I have had some email from readers (and I love email, or you can comment on the blog and I will respond) curious about if this is all about high end, high priced products. The answer is no, and, yes. I am a beauty junkie. I freely admit that. I use high end products that work and seem worth the price to me. But, I use bargain products as well. I am a big fan of bathing -and, I will also freely confess to being a Lush Lover, I buy all kinds of bath products. I have found some killer bubble baths at the all kinds of places. Including but not limited to Target, Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree. Yes, Dollar Tree -they have all kinds of great beauty stuff - you have to watch what you are buying. Hair thingies and clips, head bands, bath brushes, sponges and stuff as well as some terrific body butter. I am a body lotion/cream/butter fiend. I think the body butter sold at Dollar Tree is good, as good or better than other higher priced products. In fact, I have seen this same body butter (and scrub) sold in a catalogue for 20.00 for 2 scrubs and 2 butters.
The past two years for the holidays, my young daughter has made me "spa baskets" that have a lot of stuff from her favorite store, Dollar Tree. This years included 5 body butters - I really use this stuff folks and will use it all up in a year or less. This years scents included jasmine, passionfruit, aloe vera, tangerine and olive/sage. I was especially happy to get the jasmine as one of my favorite bath ballistics from Lush, which I use mostly as a treat not as a daily thing due to the cost, is the Sex Bomb, which is jasmine/rose/ylang ylang. The one thing about Lush, their stuff smells incredible and is very good, but, they really don't have matching things -ie no body lotion/cream for each ballistic. I took the jasmine body butter, and broke out my essential oil collection, and added some rose and ylang ylang - not exactly the Lush blend, but, it smells pretty close and pretty darn good to me. Also in the basket was some new poofs, (she loves them so much) some bath fizzies, a new headband, some foot buffers, some spa face cloths, a bath brush, some nice fuzzy soft slipper socks and slippers (another thing I love) and then some Lush goodies and a Philosophy 3 in 1 bath gel in Enpowerment. My daughter obviously knows what Mama likes. And she is a bath addict as well.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The Best Beauty Advice I Have Ever Received
The best advice I have ever received, and, therefore, the best advice I pass on is pretty simple. Never go to sleep with makeup on (and make sure your face is really clean), use eye cream, exfoliate, use sunblock, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep. I fall down on the sleep one, but the rest I am pretty diligent about following.
I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) the times I have slept without removing makeup. Many cleansers say they remove makeup, and, I would use cleanser, then toner. But years ago an exotic dancer gave me one of the best tips. At the time, I sold flowers in nightclubs in a southern city. One of the accounts was a gentlemen's club and I would frequently use the ladies room attached to the dancer's dressing room when there. Many times I would basically take a break there and sit in the dressing room a while, chatting with the girls, (they liked to scope out my basket of flowers and gifts and pick what they wanted and then later get one of their customers to buy it for them). One day, one of the dancers, who had incredible skin, was sitting at the dressing table removing her makeup with cold cream. Now, this interested me as one, we used the same foundation - I was in and out of clubs all night and needed makeup with staying power. This was about the time that the long lasting stuff was first hitting the market and I had recently switched from a stage foundation to Revlon's Color Stay (not bad, I had to buy two and mix them to get my perfect color, but, it really did last!). I noticed though that she also had the same cleanser I was then using (and while I remember the cold cream, I can't recall what cleanser it was). After tissuing off the cold cream. She then used the cleanser and washed it off at the sink. I commented that I used that cleanser as well, and it did take off makeup. She shook her head and said "not the kind we wear." I asked her what she meant and she said that the heavier makeup really didn't come off in one washing, and if you didn't remove the makeup, one wasn't cleansing one's skin, one was cleansing the makeup. Hmmm, I thought, maybe she is on to something. She had the most gorgeous complexion and I knew from previous conversations that we were the same age. I had fairly okay skin at the time, I did have regular small breakouts which were a pain. I used a lot of concealor and really didn't have skin that looked nice and even and all without makeup. Later that evening, I stopped at an all night drugstore and bought a jar of Pond's Cold Cream. And when I got home I did what she did. As I mentioned, I was then using toner and when I used it after removing my makeup and cleansing, I was amazed that the first ball of cotton soaked in toner came away clean! That never happened. Anyway, made the separate makeup removal part of my routine and within a couple weeks, I noticed an astounding difference in my complexion. I pretty much stopped having any kind of breakouts or blackheads and my overall skin just looked better. One thing that helped is the double massage I was getting - with the cold cream, and with the cleanser. Massage is one thing that really helps. But getting all the crud off my face is the main thing.
