Beauty Balm

                           


                                  ONE  OF THE BEST NEW BEAUTY PRODUCTS




Maybe you've noticed one of the newest beauty products on the market.  It actually crawled in under my radar and onto the shelves without attracting my attention.  A sales person at the Body Shop first introduced me when I said I was looking for a tinted moisturizer. " Try this,"   She held a small tube marked BB. "It's Beauty Balm" I then recalled seeing ads for it but they had failed to pique my interest.   So many products .. so little time.  She must have read my mind.  "Just give it try. It's  a bit different from what else is out there.  
 I smoothed some over my face and checked the mirror. My skin  had that luminous glow I'm forever in search of.  Best of all it didn't look like I was wearing makeup

Beauty Balm, I think originated in Asia . It is a combination of primer, color, moisturizer and  sunscreen.    It is light and impacts a nice healthy look when you chose the right shade (go lighter rather than darker). It's inexpensive.  Maybelline's, which I tried next was under $10.  I then moved on to Cover Girl (also good )and L'Oreal which  is marketed for mature skin and is a little more moisturizing  than the others.  However it didn't impart as much color.

On a trip to Sephora, I found that they too had hopped on the Beauty Balm bandwagon with everyone from Benefit to Dior hawking their versions. I decided to be extravagant and try a high end balm.  After taking a good look at my face the salesperson returned with a jar.  This BB was a water based gel and was one of several from a line I  had never heard of, Dr. Jart.  The product was rather thick and not easy to apply.I was skeptical,but she was convincing and I had a train to catch so I put another  $35plus tax on my credit card and took it home.   If  there was a glow, I couldn't see it and the gel like texture wasn't to my liking.     Back it went no questions asked.  For now I'm sticking with  the drug store brands .
The balm is a great idea for those of us who like to think we really don't need foundation but look much better with it.  Foundation? Me?  Of course not! Just a little BB Balm. 


Cheers,

Barb

Mexoral On Board !

Well after much research I ordered my Mexoral sun protection on line from La Roche-Posy(a division of L'Oreal). Of course I felt smug about being first on the block and on the blogs to have this long lauded and hard to find product in my possession.
The day it arrived I tore open the box, unsnapped the top of the tube and spread the white cream all over my face and neck. Going on it felt like a rich moisturizer but it was completely absorbed in a matter of minutes. I put the excess on my hands and feeling virtuous and protected and still smug I went out for my power walk.
The next day I saw a Lancome ad for their new sun protection. It's called Expert and yes it contains Mexoral. It was just a regular ad not the big announcement that I would have expected given the former cult status of this product, given the fact that it took forever to be approved by the FDA and people were smuggling it in from Europe. Then this morning I got a call from my daughter, Kim."You know that sunblock you wrote about? I bought it in Eckard (a chain drug store) they even had a coupon and I got $5.00 off so it was $25.00. " Well that certainly took the wind out of my sails, seeing in that my eagerness to finally get my hands on it I paid $30. plus $5.00 shipping.
Only time will tell if it lives up to all the hype.
Cheers,
Barb