Holiday Gift Guide 2011: Best in Face and Body Skincare Sets

November 30, 2011 | 16 Responses

For stuffing stockings to show you care

Weleda Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream ($16) or Skin Food *($20). Winter is coming, and that usually means dry cracked skin. Weleda’s holiday offerings contain soft moisturizing gloves with your choice of hand moisturizer. Sea Buckthorn is naturally healing, while Skin Food’s rich texture eliminates dry patches overnight. These are great stocking stuffers for frequent hand washers, as well as eczema sufferers. Available at Weleda online, Whole Foods Market, natural independent health food stores, Planet Organic Market, Nature’s Fare, Noah’s Natural Foods and Rexall Pharma Plus stores.

Pure + simple Super-plump Lip Kit ($34.95). Stay away from the petroleum-based lip balms, which actually dry out your lips in the long run, and go natural. This kit contains soothing Lavender Lip Oil and the Collagen Elasin Eye + Lip Concentrate, which keep your lips plump and protected for all the smooching you’ll be doing this season, amirite? Available at Pure + simple spas in the Greater Toronto area and online.

For the one who is hard to please (Glitter Geek’s TOP PICK)

Thann Jasmine Blossom Set ($50). Is your mother-in-law hard to please? Yes? This set is perfect for anyone you want to spoil. This actually makes me want to get out of bed and hop in the shower in the morning. Oh, and my lazy self has been putting on the lotion everyday, too. This is the most beautiful green that smells like crushed up jasmine buds. Both the body milk and the shower cream moisturize the skin incredibly. I cannot recommend it enough! Available in the flagship Thann store (in Ottawa) and online.

For anyone, anytime

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-usage Dry Oil ($42 for 100ml). Although not technically a gift set, NUXE Huile Prodigieuse is a champ at multitasking and so luxurious that it makes a fabulous gift. It keeps skin and hair beautifully moisturized and also doubles as a fragrance. It’s a cult product for a reason. Available at Shoppers Drugmart and Beautyphica (get a bonus 50 ml Huile Prodigieuse OR for a limited time here!).

For the new mom or hard working gal who truly deserves a spa day

Pure + simple Super-hydrating Intensive Kit * ($99). It’s no secret that I’m a Pure + simple junkie, and my newest discovery is the Cellular Repair Face Cream in this set. I’ve been using this medium weight face cream both for day and night and it is a dream to put on. The Collagen Elastin Plus serum and Skin Restoration Cloth Mask are must haves for a home spa day. Tip: do the mask in the dark or risk scaring your significant others or pets. Available at Pure + simple spas in the Greater Toronto area and online.

For those who are nice… ‘kay maybe the naughty, too

The Body Shop Spiced Vanilla Bath and Body Products * (from $4 to $18 each). The Body Shop is one of my go-to shops for holiday shopping because of their holiday scents. My favourite is the Spiced Vanilla, which smells divine and is available in different bath and body products. If you must have just one for a stocking stuffer, the Body Butter is a no-brainer (and on sale for $10 right now!). Available at The Body Shop stores and online.

Philosophy Sweet Kisses and Merry Wishes Set ($47). If you have never tried Philosophy shower gels, you’ve been missing out. Philosophy makes the best shower gels in the scents of the season. This set contains four (FOUR!!!) shower gels and coordinating lip shines. Gift it to one special nice person, or break it up as separate stocking stuffers for the naughty ones. Available at Sephora stores and online.

Anything catch your eye?

What will you be gifting from these sets, and what will you be keeping for yourself?

Disclosure: Products marked with * were provided by the manufacturer for editorial consideration only. For more information, see my Editorial and Advertising Policy.

Is It Possible To Combat Eczema Naturally? Diane Lai Says Yes, with Soothe Spot Treatment!

May 26, 2011 | 23 Responses

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Since this past winter, I’ve been struggling with really bad eczema on my hands. At the worst times, I deal with with itching, burning, flaky and broken skin on my palms. I wake up many nights scratching my hands until they are raw. When I went to the doctor, I was prescribed with corticosteroids (Betamethasone Valerate 0.1%). When I get a flare-up, only the prescription cream fixes my hands, but I have concerns with the serious side effects of using these creams in the long term. Look them up; they are a little too scary to list in a beauty blog.

