I wrote previously about how Carmex can help keep your lips healthy, but did you know they make great lotions and creams for your skin, too? Over the years I’ve tried a variety of products with varying results. Now, as part of the Carmex Blog Squad, I can share how new Carmex skincare products work for my skin.

I received a gift package containing tubes of Carmex Healing Cream and Healing Lotion in full size that I can keep on my desk and travel size that I can throw in my purse. The Healing Lotion, which contains Aloe and Vitamin E, is intended for daily use to help protect skin and keep it from becoming too dry. The consistency seemed a bit thicker than other lotions I have tried in the past (and to me, that’s usually an indication that it will work better). The Healing Cream is intended for more intensive care for especially dry areas like hands, feet, elbows and knees. It is thicker and more concentrated than the lotion and contains “9 healing ingredients”. I’ve used it on my hands, and it helped immediately. The soft and nourished feeling had real staying power–it was at least a couple hours before I felt that I needed to reapply.

Both the cream and the lotion absorb quickly and leave a soft, but not greasy feeling as promised. I’ve always disliked lotions that take forever to rub in, and then leave me feeling like my hands are slippery because I’ve applied too much. As a busy mom, I don’t have a lot of time to sit rubbing lotion into my hands, so I appreciate that Carmex products are a quick solution that works well. Both products have a pleasant fragrance that reminds me of baby powder with a hint of vanilla.

Carmex skincare products are definitely in line with the quality I expect from Carmex, and I liked these better than other similarly-priced products I have tried. You can buy Carmex skincare products at a variety of stores (check their website for a printable coupon). Carmex products are not tested on animals.

Win it!

Carmex has a gift pack just like the one I received for one lucky reader! You will win Healing Cream in 4 oz and 0.75 oz tubes, and the Healing Lotion in 5.5 oz and 1 oz tubes.

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter (this may take some extra time to appear). If you are viewing this via email or an RSS reader, please click to my website to see the Rafflecopter form and enter. The contest will end on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

UPDATE: The contest has ended. If you are visiting from Online Sweepstakes, I apologize for the confusion – apparently their system interprets “midnight” differently than I do. Since I have always understood the date to change at 12:00 a.m., midnight on Saturday, December 3rd has already come and gone. I will make sure to avoid this mix-up next time.

I love celebrating New Year’s Eve with some fantastic food, staying up late to watch the ball drop, and indulging in a rare glass of champagne (my favorite drink). And of course there’s always the obligatory midnight kiss! While you prepare for a fabulous New Year’s Eve party, tuck some of your favorite NIVEA Lip Care product in your clutch to ensure your lips are kissably soft for the big moment. Of course lip balms make great stocking stuffers, too!

I don’t think standing in the cold in Times Square on New Year’s Eve is my cup of tea, but it does look like an exciting time. Nivea is providing some fun branded gear to help you feel like part of the Times Square party in the comfort of your own (warm) home. They are also sponsoring a $150 gift certificate to Wine.com so you can stock up on some great champagne! I love it when family or friends gift us a nice bottle of wine or champagne to save for a special occasion. A gift certificate to Wine.com is a great gift idea to help your recipient celebrate the holidays, or to save for a relaxing evening once the holiday frenzy has died down.

Head on over to Savings and Stewardship for your chance to win a prize pack of Nivea branded gear, Nivea lip care products, a $150 Wine.com gift certificate, and even a day-after survival kit!

To see our Beat the Rush giveaway list, click here.

Lauren recommends putting together a gift basket of Eucerin and Aquaphor products to get your recipient through the cold, dry winter months intact.

The holidays can be stressful and chaotic, giving us more reason to try and remember the little things that can help make our lives easier – like proper skin care! Don’t let your dry, itchy skin get in the way of holiday fun. Remember to protect your skin everyday with a daily moisturizer like Eucerin Calming Crème or Intensive Repair.

Freezing Rain. Wind. Snow. Sleet. Rough winter weather can mean rough winter skin. Aqupahor may be your best defense to help heal dry, chapped winter skin… even on your lips! Aquaphor Lip Repair is clinically proven to effectively relieve dryness and soothe chapped lips while visibly improving the condition of your lips. You’ll never want to leave home without it!

