Mother’s Day Gift Guide: Giving Mom a Little Glamour and Pampering… (via Huff Po)

I thought I would create a modern Mother’s Day Gift Guide for Huffington Post this week.  Let’s face it… Flowers and gifts from Things Remembered are so 20 years ago. Be original on Mother’s Day and give her what she really wants! And for those of you who are already mommies… I urge you to forward the article to your hubbys and baby daddys… Obviously I chose gifts I would love as an expecting mother for Mother’s Day (actually for any occasion)!

Or, if you’ve already gotten Mom a gift and you’re not a mommy then go nuts and buy yourself something nice. I mean you deserve a little retail love, right? Binge on babies!

Read my Huffington Post Mother’s Day Gift Guide by clicking here!

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m the New Voice of E! Online’s “Beauty Police!” Column

Hello my lovelies! I am SO excited to announce that I will be writing a snarky (let’s be honest… downright bitchy) daily column for E! Online for their Fashion Police brand.  It started today and I don’t want to inundate you with posts so if you want to read them in real-time make sure you “like” my Facebook page here since I will be posting links to every column as soon as they’re posted.  Also, at the end of every week I will put together a round-up post so you can click whichever stories appeal to you. Just keep in mind I’m being paid to be bitchy so don’t get too mad at me if I slam your favorite celeb.

First column: Beauty Police: Jennifer Lopez Auditions for RuPaul’s Drag Race in Makeup Fit for a Drag Queen

Worth the Hype: Korres Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Mask

I feel like every magazine I’ve picked u  in the past month has touted the Korres Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Mask ($45) as a ‘moisturizing breakthrough’. Now I tend to be cynical (shocking!) when I read about a new product in every single women’s rag — I figure either the company must have thrown one hell of a decadent launch party or sent out Chanel bags as a launch gift. (Yes, it’s done. Not for a peon like me but the editors at the big magazines sometimes receive ridiculous gifts from the beauty brands and tend to give editorial to big advertisers which is why you should be cautious when taking their recommendations. And don’t you worry your pretty little heads — if I ever become big-time know that a Chanel bag isn’t going to make me like a lipstick more)

Since every editor seemed to be in love with this sleeping mask it was obviously my Beauty Binge duty to investigate the situation further.  I found that the user reviews on Sephora were even more complimentary than the magazines (and I assure you these users didn’t attend the launch party or receive gifts) — “I am OBSESSED with this product. I use it every night and it has literally changed my life.” and “I have oily yet dehydrated skin prone to breakouts and this sleeping leave-on mask hydrated, calmed and nourished my skin.”

SOLD.

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Reader Screams, “Help Beauty Binge!” After An Attack of Oily Skin and T-Zone Breakouts

Dear Janna,

Please help me!! With the warmer weather I’m finding that I’m oily and gross during the day (vs. some dryness during the winter). I’m  also having T-zone breakouts and I wonder if there’s a moisturizer with a little zit-fighting ability that I should switch to vs. the Boscia now that the seasons have changed? Also, I typically use drugstore Neutrogena foundation/make-up (don’t yell!), but I think it’s time to invest in some good stuff, especially with my trouble skin AND the six weddings I have to attend between now and August (ugh). Is there a brand you absolutely love? (NARS? MAC?). I think I need a consult at a counter to find the products/shades that are right for me, but I’d love to know if there’s a company you trust more than others before I shell out some bucks  

Signed,

Gettin’ Greasy in LA

Dear Gettin’Greasy in LA,

Foundation: Girlfriend are you kidding me right now?? MAC or NARS??? With oily skin?? Do you WANT to flaunt Texas oil fields for the weddings?? Or perhaps you were hoping to look like a science project as a conversation starter. Breakout central!  I am prescribing  the Jane Iredale ‘Glow Time’ Full Coverage Mineral BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 25 ($48).  This BB Cream has a lot more coverage than a typical BB and it is actually designed to fight oil and blemishes so its working while it’s covering.  I got the recommendation from a friend who looks like she has amazing skin but claims to be plagued with oily skin, and she insists the Jane Iredale BB Cream changed her life. And she’s being totally serious. You just better promise me that the only thing the BB Cream is going to replace is your foundation.  You know that’s my pet peeve!

And Then There Was One Makeup Bag That Could Hold It All…

I’m not calling myself a high-maintanence traveler (necessarily), but I will say I’m a woman who likes to have all my essential makeup items with me “just in case.” Of course my husband would argue he couldn’t possibly see a situation where a smoky eye emergency would hit (not like he would actually use those words. It would be more like, “You’re kidding right? There’s no way you’re going to use all that makeup over three days.”) Whatever.  I like having choices. If Rachel Zoe can bring 7 huge suitcases for a week in NYC because she likes to keep her options open, I can rationalize bringing 50 different makeup items for the same reason.  Now up until now my makeup bags have stifled me — forcing me to make hard decisions between palettes and products — finding that as soon as I unpacked I forgot essentials and  made bad decisions.  It was a constant battle… And then I was introduced to the Hold Me Bag ($85.00) and I was finally freed from my shackles.

Now I know $85.00 sounds like a lot but it’s one of those investments you’ll never have to make again.  Not only can I pack every makeup brush but the main compartment has a generous side pocket so I can bring all my palettes!  And I have to say as someone whose constantly made the mistake of investing in makeup bags with compartments that there’s something liberating about easily being able to have all my products in one main section.  Let’s face it — you buy those makeup bags with compartments so you can “get organized” but you never end up putting the products back in their original place. And, the compartments take up so much space diving the bag that you can only get a fraction of products in a large makeup bag.  Drove me crazy!  So below you can see my chaos I bring on every trip these days and how the Hold Me bag does in fact hold it all!

