Paula's Choice Resist Hyaluronic Acid Booster

I received samples from BzzAgent, where you get to try great things for free in exchange for word of mouth advertising! Lately I have been lucky enough to have been chosen for several different Paula's Choice campaigns through BzzAgent, and I have to say, what a GREAT brand! The products deliver everything they say they will. This time around, it's the Resist Hyaluronic Acid Booster. When I hear the word acid, I immediately think of exfoliation, but that isn't what's happening with this product. This acid actually plumps your fine lines and wrinkles. Paula's Choice Resist Hyaluronic Acid Booster contains a specialized mix of hyaluronic acid plus other skin-repairing ingredients that work immediately to visibly plump and smooth wrinkles. It also boosts the hydration and anti-aging benefits of any moisturizer or serum you add it to, helping to prevent moisture loss and reinforce your skin’s natural barrier function. For best results (and a healthy glow!), apply 1 – 2 times daily. I decided to directly apply it to my face and then put my moisturizer over it. This comes with an eyedropper for application, as you are supposed to mix it with your product of choice. I found that using it on it's own works wonders. First of all, it's a liquid-gel. It's clear and it's slightly thick in consistency. I simply swiped a tiny bit off the side of the dropper with my finger and applied to the area underneath my eyes and on my upper lip. It goes on with a very slick feeling, not sticky at all and it instantly absorbs right into your skin. I had absolutely no difficulties applying my moisturizer over this. I used it every morning and every night and am happy to report that yes, once again, Paula's Choice comes through on her promises. The lines on my upper lip area have greatly diminished and I have also seen noticeable improvement under my eyes. When I woke up in the morning, I did notice that my skin definitely felt much softer in the areas where I had applied the booster. This product is around $40 and sometimes you can catch it on sale. Make sure you head on over to the website at www.paulaschoice.com and sign up for emails!

Tophatter

Recently I checked out an app called Tophatter. It's a bidding site. It operates very simply and I thought it was cute. You can even chat with your fellow bidders. A large group of us were gathered for Urban Decay & Smashbox cosmetics. Now I'm plenty old enough to know all about buyer beware, but this was crazy. The bidding started to get out of hand & go way over retail price. So, quite a few of us spoke out & our ability to comment was abruptly silenced. The worst part is, the cosmetics they were selling weren't even current. I'm just really disgusted with the way it was handled. Any time you buy an item online, decide beforehand what your maximum bid is and find out how much the product currently sells for. I watched silently (forcibly silenced) as women paid more than retail for cosmetics that had been on clearance a year ago. Buyer beware!

Cappuccino K-Cups? Yes, please!

Grove Square makes these French Vanilla cappuccino K-cups that are less expensive than other brands. I found them at Wal-Mart. I love a French Vanilla cappuccino from the gas station, so I was excited to try these K-cups out.

The taste is somewhat similar. It's not as flavorful or smooth. It certainly doesn't have that delicious fullness to it that the gas station cappuccinos have.

Basically, it's hot chocolate.  It is tasty though. After trying this brand, I'm really willing now to plunk down extra cash and try the Gevalia cappuccino K-cups.

Have you tried these? What did you think?

Oh yes - Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid

Go to Paula's Choice right now and buy this.  Click on Paula's Choice and it will take you right to the product line.  There's a liquid as well as a gel.  YOU NEED THIS.

What is it?  It's a 2% BHA liquid (or gel) that gently exfoliates your skin.  It reduces redness, reduces the appearance of pores and it also reduces acne breakouts.  It leaves your skin looking brighter and reduces the appearance of wrinkles as well!

