Ballin’ on a budget? Yup, I hear ya. If you’re trying to think of ways to save money on your beauty and skin care routine, skin experts like Erin Welch, dermatologist at Denver Dermatology Consultants in Denver, Colorado, suggest hitting up the local drugstore.

“There is definitely a misconception that drugstore products can’t get the job done,” says Dr. Welch, “but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only are you saving lots of money by avoiding the department store for similar products, but you’ll find that some of the items are actually very impressive.”

Here are five drugstore skin care tips (and a giveaway) to keep that purty face lookin’ great!

1. Look for a gentle cleanser and avoid harsh soaps.

Skin produces a layer of natural protectant called the acid mantle, which contains a mixture of oils and other secretions that help it retain moisture and prevent the growth of unhealthy bacteria.

“If you wash your skin with a very harsh soap and strip off the mantle, it takes over 24 hours for the skin to regenerate it,” says Dr. Welch. And if you’re stripping off the acid mantle faster than your body can repair it, you’re leaving your skin vulnerable to drying and more prone to infection.

For sensitive skin, Dr. Welch recommends a gentle pH balanced cleansers like pHisoderm Cream Cleanser ($5), pHisoderm Deep Cleaning Cream Cleanser ($5) and pHisoderm Unscented Facial Bar ($5). “All these cleansers will help maintain the skin’s protective acid mantle in order to retain the skin’s natural moisture and healthy balance.”

2. Opt for salicylic acid treatments if you have adult acne.

“Adult women’s skin is very different than teenage skin,” says Dr. Welch. “With time and with age our skin becomes drier, so if you’re experiencing acne, you want to be sure you’re using products that aren’t going to dry your adult skin.

“I tend to steer my adult patients to products that contain salicylic acid only and to use benzoyl peroxide in moderation (or to skip it altogether).” She likes Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash ($6), the Clean & Clear cleansers ($6) and pHisoderm Anti-Blemish Cleansing Pads ($5).

3. Incorporate an effective anti-aging product into your skin care routine.

With so many overpriced and overhyped anti-aging products on the market, how do you choose one that actually works? “I recommend Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum ($20) to my patients,” explains Dr. Welch. “Ranked number one in effectiveness for mass market anti-aging serums by Consumer Reports, this anti-aging serum contains pentapeptides shown to boost colagen prodution and stimulate cell row, helping to smooth out lines.”

4. Remember to apply sunscreen on your lips!

Yes, your face and neck need protection from the skin’s rays, but don’t forget to also protect your lips with a lip balm containing SPF. Dr. Welch recommends Softlips lip balm ($4). It contains SPF 20 and feels smooth upon application — perfect for layering beneath your favorite lipstick or lipgloss.

5. Find a nightime anti-aging treatment.

RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream ($22) is an intensive anti-wrinkle treatment that works while you sleep to reduce expression lines and deep wrinkles. “This exclusive combination of pure Retinol and an essential mineral complex is a great alternative for people who find prescription strength Retin-A too irritating,” she says.

New Year, New Skin: The pHisoderm and Softlips Giveaway!

I think it’s time for a giveaway. Win $60 in skin care products from pHisoderm and Softlips!

Enter today’s Phisoderm and Softlips giveaway by signing up to receive my updates by email or by leaving a comment on this post (or both!). If you’re already signed up for the updates, you don’t have to do anything else to be entered to win — you’re already entered — but you can double your chances by also leaving a comment on this post (a comment about anything at all).

The Prize

One lucky winner will receive 13 items from the pHisoderm skin care and Softlips lip care lines ($60 value).

• pHisoderm Cream Cleanser for Sensitive Skin ($5)
• pHisoderm Anti-Blemish Cleansing Pads ($5)
• pHisoderm Unscented Facial Cleansing Bar ($5)
• pHisoderm Deep Cleansing Cream Cleanser for Normal to Dry Skin ($5)
• pHisoderm Foaming Facial Wash ($7)
• pHisoderm Anti-Blemish Gel Facial Wash ($5)
• pHisoderm Anti-Blemish Body Wash ($6)
• Softlips Raspberry with Green Tea Extract ($4)
• Softlips Cherry ($4)
• Softlips Strawberry ($4)
• Softlips Vanilla ($4)
• Softlips Tint in Rose ($3)
• Softlips Tint in Bronze ($3)

How to Enter

Again, there are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them to double your chances.

1. If you haven’t already signed up to receive Makeup and Beauty Blog daily email updates, then enter your email in the pink box below (or click this link).
2. If you have already subscribed to the email updates but want to double your chances, add a brief comment at the bottom of this post (be sure to use a valid email address).

I’ll choose the winners at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 8. The contest is open to all US and international readers. Good luck, my budget-loving beauties!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

© Karen for Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments |

McLurvely alert! The 2009 Lady Dior spring makeup collection arrives next month, and I’ve been drooling all over the pics.

Earlier today I remembered a game my BFF and I would play when we were kids. It was called What Would You Get?, and whenever one of us would get a catalogue in the mail (hello, no internets), we’d flip through the pages, picking out one thing we’d each get if we could.

Are you ready for WHAT WOULD YOU GET?

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to spend $200 in virtual makeup bucks on the Lady Dior Spring 2009 makeup collection! Let me know what you’d get in the comments.

I love the $95 cheek and lip palette, with it’s oh-so-cute quilted compact.

