Recently in Skin Category

To start off the New Year right I thought it would be great to highlight some of the most exciting new brands and product launches that we've come across these past 12 months. Can't wait to see what's in store from these brands for 2010! Check back this week to see more for makeup and fragrances.

Body Conscience -- The products in this line are so mild, you could actually eat them! I'm obsessed with their 3-Minute Shower Jar which is a smooth - and as far as I can tell odor-less - exfoliator that's gentle enough to use everyday. I've used it near-daily post shaving and it also comes with a wooden spoon and dish that were handmade from recycled wood.  


Rodial -- Though it's their Boob Job and Bum Lift creams that will be my perennial faves, Rodial launched a luxe faux-face lift kit in 2009, La Face Lift, that's become my new must-have for travel (will be taking it with me to Nicaragua when I escape the NYC cold at the end of this week!). It includes five travel sized, super-chic (love the metallic silver), products to tackle everything from hydration to wrinkles. Jump for More!

Because not everyone can afford to spend $45 on a La Mer balm, but not everyone is OK with walking around with a decidedly un-chic tube of Blistex, I'm excited to share a great find with you - Sula's Shea Butter Balms ($9 -- Sula is sold at retail stores like Anthropology)! The balm can be used anywhere from your lips to your nails to touch-up dry spots when you're home or on-the-go. Personally I don't like to mix it up (ie I'm not going to stick my hand in a pot and then on my lips, elbows, cuticles, etc... So I've just been using the Sula Rosa Damascena Balm on my lips. There's a great Vaseline-like greasiness to it that's instantly moisturizing and soothing. Its also got a light flavor that lingers for a few minutes after the application. The only downside is -- and part of this is because the weather is particularly horrible right now in NYC -- I have to re-apply the balm about every hour even when I'm home surrounded by a giant humidifier.

I'm a big fan of mystic tans (if you have the time to dry that is! Getting spray tanned and then walking straight out into the sweltering heat is a bad, bad idea as I've learned from experience), and Guerlain Terracotta Spray ($59) has long been a favorite when it comes to at-home sprays. I've just recently tried a new type of tanning mechanism however. I was sent a sample of Solerra's Instant Bronzing Mitt ($24.95 for four) which delivers a sunless tan in four to six hours using Invisicare technology (a sunless polymer designed to bond its active ingredients to the skin over a four to six hour period while the tan develops). The mitt is for one-time use and it has a plastic liner on the inside that is meant to keep the tanner off your hands. Unfortunately it did end up on my hands and I recommend thoroughly washing them after you apply the tanner to avoid orange hands. For the low-down on the mitt jump for more!

 I just got the Rock and Republic lip gloss and holy crap it is SHINY! Talk about disco worthy for the weekend. I love their jeans but had no idea they had cosmetics let alone such a kick ass lip gloss. It's kind of thick but not sticky at all and very heavily pigmented so it stays on well. I got two colors, Mistress and Runway and layer them on top of each other for a perfect nude pinky beige. I then tried their Tinted Illuminizer that gives the skin just a hint of glow and luminosity. Love! I got a darker color so I can fake a tan-- it's subtle and gorgeous, perfect for my upcoming LA trip. A quick application of this across my face with a swipe of lip gloss and I'm good to go on the beach!  I love make up but I wear WAY less when I'm back in LA-- it's just so much more casual there. Girls in Dallas love make up and I indulge accordingly. I guess I was really born to be a cowgirl!  Rock and Republic Lip Gloss is $26  and the "Trickery" Tinted Illuminizer is $46.

Vichy has just come-out with three new products: Aqualia Thermal Light Fortifying & Soothing 24Hr Hydrating Care ($27), Aqualia Thermal Mat Fortifying & Soothing 24Hr Hydrating Gel with Anti-Shine Effect ($25), and Normaderm Pro Mat Hydrating Care. I love Vichy because they're affordable, effective and trust-worthy (they're tied with La Roche-Posay when it comes to my fave drugstore finds). I've never had a bad reaction to anything from Vichy (I have very sensitive, pale skin and am prone to redness), and all of their products are backed by a ton of research (they're actually the #1 selling skincare brand in European pharmacies). Their Normaderm line is great for summer when skin is especially sensitive and prone to breakouts and for those with very oily skin. Vichy researchers actually found a link between UV rays and oil production in skin, so they managed to find a formula with SPF coverage that inhibits oil production without leaving a white film or clogging pores. Called Ultra Mattifying Oil-Free Lotion ($21), it will be launching in August. It's basically the day-time version of Vichy Normaderm Night ($24), which I've been using on and off for months. The formulation is lightweight, there is an instant matte and tightening effect, and it helps minimize the size of pores. Jump for more!

