Bath and Body

Holiday Discount From LaLicious: 25% Off The Collection Gift Set

When I recently received word of this promotion via email, I knew I needed to blog about it immediately for the benefit of my readers.

Ordinarily, I pass on Body Oil. Slathering myself in oil generally makes me feel more like a salad than a woman, but the LaLicious formula is different. LaLicious Body Oil has a gel-like consistency, making it less messy and easier to control while applying. It absorbs rapidly enough that I'm never concerned about staining my clothing, and leaves behind the slightest hint of yummy scent. My super-dry skin just drinks this moisturizing formula right up!

Ordinary retail price for the LaLicous Collection Gift Set (pictured above) is $95, but from November 15 through January 2, you can score 25% off of this set! What a terrific hostess gift this box of 4 full sized products would make.

The Collection Gift Set is offered in the following scents: Brown Sugar & Vanilla, Coconut Cream, Lily Mango, Passionfruit Lime, Island Guava, Tahitian Flower and Peppermint. My pick for the season? Peppermint. Unlike some "mint" scents that can be overpowering in a menthol sort of way, the LaLicious take on Peppermint is sugary sweet, just like a candy cane! Yummy!

Click HERE to visit LaLicious to check out their extraordinary bath and body products!

Blogging The Tria: At Home Laser Hair Removal System

tria review, tria reviews, home laser hair removal Upon receiving my Tria Laser Hair Removal System, I was terrified. Who could blame me? The contraption (pictured at left) looks more like space-aged weaponry than any beauty tool I've ever seen! After weeks of glancing at the box and nervously shuffling by it, I finally decided to take the plunge.

Startup is easy, but for safety reasons, you need to call customer service to activate the laser before your first use. The instruction manual claims this call will last for about 5 minutes. My call took 5 1/2 minutes to almost the second, and only because I asked a LOT of questions.

"Laser Hair Removal" is a bit of a misnomer for Tria. Unlike some hair removal processes, Tria requires no growth at all prior to use. In fact, to use Tria properly, you have to be freshly shaved. What Tria does promise is that over time, the tool will actually prevent hair from regrowing.

Once activated through customer service, you're ready to get started!

tria review, tria reviews, home laser hair removal Each time you use Tria, you need to activate the system using the Tria skin sensor (pictured at left). The sensor determines if your skin is acceptable for the Tria to be used. It also happens to be an excellent way to ensure that the kids don't accidentally play with it!

How to use: Start on the lowest Tria setting, and work your way up to higher settings until you find the feeling too uncomfortable. Some can use Tria on its highest setting with no discomfort. For me, the "high" setting felt hot on my skin, so I kept the device on its medium setting for use.

All three sides of the triangular laser window must be touching your skin. The device will beep once indicating the start of the process. Hold the laser in place. When the device beeps again in a lower tone, you can move on to the next section of skin. That's it!

It does take a while to effectively cover an entire area, so some patience is required! The good news? Treatment is only needed once a month, and over the course of months, Tria promises that regrowth will become more sparse, or even cease altogether.

After use, my skin appeared very mildly red, but didn't feel irritated at all.

Tria is groundbreaking option for women with excess body hair they find embarrassing. There are some restrictions! Only those with lighter skin-tones can use the Tria safely! African-American, East Indian, Native-American or Pacific Islanders can not safely use Tria Sadly–Tria can not be used safely on the face, so you'll still need to wax that upper lip!

Retail price is $795, but there is currently an Easy Pay program to help lighten the blow to your wallet.

Buy at www.triabeauty.com.

True Blue Spa: Moroccan Tea & Cucumber Shower Gel

bath & body works review, morocco collection, cedarwood spice warming body scrub

Space for product in the shower is scarce, so I'm always happy to stumble upon a product that can be used by men and women. One less bottle in my shower caddy!

True Blue Spa's Morocco collection includes this Moroccan Tea & Cucumber Shower Gel. The woodsy scent is just a touch masculine… so he'll reach for this bath and body treat as often as you will! Moroccan green tea acts as an antioxidant, while shea butter and cucumber soothe and moisturize the skin. I find the exotic scent combination so refreshing (green tea, crisp mind, cucumber and woodsy notes). This gel is ideal when you need an eye-opener first thing in the morning!

Click HERE to buy Moroccan Tea & Cucumber Shower Gel at Bath & Body Works. Retail price is $15 for a huge 16 oz. bottle.

The collection includes:
Honey & Date Body Yoghurt ($17.50)
Sweet Fig & Argan Body Lotion ($16.50)
Moroccan Tea & Cucumber Shower Gel ($15.00)
Saffron & Fig Shower Gel ($15.00)
Rose Petal & Orange Flower Shower Cream ($15.00)
Cedarwood & Spice Warming Body Scrub ($15.00)

True Blue Spa: Cedarwood & Spice Warming Body Scrub

August can be a strange month in the Pacific Northwest. Some years, by mid-August Fall is officially here… with cooler days and overcast afternoons. In other years, the warmth of an Indian Summer can extend through the end of September.

Naturally, I have my fingers crossed that the warm weather will continue… but regardless of what happens, I have all bases covered with one of the recent releases from True Blue Spa: Morocco.

The Cedarwood & Spice Warming Body Scrub from this luxe collection keeps skin summer-ready by smoothing away dryness. My favorite part, however, is that the scrub actually warms slightly on the skin. What a wonderful way to kick off the day when chillier weather begins!

Click HERE to buy Cedarwood & Spice Warming Body Scrub at Bath & Body Works. Retail price is a very reasonable $15.

Smooth Operator: Leah Nacion’s Waxing Tips

Summer fun can hit a rough patch if legs, arms and bikini lines aren’t tended to. Smooth out stubble trouble with a trip to the waxing salon. Waxing guru Leah Nacion, owner of The Waxing Co. in Hawaii, has the inside scoop on the do's and don’ts of baring all.

DO Forget Razors’ Edge
According to Leah, waxing makes skin softer and it lasts much longer than shaving. It can also seem more hygienic because it creates a cleaner and fresher feel that lasts about four weeks before new growth begins.

DON’T Be Fooled
The simple truth is home waxing kits aren’t as effective. Professional estheticians are trained to know the best conditions under which to wax – with high quality products and excellent technique. Temperature of the wax is important to avoid burning the skin, and high-quality products pull the hair up by the root, which avoids hair breakage that can cause ingrown hairs and discomfort.

DO Prepare
Preparation beforehand is also important. Hot showers and exfoliating softens hairs before waxing making it easier to remove. Leah also suggests applying a topical pain relieving cream to soothe and reduce discomfort. The Waxing Co. uses their special “No Scream Cream”. Ask your estheticians for a similar product to apply.

DO Shape It Up
Shaping up that down-there hair doesn’t mean only daring to go bare – there are other options … creative ones. Waxing into shapes or designs is one of Hollywood’s hottest trends. Or add some bikini “bling” with Swarovski crystals in shapes of hearts, initials or stars on the hip.

Leah Nacion’s high-end boutique, The Waxing Co., offers a variety of services – facial waxing, brows, body waxing (from underarms to Brazilians), as well as personal services such as coloring and bleaching – and is the destination for hair removal in Honolulu, Hawaii. Click HERE to check out her website, Waxingco.com.