Category — Skin Care

Crabtree & Evelyn body and skin care items have a cult following. Since I had never tried the line, I picked up a bottle of their new “Aromatherapy Distillations Conditioning Body Lotion”.

This lotion is lovely on the skin! I used it on my arms, hands, and legs. It worked wonders on my dry elbows and knees; even though the lotion is actually very light.

The scent is pleasant- clean and herbal. Since it contains lemon and coriander essential oils, it was a refreshing lotion to use after my shower each morning.

I know it’s a short review, so feel free to ask any questions in the comments. While it’s a fab body lotion, I’m not sure I would repurchase due to the price. At $19.50 for a 8.5 oz bottle, I feel a bit guilty slathering it daily over my body.

You can buy the new Aromatherapy Distillations line at Crabtree and Evelyn’s website.

Still not sure if you’d like to try this lotion? Check out other reviews at TotalBeauty.com for more research.

hmmm… maybe he’s not, but his new limited edition fragrance, Very Pretty, has ROCKED Bionic’s world.
Seriously folks, I’m a ‘perfume’ lover normally. I have some favorite fragrances, but they are the ones you find in the drugstores (Curve’s Wave, Adidas’ Move, Bodycology’s Pick Me, yada yada).

I now leave this bottle out on my bedside table. It’s adorned with crystals, making it shine & twinkle at me. Scents notes include light citrus, coconut, white florals, and sandalwood. It’s sensual without being overwhelming or “too frou-frou”. The only drawback is the cost. It’s $75 for a bottle.

But I bucked up. I am so in love with this fragrance… even the Bionic Hubby gave it an overwhelming approval. Remember, if you want a bottle, pick it up quick, as it is a limited edition. Or just direct your guys to this article as a strong hint for your holiday wish list!

You can find Michael Kors Very Pretty at MichaelKors.com, your local Nordstroms (if you want a sniff), or Nordstrom.com. I’m off to sniff my wrists! (wink!)

This week’s Bionic Asks… dump out your purses gals and have a peak inside. No cheating, changing, hiding things. Just tell the truth. What are you carrying around in your bag?

I took a photo of my gear so my readers can see up close n’ personal what I carry around. My tote was a bargain: Red by mark ecko and I got it for 12 bucks at Ross!

• Blackberry Pearl cell phone that I blinged. This way I can blog on the go!
• Keys to the Bionic abode.
• Wallet, it’s actually a wristlet. This is my only Coach item and I actually got it as a “good girl” prize from my job. I cram all my moolah, credit cards, etc in there.
• Pen. (Yes, that’s self-explanatory…)
• Little pink pill container for my meds. A girl’s gotta be prepared, right?
• Coconut lip butter by The Body Shop. Not my favorite… just trying to use it up.
• Pin Up Balms lip balm in Coconut. Now *this* lip balm ROCKS!
• The small green circle is a little tub that I fill with lotion for my hands. It currently holds a few squeezes of Aveda’s Hand Relief BCA edition.
• For some reason, I always have a ton of lip colors in my purse… it’s funny since I rarely reapply. Oh well. Today (and usually, these are my faves) the colors are: L’Oreal Color Juice stick in Cherry Freeze (I posted pics here), Three Custom Colors lipgloss in Doubles (photos I took here), Bobbi Brown lip gloss in Aubergine (pics here), NARS sheer lipstick in Captiva (perfect with Doubles or Aubergine overtop for a mix n’ match, see pics on my lips), Clinique’s Butter Shine lipstick in Ribbon Pink (I’m not normally a pink girl, but this color melts right into your lips, a bit of shimmer, the case has a mirror & a pink ribbon and the tube is a gorgeous pink metallic!).

Ok, your turn… whatcha hauling in your purse?

We all know that some skincare items are NOT worth what companies are charging for them. If you know what to look for, you can usually find a better performer and lower cost option from either an independent skincare company or even from your local drugstore.

And just as I was thinking about this article, I found the series (below) on Total Beauty. So, let this serve as your “intro to eye creams 101″. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

What eye cream are *you* currently using? How much would you spend on an eye cream? Personally, I won’t go over $25 for an eye cream. If it’s more than that, I feel that (especially in this economy) this price is probably inflated by un-backed faux-science. So I’ll stick with my smaller, indie brands that perform better. But that’s just my 2 cents. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Quiz: Is Your Eye Cream a Rip-Off?

Pinpoint the right ingredients for dark circles, puffiness and wrinkles

Eye creams aren’t exactly cheap, so if you’re going to use one you want it to work, right? Find the perfect eye cream (that will actually give you results) with this quiz and stop wasting money on sub-par creams. Take the quiz

What’s a Spin Trap you say? It’s THE latest in anti-aging ingredients for skincare. ”Spin trap functions as an antioxidant, but not in the traditional manner. Instead of destroying free radicals, it restores balance to unstable molecules and does a better job of protecting our cells from damage.”

So now that we are on the same page, I’m going to tell you all about my spin trap experience. I got the chance to test YBF Skincare (Your Best Face = YBF) which is based right near my current residency in Central Florida.

