Original post: 07/08/2019 (last one!)

Back with another review, although a non-review post idea has been swirling around my head lately and may be coming soon. I have really been focusing on my problems with hormonal acne and trying different products (as well as lifestyle changes) to fix this longstanding issue. There’s a few products I am going to post about as a result and the first one is e.l.f.’s Soothing Aloe Facial Mist.

They advertise this mist can be used pretty much any time of day to soothe and refresh skin and that it can also be used to refresh makeup during the day. I only used this once over makeup but had no complaints. I started out using this only first thing in the morning and now i use it in the morning as well as in the evening (after I have showered and applied moisturizer). I really love this face mist. I’m actually pretty obsessed with it at the moment. I usually try to list all of the pros and cons when i review products but i don’t have any cons with this one so I am just going to tell you all the things i like about it.
I have very sensitive, combination skin. My skin is very dry but my face gets really oily during the day, especially in my t-zone, and i noticed when i started using this is that my face was not getting nearly as oily as it normally does during the day. The scent is very light and fresh, not overpowering at all. I love how refreshing it feels when you spray it on your face and the mist is very fine and goes on evenly every time. There are never any uneven bursts of spray that leaves part of my face extra wet. I cannot say this about any other face mist i have tried in the past. Seriously, the spray is like a micro-fine mist, its perfect. The packaging is nice, the bottle is quality lightweight plastic but looks like expensive frosted glass. It is 2.7 oz. which is actually a good amount of product that will last awhile but will still fit in your carry on. And, in true e.l.f. fashion, a great value at only $6.00 per bottle.
e.l.f. advertises that all of their products are cruelty free and vegan for those that are looking for that. There are a lot of great ingredients in here that i love: Aloe (duh), cucumber, allantoin (great for your skin and something you dont see often), and grape seed oil to name a few. There’s definitely a few things in here that im not sure about exactly what it is, but nothing that would make me concerned about putting it on my skin. Most e.l.f. products are available at Target, but there are some (like the acne fighting spot gel, one of my faves) that are only available through the e.l.f. website. This face mist fortunately is not one of them. While it is of course available on the e.l.f. site, Target does happen to carry this one in stores, so i am willing to bet other retailers that carry e.l.f. will likely also have this spray. This face mist, along with some other products (reviews to come), has really turned into a holy grail product for me.

Original post: 06/17/2019

​Ive got a few reviews swirling around in my head right now but this one is a long time coming. I’m always talking about my skin issues and how my skin hates pretty much everything I put on it, and I have recently found a few things recently that my skin is loving but this is one that is not so recent.
I have probably gone through about three or four tubes while trying some other moisturizers in between, but every time I have to go back to this one. I used to religiously use the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer until I got this one in a Birchbox a year or so ago.

Original post: 04/28/2019

I. Love. Subscription. Boxes. I try to never have more than one subscription turned on at a time because if i let myself do more than one at a time then it will get out of hand very quickly. Normally i do reviews of individual products here and there but this time i decided to review one of the boxes as a whole. I see video reviews/unboxings of FabFitFun boxes everywhere but i decided to do my own anyway because the difference between mine and all the others (besides not being a video) is that mine is not sponsored. FabFitFun did not send me a free box or ask me to review anything. FabFitFun is a seasonal box, so instead of monthly you get one each season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Like, some others you get a choice on some of the items that go in your box or you can let them surprise you.

