Tag Archives: THANKS

Interior Trends That You’ll Simply Love in 2017

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Interior Trends That You’ll Simply Love in 2017

Hii everyone and happy hump day! My friend, Chloe, was kind enough to write a guest post for lifewithlilred about some super cool home decor tips for the new year. She did an amazing job and I am so happy to be able to host her on my page! Check it out:

Interior Trends That You’ll Simply Love in 2017:

Another year’s drawing to an end, and while most homeowners are busy putting up Christmas decorations and making plans for the holiday ahead, interior designers already have their eyes locked on the trends that will mark the season to come. In 2016, we’ve seen a rise of the open-plan living, gentle blends of rose and gold touches, mix-and-match decors, eclectic traveler and boho chic aesthetics, 3D gallery walls, and other suave home features, some of which will stay in vogue in 2017. Nevertheless, in addition to the trending features, the year to come will bring along a few new design tendencies to help house-proud homeowners dial up the visual game in their nests. Here are five of the biggest trends we’ll be seeing more of in the year to come:

1. Upholstered Headboards for Snug Dreams:

Upholstered headboards entered the home decor scene through the back door in the past few years, infusing chic bedrooms with an extra dose of interest and comfort. The popularity of cute tufted headboards will persist in 2017, pushing minimalist timber bed frames out of style.

This is such a simple way to add a dose of glamour and elegance to the bedroom. Upholstered bed frames will rock neutral hues, dramatic buttons, and sumptuous fabrics such as velvet or plush for vintage aesthetics and first-rate comfort.

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2. Spare Hours Lulled in Mother Nature’s Lap:

Natural materials were a huge hit among interior designers over the past couple of years and it looks like the trend will stick around for at least one year longer. Natural stone and wood will remain on trend in stylish homes in 2017, but this year around, they’ll be topped by cork panels and unexpected combinations starring metal and sensitive materials. Cork will climb up stylish home office walls, providing a blank (and noise-proof) canvas for creative wall art experiments and note-pinning sprees.

At the same time, rattan, bamboo, leather, and fur will conquer suave living areas, instilling the modern home with a dose of style au naturale.

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3. A Nod to Bygone Eras and Dreamy Designs:

In 2017, vintage, shabby chic, and boho interiors will remain on trend, but they’ll be joined by a few more time-honored designs, such as mid-century modern, Victorian, and classic décor. For a touch of old-school charisma, you can update the living room following in retro footsteps, and if you want to tweak the bedroom to get the biggest stylistic bang for your buck, you may want to check this out and use expert cues to dial up the boudoir visuals and overall home aesthetics.

In case you want to pay tribute to the more rugged among time-tested home styles, you can infuse your nest with rough-looking extras such as animal hides, furs, and reclaimed wood.

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4. Revamped and Re-Imagined Color Palette:

As for the trending hues in the season ahead, Pantone has already rolled out their tonal picks for spring and summer, branding green as the color of the year 2017. Versatile, vigorous, and trans-seasonal, textiles and accessories in bright green will fit in natural-inspired decors and liven up a minimalist home with a dose of playful contrast and unexpected tonal accents.

Other colors that will sneak into stylish living areas in the year ahead will include terracotta, brown, grey, and dark blue, along with a nod to jewel tones which will be used as accents to rev up visual interest and add vibrancy to the room.

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5. Stainless Steel for a Dose of Stylistic Chill:

Although the focus of designers’ attention in the year to come will rest on mix-and-match decor formulas and creative reinterpretations of classic designs, modern materials will still have their rightful place in a 2017 home. Stainless steel and original combinations of metallic surfaces such as bronze, brass, copper, wrought iron, and brushed aluminum will help define a well-grounded framework for textural and tonal experiments. A subtle way to add a note of contemporary chill to top-notch homes, stainless steel and metal finishes will help maintain aesthetic balance and keep the visual scale snugly secured halfway between vintage fluff and 21st-century industrial.

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Other up-and-coming trends we can expect to see in the year ahead include a growing affection for natural fiber and coarse textiles, the return of farmhouse and country style, the rise of luxury furnishings and retro-inspired pieces such as mantelpieces, fire pits, all-wood deck furniture, and a slow comeback of the traditional closed room layout.

Judging by the looks of it, the year ahead will be marked by quite a few awe-inspiring interior designs, so if you’re looking to doll up your home any time soon, make sure you keep an eye out for new trends and add a few fresh decor pieces to take the look of your home from dull to fab. Good luck!

