Tag Archives: skin care

Feb16

Fix Your Skin Expert Roundup

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Fix Your Skin Expert Roundup

Heyy guys and happy Thursday! So a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by my friends at Fix Your Skin to give some advice in their 2017 Expert Roundup. I have to say, I was completely flattered to have been one out of the 200 dermatologists, makeup artists, bloggers, and skin care experts that were chosen to participate. Not only flattered but SO FREAKING EXCITED!! What an honor!

Skin care has been something that is extremely important to me since I was a teenager. My complexion has always been a feature of mine that I take a lot of pride in so I have always wanted to maintain peaches and cream perfection since I entered high school. Teenage skin made me nervous. Breakouts, acne, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples – whatever name you have for problem skin, I was scared.

The fear of having high school being even shittier if acne was a problem motivated me to create a regime and find products that worked for me. Through trial and error, I was able to find cleansers, moisturizers, serums, and creams that helped to enhance my skin’s beauty, some of which I still use to this day. And, I hate to jinx myself now, but at twenty-two years old I have never had a pimple in my life!

When I tell people my “never had a pimple” fun fact, I always feel very lucky, especially since all of my life and to this day, I constantly commit the biggest skin care no no: I sleep in my makeup!! But, you know what? That’s okay. If sleeping with makeup on is my one bugaboo after close to ten years of diligently caring for my skin, I’d say that I’m doing alright!

Believe me, my high school years were still shit despite a fresh face but I am so thankful that acne was not a problem that was added onto my pile of stress that came from an abundance of mental health issues. I graduated high school, then, when I was eighteen, I began to work at The Body Shop as one of their assistant managers and that just took my always growing knowledge and passion for skin care to a whole other level.

Working at The Body Shop will always remain one of my favorite retail jobs that I have ever worked. I reveled in being able to assist my customers with their skin care needs and create custom regimens to help solve their problems and boost their confidence. It really was a joy and I loved being able to swap skin care stories and secrets with everyone that walked into my store.

I was hungry to learn about all of the products that The Body Shop as well as our competitors offered to provide customers with the best answers to their questions and I was consistently complimented on my expertise. It felt good to be praised for something that I learned, which rarely happened during my high school career and even after I quit working at TBS, I still would always drop skin care knowledge on my mom, sister, friends, and randoms on Facebook when they needed advice.

When lifewithlilred was born in 2014, I knew that product reviews had to be something that was included on my page. I loved being able to steer my readers in the direction of products that I loved while helping them avoid the ones that were ehh…not so much! And you know, I guess this rambling little story about the past ten years of my skin care experimentation is a roundabout way of getting at that I am really freaking proud of myself to have been chosen by Fix Your Skin to be a part of a roundup of people that they considered experts in skin care.

I may not be working in a skin care based field anymore but I do have a blurb on a website dedicated to helping people with their skin care needs. Check it out and be sure to take a look at the full article for more advice:

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I want to thank Fix Your Skin again for including little old me in their Expert Roundup because it means much more than people probably realize! What are some of your skin care tips and tricks? What is one of your most loved skin care products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb6

TJMaxx Gift Card Purchases

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TJMaxx Gift Card Purchases

Hi everyone and happy Monday! This past week was the Special Olympics games and it was a fantastically fun time. All of my students were very successful in their events and I couldn’t be more proud. At the banquet following the games, one of my students and his family presented me with a late graduation present – a beautiful framed photo of myself and my student from last year’s games and a gift card to my favorite place on earth…TJMAXX!!! I was so thankful for such a thoughtful gift because they seriously hit the nail on the head. I love having my new picture of such a happy memory on my desk and I had a blast doing some shopping with my mom to spend my gift card this past weekend.

The prezzie actually couldn’t have come at a better time because I’ve been wanting to do a major skin care haul so I can have a year’s supply of all of my must have beauty items without the hassle of waiting around for deals all year. Until the price is right at The Body Shop for all of my necessities, I was able to put two new moisturizers (as I was running low on my Vitamin E TBS cream) and one of my favorite cleansers on back stock. Take a look:

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The Haul:

  • Destiny Boutique charcoal cleanser
  • Lanocreme day cream
  • Arad day cream

In case you guys don’t already know, I’m obsessed with Destiny Boutique and I got this cleanser from TJs not too long ago. But, I saw it in the beauty section and thought it would be a great addition to my skin care back stock so into the cart it went. After finding my favorite cleanser, it was time to look for some new moisturizers. When it comes to creams, my skin really isn’t picky at all but I had the hardest time finding them in the TJs beauty aisle. Seriously, all they seemed to have was night creams and masks so I felt lucky that I found two day creams that I think will work just fine.