Ok, so the first thing i got was the Unplug Meditation Aromatherapy Diffuser.  I like diffusers. I have owned many. I like my house to smell good and being in the desert diffusers are a great option because you get the fragrance while also humidifying your space. This one came with a citrus oil. (side note: this was brilliant of them to put a diffuser in the spring box since my winter box also came with some essentials oils) This diffuser is much like others i have had in the past only it is more expensive. It is nice and small so it would fit nicely on a kitchen or bathroom counter and not take up a ton of space or be in the way. I would not have bought this specific one on my own though because of the price. It works great and is a great size but there are a lot of diffusers of equal quality available for much cheaper.
Next is the Quay My Girl Sunglasses in Black/Smoke. This was one of the items i got to choose. You could choose cat eye or aviator. I chose the cat eye but once i got them wished i had chosen the aviator. I like the cat eye but they look cheaper in person than they do in the picture. Also something i don’t think is worth the price. Don’t get me wrong, they are still totally wearable and cute but i feel like i could probably find something very similar for cheaper at Target.
Next up is S’ip by S’well.  This is a stainless steel water bottle. It doesn’t say on the site but it is 15 oz. It has a screw-on cap and the one shown on the site is a bright blue but the one i received is a dark purple- which i like much better. This is pretty much your run of the mill stainless steel water bottle. I usually prefer (BPA free) plastic water bottles. I like that they are see through (weird i know) and i like having a lid i can just pop open and close quickly. This one will probably sit in the cabinet a lot for those reasons and also because for everyday (take to work) use i like to have one that is at least 24 oz or more. But if you like the stainless steel kind then i would recommend this one. I think the price point is fair and it is a nice design that comes in nice colors.
Here is something that i have not tried out. It is the Daily Concepts Daily Detox Brush. I have always wanted to try dry brushing. I have read about how good it is for your lymphatic system so i was excited when i saw this in the box. As i have said in some of my other posts, i have skin issues. My skin hates most things i put on it and this brush is no exception. So i really have not tried it enough to give a good review of how well it works. The bristles are a little too stiff and scratchy for me. I haven’t tried any other dry brushes so I don’t know if that is just how dry brushes are made or if some are softer than others but this one does not fall in the soft category if that is a thing. I do however like the design of this brush. It is very easy to use and would not add a lot of time to your routine if you decided to take up dry brushing.
This spring box came with a body scrub. The Manna Kadar Champagne Charcoal Body Scrub. It is 18.34 oz. so it is a good size product. The scrub smells great, very fresh, very champagne and they use sea salt for the scrubbies (which to a normal human being would be the exfoliator). The scrub is black in color from the charcoal but does not leave behind any staining and is not difficult to wash off. My skin is a little sensitive to this (surprise, surprise) but not enough to where i can’t use it. This will be great for summer. A little pricey but not bad considering how big the jar is.
Only 2 things left. I’ll do the OUAI Leave In Conditioner first. The changing of the seasons has left my hair, and everything else for that matter, super dry so leave in conditioner is a must for me right now. I was really happy to see this in my box as i hoard leave-in conditioners this time of year. The price point is a little high, not something i would typically buy as i can find others that work just as well for cheaper. This one works well and it is in a spray bottle which is my favorite packaging for leave-ins. It is pretty thick but it doesn’t clog the spray nozzle at all. The scent is of roses which i like, but it is way too strong. I can only use like one or two sprays max or the scent will just gag me the rest of the day, which sucks because i have long hair so i need more than that. Overall great product but i can’t use as much as i need because of the scent.
Last we have Dr. Brandt Skincare Needles No More No More Baggage Eye De-Puffing Gel. Say that five times fast. Price-wise this is not bad when compared to similar products. This is good for a temporary fix. As in does not last the whole day temporary. Nor does it claim to. The texture is somewhere between cream and paste. Have you ever rubbed dried glue off your hands? This produces the same flaking effect. Not the miracle in a tube i was looking for. I have always heard great things about this brand. This is the only product i have ever tried from Dr. Brandt Skincare but i was not as amazed with it as i thought i would be. My current under eye go to is Treat Beauty Mint and Matcha Balm. I keep it in the freezer to help de-puff a little more than it normally does and it is wonderful. Also not a miracle in a tube but it works better for me than this product did and it is cheaper and smells great.
All in all, i liked the box- like i said i like subscription boxes in general- but i have cancelled my FabFitFun subscription for now as i would rather save the $50/season for something else. If you have never tried FabFitFun before there is usually a $20 off your first box code you can find somewhere. Also look at what others got in their spring boxes; they might have chosen something i didn’t that you will like better and most sponsored reviewers will have that coupon code to give you. What is nice about FabFitFun is that you get full size items and you get a wide variety of things. And since they are sending full size products, i like that it is seasonal not monthly. At the moment though i haven’t been in love enough with the boxes to spend the money on them so my $50 will be going in the vacation fund for now.

