April 2017 Favorites

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 - I got my very first Ordinary order in the month of April and so far I have loved every single product I've ordered from them. I've been using the Hyaluronic Acid in the morning before I put on my moisturizer and my dry skin definitely has been feeling more hydrated. 

Tarte Frxxxtion Stick - This I've also been using in the mornings before I was my face. This is a facial cleanings stick that also exfoliates your face. I love the packaging, you rub the stick on your face instead of using your hands which I love. 

Benefit Hello Flawless - I decided to try a new powder this month and I picked this one up by Benefit. It took my three different tries to get my color just right but once I did I fell in love with this powder. It's not too heavy on the skin and has a very natural finish. 

Dior Forever Foundation - I decided to pick this up after hearing Jaclyn Hill rave about this foundation in several videos. I have very similar skin to hers - dry - most of her skincare and foundations recommendations work perfectly for me. I finally used up the last of my Becca foundation and instead of repurchasing it I pick this up instead. It is very natural and has great coverage. A big plus for me is this foundation do not move on my face! I don't typically set my foundations with a lot of powder as I am on the dry side so I need a foundation that doesn't need to be set in order to stay in place. Highly recommend giving this a try for dry skin. 

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG - The Ordinary defiantly has some interesting names for their products but don't let that scare you away from trying any. This is the eye product I've been using day and night. It is defiantly the most affordable eye product I have every used but it has a different formula. This is an oil that comes in a dropper. I use one drop for each eye and honestly my under eye area has never looked better. This has decreased my fine lines and brightened up my under eye. Most eye creams I've purchased in the past have ran be about $65, this one cost me $6.70!

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Moroccan Argan Oil - This is a very similar to the Josie Maran Argan Oil. I've tried this out on both my skin and my hair and I love it. It gives me the same restuls as the Josie Maran oil but the price tag is a HUGE difference. 50ml of the Josie Maran will cost $60 compared to 30ml of The Ordinary is $6.80.

The Ordinary defiantly dominated most of my new loves this month....I should also mention that all you have to do is spend over $25 with The Ordinary and your shipping is free! I definitely plan on ordering way more products from this company and doing their own dedicated blog post. If you've tried any products from The Ordinary please feel free to leave your recommendations below. Make sure you are subscribed so you can keep up to date with all my new blog posts. 

June Monthly Favorites | Ms Pam Blam

June has been a crazy busy month! To check out what I've been doing make sure you read my June Life Update post.

Most of the products I've been loving for June are fairly new...and a lot of them are Josie Maran. Her products have been in my everyday routine and I have been loving every single item! She has an amazing line and I've just fallen in love with so many products.

First up is her Whipped Mud Mask's, I found these on Sephora and I bought a sample pack were you get every single scent in a mini 0.5oz size to try out. I originally bought this thinking that each mask did something different but they actually all do the same thing, the only difference is the scents. I will say they do all have their own individual feeling and my skin has different results depending on which one I use. My two current favorites are Cucumber aloe and Vanilla Apricot. I haven't found many review on this mask so I do plan on doing a fully dedicated blog post on this product so please subscribe and stay tuned.

I will say that unlike most mud masks that leave your skin feeling dried out after using them, this mask makes my skin feel silky soft and hydrated. If your a dry skin girl like me that a HUGE plus! There have been a few times after using this mask that I didn't even both to moisturize because my skin felt so hydrated after.

Next has been a product that I've used for months and months. This is the Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil. I've been using this product since last year and it is still a must have for me. I love using this on non make days to give my skin an extra moisture boost! I've stopped wearing this product under makeup because I feel it diminishes the longevity of my makeup throughout the day. I do, however, put this on every night before bed instead of a night cream. Serious must have in my skincare!

The last Josie Maran product that I've been loving is the Argan Matchmaker Powder Foundation, I have the color fair/light. This is an amazing foundation powder! With it being summer and so hot I've been getting away from my traditional full face of makeup. Mainly I've been either wearing just a powder foundation (they are so quick and easy to apply) or I've been laying this over top of my YSL BB cream. This powered looks great either way. It just blends and melts into my skin giving me a natural, your skin looks amazing look. It has argan mixed in with it and I really do feel that this doesn't dry out my skin like most powders. It adjusts and matches your skin tone perfectly regardless if I get a little bit of color in the summer. This is great and eliminates the need for me to have two or three different colors. I also use this product in conjunction with the next product...

Next up is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir....another product that has been seen a lot on my blog. I just can't get enough! My skin loves this Beauty Elixir-especially in the summer time. I spray this on before powdering and it just helps melt my powder into my face and gives me a more natural look. I absolutely love the fact that Caudalie changed the spray nozzle, the only one really gave me problems and it wasn't a very consistent spray....the new one is amazing and I love it so much!

