Cold Weather Care ♡ Winter Products

It's officially winter now, one of my favorite seasons, and the cold weather tends to take a beating on all skin and especially hair. These are my favorite products to keep them in shape!

| Philosophy Peppermint Bark Shower Gel | $8.50
This is technically also a bubble bath and shampoo, but I mainly use it for washin' my bod. Not only does this stuff smell exactly like peppermint bark, one of my favorite treats, but it also has a recipe for bark right on the bottle! Granted, I haven't tried it, but if it tastes as good as this smells it's worth it. This isn't necessarily a must-have for moisturization, but I love using wintery smelling products to keep up festivity.

| Yes to Cucumbers Daily Calming Moisturizer | $14.99
This is my go-to year round, but I use it religiously during colder months. It reduces redness, which is amazing for paler skin when the sun isn't blessing us, and it's hydrating enough to keep my skin from getting dry patches. When I do get them I love using my DIY Lemonade Scrub. Bye, bye, dry! (too cheesy?)

| J.R. Watkins Hand and Cuticle Salve in Aloe and Green Tea | $8.99
I love applying this well to my hands and cuticles at night to moisturize and heal them from the sharp air that day and prep for the next day. This stuff takes a while to absorb so give it some time! A little also goes a long a way, which is nice since hands need a little extra TLC right now. I've been using it since before April, when I posted my Nail Care Routine!

| Julep MIGHTY Nail and Cuticle Serum | $12.99
I was never much into specifically caring for my cuticles until I unboxed this guy from my Julep back in August. This is a metal tube with a twist that dispenses product into a brush, making application easy peasy. This doesn't have much of a smell which is nice, and I can see a noticeable difference in my cuticles almost immediately.

| One 'n Only Brazilian Tech Treatment with Pequi Oil | $7.89
I got this for free when I bought a One 'n Only shampoo and conditioner set and I'm so glad I did since I never would've tried it. I apply this to my wet or dry hair and it instantly looks smoother, shinier, and feels softer. Hair can get so dry; it's important to hydrate it! Do you guys want to see a current hair care routine? I have a pretty nice regimen right now.

| Bath and Body Works Twisted Peppermint Nourishing Hand Cream | $5.00
I bought this for my mom a week or two ago and both of us are really impressed! She has very dry hands and I have normal hands that don't get too dehydrated but it works wonders for both of us, in addition to smelling great. It's very hydrating but also soaks in really quickly and smells wonderfully festive. I was excited that it was only $5 since it feels so rich!

| Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm | $19.00
This. stuff. is. amazing. It's very think, smells like honey and citrus, and is slightly gritty. I know that sounds weird, but it really helps banish dry lips in hours. I love applying it at night and waking up with soft, smooth lips. I bought this in the anniversary packaging for my mom for Christmas and I think it's so eye-catching. Pick one up now if you want to since they're limited edition! The limited colors are red, yellow, and green.

Those are everything I keep handy for cold weather! I especially recommend the Reve de Miel lip balm if you buy any of this. It's magic! I may do a review it and include some shots of the anniversary one of my mom's. What do you use in the winter?
Thanks for reading! xo

Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sale Haul

I just added some social media buttons under my "About Me" if you'd like to take a gander! I'm pretty excited about them since I had to use some very mild HTML to get them to look all right. Anywho, after getting my hair trimmed at my mall, we walked past Bath and Body Works and noticed that all of the lotions and body washes were $3!! Well, except for the two labeled that were 75% off instead of $3 flat. Obviously my mom, sister, and I couldn't resist so we did some damage, however much less than if we'd paid $11 at the normal price. Holllaa!

| Wild Apple Daffodil body lotion and shower gel | 

A blend of red apple, daffodil, and pomegranate. A got a set of the lotion and gel for my friend's birthday and a shower gel just for myself. It smells slightly more daffodil than apple, but I can definitely smell the apple more in the shower gel.

