January Favorites

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to give you guys a January favorites list to let you know what I am loving this cold, dry winter. I will be doing a products I regret buying a little later, and I will do an empties post every six months. I will be doing a favorites post the first week of every month just because my life changes, and I find products that work well for me and for my family, so hopefully this will help you in deciding to buy some of these products or not. 

Let me know what you think, and let me know how you liked these products. 

Also, none of these brands pay me to promote their products, and none of these retailers pay me or asked me to promote their stores or sites, this is just the most information I can give you, in the hopes that you will easily find something you truly love. 

First up is my LUSH Bubblegum lip scrub. I love this product. I have been using it every morning and every night and it has done wonders for my lips. It has been horrible and ugly outside for about a month and a half now, and I can't stand it. My lips crack and are dry and flaky every morning, and it feels disgusting. Using this has helped so much. It is raw and vegan and made without animal testing and of recycled materials. The only downside to this product is that it costs $9.95. Ugh. So, I made some of my own lip scrub. I think it's just as good. You will have to decide yourself. You can buy this product here, or make your own. 

The next favorite on my list is my Revlon Steel My Heart Nail polish. I have worn it pretty much everyday this month. I think it is sexy yet sedate. I filed my nails down short just to really give off that "bad-ass-mom" vibe. it looks great with every outfit, but then I think that about almost all nail polish colors. I use it with my Nail Strengthener by OPI and my RapiDry Top Coat by OPI. I feel that it helps my nails not to chip and break like they often do in dry weather, and let me get on with my day.  

It might be hard to see but this is a gunmetal grey metallic nail polish and I can't get enough of it. You can find it at Walmart or here.

Next on my list of January must haves is my GlamGlow mask. I love it! I haven't done a post on it yet, but I will! I love this mask. It removes all the dirt and nastiness from your pores one use at a time. The first time I used this mask my face looked BLACK because of all the oil and dirt it was pulling out of it, and the next time I used it, it was still pretty dark, but not as much as the first time. I use this mask every week and for spot treatments. If you are a big mask person, especially if you have acne prone skin or acne problems, I would definitely suggest this mask. I will do a full post later on, and I will demonstrate how it works and all the lovely goodness that is the GlamGlow mask, but for now, I will say buy it. The only downside to this mask is that it is $70. But if you use it for a full mask you get 17 uses and for spot treatments, you get 1,000 uses, according to the packaging. I will be re-purchasing it when I run out. There is also the GlamGlow 10 minute photo ready mask, and I love that one as well, but I rarely use it because it comes in such a small container, and while it does exfoliate your skin and give you a really nice finish to put your make-up onto, I don't have 10 extra minutes in the morning to wait for my mask to dry, so I only use it when I have the extra time. But it is very good as well, though not a favorite of mine. 

Here is where you can order the GlamGlow mask.

My next favorite I actually got out of necessity and then found out that I loved it. It is the BIOLAGE Color Care UV protection Orchid scented shampoo. I love the way this smells, my husband loves the way this smells, I think that the dog loves the way this smells. It is great. So subtle yet elegant and soft and lovely. I feel fresh and new when i use this shampoo. It makes my hair super soft and shiny and my color has stayed put for weeks now. It comes in a big ol' bottle and it lasts me for several months. It is so much less expensive than a big bottle of salon brand shampoo. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Big Sexy Hair Shampoo and Conditioner, but I don't have a salon near me right now to purchase it. So, I would say that this is probably the next best thing to the salon brands. 

Here is a link to Amazon where you can buy it, but I found it at my local Walmart.

This month has been a busy one for me!!! Between getting my blog up and running (thank you for reading me!) and adjusting to my hubby being home, and the baby is going through some crazy phases, and I'm going to this parenting class during the week, and about a hundred other things, I have sometimes been too busy/lazy to actually wash my hair. The longest I can go without washing my hair most weeks is one day and then i have to wash it again. So if I wash my hair on Monday, I have to wash it on Wednesday. But, with the miracle of a great dry shampoo, I can wait an extra day to wash my hair. And when I say wash my hair, that is all I mean, I shower everyday, but it being Canada, if I were to go outside with my hair all wet, it would literally freeze. Which means that every time I wash my hair, I have to blow dry it or not leave the hours for two hours. So, I take a shower, without getting my hair wet, and then I wash my face at the sink and that is that. But, my hair gets super oily when I don't wash my hair, so I use KMS make-over spray. I love this product. I am going to see if I can find one that I enjoy equally as much because it is quite expensive, as you can see here. I have found that my local Winners sells batiste at half price, so hopefully in February I will be able to find that again, but back to KMS. I love the way this spray smells, and what it does for my hair. It isn't thick or gross or too powdery. I just can't get enough of it. I will do an official review later, so come back next month and see what I have up! 

