Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Pads

Back in August I shared a little bit of info with you on Dr. Dennis Gross' Alpha Beta Peel Pads in my post on the lines Glow Self Tanning Towelettes, now I want to share with you the full story.

I should mention first that these are a definite extravagance, especially used daily as directed. I, never in a million years, could fathom spending nearly $80/month on skincare. I guess I just don't care. I can slap some foundation on and look fine, my skin is mostly behaving and I have no real issues to speak of. Sure there are a few pimples here and there and I'm not going to take heat for my freckles (they aren't age spots when you're 26) but there is nothing inherently disdainful about my complexion. That said, Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Pads make my face about 1000 times smoother, softer and generally more pretty. Every single time I'm in Ulta or Sephora I zero in on these babies and treat my face to a mini facial before trying on oodles of foundations, blushes and bronzers. Why not right?

If I were made of money (which I so am not) I would use these all over my body. You take the first pad and swipe it over your clean skin (although I admit to cheating and using this to remove my makeup and/or general facial grime) and feel the invigorating clean feeling you'll notice right away. After a few seconds of swiping you use a second pad to neutralize the first and finish up the application. Easy as that. Just toss them in the trash and you're done. If you're extra cheap savvy you can even cut them in half so you get double the use out of your product. Since you can use both sides of the pad you'll definitely be just fine with half. That's what I would do if I bought these.

I'm happy to announce that Sephora has been able to give us the exclusive on a just slightly better deal on this product. Now your 30pack comes with 3 extra strength peels for only an additional $2, bringing your total to $80. Sounds great to me. The extra strength peels will be a little bit stronger and therefore gives you results just that little bit faster. If you're interested in trying them out Sephora.com has a 5 pack for only $15 but it's currently out of stock.

I can't recommend these any more, they truly are little tiny round miracles. I swear my makeup and skincare go on like a dream after I use these and my skin looks alive and well rested even if it's not. Do you love these as much as I do? I can't be the only one!

Not Your Mother's Girl Powder Volumizing Hair Powder

Even though I have thick hair it can sometimes fall flat. Right now I'm desperately in need of a good trim and some layers, it restores bounce like nobody's business. My hair is waist long and my style can easily get dragged down with too many styling products, the wrong shampoo or even a bout of bad weather. What's a girl to do? Get yourself some Not Your Mother's Girl Powder Volumizing Hair Powder. I have heard great things about this wonder product.

What it is is a hair powder that you apply SPARINGLY at the roots, tousle into your strands and watch in amazement as it puffs up even the finest, flattest hair. Some say you'll have to get used to the texture it leaves on your hair but that's not something that would bother little ol' me. Plus, if you have hair of the silky variety you know how hard it can be to keep it in an updo. This product eradicates the need for 1000 bobby pins. It gives the hair unbeatable texture that keeps even the silkiest strands in place. Genius.

During the month of October, Not Your Mothers (such a cah-ute name!) is donating 10% from all sales of this genius product at http://customnails.com/nymgrlpwdr.html to the Young Survivor's Coalition. That should put a smile on your face and if it doesn't maybe the fact that it's only gonna set you back $6 will! Go out there and be voluminous!

The Premiere of Drug of Choice Music with 5FDP

Hey guys! I told you today was going to be exciting. If you're a rockaholic like me then shake a leg and get over to Drug of Choice Music and see my review for the new Five Finger Death Punch album American Capitalist. Even if you aren't take a look at my layout and the pretty work I did on the site. Stop by, say hello and follow me!

The goal is to eventually launch Drugofchoice.com with different sections for beauty, fashion, music, decor and various other items of interest but there was never a better day to launch the music section than 10.11.11, the day two of my favorite bands dropped their 3rd albums. Check back in on ThemeSong Thursday to see the other review and to find out just who I'm listening to non-stop between midnight Tuesday morning and post time Thursday AM. I think at least a few of you will be satisfied.

Have a great day everyone, I know I will.

Dudesday Tuesday: Why Guys Love Dumb Girls

It's something I'm sure you've noticed. It's probably pissed you off before, confused you, maybe even cost you a guy or a job you desperately wanted. So why do men seem to love dumb girls? Let me do my best to break it down for you.

For starters, men don't actually love the dumb ones, well, most of us don't. Generally speaking men want to screw the dumb ones, marry the smart ones. Dumb girls are easy or at least they appear to be at first glance. A smart woman won't typically sleep with a guy right away, they're too smart for that, too guarded to be defenseless enough to let some random man take them home and do with them as he pleases. The dumb one either doesn't have the brains to resist or the self confidence to realize she doesn't have to do that. Men want what's easy, for the night, but they want something more for life. The smart girl is going to be more difficult but worth it in the end so if he's not looking for something long term, odds are he's going after the chick with the lowest IQ.

Another big part of men liking dumb girls is the fact that it makes them feel better about themselves. Let's face it, most women are smarter, more practical, understanding and better multi-taskers than men. It can be quite intimidating. Well, the dumb ones are an exception. A lot of guys like to feel superior to women in some way. The dumb girls won't be smarter than the guy so he automatically has something over her and it's easy for him to make fun of her in order to make him feel better about himself. It's depressing but yes it happens all the time, even if it's behind her back or sometimes even inside of his own private thoughts but yes, he is thinking it. The dumb one will laugh at his jokes, even when they're not funny, mostly because she doesn't understand but laughs anyway. It's a great way to stroke his ego.

