Scrub A Dub Dub: Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub

I don't know about you, but my lips get super dry and chapped once winter hits. No matter how many times I apply lip balm throughout the day, they dry out almost immediately! Enter Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub.

For starters, this lip scrub smells and tastes delicious. Delectable. Divine. Really, honestly and truly. (Can you tell I like it?) The cherry flavor is subtle but distinctive and doesn't taste artificial.

Aside from that, this product actually works. A couple of uses in and my pout is kissably soft! Gone is the dryness, the chapping, the redness ... what's left behind, thanks to the exfoliating beads and Vitamin C, is a smooth and conditioned pucker.

So do your lips a little good and pucker up to this scrub. I promise you won't regret it.

Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub retails for $18 at sephora.com.

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Hey, Sweet Stuff: Philosophy Sweet Talk Candy Hearts Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath

Once in awhile, I just want to start my day with a super sweet shower gel. Well, it doesn't get much sweeter than the Philosophy Sweet Talk Candy Hearts Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath!

I've long been a fan of the Philosophy 3-in-1s -- they lather exquisitely and smell exactly like their names suggest. And, as it would come as no surprise, Sweet Talk is no exception.

I love the bright pink hue of the product within the bottle -- it brings such a colorful start to my day. The shower gel itself is sweet but not saccharine, feminine and girly but not overly so. A dime-sized dollop upon a pouf produces so much bubbly lather, you'll be pleasantly surprised and amazed!

Philosophy Sweet Talk Candy Hearts Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath retails for $16 at philosophy.com.

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Remove Nail Polish In a Flash: Sephora Instant Nail Polish Remover

I don't usually trust products that claim to help you instantly. How is that really possible? But in the case of Sephora Instant Nail Polish Remover, well, your nail polish really does come off quick as a wink.

It takes a lot for me to stray from my beloved Zoya Remove+, but I just had to give this one a try. I love the squat, oversized bottle -- it contains so much remover that I know I'll be set for a pretty long time. (Though, I will say a lot of the product seems to disappear when you pull out the protective sponge -- mine was sopping wet with remover, which seemed like a pretty big waste.)

Would you believe that one cotton ball gently soaked with remover was enough to remove polish from all 10 of my nails? And this was on a week where I used glitter and shimmer, which usually take a ton of cotton balls to remove. Every trace of polish was gone in less than 20 seconds!

I also like that the remover doesn't smell terrible, so I didn't get a headache or have an annoying aroma of remover lingering throughout my apartment for the rest of the day.

Sephora Instant Nail Polish Remover retails for $9.50 at sephora.com.

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Mani of the Week: Green Ombre Nails with Essie, American Apparel, OPI and Rescue Beauty Lounge

I don't get super braggy about my nails all that often -- but I am really excited about my manicure this week! I had been wanting to try ombre nails for awhile, but it just took putting together the right color combination. I mulled it over for awhile -- what color family should I choose? Red, pink, blue, purple? I finally settled on green, because I have so many amazing green nail polishes that just don't get enough play in my manicure rotation.

Lest you think this was not an arduous process or a true labor of love, this manicure was definitely not done in a second! I spent close to 30 minutes poring over each and every green nail polish in my collection -- both the colors that have made it into my permanent collection and the ones still waiting to be tested. I swatched every single one in multiple color combinations on various pieces of computer paper until I was completely satisfied with the five green hues.

