Clinque's Moisture Surge Tinted Moisurizer with SPF 15

I have been on a quest to find the perfect day time cream foundation. Since I have super sensitive and dry skin, I am limited to the products I can choose from. Which I guess is good and bad. After testing what seemed like every product on the market, I have finally found salvation in Clinque's Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15. To be honest, I have not used clinique since my early teens. Mainly because the shades don't really work for me and at times, it's just marketed towards someone older or with less acne.

After seeing an ad for the moisture surge tinted moisturizer, I decided it was time to give clinque a second chance. Boy did I get a happy surprise. Not only did it go on smoothly, it's practically invisible. The coverage is light but it's perfect for someone who just needs to even out skin tone or hid redness. It doesn't feel like you have anything on your skin. This is great since the humid summers in NYC can literally melt the makeup off you (think Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz "i'm melting...").

My one request was that any foundation I bought does not show my dry patches. And even with my exfoliating and masks, the dry patches just didn't go away. So I have come to accept this and just wanted to work around it. This tinted moisturizer didn't show any of my dry patches. Thank god!

This is definitely an option for those who do not like the laura mercier or mac tinted moisturizers. This is a lot lighter and absorbs better into your skin. I highly recommend this to those who suffer from dry/ sensitive skin

Elemis Spa At Home Cellutox Active Body Oil

Last month I started using the Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil, which is a body oil designed to detox your entire body.  I stumbled upon it while looking for another Elemis body oil, but this just looked really interesting to me.  I'm all about holistic treatments or alternative approaches to healthcare, so when I saw the description and that the oil is designed to detoxify your body, due to the buildup of toxins from stress, etc., i was curious to try it and see what it could do for me. 

The Elemis Spa At Home Cellutox Active Body Oil contains seabuckthorn, sea fennel, lemon and juniper to do a list of good things for your body, including detoxifying the body, helping smooth the appearance of cellulite, helping boost energy, and also helping with constipation when rubbing into the belly and lower back.  It has a citrusy lemony smell, which according to my aromatherapy research, is supposed to help relax you.  According to the website the ingredients list did not contain any mineral oil, which we all know I try to avoid. 

I've been using this for about a month now, applying it to my "problem areas" including my belly, thighs and legs, and my upper arms and shoulders, right after a shower when your body is warm.  To be honest I'm not sure how to tell if its providing detox, but what I can tell you is that I feel very hydrated from this body oil and it leaves a really nice sheen on the shoulders and legs, especially nice if I'm wearing a dress.  I use a couple of drops for each part of my body (about a dime size amount for each part) on top of aloe vera gel, under a regular body moisturizer (Nivea). 

I should tell you that I had recently returned from my vacation and my skin was pretty burnt, not red and flaking, but my skin was significantly drier (especially at the shoulders), significantly! After about a week's use of this body oil, (along with the aloe vera gel) I felt like I had my soft skin back (whew). 

I also received a deluxe sample of the Elemis Spa At Home Frangipani Monoi Body Oil, which I had been reading about everywhere, but I only used it once because I wasn't particularly fond of the scent.  It had a muskier scent which I'm not a fan of, so if you're looking to try a body oil, I think the Cellutox version is the way to go.  Who doesn't like the smell of lemons?

Shu Uemura Tasai Cream

Last month I cheated on my hair stylist at a new salon.  I wasn't unhappy with my stylist at all, but I've been going to him for eight years now, and even though I think he does a fabulous job, I always wondered if someone else could possibly make my hair better than it already is.  After some research I ended up at Michael Angelo's Wonderland, and had my hair consultation, cut, and style with Annastasia, who recommended the Shu Uemura Tasai Cream.

According to the Shu Uemura website, the Tasai Cream is a moisturizing styling cream that offers texture, definition, and shine.  To apply, I use about two pumps to each side of my damp hair, before blow drying.  It's pretty liquidy, I wouldn't say the texture of the hair cream is very creamy, so it's rather easy to apply and spread throughout.  The product does exactly what it says it will do, which is, it texturizes my hair and gives it an extra bit of "movement" to it.  For reference, I have straight hair, and I don't have a ton of it, so I'm always looking for volumizing products, which don't ever seem to work out for me.  However this was the first product that has helped increase the volume, in the sense that it makes it seem like I have more hair than I actually do.  The cream also has a great scent, very light and pleasant. 


So far I am loving this product, I have been using it every day since the day I got it, and on the days that I don't use it I definitely notice a difference.  I would recommend this to people who have hair just like me, straightish and more sparse (not necessarily thinner hair, but it may help), not really sure how it would react with other types of hair.  Annastasia also recommended using dry shampoo, even on freshly washed hair, for even more volume.  What I do is section my hair into six parts, spray these sections, and also spray once in the back under the top of the underside of my hair, and work it into my scalp.  (For reference I'm using the Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo, which has a complementary scent to the Shu Uemura Tasai Cream). 


I highly recommend the Tasai Cream if you haven't tried it already, and I also recommend going to Annastasia if you're looking to try a new stylist!