Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Review

This is one of my daily must have skin care products.  I started using this bad boy about eight months ago.

I am always looking for the best preventive skin care to ward off wrinkles for as long as possible. For my current skin routine, I have been using Retin-A nightly for about two years, mostly for acne, paired with this serum.  

I have read that the best preventive skin care involves using a retinol product at night and a product containing vitamin C in the morning.

This product is a light weight gel that has a citrus scent to it.  I love Ole's products because they are nourishing and hydrating.  I have really been able to see a difference in my skin since I started using this product and I have experienced far less breakouts and my skin has a clearer texture.

The only downfall that I can find for this product is the price.  $50 for 1 oz  of product is a lot of money, but I have been using the same bottle for at least 6 months.  The smallest amount goes a long, long way.

I use about half a pea sized amount of product daily and am able to cover my entire face, the backs of my hands, and neck area.  The serum dries quickly and leaves my skin feeling smooth.

"This amazing ten-percent vitamin C skin booster and antiaging treatment firms and smoothes, delivering more radiant skin. The weightless, fast-absorbing, oil-free formula penetrates to deep layers of the skin, offering instant and long-term hydration, nourishment, and antioxidant protection against environmental aggressors."

$48 for a 1oz container

Winter Glow

I have some of the palest, red based skin around and have never seen any kind of tan on my body unless I fake it.  Because my skin is so red based, I like to use a foundation to conceal the redness.  With the red tone taken out of my skin I just look pale (NW20) and need to add a little color. 

Lately I have been wanting to add a subtle glow to brighten up my complexion during the dark winter season.  My favorite go to product to achieve this glow is Physicians Formula Happy Booster, Glow & Mood Boosting Bronzer.  I love that this product provides a complementary palette of color that blends together beautifully to create a light glow. The bronzer also has a cute vibrant pink heart that helps to give my cheeks a nice pop of color.

Light Bronze $13.95

This product does have a small amount of shimmer, but when it is blended onto the skin the shimmer is barely noticeable.  This product is super cute with the different sized hearts and smells great.  Physcians Formula says that the Happy Boost products feature, Happy Skin and Euphoryl,  natural plant extracts which have been shown to promote a feeling of happiness by mimicking the effect of Endorphins and helping protect the skin from environmental stress.  I can't say that I have noticed the Endorphin effect, but the cute packaging does make me smile.

Left: Bronzer with pink heart mixed in Right: Bronzer alone

I would recommend this product to anyone with a lighter skin tone who wants a little bit of color.

My Top 5 Favorite Nail Polishes

I have a pretty large nail polish collection in shades from every spectrum of the rainbow.  The five polishes that I reach for most include:

Honeymoon Red, Rainbow Connection, Lucerne-Tainly look Marvelous, Houston
We Have a Purple, Watermelon

Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red $3.99 at Target

OPI Rainbow Connection $8.50

Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous $8.50

Houston We Have a Purple $8.50 

Essie Watermelon $8.00

Best Bar of Soap Out There

Trader Joes is one of my all time favorite stores.  I get excited every time I go there.  Can't say the same for other grocery stores.  Joe's definitely has a great thing going, a fun upbeat atmosphere and some of the happiest employees I have ever seen.  I'm not talking about put on your best face and pretend you are having a good time.  Every employee I have come in contact with seems really happy, like they enjoy what they are doing.

I discovered this gem several years ago and have been loyal to it ever since.  Not only is this one of the biggest bars of soap I have ever seen, it smells am-a-zing!  It says ginger almond scent, but I smell almond the most.  This creamy bar is chuck full of good for you and the environment ingredients and provides many sudsy showers.  There are chunks of oatmeal scattered throughout the bar for some added exfoliation.  

Best soap ever! $2.99

Hands down I would recommend this soap to anyone who loves a great smelling, moisturizing, and full of good for you ingredients.

MAC Iridescent Powder Review

MAC Iridescent Powder, Silver Dusk is one of my favorite highlight shades.  It is a beautiful pinkish beige colored powder with subtle silver shimmer.  You definitely need to be a fan of shimmer if you plan to rock this powder.  I love using it below my brow bone as a highlight shade and on my cheek bones for a light glowing effect.  I reach for this powder almost on a daily basis.

Silver Dusk (NW20) $23

Iridescent Powder is a finely milled mixture of Mica and pigments which gives the skin a beautiful sheen. It can be used on its own or mixed into other products like foundations or moisturizers to enhance their iridescent qualities. Designed to apply easily and uniformly without streaking and caking, it blends beautifully and can be applied on bare skin or over foundation. Because it's so concentrated it should be used sparingly at first.

As MAC's description says above, this powder packs a lot of shimmer so you only need to use a small amount unless you want to look like a disco ball (not really a problem for me). Sometimes I wish that I was a vampire from Twilight so that my skin would shimmer all the time.

I would definitely recommend this powder to anyone who loves shimmer and glitter as much as I do!!!

MAC Glitter and Ice Dazzlesphere

MAC's holiday collection for Winter 2011 is Glitter and Ice:

I only picked up one item from this years holiday collection, but I am in love with the colors.  I have developed a recent obsession with MAC pigments.  I have had some of the pigments for a few years and only used them every once and a while.  Now I cannot seem to get enough.

While checking out the new collection at my local MAC I instantly fell in love with the gorgeous pigment colors in the smoky berry kit.

Smoky Berry Ornament $32.50

Left to Right (NW20): Spicy Smoke, Roasted Chestnut, Rose Light, Pearl

MAC Wipes Review

I have heard so much hype about MAC's face wipes, but never tried them until recently.  Most people have a love or hate relationship with the wipes.  Many say that the wipes caused their skin to break out.  This is the main reason that I was so hesitant to try them.  My finicky skin does not need any help when it comes to breaking out.  After a recent visit to my local MAC store, I finally decided to breakdown and try them out for myself.

MAC Wipes 100 Count $28

At first I was a little put off because of their smell.  They have a very strong perfume smell to them.  To me the smell was not horrible, just strong, so I decided to give them a chance.  Since then the smell has actually grown on me.   I was completely shocked the first time the wipe touched my face.  It literally made all of the makeup disappear in one quick swipe.  I have never found another makeup removing wipe that could do this.  I was wearing lotion, SPF, Primer, foundation, blush, bronzer, powder, etc and one swipe took it all off!

I use these wipes before working out and sometimes at the end of the day to take off my makeup.  I read some where that the wipes are made with a sugar based emulsifier that helps breakdown makeup.

Besides the makeup melting strength my favorite thing about these bad boys is that they are moisturizing and leave my skin feeling as soft as a babies behind.   My biggest complaint of other makeup removing wipes is that they leave my dry skin feeling tight, uncomfortable, and even more dry.