Travel Beauty - Skincare!

A couple of weeks ago I did a blog on travel beauty, and I had a request for travel skin care, so today I am going to talk a little about what I take when I travel.

As you can see above, basically my secret to skin care when you travel is samples. No I don't take all of these and no I didn't raid the samples at my local Sephora. BUT when I place online orders (which is not nearly as often as you might think) OR when I do go to a beauty counter, I ALWAYS get samples. Not always of skin care but that's one of the first ones I ask for.

I like to get samples of cleansers and moisturizers as well as eye creams and serums. So when I travel typically I will take make-up wipes. Two of my faves are the Equate wipes (pictured) or the Neutrogena wipes in the blue packaging. Both of these wipes are great for removing everything including waterproof items. And they don't irritate my face. Then I add in samples for other items I need.

I would encourage you to ask at your fave beauty counters if they have samples or travel size versions of your fave items. You'd be surprised at what they do have.

Drug store skin care items are a little trickier as they usually are in packaging too large to carry on and don't often come in travel sizes. SO I buy little containers and empty product from larger containers into the smaller ones and label them accordingly.

Keep in mind this is what I bring when I am flying and taking only carry on luggage. If I were checking a bag I would most likely just bring everything I would normally use and not worry about samples.

I have found this to be a great way to save space and try out some new things.

FYI - this also works for hair products. Samples of argan oil are super easy to come across so one packet of that and I'm set for the week. Travel size hair spray (John Freida is my FAVE) and shampoo/conditioner are also easy to find. One tip there though is to look up the hotel you are staying at, often times they list toiletries and even more often than that, THEY ARE GOOD BRANDS. I've stayed places that offer Peter Thomas Roth, Bumble & Bumble and other higher end shampoos that are (in some cases) better than what I would have brought. So do your research before you pack.

Anti-Aging Tips with the Mommyhood Project

Last weekend I had the opportunity to do something pretty awesome, and I wanted to share it with you in case you missed it or didn't know about it.

My good friend Cortney has an awesomely fabulous blog, and it's pretty famous too, called The Mommyhood Project and you should totally check it out. Even if you are not a mom there is a lot to read and the mommy posts are entertaining and even educational for future reference.

Anywho, in all her awesomeness Cortney invited me to do a Google Hangout to chit chat about anti-aging skin care. I gave some of my tips and shared some knowledge on how to help keep your skin aging gracefully. I know I'm not old, but I am older than I used to be and those days of late night/early morning partying and being a lifeguard are starting to show on my face.

If you are interested in watching there is a link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rffCmpEaA

And just for fun here are three tips you can use right now:

1. Use SPF. Everyday. No matter how dark or fair your skin tone is. Use it.
2. Buy a face wash, bar of soap, something that is specifically to wash only your face. Do not, for the love of all that is holy, use the same bar you use to clean your armpit that you use to clean your face.
3. REMOVE ALL MAKEUP BEFORE YOU GO TO BED. No excuses.

What I'm loving right now - skin care and beauty

Sorry it's been awhile guys! Life has been busy and this winter has really gotten to me. BUT I think I (finally) see the sunlight at the end of the tunnel and hope to be back on my regular posting schedule :-)

I wanted to share a few things with you that I have been loving lately. None of them are extremely new to the market, and not really new to me (except one product) so let me share with you what they are and why I love them!

First up is the Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing and Makeup Remover Cleanser. I used this once about 3-ish years ago, and really liked it. Since my holy grail cleanser is being phased out by Olay, I thought I would try working this back into my routine to see if I still like it. And I am happy to report that it's so far so good! I love that it really cleanses and removes makeup without being too drying. There is a slight smell to this cleanser BUT it's not terrible and once you rinse your face the smell is gone. This is $8 at Target and you can get coupons online and if you have a smartphone you N-E-E-D the Cartwheel app for Target. The app itself is free and you can add coupons to use on the things you are already buying. I downloaded the app about 6 months ago and have saved over $100 so far.

Second in the line up is the Aveeno (okay technically it's third) Positively Radiant Moisturizer. Now I am perfectly happy with my moisturizer currently, but wanted to try something new and I had a coupon. And I really am enjoying this as well. It's $13 at Target not sure if this will replace my current fave, but time will tell. And if I'm being honest, I love Jennifer Aniston and she is the spokesperson for Aveeno so I kind of wanted to try it because of her. Judge me, I don't care.

Last up for skin care related items is the Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips. This is about $1.50 at Target and it's awesome. There is a slight rose scent to this product but it goes away and does not transfer to your food and beverages. What I like about this is that it seems to really form a moisture barrier over my lips and keep them moisturized for a long time. I prefer to wear this at night while I sleep but have found myself reaching for this during the day as well.

Finally, let's talk about make-up. The first product is the E.L.F. blush/bronzer duo. It's $3 at Target. And you need it in your life. The bronzer is great for contouring as well as bronzing your face, and it's extremely pigmented so you only need a little. And the blush is ultra flattering.

