Adventures in Beautyland: Getting Ready for the Independent Spirit Awards

 

I had a plan. As any of the other bloggers can tell you, I was prepared for this trip. Loxy and I made a cheat sheet of all of those known attending the Spirit Awards so I would have something to say if I got the chance to speak to them. I had worked out a "look" centered around retro Hollywood with a twist and had even gotten Anne to agree to help me into my bustier, pre-show.



 


I had allowed HOURS of time to get ready and it flew by. I had a quick and delicious breakfast and then ran smack into Timothy Olyphant (I'm pretty sure it was him) while trying to find the elevator that leads to the second floor from the third floor.  Aveeno had done such a nice job of pampering us the day before, and I wanted to continue that experience. Like with the rest of the weekend, time flew by and before I knew it, I was on my way to the Red Carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards.


 

To get ready, I started by washing my hair and using a new glossing treatment from Aveeno, Living Color Color Preserving Shine Glaze. After you shampoo and condition, you leave in the treatment for about three minutes and then rinse. Using the treatment regularly will extend the life of your color and help seal the hair cuticle, making your hair smooth and shiny. My hair was soft and shiny after I used it the first time!

I decided to do my hair wavy for the event, a la Maggie Gyllenhaal. While I worked on perfecting my waves, I watched Scrubs and thought of what I would say to Christa Miller, should I see her later in the day, as she and I are both huge fans of a certain shock jock.  And because I knew I would write about it thinking about that, I tried to take a picture of the television, so you wouldn't have to go to IMDb to figure out who she was. Each one came out blurry, except this one.  Oh well. Here's the link to her IMDb page.




 Next, it was makeup time. I had previously exfoliated my face, arms and decollete with YBF's Prep, which is amazing, provided you like a serious scrub.


 

I had prepped my face using Tarte's new Maracuja Oil, which I am loving. It sinks in, without leaving your skin feeling greasy. I followed up with Jan Marini's SPF, as I knew it wouldn't change the color of my foundation or reflect strangely in pictures.


 
(Anne knows how to make me me feel at ease.)


Anne then joined me to continue getting ready. Thankfully, she remembered to bring hairspray and didn't mind helping me get dressed. She's a good friend like that! She didn't even make fun of me for watching two televisions at once. (If a hotel puts two screens 20 feet apart, what is a movie/tv junkie like me supposed to do?) We then struggled with dress tape (that stuff is sticky!), tied and re-tied sashes and discussed how to make Anne's eyes smolder.


 

Then it was makeup time for me. I wanted to do a light, but glimmering eye; play up my newly grown and amazing lashes and don a seriously bright lip to complete my retro Hollywood look.


 

I started with Dalton's Primer, Maybelline Fit Me Foundation (mixed with FACE atelier's Minus Zero) and Josie Maran's Argan Oil concealer. I then used Stila's Prime Pot over my entire eye and added a bit of Urban Decay's Primer Potion to my lid. I filled in my brows with Joey Healy's Equestrian Luxe Brow Powder. I used Buxom's Stay-There Shadow in Sheepdog in the corner of my eyes, Collie across the rest of the lid and Pug in the crease. I lined below my lower lashes with Pug as well. To make my lashes really stand out, I used my new favorite mascara combo - Urban Decay's Supercurl Mascara and Fiberwig. To top it off, I added a little bit of LORAC's Lustre Liquid to my lids.


On my cheeks, I used Tarte's Park Ave Princess as a contour, YSL's Peach Creme de Blush on the apples of my cheeks and Zuii's Mango blush to add a matte radiance. (I know, a matte radiance sounds weird. But it's amazing.) Finally, I added a touch of Dalton's H2Glo for a little pop of cheek sheen.


 

To complete my look, added a bright pop of color on the lips - Zuii's Coral Red. This red lasts and lasts. In fact, I only had to touch up my lips three times throughout the entire day and into the evening. It's creamy, hydrating and very long wearing.


 

My favorite part of my ensemble was my necklace, an upcycled, steampunk-inspired piece from Etsy. I love this necklace!



