Kiehl's Friends and Family Discount

As you plan your attack on shopping for this weekend, keep this coupon in mind! It only works at Keihl's stand alone stores, and you will need to bring a print out of the coupon (click to enlarge it to full size). 20% off is a great deal though, and I'm jealous of those that live near a Kiehl's store!

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Kiehl's Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50+, I DIE!

I know her show is a bit 2000 and late (I don't care, I love her and her show), but I was having a full-on Rachel Zoe moment when I checked my email and found information about Kiehl's lastest product.

Literally, I was fawning and gasping over an email. It's a really good thing my husband wasn't home, he would have thought I was crazy. I honestly said "Oh My God, I DIE!" I was about ready to put on my giant sunglasses (I have them, oh yes I do) and self tan my skin into a deep bronze.

And when you hear more about the product that hit Kiehls.com on Cinco de Mayo, you'll be fawning too!

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My Daily Sunscreen Moisturizer, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15

I keep mentioning this product over and over and over. In fact, it was one of the first reviews I did for this blog.

I started using Kiehl's when I was a senior in college. I remember being frustrated with skin that seemed totally out of control. My combination skin was very oily and dry at the same time. I was having breakouts. I had tried a lot of different mass market products and nothing was helping. I read about Kiehl's in an issue of Allure, and hightailed it to my nearby Neiman Marcus (ok, maybe not so nearby, it's about a 45 minute drive to that mall), where I spent about 10% of my savings account at the Kiehl's counter. I bought cleaners, toners, lip balms, masks and of course this moisturizer. My skin loved the change. There was a marked decrease in breakouts and while my skin was still combination, it was at least no longer a study in extremes. I've been an avid Kiehl's fan ever since.

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A Trip to the Original Kiehl's and a New Favorite Kiehl's Product!

Last week I finally went to New York City. Somehow I've never been there (likely this is related to spending most of my twenties either in school or working in a hospital). Most of my trip was related to this blog, and I spent a lot of time with other bloggers from the Total Beauty network. We went all over the city meeting with brands, learning about their new products. A lot of fragrances were sniffed, lotions sampled and you can only imagine how many different colors of lipstick and eye liner ended up on the backs of our hands.

For me one of the major highlights of the trip was our trip to the original Kiehl's store, where we were able to trial a few new products (you can see one of the rooms above, this is their facial skincare area). I'm a huge Kiehl's fan (you can probably tell from this blog, I get pretty excited when trying out new things), and I have to say that I've even managed to suck my husband into my mania. I somehow managed to not buy the whole store while I was there, but it was a struggle.

Read on to find out more about the products I'm so excited about and which one is now my new favorite Kiehl's product!

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Kiehl's Ultra Facial Products

No matter how many different products I try, I always return to my favorite daytime moisturizer, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15. For me, this moisturizer is a fantastic, basic moisturizer. It hydrates my dry areas, doesn't turn my oily areas into oil slicks, all without causing irritation. Best of all, it has sunscreen (not broad spectrum UV protection, but it's something), and creates the perfect canvas for applying makeup.

Well, you can just imagine how excited I was yesterday to open my e-mail (my personal e-mail, not the one for this blog) and see that I had an announcement about new Ultra Facial products from Kiehls!

Just check out how perfect these products sound!

Ultra Facial Cleanser
Ultra-mild, non-stripping cleanser
• Gentle, yet effective gel formula
• Made with a unique, non-stripping, sugar-derived foaming agent
• Cleanses without drying
• Dissolves excess oil, dirt and debris without over-drying or stripping
• pH-balanced to maintain skin’s natural protective barrier

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Squalane, Vitamin E, Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil


Ultra Facial Toner
Ultra-mild toner to hydrate and comfort skin
• Non-astringent, unique milky texture
• Emulsified formula with moisturizing properties
• Alcohol-free toner hydrates and refines skin
• Removes surface debris and any remaining residue
• Does not strip skin of natural oils
• pH-balanced for optimal comfort

KEY INGREDIENTS:
Squalane, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Avocado Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil

I'm excited to try out these products when they are available later this month. Everyone should be using a gentle cleanser, and I'm willing to bet that this one will work for many people!

