturizer on oily skin is that even oil free formulas can add extra shine to your visage. A fabulous powder formula that I keep going back to is Benefit's "Hello Flawless" powder. It comes with both a sponge and a brush, but I find that a big, fluffy brush works better to cover your face and the sponge works best to add coverage in certain areas where you might have blemishes, or to give you full coverage.

(picture from the Benefit website)

For normal skin, it is really your pick!

I know that all of that seems like a lot of work already, but really once you find the perfect foundation and nail down your application technique, it will bring out your best complexion! If you are really short on time, then I just recommend highlighting your best feature. If it is your eyes, make them pop with some colored mascara (for example blue or purple), if it is your cheekbones, add some highlighter or bronzer, or if it is your lips, pick out some good colors (a very soft pink or light coral is always pretty this time of year).

Step 3: If you have another few seconds to spare, I would recommend a little blush. Blush is great because it just gives you that very feminine and pretty fresh faced look. This blog entry seems to be one almost dedicated to Benefit products, but I do love them because they are high quality, effective, and so fun to use.

My two favorite products in this category are their Coralista all over face powder and their Posietint. Coralista is a gorgeous coral blush that really looks great on every skin tone. I have pretty fair skin myself, and a light sweep of this product on top of my foundation just adds the perfect amount of color, but you could use more product to build the color if you have a darker complexion.

(pictures from the Benefit website)

Posietint is a fabulous product, but I feel that often times women are a little hesitant to use a tint on their face. This one is quite simple to use. One of my favorite techniques is to dip a q-tip into it and put a few little dots on the apples of my cheeks and rub it in quickly. It seriously will last all day and there is no need to reapply!

*The pictures here are taken from the Aveda and Benefit websites, and my apologies for a lack of any "real" photos.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday, good luck with classes, papers, and midterms!

Love Spell

Happy Valetine's Day Everyone! (or Organic Food Day if that's what you happen to be celebrating....it might just be my friend Carissa and I-so Happy OFD girl!).

I thought that instead of doing some kind of cheesy ode to romantic products that are only useful if you have someone to wear/use them for, I would instead share a few of my favorite beauty products that can be used by any woman, any time! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Aveda's Beautifying Composition Oil

I have to admit that when I first start learning about Aveda products, I was a bit skeptical. There is always that Western influence that tells me that Ayurvedic philosophy is just a fancy name for the placebo effect. It wasn't until I really started seeing the effects of these products that I became a believer in other healing methodologies. Still, when I heard about a "Beautifying Composition", I wanted to try it because I'm too much of a product junkie to pass it up, but was hesitant because even though all the sales people raved about it, how much could it really help?

Ladies, if you are going to have an all in one beauty product, THIS is the product you are going to want to buy. Beautifying contains moisturizing jojoba oil as well as lavender, bergamot, and rosemary oils and reminds me of that warm, earthy Aveda smell that is so relaxing and soothing. It works great not only as a stress relief, but it has nearly infinite uses!

Here are a few that I've tried and can personally attest to their efficacy:

1. The best eye make up remover! Yes, it is a little oily and you will need to remove some of the excess oil, but it does remove that stubborn eyeliner and mascara better than almost anything else I have tried. It's very gentle and didn't irritate my skin or burn like some removers tend to.

2. Tames frizz and adds shine! After flat-ironing my hair, I like to add a little bit of product just to smooth it and keep it from frizzing. Put a couple of drops on your finger tips and work it through your hair to give it a nice, healthy shine (just don't go overboard because after all, it is an oil).

3. Helps get rid of scarring! I heard about this trick by reading about in the product reviews on the Aveda website and decided to give it a go. I was stunned when I actually saw an improvement in some scarring I have on one of my legs. Of course this isn't meant to replace any kind of prescription for serious scarring, but for minor ones it does help!

4. Boosts the moisture effects of other moisturizers! Because this product is rather expensive ($21 for 1.7 oz), you can really get your money's worth by adding a few drops to a bottle of a drug store moisturizer. It will boost the effects and add a nice, light lavender fragrance!

5. Great for cuticles and dry hands! If you live in a dry climate, or even in the winter months, you know how harsh the weather can be on your hands. Remedy this by rubbing some beautifying on cracked or dry cuticles, or rough spots on hands. If you want a super moisturizing treatment, rub the oil all over your hands and sleep in cotton gloves.

Victoria's Secret Love Spell Body Butter

This is Victoria's Secret's best selling scent and for good reason! It's hard to describe the specific elements of this heavenly scent, but to me it just smells as sweet as candy. I absolutely love the Love Spell body butter because it is super softening, smells delicious, and leaves a soft shimmer behind, making it a fabulous product to use in the summer to enhance that sexy dress you want to wear out! Vicky's doesn't test on animals and there are generally sales that go on with their secret garden scents, making it an economically reasonable beauty pick!

