Scientific Organics Skin Care by emerginC

This winter has been so harsh..so cold & snowy and I usually get through it just fine…… BUT this Polar Vortex thing is a real downer:(
My hair, my skin..everything is so dry and lifeless looking. So when I received samples of Scientific Organics , I decided to wait for a snowed-in weekend to try them. It turned into a Spa weekend for me!
I have used emerginC products before. They are great products and used in some of the best spas nationally like Miraval, Wynn and Caesar's Palace because of the advanced anti-aging benefits of emerginC products.
So I took a nice hot shower, wrapped myself in a thick robe & slippers, put my hair up in a towel and sat in front of my mirror.
I started with the Kombucha cleanser. It was amazing that even after a shower, I still had traces of makeup that were removed by the cleanser..so I was starting with really clean skin. Next on to the Phytocell Detox Mask. It is a French green clay mask and I tell you after leaving it on for ten minutes, I could actually feel it drawing impurities from my pores.
Removed the mask and next I applied Phytocell cream. What luxury, how soft and smooth my skin felt.
Knowing I was not going out, I did not apply make-up. I just let my skin drink in all the antioxidants, algae extract, teas, and moisturizers for the day..my face was glowing !!

Next afternoon, while I watched more snow fall, I decide to try the Facial Peel & Clarifying kit. So easy to use..peel pads & clarifying pads, how simple. They are full of fruit acids so dead skin is removed and skin is brightened. Used more of the Phytocell Cream after the peel and I really felt like I had been to a Spa.

Scientific Organics products are at least 70% organic ingredients and paraben free, synthetic fragrance free and petro-chemical free. So good for your skin.

You can order emerginC products from the web site at emerginC.com..check out the other great products, too!

Two Great New Manna Kadar Products

There are so many skincare & cosmetics products out there, some good…. some not so good. I think I end up trying them all, looking for the good ones.
Two new ones that I love are from the beauty simplified line of Manna Kadar Cosmetics , Camera Ready & Sheer Glow.

Camera Ready is a silicon based primer..you can use it alone for that finished look, or do what I do and use it as a primer for makeup. I love the feel of it on my skin, smooth as silk. Fills in the pores, helps my skin look flawless and matte. My mineral make-up glides right on and stays..that's the best part.



Sheer Glow is another new product, that I love. I am a big fan of highlighters. As we age we lose that dewey look, that special glow that comes with youthful skin. Sheer Glow lights up your skin, with a luminous glow. I wear it on my cheekbones, brow bones and lightly down the center of my face. What a difference it makes under my mineral foundation. During the day, when I check my makeup in the mirror..I am always so pleasantly surprised. Glowing:)

Visit www.mannakadarcosmetics.com for more information/ordering

What I Had Before I Had You by Sarah Cornwell

Olivia Reed is a mom of two-Daniel & Carrie- she suffers from bi-polar disorder. Her young son Daniel, is in early on-set of her disease. As we learn through flash backs, Olivia's mom, Myla also suffered from the disorder, although Olivia wasn't to know that as a child.
She left Ocean Vista, her childhood home, at fifteen, running away from the chaos that was her home life. Now separated from her husband and twenty years later, she is taking her two children on a journey back for a vacation before their permanent move to NYC. Daniel somehow walks away on one of the piers while Olivia & Carrie are distracted and so begins a frantic search for him ..it also triggers an overwhelming pull of the past as she searches in places that she lived as a child. We find out just how difficult it was growing up with a mentally ill  gypsy for a mom, who would disappear for days at a time leaving her daughter to fend for herself. A mom who told fantasies about her miscarried twins, who were given a nursery in the home and treated as if they lived.. what a bizzarre world to live in.
This story narrated by Olivia, is a tale that weaves in and out of normal and crazy..typical and wild…but it is all brought so wonderfully coherent by author Cornwell.
I really enjoyed this book, I found it hard to put it down..very well written. Cozy up by the fire on a snowy weekend, this book is perfect for it.

Miracle Skin Transformer FACE & SPOTLIGHT

Happy New Year.. and for me Happy New Skin!! I have tried two new Miracle Skin Transformer products and love them both!

