Stuff I Like: Looking Younger and Generally More Awesome

I’ve lately come across some surprisingly effective and cool products, which got me thinking it’s been awhile since my ever-popular (I use the term loosely) “Stuff I Like” posts. First of all, let me say that I am very into discovering the newest Holy Grail beauty product, and as such, my bathroom drawer is full of half-used samples and bottles of what I thought would take 10 pounds of wrinkles off my face or make me 18. Most times, the sample fell short, but other times, I’ve been wowed and so I will share some of those golden tickets to beauty here. Secondly, most of these items I’m liking as below were given to me in a swag bag from a wonderful dinner I shared with 12 other amazing bloggers while at BlogHer. The dinner was organized by the inimitable Romy Raves and sponsored by Tavern Direct, a company that supports The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through sales of marinades, oils and sauces (which we tasted and which I (speaking only for myself) gorged on embarrassingly*) (Really. I made Lou, the founder of the company and the The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, bring me more. With bread. Apparently, I have no shame. And no muscle tone.)

On to other things. Romy, a beauty/fashion blogger, ended the dinner by gifting us with a lovely bag of products, which no lie, are among my favorite things. I even opened the bag in the cab ride back to the hotel and applied some of them to my face in the dark. At that point, I wasn’t sure what was what, so much to the bemusement of my roommate and cab partner, Christine, I exited the cab with concealer on my mouth, perfume on my cheeks, and lip gloss on my eyelids.

Here’s what I misapplied:

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye

My rapid descent into old age happened somewhere around 36-and-a-half. That’s when I noticed that I couldn’t sleep my dark circles away and stay toned with a once-weekly walk around the block. For the undereye circles, I’ve tried all number of concealers, not even kidding. You should see my bathroom drawer. But, there’s something different about this one. It’s very emollient (that means “creamy,” right? I will use any other word besides “creamy”) but not so much so that it slides off your face. Plus, it has vitamins in it, which is always good for the anti-aging. In addition, the concealer stays put, does not look like pancake makeup, and comes off easily when I want it to. I had never even heard of It Cosmetics before this past August, and now I’m anxious to try its other products because I loved the concealer so much. Maybe they have a topical Botox serum? A boob lift salve? That would be awesome.

Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner

Ok, wow. This has to be the most luxurious shampoo/conditioner duo I’ve ever used. It softens my hair but doesn’t weigh it down and vibratizes my color but doesn’t make it brassy and smells good but not overpowering. And it’s all-natural. I am completely hooked on this haircare. The only bummer is that it’s very expensive and if I hadn’t received it for free, I might never try it. If you want to treat yourself, I say go for it. If not, your hair will probably still look good. Unless you look like this:

And in that case, you’re a bale of hay and there’s nothing I can do for you.

Barista Bath & Body Room for Cream

Well there’s that “cream”y again. I just can’t get over my distaste for that word. I, do however, really like this lotion. First of all, it came in a pack of “coffee”-based hair and body products, which I also liked, although the coffee smell was too strong for me. This moisturizer doesn’t smell like Folger’s but has all the benefits of caffeine (i.e. skin firming). Also my skin is weird. It absorbs things strangely and when I apply a lotion, my skin cells suck it down and do something with it, I don’t know, but it’s not good or helpful. In other words, lotions don’t work on me. I put them on, but my skin doesn’t accept them, and it’s like I never put the lotion on. It happens with perfume too. It’s very bothersome and befuddling. For some reason, Room for Cream resists my skin’s efforts to eat it and it softens my epidermis nicely. I like this stuff, but my skin is pissed at it.

Soho Beauty Cases

This is the perfect traveling makeup case. It’s hard and durable, so my makeup doesn’t get smushed, it’s small enough to pack in a carry-on and it holds all the essentials. This is also the one thing that might save my bathroom drawer samples from slipping into oblivion. I can throw all the tiny vials and packets into this case and it keeps them all in one place. That is to say, not all over. And for me, that’s a novel idea since I know not of organization. It’s a problem I’m not proud of and I’m working on it. But at least my hair doesn’t look like this:

So that’s something.

*I‘m being absolutely truthful when I tell you I made Lou get me more dipping sauce and bread. I have a dipping-sauce-and-bread problem, too. What are you all going to do with me?

P.S. Check out the Tavern Direct website. Also, remember that a portion (25%) of sales go to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an organization Lou became involved with after his best friend’s son, Adam Walsh, disappeared.