Farmgirl Finds: Jewelry for sensitive skin + Farmgirl Bauble Giveaway provided by Jewelry Payless! [Closed]

Congratulations to FairyWater for winning the Farmgirl Bauble Giveaway, please contact me as soon as possible so we can work out the details. Big thanks to Jewelry Payless for providing the jewelry and to all for participating! Stay tuned for the next Farmgirl Giveaway.

If you feel the hankering to accessorize but have been scared off by the mystery metals used to make costume & statement jewelry, you’re sooo not alone. It’s as if the more they sparkle, the more they’d itch and irritate my sensitive skin. If only those beautiful necklaces, bracelets and rings come with an ingredient list!

Well, I found Jewelry Payless, a website that offers brilliant baubles along with “ingredient lists” describing the materials used to make each jewelry piece. I selected this amazing statement bracelet. It is made of sturdy stainless steel and gold-plated, making it additionally suitable for my sensitive skin. Price: $20.

Another piece I selected is a vintage-style 24K gold-plated copper magnetic band. Price: $9.99.

I can’t tell you how difficult it is to find costume jewelry that is gold plated and even harder to find them at this quality and price. They also carry amazing sterling silver pieces. Here are some of my gold-plated and sterling silver favorites:

Let me cut my babbling short today and get to the good part! Thanks to the generous people at Jewelry Payless, (1) lucky Brilliant Farmgirl blog follower will win a jewelry piece of their choice that is $30 & under (honestly, most pieces are under $30!).

How to enter:

- This Giveaway is open to readers anywhere in the world.

- You must be a blog follower (click on “follow” tab on Top-Right sidebar). It’s the ONLY way to reach you if you win!

- To enter, visit www.jewelrypayless.com. Submit a comment with the name of the piece of jewelry you like to win!

- Submit (1) entry per day to increase your chances to win!

- For an additional entry, like/follow Jewelry Payless on Facebook or Twitter.

- Choose a piece that is $30 & under.

- Winner is chosen at random.

- Giveaway starts today and ends 9.14.2010 at 11.59pm PST.

- Winner contacted/announced on 9.15.2010

Good luck!

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #82: Use a *waterless* body moisturizer on damp skin after shower.

We’ve all heard that the best time to moisturize is right after you step out of the shower. The concept of sealing moisture into your skin doesn’t really work unless you use the correct type of body moisturizer. Most body lotions are made of over 50% water, deeming it ineffective when it comes to “trapping” the water that’s already on your skin. Not to mention the complicated fillers used in traditional body moisturizer can be very pore-clogging, making it particularly disastrous for bacne and body blemishes.

What to look for: A waterless body moisturizer with simple ingredients would be most ideal for post-shower moisturization. Since I’m quite acne-prone on my face, I’m very careful about the ingredients in my body products (we’ve all accidently touched our faces when we have lotion on our hands- this can lead to breakouts!).

My absolute favorite solid moisturizer is Honey House Naturals Bee Bar sent to me by Honey House Naturals. The ingredients for these buttery smooth lotion bars are extremely nourishing yet clean, which makes it my ideal post-shower moisturizer. For those who like to smell pretty (I do, I do!), it comes in 4 scents that are all naturally derived. No synthetic fragrances here- just yummy Vanilla, Lavender, Natural (subtle beeswax scent) and Hawaiian (I smell Pineapple + Kings Hawaiian Bread!). This has a bigger surface area than other stick moisturizers, making it easy to apply to my entire body. The gorgeous tin case it comes with is perfect for storage. They even have a baby-size tin that would be perfect for handbags and travel.

Farmgirl Beauty Secret # 29: "Tubing" Mascaras + Mirenesse Mascara Collection

You couldn't pay me to use regular mascaras; “Tubing” mascaras are the only mascaras for me. They apply like regular mascaras but dries to form a polymer tube around each lash. Tear-, sweat- and water-resistant, it doesn’t smear or run because it’s doesn’t melt back into liquid form once it dries. And the greatest thing about it: it removes neatly in one piece when you rinse with warm water and slight friction. I was ecstatic when I discovered this a few years back. Imagine: no more raccoon-eyes when you sweat, cry or get unexpectedly dunked in the pool at the next bbq. Removal is great because you won’t get residue between your lashes or on your skin.

Because the formula is so unique, selection remains somewhat limited. But if you ask me, I’ll take that over smeared bacteria-breeding mascara ink running down my face and in my eye socket! Yes, the truth can be brutal. I recall those days when I wore regular mascaras, they stung so badly when they got in my eye. I shudder at the thought of going back to regular mascaras. If you have sensitive eyes, you should ONLY be using tubing mascaras. If you don’t have sensitive eyes, I recommend you still try it for the aesthetics. It’s much more attractive when the mascara stays on your lashes as opposed to everywhere around your lashes.

Knowing exactly how lacking the selection is for tubing mascaras, I was beyond excited to discover Mirenesse, an Australian cosmetic line that carries 15 (yes, 15!) different tubing mascaras! Thanks to the generous people at Mirenesse, I’ll be testing 6 of their bestselling mascaras and their 4D Lash Evolution Primer. Don’t even get me start about the primer! Most lash primers on the market these days are filled with cheap paraffin wax. Not only is the 4D Lash Evolution Primer paraffin-free, it is made of high-technology beneficial ingredients we don’t often see here in the states. I’m excited to try all of them.

Let me direct your attention to the first Mirenesse mascara I’m test drivng- Vibralash 24HR Mascara. This is the latest addition to their tubing mascara collection. Not only is it a tubing mascara, it also sports a 3-speed vibrating wand. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any cooler, I discover that it’s equipped with my favorite type of mascara brush, the silicone rubber brush (Gah! Totally forgot to take a picture of that!). If you swear by vibrating mascaras, you have to try this. I don’t think I’ve seen one that allows speed adjustment until I met this baby.

Comparing it to other tubing mascaras I’ve tried (over 12 brands, mostly Japanese), the formulation is excellent.

The volume is 8/10.

Lengthening ability is 9/10.

Curling ability is 9/10 (I don’t curl my lashes at all and this gives a nice lift).

Separating ability is 10/10 (no glued-together lashes whatsoever and gives a nice fan-shape to lashes).

The most impressive thing: the liquid is completely smooth so it does all of the above without clumps when you build it up one brush stroke after another. It will clump slightly if you brush on more during the “between stage” of drying (almost dry but not quite there yet). However, that problem is easily solved by either applying your layers one after another or you wait for the mascara to dry in between each application. Vibralash 24HR Mascara has an ideal tubing mascara texture, unlike Clinique Lash Power (so soft that it melts/smudges like regular mascaras on hot days) and Kiss Me Mascara (too plastic-like and rigid that lashes lose their natural shape and look like spider legs). This mascara isn’t cheap (most tubing mascaras aren’t). However, I’ve noticed that the Mirenesse website have sales on their mascaras sometimes.