Bath and Body

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

	Mom needs two things: more makeup and more time! CARGO has pulled together 7 products that will get Mom out the door looking gorgeous in 7 minutes. Available in three different shade options, CARGO’s 7 in 7 makeup kit offers $170 of amazing CARGO cosmetics for only $59. Unlike some value sets, 7 in 7 contains some of CARGO’s best-selling products: OneBase (a hybrid foundation/concealer that I swear by), the Essential Palette (these shadows are engraved with application instructions), Eye Pencil, LashActivator, BeachBlush (this multi-toned cheek color also doubles as shadow in a pinch), Reverse Lip Liner and CARGO’s Classic Lip Gloss with Timestrip Technology. Click HERE to buy CARGO 7 in 7 Kit from Sephora.com.
	What do you get when you combine ancient Chinese beauty rituals with modern-day French beauty technology? Pur~Lisse! I’ve sampled many skin care products in my day, and Pur~Lisse ranks high on my list of must-haves. The “be moist & stay protected” gift set will introduce Mom to the line. It includes the incredible pūr~lip comfort daily lip nourisher (that miraculously softens lips and reduces the appearance of fine lines instantly), pūr~protect essential daily moisturizer with an SPF 30 (this moisturizer wears beautifully under makeup, and makes skin look youthful and positively dewy) and pūr~moist hydra-balance moisturizer. Retail price is $125 through May. Click HERE to buy online from Pur~Lisse.
	H2O Plus is known for their luxe bath and body products formulated with skin-pampering ingredients from the sea. The Ultimate Spa Collection contains five full-sized products (enclosed in a beautiful box) to keep Mom’s skin smooth, hydrated and refreshed from head to toe. A $72.50 value, this set retails for only $50. She’ll think you spent so much more! This Mom gives the collection a big thumbs-up. It’s the perfect gift for a busy Mom who would love a spa day, but simply doesn’t have the time. The Ultimate Spa Collection includes: Sea Salt Body Wash, Sea Salt Skin Smoother, Spa Body Butter, Spa Hand & Nail Cream and Soothing Mint Foot Rub. Click HERE to buy the Ultimate Spa Collection from H2O Plus online.
	Moms love skincare, period. Borghese’s Perfect Pampering collection will have her positively glowing. The set includes Borghese skin care favorites: Fango Active Mud, CuraForte Moisture Intensifier, Fluido Protettivo Spa Lift for Eyes, Cura di Vita Protettivo, Crema Saponetta, Bagno di Vita Bath & Shower Gel, Splendide Mani, Piedi Vitale and the most adorable Straw Tote. The retail value of this collection is $188, but you can buy it for only $52.50! Click HERE to buy the Perfect Pampering gift set from Borghese online.
	Is Mom obsessed with mineral makeup? I know I’ve been lured by the call of its siren song on many occasions, but have been generally disappointed by the finish of mineral foundation. Being True’s mineral makeup kit includes a transforming mineral mist that makes the loose mineral makeup simply melt into the complexion– no chalky finish, and no settling into pores! The leaf-green patent bag is ideal for travel, and has mini storage compartments for each product. “The Kit” contains $150 of Being True makeup (two shades of mineral foundation to ensure a perfect match, a bronzer, transforming mineral mist and a high-quality retractable brush), but retails for only $75. Click HERE to buy the kit online from Being True.
	Is your budget tight? Weleda offers trial-sized gift sets of their amazing skin care products at incredibly affordable prices. The Almond Facial Care Kit includes hypoallergenic products ideal for pampering sensitive skin. This cleansing regimen is so gentle, and the sweet smell of Almond is yummy. The small size makes this a great gift for Moms who love to travel. The Weleda Almond Facial Care Kit includes: Almond Cleansing Lotion, Almond Moisture Cream, Almond Intensive Facial Cream and Almond Facial Oil. Retail price is a mere $14.99! Click HERE to buy the Almond Facial Care Kit online from Weleda.
	Kenzo’s popular Oriental/Floral fragrance FlowerbyKenzo is now available in a deluxe gift set, perfect for Mom! Included in the set is a 100mL bottle of FlowerbyKenzo, a 100mL FlowerbyKenzo Body Milk and a mini FlowerbyKenzo bottle for toting in her purse! Retail price for the set is $88, so it’s like you’re getting the Body Milk and travel fragrance for free! Click HERE to buy this deluxe gift set from Kenzo USA.
	Totally stumped? Rather than pick a gift, just pick a brand you know she loves! Prescriptives offers gift choices in all price ranges, and also has fun refillable compacts that Mom can customize to suit her complexion. Best of all, Prescriptives will email the gift card to Mom, and she’ll receive it in hours! Great for last-minute shoppers… Click HERE to buy a gift card from Prescriptives.

Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2012!

Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Soap Cucumber Melon

Anything that makes washing more fun is a must-have in my house. In fact, the only way I can ensure my pre-schooler washes his hands is to use fun, foamy, anti-bacterial soap like this one by Bath & Body Works.

Af of late, my little guy become quite enamored with the shopping experience at Bath & Body Works. This pleases Mommy, because I can shop brands like Frederic Fekkai, C. O. Bigelow, and Patricia Wexler MD while he organizes fragrant candles and samples lotion.

I let my son select the soaps for his bathroom. After a fair amount of deliberation, he generally selects at least one bottle of Cucumber and Melon Gentle Foaming Soap. He picks it because it is green, but I love the fresh, spa-like scent.

Click HERE to buy Gentle Foaming Soap at Bath & Body Works online.

Retail price is $5 for one 8.75 fl oz bottle, or $10 for three.

Shipping is FREE with purchase over $65 using promo code FREESHIP65.

Heavenly Bath: Beau Bain Bath Bombs

Beau Bain is French for "Beautiful Bath", and I couldn't think of a more fitting name for this line of ultra-luxe bath and body products. Handmade in the USA, Beau Bain boasts that they didn't invent the bath bomb, they simply perfected it. I must wholeheartedly concur.

I sampled several scents from their diverse collection, and each seemed to have its own occasion for use. Looking to draw a warm, romantic bath for two, complete with champagne? The sexy and relaxing Lavender & Black Amber should be your pick. Sharing a bath with your child? Juicy Peach or Rainbow Sherbet smell utterly yummy, and the fizzing of the bomb provides endless entertainment for a young bather. Need a little boost? Coconut Lemongrass makes the senses come back to life after a long, grueling day, with the exotic scent of coconut and the crisp scent of lemongrass. Need to decompress, and have some "girl" time? White Tea & Ginger sooths the senses, and leaves the skin smelling too good for words.

Best of all, Beau Bain remembers that your skin needs some TLC, so each bath bomb leaves the skin feeling moisturized and clean. No filmy residue, no dryness!

Simple, elegant packaging makes this line extremely giftable. Bath bombs can be purchased online a la carte (retail price, $8 each), or in cost-saving collections, where multiple bombs are packaged together. Looking for a treat for the Mom of the year? Might I suggest Le Grand Bath Bomb Collection, with all TWENTY Beau Bain Bath Bombs packaged up in one box! Trust me, she'll think it's bliss, and it beats flowers any day of the week.

Beau Bain is one to watch ladies! I am greedily eying their all new body scrubs, to help shed this scaly winter skin!

Click HERE to visit Beau Bain online. You deserve some R&R!

Treat Beauty Pomegranate Acai Berry Organic Sweet Cream

Each time I sample a Treat Beauty product, I wonder if the team specifically knows me and my dry-skinned woes. I've raved about Treat's Creamy concoctions in the past, and my recent introduction to Treat's scent-sational Pomegranate Acai Berry Organic Sweet Cream was equally as fabulous.

Recently, Treat launched this moisturizing potion infused with two fruits with high concentrations of anti-oxidants— Pomegranate and Acai Berry. The combination of Treat Beauty's double-churn sweet cream and these powerful antioxidants soften skin expertly while reducing signs of photoaging (like fine lines and sunspots).

I would literally bathe in this stuff daily, if I could! My dry skin sucks up this product like a sponge, and is left craving more!

Retail price is $17 for an 8 oz. tub.

Click HERE to check out Pomegranate Acai Berry Organic Sweet Cream Body Cream on the Treat website.

Click HERE to buy Treat Pomegranate Acai Berry Organic Sweet Cream Body Cream from Amazon.com

Resolution Beauty: Smoother Legs

In a million years, it never occurred to me that my shaving regimen needed an overhaul. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. In my teen years, I "borrowed" shaving cream from my father's medicine cabinet. As recently as weeks ago, I snagged my hubby's stash for my shaving needs.

The simplest way to ensure you do something regularly is to make it beneficial AND fun! EOS (the Evolution of Smooth) created a shave cream for women that really–finally–appeals to women!

EOS shaving cream almost feels like a body butter when applied, and its formula (spiked with vitamins C, E, aloe, oat and shea butter) softens skin like a moisturizer would. What will keep me coming back for more? Two things:

1) The incredible scents! Pomegranate Raspberry (to die for), Island Blue and Vanilla Bliss.

2) The low retail price of $4.99!

Read more on the EOS website, and shop for this product at Target, Wegmans and drugstore.com.

Click HERE to buy it at drugstore.com