Keira-anne.com

1. My Hair

Thank you all for your marvelous input and suggestions on my new ‘do this weekend. I suppose it comes with no surprise that “the big reveal” will take place on Saturday, so stay tuned for the drum roll…

2. The Women

Last night, after a gorge-fest on Olympia pizza and Pacific Pilsner beer (what can I say? I’m an Island girl), Amy and I burned off calories by heading across the Burrard Street bridge and found ourselves at Fifth Avenue Cinemas. In the spirit of all things womanly, we took in the 2008 remake of 1939’s “The Women,” starring, well, a lot of women.

In particular, some of those women include Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, Cloris Leachman (who was terrific!) and Annette Bening (who is very quickly becoming one of my favourite actresses). Though I felt the movie lacked in character development, it made up for it with humour, relatable storylines and a few fabulous handbags. [website]

3. Stella McCartney CARE

I’ve now had a few days to try out the full line of Stella McCartney CARE products sent to me last week by Matchstick. My tote bag full of delicious-smelling, pretty-packaged, 100% active organic ingredient skin care has proven to be a lot of fun to try! Here’s the breakdown…

Purifying Foaming Cleanser - This by far my favourite of the two cleansers sent to me. It has a delicate and light - yet luxurious - foaming quality to it that truly leaves my skin feeling clean.

Gentle Cleansing Milk - This was the second of two cleansers I tried, and while the idea of a gentle milk to cleanse my skin sounds dreamy, it didn’t feel as though my skin was clean after (and that feeling is important to a girl!) so it’s not the cleanser I’d choose. Smells great though…

Toning Floral Water - I wish I had this a few months ago in the heat of summer! It’s a refreshing, aromatic water mist that spritzes in a steady stream, leaving my skin feeling cool, dewy and fresh.

5 Benefits Moisturizing Fluid - One of two daily moisturizers and this one has been receiving the majority of my attention. It’s a milky, light cream that locks in the love I get from the Toning Floral Water. I’m totally okay with natural, woodsy scents, so this one gets two thumbs up from me.

5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream - This is the sister product to the 5 Benefits Moisturizing Fluid and to me is really no different except in that it’s seemingly got a heavier concentration and a richer viscosity. I haven’t used it as much but have no doubt that it will be fantastic when those drying days of Winter hit.

Nourishing Night & Day Cream - Definitely not something that is necessary on a daily basis, but sometimes a girl’s skin needs a bit of extra TLC. This is where the Nourishing Night & Day Cream comes in. It’s like the 5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream on natural steroids. It’s rich, it’s deep and it’s intense. Use only before bedtime.

Radiance & Youth Elixir, Calming & Soothing Elixir and Nourishing Elixir - Ahhh…the elixirs. My absolute favourite part of the line! Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books we all loved as kids? Consider the elixirs to be somewhat of a “Choose Your Own Skin Today” potion. Each is a heavily concentrated serum intended to pair up with your moisturizer for added benefits, and each is designed with a different skin goal in mind.

I’ve found the Radiance & Youth Elixir great in the mornings before applying make-up for a brand spanking new skintone and the Calming & Soothing Elixir does just that at the end of the day. The Nourishing Elixir is strong and derived of natural oils, so use it sparingly and only when your skin needs a bit of extra attention.

IN SUMMARY

My overall impression of Stella McCartney’s CARE skin care line is definitely favourable! I’ve long been a big fan of natural and organic products when available but find they often miss the mark. While I feel there is a bit of room for tweaking, I am quite sure Stella is onto something really good here.

Suggestions for the future? One absolute essential that is missing from the line is a daily exfoliant or scrub to slough off dead skin cells. Also, I am rather fond of cleansers that take off all make-up - including mascara. It was a bit of a pain in the butt to employ the use of a specific make-up remover. Sometimes a girl just doesn’t have time!

