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Tag Archives: skincare

Unboxing the Same K-beauty Products as the Stars

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, skincare

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Afterglow Ampoule, AZN Labs, beauty products, Beautytap, Emmy Awards, Emmys, Gifting Suite, Hydrogel Eye Patches, K-Beauty, skincare

One of our favorite K-Beauty resources, Beautytap, has received some national attention, y’all! They were chosen to gift presenters, nominees, and winners of the 71st Emmy Awards with their products backstage in the official Giving Suite! Does that mean I’m using the same skincare as Presenter Gwyneth Paltrow and Winner Michelle Williams?! As you might recall, I’ve reviewed their Afterglow Ampoule in the past— its U.S. launch was HUGE and they’ve since come out with a broader line of K-Beauty-based products. Here’s all the deets:

Beautytap, the premier destination for Korean beauty education, advice, content, community, and premium luxury beauty products, was hand-selected to participate in the Giving Suite at the Emmy’s. In honor of its recognition as a leader in ingredients, science, and effectiveness in high-end skincare, they gave all the celebs its award-winning AZN Afterglow Ampoule, a serum for anyone suffering from age-related dryness, dark spots, dullness, and loss of firmness and elasticity.

Afterglow Ampoule

Backstage Creations compiles the gift bags for the celebrity presenters and performers attending the Emmy Awards. (Now THAT would be fun job, right?!?) In addition to A-listers choosing from a collection of luxury gifts, the lounge serves as a Giving Suite as celebrities who participate will help raise funds to support the Television Academy Foundation.

Beautytap is also set to launch two new luxury beauty products in just a few days: the new AZN Hydrogel Afterglow Lip Mask, which visibly reduces the appearance of lines on the lip and around the lip area, and the AZN Labs Hydrogel Eye Patches, that diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and crow’s feet. All three luxury products are infused with AZN Lab’s award-winning astaxanthin-based formula with powerful antioxidant properties for more youthful skin and a Hollywood glam look and feel.

Hydrogel Eye Patches, launching online Oct. 26th

The AZN Labs anti-aging gel patches have 24K gold and 6,000X the potency of Vitamin C to help lift and firm the delicate eye area in just ten minutes. This luxurious eye treatment gives skin a warm, dewy glow and minimizes dark circles for a revitalized, youthful suppleness under the eyes.

Hydrogel Eye Patches, unboxed

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Results from the 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge + a free gift for readers!

06 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, health & wellness, Product Reviews, Shopping

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60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge, Acne Scars, Anjum Hanafi, dry patches, fine lines, flaky skin, free gift, gift with purchase, Intensive Renewing Serum, R + F, Rodan + Fields, skin dullness, skincare

We have come to the conclusion of my 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge with Anjum Hanafi, Independent Consultant at Rodan + Fields. And I must say, I have an appreciation for my skin unlike never before. Before I tried these products, I was at war with my face: constantly fighting off breakouts, dullness, oil production, dry flaky patches, and appearance of fine lines. Due to a variety of factors (hormone changes, lack of sleep, lifestyle change, and just from general aging) I never knew what face I’d wake up to in the morning. Plus, the unpredictability of it all was aggravating my postpartum anxiety! Now, through this skin care regime, I feel like I’m working WITH my skin, feeding it what it needs, and creating a harmony of hydration and health. There are few surprises these days and I’m grateful for that.

R + FOk, regarding my issues I was hoping to address:

  • Dullness: Completely gone. I feel I’m rocking a healthy glow once more and there is a nice color in my cheeks. Even on nights where the baby wakes up THREE TIMES (and once for the toddler, too!) I don’t experience that showing up in my face the next morning.
  • Flakiness/Dry patches: Completely gone. The surface texture has totally evened out and I’m back to my regular homeostasis of normal-to-oily skin. The combination of oily in some places and super dry in others was confusing to me (I didn’t know what to put on my face!) and it’s nice to just reach for one go-to product that handles it all.
  • Old acne scars: Fading. Both the subtle pockmarks and not-so-subtle dark spots are continuing to even-out.
  • Fine lines: When I turned 33, I got my first wrinkle. My tall forehead wrinkles up with certain expressions and one of the lines finally just stayed there. However, –and I can’t believe it– but the roller smooths out that one pesky line. If this continues to work, I’ll keep to my personal promise of putting off the Botox until age 40.

