Target Beauty Box #2

DDaaaaammmnnnn, Jonessa...back at it again with the Target Beauty Box.

Once again, I came home to a Target Beauty Box that I was not expecting. My girl, Jonessa, did me another solid and sent it to me. I have the best BFF ever.

This box seems geared towards skin care. There are four different kinds of moisturizer/skin creams and two facial cleansers. Not that I mind. I've been trying to get myself into a habit of cleaning and moisturizing my face in the morning and the evening. My sister brought me some Mary Kay cleanser and moisturizer that I've been using lately. 

I'm game to try it all, but something tells me you cannot turn back time {Cher knows}. My face is what it is. But I still need to take care of my skin the best that I can. So, I used the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser and Andalou Age Defying Night Repair Cream last night.

The facial cleanser comes out as a clear liquid and you have to rub it in your hands to get it to foam up. It has a slight soapy smell but nothing overwhelming. It was light and gentle on my face. I'm not a big makeup wearer so I couldn't say how effective this would be to remove all of your makeup. The repair cream came in a sample tube that distributes it like a spot treatment. So it was a little strange to try and get enough to apply all over my face and neck, as the directions advise. But it looks like the normal size comes in a pot, which makes more sense. It wasn't overly greasy and absorbed very quickly into my skin. It also had a very mild scent..almost no scent. Which was a little strange too. I guess if you are very sensitive to scents, these products would be great.

Those are the only two products I've used so far other than trying on the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lip Pen in Matte-r of Fact. I liked this shade much better than the red lipstick that came in my first beauty box. Again, I don't wear a lot of makeup and I don't normally wear lipstick at all, but lip gloss. This is the first time I've tried on a matte lipstick. When you are used to something being a little more shiny and wet, it's a different kind of feeling. But it went on very smooth and stayed put.

I'll get around to trying everything else in the box, but two other products that I am super excited to try are the Hair Food Kiwi Dry Shampoo and L'Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze Towelettes. I'll report back after I try them out.

The things I do for beauty

I finally got around to using the Laneige Water Bank Soothing Mask that came in the Target Beauty Box my friend Jonessa sent me. This mask comes in two pieces..for your upper and lower face. I think this design really helped with the 'non-slip' aspect. It really did stay in place. And I was even doing squats while watching House Hunters as I wore it. It didn't budge.

It is super hydrating. Even after I took it off and massaged any excess into my skin, my face felt very soft and dewy. Per Target.com, "The mask is formulated with Biogen Technology, which activates and increases the skin’s Natural Moisturizing Factor levels to prevent future moisture loss and maintain adequate hydration". Last summer, my sister treated me to a day at the spa. The Esthetician told me that my flaky areas were due to dehydration....AND my oily spots? ALSO from dehydration. Basically most of my skin issues are due to the fact that my skin is under-hydrated.

At $24.00 for five masks, I'd say it's worth it to treat yo' self...and your face.

My First Ever Target Beauty Box

I was having the absolute WORST day yesterday until I got home to find this waiting for me.

My friend, Jonessa, has some type of radar that let's her know just when I need something to make me smile. She sent me this Target Beauty Box to help keep my blogging vibes going. Always looking out for me, that one.

From what Jonessa told me, you can order the Beauty box here. They are usually less than $10 and the shipping is free. But they are limited and once they are gone..they are gone (until the next one). So you have to keep an eye out and order it quick.

I decided to try out a few of the items last night before I got into bed. As I dabbed on the Maybelline Dream Velvet Foundation (my sample came in Classic Ivory), my husband says to me, "You don't need any of that. What did you do..cover up some freckles?". {insert Heart Eye Smiley emoji here} I really liked how easy the foundation went on, it was light enough not to be cakey or heavy, but serious enough to cover up..well..freckles..and sunspots..and small blemishes.

So, I went from clean faced to polished (honestly, I think Classic Ivory might be a shade too light for me)....and THEN I added the COVERGIRL Colorlicious Lipstick in 'Succulent Cherry'. Oh...dear readers...I know there are women out there that can pull off red lipstick (like my sister) but I am not one of them. I don't really know how simply adding the wrong shade of lipstick can age someone a gazillion years...but it did. The lipstick did have a nice feel to it, but I don't wear much makeup and when I do I'm really a lip gloss kinda girl.

