As I pondered the all of the twists and turns life has taken I came to realize two things have been missing—any form of pampering, and writing for pure pleasure, not just to earn valuable cash dollars.  So, I have resolved to change both as a way to celebrate my official entry into menopause proper   As a result, I am sitting here writing for pleasure with the most glorious pumpkin and cocoa mask on my face!  It smells and feels like heaven.  I have not done a facial mask in two years, either!  Can you imagine?

Well, it all ends now—or starts.  I am back and badder than ever!  I will back later with the results of this dreamy mask!  xoxoxo

The weather here is rotten right now, rainy, and windy, and not good days to take pictures of hand swatches, but the color are vibrant, and the shadow slides on smoothly, with no chalkiness, or streaks.

The color descriptions are now up on the page for these 20 not-so-tame matte eye shadow colors in the Retro Hi-Fi collection.  This morning, I gave three colors a test drive on my own eyes.  I used Mink Coat, from the Aromaleigh Eye Plush collection from lash line to brown.  I then used the Retro Hi-Fi color Smokin’ on my lid.  It is a gorgeous smoked mauve.  I used Daddy-o in the crease, and wet lined Cranked as an eye liner.  The look is outstanding, and not too bold for a woman of my age.

Daddy-o is a sweet, muted turquoise blue, and Cranked is a coral red.  Cranked is one of the colors that kind of scared me, as we are a cool toned people in my family, and oranges and yellows do not suit us much at all.  I swatched the The lemon yellow Real Gone on the back of my hand, and the words “liver transplant” immediately sprung to mind, so I am going to have to search out an olive skinned person to try some of the more orangey, and yellowed shades.

Like Miss K, I am not generally wild about matte eye shadows, but I could not be more pleased with what I am seeing on my eyes today.  My eyes are poppin’, and the look is neither too boring, or over the top.  I know that when I have a bit more pocket change, after the holidays, I will be buying some full sizes, and that surprises even me, the Aromaleigh eye shadow addict.  These are the perfect, jazzy, matte mineral eye shadow colors that you have been waiting for–so do give them a try.  More color reviews to come, as I experiment some more, and get a few samples to my daughters.

So, I am still excited about the Aromaleigh Retro Hi-Fi Matte eye shadow collection.  I bet that you will be, too!

Aromaleigh Retro Hi-Fi Matte Eye Shadow Collection

Glory, glory!  Look at those colors!  Have you ever seen such beauty in a matte eye shadow collection, I ask you?  Me neither.  But, here is the big news–Miss K just opened up the Retro Hi-Fi Matte Eye Shadow Collection tonight for sale–so you can begin to shop for these outstanding, stand-out colors, just in time for that Holiday party!

Now, if that is not enough excitement, Miss K announced over the weekend, on Facebook, that she had eight sample sets for beauty bloggers to try and reviews, and to send her an email.  Luckily, because of my work, I never leave my computer, so I emailed her at once, and I go word today from Kristen that a full sample set is already winging it’s way to me to try and review!  I feel like I won that lottery!

This is a big, 40 eye shadow collection, so those samples are a big gift to me, and to all of you, once I can start to review!  Oooh!  Goody, goody!  I can’t wait–can you??  I suspect that the samples may arrive on Wednesday, and if not, Friday.  Good gravy, Marie–I am going to have a lot of fun with these samples, as will my two test subjects, my lovely daughters.  They are pretty happy, too.

Now, if you want to go ahead and order samples now, before I can start to review these smooth, sweet, swanky, matte eye shadows, I will understand.  After all, the Holiday gift giving season is almost upon us, and what better gift to give yourself?  I will let you know when they arrive, and I can begin to play with them!  I may not sleep tonight from the excitement–but then I will have under eye circles when the Retro Hi-Fi Matte eye shadows arrive, and that just wouldn’t do!  Night night, and oh, goody, goody!

Now, I am usually a little skeptical when I read any review and it reads something like:  “Wow!  I used it once and–I look 10 years younger!”  I mean, sure.  We’d all love that, right?  I could only hope for those results.  That night, I cleansed my face, then applied the Skin Communicator Serum onto my damp skin, and let it dry, as directed, before I put anything else on.  I followed it by the Matrix Majik Serum, and the ReNew cream with Renovage.  The combination is amazing!

I had not been feeling well physically for a few days before the products arrived, and I was stressed with a lot of work, and kind of in a funk.  My skin was not looking tippy top, and that always bothers me.  This is why I should not let my products run out before I order something new, but I digress.

The morning after the first application of the new GoW products, my skin DID look noticeably better.  Now, I am not going to tell you that I looked 10 years younger, and nor does the Garden of Wisdom site make this claim, but I looked a lot healthier.  I cannot quite find the correct word–but healthier, younger, more radiant, less dull looking–those words would all apply.

