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Well we’ve longed for them but had yet to find a lip plumper that we liked until now. A friend of ours told us about Great Lips Rx Lip Enhancer and we decided to try it.
There are so many products on the market that claim to increase the size of your lips for that pouty look we all long for. Celebrities have covered magazine ads and red carpet appearances with that sexy, pouty look that we yearn for. As women age there are many changes that occur and one of them is the loss of plump lips. We see them on other women and so we want them for ourselves. Some women are blessed with full luscious lips that do not thin over time but many us need to look for a “support system”. The lips can start to appear less full and the lip line can thin and appear non-existent. Many women will try to reverse this with lip injections but many are not thrilled by the idea of it and look for an alternative to lip injections with a topical lip plumper.
What is a lip plumper? A lip plumper is applied like lip gloss and has a tingling sensation to help increase the size (plump ‘em up) and darken the lips. Some lip plumpers can have such an intense tingling sensation that it is not desirable and feels more like a burn. Great Lips Rx does have a tingling sensation but it is not overly intense. It helps plump lips upon application and also darkens lips to a rosier red than before application.
Here is more detailed product information from Great Lips Rx:
• Delivers full, pouty, sexy lips in minutes, with effects that can last for hours
• Safe and easy-to-use and does not require injections
• Perfect for use after fillers and between sessions
• Contains lip-stimulating peptide and vitamin plumpers
• Made with advanced formula that increases circulation on lip surface
• Moisturizes, hydrates, and smoothes
• Makes thin lips appear fuller and more sensual
• Gives a more youthful appearance to mature lips
Tip: If you are using a lip plumper and feel that is migrates after application, try using a lip liner to help corral it to stay in place on your lips and not travel to the rest of your face.
Great Lips Rx is available at various retailers online, I saw it on http://www.greatfacesrx.com/index.html. It is listed as recommended by dermatologists and plastic surgeons. At only $24 (0.25 fl oz), it is a good price to try the product and see if you like the results.
Great Lips Rx directions and ingredients for review listed here.
Make sure your Valentine’s Day is perfect by pampering yourself with a Striking Mini Facial.
You will need:
A wash cloth & hand towel
Very warm water
1 cup regular oatmeal ground in blender to a fine powder
1 T honey + 3-4 T Orange or Grapefruit juice, warmed in the microwave
Striking Multi-Vitamin Creme Cleanser
Striking Rejuvenating Eye Creme with SmartPeptides™
Striking Multi-Peptide Serum with SmartPeptides™
Striking Restorative Moisture Creme with SmartPeptides™
Steps
1. Clean your skin as usual with Striking Multi-Vitamin Creme Cleanser. Rinse well with warm water.
2. Mix oatmeal, honey and juice, adding enough juice to make a spreadable paste.
3. Apply to your face as a mask avoiding your eyes and hair line.
4. Relax for 10 minutes while the betaglucans in the oatmeal soothes, the gentle fruit acids help loosen congested sebum and the honey plumps and hydrates your skin.
5. Wet the hand towel in very warm water (not too hot). Wring until still moist, but not dripping.
6. Lie down and wrap the towel on your face avoiding your nose. Relax and leave it until it becomes almost cold.
7. Then rinse off the mask with warm water and use the moist towel to gently clean the skin.
8. Apply Striking Multi-Peptide-Serum to your face and neck and let it absorb in.
9. Finish with a layer of Striking Rejuvenating Eye Creme and Restorative Moisture Creme.
Add a smile for perfect valentine beauty!
Valentine’s Day should be full of romance and sweet surprises, but sometimes things can just go the wrong way, even with the best of intentions. So to help your Valentine stay on the right track here are our top 5 do’s and don’ts for Valentine’s Day, suitable for posting on the refrigerator in large font to help your guy get it right.
Definitely Avoid for Valentine’s Day
1) Weight scales, exercise videos, low cal sweets or anything that suggests you think she needs to trim down or change her appearance.
2) Gift certificates for make-overs – goes along the lines of number one above.
3) Unless she has specifically expressed a desire to get tools, TVs or video games, skip these too.
4) New tires for her car.
5) Dinner with your mother.
You’ll get bonus points with these:
1) Champagne and a single red rose.