To clean all that mess off I used the Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. I already use Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer on the daily, so I'm familiar with the brand. One wipe took everything off my face (including the lipstick and it didn't leave an awful taste behind) and left it feeling clean and smooth.

Lotions and ointments are a little harder to review right away. The true test is always how the work over time.  The CeraVe Healing Ointment, is a lip balm consistency, and the little sample pot it came in makes it great for throwing in your purse or keeping it at your desk. It immidiatly made me think of my cuticles, because they are always very dry. This ointment would be great for rubbing on your fingernails and around your nose when you have chapped skin. The Marlowe No. 022 Body Butter was a little oily when I put it on my hands but once it dries its good. It has a scent and I was racking my brain trying to place it....it smells like a office bathroom air freshener. Take that as you will.

I used the Pantene AIRspray Hair Spray this morning. I took a picture of my hair freshly done and then later in the afternoon. I can't say that the spray really helped hold the curl, it looks about the same when I don't use anything. BUT, I did like that the Hair Spray did not make my hair stiff or sticky AND it did not stink. I'm going to try it again when I'm putting my hair up.

The only other items I haven't tried yet are the Laneige Water Bank Soothing Mask and the Hawaiian Tropic Island Sport SPF 30 Lotion. The sheet masks kind of freak me out..lol..they are so weird! It says it is suppose to be "non-slip".....we shall see. I'm saving the sunscreen lotion for our vacation. What better place to test it out than the beach, right?

This box was $7.00 for eight good size samples (that are way more than a one-and-done application), so I'd say they are well worth the money. Jonessa also says you can "like" the Krazy Coupon lady on Facebook or check the Totally Target website for a heads up on these boxes (and y'all are gonna want to listen to her).

Looking out, looking in, looking up - Happy New Years

I bundled up to venture out in the backyard to snap a picture of the sky. I didn't want to do it because the sky is a never ending sea of nothing today. I wanted to capture something beautiful....something I consider beautiful. A lovely sunset of pinks, oranges, and purples. Or whispy white clouds against a backdrop of blue. But there won't be any of that today....just cold, stark white.

But as I wondered around my little back yard, with my camera pointed at the sky, I did find a little beauty in the stillness of the cold. And I couldn't help but notice how lovely the ice covered branches were against the bright white sky.

It made me think about this new year, how everything can be considered new. A true blank slate. A quiet moment to just stop, take a moment to breath and decide how you want to start this new chapter. And it also made me think of this last year. I've been telling myself 2014 has been the year of the holding pattern. Not much has changed, on the outside. But I feel like I've learned more about myself this year. I've stripped away many of my long held notions of how people should act, how I should act and my confusion about why those things didn't make me happy. Things that didn't make sense for a very long time have started snapping into place. I'm sure my friends and family are just about sick of me using the term "introvert" but I am just so excited to finally have some idea of why I have always acted the way I do...why I feel the way I feel. And the more I learn about what it means to be introverted, the more comfortable I have become with saying no, with walking away, with staying in, with telling people what I need.

I can't say that walking away from things and having no one notice hasn't hurt my feelings. I might be introverted but I still crave to be needed and wanted and important to others. I'm still dealing with my feelings of being inadequate, feelings of rejection when I'm not recognized for the things I do. Those things are on me to deal with, not the people around me.

I can say that having a better understanding of how I gather and dispense my energy makes a world of difference to my psyche. I've learned to pay attention to things and people that make me feel good, that make me happy. I'm still trying to get better at or continue to acknowledge those in my life that I love and appreciate. And I've become better at getting rid of things and people that stress me out or drain my energy.

Overall I am coming into this year peacefully hopeful. I'm not looking to dramatically overhaul my life, I don't want to make any grand resolutions or plans. Always reaching for the next thing makes me tired and wears me out. So, I resolve to find my happiness in the very moment that I'm living, I don't need any more or less than what I have right now.

I hope you find your perfect balance this year of peace, love, and hope this year.

X is for..Xtreme Eyebrow Grooming

Day 24. One Beauty Product You Can't Live without

I don't wear a lot of make-up. Actually, I wear zero make-up most of the time. I might slap on some moisturizer but that's about it.

