Game Changers: Skincare

What skin care or makeup products have come into your life and been complete game changers?
I seriously want to know, so leave a comment below and fill me in on these magical items!

I am very much skin care (which I feel like I say every time I do a beauty related post) so mine are mostly skin care items, but I do have a few makeup items too.
Let's just get into it.

1. Forever and always the Neutrogena Pore Refining face wash.  I can always tell when I've been neglecting this product and always end up back to it after trying out new things.

2. Foreo Luna Mini 2.  I just bought this 2 weeks ago.  I'm in love.  It feels so good and gentle on the skin plus my face is so soft after.  It just makes me feel like I'm doing something to my skin.

3. Another cleansers I've been trying out is the Kiehls Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash and I really love this as just a gentle everyday cleanser.

4. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery oil.  I hate the smell of this but my skin thanks me in the morning which a beautiful glow.

5. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye is a great eye cream and I have noticed a difference around my eyes.  I wake up with brighter eyes in the morning and it hydrates pretty well too!

6. Kiehl's Hydro Plumping Re-texturizing Serum Concentrate.
I received a sample of this and fell in love, so of course I bought the full size.  It is super hydrating and I love the light feel of it on my skin.

7. A cream I've been using for a couple years now is the Origin's Ginseng Cream.  My skin likes this,  I like it.  It moisturizes but doesn't feel heavy.  Unfortunately I am getting bored and want to try something knew.

8. Fresh eye cream.  This stuff.  I didn't want to repurchase it (hello, poor) but the delicate skin around my eyes drink it up.

9. Caudalie Instant Detox mask.  I have tried quite a few face masks and have my handful that I love, but this one is my all time favorite.  When I first tried it a year ago, I broke out the next day and vowed to never use it again, but hello, $40 is a lot for a mask, so I read up on it and tried it again.  "Instant Detox" means it's going to draw the toxins out of your skin and bring them to the surface (pimples), so this made much more sense.  Now I use this mask about once a week and my skin thanks me.

10.  Paula's Choice Skin Perfect 2% BHA Liquid.  I feel lost without this stuff. I use it before I apply moisturizers and serums in the morning and I am almost positive this is what keeps my skin so clear.

11. Frank's coffee body scrub (not pictured) and lip scrub.  I like trying the different scents (coconut, mint, chocolate etc) but I can do with the original as I am a coffee fiend and love the smell!  Plus it makes my skin oh so soft.  The lip scrub smells soooo good and feels so good on the lips!


12. I have two favorites to go at thirteen and that is because they are so freaking expensive and I usually only get them as samples!  Sunday Riley Good Genes, my god I would buy this stuff all the time if I could.  I bought a full size once and I think it lasted 3 months?  My skin loved it, I loved it, everyone involved was happy with this product. . . and then the price went up because of our sucky dollar.  Lancome Genefique, I've had 3 samples of this.  This first time I received it I never bothered with it for months until a lady said it was the most amazing thing ever. Now I love it but can't swallow the price.

14. Lastly, two makeup removers! I have repurchased the Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover countless times and it is just the best for getting rid of stubborn mascara or eyeliner.

15. A new favorite is the L'Occitane Cleansing Oil. I freaking love this stuff! It's so good at removing a full face of makeup without having to rub at the eyes, it literally melts off your face. I love it.

I hope you enjoyed this! And Please let me know your game changers in the comments.
Have a great week!

The Skincare Routine

Is anyone else obsessed with anti-aging products or skin care?

I'm trying to figure out when my obsession with skincare started and you know what? Possibly when I was eleven.

I remember using Noxema (I still have a tub of that stuff kicking around for my oily days) and my Mom telling me that all of my Dad's Aunts and Uncles used it and that they weren't wrinkly.
I used Noxema religiously after that.
I didn't use much for a moisturizer though, just whatever I had for body lotion at that time.