Now I use the Purity Made Simple Cleanser by Philosophy. I love this and it will take off makeup - but, if I have anything more than light tinted moisturizer on my face, I use it twice. Once for makeup, once to cleanse. A couple months back, I started using a different mascara, and realized that while the Purity Made Simple did take off my old mascara and most makeup, I was really having to work to get it to get off the new mascara. It isn't good to have to really rub and all. I do like this mascara (Hard Candy) and I have never cared for the liquid clear eye makeup removers. Even the ones that say non oily seem oily to me, or they just feel like they make my eyes blurry. So I bought a jar of good old Pond's Cold Cream, and I use it to remove eye makeup and then I use a bit to remove the rest of my makeup. On a normal day, I use tinted moisturizer, a dab or two of concealer, blush and maybe some loose powder. It all adds up. Then I cleanse with the Purity. My skin was already looking good, but, it started looking even better.
I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) the times I have slept without removing makeup. Many cleansers say they remove makeup, and, I would use cleanser, then toner. But years ago an exotic dancer gave me one of the best tips. At the time, I sold flowers in nightclubs in a southern city. One of the accounts was a gentlemen's club and I would frequently use the ladies room attached to the dancer's dressing room when there. Many times I would basically take a break there and sit in the dressing room a while, chatting with the girls, (they liked to scope out my basket of flowers and gifts and pick what they wanted and then later get one of their customers to buy it for them). One day, one of the dancers, who had incredible skin, was sitting at the dressing table removing her makeup with cold cream. Now, this interested me as one, we used the same foundation - I was in and out of clubs all night and needed makeup with staying power. This was about the time that the long lasting stuff was first hitting the market and I had recently switched from a stage foundation to Revlon's Color Stay (not bad, I had to buy two and mix them to get my perfect color, but, it really did last!). I noticed though that she also had the same cleanser I was then using (and while I remember the cold cream, I can't recall what cleanser it was). After tissuing off the cold cream. She then used the cleanser and washed it off at the sink. I commented that I used that cleanser as well, and it did take off makeup. She shook her head and said "not the kind we wear." I asked her what she meant and she said that the heavier makeup really didn't come off in one washing, and if you didn't remove the makeup, one wasn't cleansing one's skin, one was cleansing the makeup. Hmmm, I thought, maybe she is on to something. She had the most gorgeous complexion and I knew from previous conversations that we were the same age. I had fairly okay skin at the time, I did have regular small breakouts which were a pain. I used a lot of concealor and really didn't have skin that looked nice and even and all without makeup. Later that evening, I stopped at an all night drugstore and bought a jar of Pond's Cold Cream. And when I got home I did what she did. As I mentioned, I was then using toner and when I used it after removing my makeup and cleansing, I was amazed that the first ball of cotton soaked in toner came away clean! That never happened. Anyway, made the separate makeup removal part of my routine and within a couple weeks, I noticed an astounding difference in my complexion. I pretty much stopped having any kind of breakouts or blackheads and my overall skin just looked better. One thing that helped is the double massage I was getting - with the cold cream, and with the cleanser. Massage is one thing that really helps. But getting all the crud off my face is the main thing.
Now I use the Purity Made Simple Cleanser by Philosophy. I love this and it will take off makeup - but, if I have anything more than light tinted moisturizer on my face, I use it twice. Once for makeup, once to cleanse. A couple months back, I started using a different mascara, and realized that while the Purity Made Simple did take off my old mascara and most makeup, I was really having to work to get it to get off the new mascara. It isn't good to have to really rub and all. I do like this mascara (Hard Candy) and I have never cared for the liquid clear eye makeup removers. Even the ones that say non oily seem oily to me, or they just feel like they make my eyes blurry. So I bought a jar of good old Pond's Cold Cream, and I use it to remove eye makeup and then I use a bit to remove the rest of my makeup. On a normal day, I use tinted moisturizer, a dab or two of concealer, blush and maybe some loose powder. It all adds up. Then I cleanse with the Purity. My skin was already looking good, but, it started looking even better.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
I love Philosophy
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I love cosmetics and beauty products of all kinds. What I love most right now are Philosophy skincare and Benefit Cosmetics. I have been using Philosophy skincare for a little over a year now - I use the Makeup is Optional Skincare line and I absolutely love the results!!! Go to Philosophy Girl and you can get this line at a great savings. They send you the kit, which includes Purity Cleanser, Hope in a Jar, Hope in a Tube, When Hope is Not Enough Serum and the Microdelivery Peel. They bill you monthly in three payments and they say that this is a 90 day supply. (I disagree, it lasts me 5 - 6 months, overuse of product is the major thing I learned in beauty school, more doesn't do anymore for your skin, it just wastes product) They will autoship you a new kit every three months, (oh, and did I mention they include a great free gift and samples with every kit?) or you can call them and have them change the dates. The customer service is first rate. They also sell their products online at the regular Philosophy site and at various retailers on and off line, but, the kit I linked to is the best deal.
