Good lord it is COLD this morning in the South!! We woke up this morning to FROST!! I kid you not and yes we are in North Carolina!!! We had to be up first thing this morning for the painters to come in and when we got up the house was a little chilly to say the least! The painters were late, Carter didn't show up and Jason dumped paint all over the garage floor. I called Carter and very plainly said that he has not followed through on anything that he said and he said that he would be here today with the painters to make sure that everything was done to our standards so he better be here. He made some lame excuse about how they were suppose to be here at 9:00am and they were obviously early (they were here yesterday and told us they would be here at 8:00am today) and he would be here shortly. He showed up shortly after and left while no one was looking and hasn't been seen since. I'm pissed. Wait till I see that little frigger!
Anyways I finally blocked everyone out and sat with my coffee and some fresh sourdough toast.. what could be better then that right? I LOVE sourdough toast! I've spent my morning watching people walk throughout my house hopefully doing what they are suppose to (doubtful) and doing it quickly (unlikely, they look like they will be here all day!).
Jason and I are heading to the local theater tonight to see a Christmas play, I know its a little early but with the chance of Jason being gone for most of the Christmas season and the fact that the show is running now and we need a night out we thought, why not! We are going to head down early for a nice dinner and then make our way over to the theater, I cannot wait! I have always enjoyed productions of all sorts, everywhere I have seen them and I convinced Jason early on in our relationship that he was missing out in life having not seen a stage production, after his first he agreed! I cannot wait for tonight!
So I said that I was going to stop by today to tell you all about some new products I am using and what I think of them all and that is exactly what I am here to do!!
I have recently started using Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleansing Towelettes, see HERE . I have used these cleansing towelettes for years, they work great for removing make up and leaving your skin feeling clean and fresh. I used the Dove ones for years until they stopped making them! Because I have sensitive skin it was really hard for me to find something that worked and didn't leave my face covered in a rash or cause break outs. After Dove was no more I switched to Simple which I used for almost a year and then recently I noticed that every time I would use them it would leave my skin quite red. I knew that I needed to change my skin care routine and therefore having had such great luck with other Burt's Bees products I decided to try the cleansing towelettes. I have only been using these for a little under a month but I am extremely happy with them! I love the size of the cloth, the texture as well. I am not a fan of the exfoliating clothes, these ones are extremely soft and take the makeup off without effort, they don't leave my skin dry or irritated, I couldn't be happier with this product!
In keeping with the theme of skincare products, as I mentioned I have recently changed my skincare routine. For some reason lately I have been having skin issues that I have never experienced before. Hate me if you will but I didn't have acne issues as a teenager, a breakout here and there but nothing I would have considered severe by any means. Recently I wouldn't say my skin issues are severe but I notice more breakouts then normal leaving me feeling quite self conscious. I will attribute this mainly to stress which is something I wish I could control but is just not the case, so I thought I would take a few extra steps in my skin care routine to see if I could make a difference.
I started using Clean and Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer that can be seen HERE. As I mentioned I have extremely sensitive skin and therefore I have to be extremely careful about the products I use. Sadly skin care products are not cheap and therefore purchasing something you can only use once isn't overly practical or encouraging. Feeling a little helpless in my situation I decided to try a new Clean and Clear product as I have had luck with their moisturizers in the past. I like this product, it does what is says and moisturizes my skin, it doesn't leave it greasy or feeling heavy. I would say the price is reasonable and that always makes me happy, I would say if you suffer from dry skin this would absolutely be something to try!
Shall we just stick with facial products while we are at it? I think so, lets talk make up!
Recently I have been quite interested in make up tutorials, I religiously follow Kate Bryan at The Small Things Blog and all her makeup tips and tutorials. I enjoy trying new make up products and seeing the different affects it can have on the look you are trying to portray! Again makeup is NOT CHEAP and therefore I like to read reviews and see if different products are worth purchasing and if they will potentially work for my skin type, etc.
Liquid foundation is not something I use much of, as I mentioned my face very rarely breaks out and therefore I don't feel the need to bog down my skin with products, but let it breathe in hopes of preventing break outs. But in a recent attempt to even out my skin tone I decided to try a new product I have heard a lot of good things about. Maybelline Fit Me Shine Free Foundation Stick! I went to Ulta and spoke to a consultant about whether or not she thought this would be a good product for my skin type and what shade she recommended as I tend to fine liquid foundation makes me look washed out and pale!
I am extremely happy with this product! I draw a few lines around my face and use a foundation brush to blend in. Once blended it feels light and airy on my face, I love the little amount of product needed to conceal my entire face and it lasts all day without needing to reapply. I do not use a primer and I honestly don't think one is needed with a product of this caliber! I highly recommend when you run out of foundation next time trying this one, I don't think you will be disappointed!
Alright, last face related product! It's not like any of the others... its for your lips! I am a lip gloss HOARDER! The amount of lip glosses, balms, chaps and sticks I have around is pretty excessive, but I wont apologize.. my lips are important and my hoarding is only an attempt to make sure they are well taken care of. Haha. Did you believe that? I mean it's partially true!
ANYWAYS truthfully everything WORKS but there are just some that you find and absolutely love, for me this is rare but when it comes along I stick with it. When we were at home in the summer Barb and I were sitting around at the table and she whipped out a lip gloss I have never seen. We share them when together, I love this about us! So naturally I asked to try it and I immediately LOVED it! This fabulous lip balm is a from Cover Girl and its called Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm! I went back to Estevan after our visit on the hunt for this baby and with no luck Barb (god love her) graciously sent me one! I use it everyday, it is always in my purse or in my pocket! I love the way it feels on my lips, it prevents drying but also gives a beautiful warm color! I don't particularly like any lip gloss that leaves my lips sticky, causing my hair to get stuck in it, etc. This product is amazing, I truly cannot say enough good things about it. GO OUT AND BUY IT, RIGHT NOW!
