Happy 2010!

Hi friends!

It's been awhile! But I'm back with more questions, comments, and thoughts regarding the products that can be purchased at drugstores. While in a CVS today, I had a few of these thoughts such as:

CVS is now featuring a futuristic entrance sign. This particular one is in a shopping center in Arlington, VA, which currently holds a grocery store, Starbucks, dry cleaners, etc. but is suffering from a 1980's facade that is in dire need of a facelift. CVS, however, may have taken this a bit too far. It looks like a spaceship.

Now I have been really struggling lately with purchasing a new shower gel. I spent quite a bit of time at the beginning of the new year searching Sephora, The Body Shop, Target, the internet...and haven't really found an adequate shower gel for mid-winter. I typically pick shower gels that are on the heavier side, both in scent and viscosity, since there's really no other time of year to use them. Plus, I have been dryer and static-ier than EVER this winter, so I need to load up on the moisturizers. These were my considerations:

1. Philosophy - Cherry On Top @ Sephora. I wanted to love this one. It's new for Valentine's Day and I can't really say "no" to cherry anything. But, alas, I was underwhelmed. I think it might be best with a mix of that and some almond flavored soap, or perhaps the Belgian Waffle Philosophy. Just something to cut the sweetness of the Cherry. If I wasn't on a budget right now, that would probably be something to look into.

2. Philosophy - Snow @ Sephora. When I stopped in the other day, they were o

ut. I checked online and discovered it's still available, but wow people are divided on the scent. The comment section is about 50/50 with most people agreeing it doesn't smell like snow, but diverging on their opinions of the scent. Most people think it smells citrus-y, for better or for worse. I happen to like it, but since it wasn't readily available, I moved on.

3. Nivea - Touch of Honeydew. I was really attracted to the bottle and thought, maybe this would be pleasant. The shower gel sort of looked like a refreshing Italian soda, so I was pretty excited. It had a nice enough scent, but I decided I'm not ready to commit to a summery shower gel just yet. Stay tuned for my thoughts on this one.

4. St. Ives - Energizing Citrus @ CVS - Again, too summery for now.

I couldn't make up my mind, so I decided to buy two:

Softsoap - Apricot Scrub. I used this last winter, so it sort of reminds me of that shower. But I figured it's perfect for my needs right now. It's affordable, has a strong scent and it's a lotion soap with bead

s for extra moisturizing. I don't remember being so dry last winter even though I kept my bedroom at a solid 85 most of the time. So I'm going for it. It was between that, and the Johnson's soap Susan recommended on the previous post. That one totally reminds me of the Spanish Harlem apartment I shared with

her, when I totally copied off of her shower gel preferences. I will buy it again someday, but right now I already have a large amount of Johnson's Melt Away Stress shower gel, and one 20oz bottle is enough for that little shower.

I also purchased Johnson's Baby Magic. This was a childhood staple. I feel like I'm right back in my old bathtub. I purchased it a couple years ago and noticed that my skin felt extra soft, even when I wasn't expecting it to. But due to this obsurd skin-dryness I have going right now, it's worth bringing out for reinforcement.

So what winter shower gel/soap are you using right now? Have you tried Susan's 24 Hour Moisture recommendation? Is bar soap the way to go? Should I take that plunge into the Creme Ribbon soap?

Fall

Another season. I like how they're just long enough for everyone to be excited about a new one. It does mean a change in routines. I can feel my hands already starting to reach their winter dry phase. Gotta stay healthy!

Here's what some of the offerings are for this season:

Philosophy "I Love Candy Corn" 3 in 1 shower gel: Candy corn does have a shelf life for me, but this product would make a nice addition to the shower. Sometimes Philosophy can veer too sweet with these products, so I'm thinking this is no different. I wonder if the gel stays separated in the correct color formation over time? Or is that just the bottle??

