Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Village Naturals Aromatherapy Relax Vanilla & Cinnamon Body Butter, $8

Brrrr! I'm sitting at the computer with a winter coat and fuzzy boots on as I'm typing this post. It's COLD! Turkey Day is tomorrow and the Indian Summer that we had in L.A. last month is looong gone. :(  I get cranky when the weather changes because I usually get sick. I always complain and mutter something about how "island people" aren't meant for the cold, but the real reason I hate cold weather so much is because it's so DRY.

Product Review: Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes

For Halloween weekend, I was dressed a sexy Native American Princess... *ahem* I believe the costume was called "Poke-My-Hontas". (Don't judge meeeee lol)

Anyway, even though I'm Filipino, I'm definitely sort of a guidette at heart (it's the New Yorker in me), so getting tan was essential before putting on my outfit. Unfortunately, there are a lot of self-tanners out there that smell disgusting, so I had to pick one that wouldn't make me reek of sweaty fake bake while I was out partying and dancing my ass off
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Luckily, the sweet team at Beautylish.com sent me some free swag since I wasn't able to make it to their Beauty Social event last week and in my box of goodies was two packs of Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes... yay! They saved me from what would probably have been hours of aggravation trying to find the right self-tanner. (I was leaning towards Sun Labs Sunless Tanning Spray.)

$10 for 2 at Sephora

Kate Somerville's tanning cloths are like big wet-naps that are soaked with self-tanning solution. I needed two to cover my whole body, so at $10 for 2 the price is a little steep. But the tanning solution did its job and I immediately started getting tan. After only a couple hours, I was very bronze and my boyfriend's brother even commented on how dark I looked. Thankfully, there was no strong smell at ALL- even while I was out dancing and sweating at a Halloween party. The next morning I was SNOOKI dark. For the price, though, I was disappointed because I was orange :(

Short & Sweet: Kate Somerville's 360 Tanning Towelettes are great in a pinch, when you're short on time and need to tan ASAP without having a gross, lingering sunless tanner smell. However, the are pretty expensive ($10 for 2 or $48 for 8) and turned my skin orange-y when the color fully developed, so I would only give them a 3/5.

Tip: I used Glytone Exfoliating Body Wash with a Salux Japanese Exfoliating Washcloth to scrub off any dry, dead skin before using the Tanning Towelettes. Always exfoliate before you tan so you won't look splotchy! Then, rub a thick moisturizer into your elbows, knees, ankles, hands, and feet so they won't absorb too much of the solution. Finally, start at your ankles with the towelette still folded and work your way up, unfolding the cloth as you go.

Little Luxuries by MOR Cosmetics

While I was out shopping this weekend, I discovered MOR Cosmetics' Pomegranate French-Milled Bar Soap, the most divine berry scent I've ever smelled, and bought all of the bars I could find in the store.

MOR Cosmetics Pomegranate French-Milled Bar Soap, $9 at Amazon.com

MOR is an Australian company that makes cosmetics and bath products that look and smell luxurious. Their products include body butters, lotions, soap, bath soaks, lip gloss, candles, perfume oils, scrubs, hand creams, and more. I love the cute little Lip Macarons:

MOR products would make amazing gifts because of their uber-cute packaging. You can find gift sets on their website and you can also find some of their older products at BeautyTicket.com, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's.

When Demi Moore Gives You Anti-Aging Advice, You LISTEN!

If you're like me, cold weather tends to make you lazy. Who wants to do anything in the winter except snuggle under a warm blanket and watch TV? The laziness also extends to beauty regimens - most people don't want to spend any extra time moisturizing but this might change your mind:

When asked by Allure magazine what her beauty secret was, Demi Moore said, "I moisturize, moisturize, moisturize..."

Clearly, moisturizer is not the ONLY thing that has made Demi Moore look 37 for the last decade... but any piece of advice from age-defying Demi is worth taking.

During the winter, keeping your skin and body hydrated could prevent early wrinkles. Hydrating keeps skin supple and maintains elasticity. That said, here are five products you should never skimp on during the colder months:

1. Eye cream - Even if you're too young for wrinkles, the skin around your eyes needs some extra hydration to keep it smooth and soft when it's cold out.

Avon Solutions Plus+ Maximum Moisture Eye Cream, $12.50, avon.com

2. Body cream - Definitely apply lotion right after a shower, the best time for skin to absorb it. Use a creamier formula rather than a lighter one for maximum hydration.

Nude Moisturising Body Cream, $48, sephora.com

3. Hand and foot cream - You probably noticed that your hands and feet get drier during the winter, especially since most people wash their hands excessively to avoid catching colds or the flu. Apply hand cream every time you wash your hands and keep travel sized tubes in your purse for on-the-go application.

4. Face moisturizer - Gloves cover your hands, boots cover your feet, a hat covers your head and clothes cover your body but unless you wear a ski mask every day, your face is more exposed to the cold air than the rest of your body. Choose a richer face moisturizer for the winter than you would use in the summer or, if you can afford it, have one for daytime and a richer one for night.

Tea Naturals Extra-Rich Lavender Facial Moisturizer, $25, amazon.com

5. Leave-in conditioner - Cold weather wreaks havoc on hair. Make sure to use a leave-in conditioner to help hair stay soft instead of drying out and turning into straw.

Alterna Anti-Aging Leave-In Conditioner, $32, sephora.com