Recently in Body Category

With the cold weather firmly taking hold in Boston there’s nothing more I want then to come home and curl up in the comfiest, warmest thing I can find. That’s why I’m totally coveting this Bellora cashmere/wool robe. I live in an older house and with the brutal New England winter it gets cold! I love that this robe has a huge shawl collar that you can sink into. It hits just below the knees so you can count on your whole body being warm. (I’ve never really understood those short little robes – It doesn’t cover anything!) Can’t you just see yourself in a huge chair with a big cup of hot chocolate? Maybe I’ve just been watching too many movies but that sounds like the perfect evening. The only downside is that the robe only comes in Ivory and sometimes I spill when I’m juggling between my book and my hot chocolate. $495 at Vivre.com Bellora Cashmere/Wool Robe

I’m going to admit it. When I first received the bottle of Thymes Wild Ginger Body Wash I let it sit in my bathroom for a little before I used it. I’d never really been a fan of ginger flavored foods and somewhere in my mind I had convinced myself that I wouldn’t be crazy about beauty products either. The opposite turned out to be true. I loved it! It is one of the most refreshing scents I have ever smelled. It’s clean and crisp with just the smallest hint of vanilla. It woke me right up and kept me happy for the rest of the day. The wash’s ingredients include red clover and honey which work together to keep the skin from drying out. (Super important with the gross cold winter months coming!) It’s $19 at www.thymes.com. This is a new line that I haven't heard a lot about and I can’t wait to try it all!

I am currently obsessed with the Skin Deep Website, a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products from researchers at the Environmental Working Group. I have been on it all weekend looking up every brand in my bathroom, it was shocking how many items in my bathroom are rated "high toxicity" and that may cause cancer, render me infertile amongst many other scary hazards! Go through the site and search for your favorite products to see what you come up with. I could not find my favorite luxury brands such as La Prarie, Natura Bisse, Sisley or La Mer on the site, hopefully it is because their products are tested extensively to avoid causing hazard? (or maybe they were too expensive for the scientists to buy and test?).

There seems to be a pattern of beauty companies across the board with body lotions being listed as highly toxic even if their other products are of low or no risk (For example, Skinceuticals C&E ferulic is safe but the Skin Firming Body Cream is a high hazard- I am throwing mine in the trash tonight!). In fact, I am so freaked out that I have decided to use my son's baby products from California Baby (rated 0- low hazard) on my body until further notice. I am not one to scare easily and often ignore the urban legends of lipstick accumulating in the stomach etc but this really got my attention! Of course I will do more sleuthing with doctors in order to validate the site's claims, let me know what you beauties come up with.

Here's a thought, perhaps the reason Aveda products tested so high for toxicity is because they do not do any testing on lab rats....

The Healing Power of Diamonds:

Despite trying multiple luxury creams for review, Diamonds are still my best friend, as in Natura Bisse's Diamond line of products. Latest from the line is Diamond Magnetic, a holistic approach to Magnetic and Gem Therapy through the ancient art of crystal healing and the use of magnets. Not just pretty to look at, diamonds are powerful energy cleansers renowned for their ability to transform energy and to draw hidden imbalances to surface and release them bringing balance and harmony to the body and mind. Lucky me, I got to try Diamond Magnetic firsthand at Natura Bisse's headquarters over the summer and I have been anxiously awaiting the launch of the product ever since!

The specialist at Natura Bisse covered me in the diamond/iron dust concoction (a thick paste that promises to purify and cleanse the skin) and as I worried about how I was going to wash it all off before getting back in my very white dress she pulled out a crystal tool that looked like something out of a movie. She then started moving it across my arm and the mask LIFTED off my skin as if it was magic! What was left was sleek and velvety skin dressed in Diamond dust! There is a magnetic piece at the tip of the tool that attracts the iron in the mask which ensures a clean removal. How did I feel afterwards? Relaxed and happy, as if they lifted any stress I had with the diamond dust. I am a big believer in Holistic healing and with Diamond Magnetic I can heal and cleanse right at home!

This will be available at Neiman Marcus and Neiman Marcus.com in November, you must call and schedule an appointment to try it out for yourself! 214-363-8311

$270 for 10.5 ounces (it usually costs over $100 to receive a holistic energy healing session, this jar will last you at least a dozen treatments so it is well worth the price!)

I am a liquid hand soap girl, bar soap makes me feel unclean, especially when I don't know who has been using it. In my own bathroom, sure, but to be honest, at other people's houses, even if I know them well, I don't enjoy using their bar soap. And they're messy on top of it! Here is an alternative that is not only beautiful and elegant but sanitary! These honey scented soap leaves will impress any guest and will spruce up your bathroom when displayed. These come neatly stacked in a box and are perfect little host gifts for when you go to dinner parties. These soap leaves are molded from real leaves, giving them the true texture and natural beauty of leaves. I love it! Get them at Trace Elements, box of 20 for $12.50.

