Going on holiday and spending time on planes,  in the sun,  contrasted with cold, snow and super dry central heating takes a toll on skin. I grabbed a bottle of CeraVe PM lotion, as I had read rave reviews of it’s super moisturizing abilities while being non oily or pore clogging. At under $15 for a 3oz bottle at the drugstore I figured it was worth the risk. Well, this stuff is amazing – I have been using it in conjunction with my Skinceuticals serums at night.

What CeraVe says:

Helps repair, restore, and maintain protective skin barrier

CeraVe® Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM helps repair damaged skin and maintain the skin’s natural protective function with ingredients not commonly found in other moisturizers. Its patented Multivesicular Emulsion (MVE®) technology releases theses ingredients over time, penetrating deep into the skin to hydrate and nourish.

Ceramides – Helps reduce lipid levels in damaged skin to repair, restore, and maintain the skin’s natural barrier. Essential in preventing water loss from the skin
Niacinamide – Helps the skin produce more natural ceramides and fatty acids essential for repairing and restoring the skin barrier. Also shown to reduce redness.
Hyaluronic Acid – An essential ingredient (humectant) that attracts water to the top layer of the skin and ensures that the skin remains hydrated.

All true, and my skin is noticeably more supple and not tight at all, which is how it felt before using it. Verdict? Love. I have a feeling this is not available in Canada, which means I will stock up when I visit the US.

L’Occitane Shea Butter line is amazing, as we all know. Full of natural and delicious smelling moisturizing goodness, I could slather myself head to toe in this stuff, and well, I often do. Right now my hair is dry, processed and suffering from serious hard water issues. I can barely get a comb through it. I forgot to bring my ICON India Shampoo & Conditioner on vacation and knew I needed serious silky conditioning action. I decided to just hop on over to my local L’Occitane shop at the mall and grab their Shea Butter Ultra Rich Shampoo and Ultra Rich Conditioner. How have I not reviewed these? I first read about the conditioner on The Non Blonde – and she has some big hair so I take her recos seriously. It’s almost weird how thin & runny the conditioner is when you realize how magical it is on dry hair. Try it. Words don’t do it justice. Not to mention, my hair smells so delicious now. Dry hair saved!

By Terry Baume de Rose. I did it. And I blame Jessica over at Getting Cheeky because she doth love it so. And she has divine taste so who am I to question that? I tried some at Space NK a few days ago and was hooked. So I happily do my own High/Low lip love and switch up my purse balms between By Terry Baume de Rose and Nivea Lip Butter. High and low because Baume de Rose is around $58, which puts it into La Mer territory.  What By Terry says:

This precious balm contains lipid-boosting and nourishing active ingredients to repair and protect lips and cuticles. Ultra-rich, it moisturises and soothes the driest and most delicate areas with its regenerating complex containing rose wax to soften and smooth, nourishing botanical oils to boost cell renewal, and hydrating shea butter. By Terry’s exclusive ‘Hydroskin’ complex heals and supplies strength, nutrition and comfort. UV filters protect against sun damage and vitamin E fights against skin ageing. 

I love it already and feel like it gently plumps the lips while adding delicious moisture. You can buy By Terry at select retailers, best to check their site for shopping info.

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray made it into the mix because a) I wanted a small bottle of dry shampoo for traveling and b) it smells really good. I use and adore the more reasonably priced Batiste but got the Oribe, $19 for the 2.2oz can, as a little treat to myself. One thing it does have that Batiste doesn’t is that it is practically colourless whereas the Batiste is a bit powdery and light. Maintaining being blonde means some powdery lightness on dirty roots just means I look like I’ve touched up my roots. Verdict? Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray is perfect for travel, gym and beach bags. Oribe is sold at Holt Renfrew in Canada, Neimans and Space NK –  you can check their site for shopping info.