Top Favorite Skin Care Products

Face & Neck Care

Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash ($10.00)

I've been a fan of this face wash for a number or years now. In fact, I'm a complete fan of the Pacficia brand themselves. I was using Cliniques Liquid Face Soap Mild until I discovered this your a YouTube channel. It has been a game changer in my facial cleansing routine. It not only cleans my face, it removes excess oil, dirt, and impurities, removes excess makeup my makeup remover didn't get and tones my skin. My skin has never broken out with this product, ever!

Clarisonic Sensitive Brush Head ($14.50 - $24.50)

I've used the normal brush head for years with my Clarisonic Mia 2, until I no longer could find it anywhere in stores or online. I ended up thinking, what's the worst that will happen? NOTHING. Nothing negative happened. In fact, positive things happened! Not only does it clean my face and neck, it makes it feel incredibly smooth and somewhat tightened and my pores are visibly smaller. The brush head itself is weird looking, almost like it has soft plastic pieces on the outside that you would think would hurt your face, but nope! It's so soft to the touch!

Clinique Clarifying Lotion ($14.45)

I can't stress enough to people about toning their face! It's the part where it balances the pH of your skin and without a proper pH balance, who knows what will happen! I've been using this since I was a teenager and it is the key to keeping my skin from breaking out and having severe problems! I can change my facial cleanser all I want, but this is the key right here!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel ($28.00)

This is another issue I can't stress enough about! Moisturize your face! Just because you have an oily face doesn't mean it doesn't need to be moisturized. It does! Moisturizing keeps the moisture level balanced and from becoming haywire.

Clinique All About Eyes ($33.00 - $54.50)

When it comes to eye creams, you're allowed to be picky. I know I am! I need an eye cream that handle dark circles and puffiness because let's be honest, not all of us get a full 8 to 9 hours of sleep, haha. This helps with that A LOT. It dramatically reduces them instantly and overtime of using the product, it's a lightweight formula, non-greasy and quick absorbing. Perfect for me to use morning and night!

Clinique Moisture Surge 72-Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator ($12.00 - $54.00)

I have combination/oily skin and when I say oily, I mean oil slick! It's absolutely ridiculous how much oil a persons face can accumulate on it. But, there are times when my skin dries out for some odd reason and it needs some oil and moisture put back into it, this does the trick. Or if I've been out in the heat too long, I'll pop this jar in the fridge, let it cool down, and apply it to my face. It's like iced water in a jar!

Lip Care

LUSH Lip Scrub (Bubblegum) ($12.95)

This is a long time favorite of mine. No other lip scrub compares to it, none! It's a little pricey, but you get a lot in this little jar and a little bit goes a long way. I use this once or twice a week to remove any excess dead skin cells on my lips and it makes them feel very smooth and makes lipstick and chapstick applications wonderful!

CO Bigelow My Favorite Night Balm ($7.50)

I recently discovered this while shopping in Bath & Body Works for hand sanitizers and other things I enjoy from their store. An associate recommended it to me and let me tell you; BEST. LIP BALM. EVER. I ended up buying two; one for my purse and another for my bedside table to use before going to sleep. It keeps my lips moisturizes for hours without drying them out. It is a little on the sticky side if you apply too much, so a little goes a long way!

Hand & Body Care

LUSH Dream Cream Body Lotion ($7.95 - $39.95)

I've always suffered from dry, itchy skin on my hands and legs, ALWAYS! I can't remember when I didn't suffer from it. Especially on my hands. After so many different types of lotions and hand creams, I've found the holy grail of them all. This makes me hands so smooth, it even lasts into the next day through washing them and it has significantly changed the texture of my hands as well. They don't seem to have that dry, rough texture to them after using this a few times. It's light scented, not greasy and absorbs rather quickly, which is a plus in my book, since fragrances in products tend to irritate my skin.

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How To: Prepare Your Skin For Winter!

Hello beautifuls! It's that time of the year again; cold weather, snow falling and covering the ground, freezing ice on the ground, winds that whip your face, sweaters, scarves, bundling up near the fireplace, and the most dreaded idea of winter; dried skin!

When I say "prepare your skin for winter", I don't just mean your face, I mean your whole body! I have picked out personal favorite items that I've used and still use that help my skin stay smooth throughout the winter season.