I don’t spend a lot of money on myself, so I love gifts that help me pamper myself. But I have to admit that I balk at those generic “spa” gift baskets you can get at any department store around the holidays. I am very picky about what I put on my skin, so I just refuse to use lotions or bath salts or makeup from some dubious factory in China. Gross! What kind of dyes and perfumes are in them? Who or what tested them for safety? Do they even work? Maybe I’m a product snob, but I just cringe when I see guys in line for the cashier holding one of those gift sets. Stick with established brands that work, and you can’t go wrong.

Eucerin and Aquaphor are both great brands making excellent products that will help your gift recipient get through a winter of cold, dry air. Afraid skincare products are too ordinary? Well, sweeten the deal the way Lauren has by adding in some stylish extras like a new hat, scarf and gloves, and a new pair of sunglasses for those blinding winter days.

Lauren can help two lucky readers put together some great gift baskets–she is giving away one Eucerin prize pack with a $150 gift card to Sunglass Hut and one Aquaphor prize pack with a $150 Target gift card! Head on over to I am THAT Lady to enter.

You can see the rest of our Beat the Rush giveaway schedule here.

I’ve known about the Esteem by Envoy Medical for quite some time and promised myself that if ever I have a large sum of money at my disposal, I will foot the bill for my dad, my brothers and my sister to have the surgery done. I can only imagine how it would transform their lives. I’d love it for myself, too, of course. As of this writing, the device, surgery and doctors visits cost about $30,000, and insurance doesn’t cover it. It’s money well spent if you have it, but hopefully costs will come down as the market increases and more technological advances are made.

For the cynics out there who are screaming “HOAX!”, all I can say is that unless you have suffered hearing loss, you can’t fully comprehend this woman’s reaction. Though she has used hearing aids since she was a toddler, as she said they can only help so much. Hearing aids amplify sound using a microphone, and the quality can seem very artificial, particularly if the hearing loss is severe. The Esteem device is entirely different because it restores hearing using the eardrum rather than a microphone. Although she was able to hear to some extent before, she was most certainly not able to hear sounds in an accurate or natural way with her hearing aids. Therefore, I feel it is completely accurate for her to describe this experience as hearing her voice for the first time. I thought I knew what lots of things sounded like before I wore hearing aids.

I have mild hearing loss in one ear and mild to moderate in the other, so my problems aren’t nearly as severe as they could be. Still, I had much the same experience when I received hearing aids for the first time in 15 years. To be able to hear without effort was just amazing. Until the weight was lifted from my shoulders, I had no idea how much I had been straining just to hear. This video really pulled at my heartstrings because I can relate. It amazes me to see how technology and skill enable doctors to completely change lives. I am so happy that Sarah was able to have this surgery!

If I had the money, I would make my family cry like Sarah.

It’s important to protect lips year-round from sun damage and chapping. As an upstate New Yorker, winter is on my mind this Labor Day weekend. Summer is just about over, and it won’t be long before the snow begins to fall. The cold winter air and the dry forced-air heat always do a number on my lips. Carmex has introduced some new Ultra Moisturizing lip balms that provide extra moisturizing ingredients not found in their original product line, and I know they’ll be a great help. They feature SPF 15 to protect lips from sun damage, and come in two flavors: Lime Twist or Vanilla.

Carmex has been producing quality lip balm since 1937. I like the fact that they use a variety of natural ingredients such as beeswax, camphor, menthol and lanolin to heal and protect lips. These new lip balms have a softer, creamier texture that coats the lips easily with a layer of protection that lasts. It has that familiar Carmex “tingle” from the camphor and menthol that lets you know it’s working. I found the flavors of both to seem very natural, but also subtle–it’s not the sort of balm that you buy for the flavor and causes you to spend all day licking your lips, thereby making them feel worse. I especially liked the Lime Twist. The lip balms worked well to keep my lips feeling soft and moist, and added a nice shine. I know they’ll work great to keep my lips healthy during the cooler months.

In addition to the lip balms, Carmex sent me a great picnic blanket that folds up and fastens with a zipper pouch on the front. It has a soft fleecey texture and is lined with a waterproof material on the back. Our family loves to be outside in the fall when the temperatures are more bearable and the air is crisp. We go apple picking in the hills, picnicking in state parks and mountain climbing in the Adirondacks to look at the beautiful leaves. This blanket will be nice to keep in the car for impromptu picnics on one of our excursions this fall.