I must have used Noxema for seven or eight years.
Then when I neared twenty I decided to try Neutrogena.
I quickly fell in love with their grapefruit scrub and saw a massive change in my skin (for the better).
I used the same grapefruit range from Neutrogena for years, then one day I tried their Pore Refining Scrub and would alternate between the two.
This is around the time I started using a proper face moisturizer too.

So, my early twenties it was Neutrogena for face scrubs/washes and L'oreal for face cream.

2014 I began using higher end moisturizers and haven't looked back.

My current skincare routine is intense (in my opinion).

In the morning I will use either Origins Microdermabrasion Scrub or Neutrogena Pore Refining Scrub or Origins Frothy Face Wash (depends on my skin that morning).  After that I will go in with my Paula's Choice 2%BHA liquid, followed by Origins Ginseng Moisturizer and Fresh Youth eye cream.

This has been working rather well for me lately.

What I love most is my night routine, even though it can be a struggle to do it before I fall asleep.
First I will almost always use the Neutrogena Pore Refining Scrub , it's rare if I use anything else in the evening.  At the end of the day I feel like my skin is dirty and just needs a good cleanse, so this works for me.
Then I used my new favorites, Kiehls Midnight Recovery Eye Cream and Midnight Recovery Concentrate (which is an oil).
This combo is just my favorite.  My skin is soft and hydrated after this, but if I'm feeling like a bit more hydration/some retinol, I will use Neutrogena's Rapid Night Repair moisturizer (usually this happens 3x a week)

Lately this morning and night combo has been working amazingly for me.  I feel confident in my skin and while people usually think I look younger than I am, I have been getting compliments on my "nice skin".  The red wine could be helping too.

As for face masks? I have an addiction here.  I love the GlamGlow Youth Mud but rarely ever purchase it.  I like the Lush Cup O' Coffee mask, but the mask that seems to do the most for my skin is Caudalie's Instant Detox Mask.  I use this twice a week, three times if my skin is acting up.  The first time I ever used this I broke out like crazy and was hesitant to continue using it.  But I read up on the mask and found out it draws out the toxins in your skin, bringing them to the surface (pimples!) so I decided to continue using it and I'm so glad I did.

I love knowing people's skin routines so leave me yours in the comments below or sent me a link to your blog/youtube!

Thanks and here's to healthy, youthful, glowing skin :)

Skincare Favorites!

New video is up on my channel....finally.
I think I love skincare more than makeup...okay, maybe not but I do have an obsession with finding the best skincare products for my skin and doing the best to ward off wrinkles.
Have a great Friday and an amazing weekend!

2014 Beauty Favorites!

I've decided that every morning should be like this one.
Getting up early, eating breakfast, drinking many cups of coffee and blogging.

We're only two weeks into January but I feel a bit late on my 2014 Beauty Favorites. And I know I was supposed to blog on Monday but Sunday was busy and yesterday was a strange shift where I didn't get home until almost seven.  Excuses, excuses!

Moving on!
Here are my most loved beauty favorites of 2014.  And there are a lot.

I only recently bought the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette back in the early fall, but I have been loving it to bits for the all the holiday parties I've attended.  And I wear the highlight (middle shade) every day to work. 
Oh Maybelline, I do love your concealers the best.  I only tried one new concealer this year because I can't seem to leave my Maybelline Anti-Aging concealer alone.
I splurged on make up this year.

The TooFaced Chocolate Bar Palette, I didn't know you could love an eyeshadow palette this much.  I've been getting into eyeshadow a lot more recently, you know the whole blending thing, and I just love all the neutral colors in this palette!  I've been tempted to get the semi-sweet chocolate one, but that blue color in it is throwing me off.
Next on the far left is a L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Coconut shake, I just really like using this as a base or on it's own with winged liner. 