Intensive Renewing SerumAdditionally, one product comes in the kit I received but wasn’t used in the challenge. I’m breastfeeding & it’s not recommended, so I had to hold off. BUT, it is amazing and award-winning and deserves a mention: R+F’s all new re-vamped Intensive Renewing Serum is all the rage — even featured in the April ’18 edition of Oprah’s O Magazine! The highest concentration of Vitamin A available on the market without a prescription, this powerful tiny daily-dose blue capsule packs a punch. Many Vitamin A serums on the market are too much for sensitive skin but this product is specifically formulated for even the most sensitive skin and works to visibly firm, smooth and revitalize the skin. It reduces the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles and the individual capsules ensure the product says fresh at every application.

Best part– my neighbor Anjum is running a special just for Blog Joie de Vivre readers: Get a FREE gift with any $80+ purchase! Y’all can choose from their Body Moisturizer, Foaming Sunless Tanner or Body Sunscreen. Here’s a simple & quick one-minute skin questionnaire with direct recommendations from the dermatologists…just fill it out as your first step and she’ll arrange your free exclusive gift.

June Update: 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge

11 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, Product Reviews, Shopping

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60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge, Acne Scars, Active Hydration Serum, flaky skin, Micro-Exfoliating Roller, microneedling, R + F products, Rodan + Fields, skin dullness, skincare

Welcome to the middle of my 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge…I am happy to report I am seeing improvement! The area that is showing up most significantly are in the acne scars along my cheeks. To illustrate it best, I tried to take a pic that’s back-lit and from the side to show off the texture. Subtle improvement, but the results are something I’ve never been able to achieve through any facial or topical cream, prescription or otherwise. Very excited to continue ‘rolling’ as I think the surface texture of my skin will continue to even out. No difference in fine lines yet, but honestly wrinkles are the least of my skin-specific worries.Acne Scars, one month inThe little roller has been a bit of an adventure to use. I mean, there ARE ACTUAL NEEDLES that you’re rolling across your face! The sensation kind of surprised me at first, but I quickly got used to the feeling and now look forward to ‘rolling’ at night. You move in up/down and side-to-side motions and the process only takes one minute to cover the entire face. It needs to be rinsed with warm water after each use and submerged into an effervescent tablet solution (just like dentures, teehee!) twice a week.Active Hydration SerumRegarding the Active Hydration Serum (pictured above), it has been a process getting my skin used to that level of moisture. As first, my skin felt sticky after each application. It was as if the skin was absorbing it very slowly. The product never sat on my skin and looked greasy, though (which has happened before with over-the-counter night creams). After a month of use, the clear serum formula is absorbed right away – as if my skin recalibrated & now accepts the product very well. I’m really enjoying the consistency of the lightweight formula – no residue on my fingers and my skin drinks it right up. I shouldn’t call it ‘lightweight’ though, because the product is actually quite an intense moisturizer! Plus, the cool applicator tool distributes the exact right amount for each use. My internal image of skin “dullness” is gone and the pesky flaky patches have vanished.  ~More updates in another month! 🙂

 

 

 

60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge

01 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, health & wellness, Product Reviews, Shopping

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60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge, Acne Scars, Active Hydration Serum, Anjum, Dullness, Micro-Exfoliating Roller, microneedling, Rodan + Fields, skincare

