My Diva Lounge

We’ve found another little gold mine out there for natural and botanically based products! Body & Spirit offers handmade, wonderfully decadent bath and body luxuries that EVERY Diva truly needs. We discovered them through a fellow Diva in Utah and have been hooked on their products ever since. Body & Spirit was twice named the Utah “Best of State” winner for best handcrafted items and now their lovely and delicious bath and body products are available for shipment nationwide through their online store at etsy.com. So what are our favorite picks? We have three favorite scents: Vanilla Gelato (rich, beautiful vanilla scent), Pink Sugar (beyond cotton candy), and Grapefruit Orange (for the Diva who wants to smell simply fresh, flirty, fruitful and edible). We highly recommend their Body Glow grape seed oil & sea salt body polish. This amazing, antioxidant-rich and vitamin-rich scrub will leave you feeling tingly and smooth! Next up, you’ll want to keep that smooth skin feeling soft, supple, and properly moisturized. For this, we recommend their decadent, paraben-free, vegan friendly “Body Yogurt”. Your skin has never felt better! This decadent, luxurious, ultra-rich body cream leaves your skin feeling silky-smooth and intensley moisturized without a heavy greasy feeling. Body & Spirit’s items are all hand prepared by a licensed aesthetician who makes each batch of products with the utmost of care. We are truly in love with their products and know you will be, too! Why not treat yourself to a little decadent pampering today? Visit their online store and place your order before the holiday rush sells them out of these fabulous Diva indulgences!

We’re pretty thrilled about this post! Since the invention of lipstick, there has not been a better beauty breakthrough than eyelash conditioners. For those of you who have not heard the buzz, these serums help to condition your own natural lashes to come out longer, thicker, darker, stronger, and more beautiful overall. There was some hype last year when notice came from the FDA that they were seizing some lash serums made by Jan Marini, but after further research on the subject, we discovered it was her old formula they were taking, and that all lash serums currently on the US market are perfectly safe for use in cosmetic products. We looked into a lot of different serums, ranging from $25 to $175 and found that only a few actually do what they say they will do (don’t bother with the cheaper serums, Divas, they just won’t do the trick). So is it worth it? How much would you pay for your own natural lashes to look longer and thicker, even without mascara on them? Let’s break the math down on our current favorite, Enormous Lash (formerly Massive Lash) by Beauty Society. Enormous Lash costs $95 for one tube (it’s also the only lash serum on the market that comes with a full 1-year money back satisfaction guarantee). That tube should last (according to our tests) anywhere from three to five months (depending on use). That breaks it down to $20-$30 per month for lashes you’ve always wanted to have. By our standards, that’s well within a Diva’s budget and totally worth it when you consider the fact that you’ll get your money back if you’re not happy with the results!

Lashes will take anywhere from several weeks to several months to reach the desired effect, so make sure you use the entire tube before you judge the results (mine took about three months to start really looking great). We were also pleased to discover that after your first or second tube, you can start using the product every two to three days instead of daily. This brings the “maintenance” fees down to $10-$15 per month (again, depending on use). What Diva can’t afford that? Heck, I’ll skip the Starbucks for two days to pay for longer, sexier natural lashes anytime! This is a powerful product, gals, so make sure you read the instructions, don’t let it get in your eyes (ouch), and be regimental about use (in the beginning, make sure you don’t skip applications). A little goes a long way, so make sure not to slop it on. They have an instructional video posted on YouTube here, for those of you who want to see how to apply properly. You can visit their website to order your own tube at http://www.bestlash.com and enter coupon code “mydivalounge” upon checkout to get free shipping (within the USA) on your order!

I remember my mom always raving about her “Great Lash” mascara, by Maybelline, in the old pink and green tube. I swear, she used to live by that stuff! But as I’m now rapidly approaching my 40s, I found the more common mascaras just weren’t doing the trick anymore. I kicked it up and started buying every expensive mascara I could find on the market - thickening, lengthening, some upwards of $50 per tube! After months of sampling through trial and error, I stumbled upon a great mascara called “Kiss Me” by blinc.

This neat little mascara uses technology that actually coats your lashes with water resistant “tubes” which don’t smudge, clump, or flake, even if you cry! I was thrilled. It took a bit to learn to apply it properly (but what mascara doesn’t require a little “fine tuning”?), but after a few applications, I had it down. My lashes were finally looking darker, thicker, and longer, as they did when I was a teenager. You can usually find “Kiss me” at Sephora, beauty supply stores, and even online for anywhere from $19.99 to $25.00.

Then one night, I had a Diva affair to attend and realized I was staring down the dark hole of an empty tube of “Kiss Me” mascara. In a total panic, I ran to the only store open near me (Longs) and filled up my cart with any mascara I could find. Once I got home (and recovered from the shock of paying so much for so many products I knew I would have to throw away), I was pleasantly surprised by one special product (which, luckily for me, was one of the first I tried on my lashes).

Leave it to good old Maybelline to knock our socks off with a fantastic (and affordable) mascara that really does the trick - Define-a-Lash! Somehow I heard my mother’s voice in the back of my head telling me she told me so. Surprisingly, Maybelline’s Define-a-Lash (which you can score for $3 to $7 in any cosmetic aisle at your local drug store) goes on smooth, doesn’t clump, and gives you fantastic luscious lashes! It even comes in a waterproof version, for those of us who need a bit more “stick” than the average gal (dancing, laughing, crying, partying, etc). My trick is to swipe some on my upper lashes and let it set a bit while I swipe some on the lower lashes. Fix/fidget with the lower lashes while the upper lashes become a bit sticky/tacky as they set (but don’t let it dry between coats). Then pull the wand through your upper lashes for a beautiful and dramatic finish (I learned this trick decades ago while getting a facial - it really works once you get the technique down).

So throw away those expensive tubes of mascara - let your lashes shine in a more natural light with Define-a-Lash! You’ll be looking and feeling younger with your new flirty, fluttering lashes!

For those of us who need a little extra to help take the “edge” off, we’ve got a beauty secret for you! Makeup “primers” are the hottest new trend to help smooth out and even out skin without looking like we’ve slapped on pancake makeup. At first, we were a little skeptical about primers. What is a primer anyway? Isn’t it just another step before foundation? Do you really need a primer if you use foundation? What if you don’t use foundation? So many questions… and we found the answers after using our new favorite: Photo Shoot by Beauty Society (formerly Intuit). Kim Kardashian threw together a sweet little post talking about some of her favorite things and Photo Shoot was high on the list. We ordered it and sampled it out to a few other Divas and were thrilled with the results. This ultra sheer matte finish primer can be worn with or without foundation and helps to give your skin a soft, velvety feel while evening out skintones with such subtlety, you won’t look like you’re wearing a thing! Perfect for Divas AND Dudes because nobody will even know you have it on! This is one of those beauty secrets that you will want to keep all to yourself while everyone around you asks why you are glowing! We say give it a try - Beauty Society products are rapidly becoming favorites of ours, especially because they back their line with a full 1-year 100% money back guarantee! Check them out online at http://www.lovethyskin.com and get runway ready with your very own Photo Shoot! Use coupon code “mydivalounge” upon checkout to receive free shipping on your order (within the USA)!