Beauty Blog

Where I live, it’s getting pretty cold and dry outside. I went to the drugstore in search of a good moisturizer because the spaces between my fingers were dry and cracked. I was browsing and debating between several $15 lotions when I came across that old familiar green can–Bag Balm. The cow on the lid of the can proves that yes, this stuff really IS for cows. The “bags” they are referring to are the udders:

“For use on cows, thoroughly wash treated teats and udder with separate towels before each milking. To avoid contamination after each milking, bath the udder with plenty of hot water, strip milk out and dry skin. Apply BAG BALM freely and massage gently with this proven ointment twice daily. This product contains no alcohol.”

She looks good!

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to slather something on that is meant to sooth udders but I bought the $3 can and brought it home. That night, I slathered it on my hands and feet and I can tell you now: This stuff is GREAT. It’s super thick and greasy, so beware, but it moisturizes like nothing I have ever used before. It’s like a thicker and more moisturizing version of Vaseline. The smell is definitely not pretty, but it’s not offensive either.

I wouldn’t use it on my face, but for the hands, feet, elbows and knees it is AWESOME and the price can’t be beat!

Shop for more moisturizers at Smarter.com.

I’ve been noticing a strange phenomenon lately. Some mornings I wake up with moisturized, dewy skin and some mornings I wake up to dry, ashy skin. I wasn’t doing anything different with my moisturizers (I use Eucerin Coenzyme 10 Cream which I love, and then, since it’s winter, I also use Paula Begoun’s Skin Recovery Cream on top). I use retinol every other night and once in a while, I’ll take a rest from the retinol and use an alpha-hydroxy cream (Neostrata, Neutrogena Healthy Skin, DDF 10% glycolic acid). This pretty much sums up my skin-care treatment routine. So, it was odd to me, that some mornings my face looked glowing, and some mornings parched.

Why? What was I doing that was different? I had to find out.

I did various combination’s of cream, I would forgo any treatment at all and that didn’t produce consistent results. What could it be? I know that my heat has been blasting and there is almost zero moisture in the air, so that contributed to the dryness, but where was this extra moisture coming from?

I thought about it and then I got it: After my nighttime shower, I was going to bed with wet hair. It seems far-fetched, but I tested the nights I went to bed with dry hair and the nights I went to bed with wet hair. And consistently, on the nights I went to bed with wet hair, my skin looked dewier and refreshed in the morning. It must be the combination of the heat with the moisture in my hair that fed my skin. Now, before you start showering every night, there is something you can do that does not require going to be with a wet head every night.

Invest in a humidifier, darlings! If you have dry, parched skin like mine, it can do wonders for your skin. I wasn’t a believer before but I am now. Try it, you’ll see…

To shop for a low priced Humidifier, click here. 

What are your thoughts? Love it or Hate it? Ol’ Poshy is trying to do a personal spin on the classic Audrey Hepburn “Breakfast at Tiffany’s ” hairdo…

I’m ambivalent. Ha!

(Finish reading at BellaSugar Blog )

“We’ve found an interesting compromise in M.A.C’s Tendertone Lipbalm in Sweet & Nice. It looks surprisingly harmless and gloss-like in its teensy glass jar, but the sheer grapey-red looks so grown-up we can’t help but be reeled in. To date we’ve yet to have a complaint in the flaking department, it has SPF 12, and the wide range of colours all seem very flattering. ” - Lipstick Powder n Paint Blog

In the land of Smarter Beauty Blogging:

Need a drink? Well so do I, but no can do at the workplace, but here is some Cosmopolitan inspired lip balm you should check out..

Our Asian correspondent Jeanie Kwak tells us about moisturizers that work on sensitive, rosacea-prone skin …

Bobbi Brown releases their “Shimmering Nudes Collection” …

Finally the release of the “Extended” version of the Sex and the City Movie

Incessant sunshine is not my thing. I know that’s a curious comment for a native Southern Californian to make, but it’s been drier than I can handle this year, and so has my skin. I’ve tried keep my hands hydrated with my usual lotions and long-loved remedies, but most are no match for this no-rain-in-sight weather.

Enter Skin MD (about $15.99), a shielding lotion, which promises to bind to the skin and protect it from harsh elements that wreak havoc. I received this product a while back, but didn’t realize how tough it was until the dry winds started up. Honestly, I’m up to my ears in lotion samples here at the Smarter Beauty Blog, and it’s pretty rare that one wows me, but I really like this stuff. A lot.

I guess the thing that most impresses me about Skin MD is that it doesn’t wash off easily. That’s always my gripe about most moisturizers (especially when I forget to put lotion in my purse, and I have to walk around with scraggly hands), but this one lasts a long time even when I fall victim to those harsh liquid antibacterial soaps in most public restrooms. And you don’t even have to slather it on to get the long-lasting effect–a little goes a long way.

For me, all this means less tortured cuticles, cracked skin and irritating dryness. Plus it’s not greasy, it doesn’t stink and it didn’t clog my pores when I used it on my face.

It’s that good.
Click here to read more about Skin MD.