Essence of the Island Tropics

While reading about Oprah’s Favorite Things 2007 on one of my favorite skincare and beauty sites, Savvy Skin, I discovered Kai’s Fragrance, a line of perfume oil and body products inspired by the uplifting and pleasurable scents of the Hawaiian Islands. Kai Fragrance originally piqued my interest because of it’s name, which happens to be the middle name that I gave to my son. But now, after reading more about the fragrance line, I am dying to try it!

Kai Fragrance was created by a woman named Gaye Straza, whose successful career started when she opened up the first ever upscale women’s boutique in Southern California. She eventually sold her boutique, but continued to manufacture the Kai Fragrance line due to it’s ever growing popularity. I am eager to become acquainted with Kai Fragrance because the line seems very simple, yet nutritious for the skin. Their body products contain excellent ingredients that are vitamin-rich and natural, such as and plant, flower and fruit extracts and essential oils. I am not surprised that this very unique line of perfume oil and body products, which encapsulates the exotic aromas of Hawaii, has developed a long list of fans, including many celebrities.

“not only do kai’s products have the most beautiful fragrance, but my skin is just the softest it’s ever been” -Minnie Driver

I can’t wait to experience Kai Fragrance for myself and become a part of the Fan Club! If you are interested in trying out Kai Fragrance too, click here to find a boutique in your town that carries Kai Fragrance, or order it online at eLuxury.com.

These Lips Don’t Lie

Are your lips falling victim to the cold weather? There’s still time to save them from the depths of parchedness. Start paying your lips some service now and keep them looking luscious for the upcoming winter season.

I often wonder why it is that we tend to disregard certain areas of our skin, thinking they need less attention than others. The fact is, our lips, along with our hands and neck are one of the first areas of the skin to show the signs of aging. Most of us take our lips for granted, assuming they need nothing more than some lip gloss to keep them shiny and beautiful. However, our lips are naturally dry with extremely thin skin. Their lack of sebaceous glands is what causes us to have the constant urge to lick them, hoping to quench their thirst. Unfortunately, swiping saliva onto our lips does exactly the opposite of providing moisture. Saliva quickly evaporating as well as the damage caused by digestive enzymes present in our saliva greatly contributes to the dehydration our lips. So how do you kick the habit of licking your lips and replace it with something more effective than lip gloss to keep your pucker looking lush and smooth? It’s really quite simple. If you already tend to your skin every morning and night, then you’ll just have to add a couple of additional steps to your skin care routine.

  • Like the rest of the skin on your face, your lips need to be exfoliated. You should incorporate this step into your skin care regimen at least once a week. The best time to exfoliate your lips is at night before bed. A gentle lip treatment such as the EI Solutions Lip Refine works fabulously. The EI Solutions Lip Refine uses time released AHA to smooth fine lines and improve the texture of the skin on your lips. Prior to applying a lip refining treatment, you can condition your lips by gently massaging them with a wet washcloth. This very quick and easy exfoliation process will help to keep your lips healthy, full and kissably soft.
  • Heal and hydrate the skin of your lips with a good lip balm treatment. The choices of lip balm treatments are endless. My all-time favorite is the EI Solutions Lip Primer, which works wonders when teamed up with the EI Solutions Lip Refine. The EI Solutions Lip Primer is oil-free and hydrates and nourishes your lips with aloe vera and various other botanical supplements.
  • Protect your lips from the sun. Due to their constant exposure to the sun, your lips are actually more susceptible to skin cancer than other areas of your face and body. A SPF must be used on your lips everyday! If your lipstick doesn’t already have a SPF value, be sure to include a lip balm with sun protection such as the EI Solutions Hint of Color Therapeutic Lip Balm SPF 18. This lip balm can be used alone for a splash of color or under your own lip stick or gloss for instant protection against UV-light rays.

Take a rain check on dry and chapped lips by protecting and moisturizing them now. Not only will you benefit by having softer and smoother lips, but you will also be fighting the effects of aging by preventing fine lines and wrinkles. While others suffer from painfully cracked lips, you’ll stand out in the crowd as your healthy lips shine in all their plump glory!

Skin Care Tips from Skinstore.com

While checking out the latest and greatest skin care products on one of my favorite skin care websites, Skinstore.com, I stumbled upon a couple of great skin care tips that I found worthy of passing on to you.

