In 2002, Suki Kramer started her own skincare company, Suki, Inc., and has recently branched out in making a cosmetics line as well, Sukicolor. I first heard of Suki’s skincare line through my friends at Megsmakeup.com. If you haven’t had the chance, you can read my enthusiastic reviews of two of her products: Suki’s Lemongrass Cleanser, and her Sukicolor Tinted Active Moisturizer.  Most recently I have fallen in love with a new sukispa product which I will be reviewing in detail soon,  sukispa’s renewal bio-resurfacing facial peel!

The only thing that is better than finding an amazing skincare line, is getting to interview the phenomenal people that are behind these companies.

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1. Like Mo or DecoDiva, you can express yourself in St. Patty’s Day fashion with beautiful green color on your eyelids!

2.  You can go green by buying eco-friendly skincare or haircare products:

Like trying one (or several) of Herbaria’s green soaps in:  Triple Mint Oatmeal “Just in time for refreshment in warmer weather, we invite you to enjoy the natural menthol tingle and scent packed into this new bar,” Lime Coconut Aloe, or Spearmint Orange!

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How about a little show and tell story? This is a story about my hair, and it is a bit of a sob story. Here is my picture at the age of 2 in 1971 with my older sister, Monique, and younger brother, Eddie. Can you guess which one I am?

My sister has always had stunningly gorgeous, very dark brunette hair. She could wear it short, or easily grow it very long. She had just the perfect balance of waves and thickness.

In the early 80’s when the style was “preppy,” she could wear perfect wispy bangs and draw the rest back with a stylish pink and green ribbon headband. On lazy mornings, she could sweep it all up in a ponytail, simple and elegant.

When hair styles went bigger and wavier in the mid 80’s, she got a body wave perm. Monique could then style it any way she pleased: full and wavy, or blow dryer straight with curled ends. Yes, I thought my sister had the perfect hair, and I was always green with envy. (more…)

Have you found any good nail polishes/removers that do not weaken nails? I never use polish because when I remove it my nails break and weaken. They never do that when I don’t use it in the first place. I would like to use polish. Any solutions? Thanks. Claralyn

This is a fabulous question. You may know I am a nail biter, and am a little clueless in the nail care arena, but was able to dig up some good information on this topic. (more…)

“50 Health and Beauty Products You Can Make at Home“

Follow this link written by Jessica Merritt for a fabulous list of homemade hair, cleansers, facial treatments, and makeup recipes!

Natural Homemade Beauty Care Tips

Take control over your skin care (and improve your cooking skills) with easy DIY recipes you can make at home at the TotalBeauty.com site.

Looking for some creative (and cheap) ideas for holiday gifts? These beauty recipes make great personalized gifts for all your girlfriends, and they’re a cinch to do.

See tips

How I love the smell and feel of handmade soaps, but from what I am learning, not all handmade soaps are created the same.  Soaps that add synthetic colors and fragrances might appeal to your senses, but can dry and irritate your skin.

But you don’t need to worry about those harsh additives with the products from Heirloom Soapworks.  Becky makes sure of it! 

Our all natural handmade soap is fragranced with only pure essential oils and herbs, and never colored. Their earthy, natural shades come from the same oils, unrefined butters and nutrients that soften and moisturize your skin.

I was fortunate enough to sample three of Heirloom soaps:  Lavender-Oatmeal, and two seasonal soaps Goat Milk - Fruitcake and Christmas Tree Soap.   I love the naturally scents of these soaps!  They lather and feel absolutely luscious on your skin.  Becky’s use of olive and saponified oils, shea butter and goat milk leave your skin feeling wonderfully clean and soft. 

All of these soaps are priced at $5.00 a bar.  Becky’s current promotion is “Buy 3 -get a terry-cloth Soap Saver FREE”  (that’s what she has been offering at craft fairs).  Customers can put their tiny “slivers” of soap into the pouch and use them up completely! 

And for some jinxy-bizarre reason, both Bionic Beauty and I both wrote up our reviews about Heirloom Soapworks on the same day!!!