All the products I’ll bring on my 2-day trip

Voila! Everything fits and is super easy to find.

One more thing! The one I bought is full-size (10″H x 7″W x 2″D closed) but they also offer an adorable Baby Hold Me (7″H x 5″W x 2″D closed) in all the same cute patterns! 

I’m Not Lazy… I’m Just PREGNANT!!

Hello my lovelies!!  I am so excited to finally announce there is a Baby Beauty Binge on the way, expected to make his/her glamorous arrival on October 24th.  That’s right. Do the math. I’m 12 1/2 weeks pregnant and I’m sure you may have noticed that my posts in these past several weeks have dwindled down considerably and so have my podcasts.  But as the headline states, I swear I’m not lazy, but I have had a bad bout of morning sickness and exhaustion for the past 12 weeks so please forgive me!  The good news: supposedly I should start feeling better soon so my posts should pick up again AND I have a HUGE announcement to make in the next couple weeks regarding a new writing job that entails me flaunting my bitchy snarky voice you all seem to love so much.  That’s right. I’m going to be be paid to be bitchy.  Woo hoo!

Now here’s the little bit of bad news — with the pregnancy, blog, and new job I simply don’t have the time to keep up the podcasts. I know a bunch of you have written to me that you tune in to all the podcasts and I sincerely apologize. Please know that it was a tough decision but I’m just not at a point where I can spread myself too thin.

Let’s end with some good news — As I said my energy should be arriving any day now, which means more posts! And know that any skincare I’m reviewing means it’s gone through the Baby Beauty Binge wringer — meaning all the ingredients are super safe (not like I was recommending toxic products before but skincare now goes through an additional level of scrutiny). Now don’t worry. I’m not going to start reviewing maternity skincare and shit nor am I going to be doing “countdown to baby” posts. I mean come on. My name is Janna.  I just wanted to make sure I share the good news with my lovelies!!

What’s Better Than a Free Birthday Gift from Fresh and 15% off at Sephora? Nothing! (Except Maybe a Day at the Spa)

Welcome to my happy place…

Free Birthday Gift from Fresh: You all know Fresh is one of my favorite brands of all time and I happen to collect their Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments in every color and stash them all over my house and in every handbag.  They glide on creamy, hydrate my lips instantly, drop the perfect amount of pigment, and even have SPF 15.  You can imagine my joy when I found out that as of April 1st, Fresh will gift customers with a free Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo during their birthday month. This exclusive sweet treat includes a Mini Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 and Mini Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15.

Currently Obsessed with: Rhonda Allison Eye Revitalizer

On one of my recent visits to my steady esthetician Melanie Traub at Bellasante Spa in San Anselmo, California (even though Melanie is aware I cheat on her from time to time because I’m a degenerate spa slut, she knows in her heart she will always be my steady and #1 girl. I can honestly say she gives the best facial I’ve ever had in my life and that’s saying a lot.) I was admiring her flawless skin and how the light was catching her cheekbones (see pic of Melanie and her cheekbones at the bottom of the post).  I demanded to know what highlighter she was using to give such a natural glowing effect.  She thought about it for a second, “Hmm… I’m not wearing any highlighter. It must be the Rhonda Allison Eye Revitalizer. I tap it on underneath my eyes and then upwards to my temples. It totally helps brighten my eye area and tighten my puffiness.”

Of course my next demand was to be introduced to the product. I applied a few white pearly drops from the tester to the back of my hand and felt an instant cooling and tightening effect. I also noticed minuscule shimmery light-diffusing pigments  (hence the highlighter effect) and an instant brightening on my skin.  I immediately tapped a few drops under my eyes and upwards towards my temples and felt that same cooling and tightening. Once absorbed, a couple minutes later, my eye area DEFINITELY looked brighter and less puffy.  What’s makes this eye gel so magical besides fairy dust? Rhonda Allison describes it as: “Enhanced with a “freezing peptide”, Eye Revitalizer has a cooling sensation providing a quick perk-me-up experience for the eyes.” 

Needless to say, I find myself applying this eye gel both in the mornings under my makeup and throughout the day over my makeup for an instant eye opener.  And of course I tap it on top of my cheekbones to attempt to mimic Melanie’s highlighted cheekbones. Incidentally, It has not given me Melanie’s high cheekbones but at least now our cheekbones share the same natural highlighted glow.

Melanie Traub, Bellasante Spa

My New Article on Huffington Post: I Get My Claws Out to Fight BB Creams

For those of you regular Beauty Binge readers, you know I haven’t given into the BB Cream craze, in fact, I’ve never even reviewed one. Why? Well I guess you’re just going to have to read my latest article in the Huffington Post (just click on the hyperlinked headline) to find out why I’m having a cat fight with these popular products:

The Problem with BB Creams: ’Beauty Balms’ or ‘Blemish Balms’ Claim to Be All-in-One Miracles

Spa Slut: Sense, A Rosewood Spa (SF Bay Area) Part 2

Yesterday I made you drool with tales of cucumber water and dark chocolate decadence combined with sweet-smelling amenities like California Woods-scented air and lemongrass bath products — all enjoyed while gazing out of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Santa Cruz mountains. Welcome to Sense Spa at the Rosewood Sand Hill (about 30 minutes outside of San Francisco).  Read Part 1 to this delicious spa saga here and enjoy Part 2 where I relive my two 90-minute sublime treatments below…

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