Photo Credit: outblush.com
GORGEOUS GIVEAWAY – SEPHORA FLORAL FUNK PALETTE
This week’s GORGEOUS GIVEAWAY is perfect for subtle summer eye looks. We have 3 Sephora Floral Funk Palettes – Cool (a $28 value) to give to our lucky winners. The kit contains 9 eyeshadows that can create a variety of looks – from natural to dramatic.
With shades ranging from sheer beige to pop of color mauve, the kit is a versatile tool that is sure to replace that hodge podge of eyeshadows mucking up your makeup bag.
And adding to the creative spirit – the Floral Funk Palette compact is absolutely adorable. The black faux leather case is bejeweled with golden rivets and sweet pink and white flowers. A summer must-have!
To Enter: Which eye makeup product can you simply not live without?
COMMENT post your response in the comment
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TWEET your response to @Beautyinthebag
*to be eligible to win!
*No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only. Contest begins 5/21 at 11 AM EST
and ends 5/27 at 11 PM EST.
Photo Credit: BRMBeauty.com
BEAUTY GADGETS FIND THEIR NICHE
Beauty has gone gadget crazy. Carlotta Jacobson, President of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) makes no bones about at-home devices being on the crest of revolutionizing the beauty sphere. At the CEW Product Demonstration held a few months ago, she said, “I think devices—gadgets—are going to be the next big thing. We didn’t make them an awards category now because there are only (relatively) a few of them, but L’Oréal buying Clarisonic, for instance, is a sign of bigger things to come.”
There are a few beauty gadgets I personally cannot live without, and Clarisonic is definitely one of them. Ever since the economy encouraged women to become much more creative about cutting back on salon and professional visits, they’ve been turning to gadgets as viable alternatives for just about everything. And the competition is just beginning to heat up. Here are a few niche game changers shaping the gadget landscape.
BMR Beauty - Bio-Medical Research’s products are FDA approved, and use electrical stimulation to help tone your facial and body muscles – depending on which product you purchase. The new BMR Face ($395) looks like a cool set of headphones, and it uses electrical stimulation (this was previously the province of medical spas) to affect the nerves surrounding the facial muscles to help lift and tighten and address other aging concerns. What will you feel when you use this device? Gentle, massage-like pulses through the medical-grade applicator GelPads (you’ll need to replace these periodically – this will be your only recurring cost).
While the “Face” is the latest BMR product, there are also highly-targeted body devices including the Tummy Lift ($200; tones core muscles), Arm Lift ($200; tones the triceps muscles) and Bottom Lift ($200; tones the gluteal muscles) gadgets. Because the stim technology targets muscles and not fat, it takes 12 weeks to see results as muscles need to be trained and retrained to respond to the pulses, which are very gentle. It’s not that you won’t feel the pulses (you will), but there should be no discomfort. The recommendation is that these gadgets be used 30 minutes a day for 4-5 days a week for firmer, stronger muscles in 4-8 weeks.
The bottom line is does it work? According to the clinical trials, the gadgets definitely do. 72%-92% of the clinical trial participants vouched that the products helped their arms, tummy and bottom feel much more toned and shapely. There is no data available yet for the new “Face” product.
Beauty Credit: Clarisonic.com
Clarisonic Acne - We’ve written about the new Clarisonic Acne Collection ($169) before but it’s worth mentioning again because of how specialized the gadget market is becoming. Created for blemish-prone skin, this kit contains two brush heads (one for sensitive skin) and can be used twice a day, with the recommended cleanser.
Emmi-Dent G Ultrasonic Toothbrush – This toothbrush uses ultrasound technology to whiten teeth - so, in this aspect, it’s much different from the Sonicare toothbrush, which uses sonic technology. Emmi-dent ($189) promises teeth whitening in just days because of the ultrasound technology that kills stain-causing bacteria. The gadget promises to help remove bad breath, periodontitis and stains, and the way to use it is pretty simple. The kit itself comes with two brush heads, a charger, and the base. Simply plug the base to the charger and leave it to charge overnight; then switch the brush on after applying a little amount of the “nano-bubble” toothpaste included in the kit, and use.
Photo Credit: Emmi-dent.com
Its cleans without really “brushing” your teeth in a conventional manner, but the results are really impressive. After using the toothbrush for just a week, my stains were better, my teeth was whiter, and any bad breath woes had disappeared. The product advertises “up to 84 million oscillations per minute” although to my naked eye, it moves so fast, I couldn’t count. I’m more interested in seeing if it works, and this gizmo does!
HairMax Lux Nine Hair Growth LaserComb – This valuable gadget ($395 at QVC) uses laser phototherapy to nourish the hair follicles. The idea? To stimulate hair growth in men and women. What’s impressive about the LaserComb is that it contains 9 medical lasers per unit, and can be used at home for results visible in as early as 16 weeks.