Choose from any of the items from the collection…

Eyes

• 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow in Parisian Lights, $56.00
• 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Elegante, $56.00
• 2-Colour Eyeshadow in Nude Look, $35.00
• Crayon Eyeliner in Elegant Taupe, $26.00

Lips

• Rouge Dior Lipstick in Rita Beige, $28.00
• Rouge Dior Lipstick in Actress Chestnut, $28.00
• Dior Addict High-Shine Lipstick in New Look Beige, $26.00
• Dior Addict High-Shine Lipstick in Couture Pink, $26.00
• Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Trenchcoat Beige , $25.50
• Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Ribbon Beige, $25.50
• Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Clutch Pink, $25.50
• Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Satin Pink, $25.50

Nails

• Dior Vernis in Porcelain, $20.00
• Dior Vernis in Nude Chic, $20.00

Cheeks

• Lady Dior Palette in Parisienne Chic or French Chic, a complexion highlighter and a creamy tint for both cheeks and lips, $95.00

Those quints are calling my name…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

© Karen for Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments |

The 15th annual Sally Beauty Best Tressed(R) Survey takes a look back at Hollywood’s best and worst celebrity hairstyles. The survey, commissioned by Sally Beauty Supply, asked American women to cast a vote on the good, the bad and the ugly in celebrity hairstyles from the past year, as the upcoming awards season nears.

This year’s survey found that women love the luscious locks of Eva Longoria, but they may be more attentive in watching the red carpet for the catastrophic crooner, Amy Winehouse. In the men’s category, the world’s most famous bachelor, George Clooney, rose to the top of the pack, while for the second year in a row Kid Rock was rated as the worst. Mother/daughter duo, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise, both made the list for best hairstyle in 2008, showing that style does indeed, run in the family.

The Top 3 in Each Category

Female Celebrity with the Best Hairstyle in 2008

1. Eva Longoria
2. Katie Holmes
3. Victoria Beckham

Male Celebrity with the Best Hairstyle in 2008

1. George Clooney
2. Patrick Dempsey
3. Jake Gyllenhall

Female Celebrity with the Worst Hairstyle in 2008

1. Amy Winehouse
2. Pink
3. Mary Kate Olsen

Male Celebrity with the Worst Hairstyle in 2008

1. Kid Rock
2. Clay Aiken
3. Billy Ray Cyrus

Celebrity Child with the Best Hairstyle in 2008

1. Suri Cruise
2. Violet Affleck
3. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

While voting on celebrity best and worst hairstyles, this year’s survey participants were also asked about their own styling habits:

* 33 percent of American women would be willing to give up highlights/lowlights to save money.
* 56 percent of women say they would never give up professional trims, even in a sinking economy.
* The worst blunder the majority of Americans have made when it comes to their hairstyle is cutting it too short, followed closely by damaging hair with heat and chemicals.
* 29 percent of women use a curling iron more than any other hair appliance, with flat irons coming in a close second with 28 percent reporting that it is their tool of choice.
* 67 percent of women have experimented with anywhere from 1 to 3 different hair colors during their lifetime.

The Sally Beauty Supply Best Tressed(R) Survey polled results from 1,000 women and was conducted by MarketTools, Inc. The survey ran from December 29, 2008 to December 30, 2008.

About Sally Beauty Supply

Sally Beauty Supply LLC is the world’s largest retailer of professional beauty supplies offering more than 6,000 salon quality products for hair, skin and nails. The company serves its retail customers and salon professionals at over 2,800 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Belgium, France, Spain and Japan. For further information, visit sallybeauty.com or call 1-800-ASK-SALLY for the store nearest you.

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Dude, am I the only person who thinks the Burt’s Bees line kicks arse? I love their lotions, hand soaps and lipglosses, and I’ve had my eye on some of their fancy Travel Kits for a while.

I. LOVE. SAMPLE SIZES, and these travel kits are chock full of ‘em. Those mini-bottles and jars make it easy to discover new products from a line without having to commit.

Case in point: the Radiance Collection Kit ($15), which I sampled last week.

It comes with seven mini-items from the Radiance Collection, a body care line featuring products containing royal jelly (a nutritious substance eaten by queen bees in the hive) to restore glow to dull skin: Radiance Exfoliating Body Bar, Exfoliating Body Wash, Body Lotion, Day Creme, Night Creme, Eye Creme and Lip Shimmer.

I liked everything in the kit, but my favorite product turned out to be the one I least expected to like — the Exfoliating Body Bar.

Scented with rose and freesia, she foams up like crazy and leaves my skin feeling clean without that annoying tightness some cleansers can cause.

I figured out that it also works fab as a shave cream, too (I have hairy Yeti legs…).

I was able to try a product I may otherwise not have tried and now may even spring for the full-sized $4 bar.

Burt’s Bees Radiance Collection Kit

Price: $15
Use: Seven sample-sized body and bath products from the Burt’s Bees Radiance Collectionn
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Whatever happened to Lil’ Ceaz?

I’m almost too ashamed to admit that I still know the lyrics to Crush on You, by Lil’ Kim and Lil’ Ceaz (”I know you see me on the video, TRUE!”).

Raise your hand if you remember being in a club when this song played. It always made everyone go NUTS! Ahhh… memories.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

© Karen for Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |

I think that today’s generation has not been taught the value of respecting their elders enough.  I have seen so many youths and children who, while not being outrightly disrespectful, do not seem to place their elders – especially veterans – in high regard.

Speaking of veterans, I read a submission email today about a blog called Veteran Owned Business.  It is basically a directory which features businesses which are owned and run by veterans.  It also features other entities which offer services to veterans.

I think that blogs like these should be promoted – it might be of little help but every little bit counts, in my opinion.  If you know someone who is a veteran, do let them know about this blog as I am sure they will find it useful.