September Favorites

September was a wonky month. My MacBook Pro was pronounced kaput, and Hurricane Irma smashed into Southwest Florida. I don’t have many this month, but even with these annoying interruptions, I managed to snag me some favorites!  All of my September faves proved their awesomeness during Hurricane Irma recovery.

My September Favorites (All links will open in a new window):

• Equate Pre-Moistened Nighttime Soothing Makeup Remover cloths – After Irma, these cloths were LIFE. I didn’t have power for six days and though I washed my face when I took a cold shower, after a day cutting up and cleaning up the tree debris outside my house, a nice cold cloth soothed my skin.
• Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder – This powder is $35USD, however, I picked it up during Ulta’s 23 Days of Beauty sale for $17.50. I LOVE this powder. A little goes a long way.  I stopped using setting powders because they all sit in my fine lines and make me look 15 years older. I don’t have that issue with this powder.  It makes my skin look soft and my makeup smooth. I’d pay $35 for this all day.
• TIGI Bed Head Urban Antidotes Resurrection shampoo & conditioner – I have been using this shampoo and conditioner for quite a while now but like the Equate Beauty makeup remover cloths, this combination really hit a homerun for me after Hurricane Irma.  We were without power for 6 days. I took cold showers for 6 days. This combination helped keep my hair from slapping the crap out of me.
• Equate Daily Moisturizing Lotion – I use this lotion when my skin is out of control with eczema.  I get breakouts on the creases of my arms, the tops of my shoulders and my underarms.  This is a dupe for Aveeno’s Daily Moisturizing Lotion, however, I prefer this brand over Aveeno. My eczema has been bad due to stress but this lotion helps keep it under control and speeds up healing time.

Ok, September, you provided some obstacles but you can’t keep me down! Bring on October AKA my birthday month!  🙂

 

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re:p. Bio Fresh Mask

In keeping with the skin care theme from my last post, I thought I’d do a review on the re:p Bio Fresh Mask that I received in my September ipsy bag.

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, my skin currently hates me. I have a triangle of blemishes on my nose and a lovely spot on my right cheek. I don’t normally deal with breakouts unless I stray from my diet, and well, I strayed.  I strayed hard, y’all.  It was really difficult to stay on my diet when I didn’t have power. My first hot meal 4 days after the hurricane was Chick-fil-A. And I drank soda. YUCK.  After the storm when stores were open, soda was the coldest drink we could find because water was sold out everywhere, as was ice.

Ok, so my face was irritated and blotchy with redness and dryness. I washed my face with Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser and went to town applying this mask to my face.  It’s weird because the mask looks like it has orange pulp in it, but it’s crushed calendula and chamomile! Application was a breeze.  Some masks dry before you can cover your entire face.  This one went on with ease. It has a light fresh scent and feels really good on the skin. The instructions call to leave the mask on for 5-10 minutes.  I left it on for 10 minutes.

So while the mask is working its magic, let’s talk about the claims and what’s in it.

Claims:

Calm irritated skin and reduce redness and inflammation. Fresh herbs gently remove debris and dead skin cells while massaging into your skin. Kaolin, a gentle yet powerful mineral clay, draws out impurities for smoother, softer skin. Crushed calendula and chamomile, visible in the formula, reduce inflammation and aid in skin recovery.

Certified cruelty free, Formulated for sensitive skin. Free of mineral oil, sorbic acid, animal ingredients, surfactants, parabens, mineral oil and propylene glycol.

Ingredients:

A whole bunch of stuff no one can pronounce. Seriously.  The list is pretty damned long. Out of 38 ingredients there are only six I can say without spitting.

Final Thoughts:

This mask was calming to my irritated and stressed out skin. My face was free of redness, felt soft not only after my skin dried, but even the following day, and my skin looked refreshed and hydrated. The crushed calendula and chamomile provided gentle exfoliation, which is nice because I am careful when it comes to exfoliation. My skin is easily irritated and exfoliators can do more damage than good.

I give the RE:P Bio Fresh Mask 3.5 out of 5 clean smiley faces. 🙂

If I liked it so much, why only 3.5 clean smiley faces? The mask is nice and made my skin look and feel pretty good, but the price point is pretty high. When the tube I have runs out, I won’t purchase this at $41USD for 4.5oz.  I can get this same feeling with a less expensive mask.

Did you get this mask in your September ipsy?  Have you tried it and if so, what are your thoughts?  Is $41 too much to pay for a face mask?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skin Care

I’ve been blessed with a fairly nice complexion and normal to dry skin.

I didn’t always take care of my skin.  As a teenager, I baked in the California sun, never using sunscreen, using baby oil as a tanning lotion and aluminum foil as a blanket. Oh how I wish I was kidding about the aluminum foil.  I not only cooked my skin on the beach, I was a frequent tanning booth user. I didn’t start wearing makeup until my mid 20’s.

