Products in my Makeup bag that Replace Themselves

     Much like my skin care products, I like to try new products when it comes to my makeup. So it takes quite a bit for me to repurchase a product, and say I will 100% stick with it. BUT there are a few in my makeup bag, and they're all products I tried in the last year, and I'm just addicted to, and wanted to share them. 

    Before I get into the ones I will 100% stick with, I'd like to mention 2 products that are likely products I would repurchase, but am not 100% addicted to. 

First we have Urban Decay's Priming potion. It's an eye primer, and I purchased the anti-aging formula. This is a super popular product, and has a fantastic reputation. I can honestly say it's the best eye primer I've ever used in my life. It holds my product on, and most of all, doesn't crease. The ONLY reason this product didn't make the cut, is because I'm trying a new primer soon that is for both the face and eyes. I love double duty products. I could go back to this depending on the outcome, time will tell. 

The second honorable mention is Pacifica's Enlightened Natural lip gloss in poppy. when I was a teenager, I tried a lip gloss that was 100% the perfect colour for me, and then it got discontinued. I saw this in the store, and had something that I wanted a glossy finish for my lips. Completely different line, but this was the same colour as the long lost gloss. So the reality is I will likely repurchase this product, however, I'm not a huge lip gloss wearer anymore. 

# 1) The first product I will forever repurchase is Nars Radiant creamy concealer. I remember when I first was introduced to concealer, and fell in love... and there ARE good concealers you can buy on the cheap, but THIS is the best concealer I've ever used in my life. The product has a great reputation and basically that's why I decided to give it a shot. I love the coverage, I love how it blends. I originally purchased a colour too dark for me, but with blending, I made it work. to apply it, I use the wand, and to blend I use a knock-off Beauty blender, and it does the job perfectly. In love with this product and I'll never stray. 

# 2) Couldn't begin to tell you how many different mascaras I've tried over the years, and again I will stress, you can get good mascara on the cheap. But I tried this mascara and haven't looked back. This is Younique's 3d fiber lashes and it's spectacular. A friend of mine sells Younique products, and it's a friend I've been friends with since I was 5, so when I got wind of this product, and asked her about it and she absolutely gushed about it, I decided to give it a shot. And now here I sit gushing. My lashes are short, ad straight... and this product covers my main concerns. As a fiber mascara, is gives you unreal length. We're talking people swear your lashes are fake lashes. It also holds, well. I curl my lashes, with a hot eyelash curler. I get this beautiful curl and couple hours later, it's gone. This product makes my lashes hold it's shape, so I look awake and don't get raccoon eyes.  

# 3) The final product on this list, I purchased in a sample size in hopes of making my friend's makeup stay basically GLUED to her face for her wedding day... Mission accomplished. This is Urban Decay's All Nighter setting spray. I ADORE this product, I don't know about you, but I kind of hate having to touch-up my makeup during the day... I don't have time for that, I want it on in the morning, and that's it...done. Well this makes it so. It's summer, and guess what, we're gonna sweat ( I know, charming). So instead of having your makeup melt off... no, I DID describe it as glued to your face for a reason.

      These are my Holy Grail Products, hope they were helpful. What are your Holy Grail Products?

A Rant

     I'm actually QUITE good at ranting, it's in my blood. No really, some of my family members are some of the finest ranters to walk the planet. I'm good at it genetically, really! Today something happened while I was on my way into work and I've been thinking on it a while now. I'll be completely upfront, I got my license in October, so I'm still a new driver. I took drivers ed, which is quite honestly the ONLY reason I am a confident driver (not without fault, but confident). One thing that our instructor tried to enforce with us was not to be afraid to use our horns.

     Considering I've been driving for a few short months, I've been a passenger a long time, and it really seems to be a legitimate fear with drivers. I can honestly say, most people I've driven with don't use their horn... and I've been in 3 accidents as a passenger... there was no horn.

     People actually misuse the horn. They honk to say hi, or like I've shared in a previous rant, to sexually harass some one, or because you're pissed off. When really the horn is to get the attention of another driver, to avoid an accident. why would people AVOID honking for that purpose? Is it because you've been honked at and gotten angry and shouted, "I see you"?! Do you feel like the sound is loud and rude? Not quite sure where that puts me, because I use it...often. Part of our training was to be prepared to use the horn (it is still fresh in my head).

