Saturday, July 17, is the last day to enter to win the Lancome giveaway of these three products.    Enter by clicking HERE.

And a Fabulous Giveaway!

Summer is all about looking fabulous and doing it quickly and easily.   Let’s face it, we want to look polished, but don’t want to put a ton of makeup on that just ends up melting off our faces.   Light, airy, polished is one way to look our best, but what can we use to get the look we want?   These three simple Lancome products can get you out the door and looking fabulous in no time at all.

Skip the foundation.   Everyone says they use less foundation when they look tan because a tan can hide so many imperfections.  Let this Tropiques Minérale Bronzer give you a bronzed look without heavy foundation.   Several months ago I declared this one of my “Lancome Favorites” and it still is.   Alex Sanchez, a National Artist for Lancome, used this on me last year and I was hooked.   The Natural Golden shade gives my skin a soft bronze glow that is a perfect replacement for getting a real tan which just damages your skin.

Make you lashes pop!  The latest addition to Lancome’s award winning mascaras is the Définicils Precious Cells.   Definicils mascara has been one that I’ve bought for more years than I care to remember.  But, it’s one you can depend on to not flake or smudge and gives definition to every single lash.   The new Precious Cells version is said to regenerate the condition of your lashes, minimize fallout when removing makeup and make your lashes stronger.   I’ve been using mine for only about 4 days and I really like how it’s non-drying to my lashes and the definition it gives them.   Currently is only available at Nordstrom and Lancome.com

Define your lips.  If you don’t want the heaviness of lipstick or the sheerness that many glosses have, then try L’Absolu Crème de Brillance.   It gives you the feel of a gloss, but the coverage of a lipstick complete with anti-aging molecules for moisture replenished lips.  These are truly fabulous!  Exotic Orchid is one of my favorite shades, but don’t let the Berry Noir or Rose Mythique shades fool you either.   See them tested on my hand below.  Berry Noir on top, Exotic Orchid in the middle and Rose Mythique on the bottom.

Isn’t that just the most simple, polished summer beauty routine?!  Anyone can do those 3 simple steps and look summer-gorgeous.

The fun part is Lancome and Fab Over 40 are giving away this Simple Summer Look to one lucky reader!   Just enter you name in the comments and I’d love to hear about a beauty product you love to use in the summer.  One entry per reader, US residents only and contest ends on Saturday, July 17th at 11:59 PM CST.

This is it, the last day to enter to win the Hana Elite Flat Iron!   Get your entries in today by clicking on Fab Over 40!  Good luck!

Stay tuned this week for more giveaways and beauty.

Do you recall my recent post on the Hana Elite flat iron?   Well, great news!   Misikko has offered to give away one Hana Elite flat iron to one lucky Fab Over 40 reader!

Read my review if you’d haven’t already by clicking Fab Over 40.  to get all the details of this fabulous flat iron.   This flat iron is valued at regular price of $359.99, currently on sale for $229.99! 

For your chance to win just enter your name in comments – one entrance daily.  Contest ends Saturday, July 10th at 11:59 PM CST.  Good luck!

Congratulations to winner Lethea, chosen by random.org   I only wish you all could have won – thanks so much for reading!

I recall while on vacation ages ago, going into a specialty boutique and seeing pieces of theL’Occitane line.   What really caught my eye then were the French soaps.  I loved the various fragrances and the way the sales associate described how the soaps were made with all natural ingredients and how they were physically made too.  She had me hooked right away.  I purchased several of the smaller 3.5 oz square soaps so I could try a variety.   They were simply divine and had me hooked on the line.   It has now started my craze of every time I go on vacation I have to buy a luxury soap.  Strange, I know, but I even have my husband hooked on that one!

Then along came Sephora to my town and lucky for me, they carry a lot of the line.   I was thrilled with the new convenience of having L’Occitane nearby.  I soon became hooked on the Shea Butter Hand Cream.   Now every time I run into Sephora I pick up a mini one to throw in my handbag, desk or wherever.   I am never without a Shea Butter Hand Cream!

Years ago on another beauty blog I read that she loved the L’Occitane Almond Milk Concentrate (shown at top) and the Almond Shower Oil.   So of course I had to give them a try!   Again, I fell instantly in love with how soft they made my skin feel and that almond scent is so addicting.  Yum!

Now they have, what I am sure of, are great hair care products as well.      And I’m happy to say that I know of two L’Occitane stores that are not too far from my home so I am able to stock up whenever needed.   They also have some wonderful gift sets, especially around the holidays.   I’m so happy that L’Occitane is a part of my fabulous beauty-musts!  If you haven’t tried L’Occitane before, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed when you finally get the opportunity.