^^^ Thank you so much to Chloe for treating lifewithlilred to this post!! -Sarah

Loft Unicorn Sweater

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Loft Unicorn Sweater

Heyyy everyone and happy Thursday! I feel like such a dummy because I forgot one of my absolute favorite presents that I received from my mom in the Best Of My Holiday Haul. My mom and I love shopping at Loft and in early December, the most darling sweater was featured in their holiday ads that we were thumbing through. It was a deep navy blue and had an outline of a unicorn stitched in the middle with baby blue thread. I expressed my love for it to my beloved mother and the sneaky devil must have ordered it shortly after! Take a look:

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So. Cute!

One thing that I really love are fun and unique sweaters. It is so easy to get lost in the blah of constant cable knit that one might simply forget that there is so much more in the world of sweaters. As one of my favorite 60 degrees and below weather staples, I am always on the lookout for new sweaters to add to my collection. I love fun colors, patterns, and pictures and I think that this unicorn stitched sweater is just perfect! Thank you so much for such an amazing gift, mom. I LOVE YOU!! ❤

Loft has more adorable animal sweaters in store and online but bear in mind that they run very large. The sweater pictured above is an extra small so it might be wise to size down so you’re not swimming in it!

My new Loft Unicorn Sweater is one of my favorites and I have already worn it twice since receiving it on Christmas! Who went to an ugly sweater party this year? What is one of your favorite sweaters in your wardrobe? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Best Of My Holiday Haul

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Best Of My Holiday Haul

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope this holiday season brought you lots of fabulous goodies and some amazing quality time with your family and friends. This Christmas brought me a great big holiday haul thanks to celebrating with two families (mine and my boyfriend’s) and my best friend. I won’t bore you with featuring all of my prezzies but here are a few of my favorites from my holiday haul! Take a look:

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The Haul:

  • Arturo Chiang heels from my sister
  • Thug Kitchen cookbook from my sister’s boyfriend
  • Philosophy bubble bath, a stuffed bunny, and plaid gloves from my boyfriend

What I Like About You:

Arturo Chiang Heels: My sister spoiled me rotten with these shoes!! Kristen knows that I love all things footwear and I told her I needed one more pair for an empty space on my shoe wall. She took this need to heart and picked out a perfect pair for me in my favorite color – black! I was so excited about these because I was looking at a pair of perforated heels from TJMaxx and didn’t end up buying them but I like my gifted pair so much more! I am so happy to add my Arturo Chiang heels to my shoe wall arsenal and can’t wait to stomp it out in them once the weather warms up.

Thug Kitchen: Finally, someone sees me for the thug that I truly am! My sister’s boyfriend, Ramon, gave me this cookbook along with a Starbucks gift card and I thought that it was so thoughtful. Ramon is one of my best friends and I really appreciated that he picked out something that I actually really like – an all vegetarian cookbook doused in profanity! Thug Kitchen is filled with amazing vegetarian dishes and is freaking hysterical. Not that I would expect anything less from a cookbook that is subtitled “Eat Like You Give a Fuck”!!

Boyfriend Presents: As always, my Kyle spoils me during gift giving occasions and this Christmas was no exception. Among a huge haul of gifts from him, my bath wash, bunny, and gloves are some of my favorites. I love Philosophy products but I would never buy them for myself so I am so excited to use my Vanilla Birthday Cake scented body wash, especially because my favorite fragrance is anything vanilla!

There is actually a cute little story behind my blushing pink stuffed bunny. I have been begging Kyle to get me a real rabbit for Christmas since the beginning of the year but unfortunately, my mom is not on board with the idea. So for now, the stuffie will do but it definitely doesn’t beat the real thing! And finally, I adore my new gloves. The gift shop at Kyle’s restaurant has new variations of these gloves every year and I loved the black and maroon pairs that he got me last Christmas. But I think that this plaid pair is even better! I love the colors and the bow that goes across the wrist is too cute. 🙂

This is just a tiny peek at my holiday haul and I am so thankful for everything that I received this year as well as the time spent with my loved ones. So special shout out to them for making my Christmas one of the best yet!

So there you have it, the Best Of My Holiday Haul! What did you guys score this holiday season? Did you receive anything that you were madly in love with or ehh not so much? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hello everyone and happy happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! I’ll keep this post short and sweet because I am sure all of you have some driving, cooking, and HELLA eating to do! I just wanted to wish everyone the happiest of Thanksgivings today and a most wonderful holiday season. All of my readers and blogging friends already know how thankful I am for each and every one of you but I will say it again: I’M THANKFUL FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Thank you for always offering me your support, kind words, and friendship!