Any reader of this blog knows I’m an avid tester of the latest skincare products. I absolutely love to try out new serums, creams, & cleansers and then share my reviews with y’all. My neighbor Anjum knows this, too, and suggested I give Rodan + Fields a try. She is a huge advocate of this line and sells it with great success. She prompted me to use certain personalized products and commit to them for 2 months — or, the 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge. Because even with all the fun products that are sent to me for review, I still don’t exactly “love” my skin.
Acne ScarsThrough this challenge, we’re hoping to tackle a couple of issues I’m currently dealing with: acne scars and dullness. –Anyone in the same boat? I’m in my mid-thirties and finally the pimples I’ve dealt with my whole life are starting to subside. BUT, I’m left with subtle scarring, or slight pockmarks that show up at the right angle & in some lights. More noticeably, I have scarring that manifests as dark spots…those fade over time, but we’re talking MONTHS. My dermatologist told me the scarring could be addressed by a series of microneedling services. (Since I’m breastfeeding, there’s a lot of products and procedures I need to steer clear of for now.) Microneedling is safe, but the price tag is scary! The packages at my dermatologist’s office started around $800. Luckily R + F makes a roller than is basically the same idea but can be used on yourself in the convenience of your own home.R + F RollerThe AMP MD Roller, Rodan + Fields micro-exfoliating roller, is designed to help the skin heal itself. As the micro-needles move across your skin (don’t worry, they don’t hurt!), signals are sent to the brain to “SEND COLLAGEN!” Collagen is what heals our wounds and gives our skin strength & elasticity, along with replacing dead skin cells. The micro-needles also create channels in our skin allowing any skincare products applied after to be absorbed quicker & deeper, creating results for a firmer tone, smoother texture, and a reduced appearance of lines & wrinkles!

The second skincare issue I’m hoping to rectify is dullness. This could be just a case of life with a newborn and general postpartum skin changes. I just feel like my skin is lacking luminosity. –I guess once you have that ‘pregnancy glow’ and then proceed to see it fade, you want it back, haha! Now, I haven’t been able to keep up with my facials over the last few months, so I know a contributing factor here is the lack of regular exfoliation. But Anjum tells me hydration is a major component in dealing with skin dullness. Again, since I’m breastfeeding she had to stick within certain ingredient boundaries but we found something that should work fabulously for me in their Active Hydration Serum.R + F AHSActive Hydration Serum (AHS) is a hydrating, oil-free serum that increases the hydration level in our skin. Often times, we apply moisturizer to our skin, thinking this will help with hydration. Moisturizers, in fact, only seal in EXISTING hydration — they do NOT add hydration to the skin! As we age, our level of skin hydration decreases, causing our skin to look dull and (dare I say it) droopy. AHS adds hydration into the skin, and when your skin is hydrated, it looks more vibrant, glowing, and smooth! AHS is formulated to benefit all skin types.

So, here begins Day 1 of our 60-Day Love Your Skin Challenge! I’ll keep ya posted during the journey and share my progress. –Interested in joining me? –Want to FINALLY love your skin? Check out the products here and reach out to Anjum on Instagram or Facebook. She’s always available to answer any skincare questions or recommend the right products.

Life[style]: July ’17 — New releases in the beauty category

27 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, Life[style], Product Reviews, Shopping

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bath bombs, Idealia, international beauty, Nerium International, new beauty products, skincare, supplements, Treets Traditions, Ulta, Vichy, Youth Factor

When it comes to beauty, some women like to treat themselves to a new lip gloss or mascara. Me, I like fancy skincare products. I’m drawn to the permanence & wholeness of caring for the skin you live in, versus expensive make-up products that are wiped off each night. Now, I’ll admit I am a bit of a makeup junkie and kinda obsess over fabulous eyeshadows & lip shades, but I’m especially interested in new skincare treatments. This month, I’ve got some new complete collections, supplements, and relaxing indulgences to consider incorporating into your beauty routine…

Mom-friendly skincare. When baby-proofing your home, make sure to life-proof your skin! New moms are often exhausted and overwhelmed, which can wreak havoc on your complexion – however, Vichy’s Idealia collection grants illuminated, lit-from-within results, giving you one less stress to lose sleep over.Vichy

  • Idéalia Night Cream ($35): Discover the restorative power of a good night’s sleep on the skin with an advanced night treatment that mimics skin’s key repair activity during a deep sleep.
  • Idéalia Radiance Boosting Serum ($39): Formulated with an Antioxidant Recharge Complex (citrus flavonoids + licorice root extract + energizing adenosine), this serum restores an ideal skin quality and recharges skin with a glow.
  • Idéalia Eyes ($31): A 2-in-1 anti-aging treatment and illuminator works to reduce dark circles, smooth fine lines and illuminate shadows.