My next monthly favorite is my Elizabeth Arden Lip Balm. Years and years ago, my grandmother gave me this balm and I fell in love with it. it is very, very expensive, but in my opinion, well worth it. For me, it brings back a lot of good memories of learning how to put make-up on with my grandmother and how thoughtful she was at every chance. It is smooth and creamy and the consistence is beautiful. i just can't get enough of this balm. I'm really happy to have it back in my stash again. I will review all of my lipsticks, balm and glosses when I do my lipstick swatch post. Keep an eye out for it. You can find Elizabeth Arden at your local drugstore that sells beauty products. I found mine at Shopper's and you can buy it here as well. 

This past month I have really been trying to amp up the health factor in my family. We eat less sugar and more fruits and veggies, and we are no longer soda drinkers, and we have officially cut out artificial sweeteners from the entire house. There are many more things, but they are too numerous to list here.  Another thing I am doing for myself, is cutting caffine out of the equation. Don't get me wrong, I love coffee as much as the next girl, but it just wasn't good for my stomach or my skin. So, I needed a different sort of pick me up. I started doing my research and I found a natural way to increase blood flow in the morning and a great way to wake up is by taking natural vitamins. I take B100 vitamins every morning now. I make sure to take them on a full stomach and they don't make me sick or even slightly nauseous. And they work. I take fish oil for my skin and folic acid for my nails and hair and B100 to help give me that little extra boost in the morning. They are so beneficial for you and I absolutely love them. They feel so much more natural than drinking coffee and I don't crash afterwards. In Love. I bought them at Walmart, but you can find them where ever vitamins are sold. Or here. 

These last three things are not beauty related what-so-ever, but they are still my main attraction in their categories for this month. 

The first is J.R.Ward's Lover At Last. I read this book this month, actually I am still reading this book, I have been way busy, as I mentioned before, and I barely get time to read, but i am determined to finish this book. Look for my post on silly goals on the home page. You will see a list of silly goals I have for this year. Coming soon to a computer near you... Anyway, I love this series. If you are a fan of supernatural romance then you will love this series too. It is hardcore and sexy and funny and tear-jerking, and exciting and everything you could ever want from a book series. Mrs. Ward is an amazing author, who I was actually able to meet! Hopefully one day we will be able to meet again, but until then I will just revel in the amazing-ness of her books and devour all that I can. 

My video game for this month is Two Worlds. It is a horribly laggy and glitchy video game, but I am obsessed with it. it has a good story line and about a hundred thousand different quests. It does have some flaws which make it simultaneously the most annoying game I have ever played, but to beat it would be an accomplishment in and of itself. So, that is what game I am loving this month. 

These were my favorites for the month of January. I hope you liked them. And I hope you will look forward to my February favorites. I am trying a lot of new products in February, so come see me on March 1st and hopefully you will see something you like. If there is anything you want to see me test out, let me know and I will try my hardest. 

Warm wishes. 

DIY Lip Plumper

Hello all, 

I just made this product the other night. It was so easy and made with easy and accessible ingredients that I found in my kitchen. 

Again, if you buy organic, then this product will be organic. I use this product when I want plumper lips before I put my makeup on. If you're really good, then you could possibly even leave it on your lips while you are doing your make-up and then just wipe it off and apply your balm and your lipstick or gloss. 

I have only used this product twice so far, but I think if you are looking for a lip plump that you don't have to on the upwards of $25.00 for, then I would recommend using this. It is completely customizable for your lips. I would recommend using a lip scrub before you use this because it also helps plumb your lips and make them more red. 

I hope this works for you, I thought it worked for me, it left my lips tingling and full and red. 

What you need:
Brown sugar
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Cardamon
Cayenne pepper
Ground cloves 
White sugar, fine
Olive oil
Honey
Pure peppermint extract
A small travel container

Mix 2 parts cinnamon, one part brown sugar, one part white sugar, one part onlive oil, one part honey, one part peppermint extract, one part cayenne, one part cardamon and one part clove. Mix on a peice of wax paper. It should resemble wet sand, but very dark. It has a beautiful spicy aroma, and you can't even taste the cayenne. 

Hopefully this will tingle and help make your lips nice and full. 

Top with your favorite lipstick or gloss. For a big lips tutorial, come see me again soon. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Very easy and very simple. 

Warm wishes. 

DIY LIp Scrub

Hello everyone!

Have you wanted a lip scrub to exfoliate your dry chapped lips in the winter? What about all year round? Want to be able to go into your kitchen and find your lip scrub all the time? Then this is the post for you!

