Browsing Category: Skincare

Best Drugstore Moisturizers for the Winter

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The cold weather has barely touched down here in Memphis and my skin is already cracking and craving for moisture all day. Over the years, I’ve learned that some of the best moisturizers are found at any local drug store and most for less than $15 for a nice jar full that can last you all winter.

All moisturizers aren’t the same, especially depending on your need. For the winter, you should look for moisturizers that are a little thicker and creamy as opposed to the light and liquid lotion moisturizers for spring and summer. Cold weather sucks out the moisture from your skin and leaves a tougher skin, literally. So, that means you need a heavier and tougher moisturizer to absorb through cracks.

So, here is a list of some of my favorite drugstore moisturizers for the winter.

  • Nivea Creme, $5.99 – This is classic. I actually load up on the .99 cent tins of this every winter to leave in my purse, car, and desk at work.
  • Aveeno Active Naturals Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream, $11.29 – This is the perfect moisturizer for you natural ingredient loving chicas (y chicos). The consistence isn’t too thick or heavy, but is a great moisturizer to use on your face and body.
  • CeraVe’ Moisturizing Cream, $13.39 – This moisturizer give me a very medicinal feel and scent. It definitely not only moisturizes your skin, but also repairs already dry and skin.
  • Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, $13.59 – Cetaphil is my holy grail for skin care. If are a fan of their moisturizing lotion, then you should know that this pretty much a thicker version of the moisturizing lotion. Great for all skin types, including sensitive skin. Another classic.

Stay Stylish!

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My Summer 2013 Clean Team

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Clean skin is must-have for everyone. However, in the summer, I find myself becoming more obsessed with making sure my face is clean and fresh.

This summer, I’m all about clean and fresh skin WHILE using the least amount of products and steps as possible. So, here are my simple steps and products in my skin care cleansing routine.

  • Target Eye Make-Up Remover – Although I hardly wear, if any, any eyeshadow in the summer, I’m a major fan of mascara and liquid liner all year. So, a good eye makeup remover is so neccessary. Target’s Up and Up brand has a really lovely and gentle remover that effortlessly wipes away all the melted goop your eyes have at the end of a hot work day.
  • Pond’s Cold Cream – What? You don’t have a cold cream? You should, because they are pretty amazing. The one I use from Pond’s loosens and removes the foundation, blush, concealer and all the brow powder that I put on in the morning, but has gathered in a pool of oil in my pores on my face at the end of the day. Also, it’s very moisturizing.
  • Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Wipes – Skincare staple. These are great. I keep a pack in my purse for those makeup-free days and need to wipe away sweat and dirt off my skin while refreshing my skin. Also, I use them to give my skin one final wipe to make sure that all the makeup has been removed.
  • Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser – Hands down, the best cleanser for all skin types. Ask any dermatologist. It’s gentle and doesn’t strip your skin. I use this day and night. Its the final cleanse I do. It’s the supervisor for the rest of the cleaning steps.
  • Aveeno Positive Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads – This is my morning cleaner. Wet my face, wipe face when the exfoliating side of the wipe, then the smooth side, and finally rinse my face. My face feels so clean, fresh, and smooth afterwards.
  • Simple Soothing Facial Toner – Toner is probably one of the most important, but overlooked step in skincare routines. I use to use products that contained some form of acne treatment before I realized that it was horribly stripping and drying out my skin. Therefore, I set out to find a gentle toner and then entered Simple’s soothing toner. It calms, softens, and soothes the skin. Perfection.

After cleansing my face, I apply a lightweight moisturizer for the day and pure shea or cocoa butter at night. Also, when needed, a spot treatment. This routine/regimen has been working wonderfully and quickly gets me to the nearest cool and air-conditioned spot.

Stay Stylish!

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Make-Up Monday…err..Tuesday: Recent Empties #1

Some of you might not know this, but I some point in my life I was a HUGE make-up buying motha-lova, especially in college! Seriously. I’ve bought so much make-up over my life that I still have plenty that could hold me for the rest of the my life if it wasn’t for those pesky expiration dates. Yes, make-up has expiration dates!

Anyway, the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve decided to spread my money elsewhere such as to clothes, home decor, and oh, yeah…bills. 🙁  So, when it has been coming to me running out of a make-up product, I’ve been doing one of two things; See if I already have something to replace it with OR decide if I really need it and buy a replacement that I already know works (read: No new products that I haven’t tried and loved before.)

So, here are some reviews on products that I completely used up and ran out of recently. From left to right, ladies and gents.

  • Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation, $29.50, Vichy – I bought this online in January 2011 while being snowed in at my apartment alone. Whenever anyone is stranded indoors with some form of internet access, there has to be some major spikes in online sales. If you have skin discoloration or moments where you need small touches of full coverage, then this is the product you need to keep in your makeup collection. Full coverage, with SPF and allergy tested and approved. This stuff lasts almost forever and I probably would’ve had this longer, but I began to mix it with another foundation (next product) so that helped me run out. The only set back for this foundation is that there aren’t many color selections, only 4 to be exact. I got the “darkest” color they offered which is Golden and it was super light on my NC42 skin. I hope they get more colors eventually, but until then find a good darker and super lightweight foundation to mix with it. I will definitely be buying this again and hopefully soon.
  • Maybelline Pure Makeup Foundation in Dark, $8.89, Amazon – I bought this foundation about 3 years ago, I believe (eekk!) when a local drugstore chain was bought out by Walgreens and they were selling EVERYTHING at drastically low prices. I think I paid only $1 for this foundation which was brand new. Dark was the closet color they had to my complexion that wasn’t too light. After some quick Google searches, it seems like this product has been discontinued, which sucks, because this foundation was pretty great. It was 50% water and oil free, which meant lightweight and great for practically all skin types. The application was really smooth and quite lovely. When I ran out of my Clinique Stay-Matte foundation, I reached for this one. However, it was still too dark for me. So, I began mixing it with just a dab of the dermablend foundation(above) and I was in love with the mixture of the two. They provided me with the perfect shade, coverage, and texture! Although it might be discontinued, you can still find some online retailers selling it, but I would be a leary about the expiration dates considering I’m not sure if or when this was discontinued. I wish I could’ve tried this in a color closer to my complexion.
  • Origins VitaZing moisturizer and GinZing eye cream, $30 and $35, Origins.com – I got these 2 items in a special set at Macy’s a few months ago and apparently they were the perfect amount to compliment each other, because I ran out of both within 2 days of each other. Nice! Anyway, I loved these guys! The eye cream is great and you can read my quick and to the point review here. The moisturizer was 2-fer! It was moisturizer, but also has a sheer tint of color, which gives the skin a nice and luminous glow underneath your makeup. I would definitely buy these products again in the future, especially the eye cream.

Okay, there you have a list of products that I emptied! I wonder what are the things I’m going to hit empty or “pan” on. Well, we’ll see!

Stay Stylish!

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It Works!: Origins GinZing Eye Cream

Why beat around the bush with some reviews. Sometimes, you just want to know does it work.

Origins’ GinZing Eye Cream is to help brighten and depuff eyes. Does it? YES, it did and still does on my eyes, at least.

Ever since I started using it, my under eye area has been brighter and my under eye concealer is smoother and brighter. Lovely!

If you are having problems with dull and/or puffy undereyes, then you might want to try this. I’m just saying.

Stay Stylish!

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