All I Can Say Is OMG.... Makes Scents Natural Spa Line Review

Product Sent for Review


Recently, I featured the Makes Scents Natural Spa Line in my 12 Indie Beauty Picks: Products You’ll Love at the recommendation of my friend Shannon from A Girl's Gotta Spa. She raved about the products after trying them at a spa, and I was really, really excited when they sent me a few of their citrus scented products to try out. (This is when I admit that anything citrus is always my favorite and I am a big sucker for it.)


The scrub, the scrub... OMG, this is amazing. I tried out Citrus Grove, which is a combination of grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime. It's mostly grapefruit with a bit of orange, and very fresh smelling. It really smells like you have fruit with you there in the shower. It isn't too sweet, it's isn't overwhelming, it really is just the right amount of citrus. The scrub has just the right amount of grit not greasy. I want to use it every day!


I also tried out the body butter, which is a thick lotion. It isn't greasy and sinks in easily. It has the same amazing scent as the scrub, though a bit more subtle.

The lip balm was a little waxy, but less so than Burt's Bees (for the record, I do like waxy balms, they're a good base for lip gloss). I have the Pink Grapefruit. OMG (again), yes, it is just like Pink Grapefruit and I love it! It s hydrating and feels good on my lips.

Overall, I loved everything I tried out from Makes Scents. They have seasonal scents (I'm pretty sure they took pity on me and sent me the Citrus because I may have mentioned how much I like Citrus. A lot. But I think that's a summer one), you might want to try out the Pumpkin Sorbet scent. It might be even better than a #PSL.

Makes Scents Natural Spa Line
Product Sent for Review

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MAC To The Beach Body Oil: Man Rays and Seaside

I know that these are "Limited Edition", but don't these get released every summer in slightly different variations?

I fully admit that I find them to be a bit mesmerizing in their bottles. Oooh! Shimmer!

Man Rays is a very pretty tan with same color shimmer, though in bright sunlight it will glint different colors a bit, mostly greens, pinks and peaches.

SeaSide is a light peachy/pink with same color shimmer. It also glints different colors though to a lesser degree than Man Rays.

I have about 1/3 of a pump (the smallest amount I could get out) on my arm here, and you can see even this really heavy application doesn't really have much of a base color. When spread out properly you don't really notice that at all. Instead things just look a bit glowy and shimmery in the sun. Eat your heart out, Edward.

MAC

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Saturday Plans: Shower Shake Up!

As promised yesterday, in my blog revamp post, each day will have a different special post. Saturdays will be "Shower Shake Up" days, in which I share a great new product that I've been using each morning to help get ready for the day. Obviously this is an extension of my recent shower posts. I loved forcing myself out of my morning rut, now I just need to force myself to share everything with you!

So, look for soaps, body washes, body lotions, scrubs, etc. Shampoo and Conditioner could go here, but I'll be including those in my Friday Hair posts.

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La Mer Hand Treatment: The Little Indulgence that I'm Loving!

I know that it is an incredibly frivolous indulgence, but I'm really enjoying using La Mer's hand treatment creme.

I love pulling out the little tube and seeing La Mer on the tube.

I love that it smells almost exactly like the face cream.

You need just a small amount of this cream (about the size of a baby pea) to cover both hands. It sinks in very well, though a very faint greasiness is left behind so I tend to apply it only to the backs of my hands. My hands are left soft and supple for hours! It even survives the surgical strength soap I use at work.

And yes, it is incredibly expensive. I know there are cheaper hand creams that work great. But, sometimes a girl just needs to be pampered!

La Mer Hand Treatment

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Bioelements Review Series: Vitalization

My love for all things Bioelements has been pretty obvious I think. I'll just say up front that I absolutely love this new body creme from Bioelelements. Even if it wasn't by Bioelements I would love it. It is rich and hydrating, lasts forever and the jar even looks pretty sitting on my counter next to the rest of my Bioelements products.

This lotion is light fragranced, I can really only describe it as fresh, slightly sweet and floral. The lotion is very silky, and while thicker than a lotion it isn't so thick that it is difficult to spread. It quickly and easily absorbs into skin. Only a slightly greasy feeling is left behind, but that fades within a minute or so. I do have to warn you that a little goes a long way, and this 8 ounce jar will last you quite a while! This creme was more than adequate to deal with my crazy ezcema skin. Which means it should definitely be able to deal with your dry skin!

A quick glance at the ingredients (refer to the moisturizer post) shows us a huge number of emollients, humectants and a few occlusives. No wonder this creme works such hydrating miracles!

