Business Beauty: Kitting out your workout

It should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that I am notoriously bad  about working out. As in I don’t like to do it. There are a few athletic activities I do enjoy, like tennis in the summer, and an occasional neighborhood run (though for the latter, I demand perfect weather conditions).

But these activities are generally few and far between, as in I usually go hard for a few weeks then sit on the sidelines for months at a time.

I have become very good at finding reasons not to work out, but this year, in an effort to take better care of myself, I’m trying to be a little healthier, which includes working out a thismuch more. So I realized that one excuse, which is that I don’t like the way I look right after a workout, has got to go.

I’m on a bit of a roll so far, alternating between local Zumba classes and some buddy workouts with a trainer, and most of these activities are happening immediately after work, which means I’ve got to add some new items to what I call my pharmacy drawer at work, ie, the drawer with nothing work related and everything health and beauty related. And so, to keep me motivated I started thinking about ways to make my workouts more palatable from a cosmetic perspective and some of my ideas, mainly for face and hair maintenance, are below the jump.

Oh, you were looking for me?

At this point, the answer to the above question is probably NO, but, to my few readers, sorry to have fallen off the face of the earth. February is a super busy month for me at my day job (financial journalist/editor, for those who don’t remember)– not only was I sick at the end of January and beginning of February, we host a big industry event in the middle of the month, then I went out of town, then we had two big issues back to back to sort out, etc., etc. It’s been a little crazy.

And every day I thought, “Today is the day I will write my next post,” and it just didn’t happen. Now I know why everyone always says it’s so hard to blog– you have all of these ideas that you want to get out and it’s difficult to find the time to do it when you’ve got the day to day to worry about.

In any case, I want to give this a good try at least to see where it can go, so I’m getting back on the horse, as it were, and as my first post back, I want to talk about shaving cream.

Under the weather…

I’ve been a little quiet this week because I’ve been sick the last few days. I think it’s just a head cold, so thankfully I haven’t succumbed to the monster flu of 2012/2013. But still, I’ve managed to use an impressive amount of tissue at the Busy Beauty Gal headquarters. Add to that the fact that I’ve been dragging myself to work all week, and you can imagine why I’ve been too tired to do much much writing. I did manage to scout out a recipe I want to try to help blast away my cold here and a sorbet I can buy that should do the same thing here. Anyway, I’m hoping to be back to normal next week with some new posts. Enjoy your weekend!

Beauty News: Alterna Haircare gets celebrity spokesperson in Katie Holmes

High end haircare line Alterna Haircare has its first celebrity spokesperson in Katie Holmes, according to Alterna’s website. Holmes will be a part of the Spring 2013 marketing campaign, the largest since the company’s launch. The natural, organic line is sold at Sephora, Ulta, Beauty.com, QVC and high-end salons. Alterna is also planning the launch of its own online shop in February.

For more details about the partnership or the company, visit the Alterna Haircare website.

Note: Logo sourced from Alterna Haircare website.

Lunch Break Beauty Buy: BB bust, simplified cuticle care

This Lunch Break Beauty Buy features a couple different products because of a mishap (of sorts) with one product, plus the successful trial of another. But let me start first with beauty balms.

By now, you’ve heard of BB cream, right? That liquid foundation-moisturizer-primer-other miracles in a bottle that is supposed to be better than the tinted moisturizers of the past? (If the answer is no, just smile and nod.)

I haven’t participated in the BB cream craze up until now for lots of reasons, though mainly because of a lack of the right colors or lack of the availability of the right colors due to buying decisions at various stores. (For the record, my skin isn’t blue or purple or something else crazy, just a shade of brown between medium and dark.)

But, this BB cream bust is actually due to operator error. In this case, the drug store I shopped had an entire array of colors for two brands, one low end and one in the medium price range, and I chose the wrong color in both instances (too dark).

So, I expect to revisit this topic soon with the correct colors and a bit of a review for anyone who hasn’t tried these products already.

Being the girl I am, though, I had also purchased another item that I hadn’t used or even opened that I think is perfect for this post, the Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Cuticle Eraser + Balm.

Starting the week off right: January 20, 2013

I hope you had a relaxing weekend! I had dinner and dessert (love to Junior’s in NYC) with a new friend, some reading and a little cooking.