Have an amazing day and don’t get too down on yourself if you have to unbutton your pants button or add a few more notches to your belt! As always, I plan on going hard this Thanksgiving and hope everyone does the same! What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? What is your favorite holiday tradition? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

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Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! I haven’t done any of the fun tags and awards that I have been nominated for for awhile but when my super cute friend K.M. tagged me for the Travel Tag, I had to give it a go! I am hopefully crossing the ocean in the spring of 2017 to the UK for a graduation gift to myself so travel has been on my mind constantly. Before you read my answers to K.M.’s travel themed questions, please be sure to check out her wonderful blog at Ankhor You! I love chatting with K.M. via comments and Facebook and I am sure all of you will adore her just as much as I do!

Q & A:

You are leaving tomorrow to start a life in a new country, where would you go?

FRANCE!! Mais, oui. I have been studying French since high school and I am nowhere near fully fluent but I am very dedicated to becoming so. I love everything about France – the people, culture, language, food, scenery – EVERYTHING. So, needless to say, if you don’t hear from me in a while, just know that I have packed up and gone away to France.

You can take someone for a weekend away to the place you had the best holidays ever, where would that be and who would you take to go with you?

Hmmm…Since a weekend isn’t a very long time, I would probably spend the weekend with my sister at Cedar Point. Cedar Point is about two hours away from yours truly and my sister and I both love amusement parks so I can totally picture us staying in one of their hotels and having a big adventure weekend at the theme park. I have never been there during the Halloween season, either, so I think that that would be so much fun!

You can get married wherever you want to, your budget is limitless, what is your choice?

I hate to be redundant here but can somebody say “Paris”?

During your travels you can bring back home one animal as a pet, which one would you pick?

A MONKEY, A MONKEY, A LITTLE BABY MONKEY!!! While exploring the jungles in some far away, exotic country, I will befriend a tiny little monkey and have it come home with me. Its name will be Frank. 🙂

You can go back in time and relive one family trip, which one?

Oh, that’s easy. Definitely Universal Studios! My entire family is a big lover of amusement parks and we had the literal best time at Universal. Being at Harry Potter World was a dream come true and I would give anything to go back.

What is the first thing you would pack for a one year travel around the world?

Red lipstick and a year supply of hair dye.

What would your fantasy 100th birthday destination be and why?

Uhhh… I don’t really plan on making it to my 100th birthday?

During your travel you can learn one sport to become a pro, what would that be?

I would continue my figure skating education! I skated throughout my childhood and early teens and miss it very much!

I Nominate:

My Questions For You:

  1. Where are your top three places that you would like to travel?
  2. What is your favorite type of ethnic cuisine to eat?
  3. You get offered a plane ticket to a country of your choosing but you can only bring three items with you.Where would you go and what would your items be?
  4. What location does not appeal to you to travel to?
  5. Your BFF is a total adrenaline junkie and she has you pick between building an igloo in Antarctica, scaling Mount Everest, or zip lining one thousand feet over the jungle. What do you choose?
  6. Are you an over packer or an under packer when it comes to prepping for a vaca?
  7. Have you ever forgotten something totally essential while on vacation?
  8. What is your perfect vaca outfit?

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition! Thank you to my fabulous friend, K.M., for the nomination! How would you answer some of the questions that K.M. asked me? How would you answer some of the questions that I asked my nominees? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Reader Map Update

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Reader Map Update

Hi everyone and TGIF! As you guys know, I love keeping track of all of the fantastic readers that I have in over ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVE different countries via a world map and push pins in my room. I haven’t posted an updated picture of my map in a while so I figured that there was no better time than the present since I broke the one hundred and sixty barrier. Take a look! And also enjoy my featured image photo which is a picture of my boyfriend’s dog, Karma! I love her big ol’ puppy smile SO much! :)))

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^^^ Hurray! Hurray!

I am so very thankful for all of my fabulous readers located from all of the different ends of the earth and I feel so proud every time I look at my reader map. It used to hang on display in my room but unfortunately, the wire that runs across the back of the board snapped months ago and both my dad and I have yet to address it. Every time it gets brought up, the classic phrase “I’ll do it later” comes up but rest assured that it is propped up on a very special place on my floor. 😉

I hope everyone is having a great day so far! Stay tuned for some new posts coming from my vacation cabin in North Carolina! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any big plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Two Year Blogiversary

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Two Year Blogiversary

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day!! As you might have guessed judging by the title of this post, IT’S MY TWO YEAR BLOGIVERSARY! That’s right, lifewithlilred has been a thing for two years as of today and I am just pleased as PUNCH! Thank you so much to all of my readers, followers, commenters, and friends in the blogging world. Lifewithlilred would be nothing without all of you! Without the wonderful support that lifewithlilred has received, I doubt that I would have even made it to the two year mark so THANKS A LOT!!!!!

