Say Farewell to Those Ghostly Pale Legs--Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs (Light Glow) Review!

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

This leg makeup comes in six shades.

Summer has officially declared itself finally with warm enough weather to pull out the shorts.  The only problem I had was how unsightly white legs looked after gazing at my reflection in our full-length mirror. Since I didn’t want to draw attention to that frightening prospect, I thought one of those quick spray-on tans like Sally Hansen’s Airbrush Legs might be just the thing to get them by until getting some genuine sun.  

Though this makeup type tanning product has been around for quite a while, this was my first time experimenting with it.  To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure how well a leg makeup would work or if it would even last without melting or staining clothes.  

Before I began, I exfoliated my legs first with a sugar scrub to make the surface smooth for the product to adhere.  I do advise that step to guarantee the best results from any self-tanning product.  After spraying a wad into the palm of my hand, I started from the feet and hurried rubbing the product in as evenly as I could, working my way up the leg before it dried.  

If you’re not quick enough, it will look streaky so remember that you’re on the clock and rub, rub, rub.  When you run out of your current load, wash your hands before getting a fresh application because it can look spotty in places if you don’t.

It was very simple to use and gave just enough natural sunny color that didn’t leave its mark on my shorts.  I wouldn’t want to use it every day as a substitute for stockings, but it is handy when you can’t afford to have those legs looking like they belong to a corpse.

Have you tried Sally Hansen’s Airbrush Legs yet?  Check it out!

Are You Sure That You’re Really Doing All You Can to Protect Your Skin From the Sun?

This beauty goes a step further to protect her skin from the sun by wearing a hat.

Despite all the advanced formulas of sunscreen and higher grades of protection that cover UVA and UVB light that we use, why is it the skin cancer in America seems to be on the rise?  The reasons are many from our obsession with how great a deep tan looks to just simply using our sunscreens in the wrong way.  

For instance, how many of us just open the bottle, tube or spray on what we believe is enough to sufficiently coat the skin when we are in reality leaving our skin vulnerable? One ounce or half a shot glass is what is recommended, but who takes a shot glass with them when you need to reapply somewhere?  You can compare that to a generous quarter size dollop of sunscreen lotion per each body part that needs to be rubbed in thoroughly.  Sprays need enough to make sure that the liquid is gleaming once you finish rubbing. If you prefer a stick, you need to go over each body part using a back and forth motion at least twice to keep your skin safe.

How to Stay Beautiful While Beating the Heat This Summer!

Summer beauty doesn't have to be complicated--just altered.

If you intend to stay beautiful through the Summer, then you may want to rethink some of your cosmetics. After all, pigments in many of those makeup products can transform on your face through heat and sweat. With just a few changes to the products that you use, you will save your impeccably made-up face from melting in the sun.

My first suggestion is to start wearing a silicone-based primer over your moisturizer with SPF before applying makeup.  This will absorb excess oils since skin does get more oily though the heat to keep everything intact.  Just remember to wait at least five minutes before other products so the primer has a chance to set. 

Another idea is lightening up on foundation.  Summer months call for lighter water-based formulations of liquids or creams over heavier oil-based ones.  Try to use less or apply with a damp sponge to sheer the foundation out also helps it stay longer on a hot, humid day.

If you want the simple route for both coverage and sun protection, you can turn to a CC or BB Cream or a tinted moisturizer instead.   

A stain for your cheeks or a creme blush may hold up longer over a cream or liquid form of foundation than sweeping on a powder blush.  On the same note, when using powder foundation aim for the powder blush. The rule for ultimate success is stick with similarly formulated products

Switch out your liquid concealer for a dense, creamy one that can hold up better through the heat.  

Strive for lighter, brighter and glimmering shades of eye shadow to keep your look fresh and dazzling as you take advantage of the sun.  Your best bet may be long-wearing waterproof cream shadows, gel or liquid liners, and mascaras.  Eyeliner pencils can pose more problems smearing due to their waxes.

 Also, don’t forget to prime your eyes, especially if you’re intending on wearing powder shadows and liners. This will save you from that embarrassing problem of those products smudging or creasing or even worse, disappearing on you. 

Blotting papers or even tissues are wonderful to keep in your handbag during the day for a quick repair when shine comes through.  Try separating a tissue and dabbing over the offending area before touching up with powder.

Stains for your lips may last the longest, but the texture is too dry.  To solve that issue, just add some lubrication and SPF protection from a lip balm or just go with a tinted lip balm.  

A little forethought can be all you need for looking your best as that barometer climbs.  
  

Review--L’Occitane en Provence’s Frisson de Verveine Eau de Toilette + Ice Gel for Legs and Feet

Disclaimer: This post is based on a free product provided by a company as a press sample so that I may offer my own opinion, which may be the same or differ from yours.

Frisson de Verveine Eau de Toilette

It’s that time of year when L’Occitane en Provence releases a new Verbena fragrance to tempt us with. Frisson de Verveine Eau de Toilette ($55) that I got to sample is a sparkling fresh green citrus that is a perfect expression of summer in its breezy blend of dewy freshness.

The fragrance opens sparkling and pulsing with energy from top notes of lemon and bergamot.  It is this bright burst of freshness that awakens the senses until it further develops in the heart.

