Beauty Loves Week Day Seven - Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Facial Serum

Today is the last day of my Beauty Loves Theme Week and I am hoping that at least one of two things have occurred for you this week; first I hope that I have shown you all one or two new products that you will want to try out for yourself, and secondly I hope that you have thought about some of your favorite beauty products and how much you have come to love them over the years.  Over this week, we have looked makeup, perfumes, and one of the best body products in the world but we haven't talked about any type of skincare product yet.  Today we change that, Caudalie's Vinoperfect Radiance Facial Serum is a product that I have raved over for years and was a natural to make a Beauty Loves Week.  I was not one of the lucky ladies that was blessed with perfect skin and I have to use multiple products every single to keep it clear, hydrated, and to reduce the redness.  There are very few skincare products that I love and I almost always seem to be trying new products, especially facial serums and hydrators.  The Vinoperfect Serum from Caudalie is one of the few that I have never hesitated to repurchase and will rave about to anyone that is interested in the skincare line.

Caudalie is a French skincare line that is based around the concept on Vinotherapie, the use of grape-seed anti-oxidants to protect and repair the skin.  My skin is sensitive and easily irritated so I have issues with products that have excess chemicals or unnatural fragrances in them and make my skin worse than before use.  I have never had problems with anything from Caudalie and at this point I have purchased almost every single product in the line.  I was first recommended the Vinoperfect Serum in late 2006, when Bath and Body Works still carried this line of skincare.  I bought a bottle or it and used it twice a day as directed.  Within a week, I was getting all kinds of compliments on how lovely my skin looked and how good I looked overall.  The best compliments are the ones on my skin, it is very easy to apply a flattering lipstick shade but much harder to reap results from the perfect skincare product!

"A highly concentrated oil-free serum that improves the appearance of dark spots, promotes even skintone, and boosts radiance.  Highly concentrated with naturally powerful Viniferine, this satiny serum counters existing dark spots such as acne marks, scars, and damage, while preventing their reappearance revealing a brighter, more even complexion.  This non-comedogenic, oil-free formula is perfect for all skin types. For best results, use Vinoperfect Day Fluid or Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream in the morning and Vinoperfect Cell Renewal Night Cream in the evening. Viniferine, a natural compound found in vine sap known to brighten, lighten, and even skin, was patented by Caudalie in 2004."

"Based on in vitro testing, conducted by the Montpellier Faculty of Pharmacy, of the inhibiting action of Viniferine on tyrosinase:
- 62 times more effective than vitamin C
- 4 times more effective than kojic acid
- 13 times more effective than arbutin in boosting skin radiance and fighting dark spots
In a test carried out on 20 volunteers after use of Vinoperfect Regimen, under dermatological control:
- Volunteers saw disappearance of one or more dark spots after 56 days."

I have no issues with dark spots but this serum was recommended to me to help soothe and redness the appearance of the redness in my cheek area.  This serum is recommended for problem skin types and helps to soothe and uses plant botanicals to brighten the skintone.  This product reduces the redness in my cheek area and improves my overall facial complexion.  This is one of the few brightening serums that I have found to really work as it promises...and without irritating skin.  Some of the brightening serums that are effective have Vitamin C or Kojic Acid is, both very effective brightening ingredients, but ones that can be very irritating to my skin and are pretty touch and go for me.  This serum from Caudalie is one of the very few products that I have tried to far and manages to marry being effective and not irritating my already inflamed skin. 

This week has allowed me to look back on some of the products that I have come to love over the years and will continue to repurchase and use until they are no longer available.  All of these beauty products have lasted longer than my relationships and even though I am single this Valentine's Day, I still have some items to reflect on and love!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Beauty Loves Week Day Six - Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara

With my love of mascara and my obsession with buying and trying new formulas, it will come to no surprise that my Beauty Loves Week includes one of the best formulas that I have ever used.  And I have used a lot of mascaras, I rarely buy the same one twice and always pounce on whatever is new and top rated (from all kinds of companies).  I am very picky with mascaras and reject several for every one that I end up loving.  One the few that I fell madly in love with is the Dior Diorshow Iconic formula from Dior.  Diorshow mascaras have been best selling and top rated formulas ever since the original formula was released and I think that each update to the formula just gets better and better.  Iconic is my favorite of the mascaras and the one that I would repurchase any time that I need mascara. 

This is one of my newer loves from this week, I first tried this formula in 2009 and have bought it several times since then.  I have tried the original Diorshow and the Iconic formulas and I have just received a Beauty Insider sample from Sephora of the new Iconic Overcurl formula.  I cannot wait to try this new formula and to see if I have another mascara love.  More to come on this one!