While I can’t say I would purchase the entire line, there are certainly a few pieces that I can’t imagine not having in my bathroom - in particular the Toning Floral Water and a couple of the Elixirs. Stella McCartney CARE is available across Canada at Holt Renfrew and in the United States at Sephora. For more information on the entire line of products, please visit the official Stella McCartney CARE website.

Years ago, when I still spent the Summer months at a beachfront kids’ camp, I was given the nickname “Princess of Products.” I had stuff - so much stuff - in bottles, jars and containers. Lotions, potions, perfumes and make-up. In fact, I am constantly on a quest for a skin care line to call my own. After 27 years of searching, I settled on Clinique, if only because I consider it to be “Old Faithful.”

Then one day last week I got a phone call…

As it turned out, the lovely folks at Matchstick thought me and Stella McCartney would really hit it off. Stella McCartney has recently released a full line of luxury skin care products called CARE, made with 100% organic active ingredients. Agreeing to try out the goods was a no-brainer for this chica, and today I received a tote bag full of goodies!

Aside from some yummy essential orange oil and organic tea, the tote bag contained nine items from the Stella McCartney CARE line:

I’m such a sucker for pretty packaging. Each product came in a shiny, silver tube which can easily be reusable. And the product inside? All items in the Stella McCartney CARE line are ECOCERT certified, guaranteeing social and ecological values. I should also mention that the inserts were printed on 100% recycled paper - thoughtful touch, Miss McCartney.

The natural scents danced lightly under my nose as soon as I opened the packages. The fragrances are composed of 100% organic essential oils. Before hitting the bathroom with my new loot, I logged into the official website to read more about the products and how they’re best used. Surprisingly, I also found some tips on alternate uses for the items - check them out for yourself.

Tonight I cracked open a few to try, so make sure to check back in a day or two for the re-cap. Because there’s such a variety to experiment with, I’ll need a few days to give them all a whirl.

And last, but certainly not least, a few words from Stella herself:

“My skin is important to me. It’s one of the first things people notice about you. But for many years now, I have found myself dissatisfied with what is available in the world of skincare. Just because I don’t want to put something unnatural on my face, doesn’t mean I should have to make sacrifices. I ask the same things as you do from my skincare; I want it to help me feel and look younger, more radiant. I also expect it to feel rich and luxurious and to sit proudly on my bathroom shelf. It needs to fit into my lifestyle in an uncomplicated way. Why shouldn’t it be possible to adopt a more natural, organic lifestyle without foregoing luxury?”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

*This post is about tampons. You might be grossed out. Consider yourself warned.*

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the friendly people at Matchstick, curious to know if I’d be interested in giving o.b. tampons a try. I’m a girl, thus tampons are an important part of my monthly purchases. A good friend of mine swears by o.b., and whenever her and I are out somewhere and I find myself in a moment of need, she will unfailingly slip an o.b. tampon under the stall door. So, I figured it was worth a week-long shot.

Matchstick sent me a bunch of neato stuff. In my reusable tote bag, I found a week’s supply pour moi, hot water bottle (a godsend, really), eye mask, durable water bottle and the July, 2008 edition of Elle Canada (FYI: it’s September). Also included in the tote were 20 to-go sample packs to hand out to all my girlfriends (let me know if you want one or two to try).

Keep in mind that you’re talking with a girl who only ever uses Tampax Pearl tampons. In truth, I find the average tampon provides just as adequate protection as the next, so for me, it’s all about the applicator. Here’s where o.b. tampons differ: one is required to employ, um, manual application. While I find the idea of less waste in the environment enticing, this was the deal breaker for me.

Though I have no qualms with this manual application concept, it simply isn’t efficient for me (personally speaking, of course). I found the process to take twice as long than with a regular applicator, and then you have that much more of a…mess…to deal with. I’m more of a 1, 2, GO girl.

I kept to my word and used o.b. for an entire week. While I find they’re great in a pinch, easy to conceal (rather than taking your entire handbag to the bathroom) and obviously environmentally friendly, I think I’ll be sticking with my usual brand. Don’t take my word for it though: click here to get your own free “mighty. small.” sample of o.b. tampons.