I’ve been doing a self-portrait project for the past year, and it’s been really eye-opening. I’ve basically been looking at photos of myself every single day for the past 332 days and counting (I’m trying to get to 365). One thing I’ve seen a lot of are the smile lines around my eyes. See?
But the more I’ve seen them, the more I like them. I mean, I know if I invested in the best wrinkle cream out there, they’d go away. But at this point, they’re part of who I am, and I like them.
Now, talk to me in about 20 years, and I may have a different opinion! 
I’ve never been one of those people that wears a lot of jewelry. I don’t own any fancy Couture Jewelry, and cheap jewelry makes me break out in ugly hives. Right now I’m even unable to wear my wedding ring because it’s bothering my middle finger, of all things (I have no idea).
The one piece of jewelry that I can wear on a day to day basis without issue is my engagement ring. It actually was my grandmother’s and I love it. I’m starting to wonder if my sentimental feelings toward it have warded off any issue with it. As long as my finger doesn’t start to itch, it’s not going anywhere.
Isn’t it weird where you find your favorite products? In my lifetime, I must have bought dozens and dozens of different lip balms (I’ve even written about one before!) but my absolute favorite is one I got for free.
The last time I got my teeth worked on at the dentist, the assistant coated my lips with lip balm before the procedure. Then afterward, she gave me the wee little mini lip balm to keep. This tiny little sample size of Chap Ice in the Citrus Orange flavor has lived in my purse ever since. It’s my prize possession – whenever I use it, I am extra careful to put it back in the purse, when I switch purses I always make sure it didn’t get left behind.
I think it’s a combination of how smooth the balm is with the particular flavor (think orange creamsicle) that make it my favorite. That, plus scarcity – I have never, ever been able to find a replacement anywhere, and now that I’ve moved hundreds of miles away from that particular dentist, it’s not like I can get more from him. I couldn’t even find a decent image of it online anywhere, so it’s either just sold in bulk to dentists or it doesn’t have much of a marketing budget behind it.
But it goe to show you, you never know where you’ll find your favorite product. Maybe your butcher can lead you to the best diet pills you ever tried, or your manicurist will lead you to a great steak restaurant. It’s good to keep an open mind!
I am having the hardest time finding a face lotion I like with sunscreen. The oil-free ones don’t moisturize enough, and the ones that moisturize feel like an oil slick on my skin. I tried one recently that’s supposed to reverse sun damage (since I haven’t been using sunscreen because I can’t find one I like, I figured that was a good idea) but I think it was responsible for the rash I got on my chin and neck. I don’t need lotions with acne treatments and I don’t need lotions to plump wrinkles.
Grr. I just need a lightweight, somewhat moisturizing lotion for normal skin that has a sunscreen in it, that won’t make me feel like I’m wearing a mask. I guess I’ll have to keep trying them out until I find that perfect formula.
It never fails that when I find a hair care product that I like, it will disappear from the shelves the week after I decide that it’s the perfect product for me. Dove used to carry a smoothing cream that was perfect for my hair – the only way it could have been better was some secret ingredient that doubled as a fat burner. Since its disappearance, I’ve tried four or five other products that have been OK, but not great.
I finally settled on L’oreal’s vive pro glossy style smooth gloss anti-frizz cream. There are so many words on the tube, I’m not quite sure what the official product name is vs. just product descriptions (hee!). I have to say, it’s a little heavy and I have to be very careful how much I use in the morning, since my hair isn’t particularly “frizzy.” But my hair is very fine and has a tendency to get all fly-away crazy if I don’t use a smoothing cream – but if I use too much, it weighs it down.
I admit that if Dove ever brought back its smoothing cream, I’d switch back in a heartbeat. But in the meantime, I (finally!) found a very good alternative.
I’ve never had gorgeous fingernails. I have super soft nails that are prone to peeling, so they’re always very short and usually in very poor shape. I’ve been trying to make a concious effort to keep them looking better, so I’ve been buying new nail polishes when I see them on sale.
One of my favorite finds is Sally Hansen’s Insta Dry nail polish. My faovite shade is called “Pink Breeze” that I picked up at Target recently. I can’t seem to find that shade online anywhere – the closest I could find is called “Petal Pusher” but it’s a little more pink than the shade have.