The Diorshow Mascaras are so famous that Sephora has an entire area on the Dior area of their website devoted just to describing and comparing these award-winning formulas.  I'm waiting for them to get a display with blinking lights in the store. 

Sephora's introduction to the overall Diorshow formula line, "Born from the hands of artists, these backstage essentials are responsible for punctuating many of the beauty statements you see on the runway and red carpet. These mascara legends are also adored for their ability to turn lash aspirations into an everyday attainable and luxurious reality. Create your own spotlight-worthy results with these standout formulas that continue to push the definition of fierce fringe."  All of the formulas of this mascara are great but I want to focus on Diorshow Iconic because this one is my personal favorite.

"A mascara with an innovative oblique brush that curls and defines lashes.  Diorshow Iconic Mascara is the latest in Dior's dazzling range of best-selling mascaras. Created backstage for fashion shows and celebrity red carpet events, the Iconic mascara features an oblique cut brush that gives an extra lash-curling effect. With its long, skinny teeth, the plastic comb brush allows you to precisely coat each lash one-by-one-creating a long, separated fan of lashes that usually takes the skill of a makeup artist. The extra-hold formula provides a 24-hour-curl with 100% smudge-proof results.  Inspired by the tailoring technique of cutting fabric on the bias to create maximum curve, the Iconic brush features soft silicone bristles that spiral around the stem to lift, curl, and separate every lash."

What makes this mascara so special?  This formula just does it all and performs well in every single aspect.  To start with, the brush is so very unique, the plastic comb helps to define each individual lash and prevents against clumping.  I can load this mascara on and clumping is never an issue, unlike many other volumizing formulas of mascara.  Diorshow mascaras are all volumizing and help to create the massive, fake-looking lashes that I crave.  This formula is set apart by how well it volumizes but doesn't run a clumping risk like the original formula.  Iconic holds the curls better than most formulas and helps to make my eyes look huge and wide awake.  Many ladies will layer their mascaras to combine the best of both formulas but I really believe that this formula will give you great volume, curl, definition, and length.  This one formula will do it all and without flaking off or creating a mess when you remove it at the end of the day.

I love Iconic and I now have such high hopes for Iconic Overcurl.  Let's see if I find a new mascara love in the next few weeks!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Beauty Loves Week Day Five - Chanel No. 5

Stella by Stella McCartney is my biggest perfume love but I do have a second fragrance love that I wanted to talk about this week, Chanel No 5 is a fragrance that I have used and loved for longer than any other in my life.  No 5 is known as the "now and forever fragrance" and has been an icon every since it was first released in the early part of the last century, after reading the biography of Coco Chanel, I have come to love and understand this fragrance more than ever.  Chanel No 5 is the only fragrance other than Stella that I have had to buy more than one bottle of, I wear it often during the fall and winter and I can go through it at a very rapid rate.  I often credit this fragrance as being the perfume that made me want to get dressed up as a child and be like my mother (who has worn this fragrance for many years - in fact she is the only person that I know that goes through a bottle of this faster than I do).  I was first allowed to wear fragrance for my ballet recitals as a little girl and she always sprayed a (very) little bit of this on me before we left for the show.

As a child, I do not remember the exact time when I started loving this fragrance and wanting to own it and be able to get dressed up just like my mother.  This is the fragrance that I have been using for longer than any other and as this is the best selling fragrance for this renowned House, I am not alone in my admiration of Chanel No. 5. 

Chanel states the following as a fragrance description on their website.  "The now and forever fragrance. The ultimate in femininity. An elegant, luxurious spray closest in strength and character to the parfum form. The sleek, portable signature bottle is perfect for the dressing table or travel."

Sephora goes further with the product description and then into the iconic notes of the fragrance.  "The first great abstract perfume, N°5 conjures up no precise floral scent and survives the passing of mere trends because it is beyond them. Coco Chanel wanted "a woman's fragrance that smells like Woman." When perfume designer Ernest Beaux presented her with his 5th composition, the choice seemed simple and obvious. Her perfume would be called N°5. Five was her lucky number". What she mean when she wants a fragrance that smell like "Woman"? It is very simple, Chanel wanted a fragrance that had no instantly recognizable notes and soon after the first aldehydic floral.  At that time in history, perfumes had one or two very recognizable notes and that was what the fragrance smelled like. An example of this would be that if a fragrance boasted lily of the valley as its main note then the fragrance smelled like lily of the valley and nothing else. Chanel wanted a fragrance that was different for every woman and had no notes that jumped out at one. An aldehydic floral is defined as follows, "A bouquet of abstract flowers with an indefinable femininity".

