Chocolate Beauty Products Too Good To Eat

Yummy. Just the aroma, alone, of a fine piece of chocolate is so attractive to the senses.

Chocolate is so sinfully delicious. But did you know it also has strong anti-oxidant properties, and can actually be good for you, including your face and body?!

There are real beauty treatments that include chocolate---either in scent, cocoa powder, or cocoa butter, etc. Chocolate beauty products make elegant Christmas gifts, and the best part, each one is calorie-free!!

We have found 3 chocolate beauty products we would like to share with you:

First we have Fresh Orange Chocolate Petite Soap ($12, 5 oz. box). Just the scent alone, is enough to want you begging for more. Smells like an orange chocolate truffle. This soap is actually a nice lathering cleanser. Rich in shea butter and vegetable glycerin. Find it at http://www.fresh.com/.


And for your face, you must try Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask (under $10 at a Macy's counter near you). How about this one---a delightful minty chocolate face mask. This will brighten up and soften winter-dry skin. Formulated with wonderful and creamy cocoa butter and peppermint and spearmint oils. It even looks like a cupcake. A nice, refreshing consistency. Must be kept in the fridge--really fresh ingredients. Good for sensitive skin. Too bad we can't eat it.

And lastly, Garden Botanika ChocoLatte Body Souffle (now on sale $6.00, 4.4 fl. oz.- http://www.gardenbotanika.com/.) What a decadent way to go----one of the nicest chocolate aromas in a jar. Simply nourishing for your entire body. Takes away the winter-whipped dry skin. In a light and fluffy base--really does the job, with cocoa extract and arabica coffee bean extract.

3 More Super Holiday Gift Ideas Each Under $35

Let's go shopping!!!

20 more days 'til Christmas. And only 17 until the start of Hanukkah. And if you got a late start this season to begin all your holiday shopping, don't despair---we've got a few ideas up our sleeve.

We know....many of you are on a budget. Seriously. But we do share this in common---we all want to buy our favorite people some really unique and lovely presents.

We took a look at Nordstrom's, the fine department store. And we came up with 3 super holiday gift ideas. And all 3 are under $35 each.


For the sweet gal in your life, why not pick up the Philosophy Gingerbread House Set ($30, 4 oz. each). How cute is this? Philosophy packed this adorable, little gingerbread house with 4 of their high-foaming bath products---shampoo, bubble baths, and shower gel. And take a beautiful sniff of these scents---cinnamon hot dots, sweet creamy frosting, spicy gumdrop, and gingerbread, of course!

Next we have a gorgeous way to hold back someone's long and luxurious hair. This is a stunning piece---the France Luxe Cut-out Jaw Clip ($34). Tortoise shell tone with rectangular cut-outs. About 2 1/4" wide. And made of strong resin. We like this clip because it can handle thick tresses and makes a pretty hair statement.


And lastly, for the woman expecting in your life, why not treat her to a wonderfully nourishing belly cream. It's called---Honeydew Skin Care Maternity 'Bun in the Oven' Super Rich Belly Butter ($32, 4 oz.) This stuff is amazing and protects against stretch marks. Made with 4 nourishing butters in a balm scented with citrus oils. A truly moisturizing and soothing experience.

For more information, visit: http://www.nordstrom.com/.

Conair Has Beauty Tips For Your Best Garments

We stumbled across the Conair website recently, and were amazed at the 'tips & techniques' the giant company has assembled for its readers. Not the beauty tips for face, hair, or body, because Conair has those, too. This time, we turned an eye toward fabrics. What you wear on your body, be it silk, wool, cotton, and so on.

Conair doesn't just make lots of hair dryers. They also market irons, fabric steamers, and many more useful things.

We were trying to find out how to care for a black cashmere sweater that was gifted to us last year. Conair had the answer and so many more ways to keep your best garments looking beautiful.

So here are some really unique tips & techniques by the Conair Company on how to keep your fine washables looking like you just bought them:

1. Did you know your shampoo and conditioner could multitask? Use them dissolved in lukewarm water to wash your cashmere sweaters. (Note: Tried it. This does work! Cashmere is goat hair.)

2. Remove oil-soluble grease and grass marks, and spots and stains from fabric with a cloth moistened with eucalyptus oil. It's a natural wonder!

3. To eliminate static, just crumple up a sheet of aluminum foil and throw it in the dryer! Save money on dryer sheets and be kind to the earth as well!

4. Make your own laundry detergent by mixing 1 cup Ivory soap, 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup borax. Use only 1 tablespoon for light loads or 2 tablespoons for heavy loads.

5. To store woolen items, make a cedar sachet by cutting a foot off of a pair of pantyhose and filling it with cedar chips. Toss it into an airtight plastic container with your woolen items!

6. Sensitive skin? Substitute a half-cup of baking powder for laundry detergent or bleach. Clothes come out cleaner and the baking powder neutralizes harsh chemicals that may irritate delicate skin.

7. Never place an iron directly on delicate fabrics like silk or chiffon – protect them with a t-shirt or towel. Or play it even safer, and use a Conair® fabric steamer!

8. When using your iron, always use tap or bottled water. Distilled water can strip away the silicone coating inside the water chamber.

9. Remove grass stains from washable fabric by sponging with water, then with rubbing alcohol. Let dry, then sponge with cool water and work liquid detergent into the stain. Rinse with water and let dry. (Do not use alcohol on silk or wool.)

10. Clothes last longer if you occasionally skip a trip to the dry cleaners and refresh them with a garment steamer!

For more super beauty tips & technqiues, visit: http://www.conair.com/.

Cargo Makes Beautiful Eyes With Goof-Proof Palette

Remember 'paint by number?' Stop laughing. Well, the clever makeup folks at Cargo, have come up with a truly genius way to make you a couple of gorgeous eyes guaranteed!!!

It is almost like 'paint by number.' Just a bit easier. All you are dealing with are 4 pretty eye shadows in one small kit.

It's called Cargo Essential Palette ($32 at Sephora.com). It features 4 graduated neutral shades designed to give your eyes instant definition. The palette pictured above, is Warm/ Neutral. Cargo also offers the palette in Cool/Neutral and Dark/Neutral.

Yeah. The kit is almost goof-proof. If you love sexy, defined eyes, then you should try this Cargo Essential Palette without fear.

The eye shadow palette spells it out for us, duh!! In other words, follow the directions embossed on each pan of colored, velvety powder. Grab a shadow brush, even a Q-tip, and 'paint on.' And blend. Then add your own mascara. The 4-way shadows give the eye a soft, professional look with depth and beauty. A perfectly sculpted eye!

Browbone
Lid
Crease
Outer corner

Women seem to love this color-co-ordinated eye shadow kit. Just read some of the makeup reviews at www.sephora.com.

The only error we could find in the Cargo Essential Palette is its missing eyeshadow brush or applicator. It would be nice to find a little brush in the kit, to help you 'paint on' your 4 shadows. Otherwise, BYOB...or bring your own brushes, ha ha. Like we said above, a simple Q-tip can do the job, when you can't find anything else around.

Zero Calorie Sweetener Stevia To Get FDA Okay

Stevia.

We hadn't heard of it until this morning. The news programs were chatting about this unique, zero-calorie sweetener made from an herb. It's said to be all natural. And the FDA, or food and drug administration, is ready, maybe even today, to give the green light to stevia's approval.

Maybe many of you have already been enjoying stevia as your sugar substitute for years. It has been available in our country, but always wore the label of 'not FDA-approved.'

Why the concern about stevia?

Like its fake sugar friends.....saccharin, aspartame, and others, bad press has dogged these sweeteners because of lab studies done on rats which concluded these zero calorie foods are cancer-causing agents.

However, these studies indicate that consumers are safe with 'fake sugars,' because normal consumption would never exceed the huge amounts needed to possibly cause cancer to develop in humans.

Stevia has been safely eaten in Japan, China, and South America for years. Australia just gave the zero-calorie sweetener the thumbs up recently.

Stevia is actually a shrub plant from the chrysanthemum endemic family. It grows quite nicely in regions where tobacco thrives. Stevia is an herbal extract from the shrub, the way we understand it.

We have never tasted stevia that we know of. We used to be a TAB fanatic. But that was until 1984, when the makers started mixing a little aspartame in with the saccharin. The flavor was forever ruined for us.

Meantime, Coke-a-Cola and PepsiCo are anxiously hoping for the big FDA okay, so they won't have to pull out new light drinks if the ruling disapproves stevia.

Bottoms up, everyone!!!

Cyber Monday Slashing Prices On All Things Beauty

This is it!!!

If you did all the running around at the malls and your favorite local shops after Thanksgiving on the biggest shopping day of the year, there's still more time to pick up some great deals until midnight. Today is Cyber Monday, the internet's idea of the largest shopping day for Christmas.

The deals on beauty and fashion are out there. Just some clever hunting, and you will reap some lovely benefits. Look for FREE Shipping, and some 15%, 20%, even 50% off some of your favorite beauty things.

Here are 4 of our favs:

1. SkinStore.com---Save 20% throughout the online store. Sale ends tomorrow, Dec. 2nd.

SkinStore.com has tons of makeup and skin care brands.....Kinerase, philosophy, Perricone MD, Jan Marini, StriVectin SD, SkinCeuticals, and more.

2. GAP.com---Buy One Sweater, and save 50% on the second one. And FREE Shipping on Any Purchase!

Who doesn't love GAP! Great buys for the entire family---women, men, maternity, baby, and kids. GAP is one of the world's largest specialty retailers.

3. BodyShop.com is also gearing up for Christmas, with 15% off all purchases today and a FREE mini Passion Fruit Body Butter with Any order.

BodyShop.com has some of the most elegant-scented body and bath washes around. Fragrances, soaps, makeup, hairstyling needs. Always makes a super holiday gift for someone.

4. OldNavy.com is warming shoppers up today with a 20% off sale, site-wide, along with some already low prices. And FREE shipping!

Old Navy is a cousin to the GAP. Great American style....from camisoles to winter coats. Junior sizes.

Nail It By Going Gray Grey Greige For Winter 2008

In this tight economy, a small bottle of trendy nail polish, won't break your wallet. In fact, staring down at some pretty polished nails might do all of us some good. It might just put a tiny smile on your face.

Going gray, grey, er....greige???!!!

Alright, not the brightest, most upbeat color on the planet, but think of gray nail polish as Parisian chic.

The new face of manicured nails is gray---all shades. From muddy, taupey greige to shimmering dove grey to bold gunmetal gray.

The trend is so hot at the moment, that even the Los Angeles Times bothered to research the story, and did an entire piece on the new color for autumn and winter 2008!

Here's what we have learned:

Ladies, keep your nails short, neat, and trimmed, when trying these trendy shades.

And gray doesn't like every skin tone. So experiment and buy a few bottles to see what looks lovely with your hands. The wrong grey can look, well, almost corpse-like. Then again, the perfect grey can look very 'rock 'n roll.' And actress Gwyneth Paltrow recently donned gray polish to the premiere of her latest film.

OPI, one of the world's most famous nail polish makers, has given us a big winner. Even Cosmopolitan magazine has rated You Don't Know Jacques! as their Ultimate Nail Polish for 2008. (see photo of large bottle with lace background).

You Don't Know Jacques! is from OPI's La Collection de France, autumn/winter 2008. This is an elegant, very Parisian look. (about $5, at hair and nail salons everywhere, also online, and Ebay).

A gentler shade of OPI grey, called Run With It! is a lighter, more brown/grey tone (see small photo). This shade is hot all over New York City. You can pick up a bottle ($9) at Sephora.com.

OPI has another gray, not for the faint-of-heart. It's called My Private Jet. Sounds sexy and chic. It's a strong gunmetal shade with some noticable silvery sparkles.

To get your gray on, visit http://www.opi.com/.