DeVita Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30+

I love finding new sunscreens! I'm a bit obsessive about my sun protection being so fair and having burnt so often as a kid. After I trained as an Esthetician I really started to realize the importance of finding a good full spectrum sunscreen that I could use daily. It even kicked in further as I learned of more and more cases of skin cancer with younger people. So I do my best to protect my skin as well as making sure friends, family and anyone who will listen (and sometimes the ones who won't) about sunscreen. I found out about this SPF from a few of my favorite green beauty bloggers. 

This DeVita Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30 is the latest and greatest in natural sun protection as far as I am concerned. Most natural SPFs are thick, chalky and generally not cosmetically elegant. No one wants to put something on their face that feels like paste. DeVita's SPF is pretty much the opposite of thick and chalky. It's smooth and easily absorbed. Hyaluronic Acid and glycerin make this a light hydrating SPF that can be used daily. It also rates a 1 on the EWG Skin Deep site.  I've been loving it so much that I'm thinking about getting their body formulation. So that once arms and legs are exposed here in a few months I can protect those too. 

Here's the ingredients!
NO NANO TECHNOLOGY! (average particle size is 240 nm).
ACTIVE INGREDIENT: Zinc oxide 19%. INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Aloe barbadensis (certified organic aloe vera gel), Purified Water (aqua), Capric/caprylic triglycerides (derived from coconut oil), Glycerin (vegetable), Hyaluronic acid (vegan source), Glyceryl stearate SE (derived from vegetable oil), Stearic acid, Lecithin phospholipid, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Allantoin, Vitis vinifera (grape) seed extract. 

Do you use an SPF daily? What's your favorite one? 

This product runs $25.95. 
Product purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Sensational Sunday!

Green Beauty Blog Highlights Week Four!

Pemberly Jones finds a new favorite with Acure Organics Everyday Clarifying Shampoo & Conditioner

Beauty By Britanie shares some of her tips on the Power of Positive Thinking

kimberlyloc shows off her styling skills for the Kansas City Fashion Week Kickoff

Beauty Huile checks out the Know Your Ingredients Oil, Serum and Mask

iluvjesse444 teaches you How to Go Natural with Hand and Body Moisturizers

Eco Beauty Secrets tries a DIY Grapefruit Body Scrub

Pure Makeup gives us a Makeup Spending Plan Update

Naturally Blushed gets super soft with Weleda Citrus Refreshing Body Oil

Genuine Glow sees who's top in comparing highlighters RMS Beauty vs W3LL People

Sugarpuffish tells us what she's ran out of with her February Empties Video

Naturalla Beauty shares her latest discovery in her All Natural Face Haul

zenfemi gives a great mask recipe using Now Foods European Clay

True Beauty by Nature finds an eye cream that works with Mad Hippies Eye Cream

And coming up on my blog you'll see my favorite SPF and a lovely new serum. 

Have a great week everyone!!

Alexis

La Bella Figura Bio Active Healing Mask

Feeling dry? I don't know many people lately who aren't. It's been a doozy of a winter for everyone's skin. For me I've been not only dry but also having the fun occasional breakout. When my skin is feeling parched and out of control I reach for this little gem of a mask. La Bella Figura's Bio Active Healing Mask is a  "regenerative and hydrating Bio Active Healing Mask is a curative treatment for dry, irritated and mature skin conditions." 

It's made with bio active Manuka Honey, a power ingredient known for it's unique enzyme and antibacterial properties. This ingredient not only helps to hydrate and heal but also is excellent for clearing up breakouts. They also have a Purifying mask for more oily/breakout prone skin. 

This mask has a ton of antioxidant properties as well as ingredients that help with cell turnover (a key to anti-aging). There's also the addition of turmeric and calendula that help to soothe the skin. Use this mask a couple times a month to help keep your skin in shape. 

My personal routine with it is to apply a lovely layer all over and let it sit between 15-30 minutes and then rinse it off. There is a bit of texture to the mask so you get a little exfoliation too. Which is okay by me as I like multi-tasking products. 

Now for the ingredients!

Ingredients: Organic Leptospermum Scoparium Mel 15+ (Raw Manuka Honey), Organic Aronia Melanocarpa (Organic Aronia Berry) Powder, Kaolin (Amazonian White Clay), Organic Opuntia Ficus Indica (Barbary Fig) Seed Oil, Organic Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Organic Vanilla Planifolia Fruit (Vanilla) Seeds, Organic Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Petals, Organic Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Extract, Organic Curcuma Longa (Turmeric Essential) Oil, Wild Crafted Jasminum Grandiflorum (Jasmine Essential) Oil, Wild Crafted Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed  Oil, Organic Non-GMO Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) Oil

Seriously who wouldn't want to use this with an ingredient list like that? 

Tarte Smooth Operator Finishing Powder

I keep trying to write this post but all I end up doing is singing Sade's "Smooth Operator" and dancing away from the computer. So I'm going to try to focus for a minute. 

