Pure Love

It is not often I am completely blown away by a new BB Cream/Tinted moisturizer. But I am. Our staff has been raving about Trish McEvoy’s new Beauty Booster Tinted Moisturizer SPF20. I stopped by our new Summit store and picked up Shade 2. I am in love.

It goes on smooth, the coverage is a little better than the average tinted moisturizer (which I need given my ever increasing hyperpigmentation that is coming with age). And it is filled with hydrating hyaluronic acid AND oil-free.

This is my new go-to daytime foundation product, weekday and weekend!!

6 Products I Couldn't Live Without in Istanbul

My husband and I ran off to Turkey for our 10th Anniversary. What a spectacular trip.


We started in Istanbul marveling over the Bosphorus, ran down to Ephesus, the site of one of the most spectacular Roman ruins in the world, and wrapped up staying in an underground cave in the middle of the country in Cappadocia. It was the trip of a life time.

Needless to say, I packed a whole suitcase of beauty products and realized that there were 6 important ones! Here they are:

1. Darphin Intral Toner. This was my nightly scrape the grime off my skin toner, used post cleansing. Istanbul is a city of 20 million people and is rated as the European City with the worst traffic. Coming in from a day of touring I needed a sensitive toner just to scrub at my skin with before doing a mask.


2. M-61 Fast Blast. (Full disclosure, I did create this product). My daily brightening, refreshing, revitalizing, wake up my skin mask. Also used every single day to add luminosity and brightness.


3. Skinceuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50. Used in Ephesus. We were in direct sunlight as we poured through the sites, and even with a hat on, I needed a ton of sun protection. We also did a lot of trekking in Cappadocia and my skin was parched.


4. La Mer New Moisturizing Soft Cream. Cappadocia cooled down a lot at night, as we went outside to admire the bright stars, I really felt like I needed a moisturizer.


5. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Nude. An oldie but goodie, this was exactly the coverage I needed for day and night.


6. Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Crystal Pink. This was my go to, neutral lipstick the whole trip. Wore it with my T. LeClerc Tendre Lip Pencil and I was all set!

Favorite Restaurants: Sunset, Bebek, and Mikla.

Favorite Sites: Istanbul, The Cisterns, Ephesus, and ballooning & trekking in Cappadocia.

Hamam: Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamam – completely ancient and right next to the Aya Sofia site. Spectacular scrub and massage.

Favorite gifts: Evil eyes for the kids, pashminas from the Cashmere Shop, spices and teas from the Spice Market.