| Citrus Orchid Chill body lotion |

With "iced" blue orchid, lemon granita, starfruit, lotus flower, and sunny musk. I can mainly smell the orchid, a little bit of lemon, and a bit of musk. It's dominantly floral I would say. 

| Cashmere Glow body lotion |

This smells light an evening lotion to me. It smells like vanilla with quite a bit of musk, and apparently it also has golden peach and cashmere. What does cashmere smell like?

| White Mango Chill body lotion |

I think this is my favorite lotion. It smells so goood. It has white mango, kiwi sorbet, strawberry frost, muguet blossom, and blue sugarcane. All it smells like to me is magic.

| Be Enchanted body lotion | $3.12

This has kind of a ridiculous description, but it smells really sweet with maybe a tiny bit of floral and some musk. It has a lot more in it than just that however: "this enchanting scent is a sparkling blend of iced pomegranate, sugared petals and chilled passionfruit frosted with notes of whipped vanilla and light musk."

| London Tulips and Raspberry Tea body lotion | $3.12

I loved this in the store, but it kind of smells like a cheap perfume on my skin while it smells lovely on my sister. I think my nose must do weird things to it. I definitely smell the tulips stronger than I'd usually like but the raspberry tones it down a little. The bottle says it has English garden tulips, raspberry tea, wild freesia, Windor apples, and white sandalwood. 

| Coconut Water Chill shower gel |

To me this smells like apples and melon. I think it reminds me of a bubble bath I used to use. It doesn't actually have any apple though... It has coconut water, acai berry, melon, jasmine petals, and Madagascar vanilla. 

This sale is still going on online with $1 shipping for orders over $25 so if you want to get lotions or body washes do it now! Thanks for reading! xo

April Favorites 2014!

Welcome to my first monthly favorites, guys! I'm not sure if this will actually be monthly or bi-monthly, but we'll see in the end of May if I have enough favorites to write a whole post about it. You may notice (if you've read my haul) that several products are from it, which is awesome! This post is rather long, my apologies, I promise my next one will be shorter!

| BEAUTY |

 

Market Peach Hand Sanitizer:

I love the Market Peach scent. It smells so dang good, I just want to inhale it all of the time. I've been using this since I bought it a month or two ago, and I'm obsessed. My friends always ask for hand sanitizer and comment on how great it smells. I'll have to make a trip to Bath and Body Works sometime soon to buy a bunch more of them before they bring in their summer scents.

Plus White 5 Minute Whitening Gel:

I bought this a few months back at Walmart along with two mouth guards so I could start whiteneing my teeth at home. I naturally have off-white to yellowish teeth and I thought that I would try out Kandee Johnson's method of doing it at home. It's so easy and it definitely whitens teeth! It does take several times of doing it before a significant change, but I'd rather have a gentle lighten than murder my weak-enameled teeth.

Not Your Mother's Way to Grow Long & Strong Shampoo and Conditioner:

I bought these in the haul I mentioned and I've only used them four or five times, but I love them already! They smell like candy apples and I love that the scent lingers while my hair dries. It does go away once it's completely dry, though. I have naturally moderately frizzy hair, and it's much shinier and smoother with this conditioner than most others I've tried. It really works well for my hair type, and I'm so glad I found it. One of the best parts is that it's sulfate free! Yipidoo!

O.P.I. Nail Envy:

I've only been trying this for a few months as well, but I really like it so far. I can't say I've noticed a significant difference in my nail health or strength, but it makes my nails stiffer while I'm wearing it and that allows my nail polish to last for much longer! I've gotten five days out of all of my recent manicures, which is kind of crazy. That long of wear used to be a once in a while, luck-of-the-draw kind of thing, but now it's pretty normal for me.

Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Spot Treatment:

I used to use this in middle school, and I'm so glad I finally went back to it. I have really sensitive skin. Sensitive enough that benzoyl peroxide gives me slight chemical burns in red patches that last for two or three days. This doesn't have any negative effect on my skin! I put it on with a q-tip every night all over most of my face, and I notice a significant difference in the morning. 