2) Two absolutely decadent double dark chocolate truffles, cupcakes or brownies beautifully wrapped.
3) You make her favorite dinner and do the dishes.
4) A gift certificate for a relaxing spa experience.
5) Send a Tweet-sweet message or email telling her you can’t wait to see her. Or an “I Love You” note under her pillow.
And to make sure you are Valentine perfect, pamper yourself with a Striking Mini Facial.
I was really hoping that Phil, the groundhog, would say only 2 more weeks of winter and then on to spring. But not today on Groundhog Day, the little guy said 6 more weeks of winter. Which to some seems reasonable and to others seem unimaginable. Some areas of the country have had a long drawn out winter already and 6 more weeks could seem a little much to them.
Is your skin ready for 6 more weeks of winter? Remember to keep skin hydrated with moisturizers appropriate for your skin type. Skin can change from oily one week to dry another when climates and seasons change. For many, winter months can lead to dry, uncomfortable skin. Striking Restorative Moisture Creme is an emollient moisturizer that leaves skin hydrated and protected from antioxidants. It also has a SmartPeptide (palmitoyl hexapeptide-14) in it to help firm skin and help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Have you ever noticed that when your skin is dry, wrinkles and fine lines are enhanced? Applying moisturizer can help to hydrate skin for a more vibrant look. Stay warm and keep your skin hydrated and hopefully spring is just around the corner.
For more tips, read our recent post on called “My Winter Facelift“.
I’m in my mid-forties, but ten years ago, a supervisor of mine told me I had the neck of a fifty-year old. I went home and studied my neck in the mirror for hours and much to my dismay, she was right. I forgot about my neck.
I, like so many other women, spent so much time concentrating on my face and hair that I forgot about the important part of my body on which my head rests. Oops! From the day that my saggy, wrinkly neck was pointed out to me, I made it my personal mission to tell everyone, “skin care shouldn’t stop at your chin.” My goal is to rid the world of sagging necks and wrinkly cleavage. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I’m the self-proclaimed head cheerleader of neck and cleavage rejuvenation.
If you’ve found yourself in the same boat as so many other women, read on and learn about what you can do to get your neck and chest to match your perfectly maintained visage et coffuire:
1. Lower your sights. Take a good look at your neck and décolleté. Do you see lots of fine lines and loss of firmness? Do you see sun damage on your décolleté? Have you spent your precious time and money making sure your face and your hair look great? Hate to tell you, but your neck and décolleté might be giving away your age. Time for some TLC!
2. Start repairing. The easiest thing to do it is to extend your skin care regime below your chin to include your neck and your décolleté. That means include those areas in all facets of your skin care regime especially the application of anti-aging serums and treatments with high performance ingredients as well as application of an SPF product. When you have a professional facial performed by a licensed esthetician, she will always include your neck and décolleté during the treatment. Why don’t we do this at home?
3. Major remodel. If good skin care isn’t enough and you need a little more help, there are several treatment options available from a full neck lift, to procedures like a thread lift, thermage, and laser for the neck and injections of fillers for wrinkly cleavage. Procedures in both of these areas can produce dramatic results and those results can be long term if you are complaint with your post-procedure instructions and if you continue with proper skin care maintenance (see #2).
4. One last thought. If you, like 300,000+ other women in 2007, had breast augmentation surgery, you’ll want to make the most of your investment by keeping your décolleté smooth and wrinkle free. They can lose their allure when they’re mired in wrinkles.
The thing to keep in mind is that it’s never too late. Over the last ten years, I’ve managed to salvage my neck and while it isn’t perfect, it certainly isn’t 15 years older than my face anymore and I’m definitely not a candidate for surgical intervention at this point.
What about you? Did you forget about your neck? Do you care? Why or why not?
If you watched my routine at home, you’d never know that I work in the skincare industry. I use three products religiously (cleanser, serum, moisturizer) and a fourth, eye creme, only when I think about it. I love my Clarisonic, but I forget to use it most of the time. Most nights I’m too exhausted to wash my face before I hit the sack and wake up with eyeliner and mascara smeared all over my face. I’m lazy. I know.
My skin really started to change this year (I’m 44) and in an attempt to continue to chase the fountain of youth and with a sincere of goal of having great skin to start 2010, I decided that I’m going to get a winter face lift.