While the elements play a part in the appearance of your skin, diet is also a factor in your skin’s health.  I eat pretty healthy, and I drink LOTS of water. I stay away from sugary drinks and soda.

My routine has slightly changed over the past year or two with the introduction of sheet masks. I used mud masks on a regular basis before using sheet masks.

A typical day starts out like this:

In the shower, I use Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser to wash my face. I’ve used this cleanser for more years than I can remember.  Occasionally I’ll switch up face cleansers, but always go back to Aveeno because it’s been the best. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and isn’t drying.

After my shower, I use OleHenriksen Sheer Transformation Perfecting moisturizer. My moisturizers sometimes change because there is always a new better one that offers insane moisture, and with normal to dry skin, hydration is my jam.  I don’t suffer with dry patches quite as often since using the OleHenriksen moisturizer, and it quickly melts into my skin before makeup application.

In the evenings I use Pond’s Cold Cream for makeup removal.  Last month I purchased a Conair True Glow battery-operated facial brush and use this with the cold cream. This combination is MAGIC.

If I get home late for whatever reason, I use Equate Pre-Moistened Night-Time Soothing Makeup Remover Cloths to remove my makeup.

After makeup removal, I use the OleHenriksen Sheer Transformation Perfecting moisturizer. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it.  You can purchase a travel size (0.5oz) at Sephora for $12.00USD.

Once or twice a week I use the e.l.f. Hydrating Water Sheet mask. I’ve written about this mask more than any other product! I LOVE this mask. I love to use the remaining serum to moisturize my face and neck.

Once a week I use the Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub. I use this with my Conair True Glow battery-operated facial brush to gently exfoliate.  Usually after exfoliating, I use the e.l.f. Hydrating Water Sheet mask. Again, I use the remaining serum to moisturize my face and neck.

Every so often, I use a brow razor with the eos brand shave cream to shave the fuzzies off my face. No, the fuzzies don’t grow back black and thicker. They always come back the same: fuzzy. 🙂 After I remove my fuzzies, I use the e.l.f. Hydrating Water Sheet mask to hydrate. As always, I use the remaining serum to moisturize my face and neck.

Just these steps alone help keep my skin clean, and for the most part, acne-free.  Any blemishes I do get are when I stray from my normal diet and when it’s that time of the month. 😉

Do you follow a skin care routine? What are your favorite products? Do you use any of the products I use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

ipsy – September 2017

I received my September ipsy bag a few days ago! While I am always like a little girl on Christmas when my beauty boxes arrive, it’s these little things that help brighten up my world after this hurricane.

If you’re not familiar,  Ipsy is a beauty subscription service for $10/month.  You receive 5 beauty products; some deluxe sample sizes, with the occasional full size product. Everything arrives in a cute zippered makeup bag.

This month’s bag is a textured faux leather black bag with a gold accent and the ipsy logo imprinted in gold on the tassel pull. The inside is a gorgeous satin purply/blue.  I am living for this month’s bag!

September’s theme is Like. A. Boss. The bag is about being the strongest, most fearless version of YOU, with products selected by Charlotte Cho, co-founder of Soko Glam and the Klog.

Let’s get to the goodies! (All links will open in a new window):

• LUXIE Beauty Rose Gold Medium Angled Shading Eye Brush 207 – $12USD (Ipsy207 for 30% off)
• Pixie by Petra Beauty Blush Duo (Peach Honey) – $18USD (No promo code)
• Smashbox Photo Finish Radiance Primer – $39USD (No promo code)
• Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow (Gunmetal) – (ipsypop for 25% off)
• re:p , real elemental practice Bio Fresh Mask – $41USD (ipsters for 20% off)

I love this month’s Ipsy bag and products!  There isn’t a product I won’t be able to use. I am excited to try the mask, the Pixie blush and the eyeshadow in that stunning Gunmetal!

If you’re interested in trying out the Ipsy subscription service, click my referral link here. If you’d rather check out Ipsy without my referral link, clicky clicky here!

Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist

This is the first Pixi product I’ve purchased and tried. I bought this for $15USD at Target after seeing it on Tati’s channel. The link will take you to her video and at 3:06, you’ll hear her thoughts on this product.

I have dry skin and am always looking for different ways to hydrate and moisturize. I was looking forward to trying this product and am impressed with the simple packaging and a sprayer that is AHHHHHH <3.

The mist is fine and has a light floral scent. It’s actually pleasant. Overly fragrant products give me migraines. Upon spraying for the first time, the mist was cooling and it dried pretty quickly on my skin. After drying, my skin didn’t feel sticky; it felt nicely moisturized. Makeup application was just as easy as if I had followed my usual moisturizing routine.