I’m always excited to try products that isn’t native to the ol’ USA so when I saw that the Lanocreme moisturizer was made in New Zealand, I definitely wanted to give it a go. As far as the Arad cream goes, I have never used any of their products but I have heard good things so I decided to go with that one, too. I’m a little anxious to try both of these out considering I’ve been using The Body Shop’s Vitamin E moisturizer steadily for the past couple of months so we’ll see how it goes. Fingers crossed that I’ll have good things to say about it in an upcoming monthly beauty finishes post!

The last of my gift card was used on restocking the communal TBS body butter and lotion hoard that my mom and I share. A Raspberry body butter for me, Vanilla Chai for her, and a cocoa butter lotion – my favorite! If you love The Body Shop products as much as my mom and myself and you have a TJMaxx near you, then I can’t recommend stopping in and scoping out their beauty aisle enough. You never know what you might find!

So there you have it, my TJMaxx Gift Card Purchases! What is one of your favorite items from The Body Shop? What is one of your favorite scores from TJMaxx? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan30

January 2017 Finishes

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January 2017 Finishes

Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. With January coming to a close and the reminder of Valentine’s Day in February coming in at full force, it’s time to talk about my empties for the month. I actually had a lot of finishes in January which I was so happy about because I was working on a few of them for quite a while and it’s always fun to start something new! Take a look at the products that I bid adieu to this month and let’s discuss:

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Would I Use Again?

  • The Body Shop Argon Oil body wash: YES
  • Peace, Love, & Juicy Couture lotion: NO!!!!
  • Jergens BB Protect lotion: YES
  • St. Ives Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange scrub: YES
  • Olay Total Effects moisturizer: MAYBE
  • Yes To Grapefruit Correct & Repair treatment: NO
  • The Body Shop Almond body butter: YES

Why/Why Not?

TBS Body Wash: This jumbo sized body wash was compliments of TJMaxx for a whopping EIGHT dollars. It took me well over three months to finish completely and I would definitely use it again. The Argon Oil scent is mild and soft and it left my skin feeling well moisturized after each use. It might not be my favorite scent that TBS has to offer but getting the jumbo sized shower gels from TJs is a steal so I take what I can get!

Juicy Couture Lotion: This is a product that I’ve been putting off using for a long, long time because it smells like butt! Many Christmases ago my mom gifted me with a Peace, Love, & Juicy Couture box set that came with the perfume and this lotion. I don’t think that I have ever even used the perfume and the only reason that I finally caved and used the lotion was to be rid of it! The smell…it just isn’t for me. It is so overpoweringly flowery and god knows what else and I (and my entire family, who reminded me every time I wore it) completely hated it. It took me about three weeks to finish this lotion and I could not have been happier to see it go! BYE FELICIA.

Jergens Lotion: I won this Jergens BB lotion from a giveaway last year along with the BB hand cream, which I loved. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this body lotion again but if it were offered to me or if it were cheap enough, I would snag it. I liked how light it smelled and how quickly it absorbed but it was not an incredibly great value as I finished it after about four uses!

St. Ives Scrub: You guys already know that I love my St. Ives products and this scrub is no exception. First of all, the Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange scent is delicious. It is so invigorating and bright and I loved using it first thing in the morning. Second of all, my skin felt great after every use. It both felt and looked radiant and instantly took away the dull, tired look that sleep can bring to your skin. It took me a little over one month to finish this scrub.

Olay Moisturizer: This empty is actually compliments of my mom who handed it down to me two days before Christmas because I was all out of whatever I was using. She said there was about two uses left which was great because I knew that I would be getting more moisturizer and skin care goodies under the tree! My mom was dead wrong though, because I got about three weeks of use out of the rest of this product which shows that just a little bit of it goes a long way. This moisturizer absorbed quickly and its scent was subtle and mild which I liked, however, the texture was too thin for my liking. I like moisturizers with a little bit of heaviness to it, like The Body Shop’s Vitamin E cream, so this Olay one just didn’t pack enough of a punch for me. I won’t say that I wouldn’t use it again but it’s not something that I’m dying to buy after using it for close to a month.