That mysterious black tube that you can't read the label on is the Dior Addict-It Lash mascara, I just got this in December and I've already pushed all my other mascaras aside for this one.  I like a drier formula and this has it and the brush is spiky and perfect for me....ah, love.
Amope, I just received this at Christmas from my parents and it's one of my favorite gifts.  I hate dry, calloused feet.  I am a true Pisces and care about my feet immensely.  So I use this little foot file thing about twice a week and it's like magic.
The Shu-uemera Eyelash curler, where have you been all my life?  This curls your lashes like no other eye lash curler I have ever tried.  It's expensive for what it is, but it lives up to the hype.
L'oreal Lumi Primer, if you like dewy skin this is definitely one for you.  Honestly, I hated this product when I first bought it, it separated and I didn't use it for a few weeks.  But my skin was looking dull and I decided to give it a go.  I gave the product a shake to see if that would help the whole separating thing and it did.  It's not sparkly and it just gives a natural glow under your makeup.

Starting from the top left in this picture are Essie nail polishes in "Recessionista" and "Bahama Mama" , very similar dark burgundy shades and they are my most reached for colors.
Under is the perfume Alien by Thierry Mugley, I just can't...I love my Prada Candy perfume but a new scent that smells divine? Sorry Prada, I won't be reaching for you for awhile.
TooFaced Shadow Insurance, I love this for canceling out the veins on my eyelids and it does pretty well at keeping my eyeshadow in place.
This was the year I decided to fork out the twenty seven dollars for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (in dark brown)..well I actually bought two, one in chocolate as well.  I don't know what I was doing with my brows before these.  I find it's so perfect for natural looking brows. I don't know what I would do without this.
Salon Grafix Play it Big hairspray, I love my L'oreal Elnett hairspray the most, but this Salon Grafix one was on sale and it works, the smell isn't over powering and I find my curls last quite a long time with it.
The Braun Silk7 epilator, I bought this bad boy in the summer after reading a review on a blog.  Let me tell you that this thing kind of hurts the first few times you use it.  If you don't know what an epilator is it's basically a bunch of tweezers spinning around really fast pulling out your body hair.  I refuse to use this on my legs anymore as I received tons of ingrown hairs from in, but this works amazing on the under arm area.  I use it 2-3 times a week and I find I don't get that ugly dark shadow under my arms anymore that I was so subconscious about.
Last but not least, I had to add a candle because I am a candle hoarder. 
Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar, I've always loved this one but this past year my anxiety was so bad and this was the best candle to relax me.  I'm always stocked up on this one.

A few extra favorites that aren't pictured are:
Maybelline Baby Lips, I can always rely on this to keep my lips moisturized while I'm at work.
Lush Magnaminty Face Mask, this makes my skin so soft and has pushed all my other face masks aside.
For a good eye makeup remover I keep going back to the Neutrogena Oil Free Makeup Remover.
And lastly, a blush.  Benefit's Rockateur, I'm scared I'm going to hit pan on this soon!

What were your favorites of 2014? Have any new favorites for 2015 yet?

Have a great week!

Friday Five (1)- Beauty Items

I think I may have lost my mind.
I swear last week I had started a Friday Five type of thing on my blog.
Maybe I just thought about it? Who knows.

Anyways I decided to start a Friday Five. It can be five of anything, five things I love/hate, five things that happened that week etc.

This week I'm doing something easy because its my six day work week and I wasn't ready to think to hard about this, plus I haven't done anything else as I am pooched.

So here are the five beauty type things that I have been consistently using!

Starting from the left: Macadamia deep repair masque (this is the only thing I've found so far that makes my hair so soft. I use it twice a week, one deep treatment where I cover my whole head and leave it on for 20mins and then another day I put it on the lower half of my hair and leave it on for 10mins)
Soap and Glory Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em (I became addicted to this last year, it just smooths out the bumps on my arms and legs and helps with dry skin)
Philosophy Miracle Worker Eye Serum (I received this in a Topbox awhile back and just started using it. Amazing.)
Herbal Essences Naked Shampoo (It smells like mint and grapefruit (is that weird?))
Neutrogena Pore Refining Daily Scrub (I have been using this for awhile now and my skin is the best its looked in ages. No funny bumps on my forehead or around my nose. My pores look smaller and the overall redness in my face has gone down. 

There you have it!
Have a wonderful weekend!
I hope to be more energetic and have more time to blog next week!