Today I’m heading out of the office early to pack up the car and go camping at Clearlake — about 2.5 hours north of San Francisco. I’ve never been camping before since my idea of roughin’ it is a fully functional lakeside cabin. This weekend, we’re pitching tents, fishing and.. well, for me, I’ll be laying out basking in the sun too

The boyfriend tells me I need to pack light and leave the makeup bag at home. And while I’m giving in and leaving the Chanel back in the city, there are definitely a few basics that I’m going to take with me.

1. Pond’s Clean Sweep Wet Cleansing Towelettes - on a campsite where bathrooms and sinks might be scarce, I plan to keep my skin clean and refreshed in 90 degree heat with these easy disposable wipes. These are heavy duty cloths packed with chamomile and vitamin E. Just one wipe will suffice in taking away all the sweat and grime from the outdoors in a few swipes. And, in a 30-pack, I can share with the rest of my friends without a hassle.

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It’s Saturday and I’m going to try and get some relaxation in after last weekend’s whirlwind in Tahoe. All that eating, gambling, and 4th of July fun really wipes a girl out!

This morning, the Boyfriend and I went for some dim sum and now I’m just getting ready for my appointment at Refresh Day Spa where I have a Hawaiian Salt Glow with Kukui Nut Oil and Swedish Massage scheduled. Although an afternoon at the spa doesn’t require wearing makeup, I still like to put a little something on because you never know what you’re going to do or who you are going to bump into!

Skincare is very key every day, no matter what. I’ve been using L’Oreal Skin Genesis Serum Concentrate and Oil-Free Lotion. The serum is a little runny and drippy and I’m not loving the texture since it goes on very wet. I have really massage it in for about 10 seconds before it dissolves fully into my skin.

The lotion, on the other hand, has a nice texture that’s rich but not too creamy and actually has a little bit of super subtle shimmer in it. It helps give me a radiance that really counts on days where makeup is minimal. The Skin Genesis is a multi-layer Cell Strengthening skincare line for preventative purposes. Marketed to those around 30 (that’s me!), Skin Genesis is supposed to help firm up the top layers of the skin to help me slow the look of aging.

Taking notes from the last time I visited the Bobbi Brown counter, the MUA there mentioned that mascara, cheeks, and a little lips are all a woman really needs to look her best every day. Here’s what I used on myself before heading out the door.

1. Lumiere Fiber Optic Blush Brush
2. MAC 266 brush for my eyebrows
3. Shiseido Eyebrow Compact in B3 Light Brown
4. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
5. MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Sweetness
6. Redpoint Megalash Mascara in Satin Black
7. LipFusion Lip Plump gloss in Summer (more…)

We’ve got a heatwave goin’ on in the Bay area today (well, more like this whole week!) with temps in the mid-80s in San Francisco and over 100 degrees inland. Holy mackerel! When it gets that hot, I always feel like my face is melting away. So to help my skin stay hydrated and cool, I’ve been taking advantage of my sample of Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief that I received in a gift with purchase not too long ago.

To use it, I spritz my face with a two pumps of the Moisture Surge Spray ($19.50 US) about a foot away from my skin and get instant relief from the heat. It has aloe in it which they say will help restore your skin’s moisture level.

I’m not too sure that this is any more or less effective than spraying a little water on my face but it does what it says and the travel size really came in handy while sitting in the casinos over the weekend, too. Air inside those buildings often get really dry and yucky with all the cigarette smoke lingering around.  That, coupled with a couple of margaritas, this helped to give me that refreshed feeling I was craving.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t invest in this product - although I’m lovin’ the little travel-friendly bottle. Once my Moisture Surge Face Spray is all out, I’m going to refill that baby up with bottled water to bring with me on-the-go.

How is your day going so far? It’s late Tuesday night for me right now so I’m heading off to bed. ‘Night!

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I could hardly contain myself when I saw shu uemura’s Friends & Family event email come through my inbox - finally, I can get my friends to buy all the things I love from shu and they can’t complain because it’s 20% off!! I know, you can say it - I’m an enabler! (Keep reading for your discount code!)

I can’t wait to take advantage of this offer myself this weekend - I’ve been testing samples of shu’s Depsea Moisture collection for the past month or so and I love it. This collection is made with Depsea water, a proprietary ingredient made from more than 60 ocean minerals, to boost the natural function of the skin.

For this Friends & Family event, I’m looking to stock up on what I like to refer to as my shu uemura Trinity. It goes a little something like this: (more…)

Just because Thanksgiving is just around the corner doesn’t mean that we all have to turn into turkeys!

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the importance of taking care of your neck and décolleté before it all goes down-hill (we don’t want everything to start sagging, right ladies?!).

Trying to be extra cautious about my neck and chest area for the past month or so, I have been road-testing a couple of neck creams to find my favorite.

The first product I used was L’Oreal Advanced RevitaLift Night Cream ($11 - $15 US) for my neck. It’s an unscented, thicker cream – and by unscented, we mean that even our boyfriend can’t really identify what it smells like, only that it smells like a cream (LOL). It’s moisturizing but it’s a little too heavy for me and makes me feel like I’ve been sweating in my sleep (not sexy).

I also tried a sample of Bliss Thinny Thin Chin that I got in my Nordstrom beauty gift. This product is definitely more up my alley. It smells really nice, like citrus and grapefruit without being disgustingly sweet because the scent fades after a little while. It absorbs into my skin quickly leaving it soft and moisturized. It’s not sticky or feels layered on (like the L’Oreal did).

I would definitely recommend Thinny Chin Chin even though it’s a little on the expensive side ($48 US). If anyone has a favorite that they use for the neck and décolleté area, I’d love to hear your reviews and recommendations!