I wanted the five colors to complement one another and to meld seamlessly from one to the next. It was quite difficult to pick out greens that worked together -- a lot of the ones in my collection are either too teal or too army. Finally, I settled on these five colors:

Thumbs: Essie Navigate Her
Index Fingers: Essie Greenport
Middle Fingers: American Apparel Malibu Green
Ring Fingers: OPI Jade Is The New Black
Pinky Fingers: Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle

The OPI and RBL colors are too of my very favorites -- if I weren't obsessed with changing up my nails at least once a week, these bottles would be completely empty! As it is, I've worn them more than almost every other color in my collection, save for Chanel Gold Fiction and Deborah Lippmann Believe. I love the grassy hue of the OPI and the dark hunter green of the RBL. Navigate Her is a gorgeous celadon, which I think is a very underrated shade of green (least of all because the color name is just so cool). Greenport is usually a shade I save for summer pedicures, but I'm loving the turquoise-ish tint against the other greens here. Malibu Green is a new addition to my collection (I couldn't resist the 3 for $15 sale at American Apparel recently), and the teal brings all the other colors together so well -- I love it smack dab in the middle of the lighter and darker shades.

Something tells me I'll be doing this in every color under the sun now, so stay tuned for more ombre manicures from me!

What's on your nails this week? Let me know in the comments!

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First Look Fridays: Founder Ji Baek of Rescue Beauty Lounge

If you're as obsessed with nail polish as I am, chances are you've incorporated Rescue Beauty Lounge into your arsenal. Founder Ji Baek consistently turns out amazing, not-seen-anywhere-else colors that garner tons of compliments and have incredible staying power. Her fans can approach a rabid near frenzy, causing limited-edition polishes to sell out in minutes and clamoring for new releases for months in advance. Read on to discover how Ji got her start in the nail business, what we can expect from her next collection and so much more.

Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
My family immigrated to New York from South Korea when I was 12 years old -- I have been a Manhattan brat ever since. My arduous journey before the birth of Rescue Beauty Lounge included playing piano, violin and viola, along with studying restaurant management, going to culinary school, and finally, attending a nail school.

How did you first become interested in beauty and nail polish?
My mom is obsessed with skincare. She had a stern skin regime for my sisters and me ever since I can remember. I know it’s peculiar, but besides keeping up with a good daily cleanser, moisturizer, eye cream and lip balm, I was never really interested in beauty. Nail polish was something that I stumbled upon when we opened RBL because many of our clients complained that they could never keep nail polish on for more than a couple of days without it chipping. I had the best market research right under my fingertips.

How did the idea for Rescue Beauty Lounge first come about, and how did it become a reality?
When it comes to beauty treatments, the nudity, the locker rooms and a stranger's touch are not my friends. RBL was born out of my selfishness and pure frustration. When I was a restaurant manager, I would retreat to pedicure treatments to soothe my aching feet, feet that were in heels daily -- at least 12 hours a day. I could not find, for the life of me, a clean, hygienic, cool place to get my nails done. I knew I was not alone and just out of curiosity, I enrolled in a nail school. Boy, was I shocked by the shady operations that were violating numerous state regulations -- RBL was born to provide cool, safe and health regulated nail services.

Where do you get your inspiration for new colors and collections?
Everything and anything that interests me in life and that moves me.

Do you have any favorite colors or products from the line? What makes them so special to you?
I love all of my colors equally, it’s a long journey to make a color and if it’s born and not buried in my reject drawer, then it has captivated my heart.

What can we expect from Rescue Beauty Lounge going forward?
Rather then producing a seasonal collection, I will choose a story that inspires me. My new collection coming up is the largest that I have ever made and produced at one time -- seven colors!

Being a nail polish creator must be fun -- but what do you do in your spare time?
It's not always fun, but I love the artistic process of starting with my inspirational board, researching and then translating these ideas into mixing pigments. But like all artists, I have turbulent moments of frustration, anger, joy and bliss along with absolutely passionate and dizzying emotions.

Cooking calms and lulls me into a meditative state. I'm also an avid reader, escaping from reality is a necessity. I find grace in my ballet lessons -- I have studied ballet for the past five years. Traveling to new and unknown places keeps me humble and opens my eyes and senses to new beauty in life.

To add to your Rescue Beauty Lounge collection, visit rescuebeauty.com. You can also follow Rescue Beauty Lounge on Twitter and Facebook.

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