Eye Of Horus

My colleagues and I are always on the hunt for those rare luxury products that fit our criteria at the store. They have to be safe to use, beautiful, luxurious, cruelty-free, and like a first love, make us wonder how we ever existed without them. It hasn’t been easy. Like an online dating site, the market is flooded with false promises and hyped-up stories.

So when my requested “Eye of Horus” eyeliners and mascaras arrived, I opened the beautiful gold and black boxes much like a jaded lover who has been around the block a few times.

What did the website promise? Pretty much the universe as far as mascaras and eyeliners are concerned:  Lengthening, volumizing, smudge-proof formulas that are non-clumping and non-sensitizing and wear all day but wash off easily—all from natural ingredients like beeswax, ricebran wax, canauba wax, candellia and jojoba waxes, and natural oils like almond, moringa and sesame. I don’t know about you, but I have long lost my desire to coat my fine lashes with petroleum-based, paraben-riddled products, and so these ingredients appealed to me—if they worked.

Eye of Horus products not only lived up to its claims, but went beyond my expectations. The eye pencils, in a simple palate of teal, bronze and charcoal glided onto my delicate eyelids; the liquid liner, with a reversible tip to get the most out of the product, offered incredible precision, and the mascara indeed thickened and lengthened—I actually wondered if my lashes looked too long! All the products also wore well throughout the day with zero smudging. That night, I used my favorite Osea Ocean Cleanser, and like magic, the product washed off perfectly.

So I handed the sample box to my colleagues for round two of testing. That the sample box came back empty tells you that we were in agreement.

I am proud to say that this unique find is now available at our store, Inside Out Beauty Bar, and even prouder to tell you that we are the very first U.S. retailer carrying the line. Currently, Eye of Horus can be found in retailers across New Zealand and Australia. So if you’re in the area, treat yourself with a pitstop to Bellmore, N.Y. to sample the product!

  

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. It is also the company name of some incredible mascara and eyeliner.

Our Loveable Lisa sampling out the product. She texted me an hour after the products came in. "Not trying to be creepy with this picture but I'm showing you how amazing Eye of Horus Mascara is!!"

Suntegrity

After spending yesterday afternoon whizzing down a snowy hilltop with my almost-six-year-old daughter and coaching her to trek back up-- the two of us sweating under layers of thermals in the warm sun-- I am reminded that it is never too early in the season for sunscreen. And for this season, our team at IOBB has found THE BEST sunscreen!

I am obsessed with Suntegrity Sunscreen. First, it is a tinted sunscreen, which comes simply in “light” or “medium,” taking the guesswork out of choosing a color. Second, it feels like creamy silk on the skin. I used it over the weekend, loving its uplifting citrusy scent, and found that it made my skin not only feel amazingly hydrated and smooth, but made it look amazingly hydrated and smooth—without any other products needed. A little Suntegrity, a little mascara, a little lip gloss, and I was off to the slopes, feeling fresh and fully protected, even against my daughter’s resistance, “it’s too hard!”

Of course, I love the integrity of the product as well. Suntegrity, a non-toxic, mineral-based sunscreen, was founded by Tricia Trimble in memory of her mother who lost her life to cancer:

“…Using my mom’s experience as a positive catalyst for change, I created a holistic, mineral sun care line to help people avoid skin cancer. After losing my mom to melanoma skin cancer, I became a big advocate of wearing sunscreen. However, most of the sunscreens on the market use chemical UV blockers and contain a lot of toxic ingredients. It didn’t make sense to me to use these types of sunscreens to prevent skin cancer only to get another kind of cancer. After several years of research and investigation, I decided to develop my own sun care line that works from both the inside-out and the outside-in. With a heartfelt mission and the help of an extremely knowledgeable formulator and chemist, Suntegrity Skincare was born. Suntegrity Face and Body SPF 30 products use only the best known physical block ingredient (non-nano size zinc oxide) to provide broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and super anti-oxidants and amino acids to enhance that protection and help with skin repair. Our products use non-toxic preservatives to maintain their integrity without sacrificing safety or health. Our company was awarded “Champion” Status by the EWG/Compact for Safe Cosmetics.”

In Suntegrity, you will not find: Chemical UV absorbers, nano-particles (under 100 nanometers), parabens, phenoxyethanol, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oils, synthetic dyes, and sulfates.

A great sunscreen that makes my skin look and feel fabulous—and is safe? I may have to spend some more time outdoors.

Suntegrity is available beginning this week at Inside Out Beauty Bar in Bellmore. (516) 221-0600.

www.insideoutbeautybar.com

Sisterhood

Sisterhood is on my mind. Sisterhood of biology, and sisterhood of friendship. There are the the sisters we are born with and the sisters we choose, and in some cases, the blurring of boundaries as we come to understand that the very sisters we are born with are likely the sisters we would choose if given an opportunity; or as we learn that the sisters we think we've chosen have actually chosen us. 

I feel grateful today that I have great sisters. Even more grateful that I am in business with two particular sisters that I would choose any day of the week. The number three can be challenging for women-- one can feel left out, one can feel unappreciated or misunderstood- but it can also be a powerful trine. Three wishes. The holy trinity. Three witches concocting an alchemic potion of beauty. Three is not exclusive; it is inclusive. Three is a democracy. 

We women need our sisterhood, in twos or threes. Behind every good man is a great woman. And behind every great woman are her sisters.