Not that kind of face lift! I’m talking about the do-it-yourself, no knife option. Want better skin by the Valentines Day? Follow along:
1. Commit to a skin care routine. Of course, I prefer Striking Skin Care products, but whatever you use, make sure you have the basics: cleanser, serum, moisturizer and eye creme. Use them twice a day religiously.
2. Add a retinol, vitamin C or AHA product to your routine at night. Each of these products will help to resurface and rejuvenate the skin which aids in the absorption of the active ingredients in your serum and moisturizer. Once you’ve added one of these types of products into your routine, it’s imperative that you add a SPF during the day as well (it can be in your foundation or in your moisturizer) as retinols, vitamin C and AHAs can make your skin photosensitive.
3. If it’s in your budget, try a Clarisonic brush. I am a HUGE Clarisonic fan. Their brushes range from $225 for the Clarisonic PLUS to $149 for the Clarisonic Mia, and it’s worth every penny. The brush gets your skin 6xs cleaner than with manual cleansing which helps the performance ingredients in your skin care products to penetrate more efficiently. When I use mine, I see a difference immediately. Mine is sitting in the charger, ready to be used tonight!
4. Get a deep cleansing facial. In a perfect world, I’d have the time and money to get a facial once a month. For my winter face lift, I’m committing to one facial a month for the next three months. It’s time to do a clean sweep of my skin.
5. Drink water and lots of it. I’m in a constant state of dehydration and it shows up on my skin with tiny little fine lines and a sallow complexion. It doesn’t help that I live in the land of Starbucks and have a serious caffeine addiction. Time to double up on water (and trips to the bathroom). Not only does staying hydrated make your skin look better, it also helps with brain function!
6. Get a brow wax. I know this doesn’t really have to do with skin care as we traditionally think of it, but it does work wonders for the no-knife face lift. I’m religious about getting my brows waxed and I’m amazed at the number of friends that I have that have never had it done. If you want an instant “lift” to get yourself inspired for your winter face lift, find a great esthetician and schedule a brow wax NOW!! You’ll love the results!
All that being said, the next thing I’m doing is calling my esthetician to schedule a brow wax and get this regime jump started. The goal is fantastic skin by Valentines Day and glorious skin by March.
Are you in?
Posted by Brigette, contributor
When I hit 40, everything changed. My eyesight went south, my occasional gray hairs became an entire crop and my skin dried up. I could hear my mom and my aunt snickering “I told you so” in my head as I complained about how my body was betraying me.
I skipped the box of hair color (I’m just too lazy to keep up with it, so why start?), got a new prescription for my contact lenses and then contemplated what the heck I was going to do about my skin care. I’ve been in the skin care industry for a long time and have tried hundreds of moisturizers, but I knew that I needed something different this time. Gone are the days of my carefree 20s and my simple 30s. I need something serious in my 40s, especially with perimenopause right around the corner. I’ve got to undo some damage and prepare for the slow down in collagen production.
Striking Restorative Moisture Creme is just what the doctor ordered. It feels extremely rich at first, but within 5 minutes, my skin soaks it up and feels renewed. Because I’m an ingredient junkie, let’s talk about some of the performance ingredients that make this moisturizer worthwhile:
It’s full of shea butter which my skin drinks up. Shea butter is the natural fat from the karite nut which grows in Africa. It’s an excellent emollient ingredient that also smoothes the surface of the skin.
It contains sodium hyaluronate which is a super-humectant that can attract 1000 times its own weight in moisture to the skin.
Green tea is added to soothe the skin (inflammation contributes to the aging process)and provides antioxidant protection. Couple green tea with antioxidant vitamins C and E and you have got a powerful defense against free radicals.
The most powerful ingredient however is SmartPeptide Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14, a patented ingredient that has been shown to increase collagen production, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and even skin tone. In a clinical study 97% of subjects said they had firmer skin in 14 days and 93% said that the overall appearance of their skin had improved in 14 days. This two week time mark seems significant to me because when we get feedback about Striking products, invariably the customer always mentions that she saw a different in that time frame.
Are you ready for something more serious? Are you ready to transform your skin?