Anne and I awaiting our transportation to the ceremony.

While I am overly critical and very self-conscious, I have to say I was really happy and comfortable with how I looked, something that almost never happens! We then left to meet all of the ladies in the lobby for a fantastic afternoon at the Independent Spirit Awards!



(The entire Aveeno Brand Ambassador Team before the awards.)


Aveeno paid for this experience. Opinions are my own. Other products mentioned may have been sent for review. I also purchased plenty of them with cold, hard cash.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Boost Your Skincare! YBF Hydrate B & Antioxidants Concentrates

Some lines are just smart. They figure out what is missing and make it so. And for my winter skin, YBF is doing just that with two new supplemental products, Hydrate B Concentrate and Antioxidants Concentrate.

Love your skin care regimen but wish it was a little more hydrating, to help overcome dryness brought on by seasonal changes (or just because)? YBF has the answer.


They've created a skin care supplement, Hydrate B Concentrate, that adds moisture to skin and helps the moisture go deeper into the skin, leaving you with supple, soft skin. You can add this to your current moisturizer for your face or body. You can even add it to a mask or serum to boost your skin's hydration. Dry skin is my number one problem during the colder months and since I have been using this (early December), I haven't had one dry patch on my cheeks, which are normally scaly and itchy by now.



YBF also recently introduced their Antioxidants Concentrate, which can be added to any product to boost its effectiveness. According to YBF, here is how it works:

Ferulic Acid
Ferulic acid is a great free radical scavenger.

Spin Trap
Spin trap, which is sometimes called an intelligent antioxidant, actually stabilizes molecules before they become damaging free radicals and so it's extremely protective for your skin. In addition to its free radical superhero capabilities, spin trap also helps "recharge" other antioxidants, making them more effective and for longer periods which increases effectiveness of formulas containing spin trap.
Lipochroman-6
Along with spin trap, is a potent protector from two types of free radicals attributed to aging skin and damage: ROS (reactive oxygen species) and RNS (reactive nitrogen species) free radicals.
Vitamin E

Vitamin E does a great job fighting ROS free radicals but also pairs with many other antioxidants, increasing their effectiveness and recharging antioxidants such as ferulic acid.
You can also add the Antioxidants Concentrate to any of your current skin care products or use it on your own. It's kind of like having your own little skin care chemistry set at home, ready for all of your DIY needs!


Both products are available from The Skin Care Shop.

Products were sent for review. YBF does not test on animals.


Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Special Occasion? Look Your Best Instantly With These Radiance Boosters

Have a special occasion coming up? Meeting someone you really want to impress? I've found the best of the best to make your skin look amazing, making you feel confident, perfect and radiant! It seems everywhere I look, I'm seeing a lot of products boasting instant radiance, but are they worth it? After testing loads of them, I've found several I consider to be totally worth the time, effort and money.

Best Mask for Instant Radiance

VINOPERFECT Radiance Revealing Mask delivers instant hydration and radiance that lasts for hours. Skin is instantly left looking radiant and bright, while gentle grape acid exfoliates the face, revealing fresher, new skin. Use this mask as often as you like for an instant, lit-from-within look. Over time, the look of fresh, hydrated skin will become yours all of the time!

Best Eye Brightening Therapy Patches

Naive Beauty Magnet Eyes Under Eye Algae Masks are the first product to launch from this Australian Beauty guru. Naive Beauty is proud to ignore the hype that normally surrounds products and delivers honest products that work without all of the fuss that goes into many marketing campaigns. I was wowed from the first time I used these. These very soft, flexible discs fit under the eye and deliver the perfect amount of hydration, brightening, while diminishing fine lines. These are great pre-party or to hide the effects of the party the next day. I'll do a full review of these little wonders shortly (including before and after snaps!)

