Bio-Oil Review: Week 1

Hey Guys! I want to start off this post by telling you that the pictures you will see are of ME and MY BODY. I ask for your respect and that you don't post any rude or ugly comments about ME or MY BODY. I know MY BODY is not perfect, I am only putting the pictures here to show you how the Bio-Oil works. Please be respectful.

Anyways, on to the main reason we are here. I started using Bio-Oil about a week ago and I wanted to keep you guys up to date on how it was working. I have LOTS of stretch marks on my stomach from carrying Boo, a large scar on my stomach from a surgery incision that got infected, and I have my new surgery incision scars. I really wanted to see if I could get any of these to be less noticeable, so I decided to give Bio-Oil a try.

I apply the Bio-Oil two times a day like the directions say. I apply it to my skin and rub it in, in a circular motion for a few seconds. I am only currently applying it to my stomach and my new shoulder surgery incision scars.

Here is one of the surgery incision scars (I couldn't get good pictures of the other one by myself). This one is on the front of my right shoulder. The picture on the left is the before and the one on the right is a week into using the Bio-Oil. If you can tell, the one on the right is already starting to lighten up quite a bit.

 

And as you can probably tell, this is my stomach. All of the stretch marks are from my pregnancy with Boo. And at the bottom middle of my stomach, you can see the large scar from where an incision from my appendectomy got infected. The picture on the top is the before and the one on the bottom is a week into using Bio-Oil. As you can see, the stretch marks and scar are starting to lighten up. Some of the small stretch marks are almost undetectable now.

 

So, at a week into using the Bio-Oil, I am pretty impressed. Also, I feel like I have barely used any of what is in the bottle, so despite feeling like it was a bit expensive, it is lasting a long time. I will be keeping you up to date on how the Bio-Oil is working, either every week or every couple of weeks. Right now though, I am really liking it!

 

FIF: Freeman Beauty Dead Sea Minerals Facial Anti-Stress Mask

Hey Guys! Welcome to another FIF! Today I wanted to talk to you about a new mask that I am trying. If you didn't already know, I am pretty obsessed with the masks from Freeman Beauty. All the ones I have tried, I have really enjoyed.

This mask is called the Dead Sea Minerals Facial Anti-Stress Mask. This mask claims to clear pores and smooth skin. This comes in a blue/teal tube. I was really surprised when I opened it and the mask itself is a very similar color to the tube color. This has a really clean smell. Almost like a baby wash or something like that. To use this mask you are supposed to apply it to your face and neck, then let it dry and rinse off with warm water.

This mask went on so smooth. I was almost expecting it to have a gritty exfoliating texture and I was pleasantly surprised when it was just a smooth mask. It dries fairly quickly and when you rinse it off, it makes your skin feel so soft and smooth and clean. It doesn't make my skin feel oily after I use it.

All in all, I really enjoy this mask. I love the color, scent, text

ure and how it makes me skin feel after I use it. I am going to have to keep using it, but I can see this easily getting to the top of my mask list.

Have you ever tried this mask? If so, what did you think of it? What is your favorite mask that you use?

***Added 3/3/2014***
This has become my most favorite mask. I use it probably 3 times a week and will usually reach for it over any of my other masks. In fact, it even made it into my February 2014 Favorites!

It's a HAUL!

Hey Guys! Today I am here to share a haul with you. I picked these things up over the last week or two. Let's dive in!

First, I went to Big Lots and picked up some items on clearance. They have some really good items right now. If I were you, I would go check it out!

 

I got this Maybelline Color Sensational gloss in 285 Rose Lust. It is a beautiful bright rosy pink color.

Next I picked up a Revlon Lip Butter in 065 Creamsicle. It is a really pretty orange peachy color. I only own one lip butter (other than this one) so I was really excited to pick up another one.

I also picked up a Revlon Diamond Lust eye shadow in the color 120 Night Sky. This is a dark black/grey color with a silver and blue glitter. It is gorgeous! I can't wait to do a look with this.

