While standing at the counter, I picked up the Ladi Avokanto Avocado Oil and marveled at how quickly it penetrated the skin for something so rich and decadent.  The ultra-emollient serum multi-tasks to not only keep skin soft, supple, and hydrated on your face, neck, and decollete– but can also be used on your hair.  Talk about a power product!  Avocado oil is a known powerful skin cell regenerator and is rich in Vitamin E, so if I owned the Ladi Avokanto, there’s no doubt I would be tempted to bathe in it!  The Aromatotherapia Giasemi Jasmine Aromatherapy Mist (say that 10 times, really fast!) found a home in my suitcase on the way back and I’ve been using it for jasmine’s abilities to calm and restore the balance of my skin after cleansing, and to also take in the healing and antibacterial properties of the olive leaf.  I love how their jasmine essence smells, it has such a pampering and comforting effect on me!

The environmentally responsible company produces products free of parabens, sulfates, artificial dyes, synthetic fragrances, or genetically modified ingredients and can be found at The Plaza Beauty by Warren Tricomi, spongeskincare.com, and dermstore.com.

An editorial sample was provided by the company and evaluated to determine my opinion of the product in this post.  Please see the Disclosures page for further information regarding my policies for using editorial samples.

Here’s the shade breakdown from OPI:

Comet Loves Cupid — And you’ll love this classic red.
Dear Santa — Please bring me this glittering holiday red!
Glove You So Much! — Almost as much as this rich burgundy!
Smitten with Mittens — A burgundy glitter to warm your fingertips.
Meet & Jingle — A rich crimson that loves to mingle.
Crimson Carol — You’ll want to sing about this rosy-red shimmer.
Ginger Bells! — A yummy shade of gingerbread.
Shim-merry Chic — A gorgeous glimmer of bronzed glow.
All A-Bordeaux the Sled! — Dash in for this luscious shade of wine.
Holiday Glow — Charcoal grey glowing with a touch of silver.
Sapphire in the Snow — A deep, jewel-toned violet-blue.
Merry Midnight – Blue-violet with a starry, multi-hued shimmer.

I have swatches of 8 of the new shades, let’s take a peek at my faves first– Merry Midnight, and Shim-merry Chic:

I gasped when I saw how spectacular these two were.  Not only are the base colors breathtaking, but the addition of glitter and multi-colored flakes makes them superb!  The deep blue-violet Merry Midnight is the equivalent of a New Year’s Eve party on your nails, and the luxe bronze Shim-merry Chic will be a fun color to wear long after the holiday festivities are over.  Not to mention, a great addition to your collection for nail art.  These two are the brightest stars out of the 12 for me!

For reds, both Comet Loves Cupid and Meet & Jingle remind me of why I love red nail polishes so much.  They are HOTNESS!

See what I mean?  One cannot help but get in the holiday spirit after seeing those beautiful reds!  Another fun one is Holiday Glow, I love this one because it can’t make up it’s mind if it wants to be a dark charcoal grey or a dark violet with silver micro-glitter.

Next up, Ginger Bells!  This one reminded me of butterscotch pudding, and then I went digging around for left-over Halloween candy because I got a sweet tooth!

And finally, these dark burgundy shades make Holiday Wishes complete with All A-Bordeaux the Sled!, and Glove You So Much!

Whatcha’ think?  Are you wishing for any of these new nail polishes from the Holiday Wishes collection?  I’m not sure if I’ll be wearing Merry Midnight or Shim-merry Chic first… it’s a hard decision, help me out!

An editorial sample was provided by the company and evaluated to determine my opinion of the product in this post.  Please see the Disclosures page for further information regarding my policies for using editorial samples.

The countdown is on as the clock ticks closer to the midnight hour for the November 7th QVC Today’s Special Value featuring a special collaboration between Honora and Bare Escentuals!  It’s going to be a crazy day at QVC tomorrow with this TSV– “Beautiful in Pearls” will debut tonight at midnight EST.  The latest bareMinerals 10-piece collection has 100% pure Honora freshwater cultured pearls infused into each of the eye and cheek colors, adding an even more gorgeous glow to a bareMinerals face!  “Beautiful in Pearls” includes:

