A way to help fend off dry skin

Last year I posted about how changing seasons can wreak havoc on your skin. It mentions some steps on how to combat the issues. I just wanted to mention two things that I've found to be really helpful.

1. Sunscreen!

I got into wearing sunscreen after noticing a tan begin to form during the beginning of my college times. I didn't realize that the trips I was taking to classes were exposing me to enough sun to get a tan. It was slight, but still, it was there. It really drove the point home that the sun's rays were damaging my skin. Now that it's colder, I wear long sleeves and pants, so my body's protected, but my face isn't. Wearing sunscreen on my face is a daily habit.

At first I was worried about wearing sunscreen because I have combination skin and I know that sunscreen has a tendency to be oily. I combated the problem by using milk of magnesia as a mask for 10 minutes to absorb the extra oil and then wiping it away with a damp cloth.

BUT, now that it's getting drier, I don't have to worry about absorbing the oil. The sunscreen is just enough to keep my skin from drying out like it usually does about now. Also, I have a sunscreen that's SPF 50, so I don't have to use as much to get an SPF equivalent of, say, SPF 30.

2. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Facial Lotion

This is a veeery rich moisturizer, yet it can still feel lightweight. It's really weird, but very cool. It's good at keeping your skin hydrated so winter doesn't ruin your face and not being too emollient so that it breaks down your foundation. I use it at night, but it can be used in the morning as well. It has a really interesting smell that I can't really describe, so that may be an issue for you. It's definitely not fragrance-free. Part of the smell comes from the cocoa butter, I think, and the other part comes from some kind of perfume they've added. I don't mind it, but you may. Just keep it in mind. Also, I like this picture because it shows the tube and the box. If you do go to buy this, look for the box, not just the tube.

I hope this was helpful. I just wanted to give you a heads up on some products I feel have been really successful lately at helping my winter skin stay away.

Have a beautiful day!
~Stacie

Pic credits: http://www.prlog.org/10710459-bottles-of-sunscreen.jpg
http://static.productreview.com.au/pr.products/a_4f3703901dc76.jpg

Haul!

Okay, so I just got back from a day of fun with some friends and we happened to go shopping. There's so much to tell, but I'm so tired and I just want to sleep. I'll just stick to the makeup stuff right now.

So first we went to Target and I got an e.l.f. studio blush in Pink Passion, an e.l.f. studio fan brush, and eos lip balm in pomegranate raspberry. It smells really nice. I don't know how it tastes because I haven't really used it.

Then later we went to Walgreens. The original objective of going to Walgreens was to get gummy worms, but I just watched a video by emilynoel83 talking about new eyeshadow palettes by Wet'n'Wild. I bought one, the one named Sparkle 'Til Morning. It's really beautiful. Since I signed up for the rewards system (I'm so annoyed that every store seems to be doing this now) in order to get a discount, I also got a bronzer in Ticket to Brazil. I thought it was similar to a limited edition bronzer I have, but I don't think so now. We'll see after I investigate further. Finally, I purchased three eyeshadow palettes that were only 99 cents a piece! They were in a display for special holiday makeup kits and such. The brand is called Profusion and they're specifically in the Halo--The Palette line. I'm bummed that there's no name on the backs of them to identify them.

That's all for now. I'm headed to bed. I'll either post again on the subject or edit this one.

~Stacie

PS Wreck-it Ralph is awesome! I totally recommend that you go see it. And the animated short "Paperman" would be worth seeing all on its own. I almost wish they could turn it into its own film, but that would be almost pointless because the short had just enough to it. LOVE IT! Have a nice night :)

Haha, nevermind?

Well, it would seem that the cure for crappy pincurls is to complain about them here and then just keep trying. Because after that post, I did pincurls twice and they both turned out better than before. I think maybe I was just making the pincurls too big and it wasn't enough to make them really curly.

The other issues still remain. My hair is frizzy on the ends because of split ends (that will be removed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The appointment has been made--yay!) Still, split ends weren't this noticeable when I was using softened water. Also, the part of my hair that has been highlighted feels absolutely awful. My hair never seemed this bad until hard water. Hard water just amplifies your problems. Okay, I'm done ranting.

I hope you have a beautiful day and that hard water doesn't get you down!

~Stacie

Weirdness of hard water

This isn't a review or anything. It's more of an actual blog post. Shock of shocks! Je sais, je sais (haha, I'm probably combing French words with English grammar--or lack thereof. Sorry).  Although it's a blog, it's still beauty related.

I've noticed that ever since I came to college, my hair has taken a downward turn in the way it feels. It feels even drier and frizzier. I'm used to softened water and I know that they pump hard water to our bathrooms. I figure that it must be the hard water that's making my hair so miserable. I've also noticed that my shampoos don't lather up as well in this water, either.

