GOOP Guru Gwyneth And Juice Beauty's Skin Care Collection

Okay....Gwyneth Paltrow has taken hits in the past for being a somewhat snobby gal who doesn't live in the real world, but in the lap of luxury.

So, you probably WON'T like her recent collaboration with organic Juice Beauty for a pricey skin care line available at her GOOP website.

We were curious, because GP always seems to look flawless on the red carpet with glowing skin.

Juice Beauty takes pride in its anti-aging products that bear the clinically validated results. 

So, let's examine the much-talked about:

LUMINOUS MELTING CLEANSER

GOOP BY JUICE BEAUTY

$90

Yup....$90 for a SMALL 3.3 fluid ounce jar of  anti-aging cleanser, as described by GOOP:

The Luminous Melting Cleanser sinks luxuriously into skin to remove dirt and makeup, leaving it incredibly moisturized, soft, and glowing. This sumptuous blend of almond, olive and coconut oils, shea and cocoa seed butters, as well as jojoba and sunflower gently purifies and deeply hydrates the skin as it cleanses. Beautifully textured, it evens skin tone and minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as it cleanses.

Hey, GP does NOT apologize for her fancy priced, fancy skin care + makeup.

Why should she?

If the products are out-of-your-range, then disregard....and move along.

Okay....We are quietly moving along.

Shop at GOOP here.

Oh Sugar! CoverGirl's New Pretty Lip Balms Look Good Enough To Eat!

With delicious names like Cupcake, Sprinkle + Taffy, it's no wonder that CoverGirl's newest lip balms are selling like hot cakes .

Most gals like a little lip color that is NOT too heavy, is hydrating to lips and sheer enough for daytime.

That's why tinted lip balms have exploded across the beauty market.

CG's Oh Sugar balms look like a regular lipstick tube, but these are delicate + dreamy.

They are sheer + buildable and leave a mild stain. Plus, they're infused with moisture-rich avocado and grapeseed oils.

Check out Janelle Monae for CG showing off the new Oh Sugar(s) here on YouTube.

By the way, found Oh Sugar at Walgreens for $8.99.

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Liquid Foundation: New Concept

Foundation.

We think this is essential when building your makeup.  Foundation is the base.

Liquid foundations offer excellent coverage and even up your skin tone, but some women think that foundation can be too heavy to wear, so they skip it altogether.

Well, L'Oreal Paris claims they have revolutionized liquid foundation, and believe it is in their newest product,  True Match Lumi Cushion.

This is a SHEER foundation. And the great news---it's a BUILDABLE foundation, so you control how much coverage you prefer.

Lumi Cushion comes in a sizable compact. We found it at Walgreens for $16.99.

It comes in 12 shades to choose from, and Walgreens has little Lumi Cushion cards that show you the shades to choose from, to help you decide on a color.

What's lovely about Lumi Cushion is the luminous effect it leaves on the complexion.

This is liquid foundation in a cushion. It comes with a small applicator puff that you use to TAP the makeup on to the skin.

There's a brief demo at the Walgreens website, that shows you how to put this foundation on.

We think this is a good beauty buy to try.

We have an oily complexion, so we are not sure if it might be too luminous or too dewy for our complexion. Still, we are going to try it out.

We wear foundation EVERY day, because it balances our skin tone and helps hide imperfections like broken capillaries, dark circles, etc.

It's A 10 Styling Products ARE A 10, Indeed!

Last January, we were researching the value of keratin leave-in styling products for damaged, dull hair. You can read the beauty post here.

We had mentioned it's a 10 miracle leave-in plus keratin 4 oz. 

And we also divulged that we were going to try it.

The small, 4 ounce bottle is NOT the cheapest at $20, but it performs beautifully, so we will ALWAYS keep this one in our hair care arsenal.

We had noted that keratin in shampoos, conditioners + leave-in treatments all NOURISH hair with body-building ingredients that effectively repair damaged locks, protecting against further breakage and adding shine and elasticity to every strand.

That is NOT our hair in the photo. We wish it were, but we are working hard to improve it.

