Carol's Daughter at Sephora

(L to R; Friend of Julissa, Julissa and Lisa from Carol's Daughter)

Back in September, Carol's Daughter held a special modeling contest at their Harlem store in NYC to search for the face of their new Hair Milk campaign. I've heard so many great things about this brand. (Read more reviews here.) I even heard the founder, Lisa, speak at an event a few years ago to talk about how she started experimenting with her fragrances in her own home in Brooklyn and sold it to friends and family. Talk about a true entrepreneur!

Now, the brand Carol's Daughter is sold in Sephora stores nationwide and is such a success. Although I have never tried their haircare products, I am fan of their body butters. They make great natural body lotions with cocoa and shea butter- a great moisturizer especially in the winter time.

Check out this Perfect Almond Cookie Set, sold at Sephora.com. Don't forget- it's Friends and Family at Sephora so everything is 20% OFF!! Use code: FF2010 at checkout.

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L'Occitane Boutiques: Experience Provence Without Traveling to France

Hello Divas!

I hope your life is marvelous! Be thankful for all that you have and you won't have time to be envious of others. So true.

From yesterday's post, you Divas know how much I love natural beauty products like shea butter.  Especially shea butter combined with essential oils.  Shea butter mixed with sweet almond oil or lavender oil makes my skin feel like "butta' plus the oils make the shea butter smell so good!

If you read my blog, you know I especially love L'Occitane hand and body butters because they contain all natural ingredients like shea butter, are super hydrating to the skin, and the packaging is simple yet classic.  I usually purchase my favorite L'Occitane hand cream from Sephora, but this summer I was in an airport that had a L'Occitane boutique.  After visiting the boutique, I have committed myself to shopping at L'Occitane boutiques from now on.

Entering the L'Occitane boutique is like entering a serene spa.  First, there are candles burning, and the lighting is not overly bright but muted.  I instantly felt calm and relaxed when entering the boutique.  Of course, it smells like Lavender, which is a key ingredient in most of their products.  Lavender is known to calm and soothe.  I love it!  Next, the display of products are well organized and there are samples of everything.  I particularly loved the display of french soaps.  I love picking up travel size soaps when traveling and L'Occitane has shea butter travel sized soaps for only $4.  That is a good deal for a quality product!

More importantly, the customer service at the L'Occitane boutique was superb!  The associate was well versed on the product offerings.  She encouraged me to try different products and she was so nice, I could not leave the store without buying something.  Good customer service will ensure a return customer every time.  I don't understand why other retailers don't get it. 

Anyhoo, L'Occitane boutiques are located in over 70 countries around the world.  Click here to find a boutique near you and experience Provence without traveling to France.

Toodles!


Disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  However, my opinion and experience with L'Occitane is 100% honest and mine.

African-American Baby Products: Shea Body Butter

Hello Divas!

Stay focused on your goals and dreams despite setbacks and distractions!

As you know I love body butters.  Especially, the body butters that contain shea butter.  Shea butter is an all natural ingredient from the Shea tree and it contains Vitamins A, D, E, F.  Wow!  It is so moisturizing and heals dry cracked skin.

Last summer, I went to the Mocha Moms National Convention and there was a vendor at the Expo selling African-American Baby Body Butter.  The body butter contains Shea Butter and I knew it would be great for luxe baby's skin.  But I loved the product so much, I have been using it on my skin and it is simply Fabulous.  Why is it so fabulous?  This body butter contains a blend of shea butter and sweet almond oil.  It is super hydrating and really does heal cracked skin.  I particularly use it on my heels and elbows.  I have been using it so much, luxe baby and I are running out and I need to purchase several more jars of this wonderful body butter. 

The wonderful thing about this product is that it does not contain any parabens & phthalates.  So it is also good for you and your babies too!

A 4 oz jar of Baby Body Butter retails for $10 and you can purchase it here.  Unfortunately, it is not available in many places and that is a shame because it is a superb product.  But hopefully the company will get more distribution and the products will be easy to find.

Do you use Shea Butter?  If so, what is your favorite brand?

Toodles!

Suave Professionals Shampoo- Almond & Shea Butter

Back in December, I received an email from Suave asking if I wanted a free gift from them- a product from their Suave Professionals line. By being on their email list, I received this special invitation! :)

Curious to see what their Professionals line was all about, I entered and received it recently. This is what I got in the mail..