My go to perfume for the past few months has been the Prada Candy. This has been a great spring/summer scent and as you can see I've used a lot of it! This is going so fast and I get so many complements when wearing this-always a plus! I'm not very good at describing scents but it's a very sweet/fruity smell.

Moving onto some hair products, I've been using the Wella Leave in Conditioning Spray every time I get out of the shower. For what ever reason I've noticed that since going blonde my hair gets extra tangled - especially after I get out of the shower. I don't want to create any extra damage on my hair trying to sort it out with my comb so I've been using this product and it's really helped me detangle my hair.

Lastly another hair love, this is the Moroccanoil Treatment, my hair just drinks this stuff up! Again since going blonde my hair has gone through a huge change. It's very dehydrated and it has a thirst for oils. I use this oil after I get out of the shower and after I use hot tools. My hair just drinks this oil up and gives it a shiny look to my hair. It really saved my hair right after I bleached it, I think I went through half a bottle!

What were your favorite beauty products for the month of June? Please leave them in the comments below.

April 2016 Monthly Favorites

 This months favorites are all over the place....but oh well here we go! This is what I've been loving for the month of April.

Summer is right around the corner....I am so excited for spending time outside enjoying the sun! Because I'm so fair I need a little help getting my tan started. I love to use Jergens Natural Glow on my legs just to give them a nice healthy glow. I use this twice a week and it gives a very nice color. 

In March I decided to dye my hair blonde....I've been loving the change in color but my hair has definitely dried out from the bleach. This has really saved my hair, this is the Moroccanoil treatment, I use it once a day mainly on my ends. My hair just drinks in the stuff and keeps it hydrated.

My favorite perfume  has been discounted!!! I used to love the SPJ NCY perfume, it was very sweet and everyone would complement me when I wore it. It has taken me a really long time to find something else that I like because I am very picky. After 3 trips to Sephora I finally found the Prada Candy. This is a very yummy smelling perfume and I've gotten a few complements when wearing this.

My skin decided to have some sort of reaction in the month of April....not sure what happen but it got really red itchy. The next two products really saved me. First off is the Sunday Riley Luna Night oil, this really seemed to calm my skin down and get it back under control but once it calmed down it got really dry....which is where the next product came into play.

As soon as I started to notice my skin getting really dried out I grabed my Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil. This is a VERY moisturizing oil and it helped get my skin back to normal. I started using the Luna oil every night, I would put it on and let it sit for 10min. Then ontop of my Luna oil I would add the Argan oil. INSTANT results! The next day my skin was already looking better and after 1 week it was back to normal. These two oils make the perfect dream team for my skin.

Next up is a product I keep starting and stopping - but I'm back to loving it again. This is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, I don't know what it is about this spray but I love to use it after my foundation and before powder. I don't know what it is about this but it makes my powder go on amazing and my face looks absolutely flawless. I've tried so many other sprays thinking it will do the same thing but it never does.

The reason my brows looked so good in April - Benefit Gimme Brow. This is a great product, the wand is really small and is perfect for giving you amazing and natural looking brows.

This has been in many of my favorites and it's still my favorite concealer, this is the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer. I use it under my eyes and it seriously staying put all day! Best concealer I've ever used.

Along with my concealer I've started using again the BareMinerals Concealer Powder in Well Rested. This is a great powder to set your under eye concealer. It makes your concealer last long and wont crease....plus the Well Rested has a yellow color to it so it will also brighten up your under eye are. 

That's it for my monthly favorites, thank you so much for stopping by and make sure to leave in the comments below what your April monthly favorites were this month. 

Product Empties September 2015

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Smooth Shave Gel with Soy Extracts - This was an OK shaving gel but the bottom of the container rusted and left a ring in my tub which I was not impressed with. I don't think I will repurchase this for that reason

Lancome Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover - This was a great eye makeup removed. I got these tiny samples from Sephora by redeeming some of my points. I am trying a new eye makeup removed but I don't know if it works as good as this one

Fresh Rose Hydrating Eye Gel Cream - This was my favorite eye cream...that is until I tried the Fresh lotus eye cream. This one is a very light weight eye cream and I wanted something a little bit richer. This really was a great cream and I did enjoy it while it lasted but I wont repurchase, I'll be sticking with the lotus cream (I've already gone through 2 jars)

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex - I've gone through 4 jars of this cream...it's amazing. I have VERY dry skin so I do mix this with a beauty oil and my skin just drinks in the moisture. Highly recommend this face cream!

