On My Desk Now: Summer Love Preview

Summer is around the corner, and tons of goodies are popping up on my desk to try. It makes me yearn for the beach now!

Bare Legs and Sandaled Feet
I love the Perfect Heels Rescue Balm by This Works for my feet, NARS Monoi Body Glow Bronzing Body Oil for hydrated and temporarily bronzed legs, and Chanel’s metallic nail polish in Canter - a fabulous 70’s gold - for toes (available in select stores only). 

Warm Nights Out

Chanel’s new cream Stylo Eyeshadows in Bleu Nuit and Vert Grisé are to die for, and are perfect for creating a smokey eye (available in select stores only). Bumble and bumble’s new Surf Foam Spray is perfect for that textured, salty hair look.

Weekend Sheer SPF 

I am in love with the new La Roche-Pose Anthelios SPF 60 that is oil-free!!! Light, sheer and heavenly, it’s my new soccer field go-to!

Perfection from La Mer

I can't figure out what La Mer's new The Perfecting Treatment is, but I love it! Moisturizer? Mask? Extra thick serum? Soothing, cooling and incredibly hydrating, this "perfect" light gel cream is an amazing pick-me-up for when your skin looks dull.   

I love it at night post-shower - I just slather it on and wait for the instant dewy look. I also could see using it over an intense glycolic treatment as a light soother/hydrator. Or in the morning on those days you just throw up your hands and say, I have no idea what to do with my tired, dull skin!

New + Notable: Spring Eye Palette Love

I love a good palette. They just make life easier. Compact, easy to travel with, and beautiful to look at - here are three of my newest favorites:

1. The By Terry Sun Designer Palettes in No. 1 and No. 2 are very Missoni.

2. The NARS Laguna Tiare Bronzer actually smells like Tahitian Manoi, so you get bronzed and feel like you’re on a tropical island at the same time.

3. The Laura Mercier Extreme Neutrals Eye Palette is full of neutrals but also has the beautiful lavenders – which wear well with ethereal white for summer time.

 I love spring!! Share your spring looks with me on Instagram: @marla.beck

Vacation Solutions: Healing Miracle to Treat Windburned Skin

Last week I went out to Aspen skiing with Barry and the kids for spring break. I always bring a ton of products for the cold, dry weather and this time I packed almost a whole suitcaseful – who knows what I would need in my toolkit.

For the first two days I used the basics – SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 on me (I like the tint to even out my skin tone), and SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50 on the kids and Barry.  Everyone was also armed with either Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 or Fresh Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment zipped into their ski jackets for chapped lips (it works on hands and noses too, by the way). 

By day three it was windy and we all came back with windburned, red cheeks and noses. It was worse than a sunburn! Digging through my cosmetics first aid toolkit, I went back to old faithful: La Mer's Crème de la Mer, the original. Created by Max Huber, an aerospace physicist on a mission to heal a burn he experienced in his laboratory, this cream is IT.  It was the only thing the whole family used on our faces post-skiing. A miracle cream for sure.

We also all switched to La Mer's The Reparative Face Sun Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 30. Although it provides less coverage, it has the same Miracle Broth super-healer in the cream – and we all needed that daily. Many of you know I love La Mer creams and serums. This past week, the whole family loved La Mer!!!

Truth in Aging: Have you seen my brows?

Big, strong, bold brows are hot – as evidenced by my trip to the Marchesa show with Bobbi Brown two weeks ago.  

Beautiful brows at the Marchesa Show by Bobbi Brown

I used to have dark prominent brows, but recently I’ve been looking in the mirror and they seem to have disappeared. No, my hair is not falling out – my brows are sprouting grey hairs which makes it look like I am losing my brows. 

Thank goodness there is a quick fix to this – the trusty brow pencil. Over the years I have owned many brow pencils and thought of them as a superfluous step in my busy schedule. Now, they are a necessity! Here are some of my favorites (pictured above). 

1. Chanel Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil (in select stores only)
2. Trish McEvoy Precision Brow Shaper 
3. Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil
4. Bobbi Brown Natural Browl Shaper & Hair Touch Up
5. Laura Mercier Eye Brow Gel 

 So many things that no one tells us about aging...

Skincare Innovations: Cholesterol in Skincare?

SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 cream recently hit my desk, and I was surprised to see on the very front of the box it says 4% cholesterol. Honestly – I have never seen cholesterol called out on a product. Talk about innovation!

Inside Cosmeceuticals reports that the skin matrix is often likened to bricks-and-mortar, where the skin cells are the bricks and the matrix is the mortar. The matrix is made up of three primary lipids: cholesterol, ceramides and fatty acids, which are the mortar. So cholesterol actually soothes and plumps up the skin, providing great anti aging benefits. This cream is 4% cholesterol, 2% ceramides, and 2% fatty acids, it is lightweight in texture and while hydrating, does not look shiny on the skin. 

While the formal restores lipids, it shows improved skin smoothness, fullness and evenness. 

I learn something new every day!

New + Notable: On My Desk Right Now

1. Heavenly Scents

I am in love with the new Jo Malone The Herb Garden scents. Fresh, light and original, my favorites are Lavender & Coriander and Sorrel & Lemon Thyme!

2. Lip Line Fix

Patchology Flashpatch Lip Gels: Five-minute hydration that helps with my aging lip lines. I am sold!

3. Raw Beauty 

Sometimes I toy with a detox raw diet, so why not raw skincare?  Raw is Everything Raspberry Seed Oil is deliciously nourishing and protecting. Not to mention one of my newest and most favorite indie entrepreneurs - coming soon to bluemercury.com! 

4. Spring Lip Perfection

NARS always wins. I love these new neutrals - Instant Crash and Vida Loca.

5. Illuminating Bronzer & Strobing Powders

The latest trend and Bobbi Brown is right in there – these are my favorites: Bobbi Brown Nude Finish Illuminating Powders.

6. Instant Sleep

The By Terry Crayon Khôl Terrybly in White Wish on the inside of your lower lid creates the illusion of immediate sleep.

7. Between Blow Dry Help

Yes I over-process and over-blow dry. My ends are fried. But Living Proof comes to the rescue with the Fresh Cut Split End Mender. Right on dry hair – it fixes my ends before I blow out the front door in the morning.