Yes To Grapefruit Treatment: I like the idea of this Correct & Repair treatment but it really didn’t do much for me. The grapefruit scent did smell great but I never saw any noticeable differences in my skin after using it. I used this product about three to four times per month and it lasted me three months so the value of it was good but that’s really all I have to say for it. I think that this product was trying really hard to be a peel and it just didn’t work out that way. Rather, it was more like a scrub that sat on your face for ten minutes before washing off. -__-

TBS Body Butter: I love, love, LOVE the almond scent from TBS so when I saw this for SIX bucks at TJs, I had to grab it! The light nutty scent is so rich despite its subtleness and it just feels (and smells) so good on the skin. I love putting body butter on after a nice, long bath so it was a treat to be able to use one of my favorites for the past month which is about how long it lasted for me, too!

The month of January brought me seven finished products and some I loved and some…not so much! But that just means that I have seven new products to test in the months ahead which is something that I always look forward to. I would say that this month was still very successful as there were quite a few empties that I would definitely use again but I am so ready for the newbie products come February!

So there you have it, my January 2017 Finishes! Have any of you ever used any of the above products before? What did you think of them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan27

Show Ageing Who’s Boss With These Hot Lifestyle Tips

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When it comes to ageing, most of us have a tendency to not really take it all that seriously. Pre-30, or even pre-40 (40 is the new 30, after all!) many women don’t even think about ageing – which is understandable, when you are too busy living your life to notice! But regrettably, ageing does end up affecting us all at some point. Plus, women tend to age more quickly and more severely than men, meaning you could reach a stage where you look much older than your partner. The main difficulty with the physical ageing process is that once it’s happened, it can be quite hard to turn back the clock – sometimes impossible, in fact. So, here are some ways that you can start to prevent the ageing process from happening – it might seem tiresome at first, but your future self will thank you!

Avoid Stress: Easier said than done, of course – but stress is one of the leading causes of ageing, much more so than people usually think. Stress can deprive us of much needed restorative sleep which helps our skin, hair, and bodies in general to recover every day. Sleepless nights can, as a result, begin a breakdown in the collagen of our skin, meaning we are automatically more prone to wrinkles. Stress can also be a leading cause behind hair loss and the thinning of hair, too. If you suffer from stress and find that it affects you more than other people, dedicate some time to taking better care of yourself – whether it is a spa break, taking a yoga class once a week, or some R&R time with a cup of tea and a good book.

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Massages are a fab stress reliever

Wear Sunscreen: We’ve all been told a thousand times from our parents about the importance of wearing sunscreen – but, chances are, we ignored it in our teenage years! Everyone wants to get a tan, of course – but don’t compromise the health of your skin to do so. Too much exposure to UV rays without adequate protection can lead to wrinkly skin with the appearance of leather – not a good look. Of course, if the damage is already done you can always turn back the clock with facelift surgery. But, if like most people you would rather avoid the issue entirely as opposed to having to cure it, stay out of the sun around midday and always wear sunscreen.

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Who needs a tan anyways!

Implement a Good Skincare Routine: Having a skincare regime might seem like a bit of a hassle in your already busy life. But the younger you start, the better your skin will look in years to come. Try and get into the habit of using a gentle cleanser every day and moisturize once your skin is dry. You may also want to use an exfoliating scrub every so often, as this will help to rub away dead skin cells and any excess oil that could be clogging up your pores. Finally, always remember to take your makeup off at night. It may seem like a chore when you’ve got in late, but your skin will thank you for it.

Jan25

Mia Toro Luggage

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Mia Toro Luggage

Hiii everyone and happy Hump Day! So this past weekend my mom and I went on a quick trip to TJMaxx just to get out of the house for a little bit. To be frank, the store was not looking all that great because of the transition from cold to warm weather clothing and the end of season clearance sales. But, despite this, I was still able to walk away with two things that I simply love. This includes the gorgeous Mia Toro Paris themed luggage seen below which will be absolutely perfect for my future trip to Europe. Take a look:

I have had my eye on this darling rolling luggage for literal months now but never much cared to by it because it was priced at a steep one hundred smackers. And after about a month or so of the luggage being at the store, it was gone. In my head, I thought that that was that and I would just have to settle for something less cute once my European travels are a go. It turns out that, four months later, I was wrong.

My mom was actually the one who spotted the Mia Toro baggage sitting among all of the other travel accessories, so a major shout out to her! And, even better, the price was slashed to fifty-six bucks, which I thought was totally reasonable. To put it lightly, I was completely TICKLED that some way, some how my beautiful luggage found its way back to me and at a fraction of the cost, to boot!