Sidenote: Thoughts about Trends...It's hard to really understand all the emphasis placed on "trends". In large part I feel like it's the creation of the fashion magazines in order to promote certain brands and certain magazine issues season after season. (That being said - I love the Allure Best of Beauty List issue every year. I love to see what products I already own/have thought about owning.) After reading Fall is about "earth tones" and rich "purples" year after year or Spring is about "pink" and "corals", I just think it becomes cyclical and not really worth putting stock in. I think most are pretty standard, no one wants overdone makeup unless you're going to the Oscars. The basics seem to be dark eyes, light lips or vice versa. Or are these just my thoughts??

With that said, apparently bold lips are in again for fall. Reds, dark reds, purples, etc. It's interesting because I've thought red lipsticks have been making a comeback for awhile. Especially with certain age groups. Aka mine. I'll admit to buying a few reds to try on, but I can never find the right color. MAC's Ruby Woo shade gets a lot of buzz, but I haven't purchased it yet. Also, their Dazzleglass Creme looks cool...like an extra wattage lip gloss with MAC colour.

Metallics and shimmers are big again. I'm a Nars fan and I love their Indian Summer Duo Eyeshadow color. Also, the Brumes duo looks good if you want something a little darker and not metallic.

Nars has also made me want to break out of my OPI rut. Check out their new Tokaido Express Nail Polish. Apparently it's named after Japan's most popular high-speed rail route. It's a great color and a part of the purple trend.

Random Thoughts on Philosophy, Schweppes and Vera Wang

I have to agree with Susan that Philosophy puts out some great products. But you have to be in the mood to use them because the scents are typically quite heavy. One Philosophy 3-in-1 gel that I purchased last December was a holiday Macy's/Nordstrom-exclusive scent called Spicy Gumdrop. I loved it! The scent itself is hard to describe, because what does a spicy gumdrop really smell like? And how is that any different from a sour patch kid or a nuclear sq-worm? But it was just more soft than what I'm used to with Philosophy and it had a nice shimmery green color for the season. It was lovely.

Q: Do you ever use Philosophy 3-in-1 for shampooing or conditioning?

Another new product that I recently purchased is the Schweppes Ginger Ale candle from Sephora. I got the big one since the travel-size smells a little off, not sure why. It really makes a room smell fresh! And it's just like ginger ale with a lime twist. The scent is long-lasting too. Sometimes I burn it at night and I can still smell it the next morning in my room. Overall, great candle. I highly recommend it.

Lastly, I would like to talk about a perfume from Vera Wang that I came across last weekend. It's called "Look" and it has a really refreshing citrus smell. Very orang-y. I liked the scent immediately. However, I did not like the bottle, it's ugly. When I looked it up on sephora.com, it says that this is "new," so that's probably why I haven't noticed it before. This will be really pleasant for light summer daytime wear and I think that I may purchase it once the weather gets a little nicer. So give it a sniff next time you're in Sephora, and let me know what you think!

Things I am Curious About

Even though Valentine's Day is over, there are some Valentine and other products out there that caught my eye.





Philosophy's Cinnamon Hot Dots. This is a part of Philosophy's line of 3 in 1 shower gel/shampoo/conditioner. I think the fragrances are usually dead on so I imagine this one is excellent.










Korres Kumquat Shower Gel. I love the rest of their product line and this looks fresh and light for spring. The website says it has a hint of mandarin. Score.







Korres Spearmint Body Milk. I think this would be a good addition to summer lotions. Korres' body milks are really light and not to heavy on fragrance. I wonder if it's like the C.O. Bigelow line and has a cooling mint sensation??

















Too Faced Girls Dig Pearls Lip Gloss. Right now I'm using Alba Passion Fruit Nectar Clear Lip Gloss. I want to like it more, but so far it's just fair. Too Faced looks interesting even though the packaging looks a little like someone blingee'd it. The colors also are a nice palette for spring.








Fresh Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask. Like I need any perfecting! But seriously - the Fresh line is always interesting. Sometimes I think it veers a little to mom-like for my taste. Also this is $85.00, so this mask will probably always just remain something to be curious about. It sounds interesting and probably smells great.