❤ HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME!!! ❤

Fall Guest Bloggers Series Conclusion

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Fall Guest Bloggers Series Conclusion

Hello everyone! Sarah here to bring this fall guest bloggers series to a close. I want to thank all of my fantastic friends who contributed an article to the series. This week full of fall fun on lifewithlilred was a huge success because of you! Thank you for sharing with the world all of your tips, tricks, and secrets to keep us looking and feeling fabulous this fall. All of my guest bloggers featured in this series will always have a home on lifewithlilred if they so choose so I’m sure you will be seeing more from them in the future!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Much love. -Sarah

Sephora Surprise

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Sephora Surprise

Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! Last week, my sister and I had a wonderful shopping trip to a nearby mall to get her some cute new outfits for her weekend trip to Chicago. We spent all evening in and out of different stores trying on and modeling new clothes, shoes, and accessories. Our final stop during our shopping outing was Sephora so Kristen could pick up “one thing”. Yeah, right. We spent at least forty-five minutes in the makeup emporium swatching everything from lipsticks and blushes to eyeshadows and foundations. Kristen ended up with a great makeup haul and also surprised me with a gorgeous Clinique treat. Take a look:

Once upon a time four or so years ago, my sister and I took a trip to Chicago. During one of our outings, we went shopping at the Watergate Mall (or whatever it’s called) which is eight stories high (or however many). Our first stop in the mall was at the MAC counter where I found an absolutely beautiful lavender colored blush. I was in love and it quickly became one of my makeup favorites.

I vowed to myself that as soon as I was out of the blush, I would purchase it again. I had every intention of doing so but unfortunately, when that day came, the MAC counter at my mall did not carry the shade. I was crushed. Since then, I have searched high and low for a similar shade but nothing, NOTHING could compare to the MAC blush that I loved so very much. Lucky for me, this all changed last week at Sephora…

I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m really not a big makeup girl. I literally wear the same makeup look every day and I don’t plan on changing it any time soon. My sister, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. She could spend an entire day in Sephora if she could. This is why I answered her testimony of only needing one thing there with an eyeroll because I knew that we would be there for a while.

The beauty must have that Kristen needed was a new blush from Clinique that was called “Melon Pop”. It was a beautiful peachy pink color that was going to look fantastic on her. I wasn’t very interested in any of the high end makeup that I was surrounded by, until I decided to further inspect Clinique’s new blush collection. That’s when I locked eyes on the shade called “Pansy Pop” and a montage of all the good times that I had with my MAC blush flashed before my eyes.

Kristen urged me to have one of the makeup pros that was working apply it for me but I knew that if I were to try it, I would buy it. Normally, I would be fine with this, but I have a hefty stack of textbooks that need purchased for the upcoming fall semester and those aren’t cheap! It made the twenty-two dollar a pop price for the blush seem ridiculous. As I was having a mental debate in my mind of whether to try it on or not, Kristen basically said that if I don’t, she will.

Within seconds, there was an employee, applying the blush… my blush to the apples of my sister’s cheeks. I caved instantly, and asked the worker to do mine next. The blush was divine. It layered perfectly on top of the pink blush that I was already wearing and created the most lovely field of flowers color on top of my pride and joy…my pasty pale skin. 😉

Of course, I wanted the blush badly, but I told my sister and the worker that I would think about it. All the while, I knew darn well that I should not be buying a twenty-two dollar blush at this time. I then made the solemn swear to myself that when I receive my next paycheck, I would come back for it and treat myself. The blush was not brought up for the rest of our Sephora excursion and I was glad because it hurt too much to think about it.

We finished our browsing around the store just at closing time and as far as I knew, Kristen left with two new lipsticks and the “Melon Pop” blush. As we began our walk through the mall to get to my car, Kristen told me, “by the way, I got that blush for you” and my jaw dropped. Instantly, “you really didn’t need to do that” came out of my mouth. She then answered with, “well, I knew you weren’t going to buy it for yourself” and left it at that.

Kristen seriously knows me so well because she was right. Even though I promised myself that I would get the blush soon, the chances of me following through with that were slim to none. I was so blown away by her generosity to her little sister and it just confirmed what I already know – that she is truly the best sister on the planet. Our trip to Sephora felt like I was reliving our time at the MAC counter in Chicago all of those years ago and it was so special to me to reminisce on those memories as well as make a new one.