Needless to say, the luggage was coming home with me and my mom was kind enough to treat me to it since it was originally supposed to be one of my Christmas presents before it vanished into thin air. I think that this rolling suitcase is the most precious thing on the planet and I love absolutely everything about it. The size, colors, and pattern – *muah* c’est magnifique!

Nothing will be better than rolling into the airport with my Mia Toro Paris themed luggage in tow as Lil Red goes Europe! Love. Love. Freaking LOVE. It truly was my lucky day during that trip to TJs because I was also able to snag my FAVORITE skin care item – the Destiny Boutique Charcoal Face Bar.

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If you ever encounter this beauty bar, then I really encourage you to get it. I have been using the same bar since the middle of OCTOBER and it is still going strong!! My skin has never looked better thanks to the cleansing power of charcoal and because of the bar’s gigantic size, I’m sure that I’ll still be working on the same one for another few months. I’m so happy to have found another one to put in back stock and at six bucks per bar, I consider it a super steal! GREAT SUCCESS!!

Obviously, I’m beyond obsessed with my Mia Toro Luggage and can’t believe how lucky I got during my last trip to TJMaxx! What is your favorite score from TJs? What are some must see locations in Europe that I should check out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan17

Moisturize That Skin: How To Take Care Of Your Complexion Over Winter

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Moisturize That Skin: How To Take Care Of Your Complexion Over Winter

Over the winter, it’s hard to keep your skin looking flawless. Although we all know that the summer sun can be very damaging for our skin, we often don’t think about the damage that’s done by bitingly cold temperatures and harsh winter winds. With red cheeks, chapped lips, and sore hands, we need a winter remedy to help us feel beautiful again. Luckily, there are many tips and tricks for keeping your skin fresh and picture perfect all year long:

Step Up Your Skincare: We always make sure that we’re wearing sunscreen over the summer – or we should, at least! But people often don’t realize that it’s important to wear a high SPF over the winter, too, because the winter sun can be just as damaging with its UV rays. Make sure that you put your sunscreen or a moisturizer with a high SPF on underneath your makeup and apply it to your neck and décolletage too. Put on night cream when you go to bed at night, along with eye cream. If you get oily skin, try using a gel moisturizer instead – just make sure that you don’t use a cleanser that’s too abrasive and that strips your skin of the natural oils that it needs to stay healthy.

If you have been using skin care that is appropriate for your skin type and are still not satisfied with the results, there are other options. You can go to an esthetician for treatments or you can look for more permanent solutions with a Plastic surgeon in Corsicana, TX (or your local area). Plastic surgery is sometimes still regarded as a taboo subject, but there is nothing wrong with it as long as you are comfortable and are, of course, going to a safe and reputable practice.

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Such cute specs!

Keep Hydrated: In the summer, it’s easy to make sure that you drink plenty of water when it’s so hot outside. Skin cells are made up of water and if you don’t drink enough, then your complexion starts to look dull and lifeless, so it’s important that you keep drinking water all throughout the winter, too. If you’re finding it hard to make yourself do so, why not make flavored water at home with your favorite fruits?

Drinking water will make your skin look fresh and glowing, and it’ll improve your general health – not just that of your skin. Make sure that you take off your makeup every evening with a cleanser that doesn’t strip the natural oils from your skin. If you find that your soap or shampoo aren’t foaming up enough but leaving a greasy layer of residue behind on your skin instead, then you might live in a hard water area – try investing in a water softener to improve matters.

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Drink up!

Fake It Till You Make It: If you’re finding it difficult to get perfect skin this winter, then there is always makeup to help with that. You might need a slightly paler shade of foundation than you do in the summer – or if you want lighter coverage with more moisturizing properties, why not go for BB cream instead? Lightly coat your under-eyes with translucent powder before brushing it away to erase any dark circles and do some light contouring to highlight your cheekbones.

A blusher like NARS Orgasm will add some warm color to your cheeks and if you want to go for a more golden summery look, try a golden highlighter and a light layer of bronzer. Complete the look with eye makeup in warm shades like the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette. Winter is the time that you can be a little more experimental with your lip color, so go for a dark berry shade – just make sure you’ve exfoliated your lips first!

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Love NYX!