The second make-up product is the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation. It has SPF 20 and I wear it in the shade Classic Ivory. This was $11 at Target and right now there is a Cartwheel for 10% Neutrogena cosmetics. I love this. I was totally shocked by how pretty and natural this is. I've only been using it for about 4 days, but I'm feeling like this might be edging out my Cover Girl and Revlon foundations. Like for seriously. It's so pretty and really gives what I think of as a fresh face. The only crappy part is the color selection sucks. There's not a lot to offer the super pale and the super dark skin tones. And so many of the shades seem to be pink based. That aside I do really like it.

What are you loving right now?

Go-To Face of the Day

Whenever I am in a hurry or don't have a lot of time to think about what I want to do with make-up, I have a few go-to products that always give me (what I feel is) a polished look. 

I love the Cover Girl Outlast 3-in-1 Foundation, the Cover Girl & Olay under eye concealer, Wet N Wild Blush in Pearlescent Pink, the Lorac Pro Palette, Rimmel Scandal-Eyes in Nude, Maybeline Line Stilleto in Black and Maybelline the Rocket in Blackest Black. 

I absolutely love all of these products, and would recommend them to anyone. And I love the Lorac Pro Palette! There are so many shades in here from everything to nude colors to the deepest smokey colors. You can really create a million different looks with this. 

All of these products have long lasting power, and I can go about my day and not have to worry about touch-ups or or melt-downs. 

What are your go-to products? 

January Top 5 Beauty Faves

January 2014 Top 5 Beauty Favorites

I love nail polish! And Zoya polishes are one of my favorite brands. These four are from their new Naturel Collection. I am usually a dark polish girl, but these are just so fresh and I love the shine they give my nails. All of these are office-appropriate and would look great on a variety of skin tones. My two faves are Rue and Brigette.

This is an oldie but goodie. I had a coupon for Loreal makeup and was in need of mascara. I love the length this gives my lashes! It doesn't do much for volume but I like the finished look. I have it in blackest black. It comes in waterproof and other shades too.

Wet N Wild Blush in Pearlescent Pink is so gorgeous. It's a pinky-peach tone blush that is super pigmented. It is a dead-ringer or dupe for NARS Orgasm. AND......it's $2. Yep. $2 at Walgreens. I love this color. It's great with a variety of looks and a great everyday go to shade.

The Tangle Teezer. I love this brush. I have only used it on wet hair but you can use it on dry hair too. It is amazing how well this runs through my hair and gets all the tanlges out without hurting my head. I have a separate post on this if you want more.

This is a new product for me. I have only had it the last two weeks of the month but it is such an awesome product, I had to include it. I recently colored my hair and it has been sooooo dry. Partially because of the dying but I think partially because it's winter. But I swear in one use this made my hair so soft and shiny that you would never know how dry it was minutes before use. It smells good too! I use this once a week as a treatment (usually on the weekend because I don't have time during the week.)

What are your faves this month? Have you tried any of the products I listed?

Basic Face: Weekend Makeup

 As much as I love make-up there are some days, usually the weekend, that I just don't wear or want to wear a ton of stuff on my face. And that's a-okay. So today's post features some of my go-to weekend makeup. 

Face products. I use some sort of tinted moisturizer/BB/CC cream. Pictured above is a deluxe size I got from Sephora and it's fine. Nothing fancy or special I don't think. But it does the job. Then I like to lightly dust a powder over my t-zone so I don't get shiny. Above is the Maybelline Shine Free Powder in Light and the E.L.F. kabuki brush. I will also use some sort of cheek color to give life to my face and pictured here is the Benefit Rockateur. 

For my eyes I go really basic and comb through my lashes and brows using this handy tool from Sonia Kashuk.

Then if I'm feeling fancy I will curl my lashes. Otherwise I just add some mascara and that's it. I will of course add whatever lip balm I have handy as my lips are always dry so I have to put something on them or they will be in sad shape. 

Easy Peasy, right? What's your go-to weekend look? Or low-key look?

January Ipsy Bag

What could be better than sampling the latest and greatest beauty products and getting exclusive deals on them every month? And having them delivered to your door? Not much right? And the best part is, this is a real thing. If you are an Ipsy (formerly My Glam) subscriber this is exactly what you will get each and every month. AND it's $10. Yep just $10. Pretty awesome huh? I've been a subscriber for over a year now, I took a break for a couple months and then reactivated my subscription. It's such a fun way to try products and a lot of the time you are getting full sizes, not just deluxe or travel sized products. Brands featured in past bags include Urban Decay, Benefit, NYX, Zoya, Butter London and Pacifica just to name a few. And they all come in a cute little make up bag.

Here are the items I got in my January bag! I haven't had time to try most of these yet so I just have pictures for you. But this is a really good deal and I have tried several of the subscription services out there and this is by far my fave and (in my opinion) the best deal. Check it out and sign up here.