Original post: 04/14/2019

I’m back with a review of two different Too Faced products. I have recently become slightly obsessed with Too Faced products so I wanted to start reviewing some of them.
I want to start out by saying that I almost never wear makeup and my level of skill when it comes to putting it on is almost none. So know that if I can use it and like it, then it is probably ridiculously easy to use and almost impossible to mess up. In this post I am talking about the It’s Bananas Setting Powder from Too Faced’s Tutti Frutti collection and the HangoveRx Primer.

Since primer goes on first we’ll start with that one. First, the packaging. I love it. It’s a squeezy tube with a pump. Easy to use and I know I’ll be able to get every last drop out of it. This primer has probiotic-based ingredients that are supposed to be good for your skin. It also has coconut water to be hydrating. You can click the link above for a full list of ingredients on their website. I love the fresh coconut smell of this primer and the way it feels on my skin; very refreshing and it really helps wake me up in the morning. I often put this on even if I don’t put on any makeup for the day.
My skin is very difficult and very sensitive. I have horrible combination skin and almost everything that touches my face makes me break out. My skin likes this primer most of the time but not all the time. My face tends to get (even though my skin is very very dry) very oily during the day and this primer does not always work with that. I actually like it less as a makeup primer and more as moisturizer.
Ok, next the setting powder. This is from their Tutti Frutti collection which launched sometime last year I believe. My favorite Instagrammer and sweetest human being Kandee Johnson was the face of this collection. There’s so much I like about this powder and one thing I don’t.
First up, the packaging again. Too Faced really nails it on the packaging every time. I love this little compact, it is not cheaply made at all. I can throw this in my purse and it will hold up just fine jumbling around with all the crap I carry around- not to mention it’s adorable. The powder itself is great. Word of warning, the first ingredient is talc, which I know a lot of people don’t like to use but I don’t mind it. It also contains a little salicylic acid which is great for my acne prone skin. This powder is banana scented which I love. It smells just like the banana Runts candies. This setting powder is advertised to be flattering on golden undertones, brightening under eyes, and good for correcting redness on fair skin. I am very fair-skinned and like anything that brightens up my under eye area. I think it does a great job at all of those things but the only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t last for me and my oily daytime skin. I feel like I need to reapply halfway through the day.
I like both of these products even though they are kind of pricey; the primer is $34.00 and the powder is $30.00. I tend to wait for sales and/or free shipping offers when I want to buy anything from Too Faced but so far I have liked everything I have gotten from them.

Original post: 02/02/2019

Yesterday morning I was sitting at a lab waiting to have blood drawn and an old man walked in. Instead of checking in at the front desk with a person, the lab has kiosks that you check in on and then wait to be called up to the front desk. I watched the man standing in line for the kiosk and when the lady in front of him finished and started walking back to a seat he said to her, “You really look like you know what you were doing, I wish  did!” He then walked up to the kiosk and just kind of stared at the screen for a few seconds before another lady sitting in the waiting area got up and asked if he needed help. She helped him check in on the kiosk and he thanked her and then asked a man sitting nearby if the chair next to him was taken.
This older gentleman was very friendly and had a very kind and outgoing personality. But watching this event transpire it suddenly struck me how much older generations must really feel out of place in todays society. It is almost as if this is not their world anymore, as if they are living in a foreign land. I admit this seems like a pretty dramatic reaction especially coming from someone who works in a profession dealing mostly with older people and seeing these kinds of things happen everyday, but for some reason this situation struck me so much more profoundly. I felt for this old man because I thought about how it must feel and how I will know exactly how it feels one day because I will be that old person in a world of new technology. I felt lost for him. The older gentleman however, seemed completely un-phased by any of it. He clearly has erred on the side of optimism his whole life while I, obviously, have not.
That was it. Just my somewhat strange observation while sitting half-awake in a lab waiting area. I guess I also should clarify I do not mean to make it sound like I think all older people are completely inept when it comes to technology- not at all. I guess I just wanted to write about it because it was weird; I don’t understand why it struck me as it did.