my beauty favorites.

I’m often asked to share my go-to beauty products, so putting together a post about all my favorites has been on my list for awhile.  Here we go:

Skin:

Garnier BB Cream. Up & Up Makeup Cleansing Towelettes. Up & Up Exfoliating Towelettes.  Jergen’s Natural Glow. Aveeno Blue.

1. Garnier BB Cream.  I’ve been hearing buzz on BB Cream forever, but just started using this one from Garnier and I am obsessed.  Before this, I have to admit, I wasn’t doing anything special in the way of moisturizer, (just using my Aveeno lotion on my face) but this product is so great.  And at about 13 bucks it’s super affordable.  My skin is noticeably softer and more even (even when I don’t have makeup on).  My favorite part, because it’s a mineral tinted moisturizer I can put it on when I don’t have time for makeup without feeling like I’m leaving the house with a naked face.  Plus, it has SPF which is really important to me.

2. Up&Up Makeup cleansing wipes.  I don’t know what happened to me in the past six months, because I used to LOVE washing my face at night before bed, but I’ve just been so blah about it and  more times than I’d like to admit I’ve gone to bed with my make-up still on.  (I know, I know.  Gross.)    These were a revelation.  They take off the day so quickly, they are super soft and smell delicious.  And it’s much easier to get my mascara off then do a low-key rinse with something mild.  Also, gotta love Target’s Up&Up brand because these babies are $3 and they work like a charm.

3. UP&Up Exfoliating Towelette.  Are you kidding me with this one.  An exfoliating towelette.  Game changer.  These smell divine and work like a charm, make my skin look super blowy, and are so fast.  I use them every other day.

4. Jergen’s Healthy Glow daily moisturizer.  For those days when it’s been a little too long since your skin has seen the light of day and you need a touch of color.  Jergen’s has a whole line of these Natural Glow products, but this moisturizer is my fave.  I think it smells amazing, and I like the subtle color it gives me.  A little tip for applying tanning lotion:  Apply your regular moisturizer first and blend well, being careful to avoid going to heavy on your knees and ankles.  Applying your regular lotion first keeps you from getting streaks and uneven spots.  You will thank me later.  Also, don’t use this on your face.  Jergen’s has another product for that, (disclaimer: I’ve never tried it.)

5. Aveeno Blue.  I saved the best for last.  You guys.  This is miracle lotion.  I’ve stopped random strangers in Target to recommend this lotion.  That’s how much I love it.  I’ve always had dry skin, but when I went away to college in a high mountain desert, I developed terrible eczema on my hands.  I mean, peeling and splits all over my palms and fingers.   I had scales for skin on my hands.  It was humiliating and so so painful.  Add to that, I was a mom of young kids and washing my hands constantly.  My sister and I had a joke about only using the tip of our index finger and thumb while we cooked, cleaned, etc. so we wouldn’t have to get our whole hands wet to wash them.  I’d use liquid bandaid to try and seal the cuts and that stuff (I am thoroughly convinced) was invented by Satan himself because it’s stings so bloody bad when you apply it, I would literally cry every time I had to use it.  And I’ve given birth naturally, so you know, I can take at least a decent level of pain, but that stuff, it kills.  I’m not trying to be dramatic I just want you all to know exactly how bad my eczema was.  I tried everything for years and years, dermatologists, expensive steroid creams, hydrocortisone creams.  Everything.  Then we moved to Arizona and it turns out it’s even dryer there, and the eczema got so much worse.  Now it was spreading to my legs, parts of my arms.  I was desperate.  Then a friend suggested I start trying Aveeno Blue because her pediatrician has offered it as an alternative to steroid cream on her daughter’s skin.  I was skeptical, but willing to try anything.  You guys.  Within a week, my eczema was gone.  8 years of struggling to clear it up, thousands of dollars in doctors bills and prescription creams– this little grocery store hand/body lotion cleared it up in a week, and it has NEVER come back.  It’s also such a great lotion for babies, FYI.  I love this stuff so, so much.  It’s not chalky or greasy.  It goes on/soaks in easy.  I seriously can’t say enough good things about it.  Phew.

Lastly, my best advice for great healthy looking skin?  Drink a lot of water, wear sunblock everyday (best to get a moisturizer and foundation with spf), and get enough sleep.  (I’m a little bit of a hypocrite here.  I stay up too late way too often.)  If you’re having trouble drinking enough water, try slicing up a strawberry, some cantaloupe or a cucumber and putting it in your glass (not all at once.)  It will add just a hint of subtle flavor, and make drinking enough water everyday a piece of cake.  I’m completely addicted.

Hair:

the products:

Suave Dry Shampoo. Pantene Hairspray. Organix Moroccan Oil. Moroccan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner.

