Oxygenetix Giveaway

[trip style = any]

{Editor's Note: In addition to our regularly scheduled content, August is Travel Beauty Month.  Lauren, our beauty editor has curated and collected tips and products for keeping that flawless glow on the go!}

Unblemished skin is essential while on vacation and we have discovered the perfect product to give you a radiantly healthy complexion, Oxygenetix new Oxygenating Moisturizer.

Giveaway FIVE lucky readers will win an Oxygenating Moisturizer and be glowing in no time! Read below for how to win.

The Oxygenetix brand, founded by cosmeceutical designer Barry Knapp, was created to help improve the appearance of skin and minimize scarring post-cosmetic surgery. The line first launched with their Breathable Foundation, a breakthrough product created to camouflage, heal, and minimize procedural scars and other skin conditions from acne to rosacea using Ceravitae; a super-charged oxygen complex that promotes collagen and connective tissue growth in both aging and damaged skin. Following the success of their foundation, the brand recently launched a new moisturizer which also contains the same healing properties and benefits of the foundation.

Packed with skin-loving ingredients like nine Hyalaurons, which contain anti-inflammatories and promote cell regeneration, as well as PCAs derived from amino acids to hydrate and protect the skin, the company’s brand new Oxygenating Moisturizer (1.5 oz. $85) creates the softest, smoothest skin and the perfect canvas for their Oxygenating Foundation. Many moisturizers aren’t absorbed by the skin, and just sit on the surface, suffocating your complexion by blocking the vital flow of oxygen. Oxygenating Moisturizer has a breathable formula that immediately absorbs into the skin for instant hydration. “The healing properties and unparalleled benefits of Oxygenetix products have applications beyond just moisturizer and foundation and we are excited to share what we’ve been working on with the rest of the world,” says Knapp.

How To Win

• Like Trip Styler on Facebook {the fan page, not a single post} & comment below that you've done so.
• If you already like the Trip Styler fan page on Facebook, comment on any Trip Styler post {this one or any other} to notify us of your entry.

Details Open to residents of Canada and the USA. Entries will be accepted Aug 18 – 24, 2011. Winner will be chosen at random and announced Aug 24. After prizing notification, winner has two days to make contact.

More Travel Beauty NYC's Best Beauty Dr. Murad Interview The Best Fragrance For Each Trip Style Q&A With tarte Cosmetics Founder

Travel Beauty Month :: Kate's NYC

[trip style = urban]

{Editor’s Note: This month, Lauren, our travel beauty expert is curating and writing a once-weekly feature on keeping a glow on the go. Enjoy! PS - This week, we're giving away 5 Oxygenetix Oxygenating Moisturizers, enter here.}

We are so lucky to get beauty maven and PR executive Kate Sklar, my friend and one of the chicest New Yorkers I know, to share her top picks for primping and preening in the city with Trip Styler. Kate lives in downtown Manhattan and loves to escape on summer weekends with friends and family to Newport, Miami or the Hamptons. When not busy working at one of the city's biggest PR agencies, she is discovering the latest and greatest places to eat and drink with friends, as well as rooting for Boston sports teams. She's also a fan of writing, yoga, Core Fusion and blowouts which makes her the perfect beauty resource for trip style = urban in NYC. Follow Kate on Twitter at @PRKateSklar.

Best Workout: Core Fusion® at Exhale Why I’m obsessed: In a city where fitness trends roll through faster than the next fad food truck, Core Fusion® is the perfect recipe combining strength, toning, flexibility and calorie burning in a single workout. At roughly $30 an hour (depending on your package or membership), you’ll pay a fraction of the cost of a personal trainer for totally butt-kicking workouts with A-list instructors like Core Fusion® co-creator Fred DeVito. This is the type of class that will truly change the way you look and feel.

Best Body Therapy: Thai Therapy at Exhale Spa Why I’m obsessed: I’m devoutly loyal to massage therapist and healing guru Kathleen at Exhale’s Upper East Side location. Her Fusion Massage cannot be beat. But knowing that she is also a master and teacher of Thai Therapy, I had to give this mysterious menu option a try. A combination of yoga contact work, assisted stretching, massage and alignment work, this hour-long session leaves you feeling balanced, peaceful, limber and ready to face a stressful workweek all over again.

Best Facial: Aromatherapy Facial at Susan Ciminelli Day Spa Why I’m Obsessed: It was a gift certificate for a treatment and full regimen of signature skin care products that led me to Susan Ciminelli Day Spa for the first time, never since have I had a facial that compares. For one, this treatment has a much longer and more thorough massage (for which I am a total sucker). But there was also something so calming and transcendent about the signature Essential Oils, Seawater and Marine Lotion used throughout---it’s like a vacation for your senses. If it wasn’t for the price tag ($175 and up for an hour), I’d be there every week.