When I was in High School and my skin was going nuts from hormones, stress, and all those other aggressors that add to skin sensitivity, above all others I trusted Prescriptives for makeup and Clarins for skincare. Both worked in times where even Clinique -- which seems to be the most popular choice for problem-prone skin -- irritated and made my skin red. They still, today, remain two of my favorites so I'm always curious about their new offerings. Among the just-launched Clarins finds are their first Foot Beauty Treatment Cream ($25), which targets concerns of stress, excessive perspiration and early aging, and a new Super Restorative Wake-Up Lotion($40), which is intended to revitalize skin and smooth away sleep marks, fine lines and puffiness (this is intended for women over the age of 50). They've also got a 'Bust Beauty' Firming Lotion ($54) and 'Bust Beauty' Extra-Lift Gel ($58) now out which I'm considering investing in after Liz Earle pointed-out how important a bust cream is.  

Not since their vibrating mascara has a Lancome product gotten as much hype as their Lancome 'Genifique' Youth Activating Concentrate ($78). The elixir has ten years of research behind it so there's good reason for the commotion. It's the first product inspired by genes (hence the name 'genifique'), and it has seven international patents. That said Genifique looks, in consistency, like most other anti-aging serums. I've been using it for the last four weeks - applying 3 drops on my face and neck after cleansing with my Clarisonic and before moisturizing. There is no burning or tingling sensation, but you will feel instant tightening which to me translates into a dry feeling hence my moisturizing afterward. This isn't a magic serum that will totally rid you of your lines, but it will definitely make them less noticeable and it won't take long to notice the effect. The product is said to stimulate the production of the proteins associated with young skin and while I'll never understand the mechanics of that, given that I don't have too many lines on my face it's easy to see when a product is helping lighten them and this definitely did (again I have only been using this for four weeks, but already after the second week I noticed that my skin was smoother and brighter). Plus the application process is quick and easy -- no muss, no fuss!

For Fashion Week in New York, I got my makeup done by Cheri at the Fashion Suite at Waldorf Astoria, she did a great job but that is not what I was most impressed with. We were chatting and she mentioned that she is 50 years old and I almost fell off my chair! She looks 35, at most 38, I am not kidding. She is fair with delicate skin that usually ages prematurely. She then told me her secret and I immediately bought some. It is the Guerlain Super Aqua Serum for day and night moisturizing. It is made with extracts from a dessert rose and if you think about it, it makes total sense, the flower is able to thrive in dryness so there must be something to its DNA that I can definitely use! I mean, I live in LA and it is dry dry dry all year round. It shields the skin from the harmful environment so the hydration is allowed to stay in. She has been using this for 15 years and I am telling you, she has not aged since she first started using it because like I said, she looks 35! This thing is like a vampire's secret. I must and will stay my age forever =) At Sakes Fifth Avenue for $162.

Win a set of WE Help Bring Hope Collection by telling us I would recommend that everyone watch a video posted on the Wei East website in which the founder of the ancient Chinese herbal medicine-inspired beauty line, Wei Yang Brian, discusses what inspired her to create Wei East WE Help Bring Hope Collection. The collection of eight of Wei East skin care's best sellers retails for $70 ($300 value), and 100% of sales go to autism (Autism Speaks and The Autism Treatment Center of America). The box totally puts a smile on my face. It was designed by Wei herself and displays a drawn picture of Wei pushing her son, who is autistic, on his favorite swing and her daughter chasing a butterfly in the yard with a bright sun in a perfect blue sky shining down on them. Wei says that it's the feeling of hope that brings sunshine into her life and that's something that truly shines through in this collection and in the video. More about the collection after the jump!