Claims:

• This featherlight mist provides an instant surge of hydration with hyaluronic acid to plump skin
• A blend of black oat, provitamin A, and linoleic acid makes this rejuvenator the perfect first layer of moisture before serums or makeup
• Suits all skin types
• Not tested on animals 🙂
• Paraben free

Ingredients:

A whole bunch of stuff no one can pronounce.

Final thoughts:

I’m giving the Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist 4 out of 5 bottles of moisturizer. 🙂 I love how light this mist feels on my skin. It is incredibly moisturizing without being greasy or sticky.  I will continue to use this daily before makeup application. The price point isn’t too bad and if I continue to like it, I will continue to buy it! I’ll update again in the future especially after trying the mist after makeup application.

Have you used this mist? What are your thoughts?  What is your go-to moisturizer?

 

 

 

 

Boxycharm – September 2017

Oh how I have missed writing these posts! Despite Hurricane Irma uprooting our trees and our lives, I received my tiny box of heavenly goodies amidst it all!  🙂

Ok, let’s get on with the unboxing!

If you’ve not heard of this box, Boxycharm is a monthly beauty subscription service. For $21/month, you receive 4-5 full sized beauty products in a cute little black box.  Each box is always worth $100+!  This month, Charmers received SIX products!

This month’s theme is Boxy Baddie (All links will open in a new window):

• Soiree Diaries Eyeshadow Palette – PUR Cosmetics ($34USD)
• Eye Brows – MAC Cosmetics ($18USD)
• Ultra Satin Lip Liquid Lipstick in Strip – Colourpop ($6USD)
• Luminous Loose Blush – Studio Makeup ($35USD) I couldn’t find a link to purchase!
• Face Perfecting Brush – bareMinerals ($28USD)
• Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask – Briogeo ($20USD)

Total box value: $141USD!!  WOW!

I am excited to use the Deep Conditioning hair mask.  After this hurricane and a week of cold showers, my hair HATES me. It is in desperate need of some repair. I’m also excited to try the foundation brush by bareMinerals! That loose blush in a pretty peachy coral looks beautiful, and that eyeshadow palette?! Seriously, Boxycharm went outside the box on this one.  😉

Overall, I am happy with this month’s box!  Boxycharm hasn’t had any misses for me since I’ve subscribed almost one year ago.

If you want to check out Boxycharm for yourself, click my referral link here!  If you want to check out Boxycharm and subscribe without clicking the referral link, clicky clicky right here! 

 

Hurricane Irma – Part WHEW!

We survived Hurricane Irma!  We live in an area in Southwest Florida where the hurricane hit us as a Category 3 on September 10th.

Gusts up to 140MPH. ​

 

​This was taken as we pulled up to our house for the first time.  We were overwhelmed at the mess in the front yard.

We had to cut away through trees for almost 45 minutes just to get to the front door.

We decided to evacuate to a more hurricane-safe home just ten minutes up the road from our home. I was stubborn and hesitant to leave the comfort of my home, but decided it was the best decision.  I am glad that we did because if we had left our vehicles in our driveway, they would have been crushed by falling trees.  We were also considering moving the vehicles to the back yard where they would have been fine, damage-wise, but we wouldn’t have been able to leave because a tree fell on the gate.

Returning to our home the next day was stressful.  One access street was blocked thanks to a downed live wire.  The other two streets were flooded with downed trees blocking the roads.  I drive a Jeep so I drove over a tree and through the flood water to our home. I couldn’t park my Jeep on our driveway because of a fallen tree, so in the below photo, my Jeep is parked on our front lawn.

As many trees that are on our property, and as many that fell, only one just grazed the house and created minimal damage on the storm gutter. We are so incredibly fortunate.

This is the downed tree that hit the roof and damaged our gutter and is also blocking our garage.

This is the Royal Poinciana in our back yard. I wish I would have taken a photo to show how massive this downed tree is.  It’s fallen over our fence into our neighbor’s yard.

Again, we are so incredibly fortunate that the only damage to the house is to the gutter. We had a close call with flooding with the water reaching only 20 feet from our front door. We went almost 6 days without power.  Power was restored just this morning.  Cleanup begins on Tuesday.  We can’t wait to get back to normal.

Yes, hurricanes are a part of living in Florida, and we are fortunate that it has been 12 years since our last hit (hurricane Wilma).

I hope everyone else in Irma’s path is safe and sound with little to no damage to your homes.
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Hurricane Irma

I live in Southwest Florida and am in the projected path of Hurricane Irma.

I’ve lived in Florida for 13 years and am no stranger to hurricane warnings and actual hurricanes. I drove through Frances when I moved to Florida, and I was here when Hurricane Wilma hit.

