Grace Magazine

Because of my love for all things beauty related and my penchant for mixing up my own soaps and lotions, friends are always letting me know of new products they’ve tried and giving me samples of things they’ve picked up.

A friend discovered LUSH while travelling on business. She was looking for ways to pamper herself while she had a prolonged stay in a hotel.

The Serenity Set by Lush - $35.45

A beautiful collection for calming, inspirational baths
Some people go an entire lifetime without experiencing a waking moment of serenity. Some of us have got to the point where we think that five minutes a day is pretty wonderful, but wouldn’t ten be better? Up your friends’ serenity quotient by giving them our Serenity box with five soothing treats, including A Ring of Roses buttercream for soft skin and Bathos bubble bar for a lovely, peaceful bath time.

Set includes:
Alkmaar Handmade Soap, Ring of Roses Conditioning Buttercream, Bathos Bubble Bar, Butterball Bath Bomb, Ceridwen’s Cauldron Luxury Bath Melt

Available at LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Price: $35.45

Looking for a five-minute morning routine that still leaves you feeling sensational?

Avon Five-Minute Beauty Collection - $24

Product Description: A $62.99 Value! 6 beauty must-haves including a Get-the-Look Card so you can make the most of your makeup in 5 minutes…or less.

6-piece collection includes: a stylish top-zip case to carry all your beauty must-haves with detailed instructions on how to get the look. Cotton canvas bag includes side pocket & double zip top.The Get-the-look card helps you achive a great look with our must-have products in only five mintues or less. Products include sample sizes of ANEW Advanced All-in-One Max SPF 15 UVA/UVB Cream AM, Light & Luminous Face Highlighter in Warm Shimmers, Face Brush, Glazewear Liquid Lip Color in Mirage and SuperFULL Mascara in Black.

Perfect for a Mother’s Day gift or a travel set.

Available at Amazon.com

Milk soap is fabulous for dry and sensitive skin. This Italian gift box of 3 soap bars has a clean, fresh scent and gentle, rich lather.

Santa Maria Novella: Rose Milky Soap Box - $48.00

Triple milled, each exquisite bar is hand-molded using 19th century equipment, aged for 60 days in ventilated cabinets, then hand-wrapped. The all-natural, milk-based formula is infused with the romantic scent of rose for a lather that is rich, gentle, and softly moisturizing.

100% whole milk base. Softens dry and sensitive skin. Lasts about three times longer than ordinary soap while maintaining its shape and scent. Limited, controlled production at the original Florence site. All herbs and flowers cultivated naturally without pesticides.

This would make a lovely Mother’s Day gift.

Available at eluxury.com

POP Beauty: Glow Belle, Glow Kit - $28

This kit contains eight highlighters to illuminate your skin and give you a healthy glow.

Brush these powders onto eyelids, cheeks or your body to look radiant any time of the day.

Colors include:
–White Gold Highlight
–True Gold Glow
–Nudy-Peach Glow
–Pale-Pink All-Over Radiance
–Cream Glimmer Highlighter
–Peach Luste
–Lavender Brightner
–Warm Nudy-Pink Illuminator

So pretty.

Available at beauty.com

These ten foods will help cleanse and detox your body, making you look and feel more beautiful.

1. green leafy vegetables - Chlorophyll is a powerful way to rid your body of toxins. Raw vegetables are best, but cooked ones are good too. Chop them into salads, toss them in soups, throw them in a juicer.

2. lemons - full of vitamin C, lemons are a natural detoxifier. They help clarify your body’s fluids and are also great for soothing a soar throat.

3. watercress - tasty in salads and sandwiches, watercress is rich in minerals and is a natural diuretic.

4. garlic - add spice to your life with garlic, perhaps nature’s most beneficial food. Not only does it ward off vampires, it softens up the stuff that clogs your arteries and helps it pass through your system.

5. green tea - rich in antioxidants, hot brewed green tea helps keep your liver healthy.

6. broccoli sprouts - a super cancer fighter, even more so than broccoli itself.

7. sesame seeds - protects the liver from invaders like alcohol. A tasty way to enjoy it is in tahini.

8. cabbage - it may be stinky but it sure is good for your liver. Try it cooked or in cole slaw.

9. psyllium - a soluble fiber that fights toxins and helps rid your body of cholesterol. You can buy it powdered in your health food store or find it in some bran cereals.

10. fruit - we can’t say enough about the benefits of fruit. Delicious and nutricious. Full of vitamins, fiber, fluids, antioxidants, and flavor. And no, fruit rollups do not count.

