New to Beautorium is Trilogy’s CoQ10 Booster Serum, a radiance-boosting, natural elixir with Co-enzyme Q10, Tamanu, and essential oils for an antioxidant treatment that combats dull, tired skin—you’ll notice a difference right away. The special ingredient, Co-enzyme Q10, is a naturally-occurring substance in the body that is depleted with age. A relative newcomer to the beauty scene, it helps neutralize harmful (and age-revealing) free radicals, and since it’s a small molecule, it’s easily absorbed into the skin.

The new serum is a great addition to Trilogy’s other Age Proof products: the Age Proof Nutrient Plus Firming Serum, which includes green tea, licorice, and mulberry extracts to help even skin tone, and Age Proof Replenishing Night Cream, which works to assist the skin’s natural process of regeneration while smoothing fine lines and wrinkles.

It’s never too early to start preventing wrinkles…

A marriage between safe science and nature, Saaf blends organic, cold-pressed botanicals with steam distilled organic essential oils to care for the earth as well as your skin. With products that are 100% natural, vegetarian, alcohol-free, non-irradiated, and free from GMOs, Saaf, which means “pure” in Persian, is the world’s first certified organic, vegetarian and halal skincare line.

Behind the brand: Saaf Founder Dr. Mah Hussain-Gables is a homeopath and pharmacologist, with an in-depth knowledge of healing plants—which she puts to work in her skincare products.

The products: Saaf products are all about naturally improving the look and feel of your skin, from the Complexion Boosting Serum, which combines purifying and sebum-regulating botanicals lemongrass and juniper berry to heal and clear skin while improving skin tone and texture, to the Eraser Body Oil, which includes rosehip seed oil and safflower oil to tone, smooth, and moisturize your skin.

Bonus: Beautorium is the exclusive online retailer for Saaf Pure Skincare in North America.

In honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, this week we’re putting the spotlight on our own gold medal winners—three products that should make your must-have list.

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil: Loved by all types of skin, this stuff is like gold in a bottle. Clinically proven to improve skin moisture, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and improve skin smoothness, it’s definitely worthy of a gold medal for multi-tasking. (We’ve written about Trilogy’s founders, too—click here to read more about what makes Trilogy products so great.)

Suki Exfoliating Foaming Cleanser: There’s magic in all of Suki’s products, and we love this cleanser for its gentle exfoliation (great for freshening the look of dull winter skin), and ability to improve skin tone, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, while eliminating excess oils and removing makeup.

Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream: Packed with natural skin-soothing ingredients like sweet almond meal, calendula, St. John’s Wort, and chamomile, this cleansing cream stimulates the skin’s ability to cleanse itself.

What are your gold medal products?

Your lips are the frame for your mouth—and if you’re hoping for some extra-special puckering this Valentine’s Day, we’ve got you covered with some tips to help keep them soft and inviting.

Exfoliate. No one wants to kiss flaky lips! Exfoliate your pout once a week with a product like Trilogy Gentle Facial Exfoliant to get rid of flakes: slather it on, then use a damp washcloth or soft toothbrush to rub it off. Pat lips dry.

Hydrate. It’s a good idea to use a lip balm every night before bed (we love the Dr. Hauschka Lip Care Stick, Pangea Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit and Orange Lip Balm and John Masters Lip Calm), because breathing with your mouth open can dry out your lips. Try to keep from licking your lips, which only makes lips moist for a moment, and then dries them out as well.

Use SPF. Your lip skin is delicate! Protect it by wearing a gloss or lipstick with built-in SPF like Juice Beauty Lip Moisturizers with SPF8.

Color. We’re still loving red for Valentine’s Day (especially Revolution Organics lip gloss in Freedom, but if you’re going for a more subtle look, try one of Marina Cosmetics Sea Perfected Lipsticks (the Mediterranean Mauve shade is universally flattering) or a gloss, which can be applied in layers to get to the perfect shade. We love Dr. Hauschka Lip Gloss in either shade.

Now that your lips are ready, find your sweetie and pucker up!

-Aleigh Acerni

This week, we’re launching our first-ever Beautorium blog giveaway. We’ll be giving away 5 Beautorium products to 5 lucky readers!

There is a catch, though–you have to participate to win.

The details are below. Please read them carefully, because if you don’t, your entry might not qualify. (And we don’t want that.)