 

The last thing I got at Big Lots was this E.L.F. Plumping Lip Gloss Trio. They came in the colors Baby Doll (which is a baby pink color), Oasis (which is kind of a mauvy pink color) and Mauve Berry (which is a light berry color). All of these have what looks like glitter in them, but when I swatched them I didn't really notice it. They also all have a really nice minty smell.

The next place I went to was Rite Aid. They had a really good sale on Physician's Formula so I wanted to get in on it.

First I got the brand new Sexy Booster Va Va Voom Volume Mascara. I heard this mascara was amazing, so it is the only brand new item that I picked up.

 

I also got this Shimmer Strips trio for smoky eyes. I already own the brown set of these, so I thought the black/grey set would be awesome to have as well.

 

I picked up the PH Matchmaker Bronzer in Light Bronzer to help push me over the edge of what I needed to spend. This was on clearance for around $4. I have the PH Matchmaker blush and I really like it.

 

I picked up a back up of the Cashmere Wear Bronzer in Light Bronzer. I already have one of these, but half of it is smashed. This was also on clearance and since I love it so much I figured I should get a back up before they stop selling it.

 

The last Physician's Formula item I got was the Cashmere Wear blush in Natural. I am hoping I love this blush as much as I love the bronzer.

 

 

I also picked up two of the brand new NYC City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color lip crayons. I picked up 051 Canal St. Coral (right, which is a beautiful bright coral) and 011 Brooklyn Brown Stone (left, which is a dark nude color). I have tried both of these already and I really like them.

 

The last place I went to was Walmart. I wanted to pick up a couple of face masks that I wanted to try before ordering a large order from Freeman.

 

I got the Facial Revealing Peel-off Mask Pomegranate. We all know I love my peel-off masks, so I figured I would give this one a shot. I also picked up the Facial Purifying Paper Mask in Star Fruit. This is the first paper mask that I will have ever tried.

So that is my haul Guys! Have you ever tried any of these products? If so, what do you think of them? You can probably expect to see a couple of these things in future First Impression Friday posts!

FIF: Freeman Cucumber Peel off Mask

Hey Guys! Welcome to another FIF! This week I am talking about another Freeman product! It is the Cucumber Peel off Mask. Now I mentioned in my T5T: Nighttime Skincare post that I have been using the St. Ives Peel off Hydroxy Masque for YEARS. I can't find that mask anywhere, so I decided to give this Freeman mask a shot. I will be doing a lot of comparing of these two masks simply because the St. Ives was a holy grail product of mine.

When I first opened it and smelled it, I could definitely tell it was a cucumber mask. I even told JP "The only thing I have ever smelled that smelled more like cucumber, is cucumber". It is just such a clean, refreshing smell. I really enjoyed it. As far as texture, this one doesn't seem quite as sticky as the St. Ives mask. It seems to go on a lot smoother.

To use this mask, all you do is smooth it onto your skin evenly (avoiding the eye areas). You let it dry for 5-10 minutes, and then you peel it off. It is like peeling dry glue off of your skin. It exfoliates and clears your pores as you remove it (almost like a Biore pore strip, but for your entire face!). This one seemed to dry a lot quicker than the St. Ives one. And I noticed in removing it, that it came off in 2 big pieces (leaving just a few smaller areas behind). The St. Ives one always comes off in a bunch of smaller sections.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this product. I may even like it better than the St. Ives mask (which is good because I am almost out of it and can't find it anywhere!). The smell and the texture were awesome. The best part though was how it made my skin feel! My skin felt so smooth and clean after using it. I even did my astringent after and there was nothing on the cotton round (that rarely happens).

Have you ever tried this mask before? Have you ever tried any kind of peel off mask? Let me know in the comments below!!

FIF: Freeman Barefoot Peppermint + Plum Foot Scrub

Hey Guys! Welcome to my first ever First Impression Friday! If you aren't aware of what FIF is, it is just where I test out a product and give you my first impressions. Today I am going to talk to you about the Freeman Barefoot Peppermint + Plum Foot Scrub.