Hands:

This part of our body dries out the fastest, mostly from washing our hands all the time, which is harsh to on the skin, and being exposed to the cold, dry air. Trust me, I've had dried hands to the point of them being red, cracked, and bleeding, and it's no fun. I suggest using a lotion specifically designed for the hands that is fast absorbing! You can choose a fragrance free to a sweet smelling hand cream, but I have a few personal favorites that are moisturizing, fast absorbing, and keep your hands feeling soft!

Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream

Bath & Body Works Twisted Peppermint Hand Cream

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Hand Cream

Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Hand Cream

L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

C.O. Bigelow Chapped Hands Remedy

EOS Hand Lotion

Lips:

This is another part of our bodies that gets dried out fast, from the dry air to the winds whipping us in the face every five seconds, dried out lips can be painful and bothersome. Besides piling on a bunch of lip balms, try exfoliating your lips a few times a week during your night time routine to get rid of the dead skin cells that build up. Then, follow up with a moisturizing lip balm and throughout the day!

Lush Lip Scrubs

EOS Lip Balms

Legs:

Most of the time during the winter season, our legs are covered up with leggings, tights, pants, or long coats, so they don't get dried up as fast as your hands or lips would. The skin on your legs is a lot tougher than the skin on your face, lips, and hands because not only are they exposed to the elements everyday, they are exposed to a razor blade which strips oil and skin cells along with it, along with clothing rubbing against them. None the less, the dry air finds its way to our legs causing them to be dry, itchy, and irritated! Using a body scrub a few times a week, shaving with a moisturizing fragrance free shaving cream, and apply body butter at night will ensure they make it through the cold weather throughout the day. 

Body Scrubs

I use body scrubs all the time, usually twice a week to get rid of dead skin cells, cure dry skin on my body, and reveal smooth skin. I like to scrub my feet, legs, arms, elbows, hands, and upper chest. This reason is exactly why it's a item to have during the winter season!

The Body Shop Body Scrubs (Cocoa Butter & Coconut)

Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrubs & Soap Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub

Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sugar Scrubs (Stress Relief & Sleep)

Shaving Cream

You can shave with any shaving cream you desire, scented or unscented, but I personally suggest using an unscented shaving cream throughout the winter season and all the time! When you think about it, while in the shower before shaving, the pores on your skin open up, hair softens up, and shaving strips oils and the first layer of your skin. Anything scented is going to aggravate any dried out skin, especially after being shaved. And to top all of that, the dry air isn't going to help much either, eeek!

Alba Botanic Very Emollient Shave Cream

EOS Shave Cream

Body Lotion:

This is another great item to have around your home! Body lotions are perfect to rub on your arms and legs throughout the day to smooth irritated and dry skin. They aren't as heavy as a body butter and they absorb pretty quick. I like to have a body lotion in my home, bedroom, car, purse, bookbag, etc. You can go fragrance free or have a nice smelling scent!

Bath & Body Works Body Lotion (Sweet Pea, Paris Amour, Beautiful Day)

Bath & Body Works Body Lotion (Vanilla Bean Noel & Twisted Peppermint)

Other Useful Tips!

Drink Water

I know it can be hard at times to get your daily intake of water, but it's essential for our bodies, we are made of about 70% water! Water helps your thinking, sweating, internal organs, cells carry oxygen, and help skin keep hydrated!

Avoid Overusing Hand Sanitizers

I know, we live in a society that says we should use them every second of that day! If you regularly wash your hands before eating, putting things on your face and body, or just generally when you need your hands to be sanitized, you shouldn't be needed to use hand sanitizers so often. Yes, use them when you need them (like after pumping gas, coming out of the restroom in public places, touching surfaces in public places, before eating at a restaurant, etc), but don't use them so much. The alcohol content in them is rather high and drying to the hands.

Shorter Showers

Taking those long relaxing hot showers during the cold months feels nice and wonderful, but it dries out your skin. Try taking a shorter shower or turning the water to warm instead of hot.

Humidifier

These machines can be very helpful for people with allergies (which is why I have an air purifier in my room on at night) and during the cold months when the heat is circulating through the house. The heat circulating through the house and blasting on your face through vents dries out your skin, so help balance the air with a humidifier!

Hopefully you all found my advice helpful! 

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How do you help your skin survive the cold months?

