LuckyVitamin.com ----LOVE THEM!

I love ordering from LuckyVitamin.com. Not only did I get subsequent emails updating me on where in the process they were with my order, but I got it within a weeks time.

LuckyVitamin carries organic/all natural/healthy skincare, makeup, fitness supplies, vitamins, and cookies.

The pic above is just the skincare that I ordered. Not included in the pic is the Alernative Baking Company cookies----they are sooo delicious!, and my Accu-Measure Fitness 3000 Personal Body Fast Tester Caliper (which actually works).

I highly recommend that site fully. They also carries protein shakes, essential oils, and the like.

Oh, yes, and they accept Paypal, as well as, any credit card. (The paypal payment really won me over).

So, included in the pic is MYCHELLE sampler pack---so far I love what I've tried---Pumpkin Peel and Fruit Enzyme Cleanser, Devita Solar Body Block SPF 30+ - leaves NO WHITE CAST!, Desert Essence Facial Moisturizer with Jojoba Oil and Aloe Vera, Derma E Hyaluronic & Pyncogenol Eye Cream, Alba Un-petroleum, MYCHELLE Love my Lips Peach Mint, Earth Science Gentle Skin Peel, and Derma E Glycolic Facial Cleanser.

Another Plus- the prices on these items are cheaper than what you find in stores!

So, if you already use natural products or are looking to start, this site is a great place to begin!

Illamasqua Nail Varnish Polish

I love Illamasqua. They are a European brand that hit the US Sephoras late last year. They pride themselves on being the makeup you wear "for night." Dramatic long lasting colors- bright red blush, full coverage neon lipsticks (including black and gold), and a vast array of nail polishes that most companies don't even make!

I tried on 10 of the most interesting colors that Sephora carried and have included pics to help you decide which ones you want to buy.

I will say that the color that appears in the bottle is pretty much the color that appears on the nails. Each color on my finger has only one coat. So, you can see that you get full coverage, rich looking vibrancy right away.

from pinky to thumb:

(Hand without the ring)
Rampage--dark deep green
Lament--pink with a hint of coral
Fern--medium robin's egg blue with fine silver shimmer
Wayward--sun yellow
Alarm--red with orange undertones

(hand with the ring)
Rare--Neon yellow (with a slight hint of green)
Whack--Orange with a slight red undertone
Collide--Hot Pink
Milf--light mint green
Muse--Teal

My favorites are Alarm--This color definately has that seductress/femme fatal quality. I also love Fern. The microscopic shimmer in this is gorgeous and allows this color to not fall flat. This would be beautiful on the toes.

The quality of these colors are great too. They don't chip easily. You don't need to spend time applying multiple coats. Also, if you want, you can also apply your favorite base and top coat. Don't have a favorite? Well, Illamasqua has got that part covered as well.

So, if you're looking for unconventional colors to show off your personality or to match that outfit that no one else seems to carry, give Illamasqua a try!

Jane Iredale Lip Drink SPF 15 balm

This stuff is amazing. It comes in a sleek navy blue tube. The yummy lemony smell and flavor is enticing.

What's great about this is that it is all natural (Jane Iredale is a cosmetics company that prides itself on minerals and chemical free makeup). The SPF is made of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide (both physical sunscreens, which means that they don't get absorbed into the skin, but stay on top to bounce the harmful and damaging rays of the sun away from you).

This lipbalm reminds me a lot of Fresh's Sugar lip balm, except Lip Drink is more affordable ($12), and the SPF is UVA/UVB.

This is a great everyday lipbalm and is a fabulous find for the upcoming summer. Guys even love it due to the lemony scent and clear balm base(no white cast), plus the tube doesn't look extremely girly.

This works well under lipstick too! This is definately one of those products that you want to have with you wherever you go. In fact, buy 3-4 tubes and put then in various purses/places, so no matter where you go, your lips will always be full protected (lips are one of the first places that not only wrinkle, but that are more susceptible to skin cancer due to the fact that most women only apply lipstick or worse lipgloss--which is light reflecting, making the sun absorb!)

Lip Drink can be found online at the Jane Iredale site, or I've also seen it at Beauty Collection and various organic/natural beauty boutiques that carry the Jane Iredale line.

Desert Essence Daily Essential Facial Moisturizer

Do you have sensitive skin? Do you like to use more natural products? Are you looking to spend under $10 for a huge amount of moisturizer?

If you answer yes to any of these, then you are in luck. I recently ordered this as part of my LuckyVitamin.com order. It was under $5 for a huge whopping 4 fl oz. jar. It was 100% vegan, as well as, being all natural with included jojoba oil and aloe vera. For that, I was willing to give it a go.

This moisturizer is amazing. It is in a jar, but the texture isn't thick at all. It feels just like a slightly heavier lotion in a jar. The cream feels very lightweight. I can definately imagine using this even in the summertime (unless you are extremely oily, then all you would really need is a good stable SPF), without it feeling greasy or heavy.

I haven't experienced any breakouts from it, which is a huge plus, since my skin can be very reactive. I will update if something goes wrong.