    So all ranting aside, I did something today, that is supposed to be a major no no when it comes to being a passenger in the car. So we were at a green light waiting to turn left, and were second in line to do so. The car in front of us was a big truck that pulled out into the intersection... when a large group of grads (Or a choir... they were wearing gowns) decided they were going to jaywalk (a rant for another time) when he was clear to turn. So the light turns red, and Mr. Truck decided to back up instead of turn. My husband looks to see if he can reverse... nope, no room... guy is still backing up. It happened pretty fast, I shouted honk the horn because buddy was getting close... and then i did the no no.... I leaned over and honked the horn... the guy stopped, VERY close to my car.

    I felt AWFUL about honking the horn... and my husband so no, I did good, because he wasn't going to.

   I guess I just don't understand why people as a whole are so against using their horns...

Skin care= Self care

     Exceptionally pleased to inform, the routine from previous posts is still working for me. I really have nothing to talk about as far as altering my ACTUAL skin routine goes. However there have been some recent tweaks to things I do in my day to day life, that I THINK might be helping my skin along.


     I'm only going to share one of these things today simply because I'm not sure I've been doing the other things long enough to share them.


     So each night when I get home from work, I either shower, or take a bath. I don't wash my hair every night, and will actually go as long as I can without washing it. If you're here to judge, let me tell you, EVERY hair dresser I've ever met has told me I have incredibly thick and healthy hair, and they attribute it to the fact I'm not stripping my hair of it's natural oils on a daily basis. I also don't get split ends as fast, and as a result, don't need my hair trimmed as much.

   But I digress. The point of this post is actually to explain how my baths have helped. 1 thing I try and remember to do regularly, weather I'm in the shower, or in the bath, is oil pulling. If you're not familiar with this, you take about a tablespoon of coconut oil, let it melt in your mouth and slosh it around for about 20 min or more. Some people do this INSTEAD of brushing their teeth... I'm not one of these people, I do it in combination. Now I have noticed a slight difference in my skin as a result of this, but the real results are in my teeth. they're stronger and whiter as a result. If you plan on trying this out, I'll mention one thing, when you're done spit out the oil in the garbage. Don't swallow, because you just used this to pull gunk out of your mouth, and don't spit down the drain because coconut oil will harden and clog your drain up. I follow this with brushing my teeth normally. I do this as I bathe because my husband informed me, my sloshing around the oil is the grossest thing he's ever heard.

     The other thing I've been doing is strictly on bath nights and I give credit to Anne from the Feel Good store for this one. She mentioned Salt baths. I'd done these once in a while in the past, but they've become a once to twice a week thing now. I probably should measure out how much I use, but in all honesty, I don't... I just pour some in while the water is running. I make the water hot, just cool enough for me to stand, do my thing, and try and stay in for 20 min or more. I actually buy my bath salt from the Feel Good store...so was it an attempt to boost sales? LOL doesn't sound like her style, but BIG thanks to Anne for mentioning that in passing :)

    I don't do these things specifically for my skin care routine, but more so for my self care routine, it just seems to benefit multiple aspects.

My relationship with Makeup

     I've kind of been dying to do a post about makeup. While I really don't wear it everyday it's not because I don't like it, or anything. When i skip makeup, it's generally because I feel I have to rush putting it on. I just do not function well when I'm rushing, i don much better if I take my time on most projects...and it also a major part of why I'm usually early for everything... I hate being rushed. And while the reality is, I'm generally not rushed, because I actually DO  go pretty quick with my makeup, I get it in my head I have to go fast...and it's a bad time. I actually feel more focused and productive when I have it on, because I'm less self-conscious. I do think I'm quite good at makeup, by no means a professional, but have been the go-to makeup person on occasion for people I'm close with. I've actually run into one of my friends in a store one time and she asked about a product she was buying. 

    I wasn't ALWAYS confident with my makeup application. I was raised by my dad, so his makeup knowledge was lacking. The women in my family aren't big makeup wearers. I cringe thinking of what I left the house looking like in college... I recall hating my skin some days (oh wait, doesn't that still happen), and just wanting a full coverage makeup to hide behind... and I found that mousse foundation I think maybeline released. Now I THINK that the company has tweeked the formula of the product, but when it FIRST came out, the product was horrific... I may as well have put on a clay mask and leave the house...actually that would have been preferable, at least that wouldn't have suffocated my skin. To make matters worse, I wasn't familiar with concealer, so in my head, if I could still see blemishes, I needed more, let that sink in. Add this to me thinking that my eyeliner needed to resemble that of Chrisitna Aguliara in hr dirty video, and  me thinking great lash is ACTUALLY a good mascara, and didn't own an eyelash curler... not a pretty picture. 