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Jan10

Blogger’s Blooming Business

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Blogger’s Blooming Business

Heyyy guys! When I have a friend who is very dear to me, I always make sure that I am one hundred percent supportive of all of their creative endeavors. One of my beloved blogging beauties, Miss Angela, has been a reader turned friend of mine for quite some time now. I can always look to Angela for rays of positivity and sunshine whether it be on her Facebook page or in my comments section and it always brightens my day infinitely.

Recently, Angela opened her own Etsy shop, Angie’s Bath & Body, which is chock full of amazing homemade and natural bath and body goodies. There are body butters, bath salts and fizzies, sugar scrubs, and so much more to browse through and I promise you that they both look and smell simply delicious! I encourage all of you to take a look at Angie’s Bath & Body and give some love to one of my dear blogging friends and maybe even treat yourself to some new luxury bath and body care! Love you, Ang!

Jan9

Four Tips That Will Help You Get The Body You’ve Always Dreamed Of

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It’s been said that the best way to get your summer body is to start working on it during the winter. Arguably, all you need for the perfect ‘beach body’ is to have a body, and to be on the beach – but there’s nothing wrong with making sure that you feel beautiful. Here are some tips to help…

Eat Well: It’s important that you eat healthily all year. Of course, there are times when you might want to pig out – Thanksgiving and Christmas particularly, and let’s not forget about Halloween candy! But as a rule, you should try not to use the winter as an excuse to wear oversized sweaters and gain weight. Make sure that you meal plan, don’t snack too much, and that once the holidays are over you go back to your normal eating habits.

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Yummm

Get Active: One of the best ways to feel better about your body is to impress yourself by what it’s capable of. We spend so much time worrying about our stomachs and thighs that we don’t focus enough on what they can do. If you’re able bodied, then your legs are great no matter what they look like – they’re strong and they carry you around and they do their job! Think about the positives rather than the negatives. Try out Couch To 5K – it’ll build you up into being able to run a 5k, and you’ll be delighted at what your body can do when given a little pushing. You could also try out yoga. If there are no classes near you or if you aren’t feeling very confident yet, try out the YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene. You’ll be amazed at how quickly muscle builds up and how much your balance will improve.

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Go, go go!

Try Cosmetic Options: If you are really unhappy with your body, then there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from getting cosmetic surgery and treatments to improve your self-esteem. If you hate having to shave your legs and bikini line, then try out laser hair removal so you don’t have to get expensive, painful waxes or sort out your stubbly shins every day when you’re on vacation. If you’re self-conscious about your figure, try out body contouring, a sort of liposuction that will eliminate unwanted fat. If you want to find out more, read it at www.Clderm.com/non-surgical-lipo.

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Pixabay Image

Get Smoother Skin: During the winter, when you’re covering up in black opaque tights,  jeans, and sometimes even thermal underwear (!!!), the condition of your skin is the furthest thing from your mind. But make sure that you stay smooth and glowing by exfoliating your body at least twice a week. If you shave your legs, chances are they’re a little rough and not in the best condition, so make sure that you use a good shaving foam. Hair conditioner also helps to keep your legs soft and smooth when you’re shaving them. Put on moisturizing body cream, especially before you go to bed, so you can let it sink in overnight. During the day, use a cream that complements the scent of your perfume so you can feel perfectly put together.

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Body butter is a must!

Dec26

December Finishes

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December Finishes

Hello everyone and a very happy Monday to all! I hope that those who celebrated Christmas yesterday had a fantastic day and that everyone is enjoying the holiday season. This is my last post about my monthly empties for 2016 and it is kind of a blah one because all of the products are from The Body Shop! This month was about sticking with what I know and using up some of my favorite products from my go to bath and body and skin care shopping spot. So take a look and let’s discuss:

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Would I Use Again?

  • The Body Shop Strawberry Body Scrub: YES
  • The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisturizer: YES
  • The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Butter: YES
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost: YES

Why/Why Not?

Strawberry Scrub: The scrubs from TBS are a must for me when I am shaving, as they exfoliate, moisturize, and lift the hair from their follicles which results in a smoother shave. I love both the strawberry and satsuma scrub and was lucky enough to find both at TJMaxx for five dollars apiece. Score! The best thing about this scrub is how well it lathers – a small quarter sized squeeze can easily cover your entire leg! A little goes such a long way with this product which is why I finally finished it after the better part of five months. I essentially paid a dollar a month to use my scrub and I can totally get down with that!