Available on Kiehls.com in late February

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Kiehl's Heat-Protective Silk-Straightening Cream

I know I talk about Kiehl's products a lot, but I can't help it! I absolutely love this company! How could you not-they are great products that really deliver, have great customer service, and they live for giving out free samples! I love this!

Once again, in preparation for my trip to Maui (I'm a little bit more than obsessed), I made a trip to my local Kiehl's store to purchase my favorite facial sunscreen (more on that some other time). I decided to pick up a few other products, including this straightening cream for my hair. I had been checking it out a few months ago, and the SA at the time gave me about 5 samples of it to try out before I bought it. I love this stuff! a small amount (about 2-3 peas worth) rubbed into my hair when wet and then combed through makes my hair silky, my wavy hair is much easier to blow dry straight, and is much less likely to become frizzy later on. My hair is not at all weighed down by this product, and there's no sticky residue to deal with. In addition, this cream has properties to protect your hair from the abuse of blow drying, which my hair is exposed to everyday.

I love this product, and when I bought my tube the SA gave me a few more samples to take on vacation. I love Kiehl's!

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Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15

For years I've battled with a face that is the extreme of combination skin- very oily in the T-Zone, but dry and uncomfortable on the rest of my face. It's been hard finding a moisturizer that works in both of these areas. I either turn into an oil slick or go without moisturizer and half of my face flakes off. Not a pretty site.

A few years ago I found Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer, with SPF 15. I've been a happy gal ever since! It has a light, non-oily feel. It quickly sinks into my skin, giving me just the right amount of moisture. And, the SPF means that I don't become a freckly mess in this Southern California sun.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15

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Kiehl's Rare-Earth Face Masque

With my oily-combination skin, I sometimes feel the need to purge my pores of grossness, if you know what I mean. In the past this has meant anything from those Biore nose strips stuck all over my face (literally, using 1 box at a time!) to the Borghese Fango Mud Mask (In high school I somehow found a travel size at my local Meijer, the equivalent of a Super Wal-Mart, this tube was treasured and used only prior to school dances), to more recently my choice of the Kiehl's Rare-Earth Face Masque.

This white thin mud-like mask comes in a little 4.2 ounce bottle for $16, which doesn't sound like much but which actually goes a very long way. I put a light coat over my T-Zone about once a week, and leave it until it dries. As I wash it off, it feels a little rough, almost like I'm using a scrub. Afterwards, my face seems to glow, and I feel as though I have cleaned out quite a bit of my built-up dirt.

>Kiehl's Rare-Earth Face Masque

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Kiehl's Cryste Marine Firming Eye Treatment

While I'm only 29, and I haven't yet begun to have problems with aging (thanks Mom!), I have started to look around lately for a great eye cream. The crazy hours I keep at work as well as my allergies, have ensured that my eye area is darker and perpetually with circles.

According to Kiehl's, this eye treatment contains something called "Criste Marine, an unusual botanical found aside the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Padina Pavonica, this cream improves firmness and elasticity in the eye area; visibly softens the look of lines and helps minimize under-eye dark circles while refreshing and hydrating skin." Now, this description makes me somewhat nervous, since I have no clue what either of these ingredients are. I start to flash back to medical school, when we learned about the layers of the dermis and epidermis, and I try to imagine what Criste Marine is, how exactly does it firm this area? Is it absorbed? Or is it just a moisturizer? Hmmmm. . . .

I received a sample of the Cryste Marine Firming Eye Treatment at my local Kiehl's store, and so far I think it is a decent eye cream. It has a very thick consistency, and hydrates the area nicely. I can use it under my makeup without any application problems, and the area does seem to feel a little firmer immediately after application. But, I'm not sure yet that this is my "holy grail" of eye creams, so I'm going to keep looking for now.