     It was after college I decided I wanted to wear makeup and I wanted to do it properly, and at this point Youtube was mainstream (because it wasn't when I was in college, funny videos came from Ebaums world). I discovered this girl who have about a dozen tutorials, but I liked what she did. So I subscribed to her channel and tried out all of these different techniques, watched her reviews and LEARNED to use makeup! Oh and this girl on youtube is probably the most famous makeup tutorial youtuber there is, AND the woman who created ipsy, Michelle Phan. (seriously though, if you look at some of her early videos, they're basic, and to be honest she looks so different). 

    If I do say so myself, I'm pretty good at makeup now. Like I've confessed with some of my skin care posts, I REALLY like trying new products. So I've tried a TON of different products over the years, in different formulations, with different application methods. I tend to try something new every time I repurchase but there ARE a few products I'll stick with until I'm dead or until they get discontinued. So this is my introduction I guess, I'd like to make monday all about makeup. Thanks for reading! 

I'm So Proud of My Dog

      If you know me, or have read my blog in the past, you know I have a dog, and ADORE her. Part of me tends to be a little discouraged about writing about her all the time, but whatever... I've writen about skin treatments WAY more... and screw you it's my blog lol. Also there hasn't been an Alice blog since April... I'm overdue.

    I want to link that old post too, simply because maybe you'll see why I'm so excited for her today. Check that out here . When I wrote that blog, I was in a much better place than I was originally with her social issues. Because there are 3 years of Alice's life we know nothing about, we don't know why she has social issues... but, this is the hand we were dealt. When she met my in-law's dog Riley, who by the way is a Shihtzu, she may have mistaken him for her bear...? maybe...? I was crushed by this, and the worst part was, she knew it...

    Fast forward 8 months. Let's remember Alice was in a situation where she was very unsure about everything, including my husband and I. She liked us, but still wasn't sure if she could tryst us or rely on us...and I REALLY don't think that's the case anymore... about a month or two ago it was like a switch was flipped. Alice was always happy to be with us, and liked us, but it seemed like we suddenly became the center of her universe. If you have a dog,I assume you know what I mean when I say, there is a bond, and a connection there now, that wasn't there before.It just clicked. She knows we're a family now I think. Aside from the way she is with us, she's been different with others too. When we have her out, she's much better with strangers. She doesn't really seem to have an issue with women anymore, still not sure about men... unless she's in a place she feels safe. 

   But HERE is why I'm excited for her today. I'm too proud, really. We were at the vet for a quick checkup, and there was another dog in the waiting room. This would have been a major issue in the past, but we decided to take her in and just sit further away from the other dog. Well she pulled, but when told sat down, and sat on a loose leash. This is HUGE for my dog, and not something I would have dreamed could be possible even just a couple months ago. I'd kind of like to go back and tell discouraged me from the Fall, guess what' we're doing better already! Let me stress, I can't even for a second take ALL the credit for this. First off, my husband has been a united front when it comes to Alice. I'm not sure she would have gotten to where she is without the consistency she's had. Also Alice has gone through 2 training classes at ABC training, and had some special attention from Bev, and Caroline as well. If you're looking to work with your dog, I DEFINITELY recommend them, check out their FB here. 

So this is ACTUALLY Working For me Pt.3 (Special Treatments)

    Now that we've covered my basic skin care routine that IS working FINALLY, this post is about the little extras I do. Basically I listen to my skin. I touched on this briefly in my second post (PS here is part 1 & 2) on how I listen to my skin, (like really brief, you may need to go back and read to even know what I mean).

   So the only product I would use both morning and evening is my serum. If I need a little extra moisture, I use this AND if I think I need a little something more on my skin. Serum is supposed to nourish and give your skin a little kick of added moisture. Using as much oil as I do, I don't always need it, because some people actually use grape seed oil as a serum.

   I'm, still using the Sibu serum, and I have no complaints. However, I'm a person who enjoys trying out new products... there are very few items in my cosmetic bag that I will not replace and this isn't one of them. When I get to the bottom of this, I'll likely go with a vitamin C serum.