On a side note: Carmex does not test on animals, and as an animal lover I was thrilled to learn that 100% of the proceeds from their online merchandise shop benefit the Petfinder.com Foundation. I have been planning to adopt a dog just as soon as our family can afford to give one a good home, and have been scouring Petfinder.com for months. What a great cause!

Win it! (ENDED)

Please check the Winners List for the winner of this giveaway.

Carmex is giving away all of the items I reviewed in this post to one lucky reader! The winner will receive a Lime Twist lip balm, Vanilla lip balm and a picnic blanket perfect for watching outdoor sports or other fall fun!

To Enter

Leave a comment below telling me what you love about fall.

Extra Entries

You may leave one comment for each additional entry type that you complete below (or that you have already completed in the past):

- Like Carmex on Facebook
- Follow Carmex on Twitter
- Like Jen Spends on Facebook
- Follow Jen Spends on Twitter

Rules

Open to U.S. residents age 18 and older.
One entry of each type per person, limit two entrants per household.
Contest ends at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday, September 12th, 2011.
One winner will be chosen randomly from all eligible entrants and notified by email. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
If this is your first time commenting on Jen Spends, your comment will be held for moderation until I have a chance to approve it. It should appear soon!

Uncommon Goods reminds me of the quirky gift shops that I love to visit while I’m traveling, but with the convenience of being available 24/7. Though I have never been disappointed by the quality of the items I have purchased in the past from Uncommon Goods, I like the fact that they have added customer reviews to their item pages to help me make a decision. I also love reading the stories that accompany each item, telling about the artist or the idea behind the product.

Here are just a few of my favorites that I found while perusing their website recently:

This Mother Nestling Birds Necklace is just one of many great gift ideas for mom. Handmade in North Carolina, this recycled sterling silver necklace is customizable with up to four nestling birds and a mama bird.

Birthday gifts can be a particular challenge when the invitee list is long, and you don’t know what everyone else will give the recipient. This Mechanical Music Box Set is inexpensive, unique, and sure to be a hit. It comes with paper rolls and instructions to create tinkling melodies with a turn of the handle.

Men can be notoriously difficult to shop for, but Uncommon Goods has a great variety of unique men’s gifts to choose from. This sterling silver and brass Frog Prince figurine crafted in Rhode Island would make a perfect keepsake for a wedding, anniversary or “just because” gift to remind your man that he’s the one. 

I had the opportunity to test out a couple of items from Uncommon Goods myself, and as usual I was not disappointed. Since we love music in our household, I thought the Make Your Own Ukelele Kit would be a great choice–its the perfect size to serve as a guitar for Mr. Boy and I know hubby will enjoy it too. We had so much fun spending a steamy hot summer day inside splashing the unfinished ukelele with colorful paints (not included). Mr. Boy did all the background color himself, and I finished it off with a splatter effect. Isn’t it great?

Though assembly is a little bit involved, the kit seems to be nicely crafted, and I know it will be a nice keepsake once we have finished it. It’s a great gift idea for kids and adults alike.

Carrying on with the musical theme, I couldn’t resist this cute Guitar String Bracelet that looks equally at home on the wrist of a teenager or a trendy mom. What a clever idea!

Uncommon Goods has long been one of my secret sources for the unusual gifts that elicit a “where do you find these things?” from the recipient. I hope you will head on over to www.uncommongoods.com and have fun exploring their selection yourself!

Of all the aspects of my youth that I would wish to cling to (my girlish figure, a rocking metabolism, carefree lifestyle and 90′s music on the radio), my acne-prone skin doesn’t make the list. But as fate would have it, I am still dealing with bad skin at age 30. Acne is tough enough to deal with as a teenager, but I think it’s even worse when you are well past the age by which you should have “grown out of it.” There is a stigma attached, as many people still believe that acne is caused by poor hygiene or diet (It’s not.).

