Volta 5

Yes to Glitter

 

The good people at Yes to Carrots were kind enough to send me a slew of glosses and lip tints.  I haven’t spent a terrible amount of time with them, but that is because half of them were kidnapped by girl pals and my mother before I could try them all out.  In fairness, all the colors that were stolen were inappropriate for my coloring.  I thought they would be inappropriate for anyone, but as it turns the alarmingly bright shades that turn sheer were just the ticket on my lady friends.  This left me with a pile of pale, glittery goodness like Rose Bliss and Cotton Candy which are among my favorites.  The C Me Shine Lip Glosses and C Me Blush Lip Tints hold up to the standard of quality I’ve come to expect from the brand.  I do wish they would have gone with carrot flavor though instead of mint (Burt’s Bees and Aveda have been there done that).

Channeling My Inner Chanel

It is the golden thread of my existence right now.  Maybe the only thing getting me through the day– Chanel’s Fall 2008 Kaleidoscope and Gold Fiction nail lacquer.

Now I was around for the Chanel Black Satin boom of 2006.  In fact, I was one of the early recipients of the coveted color thanks to a coworker with an inside connection.  While Black Satin in concept was nice, after I put it on my nails I said to myself, “Ehh.”

This experience made me hesitant to take the plunge with the newly buzzed about pewter/golden green color, Kaleidoscope.  Panicked by a photo shoot with your love and mine, Summer Robert’s of The O.C. wearing it, I impulse bought a bottle.  Two weeks later I am still riding a high on what might be my favorite cosmetic product of all time.

So pleased was I, that I went ahead and got myself a bottle of Gold Fiction too.  This is a truer 18K gold color with the same superior metallic application.  Not as mind-blowing as Kaleidescope, but if you are in it for the high of having the Chanel hard-to-gets.  I say go for it.

They are truly the best accessory I have right now and it you look at it that way, the $20 and $30 price tags are easier to swallow.  But I’ll be honest with you.  I really don’t care.  They make me feel so good inside I can ignore just about anything . . . bad economy, wars, and even the really bad day I am having.

Rootbeer Floats . . . My Boat

I had a delicious soda pop inspired discovery at Sephora yesterday.  Barrels of Rootbeer Philosophy Lip Shine.  It can come sold separately or in a trio with Fruit Punch and Cherry Cola.  I went for it and got them all, mostly because I loved the rootbeer flavor, but felt that the Fruit Punch was a nice color for fall.  And once you are in it two deep you might as well have them all right?  All three look pretty dark, but go on with a nice sheer tint and amazing subtle sparkle that makes me pay $28 to know them all.  Drink up gals.  (All flavors available in their signature bubble bath, shower gel, shampoo combo product as well.)

I Have A Dream-sicle

It took me 24 hours of debating myself, but I finally did it. I committed to my first Rescue Beauty purchase. $25 dollars later (with shipping), I am waiting with baited breath for the arrival of my Starfish-Patrick “pre-fall” creamy orange goodness to arrive. Everyone in my life can expect dreamsicle-colored nails for the entire month of August or maybe until I get my money’s worth (which might be early 2009 since I’ve never spent so much on a nail varnish). Also playing into my recent vanilla and orange obsession, is the Demeter perfume spray Orange Cream Pop, which I sniffed on today at the local apothecary. Sweetness.

Yes To Carrots

Normally I try to come up with something witty for my title, but I have to admit defeat here. “Yes To Carrots” is just too good. I first discovered this clever-sloganed organic brand at Walgreens in San Francisco whereupon I found that their C is Smooth Body Lotion has the pleasing, nostalgic smell of adult Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls (not to be confused with premie smell which is also delightful). Most recently I found that they launched a new C Me Smile Lip Butter line in five flavors: carrot, berry, mint, melon, and citrus. I picked up the carrot one in hopes that it would have the same ’80s flavor. It doesn’t, but instead I have found that it is a nice combination of carrot, pumpkin and coconut for an everyday, neutral option. And get this: it works. Despite not having SPF in it and costing a little bit more than a usual lip balm at $3.69, this is maybe my favorite therapeutic balm ever.

There.

I said it.

Gimmie S’More Baby Stuff

Inspired by a recent romp for pink baby stuff with a pregnant gal pal, I decided to check back in with the baby product section at Target. To my delight, Method as started making an eco-friendly (not tested on rubber duckies) and obviously baby-friendly line that smells of delicious rice milk and marshmallow. This translates to creamy baby goodness for adults if you can get past the rather strange tiny packaging. In fact, I think I am going to end up paying like $15 to get a “grown up” portion of the stuff. But at this point, I am calling it fair because the amount of satisfaction I get from the Squeaky Green Baby Hair + Body Wash and the Squeaky Green Body Lotion is priceless.

Turqs and Caicos

I have found a summer winner. I was delightfully surprised when I bought the N.Y.C. Nail Glossie in Turquoise Seas #241 at Target for the bargain price of ninety four cents that is comparable to MAC’s new Plasma Blu that seems to be sold out EVERYWHERE for ten bucks. (Turqouise Seas seen here in the bottom of the pile.) Not only does it have the fancy wide brush like the OPI pro-wide applicators, it has staying power. I didn’t even use a glossy clear coat I was so satisfied with the finish and I am going on four days here with no problems. Paired with my new clear jelly shoes for $2.50 from the Target dollar bins, I have found that I just have to look down at my feet to get tropical island, clear water feeling. Cheapest-vacation-ever.

Surf’s Up

Ninety degree days are upon us here in Chicago. And this means my head needs to smell like a beach. The trouble is finding products that are up to snuff. Besides Sunsilk’s new “Summer” line available exclusively at Target which to me smells a bit too pungent, there are very few shampoo’s that boast summer flavors on their labels, making this pursuit quite tricky. Last year I used Organix Coconut Milk combo, which is fabulous, but now I am hoping for something different; something that smells more like Coppertone sunscreen from the 80’s. Perfect smell example of this would be Bobbi Brown’s “Beach” line, which I have the body oil of but no dice on the hair. Another fine example is Bumble & Bumble’s Surf Spray, but again, there is no shampoo/conditioner sister products available. So gals . . . I am enlisting your help. We must sniff all things coconut and Coppertone until we find the holy grail of summer hair care.

Bermuda Triangle

I am currently losing my mind over the new bright nail polish trend for summer. I usually try to keep my nails in check by picking 4-5 colors per season, but I am fast approaching my quota with favorites like Mod-ern Girl by OPI, Butterflies by Orly, and now Bermuda Shorts by Essie. I have also been inspired by a recent page through an US Weekly magazine where they displayed colors in this family paired up in unique color duos for hands and toes. Does this mean I can have 8-10 new bottles? I think so.

(Essie’s Bermuda Shorts pictured second from the Left.)