Body care

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Lazy Beauty

Maybe it’s the sweltering mid-August heat, or maybe it’s just that I’m way too busy these days, but lately I’ve been practicing what can only be called lazy beauty. My once meticulous nighttime skincare routine of cleansing, moisturizing, and doing regular at-home chemical peels (I like Anew Clinical Advanced Retexturizing Peel, available from Avon) has fallen by the wayside. I’m lucky if I can be bothered to wash my face before falling into bed. Fortunately for my face, I recently tried the new EZ4U 2 GO 4-in-1 facial towelettes from mdskincare. They come in convenient individual packages and are about as easy to use as it gets: remove from package, swipe over face, pass out. The package claims that they cleanse, balance, treat and moisturize in one step, and I have to say, my skin has glowed every time I used one. And, unlike most of the other facial towelettes I’ve tried, these don’t dry out my skin.

Other time saving, multi-tasking products I’ve been using? Venus Spa Breeze disposable razors, which have bars of shave gel built in. In my experience, they don’t give you as close a shave as traditional razors, but they make shaving so much less of a pain that I don’t mind shaving a little more often.

Since it’s summer, I’ve also been skipping out on body lotion (come fall I will have to go back to slathering on a layer of the stuff every time I step out of the shower) and instead have just been spritzing on Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush Body Double Mist. The perfumed body spray has skin conditioners in it to make you soft while you smell good, and it comes in a variety of scents. My favorite is Coconut Craze.

As far as makeup is concerned I’ve been taking the very easy road: tinted moisturizer, lip gloss, and a little powder on my nose. To give myself a little color, I’ll dust blush on my cheeks and eyelids for a natural, all over pick-me-up. My favorite blush? The classic, can’t-go-wrong shade, Nars orgasm.

I’m not the only one paring down my routine. My boyfriend recently starting using Nivea for Men Active 3 Shower Shampoo and Shave, and 3-in-1 product that, you guessed it, can be used as a shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream. He loves it, and I’ve gotta rave about it too. His hair is soft, his skin is smooth, and boy does it smell fantastic.

Lazy never looked (or smelled) so good.

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Foam Sweet Foam

It took exactly one use of Bath and Body Works’ new Foam Burst Body Wash for me to be hooked. It was on sale the last time I stopped in said store, leading me to buy a bottle for me (in the Warm Vanilla Sugar scent; I’m a sucker for products that smell like baked goods) and one for my sister, who appreciates a good beauty find but rarely takes the time to go searching for one herself.

Having a stockpile of body washes, scrubs, and soaps, I did not try the new body wash right away. A few days later, however, my sister called to ask if I had tried it yet. When I answered that no, I had not, she informed me that I had to try it ASAP because, not only was it fun to use, it made her skin so soft that her boyfriend couldn’t keep his hands off her. Interesting.

So I tried it. Turns out, she was right. When squirted onto a wash cloth or pouf, the gel doesn’t seem too extraordinary, but lather it up a bit and start scrubbing yourself with it, and soon you’re covered in a soft foam that conjures up memories of foam parties from college (without the sketchy oh-my-god-what’s-been-going-on-in-here vibe). It left my skin clean, lightly perfumed, and softer than I can ever remember it being. A loyal body lotion user, I even skipped my usual post-shower slather and still felt soft and smooth.

The result? My boyfriend came over later that day, took one whiff of me and said, “Mmmm is that vanilla?” About 20 minutes later he ran his hand along my arm and mentioned that my skin felt ridiculously soft that day. I just used the last of the body wash and you can bet I’ll be buying some more the next time I’m near a Bath and Body Works.

My sister just bought five more bottles.