Chanel No.5 is the first fragrance that did not smell strongly of one or two major notes and instead was formulated to be a blend of florals and musks and to smell unique on every single lady that wears it.  ""Launches with bewitching notes of Ylang-Ylang and Neroli, then unfolds with Grasse Jasmine and May Rose. Sandalwood and Vanilla round out the fabled composition with unforgettable woody notes". The notes that I find most evident in the fragrance when I am wearing it is the jasmine and sandalwood. I know that rose is one of the listed notes but I find that with application, the jasmine comes out more and is the heart of the fragrance.   This fragrance wears stronger on me so I only use it in the fall and winter, I would clear out an elevator if I used a fragrance of this power during the warm weather months. 

I will continue to love and wear this fragrance until I am too old to leave my nursing home.  If I ever become a mother or an aunt, this is the fragrance that I will introduce her to when she graduates college and is getting ready to go to grad school or find her first job.  This really is the Now and Forver fragrance and is one of the few true perfume icons.

photo courtesy of Chanel

Beauty Loves Week Day Four - The Body Shop Mango Body Butter

We are now at the middle of the Beauty Loves Theme Week and we have looked at lip gloss, perfume, and nail polish favorites of mine.  Today we are going to look at the product that has emerged as my favorite body product and the one that I have repurchased more times than I can remember.  In addition to my huge makeup and perfume collections, I have more body products than I could ever use up in five years so when I have one that I repurchase as soon as I am getting close to running out of it, then you know it is a great product and one that I cannot do without.  The Mango Body Butter from The Body Shop is a key product for me, it moisturizes my skin when it is at its driest point in the winter months yet is never greasy or heavy in the warm weather.  It also helps that the mango scent is perfect and (in my opinion) is the best mango fragrance on the market today.

I first used this product during the summer of 2004 and I cannot even remember how many times that I have purchased it since them.  I have continued to purchase not only the Body Butter in this fragrance but I have owned almost every single Mango product over the years.  All of the products are great but this butter is the best moisturizer that I have ever tried.  I can use this butter any time of the year and it has come through when my skin is so dry that is hurts or when I get too much sun at the beach.

"Our super-rich and creamy Body Butter is a feast for the skin. It melts straight in to leave skin feeling soft and smooth. It contains Community Fair Trade cocoa butter and has an exotic mango scent. 24-hour hydration.  Great for very dry skin Exotic mango scent."

This thick body butter manges to really hydrate my skin and to help it retain the moisture throughout the day.  This is one of those products that can be worn all year long; as I stated above, it is thick enough to hydrate when my skin is very dry during the fall and winter yet not greasy and doesn't feel heavy on the skin during the spring and summer months.  Normally, most of my body products can be used in either warm or cold weather, warm weather products need to be lighter and cold weather products need to be really heavy or my skin gets dry again within an hour or two of application.  The Mango Body Butter quickly absorbs into my skin and keeps it feeling soft and hydrated throughout the day, normally I one or the other from many body creams but this one somehow combines the best of both aspects and is a superior formula.   I need very little of this product and a jar of it lasts a very long time, the hydrated effect also lasts the whole day and I don't need to reapply near as much as I do with other brands and formulas. 

Based on how much I love the Mango Body Butter, I have bought and used other Body Butters from The Body Shop but I always return to the Mango every time that I visit the store.  It is at the point where I order or purchase two of these when I visit Ulta or a Body Shop store, as soon as I get low on it I immediately need to get more as I could not imagine my collection without it.  As much as the formula makes me love this butter, it is the fragrance that makes me want the Mango instead of buying any of the other scents (only the Coconut can even come close to my love of the Mango), I love the scent of mango and I will try any candle or product with this scent and this one has remained my favorite for years now...

photo courtesy of The Body Shop

Beauty Loves Week Day Three - Chanel Le Vernis

Today we are looking at my longest Beauty love and still my favorite nail polish formula and shade range.  I couldn't imagine not having Chanel Le Vernis shades in my nail polish collection and I have been using then since I first received a special beauty gift.  The shade that started my love with this product is the Ciel de Nuit shade, a limited edition shade that was made the winner of a Seventeen magazine contest and I had just began reading the magazine and was in love with everything that the writers suggested.  I still remember everything about that first bottle of polish that I received and I still look at every single seasonal collection to see if this shade might be replicated (by anyone at this point!).  As of right now, a single bottle of this polish is offered at $350 on Ebay and I was actually considering ordering it but then I did wonder how well the formula has weathered the time.  This polish shade was only made in the late fall of 1995...