Skin Care Tip #1: Do you sometimes find that your night cream settles more into your pillow than your skin? Here is a solution to getting the most out of your night cream from the experts at Skinstore.com.

Lightly heating your night cream before massaging it on will help the product to penetrate better into your skin rather than your pillow. Here’s how:

  1. Heat water in a small cooking pan on your stovetop.
  2. Hold a spoonful of cream over the water for a few moments. Be careful not to burn your hand from the steam.
  3. Apply the warm skin care product to your face.

Using the microwave to heat skin care products is not recommended because the extreme heat may cause changes in the ingredient properties.

Skinstore.com Customer Favorite Night Creams:

Philosophy When Hope Is Not Enough Replenishing Cream

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Elizabeth Arden Good Nights Sleep Restoring Cream

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Skin Care Tip #2: Need a quick fix for relieving puffy eyes in the morning?

Skinstore.com experts suggest placing your eye cream or serum in the refrigerator before bed. Then in the morning when you apply your skincare product, the cool temperature will help to wake up your eyes.

Skinstore.com Customer Favorite Eye Creams:

Murad Lighten and Brighten Eye Treatment

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L’Occitane Immortelle Eye Balm

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I plan on testing out these techniques tonight (and tomorrow morning). I encourage you to try them out too. Share with me how it did or didn’t work for you!

Free Tarte Blushing Bride Cheek Stain

If you are going to be tying the knot soon, Tarte Blushing Bride Cheek Stain is the makeup miracle you need to keep your cheeks pretty and pink throughout your wedding day. Rave reviews continue to flood about this beauty favorite. The gel-stick design sets Tarte cheek stains apart from all the others. A quick blend with your finger tips will leave your cheeks with a dewy, beautiful bride-to-be glow. Tarte’s Blushing Bride Cheek Stain has become such a must-have, that even the beauty addict couldn’t resist including it as one of her “lovey” bridal shower gifts for her best friend. But don’t be fooled by the “Bushing Bride” title. You don’t have to be walking down the aisle in order to sport Tarte’s Blushing Bride Cheek Stain. This cheek stain is loved by everyone because it gives such a natural appearance. It can definitely be used on any occasion.

Buy 2 Tarte items and get a free Blushing Bride Cheek Stain at Beauty.com.


Your Personalized Beauty Prescription

Are you confused about what your skin type is? Beauty.com can help. After answering seven easy questions about your skin, you will receive a beauty prescription complete with a skin analysis and skincare product recommendations based on your determined skin type. You can customize your skin analysis to address all major skin concerns like allergies, texture, tone, eye area, age and ethnic background. You also have the option of requesting product recommendations that are strictly natural and organic-based or from one specific skincare line.

This is an awesome beauty tool that comes in very handy when making important skincare purchases online.

Start your Personalized Skin Care Analysis from Beauty.com here! No purchase is necessary!

Share your experience with me. I’d love to know what you think of this advantageous skincare and beauty tool!

Sunday’s Sensational Skincare Deal!

The holiday shopping season has officially begun. I’m starting a new tradition here at Sharnell’s Skin Care and Beauty Tips. Every Sunday, I will search far and wide to bring you the best skin care deals I can find. There are just too many fabulous deals out there for any one person to capture alone. Take a quick peek here every Sunday and you’ll be sure to find some of the sweetest skincare deals around!

Today, our new tradition kicks off with a dedication to the men in our lives! If your guy hasn’t already dropped any hints about the new Braun Pulsonic System 9595 with LCD Screen shaver for this Christmas, then he simply must not have discovered it yet. The Braun Pulsonic 9595 is this holiday season’s MUST HAVE for men! Drugstore.com is offering an amazing gift with purchase that will make it hard for you to resist. Easily impress your Sweetie this holiday season and surprise him with this ultra high-tech shaver.

 


Free $50 drugstore.com gift card when you purchase the new Braun Pulsonic 9595!

Learn more about the Braun Pulsonic 9595.

