Sunday, May 31, 2015

May 2015 Favorites


Nume Signature Hair Dryer - I've had this Nume dryer for almost 2 years. This was my first high end dryer that I've purchased, normally I just used a dryer from the drug store and refused to spend more than $20. I noticed that my hair was really getting dried out and damaged using the drug store dryers. When I switched to this one I noticed my hair was super soft and silk after blow drying my hair which NEVER happened before. I highly recommend this when I hear someone say their hair feels really dry and damaged. I purchased my hair dryer directly though the Nume site http://numeproducts.com/signature-ionic-dryer-all

Diorskin Star Foundation - I have been looking for a holy grail foundation. I've tried A LOT of foundations lately and I felt I was still constantly on the hunt. I reached out on Facebook and asked for some recommendations, I had a lot of different recommendations for foundations....after going out and spend quit a bit of money on different recommendations....this one really stood out to me. The color match is perfect which for me is really difficult, I have the color 010. The coverage is amazing and very buildable. The foundation is easily bendable and leaves an amazing finish. I've been using this for almost three weeks STRAIGHT! Next week I plan on posting an entire review just on this foundation....it might just be my first HOLY GAIN FOUNDATION. If you're interested in seeing a full review please check back next Makeup Monday. This wasn't available at my locale Sephora so I picked it up at Shoppers...sorry I don't have a link but I've also seen it at The Bay. 

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex & Fresh Seaberry Skin Nutrition Booster - These next two favorites really go together. I have EXTREMELY dry skin, I have a tough time with foundations looking cakey on me because my skin is sooo dry. I bought the Fresh face creme back in January and it has last me a long time! This container maybe has 1 or 2 more uses out of it and then I need a new one (which I've already bought last week and I have it ready to go when I run out!). This cream is truly amazing but I find that sometimes my skin and still be a little on the dry side. I went last week to Sephora to repurchase this creme and ended up running into a Fresh rep at Sephora. He recommend picking up the Fresh Seaberry oil and mixing it into the face cream.....THIS IS SERIOUSLY A GAME CHANGER. My skin feels so hydrated and my foundation has never looked better! If you have extremely dry skin I highly recommend this combo. The face oil is on the pricey side but all you need is 1 drop per day. Both of these can be purchased at Sephora

21 Day Fix EXTREME - My workout for the month of May has been the 21 Day Fix EXTREME. I am in crunch time now for my wedding so I've been doing an advanced workout to get me ready for my wedding dress. I am seriously in love with the workout....it's tough but I've noticed a HUGE difference in my abs and arms. I'm still so concerned with my wedding dress because I've never been a fan of my arms. But slowly but surly my chicken wing arms are getting lean and toned up! These workouts have been amazing and I have been coaching a fitness group throughout the month of May doing this program, I have some great participates in my group for the month of May that have just been amazing to work with during this time. These programs can be purchased through the Beachbody website www.beachbodycoach.com/mspamblam

What have some of your monthly favorites?



Friday, May 29, 2015

20 Reasons To Eat Less Sugar



1) Sugar is addictive

2) Sugar keeps you from making healthy choices

3) Sugar is altering our kids future – theres a reason childhood obesity is top parent concern
 
4) Sugar is keeping you hungry

5) Sugar is everywhere

6) Sugar feeds cancer

7) Sugar accompanies other things you don’t want in your body – additives, preservatives, and potentially toxic colorings…YUCK!

8) Sugar is making us sick

9) Sugar turns into belly fat

10) Sugar is causing your cravings

11) Sugar is ruining your teeth

12) Sugar contains no nutritional value

13) Sugar withdrawals are real

14) Sugar may be giving you mood swings

15) Sugar isn’t helping your skin





Monday, May 25, 2015

What's Giving Away Your Age?

As I get older I'm more conscious about signs of aging and age prevention. Here are some key things that can give away your age!

TEETH

Years of eating and drinking can leave your teeth with a yellow stain. Young-looking teeth are white with rounded edges. Older ones are the opposite (small, worn, chipped). In addition, your gums may recede over time and leave you looking as if you have gaps between your teeth.

REVERSE THE CLOCK Whiteners, deep-clean and brighten. Try Crest Whitestrips Renewal. If you can afford it, ask your dentist about a whiting treatment in your office, these can get pricy and insurance may or may not cover it. If teeth are worn, ask your dentist about a bite guard to prevent grinding.

NECK & CHEST

This is a big one! I see this a lot just walking around. You see an older women who has a beautiful flawless face but then her neck looks like it belongs on a different body.

REVERSE THE CLOCK Every day apply creams to your face & continue all the way down your neck. It would also be a good idea to wear a daily sunscreen to help with age spots of aging of your neck. I like to wear the Neutrogena sunscreen for your face under my makeup. I apply it to my face & I bring it all the way down my neck.

HAIR

Dryness-in the form of messy frizz and loss of shine-is public enemy number one. Damage or age is to blame if your hair used to look good but is now thinning or dull or has a dishwater color.

REVERSE THE CLOCK Hair isn't alive, it's dead-but and it will still look better if you care for it. Older hair is thirsty you need to give it moisture but not the kind you find in the shower. Use a hydrating mask and serum/oil when you get out of the shower. I like to use my Garnier hair mask followed by Josie Maran argan oil.

HANDS

As you get older, hands look bonier and veins become more visible-both. Sun spots from years of exposure become more pronounced.