Another amazing place I visited when I was in Maui was the Alii Kula Lavender farm. I’ve already talked about all the great benefits of lavender so I won’t lecture all of you on it again. I did learn some new facts about lavender though, like the fact that you can use it as an antiseptic and the fact that it is one of the least allergenic plants. It really is an amazing plant and the farm was one of the most beautiful and relaxing places I have ever been in my life. It’s nestled up in the hills of Maui and everywhere you walk there is a beautiful and exotic plant to look at. Everyone was so friendly and laid back, it was amazing! The reason I tell all of you about this is because Alii has teamed up with local businesses to create an amazing line of beauty products. They are some of the best smelling and effective products I have ever tried. I had to seriously restrain myself to keep from buying them all! In the end, I choose the Waterless Hand Soap, the Lavender Lime Lip Balm with Mango Butter and the Body Butter Creme. I also brought a Lavender filled pillow insert for when I get migraines. All of the products are wonderful and top quality. The body butter leaves my skin feeling amazingly soft and supple. I’m already addicted to the Lip Balm and put it on almost compulsively throughout the day. Alii has a website and I highly encourage you to check it out and purchase some of the products. The smell is great and not to overwhelming at all. We met Alii as we were walking around and he is super sweet and nice. He told us all about how much he loves his plants and encouraged us to visit his website if we got lonely once we left Maui! I could have stayed and talked to him all day. So visit the website (and if you’re ever in Kula, Maui visit him) and as he called after us as we were walking away, “Have a happy lavender day!” www.aliikulalavender.com

Post by Beauty Snob Michelle

When I was vacationing in Maui this past week I visited a goat farm. Yes, I’m aware that from everything you guys much know about me by now I don’t really seem like the type of girl to hang out on a goat farm in my spare time. But my friend promised that it would be fun so I put on the most farm appropriate outfit I had and played along. Turns out it was so much fun! The goats were adorable and friendly, the homemade cheese was amazing and I found a brand new beauty product in the place I least expected it. Surfing Goat Dairy makes the most amazing goat’s milk soap. The milk has natural emollients that moisturize the skin and leaves it feeling like you just put on lotion. Surfing Goat makes their soap in over 20 different scents, so no matter what smells you like there is almost definitely one for you there. I brought the coconut and the pineapple and they smell so amazing that they’re both in my shower right now and I alternate! I highly recommend using any type of goat’s milk soap, but encourage you to try out Surfing Goat’s. They’re an amazing place and everyone was so friendly. I’m dreading the day my soaps run out, but it means I get to order more from the web site! Plus, at only $6.00 a bar, they’re a steal. While you’re on the website, make sure to order some of their amazing cheeses. (The Rolling Green cheese was my favorite.) www.surfinggoatdairy.com

This is the best shower gel out there! I am so in love with it right now. I actually got it for my husband because I feel sorry for him, I use all this fabulous shower products and he goes to the drugstore and buys Dove (nothing wrong with Dove, just not as luxurious). Of course I had to try it out and sorry honey but this one is again mine!! Just kidding, he can share =) The Suma Ginseng is a musky scent thus the choice for hubby but it isn't overpoweringly male which I love because it is androgynous, not at all flowery and not Old Spice. But the best part is how it feels out of the shower. All shower gels claim to give you soft moist skin but this is truly moisturizing. I don't feel like I need to lotion afterwards yet I feel clean and refreshed! I want to try all the different scents so this kit with 10 different shower gels and lotions ($30) is the perfect fix to my new obsession!! Shower gel is $25. Get it all at SpaLook.com
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One of the many fears of pregnancy is stretch marks. Personally, it is a small price to pay - I've been lucky and have minimal damage to my skin but I've seen the bad and the really ugly and it is still a small price to pay to have a baby. But there is no need to fear. Tina did a story about her pregnancy belly ritual, I had my own using mainly Dr. Hauschka's Blackthorn Oil, so maybe that is why I came away unscathed the first time. But this second time around, there are some small wrinkles on what was the underside of the behemoth belly. This Decleor Vitaroma Body cream was promoted by Oprah for getting rid of her many stretch marks caused by dieting. My mom jumped on the bandwagon wanting to get rid of her 30+ year old pregnancy stretch marks and I fully doubted its ability to undo what has become scars on an old body (sorry mom for saying you're old but I think 70 is still considered old these days, right?). To my astonishment, these deep wrinkled stretch marks became much lighter, albeit not altogether gone. She bought me jars and jars of this stuff but I didn't want to use them because I didn't want to admit that I would get stretch marks. Well, hello baby #2 and hello looser skin cuz this time around voila, here they are! Thank god for moms because I had these on hand and began immediately using balefuls daily. This stuff works!! I'm not in love with the smell, it is some floral fragrance but it's just not my thing, but who cares! Even if it smelled like rotten fish eggs I would suffer for the sake of smooth skin. I have already seen a dramatic difference and it has only been 6 weeks and by the progress I've seen. I waited to do this review because I needed to know if this was a fluke thing on my mom but it is in fact a miracle worker. So far I've bought 2 for myself and ordered 3 more to give to my friends who sadly suffer from the worse stretch marks I've seen. I mean, I would never suggest plastic surgery but in their cases it is almost a necessity. Now that I am convinced this product works, I will renig my suggestion of surgery to them and offer this instead. Totally worth it for $80, available at Nordstrom.

The more I explore Fresh’s line of Sugar products, the more I absolutely love them! Tina has gotten me hooked on the Sugar Lip Balm and little by little I’m buying up everything! My latest addiction is this Sugar Lychee Body Lotion. It’s fantastic! It smells so warm and yummy and totally reminds me of being wrapped up in a big, comfy blanket. (A little abstract, I know, but take a whiff of this stuff and I feel you’ll understand!) It’s really dry in my office so I keep this on my desk and am almost compulsive about putting it on. My skin stays so soft and supple and it’s totally not greasy at all. Plus, the scent gives me a happy little high when I’m in the middle of a stressful day at work. $25 at Sephora.com Fresh SugarBath Body Lotion 10 oz Sugar Lychee