I got this product quite a while ago but never got a chance to use it. My feet have been super dry (along with the rest of my skin) because of this crazy weather. I decided this was a perfect time to give this stuff a try.This stuff claims that it will invigorate while exfoliating the rough, dry patches. It also says that it has Tea Tree Oil to soothe and relax tired feet. It says to use it all you have to do is massage on feet with your hand, loofah or pumice stone. And you are supposed to focus on the rough areas.

It comes out a slight purple color and you can easily see the exfoliant in it. It smells amazing. I'm not sure if it is the tea tree oil in it, but it almost smells like a salon shampoo. You can also smell the peppermint in it just slightly. I started by soaking my feet in my tub for just a minute. Then I did each foot one at a time. I applied about a quarter sized amount to my foot. I massaged it in with my hand first, and then came in with my pumice stone and focused on the dryer parts of my foot (mainly my large toe and the heel of my foot).

After I finished one foot, I let it soak in the water again and did the other foot. When I finished both feet, I added just a tiny bit more of the scrub and massaged it in one more time. Then I rinsed both feet.

This is the before of my foot (EEEWWWW!).

And here is the after. You can see a huge difference between the two pictures. I really did enjoy this stuff. It made my feet feel really smooth. I really want to try some of the other scrubs and the foot lotion.

 

I was really impressed this. It didn't totally smooth my feet out, but I feel like if I continued to use it and used a foot lotion with it, it would. It did an amazing job on my extremely dry feet. I really recommend it! And at less than $4 a bottle it is a huge bargain!

 

How do you care for your feet? Do you use a foot scrub? If so what kind do you use? Let me know!

 

 

Top 5 Thursday: Nighttime Routine

 

Hey guys! Welcome back to top 5 Thursday. Today we're going to be talking about the 5 steps that it takes me to get my skin and lips ready for bedtime. 

 

The first step is of course cleansing and I use one of two cleansers on a regular basis. The first one is Simple moisturizing facial wash. To be honest I'm not the biggest fan of this one because I just don't feel like it gets my skin as clean as it should. But it works really well on JP so I guess it just depends on your skin type. The other cleanser that I use very regularly is really hard to find but it's the Clean & Clear make a dissolving foaming cleanser. This one is a especially good, of course, if you have on makeup. It's really gentle even around your eyes.

 

The second step is a face mask. Now I obviously don't do this every single night but I do it probably every other night. I used 3 different face mask. The first one is Freeman facial polishing mask. It is a charcoal and black sugar mask. This is the only one that I do while I'm in the shower. The next one is another one by Freeman, it's the facial clay mask. This one is chocolate and strawberry and it smells so good. Like I almost feel like I'm putting chocolate frosting on my face! But it does make my skin feel so soft and clean after I use it. And the last one you can't even find anymore. I can't even find it on Amazon. But it's the St. Ives peel of hydroxy masque. Freeman makes a peel off mask that I'm going to buy this weekend and test out and see if its as good as this one because I'm almost out of this one. This one I've been using for years and years and years and I absolutely love it. It exfoliates your skin as you are peeling off the mask. It just makes my skin feel amazing

 

The next step is to use an astringent. I always use the Sea Breeze sensitive skin astringent with my renewal exfoliating cotton rounds. This just really makes sure that you're clean. And make sure all the mask is off your face as well, just in case any got left behind. I love this step because it assures me that my face is completely clean.

 

The fourth step is to moisturize my skin and I always use one of two skin moisturizers for night time. The first one is Biore hard day's night overnight moisturizer. I talked about this one in my favorites for the year. I just love this one because it doesn't have a strong smell. It makes your skin feel very moisturized but without getting overly oily. The next one I use is the Say Yes to Carrots repairing night cream. The problem I have with this one is I don't like the way it smells. I'm just not a big fan of the smell at all. But it does do a great job moisturizing without getting me really oily and its supposed to help repair your skin while you're sleeping.