That's right...1995!  This was my first piece of expensive makeup and my first ever item from Chanel, this product is when my love of makeup started and I have never looked back since.  I have added many more shades to my collection with my latest addition last summer with the top-rated Vertigo shade.   Blue Satin was introduced in early 2008 as a dupe for Ciel de Nuit and I bought this bottle the second that I first heard about it.  I still used and treasure this shade and have been playing around with all kinds of glitter top coats to try and replicate the look of the "night sky".  Nothing has been perfect yet however I have been able to get close enough to be satisfied until I can look at more seasonal collections.

The Chanel website describes the polish formula as follows, "Classic and trend-defining shades from the runways of Paris. State-of-the-art formula strengthens and moisturizes nails as it delivers long-wearing, high-shine, chip-resistant colour. Applies evenly without streaking.  All Chanel nail products are formaldehyde-free, toluene-free and DBP-free."  Blue Satin is a deep navy blue with a very shiny finish and Vertigo is a deep brown that can resemble black in some lights.  I have found that every shade from Chanel is great but the deep hues are particularly wonderful, these are among some of the best jewel tones that I own. 

Every polish shade from Chanel is long-wearing and chip-proof while being super shiny without the need of a separate top coat.  If I could only use one polish brand for the rest of my life, this would be the one and I would be overjoyed if I owned the entire Le Vernis line up.  Many of the shades of this polish started as limited edition and then were such hits that Chanel added them to the permanent line of polishes, I am so excited to see what shades come out for the fall months as these tend to be the best of the entire year.  Le Vernish shades sell out so quickly that I rely on my Chanel makeup artist to let me know exactly when she receives the new bottles and to hold them until I can get to the counter.  When trying to get the newest and best shades from this line, an "in" at the counters is often needed. 

Chanel Le Vernis is one of the best nail polish formulas and shade ranges that can be bought on the beauty product market, this is my favorite nail polish brands and the one that I know that I will continue to purchase for many years.

photo courtesy of Chanel

Beauty Loves Week Day Two - Stella McCartney Stella

My favorite fragrance for the past few years has been Stella McCartney's first and still most popular fragrance, Stella was one of the best selling fragrances for years at Sephora and many limited edition versions of this fragrance have come to make it wearable in every single season.  Stella is one of the new classic rose scents and one that I believe will be one of the iconic rose fragrances in the next decade or two.  I am a rose fragrance lover and I own more roses than anyone that I know and this is the still the best rose fragrance that I have ever used and the only one that I have re-purchased when I finally finished the last drops out of my original bottle.

When did my love affair with this fragrance begin?  That would be the end of the summer in 2005, it was a newer fragrance at that time and I tried it on my first (!) trip to Sephora.  In 2005, Sephora hadn't come around to my area yet and my best friend and I decided to drive down to King of Prussia before the college year began and stock up beauty products and try out new clothing styles.  My first trip to my favorite store resulted in me purchasing my first bottle of my favorite fragrance - if that isn't a match made in heaven then I don't know what is. 

I believe that Stella is only sold at Sephora and on the Stella McCartney website and I have turned to my favorite store and website in order to provide a full description and the notes of this fragrance.  "A fragrance based on the contrast between the freshness and softness of the rose, and the dark sensuality of amber, Stella is a sophisticated scent focused on an intense sense of femininity.  The concept of the Stella McCartney bath line is based on an ecological and organic cosmetology, selecting the best natural raw materials and capitalizing on vegetal extracts based on organic agriculture and on extraction methods that respect and protect the natural life force of the plants."

The notes of this fragrance are: Rose, Peony Flower, Mandarin, Rose Absolute, Amber. 

Stella McCartney is a vegan, as is her whole family and this series of beliefs extended to her entire beauty product line and all of her products (clothing, purses, shoes) and she is one of the first major designers to draw attention to environmental and animal issues that are so prevalent in the world today and then makeup cruelty-free clothing that is coveted by even non-vegans.  Her empire took veganism into the mainstream and made is stylish to care about the environment and the effect that the human race has on the earth.  Stella McCartney has gone from a brand to an entire lifestyle and I can only believe that this company will continue to keep growing over the next decade. 