Phot0 Credit: QVC.com
It’s also easy to use: you move the LaserComb across your scalp as though you were regularly combing your hair, leave it on one spot for 4 seconds, and wait for the beep to move on to the next spot. The total treatment time is a recommended 11 minutes, 3 times a week.
More On the Horizon
These highly-specialized gadgets are surely just a glimpse of what’s to come, since women and men are both demanding more than skin deep results. On occasion, it’s worth paying a little more for specialized beauty gadgets that delivery more impact than topical treatments, and it’s not going to be too long until we see more homes investing in a “wall of beauty gadgets” along the lines of the old-fashioned tool shed. Who said beauty wasn’t cool enough to be high tech?
MEET DR. LORETTA CIRALDO – CREATOR OF DR. LORETTA SKINCARE
Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, a board certified dermatologist based in South Florida, has a basic philosophy when it comes to skincare: products before procedures. Committed to a holistic solution to today’s skincare challenges and among the first dermatologists to incorporate peptides and naturally occurring antioxidants in skincare formulations, she has created an extensive skincare collection for both men and women, Dr. Loretta™ Skincare. The collection features customized regimens that target and help resolve complexion concerns such as uneven skin tone, oily and acne prone skin, rosacea, dehydrated skin, sun damage, and fine lines and wrinkles.
Tell us a bit about your background. How did you come to choose dermatology as your specialty?
In the summer of 1975, after finishing my first year of medical school in NYC, I was a summer research assistant in the dermatology department at Harvard Medical School. It was love at first experiment, testing the effects of a then little understood factor – UVA – on human skin. This was a life-changing experience for me, including getting to work with Dr. Fitzpatrick, the Chair of Dermatology, as he developed the Fitzpatrick Skin Type. So I have been in on the cutting edge of dermatology and skincare for almost 40 years and loved every day, and every new advance that I get to be a part of.
What is your skincare and beauty philosophy?
My motto is simple: products before procedures. I’m convinced that most of us want to look like the best version of ourselves, not like some weirdly altered mannequin. Personally, I want to remain attractive but never compete with my thirty year old daughter, and I don’t want consumers to fear that they will look unattractive as they age. My decades of clinical experience have proved the need for a holistic approach to staying youthful: using the right products combined with lifestyle guidelines, getting the right amount of rest, having a stress relief plan in place, maintaining a healthy, steady weight, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables – follow this advice and achieving the appearance we want is within reach. We only need to go to the cosmetic physician as the icing on the cake, and often that isn’t necessary until you’ve reached your mid-forties.
What is unique about your Dr. Loretta Skincare line?
The way Dr. Loretta products and skincare systems are created: I start with my own dedicated patients and clients to identify their needs and top concerns. And then I develop products that are benefits-oriented and results-driven. If a new formula doesn’t produce clinical results, I don’t bring it to market. My own hands-on nature of developing and overseeing my line makes it truly unique. I see patients just two days a week and work on the line sixty percent of my workweek.
What are 3 of your favorite “must have” products?
Tea-rrific: I have been in awe of the benefits of green tea for years, but in the Tea-rrific we were able to extract, for the first time, all of the beneficial fractions of the green tea leaf to deliver maximum protective and age reversal benefits.
Age Change and Age Change Eye, like all of my products, incorporate an array of beneficial peptides and antioxidants. But specifically, my Age Change™ products are the first on the market to address the harmful effects of nicotine which becomes an aerosol aging and discoloring our skin everyday.
Tell us about your 6-week “boot camp” to improve skin as detailed in your book 6 Weeks to Sensational Skin.
My book 6 Weeks to Sensational Skin is a beauty boot camp that has best been described as the second best thing to having a cosmetic dermatologist as your best girlfriend. In a fun way, I am there every step of the way to advise you on how to decide what it is you want to correct about your appearance. I share step by step how to remedy top skin concerns from puffy eyes to brown spots. I am so pleased that a number of the beauty editors have told me it is their favorite go-to book for grounded, no nonsense beauty advice.
What new developments in skincare and dermatology are you excited about?
In skincare: the advanced science that brings us amazing new ingredients with benefits that are nearly as revolutionary as the advent of topical steroids. These ingredient families are peptides, antioxidants, and stem cells. Also, there is a very important new focus on eliminating problematic ingredients – many sensitizing ingredients could be at the root of the very things you don’t like about your skin. Redness doesn’t always come from hormone imbalance or rosacea; it often comes from ingredients that upset the skin’s natural balance – these ingredients may irritate or dehydrate.
In dermatology: I am excited about the holistic approach that dermatology is focusing on as well. A recent published study from a dermatology dept in England showed that increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption can brighten your skin tone and lighten skin within the first three week (www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242679.php). There are a number of studies out of Asia that show that you can lessen scars by use of at home devices, like dermarollers, which can be as effective as a series of laser treatments. The new more holistic approach is very gratifying for me to see, as I have tried to practice this way for years now and I love seeing it out there for more to experience.
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