July 21, 2017

My French pharmacy haul from St. Barth's, I can't get enough of Soleil Toujours' sun-protection products and taking myself back to St. Barth's with this Fekkai hair-fragrance mist.

Would you try this makeup trend?

The first rule about makeup is that there aren’t really any rules at all. I’m willing to try just about anything once—whether it’s a glossy eye or peacock-colored liner—and I often surprise myself with a fun, fresh look. A new trend I’m on the fence about is brow glitter, and while this may be more appropriate for Burning Man than camp visiting day (in 9 days!), it’s definitely worth a gander.

There are a variety of ways to bling-out your brows—think Elmer’s glue and loose glitter, a shimmery pencil, or Bbrowbar’s Brow Glitter (which is definitely the easiest). This lightweight get features a spoolie applicator for precise sparkle placement, and it washes off easily with soap and water. Available in gold and silver, check it out for yourself at Saks Fifth Avenue’s two New York City locations, or on Net-a-Porter. (It hasn’t popped up on the site just yet, but it should be there any day now!)

The French pharmacy products I couldn’t resist

My recent trip to St. Maarten and St. Barth’s was filled with fun in the sun—and multiple pharmacies. Spotting a green cross down the street got me more excited than seeing a waiter approaching with a frosty beverage, and I felt like a kid in a candy store every time I stepped into one of these beauty-junkie havens. Sure the shelves were stocked with French favorites such as La Roche-Posay and Vichy (which we can fortunately get here), but I kept my eyes peeled for labels that looked unfamiliar, and here are the products that made their way home with me.

Hei Poa SPF 50 Oil
There is so much to love about this sunscreen. I personally prefer using an oil because it hydrates and give your skin such a lovely vacation-esque sheen. Obviously water-resistant SPF 50 is a major bonus, but the best part about this sunscreen is the monoi scent, which might be my favorite ever. I honestly wish I could wear this every day.

Embryolisse Hydra-Masque
I’ll admit I accidentally bought this thinking it was the Lait-Crème Concentré, but this turned out to be one of my best mistakes ever. I used this hydrating mask the night I bought it to soothe my skin after a little too much sun, and it instantly plumped, smoothed and revived my skin. A winner.

NaturActive Allergen’spray
At this point, I’d try just about anything to get relief from my allergies, so this was a no-brainer. With a combination of essential oils including orange peel, eucalyptus, lemon, lavender, chamomile and a bunch of others that I can’t translate from French, I’ve been spraying it around my bedroom at night and in my office during the day. I’m not quite sure if it’s helping my congestion since I take Allegra every morning, but at the very least it makes a great room fragrance.

Ladrome Eau de Fleur d’Oranger
You don’t need a translator to get that this is straight-up orange blossom water and I may never use anything else as a facial mist again. The scent is divine, and you can literally feel the hydration penetrating your skin as soon as you spray it on.

Biafine Emulsion
I first came across this product more than 10 years ago (I can’t remember how), and I nearly squealed when I saw it at a pharmacy in St. Barth’s. Basically the European version of Neosporin—but SO much better—it heals blemishes and boo boos in record time. With little Google searching you can find it here, but obviously the price is much less abroad. I should have bought two.

I could have bought a ton more stuff, but with my husband giving me the side-eye from the supplement section and an already overweight suitcase in my hotel room, I figured these had me covered. What do you stock up on when you’re abroad?

A trick that will make you WANT to put on sunscreen

When at the beach or on a boat, everyone makes fun of me when I bust out my sunscreen bag—because they can’t understand how I could possibly need 10 separate products to protect my hair and skin in such a variety of ways. Although my face and body are definitely more tan than they’ve been in quite some time, I’ve managed to avoid getting burned so far this summer, so I’m obviously doing something right. But my motivation to ‘screen up before leaving the house isn’t primarily about wrinkles and skin cancer… It’s that I really, really enjoy fancy products, and if I have them, I’m totally using them.

I have to give Soleil Toujours some of the credit, because I probably wouldn’t be as diligent if I hadn’t received a box of their incredibly high-end sun-protection products a few weeks ago. Everything is either natural or organic, and the formulas are infused with advanced anti-aging ingredients like red algae, vitamin E, vitamin C and bisabolol (because can’t forget about those pesky free radicals or the fact that our skin can always use a little soothing after sun exposure).

So here’s my lineup… Before I leave the house, I slather on the Extréme UV Mineral SPF 45 for Face and spray my chest and back with the Organic Sheer Sunscreen Mist SPF 30. Fortunately my drive-time to the beach gives the SPF the necessary 15 minutes to absorb, and then I start phase two upon setting into my chair. This is when I use the 100% Mineral Sunscreen Glow SPF 30 to give my arms and legs a tone-evening tint with subtle shimmer—and broad-spectrum UV protection that feels light even when I get a little hot and sweaty. (I have this in the non-tinted version as well, and my husband has claimed it as his own.)

And last, but certainly not least, the Organic Set + Protect Micro Mist SPF 30 has been a total game-changer. As someone who wears a teeny bit of makeup to the beach (mainly AmorePacific CC Cushion with SPF 50), I’m reluctant to reapply as not to mess things up—even though I KNOW I should be touching up at least every two hours. This mist—which smells INSANE, BTW) makes it’s easy (and enjoyable). It also features antioxidants to prevent environmental damage, and it leaves my skin feeling moisturized and with a radiant glow. It’s so good it’s sold out, but get on that waitlist!

So my secret for optimal sun safety is luxury, plain and simple. You have to want to use your sun protection, and I’m hooked on Soleil Toujours. Trust me… If you try it, you will be, too!

Keep your hair looking and smelling fresh

If you’re an anti-blower (when it comes to your hair, that is), you probably use the sniff test to assess whether you can get away with one more day. This is why I always check to see if a new perfume I want has a coordinating hair mist (for the record, Byredo’s most popular scents do, which was great news when I finally placed by Gypsy Water order).

But I always need an “every day” hair fragrance (since I try to conserve my more expensive perfumes if I’m not really going anywhere), and these days I’m digging Fekkai’s Soleil Hair Fragrance Mist L’air de St. Barths. It has a fresh, zesty citrus scent that diffuses odor, and it controls frizz and adds shine to boot. Best of all, it won’t weigh hair down—and if you close your eyes and take a deep breath, you just might feel like you’re steps away from the water on the soft, sandy beach of St. Barth’s.