But it’s more than just the shade. This polish dries super fast, which I love because I hate to put off knitting while I wait for my polish to dry. The brush is really nicely designed – it’s flat and rounded, almost like a makeup brush for your nails. The shape is making it much easier for my clumsy hands to coat each nail evenly and neatly.
For this nail polish non-expert, I really like this one. Just thought I’d share!
This is going to sound weird, but I’m thinking that I’d like to get some new makeup.
I haven’t worn make up for quite a while now, and I’m not sure what is prompting this. But I’ve been looking at the Bare Escentuals kit at Sephora for awhile now, and I’m really, really curious. I like the fact that it’s SPF 15 but not a lotion. Plus, it looks easy to use.
What’s holding me back is basically, I’m cheap frugal. I usually just buy the drugstore makeup when I buy makeup at all. The last time I bought fancy makeup was because I had some gift cards to use. Hmmm. I think a trip to Sephora is in order to try this out in person before I make a decision. We shall see.
I know I already wrote about a fragrance I like from Bath & Body Works, but this is a limited time holiday scent so I had to write about it now before it was gone forever.
Or until next year. Whatever.
I picked up the shower gel and body creme in the Twisted Peppermint scent on a whim from Bath & Body Works, and I can’t get enough of them. The minty aroma is sparkling, but not cloying. It has an undertone of white sugar so it’s not too overwhelming. In fact, if I had to describe it, I’d say it smelled an awful lot like a York Peppermint Patty – sweetly minty. If that’s not your thing, this isn’t the scent for you.
I also have to say that using this shower gel in a steamy shower really wakes you up – think of the nice contrast of a steamy shower and the cool mint. It’s a refreshing combination on a Monday morning when you can barely open your eyes.
I will say, though, that I wish they offered the scent in their moisturizing body wash formula instead of just a “shimmering” shower gel. I almost didn’t try it, but the sales assistant let me know that the shimmer is really only visible in the bottle, not on your skin (and she was right). Still, though, in the winter my dry skin prefers the moisturizing body wash. The body creme, though, does help my skin after the shower. Plus, it helps the smell of the minty goodness linger for a while (hmmmm.).
Recently, I had to buy new blush for the first time in YEARS. I didn’t have a clue what color to get, so I threw myself on the mercy of the girl at the cosmetics counter.
She gave me the following tip about choosing a blush color:
Make a fist with your hand. Squeeze it as tight as you can for at least 10 seconds or so (counting slowly). Then, release your fist and hold your hand flat, palm up.
The color of your fingertips is your natural cheek “blush” color. If you’re looking for a very natural blush look, just use your fingertip color as a guide and choose a blush color that closely resembles the color of your fingertips.
I tried this little experiment, and purchased a blush as close to my fingertip color as I could find. The result is that it looks like I have color in my cheeks (for a change – I’m naturally vampiric) but it doesn’t look artificial.
Now, I’m fair-skinned, so I’m not sure how this routine will work with folks who have darker skin tones than I have – your mileage may vary. But this worked for me, and I’m passing it along for anyone who may want another way to choose a hermetically sealed blush from the drugstore. Go forth and be cheeky!
When it comes to soaps, perfumes and lotions, people seem to gravitate toward a set of scents that they like. Some folks like woodsy herbals, some folks like clean ocean scents, and there are those that like cottony floral scents.
Me, I like fruity scents. The problem, though, is that many of the fruity scents on the market lean toward teeny-boppery scents. Think Bonne Bell Lipsmackers – great for the locker room set, but not really grown-up enough for me.
One fruity scent I’ve found that I do really like is “Midnight Pomegrantate” from Bath & Body Works Signature Collection. It’s fruity, but it has an underlying woodsy scent that really ups the sophistication level.
In fact, I just checked the Bath & Body Works website, where they have a super-detailed description of the scent:
- Fragrance Top Notes: Pomegranate, Sparkling Citrus, Dewberry, Anise, Cinnamon, Nutmeg
- Fragrance Mid Notes: Cassis, Black Berry, Iris, Jasmine, Raspberry
- Fragrance Base Notes: Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tobacco, Patchouli
I’m kind of shocked at the patchouli, since that usually is not my fave. But combined, all of these notes add up to a fruity but sophisticated fragrance. Love it.
