First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, Face Cleanser and Lip Therapy: The Rundown

Picture it—I had just got diagnosed from my doctor with a severe allergic rash around my lips due to my use of the EOS lip balm. I am allergic to petroleum, paraffin, mineral oil AND beeswax so what is a sensitive skin gal like me to do? First Aid Beauty’s products to the rescue!

First Aid Beauty products–a sensitive skin gal’s best friend

~~Exclusive to Sephora stores,~~ First Aid Beauty products are billed as, “allergy-tested and free of parabens, fragrance, and harsh chemicals, and perfect for even the most sensitive skin” . For someone like me who is practically allergic to air this product line seemed custom made for me. I picked up the Ultra Repair Cream, Cream Cleanser and Lip Therapy products and over the past two months me and this troika have become BFFs in caring for my sensitive skin.

First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Cream is a medium-weight cream that is a creamy white color with a trace of scent. It goes on very smooth, is almost immediately soothing and my skin absorbed it quickly. It is perfect for a quick blast of moisture if you skin is very itchy. I did try it on my peorial dermatitis around my lips and unfortunately it stung for a little while–ouch! So while it is good for moisturizing eczema-irritated skin, if you have peorial dermatitis I would advise staying away from it. This is a very nice hand cream to put on before bedtime. It isn’t as nice smelling as my L’Occitane Shea Butter hand cream but it gets the job done–especially if you have sensitive skin.

I did test a sample of the Ultra Repair Cream Concentrate which is a solid yet pliable balm with no discernable scent. A little goes a very long way to provide lasting moisture to the skin. On my peorial dermatitis the balm stung a little but the feeling went away within a minute or so. As my skin healed further the stinging sensation upon application went away but as I am sensitive to beeswax (which is in this product) it started to irritate my skin so I discontinued using it. Very disappointed as it is a very moisturizing balm to use.

First Aid Beauty’s Cream Cleanser is a pearly white cream cleanser has a trace of a scent and you only need a small bit to clean your entire face. It made quick work of dissolving my foundation, concealer and my sweatproof eye makeup but my mascara hung on a little afterwards. As gentle as it is, it did dry out my peorial dermatitis where it was uncomfortably dry but I don’t see this happening with simple ezcema. I like to use this cleanser to remove the rest of my makeup off of my face after I’ve used a makeup remover especially for eyes.

Last but definitely not least, First Aid Beauty’s Lip Therapy is my holy grail when it comes to lip balms. Free of petroleum, paraffin, mineral oil and beeswax, this yellowish creamy balm contains soothing shea butter and jojoba oil among other soothing ingredients. This balm kept my lips moisturized very nicely overnight and I was pleasantly surprised to find out it soothed my peorial dermatitis without any stinging.

The Ultra Repair Cream 2oz and Lip Therapy retail for $12 USD each while the 5oz Face Cleanser retails for $20 USD. First Aid Beauty products are sold at Sephora stores, Sephora.com, QVC.com and at FirstAidBeauty.com

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Cook MAC Tendertones: The Rundown

Granted the Shop MAC / Cook MAC collection is for Spring 2012, here in the Northeastern US it is absolutely frigid. And as such, chapped lips are constantly on my mind. So when I heard the legendary Tendertones from MAC were making an appearance, I wondered if they were worth all the radio chatter. Are they worth it? Let’s discuss…

To paraphrase Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, "Should you believe the hype?"

There are a total of four (4) Tendertones released in the Cook MAC portion of this Spring 2012 release. I picked up the two most pigmented which are Hot N Saucy, and Purring. Hot N Saucy is a bright Jolly Rancher/Skittles red color that is translucent and goes on the lips semi-sheer. Purring is a bright tangerine orange that goes on with a hint of color. Not as bold as Hot N Saucy but you can definitely notice the pigmentation.

Purring Tendertone from Cook MAC. Looks crazy in the pot but sheers out on the lips.

Hot 'N Saucy Tendertone. My favorite one for the obvious red semi-sheer tint on the lips.

So on the surface all of these Tendertones just look like Philosophy Kiss Me lipgloss in a pot with the same delicious smells. But that’s where the comparison end. Tendertones are jam-packed with moisture and I noticed a definite difference in my lips when using it the first time. I’m so-so about the Jack Black lipbalms (which I think are overhyped), can take or leave the Philosophy ones and think my EOS (Evolution of Smooth) ones are wonderful, but these Tendertones I am just over the moon about.

From left: Hot 'N Saucy Tendertone, Purring Tendertone

The big reason these Tendertones are so moisturizing is found in the ingredients. Not the petrolatum (which I’m sensitive to in large quantities but in this it doesn’t irritate me or give me an allergic reaction) which provides slip and a moisture barrier, not the various fruit oils but this sucker contains…wait for it…murumuru butter! Yes, the same murumuru butter that is in the legendary and vulgar display of price point lipsticks of Tom Ford fame. Murumuru butter is also very expensive relative to the ubiquitous cocoa butter and shea butter. This is probably why Tendertones are a limited edition.

I’ve read some reviews from people saying they don’t like the lip gloss being in a pot. That of course is a personal preference. I don’t like having to squeeze the frakking tube to get the last bit out which is why I love the smooth EOS lip balm spheres. My personal advice concerning Tendertones is this: buy a retractable lip brush to use with them. Revlon makes a cheap one, Sonia Kashuk for Target has one, Sephora definitely has one and NARS has a chic one.

Tendertones from the Cook MAC collection are $15 USD and are currently available at all MAC locations. These are also going FAST! Nordstrom.com has a backorder of 2/20/12 on some of the Tendertones while Maccosmetics.com is sold out of all but one (and that is Coming Soon).

Ingredients include murumuru butter = SUPER moisturizer!

Other side of ingredients on the Tendertone box

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Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters : The Rundown

As a woman, lip balms are my friend. As a woman of color, lip balms are my BFF. But lip balms plus color? W00t!!!

Thanks to a tip-off by The Muse, I dropped into my local Target like a Navy Seal to find these beauties. Check out the color lineup I grabbed!

Revlon Lip Butter goodness awaits in the Beauty section at Target!

In December during one of my Target runs I made the wonderful discovery of Revlon’s Color Stay Lip Butters and my life hasn‘t been the same since. These butters are so smooth, so moisturizing and range from a hint of color you have to build up (like Gumdrop) to full on in your face almost-lipstick color (Lollipop). At around $6.45 at Target and $7.50 at Ulta and Drugstore.com, is it easy to collect quite a few at a frugal price point. I’ve had no performance issues with these and only Gumdrop (a pastel lilac) was a little faint and almost gave me Tyrone Biggums lips but by using just a little or layering it over a darker lip pencil made it work fine. The lighter colors still contain pigment that is translucent enough to give you a nice shine to your lips.