Ingredients are: Purified water, Glyceryl stearate, safflower seed oil, cetyl palmitate,jojoba seed oil, glycerin, aloe barbadensis leaf, sesame seed oil, cetyl alcohol (veggie based), and then methylparaben (as a preservative so it doesn't spoil) and geranium essential oil for fragrance.

This company doesn't animal test, which is also a plus!
And, don't let the oils in this cream scare you. Not all oils are pore clogging, in fact, many are very beneficial to the skin. Until you know which oils you are sensitive to, I would give this a shot.

Like I said earlier, no animal ingredients, not chemical laden, huge size, and a very friendly price makes this a winner!

You can find this online or even in stores, such as Whole Foods.

Miss Nails Polish

I love Miss Nails. What's great about this polish is that it is more natural and more safe than other polishes on the market. Many health food stores, such as Whole Foods, carries this line (although only a small number compared to the vast amount found online). The colors I own are 385 Amethyst Amelia and 420 St. Cloud Slate.

Amethyst Amelia is a sheer lilac with a fine silver shimmer, while St. Cloud Slate is a light gunmetal grey with a fine silver shimmer.

The ingredients in this are N-Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Ethyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, and the then the follwing may vary by color: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Dyes, Iron Oxides, Bismuth Oxychloride, and Mica based pigments.

Used with a good base coat and top coat (highly recommend Orly and Seche Vite), this polish lasts for weeks without chipping.

On the Miss Nails site, this polish is $6.99, but if you don't want to order because you want instant gratification, you can find it at Whole Foods for $7.99.

Sally's Beauty Supply Store

I love this store. I recently discovered this store on March 2 after horrendously destroying my hair color due to a breakup. On March 1, I went to get color correction to try to start getting my "healthy hair" back. So, I decided to go to Sally's to get some much needed hair products.

I've always driven by Sally's, not quite understanding how they differed from any other beauty store. After doing my research online on their products, I was armed with a list of products to check out.

To make a long story short, it's been two months, and due to Sally's, my hair is slowly getting back it's length and softness.

My highly recommended products to those of you who have damaged, color treated hair:

Miracle 7 for Heavenly Hair Leave in Mist
One N' Only Argan Oil
Aquelle Aqualust Lusterizer
Ion Silk Drops
Ion Effective Care Treatment
Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment
Silk Elements Mega Cholesterol
Aura Cherry Almond Bark Conditioner

These seem like a lot of products of course....but it sure teaches me a lesson of what I have to do because I destroyed my hair (we're talking brittle, breaking at the one inch mark of growth).

Please look into my separate reviews of these products. These are the main ones I use, along with other "miracle" products I discovered, which I am also going to review (Philip Kingley Elasticizer--Savior, Schwwarzkopf Sealed Ends).

The great thing about Sally's is that they have a lot of knockoffs on expensive brands...like Aveda, Wen, Biolage, Bed Head, Aquage, MoraccanOil, etc. And, they have one of my favorite nail polish brands (after OPI), which is Fingerpaints.
I've actually found that their Orly corrective polishes are slightly cheaper in price than other beauty stores.

Oh, yes and one more thing, they carry personal bonnet driers for doing protein and moisturizing treatments.

Sally's does offer a card for $5, where you can get a slight discount and coupons for a whole year, so that is highly recommended if you are into making your hair healthy and beautiful.

I honestly never thought that I would be a "hair" person, but after what I did to my hair, and now discovering Sally's, I enjoy taking the time to pamper my hair and shop for the appropriate products.


****not all products in the pictures are carried at Sally's.

Bare Escentuals (BE) Bare Minerals foundation

I love this foundation. I am fortunate that this actually works really well with my skin. I first gave this brand a shot 4 years ago after seeing it advertised hugely in Sephora. At the time, my skin was so oily in the sense that NO foundation could last. The color I purchased was Light. I used the jar and never repurchased.

Now my skin is dry, but I still battle acne and acne scars. And because of that, I have turned back to BE in Light. This is one of the only foundations where it doesn't feel like I'm slathering my skin in makeup. This powder covers all my dark imperfection acne marks beautifully to the point where you can't even see them. It also makes my skin look even toned and gives me a healthy glow.

Bare Minerals also has a natural sunscreen included. If I'm going to be outside during the day, I will still apply my own UVA/UVB protection sunscreen underneath, just to be even more protected. But, if I'm going out more towards the evening, then BE is enough.

Some people have reported that BE has Bismuth, which irriates their skin. I have been lucky to have that not be the case with me.

I have tried to go back to liquid foundation, but for the time being, the liquid now feels heavy and pore clogging to me (crazy, I know).

What's great is that this line has recently introduced many more colors, so now you have a better chance to find a great match. For me, Light (light skin tones leaning toward yellow tone) is still the best match for me.

If you want to give this foundation a try, stores like Sephora or Ulta, can help match you. They also carry starter kits, which include brushes and bronzers, to complete your look.

If you've ever wanted to get into the "mineral craze," this is as good a time as any to start.