Maybelline Color Elixir in Radiant Bloom:

I'm working on an in-depth review of this product. I actually have two of them; Radiant Bloom and Hibiscus Haven. I haven't gotten much use from Hibiscus Haven since I don't wear mascara or anything usually, but I've been using Radiant Bloom a lot. It's a pretty natural looking color, so I think it could easily be worn on a daily basis. I will say that it looks better with my teeth now that they're whiter since it's a cooler toned pink.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB in Light:

I also used to use this a while back, but it got too dark for me once I got into fall. I think my problem was that I was using too much though, not that it didn't match my skin. Now I can wear it and it matches my skin perfectly and looks really natural. It is pretty light coverage, so any bad blemishes (the little devils) can still be seen. I also love that it has enough SPF but doesn't smell like sun screen or look shiny. 

Elf High Definition Powder in Translucent:

I've been using this for probably about eight months and I really like it. I don't like wearing powders with color in them since most of them tend to look orange or too dark on me even though it doesn't seem like they should. This is absolutely translucent, but it doesn't seem to leave a white cast on my face. Maybe it's because I'm really pale? ;) I use this to set my BB and it keeps any shine away for hours. 

H&M Baby Kabuki Brush:

I bought this last year with my sister in August and it's so soft. I didn't think I'd like a brush from H&M, especially since it was only two or three dollars. It evenly applies the Elf powder to my face and doesn't allow it to get caked up anywhere.

| NON-BEAUTY |

 

Cafe Escapes Chai Latte:

This is the first K-cup I bought for my Keurig, and I'm so glad I did! Did I mention that I got a working Keurig mini at Goodwill for $25? No? Be impressed, ya'll. Anyway, I got a 12 pack of these on sale at Safeway for $7 and they are delicious! It comes out of the Keurig all creamed and sweetened and ready to drink. Booyahhh.

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Raspberry Filled Squares:

I've been so into fruity chocolate lately and these are awesome. They're filled with raspberry that's not creamy but also not a jelly. I'm not a jelly fan unless it's on bread, and these are so good. The best part is that they only have 10 carbs and one is enough since they're so rich.

That's all of my favorites! Sorry it's so many, next time there will definitely be less. I kind of threw in older favorites with newly discovered ones to catch up.
Thanks for reading! xo

Market Peach Lip Butter First Impression

Let me first apologize for the unsightly scratches on the lid. This little baby floated around in the zipper pocket of my purse for a week before I had the time to take pictures of it. I wanted to photograph it before I used it since it looked so dang pretty and matte. 

I just used it for the first time and boy let me tell you, it smells sooooo good. I already knew that though, since that's mostly why I bought it in the first place. I was actually watching one of Amarixe's videos (in particular her Bath and Body Works Haul), and she mentioned that they had released the Market Peach scent in a variety of other forms other than candle (insert an excited jig here). I love the market peach scent in general, and I'm so glad it's not just a candle this year. I also bought the hand sanitizer and it's marvelous as well. Anywho, I bought this puppy for $8.00, which I originally thought was a bit surprising. It is quite a bit of product however, and I've seen similar lip products for more. It melts into a shiny cream that has no color on the lips, but it does leave shininess in on the top of the butter in the package as well. Once it's on the lips for a bit, the scent seems to kind of wear away. I don't notice the scent as much unless I make a (super cute) face and push my mouth towards my nose. Little known fact, I can also lick my nose (don't be too impressed, now). I do really like this. The packaging is nice and metal, and the lid twists on which is awesome since there's less of a chance of it opening in my purse. I think I can finally put away my Reve De Miel and save it for emergency lip chappings since this butter is pretty hydrating. My lips have had kind of a verging-on-chapped time for the past two months, and I've been keeping my most nourishing balm handy. Hopefully this little guy can help keep my dryness at bay. I'm not kidding when I say that I have lip balm of some kind on all day every day. I don't like the feeling of even slightly dry lips. Rambling aside, I'm impressed with this so far. I'll come back with a review later, once I feel I've fully tested it out.

Thanks for reading! xo