We are still talking about how much fun we had during our most recent outing and it makes me feel good that she enjoys her time with me just as much as I do with her. Here’s to a great time and the best sisterhood a gal could ask for. I love you, Kristen! Thanks again! ❤

So there you have it, my Sephora Surprise compliments of my fabulous sister! What is your favorite item to splurge on at Sephora? What is one of your most loved makeup products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: For lots of fun beauty posts, check out my MyLikes page! 🙂

Six Common Skin Care Mistakes to Avoid

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Six Common Skin Care Mistakes to Avoid

Hi everyone and welcome to a fantastic article from Fix Your Skin that teaches you some major skin care no nos. Take a look and then be sure to check out Fix Your Skin’s website for even more beauty and skin care tips of the trade:

Six Common Skin Care Mistakes to Avoid:

Taking care of your skin is hard. Like a cranky baby that constantly demands attention, you need to put all your time and effort into getting results. All of this is totally worth it, though, when you end up with glowing skin that ages well. However, some women may not get the desired results and find it tough to maintain healthy and beautiful skin all year round.

No doubt, everybody likes and wants to have beautiful skin. It has always been the main indicator of your inner health. Youthful and glowing skin indicates vitality and good health. However, people commit various mistakes thinking that they are following the best skin care techniques asnd they end up with all sorts of skin problems.

Below are the skin care mistakes you might be making which needs to be corrected before extensive damage occurs:

1) Not Paying Attention To Ingredients

To get an accurate idea of what components are present in the product, check the back of the box where the list of ingredients is displayed. Nowadays, people are aware that silicones and parabens are bad for the skin while hyaluronic acid and ceramides are good. However, don’t just scan the list for bad or good ingredients to Fix Your Skin. You need to take note of the order in which the ingredients are displayed.

Sometimes pharmaceutical firms may overload the ingredient list with fillers. So, some of the beneficial vitamins may get buried at the bottom. Keep in mind that fillers are like empty vitamins. Make sure you are looking for products that are rich in natural oils, healthy antioxidants, and vitamins.

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2) Avoiding Sunscreen

One of the biggest mistakes people make while going out in the sun is skipping sunscreen protection. Yikes! As stated by various dermatologists, the primary cause of premature aging of the skin is exposure to the harsh UV rays of the sun sans sunscreen. Make sure to apply the sunscreen lotion on exposed parts like hands, face, legs, and neck 15-20 minutes before you leave home. Go for a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or more.

3) Not Cleaning your Makeup Tools

One of the major reasons why you should not leave your makeup brushes unclean is that you are subjecting your skin to dirt, bacteria and other kinds of irritants. These can cause rosacea, acne, and even eczema. So, the smart thing to do is to wash your brushes every week with a soft sulfate-free cleanser.

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4) Smoking

According to various skin experts, smoking is one of the habits that you need to stay away from and it is one of the major skincare mistakes to avoid. The ill consequences of smoking are well documented in the media, and everyone is aware of them. The immediate effect of smoking is that it leads to dehydration of the skin and early aging. It dries the skin and absorbs all of the nutrients. So, in no time, skin becomes saggy, pale, and wrinkles start to appear.

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5) Not Drinking Enough Water

One of the most common skincare mistakes many people make is not drinking enough water. Frankly, it is the easiest and most important thing that you need to do every day. Did you know that water is one of the best moisturizers that you can give to your skin? If you don’t drink enough water, your skin will become dehydrated and blotchy. Various doctors and health experts agree that it is important to have at least 6-8 glasses of water each day. Consuming a lot of water will make your skin glow as it helps in flushing out harmful toxins from the body and keeps skin hydrated from the inside.

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6) Avoiding Fruits And Vegetables And Going For Junk Food

Fruits and veggies are the richest sources of minerals, vitamins, and various other antioxidants. They help in maintaining the elasticity of the skin and also in keeping it healthy. You need to include them in your diet as recent studies have shown that carotenoids present in fruits assist in improving skin tone. Doctors and skin experts feel that junk food not only has harmful effects on your waistline but also on the skin. The biggest cause of breakouts is junk food like white bread, soft drinks, fried snacks, and pizzas. They produce oil and clog pores, thereby impacting the health of the skin.

Final Verdict:

Trying to avoid these common skincare mistakes and having healthy skin can be a huge challenge. Your day-to-day duties for your family, friends, work, and other events are bound to come in between your skin care routine. It might not always seem like the right thing to do but you have to put yourself first. Taking care of yourself is just as important as caring for others. By avoiding the skin care mistakes mentioned in this article, you can get vibrant, glowing skin and can become healthier overall, too.

I want to thank the Fix Your Skin team so much for providing such a fantastic article and graphics for lifewithlilred! What are some of your skin care secrets for healthy skin? What is one of your must have skin care products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah