Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella

Chick lit is a secret vice for me.  I am hopeless (or, as I'd like to say, hopeful) romantic.  Of all the chick book I've read, this one stands out among the most enjoyable, and will definitely be a re-read.

Be sure to pick up Twenties Girl if you have been loving the twenties trend - flapper dresses, sleek short hair, winged eyeliner and a bold red lip.  It is an easy and fun read about a girl named Lara, whose great-aunt Sadie passes away, only to reappear as a spirit.  Lara is the only one who can see Sadie, who is looking for her lost necklace.  Sadie is a bona fide Twenties Girl, and has strong opinions about style, life, and love.  Lara somewhat reluctantly helps Sadie find her necklace, In return, Sadie gives Lara a head to toe twentie makeover, and teaches her how to live, love and dance with confidence. 

This is a definite winner from Kinsella, who brought you the now famous Confessions of a Shopaholic.

I absolutely LOVED this book!

Alba Un-Petroleum Jelly Review

We all have petroleum jelly in our house.  When it comes to beauty/body/skin care, petroleum jelly is a real work horse.

From the Alba website:
With beeswax, moisture rich coconut oil and soothing, protective vitamin E, this natural, non-petroleum jelly is perfect as an all-over body moisturizer for soothing, softening skin rejuvenation...The original, multi-purpose skin moisturizer and protectant is made from only pure plant oils and all natural waxes.

I don't really believe all the hoopla about petroleum jelly being carcinogenic or particularly bad for you.  But since I put the stuff on my doggie paws (keeps snow/ice crystals from sticking to their feet), an they tend to lick it off, I prefer the natrual stuff.  I have been using the un-petroleum jelly for about 6 months now, and I have found it to be comparable to vaseline.  So if you are worried about petroleum products and want a more natural alternative, look no further than your local health food store.

Favorite Things: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment

I have never purchased a full sized Kiehl's product before I plopped down the $30CDN (or $25.50US) for the Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. I'm not a huge believer in Kiehl's.  I think their products are on the most part quite overpriced for their not-that-special ingredients.  Kiehl's being owned by L'Oreal, I am not convinced that I can't get equivalent or better products in my drug store for a fraction of the price.

Having said that, I love this eye treatment.  It is the only eye cream I have ever used that results in a noticeable difference the next day.  This eye cream is basically an intense moisturizer, which is exactly what my dry undereye area needs.  This cream does not have any ant-aging properties, and what little amount of antioxidant it has is going to degrade the first few time the jar is opened, but it is the best moisturizer for my eye area.  Although this product is intensely moisturizing, it does not give me milia (the tiny white bumps you get when you use a moisturizer with is too rich).  Finally, this eye cream delivers on its promise to not migrate into the eye. So if you have dry skin like me, and your concealer tends to get flaky or cakey because of that dry skin, then you need this eye cream.  If, on the other hand, you have oily skin, then this is probably not the product for you.

If this eye treatment sounds like something your dry skin, but you are just not sure, and not ready to part with your hard earned cash to try it, do what I did.  Get a sample next time you are at a Kiehl's counter or store.  This cream is quite rich, so a little goes a long way.  So a sample will last you a long time.  I just transfered the cream from the sample packet into a clean MAC sample jar, and used it from there.  It lasted me about a month with daily use.  I have since bought a full size of this cream, because I can no longer imagine my skin care routine without it!