Kiehl's Cryste Marine Firming Eye Treatment

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Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

Spending a lot of time at the hospital seems to literally pull moisture from my hands and lips. Especially during the winter I can end up with dry, cracked lips that are very painful and ugly to look at. I've always been a huge fan of lips balms and glosses of any kind, but always seem to find myself coming back to this one when I'm having issues with my lips. I love that it comes in a little tube to carry around with me, but I admit to owning a huge collection of the 0.5 and 1 ounce tubs and leaving them all over the house. The balm is moisturizing, shiny and quickly helps resolve any issues I'm having.

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

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Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

I will freely admit to being a Kiehl's Addict of the highest proportions. I love Kiehl's, everything by Kiehl's and usually head there first when having skin issues. But, for some reason when looking for hand cream, I've never looked there. I have usually used little travel sized bottles of fragrant lotions from Bath and Body Works or a similar store, never with the effects I was looking for.

My job is particularly tough on my hands. I wash my hands probably 2-3 times an hour, usually with the same soap used for "scrubbing in" in the operating rooms (this is the soap that they stock my part of the hospital with). So, you can imagine the beating my hands usually take, then throw in low humidity and some wind outside, and I'm likely to be cracked and bleeding.

I recently picked up a tube of Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, and it seems to be doing a great job so far. I have been applying it 2-3 times a day, and despite my obsessive hand washing, I have hands that are moisturized, without a crack in site! The formula is meant to provide a "glove-like" barrier against moisture loss, and it contains a lot of botanicals according to Kiehl's. When I apply it, there is a cooling feeling for about 60 seconds. Although the formula is a little greasy, if I avoid putting the cream on my palms this doesn't really bother me at all. I'm not sure this is a cream I need year round, but as a rescue treatment in the winter season, I haven't found anything better yet!

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

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Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub

As I get older (I'm a whopping 29 5/12ths now!) I've noticed that my face doesn't seem to bounce back from all the bad things I do to it as easily as it once did. One night on call at work (30 hours at a time without my normal creams and such) and I look haggard, lines appear that I don't usually have, and I just look a little older than I'd like. With that in mind, I recently decided I would try to improve my routine for the times I can control-meaning those that I'm at home. A facial scrub seemed to be called for, so about 2 weeks ago I hightailed it over to my local South Coast Plaza Kiehl's store.

The Kiehl's store is always a happy, soothing shopping experience for me. It is simply decorated, similar to what one would think a pharmacy looks like in the English Countryside. It is simply organized, with sections divided into facial type (dry, oily) or your particular need (men, sun, body). The staff there are eager to help, but won't follow you around while you check out the label on every bottle in your section (not that I've ever done that before).

The scrub in my section (the Oily/Acne Prone section) was the Pineapple Papaya Scrub, 2 fruits I usually don't like. Plus, it was $25, what I usually would spend on 2 or 3 items if I was elsewhere, such as Target. But, given how dire the situation with my skin seems to be lately, I decided to give it a shot anyways.

The Kiehl's website promises that the scrub is made with real fruit, and that the enzymes will gently exfoliate my skin, leaving it feel refreshed, soft and clean. The directions are simple (ie- scrub and rinse), but do state that if I want I can leave it on for a few minutes for "further exfoliating effects." I think that is just what I need!

I've been using the scrub 2-3 times a week for the last 2 weeks now, and I honestly have to say that I think the scrub has made a difference. I've used it a few times at night, rinsing it off right away. But I think the easiest thing for me has been using it in the shower. I use a small pea sized amount to scrub my face, and let it sit for a few minutes while I shampoo my hair before rinsing off. The scrub feels like a normal face wash with a few large granules in it. The granules are a little disconcerting. They are fairly large, and there are so few of them they almost feel as if they don't belong there. But, once I'm done my face is smoother, my pores are less noticeable and I think that overall my face does look better!

For $25, this scrub seems to be well worth it!

Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub

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