This is the color that I use, I am sorry I don't know the name of it off hand. I believe it is TRU LUV but it is upstairs in my purse and the painters are all over the stairs.
Moving on from face products shall we? Apparently I've been doing a little shopping because I have more to share then I expected. As you know being in the new house I have been taking advantage of our master bathroom and the wonderful new bathtub! I love shower products but am a real snob when it comes to shower gel. Naturally it needs to smell amazing and I don't want something that leaves my skin feeling heavy or greasy. Dove products smell wonderful but I find them to thick and heavy and hard to scrub off. I suppose it is a good thing that little product is required but I can't say I will buy that again. While in Canada I was using natural products from The Body Shop which I loved and for some reason just have no looked for here. I should get on that. In the meantime I have found something that I really like, Dial Skin Therapy Himalayan Pink Salt & Water Lily. I absolutely love this body wash, it smells absolutely INCREDIBLE!! I love how light it feels on my skin and how soft I feel when I get out of the shower. I don't need to use a lot but I don't need to scrub and scrub to feel like my skin is clean! I think Dial is one of those brands that kind of goes under the radar and I'm not sure why because their products are fantastic! If body wash is on your shopping list, give this one a try... at the very least you will smell fantastic!
Nearing the end folks.. I promise! I suppose its been awhile since I have done a favorite products post and I guess I forgot how long they can be!
As you know I have quite the mop on my head! I have tons and tons of hair and it is generally a curly mess unless I make the time and effort to do something about it. For a long time I have been wanting and wishing for long hair, believe it or not I find my hair to be more manageable when it is longer as it is so heavy that the weight pulls the curls out and leaves it looking like less of a mess with less effort (that sounds lazy). However I decided that if I was going to grow my hair long then I was going to take care of it, I was going to get up every morning and actually do something with it, not just throw it up in a bun and call it even. Turns out there is a lot I can do with it if I am making the time!! So with the new found effort to make my hair look presentable I have been using some new products in order to make my hair work with me.
As I mentioned earlier I follow Kate Bryan at The Small Things Blog religiously and she cant say enough good things about Aquage Uplifting Foam and because my hair is so heavy I do find that with straight hair or otherwise the top of my hair can tend to look flat as time proceeds after acquiring the desired look. Unfortunately you cant just walk into Target or even Ulta and get Aquage products and although it is still on my radar I decided to just pursue a root lifter that I could purchase locally and see what I thought of it. While at Ulta I discovered Alterna Haircare product Bamboo Volume Uplifting Root Blast . I am generally skeptical of all new products because what works on thin to medium hair often does nothing for me. I decided to give it a try and was actually really surprised with the outcome. I washed and blow dried my hair, at that point before using my straightener, I used the spray sectioning off my hair and putting it in multiple places directly at the roots. I then brushed through and straightened my hair. I couldn't believe the volume I received that the roots and how long lasting it was. A friend of mine actually commented on how voluminous she thought my hair looked that day.. yay!
If you are looking for something on the fly and don't have the time to wait for Aquage to be delivered or cant seem to find it I would highly recommend this product, if it can work on my thick crazy mop think about what it could do for you!
Last but not least (well, kind of..), as you know I have a love affair with World Market and when I am there little things tend to appear in my cart, and I just have no idea how they got there. Well that is what happened with the next product, I was there one day walking around and it just jumped out at me. It was the first cold day we had in Raleigh since we arrived and what does cold weather mean? Dry skin, naturally.. and what does dry skin mean? HAND CREAM! Lets be honest you can never have enough hand cream!! So I decided to purchase Aroma Artesanles De Antigua Grapefruit Tangerine Hand Cream. Then I came home and lost it! I swear I looked everywhere for the stuff and could not find it anywhere, so the next time I was there I bought another one. I figured if I found it then it wouldn't hurt to have two, in case you were wondering I did end up finding it in my jacket pocket that I had worn all that day and then remembered coming home and leaving my jacket on for awhile because it was chilly, haha so I guess I used it and stuck it in my pocket and then forgot about it, so now I have two.. SCORE!
I like this stuff, it smells absolutely incredible but it does leave my hands feeling temporarily greasy which I am not a huge fan of. Its not terrible and you will get that I suppose with any hand cream of this thickness, having said that I would still buy it again and I think you should too.. just sayin'.
So that's it!! This has taken me quite some time, haha! I hope you all enjoyed my list and I hope you try at least one of the products!! If you happen to or already have please tell me what you think, if you liked it, if you morbidly disagree with me and why! I would love to hear your input!
I am going to make a sandwich,yes on that fabulous sourdough bread and hope that these people get moving so I can go for a shower and get ready for a outing tonight!! I will be back tomorrow with details or our night and some updated pictures of the house if no one has to come back in tomorrow!
Have a fabulous day all and stay warm!
Have you ever looked at products at Sally's Beauty Supply? I first went with a cousin in Florida (the used to only be in the U.S.), but now they've opened locations in Canada and there is one near us. I have bought several different things and had good luck. I believe there is one in Raleigh - something to check out when you have time!
ReplyDeleteI have been to Sally Beauty Supply a couple times in Alaska but I wasn't the one that had the discount number and I was under the impression you had to be professionally affiliated in the beauty industry in order to get the discounts. They definitely have a wide selection depending on what you are looking for! I have seen one in Raleigh I believe! I'm not going to lie I am having a love affair with Ulta, I haven't tried a lot of their brands though. Sephora is a favorite as well! Thanks for the comment!! :)
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