Looks and Leaps Loves

This is a post dedicated to things we love.  Clothes, food, travel destinations – any items or places the three sisters of Looks and Leaps agree are consistently fantastic.  We’ve started with a few items that get a definite thumbs up, and we’ll post here regularly with updates so check back for more thoughts on things Looks and Leaps LOVE.

April loves:

Avon Waterproof Wash-off Mascara – I’ve been using this mascara since I started wearing makeup and it remains a standard in my make-up bag 20 years later.  My mom is really responsible for this great find.  Mom’s been ordering AVON for years and this mascara has shown up in every Christmas stocking or gift box she’s arranged for me and my two sisters since our teenage years.  Thanks to her I have literally only had to buy mascara a couple of times in my LIFE  – thanks Mom!!!  Anyway this is a great basic mascara that coats lashes well and best of all, stays put until you decide you want it to come off.  No fancy gimmicky brush or formula, just a reliable and consistently good product.

Sunny loves:

Lush products – I discovered Lush about 5 years ago. At the time, I hadn’t found anywhere in my hometown that carried those fizzy little treats: bath bombs. I stumbled upon the Lush brand while in Macy’s but they recently opened a full store in one of our local malls, and it has become my favorite place to go at the end of a shopping day. Their products feature high-quality, natural, organic ingredients, and I have never been disappointed. The bath bombs are a great place to start if you walk in and don’t know what to get. The bombs become fizzy and then dissolve in bath water creating beautifully colored and amazingly fragrant water! From there, try the bubble bars. These can be crumbled into running water a little at a time to create the same colorful, fragrant water, but with luxuriously soft bubbles. The “French Kiss” lavender-scented one is my favorite. I have also become a fan of their massage bars… once I figured out how to use them. My husband bought me the “Fifty Shades of Earl Grey” one for Valentines, and I mistakenly tried to use it as soap. Oops. Here’s how they actually work. These bars “melt” slightly when pressed or rubbed into the skin. It’s massage oil without the mess! I keep mine in my nightstand drawer between uses and it smells heavenly! For the kids, try “Fun!” My daughter and nephew both approve of this “play-doh-like” substance. Tear off a piece of this brightly colored dough, and mold it for use as soap, shampoo, or just bubbley fun in the bath or shower! Lush also makes for a wonderful, unique, and inexpensive gift. Plus, use the recyclable product bags in your sock drawer or gym bag. You’re welcome 🙂

Wendy loves

Lip balm – this is as essential to my daily routine as coffee. I usually have anywhere between 3-6 lip balms stashed in various places – my purse, makeup bag, pocket, in the storage space under the coffee table. Among the many brands I’ve tried, I especially love: 1) Carmex with that classic menthol scent, both the tube and stick version 2) Burt’s Bees for their natural products, both the tinted lip shimmers and beeswax lip balm 3) Labello, a European brand introduced to me by a college pal who was a study abroad junkie. At first glance, it kind of looks like a glue stick. April and I became fans in France and it continues to be a cheap but appreciated souvenier.