YBF has a small range of products but they pretty much cover all your needs. I’m going to include my thoughts on the individual products below. Of course, the system will work best if you use the entire line, but since they are pricey, you might want to just start with one product.Pick the one that addresses your major skin issue and put it on your holiday wish list now. I honestly didn’t think high-priced skincare was worth it, but some of these YBF products just shine. Without further a due, my thoughts…

Control - Rejuvenating wrinkle management antioxidant protection, sun damage & correction, age control. This little gem helps reverse all those pesky things that happen when we age; plus those icky things we did to our skin when we were younger (like not wearing spf?). Control is hardly scented and is a yellow-ish thick serum. It spreads across the skin easily. In the photo below, the dot of product is pea-sized and works for my entire face and part of my neck. Control is a bit hydrating (but not enough on its own) and really seemed to make my skin luminous after about 4 weeks of treatment. Overall my dry and oily patches were much more even and normal. I didn’t have “desert zones” and “rainforest zones” on my face. My $160 for 1 ounce.

Defend - Oil control premium protection synergistic anti-aging (anti-shine). Defend is formulated with Vitamin E, Spin Trap and Hyaluronic acid. The Vitamin E moisturizes, soothes and prevents wrinkles, Spin Traps defend the skin against free radicals and other environmental damage. Hyaluronic acid keeps your facial skin cells plump and regenerating. There’s also some Titanium Dioxide (a barrier sunscreen) in Defend, but you will still need to use sunscreen since there’s not enough to “rate” the SPF.

Defend is a light-weight cream that is moisturizing upon application and sinks in amazingly quick! It smells a bit of maraschino cherries, I enjoyed the scent since it was naturally derived and faded fast. Defend is my go-to saviour during humid weather in Florida. I often end up with an oil slick on my face and this did a fab job of keeping the shine at bay without drying out my skin. $120 for 1 oz.

Restore - Brightens skin, soothes and hydrates, improves complexion. Restore is one of my two favorite products in this line. I REALLY LOVED using this product. It’s a very fluid, translucent serum. Since I have some uneven skin tone due to old acne scars, melasma and hormone changes in the past few years… I was excited to try this product. Initial application leaves you with a perfect glow over your skin. Again, I only used a pea size amount of product and it covered my entire face easily. Restore provided me with light moisture without the grease and “unbreathable” feeling. It’s perfect under makeup!! And really makes your products grab and set. After long term use, my skin seemed brighter and much more even. $120 for 0.5 oz.

Correct - Wrinkle correction, invigorates eye area, brightens dark circles. Correct is a dedicated eye-area serum and the other of my favorite YBF products. It’s a thick product and I found it best to use at night. While it’s not greasy, it does coat your eye skin with moisture, so eye makeup overtop could be a bit slippery. If I ever have baggies or puffy eyes, Correct handles them within a few hours. The product smells a little bit of nutmeg- slightly spicy but if you’re not much for scents it could take some time to get used to. Thankfully it fades *super* quickly! My eye circles were extremely improved after long term treatment; eye wrinkles were plumped and looked filled. There’s a very refreshing feel to this product. If you are looking for a great eye cream… this is my favorite by far (of all brands). Highly recommended even with the price being high (I know it’s tough to see that cost, but Correct really is effective.). $150 for 0.5 oz.

Further notes on the line in general: I loved the fact that the scents in YBF are naturally derived by nutmeg and other ingredients. There are no added perfumes (yah!). The packaging is lovely. All the products come in a super sanitary pump (airless) that doesn’t push out a ton of product. I hate when I’m using skincare pumps and out comes a huge dollop of product. Really ladies, you only need a pea size for your face (this goes for all skincare products- not just YBF). However, these same pumps since they are opaque don’t let you see how much product remains. Hence, it’s tough to know when you need to reorder.

While Defend contains some Titanium Dioxide (a chemical/barrier sunscreen) there’s no official SPF rating so you will need to apply sunscreen on top of your YBF products. I’d love it they could add sunscreen to one of their products.

One other note, even when I used them all together, during drier days (i.e. lower humidity) my skin was still thirsty. To resolve this, I applied all my YBF products and let them ‘marinate’ then put on my normal face lotion with sunscreen overtop. However, on more humid days, I could certainly skip this step… but if you have very dry skin, you may need additional moisture over & above what the YBF line provides. However, at the same time, since YBF is so light-weight, you can easily layer a few products (makeup, sunscreen, etc) without fear of being greasy or losing the “airy” feeling.

You can buy all the YBF Skincare products online at TheSkinCareShop.com.

Full ingredients listing is below…
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Ever wanted to try some Bliss spa products? I know that aqua blue color calls to me. I guess it invokes a sense of peace, tranquility, which is what those marketing geniuses are surely going for. But anyhow, Bliss releases their Best Of product collection occasionally. And if you’ve got some “spa at-home” women on your holiday shopping list, this could be right up their alley.

Here’s what the “Best of Bliss” set includes:

• lemon + sage body butter (2.5 fl oz)
• high intensity hand cream (1 fl oz)
• triple oxygen instant energizing mask (0.34 oz) (Read Bionic’s review of this mask)
• the youth as we know it moisture cream (0.1 oz)
• hot salt scrub (6 oz)

Drugstore.com has the gift set for $55. That’s pretty pricey in my opinion for a gift set, especially since some of the items are pretty tiny. What do you think? Is it worth it?

Burt’s Bees is wildly popular with many consumers. From it’s small start to it’s now, large corporate presence, they offer a little more natural alternative to some skincare needs.

If you’re like me, winter sucks all the moisture out of your hands. The Healthy Hands gift set would be a great way to help alleviate the cracks, flakes and itchies.

You can pick up your Healthy Hands gift set at Drugstore.com for $12.99. Shop early and you’ll get a free Burt’s Bees lip shimmer when you purchase over $25 in Burt’s Bees products.