“The Wrinkle Cure” by Dr. Perricone

If the name Dr. Perricone doesn’t ring a bell to you, then you must not have been one of the millions to watch him on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live and various other national television shows. Dr. Perricone is a well-known and accomplished Dermatologist who has written numerous books to educate the public on his ultimate solution to youthful and healthy skin.

the wrinkle cureThe Wrinkle Cure: Unlock the Power of Cosmeceuticals for Supple, Youthful Skin is one of Dr. Perricone’s first books written to help guide us to beautiful skin through a healthy diet as well as his extended line of patented anti-aging skincare products. Dr. Perricone is a firm believer, as am I, that healthy skin cannot be achieved by the use of skincare products alone. In The Wrinkle Cure, Dr. Perricone makes a strong emphasis on the importance of a well-balanced diet, exercise and adequate hydration. He also explains how your skin will be rewarded with anti-aging benefits by introducing certain supplements to your diet, such as anti-oxidants, alpha lipoic acid and vitamin c ester. In addition to defending the skin from free radicals and premature aging, these supplements and many others mentioned in the book are vital to the overall health and appearance of your skin. The Wrinkle Cure will also name Dr. Perricone’s “Ten Superfoods”, which have been proven to work against certain health issues like diabetes, obesity and aging.

Secondary to changes in your lifestyle, The Wrinkle Cure will teach you all about how to determine and care for your skin type, how and why your skin ages, and how the above mentioned supplements plus many others can and will change your skin for the better when taken both internally and topically. You will also learn what skincare products are most beneficial to the health of your skin. In The Wrinkle Cure, Dr. Perricone proves to be a true advocate for proper skincare by not only introducing his own line of anti-aging and anti-inflammatory skincare products, but also a long list of skincare products from fellow skincare lines. I really found this aspect of the book to be extremely informative and professional on his part.

The Wrinkle Cure offers insightful skin care advice in a way that is easy to understand. I highly recommend this book to those who are truly interested in learning the process of our skin and how to make lifestyle changes in order to maintain the skin’s optimal health. If you are looking for a “quick fix” to reversing the signs of aging or the name of a secret “miracle cream”, then this is not the book for you. If you are serious about taking care of your skin from the inside out, you will find this book invaluable. The lesson to be learned from The Wrinkle Cure is how leading a healthy lifestyle, with consistent exercise, a well-balanced diet and daily care of your skin with proper skincare products, will help you to fight the signs of aging and continue to look and feel young.

“Magical” Makeup Eraser Pen by Revlon

I’ve been on a hunt to find an eye makeup remover that I could use while trying to create the perfect eyeliner, without having to wipe off all of my eye makeup when I make a mistake. I have finally found this magical beauty tool. Until now, I have always used cotton swabs for my makeup corrections. The problem with using the cotton swab is that after so many times of wiping around my eyes (since it is usually mascara smudges or uneven lines of eyeliner that I have to remove), the delicate skin around my eyelids becomes incredibly sensitive. What’s worse is , after years of doing this, I could have actually promoted premature aging to the skin around my eyes due to all the poking and pulling. Who wants to be responsible for causing their own wrinkles?!

Thankfully, Revlon offers this very handy makeup eraser tool that is both convenient and effective. The Revlon Eye Makeup Eraser Pen is designed just like a pen with a felt-like tip that is saturated with an oily makeup remover solution. Now you may be wary about using this oily solution on your skin, but in fact, the oil is what makes this product so magical. Truth be told, the best solvent for removing makeup is an oily substance. However, because this makeup remover is just for small corrections and not meant to be used on your entire face, there is no cause for concern. If necessary, all it takes is a simple dab of tissue to remove any residue that may be left on the skin. No problem!

During my search for the perfect eye makeup corrector, I did also find a similar pen-style remover by Sephora. Since both Revlon and Sephora’s makeup pens do the same job, I went for the one kinder on my budget. Sephora also has a compact box of makeup removing cotton swabs, but again, this method proves to be a bit too aggressive for me. So Revlon has won my vote for best choice, making the makeup eraser pen a very important addition to my makeup bag. I keep two Revlon Makeup Eraser Pens on hand at all times. One stays at home in my makeup bag for use during my makeup application, while the other travels the world with me in my handbag. Like most people, my eyeliner tends to run throughout the day. Now, with my new eye makeup eraser pen, a quick fix is just a swipe away.

