C.O. Bigelow Limited Edition Cancer Vixen Kit

Tried-and-true products, girly-glam hot pink packaging, and contributing to a truly worthy cause?  You can satisfy your craving for all three with the C.O. Bigelow Limited Edition Cancer Vixen Kit, available at Bath & Body Works.

C.O. Bigelow teamed up with cartoonist, author and breast cancer survivor Marisa Acocella Marchetto to create special editions of some of their classics, in cheery hot pink packaging featuring Marisa’s fashionista activista illustrations. C.O. Bigelow will donate $250,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and genetic research worldwide. 

 

The kit includes handy take-along sizes of five different C.O. Bigelow all-time-favorites

 

• Lemon Cream Body Wash (1.7oz) – A soap-free, super-foaming body wash loaded with skin-brightening lemon extracts (supercharged with Vitamin C) and ultra-moisturizing safflower oil. Leaves skin feeling renewed, soft and supple.
• Lemon Body Cream (1.7oz) – The ultimate in intensive moisture care for very dry skin combines nourishing lemon extracts (supercharged with Vitamin C), ultra-moisturizing shea butter and replenishing kukui nut oil (rich in essential fatty acids) to leave even the most parched skin soft and supple all day long.
  
• Mentha Lip Tint in Pink Mint (0.5oz) – Mint-infused lip balm gives a sheer hint of warm pink color and glossy high shine with a refreshing, cooling sensation, while keeping lips moist and protected.
  
• Mentha Foot Tingling Foot Cream (2oz) – An invigorating, ultra-minty formula that blends aloe and peppermint to cool feet and ban foot odor, providing moisture and comfort for tired and abused feet.
  
• Dr. Hiosous Quince Hand Lotion (2oz) – One-of-a-kind skin-softening preparation that imparts a smooth, glove-like barrier to dry hands. The special fragrance-free formula contains moisture-retaining quince fruit extract and antioxidant-packed carrot seed oil.
  

So do something nice for your body, while doing good for breast cancer research, too, and pick up this limited-edition set. Oh – and while you’re at it, be sure to check out the other items from the Cancer Vixen collection, too… the Wild Berry Body Cleanser and Wild Berry Body Lotion are dreamy!

Rock & Republic… Denim. Footwear. Accessories. Cosmetics?!

It wasn’t enough that they practically enslaved me to their always great-fitting, often outlandishly-embellished premium denim, or that their ginormous “Predator” sunglasses have been perpetually perched atop my head or shielding my eyes from the sun in recent weeks. Nope… now the creative folks at Rock & Republic want to entice me with their glossy black and chromed-out compacts full of hip hues for eyes and cheeks, and 15 (yes, fifteen!) different shades of “ultra-opulent Luxe Lip Gloss” from Alpha Blonde and Trust Fund to my personal fave, Cougar (rawr!).

The 116-piece collection includes the aforementioned lip glosses, blushes in both mousse & pressed formulations, three bronzing and highlighting duos, an excellent selection (48 shades) of pressed eye shadows, and four shades each of tinted makeup primer with SPF20 (hooray!) and tinted illuminizers. Choices, choices…

All the packaging is gorgeous in a flashy, obnoxious, in-your-face way completely befitting the R&R image, but the bronzing and highlighting duos (available in 3 shades: Penthouse, Villa, and Private Jet) come in refillable compacts boasting double strands of Swarovski crystals (and a hefty $225 price tag!) for a seriously blinged-out look. The lip glosses are much more budget-friendly at a mere $26 each, and you can choose from the plethora of eye colors for only $28 each (skintight, sabotage, and nailed look great for starters!).

View the entire collection here, then purchase from Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, or Bloomingdale’s beginning September 15^th.

Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain

Taking a break from my eye lash extensions was much more traumatic than I thought it would be, but the silver lining was that I got to try some great new mascaras.

I am a long-time Tarte fan (I have been using their Cheek Stain for years, and I love their color palettes), and when I read about their new 4 Day Stay Lash Stain, I was stoked. According to Tarte press, “4 day stay: lash stain with PolyFlex™ technology keeps lashes looking naturally full for 4 days without reapplying! Our new PolyFlex™ technology allows mineral derived pigments to adhere to lashes for extended wear-time while keeping them soft and flexible – so whether you’re hitting the pool or the shower this gentle lash stain will keep lashes looking fresh, and won’t fade or flake!”

I have no clue what “PolyFlex™” is, but I was completely enamored with the idea of a non-smudging stain that would darken my wispy blonde lashes for four whole days! I was also hoping it would prove a worthy opponent for my frigid bottom lashes, which have a tendency to repel within 20 minutes any product attempting to cling to them. 

In preparation, I curled my lashes with my trusty Shu Uemura curler, and thoroughly combed them to perfect separation with my Tweezerman Sepralash Pro. I leaned in close to my 10x magnifying mirror, and carefully applied the “stain”… which didn’t feel or look like a stain at all, but more like a “regular” mascara. My less-than-stellar depth perception always results in a smudge or two, but I keep some pointed q-tips moistened with eye makeup remover on hand for just that reason. This morning was no exception in the smudge arena, but two remover-soaked pointy q-tips later, the smudge remained. Yikes! I finally triumphed with a remover-soaked cotton pad and more rubbing than I would have liked, and was hopeful the product would cling to my lashes as well as it had to my upper lid.

I didn’t hit the pool, but I did go to the dentist, cavort outside with Smooches (my tiny blue Pom), work out, take a steamy shower, and apply the entire Obagi-C Rx regimen… and Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain remained steadfastly in place every minute of the way… not the first smudge, smear, or flake… even from my bottom lashes! I went to bed wondering if I had found THE mascara… errrr, stain.

The next morning, I did have a few black flecks under my eyes, but nothing like I’d get if I slept in a “regular” mascara. The flecks wiped away easily with a remover-moistened cotton pad, but I did notice my lashes felt “sticky” and “gooey” and just generally not nice. A few were also randomly sticking out or angled, and getting my lash comb through them proved more difficult than usual. Around 3pm, I noticed the “stain” was almost gone from the tips of my lashes, but remained near the base of them. Again, not attractive. By the time I finished my workout and shower that evening, I had a raging case of raccoon-eye, and decided to go ahead and remove the remaining “stain”. It took 15 minutes (I kid you not) and baby oil (I know, I know… I was desperate!), but I finally had naked lashes again. Yay!

So… PURSUE IT or PASS ON IT? For $18, I’d PURSUE IT! While I don’t think it’ll go the full 4 days, it does last very well… even on bottom lashes. I also like that is has Provitamin B5 (which is great for conditioning/thickening). Just be prepared to invest some time & effort removing it.