L’Occitane is offering 10% off lip gloss and hand cream duos.

I haven’t tried the lippies but the hand creams are some of the best in the world.

The sale includes only the products you see above, but who wouldn’t want one of these pretty pairs?

Sale runs through March 24 or until supplies last.

I can’t help it. I’m a beauty addict.

Beauty products relax me, especially when they are high quality and long lasting.

Work stress is an everyday part of my life. Thankfully, it’s not stressed caused by people I don’t like or don’t respect. Quite the opposite. I work with people I admire and trust. But we work in an extremely busy and fast-paced atmosphere.

One of my pleasures is looking good and smelling lovely. When you have to work closely with others, your fragrance can’t be overwhelming. It should be personal and enjoyed just by you.

I write often about how much I love Chanel No. 5. These are my favorite Chanel products at the moment.

Chanel No. 5 Bath Gel
I use this in the shower with a nylon puff. It produces a rich lather and provides aromatherapy benefits for my sleepy morning routine.

Chanel No. 5 Essentials Bath Oils
I follow up my shower by smoothing on this moisturizing oil before I towel off. The light scent lasts all day without overpowering. It’s a modern way to enjoy this classic fragrance.

4 Fleurs de Chanel Yeux-Eyes Exclusive Creation - Limited Edition
To add to my prettiness factor, I just purchased this eye shadow quad. The colors are soft and feminine. The packaging and presentation are romantic. I enjoy using them in the morning before my commute.

What are your favorite beauty products?

Colored Eye Shadow
A bold eye look is hot for spring. 1960s-inspired colors mixed with a smoky eye are the key look for the upcoming warm weather.

Try Sephora’s eye shadow duo #3, a peacock blue/azure blue shimmery pair. Each shadow is enriched with green tea to soothe the eye area. Finish the eye with a black or charcoal liner and lots of black mascara for the latest hot look straight off the runway.

Stained Lips
That just-bitten look is in for spring — glossy and with just a hint of strong color underneath.

Try Stila’s Cherry Crush Lip Stain. It’s sort of a “mood” product that adapts to each person’s pH levels to create a unique look just for you. Scented and flavored like a cherry, Stila’s lip stain also contains pomegranate extracts and vitamins A, C and E for their antioxidant benefits.

If you’d rather create the look with makeup that you already own. Try coating your lips with clear lip gloss, then dabbing on a little plum colored lip stick to create a sheer but glossy stained look.

Rosy Cheeks
Flushed cheeks can be so sexy. Try Cargo’s SuedeBlush in Montebello, a mix of three cheek colors pressed together in one compact. Montebello contains light pink, rose, and neutral beige. So pretty.

Be sure to balance this trend with the others mentioned above. You don’t want to mix all of these tips into one look or you’ll be flashing back to the 1980s.

Strong Brows
We’ve seen strong brows all over the fall runways and now they are carrying over to spring. Fuller brows can give a face a more youthful look. Celebrity brow artist Anastasia Soare has created her own line of brow-care products.

Try her Tweezers Anonymous kit, a 12-step kit for serious brows. It’s perfect for over-pluckers. The kit contains everything you need to fill in sparse areas and create fuller, richer brows.

Frizz-Free Hair
Whether you like your hair straight and sleek or with soft shiny curls, the key word for spring is control. Frizz is out and shiny, smooth hair is definitely in.

Try T3’s mini flat iron. It’s a compact ceramic iron that is small enough for travel and durable enough for everyday use. Use it to smooth the hair shaft, then give a little twist to perk up the ends. You’ll look fun and feminine.

All products available at Sephora.

Origins has introduced a new certified organic line of skincare products.

Products include face wash, body lotion, lip balms, hair care oil and more, using ingredients that have been certified organic by the USDA.

Organic ingredients are free from chemicals and preservatives and are also produced by farmers who respect nature and are careful with the way they treat the earth and water supply.

I can’t wait to try the foaming face wash.

Visit the Origins Organics Web site to learn more.

Pink To Please A Woman…Gold To Get The Guy Palette

Girly and flirty, these soft shimmering eye and lip colors are romantic and perfect for your Valentine’s Day makeup.

What do women want? Everything! That’s why we created this “get what you want, when you want” palette for spring. These shades of tender pink and seductive gold are made for mixing and matching to create a warm, soft, ethereal effect. Pink always, gold forever!

The limited-edition palette includes three silky powder eyeshadows and three silky finish lipsticks, including Sugar Rush and Candy Store and an applicator brush, too!

$30 at Sephora