Basically, if he wants a stupid girl it's because he needs to feel better about himself. Sometimes it's for a night, sometimes for life due to some kind of mommy issue he should probably be on a couch across from a therapist for. If you're trying to get a man to take home for the night, play dumb. If you want him to marry you and start a family, smart is the way to go. Of course some of us find the incredibly stupid girls to be not only irritating but extremely sad as well, no matter the size of their hearts because some of them are sweet and otherwise very likable. So please remember, smart is always the way to go and if you find yourself playing dumb for the night, don't lose yourself in the charade. If he wants a dumb one, forget him, he's probably got more issues than you want to deal with anyway.

Internet Issues

Just a quick update to let you know that I'm currently without internet. Ever since Hurricane Irene my cable internet has been spotty and now I'm afraid my modem has crapped the bed. Thank goodness I got so many posts ready in advance so you probably haven't even noticed that there's any issues. I hope so anyway.

I type this now sitting in the Subway parking lot, currently roasting in the heat even though it's October.

Tomorrow is hopefully going to be an exciting one for DOC as long as I can get the internet to cooperate. I'm just hoping that the technician can fix the problem on so that my launch will go off on time. Do tell me what you think when you see it!

Charlotte Ronson Cosmetics

If you follow fashion you've probably heard the name Charlotte Ronson. Her affordable line for JCPenney was a huge hit a few years ago and every celeb was wearing it. If you haven't heard of her you might have heard of her equally famous siblings, twin sister DJ Samantha (Lindsay Lohan's ex) and brother Mark, also a DJ. Now Charlotte has branched out into cosmetics and I couldn't be happier. I'm loving the look of her line and can't wait to check it out in person. Here are the deets.

A Perfect Kiss Lipgloss (as we've learned from Mr. Dudesday most men prefer to kiss bare lips but such is life). All the colors look sheer and wearable for every occasion. At $14 it's comparable to MAC and tastes like lemon mint in case you're sick of cupcakes and vanilla. I'm most excited for Sophia and I'm going to tell myself it was for Sophia Bush even though it's for Sophia Rossi from Hellogiggles.com.

The four shadow palettes are amazingly gorgeous, I think I'm in love with Dani. Dani is one of the character's names in a book I'm writing (well I've only written the first couple pages of this one but I've planned out the entire thing). If purples aren't your thing there are plenty of neutrals in the other three palettes. For only $22 any of them could be yours. Bonus, they supposedly adjust to your lighting to give you the perfect look morning, noon or night.

I'm a little less enthusiastic about the Closer Finishing Powder only because of the applicator. I've never been a fan of the brush style applicators because I've had absolutely ZERO success with them. Usually a couple clicks yields you no product so you keep clicking until you get a puff of powder in your face. This one self adjusts to your lighting as well and was inspired by Rashida Jones. If it can work for Charlotte and Rashida it can work on a variety of skintones. Good to know since some powders tend to be ashy on darker skin.

The 3x a Charm Luminizer, Blush and Bronzer in Soshanna reminds me of the Blush/Bronzer Trio by NARS. How cute. These shades are pretty universally flattering and you get all three for only $28. Great deal!

Liquid bronzer is one of my favorite types. It's a little more fun to work with and a little more natural on my dry skin. I can't wait to try A Summer's Kiss Face and Body Glow. This "summer in a bottle" product works on a variety of skintones and skintypes, is weightless and reflects just the right amount of light in any setting to make you look glorious.

Lastly, if you're in the mood for something for your hair and you're in the mood for boho loose waves you need to look into Charlotte's A Perfect Mess Beach Hair. As a curly girl I know the power of products to make your hair look just right and this is the perfect one to amp up straight or wavy locks to give them a beachy vibe. I've never tried anything like this on my curly hair but I'm curious. What about you?

Thinking about picking anything up? Let me know in the comments.

My Essentials Monday: Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Golden Tourmaline with Swatches

You might remember in my Nails Inc post that I mentioned I'm in love with holographic polish, well that fascination started a long time ago with the Sally Hansen Nail Prisms line. I remember seeing ads for it in just about every magazine I read back in 2002. I was 17 so I was reading Seventeen, CosmoGirl, Teen Magazine and YM as well as my beloved Cosmo and Glamour (did you know I've collected every issue of both Cosmopolitan and Glamour since 2003? Oh yeah, now you do!). These nail polish ads were everywhere. They showed you both the color you'd normally see and the color that the holograph would reflect back at you. I think with most of them you have two main colors but you always get a rainbow hologram as well. So pretty.

Today I'm going to show you Golden Tourmaline. Tourmaline is a semi-precious stone that's actually really popular in Maine, the first state where it was mined back in 1822. Since Maine Tourmaline is usually a strawberry pink-red color I thought it was appropriate to mention with these swatches. Take a look...

Sorry for the peeling paint, this one is getting up there in age.

I popped this color on quickly over last weeks Sinful Colors in Boogie Nights but the color is definitely still true to Golden Tourmaline.