Monday, July 17, 2017

Product Empties July 2017


Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil - On the pricy side but worth it. This is a great night oil I use about twice a week-which also helps the product last a long time. I find this is really great at getting rid of any texture I have overnight. I have repurchased this but in the smaller bottle

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser - Still my favorite hair mask -  I have about 6 jars I bought off Amazon. This just helps my mend my split ends and my hair feels instantly softer after using it. I have three jars left to use. 

Clinique Moisture Surge - I didn't like this face cream so I passed it off to my husband to use. He finished the jar but didn't like it either so I wont be repurchasing it again. I found it to be a wired gel formulation that left my face feeling very sticky and like there was a film residue on my face. I didn't like using it in the morning as I found my foundation would be patchy and awe foul. 

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense - This is by far my favorite face cream. It is so different from just the regular moisture surge. It is an in between cream and gel formulation. It glides over your skin and it leaves your skin feeling velvety smooth. My makeup just glides on effortlessly when I have this face cream on and my skin feels extra hydrated. 

Clinique All About Eyes - It's ok.....that's the best way I can describe this eye cream. It wasn't the worst eye cream I've ever used but it wasn't the best. I don't think I'll be repurchasing this again but I do want to try Clinique rich eye cream to see if that one would be better for my dry under eye area. 

Jergens Moisture for Wet Skin - I love this lotion but I do prefer the Argan Oil over the Green Tea Oil. I have one Argan Oil formulation on the go and I have one backup for when I run out. 

Mac Fix+ - LOVE this face spray. I use this after I powder, I find that even with my dry skin I still need to set my makeup otherwise it wont stay in place....but if I powder my face I look like I have a cake face. This takes that cake face away completely! That means I can powder and lock my makeup in but still look flawless. I have already repurchased two new bottles. 

Josie Maran Whipped Mud Mask - I do love this mask when I feel my skin needs some extra moisture but it is very expensive. I haven't repurchased this mask as I am trying some cheaper options but if they don't work out I would defiantly go back to this mask.

L'Oreal Elnett  Satin Hairspray - Make sure if you ever try this to get the Extra Strong Hold UNFRAGRANCED. I can't stay the fragrance smell of this hair spray but I love the hold that this gives. I was so happy when I found the unfragranced formula and I don't think I would ever try another hairspray ever again. This is a strong hold hair spray that you can brush right out. It gives the perfect amount of hold but still allows your curls to bounce and look natural. Your hair will never look or feel crunch no matter how much product you put in. 

Monday, July 10, 2017

Where Are They Now? July 2015 Favorites

July 2015
July 2017

The month of July is a always a special month for me. It's the month that my husband and I started dating, it's the month we got married and it's my birthday month.


 July 2015 was our 10 year anniversary - we celebrated by getting married! Of course my number one favorite was my wedding dress which I still have.




As July was my wedding month most of my favorites have to do with my wedding....and I still use all but one of the items today.

Zadro Dimmable Florescent Dual-Sided Mirror - I still use this makeup mirror every single day, it still works great! Having a properly light makeup mirror will help your makeup application, this mirror shows what your makeup will really look like. If it looks good in the mirror before I walk out the door I know it's going to look good all day long. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond - make sure to use a coupon, they are always emailing or mailing them out. I got 20% off of mine.

The lashes I wore on my wedding day were the Ardell 301, they are just accent lashes instead of a full lash. I love these lashes! They make your eyes pop in photos without looking too fake. I still wear these lashes but not everyday. I save them for special occasions when I know I'm going to have my picture taken a lot.

The mascara I used on my wedding day is the Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Waterproof. I know a waterproof mascara isn't something you need everyday but I love how well this holds a curl so I use it almost everyday. It is on the pricey side so I do alternate with a drugstore mascara.

Finally I mentioned the Kat Von D Shade and Light pallet, I was only using 4 of the 6 shades in this pallet but since then I've discovered two products that have replaced it. First is the bareMinerals Concealer in well-rested. I use this to set my under eyes and anywhere else that I've used concealer. Then I use a contour shade from Makeup Geek - "Breakup" which is their cool porcelain shade.

Not bad for this month, typically when I find a product I love I will use it for a very long time. 3 out of 4 products that I used two years ago are still in my routine! I would say discovering new products in July 2015 was a very successful for me.


Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Bear's 1 Year Update | Dealing With Chronic Lameness


Bear is growing up WAY too fast. His last update was 8 months go check it out for more adorable puppy pictures.

At one year Bear is around 73lbs, he's not done growing and since he's 75% Black Lab I'm sure he'll fill out and gain some more weight. His growing has definitely slowed down...although we did have Xrays done in May and his growth plates are not closed quit yet.


Why did Bear go in for Xrays in May? If you saw my last Fitness Update I did touch a little on my "lack of motivation" and the fact that Bear had a hurt leg that was keeping our family very busy with him.  


Bear is a very high energy dog...he LOVES to run and play but has very little control as most puppies do. On May 9th my husband was watering our grass in the yard (we have a quarter acre lot so lots of room for Bear to run around in) Bear was out with him running full out in the yard - but had zero control. He was slipping and sliding because the grass was wet and that only seems to make him run faster and faster.

