Products That I Love: Zents Body Oil Hydrating Elixer

So, I just had a nice relaxing trip to Le Parker Meridien in Palm Springs, and found my new obsession in their spa: Zents Body Oil Hydrating Elixer. [Sidenote: Sissy has not been compensated in anyway for this review, however, dear friends at Starwood and/or Zents, please feel free to send some products my way :)]

So anyhow, on to the review.  This stuff is so awesome.  It's moisturizing, but somehow magically doesn't leave you oily... even though it's body oil.  The scents are gentle and delicious, and have adorable backstories... I am a sucker for an adorable backstory.   The scent I bought was Sun, which is a mix of grapefruit, blood orange, amber, sandalwood and vanilla. 

According to its backstory, Sun is inspired by:

"Unconditional love. Warm hugs. Reassuring words. Home-cooked meals. As nurturing as a mother's love, ZENTS Sun embodies all that is warming and gentle. Sun is about the loving comfort of home. It's a tribute to the kindness and warmth that radiates from a mother's beautiful heart, like the rays of the ... SUN. "  Ok, so if that isn't adorable, what is?

Buy it here.

Shit I Love: MAC Mineralize

Mineralize Foundation

So on account of el crazypants diet I just finished up, I have discovered a few awesome things as of late.  First and foremost: MAC Mineralize line.  Because of the way the HCG diet works, you aren't allowed to use any beauty products or cosmetics that have oils or fats in them (except mineral oil).  At this stage in life (mostly because I get to work at 6AM), I don't wear a ton of makeup.  But (also mostly because I get to work at 6AM) I do rely on concealer.  Usually, I just swipe on a little concealer, bronzer and mascara and I am good (enough) to go.  So since most concealers and foundations are made with fats and oils, I was gonna have to do without.  

Luckily, one of my ladyfriends is way more into makeup than I am and alerted me to the fact that MAC now has a mineral line.  Sweet! Time for a trip to the mall.  So after trying basically all of the items in the mineralize line, and scrutinizing the ingredients lists to the best of my ability, I settle on a foundation, a dark shadow to use as an eyeliner, a shadow duo, and a bronzer.  Whoops I guess I went a little overboard.  So I used to use MAC's foundation  and pressed powder all the time back in the day because I loved the coverage and whatnot.  But as of late, I just phased foundation and powder out of my life.  The mineralize foundation is nice for gals who aren't really "foundation" gals because its a little lighter than MAC's other foundations.  It has SPF 15 and goes on really smooth and light.  The coverage is pretty without looking too made up.  Nice.

Smoked Ruby

So I also got the Smoked Ruby shadow to use as an eyeliner.  It's a mish mosh of metallic dark red and black, but mostly black.  It makes a gorgeous almost black liner when applied wet, and also makes a pretty awesome smokey shade when applied dry if you're into that thing.  The other stuff I got was great, but these two were my favorites of all of my mineralize booty.

Shit I Love: Eyelash Extensions.

So there is this place by work.  It is not a fancy place.  It is definitely not in a fancy area.  But it is pretty fabulous in my book.  That place is KT Nails.  About a month ago when I started on the HCG diet to lose the love pounds I picked up living with Boyfriend, I had to make a few life changes.  Because of the way the HCG diet works, you aren't allowed to use any beauty products or cosmetics that have oils or fats in them (except mineral oil).  Now, I don't wear a ton of makeup on a regular basis, but there is one thing I couldn't live with out.  Mascara.  I have kinda puny eyelashes that are lighter on the tips so I feel kinda naked without mascara.  Vanity, thy name is Sisyphus.  

 

So the thought of going a month without mascara or other makeup seemed pretty problematic.  It's bad enough I was feeling chubby and frumpy on account of the extra pounds.  

In walks KT Nails (found via yelp).  They offer lashes ranging from $17-$80 for a full set.  The $17 ones are big clumps of lashes that they put on and kinda look like halloween or a drag show.  The $80 ones are the individual lashes that are applied 1 by 1.  The $40 ones are little clumps of 3 lashes each, but they don't wing out side to side like the $17 version.  I picked the $40 ones, figuring if they looked too cheap, I would maybe switch up to the $80 ones.  To my surprise, they look totally awesome.  To me, they look just like the ones that are applied 1 by 1, just half the price.  They are gloriously long and flirty, but they are not full drag show lashes.  Also, touch ups are only $8-$12 depending on how many lashes you lost in between visits.  After about 3 weeks, I needed $10 worth of touch up work.  I think they are worth the price just for the time saved on not having to put on or take off mascara every day.  Plus they are way better looking than my natural lashes with mascara.

KT Nails is located at 506 W. Chapman, Placentia, CA 92870.  (714) 854-9084.  Walk ins are totally welcome.

Britney's Backstage Beauty Secrets (Surprisingly No Mention of McDonalds, Cigarettes or Starbucks)

So over at Allure they just posted an article about Britney Spears' backstage "beauty secrets."  Naturally, I clicked on the link to see what they could possibly have to say. I am drawn to Britney news much like I am drawn to pics of 3 legged chihuahua puppies.  They are both cute, but sad and kinda fucked up and make me ask God: "If you are out there, why did you let this happen?"

Anyhow, the article was pretty boring and didn't say anything notable except that they use men's concealer on her. MEN'S CONCEALER!  First things first.  Men's concealer exists.  Ok, fine, its 2011 and everyone probably could use a little concealer on their wedding day, so I get it.  Second. Why does Britney need men's concealer?  5 o'clock shadow? Razor burn?  I understand that you need to use much stronger makeup for the stage than real life, but it seems weird to me that there were no female concealers strong enough for La Brit. 

Someone should probably alert ProActiv.

Fresh Face: pixi at Target

Oh Target, how I love thee.  When I was younger I absolutely hated going to Kmart or Target with my mom.  I was always worried that someone I knew would see us shopping in there and think that we were (gasp!) poor.  The only thing that made it worth the risk was the chance that I would get a sweet new pair of jelly shoes that I would get to wear out of the store.  I still love to throw my old shoes in the shoe box (or medium brown bag) and walk of a store in a brand new pair of shoes.  Its the most delicious instant gratification.

Somehow between the late 80s and present day, Target evolved from a place of potential embarrassment to a joyous wonderland full of everything one needs in life.  And now that joyous wonderland includes a few great makeup collections by legit brands at more affordable prices than their sister collections at Sephora.  One of these collections is Pixi.  I am not going to lie, I did have sticker shock at first.  Most of the items in this collection are priced between $25-$30, which is a little pricey for Target.  But one lunch break, I decided to test drive some of the products to see if they were worth their fancy price tag.

My favorite product in the collection was the Fresh Face Healthy Skintone Booster in Peach.  I was a little scared at first because it is totally peach.  And I was on my lunch break and I still had to go back to my office, so I couldn't make myself look like too much of a clown whore.  But what the hell, I couldn't resist seeing if it justified the $28 price tag.  The prognosis: this crap is awesome.  It totally gives you a healthy glow like you just went for a long run in crisp country air or a vigorous roll in the hay.  I think it even made my teeth look whiter.

buy it!