• How to enter: Visit Beautorium.com and post a review of your favorite beauty product. Then, come back to our blog and post a comment on this post including your first name, city, state, and a link to your product review. NOTE: Please shorten the URL via tinyurl.com to be sure that your link works! No anonymous entries, please, and also be sure to use a valid email address when you comment, as that is the email address that will be used to contact you for your prize.
• What you win: If you’re selected as one of our winners, you’ll win the product you reviewed–so be sure to review something you love!
• Winners: 5
• Giveaway Ends: Monday, February 1, 2010 at 5p.m. EST.
  
• Special Notes: US residents only, please. Multiple entries are allowed, so feel free to write several reviews and post the links here!

On your mark…get set…GO!

Named for the words “honey” and “life” in Latin, Melvita is all about products made with ingredients that come from the hive, blended with other organic ingredients from nature.

Behind the brand: Founder Bernard Cheviliat is a beekeeper and biologist—which means he brings a scientific background to the products Melvita creates. One of the first companies in the world to earn the ECOCERT certificate for organic products, Melvita has been a trendsetter since its beginning in 1983.

The products: From Moisturizing Day Cream (formulated with royal jelly and rosehip oil to protect against aging) to the Hydrastim Moisturizing Gel, which combines aloe vera and the extract of the Amazon river plant, mourera fluviatilis, with hyaluronic acid and other organic ingredients that keep your skin at its ideal moisturization level, Melvita’s products are made with ingredients that are responsibly harvested, packaged in recyclable materials, and strives to promote ethical, humane, and fair-trade partnerships.

Bonus: Melvita operates according to the “precautionary principle,” which means that the company will not use ingredients until they have been clinically proven as safe. (If there’s even a hint of debate on the safety of an ingredient, they leave it out.)

-Aleigh Acerni

Each year, to celebrate the New Year and to help improve the chances that the next year will be a great one, people worldwide eat specific foods that have traditionally been considered lucky. Although the foods vary, many of them have health benefits beyond just luck—so much so that you can often find them in your beauty products! We’ve rounded up the lucky foods that feed your skin and bring you luck.

Pomegranate. In Turkey and the Mediterranean, pomegranates are eaten at the New Year to bring abundance and fertility throughout the year; pomegranates have powerful antioxidant properties. To incorporate the pretty (and potent) fruit into your beauty routine, try John Masters Organics Pomegranate Facial Nourishing Oil or Saaf Organic Ultimate Moisture Face Serum.

Citrus. In China, citrus fruits are associated with prosperity because the word for “tangerine” sounds similar to “luck” in Chinese. Your skin loves citrus, too: it’s used in a long list of organic, natural products, including Trilogy Age Proof Replenishing Night Cream or Evolution Sugar Cane & Maple Alpha-Hydroxy Facial Exfoliant.

Grapes. At midnight on New Years Day, merrymakers in Spain eat twelve grapes; one for each stroke of the clock to bring luck each month of the year. Both Afterglow Organics Lip Love lipsticks and Exuberance Radiance Facial Cleanser include grapeseed extract to moisturize and beautify.

Legumes. Resembling coins, legumes like beans, peas and lentils are symbolic and money—eating them at the New Year is hoped to symbolize earning power for the months to come. If you’re extra superstitious, try using Pangea Egyptian Geranium with Adjuki Bean and Cranberry Facial Scrub—the adzuki bean is also great for skin clarity and exfoliation.

It’s not too late for a little extra New Year luck! What foods do you eat to celebrate?

-Aleigh Acerni

The new year is here, and it’s a great time to switch up your beauty routine—instead of reaching for your old standbys, why not give some natural, organic products a try?

1. Saaf Organic Hydrating Face & Lip Balm. Ditch your chapstick for the organic version, which calms dry, irritated skin on your lips (and face) without those junky synthetics. This beauty is packed with steam-distilled essential oils of lavender, chamomile, geranium, natural Vitamin E, and black seed oil (and anti-irritant). It can even fade the appearance of old scars and blemishes.

2. Trilogy Age Proof Replenishing Night Cream. Don’t slather synthetic chemicals on your face overnight: those products seep into skin while you sleep, so why not do your face a favor with a more gentle, organic nighttime treatment? Your average cold cream’s got nothing on this blend of bio-actives helps your skin regenerate overnight to restore elasticity and suppleness while smoothing fine lines and wrinkles. It pairs avocado, certified organic rosehip, and marula oils for a combo of essential fatty acids, and includes hylauronic acid to plump skin.

