We Want Spring Giveaway

Not sure about you, but I’m sick of winter and being cold..  So with alot of wishful thinking and a refusal to wear sweaters anymore.. 

Over here at CozyWallet.com headquarters, we’re bringing Spring in early.. 

And..  in the spirit of being eco-friendly..  we’re offering the cutest giveaway!

When the weather changes, we not only change our clothes, but our make-up too! 

So we’re offering a limited edition Natural Wonder Powder Palette from Josie Maran – chosen makeup by Kim Kardashian

What it is:

An Argan-infused, all-in-one powder compact for the eyes, cheeks, and face.

What it does:
The Natural Wonder Powder Palette gives you tons of options so you can mix and match your way to becoming a makeup master! Create a variety of looks with the multiple shades, ranging from ashy bold pigments to classic neutrals. The palette includes five eyeshadows, two blush shades, and a bronzing powder for glowing radiance.

This set contains:
- Eye Shadows: Daydream (shimmery apricot); Hope (bright iridescent blue- purple); Desire (iridescent teal); Trance (shimmery gold); Think (shimmery copper brown)
- Blush: Illusion (deep rose); Fiction (peachy pink)
- Bronzing Powder: Beach No. 1 (bronze)

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

 

How do you enter??

1. All you have to do to enter is:

Good luck!

Winner of the We Want Spring Giveaway is.. 

Lauren L

Thanks to everyone who entered! 

Hydration Hydration Hydration from our Beauty Expert

Welcome to winter, my little lovelies; a cold, frigid time that will send the majority of us running for the comfort of thick blankets and hot chocolate. I’m sure that many of you, like me, are starting to feel the effects of the chilly weather: dry skin, irritation, maybe even a little flaking. Hydration is the key, as we all know, but sometimes just a daily moisturizer isn’t enough to ward off the winter-skin woes. That’s why I’m recommending a once- or twice-weekly moisture mask to kick your skin’s hydration levels in to high-gear! My favorite for the season? Korres Thyme and Honey Mask, ($27, Korres boutiques and Sephora stores); not only does this creamy treatment help skin retain moisture, but it also contains free-radical fighting antioxidants AND it’s a natural brand, which means no synthetic ingredients, parabens, or petrochemicals.

Good Bronzer from our Beauty Expert

Need a good bronzer for the summer? Why not invest in one that’s healthy for your skin? Korres, a natural Greek skincare and cosmetic company, makes a Monoi Oil Bronzer ($28) that is naturally hydrating and healthy, and gives a beautiful glowing color to your complexion. While it only comes in two shades, Sunglow Light and Sunglow Warm, the bronzers are made with no parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petroleum byproducts, propylene glycol, ethanolamine or synthetic dyes, which make them much better for the skin than most. Plus, the monoi oil is noncomedogenic, so it won’t break you out, (trust me, I break out from everything!). Bonus for my fair-skinned femme’s, who are scared of looking fake: the Sunglow Light is the perfect, natural glow that’s never too dark, no matter how much you put on!

Beach-Bound from Our Beauty Expert

Bonjour, my beach-bound bunnies! Cari Cozy here; I want to talk to you today about the sun and tanning: how to protect your skin, how to fake that gorgeous glow, and what to do if (eek!) you do get burned. Our skin is the largest organ on our body and the first one to shows signs of aging, so if we want to look younger, longer, we need to protect it and take care of it.

      First things first: protecting your skin from the sun. I’m sure we’ve all heard of SPF and how necessary it is to keep from burning, but to help you to get the most from your sunscreen, let’s go over the details. SPF means sun protection factor, which describes the amount of time you can stay in the sun without burning. The way this is calculated is by taking the amount of time it would take for your skin to start burning when unprotected, (for fair-skinned girls, like me, its about 10 minutes), and multiply it by the SPF number. So, a sunscreen with SPF 25 will protect my skin for 250 minutes, or about 4 hours. Now, say I applied my SPF 25 right before I got to the beach and then I lay out in the sun for 4 haging ours; I would then need to reapply my SPF 25 all over to maintain that sun protection. The same goes for if I went swimming—I have to reapply after I get out of the water to continue protecting my skin. Keep in mind, also, that sunscreen is not buildable; you cannot wear an SPF 10 and an SPF 15 and expect to be protected as you would be by SPF 25; only the SPF 15 will be effective.