Cover FX Natural Finish Oil Free Foundation - I know a lot of people love this foundation but it just wasn't my thing. I found this sat on top of my skin and looked like I was wearing makeup, I prefer something more natural looking. I wont be repurchasing this

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Eye Cream - I thought I could cheap out on my skin care and just pick something up from the drugstore....but I really didn't like this eye cream. It was greasy and just sat under my eyes. I had to wipe this off with a tissue before applying my makeup

NeoStrata Intense Anti-Aging Eye Cream Fruit Stem Cells - I got this little baby sample with the purchase of my Neostrata eye lash serum, this was an ok eye cream. I was using it as a night time cream because it was a little greasy. I didn't end up repurchasing it

Josie Maran 100 percent Pure Argan Oil - this is a great oil! I used it for a couple different things (mixing with foundation, on the ends of my hair, on my face, ect) This is such a versatile product the things you can do with this oil is endless and I think therefore makes it worth every penny!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - I know a lot of people love this mascara but it just wasn't for me. This was a little baby sample from Sephora, I used it up but I won't be repurchasing the full size. I didn't find anything amazing or spectacular about the formula or brush...it just seemed like a regular mascara so I'll save my money  

 

Product Empties July 2015

Here is what's in my beauty trash for the month:

Starting on the top row on the left hand side

Bausch+Lomb Biotrue: This is the contact solution and I think this has already bee in an empties. I love this contact solution it was recommend to me by my optometrist, it's the only contact solution I will ever use.

Aveeno Baby wash & shampoo: I use this as a brush cleaner and it has been great. It leaves my brushes clean and soft, I even use this to clean my beauty blender as I am allergic to the beauty blender cleanser.

Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunscreen Spray: I do not like rubbing in sunscreen so I always pick something that you just have to spray on. This sunscreen is great and I love using it when I'm working out and know I'm going to be sweating. I went through a few bottles last year and unfortunately this one isn't empty but it did expire. I have already picked up a replacement for the summer time.

Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water: I used this with a cotton pad to take off my makeup. I love that is has a pump so you don't waste product. It does a great job at taking off face makeup...but not eye makeup. You do need a second makeup remover just for the eyes. I haven't repurchased a new one because I am trying out some new products but if they don't work out I will be going back to this.

London Drugs Vanilla Bubbling Body Bath: Bubble bahts are my favorite! This was on sale at London Drugs so I picked up a couple. This is great for bath time!

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light: I bought this in a set from Sephora where you got the 100% argan oil and the 100% light argan oil. It was a great value and you got to try both oils. I prefer the regular 100% oil, I will not be repurchasing the light.

got2b volumizing styling powder: I bought this powder in hopes that it would give my hair some volume. This is a white powder that shows up in my brunette hair, it is really messy and gets everywhere! I don't feel its very voluminous...I would not repurchase this product.

Maybelline Great Lash: I was using this for my brows and I thought it was a great product....that was until I tried the Anastasia clear brow gel. I am not going to repurchase this for my brows.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum: This is another product I would not repurchase. This is a very light eye serum and I like a heavy eye cream at night. I am trying out a new product and I think I like it better. I will not be repurchasing this serum.

Living Proof Prime Style Extender Spray: I like that this is a spray, I don't like getting a lot of product on my hands. I feel that this is a very gimmicky product. I don't feel it helps my style last longer at all. My hair style lasts the same with or without using the spray.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Water-Light Daily Face Sunscreen: Another product that isn't empty but it was expired. I was using this product every day last year during summer. It's a great sunscreen for your face but since this is expired and I need to get rid of it I'm going to experiment with new sunscreens this summer. I may or may not repurchase this depending on what I try.

Bath&Body Works anti-bacterial hand gel: I am someone who keeps hand gel in the purse 24/7. This is a great hand gel because it smells good, great travel size and doesn't dry out your hands too much. I have repurchased these in a few different scents. This sent was warm vanilla sugar....it was a great scent.

Vaseline Lip Therapy: This was a lifesaver in the winter! My lips were so dry this past winter that no lip product was working. This is great if you are having extremely dry and cracked lips. It really saved me, I went through a few of these. Now that it's the summer my lips are as dried so I'm using a different product at the moment but I may go back to this during the winter again, I will have to see how things go.

That's my beauty trash for the month! I hope you enjoyed

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.

March 2015 Favorites

Yes, it's that time again! With the end of the month comes my favorites of the month.

1) Estee Lauder Double wear concealer/ Maybelline Fit Me concealer - this concealer combo has been AMAZING! I love the Estee Lauder concealer but it's very heavy under the eye, I love the Maybelline concealer finish but it doesn't give me enough coverage. Put them together and you get the perfect concealers. First I put down the Estee Lauder concealer and then cover it with the Maybelline to get that great natural looking finish. I've also been using Estee Lauder concealer with some translucent powder on my eye lids for my primer.