This is how you will find me 95% of the time, sans make-up:

Here I am for the other 4% of the time, with a little foundation, mascara, and lip gloss:

And here I am for the other 1% of the time, this is as fancy as I get:

No matter what sort of make-up I put on my face, there is one thing that I absolutely must stay on top of. It's the brows. I have a fine set of beautifully shaped eye brows. I get compliments on my eye brows all the time, seriously.

As great as they are naturally, they can get a bit unruly if I don't stay mindful. So I would have to say my one beauty product that I can't live without is my tweezers (and eyebrow brush and small grooming scissors). In addition to the normal tweezing I do, I have to give my eyebrows trims. You know how when you go to the hair dresser for a trim and they hold the ends of your hair between their fingers and snip? I do that, with my eyebrow brush.

Call me a professional eyebrow stylist.

My sister and I even had a discussion on my occasional morning gnarly brow. My eye brow hairs can be standing in all kinds of crazy directions in the morning. So she gave me eyebrow gel for Christmas one year, to tame my gnarly brows. And I use it too! Nothing worse than snapping a great picture..just to realize that the gnarly brow as struck again.

Skincare - #2014BloggerChallenge

I am going to be straight up with y'all. I don't take very good care of my skin! I mean, I want to. I think about it. Sometimes I even buy a product or three. But it always comes back to routine. I get lazy. I forget. And those products either go to waste or last me forever because I never use them on a regular basis.

However...

For Christmas my mom gifted me with a Clarisonic Mia. It's been on my 'want' list for about a year or so. One of those many things I think about, but never quite get around to buying for myself. I desperately wanted to find a way to fit the Mia into my routine. Remember, this is the important part for me and I didn't want my gift to go unused (my mom would have been very unhappy). Luckily, this facial brush is water-tight. That means I'm able to bring it into the shower with me without ruining it..or killing myself.

So, now I keep it in the shower. It stares me in the face every morning, kind of hard to forget about it that way.

And another good thing about it is that the cleaning cycle is timed. One minute...that's it! I use my normal facial cleanser, Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser (which I still haven't been using on the regular), and just let it go for a minute while I focus on covering all parts of my face.

It's gentle. It hasn't made me break out. It makes my skin feel amazingly smooth.

I have combination dry/oily skin. So I will admit that fresh out of the shower my skin is a little more dry in some spots and a little overly oily in others, but that's all fixed by a slathering of Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer (again, needs to be more routine ANYWAY) and a super light dusting of E.L.F. Translucent Matifying Powder.

And that, my friends, is about as labor intensive as I get with my skincare.

I'm really hoping this routine sticks. My skin isn't getting any younger and I want it to look as good as it can, for as long as it can.

It's come to this



It says daily, but it will be weekly..not that it makes it any better.

* Not that I haven't been aware of this problem already.

My Vision Board

The girls over at Tone It Up have challenged their readers to make a vision board. So, I started thinking about what I wanted more of in my life and then headed over to Pinterest to search for the perfect images to make my vision board.

Here is what I came up with. If I could have squeezed more images on there I would have, but this helped me pinpoint what I REALLY wanted to focus on.



I want to be less afraid of failure. I want more love, more passion, more kisses, more smoldering looks, more flirting. I want a LOT more laughter. I want to feel inspired. I want to spend more time with friends. I want a tighter body. I want creativity to STRIKE, I want it to flow into me and through me. I want to always feel that I can do anything, at any time..its never too late, never.

What would be on your vision board?


P.S. Don't think for a second I've forgotten about my 100 follower giveaway. It's coming, my lovelies!

What's In My Make-up Bag?

Jennifer over at First Comes Love gave us a tour of her make-up bag and asked what we had in ours.

This is my make-up bag. I don't think it was made to be a make-up bag but it serves the purpose.

Here is the inside. A little cluttered and disorganized. That's how I like it. You'll find a little bit of everything in there. The brands are all different, ranging in price. I don't really have any loyalty to a brand, only loyalty to what works for me.

My tools of the trade. One year for Christmas my sister and I exchanged gift cards to Sephora and I invested in a nice set of make-up brushes. I also use toilet paper, sponges, and Q-tips...not nearly as fancy.

This is all my "foundation". I use all of this sparingly. I don't like caked on make-up, so I use most of it to just balance out my skin.