Tips to Keeping a Sun-Kissed Face

With winter just around the corner, daylight is now fading earlier into night. Along with the sunlight, goes the skin’s summer glow. Disguising a tan less body is easy to do in the winter because the cold weather leaves us with no choice but to cover up. But what do you do about the pale, ghost-like appearance of the skin on your face? In my opinion, wearing a foundation darker than your skin’s natural tone only makes it look like you’re wearing a mask . One of my favorite makeup tricks that I am convinced is the best way to keep your facial skin glowing is the use of a self tanner. However, I don’t recommend just any self tanner. Your best bet is a self tanner that is formulated for use on your face only. Sunless facial tanners will produce a more natural and subtle look. All you really want is a pinch of color, not the look of having just spent the entire day at the beach. Here are some additional tips on how to prepare your skin and apply the self tanner so that you are not left with any streaks or patches of color.

1. To achieve smooth results, you must exfoliate your skin before application of your self tanner. A mild exfoliation, such as a scrub, is best to use the day before applying your sunless tanner. Be sure to include your neck and decollete when cleansing, exfoliating and applying tanner so that you have a balanced look.

2. Don’t forget to moisturize your skin. There are two ways that you can moisturize and apply self tanner to your face. The first way is to tone and moisturize before smoothing on your sunless tanner. The other way it so combine your moisturizer and self tanner and massage them into your skin together.

3 . Keep a natural look by using cotton balls saturated with water along your hairline. This will help to avoid the look of a “bordered tan”.

4. To prevent discoloring of your palms, use vinyl or latex gloves. If you are allergic to the gloves, you can use baby wipes or just wash your hands with soap and warm water immediately after applying your facial tanner.

5. Allow your self tanner some time to set before applying your makeup. Rushing the process will leave you with uneven results.

Clarins has just come out with this fantastic new sunless tanner for the face. The Sheer Bronze Self Tanning Hydrating Gel For Face does more than just give your skin a beautiful glow. Your skin will also reap the benefits of hydration from aloe vera extracts, as well as protection from the sun and free radicals with cocoa extracts and vitamin E. The gel texture of this self tanner is exceptional for all skin types.

Dove is another great option, which is easier on the budget. The Dove Energy Glow Daily Face Moisturizer with a Touch of Self Tanner is a facial tanner that comes in two shades of color to accommodate all skin tones. Because this product has a built in self tanner, there is less potency of the tanning ingredients, which allows for daily application without the worry of having too much color on your skin.

A sunless tanner is really the best method to keeping a healthy glow of your skin throughout the year. Whether or not you decide to do this during just the winter or for all seasons, don’t forget to continue using a sunblock. Protecting your skin from the UV-light rays is the #1 way to prevent sun damage and premature aging.

For the Love of Chocolate and Healthy Skin

Can it be true? Chocolate benefits the skin? That’s crazy talk… or is it?

Let me start by saying that I am a self-proclaimed chocoholic. I never have denied the fact, and I never will. I love chocolate. Every time I pop a piece of chocolate into my mouth, I know what the consequences are to my health. But until now, I never really knew the effect it would have on my skin – positive effect that is.

German scientists recently conducted a study which discovered that high levels of flavanol, a plant-based antioxidant found in cocoa, can help to reduce skin redness caused by UV light-exposure, if consumed daily. This conclusion is based upon two groups of women varying in age between 18 and 65 who were simultaneously given one cocoa drink everyday. One group was given high level flavanol cocoa, while the other group consumed a cocoa drink very low in flavanols. By six weeks, the group consuming flavanol-rich cocoa had reduced redness of their skin in response to UV-light by 15% and then 25% by 12 weeks. The other group consuming the low level flavanol cocoa experienced no change. The group of women drinking the cocoa high in flavanols also experienced enhanced moisture, texture and hydration of their skin. Again, the other group had no change. Scientists believe that these exceptional results are due to the improved blood circulation to the skin, which is essential to it’s health. In addition to protecting the skin from UV-light exposure, flavanols act as antioxidants, which defend the skin against free radicals and premature aging.

So does this mean you get to gobble down a big Snickers Bar everyday and throw out your sunblock? Sorry, the answer is a definite NO. First off, you must never omit your sunblock from your skincare regime. And secondly, since flavanols are found in cocoa, your skin will only benefit from chocolate that is as pure as possible . If you consume about three ounces of dark chocolate a day, (which is equivalent to the amount of flavanol in the cocoa from the German study), you can satisfy your sweet tooth everyday, while helping your skin stay healthy. How great is that? I don’t think it gets any better.

If you have a love for chocolate, delight yourself and your skin with some of these skin-friendly dark chocolates. Enjoy!
lindt chocolate guylian chocolate organic choc bits