   As far as added moisture goes if I STILL need more, it's only ever at night and I go to this night cream I've used for a while, the Andalou Heavenly night cream. Again, like this product, and actually like it more than the serum, still will likely try a new one next time.

     I think it's safe to say most people know that one of the reasons people get pimples is clogged pores. Something I learned during my research, and there has been a LOT, is when you have a pimple caused by clogged pores, nine times out of ten the blockage is dead skin cells. THIS is why exfoliating is important, NOT just in the Winter. I'm no dermatologist, but this is stuff I've learned. As a result I have 2 products I use for this, and this isn't a "listen to my skin" thing, I have scheduled nights I do these.  Weekends I do a Mask. I've been using, and will likely repurchase soon,  the Now French Green Clay powder. I've heard people say add this to honey, oil and water, which is the one I use. I feel like this goes deep into my pores and just hauls out the gunk. I usually have to tone, use oil, serum and sometimes night cream after this, but it does the job. Wednesday nights, after my makeup is off, I use some more oil, be it grape seed, apricot, or jojoba oil (whichever one I feel like) and a couple dashes of my Rocky Mountain Vanilla Coconut face polish. I gently massage it in, and continue my routine. I bought BOTH of these products at the Feel Good Store.

    My next skin concern product is for the fine lines. I want to say when I bought this product, I checked the local stores and couldn't find it... I may be wrong...none the less I bought this at Superstore, and I use Rose hip oil. I put this on RIGHT after I remove the honey when it's still damp. I have a rather animated face, and did some damage to my face over the years. Now I've heard that Rosehip oil is good for scars... if this is the case I should be using it more on my acne scars...but my primary use is for fine lines, because it's heavy in vitamin A. Another name for "vitamin a" is retinol... and by now most of us have heard how great reinol is for fine lines. I do NOT recommend using this every day tough, because retinol is also drying. 

Beyond this, my skin concern is acne... and has been for a while. The product I have used for years is tea tree oil. THIS or toothpaste... which is only a natural product if you use natural toothpaste, but toothpaste has always worked for me for drying out a pimple, while Tea tree oil fights the bacteria. 

 In the past I've tried to use natural makeup as well. Unfortunately the reality of natural makeup unfortunately is that it either doesn't do the job, or costs too much. I think that about 50% of my products I use are natural (guessing off the top of my head). When it comes to these products, I generally research the CRAP out of a product and the company. One "conventional" makeup and cosmetic lines I've liked EVERYTHING I've used from it is Clinique. I was in Sephora last week and like they usually do, they threw in a sample product, and it was the Acne Solutions clinical clearing gel. My experience with Clinique is that it's gentle, and for that reason, I tried this product, and it worked for me, better than the tea tree oil... I got this product last week so I'm not committing to it here, but I will continue to use my sample. Anyway, that's it, and here are the results of my new routine, I'm really happy with it. Not to say it's a perfect fit for you, because everyone is different, but after a month, I'm quite pleased. 

So this is ACTUALLY Working For me Pt. 2 (Day)

    So this is the second part of my blog about my skin care routine ACTUALLY working. I've been experimenting with THIS routine for about a month and am REALLY happy with the results. If you're just clicking on this link directly, this is part one, if you'd like to check out part 1, click here .

   This is my morning routine, and I DID say in my previous post part of my issue was over cleansing, and using too many products stripping my skin. My night time routine is oils, and products you might have in your kitchen. This portion of my skin care routine DOES have actual products.

   Depending on the morning, I may or may not wash my face. If I don't feel the need, I'll splash cold water on, and that's the end of cleansing for me. If I feel like I need to cleanse it, I've used Pacifica's Sea Foam Complete Face Wash I purchased at the Corn Crib. I've been using Juice Beauty's products, and still really like them, but they stopped working for me (I'm guessing my skin built up immunity).

I've only ever heard good things about this product, it's gentle and $10 cheaper than Juice Beauty, not to mention, I'm able to buy locally. I use this in the shower too, so it's quick and easy, but as a result, toning isn't such a concern for me. I'm more concerned about restoring my skin's moisture at this point, because a warm shower can be drying. So I immediately us the same products I've been talking about in part 1, grape seed oil and apricot, for the exact same purposes in part 1.