Ingredients:
Water, Canola Oil, Glyceryl Sterate, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-100 Stearate, Glycerin, Bis-Glyceryl Polyacrladipate-2, Olea Europeaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Rives Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Sodium Hyaluronate, Aspalathus Llinearis (Red Tea) Leaf Extract, Beta Carotene (Cl 40800), Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Ellettaria Cardomomum (Cardamom) Seed Oil, Acacia Farnesiana Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Leaf Oil, Canarium Luzonicum (Elemi) Gum Nonvolatiles, Guaiacum Officinal Wood Extract, Llex Paraguarensis Leaf Extract, Cymbopogon Martini (Palmarosa) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Squalane, Sodium PCA, Dimethicone, Polyglutamic Acid, Hydrolyzed Sclerotium Gum, Betaine, Urea, Potassium Lactate, Phenethyl Alcohohl, Tribehenin, Steryl Alcohol, Sodium Carbomer, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Tropolone

Bioelements Vitalization is available at Salons and Spas

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L'Oreal Sunless Sublime Bronze Body Scrub

I've kind of mentioned this product before, but it has become such a staple in my daily routine that I felt it deserved an entire review.

I love this L'Oreal Body Scrub! Finally, a scrub that works and is not just choc full of oil! This scrub comes in a tube and is of a very similar consistency to most sugar/salt scrubs. It has fine granules to help exfoliate in a more liquidy base. Since this scrub was meant to be used prior to sunless tanning it has no oil in it, rather the liquid base is moisturizing and smells like a light citrus, but the shower won't end up covered in slime afterwards. I use this scrub about twice a week.

The only bad thing about this scrub is that it has become rather hard to find in my area, my Target, Walgreens and CVS no longer carry it. I've started ordering 4-5 bottles at a time from Drugstore.com and Amazon.com. If they sold this in giant bottles with a pump I would be a happy girl!
L'oreal Sunless Sublime Bronze Body Scrub

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Olay Complete Body Wash

I know that I've mentioned before that I have ezcema, which is generally very well controlled. I have to be very careful about what soaps and lotions I use on my body, and little changes can leave me with a rash and very uncomfortable from itchiness.

One of my daily staples for years is this Olay bodywash. Truthfully, it doesn't really seem to matter which Olay wash I use, as long as it is Olay! I wasn't quite sure why this was, and then my dad (also a pediatrician, it runs in the family) showed me a handout on ezcema from a dermatologist. According to this Harvard faculty member, Olay has the highest percentage of oil of any body wash on the market. It is basically 17% Vaseline! No wonder it is so incredibly moisturizing! Without an Olay bodywash I turn dry and itchy. Check it out if you have this problem too, it really does help!
Olay Complete Body Wash

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Bliss Lemon+Sage Body Butter

I've frequently mentioned my issues with ezcema, and my biggest ally in my fight has been moisture. Moisture is difficult to add and then keep in skin, and I try to moisturize at least twice daily to keep my skin soft, rash and itch free.

One of my favorite moisturizers is this one by Bliss. According to the Bliss Web Site:
Now almost famous, our fabulous, fresh-citrus scented dry body drenching moisture butter is so incredibly effective that a single squeeze can make rough and scaly skin 'history'. With antioxidant vitamins A and E, sodium hyaluronate (a powerful oil-free moisture magnet) and arnica extract.

I'm not sure what all of this means, but I can definitely confirm that it can make rough and scaly skin history! It's a good thing that this comes in a tube rather than a pump container, because this is an incredibly thick cream. It's silky smooth, and the lemon and sage scent has an amazing citrus note that I can't even begin to describe. It's light and not overpowering, yet can't be missed. Once applied the formula feels as though it is immediately sinking in, my dry skin is soothed and super moisturized for hours. When I am itchy and nothing is working, this is the product I reach for time after time.

The main drawback to this product is the price. You can probably tell from the number of drugstore products on this blog that I'm not a big fan of paying too much for products when you don't have to. Having said that, I fully believe that this product is worth the $32 price, and I am now on my third tube! If you don't want to pay full price, I did see this recently at Sak's Off 5th (I was at the Block in Orange, California). It was only in the Vanilla+Bergamot scent, but the $32 tube was marked down to $19, and there was a small set that came in a great fabric case with all 3 scents in tubes that were about half the normal size, I believe for $24 down from about $40 or so. I absolutely love the lemon scent though, so I know that I'll be stocking up on my next trip to Sephora!

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