Moisturizer: I have wrote about my beloved Vitamin E Moisturizer many a times and my love for it grows with every use. This cream is perfectly in between a heavy and light consistency which leaves your skin feeling like peaches and cream every time. Your skin will look and feel so smooth, soft, and dreamy creamy. Thankfully, I got another jar for Christmas since I’m all out! It took me about a month and a half to finish this moisturizer.

Cocoa Butter: The cocoa butter is easily my favorite body butter that the store has to offer. It smells deliciously rich and chocolate-y in the most subtle way and you can feel it nourishing you as soon as it makes contact with your skin. This was the scent that I always recommended when I worked at The Body Shop because I feel like everyone who uses it loves it just the same. The nice thing about cocoa butter is that it is not as heavy as the Shea butter for those who like something lighter, like myself. Make sure you ask the employees at the store about which butters have a cocoa or Shea butter base next time you shop to get the consistency that you like! It took me about a month to finish this body butter which I scored for six bucks at TJs!

Vitamin C Boost: I am sure that all of you guys know by now about my undying love for the Vitamin C Skin Boost. I have been using this stuff since I was a teenager and I honestly don’t think that I will ever stop. I really feel like my skin looks brighter and more radiant thanks to consistent use of this product and I am so thankful for it! Nothing is better to me than luminescent skin so to achieve that with two pumps of the skin boost per day seems like a no brainer! It took me three months to finish this product.

It was such a treat to use up some of my favorite goodies from The Body Shop this month. It left me feeling perfectly pampered and incredibly happy that I was able to take care of my body with some of the products that I feel are the very best. Here’s to many more skin, beauty, and body care must haves in 2017!

So there you have it, my December Finishes! Please stay tuned this week for some of my favorite new items in my holiday haul! What was your favorite beauty product of 2016? Did anyone score any new makeup or beauty items for the holidays? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec19

The Perfect Festive Night In

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The Perfect Festive Night In

The countdown to Christmas is on, by the end of this week we’ll be tucking into a big dinner and ripping open the presents under the tree! But in the meantime, why not enjoy the run-up to Christmas? It’s that perfect time of year when everyone is truly in the festive spirit; chances are you’ve already broken up from work and have free time to relax and enjoy yourself. Here’s everything you need for a perfect, festive night in.

Make Your Surroundings Cozy: Whether it’s your comfy sofa with plenty of throws and pillows, or your bed with gorgeous, clean sheets make sure that you have everything situated for cold winter cuddles. If you want to really treat yourself you could buy a brand new set to use; Christmas bedding is a popular choice, or you could go with something luxurious like hotel bedding from Richard Haworth. Light some candles, turn on the heating, draw the curtains and create the perfect cozy environment to enjoy your evening.

Use Some Pampering Products: A pampering bath is the perfect way to begin your cozy night in. A soak in a hot bath with a luxurious bath oil, bath bomb, or bubbles will warm you up and have you feeling perfectly relaxed. You could use a face mask to treat your skin, and a hair mask to nourish your locks. You could paint your nails in a festive shade and use your most indulgent skin care to leave your skin feeling extra smooth and soft. We all have those products which we save for a special occasion, so why not make that now!

Change into Comfy Pajamas: Once you’re out of the bath, comfy pajamas are a must. You can buy pajama sets, dressing gowns, fluffy socks, and slippers all for relatively cheap, and they’re great for this time of year. You want pieces that are ultra soft and comfortable so you can properly lounge. I recommend TJMaxx for all of your pajama needs – that’s where I stocked up!

Prepare Some Festive Food and Drink: Enjoy some of the delicious festive snacks that you probably wouldn’t have during the rest of the year. Hot chocolate with all the trimmings, or a glass of mulled wine. Lots of chocolate and indulgences- Christmas isn’t a time to be counting calories! Allow yourself whatever you want, guilt free. The inevitable New Year’s detox is right around the corner so may as well enjoy it while you can!

Decide On a Few Things To Do: Do you have a box set that you’ve been dying to start, or a program you want to catch up on? Now is the time to put it on. You could scour Netflix for some Christmas films or download lots of books to your Kindle. You could listen to music, Skype a friend or family member, or even put on a meditation app and just relax. This is a great time to catch up on all of the fun things that you want to do on a regular day, but just don’t have the time for. Having time to sit around and do whatever you want gives your mind a much-needed break from work. When you eventually do go back in in January, you’ll be well rested and ready to go.

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