1. Suave dry shampoo.  Want your hair to look and stay healthy longer.  Stop washing it everyday!  I’ve been not washing my hair everyday since high school, but the invent of dry shampoo means I can go anywhere from 3-6 days without washing.  (I’ve got really thick hair, and it doesn’t get greasy very fast)  I’ve tried expensive dry shampoos, this $3 suave number works just as well. If you’ve never tried dry shampoo, what are you waiting for?!  But seriously.  You should really jump on this band wagon.

2. Pantene Hairspray.  This stuff works pretty well, and I’m not much of a hairspray person, just a light spritz on days when I curl my hair, so I like this lightweight option and the price tag attached to it.

3. Organix Moroccan Oil.  Hair serum is a game changer if you are ahem blessed with frizzy hair like me.  Apply a quarter-sized amount to damp hair and work through.  Don’t use to much, you’ll be grease city and you’ll have to wash your hair again…

4. Moroccan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. This stuff smells like heaven, and works great on frizzy hair.  Plus it’s sulphur/phosphate free so it doesn’t strip out the keratin treatment I have done to combat my frizz.  It’s spend, but when you’re only washing your hair every 3-6 days and you’ve spent a pretty penny on a keratin treatment, a $30 bottle of shampoo is worth it.

the tools.

Chi straightener. Hana Blow dryer. Conair curling iron.

1.  This Chi straightener changed my life.  I bought it probably 6 years ago and it still works beautifully.  It gets super hot and smooths your hair without frying it.  i have a Hana straightener as well and it’s also great.  I go back and forth, but I’ve been on a Chi kick for a year or two.

2. Hana Blow Dryer.  This hair dryer has saved me so many hours of blow drying.  It you have thick hair, a high powered blow dryer is a worthy investment.   I can’t find it anywhere online but here are a few other options…

3. If you’ve ever wondered how I get my curls, this con air curling iron is the answer.  1″ shaft is perfect to set the curl, and get the shape I’m always after.

Makeup:

Face:

Bare Minerals: Bareskin liquid foundation, Original Powder Foundation, mineral veil, warmth, blush. Brushes: 1(for the liquid foundation), 2 (for the powder foundation.), 3 (for blush), 4(for all over warmth powder.)

I loooove Bare Minerals.  I’ve been using their powder foundation for years and I don’t think I’ll ever go back.  I added their bare skin liquid foundation a year ago and I love it.  It turns your skin to porcelain and the powder buffs it into perfection.  Warmth powder is great for color, and this blush is to-die for.

Eyes:

MAC Shadow: Carefree (creamy  shimmer off-white) and Wedge(deep khaki brown).  MAC brushes: 1,2. Maybelline define-a-brow brow pencil: medium brown.  Brow drama. Spooly brush.  tweezers, brow trimmers. Covergirl eyeliner: Espresso.  Loreal Voluminous mascara.

I’m a pretty basic girl when it comes to my eye make-up.  I have a routine that works for me and I stick to it on the daily.  Occasionally I will darken up my eye-shoadow when I’m heading out on a date with my hubby, but for the most part this is it.  I’m not a huge fan of the Loreal Voluminous mascara, and I’m always searching for that perfect one.  If you have one you know and love, do share.

Brows are my thing, and I use quite a few tools to tame my wild/uneven brows.  I’ve gotten it down to almost a science over the years, but when I first started doing my brows they took me forever.  Now it’s around 2 minutes a brow and worth every second.  If your eyes are the windows of your face, the brows are their frame.  Frame well, my friends.

Lips:

Nars: Jungle Red.  MAC: please me. Bare Essentials: Marvelous Moxie: Risk it All.  MAC: Russian Red. Revlon: Fairest Nude.  MAC: COSTA CHIC.  Bare Essentials: moxie gloss.

I’ve got a lot of great lipsticks I use depending on my mood and here they are.  (FYI I’m always looking for great new colors, so if you have one you love, do tell.)

Nars Jungle Red is a vibrant slightly orangey pink red that’s pretty matte.

 Mac please me is a great summer pink.  Really bright and cheerful, its also a great matte lipstick.

Bare Essentials: Marvelous Moxie: Risk it All.  If there as a shade of pink that belonged in front of an exclamation point, this is it.  Deep fuchsia with just the right amount of glossy shine.  Lasts forever.

Mac : Russian Red.  The ultimate red lipstick.  Matte with blue undertones.

Revlon:Fairest Nude.  This is my serious go-to.  I go through a lot of tubes of this stuff and I’m not even sorry…

Mac: Costa Chic.  A light orangey pink, perfect for spring/summer months.

Bare Essentials: Moxie Gloss.   Great lipgloss for when you’re in a pinch.  Just the right amount of glossy color to shake off the dead lip look.

So there you have it!  My beauty favorites!  Any questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.  Also, a few of you have asked so I may do a video and show you all how I curl this mane of mine…