Valentines Day - Chocolate - Ooey, Gooey, Good

Valentine's Day is around the corner offering us all a perfect excuse to immerse ourselves in chocolate. Literally. Eat it, smell it, bathe in it. Ooey, gooey, chocolate. A decadent menu of luxurious chocolate skin care treatments are popping up in spas across the nation. Beauty experts claim the fatty cocoa butter hydrates and softens the skin, the cocoa bean husk acts as a gentle exfoliant to break down harmful free radicals, and the caffeine stimulates the circulatory system and firms the skin. Oh, and get this, . . . there is an anti-cellulite treatment using chocolate. Just sounds wrong, doesn't it?

Spas offer whipped cocoa baths (mmm), chocolate facials, body scrubs, massages, and pedicures. During your spa visit, chocolate treats are served alongside the treatments. Go ahead, indulge. Here are a few facts to ease your conscience. High quality chocolate has twice as many anti-oxidants as green tea and has more flavonoids (anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant) than any other anti-oxidant rich food, including wine or blueberries. Wow, who knew? And, (brace yourself), Vitamin A, B1, C, D, & E, Iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Phew! I mean, really, who cares whether it is one of the best kept beauty secrets around or not? Soon it will be Valentine's Day and complete euphoria is just a bonbon away. Now you can truly have your cake . . . and eat it too.

Innovative Skin Care - Youth Eye Complex

The brightness of the sun during the summer and the tendency for the epidermis to thicken in defense usually results in more visible lines in the eye area. This eye product is a gem, loaded with hyaluronic acid in different forms to ensure immediate and delayed hydration as well as peptides, copper, centella asiatica and vitamins needed to trigger collagen synthesis. Centella asiatica not only promotes collagen synthesis, it will protect the skin from collagen degeneration.

The ester of vitamin A ensures it will not irritate the delicate skin of the eye area, but will leave the area smooth and emollient. Vitamin C and E are both powerful antioxidants, and when found together are 50 times more effective. This protects the elastin and collagen, as well as the other structures in the skin. Vitamin B5, needed for the health of every skin cell, also helps to ensure the revitalization of the delicate skin of the eye area. This eye product is definitely one to try, but remember to apply only along the bone of the orbit and not on the delicate skin of the eye lids. Enjoy!