As this is turning out to be a post about how much I hate hard water, I'll get to the point. I've tried several times to do pin curls lately and they fall out every time. Not that my hair falls out, but the curls go flat. It sucks. I never had this problem back home. Also, the hair is frizzier than before. Aughigjsdohgisd! It is terrible! Does anybody know a way to deal with this?

Okay, complaining is over.

~Stacie

PR: Revlon Colorburst Lipstick

Apparently I'm just in a review mode, because here comes another one!  This isn't going to be a review on a particular color so much as just the lipsticks in general, although I haven't tried them all. So I guess this is a review on two lipsticks.

The lipstick colors I've tried are Pink Sugar and Icy Nude (which aren't pictured above, oddly enough). I chose this picture because it shows many of the lipsticks together. Icy Nude was discontinued a while ago, I think. It doesn't have a place on my drugstore's shelf. I didn't care for the color on me because it was pretty brown and I was just a little too fair for it. Pink Sugar on the other hand is a very lovely color. It's light without making you look dead. It's a creamy look rather than shimmery. The pigmentation is decent--you can make it medium to pretty heavy. It's a pretty moist lipstick, so it doesn't last too awful long on the lips.

A strange thing about the two lipsticks I had (maybe all, but I don't know from experience) is that there were chunks of glitter in the lipstick. You could feel it as you applied the color. Although the glitter was visible in the stick of lip color, it didn't show up on your lips. It's very strange. And the gritty feeling as you apply isn't exactly desirable. All in all, I'd say it's an ok product. I don't think I'd repurchase.

I guess it doesn't matter if I'd repurchase, because looking on the Revlon website, I'd say that this line is being discontinued altogether. You can't find it anywhere on their site. I guess other people felt the same about the quality. I really want to try the lip butters.

Go ahead and leave a comment if you've tried other colors and let me know what you think! Also let me know your thoughts if you've tried the lip butters. Are they all they're cracked up to be?

I hope you have an absolutely fantastic weekend! Salut!

~Stacie

Pic credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CrYoFa6xPfoT-0nv9bP-y_KZF0Kdhuxz0PqD-nxn-7a6X2e1d7mJ2cVQZGZABGoYQT90q_zV40U6VruZ-2jpEDzKRs3frNSLaRE4BC1Bd9KVYVH7ZRr0Pe2MtoCg-HNO27xaDrjvuLlP/s1600/revloncolorburst_all.jpg

PR: As I Am Coconut CoWash

Hey everyone! It's time for another review (finally). I know it's been so long, but I already have a post about all that, so I won't go into it here (click here if you want to read about it. It's pretty short). On to the review!

Bought on a whim, this turned out to be a very good product. I'm starting to think that Sally's doesn't carry products that aren't good. Go ahead and leave a comment if you've had a bad experience with Sally's.

I have naturally curly hair, and it can get very dry. I've read so many things about how the majority of shampoos use harsh chemicals that strip your hair of essential oils. That's already bad on its own, but when you're dealing with curly, dry hair, it's even worse! One solution commonly provided is not to wash your hair as often. That doesn't work for my hair because although the length of my hair is dry, my roots get oily quickly and I really do need to wash it everyday. Such a predicament!

This cowash (I've never heard that term before) is perfect because it has just the right amount of cleansing for daily use and it's also very conditioning. It's like a 2-in1 shampoo, but better for me. 2-in-1 shampoos are too cleansing and not conditioning enough for my hair, but this is more conditioning rather than cleansing so it's perfect. So if your hair is dry, this is for you (maybe even if it's not curly), but if your hair is quite oily you might want to go for a 2-in-1 shampoo.

As a bonus, it's very nice for a college student (like me) or a very busy person because it puts two steps in one. I just realized that quite a bit of time is spent just on sudsing up and rinsing my hair because my hair is quite thick and it's starting to get kind of long.  This is so quick. You just apply it, comb it through and either rinse out immediately or leave it in while you shave your legs. I'm in the habit of leaving my conditioner in my hair while I shave, so I leave this in until the end of my shower.

All in all, it's very nice. It leaves you hair clean and soft, and it smells pretty good, too. I think this sort of thing is starting to become a trend because I've seen L'Oreal's version in stores as well. If anyone has tried that, please let me know what you think because I'm one use away from being done with this and I'm always up for trying something new :)

Just remember that makeup can only do so much, and true beauty comes from within.

~Stacie

Pic credit: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-zRQjD7aL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Stacie Sidenote:

If you clicked on the link for "whim" you'll be wanting to listen to this. I couldn't help it. Ever since seeing that picture, I think of that song whenever I hear/think/say the word "whim."