Except for makeup remover ( the Purity Cleanser will take off light makeup, and while I don't wear heavy base, I find it isn't the best at removing mascara, so I use plain old Pond's Cold Cream) the Philosophy products are all I use. Oprah has plugged Hope in a Jar and I got a sample that convinced me in three days that it was good stuff. I love the smell of the products, kind of herby, but a very light herby scent. And I like Philosophy's various 3 in one body cleansers (shampoos, shower gel and bubble bath) and hair care. More about various products in the future.
But, I can't end without mentioning how much I love the new Philosophy the Fragrance and another fragrance, Amazing Grace. I was a really good girl this year and Santa brought me an Amazing Grace set and a bottle of Philosophy the Fragrance. Both smell so great. And so do I!
Except for makeup remover ( the Purity Cleanser will take off light makeup, and while I don't wear heavy base, I find it isn't the best at removing mascara, so I use plain old Pond's Cold Cream) the Philosophy products are all I use. Oprah has plugged Hope in a Jar and I got a sample that convinced me in three days that it was good stuff. I love the smell of the products, kind of herby, but a very light herby scent. And I like Philosophy's various 3 in one body cleansers (shampoos, shower gel and bubble bath) and hair care. More about various products in the future.
But, I can't end without mentioning how much I love the new Philosophy the Fragrance and another fragrance, Amazing Grace. I was a really good girl this year and Santa brought me an Amazing Grace set and a bottle of Philosophy the Fragrance. Both smell so great. And so do I!
Turning over another new leaf!
I ponder why I don't blog daily, well, daily. And I really don't know the answer. Part of the problem has been this whole year has just been, well nuts. I was sick this summer, actually I was sick all year and didn't know it and that really screwed things up. Then I have also had a lot of computer issues. The most recent has been the motherboard dying in my desktop. I just got it back running yesterday, and in the meantime was using my laptop, which I find fine for surfing and light email but I have major trouble typing for any period of time on it. It just really kills my hands.
So here I am. I have been thinking for about the past month that what the problem is, is that I kind of limited myself to homekeeping, which on one hand is fine, I love that. But, what I really love is makeup and beauty. All kinds of girly things. Besides having a near lifelong obsession with makeup and skincare, I have actually been to beauty school. (I will tell all about that in the days and weeks to come. I have great skin for my age (which I will tell sometime, I promise) and am the person that everyone I know asks for advice. I love to read the beauty blogs of others and one day it just hit me. Blog about this. So, while I am not abandoning homekeeping, I will be blogging a great deal about all things beautful. I am a makeup junkie and have opinions about everything! I use all kinds of product from high end to drugstore items. I can only give my honest view of things, and I will. I love love love perfume and bath products.
Maybe I never told you this, but, even when I am barefoot, or in slippers, I wear makeup. That part of Flylady, getting up and getting made up I never had a problem with. Unless I am ill, I am madeup and pretty close to being ready to run out anytime. I am one of those women that really look better with a little help. I think that. My husband says that is bull, I look great au natural, and I suppose he is correct. I don't look bad, I just look better when I enhance what I have. And honestly, who doesn't?
So, I will just jump in on this. There will be some various affiliate things, as I hope to make a little off this. I am stating that right out in the open, although, that is a secondary thing.
I will also blog about homemaking as the mood strikes me. LOL. Which is pretty much how I keep house, as the mood strikes me. Maybe with the New Year upon us, it will be good to blog about my routines as I always revamp and all at this time of year.
I am thankful beyond expression for those of you have stuck with me, those of you who email me and keep in touch. I really appreciate it.
Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate!
Maybe I never told you this, but, even when I am barefoot, or in slippers, I wear makeup. That part of Flylady, getting up and getting made up I never had a problem with. Unless I am ill, I am madeup and pretty close to being ready to run out anytime. I am one of those women that really look better with a little help. I think that. My husband says that is bull, I look great au natural, and I suppose he is correct. I don't look bad, I just look better when I enhance what I have. And honestly, who doesn't?
So, I will just jump in on this. There will be some various affiliate things, as I hope to make a little off this. I am stating that right out in the open, although, that is a secondary thing.
I will also blog about homemaking as the mood strikes me. LOL. Which is pretty much how I keep house, as the mood strikes me. Maybe with the New Year upon us, it will be good to blog about my routines as I always revamp and all at this time of year.
I am thankful beyond expression for those of you have stuck with me, those of you who email me and keep in touch. I really appreciate it.
Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate!
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