Part of my reading this weekend was catching up on blog posts by some of my favorites, with the below as the highlights:

• My favorite television chef personality in the world, Nigella Lawson, generated a bit of a buzz with a post on her own blog, Kitchen Witter, last week, when she revealed that she declined some airbrushing for a promotional photo for her new show “The Taste”.
• After the Golden Globes, tons of blogs are writing up detailed instructions on how to get the awards look sported by your favorite celebrity. The run down by  Fifteen Minute Beauty Fanatic (starting with Kate Hudson) is comprehensive.
• Another recap of Golden Globes looks was posted by a beauty loft took a different approach, selecting the top five based on the coordination of hair and makeup with clothing and accessories.
• The Small Things Blog wrote an ode to the color raspberry including beauty products and fashion.
• Refinery 29 highlighted Scarlett Johansson’s red carpet makeup for “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof”, she had a wonderful bright lip look going.

Enjoy, and have a great week!

Lunch Break Beauty Buy: Sally Hansen Vita Lip Care

As a beauty layperson, I don’t get any sort of advance notice on new products (though I wish I did!), so I have to do with employing an eagle eye every time I’m in the beauty aisle.

A prime time for this type of search for me is my lunch break. While it is often amorphous at best,  I make a point of taking time to go out to pick up my lunch and on the way I often stop in to a drug store just to check out what they have.

Since a lunch break stop can be a way to fit some beauty shopping into a tight workday, I want to make this the first entry of another feature that reveals my picks and maybe gives you something to look for on your next treasure hunt.

Winter moisture, or how to glow from the inside out: Part II

If you read Part 1 of my winter moisture post you’ll know that: (1) I only talked about my picks for moisturizers for the face; (2) I have super dry skin; (3) My favorite  tip so far is that exfoliation is crucial.

To be a little less to the point, I get a little obsessed every winter with the best combination of products for my skin, and I always try new things that aren’t the most expensive products out there but that really work, at least for me. It’s a good habit to have, especially if you travel a lot to different climates (like I do for work) or if the weather goes from cold to warm to bitter cold again (like it has here).

All of these suggestions are meant to supplement other basic things you can do keep dry skin at bay, like drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruits and vegetables with high water content. Eating and drinking your moisture, as it were, is especially effective in dry months when there is so little moisture in the air– while some products can add moisture, most of them work best when the job is to simply keep moisture in.

So, let’s talk hands:

Winter moisture, or how to glow from the inside out: Part I

It’s another year and another winter of cold, dry air outside and heated, dry air inside. Besides the fact that this weather comes with greater potential to wreak havoc on my health (hello again to the worst flu season ever), I’m also in danger of having super dry skin while I endure it.

So, the same way that you switch wardrobes with the seasons, I switch moisturizers, pulling out the heavy artillery before my skin gets so dry that it’s not recoverable.

Just to give you an idea about what I’m working with, in general, my skin is super dry and I have combination skin on my face. I’ve done my switch for the year from my lighter choices to the heavier moisturizers featured below, and while not everything will work for everybody, hopefully you find one or two that are new for you.

Let’s start at the top, the face:

Starting the week off right: Jan. 13, 2013

Hope you had a beautiful weekend! I went to the movies, did some shopping, a little cooking, and a lot of relaxing. It was pretty warm in NYC this weekend, but I want it to get warmer so I can see these flowers in real life and not just on a computer screen!

For a little inspiration to get you primed for work this week, take a look at these:

• I’ve always loved the blog 3191 Miles Apart, I thought it was a fascinating way to keep in touch with a far away friend, and the photos are beautiful, including the ones from the past week.
• Clutch Magazine gave great advice on makeup choices for ladies with sensitive skin.
• Can’t forget about beautiful food, and this is one gorgeous looking recipe from a new blog I’m reading, The Atelier. it’s on my list for next weekend!
• Love the contrast of the bold lip against the neutral palette in the latest photos from Atlantic-Pacific.
• Celebrity beauty looks are available at BellaSugar, all from last week’s award shows.
• Curls N Pearls took the high-low approach with its post on makeup recommendations last week.

Enjoy, and have a great week!