I am prepared. I have hurricane shutters.  I have a big ol’ bin full of supplies, plenty of water and canned goods.  My vehicles are gassed up, as is my generator.

Anyone in the projected path, please be safe.  Get prepared now.  Don’t wait until the last minute.

Y’all will be in my thoughts.

 

August Favorites

August finished a bit bumpy and sad as I found out that my MacBook was beyond repair. I am still undecided in purchasing another MacBook so in the meantime, I found a great deal on a PC laptop to hold me over. This has allowed me to get back to blogging. Not being able to blog for a few months was painful. I missed out on sharing and keeping up with you guys.

It’s so good to be back and with that, let’s get on to it!

My August Favorites (All links will open in a new window):

• Morphe Prep & Set spray ($14.99USD) – I LOVE this spray! As it is an aerosol, the mist is fine and covers without showering my face with raindrops. The Morphe Prep & Set spray locks in my makeup all day.  I will be stocking up on this spray as soon as it is back in stock. Whenever that is.  😐
• e.l.f. cosmetics Hydrating Water Sheet mask ($3.00USD) – I cannot say enough positive things about this sheet mask. It is infused with magical goodness that hydrates my skin like nothing else ever. I use at least twice a week because I have normal to dry skin.  This mask keeps my skin’s moisture in check.  e.l.f. recently had their 50% off sale and I picked up 10 of them for $15.00USD!
• Conair True Glow Battery Operated Facial brush ($16.50USD) – I purchased mine at Walmart for $14.99USD but can no longer find it on their website. I bought it and didn’t have high hopes that it would work well, but it proved me wrong! I use this daily with Ponds Cold Cream (avoiding my eyes, obviously), and I use it once a week with Aveeno’s Daily Exfoliating Daily Scrub. The brush came with three of the same brush heads, and has two speeds.  It uses 2 AAA batteries NOT INCLUDED. The brush is waterproof so it can be used in the bath or shower. I have noticed my skin is more clear and the blackheads on my nose are minimal.  For under $20.00USD, you can’t get a better rotating facial brush.
• Benefit Roller Lash Curling and Lifting mascara ($24.00USD) – I wrote a review on this mascara and you can read it here (link will open in a new window). In short, I LOVE THIS MASCARA AND WILL BUY AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. ❤
• Crown Large Round Buffer paddle brush($24.99) – I received this brush in a beauty box. I LOVE it! I think it’s a contour brush, however I use it for foundation application. It’s soft, dense and applies my foundation perfectly.

Have you tried any of my favorites? What are your favorites for the month of August?

Let’s hope September decides to slow down and smell the roses!

 

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara – A Review

I know I have fallen in love with more than a couple of mascaras over the past year, but that’s what anyone who adores makeup does, right?

In July, I purchased the Benefit Roller Lash mascara for $24.00USD from Sephora. I have heard great reviews about this mascara so I decided to try it for myself. Disclaimer: I don’t know how to properly photograph my lashes without looking like a weirdo, so this is the photo y’all get.  🙂  Yes, I am THAT pale fair-complected.

I am super impressed with the Roller Lash mascara.  My lashes without mascara are very light and almost invisible.  Even if I go without makeup, if I leave the house, mascara is a definite must in order to avoid looking soulless.

With the Roller Lash mascara, I have increased volume and length on both top and bottom lashes.  The wand comes out of the tube with just enough product, and isn’t clumpy or flakey. I love how the Roller Lash wand coats my bottom lashes and I can apply the product to my bottom lashes without poking out my eyes. Other brands have fat clunky wands, and I almost always poke my eye. I’m not all that skilled in bottom lash application so I need a mascara wand that makes application a bit easier and a lot less dangerous.

Continuing on with the awesomeness of the Roller Lash mascara, excess mascara is easily wiped away with a cotton swab or makeup brush once dry. I always have excess mascara during application because I am a messy doofus in this department. Also, with a few other brands, I have mascara rub-off on my eyelids.  Not the case with this product.

The Roller Lash mascara looks and wears amazing throughout the day, and even after sweating at the gym for two hours. I’ve had this tube for almost two months, have used it daily, and it’s still going pretty strong.

Benefit Roller Lash Curling and Lifting mascara does come in a travel size for $12.00USD. This is still a bit pricey considering a full size L’Oréal Lash Paradise (a dupe for Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara) is around $9.99USD. I own both the L’Oréal and Too Faced mascaras, and like both, but prefer the Benefit Roller Lash to these.

I give the Benefit Roller Lash Curling and Lifting mascara 4.5 out of 5 mascara wands because even though this mascara is amazing and I will definitely repurchase, the price point is a bit high. However, I included the .5 because Benefit does offer a travel size of this product.

Have you tried the Benefit Roller Lash mascara?  What are your thoughts? What is your ride or die mascara?

❤ Cherilyn