It still amazes me how many people have never heard of this fragrance and ask who Stella McCartney is when I talk about it.  I get compliments all the time when I wear this fragrance and I tell everyone about how much I love it and all about the formula and notes.  This is one of my signature fragrances and I have only purchased a handful of bottles of it for gifts over the years...I don't want my special scent spoiled by having a whole crew of scent twins. 

As I stated earlier, this fragrance has come out with all kinds of limited edition versions over the years and I have smelled every single one of them and I still hold that the original is the best and cannot be replaced by any of the other version.  The rest of its fans seem to agree with me since none of the other versions have stuck around and the original is still being sold at a pretty high rate.  I don't know that I will ever find another fragrance that I love as much as this one and I cannot even begin to imagine what I will do if the company decided to stop making it...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Beauty Loves Week Day One - MAC Plushglass in Ample Pink

We are going to start this week off with my favorite lip gloss and one of the formulas that I think gets the least amount of love from MAC.  I love all of MAC Lipglasses and I tend to pick up a new one almost every single time that I visit the counter or that a new collection comes out.  So when one formula and shade captures my love and becomes the lip gloss that I use the most and tell all my friends and co-workers to try.  I have a huge collection of MAC Lipglasses (and more are one the way from Archie's Girls so my collection is only going to get larger over the spring season!) so it is rare feat that one shade has been my favorite since I first bought a tube of it in the summer of 2008.  Being that it is now 2013, I have had the same lip gloss love for almost five years.  How many ladies can say that they have loved the same lip gloss for almost five years...and my love affair with MAC Plushglass shows no signs of leaving any time in the near future.

Plushglass is considered to be the thicker, plumping formula of MAC Lipglasses.  I rarely see limited edition shades of this formula and I only found out about it because the MAC makeup artist that was doing my eye makeup recommended it to me.  This makeup artist really knew what she was doing, not only did she help me create a subtle smoky eye but also taught me how to re-create it easily at home.  And then recommended the pefect lip gloss to use against dramatic eye makeup or for when I don't want a lot of pigment on my lips.  That original tube has all the print worn of it from banging around my purse so often and all the product was literally scraped out of it before I declared it to be finished and I bought a new tube of it the very next time I passed by the counter in Macy*s.  Today's Beauty Love celebration is over MAC Plushglass in the Ample Pink shade!

The MAC website states the following for the overall product description, "Sheer lip colour with a pearlized high-shine gloss finish. Comfortable to wear: lush, multi-dimensional. Gives a cool-warm, vanilla buzz to the lips. Moisturizes, soothes and visibly plumps the lips to make them look luxuriously healthy and well-conditioned. Contains vitamin E for added environmental protection."  This lip gloss formula only contains fifteen shades in its line-up, much smaller than the traditional MAC Lipglass line up.  The shades range from pale to deep and all of them have a cream finish.

Ample Pink is my absolute favorite shade and it is a "full, soft rose", a sheer rose that compliments my lip shade and skintone.  The plumping effect in this formula is very subtle and really only adds a very little bit of volume and evens out slight lip lines.  It makes my lips looks full and healthy, a look that men are drawn to naturally.  I never fail to get compliments on this lip color from the ladies around me and I have noticed that more men will talk to me when I use this lip gloss than when I use any other gloss shade in my collection.  This is the epitome of the perfect lip gloss and the best product that I have ever used.  I will die if this shade is discontinued and I really wish that MAC would bring more shades out in this formula, epecially in the hyped limited edition collections that are housed in the special packaging. 

Beauty Love Day One is all about the best lip gloss that I have ever used and that my traincase will never be without!

photo courtesy of MAC

Beauty Loves Theme Week Introduction

So it Valentine's Day week and I have decided to try and celebrate something this week and stay positive throughout the dreaded holiday.  What can I celebrate this week?  I can celebrate that I have great friends and family, that I have a job that I love, and that I am earning top grades in grad school.  What else do I love?  Beauty products!  So I have decided that this week we are going to celebrate the beauty products that I have loved for years and have used on a regular basis.  I own so many beauty products at this point that I almost never repurchase anything and I tend to get sick of many products after I use them two or three days in a row. 

Except for the seven products that we are going to highlight this week.  In these seven days, we are going to visit my favorite lip gloss color, the scents that I can never get sick off even when I use them several days in a row, and the face and body products that I have repurchased so many times over the years.  If a product has made the cut this week, then I truely consider it a Holy Grail and an essential item in my collection.

It is time to celebrate the beauty products that I love the most and have been top level performers for me over the years!