Like most acne sufferers, I have used a variety of treatment methods over the years. I started with prescriptions, which were inconvenient and came with the potential for serious side effects–I had to undergo bloodwork with every doctor’s visit to make sure that the drugs weren’t harming my kidneys or liver. The really heavy-duty medications with the potential to cause serious psychological issues were definitely not something I wanted to try. Then, there was the mail order system that did work marvelously well, but was costly and not particularly convenient. One thing was certain: my skin scoffed at over-the-counter products, which didn’t do a thing.

For better or worse, when I left my job behind, the high cost of great skincare products seemed much less of a priority than diapers, formula and food. I put other needs first and tried to make do with various products off the store shelves. My skin was as bad as ever, and my self esteem suffered too.

That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to review an over-the-counter skincare system that I hadn’t heard of previously. Oxy Clinical promises to provide the same (if not better) firepower as other well-known skincare systems, but with the convenience of being readily available on store shelves and at a lower price point. What really sold it for me, though, was its inclusion of the holy grail of acne treatments, benzoyl peroxide. This key ingredient is missing from most over-the-counter remedies, but it’s what other highly successful treatment systems are built around. The stuff really works, and I knew that I could take the Oxy Clinical system seriously.

I received the treatment kit at the height of one of my hormone-driven breakouts and I was anxious to start right away. The kit included a 2 fl oz bottle of Advanced Face Wash, and 0.7 oz tubes of Clearing Treatment and Hydrating Therapy. All of the products have a pleasant and clean smelling gender-neutral scent that reminded me of mint. The hint of fragrance leaves me with a soothed feeling after taking care of my skin.

The containers seemed small compared to other products I have used, and I wondered how long they would last. I discovered that the consistency of the products means that a little goes a long way. A dime-size amount of the cleanser more than tackles the entire face. Though the peroxide treatment has a less spreadable consistency, it too can be used sparingly. A dime-size amount of the very fluid hydrating treatment smooths easily over the entire face. After about a week I am less than a quarter of the way through my products, which means this kit could last for about a month if I continue to use it once per day (though twice per day is recommended, if your skin can handle it).

My skin is very sensitive, and as with any new product I have tried, it had some slight misgivings at first. I experienced mild flakiness in some areas, as well as a slight stinging sensation. However, the reaction was not severe enough to discontinue use, so I soldiered on until my skin adjusted.

I noticed an almost immediate difference in the feeling of my skin. The greasiness was absolutely gone, and the exfoliating ingredients really helped me shed the old layers that play a role in clogging pores. It took a few days for the worst blemishes to clear, but I could tell that my skin was no longer the type of environment suitable to new breakouts and inflammation–I felt that I had turned the corner toward healing.

And now, I shall thoroughly embarass myself by posting two pictures of me completely makeup free, sleep-deprived, and without the aid of photediting software. The things I do for blogging.

Ugh. Anyway, after about a week, my worst blemishes are just about gone. There is less redness and shine. What you can’t see is that I no longer have painful swelling or inflammation. From my perspective it’s a big difference in a short amount of time.

Overall, I think this is an excellent skin care system, especially considering the low price and its availability in stores. The Acne Solutions Pack, available for around $10-13 in stores, is a great way to test the regimen. You can also purchase larger bottles of each product separately. Register on the Oxy website to receive a $1.50 off coupon!

If you or your child are battling acne, I would definitely recommend giving this system a try. Everyone’s skin is different and your mileage may vary, but I definitely think this ranks with other well-known treatment systems. Visit the Oxy Clinical website for product specifics and usage guidelines (including tips for dealing with initial sensitivity).

Win it!

I have one Oxy Clinical Acne Solutions Pack to give away to a lucky reader! If you or someone you know could benefit from a great acne treatment product, enter by answering the following question in the comment section:

What do you miss most about being a teenager?

For extra entries, do any of the following (leave a comment for each one you complete):

- Like Oxy on Facebook
- Follow Oxy on Twitter
- Like Jen Spends on Facebook
- Follow Jen Spends on Twitter

Rules:

This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Contest ends on Wednesday, May 11th at 9:00 p.m. ET. I will select a winner at random from all eligible entries and notify by email before posting an announcement on my website. If the winner does not respond withing 24 hrs of being notified, a new winner will be selected. The prize will be mailed directly to the winner by the contest sponsor.

Good luck!

DISCLOSURE (what’s this?): I received a free product in order to facilitate my review. I was not otherwise compensated, and the thoughts expressed in this article are my own.