Monday, May 7, 2018

Where Are They Now? May 2016 Favorites

May 2016


May 2018


Here's a look back at my May 2016 - if you want to take a look back at my original post you can click May 2016 Monthly Favorites 

I love doing these posts, because I am constantly trying products it lets me reflect on some forgotten products I've tried in the past. 

Loreal True Match Lumi Cushion & YSL Alll in One BB Creme - I've tried so many different foundations since May 2016. Right now I'm using the Dermablend Camo which I mention in  my April 2018 Favorites, you can check out that post for details. 

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I still sometimes add this into my routine but as I mentioned in my 2016 post this is a product I go back and forther on. Right now I'm not using it but I am using the Max Fix+, I also carry a baby Fix+ in my purse in case I need to touch up on the go. 

Diorshow Iconic Overcurl - I still love this mascara but I feel like I've been trying more drugstore mascara than highend. Mascara is something you use up so quickly....and even if you don't you should be replacing it every six months because of the bacteria that builds up. Right now I've been using the Covergirl Lashblast Volume. I love how thick and full this makes my lashes look plus it's cheap. 

Z Palette & Makeup Geek Eyeshadows - I still love Makeup Geek - the only difference is my collection has REALLY grown since 2016. I now have a dedicated palette for my contour/blush from Makeup Geek, currently I have Breakup, Spell Bound and (of course) Bliss...but not the same one. For eyeshadows I have a XL palette and a smaller palette. I tend to routine my eyeshadows depending on the look I'm going for. I have expanded my color selection so I can mix and match on a daily basis. 

Infusium 23 Repair & Renew Heat Tamer - I find that since I've been looking after my hair it's not as damaged as it once was in 2016. I've moved on from the Infusium which I found to be very intense treatment. Now I use the Joico Daily Care Leave in Detangler follow by my OGX heat protecting products which I mention in my March 2018 Favorites, you can check out that post for more details.

BaByliss Pro Rapido - This is still my hairdryer, I haven't tried anything new because this hair dryer is AMAZING! 

Let me know if you've enjoyed hearing about my old favorites in the comment below. Have you tried any of these products? 



Monday, April 30, 2018

April Favorites 2018


I haven't been happy with my old foundation routine so in April I changed everything! I found my last foundation color wasn't matching me right, there was dry patches clinging and peeling during the day, my pores seemed to be enlarged...it just looked overall gross. So I decided to start from scratch - these are my April favorites and my new foundation routine.

Pixi Rose Flash Balm - This was a very interesting product because it has multiple purposes. It claims to be a 3-1 moisturizer+primer+mask. I've been using it as a primer and it is VERY hydrating. My skin has been so dry and gross which has been affecting how my makeup looks. This has been wonderful in hydrating my skin and preping my face for makeup. LOVE LOVE LOVE

NYX Pore Filler - Normally enlarged pores aren't an issue I struggle with. But for whatever reason my skin has decided to go crazy this last month and my pores around my nose has been an issue. My makeup doesn't sit right during the day and just looks blah. I use this filler in around my nose area and it just blurs all those imperfections you don't want seeping through. Works great with the Pixi Rose Flash Balm.

Dermablend Smooth Liquid Camo Medium Coverage Foundation - I haven't changed my foundation in a while so I didn't know where to start. I did a ton of research and came across this Dermablend foundation. I find that with my dry & pale skin it's hard to track down a foundation that truly works for me. I constantly struggle with color matching or the foundation being too matte or being too dry or moving around. This is a no fuss foundation. I put it on in the morning and I don't have to touch my face throughout the day.....yet it doesn't dry out my skin or cling to dry patches. It works amazing with the two primers I've been using and the color matches me! I use the lightest shade Linen 0C. This covers all my imperfections and uneven skin tone yet it's very skin like and still lets my freckles show through. It has an in between look of makeup and skin that I find very flattering.

Overall I have been extremely happy with this new trio foundation routine.

Leave in the comments below what your current foundation routine has been.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Lifestyle Update | Bear & Diesel





My last update about Bear & Diesel seems like a long time ago! I posted Living With Two Dogs about mid December...so much has happened since then. 

Bear and Diesel both went in for surgery two days after Christmas - they are now spayed and neutered...Merry Christmas! It was a tough time healing for both dogs. We had to keep them quite and of course they both just wanted to run around and play. We also couldn't walk them for about 2 weeks which they are didn't like. Both dogs healed up nicely and they are back to their old rambunctious ways.

Diesel has grown SOOOO much since my last update. I keep looking back at old pictures and miss those times we had with her were she was so tiny. She's now 10 months and about 50lbs. She's still shorter than Bear and I'm not sure how much more she's going to grow but she'll definitely fill out more - she's still very skinny.  