I saw results OVERNIGHT.  I am not making that up.  I received a full sized bottle thanks to BzzAgent, who allows me to try some incredibly great products (and some stinkers).  Thankfully, this is the best skin care product I have ever used.  You put a little on a cotton ball and apply to a clean face.  Now swish that cotton ball over your neck & chest area, as well as the backs of your hands.  Follow up with a little moisturizer on your face.  Wake up in the morning and you look marvelous!  My pores were gone.  Where were those little bumps that are always hanging around the bottom of my lip line?  With continued use, my skin looks brighter.  My dark spots are still there, maybe not as dark. I love that my pores are GONE.  They were nasty and I don't miss them!  Instructions say to use it 1-2 times a day and I did find that this was too drying for my skin, so I scaled it back to once at night.  Make sure you use a moisturizer afterwards because this can be drying.

I use this on my rough knees, on my heels, on my elbows.  My kids use it for redness and acne breakouts.  It is incredible how fast (1-2 days, I'm serious) the breakouts go away.  For the price, you just can't beat it.  It's effective, does what it says it's going to do and a whole lot more.  It seems I'm always finding new uses for this.

I've always loved reading Paula's books - Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me!  - but now I am hooked on her skin care and am looking forward to trying more!

Best part of all about Paula's Choice?  Head on over there and score samples!  That's right - you can purchase samples and deluxe samples of just about every product she creates.  That, dear readers, is what a real company does when they have nothing bad to hide!

I shall leave you now with the info from Paula's website:

Shrink enlarged pores with this leave-on exfoliant that removes old skin cells both on the skin's surface and inside the pore.

• Acne Breakouts, Anti-Aging, Blackheads, Enlarged Pores, Keratosis Pilaris, Redness, Rosacea, Wrinkles
• For All Skin Types
• Creates radiant, even-toned skin
• Reduces redness & builds collagen
• Unclogs & diminishes enlarged pores

PLEASE NOTE: Do not use if you are allergic to aspirin or its derivatives.

What makes this product unique?

Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant rapidly exfoliates both the skin's surface and inside the pore, reshaping the pore lining, unclogging pores and improving skin cell turnover rate. The result is a dramatic improvement in the skin's appearance, feel, and function which leads to healthier skin. There is a great deal of research indicating that BHA (beta hydroxy acid) increases collagen production and drastically smooths the surface of skin. Additionally, BHA has antibacterial properties that attack blemish-causing bacteria. The lightweight, non-occlusive formula allows for a faster and deeper exfoliation rate than our gel or lotion BHA products, so it's an ideal choice for stubborn clogged pores or blackheads.

This product is 100% fragrance- and colorant-free with a pH range of 3.2-3.8. Every Paula's Choice BHA product is formulated with additional soothing agents.

Who is this product for?
All skin types may use this product, but the texture is especially suited for those with normal to oily or combination skin, stubborn blackheads, and blemish-prone skin. It can also be used regularly to eliminate calluses on feet, elbows and knees.

NOTE: Those allergic to aspirin (acetylsalicylate) should not use products containing salicylic acid (beta hydroxy acid).

Let me know if you've tried it or any of Paula's other products!  How did it work for you?  :)

In the Meantime...

I haven't received a campaign for BzzAgent in AGES!  I keep current on my surveys, like their posts on Facebook, tweet about my score (which still remains high) and I still don't receive any invites.  :(

However, Allure Magazine asked me to review L'Oreal's Revitalift skincare line.  So I was happy to do so.  It was an 8 week test.  I received the eye cream, face cream and face serum.  I was instructed to use the serum, then the eye cream, then the face cream every morning and night.

Uh...seriously?  Why do I need all three of these products every morning and night?  After 8 weeks of using the three products together faithfully every day and night I came to the conclusion that um, because you do if you want to have nice skin.

Face serum is lightweight and you only need a little bit.  This stuff will exfoliate your skin (if you put too much on, it becomes gummy & you can actually rub it off and it comes off in little bits, which I found interesting).  Ok.  So the serum exfoliates your skin, leaving your skin looking brighter, of course, but it also leaves your dark spots (ew how I hate them) looking lighter.  So put on the face serum and move on to the

Eye cream.  It has a metal slanted tip applicator.  I thought this was just L'Oreal being weird and trying to stand out, but found that the coolness of the metal tip felt really, really good on my undereye area.  Even when I stood shivering at the sink in the winter, that metal tip under my eyes felt really good.  This eye cream will eliminate any signs of puffiness.  And I do mean ANY.  I don't have puffiness underneath my eyes, so I thought well, this eye cream isn't going to help me any.  Until I had a day where I'd spent a good time crying. When I cry, my upper lids puff up to gigantor proportions.  Thought it couldn't hurt to try the eye cream on my lids, so I did so before bedtime, just knowing that I'd wake up with puffy lids anyway.

I didn't.  I absolutely didn't.  My eyelids weren't puffy at all.  So this little tube is worth having around, definitely.  Under my eyes it didn't help with the wrinkles I have and they're not all that bad so I thought this would help.

Finally, the face cream - moisturizer.  It's a nice, thick cream that really moisturizes well.  It does help make your skin feel firmer.

Bottom line is, I really liked these three products a lot.  They're around $20 each, so to buy all three is $60.  I'm not really willing to spend $60.  I will, however, invest in the face serum!

Covergirl Blast Flipstick Lipcolor

My 16 yr old had surgery, so I am very far behind in my buzzing!

 I received three Flipsticks from BzzAgent. The colors are: Minx, Vixen and Stunner. Each lipstick is double ended. You have a regular lipstick on one end and a creamy, shimmery shade on the other end. The premise is you can go from day to night with just one Flipstick.

I have brown hair, fair colored skin and blue eyes. So right away, Minx was definitely not the color for me. It's brown. It's a pretty shade and I really wanted it to work, but brown lips don't work on my face. I was hoping the golden shimmer would work then, but it didn't.

Vixen is another pretty color that I had high hopes for. It was too mauve. Actually out of the three, this is the only one that came close to being a possibility, but the mauve tone just didn't work for me. The shimmer color with this one is a pretty pink shade, but it just didn't work.

Finally, we have Stunner. It's a red shade and since I've never worn red, I was pretty pumped up about this one. It's dry and cakey. Must be something to do with the ingredients. There's a really pretty gold shimmer with this one and it's creamy but it didn't help me.

Thinking that it just must be me and my terrible lips, I had my friend try these on as well as my 16 yr old daughter. My friend had the same results as I did. My daughter was overcome with joy with the Stunner shade, since she advised us that it's the same shade Taylor Swift wears. Not one of the shades looked good on my daughter either, and that's really saying something, since any lipstick I have ever purchased always looks good on her.

 Check out Covergirl's site here (it will open in a new window):  http://covergirl.com/blastflipstick

 If you wear lipstick, you'll love Covergirl Blast Flipstick. You can carry two shades with you in one lipstick! Bottom line is, there are loads of pretty colors to choose from and I'm looking forward to checking out some of the other colors at my local Target.





 

One Month Milestone with Burt's Bees

Hi! It's been a month now since I first started using Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Night Cream, Facial Cleanser and Face Mask. The pros: Super soft skin. Redness banished. I've been using the Night Cream during the day as well and I love the matte finish. It's like using a primer and moisturizer in one - seriously...I no longer use primer. The cons: My wrinkles are still here. They haven't diminished, not even a tiny bit. Despite that, I'm still willing to stick with this product because it makes my skin feel incredible and I have used many different brands over the years and nothing has banished the redness in my skin like Burt's Bees. If I use the Face Mask, I use it at night so that when I wipe it off, I rub what's left into my skin and go to bed. I have not had any problems with these products causing breakouts, either. The end result? I love this line from Burt's Bees. I was never a fan before, but I sure am now! Want to try before you buy? Head over to here to purchase a travel sized cleanser: and here to snag a travel size Intense Hydration Day Lotion! I still have quite a bit left in my magical jar of Night Cream, so I will continue to keep you posted on my progress, despite the campaign ending soon. This is good stuff, so I want to keep bzzing!