MST FACE Broad Spectrum SPF 20 is one of the newest products in a growing line of great skin care.  It is a multifunctional  tinted skin enhancer that hydrates, primes, offers SPF protection and more.
FACE's key ingredients are:
Ecophysalis that provides environmental protection from free radicals and also calms the redness.
Saw Palmetto extract provides nourishment & moisture.
CO Enzyme Q10 helps increase elasticity and firms  the skin.
Vitamins K, A & E  helps even skin tone, boost cell turn over and protect against pollution.
I am one to avoid the products with sunscreen, just can't stand the feel of most of them on my skin. They feel heavy and "clogging" Not so with FACE... it soaks into my skin , leaving it  in perfect shape to apply makeup. Feels great all day and I know I have done something good for my skin..and I am protecting my face against the sun's harmful rays.. huge bonus.


MST FACE "Spotlight" is a brand new addition to the FACE line that hits the market in March. Love the illumination that the mineral pearlized pigments provide. What a lift to my tired winter skin! Just what I needed.
Same great ingredients that the original FACE has, now with an airbrushed look. It feels like velvet when you put it on. I use my mineral make up on top because I need more coverage, but that pearl look comes right through, like an inner glow.
Love, love , love.

LOOK FOR MIRACLE SKIN TRANSFORMER PRODUCTS AT ULTA STORES and at ulta.com.

Review: Adventuress Skin Purifier

A new skin care line for me, Adventuress Vividly Restorative Skin Purifier has key ingredients like quince extract, willow bark, orange, lemon and olive leaf and sugar maple.
It is fragrance and paraben free. The pump dispenser is airless to keep out contaminants.
Skin Purifier "decongests" stressed out skin and reduces breakouts while adding micronutrients to replenish skin cells.
Apply it to clean skin, dry skin and feel the difference it makes. It not only hydrates but cleans pores, too. And we all know what blocked pores will do to your skin!
I like the way it glides on and while it is drying I can feel my pores tighten..my skin looks and feels smooth. My mineral foundation glides on and I look "fresh faced". I love this product. You can use it whenever you want during the day or night, but my favorite application is before applying make up in the morning.
Wow, makes my face beam!!
You can buy Skin Purifier or any of the other products in the Adventuress line by visiting their website at:  goadventuress.com.

The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

Bartholomew Neil is a forty year old man, that has never held a job and has lived with his mom all his life. I guess that was his job, taking care of his mom. They went to church, ate, shopped, watched TV...always together. His father, according to his mother, went out one night and was abducted & killed by the KKK, because he was Catholic. It was never in the paper and killers were never found…body not found either. He is in love with the girl at the library, the girlbrarian, but of course he will never speak up and let her know.
His mom dies of cancer.
All the arrangements and expenses were paid, as were Bart's home expenses..he didn't know how ..maybe his mom paid in advance?
While going through his mother's things, he found a letter that she had received from the actor Richard Gere, thanking her for boycotting the Olympics in 2008. His mother was a great pretender and Bart figures his mom realized this was just a form letter but she had kept it for five years, pretending that R.G. had sent it to her personally. He then sits down and writes a letter to Richard Gere, letting him know his mom had kept that letter for five years…this was  the first letter of many.
Bartholomew's life unfolds in the letters he sends to R.G. and you soon realize that Bart has some mental & emotional issues. He seeks help from the church , as he and his mom always had , and lo and behold he comes home to find Father McNamee on the front porch..
I will leave the story there. This is a great book, I really enjoyed it. Full of imperfect human beings.
From first page to last, a gem.
FYI: Matthew Quick also wrote Silver Linings Playbook :)

Miss Anne in Harlem by Carla Kaplan

When I saw this book on the review list and read the little synop, I thought how interesting. This is something that I never had heard of and I am fascinated with the women of the 1920-30’s..thank you, Downtown Abbey.  Women started to come into their own during those times and it wasn’t easy. So many obstacles, and yet these white women took on even more as they made their way into the lives of black men and women. Intriguing.

First off, it is a big, thick book full of history. Also, you should know that “Miss Anne” is just a name that was given to white women who got involved in black politics, art and philanthropy during the twenties & thirties.

Kaplan gives us history behind several of these women, one of which was Nancy Cunard, heiress to the steamship company wealth.  Another Josephine Schuyler was the daughter of a Klansman and wife to journalist George Schuyler, who was black.

These women lent their money and time and in some cases notoriety to black causes. They seemed full of good intentions but were they taken seriously? Not always according to Kaplan.  Some were viewed as agitators, some as women who were sexually deviant. 

This book, a history book really, was so full of information that it took me a while to read it. If you are looking for some mind-ful stimulation this winter as we get “stuck inside” by the weather, try this one.