3. Exuberance First Love. If you’re looking for a way to test out organic products, look no further than this palette of Exuberance’s ten favorite facial products—the perfect way to find your personal favorites before making a full-sized commitment.

4. Melvita Purifying Roll-On Deodorant. For years, there’s been a lot of fuss over the aluminum, zinc, propylene glycol, and phthalates in your average deodorant, especially considering it’s a product that most of us use every day without fail—sometimes two or three times a day. Most have warnings that they’re not to be used on open wounds (and post-shaving, don’t most of us have tiny open wounds?), but it’s hard to give up your old standby when you’re not sure if a new product will be as effective. Never fear: even Health.com likes the newest organic deodorants, and so do we!

5. Korres Materia Herba Toning Cleansing Foam. Show your skin some love in the new year—this cleanser makes skin of all types happy, with purifying ingredients like hamamelis extract and centaurea flower-water.

6. Trilogy Everything Balm. Useful on everything from soothing dry, cracked skin to strengthening nails, conditioning lips, and even on delicate baby skin, if you add one new product to your beauty arsenal in 2010, this should be it.

What’s your beauty resolution for 2010?

Don’t know what to get for the girl who has everything? We’ve got some suggestions. You really can’t go wrong with any of these options—they’re all great for any skin type, and they all do so many great things for your skin, we don’t see how you could resist them!

1. Trilogy Everything Balm. The name says it all: even The Guardian considers this stuff “the ultimate multipurpose cream.” Use it to moisturize lips, dry skin, and cuticles, as a massage oil, or to soothe delicate baby skin.

2. Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil. Ideal for all skin types (even sensitive, scarred, or sun-damaged skin), this organic rosehip oil is clinically proven to improve skin moisture, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and improve skin smoothness. What more could you ask for in a skincare product?

3. Revolution Organics All-Over Body Balm. Bragging over 22 uses from your nose to your toes, Revolution’s Body Balm does everything from relieved chapped lips and dry spots to preventing stretch marks, strengthening nails, improving skin texture, taming unruly eyebrows, conditioning hair, and priming skin for makeup.

4. Sophyto Skin Energising High Potency Concentrate. This lightweight skin supplement is great for inflamed, sensitive, or sun-damaged skin, helps minimize fine lines and wrinkles, acts as a cushioning agent against damage, and smoothes and softens skin.

5. John Masters Pomegranate Facial Nourishing Oil. A blend of 12 organic plant and essential oils, this product rejuvenates dull, dry skin, acts as an anti-inflammatory, helps spur the formation of new, healthy skin and hair, bolsters the skin’s immune system, and stimulates collagen production.

What’s your favorite multi-tasker? We’d love to hear about it if you’ve found a new/different use for a favorite product!

-Aleigh Acerni

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but as the holiday season ramps up, so does holiday stress. Here are some ways to help you feel merry this year.

Give yourself a little something. There are tons of sales out there; treat yourself to something you’ve been eyeing instead of putting it on your wish list—and don’t let yourself feel guilty. Holiday shopping is much easier when your mood is merry, too.

Put yourself in time out. This might be our favorite tip, especially if it involves a nice, hot bath and a few chapters of a good book. For extra relaxation and stress relief, try adding soothing oil to your bathwater: we are year-round fans of Dr. Hauschka’s Lavender Bath (its lavender essential oil is great for calming nerves, anxiety, and stress), we love the combination of lavender, chamomile and bergamot in Rain Africa’s Essential Oil Relax, and Weleda’s Pine Reviving Bath Milk is soothing and puts you in the holiday spirit with the scent of Silver Fir.

Get off your feet. If you need some help in the relaxation department, head for the experts. Book a facial, massage, or manicure—something to help you feel pampered and calmed. Go ahead, you have our permission!

Let the early bird get the worm. Don’t wear yourself out trying to make every holiday party, every great sale at the mall, and keep up your already hectic schedule. Instead, look at your appointment book with an editor’s eye, and choose the events and activities that are most meaningful. Make apologies for the rest, and get some extra shut-eye—a well-rested body is better able to cope with the added stress of the holidays.

Take advantage of online shopping. If the thought of battling holiday crowds at the mall makes you cringe, don’t do it. You can find great deals online, and you don’t have to spend half an hour searching for a parking spot. (We’ve even made it easier for you: Starting today for a limited time, get free shipping site-wide at Beautorium when you spend at least $50—just enter the code “ship4free” at checkout!

Happy Holidays!

-Aleigh Acerni