 

The last step to my bedtime routine is to it take care of my lips. My lips get so dry especially in the winter. I recently got the BeautiControl skinlogics lip apeel. It is just a .3 ounce sample size. I do like the lip peel part. I'm not a fan of the balm that comes with it. So I just take the bottom portion and apply it pretty thickly to my lips. And let it set while I put on my face moisturizer. Then you just rinse it off and then rub lightly with like a damp rag or something to get all the extra skin off. Then I use the Blistex silk & shine balm. It is pretty much the only one that I use . Its very moisturizing and very smoothing. I love the smell too. Its just a really good lip balm.

 

There you have it, the five steps it takes me to get my skin ready for bed. When I start filming more heavily, after my arm is better, I will film my full on night time routine for you guys. What kind of products do you use to get your skin ready at the end of the night? And do you use any certain kind of face mask? I would love to try out some new ones so let me know what kind you like.

2013 Skin and Hair Favorites

Hey Guys! It is the last week of January and the last week of my 2013 favorites! You can check out my Makeup Favorites, Random Favorites and Fashion favorites by clicking them. This week is all about skin and hair care. I am going to go ahead and apologize for the HORRIBLE photography in the post. I can't take pictures with my regular camera because of my shoulder, so I am having to use my phone.
 

Hair

 

Shampoo:

I hate to say that I didn't really have a favorite shampoo this year. I used Pantene for most of the year, but my hair started looking dull and I could not keep the split ends gone. I swapped around for a while, but just haven't found anything I really love enough to call a favorite.

 

Conditioner:

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil hair treatment.

To start with this stuff smells AMAZING. It also really does what it is supposed to. Every time I use this my hair feels so silky smooth and soft. It looks shiny, but not greasy.

Face

 

Mask:

 

Freeman Charcoal and Black Sugar Facial Polishing Mask

This is the coolest stuff. It is black (like you may assume from the name). The texture really makes you feel like you got all the dead skin scrubbed off your face, without being too much. The charcoal is supposed to help "detox" your pores.

 

Face Wash:

Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser

I love this stuff. This is my second bottle of it. It makes your skin feel so clean and revitalized. It has a cooling sensation that is amazing.

 

Moisturizer:

Biore Hard Day's Night Overnight Moisturizer

This is another product that is really hard to find now. It really is my absolute favorite night time moisturizer (I haven't found a great day time one yet). This makes my skin feel so smooth. It doesn't make me over oily either. I just love it.

 

Astringent:

 

Sea Breeze Sensitive Skin Astringent (with Exfoliating Cotton Rounds)

This stuff will get every single bit of dirt and grime out of your pores. I can really feel it working and it is honestly better than any other astringent I have ever used.

 

Eye Treatment:

 

I have not found an eye treatment that I really love. That is something I will be on the hunt for in 2014.

 

Facial Cleansing Wipes:

This is another thing I haven't found! I have been testing out tons of cleansing wipes but I just haven't found one I truly love yet.

 

Body

 

Body Wash:

Dial Yogurt Vanilla Honey Body Wash

I love this stuff! It is thick and moisturizing. It makes me feel clean. And it smells AMAZING!!

 

Body Scrub:

I am going to have to find a new body scrub! I have been using a Strawberry one from C.Booth but you can't get it anymore!!!  

 

Body Lotion:

Bath and Body Works Sea Island Cotton

I use this stuff probably 20 times a day. It smells so amazing and clean. I love how moisturizing it is.

 

Johnson's Bedtime Lotion

Yes, this is the stuff for babies, but it is so moisturizing. I have been using this for years. It makes my skin super soft and I love the way it smells.

 

Body Spray:

Playboy Play it Lovely Body Spray

This stuff just smells amazing. I always spray it in my hair and I can smell it all day long.

 

Deodorant:

Secret Outlast Invisible Solid Completely Clean

This stuff has a great clean smell. Most importantly though, it does what a deodorant is supposed to do! I have been using this stuff the entire year and I probably won't be changing anytime soon.

 

 

There you have it! My 2013 skin/hair favorites. What were your favorites for the year? Any opinions on the ones I picked? Let me know!