By layering a penetrating nourishing  face oil with a protective moisturizer, you don’t have to worry about using something that’s too heavy for your skin.  Face oils are the best way to hydrate the skin on a deeper level but alone can be leeched out of the skin in dry, cold environments.  Moisturizers larger molecules tend to treat on the skin rather than in, with natural waxes that stay put longer to prevent moisture evaporation.  Together, you get the best of both – a light breathable barrier and deep hydration -  without compromising on either, which could lead to breakouts or buildup.

Picking A Face Oil: Start with the right face oil for your skin type and texture.  If you’re also using a treatment serum, apply that first, then apply your face oil.  Some of our favorites:

Best for Acne Prone Skin: Kahina Giving Beauty 100% Organic Argan Oil Women all over the world swear that argan oil stops their skin from breaking out and even heals acne scars.

Best for Damaged Skin: Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Fruit & Seed Oil Blend Spend a little too much time in the sun this summer?  If your skin needs regenerating, this potent source of Vitamins A and E will get it done!  Important note: If you spend a lot of time outside, use this only at night as the ingredients are photosensitive.

Best for Dullnes: Ila Face Oil For Glowing Radiance Even the fairest skin should glow year-round!  Ila’s magical will give you a head-turning glow.

Best for Mature Skin: Amala Rejuvenate Treatment Oil Worth every penny if you want real results in reversing fine lines, wrinkles & dark spots, while deeply hydrating at the same time.  Amala products have an amazing way of being really potent but non-comedogenic.

Picking a Moisturizer: Your customized combination of face oil and moisturizer is the secret to perfectly clear winter skin.  Some of our bests:

Best for Adult Acne Prone: Amala Purifying Moisturizer Just enough moisture to keep you balanced.

Best for Sensitive, Reactive Skin: Pai Chamomile & Rosehip Organic Sensitive Skin Cream No one know sensitive skin like Pai does.  Finally something soothing that works.

Best Multi-Benefit for Combination Skin: Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturizer All-day, lightweight matte moisture that plumps, hydrates, firms and protects.

Still wondering which combination is just right for you?  Give one of our specialists a buzz on Live Chat for a winter beauty consultation today!

Face serums are becoming increasingly popular but many of us are still wondering…

What Are They? Just like an antioxidant rich diet is great for your skin and health, topical antioxidants too are incredibly beneficial in preventing and reversing signs of aging and dullness. These extracts and oils are most potent when they are undiluted and applied directly to clean, dry skin. Many of the ingredients in moisturizers that are meant to hydrate and protect your skin, can dilute or buffer the effectiveness of the active ingredients. That is why many dermatologists now recommend that we apply antioxidant concentrates, known as serums, before putting on makeup, moisturizer or sunscreen.

Why Organic? Using a natural face serum versus a conventional synthetic serum is like eating fruit and vegetables instead of popping a vitamin. Your body loves the real thing! We beleive that real vitamins and nutrients from plant life are better absorbed and synthesised by the skin than synthetic ones. Many serums on the market today are silicone based. Silicones are plastic-based polymers that basically form a plastic film over your skin, making it appear and feel temporarily smoother. Over time, with this invisible waterproof film over the skin cells, your skin begins to suffocate and may become inflamed, dehydrated and congested which ironically, may trick you into using even more product to get a better result.  Spirit Beauty Lounge beleives that organic facial serums are the safest way to deliver the most bio-available nutrients to your skin.

Which One is Best For My Skin? We’ve included Face Oils, Gels and more “serum-like” serums. We put them all in the serum category because they are concentrates of active ingredients which are meant to be applied drectly to the skin, before anything else.

Best for Giving Dull Skin Glow: Ila Face Oil for Rejuvenating Radiance.
Key Actives: Argan oil and Rosehip Seed oil which are high in anti-oxidants and fatty acids to fight wrinkles and help skin cells regenerate. Damascena Rose Otto which is regenerative and nourishing to the skin’s cells.
Why We Love It: This is a product that literally makes your skin glow. People will notice and comment on your skin when you’re using Ila Face Oil!

Best on a Budget: Acure Organic Seriously Firming Face Serum
Key Actives: Argan Oil restores moisture to the skin’s lipid layer. Borage Oil soothes inflammation and Cranberry works to neutralize free radicals.
Why We Love It: A certified organic anti-aging concentrate for under $25.  What’s not to love?!