I have stuck to this regime, morning and night, adding a night cream—the Dress Green Pure Hydration Cream–after the ReNew cream has been on for a bit.  This morning, I woke up, and not only was my skin looking really good, but my skin looked plumper, and my fine lines were far less obvious.  If this keeps up, I may have to buy full sizes of all three products.  But, this is to be a review of the Skin Communicator Serum.

This serum is very light, and has a water-like consistency.  The directions say to apply 2-3 drops to damp skin, and when my skin is damp, that small amount glides on easily, and seems to be the perfect amount.  The Garden of Wisdom Skin Communicator serum contains Anemarrhena Asphodeloides, which helps increase skin volume by stimulating the skin cells.  It is also antibacterial.

Rice protein, white lily extract, collagen and hyaluronic acid are also in the serum, along with Syntakes, which are peptides said to increase skin firmness, decrease wrinkles, and improve skin tone, structure, and tone.  It smells clean, and very light.  Other companies that use Syntakes in their products include:

Arcona Peptide Firming Complex Regenerate AM/P ($72)
M Lab Anti-aging Blemish Control ($175)
Canyon Ranch Age Transforming Concentrate Serum ($150)
RTOV Intensive Facial Lift Stimulator ($48)
Isomers Stem Genesis ($75)
Peter Thomas Roth’s Unwrinkle Night ($110)

That makes $27.90 seem like a drop in the bucket for an ounce of the terrific serum.  A review on the GoW site has a user telling us that her skin looked brighter, and plumper after using the serum, and those are the words that I would use, too.   When I use it alone, on the back of my hand, my hand feels smooth as silk.  This is a truly lovely serum, and when used with other products, it really packs a wonderful wallop to against signs of aging.  Oh, and I haven’t worn makeup since I got the products, and I still think that I look pretty darn good!  Well worth a try!

Since the Holiday Blast Collection of 2008, Miss K has created many, wonderous, limited edition eye shadow collections, and many of the superb colors from those collections will be brought back permanently.  This is not so with the extremely popular, extremely festive, extremely beautiful Holiday Blast Collection, as these colors were created with discontinued pigments, so when their little pieces of Christmas eye candy are gone, they are gone for good!

I adore the Holiday Blast Collection, and own several full sized shades from last year.  I began by ordering a full set of samples, and from that I ordered  sparkle infused, coral, Spiked Punch–the color that I was *sure* that I would like the very least from the pictures, as well as  the pure, liquid gold, Party Dress.  As time went by, I added the terrific, glittery, tea rose, High Heels and the wine/brown shimmering, Times Square to my personal collection, having missed out on getting the best seller–Champagne Toast.

Oy!  So, here I sit, and this collection has JUST been released, and I have promised myself that I will not spend other dime on makeup in 2009, and there is that Champagne Toast staring at me saying, “Buy me!  You must have me, too!”  What is a girl to do?  Exercise some restraint?  Email my kids and tell them Mommy wants it for Christmas?  Or, will I just break down and buy it….  It’s too close to call at this time.  More news at 11—not tonight, but, I will let you know what I decide!  In the meantime—go look!  Time’s a wastin’!

In the end, I choose sample sizes of the GoW Cell Communicator Serum, The GoW Matrix Majik Serum, and the GoW reNew Cream with Renovage.  These products all look terrific, and I love the way they are made–without junk.  It does bother me a bit that this Renovage stuff may not be 100% natural, but I believe that it is something worth trying, and that it would not be used in a GoW product were it deemed harmful in any way.

Frankly, my mind has been wandering into less than good territory, and I keep hearing all of the Retin-A hype.  I cannot afford the cost of Retin-A, but I *could* afford it if I bought it from a Canadian online pharmacy.  But, what is in the base of those Retin-A creams and gels?  I do not know, and I do not like no knowing.  Would you use a prescription strength retinol cream?  Would you order it from Canada?  Fuel for another blog post…

If I am happy with the new Garden of Wisdom products, then it will take my mind off if buying an unknown from Canada.  Also, should I finally decide toss my hat into the retinol ring, I will choose the Garden of Wisdom Vite Resurface retinol cream.  For that, I will wait until after they holiday spending season, and until after I have given these new serums and creams a good try.

I love nothing more than getting little packages in the mail, especially if they contain makeup, and skin care products, so once these GoW beauties arrive, I will let you know, and begin my experiments.  Being a human guinea pig really it’s as bad as people claim it is   Ta-ta for now!

Besides, I have nothing to review if I try nothing new, right?  I am all out of my beloved Garden of Wisdom Summer serum, with the coffeeberry, and since summer is over, so is my shine–for now.  I am also out of a hyaluronic acid serum, and DMAE serum, but I want to try something new, something with more zing for my aging skin–and of course, it will be something more expensive.  I read some of the skin care routines that GoW fans use, and I have a pretty bare bones program going here, but then I make a lot of face food stuff that works wonders, too, and does the job of some of these products.

