Beauty & the Beat

Skin care alert: My Hungarian love affair with Omorovizca continues

Gold Flash Firming Serum in Shadow
Cleansing Foam by Omorovicza
Omorovicza's Essential Travel Kit
Omorovicza introduces Gold Eye Lift.

For a few years now, Omorovizca, the Budapest-based luxury skincare line, has been my go-to brand for gorgeous, radiant skin. I'm a devotée to my beloved Budapest brand's daily regimen. Well, dear CultureMap readers, my Hungarian love affair continues, as over the summer, I had the opportunity to try a few of Omorovizca's newest products that truly deliver and work well with Houston's climate.

Take note, Omorovizca is renown for natural, anti-aging products that utilize the ancient health and beauty phenomenon of Hungary's mineral-rich thermal waters. According to the company bio, this innovative skincare line developed a unique patented delivery system, Mineral Cosmetology, ensuring the skin's absorption of the mineral rich Hungarian water in unprecedented levels.

Results? How about a firmer, supple and youthful complexion? Bonus: All Omorovizca products are free of scary faux ingredients such as petrochemicals, sulfate detergents or artificial anything.

New beauty obsessions

Omorovizca's new Cleansing Foam purifies, yet refreshes and revitalizes the skin, thanks to such ingredients as lupine, apple pectin and copper complex. It is pricey, so I frugally placed a pea-size amount of my coveted deluxe sample upon my trusty Clarisonic complexion brush, and voilà! A Houston summer day's worth of inferno-like humidity, grime, sunscreen, and water-proof mascara vanished in a flash.

Plus, this aqua-colored foam left my complexion glowing. Warning: this Cleansing Foam's fresh scent and mini-facial like results are elegantly addicting.

My next Hungarian beauty obsession is Omorovizca's recently launched Gold Flash Firming Serum; a multi-tasking powerhouse. Omorovicza's website claims that this new anti-aging serum "relies on the anti-inflammatory properties of gold, as well as other innovative active ingredients, to help re-texturize and repair the skin."

It's a simple way to jumpstart a healthy radiant complexion. This golden elixir prevents and gently corrects hyper pigmentation, encourages the skin's production of collagen and elastin, and hydrates without stickiness, all with only a mere revitalizing pump or two of product — genius!

Should you decide to try these two products, Omorovizca recommends using the Cleansing Foam first, followed by the Gold Flash Serum, and finishing with your favorite Omorovizca moisturizer.

What to do if you're ready to commit

Interested in trying this Budapest beauty secret, yet not quite ready to commit to the full-size regimen?

Take a closer look at Omorovizca's Essentials Kit.This chic blue patent leather double zipper kit includes travel (yes, TSA approved) sizes of Omorovizca's cult favorites including the signature Queen of Hungary Mist, Illuminating Moisturizer (my warm weather fave), Rejuvenating Night Cream, two deluxe samples of Thermal Cleansing Balm (which has won mah-jor acclaim from beauty editors world wide.) Also, you'll find one super-soft terry cleansing mitt.

Finally, here's the scoop on Omorovizca's latest product set to launch next month. It's Gold Eye Lift, a beyond-rich eye cream that Omorovizca states is infused with "cutting-edge lifting and firming 3-D technology that packs both immediate and long-lasting effects." Check Omorovizca.com in October for availability.

Co-founder Margaret de Heinrich de Omorovizca will make a personal appearance Friday at the Neiman Marcus Galleria store. Purchase any two Omorovizca products and receive a personalized 30-minute consultation with de Omorovizca and a 60-minute signature complimentary facial performed by Omorovizca's resident therapist. Purchase $300 of Omorovizca products and receive a full-size Radiance Renewal Serum (a $150 value).

Appointments are required. Call the Omorovizca counter at Neiman Marcus (713-621-7100) to schedule a consultation.

Omorovizca products are available at select Neiman Marcus, Rosewood and St. Regis properties, Bergdorf Goodman and at Omorovizca.com. Cleansing Foam, 5 fl. oz., $70; Gold Flash Firming Serum, 1 fl. oz.; $215, Omorovizca Essentials travel kit, $150; Gold Eye Lift, $175

Disclaimer: Individual results may vary . . . this review based upon sample size products.

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FALL FÊTE

Texas luxury boutique collabs with Houston designer for new fashion brand

Photo courtesy of Saint Bernard

Saint Bernard teams up with Houston designer Lyndsey Zorich for Love Note.

River Oaks District boutique Saint Bernard is getting ready for fall with a new collection created with Houston style veteran Lyndsey Zorich. The fashion-forward retailer and the founder and designer of Mason's Daughter teamed up to launch Love Note by Lyndsey Zorich, a new Saint Bernard-owned brand.

Saint Bernard doesn't usually collaborate with local designers on its own brands, making this partnership with Zorich special. She was involved in everything from creative direction and textile development to fabrication and production. Shoppers can expect a feminine collection with a playful take on everyday dressing for women who want to look put together, but not too serious.

Love Note officially launches on Thursday, September 10 at Saint Bernard stores in Houston, Dallas, Southlake, San Antonio, and Austin, as well as online. Customers will have to be patient, because another unique aspect of this collaboration is that the entire collection won’t debut at once. Instead, the brand will roll out in a series of monthly drops, each having its own seasonal point of view.

Saint Bernard x Lyndsey Zorich Love Note by Lyndsey Zorich is available at Saint Bernard stores in Houston, Dallas, Southlake, San Antonio, and Austin, plus online.Photo courtesy of Saint Bernard

The Kick Off is the first drop in September. It is a game day-inspired collection with pieces designed for fall sports and weekend road trips. In October, The Lean In will debut with more feminine silhouettes, followed by Getting Comfortable, which focuses on the perfect layering pieces for Texas’s warm fall weather.

A longtime Saint Bernard shopper herself, Zorich's unique style and Texas perspective gave her a greater understanding of what Texas customers want.

“Getting dressed has always been one of my favorite forms of self-expression, and Love Note allowed me to take that idea from concept all the way through the finished product,” said Zorich. "Saint Bernard felt like the right partner, because I genuinely understand and love their customers. Love Note is meant to bring a little more playfulness to getting dressed, pieces that feel personal, special, and bring joy to everyday life.”

That individual connection is what Saint Bernard wanted in this project. According to Ashleigh Goyer, director of owned brands for Saint Bernard, the store wanted a new way for Saint Bernard to give customers something both recognizable and unexpected.

"She shares her perspective, her lifestyle, and her love of fashion, and she has an incredible ability to make getting dressed feel effortless and personal," said Goyer.

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