2) Simple face lotion - I discovered this product late in the month and it is all thank you to Ingrid Nilsen and her "My Skincare Routine!" video. She raved about how amazing this lotion was so on my next trip to the drugstore I deiced to pick some up and she was right! Best face lotion ever! I feel in love right away.

3) Tart clean slate timesless smoothing primer - this is just a baby sample that I got from Sephora and I'm going to be heading back to purchase the full size. I just use a very tiny portion on this primer and i focus the products just on my cheeks and around my nose were I have large pores...it's amazing and just blurs them into your skin. I wear this even if i don't have foundation on that day.

4) Josie Maran 100% pure argan oil - still loving my Argan oil, I've had the regular 100% and light for a few months now. The light has been tucked into the back on my closet but I'm still using the 100% in my hair and mixing it with my foundation to give me a dewy glow on the skin. You can use this very sparingly, this little bottle I use everyday and I still have about half left.

5) T25/family walks - my March fitness routine consisted of T25 and tons of family walks! I love this program because I only have to workout for 25min, great for busy people and I'm so far LOVING the results I'm getting. Now you only have to do this program 5 times a week but I like to be active daily. On the 2 days I don't workout I've been going for long family walks which have been so much fun!

What product favorites did you have this month?

Current Hair Care Routine

My hair care routine has become very short, sweet and simple. I used to load my hair up with products but I found that I had to then I had to wash it very frequently plus it would never style properly. Now I've cut out a lot of products and I just use two.

First I towel dry my hair as soon as I get out of the shower with a soft microfiber towel. Then I let my hair air dry as I do other things like moisturize and brush my teeth. Next I spray its a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin in my hair and brush is through with a Tangle Teaser.

Next I put about a quarter size amount of Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil in my palm and rub my hands together. Then I distribute the product throughout my hair but mainly focus on the ends of my hair. Finally I brush through my hair once more with a Tangle Teaser and I'm done.

My hair is prepped and ready to blow dry and style how I want for the day! Since I've changed up my hair care routine I've gotten a ton of complements on how healthy and shiny my hair looks. The argan oil doesn't make my hair look greasy one bit! Just make sure to keep in away from the roots. I can typically go without washing my hair for 2-3 days, just make sure you invest in a good dry shampoo.

10 Ways To Use Argan Oil

Since picking up the Argan Oil and Argan Oil light from Sephora, I've found TONS of ways to  use this product. Here are some ways that I recommend using it:

1) Mix it with your foundation to give you a dewy finish

2) Use it instead of a night cream, let your face drink in that moisture

3) Put in your hair after a shower as a leave in conditioner

4) Make your own lip scrub with it

5) Rub some on your cuticles

6) Before bed rub on dry or cracked heals

7) Tame frizz and add shine to your hair by putting it in your hair after it's been dried and styled

8) Add a couple drops to your bath and let your body soak in the moisture

9) Minimize stretch marks from your pregnancy by rubbing this on your belly

10) Replace the oil with your daily moisturizer and put your foundation on top


What are your favorite ways to use Argan oil?

January 2015 Favorites

 January favorites time!!! Here's what I used a lot during the month on January.

 I love the new year because I get to pick out a new agenda. I picked a really simple one this year with big font. I love it so far!

This week I'm finishing P90X, I loved this workout and I'm moving onto a new beachbody workout. If you haven't tried a beachbody workout yet I would highly recommend them. To purchase you can go to Beachbody's website by clicking here these are great workouts that give you results without the gym. I will be doing a blog post this Friday with my final thoughts on the workout so if you are interested on that check back this Friday.

With starting my new program I picked up some Shakeology. I've been using this in the morning because I do my workouts in the morning. This has been great! It has some amazing ingredients if you want to purchase is go to Shakeology's website by clicking here but I'll let you in on a secret.... Buy this as a "challenge pack" basically its a workout DVD of your choice plus the skakeology, it's a better bang for your buck. To purchase a challenge pack you can head over to Beachbody's website by clicking here.

I've still been using the Fiber 3D mascara, it has been great! I did a whole review on this product so if you want to check that out just Click Here

 This month I've been loving my brows. I've still been using Anastasia products, they have been amazing.

 As always I had to include my Beauty Blender. This always makes my makeup look flawless.

 This is a new product for me. This is argan oil, in both light and the 100% from Sephora. This was a great purchase, each is 15ml and think it was about $25 for both. I am going to do a blog post next week on all the things you can do with argan oil. Check back next week if you are curios.

Finally I've been using my Sensationail LED light a lot. I've been using the color "ocean sparkle". Its a really cool dark green color with sparkle. I did a whole review on this starter kit, if you want to check that out click here

I hope you try out some of my favorites. What are your favorites of the month? I would love to try them out. Please let me know in the comments below.