During the month of October 10% of the sales of Suki’s Velvet Moisturizer Cream and Sukicolor’s Pure Cream Lip and Cheek Stain in Opal will be contributed to the BCA (Breast Cancer Action). 

Suki’s Velvet Cream is a greaseless, sensuous, all over body cream made with organic botanical nutrients hydrates while smoothing away bumps & imperfections for healthier, smoother skin. ideal for everyone ($26.95; sukipure.com).  

Sukicolor’s Pure Cream Stain in Opal is a gorgeous shimmery neutral with just a touch of peachy pink ($40.15; sukicolor.com).

Both beautiful for your skin and ways to support BCA.

When some of my local friends got wind that I was a beauty blogger, they were full of suggestions for their favorite beauty products.  One of them even sent me an amazing assortment of locally owned skincare products from a company called, “In Your Bonnet.“  Thanks Ruth!

“In Your Bonnet” carries handmade and finely crafted skin balms, creams, and bath products.   Their skincare products are made with beeswax, plant oils and botanicals to create a simple and yet very effective line. 

“In Your Bonnet is a family business located in a high desert valley of Utah, the beehive state. Our weather is one of extremes, from near zero cold winters with lots of the “greatest snow on earth” to hot, dry summers with temperatures over 100 degrees and humidity less than 20%.

In Your Bonnet started as a means to an end… we wanted high quality, natural products for our dry, sensitive skin. Honey has long been used for its medicinal properties and as hobby beekeepers, we knew the addition of honey and beeswax would benefit any products we produced. When demand exceeds our own supply we use honey and beeswax from local Utah hives rather than imported honey in our soap, lotions, and balms.”

My favorite product has to be In Your Bonnet’s “Heel Thyself.”   This heel balm has a mild honey and lemon scent and is in a deoderant stick container (very smart).  You simply twist the container and apply this wonderfully soothing balm onto your heels, elbows, or any rough spots around your body.  This balm goes on a bit greasy, but absorbs quickly and leaves my skin feeling soothed and protected.  My cracked and dry heels have been loving this!

They also carry a lovely nail and cuticle cream, lip balm, and their own facial skincare line and handmade soaps. 

Support our locally owned and small businesses by checking out the inyourbonnet website store.   I promise you won’t bee disappointed!

Until I found the real deal.

During an exquisite anniversary getaway to San Juan Island, my husband and I happened across the Pelindaba Lavender Farm. Pelindaba (pel-in-DAH-buh) is the Zulu word for “place of great gatherings”. Open day or night to painters and photographers, offering display space for sculptures, hosting a free admission Harvest Festival each year, and participating in several other local and international endeavors, Pelindaba more than lives up to its name.

Pelindaba’s farming and distillery have been certified organic. When you buy essential oil from Pelindaba, all you get is pure lavender, no extra additives like pesticides. In addition to their oil and hydrosol (floral water produced during the steam distillation of essential lavender oil), they offer a dizzying array of body, cleaning, cooking, and decorative items.

The facial toner and cleanser is light and refreshing. Since it’s a natural antiseptic it’s been really great for my blemish prone skin. It’s remarkably good at removing makeup, and because it’s natural the scent isn’t overpowering. Having experienced many lavender scented items throughout my life, I was amazed to find that actual lavender smells nothing like them! It was like the difference between watermelon flavored gum and an actual watermelon. Sign me up for the real thing, because it is so much better than 99% of the stuff out there.

For a truly adventurous experience, might I suggest trying a few of their lavender infused culinary products. Honey mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, chutney, honey, sugar, chocolate sauce…the list is amazing! White Chocolate Chip Lavender cookies and a big glass of Lavender Lemonade are now some of my favorite treats. Somehow the addition of lavender to a glass of lemonade makes it ever so much more refreshing on a hot day.

The retail spaces are well laid out and inviting, and the gift packaging is simple and beautiful. They offer a wide variety of gifts sets and I found something to please everyone on my list. The staff was friendly, helpful, and it is obvious they really believe in what they do and what they sell. Their emphasis on Quality over Quantity is refreshing and truly leads to a better product.

