Palmer's

Last week I ran out of my favorite body moisturizer Ca-Rezz.  Unfortunately, it isn't readily available in stores.  The only way I got my hands on it was because a family friends healthcare provider sent it to her.  While I have to wait for them to send her another bottle, I didn't want to have to wait too long since I have such dry skin.  While I was in CVS last week, I picked up a bottle of Palmer's Cocoa Butter.  I must say this smells delicious!  Just like chocolate, which I love!  A sinless way to indulge.  It is supposed to be deep conditioning and claims to reduce marks on skin.  While I've only been using it for a week, I've already noticed it to reduce dark spots I have on my legs. My skin feels really soft after use.  It is a bit heavy, but with the weather changing, my skin  gets even more dry than it usually is.  This definitely helps with that.  While I can't attest to it toning my skin yet, I will say that it is a moisturizer worth looking into.  I've picked up a few other lotions to test out, so be on the lookout for those reviews.  I'm trying to find a holy grail moisturizer.

Have you found a H.G. moisturizer?

xoxo

Nails, Nails, Nails

You'll have to pardon my absence this week, ladies.  I've been ill since Monday and I'm only just now starting to recover.  For my return, I thought I'd jump in and join all the nail polish posts I've seen lately.  The following are all of my favorite nail polishes (largely OPI):

OPI's Dulce De Leche

OPI's Strawberry Margarita

OPI's Parlez-Vous OPI?

OPI's Paint My Moji-Toes Red

OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark

Essie's Berry Hard

Essie's Bachelorette Bash

Spending most of the week in bed, I decided to treat myself to a manicure (my kind of self-medicating haha).  I used OPI's Pink-ing of You as a base (a creamy cotton candy pink) and OPI's Tijuana Dance? (a sheer pink with pink and green duochrome) layered on top.  The effect is a bright, fun summery color.

I wish you could see the shimmery effect Tijuana Dance? gives.  It really is lovely.

xoxo

Weekend Shopping

So I popped into the shops today with my sister and came out with a few goodies!  Victoria's Secret is having quite a sale all around, so I decided to peruse the cosmetics.  At a whopping 75% off, I couldn't afford to say no.  By the time  I got there, everything had been picked over.  I ended up getting 3 Silky Eye Shadows and a Perfect Lipstick. Left to right: Mystified, Champagne, Fierce, Satin Sheets. I had heard good things about Satin Sheets and am glad that it lives up to the hype.  It is a lovely frosted peach/nude color. Mystified is a grey, stone color with a satin finish.  Champagne likens itself to its name and is also a satin finish.  Fierce is very similar to Black Tied from MAC but with much more glitter. I played around with them and came up with this..

(pardon the poor lighting..)

I also picked up some summer sandals from Steve Madden in the sale. They are quite comfortable and easy to throw on when I'm running out the door.

I got a few other things as well, but nothing interesting enough to mention.  It has been a nice weekend so far and I am looking forward to having tomorrow off as well! xoxo

Hair History

For most of my life I've had incredibly long hair.  

Bit by bit it got shorter and reached midback.  

Here you have it.  Midback, bangs, and highlights.  This was the first real hairstyle I had.  Previously, the most interesting thing about my hair was long layers.  Shortly after this, I decided to go back to my natural color and a bob:

Once it grew back to its previous length, I, again, got bored and decided it was time for a chop:

This was my most hated hairstyle.  The stylist didn't listen to anything I said and didn't refer to the pictures I showed her.  It took almost two years for my hair to grow back.  The inbetween stages look like this:

And now, I am here:

Not the most exciting of hair histories, but its mine.

Dove Energy Glow

I've never been too interested in in self-tanners.  As a teenager, I shallowly attempted the tanning bed trend.  Luckily I was smart enough to realize the err in my ways quickly enough.  Not quickly enough to prevent some unsightly burns, but still.  Living in California, I spent most of my summers at the beach with girlfriends swimming and tanning.  I was burnt to a crisp and liked it that way.  Over the past few years, though, I've gotten extremely aware of how dangerous the sun really is (especially to those as ghostly pale as I am!) so I usually wear an SPF 85 or higher.  I've embraced my pale skin since then, but recently have felt an urge to glow golden again.  As I am trying to avoid doing it via sun exposure, I decided to test some of the mountains of self-tanners available.  My first attempt is the Dove Energy Glow Gradual Tanning Body Lotion in fair to medium.  It retails for  around $8-9.

The product is described as:  Dove believes that real beauty can be genuinely stunning. That's why Dove developed Energy Glow Daily Moisturizer with subtle self-tanners. It gradually enhances and evens out your natural skin color, giving you a beautiful summer glow all year long. For great results after about one week, apply daily all over to gradually build a beautiful summer glow.

My first thoughts on the product were positive.  It doesn't smell like a traditional self-tanner.  It has a much more perfumed scent.  I must say, though, a few hours after it has dried on the skin you do begin to smell the yucky self-tanner scent.  After I exfoliated and moisturized, I spread an even layer all over my body and wait about 5 minutes for it to dry before getting dressed.  While it is supposed to be a gradual tanner, I noticed results almost an hour after application.  By the next morning, the color totally developed and I found it to be golden if not a bit orange.  It was minimally streaky but after I showered the streaks vanished, as did the orange color.  I was left with a gorgeous golden glow.  I won't be applying this every day because I think it would turn me orange Oompa Loompa style.  I'll be using it once or twice a week to keep the color.

What tanners would you recommend?

xoxo

A Fine Introduction...

Like the lot of you, after following blogs and youtube gurus in anonymity for so long, I have decided to break my silence and join the ranks.

 I've always been a girly girl and interested in playing with different colors and textures.  As a teenager, my girlfriends would always come to me to doll them up before a night out.  Make-up and fashion have played a big part in my life as I seriously considered going to fashion school.  While I decided to go a different route for my career, I still enjoy the fanciful things in life and try to indulge myself whenever possible.  

While my musings will essentially be beauty related, I may just throw in some random thoughts now and again :)

I am pleased to meet you!