Best Mani + Pedi: Townhouse Spa Why I’m Obsessed: Your average New York City corner nail salon is like a McDonalds drive-through: fast, cheap, impersonal, only vaguely sanitary, and a little too convenient. With one on every corner, it’s hard to resist a weekly polish change. But what Townhouse Spa lacks in convenience (there’s only one location, gasp!), it makes up for in the most consistently perfect manicure and pedicures. Sure, the services are a little more expensive, but no matter which nail tech you see, you’re guaranteed perfectly shaped finger and toe nails in a peaceful and clean environment (and I dare say, these manis and pedis last twice as long).

Best Hair Cut + Blowout: Mike Viggue at Sally Hershberger Why I’m Obsessed: Viggue is a favorite among beauty editors for a reason. If you can get an appointment (when he’s not styling hair on magazine shoots and fashion campaigns), you’ll quickly understand why those who know him consider him a master. The va va voom Victoria’s Secret cut and blowout are his thing. And while his focus is on making you look hot, he’s not so tough on the eyes either. Talk about a win win.

Best Hair Color: Carly Missico at Cutler Salon Why I’m Obsessed: I guess you could say I have trust issues when it comes to my hair. Picky, protective and generally anxiety-ridden, it was difficult to find someone in New York to whom I could entrust the color maintenance of my thick, long main. Then I found Carly. She’s made me lighter, she’s made me darker, and she’s always made me feel pretty (sigh). No matter what my hair whim (and trust me, they are many!), Carly always gets what I’m going for and manages to pull off one gorgeous job after another without frying my hair. Plus, I love hearing stories from her crazy backstage schedule during Fashion Week.

Favorite Place to Buy Makeup, etc: Sephora Why I’m Obsessed: Not only is Sephora the ultimate one-stop shop for about 80% of my favorite beauty brands, but it’s a retailer that actually encourages (indeed, celebrates) experimenting with their goodies. Luckily there is one directly across the street from my office, which means rescue from nearly any beauty emergency is just a mascara’s throw away. A blast of Klorane Dry Shampoo, a veil of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, a dab of Dior lip gloss or a spritz from the perfume wall---you need it, you name it---chances are Sephora’s got it.

More Travel Beauty Dr. Murad Interview The Best Fragrance For Each Trip Style Q&A With tarte Cosmetics Founder Beauty Bars Around The World Travel Beauty Hair Tips from Celebrity Stylist Michael Shaun Corby

[photos sourced online]

Tech Tuesday :: Airline Alliance Apps

{Editor’s Note: Last week we interviewed Dr. Murad, aka the father of internal skin care, and he’s given us a 4-piece Radiant Renewal Kit to give away! Enter here. Contest closes today, August 16, at noon.}

It seems like e-v-e-r-y major airline has an app, except maybe Hawaiian. No complaints here. Aside from the multiple travel apps adorning my iPhone screen like an intricately woven quilt, I haven't found it necessary to install an app like Delta, AA or Alaska each time I fly those airlines. I only install my primary airline's app, and given my homebase is Vancouver, my main squeeze is Air Canada.

But, I will make one airline app exception in the name of loyalty---aka: free flights, upgrades and lounge access---for my preferred airline alliance. Aside from SkyTeam, two major airline alliances it makes sense to be part of in North America, if not worldwide, are OneWorld and Star Alliance.

A few weeks ago the world's first and largest alliance announced their first app: Star Alliance Navigator. It only debuted eight months after OneWorld's but who's counting anyway. After all, it's about quality. The Star Alliance app does a lot of tasks you'd expect it to do: flight status and search, airport info and member airline destination profiles {perfect for when you're flying to Istanbul and haven't had time to research the city}. However, I find this app most valuable for the following features: airport guides and downloadable maps, lounge info and city guides. I'm seriously impressed with the city guides {located in the Airport Info area}. I read through some of the guides for cities I know well and appreciate the level of detail and thorough neighbourhood overviews. My only criticism would be the info appears to be slightly outdated, therefore I'd use it as a starting point, not as your latest and greatest guide.

PS - The OneWorld app, also available on Blackberry, has a flight search as well as showcases partner airlines. Once the flight search results are rendered for your query, it offers a Book Now option, not available in the Star Alliance app, taking you to the partner airline's mobile booking site. This is a nice feature, but I'd prefer to use my Kayak app for flight search. For now, I'll just download Star Alliance's app until OneWorld makes a significant update!

What airline apps are must-haves for you?