Their packaging talked about three of their new shampoos that contain natural ingredients. I received the product that was meant to moisturize your hair! The other two are volumizing and invigorating. I would have been happy with either of these three. They all look great!

The Almond & Shea Butter is the one I received. Formulated to moisturize, this product contains 100% natural almond and shea butter. Keep in mind that my hair is oily/normal but I used this anyway (this is meant for dry/damaged hair.) It didn't exactly clean out my oily hair/scalp the first time; but after a few more continued uses; my hair felt softer and moisturized. Definitely need to use my other shampoo for my scalp, but this is great for the rest of my hair/ends.

Read more reviews on Suave Professional products here.

(Disclaimer: I requested to receive this product from the company to try.)

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Another Great Stocking Stuffer: L'Occitane Hand Celebration Trio Hand Cream

Hello Divas!

Only two more days until Thanksgiving and I am so looking forward to a nice break!

One of my absolute favorite stocking stuffers is L'Occitane Hand Cream. I have previously blogged about this fabulous cream. Every Holiday Season L'Occitane release a trio set of their famous hand cream for only $25! This is a savings of $5 because the travel size hand creams retail for $10 alone. The Hands Celebration trio set includes three travel sized tubes in a variety of scents. This particular hand set includes: the original Shea butter, lavender, and vanilla scents. Fab! Plus this set comes in very cute and festive holiday packaging.

Remember L'Occitane's hand creams are blended with 20% shea butter, lavender oil, and vanilla. L'Occitane hand cream trio sets ALWAYS sell out, so I would get one fast! This is the perfect gift for mom, grandmom, sister, aunt or a good friend. You can purchase them online here or at any Sephora.

Toodles!

L'Occitane Celebrates 20 Years of Shea Butter!

Hello Divas!

I hope you have a fantabulous Friday!

As many of you know, L'Occitane makes my absolute favorite hand cream. Read my previous post here. I buy the travel size tubes constantly and keep them in my car, purse, and office. I also like to give them to my favorite people as gifts! This hand cream is a must for any Diva! It makes my hands so soft! L'Occitane's hand cream and several of their best selling products contain the super moisturizing ingredient Shea Butter. Shea Butter protects your skin from harsh elements; nourishes the skin; and keeps it super hydrated. It is the perfect remedy for dry skin!

L'Occitane has been purchasing pure Shea Butter for its products from Burkina Faso, Africa, for the past 20 years. But what I love and find quite fantastic, is that the company purchases the Shea Butter from three women’s cooperatives that assist 11,000 women and their families. You know I am a sucker for beauty and helping others! They get a gold star in my book!

To commemorate 20 years of using Shea Butter, L'Occitane has introduced 5 new Limited Edition Ultra Rich Body Creams that are scented with different African flowers. They are: Ylang Ylang, Rosebud, Vanilla Flower, Acacia, and Frangipani. They retail for $21 and you can purchase them online here or at any L'Occitane boutique.

Toodles!

L'Occitane Hand Creme = Beautiful Hands

Hello Divas!

I hope all is fantastic! L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream is my next gush! It is the best! I have been using this hand creme for a year now and I can truly say no other hand cream can get my hands as hydrated, smooth and soft. I wash my hands a LOT....washing dishes, changing diapers, sharing common spaces with co-workers, I really can't wash them enough. lol! So of course my hands are always dry. I massage a nickel size amount of this cream onto my hands and it instantly absorbs into my skin. My hands are non-greasy and so so soft. This hand cream is made with Shea Butter, Vitamin E, honey, and sweet almond extract. Now I must be honest. I don't particularly care for the smell of this hand cream, but it is so great I tolerate it. But fortunately, L'Occitane has a Cherry Blossom and Lavender Hand Cream. These creams have beautiful smells and they contain the same amount of Shea Butter and Vitamin E as the orginal. I always buy the mini hand cream. It is 1 fl. oz., so it fits perfectly in my make-up bag and travels easily on a flight. The mini hand cream retails for only $10.00 and you can purchase it at any L'Occitane Store or at Sephora or here at Sephora.com

Toodles!