Skin Care Series: Treatments

Okay so in my original post in this series, I forgot a couple of products. My bad. But I've added them in and posted pictures here :-)

So. Okay, let's get started. This post is the third in my skin care series.

As you can see in the picture above I use several additional products to treat specific things for my skin. This is a longer post, but these treatments and serums are really the meat and potatoes of skin care, so grab some coffee/tea and settle in.

So in the order I would put these on my face I use the Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum (it's the small pump bottle with the white top in the above picture). I use this on two acne scars on my cheek. I had two zits a year ago on my cheek and because I am so fair skinned the scars are like little beacons of light drawing all of your attention to my cheek (at least that's how I think they look). And so I got this small bottle as a deluxe sample from Sephora and have been using it to fade those spots. It seems to be working, but not fast enough for me.

If I have a zit I use one the two products next to the Murad bottle. The little dropper bottle is something I got from a spa and I have no clue what it is but when I put it on zits they go away and then I'm happy. I also use this mark. get treatment zit cream for the little pus bastards that sometimes show up on my face. Unfortunately this product is discontinued, but it really does work.

I also use the Michael Todd True Organics Pumpkin Mask once every couple of weeks to restore moisture in my face. I love using this because a) it smells like pumpkin which is delish, and b) it looks like someone smeared baby food all over my face and the look on my boyfriend's face when he sees me wearing it is priceless. It also seems to work and makes my skin pretty. I got this is an ipsy bag a few months back.

And finally I use the e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator a few times a week to get rid of all the dead skin on my lips. It smells like vanilla and is a little moisturizing so it doesn't totally dry out my lips. And it's $3.

Skin Care Series: Eye Cream

The second post in my skin care series.

And now moving on to eye cream, I am now using two. In my first post my routine only shows one eye cream, and now it's after Christmas and I am using two. Because that's how I roll. And my mom bought me a new eye cream, and I added it into my routine. So there.

The first one I use is the Mary Kay Timewise Firming Eye Cream. About 8 or so years ago I used to be a Mary Kay rep and I used this all the time. Then I hated it and quit and eventually stopped using the products. But I there are a few products they make that I love and this is one of them. It targets lines, wrinkles and darkness and it is amaze-balls.

The other eye cream that I have used for about a year now is the Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream. This really targets darkness under the eyes and I am telling you it really works! Don't get it in your eye or it will burn, but under your eyes its fantastic.

Both of these eye creams are very moisturizing, and work great under makeup.

Skin Care Series: Olay Total Effects Nourishing Cream Cleanser

This is my skin care routine. Yep all that stuff goes on my face every morning and night. I am a strong believer in good skin care and that taking care of your skin is the best beauty investment you can make. After all, the best makeup in the world won't do a thing if it's applied to a crappy canvas.

So I thought I would share with you, through a series of posts, what I do to keep my skin in top form.

Let me start by saying a few things:

• This is not a sponsored post. All of these products were paid for with my hard earned dollars and all of the opinions (as always) are my honest to goodness feelings about these products.
• I am 32 and I have dry skin. I get the occasional hormonal zit here and there but mostly I am fortunate to be zit free. 
• I am trying to be as proactive as humanly possible regarding anti-aging, without breaking the bank and spending too much time in the bathroom.
• These are the products that work for me. I'm not saying, nor am I guaranteeing these will work for you. BUT if we have similar skin types and concerns, maybe give them a try.

With that out of the way. Let's get started.

I wash my face every morning and night with a creamy cleanser. I find that foaming and gel cleansers are just too drying for my skin. I have tried Cetaphil, Purity and a couple of others formulated for sensitive skin, but they don't work for me. But this amazing cleanser is my holy grail. It is the Olay Total Effect Nourishing Cream Cleanser. It fights 7 signs of aging and gently cleanses my skin and removes makeup without over drying and stripping my face of the oils it needs to keep it together. I have been using this for over 5 years now and any time I try something different I can tell a big difference. My skin is red, dry, flaky and gross. Then I go back to this and within one wash it's all good in the hood.

There is a slight smell but it's not perfumey (which I think is totally inappropriate for any skin care product). And once I wipe this off with a wash rag the smell is gone.

Sometimes I use a makeup remover wipe if I had on a crap ton of makeup that day or some weird long wearing weirdness happening on my face but 99.99% of the time this is the cleanser I use.

Next in the series is serums, treatments and eye cream. Tell me in the comments below what your favorite cleanser is!

Loreal Youth Code Texture Perfector - Review

This could be my new holy grail skin care product. Seriously I really am that obsessed. This is the new L'oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector. It is about $20 at most local Target/Walmart type stores and I know you can get coupons online and in the paper. This is a serum you put on after cleansing in the AM & PM, and it supposed to perfect the overall appearance of your face (smaller pores, gets rid of wrinkles, and gives you softer skin), this also contains 2% LR2412, which is supposed to be a powerful skin care ingredient that will whip your skin into shape. [Side note: Lancome's new serum - made by the same peeps - contains 4% LR2412 and is twice the price]. 

Why do I like it? It doesn't stink - there is a smell but it's not strong enough to last forever, it has improved the appearance of my skin in terms of brightness and pores AND it doesn't irritate my skin (which most L'oreal products do). I feel like I am doing something good for my skin and I am pleased with the results. The price isn't terrible either.

FYI - there is also a day/night cream version of this and I have not tried that.

Do you use a serum? Have you tried this one? Tell me in the comments below.

Fall and Winter Skin Saver! E.L.F. Daily Moisture Stick

 I recently purchased this Daily Moisture Stick from E.L.F. I didn't have super high hopes but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.

I used to use a similar product from mark., but that was discontinued a few years abck and I have been looking for something similar to replace that. And I found it!