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More Tech Tuesday Google Hotel Finder Travel Apps :: Flightboard Summer Travel Gadgets [1/2] Summer Travel Gadgets [2/2] Travel Apps :: Tiffany’s New York

Old School Summer Vacations

[trip style = beach + budget conscious + weekend getaway] {Editor's Note: Last week we interviewed Dr. Murad, aka the father of internal skin care! He's given us a 4-piece Radiant Renewal Kit to give away! Enter here. Contest closes tomorrow, Aug. 16, at noon.}

A few weeks ago I was out for dinner with friends, and we got to talking about some of the less-than-fancy hotels or vacation rentals we summered at when we were little. Think old motels, lake-front cottages and nylon tents. The detail to which each friend could describe the places they stayed---down to the texture of the carpet---was incredible. At first we joked that many of our July and August accommodations weren't necessarily the types of establishments we'd instinctively book today, but then we wondered, why not?

Moral of the story: all our happy summer memories weren't created at five-star properties with pool boys and daily housekeeping, but came as a result of a great group of people, sometimes-silly traditions and a setting that allowed maximum outdoor time---only retreating indoors to change and sleep! 

Buffie Summered in: Osoyoos, BC [trip style = beach] I remember heading up to Osoyoos year after year with the fam. With about five other families, we all stayed at The Falcon or the Spanish Fiesta which sat side by side on the lakefront. Both were totally old and tacky, but hey, it was right on the beach and what more do you need than a bed, a pull-out couch, a mini kitchen and a bathroom! I remember it had orange-ish curtains and brown carpet. My sister and I would share the pull-out bed and we always wished our parents would just sleep in past 7am for once. This was back in the day when sleeping till noon was perfectly normal. The days consisted of going boating, tubing, sitting on the beach, swimming and just hanging out! At night, all five families would meet back at the beach and we would do a potluck/BBQ dinner. After dinner the teens would walk to the Dairy Queen just up the road for a dilly bar or a blizzard, and finish the night off with a mandatory hang-out on the beach. Once or twice a year all of us kids would have a sleepover on the beach under the stars, only to wake-up at about 5am thinking it was a dumb idea! It was cheap, hot and tons of fun.

Nicole Summered in: Shuswap Lake, BC [trip style = beach] Each summer my family would head to Blind Bay, BC, a small community on the southern shore of Shuswap Lake. Along with my Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins we would rent two cottages. Dinners would be a BBQ all together on a picnic bench between cabins. There was a big grass lawn separating the cabins from the lake where we could play horseshoes, jump on the trampoline and gather together at night around a fire, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Days would be spent on the lake. It was here where we learned to water ski, drive the boat and tube. We were outside all day and for most of the evening. Day trips would be to the cliffs where we would go cliff jumping or to the small stable where we would ride ponies! The resort caretakers were Fred and Ev, an elderly couple who all the kids adored! Ev rode an adult tricycle bike we all loved. We would pick a soda from the giant fridge in the head office, and if we were really lucky, we would get giant freezies. *Note, the resort no longer exists, but there are a variety of summer vacation options at Shuswap Lake! For example, Scotch Creek Cottages catches the essence of Nicole's summer days at the lake.

Trish {Editor-In-Chief} Summered in: Whistler [trip style = camping] One summer tradition that started when I was five and continued into my late teens was hiking in Whistler or Manning Park, BC and Banff, AB. Each year the dads in our group of family friends would wrangle the kids and we'd venture up a mountain, preferably to glaciar-fed Garibaldi Lake, sporting giant orange packs with pots and pans clanging against each other with every step we took up the switch-back trail on a two-night, three-day hiking adventure. No moms allowed. The ladies willingly retreated to a hotel or condo in Whistler where they would go for long walks, read, shop and eat out sans kids. Good deal. In the original incarnation of the hiking trip, we just drove home after the multi-kilometer hike. Then everyone got smarter and decided soaking in a hot tub within 20-mins of our final descent would be a much better way to end the trek. So for the next 15 years, five families would stay at The Tantalus Lodge, a two-minute walk from Whistler Village. All the kids cared about was the pool and hot tub, and car racing video game machines in the lobby, whereas the parents appreciated the in-suite kitchens and private bedrooms---oh, and its proximity to the Polo Ralph Lauren Store {and its epic summer sales} that used to be at the base of Whistler!

[photos: spanish fiesta, cottages in canada, me_mel]

Travel Beauty Month :: Dr. Murad Giveaway

This week, we were lucky enough to do an exclusive interview with LA-based skin care guru, aka The Father of Internal Skin Care, Dr. Murad about his travel skincare secrets. I feel like I've read every beauty magazine article about travel skincare secrets, and was super excited to learn new insights like eat your water {who knew?}, and don't flush your system too much. Find the full Dr. Murad interview here. Giveaway One lucky reader will win a Murad Radiant Skin Renewal Kit, pictured here.

How To Win Comment on any Trip Styler post {this one or any other}. Bonus entry 1: Like Trip Styler on Facebook. Bonus entry 2: Follow @tripstyler on Twitter.

Details Open to residents of Canada and the USA. Entries will be accepted Aug 10 – 16. Winner chosen at random and announced Aug 16, and has two days, after prizing notification, to make contact.