The Gift of Glow

While we are all waiting the moment when we can socialize and travel again, now is the perfect time to pay closer attention to what you may have neglected over the years:  your face.

I must admit, the last few years of almost non-stop press travel did leave its mark on the texture of my skin.  It seemed that every time I looked into the mirror, another imperfection showed up. I knew some of my wealthier friends and relatives spend many thousands of dollars on stem cell treatments on a regular basis, but that just wasn’t in my budget.

So, when I learned about the at-home stem cell facial kit, StemCellRevive, I was intrigued. My kit arrived with detailed application instructions and a link to a step-by-step video. The entire process of mixing the stem cell serum and preparing the pen only took a couple of minutes. There was no pain involved in the application (unlike the popular, and painful, needling pens) and in 20 minutes I was done.

The kit included a month’s supply of high-grade hyaluronic essence, which should be applied every night for four weeks. Refills of the serum are available and applications are recommended every six months to keep your glow. After a month now, I see a positive difference in my skin tone, but individual results can vary. In my case, the treatment definitely toned down blemishes and imparted a healthy glow to my face.

 Most importantly, StemCell Revive is hypoallergenic, not tested on animals, and is FDA regulated.

Daily Regime

Now that my skin is glowing, it’s time to think of keeping it that way.  Because I would never put anything on my face--or body, for that matter, that isn’t derived from natural products, I welcomed the opportunity to test out Starling Skincare’s Revive anti-aging face serum. Made from organic plant-based oils, this product stands up to its promise to keep your skin beautifully moisturized and rejuvenated. Just 3-4 drops in your hand suffice to cover your entire face. It absorbs immediately and primes your skin for makeup. It’s highly concentrated, so this bottle goes a long way in keeping your skin fresh and taut.

The art of Makeup

Let’s face it, artistically applied make-up is the final step in achieving a beautiful look . The brow and liner kit The Works from the Tori Belle line is my new best friend. The gel flows on smoothly and when dry, it is water and smudge proof. I finally found an easier way to get those perfect and natural-looking brows—and keeping them looking good all day. And the cool thing is it can also be used as an eyeliner, freeing up space in my travel cosmetic bag. Aside from the brow kit, Tori Belle Cosmetics sells a line of other innovative vegan beauty products including a gloss that plumps the lips, a collagen producing gloss made with 24k gold, and magnetic lashes that eliminate the mess of glue and can be worn 20-30 times.

MASK-arade

Who ever imagined a face mask would become de rigueur in these tumultuous times? While I’ve collected my share of industrial-looking masks over this long year of quarantine, it was so very refreshing to receive a mask that is a work-of-art, and which I will wear with my favorite outfits. This beautiful mask is perfectly designed to fit over your nose and mouth and features a protective filter. It’s available at the Karma & Luck website, which not only offers these classically beautiful masks, but also fine jewelry and many exquisite gift items carefully hand-crafted by artisans around the world.

In the clear

A big concern of travel photographers who use SLRs and optical lenses is keeping your lens clean during a photo shoot. This nifty gadget, the Lens Pen, literally the size of a thick pen, does a great job of removing fingerprints and dust from your lens in seconds.  So instead of reaching into your bag for liquid cleaners and lens cloths/tissues during a shoot, a swipe over your lens in a circular motion does the trick.. The pen does not use liquid, but a carbon cleaning compound that will clean a lens perfectly during its long life of 500+ uses. 

Disclaimer:  Please note that the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own and will not receive any future compensation based on sales arising from my recommendations. My goal is to share my favorite travel tips with my followers, in an effort to improve the travel experience for us all.