remixing fashion and luxury for reality

When it comes to skin care and beauty products, I think it’s best to change it up now and then. I have a self-made theory (who knows, maybe it’s scientifically legit) that after using a beauty product, especially face cream, for long periods of time your skin starts to reject the ingredients or just doesn’t absorb into the skin as well. It makes sense right? Everything (and everyone) loses it’s magic touch after long enough…

Which brings me to the topic of the day — a new skin care line I had the opportunity to test-drive last month, called Marie Louse. My dear girlfriend Lillian is helping to bring this Japanese-based brand to the US. As you may know, women all over the world are flocking to Asian-brands in beauty and skin care. I was excited to try out a new line of skin care, not only because my existing regimen was starting to lose it’s effectiveness, but also because I love trying new stuff that I wouldn’t normally see at the mall or at the spa where I get my facials.

Overall, the Marie Louise line is very pure and clean… no frills, perhaps just good clean stuff that does the job well. Everything I used seemed practically odorless. While sometimes I like the fresh scents of other asian skin care lines it does concern me whether all the fancy scents and aromas might not be as healthy for the skin. I’d definitely use Marie Louise again… hopefully they start retailing this stuff somewhere I can grab it from, although ordering online might work too since they have a full e-commerce website.

Here’s a summary of the products I sampled.

Cleansing Clear Gel
This was some good stuff! It glides on smooth and worked away my makeup nicely. They have a foaming cleanser option which I didn’t opt for since my skin is oily and foaming face wash is too harsh on my skin type. Normally gel cleansers are too thin for my liking and I can never seem to get a good rub on my skin, but the Marie Louise Clear Gel felt satisfying and worked surprising well. This didn’t feel drying at all either, which a lot of cleansers do to my skin.

Creme a-VC
This was my next favorite product. Clean and pure! This cream felt soft on the skin and absorbed nicely. I hate it when creams leave that greasy I-just-oiled-myself-up shine to your face. The Creme a-VC did no such thing… leaving my skin moisturized and clean feeling.

Moistraiser a-VC
I’ve gotten good about using toner, hopefully you have too. This toner glides on smooth, and doesn’t leave that stickiness a lot of toners do. Again, it’s odorless which is great, very organic-ish. I wish more skincare lines were more natural like this.

Overall.. skin’s been behaving nicely… it feels soft and smooth to the touch. Marie Louise is definitely getting added to my rotation of beauty skin care.

Learn more at Marie Louise.

About a year ago I blogged about a handbag hook I’d had my eye on. At $35 a pop the Luxe Link Purse Holder seemed like a fair enough deal… or at least I was so enticed by the novelty of the design of this compact style handbag hook that I bought one for my sister in law and one of my best friends (wasn’t ready to spend the $35 on this indulgence just yet).

Then, Anne from Stylagio, sent me this really cute plum colored handbag hook to review on The Luxe Mix. Yes I was excited and extremely flattered someone actually thought I could help promote/review their product but I was even more excited I wasn’t going to have to shell out the $35 for the Luxe Link Holder. I could get used to this

After having used the Stylagio ChicClip (shown on the right) for a month now I will say that it does come in handy when you’re dining out and the seating arrangement does not accommodate our oversized handbags. Actually, any size bag will eventually find itself sitting on the dingy ground every once in awhile. The places I hate most are the ones with the chairs with the round curved backs. When will restaurants realize they need to start treating our bags like the paying customers they are? No bag, no wallet, no cash!

Does anyone out there have any good ideas of what to do with your hand bag when it can’t be hung on the back of your chair? If so please share! Usually I end up stuffing it behind my back where it gets squashed or I place it on my lab like a baby (dropping crumbs all over it).

I found the ChicClip quite handy — when I remembered to bring it with me. I switch purses nearly every day so some days I’d forget I’d stashed it in a pocket of a bag. If I could find a way to attach the clip to some other item I always carry that would be perfect! Hmmm I’ll have to think about that..

Here’s a few pics I took of my ChicClip in action.

Overall I’m very happy with my ChicClip. At $19.95 it’s a great Luxe for Less option and not quite as an investment as other purse hooks.

The Highs

• $19.95. It costs less than a pedicure!
• Seems pretty durable. I’ve dropped it several times and it’s stayed in tact.
• Comes in a wide assortment of colors (10 to be exact). The next color on my list is the black one!
• The material of the Clip grabs well on most surfaces. I’ve even hung it on the back of chairs! This comes in handy when the table or desk surface is too thick to fit the hook on.
• Super compact. About the size of a 1/2 dollar.
• Comes with a little velvet pouch to keep it safe from scratches.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY my handbags are so much happier, healthier, and well cared for. If I’m gonna spend insane amounts of money on these babies I might as pamper them too! What’s next?… Organic handbag cleanser?

The Lows

• I’d like it if these purse hooks could be a little lighter. With all the crap you gotta tote around any extra weight sucks. Do you agree??

Anne’s kindly given my readers a 20% discount so if you’ve been thinking about getting a handbag hook  you might as well take this opportunity to get one, or a few for you and your fabulous friends!

Promo Code: LUXEMIX20
http://www.stylagio.com