Skin Care 101 with Alchimie Forever

This week, Ada Polla, the owner of Alchimie Forever skincare, is our guest blogger! Read below for her expert tips to keeping your skin bright and nourished year-round!

While it is 60 degrees in Washington, DC today, it was in the 20s last week, and my skin is feeling it. While I love winter, my skin doesn’t. If you are like me, you might be experience excessive dryness, flakiness, discomfort, roughness, itchiness, and redness. Over the years, I have learned some useful tips to help my skin remain calm, bright, and nourished, regardless of the outdoor temperatures. I hope these help your skin too!

1. Switch to a cream-based cleanser. Every step in your skin care routine should be about moisture and nourishment, including your cleansing step. Switch away from your gel cleansers, to a nice milky, creamy cleanser (like our Alchimie Forever Excimer gentle cream cleanser, my personal favorite).
2. No matter the cold outside, avoid showers or baths that are very hot. Hot water will break down the skin’s natural lipids and leave it even dryer. Limit your bath or shower to 5 minutes, and never leave the house with wet hair (your scalp will thank you!).
3. Switch to a heavier moisturizer. Even if you are combination or oilier in the summertime, your skin needs extra nourishment during the colder months. The best-selling of our three moisturizers between November and March is always our Kantic+ intensely nourishing cream.
   
4. If even with a cream cleanser and a more hydrating cream your skin is still uncomfortable, dull, and dry, add in a cream moisture mask, and leave it on for as long as you can. I am applying our Kantic brightening moisture mask almost on a daily basis these days…
5. Combat the air’s dryness with a good humidifier. A low-cost alternative is to place a bowl of water in the rooms you spend most time in. As the water slowly evaporates, it will add moisture to the air.
6. Give your hands a hand! Never go out in to the cold without gloves. (And avoid wool as it is so rough or cotton, which traps moisture; my favorite gloves are in cashmere). Apply your favorite hand cream frequently, at least following every time your hands are in water. (In case you are wondering, I keep my 532nm antioxidant relief for hands and feet everywhere at home and in the office, even in my car).
7. Watch for over-exfoliation. In particular if you are experience flakiness, do not pick. Avoid strong grainy scrubs, look for nourishing, gentle, exfoliators, such as our Excimer+ gentle antioxidant refining scrub.
8. Take care of your lips. Don’t lick them, and don’t pick at them if they are chapped. Keep soothing lip balms in your purse, car, and desk drawer, and reapply as necessary (I don’t believe reapplying makes your lips get addicted to your lip balm…)
9. Don’t forget sunscreen. Even if the sun is not shining, and you are not in a bathing suit, those pesky UV rays are still attacking your skin. Remember also that sun is double strong when reflected on snow, so up your SPF before hitting the slopes.
10. Last but not least, remember beauty is internal too. Hydrate with calming teas, and eat “clean and green.” This is true year round of course, but somehow I always have an easier time drinking water and eating salads when my closet is full of dresses and short skirts…

Hempz: Serving Your Skin a Latte

I’m a Starbucks junkie.  I spend a significant amount of cash and calories every winter on Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

So, you can imagine my excitement when this year’s Hempz Treats included not only Mint Chocolate Cocoa, Sweet Vanilla Eggnog and Warm Apple Cider, but most importantly, Pumpkin Spice Latte scented high quality lotion.

Hempz Treats dessert fragranced lotions are infused with organic hemp seed oil for long term moisturizing. Rich in antioxidants and skin conditioners, each daily moisturizing blend celebrates the fragrances of cozy winters, nourishing your body when your dry skin needs it most.

For the month of February, all scents and both sizes of Hempz Treats Lotions are 20% off. Go ahead; save yourself the calories and indulge in your favorite tastes of the chilly season while deeply nourishing your skin. Guiltlessly!

Click here to start shopping for your favorite dessert!

Product Review: Juara Candlenut Body Creme

For the month of September, Beauty of a Site is partnering with Juara to offer ALL of their incredible skincare products at 15% off- all month long, on any sized order!

In honor of those momentous occasion, I wanted to try out one of their most popular products: The Candlenut Body Creme.

First impressions: Hello tropical. It’s not an overpowering tanning oil-infused tropical smell, but a soft, calm, relaxing nutty smell (reminiscent of coconut). I hate overpowering fragrances, and this formula featured the perfect balance.

Consistency: As a body creme, the product is definitely thick and creamy, but not in any way heavy. The moisturizer almost feels whipped; light enough to soak in, but thick enough to nourish the skin.

Result: Skin feels silky, not sticky, but deeply moisturized. The scent lingers slightly, which has a surprisingly powerful calming effect! I actually used the product on recently sunburnt skin, and was amazed by how soothing the creme was! It isn’t necessarily designed for healing, but it was so moisturizing that I felt serious improvement.

Usage: Because of the creme’s thick consistency, a little goes a LONG way! I used a .17 oz sample and was able to apply the creme liberally on both my arms and legs.  Success!

I highly suggest giving this body creme a try, particularly at such a great price!  Click here to check it out!

Sexy Skin: Revolotion-ary

A perfect bronze, subtle shimmer, silky moisturizers and even a bit of sun protection- we call it: the recipe for sexy summer skin. DuWop calls it: Revolotion.

DuWop’s Revolotion features a breakthrough blend of intense moisturizers, SPF 15, and a bronze shimmer that is perfect for highlighting face, shoulders, legs- anywhere that deserves subtle attention.  Revolotion is available in two shades to help this sheer body makeup blend seamlessly with any skintone to enhance your body’s complexion without rub off, lines or unnatural color.

DuWop even suggests that this miracle moisturizing blend can be applied to provide instant slimming effects! Watch the video below, produced by DuWop, to learn how to use Revolotion today!

Try Revolotion during August only and save $5!  Normally $28, purchase this here, at Beauty of a Site, for $23 through the end of the month.  Click here to shop this and more excellent DuWop cosmetics procucts!