Monday, August 15, 2011

Beauty Favorites

Over the past year or so, I've really started to become a lot more interested in beauty/fashion.  I just got to a place where I wanted to start looking really cute and taking care of myself instead of just being "average".  I have to say, over the past 8 months, I've gotten more compliments on how I look than I have the rest of my life all added together.  I've really been doing tons of research and paid a lot more attention to the stuff I've been buying.  Remember when I told you I was addicted to beauty videos on youtube?  Yeah, those really help A LOT!  I grew up in a household where no one was extremely girly.  That means that everything I knew about make-up/fashion was pretty much self-taught.  That's not saying much.  These videos have really helped me learn some pretty awesome hair/makeup tricks!  Here are some of the things that I've come to love these past 8 months...

Skincare:
I have HORRIBLE skin.  I always have.  I remember as early as 5th grade knowing how bad my skin was.  I've tried over the counter stuff, dermatologist stuff, marykay stuff, clinique stuff, etc.  NOTHING works.  Some stuff might help, but the stuff that does gives me the side effect of peeling/flaky skin and that's not much better.  I saw several blogs doing reviews on the St. Ives Apricot scrub and about how wonderful it was.  I decided that I'd give it a shot since it is under $4 at Wal-Mart.  It is literally the best $4 I have ever spent on something like this!  I've only been using it for about 2 weeks, but I can already tell a big difference.  You can't use it every day, so I've been using it every other day.

On the days that I'm not using the apricot scrub, I'm just using the Clean & Clear morning burst cleanser.  I love the clean smell, it actually does help my face, and it's not girly enough that Matt won't use it, too.  A win win for us.  I can't say that I'm crazy in love with it, but I also don't feel the need to change to anything else for now.

I had also been reading some good reviews on the Eucerin moisturizer and how good it was.  I'll be honest, I know how good for  your skin moisturizer is, but I've never really been one to use it.  I splurged on a more expensive Aveno brand around Christmas, and it totally broke my face out.  Not cool.  I decided since the Eucerin brand was pretty cheap (also under $4) I would give it a go.  I still sometimes forget to use it just because it's not a part of my regular routine.  But it hasn't broken my face out, so I'll continue to try to remember to use it daily!  I love that it's for sensitive skin and it has an SPF 30 in it. 


Make-Up:
We went to Atlanta at the end of May and I still have quite a bit of $$ left over from my birthday.  We went to the Mall of Ga one day, so I stopped by Sephora to get some new make up that I've been wanting to try.  I got these three things that day and I have literally used them every time I've put on make-up since May.

The first thing that I got was Bare Minerals.  I've been wanting it for a long time, but never wanted to spend the money on it.  Since it was birthday money, I didn't feel like I'd be wasting our own money if I hated it.  It is the BEST foundation that I have ever used!  I was skeptical about how well a powder would cover my face, but it has been amazing!!  I honestly don't know if I could ever go back to using something else!


Another beauty product that I've been wanting is the Urban Decay primer potion.  Since my skin is VERY oily, my eyeshadow *always* creases after it's been on for a few hours.  The primer potion just helps it to #1 - stay on my lids for 8+ hours and #2- makes it NOT crease!  I love it because it looks just as good at the end of the day as it did when I put it on!  I've only ever tried one other primer (a Sephora brand one) and I didn't like it half as much as I like this one.


I had heard so much talk on YouTube about the Two-Faced Natural Eye Palette.  It is my FAVORITE purchase from that haul in May and I have used it every since day since.  It is my absolute favorite eye shadows and I can't imagine not using them!  TOTALLY worth the $$!


Hair:
When I got my hair cut in June, she styled it with a curling iron before I left.  I was amazed because she did it so fast!  I also realized that her curling iron was soooo hot.  Mine at home is *so* old (I think it was my mom's OLD one that she gave me in middle school?!?!) and didn't get nearly as hot.  I threw it away and got a new one asap.  I decided on a Conair one and I have not been disappointed!  My hair is super thick, and I can curl it in the same time that it takes me to straighten it.  I have been curling it more than I've been straightening it!


I've also been trying to take a lot better care of my hair now that it's so long.  I've used heat protectant sprays before, but they always make my hair so greasy looking and I never wanted to continue using them.  I had read that the new Tresemme spray was comparable to the Chi spray and since it was also less than $5, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try it.  It has been so great.  It smells wonderful, it goes on lightly, and it does NOT make my hair look wet or greasy at all.  Another great buy!


I know that this is kind of dumb - but I want you to know that I was not asked to do this by any compaines and I purchased all of these products with my own money! 

Do you have any beauty products that you absolutely love that I need to try?  What do you think about me starting to do more regular beauty posts?  Interested?  No?  Tell me what you think!
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2 comments:

Emily said...

I was a BIG bare minerals person for a long time but have just started mary kay foundation in the powder..it's the SAME as bareminerals but all in ONE powder so you just have to do it all ONCE and it's way cheaper...once you're out of the bare minerals i'd try it! i add some bronzer after it b/c i like being tan :)

For my heat protector I use nexxus and zach LOVES it. so random but i don't even need to wear perfume, anytime i straighten my hair he comments on how good i smell b/c of it. it's not cheap (my recent bottle was $9 on SALE) but my hair never has split ends and i straighten ALL the time and it's not greasy at ALL either!

i've just started using aveeno living color shampoo and i can literally not wash my hair for up to 3 DAYS now and it's never greasy! there's always coupons for it and it's REALLY good shampoo ;)

do you moisturize your body too? i highly recommend cocoa butter. it's cheap and it makes my skin SO soft. I lather up my whole body fresh out of the shower ;)

I liked this post! good idea i may have to copy once i'm all caught up and out of things to talk about hahha

Miranda said...

Robyn, I am so glad you did this post! Mandy at theOMGmom.com just did a skin care post and she recommended the St. Ives and Eucerin too. I thought about trying it but she lives in Las Vegas so I didn't know if it would work down here in the GA heat. Now that you have recommended it too, I will have to try it!

P.S. I found your blog through Emily Parker.