:Beautylicious Mondays:

Today's featured September Skincare Series product(s) keep my skin oh so supple and soft: Ole Henriksen's Nurture Me and Express the Truth. Real talk...these products are seriously the truth! They do exactly what they say they will.

Nurture Me is an intensely hydrating crème that contains oils like primrose and wheat germ that help recondition the skin. It also contains vitamins A, C & K, which smooth out the skin's surface. This moisturizer is awesome for dry skin, and I know because unfortunately, I suffer from excruciatingly moisture-deficient skin. I've also noticed that after slathering my face in Nurture Me or Express the Truth before going to sleep, they help me get rid of dry, flaky Eczema patches on my face once I do my AM cleanse.

Express the Truth is a deeply nourishing uber-moisturizer containing antioxidants such as ester C and African red tea that help soothe the skin. It also contains polylysine, an all-natural peptide that vastly improves skins elasticity and muscle tone and helps keep deep wrinkles at bay! This crème protects, lifts and quintessentially assists in the repair of skin overnight. It's really the TRUTH!

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I've used both of these, and I must say, each product improves the overall look, tone and actual texture of my skin. I'm so glad I gave them a shot! I think you can really see the results if you use them before bedtime. I can honestly say...when I wake up in the morning after using either one, my skin looks and feels divinely renewed.

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The downside is the price tag...$40 for the Nurture Me and $65 for the Express the Truth, and you only get 1.7 oz per jar. If you head on over to Skinstore right now though, they are offering 20% off of each order with the promo code SEP20. If you want to purchase, maybe that will help cushion the blow a bit! :-) Additionally, the site also offers cosmetics and other products from companies we all know and love like Too Faced and Philosophy. 

:Beautylicious Mondays:

This week's September Skincare Series featured product is my beloved Stone Crop Serum, created by Eminence Organics of Hungary.

I first learned about Eminence when I worked part-time at a salon and spa a few years back. My aesthetician then--and now--would work wonders on my skin with products from this skincare line every time she touched my face. Still does! One of the most important things about these products is that they are all derived from only organic, naturally occurring, botanically potent healing ingredients. So your skin can glow without the application of anything that's radioactive. :-)

Stone Crop Serum is a high potency hydration and lightening serum. It can be applied morning or night on a completely dry face post-cleansing and prior to moisturizing. I have problems with hyperpigmentation (overproduction of melanin) whenever I get a pimple, and this serum minimizes it rapidly--you will probably notice a difference after 1-3 uses. The product also soothes irritation and makes your skin extremely soft and supple. Not to mention it smooths your complexion and assists in restoring clarity. I LOVE IT!!

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You can purchase it here and here.  Additionally, if you do purchase Stone Crop Serum or any of the other Eminence products from either of the linked sites, prepare yourself for WORLD CLASS customer service. These folks thrive off of giving excellent attention and care to their patrons! They also give samples, which is a HUGE bonus!

:Beautylicious Mondays:

Last week in the Beautylicious series, I talked to you about Tend Skin. This week, I wanted to continue the September Skincare Series with a rave about Aquaphor Healing Ointment.

This product is the business! As an individual who has developed Eczema (on my face around my nasolabial folds, nonetheless ) during the last two years, this is a fabulous find!

You can use this on any part of the body, but I wouldn't recommend using it on your face during the day if you're actually planning to leave the house and unless, of course, you're into that greasy skin look ;-)...but there are a couple different ways that I use it. After a thorough cleansing at bedtime and application of any serums, moisturizers and any acne fighting products/medications if necessary, I slather a pretty thick layer of this all over my face, and I sleep in it. Yep. You heard me. Sleep in it. :-D Your skin will thank you in the morning! It's a great supplemental exfoliation product as well, which leads me to my next little informational gem. When rinsing it off, I often moisten this face brush, available from Sephora, and add some of my preferred cleansing agent.  Additionally, I also use it with St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub when prepping for a night out for an added glow or extra radiance underneath my makeup. Been using St. Ives since I was a teen. It's def an OBG (oldie but goodie)! I mix the Aquaphor and the St. Ives together and create a mask that I keep on for an hour or so, then rinse off in the shower.

The downside to Aquaphor is that it might clog your pores, but if you suffer from extremely dry skin, or perhaps want to take a stab at giving your skin that creaseless look, trying it is worth it just to see if it works for you. It's pretty gentle, so it shouldn't irritate your skin harshly.

There are a couple famous faces you might recognize that use it, including Beyoncé and Kourtney Kardashian, and we see how gorgeous their skin always looks! 

I sincerely hope someone out there can benefit from this post! Extemely dry skin can be a total downer. Stay tuned for next week's post...I have another product that will surely knock your socks off and have you clamoring to wash the makeup off your beautiful faces and go au naturale!

:Beautylicious Mondays (Tuesday Edition):

I promise Beautylicious Mondays will soon return to its regularly scheduled day...but for now, work with me and the Tuesday editions! That being said, I HAVE to share this awesome product with you!

I had learned about it before via one of my estheticians, but I really didn't take her recommendation to heart. It wasn't until my friend KeetaRay mentioned it, then gifted me with an exfoliation cloth from The Body Shop and the roll-on version of Tend Skin that I understood what all the hype was about!

I have extrememly sensitive skin (a problem many suffer from, but specifically Black and Brown people when it comes to hair removal), and often after waxing or shaving or using hair removal creams on my bikini area and underarms, it would be a total freakin' nightmare to deal with. I would get crazy discoloration and bumps from ingrown hairs and overall irritation from hair removal. WELP. Tend Skin to the rescue!

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I began following two simple steps every day upon the advice of Keeta and voila!: I'm ready for my Sports Illustrated spread: swimsuit edition. Heeeeey! Simply exfoliate your bikini and underarm areas using something like this and the body wash of your choice in the shower. Do it for approximately one minute. I moisturize after bathing, then apply the Tend Skin to both of the aforementioned areas. Both started clearing up in less than a month, and well...now, I think I'm ready for an Agent Provocateur ad. :-) I'm no longer embarrassed by my bikini line and I just want to strut around in lingerie all day, lol. Though I don't. I imagine this also works well for men who shave their facial hair.

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Tend Skin can be found at Sephora, and there's only one down-side, if you even care. Obviously, after shaving or other hair removal methods, whatever area you are applying the Tend Skin to will most likely burn because the product does contain alcohol. You can muffle the sound of your screams with a pillow, or just let it all out. Pretend you're an extra in the Paranormal series. Just try not to frighten your neighbors because it is possible that they will think someone is being murdered. This wasn't a deterrent for me though because having a pretty bikini line and smooth underarms is way more important than the temporary sting. Alcohol Schmalcohol.

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I hope my review of this product has helped you saucy ladies and gents!