La Bella Figura Daily Elements Defense Face Oil

If you haven't noticed already by my posts or my twitter feed; I have a serious love affair with La Bella Figura. Victoria and Karen are pretty much skincare magicians as far as I am concerned. Everything (and I mean everything) I have tried from them is pretty much golden. The reason being is that not only are their products elegant and feel good, but they are effective and have loads of science behind their ingredient choices. Just check out their blog. You can tell these ladies love some science. And from one science geek to another I totally appreciate that. 

The newest addition to the LBF family is the Daily Elements Defense Face Oil. This face oil features a great new antioxidant - Sacha Inichi oil. Antioxidants in skincare are excellent defenders. They help to protect your skin from free radicals caused by environmental exposure. Free radicals can cause all sorts of nasty cellular damage leading to collagen and elastin loss. Not to mention fine lines, wrinkles and age spots! Ick! 

By using a serum that contains an antioxidant in your morning routine you'll help to protect your skin from future damage. Plus vitamin A and E are wonderful to help repair any damage that's already been done. They help with circulation and cell turnover which leaves you with a radiant complexion. Who doesn't love ingredients that do that?!

You can find this serum over at La Bella Figura. It runs $95 USD. Which is yes pricier than other things out there but the wealth of science and knowledge that goes into each product as well as the best sourced ingredients totally makes it worth it to me. 


*I was kindly gifted this serum by the lovely ladies at La Bella Figura. All opinions on this product are very much my own and I would totally repurchase this!*

Products I'd Repurchase - A Green Beauty Collab!

I'm doing a Green Beauty Collab with some other lovely vloggers and bloggers. Brianna from iluvjesse444 started this idea and will have the master list over on her site. 

 I love this idea because it's different than an empties video. It's all the stuff I'd really go back out and buy. As well as some things I just plain can't live without. Surprisingly enough I don't have a blush in this mix. I guess since they discontinued my old standby I haven't found the HG blush to win my heart again. I hope you enjoy finding out some of my favorites as well as products I'd continue to repurchase.

Link to the Master List

Products Featured:

Jane Iredale 

Amazing Base, Liquid Minerals, and Bitty Brow Kit 

Tarte 

Joy LipSurgence and Gifted Mascara

Ilia

Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang

rms beauty

"un" cover-up in 11

DeVita

Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30+

La Bella Figura

Cold Pressed Barbary Fig Seed Oil, Daily Elements Defense Oil*, and La Curacio

Olie Biologique

Organic Argan Oil

Osmia Organics

Spot Treatment

All products except those denoted by an * were purchased by me.

Products denoted by an * were gifted. 

I am not paid for my opinion and only review honestly. 

I will only recommend products that I LOVE. 

Burt's Bees Lip Shines Video Review!

So here's my first ever video appearance. 

I'm reviewing my new favorite lip gloss from Burt's Bees. 

If you like it I'll try another one again soon. 

=)

Alexis

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.