Bear has also surprised us and did another growth spurt after getting neutered. He's now close to 80lbs and I noticed that he's taller than our coffee table!

Both dogs are still in training, they are doing really well at loose leash walking together but of course some days they are more cooperative than others. We've had a little bit of off leash training with them and they have done amazing! I'm a little nervous to take them back to the off leash...Bear has become very overprotective of Diesel...so our training was just done in a big open field. 

Diesel attended some puppy social classes. We found that because she didn't get to go to the off leash much like Bear did when he was younger she wasn't very well socialized around dogs. We did puppy social for about 3 months straight and she is much better around dogs. We frequent pet stores with both of them so they can be around other dogs on leash - also we find pet stores a great place to do some training with some distractions. 

We are really looking forward to having an awesome summer with these two - last year we couldn't enjoy our summer because of Bear's leg injury. If you don't know what I'm referring to you can check out Bear's 1 Year Update where I talk about his accident and was diagnosed with chronic lameness.

I want to hear from all you dog lovers out there - what is your most favorite thing to do during the summer with your fur babies?  



Friday, April 13, 2018

5 Tips To Stay Active


Life has been crazy busy - can you relate? Sometimes it's hard to find time to workout and stay active. Lately I haven't had the time to stick to a full time workout plan, so here are 5 ways I've been trying to stay active daily

1. Including the dogs - my dogs need exercise everyday too so why not include them! Bear has really enjoyed heading out for a run here and there. It's nice to mix up our walking routine with a run.....plus he's very tiered afterward which means I can get more work done around the house while he naps.

2. Wear a step counter - I'm not a typical "fitbit" user...honestly I prefer Garmin products. I wear my Garmin step counter everyday, this helps motive me to try to aid for 8,000-10,000 steps per day. Sometimes when I'm on conference calls I will pace around my home office to get in a few more steps. 

3. Park far away - when I'm out and about running errands I park far away from the door. This way I have to walk a little bit more - plus my car doesn't get dinged as much because there's no one else parked around me.

4. Workout during commercials - I feel like this is an oldie but a goodie. I've heard this says so much but it really works! Just even getting up and doing some squats, push ups, stretching .... just get moving during that 3min commercial break. 

5. Schedule - working from home I find I don't take as many breaks as I should - so I schedule them. If it's in my schedule I'm more likely to follow through. 

How do you stay active? Tell me your secrets in the comments below.



Monday, April 2, 2018

March 2018 Favorites







March has been a very busy month for myself and my family. It has been a month of very minimal makeup and just focusing on my skin care and self health. For all my skincare favorites make sure to check out my updated skincare routine for 2018.

I have discovered a new brand for some amazing hair care products - well new to me. I've added a few products from OGX and they have been amazing. Their spray mousse gives me so much volume when blow drying and what I really like is it doesn't leave your hair feel dirty. I hate using volumizing products straight out of the shower that make your hair feel dirty...what was the point of showering!?! I like my hair to feel clean but still have tons of volume for styling. This has a great nozzle that I can spray the product directly in hair and then I can use my hands to really work the mousse in.

The other two products from OGX are thermal protecting cream and spray. My favorite thermal spray is discounted (of course!) and is no longer available. I've been on the hunt for a new one and I love these. I alternate between the two, one is supposed to blow dry your hair faster and the other one is a thicker formula which I feels protects my hair better. It depends on how much time I have to style my hair. Both are great products and they are very similar.

My Beauty Blender finally wore out and I went to purchase a new one...but at the last minute changed my mind and out the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges. I have used this sponge in the past and did really enjoy it - PLUS it's way cheaper and I found this 4 pack which was a great price! I have two sponges on the go, I like to use one for foundation and then a clean one for powdering. Now that I've switched back to this sponge I think I like it over the Beauty Blender. I think this sponge has a better shape and I like the flat edge when I'm trying to build up coverage.

The few times I have used foundation this month I've been reaching for the LA Girl Pro Coverage foundation in white to lighten my foundation. Because I'm the whitest person on the planet I have a hard time find foundations that match me. Usually this means I wont buy a lot of really great foundations because of their color selecting. With a mixer you can adjust the color to fit your skin. I find this mixer doesn't really change the formula too much but I only use 1-2 pumps.