Our hair does NOT feature much fall-out, BUT, we started using It's a 10 with keratin, because we had found more broken ends for some strange reason. Plus, we have a wonky thyroid, which can also cause hair problems, and we had been under some personal stress for about 6 months, and we believe that all played a role in our hot mess hair.

Since we've been spritzing on the It's a 10, we have found faster growing locks, less breakage and better shine.

BUT-----the downside to using keratin products is the super soft, super sleekness that occurs. For most women, those are good things, but keratin leaves our tresses almost difficult to manage, or do anything with it.

We like BIG hair + volume, so we add a volumizing product the next day. STILL.....a leave-in keratin styling product, shampoo or conditioner are all excellent for correcting + hiding split ends, frizz, dullness, breakage...and so forth.

If you're upset + frustrated about damaged, dull, tired hair, then try a styling product with keratin.

Baby Powder + Talc Down There? Don't Do It Anymore!

If you use talc-based products to stay fresh in the genital area, ladies.....Please DON'T do it anymore.

And that goes for baby powder, which IS considered a talcum powder.

Most of us have heard about the possible link between Johnson & Johnson baby powder and ovarian cancer. Studies have been around since 1971, as well as another conducted in 1992, which found that regular use of baby powder increased the risk of developing ovarian cancer threefold.

A 2010 Harvard study concluded that talc in baby powder was cancerous to humans. And yet talcum powder remained on the market unregulated + without any warning from the manufacturer or the FDA.

Here are the 2 J&J TALC products some women blame for causing ovarian cancer, They were using the talc for personal hygiene.

You might ask, then why do we use baby powder all over our infants' bodies, if it is so dangerous?
Excellent question, for which we have no excellent answer.

In the meantime, the ovarian cancer risk for women is still up in the air. As noted integrative medicine expert, Dr. Andrew Weil believes, it's BEST to play safe, ladies"

....."Some studies have shown a small increased risk and other investigations have shown none. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organization, classifies the use of talc-based powders on the genital region as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Although the additional risk, if any, of ovarian cancer would be very small, the American Cancer Society suggests that women may want to avoid or limit the use of products containing talc."

We don't mean to be a "Debbie Downer," we just thought we would spread the news. 

Meantime.....The first baby powder cancer lawsuit was recently won in 2013. A federal jury recently found that talcum contained in some Johnson & Johnson powders contributed to a woman's ovarian cancer.

L'Oreal's Low Lather Ever Cleansing Balm Line Won't Strip, Fade or Damage Hair

Do you ever skip a day or two of shampooing because you’re afraid of doing these nasty things?

Damaging, stripping, drying, or fading your hair?

We know we have. That's a never-ending challenge for many of us.

L'Oreal claims their Ever Cleansing Balm line is PERFECT for your demanding tresses. The products feature a low lather, non-stripping, non-build-up system with smoothing botanicals that cleanse, condition, treat damaged hair, de-tangle, soften and add shine.

Wow! Sounds like a must-try.

We found the one for color-treated hair here at ULTA for $11.99.

As you can see from the photos below, L'Oreal's Hair Expertise Ever line also includes EverCreme and EverCurl Cleansing Balms.

Obsessed With Tightlining.....So Cool For Eyes

Nope....We cannot quit this. This simple, tiny beauty tip can transform your look.

And it looks gorgeous on EVERY pair of eyes.

We are OBSESSED with tightlining.

It makes our lashes look longer + thicker! And when you add a great building mascara like L'Oreal Voluminous ($5.89), you can create a false lashes look. Amazing!

And it will work for you, too, even if that's all you apply to your eyes that day.

Er....What is TIGHTLINING?

It's where you apply eyeliner directly to your UPPER lash line, preferably from the underside of the lash line.

Here is a photo  of tightlining: (We found this at Popxo).

To find it, just lift your top or upper eyelid so you can see your upper water line. With your other hand, apply a black pencil liner into the underside of your upper lash line
.
Sounds squeamish, but it's NOT and it's quick to do, once you get the hang of it.

Try it alone without any mascara just to see how it DEFINES the shape of your eye.

We like tightlining, because our almond-shaped eyes  appear almost alien-like.  Looks so cool.

We use a simple black eye pencil, and it does NOT irritate our eyes in the least.

If you've NEVER tightlined before, try it. You might become obsessed.