Drink to your youth. Want a first-of-its-kind wellness solution that provides age-fighting benefits both internally as well as externally? Thanks to Nerium International’s new Youth Factor Complete Vitality Complex and Superfood & Antioxidant Boost, you can get age-fighting benefits for body, cells and skin!* Instead of a handful of pills and an overwhelming regimen, support overall wellness and fight the signs of aging with a duo of nutritional supplements—one a tablet, the other a powder. Youth Factor

  • Youth Factor Complete Vitality Complex is a tablet that contains both the Youth Factor Enzyme Blend and Complex NAA that help with: cellular energy support, free radical defense, strengthening the immune system, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, and revealing brighter-looking skin.*
  • Youth Factor Superfood & Antioxidant Boost is a supplemental powder featuring hearty servings of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables—far more than most would be able to consume from their diets alone. It helps to balance the body’s pH levels to help maintain well-being.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. 

Bring international beauty traditions home. Treat your skin to some worldwide beauty this summer! New to the U.S., Treets Traditions brings tried and true practices from five regions of the world to your bathroom. With regional, natural ingredients that work, rediscovering age old beauty will have your skin looking fresh and new in no time! I’m loving taking my normal bath up a notch with these premium lavender & beeswax Bath Fizzers ($14).Bath bombsExclusively at your local Ulta Beauty & on Ulta.com all five collections from Treets Traditions are inspired by regional traditions to heal, and nurture skin. Coming from The Amazon, Africa, the Alps, Asia, and the Nordics, each collection is tailored to different needs and highlights different regional ingredients for your best skin yet!

Life[style]: May ’17 — Hot Mama Health & Wellness

18 Thursday May 2017

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, Fitness, Life[style], Product Reviews

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Flywheel Sports, health & wellness, health supplements, healthy living, Hyperbiotics, indoor cycling, probiotics, skincare, VENeffect, workouts

Hey there hot mamas!  Sharing some handy tools made available in our health & wellness toolkits. New classes, probiotics, and skincare!

The Workout:  Flywheel Sports is a new boutique indoor stadium cycling studio in The Domain. Flywheel provides all the tools needed to set goals, beat your own personal records, race against others, and make fitness fun! I recently held a Mom’s Night Out event there and we enjoyed seeing friends while being healthy together. –Group workouts are my jam! If you’d like to try out one of their classes courtesy of Blog Joie de Vivre, use code FLYLWA15 for a free ride. Guests will need to create an account and apply the code at checkout. Expires June 15th.Flywheel

The Supplement:  Already the #1 supplement sold on Amazon, Hyperbiotics was founded by Jamie Morea, who developed the line after a life-altering trip from Guatemala to Thailand and contracted Entamoeba histolytica, a rare intestinal parasite most common in developing countries.HyperBiotics.jpgJamie’s horrific experience sparked her quest to develop superior, live probiotic formulas, and to teach others about the vital ecosystem of beneficial bacteria living in each and every one of us. Hyperbiotics has 60 PATENTS and the formula was developed with technology that ensures the organisms are viable without refrigeration, survive past stomach acid, only uses human resident strains (as opposed to soil based organisms or active yeasts) and contain up to 15 different beneficial probiotic strains. Hyperbiotics was created on the premise that bacteria is both the foundation of health and the future of medicine. As of April 25th, Hyperbiotics will be available to consumers nationwide at Target stores, just in time for spring/summer travel plans!

