beauty treats to pamper yourself this holiday season

happy tuesday, beauties! i have to admit, the days are flying by, the year is almost over {less than 5 weeks left in 2012!!} and it shouldn't surprise me, yet here i am...surprised!

as if you hadn't noticed, the holiday season is in full swing. hopefully, you're keeping those stress levels down, and making sure to take care of yourself. this is the time of year that i exercise more {lots of yoga, ballet, walking, boxing, pilates, circuit training}, take daily naps and let myself get lost in books and podcast-listening. i love to change my nail polish every other day as well. doing this forces me to focus, slow down and of course, is always a mood-lifter to see my tips and toes dressed in fresh, new shades.

beauty goodies are the perfect aide for keeping stress at bay; they're truly a perfect reward for all the hard work that goes into each day! i haven't tried any of the following products {yet}, but they recently came to my attention, and since each sounds quite splendid, i thought i'd share...

Soap & Glory The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser ~ a natural cream that comes with a muslin cloth to cleanse, polish, and smooth the skin. like a facial in a bottle, the concentrated formula purifies skin deeply and removes makeup with a natural blend of revitalizing and aromatic essential oils.

Amika Obliphica Nourishing Hair Mask is enriched with rare Sea Buckthorn Berry, known for its nourishing and healing properties. the high content of vitamins and minerals (C, E, omega 3,6 and 9} help improve the texture of hair, leaving it nourished, shiny and more elastic.

use of Sabon Body Scrub Patchouli Lavender Vanilla promises to eliminate dry skin and bring even the most damaged skin back to life. this exfoliator {available in other yummy-sounding scents, like Lemon Mint and Fig Coco} allows skin to live up to its full potential by sloughing away old skin, giving it a fresh appearance and the chance to shine.

Tracie Martyn LotuSculpt Eye Pads promise to treat tired eyes after a long day; these eye pads are formulated to moisturize and calm, greatly diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improving the appearance of dark circles.


i think we can all agree these sound fabulous, right??

tell me: how do you pamper yourself during this stressful holiday season?

My Favorite Drugstore Beauty Buys 4.3.09

happy friday everyone! how was your week? it's late, and as usual, my week sped by. my kiddos are out of school for the next week, so i'm thinking things are going to get a little crazy over here-- yikes!

this week's beauty buys are all available at my favorite mass retailer, Target (or if you're like me, you pronounce it Tarjay-- ha!), and i absolutely love each one of them!

here we go...


Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter soothes dry skin with yummy aloe vera and shea butter, and best of all, smells amazing. the luxurious scent is enough for me to wear it alone, so it's great for everyday, and if i do want to wear perfume, i'll only apply this to my legs and feet (and then my upper body gets jealous-- j/k!)



Pixi Gel Eyeliner comes in a pot, and i bought it because i had read that it was comparable to Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. it's a few dollars less, and easier for me to buy since i don't have a Bobbi counter in my area, so i thought why not? well, i was impressed. not so much by the brush-- thankfully i have a great liner brush-- but the formula itself is great. it's highly pigmented, a little goes a ling way, and (woo-hoo!) it stays in place all day.



Sonia Kashuk Lip Palette is a great little set of five glosses all encased together-- which makes it great for travel-- that creates for me my "perfect" shade of gloss for the day. of course, with two shimmery and three non-shimmery shades, the possibilities of color combos are endless. i really like that the consistency is on the thicker side, too, but not at all sticky-- love!

have a great weekend!

xo