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Trash Talk: Empties! + Mini Reviews! (October 2014)

Hello beautifuls! It's that time again! Time to pull out my bag of empty products, share a mini review on them and then recycle/throw out the containers!

Skin:

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes:

These are by far my favorite go-to makeup removing wipes to removed my face makeup and leftover mascara that my eye makeup remover didn't get. They leave no residue on my face, they take everything off, they have pretty much no smell, they don't break me out and best of all; they're inexpensive!

Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub (Pomegrante Acai):

I believe this was in my last empties post, haha. I just love this product. I could rave all day about this stuff. They come in an assortment of different scents, they leave my skin smooth for days, prepare my skin for a close shave, help with dry skin and they leave no residue on the shower floor!

Satin Care with a touch of Olay Shaving Cream:

I have really been loving this stuff for shaving! I used to use the skintimate brand and I switched this brand and I can't recall why now. This is barely scented which is a plus for me since my skin is very sensitive to scented soaps and gives my legs great moisture!

LUSH Dark Angels (Sample)

I don't know how I feel about this stuff right now... I only used the sample a few times before it ran out so, I didn't get a full run to try it out and see how I liked it. I do notice my oil isn't as oily right now since using the small bit of sample (that also could also be from the weather changing). I did like the feeling of it; felt and smelled very earthy and natural!

Clinique Claryifying Lotion (#3):

I can not. I repeat can not live without this in my life. My skin can not live without it. I can change my moisturizer and face wash up all I want but this toner is the key ingredient in my skincare routine. It balances the pH level in my skin, keeps my acne and break outs in check and prepares my skin for the night and day! I've been using it since late teenage years, nothing will ever replace it.

Dove Sensitive Skin Body Wash (Unscented)

This body wash is great. I always end up returning to it, no matter what. I loooove body washes from Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works but, they irritate my skin so much if I use them for too long of a time. I can use them for awhile and then my skin just gets irritated from them (they get dried, cracked and red) so I stuck to using this body wash. Amazing!

Hair

L'Oreal Advanced Haircare Volume Filler Thickening Conditioner:

I always run out of conditioner before shampoo. Does anyone else have that issue? I really love this shampoo and conditioner set but, it's not worth the hype. I have long hair and it has it's day when it wants to be thick and when it wants to be thin. Not much I can say about this other than ... it makes my hair feel thick but not drastically thick.

Tresemme Mega Firm Control Hairspray:

This is like cement for your hair! I use this mainly for the "poof" on my head (yes, that snooky kinda think I get asked all the time about, haha) and it holds it in place all day! 

Makeup:

L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara:

I really loved this mascara when it came out. I really did, until the smell got to me. It has a chemically smell to it and it dried out very fast on me. It did give my lashes length and a little volume but that is about it. I probably won't be purchasing this again because the smell bothered my eyes. Good mascara though, horrible scent!

Dior Diorshow Mascara:

NO, NEVER AGAIN! Not only is this over priced for a mascara, but the wand is huge (and it's not that huge for a sample size mascara) and you can't use it properly. It did absolutely nothing to my lashes and made my eyes burn. It has a fragrant smell to it, like someone sprayed it with a perfume. That's a complete no. 

Makeup Brush Care:

Baby Shampoo:

Happy to say, I'm finally retiring baby shampoo from my makeup brush cleaning routine! I found an alternative, a better alternative! This is a cheap method of cleaning makeup brushes but if you have long wearing foundations or concealers or high pigmented eyeshadows and you have stains left from them, this will not get them out fully. It cleans the brush but never gets the stains on completely.

Candles: 

Bath & Body Works Candle (Mahogany Teakwood):

This was also in my last empties post! I always, always, ALWAYS repurchase this candle everytime I go to Bath & Body Works during their 2 for $22 deal on their 3-wick candles. It's my absolute favorite candle, it smells amazing, long burning time and over all great quality candle!

719 Walnet Avenue Candle (Mcintosh Apples):

This candle is from walmart. I found it awhile ago and purchased it for my parents for my kitchen downstairs. Even they said it smelled great and like apples. Sadly, it doesn't have a long burning time to it and once you get down to the wick area, it gives a bad burning smell. This candle was pretty inexpensive (I wanna say $10?) so it's not bad for the price. Good quality candle!

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What were your empties for the month of October?

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