• Blissful Pearl eye color (seashell peach)–exclusive to QVC until 12/31/12
• Magnificent Pearl eye color (charcoal taupe)–exclusive to QVC until 12/31/12
• Big & Bright Mineral Eyeliner Pencil (intense black)–worldwide launch, exclusive to QVC until 1/29/10
• Flawless Definition Mascara (black)
• Precious Pearl blush (dusty pink)–exclusive to QVC until 12/31/12
• Brightening Pearl Mineral Veil (subtle pearlescent)–exclusive to QVC until 11/1/10
• Sugared Strawberry 100% natural lip gloss (rose berry)–exclusive to QVC until 11/1/10
• Precision Eye Defining Brush
• Tapered Blush Brush
• Flawless Application Brush

This collection highlights the worldwide debut of the bareMinerals Big & Bright Eyeliner Pencils, and a new Brightening Pearl Mineral Veil which I’m super excited about!  It looks like there are several firsts coinciding with this collection that make it pretty special:

Bare Escentuals will gift a year supply of bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation coupled with Honora’s limited-edition Barely Blush collection to one lucky grand prize winner to be announced live between 10 pm and midnight EST on Saturday, November 7.

Leslie will also auction off the glam gown she’s wearing and all proceeds will be donated to support Cancer and Careers. The lucky bidder will also win an exclusive bareMinerals eyecolor custom-created and personally blended by Leslie as a special gift.

Like I said, it’s going to be a crazy day at QVC tomorrow.  I am already SO jealous of whoever wins that auction– a custom-created and blended eyeshadow by Leslie herself would be a dream come true!

“You’ve been abusing me for years, and I haven’t said a word, but I have needs too!  If you want me to stick around, you’re gonna have to make some changes.  I need nutrients, and if I don’t get them– I’m out the door, sister!”

Shelee Maeda has been listening to what hair has to say (in a figurative sense, of course!) for over 10 years and originally created her signature Shelee Treatment out of personal necessity.  Defying the rules of hair color, Shelee often took her naturally black hair beyond platinum– resulting in damage and breakage we can all sympathize with at least once in our lives.  After meticulously and intensively working with a chemist to get it just right, the two-step Shelee Treatment was born!

I popped into one of my favorite LA-area spas, Kinara, to see Shelee at the Koji Toyoda Hair Studio to receive the hair facial/deep treatment from Shelee herself.  She’s managed to please the hair of Madonna with her own two hands before, so what’s good enough for Madge is good enough for me!  She immediately set her sights on what was going on with my frumpy mane, conducting a thorough consultation of my hair and scalp.  It looks like all my years of slapping color on my hair have resulted in a substantial weakening of the integrity of my already-fine hair strands so much, it couldn’t have volume on it’s own even if it wanted to.  My scalp was dry and tight too, so off I went to have the best shampoo experience I’VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE– I may have claimed that about previous salon visits elsewhere, but this one officially surpassed all others.  Comfortable shampoo bowl… an excellent, soothing, and very detailed scalp massage that lasted at least 5 minutes… could you ask for more?

Part one of the in-salon treatment consists of the application of a corrective formula with soy proteins and other mane-mending nutrients to help reconstruct the hair shaft and provide shine.  After allowing the formula to harden on my hair while under a warm dryer– I received a nice rinse in that same magical shampoo bowl!  Part two is an application of a concentrated pro-vitamin B5 moisturizing complex with other magical ingredients, followed by a short time under the dryer and another life-changing rinse.  With both steps complete after about 30 minutes, it was a night & day difference.  Not only did the integrity of my hair look and feel better, I had actual volume– and that was sans a single styling product or round brush.  I opted for a quick hand-dry instead so I could really see what my hair was up to after the treatment.  Shelee recommends following up with her at-home version every two weeks to maintain your in-salon results.

Check out Shelee Maeda and her famous Shelee Treatment ($85) at the Koji Toyoda Hair Studio inside of Kinara at 656 North Robertson Blvd. • West Hollywood, CA • 310-657-9188

From Essie’s Winter 2009 collection, Lollipop is a vibrant, juicy candy apple red– what’s with all the candy themes lately?  Cosmetic companies of the world, you’re killing me right now with your subliminal messages.  I’m trying to be so good and not eat sweets!  Lollipop is part of a trio that also includes Mint Candy Apple (creme de menthe mint), and Rock Candy (pale pink).  See what I mean?  This one will go into my fave collection of powerful reds for sure.  What’s your favorite red nail polish?