Eyeshadow is where I have the most fun. You can see the colors I gravitate towards. Beiges, browns, purples, greys, silvers, whites, creams. I do have a black eyeliner pencil, but I don't use it very often. If I need to line my eyes I just use eyeshadow.

I don't wear lipstick. It's only gloss for me. I usually layer some combo of these three.

I stick with the mascara in the pink tube, that's my go-to mascara. I did get a little sample of two different mascaras in a clinque bag so I use that sometimes to, but once its gone or no good I'll be right back with my pink tubed mascara.

I add a little shimmer to my cheekbones as a very last touch. It's my make-up "trick".

I don't wear any of the stuff above on a daily basis. Did you see my 'This Is Me' picture? That REALLY is me on a normal day. But what I DO use on a daily basis is Aveeno Positively Radiant (in the shower, every morning) and a moisturizer (before I walk out of the bathroom, every morning). Because really, you can cover up your skin with make-up but in the end you have to take care of the canvas.

This is me.

Souls wouldn't wear suits and ties, they'd wear blue jeans and sit cross-legged with a glass of red wine. ~Carrie Latet

This is me. No editing, no touch-ups, no make-up. As much as I want to love myself as I am, it is hard for me to embrace this image of me. I want to airbrush away the wrinkles, smooth away the dark spots, add some mascara and lip gloss. But that is superficial fluff.

I have skin imperfections. I have wrinkles. My lips are chapped. My hair can be a wild mess. Sometimes I have crap stuck in my teeth. I am rough around the edges. I talk too loud. I laugh too loud. I give out a lot of un-asked for advice. I think ugly things about people people that annoy me.

This is me. Laid bare. My beauty and worth come from some place deeper than my skin. I have to believe that as I look at myself.

Beautiful

This is something I heard this morning at Church (on the internets) and it touched me so I wanted to share.

Goals for 2011

1. A New Dishwasher

2. A New Stove

3. A Costume Birthday Party

4. A Kick Ass Concert

5. A girl's weekend with the crazy ladies of my family

6. Warrior Dash

7. A trip with my sister

8. Getting my toes in the sand

9. Cultivating my talent

10. Getting a laptop

11. Visit Lost Maples

12. Go to the Texas Ren Fest

13. Visit friends, family, relax, calm down, laugh until I cry, savor good food, remember my blessings every second.

Playing Dress Up

Santa brought both my nieces a Disney princess dress up set. There were all sorts of outfits, hats, headbands, jewelry, shoes, accessories, and makeup.
There were quite a few costume changes throughout the day.
These girls swapped out outfits, shoes, accessories. You name it, they wore it on Saturday.
Especially Dolly, who went a little willy nilly with her super sparkly gel princess makeup. I'm just tucking this little gem away for her senior prom. Can't wait to share it with her date.

I love a good buy

This Glamour magazine I picked up at the store today is full of all sorts of goodies. I even used a little tidbit of info to post over on A Fat Girl in the Real World. Anyway, these sort of magazines use to annoy me. They would write about getting designer looks for reasonable prices. And then they will list items that were still $100 and up..way up. How is that reasonable?

Well, it's not reasonable for me. However, I spent my afternoon scoring this magazine. What I was looking for were items that were $50 or less. THAT was reasonable to me. And what I found was that there are deals out there, very good deals. You just might have to look a little harder.

Anyway, they had an article about the 24 best beauty buys. Readers voted on their favorite beauty products, both drugstore and department store finds, and these are the results. I'm listing only the 'drugstore' finds, because being the frugal diva that I am, it's what I'm most interested in.

Best mascara - Maybelline New York Great Lash Mascara. It's the mascara in the pink tube, and it's what I use currently.

Best shampoos - Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Shampoo.

Best conditioners - Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Conditioner.

Best eye creams - Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum

Best blush - Covergirl Cheekers Blush

Best body product - Avenno Daily Moisturizing Lotion (Also, I'll mention the 'department store' product, since it's not much more expensive - Bath & Body Works Body Lotion in Japanese Cherry Blossom)

Best facial moisturizers - Avenno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30

Best self-tanners - Dove Energy Glow Beauty Body Lotion

Best hairstyling product - Aussie Catch the Wave Sprunch Hair Spray

Best fragrance - Curious Britney Spears

So there you have it. These products have been road tested, they are affordable, and can be easily found in your local drugstore/grocery store. Go forth and beautify and save.