what i want for earth day: suki cosmetics

i have to admit that i sort of have a love/hate with suki products. the problem is that i tend to get a little obsessed, and find myself having a hard time parting with them long enough to try any other brands that come my way.

suki just launched their cosmetic line, and i love it every bit as much as i love their skin care products. one of my favorite qualities in a cosmetic is a multi-tasking product, and suki has that in spades.

take their triple cream eye definer: it works as a fabulous and long-lasting cream shadow, eyeliner or even a brow definer. and the colors are fantastic - i tried out the amber, and it's my new favorite shade. the slight shimmer brightens up your entire face, so it gives you that "she did something new, but what is it?" look. and it stays put beautifully all day and night.

same story for their pure cream lip & cheek stain - the colors are gorgeous (my fave is opal), the application is simple, and the results are flawless, without a lot of effort. just what the doctor ordered.

last, but certainly not least, their concealer does a really fabulous job of covering nearly anything - my only tip is to make sure you use it in lieu of an eye moisturizer, as it doesn't get along with my eye creams.

best of all, suki's products are completely and totally natural, non-toxic, and generally designed to make your skin happy. even their (completely gorgeous) packaging is eco-friendly - it's printed on recycled materials, with vegetable ink.

my favorite part is that suki takes the trouble to actually remove the allergens from the natural ingredients, so people with freakishly sensitive skin like me can still partake in the products, without fear of major allergic reactions.

check out the full line at suki's website - you'll love it as much as i do. happy earth day!

shoppingsmycardio's top 3 of 2007: beauty

it's been a big year here at shoppingsmycardio - it seems like there's always something wonderful we just have to have. so, it felt fitting to end the year with a roundup of my favorite beauty items, clothing and accessories from 2007.

beauty was actually the easy one for me this year, though i tried out more new beauty products in 2007 than i have in my entire life - by a landslide. but there were 3 products i tried that have definitely become new obsessions for me.

first up is caudalie vinoperfect radiance serum, which i discovered when i visited bluemercury a while back (hmm, speaking of beauty favorites of 2007...can a store be a favorite beauty product?). i am not one to spend crazy amounts on beauty products, so the fact that i was willing to shell out nearly $80 for this should speak volumes. this serum goes on silky smooth, and really just seems to make my skin glow. it claims to decrease redness and beauty marks over time, so i'll keep you posted on that front. but overall, this is my one "can't be without" facial product.

i've always been one of those people who didn't really see much of a difference between facial cleansers. i mean, if it gets the oil off and doesn't make things worse, that's really all i'm looking for. plus, i have freakishly sensitive skin (really, it's sad - just ask my team of allergists). so, for years, i was a dedicated cetaphil girl. but one day, a packet of samples arrived from a company called suki, and i took one whiff of their lemongrass cleanser, and the smell made me so happy that i knew i had to give it a try. it's really sort of a hybrid between a scrub and a cleanser, and it's literally so fabulous that it makes me excited to hop in the shower in the morning. well worth your $24.50.

and, last but not least is my favorite hair product of 2007. this one's tough only because i can't decide which product(s) from the ecru line to include, as i'm pretty obsessed with all of them (as you might recall from the post i did about them earlier this year). but i think i have it narrowed down to either the luxe treatment shampoo, which does a truly amazing job of cleansing without stripping, and the volumizing silk mist, which actually manages to give my obnoxiously heavy hair an amazing amount of volume. though truly, i've tried every product they make, and all are better than anything else in the same genre that i've tried. hair products that actually do what they say they will: genius.

so, there you have it: the best of beauty 2007. stay tuned this week for the rest of my 2007 favorites!