The Skincare:  Though you may plan to give your skin a breather from makeup in the summer, sometimes (for me, at least) a bit of foundation is needed to cover up unwanted blemishes and redness. Melting makeup mixed with sweat from our extreme temps in Texas can lead to an even worse situation:  clogged pores and acne. Try VENeffect’s Pore Minimizing Cleanser and Micro Exfoliant to reveal beautiful skin. VENeffect helps offset the signs of hormonal aging with plant based technology to inspire luminosity and elasticity in skin.VenEffect.jpg

3 skincare lessons I learned from natural beauty trailblazer Tata Harper

27 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by blogjoiedevivre in Au Naturale, Beauty, Product Reviews, Shopping

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Daily regimen, Elixir Vitae, green tea, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrating Floral Essence, Natural Botox, Neiman Marcus, Non-toxic beauty, skincare, Tata Harper, The Steeping Room

Tata Harper event.jpg

Early last week I had the opportunity to sit in on one of Tata Harper’s ‘master classes’ at Neiman Marcus Austin.  While sipping iced coconut green tea from The Steeping Room (my favorite!), a small group of beauty influencers got to experience Tata Harper‘s amazing offering of next generation beauty products.  The morning’s events were quite hands-on:  Tata herself flew in from Vermont and guided us step-by-step as we removed our make-up, double-cleansed, multimasked, moisturized, and even inhaled our way through her full line.Multimasking

Here are the top 3 takeaways from my morning with Tata Harper:

Check for antifreeze:  Non-toxic active ingredients matter more than we probably realize.  A popular ingredient found in many ‘anti-aging’ skin care products is propylene glycol — which basically antifreeze.  When are we going to stop putting this stuff on our FACE?!  Tata imagines one day we’ll look back on chemicals like this in our homes as we look back on lead paint now.  Tata says of her products:  “We provide clinical anti aging results without a single drop of synthetic chemicals.”

Formulations matter:  Say you do find a product without antifreeze or other nasty synthetics, now you have to look at the amount of good stuff they’re putting in to fill that bottle.  For example:  Hyaluronic acid is an active ingredient in Tata Harper’s Hydrating Floral Essence, an ingredient that costs a whopping $9,000 euros per pound!  Many products may tout Hyaluronic acid in their contents, but are only using a teensy-tiny little bit and watering it down with fillers.  100% free of fillers is crucial to getting real results from these high-quality active ingredients (and is important in getting the most bang for your buck!)

Daily regimen:  They have a prescribed set of steps for beautiful, youthful skin:

  1. Cleanse:  she recommended double cleansing with an oil cleanser first and then a regular cleanser to follow.
  2. Essence:  No more alcohol based astringent — spritzing an illuminating or moisture boosting ‘essence’ takes the place of old-school toners.
  3. Anti-aging serum:  If you’re serious about getting results from your serums, you need to use them a.m. and p.m. = every 12 hours.
  4. Moisturizer:  In the summer months, I usually forego moisturizer in lieu of my sunscreen or foundation, knowing my natural oils will soon take over in this heat.  However, Tata stressed that oily skin absolutely NEEDS moisturizer, too.
  5. Eye Care:  Tata takes time during this step to lightly massage her eye sockets & under eye area during application to reduce bags & puffiness.

Safe to say, I walked out of Neiman’s that morning feeling like I got the world’s finest organic facial.  I also absolutely LOVE the scent of everything…I noticed one of the lines on their brochure says their fragrance comes from flowers, not chemicals and you can really tell the difference!

Selfie from Tata Harper event

Mid-mask selfie!  In the middle of my Purifying Mask treatment.  This was actually step 4 in our process: first, Nourishing Oil Cleanser; second, Purifying Cleanser and third, the Resurfacing Mask.  Tata suggests keeping the Purifying Cleanser on under the Resurfacing Mask to heighten your glow.

So yeah…I want pretty much everything they make:  it’s all 100% free from synthetics, GMOs, fillers, gluten and synthetic fragrances.  Now, higher price points come along with that higher quality, so I limited myself to getting my one favorite thing from class which was the Hydrating Floral Essence to join my Elixir Vitae (natural botox, I swear!) at home.  So, have you tried Tata Harper skincare?  What’s your favorite product?

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