Best for Mature Skin: Amala Rejuvenating Serum
Key Actives: Vitamin C-rich Acerola, brightening Sea Algae and wrinkle-fighting Cocoa Bean naturally repair skin.
Why We Love It: We love facts & stats – in independent clinical trials, after just four weeks, 100% of users reported reduced fine lines, restored firmness.  Real, noticeable results from a natural product! That’s what we live for.
Also See: For extra dry mature skin, layer or alternate with Amala Rejuvenating Treatment Oil.

Best Aging Prevention: Intelligent Nutrients Organic Anti-Aging Serum
Key Actives: Antioxidant Acai, Pomegranate, Cranberry, Raspberry & Pumpkin seed oils
Why We Love It: They say that 25 is the age at which you should start your preventative anti-aging skin care regimen.  This serum makes your skin feel and look great and is just the right price and potency for the average 25-35 year old woman.

Best for  Dry and Best for Acne-Scarred Skin: Kahina Giving Beauty Serum
Key Actives: Balancing Argan Oil and Sea Buckhorn oil for accelerated skin healing.
Why We Love It: Acneic and acne-scarred skin needs love too!  Too often it’s over-treated with harsh acne products which leave the skin in a ravaged state.  This serum will speed up healing, balancing and resurfacing.

Best for Oily/Active Skin: Dr. Alkaitis Soothing Gel
Key Actives: Anti-inflammatory, calming Aloe Vera Gel and essential fatty acid and nutrient-rich seaweed and herbs.
Why We Love It: Natural serums are usually oil-based, this aloe & witch hazel based gel delivers all of the nutrients skin needs, without the unneeded oil.

Best for Sensitive Skin: Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Fruit & Seed Oil Blend
Key Actives: Regenerative Co2 extracted Rosehip Fruit Oil
Why We Love It: If you have reactive, sensitive skin, you know that the more active ingredients there are in a serum, the higher your chances are of having a reaction to one of them!  Pai uses just one super-potent and effective yet non-irritating source active ingredient in this gem of a serum.

Best Multi-Purpose: Patyka Huile Absolue Serum
Key Actives: Silky, luxurious Squalane and Vitamin C rich Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Why We Love It: The incredibly silky texture of this serum is perfect for softening, smoothing and rejuvenating not just the face, but the hair, body too!  We’d also name this serum: Best for Uneven Skin Texture

Best for Prematurely Aging Skin: Ila Rainforest Renew Face Serum
Key Actives: Acmella Extract – a fast acting fine line and wrinkle reducer, and skin brightening Brazilian Ginseng
Why We Love It: If you’re 25-35 and already seeing creeping crows feet, new “freckles” that won’t fade, forehead wrinkles or enlarged pores, but don’t feel you’re ready for a mature skin regimen, this serum will erase the premature (and mature) signs of aging without causing an imbalance in younger skin.

Best for Skin Discoloration/Melasma: Organic Apoteke Rasayana Rejuvenating Serum
Key Actives: Vitamin B, C, D, E and beta-carotene-rich Carrot Seed Oil.
Why We Love It: Most effective actives that can break up melanin are also highly toxic.  This potent serum proves you can do it naturally, while nourishing the skin.

Best All Around: Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum
Key Actives: There are 29 actives in this serum, including anti-aging Narcissus Bulb Extract and Date Extract
Why We Love It: Tata Harper pulls out all the stops, sparing no luxury in this hero product. It smells amazing, feels succulent, absorbs easily, and within only a week gets results: brighter, softer, smoother and more toned skin.

Today’s 5 things come from a new line to Spirit Beauty Lounge: Amala.  Amala (ah-mah-la) means “most pure” in Sanskrit, “revered mother” in Tibetan and “love her” in Spanish. This German company seeks out high potency organic plants and custom distills them to ensure they retain their full therapeutic value. By protecting each plant, they’re able to formulate incredibly effective skincare with proven results!

Their 5 key ingredients:

1. Organic Emulsifiers One of the most unique aspects of this line  is their proprietary organic milk emulsifier. Often the emulsifiers that make lotions and creams feel so luxurious can be tainted with impurities.  Instead of making excuses, Amala made promises – and to stick to their commitment to purity, developed their own emulsifier derived from local German organic milk.  The emulsifier is used throughout the Hydrate line.  Note the impossibly creamy, luxe feel of the Hydrating Hand Cream.