REVERSE THE CLOCK You don't have to wear gloves, but you do need to protect your hands with sunscreen-just as you'd apply hand cream. Think about how much exposure your hands get just while you drive your car! Exfoliate regularly to improve circulation and texture, and moisturize 24-7. I like to use the same sunscreen I use on my face & neck for my hands. I also keep a bottle of Neutron hand cream with me at all times.



Monday, May 11, 2015

Product Empties May 2015


Nivea Good-Bye Cellulite Serum - I've been trying to get my hands on this product for a few years now. It's very hard to come by where I live and unfortuantly I was dispointed when I finally did get a hold of it. This is nothing more than a gimmicy product like other cellulite products

Neutrogena Fast Absorbing Hand Cream - best hand cream ever! I work with a lot of paper and my hands get dried out very quickly, I always make sure I have a tube of this stuff on my desk

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser - best hair mask ever! Yes I have already replaced this one

Adidas Fitness Fresh - best deoderant ever! I have already picked up another one

Calgon Ageless Bath Renewing Bath Pearls - I love taking baths, this bath product is a must have for me and I have already repurchased another one

Bed Head Superstar Volumizing Leave in Conditioner - this smells like cotton candy! It was one of my favorite leave in conditioners but I've been playing around with other brands and I've falling in love with so many others

Bath & Body Works anti-bacterial hand gel warm vanilla sugar - this stuff is great for keeping in your purse! I always have one on hand

Bio True multi purpose solution - I thought I would throw this in here, I'm a new contact wearer and I just love this solution. My eyes never feel dried out and if they ever do you can use this as eye drops

Lancome Di Facial double action eye makeup remover - so far favorie eye makeup remove I have found! I think I have 2 backup bottles on hand right now, I never want to be without this stuff

Stila smudge stick waterproof eye liner - I got this for free when I bought a Stila eye shadow pallete, it was an ok eye liner but not my favorite

Physicians formuala eye booster 2 in 1 boosting eyeliner + serum - I have tried other eyeliners but this is still my favorite!!! Something about this formula just goes on really smooth and doesnt budge an inch until I use my Lancome eye makeup remove. I have already repurahsed another one!



Monday, May 4, 2015

Cover FX Customer Cover Drops Review

 In last weeks post I mentioned that one of my April favorites was the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops. This product is so amazing I decided it deserved its own separate blog post. I picked this product up at Sephora, it was $44 but I bought it during the VIB Rouge sale so I got 15% off.

 Normally I have a hard time finding my shade in foundations as I have a hard skin tone to match and I'm as pale as a ghost. There are 23 shades to choose from which is a great color selection! I picked up N10 and its surprisingly a really good match for me.

The product is meant to be mixed with another product. It's pure pigment and mixing it will allow you to customize the coverage you are trying to achieve. I think this is a great theory behind this product as I have liked foundations/BB creams in the past but because they didn't provide enough coverage I don't wear them day to day.

The product comes in a dropper which makes it easy to control how much product you use. It can get a little messy so be careful.

 These drops can be mixed with moisturizers, serums, oils, primers, foundations, tinted moisturizers, and BB/CC creams that re water, oil or silicone based. You can use 1-4 drops when mixing this product. 1 drop will get you a sheer coverage and 4 drops will give you maximum coverage.

 On my  hand right now is about 2 drops, as you can see because it's pure pigment it covers really well!

I've had a lot of fun testing this product! I've using it with my moisturizer when I want a light makeup day and I've used it with some of my medium coverage foundations for some extra coverage. It's a product that you can use with just about anything!

I love mixing this product with my moisturizer, the consistency that you get reminds me of BB cream. Since I'm so pale I haven't been able to find a BB cream that works for me yet. With this product I can make my own BB cream!

I have tried to use this with a primer but I didn't like how it turned out, I preferred mixing it with my moisturizer much better.

The great thing about this product is not matter what your skin type is you can use this product. For myself I have really dry skin so I'll be mixing this product with more moisturizing products. If you have oily skin just mix the product with something that has more of a matte finish.

Be your own creator and make your very own foundation cocktail. Let me know what you like mixing your customer drops with?


Friday, May 1, 2015

Healthy Eating Tips - Do & Don't

Whether you are just looking to make healthy changes in your diet, on a weight loss journey, or looking for some healthy eating tips. Here are some simple Do & Don't for healthy eating that a VERY easy to follow. 



DO eat smaller & more frequent meals a day – smaller & frequent meals will help increase your metabolism & help keep you satisfied throughout the day. Don’t be afraid to snack, just keep the snacks healthy and nutritious

DON’T skip breakfast – your body has been fasting while you've been sleeping, your morning meal establishes a healthy metabolism throughout the day. This is why people usually say “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and it really truly is

DO drink – drink water. At least 8 cups of water a day to stay hydrated and help keep your stomach feeling full

DON’T drink too much alcohol – there’s a reason why “Beer gut” is a real thing. Alcohol has a lot of calories and they are all empty calories. Save the alcohol for special occasions and be smart about what you choose to drink

DO keep healthy snacks on hand – I don’t know about you but I’m a BUSY person! Running around, work, errands, family, life, it’s easy to give into bad temptations or go for something that’s FAST instead of HEALTHY. Pack snacks in advance and have easy to grad snacks sitting in the fridge just in case

DON’T service super sized portions – even on a clean diet, you don’t need to super size everything. Learn proper eating portions and stick to it!