Cleanse Your Soul Then Pour Some Sugar On It

A gourmand lover's dream.

Cleanse Your Soul is an indie company specializing in deliciously scented bath products. Their perfumes came highly recommended to me, since I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth when it comes to perfume. I had been looking for a few more perfumes to help give off the impression that I just had a horrible accident at the Hostess factory.

Review: Perfect Formula nail polish

Perfectly okay, I guess.

If you’re going to call your brand Perfect Formula, you’re kind of setting the bar a little high. Don’t you think? I really like the idea of this polish. It is advertised as a “perfectly pigmented polish” with “Instant Strength Technology” and includes both keratin and calcium to strengthen the nail. And my nails could use a little strengthening, that is for damn sure.

Review: Alpha Hydrox Skincare

Wrinkles not completely melted, but my face is smoother.

What do you do to take care of your skin? I’ve been wearing various anti-aging creams since I was 19 years old and unfortunately, I still managed to turn 32 this year. I guess those creams don’t really stop time after all. My skin looks decent for the most part but this year I started noticing more fine lines near my eyes. So I was pretty excited to try the Alpha Hydrox line.

Top 10 Cutest Brands

I love cute makeup.

With so many beauty choices out there, I don’t like to mess around with products housed in boring or ugly packaging. Makeup should be fun and put a smile on my face each time I open my train case. Here are the top 10 cutest makeup brands available today:

100% Pure Smells Good

100% Pure Organic Honey Pear Nourishing Body Cream

I had a small sample of this cream lying around and used it this morning when I couldn’t find my regular lotion. My hands have been really dry and parched lately. Nothing I had tried so far had worked at getting rid of the withered witch look of my dry hands.

Review: 100% Pure Mascara

100% Pure Ultra Lengthening Mascara

It is really nice sometimes to get away from all the harsh chemicals used in traditional makeup brands and use more natural alternatives. 100% Pure has a range of cosmetics that are all natural, using fruit pigments.

Review: Montagne Jeunesse

How can you not laugh?

I see Montagne Jeunesse Facial Masques in the drugstore all the time and every single time the pictures on the packaging crack me up. I hope they never change, so funny. I tried out the Chocolate Mud Masque which is supposed to cleanse, draw out impurities yet still be moisturizing, and most importantly… smell like chocolate. I threw the masque on after cleansing my face with water, as the directed stated. I looked almost as hilarious as the woman on the packaging but I wasn’t able to find any leaves to stick over my eyeballs (sorry, guys). I left the thing on for about a half hour as I lost track of time (directions state 15 min) and my face felt sufficiently cleaned.

I Love Cruelty-Free Brushes

Cute makeup brushes that don't hurt cute animals.

The first real makeup brushes that I acquired came with a Bare Minerals kit I bought years ago. The brushes that come in these kits are natural animal hair (I’m surprised BE hasn’t switched to cruelty-free brushes by now, they should), were scratchy, and in general I did not like them very much. At the time I just didn’t know any better.

Sale: Tarte

Use code: FFAUG

Tarte is having their Friends & Family sale right now. Get 40% off everything on the site by using code FFAUG. Free shipping for orders over $40 and all orders receive a free gift: a makeup bag. I’m going to use this opportunity to get a few more cheek stains. What about you?

New: My Life by Mary J. Blige

I think the bottle is cute.

Mary J. Blige launched her perfume today exclusively on HSN and word on the street is that it is is a smashing success. The perfume is made by Carol’s Daughter, who also make a couple of perfumes that I’d love to have: Almond Cookie Eau de Toilette and Pearls. Although, it seems that Pearls has been discontinued unfortunately. It is interesting that Carol’s Daughter and Mary J. Blige choose to launch this perfume on HSN. I wonder if many more perfumes will be launched this way in the future.

Notes: gardenia petals, bartlett pear, white freesia, tuberose, jasmine, golden lily, apricot blossom, cashmere woods, praline, sesame, and incense.