Okay... I am constantly on the hunt for holy grail proucts. There's nothing better than finding great products that give you great results and are affordable. On my missions, I've found some not so great stuff and some "Holy crap, why didn't I hear about this before?!" type of products. Here are some things I've found that have becomes staples for me.
About the Product:
"Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Original Solid Formula, made with pure Cocoa Butter, enriched with Vitamin E, in a soothing emollient base, heals and softens rough, dry skin, helps smooth and blend unattractive marks and scars and tones skin. It is ideal for deep moisturization, including overnight treatments and is widely recommended for stretch marks during and after pregnancy."
I have very dry skin so I'm always looking for stuff that'll work for me because usually lotion doesn't cut it. My skin sucks it up and will look dry halfway through the day (I can't stand alligator skin!) For a long time I was using the body shops body butters but I would seriously go through one jar in 2 weeks and at $20 a pop that can get expensive fast. Somebody had recommended Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula a long time ago and I had bought a small jar (3.5 oz) at walgreens for maybe 5-7 dollars. It sat in my bathroom closet for the loooongest time until I was forced to use it this winter after a shower when my Body Shop Body butter ran out and I had to raid my lotions and things for something that would work. I figured I'd give it a shot. The consistency was different from anything else I've tried and I'll be honest, the first few times I used it, I didn't love the chocolate smell. When I first opened the jar, it was stiff! it looked and felt like wax! but I dug some out with my finger and to my surprise, the stuff just melted like butter in between my hands when I would rub them together to almost like an oil. I slapped it on all over my arms and legs after a shower and it felt amazing!
It gives your skin a nice glowy sheen and will keep my super hydrated all day long. Pair it up with a shimmery body bronzer and you're summer ready. After a while of using it I found an ever bigger jar (7.25 oz.) in the hair care section in walmart and was soooo happy because I was going through the little jar in like a month and I actually love the smell now. I just feel so great after putting this on after a nice hot shower. I'll be using this stuff for a looooong time and I'm so happy to have found it because it's gonna take me through the summer. This stuff seriously makes your legs short shorts/skirt worthy. You can find it at walmart or walgrees. Let me know if you loved it as much as I did.
*Sidenote: I also have the Palmers cocoa butter with vitamin E swivel stick which I use as a chapstick and its the best chapstick I've found to date.
Website: http://www.palmers.com/product/detail.php?ID=56&SID=1&SUB=268
Aztec Indian Healing Clay:
"The World's Most Powerful Facial"
(Sidenote: It's also used for various other things like insect bites, eczema, poison ivy irritation etc.)
This might be a little early to review in any other case but this is a total exception. After hearing the lovely nurberxo rave about this product on her youtube channel, I knew I had to try it. Last night I was trying to find a whole foods where I found out they carry this stuff and realized there are none close to me but I do have a local health food store that carries a crazy amont of health/organic products of all kinds so I called ahead and they had it! I went and grabbed a 2lb jar for about ten dollars and was so excited to try it.
About the Product: AZTEC SECRET INDIAN HEALING CLAY is 100% bentonite clay from Death Valley, California, where it is sun- dried for up to six months in temperatures that sometimes reach 134 degrees.
How it works: "The unique structure of the molecules in Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay carry a negative electron charge. This comes from the valance electron count from the specific minerals found in Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay."
"When a spectographic analysis is done on Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay, almost every mineral found on Earth is present. Aztec Secret is volcanic Ash from when the Earth was formed It is the foam residue left as the planet cooled The foam residue formed a pure clay vein layered between white sand, near one of the lowest parts of planet Earth.
When a facial or clay poultice is applied to the skin it forms a negative charge. Poisons and toxins stored in the epidermis have a positive charge - Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay lifts the pimple and blackheads into the clay bed to cause accelerated healing and nourishment to the skin with over 50 minerals.100% NATURAL."
I used it for the first time last night before bed and was pretty darn impressed. I was a little scared to try it because you're supposed to mix it with raw apple cider vinegar. Raw vinegar?!! Yep... vinegar. It sounded like something that might melt my face off so just to be safe, when I mixed it, I put about three parts vinegar and one part water to dilute it although the jar does say you can use either or. It turns into a muddy greenish color which I applied with a small spatula. I slapped on a thick layer all over my face and omg... weirdest thing I've ever experienced. It has this very cooling/tingling effect at first and as it dries you feel like your face is literally moving. My lips felt like I was puckering up lol and towards the end you can feel your face pulsate! It's not uncomfortable at all despite the vingera but just strange. Obviously, it's doing something lol. I left it on for about 30 minutes and when I washed it off, my pores looked like they had shrunk and it felt so incredibly smooth, firm and fresh. My face was a little pink which is caused from the blood flow to the face but it goes away in about 20 minutes. Now, I don't have problem skin but I do like taking care of it and I can just imagine what this could do for somebody with acne or oily skin. I would totally advise reading all the raving reviews about this stuff. It's AMAZING. People will mix it with all kinds of things. Everything from aloe vera juice to coconut oil and so on. People report seeing their whiteheads and blackheads being sucked out by the mask (Tmi, sorry lol). I did read something about getting a better result if you do it after your pores have had a chance to open up so I think maybe next time I'll steam my face first or do it after a hot shower.
Where to find it: Whole foods, Amazon or their website: http://www.aztec-secret.com/clay.html
MakeupAlley Reviews: http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=74122/Aztec_-_Indian_Healing_Clay/0/Masks
*Disclaimer: Pictures found on google.
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
*Sigh* Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon lol.
About the product:
A 24 hour long lasting Cream Gel Eyeshadow
I started off with bad to the bronze. I wore it one time and that was it. I went back and got painted purple, edgy emerald, teneacious teal and fierce and tangy (orange). They are very comparable to Mac's paint pot's. This color had me so won over. I haven't worn the others but I've worn this one several times. Its gorgeous and very pigmented. It's a medium shimmery goldy bronze and I wore it with a primer as I thought it would most likely crease... but it didn't and it wouldn't of because I later popped it on my lid without primer or anything else after doing my mascara when I decided that I wanted to do a little more with my makeup. I wear it all day as my lid tone with some other neutrals and it stays perfectly in place. It comes off very smooth and kinda thin which is kind of weird considering how opaque it can get with a few layers and yet still doesn't crease. I had to apply about 2-3 layers to get it as opaque as I'd like and I would blend it in the crease and it's very easy to blend. It does dry though so it's easier to work with before it sets. What I love is how it looks like it could be a shadow, it's so shimmery and a lot of my MAC paint pot's will have a dryish looking finish. I've never tried a cream eye color and left it without an eyeshadow on top so I was pretty impressed at how it lasts and doesn't crease. I'm in love with this particular color and I'll be wearing it tons in the summer because it's the perfect color to use for a smokey eye, with other neutrals, with bright colors, as a wash of color or as a quick somethin somethin to add some flare to your makeup quickly. It's very wearable and easy to pair up with different colors. If you're going to get any color in the collection, I'd say get this one if you're into neutrals.