2. Blue Lotus Nymphaea caerulea. The entire Purify collection for oily and combination skin is rich in this calming ingredient. Amala’s Blue Lotus is wildcrafted in India and custom distilled by a master distiller there. Blue Lotus acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, high in amino acids in the purify line.  Our Blue Lotus must-haves are the Purifying Gel Cleanser and Gel Moisturizer which pamper rather than batter breakout prone skin.

3. Jasmine Jasminum Officinale. Certified organic Jasmine is cultivated and custom distilled in Egypt by Amala’s Fair Trade farm partner there. This divine extract helps nourish, moisturize and soften dry skin, while providing antioxidant protection. The unforgettable aroma of Jasmine in the Hydrating Cream Cleanser makes face-washing an intoxicating experience.

4. Cocoa Bean Theobroma Cacao. Amala’s African cocoa bean is Fair Trade and certified organic. The entire rejuvenating line owes it’s dramatic results to cocoa bean’s  insanely powerful antioxidant properties. Cocoa Bean helps stimulate microcirculation while restoring elasticity and providing protection from free radical age damage.  In fact, in an independent 28 day clinical study, using Amala’s cocoa bean-rich Rejuvenating Serum, 100% of women experienced a significant improvement in the depth of lines and wrinkles!

5. Myrtle Myrtus Communis.  Perfect for use in body treatments, myrtle cleanses and conditions skin while helping to remove impurities.  In just days of using the Detoxifying Body Polish and Body Butter, our rough, bumpy legs and arms were smooth and silky!

Lip Balm Addict: For chronic dry lips, you need a balm that’s going to provide long-lasting hydration – but what may be causing the addiction is lip balms that “over-stimulate” the lips. If you tend to rub your lips together, chew your lips, or lick your lips after you’ve applied lip balm, you may need a balm that doesn’t have a noticeable feel, flavor or scent so that you’re not tempted subconsciously to constantly consume and re-apply. Skinny Skinny’s Bare Naked Lip Balm is light but incredibly effective, matte and unscented so it wont encourage the cravings to rub and reapply.

Hint of Color: We love to use tinted lip balms when lipstick or gloss isn’t needed ( to work or to a brunch) for a pretty, natural day look or even when it’s cold and our lips look a little more blue than pink. Pick from the chocolate flavored Sweet Beauty ‘Taste’ Lip Confection or mint with Lulu Organics Ruby Mint Lip Balm.

Pick-me-up: When our lips and noses need a little pick-me-up, a sniff of the silky Buddha Nose Lip Balm with lemongrass, ginger & lime, is all we need! Natural Solutions magazine awarded this one their Beauty with a Conscience award for Best Lip Balm in 2009.

Multi-Purpose: We love a balm that’s just as perfect for healing and hydrating lips as it is for rough elbows, cuticles, heels and hair. If you only have one balm, make it RMS Beauty Lip & Skin Balm. Keep it in your purse and you’ll be surprised how often it’s just what you need.

Anti-Aging: Keep lips looking young, smooth and soft with Intelligent Nutrients Lip Delivery Nutrition. More than just hydration, it’s chock full of potent, wrinkle-fighting antioxidants from their proprietary Intellimune Seed Oil complex.

Most Kissable: Hot date? You’ll need silky, kissable lips and a lovely organic lip balm that smells so good, you’ll have to “share” it! For yummy lips, try All the Better to Kiss You With Lip Balm in Pomegranate, Lavender Vanilla, Chai Mandarin or Pepperminty.

Best Before Lipstick: The perfect base for lip color is a lip base that’s light, smooth, stays put, and fills fine lines. Before you perfect your pout with color, use Vapour Organic Beauty Lux Lip Conditioner and your lip color will last longer without bleeding.

Brave the Elements/Severely Cracked: The lip balm you’ll need in the dead of say, a Northeast winter, is going to have to not just deeply hydrate lips, but protect them as well. For lips that have already been cracked by extreme conditions or to prevent severe dryness, especially when outdoors, try MJ’s Herbals First Aid Salve. Healing ingredients like comfrey root and calendula, in a base of unrefined propolis & olive oil give your lips all the armor they’ll need.