Diane Lai Soothe

Recently I’ve been using something new and all-natural on my hands. Diane Lai Soothe ($34) is a miracle spot treatment for my hand eczema. It is incredibly moisturizing, fast-absorbing, gentle, and non-greasy. It does not contain: petroleum, phthalates, parabens, formaldehyde, and many other things that are bad for you. To top it all off, it has a light lavender scent that is just divine.

Diane Lai Soothe

Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) butter, Cetearyl olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Coco-carylate, Glycerin, Cetearyl alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Triticum vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Argania spinosa (kernel oil), Tocopheryl Acetate, Allantoin, Xanthan gum, Potassium sorbate, Sodium benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Citric acid, Sodium citrate, Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) oil.

In just two weeks of regular use, it’s already apparent that Diane Lai Soothe is super effective. I use it about 2-3 times a day, along with their body moisturizer, Diane Lai Rejuvenate ($45) as my regular hand cream. It is tiny compared to the moisturizer (30 ml versus 100 ml), but a dime size of Soothe is all I need for both hands. My hands are almost fully healed at the moment, and I suffer from less flare-ups.

Diane Lai Soothe & Rejuvenate

Diane Lai products are made in Canada and are available on www.dianelai.com (they ship all over Canada and the US), The Shopping Channel, and some retailers in Ontario.

Switching Up My Soap and Body Wash

I found that harsh, heavily fragranced soaps angered my eczema, so I’ve switched out my regular soaps for those for sensitive skin. Right now I’m using Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive Skin (4 for about $5) as my bar “soap”, and Cetaphil Restoraderm Eczema Moisturizing Wash (about $15) in the shower. I also like Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash (about $10) as another non-irritating option.

Do You Suffer from Eczema?

What do you do to keep your flare-ups to a minimum? What specific products do you use that worked for you?

Disclosure: Product was provided by the manufacturer for editorial consideration only.

Aveeno Hand Cream is a Drugstore Superhero.

February 15, 2010 | 19 Responses

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A couple of weeks ago, my hands were literally in a rough shape. My ring was was rubbing my skin in all the wrong places and giving me the itchies. On top of that, the cold winter was making my skin crack. It hurt so much!

Notice that was all in past tense. When The Asian Pear recommended the Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream to me I immediately snatched one up to test out. (Have you seen her lotions and creams stash? Massive.) I have always been impressed with Aveeno products and I am happy to report that this is no exception.

Aveeno claims that this fragrance-free formula will moisturize skin for 24 hours and last through hand washing. They also say that this is gentle enough for those who have sensitive skin. Sounds to good to be true right?

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Petrolatum, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetyl Alcohol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Dimethicone, Avena sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride

What Makes It a Drugstore Superhero

Really lasts through hand washing. They don’t lie. This really does last through 2 or 3 hand washes, and I can’t say that about any other hand cream I’ve tried. It absorbs enough into your skin that you don’t need to moisturize after every hand wash. So you’ll save some money in the long run. We like that.
Fast absorbing and non-greasy. When I was asking for recommendations over Twitter, I didn’t even care if the hand cream I buy was greasy or not; I needed something that worked, period. But this was a very welcome bonus. It means that I can keep typing on my keyboard without turning it into a greasy mess.
Instant results. When I try a new cream, first impressions are very important. I liked that this fragrance-free hand cream is, in fact, free of any fragrances. It left my hands with a silky barrier of moisture. I gotta be honest, at first it didn’t feel intense enough to cure my cracked hands, but I was totally wrong; it did its job!
Amazing long term hydration. I don’t usually pay attention to how my hands look. I know I probably should take better care of my hands from now on. I haven’t been using anything else besides this hand cream, and my god!, my hands look younger?! Is that even possible? It is more even toned, super smooth, and soft. I am quite amazed at the difference in my skin’s appearance.
All over lotion in a pinch. Hello scaly winter legs (so sexy, right?), you can go away now.

I can’t say anything bad about this hand cream. What can I say? I’m totally smitten. And at around $10, what a steal! If your skin is struggling to keep hydrated, I beg you to get yourself to the drugstore right now and pick one up. You won’t be disappointed. Holy grail, meet your newest member. Rating: A+++++.