Review- Atopalm Moisturizing Cleansing Wipes

"Atopalm Moisturizing Cleansing Wipes are the perfect way to end - or begin - each day. The wipes remove all traces of makeup, debris, excess oils, and impurities while supplying the skin with antioxidants and moisturizers. After use, the skin feels refreshed, pure, and hydrated, leaving it perfectly prepped for your next skin care step."  $12.99

You may never have heard of Atopalm, but if you have dry, sensitive skin, you should start knowing about it NOW!  This is the hero (or heroine) your skin has been waiting for.  Finally, skin technology has caught up with my wish to clean my face quickly and my skin's need for gentle non-irritating moisturizing.  This is literally the first cleansing cloth I've used in the past couple of years that hasn't stung my eye area to some degree.  Honestly I thought that was just the price one paid for using a cleansing wipe. The older I get, the more sensitive my skin gets for some reason.  I was excited to try these because Atopalm products were recommended by Dr. Leslie Baumann in her book "The Skin Type Solution", a must-read and my personal skin bible. 

I love everything about these Atopalm Cleansing Wipes- they clean well, there's no tight soap after feel, they don't taste bad and they don't sting my eye area.  Oh, did I mention that they remove ALL my make-up?  These definitely go on my list of favorite things.  They're pricier than drug store wipes, but not by that much and truthfully I'd pay double for them!  Dry, sensitive girls, your quick clean prayers have been answered!

Review - LashDip @ Courtney Akai Salon

Immediately after showering

After

Before

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to try LashDip at Courtney Akai's salon. I had been following Lashdip on Twitter for some time. I thought it was an exciting an innovative idea.

I suffer from what Courtney likes to call "Lash Analness". What is Lash Analness you ask? It's when you are obsessed with your lashes and they need to be perfect at all times! It is super important that the person doing your lashes understands your standards. Which is why you are given a little analysis when you go to your appointment. So its understood how you wear your lashes on a daily basis and what you expect.

My appointment was with Christian Zamora who is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. He took the time to explain the entire process to me. He also kept me entertained while applying the LashDip. He made the application process fly by. It only took about 45 minutes. I also got to briefly meet the Lash Goddess Courney Akai. You will walk into this salon feeling very welcome and walk out looking gorgeous.

Here is a brief overview of Lashdip.

The Claim: LashDip is waterproof, it sculpts your lashes, separates them and can last up to six weeks with proper care.

The Process: Lasts about 40 minutes to an hour depending on how dramatic you want your lashes to look. LashDip is applied with a small brush that lifts, separates and curls. For each layer applied, a little fan is used to dry and seal in the color.

The Price: $250 for upper and lower lashes which includes one LashRefresh touch up session and a take home after care kit.

The End Result: Beautiful, long lashes that make you feel like a star. When you wake up in the morning, you won't know what to do with yourself when you go to apply mascara and you realized you slept all night and your lashes are still flawless!

I am a single Mother of three and my life tends to be really hectic. Since I am always on the go, I am constantly looking for anything that will make my beauty routine easier. With LashDip, I am able to get up and go in the morning. Not to mention, it's waterproof and from the minute you step out of the shower you look like a model! I am so excited about LashDip and I personally believe that with time, it will keep evolving until its perfected.

If you usually wear mascara and want beautiful lashes without the fuss, then you should definitely book an appointment at Courtney Akai. If you don't think Lashdip is right for you, check out http://www.courtneyakai.com/ and I guarantee you will find a procedure that fits your needs. They also do hair extentions and makeup applications.

Review - Intraceuticals Clarity Gel Cleanser

A lightweight gel cleanser to thoroughly cleanse the skin and remove excess oil and impurities. The non greasy formula leaves skin conditioned and primed to receive optimum benefits from Intraceuticals Infusions® and nourishers. Also available: Clarity Gel Cleanser – Sensitive Use morning and night.


Not to be confused with the Intraceuticals Clarity Treatment Gel, this is a cleanser to be used along with Intraceuticals' other Clarity line products. The thing I first liked about this cleanser was the packaging - a clever pop-up design that means when you take this pump bottle with you on the road, you won't need to worry about spillage. It's a great cleanser, to be sure: it cleans without drying, and on my freaky combination skin, that is a huge plus. The main change I noticed was that my skin felt softer overall - not necessarily smoother, but definitely softer, possibly due to the gentle nature of the cleanser and the fact that it won't dry you out.