Jessica Simpson's Fancy

I know that sometimes I cringe a little bit when celebrities come out with new fragrances...I mean, do I really want to smell like Paris Hilton? However, it only took one whiff of JS's Fancy to get me hooked. The scent boasts notes of Sparkling Pear and Juicy Apricot Nectar, along with Sandalwood, Caramel, and Vanilla creme. It really is a versatile scent because it's not too sexy that you can't wear it to class/work/internship, but it's not too "girl next door" that it wouldn't be sexy worn out! This has to be by far my favorite fragrance ever! If you are looking for a light, feminine scent that can be used for both day and night, this is the one!

ChapStick Fresh Effects Invigorating Green Tea Mint

I first found out about this chapstick from my sister who is a self-proclaimed chapstick addict. I usually don't care too much for the ChapStick brand chapsticks because in the past they have not been moisturizing enough, however, after using this product I am willing to give their other new products a go! The thing I love about this chapstick is that it really does a great job of moisturizing my lips and you can actually feel the mint tingly feeling on your lips, without a burning sensation. It really makes you want to reapply more often, and I think perhaps I do because the tingling sensation feels so nice!

Well, it is back to the books for me! Have a lovely Sunday evening everyone!

Mid-Week Spa Tips Part 1

Bonsoir mes amies!

We are expecting 12 more inches of snow in Philly this evening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow! I know I could definitely use a day to sleep in and get ahead on some work! Even though it's only a few weeks into the semester, I can already feel the work piling up!

As college students, we juggle going to class, tons of reading and work for those classes, sports, club meetings, planning for future internships, summer programs, grad schools...dare I mention a thesis or even thinking of our future careers? I think we all have those moments when we've subsisted on a few hours of sleep, numerous cups of coffee, and less than appetizing dining hall cuisine and somewhere in between all of this chaos we stop to think how nice it would be to be off on some tropical island, eating fresh fruits and lounging by the ocean...or at least I know I do!

Although we all have countless things on our to-do lists, I believe it is crucial to our sanity to take a few minutes a week to enjoy some spa-like pampering in the comfort of our own room. I know that many of you will say you don't have time, but I am providing you with a few tips to help you incorporate some zen into your lives that won't leave you crunched for time!

1. Grab a slice of cucumber from the dining hall salad bar to put in your water bottle. It aids with digestion and many spas use it or lemon (for detoxification purposes) in their water to serve to guests. It also helps you drink more water if you get bored with the plain taste of it, and it's one little thing to help soothe you throughout the day.

2. Give your self a mid-week, 5 minute manicure. I know you are thinking that you don't have time to paint your nails and wait hours for it to dry. Well friends, I'm going to give you one of the best possible tips to remedy this! Remove that chipped polish that you've had on for the last 2 months and paint your nails with two coats of polish. If you have time, put a clear top coat on top because that will help the color last longer. Then take Pam cooking spray, yes the stuff in the yellow can with the red lid, and spray this over your nails. Wait for 3 to 5 minutes and you are good to go!! Your hands might be a little oily from the spray so after you've checked that the polish is indeed dry, you can rinse off the excess oil. The Pam spray dries nail polish faster than any other quick dry product that I have ever tried. It is also cheaper and gives you more product so it will last you a really long time! Once you try this, you'll want to bring a can of it to your local nail salon to spray on before you drive home! (Just wait until you get out to your car first)

*sorry the picture is so small!

3. Need a quick pick me up while studying? Try aromatherapy oils! Peppermint is fantastic for stimulating your senses and energizing you. You can also use any other kind of mint or citrus scents which are also invigorating. Be sure that the oil is contained in a carrier oil such as almond, apricot, or another oil (it will say so on the label) because essential oils used on their own cannot be placed directly on the skin.

Rub the oil on the skin below your nose so you can inhale the scent while studying. You can also place it on your temples, the inside of your wrists, or the back of your neck.

If you need some scents to relax you, try vanilla, lavender, or ylang ylang. Remember that essential oils can be mixed into your favorite lotions or body washes, so don't be afraid to experiment a little bit!

Essential oils can often be found at health food stores like Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods, in addition to many online vendors. Aveda makes some great essential oils that can be purchased online, in their stores or in Aveda concept spas and salons. The Vanilla Absolute scent and Tangerine smell like a delicious creamsicle when combined!!

I hope you take a few minutes to try these tips this week! Stay tuned for future Mid-Week Spa Tips series posts! Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream

Happy Monday everyone!