On one of Bear's turns he missed his footing and his feet came out from under him, he feel and landed on his left shoulder...didn't yelp or cry but he did get up and wouldn't put any weight on his left leg.

We were extremely worried that he broke his leg but he came inside and went to sleep so he didn't seem to be in any pain. We thought we would wait till morning and then asses if he needed to go to the vet.

Bear woke up at 2am crying - Bear has NEVER woken up during the night for anything, even when he was 8 weeks old and slept for the first night in our house. We rushed him to the emergency vet and they took Xrays but said nothing was broken and he would be OK in one week.

We put Bear on "bed rest", he only left the house to go to the bathroom and we would leash him in the yard so he couldn't run and play.

Two weeks later his limp was still there....we ended up taking him back to the same vet that treated him in the first place and they diagnosed him with "chronic lameness" and recommended and surgeon consult.

We agreed and saw a surgeon the next day - he proceed to tell us that he thought Bear had elbow dysplasia. He wanted to run several tests that would have cost us thousands and thousands of dollars - and after all this testing he wanted to operate but the operation would only be good for 2-3 years and then he would have to under more surgery.

I was in absolute disbelieve! Bear took one simple fall and they seemed to want to do all this unnecessary testing and treatment on our poor 10 month old puppy.

After our appointment I contacted our regular vet for a second opinion. She was able to see us right away and said she very much doubted that Bear has elbow dysplasia and said it was more likely that he had soft tissue damage in his elbow. We put him on several supplements and medication plus she said to continue his "bed rest" for at least one month.


It took a long time but Bear is doing so much better! We are absolutely thrilled with his recovery...although it's been very difficult on my husband & I. Of course Bear didn't seem to understand that he was hurt and couldn't do all the things he normal would do. He had so much pent up energy and we couldn't even walk him to get rid of it.


Luckily we made it through a very difficult month and Bear is almost 100%....I would say he's about 85%. He's back to doing most things he was able to do but I do limit his activity.

He is still on joint supplements and herbal mediation plus I do ice is elbow after he's been running a lot or playing with other dogs.

I highly recommend that if your dog has a freak injury like ours did to get a second opinion if you think the treatment or tests recommended seem unreasonable.

Unfortunately even though Bear is on the mend, he developed a fear of people as the emergency vet was quit rough with him. We are now having to do a ton of training to get him to trust humans again and I would say he is doing a lot better than he was in May. He's finally letting people pet him again and he's not so nervous walking into the vets office anymore.

Freak accidents happen but thank goodness for pet insurance...I will say that the Xrays and multiple visits to the vet cost A LOT! If you have a young pup that has high energy I would definitely recommend looking into some pet insurance.


Bear spent the day before his birthday at Pets in The Park. It was a local fund raiser for an animal shelter. He was a bit nervous when we first got there but relaxed after about 20min. He had so much fun visiting with other dogs and walking around the festival. It was great being around other dog owners who understood that Bear was a little shy and it took him some time to warm up to people.

However, near the end he was running right up to people and having a great time....I don't think he really wanted to leave. It was a very well organized event and I can't wait to go again next year.


Bear turned 1 years old on June 26th! I can't wait to see what this next year brings with our little guy.

Lets keep the cuteness going! Check out 7 Most Gorgeous Pug Mixes pictures.

Leave in the comments below what breed of dog you own.


Monday, July 3, 2017

June 2017 Favorites


My summers are all about quick, sweat proof makeup and hair. I like to enjoy as much of my summer outside as possible so I typically will do very minimal makeup in the warmer weather.

Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour Stick - I have rediscovered and fallen in love with the Contour & Highlight color from this trio. I find the cream formula to be very natural and easy to blend with a beauty blender. It's very quick to apply and gives you some dimension to your face.

Drybar Triple Sec - Textured quick hair has been my thing for the past month. Triple sec is still my favorite texture spray, I love to spray this in when I have either waves or curls in my hair.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream - I have heard people rave about this for so long but could never get my hands on it. Finally Ulta is now shipping to Canada so I was able to give this a shot. The color is a little light but this is a great CC Cream, by far my favorite I've tried so far. It is on the expensive side but I love the coverage it gives my skin and it's SPF 50+ which is great in the summer.

L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper - This is a similar product to the Benefit Gimmi Brow but a lot of more affordable. I feel like I was constantly running out of my Benefit product and it was costing a lot to do my brows everyday. This is a great drugstore dupe! The color is very similar to my brows and it helps them stay in place all day. Even when I'm doing minimal makeup I always make sure my brows are done....it just helps to frame your face and makes you look a little more put together.

Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo - I've talked about this before and I'm back using it again. This is my favorite dry shampoo by far. It leaves your hair feeling refreshed and clean. I use the light tones and it doesn't leave a white cast in my hair which is always a plus. Best dry shampoo! They also have a darker formula if you have darker hair.

What were your favorite products of June? Leave them in the comments below.