While increased softness might be enough for some ladies, I tend to have mild acne on my face, and while this cleanser cut down on oiliness in general, it wasn't enough to take care of my red face, unfortunately. The other downside, of course, is that the price point is not something I would personally pay for this product, regardless of the result. It's definitely an effective cleanser, but is it worth the chunk of change? For me, the answer is no.

Trish says: Yep, totally agree with what Movie Maven mentioned above. This Intraceuticals Gel Cleanser works nicely to clean the skin, leaving it feeling soft, but I didn't notice too much of a difference in my overall skin's appearance. It doesn't do anything to harm the skin which is good to know if you have sensitive skin like me, but it didn't make it look any more different either. I think if used with the Intraceutical system all together it adds to the total benefit over time, but alone, it didn't change too much for me. Also, I noticed a scent that reminded me of swimming pool, strange - on the one hand, I felt like I was on vacation swimming in the hotel pool, yet on the other hand, not sure if that is a pleasant scent without the actual swimming pool. Overall, if used with their additional line of products, it's a good complement, but by itself, nothing too harmful nor striking to make it super memorable.

Review - Andre Walker Total Keratin Obsession Deep Conditioning Pack

Andre's newest product is an extraordinary, extreme moisture repair, hair mask that functions like a salon quality intense conditioning treatment! With intracellular proteins and fine raw ingredients, this two ounce foil pak helps knock out environmental surface and heat damage, dryness and breakage issues while restoring luster and nourishing the hair with keratin, moroccon argan oil, aloe, olive oil and other saturating, moisturizing and strengthening ingredients. Each pack is enough for two applications for medium length hair. Recommended use is weekly as a deep conditioning treatment. $45.00


I recently went from being almost completely blonde to brunette. My hair was so damaged that I needed to stop torturing it with chemicals. I made it a part of my routine to apply a deep conditioning treatment at least once a week to keep my hair hydrated. I was glad to get the opportunity to try this because I used to get Brazilian Keratin Treatments all the time. Frankly, they are the best thing in the world but they are expensive and require upkeep.


Although the directions say good for at least two applications, if you have finer hair you may even get away with three. After I used this, my hair was silky, soft and shiny. I felt like I did a mini BKT. This is really good for damaged hair that needs moisture. At $45 for a 3 pack, its a little steep but if you're used to getting BKT treatments like me, then its a small price to pay for almost the same results. I am interested in some other items on the website as well. I love the concept of "Making peace with your hair". I think all women at some point have definite issues with their hair. If you learn to take care of it, then you will love it all the time.

Hillary says:

My hair was loving this treatment!  My hair is generally soft, but I simply couldn't believe how soft it was using this product.  No9t only soft, but shiny and manageable too.  My hair is already pretty straight, but this conditioner (both times I used it) gave me "The Supreme Blow-out"- you know the kind of hair day you wish you could have every day?  That kind of hair.  Like Sultana says, I should have used it for 3 conditionings instead of 2 as my hair is fine, but I was just following the directions.  I highly recommend this for anyone with even the slightest bit of dryness.  Trust me, you'll love it.

Review- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish

I'm a huge fan of New York Color nail polishes! They really are a true drugstore beauty find, deal, and steal in my opinion! I tried the NYC Expert Last Nail Polish (in a prett soft pink #175 Lingering Lingere) and love the high glossy shine, color, enamel and long wear - all for about $1 -$2 a bottle, you can't beat that! This particular line provides up to 7 days of wear and so far I'm on day 5 with no chipping in sight and the color still looks soft and pretty on. It was so easy to apply, and the fast-drying and rich enamel went on without being drippy or messy. I can easily see this as my go-to polish especially when I want to try a new nail color, or feel like experimenting with different shades, or even when I'm feeling in the need for a drugstore pick-me-up, I think I'll be picking this one up for sure! It's a definite drugstore buy and a real beauty deal!