 This is just a great little item to have on hand at your desk, in your purse, in the bathroom or wherever. I have been using this on dry patches by my mouth and nose this last week and it has really made a difference. Winter is coming in Minnesota and that means dry skin is coming too.
But this bad boy is going to knock dry winter skin on its a$$. This is only $6 at Target and is totally worth it. Like I said I just apply with my finger tips to dry spots on my face and let it soak in. The texture is balm like, it feels cooling to the skin but not tingly and it does not have a smell. It does say on the packaging that it is "Enriched with antioxidants and anti-aging ingredients Grape, Cocoa, Shea, Avocado, Macadamia, Aloe and Chamonile." How much of each of those things, I don't know. But I that it was interesting. And it makes me feel better about using it.

Sorry for the crappy pics, my camera just didn't want to focus. Not sure what the deal is there.

Tell me in the comments if you have used this product and if you like it!

Fall Fashion from JustFab - BOOTS!

There are so many things I love about fall. The leaves changing, bonfires, the smells of apple and cinnamon, football and pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks. But one of my all time favorite things about fall is boots. I love boots. Tall boots, heeled boots, flat boots and everything in between.

In the last year or two I have discovered the amazing deals you can find at JustFab. JustFab is a monthly subscription service that allows you to skip or cancel at any time, but you have the opportunity to purchase amazing (and incredibly affordable for the quality) stylish shoes, denim, handbags and accessories. I will admit there are a few things I have purchased that I returned because I didn't like the quality or fit, and I really wish they had a wider selection of heels in a more wearable length, but I digress.  

The one thing I love about JustFab is that all of their boots (with the exception of the new Luxe line) are $39.95. These are high quality, stylish boots for $40! You can't even find that at Target these days. I paid twice as much for a pair of Steve Madden boots and those have fallen apart on me a couple of times. 

I have several pairs of heels and sandals from JustFab that I love, but I have a couple of new faves for fall that I wanted to share with you today. If you feel so inclined, you can sign up for JustFab here.

Mattie (black)

These are soooooo comfy! And I love that I can wear them for work and look supes professional OR with skinnies and a sweater on the weekend. Low-mid heel and no zipper, just slide on and off. Love.

Trinity (black)

Okay, if you are looking for some high fashion, super trendy fall boots, get these. No seriously, get these. The mix of faux suede and faux leather is sooooo hot right now and the pointy toe too, OMG. I love these with dresses and tights. I also love to wear these with my leather mini skirt, oh so chic! These are mostly comfy too, but I strongly suggest some sort of insert for the balls of your feet as the heel on this is fairly steep. But for work or a night out these are fab-u-lous. 

Margaux (black)

Another stylish bootie option that is great for work. Also would recommend the insert for these too. Again I love these with dresses/skirts and tights. I think they would be adorbs with skinnies but haven't tried that yet. This style also mixes materials with faux leather and suede.

Where have I been?!?! AND Fall Beauty Faves

Hello lovely blog readers!

Some of you may have been wondering where I've been and some of you maybe don't care. Either way, a very long story short is that I moved. It was quick and dirty, but it's all done and we are all settling in nicely to our new country home :-)

Now let's hope that a new home means a new routine with more regularly scheduled blog posts! One can always hope right?!?

So today's post is going to be all about Fall Beauty. I love Fall. Fall and Spring are my two most favorite seasons. I am not a hot weather person and being in Minnesota I really don't want to think about winter right now.

Traditionally, this is the time of year that deeper, darker and richer tones start to show up and I love that. But let me pause and tell you that if you are a lover of neons and pastels and you want to rock that all the way into next summer, you go right on ahead and do that. I am a firm believer that fashion and beauty should be a reflection of you, not what other people say you should do.

For me though, I love the darker, and more vampy colors that come out for Fall. Especially in the beauty department. So below are some of the things that I am totally obsessed with. I apologize in advance for the craptastical lighting, but the new house has a lot of "natural" lighting so it's just weird.

A few of my faves! Most are from the drug store too :) 

I am absolutely obsessed with the deeper colors in this palette! Especially the garnet and deep purple shades. This is the Lorac Pro Palette.

I am also totally into orange. Like fall leaves or a fall sunset or a bonfire after a football game. I LOVE this palette from the Wet n Wild Fergie Collection in Desert Festival. I picked this up at Walgreens for $2 on sale.

A beautiful purple-y cranberry shade from E.L.F. in burnt plum. Use this wet or dry!

Deep berry blushes like Heather Silk from Wet n Wild - also found at Walgreens for $1 on sale.

Maybelline limited edition mascara in So Very Berry. About $5 at Walmart. I put this just on the tips of my lashes after my regular mascara is on. Stunning on blue and green eyes! I tried to find a link for this but I couldn't find one for exactly this color. BUT  I have seen it all over at Target, Walmart and Walgreens. 

I LOVE dark nail polish all year long but these are some of my FAVES. Essie in Wicked, Zoya in Casey and Wet n Wild in Under Your Spell. Love all of these. Love them.

A new love. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar. OMG. This is from their new metallic collection and is in the shade Black Metal Dahlia. This is stunning - the lighting here does not do it justice. Can be worn more sheer or fully loaded. And while it is a deeeeeeeep berry color it doesn't appear too deep or goth on your lips. Just in case you were worried. 

And finally, I am loving (or still loving) Lime Crime's lipstick in Galmour 101. I found that using a lip liner is essential with these darker colors and I love this one by Jordana in Rock n Roses. Found the lipliner at Walgreens for $1 or maybe $2. Also couldn't find a link for that but you can find it at Walgreens by the beauty counter near the Sinful Colors nail polish.

So tell me in the comments below what your fave Fall Beauty trends are! Anything you love about fall? Or maybe you don't like fall colors and that's okay too!