Weekend Rewind, What's in my Bag?

Well, Hello Blog World...

 

It's been ummmm, quite a while since I have sat down with you and had a chat.

I've been so unmotivated to blog lately... not sure why, but that apathy has set in as it

does. However, I did pick up some beauty goods this weekend and wanted to share.

 

 

I am almost out of my Fresh Soy Cleanser and I absolutely love what it

does for my skin, but it's $38 for 5 oz which is steep. I decided when I was out

 I would go back to the Purity Cleanser by Philosophy b/c you really

get more bang for your buck and it's a great cleanser.

 

This 16 oz bottle was $33 and the great thing about Purity is it is a one step

cleanser. It is a PH balanced cleanser that dissolves dirt and makeup while

cleansing pores. It is one of the best selling cleansers on the market and is for

all skin types. It has a nice clean spa type smell.

 

I'm almost out of dry shampoo and picked up a can of the Batiste sassy and daring

scent. Rarrrrrr! Never tried this can and I love some leopard print so why not!

 

I have been hearing so many great things about Mario Badescu skincare products.

They are sold at Ulta and their line began in a New York salon with botanically based

ingredients. Their line is loved by many celebs, but super affordable for the every

day gals.

 

I don't have an eye cream in my skincare routine right now so decided I would start

with the Ceramide Herbal Eye Cream that contains Vitamin C and reduces

the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  This retails at Ulta for $16 and contains

.05 oz.

 

 

While also being out of exfoliator I picked up the Clinique

7 day scrub which is an oldie but a goodie. This is gentle enough

for daily use and is just a great staple to have in your skincare routine.

 

 

Guys, I have a lippie problem. I seriously cannot stop buying lipsticks and glosses

lately. OB-FLIPPIN-SESSED. I've been wanting a light coral/peach lippie and while

also being curious in the new Kardashian KHROMA line I decided to pick up this joystick

in the color Sea Coral and it is gorgeous. It also smells like Vanilla which I love. If you own any 

MAC lipsticks they will have a familiar scent.  

 

This color reminded me of Kourtney. She always wears a light peach on her lips with a smoky

eye and it's so pretty. Her makeup looks are by far my favorite of the girls. She just looks

so put together in a not overdone way to me.

These retail for $8.99 and have more of a matte finish.

 

Did you shop any this weekend? I know you did.. tell me what you bought!

 



Weekend Rewind. What's in my Bag?

Happy Monday and start of lent week for those of you who will be

practicing this year.

This will be my last "What's in my Bag" post for about 6 weeks because I have

decided to give up SHOPPING for Lent this year. AGHHH!! It is going to be

SO very challenging and I'm not sure I can do it, but I think it's what I need to do. I'm going

to do a post this week on more details of why I decided to give this up for Lent and my

guidelines for what it will consist of. So, look for that if your interested.

So, a few things I picked up this weekend are as follows:

I had a gift card to Macy's left over from Christmas and decided to finish it off with

a few Clinique items. My pores around the apples of my cheeks have really grossed

me out lately. Maybe I just haven't payed attention before, but I feel like they

have gotten bigger. Anywhoo, talked to the lady at Clinique counter and she

recommended this to me and said it can also serve as a foundation primer.

The good thing about the serum is it not only conceals the size of your pores when

applied , but it actually has ingredients in it that treats the problem as well. So, in

6-8 weeks the sizes of your pores should be reduced. yay!

I have been using the Philosophy skincare line after getting for Christmas and am

loving the Purity facewash along with Hope in a Jar moisturizer. When talking to

the Clinqiue lady about my pores she asked me how often I was exfoliating?! And

I really haven't been. So, she said you need to bump up that to 3-4 times a week.

To keep things consistent with the brand I am already using I decided to jump in

Sephora and grab the Philosophy Exfoliating Wash. OH. MY. WORD. do I

love this wash!! It is one of the most gentle exfoliating scrubs I have ever used

on my face. It feels amazing and has a very light clean smell.

This retails for $25 in the 8 oz container I picked up, but if you aren't interested in

paying that much Aveeno has a Skin Brightening Daily Scrub that I think

is very comparable and can be bought at your drugstore.

Lastly, is the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in this Eggplant color

called Aubergine. I don't think I have ever used a gel liner and decided to try

this brand after being so impressed with their new Color Tattoo shadows. I thought

this eggplant color would be fun since purple looks so good on brown eyes.

This liner also comes with a brush applicator.

If I like I may grab this is some other shades. (of course after Lent) :(

Have a wonderful day and Happy President's Day!

Christmas Reveals (Day 1)

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEEPS!!!!!

I hope your 2012 has had a great start and you are filled with renewed minds, hearts,

and spirits to be determined to make this year better than the last.

After my "Dear Santa" posts I thought I would update you with some things that

Santa did bring me with some reviews!

If you read my blog often you know that skincare has become a new priority for me and

researching the best products for my skintype.

I have heard SO many good things from friends, youtube subscriptions, and reviews about

the Philosophy line sold at Sephora. Their Purity facewash, Hope in a Jar moisturizer,

and Help Me retinal cream are all award winning products among many other

things they sale.

Last year I bought a sample size bottle of the Purity face-wash because I wanted to see what

all the hype was about. Honestly, when I tried it I was not crazy about it. The formula

is one that does not foam up and give you bubbles and all that jazz. For me that's

important b/c it makes me feel like my face is getting really clean. Their cleanser

however, does claim to be a one step process. It dissolves dirt, makeup and other

impurities in one step. No toner, scrub etc needed afterwards. Although, I don't

discourage that.

But, after talking to Rachel and her love for all their products I decided to give

everything a try together. So, the Great Skin Is In Set was added to my Wish List.

VIEW ALL PRODUCTS BY PHILOSOPHY Great Skin Is In™ - Normal to Combination ($105 Value) What it is: A set of skincare essentials for normal to combination skin types. What it is formulated to do: Great skin is always in. This routine helps you achieve the best skin of your life in three easy steps. Used together, these products promote a healthy, radiant-looking complexion while balancing skin that's dry in some places, oily in others. This set contains: - 8 oz Purity Made Simple - 1.05 oz Help Me - 2 oz Hope In A Jar Original What else you need to know: The Help Me night treatment contains retinol to soften the appearance of fine lines.

As you can see you get the cleanser, moisturizer, and retinal cream. I have been using

this combo pretty consistently through the holidays and I'm really liking it.

If you haven't heard of "Hope in a Jar" Oprah listed this product as one of her

favorite things. : ) You guys know how I am with products that get celebrity buzz.

The moisturizer has a nice clean fragrance that's really nice. My mom asked me one day

after I had applied if I put some perfume on? Ha. It took me a second to realize it

was the moisturizer, but she thought it smelled really nice. It almost has a whipped

texture to it and just melts into your skin. Super light and blendable. I will say I am a

HUGE fan of the Ole Henriksen line and LOVE their "Sheer Transformation"

moisturizer. I don't love the "Hope in a Jar" more than OH, but if that changes

I will let you know.

The retinal cream "Help Me" is an anti-again cream that is to be applied before

Hope in Jar. It is designed to keep pores clean and minimized, reduces wrinkles

and discoloration and boosts tone and firmness. WOO HOO!! Yes, Yes, please

bring that on!! Love the research results! :)

Research Results:
In an eight-week independent clinical study, clinician grading showed:
- 100% of subjects had improvement in fine lines.
- 100% had smoother skin.
- 94% had improvement in wrinkles.
- 88% had firmer skin.

So, overall I am very happy with using this line. It's easy, affordable, and promises

great results.

Thank you St. Nick for boosting my skincare process!