Here in Philadelphia we have accumulated quite the amount of snow! I've heard that this is the second biggest snow storm in the city's history! However, all this snow and cold weather can definitely irritate the delicate skin on your face, which is why I'd like to introduce you to a fabulous facial cleanser....Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream! I stumbled upon this treasure when I discovered that one of my former roommates used it (and had flawless skin as a result). After hearing only great things about it from her, I decided to give it a go! I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, because all natural facial cleansers (especially of the drug store variety) tend to have a reputation for not being as effective as their chemical laden counterparts. However, this cream cleanser has made me a believer!

*picture from the Burt's Bees website

I spent last summer having to assess the skin needs of various clients at the spa I worked at and I would have to say that this cream would be great for any type of skin! Cream cleansers are wonderful for dry skin in general, because they add moisture. However, this cream also does a great job of absorbing excess oil from oily skin. On days when my skin feels more dry, Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile cleansing cream adds enough hydration but on days when I feel a little more oily, it takes away the excess oil without stripping my skin of moisture. As someone with fairly sensitive skin, I felt good about using this cleanser because of the chamomile ingredient (known for its amazing powers to calm and soothe irritated and sensitive skin).

The one downside to this cream is that I find it doesn't consistently remove all of my makeup. I often times end up with a little bit of foundation left, but this can be easily remedied if you use a gentle wash cloth or facial shammy with the correct amount of product on it when washing your face.

The smell is also just strong enough to be invigorating for morning usage, but not so potent that it is overwhelming as an evening cleanser. Something about the combination of botanicals in this cream makes it smell so delicious that I want to wash my face more than I should! This Burt's Bees wonder is also wallet friendly, and costs around $8 (which is a little more expensive than your typical drugstore brands, but for a natural pick that contains no chemicals, it is far less expensive than its upscale counterparts). The bottle is also large enough that the amount of product would last about two to three months, if you used it diligently in the morning and evening.

As you can see from the picture, it has a very creamy consistency but is not too thick and easily spreadable. You can also see that I've tested it on my wrist. This is a great way to sample a new facial product and is most important for those of you with extremely sensitive skin. Testing any new product on your face might result in redness and irritation, and it is better to use the sensitive skin on your wrist, which can be easily covered up in the case of undesirable side effects.

A few other key points about this product:

-Won't clog pores

-pH Balanced

-Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate Free

-Paraben Free

If you want to learn more specifics about this product, please use this link: http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/face-cleansers/soap-bark-chamomile-deep-cleansing-cream.html

I've been using this product for almost two months and I can definitely see an improvement in my skin. It does a great job of helping reduce blemishes and my skin feels so soft and smooth after using it. All of Burt's Bees products are cruelty free, which make me feel even better about using them! If you've been looking for a natural, well-priced, cruelty free yet effective facial cleanser, look no further because Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream is just for you!

Welcome to La beaute!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to La beaute par Alex! I decided to start this blog for other beauty junkies such as myself. I've always loved beauty products and makeup and growing up I would spend countless hours searching for the best tips and tricks. After spending two summers working in one of the top Aveda spas in the country, I really cultivated my desire to find the best beauty products on the market. This blog will be full of product reviews and insider tips and tricks! Most of the products that I will mention on this blog will be cruelty free and from companies that refrain from using animal testing. I hope you enjoy it!

Tip #1: Sweet as Sugar Exfoliator

Winter might bring wonderful things such cozy nights where you can curl up by the fireplace with some hot cocoa and gorgeous scenery, but it also brings one thing that nobody likes...dry skin. One of the best things you can do for your skin is to exfoliate it! It is a common misconception that moisture is the remedy for dry skin, but exfoliating prior to applying a moisturizer will yield much better results and give you that baby soft skin that we all crave!

My favorite exfoliator is Sugar in the Raw cane sugar. You will often see salt based exfoliators, and although they might be effective, they will burn your skin if you have any nicks or cuts from shaving. Adding a teaspoon of Sugar in the Raw to your favorite body gel will not only rub all the dead skin cells away and give you silky soft legs and arms on a daily basis, but it is also the best thing to do BEFORE you shave to minimize those irritating nicks!

Sugar in the Raw is gentle enough to use on your skin every day (but remember NEVER use it on your face!) and one easy way to use it is to keep some in a small sandwich bag or small container. Keep it in your shower or shower caddy and you will have smooth skin in no time!

P.S. If you want an extra sweet body scrub, try honey, a little bit of brown sugar, and sugar in the raw mixed together. It's easiest to keep this in a container, and make a new batch every week. The honey might be a little sticky at first, but just mix it in enough with the other two ingredients to make a thick body scrub and you will be smelling (and feeling) as sweet as sugar!