As I’ve mentioned, I’m kind of in a skincare kick right now. I want to try any and all things that help prevent the first signs of aging because even though I’m in my late 20s with few wrinkles, I just know I’m going to wake up one day to discover a zillion lines and then curse the gods for not making me take care of my skin sooner!

When I learned that Sharon Stone is the face of Dior’s Capture Totale skincare line, I knew I wanted to try it. If I can look as amazing as she looks right now on the brink of celebrating her 50^th birthday next year, I’ll try whatever she’s pushing! So I went to Bloomingdale’s a couple of weeks ago to snoop around the Dior counter and was able to snag a couple of samples to try.

Capture Totale is Dior’s first skincare line that corrects all visible signs of aging and helps to preserve your skin’s youthful appearance. The daytime skin regimen consists of their Multi-Perfection Concentrated Serum, which you apply after washing your face; the day moisturizer, Multi-Perfection Crème; and the Multi-Perfection Eye Treatment. Capture Totale’s secret is the patented Alpha-Longoza Complex, based on a rare revitalizing plant grown only in Madagascar – pretty wild!!

The Capture Total Night Ritual is a two-step treatment. Start with the Multi-Perfection Soft Peel to leave skin looking purified, fresh, radiantly renewed and firm. Then follow up with Multi-Perfection Intensive Restorative night crème to deep nourish and repair as you sleep.

I only tried the serum and the day crème for a few days before applying my makeup and I’d have to say that I really liked the texture of both. It’s creamy, pearly, and went on really smoothly. I can’t say if it really works to prevent wrinkles, but I definitely felt moisturized. This Dior line is pretty pricey, the day and night crème and serum start at $115 US each at Nordstrom! If you’d like to try it but aren’t looking to spend over $300 dollars to start this skin regimen, Dior has a holiday set right now with travel sizes of the day and night crème and serum for $123 US.

I don’t know if I’ll switch from my Kinerase Ultimate Day Moisturizer, but we’ll see – never say never!

I’ve been on kind of a skin care kick lately and tried Philosophy’s Microdelivery Peel after hearing rave reviews from others.

Microdermabrasion is increasingly popular among plastic surgeons and their patients. Thank goodness we now have a DIY option that’s also pocketbook friendly!

The Microdelivery Peel is a peptide/vitamin C peel that I tried last night before bed. It really is a super-easy two-step facial regimen that literally takes no more than 5 mins. Here’s what I did:

After you wash your face with your favorite facial cleanser,

Step 1: Apply about a teaspoon of the bicarbonate vitamin C crystals (sounds scary, but it’s not) to a clean, dry face. Gently massage using circular motions to buff away dead, dry skin cells for 1 - 3 mins (this is key, don’t scrub too hard). Here I am, I hope you can see the small crystals on my cheek!

After doing this, I actually feel like you may need more than a teaspoon to properly exfoliate your face but I wanted to follow their exact instructions the first time to get a real sense of the product.

Step 2: Then, apply a generous teaspoon of the lactic/salicylic acid activating gel (again, don’t be scared) in the palm of your hand, massage gel onto fingertips and apply over the vitamin C crystals on your face. A warming sensation will occur and a white foam will appear indicating that the vitamin C and peptides are now active. Leave the foam on for 2-3 mins and then rinse.

Now, I don’t know if I used enough of the gel, but I never really got the foam part. All I got was a little bit that made it look more like I had some cleansing soap on my face. Don’t laugh, but here I am again, can’t see the foam, can you? It did start to warm up on my face which felt nice, but I was still disappointed because they didn’t deliver the foam like the packaging said.

You also have to rinse well afterwards; I had a lot of the little crystals wanting to hang out around the sides of my face and it was hard to get out of my hairline.

Immediately after the peel, I was so so about it - I guess I was irked that I still had crystals in my hair. But once I sat down to apply my night moisturizer and looked closely in the mirror, I noticed that my skin looked really smooth and it felt super soft. I put on my moisturizer and my face just felt so nice overall! You can see and feel the results immediately and right then and there, I changed my mind about the Microdelivery Peel and I am now a believer!!

You can pick Philososphy’s Microdelivery Peel at most department stores (I’m going to get mine at Nordstorm) and it retails for $65 US. I remember asking one of the girls at the counter about how many uses you get out of it and I think she said 10-12. Directions on the box say that you can use the peel once or twice a week so you’ll definitely get your money’s worth - see if the plastic surgeon’s office can beat that price!

Let me know if you get to try this peel and if you like it as much as I do!

We received some samples of Kinerase Ultimate Day Moisturizer at work the other day and I just had an opportunity to sample it. I must admit that I don’t really like to use creams over lotions because it usually ends up feeling too heavy. But I really enjoyed this because it is rich without being too heavy, which is perfect for dry skin.

It provides advanced all-day moisture and antioxidant benefits. When used daily, it will help skin retain more moisture and improve the appearance of texture, tone and blotchiness in sun damaged skin. Contains the highest concentration of kinetin to improve skin’s appearance and is clinically proven to improve the appearance of sun damaged skin by 52%.

If you’d like to sample this product, please email your first and last name and mailing address to KineraseSample@glam.com and they’ll send you your own 7-day sample of Kinerase Ultimate Day Moisturizer to try, ideal for more mature consumers with dry skin.

And if you love it, you can purchase it here and receive a FREE Daily Cleanser (a $30 value!) with any purchase through Nov. 1st. Just enter code MBCDRIVE when you check out!

NOTE: If you opt-in to receive your Kinerase sample, you agree to receive future email offers from Kinerase. We will only share your email address.