With verbena and just enough cucumber, the scent turns cooler and breezier somehow. The initial bolder freshness is curbed nicely as if the notes are flowing with an aquatic feel, only to get stirred up from the water to make it with more of this uplifting, refreshing sort of alluring appeal.

As it dries down, the hint of woods and musk give it a subtle dose of sexiness that makes L’Occitane en Provence’s Frisson de Verveine an ideal pick for boosting your mood and attitude this summer.  

Frisson de Verveine Ice Gel for Legs and Feet ($22) is a roll-on tube that I also got to try. This really cools tired muscles and feet when you need energizing to feel like yourself again.  

Frisson de Verveine Ice Gel for Legs and Feet

The Frisson de Verveine collection also includes bath salt, body gel, shower gel, hand cream and refreshing mist.  Do check these products out at L’Occitane en Provence because they will make your summer!

How I Make the Most of Summer–L’Occitane en Provence Style! (Review)

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Vitoria Regia (Day) Shower Gel

Summer is the time that you show more skin than other seasons.  Therefore, you need to take more care and adapt your beauty routine so that every inch of you is as beautiful as can be.  Let me share a few of my favorite products from L’Occitane en Provence that can definitely solve those special needs so you can make the most out of your summer also!

Ever since I reviewed the Bresil Collection, I have fallen in love with the deliciously exotic green, aquatic floral scent of Vitoria Regia.  Every time I suds up with this lush smelling Amazonian spawned floral, I allow that bright fragrance to carry me off. Vitoria Regia (Day) Shower Gel ($20) is light and just perfect for its uplighting effect to begin any day.

I have been slathering on L’Occitane en Provence’s award-winning Almond Milk Concentrate ($29.50--$49) after enjoying myself outside in the sun.  With its rich emollients like walnut seed and almond extracts, my skin drinks in this silky cream and feels so much better afterwards.  The scent of this is gentle and won’t clash with fragrance either. 

Almond Milk Concentrate

However, when it comes to feet, I can’t recommend their Shea Butter Foot Cream ($28) more highly enough especially this being the sandal season.  This award-winning stuff is a foot miracle in a tube with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties as well.  Despite how tired your feet can feel after a day in fashionable, but painful shoes, this cream has lavender and arnica as well as shea butter to refresh as it softens them beyond belief.  You’ll be surprised at that extra bit of pep that you’ll find in your step. 

Shea Butter Foot Cream

Before venturing outdoors, I make it a point to never be without  Angelica UV Shield SPF 40 ($38), another award-winning product.  What I love is how lightweight this multitasking moisturizer with a sun screen feels while it solves that dryness problem at the same time.  And yet, it does more for how it manages to perk up my complexion without using very much from its pump dispenser. 

Angelica UV Shield SPF 40 Moisturizer

Something else you need to try are products from their Immortelle line.  I have been using the Brightening Water ($28) for my toner for a while.  What I noticed is this product does more than just being able to remove any last reside of grime and makeup.  It also gives a face added luminosity that you have to experience firsthand over time.  Perhaps, it is the bellis perennis extract and vitamin C derivative along with the garden nasturtium extract that helps the complexion get that unreal glow.  I can’t begin to say how the formula works, only that it does!

Brightening Water

These five are a few of my summer beauty finds from this French brand that I highly recommend trying if you haven’t done so yet. What are your favorite products from L’Occitane en Provence?  

*Disclaimer: Free products were provided to facilitate this review--not my opinion.*

Summer Beauty Must-Have! -- IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation (Fair, Light Medium) Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation in Fair

Many of us have the same problem of falling between two shades of foundation.  Though I don’t have the fairest white skin like some natural born redheads, my complexion is the lightest beige.  Thus, finding the perfect shade can be tricky. However, I have some tips how to choose wisely when it comes to making a foundation selection.

Start with one of my favorite brands, IT Cosmetics.  Their Celebration Foundation can give skin fresh, radiant coverage that doesn’t weigh it down or settle into your lines due to their extraordinary anti-aging ingredients like hydrolyzed collagen, peptides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, rose, silk, aloe and those drops of light technology for that overall illuminating effect.  

This is a lightweight, full-coverage mineral foundation ideally suited for the summer heat with how the formula allows skin to breathe instead of feeling heavy like some others you might have tried.  Another thing I love about it is how easy it is to take with you whether in your handbag or suitcase so you can touch up with a flip of that compact.

The Celebration Foundation in Fair is a pale beige as you can see from my photo.  This one is the closest to my skin tone and the best for me for how it matches face with the neck.

On the other hand, the Celebration Foundation in Light Medium is slightly darker with more warmth of an olive-tone. With the yellow in my skin, this gives me more color but doesn’t mesh with my neck as precisely as Fair.

This is IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation in Light/Medium

As to the problem on how to decide between two shades of foundation, I recommend going with the lighter choice when in doubt.  Those with oily complexions should pay particular attention if you have problems with your face turning orange or ashy gray from your current foundation formulation.  Keep this in mind especially in regard to liquid varieties, which can oxidize to cause that color change. 

If you’re searching for a fabulous foundation to keep you looking good this summer, you got to try IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation ($35) because it can and will.   Buy online at  IT Cosmetics, Ulta Beauty, Ulta.com, QVC and QVC.com and The Shopping Channel.