So, right now, I am looking at the following products from Garden of Wisdom.  I know hat I am going to buy the Crisp Apple Hydrating Mist.  What I do not know is what comes next, and I am asking for you help.  Here are the products that I am considering:

The Garden of Wisdom Skin Communicator Serum–this is a peptide serum with Syntakes peptides, as well as rice protein, white lily, and hyaluronic acid.  It costs $27 for an ounce, while skin care companies such as Peter Thomas Roth, and many others charge $110 and on up for products containing the syntakes peptides.  Those who have reviews this serum say that it works wonders, plumping the skin and making it look better, and more radiant, too.

My other possibility is the GoW Renew cream with Renovage–another thing fancy skin care companies use.  This cream has lingonberry fruit extract, and seed oil, or reduce photo-aging, lift and firm the skin, and to lighten age spots.  The Renovage is said to help with cell structural recovery.  Again, rave reviews, and Renovage is suppose to ward off signs of aging, as well as healing skin.  Hmmm….this stuff is $32 for an ounce.

And then there is the GoW Matrix Majik Anti-Aging serum with M, DMAE, and R-ALA–lifting, and so forth.  This is $24.60 for an ounce.  See why I wish everything could be packing into one bottle, or jar?

Finally, there is the Vita Resuface Retinol Cream, which cost $48 for the 1% strength, and we all know that retinol is the *must have* anti-aging product.  This cream has a sample size, but I suspect you do not see results after sampling.  I will probably get the sample size anyway.

I want to try them all!  Alright, I have a sample size of all four product in my cart right now.  I removed the hydrating mist–it can wait.   What do you all think?  Should I try them all, or go full size one at a time?  Please!  Help me out there!  This is tough, and I want to know what you would like to see reviewed, too!  Comments please!  Thanks gang!

When the collection first came out I immediately bought full sizes of three eye shadows, the Serenade, Clara, and Coppelia–I had missed out on full sizes from other L.E collections and that was not going to happen again! Later, I bought the delightful Dulcinea, and some samples, among them, Elegie.

Elegie scared me when I first saw the collection, as it looks very deep, almost black. It is described as follows on the Aromaleigh site:

Elegie: A dark dose of shimmering jewels. Add to other shades to deepen and dramatize, use wet-lined or all-over for a magnificent, glimmering smokey eye.

Anyway, my sample arrived, and I put a swatch on the back of my hand an fell in love–alas, too late to get a full size. I have used it wetlined, as a linter, and has since played with the ample sample in other ways. Elegie has been in several eBay auctions that Miss K has held to benefit the American Cancer Association, but since everyone adores it, the bidding got too rich for my blood.

When Kristen brought the En Pointe L.E eye shadow collection back last week, for a two week engagement, I snapped up a full size within minutes! It arrived over the weekend, and oh my, you must try!

It the jar, it looks like a medium, twinkling, gray. I have it on the back of my hand right now, and the smokey base is almost a blue/black, or a very deep gray, and the myriad of glittering, dazzling, colorful sparks, are like the aurora borealis.

I see blue, green, pink, silver, gold–frankly, it is hard for me to tell, as the colors play off of each other, like a prism, they mix and separate to make all of the colors of the rainbow. If I still had the figure I had in my 20′s and 30′s, I might paint it all over myself to create a glorious holiday dress–but that wouldn’t flatter a woman of my age The little jar of Elegie is so jam packed with eye shadow, that I might just have enough!

If you want to add a little dazzle and jazz to your holiday eyes, get on over to Aromaleigh, and take a look at Elegie eye shadow from the En Pointe Collection. Hurry, hurry–it will be gone again November 16th. Some colors will become permanent, and this may be one, but why risk it? Oh, and they are priced at 25% off, right now, too. Did I say hurry yet?

What I found is that pears are very good for your skin when eaten, but they contain vitamins and minerals that can benefit your skin from the outside, too.  Pears are rich in that all important vitamin C, and they also have a very high copper content, and copper is a wonderful antioxidant.  I found the following blurb about copper and skin care at skincarerx.com:

“The science involving the use of Copper Peptides in skin care products is relatively new. Copper Peptide is an exciting new ingredient used to prevent and treat the signs of aging. Products are popping up everywhere containing Copper and claiming “face lift in a bottle.” Clinical studies have shown significant improvement in the appearance of fine lines, blotchy skin, and firmness with the use of Copper Peptide products.

