December 9, 2016

GlamGlow's lip balm-meets-lip color, PCA Skin's serious skin-redness solution, a coffee-table book for makeup mavens and Moroccanoil helps your hair survive the holiday season.

Essie "Maki Me Happy"

Never have to choose between lip balm and lip color again

I honestly couldn’t tell you how many times a day I apply lip balm. I keep them everywhere, from my bag and my desk to my night table, in the kitchen and even in my car. But I often find myself in a conundrum when I want to look put together but my lips need extra moisture. Traditional lipstick takes care of the color but not the dryness, and regular balm makes my lips comfy but leaves my makeup looking incomplete. If this sounds familiar, here’s the best news you’ve heard all day…

GlamGlow’s amazing PoutMud Wet Lip Balm Treatment is now available in a tinted version (actually six different hues, to be exact). Featuring the same smoothing, softening and hydrating blend of butters and oils, powerful antioxidant punch and light mint flavor as the original, the new PoutMud Tints give you all the benefits of a balm plus buildable color. Whether you opt for nude, peach, pink, red or plum, you’ll never have to choose between balm and lip color again!

And since the holiday season coincides with chapped-lip season, the Sexy PoutMud set (available exclusively at Nordstrom) includes three PoutMuds for the price of two, making it the perfect stocking-stuffer or Secret Santa/White Elephant gift!

Relieve skin redness fast—and prevent it from coming back

Whether your skin is irritated from a product or procedure, flushed from blustery winds, or just freaking out for no reason, the struggle with redness is real. There are countless causes for red, sensitive skin (including environmental factors like weather and skin conditions like rosacea), but in more cases than not, a compromised skin barrier is to blame. Not only does this give moisture the green light to leave (resulting in dry, flaky skin), it can also allow irritants in—and that’s when skin gets red and uncomfortable.

Good news! PCA Skin recently debuted the Dual Action Redness Relief, which is a targeted treatment that goes to work on flare-ups by strengthening the skin’s barrier and delivering a steady stream of calming, soothing ingredients to the cells responsible for redness. This means you’ll see improvement in redness as soon as you apply it, and fewer flare-ups with ongoing use. Oh, and your skin will feel cooler and more comfortable, too. Best of all, you just might be able to kick your yellow color-corrector to the curb! 

The book any beauty buff would love to get

You’re officially an adult when you get excited about a book. Last year my mom bought me Face Paint by Lisa Eldridge for Chanukah and I keep it on my desk so I can escape into its pages when I need a break, even for just a minute or two. Though perfectly suited for the coffee table in my living room, I hardly ever sit in there so I’d hardly get to enjoy it, and what’s the point of that? Stunning photography aside, I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the art and history of makeup.

Thanks to the recent launch of Dior: The Art of Color, I’m itching to expand my grown-up book collection. With 12 chapters devoted to different hues, this tome covers the history of Dior’s cosmetics, as well as their inspiration and influence on the fashion house’s legendary style. Featuring iconic advertisements, memorable work by some of the century’s greatest makeup artists and captivating images shot by the biggest and best photographers in the biz, the text doesn’t disappoint either. Not only do you get style and substance, you’ll also get brownie points for giving a great gift…

Help your hair survive the holiday season

A social calendar filled with events, parties and get-togethers translates to a lot of stress on your tresses in a short period of time. Proper prep before styling and extra TLC in between can go a long way—and Moroccanoil’s VIP Treatment Set has everything you need to preserve the health of your hair through New Year’s and well beyond.

Essential #1: A multitasking treatment. The original Moroccanoil Treatment can be used to condition, style and add a finishing touch to any style, and you get a full-size bottle of this nourishing, reparative argan oil-based elixir.

Essential #2: A deep-conditioning mask. Extra moisture is key for helping your hair stand up to repeated heat styling, and the Intense Hydrating Mask is up to the task. Once you experience the immediate improvement in texture, elasticity, shine and manageability, you’ll never want to be without it.

Essential #3: The perfect hairspray. Luminous Hairspray Strong delivers everything you could possibly want from a hairspray—i.e. flexible hold, shine and frizz-fighting power that brushes out without flaking.

We know this is one of the busiest times of the year, and with this set you can at least cross your hair (and possibly a gift or two) off your list!