Posted by Brigette, contributor
I thought that last year was the “big year” for flat screen televisions for the holidays but as I look at the ads, discounts are available this year as well. Last year we did end up splurging and buying a large HDTV. I had heard that the picture can be life-like, almost as if the people were standing in front of me. What I did not realize is how “real” people appeared and they lost their flawless image. When watching on my former box TV, anchor men and women would appear ageless with smooth, perfect skin. Now when watching our television, people have uneven skin tones and wrinkles around their eyes and mouth. Their hair has fly aways like mine and their teeth are not as straight or white as I remembered.
I was taken back initially by this as it was such a change, almost as if they had aged overnight. But now I appreciate it because we live in a world of perfection as the targeted goal and air brushing is the norm in magazines, online photos and other forms of media. It does seem more “real” seeing them clearly on HDTV and I think this is exactly what people need to see; that not everybody is flawless but beautiful just being themselves.
We came across this post on Entrepreneurial Menopause Freedom and wanted to share it with you. The author writes about how she felt after being interviewed and then broad casted in HDTV without a make-up artist available to her. It is honest and does drive the question: Why are we so hard on ourselves when it comes to aging and physical changes?
I recently stopped at the fragrance counter to smell the latest perfume from Faith Hill that I encountered while perusing through the November Redbook. During my visit, I was asked “What type of perfume I usually wear? Was it something floral, woody, fresh?” I was not sure so I said “fruity?” and told them the name of the perfume. I was wrong and realized that I needed to read up on perfume lingo so I could describe what I was looking for.
When I was looking for my signature fragrance (see recent post) on RealBeauty.com I also stumbled across the lingo I was looking for in a fragrance overview. I began reading and learned why I was incorrect in my perfume language that I had been using.
Fragrances can be described in 3 different terms: family, tone and notes.
A family is the main descriptor of a fragrance. There are 14 different families that are are used and can range from floral, oriental, fresh and woody. They are then divided into smaller or sub-categories that are in between each family. Example would be florals become soft florals when vanilla is added or if something spicy is added it will be described as a floral oriental.
Next is the tone. The tone refers to the strength or intensity of the fragrance. I was surprised to hear that a fragrance can only have one tone and I was in fact using it incorrectly.
Last is the note of a fragrance. A note can be what you are smelling or separating out from the scent. For instance, it you smell cinnamon, apple or vanilla you are smelling a note in the fragrance.
Think about your signature fragrance, can you describe the family, tone and notes? I will need to get back to you on that one for me…
This week the Free Striking Question (12/4) is on the topic of fragrance. Most people have a scent that they feel is their “signature” scent; the one that smells best on them or the one that they prefer most. Others have fragrance that is specific to what they are doing whether it is during the day at work, in the evening or for a special event or date.
Fragrances can take on a life of their own when applied in different amounts to skin and they smell different on each person. A scent can smell amazing on one person and not the same on another.
If asked, I believe that most women would have at least one fragrance come to mind that they love. A fragrance is something personal for each person, it can bring back a memory or create a feeling of confidence within one’s self.
If you are unsure and looking for your signature fragrance, we came across an online tool:Fragrance Finder at RealBeauty.com that can help you.
Fragrance can also be a great gift for someone special. But, it is not something that should be chosen based on the person who sniffs it at the counter, it should also be chosen by the person who will wear it. If you are planning on buying perfume or cologne for some one this holiday season, find out in conversation what their signature fragrance is or at least what type they light (notes of fruit, floral, musk, oak). By taking the time to find out, it will make the gift something that they will use and enjoy and not sit on the counter untouched.
What were your results?
Update:
I took the quiz to see if I found out something about new about myself and I did. Here were my results:
Fragrance Finder Quiz Results
Congratulations! Here are your results:
You might like Woody Fragrances
You seem like the calm, nurturing type who makes others feel at ease. You have a self-confidence that’s extremely attractive. Your boho-chic aesthetic is more glam than granola, and you always look great in an effortless way. This indicates that you might like a scent that’s sexy yet earthy and unconventional. Classic woody fragrances are dominated by notes of cedar, patchouli, pine, sandalwood, and vetiver. Some newer versions are blended with exotic oriental notes, fresh citrus and lush green leaves, or feminine flowers.