This is the easiest lip scrub I have found. I have been using it for a few months now and it is just as good as a store bought exfoliator, and you can eat it! It can even be organic if you buy organic ingredients. And the best part: these are items that are in more people's kitchen all year round. 

I hope you enjoy this tutorial. 

This is what you will need:

brown sugar

honey

white sugar, the coarser the better, but regular sugar will be just fine

olive oil, or your favorite oil (sunflower, walnut, flaxseed, grapeseed, etc

a small travel container, you can find these at Walmart and drugstores like Walgreens and Shoppers

One part brown sugar

Two parts white sugar

One part honey

One part oil

Mix together on a piece of wax paper and then pack into the tin

That is it! It's that easy!!! Your mixture should resemble building sand, crumbly but sticks together a little. 

I hope you enjoyed this very easy tutorial. 

Warm wishes. 

LUSH Cosmetics Review

Hello everyone! 

Today I will be posting several different posts. This is the first of three. I hope you enjoy it! 

This post is about my LUSH cosmetics scrubs. 

The first product I used is the Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub.

This is a blue and white swirl of fine sea salt, coarse sea salt, and vodka. 

If you are a fan of coarse scrubs, this product might just be for you. It is a thick, chunky formula with a beautiful bahama blue water colour in it. 

I really liked this product. Again, this is just a first impression. I will be using this product every day for the rest of the month and I will give you another review the first week of February. I will use it every morning and night and after I exercise. We will see what it does to my skin. 

The scrub is thick and creamy with thick salt crystals that really scrubbed my skin and removed all the dirt and oil from my pores without stripping my skin of all it's moisture. 

The LUSH products are against animal cruelty and testing and all their containers are 100% recycled, making all of us feel a little better about using these products. Now don't get me wrong, these products are a little pricey. Well, actually, really pricey. I might not purchase more of them, depending on how long these products last. If they last more than two or three months, then maybe they will be worth it, but I somehow doubt it. 

Anyway, these products are handmade and they have little stickers on them to indicate who it is made by and when you should use them by. This ensures that LUSH doesn't need to fill their products with preservatives. A lot of their products are organic, some are vegan, and all are cruelty free, paraben free, and made with ingredients that occur naturally. Some are had to pronounce, but that is because they occur a natural chemicals within some of their ingredients. With all of the allergies that are cropping up everyday, LUSH is a great company to go with if you need to know exactly what is in your products. And it's not just the cleansers that they list their ingredients for. Every thing that this company makes has every little thing listed on the package. So, thank you Sara for this body and face scrub. And I will use it before February 28th. 

The only thing bad that I have to say about this product is that IT TASTES HORRIBLE!!!!! Yes, it is just salt and vodka mixed together. Do not eat this product. If you have no taste buds, then by all means, it is safe to eat, but I would not recommend it in the slightest. 

This is everything that is on the label. 

Net wight 4.2 ounces. Fine sea salt, Fresh grapefruit infusion, coarse sea salt, stearic acid, fresh organic lime extracted in vodka, sodium cocoamphoacetate, glycol cetearate, triethanolmine, avacado butter, extra virgin coconut oil, lime oil, seaweed absolute, violet leaf absolute, glycerine, lanolin, cetaeryl, alcohol, *limonene, *linalool, fragrance, FD&C Blue no.1, methylparaben. 

*Occurs naturally in essential

Not virgin! A Vodka voyage. 

The next product you can eat though, and you might actually want to. In fact, it is recommended right on the label!

This is me washing my face with the scrub for the first time. 

The LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub. 

 

I love this lip scrub. It tastes good, though it is a little too sweet and artificial for my taste. It is a fine scrub, but I felt like my lips were as soft as ever, bright and lovely and plump. I wet my lips and scrubbed the smallest amount onto them vigorously. It took the dead skin off of my lips and left them tingling and new feeling. 

This is a wonderful product that I would recommend to anyone looking for a great lip product. I use it every morning and every night and I feel as though it helps exfoliate and rejuvenate my lips. I have a horrible time with my lips in the winter. I have already been through a whole tube of chap stick, so I really needed a lip scrub. Again, this product is all natural. It's actually vegan. 

 oz

This is what is on the container: Castor sugar, cold pressed organic jojoba oil, methyl ionone, flavour, polyester-3, D&C red no 28, D&C red no.21

Preservative free, Vegan! 

And thank you, Susan for my lip scrub. I will use this up by March.

Again, these products are expensive. It cost me $9.95. 

I would definitely recommend this scrub to anyone willing to spend the money. In my DIY section, though, I will be making a DIY face scrub, a DIY lip Scrub and a DIY lip plumper. They will be coming soon. 

This is me using this product:

I hope you found this review helpful.

Warm wishes.