L’Occitane is offering one lucky Fabulous Over 40 reader the chance to win $50 of L’Occitane product(s) of their choice!    All you have to do for your chance to win is put your name in the comments.    One lucky winner will be chosen at random on Friday, June 25th.  Contest ends that day at 11:59 PM CST  Contest is open to US residents only.

Good luck!  And next time you’re at Sephora, be sure to pick up a mini Shea Butter Hand cream.  You’ll thank me later.

Congratulations to reader Tracie for winning the Melvita products!

And Fab Over 40 has another giveaway too! 

Melvita, the French organic beauty company has recently opened its first US location in San Francisco and is available online.   I swear the west coast always seems to get the organic lines first!   Melvita was founded in 1983 by beekeeper and biologist, Bernard Chevilliat.   As a beekeeper, he has witnessed the assault of industrial chemicals and parasites on bees and the fragility of nature.  He believes that organic commitment is one of the keys to the future of our planet. 

Melvita offers so many wonderful products that are simple, streamlined and purposeful.  Have you ever tried floral waters?   Personally, I consider them my nighttime luxury.  There are so many lovely scents and really each scented floral water has a different purpose.  Some are freshening, others are for sensitive skin, others for skin blotchiness and more.   My secret – I spritz my face with a floral water before bed and I even spritz my pillow!   I swear if it’s a calming scent it helps me fall asleep quickly.  

Included in their list of beautiful products is Argan oil.  Many people swear by the powers of Argan oil.   It’s an oil that helps with dry skin, dry hair, nails and more.   I know Argan oil even helps me with my eczema.  Argan oil is rich in vitamin E and Omega 6 and helps with premature aging, UV protection and other damaging environmental causes. 

Now Fab Over 40 readers have a chance to win Melvita products!   In the comments enter your name and whether or not you have tried organic products before, I’d love to hear your comments on organic products.   One winner will be randomly chosen to win up to $50 worth of Melvita product of their choice!   This contest is for US residents only due to shipping restrictions.   Contest ends Monday, June 21st at 11:59 CST.  

Good luck!

Terri was chosen as the winner through Random.org   Congrats Terri!

Have you seen the Infiniti by Conair You Curl?   It’s a strange looking hair curling device that makes you wonder if they forgot to add a part when making it.   If you compare it to a curling iron, it’s missing the clamp and it’s cone shaped instead of the same diameter all around.   So yes, at first glance you wonder what the heck it is and assume you can’t curl your hair with it.

Currently, my hair is in the growing out stage and I have too many short layers for this to work properly on my hair.  But if it was about 1″ – 2″ longer I would be able to use it.   I’d say anywhere from between jaw and shoulder length hair to longer will get the best results.   So for testing purposes, I went to the one person whom I know that has long hair – my son’s girlfriend, Kirstyn.   Of course, her  reaction was initially the same has mine.  “Huh?  How does that work?”  So she gave it a try.

First there is a temperature that needs to be set.   You can go to the booklet and it gives you a guide as to your hair type and what to set the temperature at.  Then once it’s heated, you start with the largest part of the barrel closest to the scalp.   In this photo below it might look like she’s doing it the opposite, but she’s not.   The barrel is pointed upward instead of downward like the website shows, but she still has the largest part of the barrel nearest to the scalp.

Then you twist the hair around the barrel.

And twist some more.

And twist even more (long hair has a lot of twisting!) till the end of your hair is wrapped around to the narrowest part of the barrel.

Then her curls looked like this after doing several 1″ sections.

And here she took her fingers and a comb and ran them lightly through her hair.   Now obviously she only did the one side for demonstration purposes and to show you the difference it makes in her hair.  I think it makes beautiful, soft curls!  The next day we went to a wedding and she used this all over her hair for soft, pretty curls.   She said her younger sister was watching and intrigued by it as well.  I guess everyone has that initial reaction!  But, Kirstyn said it is much easier to use than you think and once you get the hang of it it works quickly too.

These retail for $49.99 and are available at various retail stores.   To celebrate the re-design of my site, Conair is offering a You Curl to one lucky reader from the US.  Just enter your name in the comments (again the comments can be reached by clicking on the crown at the top) by Friday, June 18, at 11:59 PM CST.   One winner will be randomly chosen.

We have a busy week ahead with some fabulous giveaways to celebrate the update of my site’s look!  To start off the week, let’s get down to skin care business with Lumene Finland.

Possibly you’ve been hearing a lot about apple stem cell extracts in the latest in skin care research, I know I have.   It’s said to maintain the skin’s stem cells’ ability to repair damage and to help delay and prevent the signs of aging.  You may not see damage on the surface of your skin yet, but it’s lurking below the surface, believe me!   Maybe you’re starting to or possibly already have had it show up in various ways; from wrinkles, blotchy skin, sagging and more. 

