Bye Bye Razor Burn

The first time I ever heard of Gabriel Couzian was through a New York publicist. She sent me a free sample of the washing oil, and honestly, I had no idea what to do with it. I'd never used washing oil. In fact, I didn't even know what to use it for. So after we shot it for this magazine where I used to work, I just took it home and put it in my bathroom. And there it stayed for several months.

I don't know what possessed me to use it to shave my legs. I think maybe I ran out of shaving cream and didn't want to use body wash (both of which cause razor burn, but the body wash is worse than the shaving cream), so I just tried the washing oil. YOU GUYS!!!! It was the most glorious shaving experience I've ever had in my life. I had no nicks or cuts, my legs were smoother than ever, and the best part...NO RAZOR BURN!

The huge bottle lasted several months and even my mom started using it. We were both in awe of how amazing it was, and the fact that my legs no longer itched after shaving no matter how much lotion I used was heavenly. Recently, I ran out and tried to use baby oil. It didn't work. All it did was clog up my razor and ruin it. So I went back to shaving cream and, of course, the itching and bumps were back. I wasn't sure if the washing oil was available for sale because I had originally got it from a publicist for free, but I checked out the Gabriel Couzian website and there it was. I did a bit of a happy dance upon finding out that I could order it online. At $45 it is pricey, and with shipping it came out to $54. But, honestly, it's so worth it. I know it will last me at least four months because you only need a quarter-sized amount and the bottle is huge, so the price is justified.

If you can afford it, and if you suffer from razor burn, I highly recommend the Gabriel Couzian washing oil.

The Truth About Mineral Makeup

Here's the entire mineral makeup collection from Ultimo Cosmetics. I got it for $30 off of eBay with FREE shipping. A really good deal and the quality is great, too. Now I've never tried Bare Escentuals, but I can't imagine that it's a whole lot superior to Ultimo or any other mineral makeup brand (btw, you may have noticed that EVERYONE has jumped on the mineral makeup bandwagon, from Estee Lauder to MAC). My favorite items in the collection have got to be Warmth and Silk. Warmth is like a bronzer without the sparkle. It gives a really natural-looking, warm (haha) glow to the face. Silk is simply awesome. It brightens up your complexion with light-reflecting prisms that literally give you a fresh-faced glow. One thing I have noticed about mineral makeup is subpar coverage. If you have a lot of acne or very dark undereye circles, you'll get much better coverage with a cream concealer.

Mosaic Masterpiece

I got this pink mosaic blush at the drugstore for less than $5. Let me tell you that it works just as well as any other blush including the ones that cost $20 (in this economy?! I don't think so.) I recommend a mosaic blush to a regular blush that is basically just one color. Why? Because the different shades in a mosaic blush offer more dimension to your cheek color, making the glow to your cheeks look more authentic. Instead of looking like a painted up harlot, you look like a blushing bride. Much better.

Benefit: Big Beautiful Eyes

Alliteration aside, Benefit's eye palette, "Big Beautiful Eyes," is all kinds of awesome. It works with every eye color, and the little guide booklet makes it easy for anyone to apply. This is one of the many reasons I love Benefit: they include two types of brushes, an undereye concealer and three different types of shadows. Just pack this palette and a tube of lipgloss and you can backpack through Europe without the need for any additional makeup item.

*Please excuse my horrible pictures brought to you by my iPhone.

Bobbi Brown: The Normal One

Even though I know that this Bobbi Brown is not the wife-beating, crack-smoking former boy bander, it still gives me a jolt every time I see this name on a tube of lipstick or bottle of nail polish.
Fortunately, I recover a second later and remind myself that this particular Bobbi Brown was blessed with the beauty skills of a goddess, and then I can go ahead and purchase the lotions and potions that will magically (albeit temporarily) transform me into a gorgeous sex pixie, or something.

Sun-Kissed

My second favorite beauty product (after mascara, that is): bronzer! I'm pale and anything that brings me even one iota closer to looking like a bronze goddess, aka Gisele Bundchen, is like a gift from heaven. I wonder if angels are tan...I mean, they must be awfully close to the sun, right?

Photo credit: Karla Ticas/ http://www.karlaticas.com/

Yum!

I just realized that one of the major reasons why I love makeup is because it reminds me of food. Like these lipglosses from Lorac - they look like little pieces of hard candy! I wanna suck on all of them! In fact, I tend to eat my lipgloss off as soon as I apply it.

Zit Blaster

This is the coolest thing EVER! It literally blasts the zits right off your face overnight. Ok fine, it really just makes them much smaller and practically invisible, but when it comes to zits that's pretty amazing. All you have to do is dab a small amount all over the pimple, go to sleep, wake up and look gorgeous! This is especially perfect for those zits that are white in the middle and red on the sides. Ewwwwwwwww!

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, $17

Honey Pot

Here's a potted lip gloss (Hot Wired, $24) from Nars that makes me hungry everytime I look at it. It's just so creamy and inviting kinda like a pot of honey. It goes on smoothly when applied with a lip brush and doesn't bleed through, which is a problem I tend to have with my lip makeup. Great, now I'm hungry again.

photography Karla Ticas/ karlaticas.com

Mineral Mascara

The mineral makeup craze doesn't look like it's gonna let up anytime soon. It used to be the type of makeup you'd only hear about on late-night infomercials, but over the past two years or so mineral makeup has gone mainstream. Even drugstore brands like Maybelline have added a mineral collection (btw, Maybelline's mineral face powders are really good).

Just when you thought the mineral stuff was always gonna be in loose powder form, a makeup company steps in to prove you wrong. For example, Kiehl's new Mineral Mascara (I'm not exactly sure how they did it, but it sounds intriguing). It will officially be available in April, retailing for about $20. So, make sure you look out for it especially if you're a mascara junkie like me.