I haven't changed my primer in a very long time. But I discovered the Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer. This claims to be a primer + moisturizer which peaked my attention. I have very dry skin so anything that says moisturizing I have to try! It says this has hyaluronic acid and if you read my updated skincare blog post you would have seen that I use The Ordinary hyaluonic acid with my moisturizer and I've been loving the results. This is definitely a primer I would only recommend to dry skin - I think if you had combination or oily skin your foundation would slide off your face. This feels very hydrating and my foundation sits amazing over top. I wouldn't say it increases longevity of foundation so you will want to powder or use a foundation that's long lasting.

Have you tried any of these products? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Take care and thanks for vising!

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Things I'm Leaving Behind in 2017


Here's to a New Year.

2017 was difficult my me and my family. In the past year my husband and I have tried to overcome many obstacles within our personal life and with his own health struggles. Year after year it seems that our relationship is tested and with every overcoming test our relationship strengthens. While we've been so wrapped up in ourselves the year seemed to just fly by and I don't feel as though I accomplished a lot.

It was a quiet year on my blog, as I post little bits and pieces of my own life on this blog I'm not going to start posting about other people or struggles between myself and my husband on here. My husband is an extremely private person and doesn't like to be present on a lot of social media platforms. He's been struggling this past two years with an injury that hasn't allowed him to go back to work and we've been fighting with the insurance company so he can get the best treatment possible.

I've been saying a lot in 2017 "I don't have time for people who wish to bring negative energy to my life", I've been much more choosy about who I've been spending my time with. So here's a list of things I'm trying to give up this year so my family and I can be happier, to help shed the weight on our hearts and to have more peace going forward.

1. Give up the need to impress others
2. Give up complaining
3. Give up the need to control the uncontrollable
4. Give up the need to always be right
5. Give up blaming others
6. Give up excuses
7. Give up negative attachments
8. Give up toxic relationships
9. Give up the saying "I'm too busy"
10. Give up my fears

I'm hoping for a year of lighter hearts, I wish to take more quality time to spend with my family, I want to smile, laugh and do more things that I love but continue to put off because "I'm too busy". It's time to take the focus off of the negative and put more energy into my family. It's time to slow down and enjoy all the positive things in life.

Here's to all the good times ahead - HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Monday, January 8, 2018

Updated Skin Care Routine 2018


This continues to be my post popular blog post of the year! Everyone seems to be very curious to see what my updated skincare routine is. I only post these sort of blog posts once a year, if you want to check out my Updated Skincare Routine from last year for reference you will see A LOT of my skincare products have changed - a few goodies that have worked really well for me have stuck around.

For reference I have extremely dry skin all year round.


First thing in the morning I wash my face. I'm still using my Clarisonic plus but my face wash has changed. I found the last one stripped too much moisture from my face. In 2017 I discovered the dermalogica special cleansing gel. This has been great for cleansing my face but not leaving it with that dry stripped feeling.

On days that I want to exfoliate my face I have been using the Tarte Frxxxtion Stick. It's great at removing any excess dry skin I might have. At most I will use this twice a week.


Immediately after I will moisturize my face. Starting with eye cream I've switched to The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG. I was hesitant to use this as it's a liquid and not a cream, I didn't think it would  moisturize my under eye enough but I was WRONG. This is will moisturize, smooth out fine lines and reduce under eye bags. You want a very small amount day and night.

Next I have added in The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 for some extra moisture under my face cream. Then I layer my trusty Clinique Moisture Surge Intense - make sure if you try this you get the INTENSE not just the regular. The intense is much more rich and feels like velvet. I find that makeup just glides over my face with this face combo.


At night I wash my face with the same products as I did in the morning.

Then I follow that up with my night routine...don't get overwhelmed by the amount of products in the pictures - I don't use all of these every night.

I start with my same eye cream by The Ordinary that I used in the AM. Next I put on The Ordinary "Buffet", this is supposed to be an anti aging product that helps with dryness, fine lines, wrinkles, dullness and uneven texture.

Next I pick one or two oils to put on my face. The ones I have in rotation right now are all from The Ordinary.

Finally I follow that up with my lash serum that I'm still not using consistently but I find that it does make my lashes stronger and longer if used everyday.


BONUS PRODUCTS - These I tend to use 2-3 times a week. When every I feel my skin needs a little extra treatment I turn to these three products.

Sephora Mud Mask Purifying and Mattifying is great is you have any texture or blemishes you want to get rid of. This is a very drying mask so make sure to moisturize immediately afterwards.

Dermalogica Skin Hydration Masque is great for when I need a little extra hydration boot to my skin.

Under the eye I've been using Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Hydra-Gel Eye Patches. These are great for moisturizing and smoothing any wrinkles.

That's it! It seems as though my collection has grown since last year but it really hasn't gotten anymore complicated. Let me know if the comments below if these are any other products you would recommend my for dry skin.