Lumene, the skin care line from Finland has their latest skin care line for skin over the age of 30, with this apple stem cell extracts called Lumene ExCELLent Future, and the products contain Applexcell™.   I swear women in the Scandinavian countries have some of the most beautiful skin, yet some of the harshest weather.   They must be doing something right with their skin care in order to have such beautiful skin.  So when I hear about Scandinavian skin care, I take notice.  I like that Lumene is available at CVS/pharmacy and other drugstore locations.   Typically products containing apple stem cell extracts, just the moisturizer alone can be well over $100.   All four of these products combined are about the price of one department store brand moisturizer with the same technology, making this affordable for nearly everyone! 

I’ve been trying the products shown above for a few weeks now.   Honestly, not long enough to give them the “full test drive” time, which I usually require about 6 weeks.   But, so far I really like the line, and a few are simply divine. 

The ExCELLent Future Deep Repairing Eye Cream- I was pleasantly surprised by this eye cream.   It is lightweight, and goes on very smoothly and dries quickly.   Which because of some of those traits, I thought it wouldn’t be enough moisture for my eye area.   I was wrong.   It keeps the eye area moisturized my skin smooth around the eye area throughout the day.  You can also use the serum around the eye area if this isn’t quite enough for you, but I don’t necessarily feel the need to do that.  The eye cream retails for $24.99

ExCELLent Future Deep Repairing Serum – This serum has over 90% natural ingredients, works to protect the skin’s stem cells and because of the natural ingredients it also increases protection from UV rays that actually destroy your skin’s stem cells.   I really love the texture of this serum.  I glides on smoothly and absorbs quickly and leaves my skin soft and smooth.  This retails for $29.99

ExCELLent Future Deep Repairing Day Cream- Of all the ExCELLent products, this is the one I currently can’t use.   It’s quite a heavy moisturizer for day and I think when fall and winter come it will be great for my skin.  But in the summer heat and humidity we have here in Minnesota my skin tends to get oily and I have trouble with heavier moisturizers.   So for now, this one will go back on the shelf for a few months.  But, if you have drier skin, this could work for you.   Both the day and night moisturizers are quite fragrant, but in less than 5 minutes I couldn’t smell the fragrance any longer.   This retails for $29.99

ExCELLent Future Deep Repairing Night Cream- To me, this night cream is actually a bit more lighter in weight than the Day Cream.  It has over 80% natural ingredients and no synthetic colorants.  It also has shea butter, blueberry seed oil and other nourishing emollients.  This is also quick to absorb and leaves my skin nicely moisturized.   This retails for $29.99.

Lumene is giving away to one lucky US reader all four of these Lumene ExCELLent Future Deep Repairing products valued at nearly $115! Enter for your chance to win by signing up in the “Comments”.   The “Comments” are now located by clicking on the crown under the title.  You have until Wednesday, June 16th at 11:59 PM CST to enter.   Good luck! 

Fab Over 40 has a fabulous giveway, compliments of Erno Laszlo

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for some time, you know that I am a fan of Erno Laszlo products.  It’s one of those classic skin care lines that have been around for many years and they really don’t disappoint in whatever I use.

Add the Total Skin Revitalizer to the continued list of wonderful products.   I’ve been using this for nearly a few months now and love how soft it makes my skin feel.  I also love the versatility of it.   It’s a hydrating serum that is for all skin types, but you may wonder what I mean by that since a dry skinned person is definitely not the same as oily.

Well, whether oily or dry you still need moisture, but not quite so much as when you are oily.   For example, when I started using this the weather was cooler and drier and so my skin was much drier than it is now.   I would apply this after I cleanse my face and before adding another layer of moisturizer.   Now that summer weather has kicked in fully and it’s warmer and more humid, my skin has definitely turned oilier.   Now I can just use this without putting that extra layer of moisturizer on top of it during the day.  At night I’m still using the extra layer of moisturizer.   It leaves my face smooth and hydrated without getting oily.   It helps to keep the skin plumped so wrinkles and fine lines are not so pronounced.

The weight of it is what I’d say as medium weight – not runny, but about the weight of a light lotion.   It’s lightly fragranced, but on me the scent disappears quickly and it dries very quickly so there is no feeling of your skin being coated.  It retails for $75.

If are from the US (sorry readers from other countries) and would like an opportunity to win this, just enter your name in the comments by Friday, June 11 at 5:00 p.m. CST.  One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org.    I also have this giveaway listed at Free!Grechen – be sure to check out that site for great giveaways!