I've been looking for a new setting powder since my beloved Jane Iredale one has been discontinued. After seeing favorable reviews across the web I decided to take the plunge and buy a container of Tarte's Smooth Operator.

 This powder it touted to be "A translucent, silky finishing powder with Amazonian clay that keeps makeup in place and diffuses imperfections." It's comprised of silica, kaolin, lecithin, lysophosphatidic acid, lysolecithin. The silica and kaolin give the powder a very silky feel on the skin. When I opened the container, unlike other mineral powders this product only has one sifter hole. I was pretty confused at first. But I found that you need just the tiniest amount to set your whole face. 

I can say that I really didn't love the feeling of this powder all over my face. Don't get me wrong it did a great job and my makeup didn't even think about moving but my face felt so silky that it was a little unnerving. I want my makeup to stay in place but I also want my face to feel like skin. 

So I've been using this on places where my makeup tends to slide. Under my eyes it's kind of amazing. Around the nose and chin - fantastic! Now if you are a more oily person than myself you may love this all over but it just wasn't for me. I'll keep using it as spot setting powder. I do think this could be amazing for brides or theater though. 
You get just over 9 grams of powder for $29 which feels like it will last ages. 

This product was purchased by me and all opinions are my own. 

ecoTOOLS Naturally Beautiful Lash System

When I saw these floating about the internet I knew that the next time I went shopping I had to find them. Especially since they are by one of my favorite eco-friendly, super affordable brush companies. I found these lovely lashes at my local ULTA. 

ecoTOOLS has launched five varieties of their Naturally Beautiful Lash System. Each pair of lashes comes with a little bottle of adhesive as well as a dual-ended lash tool. I picked up two sets of the lashes that I thought I'd get the most use out of. 

'Soft & Dramatic' are a pair of lashes with a bit of va-voom! For me this is about as dramatic as I go. They add tons of volume and just a bit of length,  are a flared style. These will be my go-to lashes for a more dramatic night out. 

The 'Barely There' set is a nice soft flared set of lashes. They are very soft and wispy. When applied to the lashes it just gives them a bit more body and length on the outer edges. 

Both sets of lashes have a slightly thicker band but it's very flexible. If I were to have any type of critique on these lashes it's that I'd like a slightly thinner band. 

The adhesive is a nice formaldehyde-free and latex-free formula. So it's great for ladies who tend to get sensitive while wearing standard lash glue. It has a nice grip to it which makes the lashes easy to apply. This formula dries clear so you don't have to fuss too much with disguising adhesive after application. 

All in all I think these lashes are a great addition to the ecoTOOLS line of products. The lashes are great to work with and I'd seriously pick them up for use on clients. They're not badly priced either at $6 USD but I'm sure you could find them on sale. 

Check out close-up photos of the lashes below!

These lashes were purchased by me and all opinions are my own. 

Cream Blushes

Cream blushes have to be one of my favorite makeup things aside from lip products. I love a good pigmented cream blush. I love the way they meld with skin to look like a natural flush, or can be built up to have some amazing impact. I also think that they're multi-purpose and can be used on cheeks and lips. Who doesn't love a multi-tasking beauty product? 

These are just a few of my favorites that I've been loving this winter. 

Left and Middle - Vapour Organic Beauty Aura Multi-Use Blushes in Torch (fuchsia) and Torch (warm coral)

Very Right - Sula Beauty Lip and Cheek Tint in It's Not Me, It's You (warm Pink)

Bottom- Jane Iredale Cream Blush in Clarity (cooler pink)

Do you have a favorite cream blush that I should try? 

Sensational Saturday #3

Green Beauty Blog Highlights Week Three!

My apologies if you're looking for week #2. It unfortunately went rogue in a too many tabs up incident and I couldn't recover it. Here's to better housekeeping. 

Anyways, on to why you're really here- the blogs!

Pemberly Jones takes a peek inside this month's racy Goodebox.

Beauty By Britanie looks lovely in Emerald Eyes and Feather Earrings. 

kimberlyloc gives the beauty scoop on Stark Skincare Cypress Purity + Defense Oil.

Beauty Huile finds the perfect shade of lip & cheek balm with Isa Restoratives Lilac Rouge.

iluvjesse444 sees who holds up best in her Cream Shadow Showdown.

Eco Beauty Secrets tells us what she'd repurchase out of her Empties.

pure makeup has great tips on how to Reduce Your Use.

Naturally Blushed gets refreshed with Thayer's Lemon Witch Hazel.

Genuine Glow shares Makeup Highlights of 2012.

Sugarpuffish discovers a new skincare line with Sweet Cecily's Natural Skincare. 

Naturalla divulges her hair secrets with her Haircare Routine. 

zenfemi finds a natural flush with Vapour Blushes. 

 True Beauty By Nature gets deep with Ilia Beauty's Lipstick in Ink Pot.

Enjoy and have an amazing weekend!