 

    Quick blip on why I use Grape seed oil for the day SPECIFICALLY over some other oils. It has a higher burn point. Some oils like Olive oil, have a low burn point. Something about a low burn point oil on my face being exposed to light or heat, just doesn't sound like a great idea to me... for some reason... grape seed oil is quite the opposite, it actually has spf... but a low level.

     As a result I top it all off with this product right here. Kimberly Sayer  Moisturizer with SPF 30. This is for combination skin, and I think it's actually a line out of the UK, I got it off amazon, and it was a good deal, but it's rare to find such a good deal, and may choose a different route when I run out... which is still a ways away because this tube lasts a while .




   At night I kind of grab whatever lip balm is on hand, I use SPF during the day. I'll add, I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE Lip balm with SPF, because if you get it in your mouth at all, it tastes awful. This one is really not too bad for that. It's from the Rocky Mountain Soap factory (a line I've only ever had good experiences with), and I got it at the Feel Good Store.

   So that's that, 5 products this time, but still pretty basic, and has been working. Thanks for reading!

  

So this is ACTUALLY Working For me Pt. 1 (Night)

    Been WAY too long since I did a blog post. I took a break out of frustration. I know SEVERAL posts consisted of experimenting with my skin care routine. However my rises and falls in this instance has resulting in me feeling discouraged...SO let's talk about what has FINALLY started working for me. 

    I've mentioned in the past about my "winter freak out" when it comes to my skin, ut this past winter was legit my BEST winter for skin in YEARS. As a result Spring was my freak out this year.  At a time of year I want to go lighter on my makeup application, I was pretty down about this. I continue to stand behind my post about natural skin care, because once again... this seems to be what is working. 

    I've gone UBER basic, and am amped to share what I've been doing. One thing I was doing wrong was OVER cleansing. I was stripping my skin, and that has drastically changed. What I'm sharing today is my VERY basic routine I've stuck to, I'm leaving out what I use for added moisture, exfoliating, fine lines and acne (for now).So this is actually JUST my evening routine as of right now, I will probably post a morning routine IMMEDIATELY after, simply because I get wordy and this could be a crazy long post otherwise.. 

    I use grape seed oil to remove all my makeup ( If I'm wearing any). I've been using oils for eye makeup removal for years. Grape seed oil is used for a few different parts of my routine, all for different reasons. I use it for makeup removal because it's light, and preps my skin better for my next step in my routine. I haven't actually bought it myself in a while. My husband picked my last bottle, and did it at Superstore. When it comes time to replace though, I'll likely shop local (if you haven't read ANY other post I've done, I always prefer to support a local business). 

So my next step is my actual cleansing, and is a step I've shared in a previous post, however in THAT routine, it was more of a nourishing thing. In this case it's what I used to cleanse and nourish at the very same time (because I love multi purpose products). That's my good friend Manuka Honey. When I was doing my research on cleansing using honey, they only specified "raw" honey. Since I was already using raw manuka, as a nightly mask, I simply dropped the step of using a cleanser. I've been a little wasteful with my manuka lately, basically when I cleansed before, there was still a little water on my face to help spread the honey, which is actually quite thick. Without that step, it hasn't gone on as smooth, and I've used a LOT more of it on my face. This being said, I've started to warm it up in my hands a little more, which has helped, but I started adding a couple drops of water to help it too.... I've heard of people adding oil, but I can't speak from experience. Like I did before I leave the honey on my face for 5-20 min and then just rinse off, and manka comes off easily with warm water. 

This is where I would tone my skin, which consists of me grabbing a cotton pad, soaking it in water, and adding a splash of apple cider vinegar. I have only experienced good things with my skin with apple cider vinegar. to use it as a toner you NEED to dilute it because it would be too harsh on your skin otherwise, but in my experience, it balances out that ph level nicely.

The next step is back to Grape seed oil. I message it into my face and give it time to absorb. This is my moisturizer and treats my skin as well. This is a good oil for acne, which has been an issue for me, and can repair skin damage. 

The final thing I use every night is apricot seed oil. I actually couldn't find this anywhere, but Anne at the Feel Good Store got it in for me. That's apricot oil. It's also light, and gentle, and good for fine lines. 

So that's it... 4 products, and the best results I've seen in a while. Like I said this is my night routine, without any of the add-ons I may require depending on the day. I'll be sure to go and put together my morning routine in just a bit, and perhaps mention my "add-ons". Thanks for reading!