With a retail space at the farm, in Friday Harbor, and in Seattle, as well as a full offering of products online, anyone can experience the benefits of products that come from a farm that really cares. Lavender is calming and soothing. It’s great for tension relief, but lavender’s benefits go much further. It’s an all natural disinfectant, topical analgesic, and even an anesthetic. Hey, if you can find something else with all those qualities that tastes as good in a chocolate truffle as lavender does, let me know!

This is a repeat post from a few months back, with some minor revisions…

Back in 1986, some of my high school friends and a few band geeks organized an event called the “Battle of the Bands.” The idea isn’t original, but their music certainly was. One of them even videotaped it and published it on YouTube! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpMhPx1B0vw) They all had visions of becoming the next Neil Young.

The memories of that teen scene bring me to the current topic. While the bands had their battles, I battled with bouts of acne as a teenager. I tried everything: antibiotics, Retin- A, benzoyl peroxide products like Clearasil, Noxema, cleaning pads like Stridex, and the lists goes on. All with varied results, I hated Retin-A.

I also loved to tan. I used baby oil and aluminum foil while laying out. Sunscreen? Are you kidding me!? I spent most of my babysitting money on trips to the tanning beds.

Now, as a mature, knowledgeable adult, I don’t tan anymore and religiously use sunscreen. However, due to hormones, stress and sun damage, I still battle with break outs!

Since a year ago, when I finally said ENOUGH, I set out on a quest for a real break out solution. I have been seeing a Dermatologist regularly. I use daily sunscreen & avoid the sun when possible. And, I invest in highly-recommended skincare lines and cosmetics.  My skin is making progress.  Slow, but real progress.

1. Consider Retin-A again, Renova and/or Generic Tretinoin Cream (it is an emollient and is much less harsh than what I tried as a teenager). I have read that every person over 30 can benefit from using Retin-A. That is unless you are pregnant or nursing…
2. Benzaclin Cream:  Px topical cream with both antibiotic and drying/healing properties. Good stuff for keeping zits at bay or spot treating an existing blemish.
3. Monthly Glycolic Peels: expensive procedure, but easy to do. There is no downtime and, over several peels, this procedure will improve your skin cell turnover rate, improve clarity, even tone, lighten pigmentation, etc.

OTC:

• Excellent Skincare Lines:  Caudalie, Suki, Cosmedicine, Kate Somerville, Philosophy… On a budget?  Cetaphil Lotion is a great cleanser.  Organic is nice to consider as well.  I try to avoid any cleansers that are harsh or that strip my skin.  Squeaky clean is not a good thing.
• Exfoliate: Lots out there, but I love Suki’s Lemongrass Cleanser, yummy lemon smell and both a scrub and a cleanser.  This leaves my skin feeling soft and refreshed.  Be careful not to use facial scrubs on areas that are inflammed or currently breaking out.  Scrubs will only aggravate your breakouts.
• Facial Peels.  Removes dead skin and increases cell turnover rate.

1. Fruit Enzyme Peels.  One of my favorite fruit enzyme peels is from LooseLipsNY.com called, “Natural Pumpkin and 5% Multi Fruit Complex Peel.” Leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes one a week and follow with a soothing lotion.
2. Another fantastic but not cheap peel is from Murad.  Murad’s Intensive Resurfacing Peel ($164 and used for 12 weeks) is the closest product that I have tried that is somewhat like a low concentration gylcolic peel that you would receive at a Dermatologists office.  Little bamboo beads, glycolic and salicylic acid provide a wonderul exfoliation.  The little plastic dispensers are infuriating and wasteful, but the product is great.  Both of these peels offer a good alternative to the Glycolic Peel from a Dermatologist and are a lot less expensive.

Everyone has a different skin journey to travel.  My heart goes out to those who suffer from acne.  Please feel free to share any of your solutions or favorite skincare products. 

As music legend Neil Young sings,“Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World!”