Copper is a powerful collagen and elastin promoter and acts as an antioxidant. Generally speaking, peptides are small fragments of proteins. Certain kinds of peptides have an avid affinity for copper, so they bind to it very tightly. The resulting compound consisting of a peptide and a copper atom has become known as a copper peptide. All products containing Copper are not created equal so you must be careful when choosing your products.”

Neova makes the line of skin care products containing copper.  A one ounce bottle of the Neova copper peptide serum costs $103, and that is a discounted price.  Ouch!  I could never justify spending that much money on an ounce of of a serum.  So, using inexpensive pears in your homemade skin care regimen will not only improve your skin, but by going right to the source, you will save a whole lot of money, too.

This is what I whipped up as a result of my research, spurred on by a mushy pear.  After taking a few bites out of the least mooshy part of the pear, I tossed it into the food processer, skin and all.  I then added a small fist full of oatmeal, for the soothing beta glucans, a tablespoon of lemon juice of those exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids, and for more vitamin .  I added about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder for added decadent, and antioxidant polyphnols, and topped it off with a dollop of pumpkin puree, for vitamin A and C, and powerful AHA’s.  I also added some brown sugar, which is also contains AHA’s.

The whir, whir, whir, until all was well blended.  The resulting mask glop had the perfect “stay put” consistency–just thick enough, and not runny.  I smeared it thickly all over my face, then went about my business for about 30 minutes.  When I rinsed the mask off with warm water, my skin was baby soft, and my fine lines were softened, as well, though not as dramatically as the pumpkin apple peel mask.

My skin did glow, but it was also a tad in the pinkish side.  This is not a bad thing, as it is often a result of the AHA peeling action, and it quickly went away.  Today, when I repeated the mask with the leftover, I only left it on for between 15 and 20 minutes.  I then applied my moisturizer, and my mineral makeup, which went on smoothly, and beautifully.

I give this cocoa pear mask about an 8 out of 10.  I just took a looksee, and my fine lines still look less apparent, but the plumping action is just not quite as powerful as the pumpkin apple mask.  I will continue to use this mask in the future, as it smells great, and my skin is very soft.  It’s nice to have another seasonal fruit mask to add to my natural skin care arsenal.  If you try it let me know how it works for you!

Miss K describes this glorious collection as follows:

“Inspired by one of my great loves… the ballet.

This is a gathering of lush shades, not just the expected ballet pink. For me, ballet is dramatic, emotional, and full of tragic beauty. With almost 20 years of ballet study, I watch not only dreaming that I could be on the stage, but knowing the iron strength and control that the most ethereal, graceful dancer must have.

“En Pointe” has a little bit of everything… plush matte shades with graceful iridescent highlights, a brilliant shimmering black and white that can make any color into whatever you imagine, and some lovely frosts with multi-faceted effects. Most of this year’s collections have been straight frosts with vivid sparkling highlights, but this collection is more understated while still being full of mystery and transient beauty.”

During the En Pointe Limited Edition Eye Sadow Collection’s first run, I bought full sizes of several, which I almost never do.  I usually try before I buy, with samples.  I chose to get Serenade, Clara, Calliope, and Dulcinea when the collection was first released.  I adore all of the colors that I own.

I swear Kristen made Serenade just for me, as the matte teal, with the violet iridescence makes my blue eye sparkle and shine.  A look with the neutral, beige Calliope as a highlight color, Serenade, and Clara–a smoky purple with pink and blue iridescence is always a winner, whether I use the Serenade on the lid and Clara in the crease, or the other way around.  The lovely Dulcinea is a purple matte, that truly is very plush!

When I bought the Dulcinea–after I loved the first three that I had bought from the collection, I also ordered samples of other shades, including Elegie, and Glisse.  I wasn’t too sure about either, but wouldn’t you know it, I loved them both–but too late, as the collection was retired before I could snap up a full size of each.  Glisse made a perfect crease color, and thesparkly, black Elegie that scared me so makes a stunning, wet lined, eye liner.  I was so disappointed that I had missed them!

Anyway, that all changed Sunday night at about 11:55 p.m., thanks to the re-release of the En Pointe Collection, and a dandy 31 percent off coupon code for being a Facebook faf.  Not a fan yet?  I urge you to become one, as the specials Aromaleigh offers to Facebook fans are simply wonderful.  Anyway, the code ended at 11:59 p.m., and i got my order for Elegie and Glisse in just under the wire.  I have not gotten them yet, but will review them when I do.

I truly wish that I could post a picture, but you can see the L.E. En Pointe eye shadow collection for yourself on the Aromaleigh website–but, only for two small weeks, so hurry!  Some colors will be coming back permanently, but who knows which ones?  You had better try these truly fabulous eye shadow colors before the En Pointe Collection is retired again, so that you have time to sample, then buy–do not miss out.  You will regret it, as I did with Elegie and Glisse.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Go!