      So what exactly is this SPF protecting you from? Well, there are three types of UV rays that can damage the skin: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC rays can’t really make it through the ozone layer, so while they are very dangerous, they aren’t an immediate threat. However, UVA rays, or ‘aging rays’, are. They penetrate the most deeply into the skin and cause damage on two levels; first, they break down collagen and elastin which leads to premature aging and second, they can cause melanoma, one of the most dangerous types of skin cancer. UVB rays are often called burning rays, since they are responsible for the sunburn on the surface of the skin, as well as causing cancer. Because both types of UV rays are incredibly dangerous to the skin, it’s important that your sunscreen provide broad-spectrum protection from both UVA and UVB radiation.

      I know what you’re thinking—“But I want to be tan! That’s what summer is for!” Of course, that’s what summer is for! That’s why everyone desiring that golden, glowing skin needs to invest in a good self-tanner. It’s the safest way to be bronzed long-term. (Don’t even get me started on how damaging tanning beds are; I don’t care how new and different it is. It’s still exposing your skin to high levels of close-range UV radiation. Don’t be stupid). Self-tanners, whether they come in a lotion, gel, or spray form, use the chemical DHA, or dihydroxyacetone, a sugar-derivative that oxidizing on the skin, creating a beautiful golden tan. Exfoliation is key with any of these products, as the DHA will adhere more to thick or dead skin, keeping you from getting an even glow. You tan should last anywhere from 5 to 10 days before you need to reapply.

      Last, but not least, let’s say you failed to heed my words of wisdom and got a sunburn. What to do, what to do? First of all, cupcake, take some Ibuprofen or another anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling and keep the pain down. Secondly, kick yourself for not wearing sunscreen—just kidding! Stay out of the sun, and keep your skin cool and hydrated to help prevent peeling. Aloe Vera gel is a great after-burn remedy and can help with keeping the burn clean and preventing peeling, but I recently found a product that helps with the heat of the burn, too. Korres Yoghurt Cooling Gel not only cools the skin where it’s burnt and helps relieve stinging, but is also a natural product, with no parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, etc. It smells wonderful and feels so good on the skin. However if your skin starts to blister and peel, don’t put any lotions or gels on that area aside from an antibacterial such as Neosporin.

      One more thing I want to add, before I sign off: many of you lovely ladies with darker skin seem to think that this doesn’t apply to you since you don’t burn as easily. Let me tell you this, and I hope you listen to me—skin is skin, and even if you don’t see the effects of the sun immediately, UV radiation is still causing long term damage that will materialize in the form of wrinkles, age spots, hyper- and hypo-pigmentation, and cancerous cells. Protect yourself, my darlings, please! You’re all too beautiful not to!

                        Stay safe and enjoy the sun!

                                    Cari Cozy

Going Green Products for your Face from our Beauty Expert

When it comes to going green, we need to be aware not only of the products we put on our face, but also what we use to take those products off. Now, I’m a firm believer in not using wipes so as to reduce waste, but I recently found some that have earned the Cari Cozy green stamp of approval: Josie Maran’s Bear Naked Wipes (Barneys, Sephora, JosieMaranCosmetics.com). Not only do these cloths use natural ingredients, such as chamomile, cucumber, and aloe vera, to remove makeup but they also have no fragrance, parabens, petrochemicals, sulfates, or phthalates—and they’re biodegradable! They are even gentle enough to be used on the eyes. The best part—she donates a portion of every pack sold to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Polar Bear SOS, to help protect the polar bears. For only $12, you get 30 wipes—a bargain we can all feel good about!