Best Total Kit for Weddings or Girly Group Outings


Orlane's Absolute Radiance Lightbox kit contains all the steps to give you glowing, gorgeous skin: Dazzling Under Eye Patches, Eye Contour Serum, Shimmering Skin Masque Cream and Powder and the Evanescent Cream. Your face will look hydrated, radiant and luminous after one use. The results aren't permanent, but for special occasions, you can't go wrong. While the kit is $200, it contains enough for 6 uses, so share it with friends for an at-home spa treatment.

Best Masks For Reversing the Clock
I love Jan Marini's Age Intervention Regeneration Mask. It's packed with kaolin clay to pull out the excess oil and blackheads. It has a stable glycolic acid at the proper pH level to help resurface the skin. Packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients, it can make your skin look luminous, smooth and plump. The anti-inflammatory ingredients like green, white and red tea extracts help soothe the skin, help protect it from sun damage, reduce redness and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This mask is packed with ingredients to help repair your skin at a cellular level. While the benefits of the mask are obvious immediately, the long term effects also visibly stack up.



jeune d'âge 5% Glycolic Pumpkin Peel is built on pumpkin which is full of antioxidants, nutrients, Vitamins B, C and E and a protein that provides essential fatty acids. It's great for helping turn over new skin and for decreasing sun damage. This mask also contains 5% glycolic acid (which you can feel so you know it's working). The masque takes five minutes to work and costs less than $25! In this price range, there is no better masque. In fact, this masque still goes toe to toe with its higher-priced competition. It does not disappoint!

Best Retexturizing Scrub


This one is a no-brainer. It's Prep Microdermabrasion by YBF. Prep is a fine-grain manual (instead of chemical) microdermabrasion treatment. It contains teeny, tiny little grains that exfoliate your skin in a way that is more satisfying than another granular scrub I have tried. It also contains peptides, botanicals and vitamins to treat your face after you have used it to exfoliate. Leave it on longer and get effects past the scrub. This is one of my holy grail scrub/masks without a doubt!

Some of these products were sent for the purposes of review. Some were originally sent for review and have since been repurchased. Out of all of these products, all are cruelty-free, with the exception of Jan Marini, whose testing status is difficult to determine.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

YBF - Your Best Face Skincare

I had been hearing all about YBF from a blogger pal of mine, who swore up and down they were the best skincare she had used. So obviously I jumped at the chance to test drive a few of their products for myself. Just so we are all on the same page, I'm talking about YBF Skincare, which stands for Your Best Face. (A few of you asked me about their makeup, which is a different line that is sold on HSN. That YBF stands for Your Best Friend.)

YBF was started by two friends who just wanted to make honest, awesome skincare that delivered on its promises. Their products are fresh, use airless pumps and require very little preservatives in the formulas. They don't use added fragrances, just active ingredients. One of the main active ingredients in their formulas is spin trap. Spin Trap is a type of antioxidant that doesn't just kill free radicals, it restores balance to unbalanced molecules and protects your cells better than other free radical fighters.


I tried four products. I've already told you all about my love affair with Prep, an amazing home micro-derm system that has my friends (whom I had given samples to) begging for more. A little goes along way and this will polish your skin in a way you didn't think possible.


The first product I'll tell you about is Restore, which brightens skin and helps promote healing. This is great for helping to correct sun damage. It contains alpha arbutin and stable, high-end vitamin C, that synergize with one another to even skin tone, reduce appearance of "age spots" and slow the tanning response after UV exposure. This is a lightweight serum that I applied after using my cleanser. It left my face looking radiant and definitely brightened my complexion. I still have some of the same spots I've been battling, but overall, my skin tone has evened out and is really, really radiant.


I also used Boost, which quite honestly, knocked my socks off. My skin looks uber-radiant. I've met with a few skin care pros while using these products and they are surprised to learn I am 37. I'll happily take that compliment!

According to the website: Antioxidants, vitamins and botanicals along with caffeine help tighten, tone, refresh and protect the face. Boost immediately soothes, reduces redness and balances skin. As it dries, the face becomes more toned and stays supple to the touch. Boost also allows your skin to breathe and draws moisture from the air throughout the day, helping skin stay hydrated and toned while discouraging blemishes and excessive oiliness. In addition to niacin and B5 which encourage healthier-looking skin, boost uses a water soluble, natural wax to seal in moisture but yet easily washes off so it doesn't clog pores.


Finally, I have been using Quench, their signature lip balm treatment, nightly. At first blush, this lip balm doesn't feel much different from other balms I have tried. It doesn't feel particularly hydrating on contact and doesn't add any extra shine to lips. Where it does pay off is when you wear it overnight. As your body rests, this lip balm sinks in and restores your lips to a hydrated, plump state. I normally have very dry lips this season, but haven't experienced them yet since I have been using this. According to the website, Quench keep your lips naturally full, bright and youthful-looking with collagen boosting, skin brightening vitamin C (the most beneficial and gentlest form of vitamin C we've found). Peppermint and clementine oils wake up your lips and add an invigorating tingle.

I think the best proof of how well these products worked is to take a look at my almost naked skin in the early September and now. Obviously, in the first picture (originally taken to show my bangs and under eye concealer), I am wearing lip gloss and a touch of under eye concealer. Otherwise, I am nude-faced.


(Before using YBF)


(Me in the morning, when I first got up.)

(Me at the end of the day. My skin looks different in the am than it does in the pm, so to be totally honest, I'm showing you both.)


The biggest difference I personally see is on my nose and the area where my under eye area meets my cheeks. Not only do I usually have sun spots, I have patches of skin that is more yellow that the rest of my face. This makes my overall skin tone look dingy. In the after pictures, I am not seeing as much of that as I had before I started using the products.

Have you tried YBF? I still have a product or two of theirs to tell you about, so stay tuned!

Product was sent for the purposes of review. YBF does not test on animals.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2010, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Prep Microdermabrasion Treatment by YBF

I am a fan of at home face peels, scrubs and masques. I love them. I love the feeling of fresh, clean, skin, free of impurities, dry skin and rough patches. It's hard to find the right exfoliator that is tough enough to make a difference, but gentle enough to not damage the skin.

I am currently trying out a skin care regimen from YBF and found an exfoliator/at-home microdermabrasion product I love so much, I had to tell you about it before I use the line and do the official review. Prep is a fine-grain manual (instead of chemical) Microdermabrasion treatment. It contains teeny, tiny little grains that exfoliate your skin in a way that is more satisfying than another granular scrub I have tried. It also contains peptides, botanicals and vitamins to treat your face after you have used it to exfoliate.

So many of these kinds of exfoliators have large, unevenly sized bits of pits or grains that actually tear your skin on a microscopic level. This scrub contains the opposite. It delivers itty-bitty bits that seem small enough to clean your pores, enough of them to evenly make your skin glow. These amazing little exfoliating grains come in a creamy, vitamin packed base, which make the application feel great and give beautiful, fast results.


(If you look, you can see the grains. They're tiny!)


This at-home microdermabrasion is serious stuff. If you have delicate skin, you'll be ok, just go slow and with very light pressure. If you have very sensitive or delicate skin, this might be too much for you. But if you can handle it, it gives instant, amazing results.

I actually did an experiment with Loxy's nose using this scrub. He has been battling oily skin, which is finally under control, but he is left with a ton of blackheads on his schnoz. I washed his nose with his usual cleanser and then exfoliated his nose using this scrub. I wish I had taken photographs, because the difference was amazing. Where it had been a virtual field of clogged pores, it was now free and clear of blackheads. I was quite honestly, shocked at the results.

If you are looking for an at-home microdermabrasion treatment to remove the dead skin cells and reveal fresher, younger skin, look no further. My skin looked clearer, fresher and younger after the first time I used it.This product doubles as a mask, so if you have a few minutes, leave it on after you have exfoliated. Your skin is open to all of the vitamins and peptides that Prep contains and you'll get a fantastic result. I have tried a ton of scrubs, exfoliators and at-home dermabrasion kits in the last few years. This one is definitely one of the best I have tried.

This product was sent to me for the purposes of review. YBF does not test on animals.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2010, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.