Wednesday 4 January 2012

Skincare Routine feat. Clarisonic Mia Review

I never had problem skin in high school, of course I had a blemish once in a while but it was never an issue. More times than I can remember I have simply slept in my makeup out of pure laziness and most of the time that would cause me to wake with a brand new zit. Now, at 20 years old, I take off my makeup and wash my face every single night, but have the worst skin of my life! Well, until I tried my Clarisonic.
I had come across so many great reviews on this face washing tool that claimed to clean 6 times better than with just your hands and is softer on your skin than an exfoliator. I asked for the 'Mia' for Christmas, because it's just the one speed, smaller version, and I didn't need the body brush that the original one comes with.
The bristles on the brush are so soft and massage your skin so nicely! You hardly need to press it on your face for it to work and it really brings your face wash to a great lather. The brush automatically turns off after 1 minute, and the idea is to spend 20 seconds on your forehead, 20 seconds on your nose and chin, and 10 on each cheek.
It's very common to break out the first 5-10 days of using the Clarisonic because it is bringing all the dirt to the surface. The Clarisonic has made my skin feel incredible, rejuvenated, and even given it a beautiful, bright glow!
The clarisonic cleansing system is definitely not only for acne prone people. It is just great for any skin type because it rids of dead skin on the surface and promotes proper blood circulation to your face and neck area to create a healthy looking complexion. 
Because I am acne prone, it's recommended to me to use face washes that contain salicylic acid. My favourite one that I used for all of 2011 is the Garnier daily cleansing gel. Combining the Clarisonic Mia with this face wash is magical, it really helps massage it deep into your pores so that the salicylic acid can get to work!

As you can probably gather from this, the Clarisonic Mia has become my skincare routine saviour! I recommend it to anyone with any skin!
Happy Washing :)
-A

Spend or Save: Watches

For many months now, over sized watches have been a trend.. specifically gold/rose gold watches. Most people have been leaning towards the Michael Kors men's watches (I don't blame them, they're beautiful), but I couldn't bring myself to drop $325.00 on a watch for myself.  For me, this was just a trend so I went out and bought an over sized gold watch from a local Aldo store and I have to say that I love it. I only spent $30.00 plus tax on it! Because it was just a small purchase, I don't feel guilty if I'm not wearing it everyday and I think it looks almost as great as a designer watch!
I have to say, that if I had always been a watch person or really used my watch to tell the time (I wear it only as adornment) I would be able to justify the splurge because that's when quality would matter.
Not to mention, what girl doesn't like some expensive jewelry?
Here is a picture of a comparable Michael Kors watch that goes for $325.00 plus tax.
So before going out and purchasing your watch to follow the trend, make sure this is an investment and commitment you're ready to make!:)
-A

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Dry Winter Lips

I know I speak for a lot of us when I say that winter is the worst time for dry skin and lips. Over the years, I've mastered a way to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of having to constantly wear gooey chapsticks.
To prevent it in the winter, you must practice it year round.
The first thing is, NEVER LICK YOUR LIPS! I know it feels like you need to, it's like an itch, but you must resist!
Next, is make sure you're getting rid of dry and dead skin daily. There is a couple ways to do this.
If you don't want to spend much time on it you can always use a wet toothbrush(before or after you brush your teeth) and just scrub your lips back and forth horizontally.
A home recipe is sugar or sea salt mixed with half a teaspoon of honey. You scrub your lips with this mixture and then wipe off with a warm face cloth.
My personal favourite is from LUSH cosmetics and retails at around $8.95. It is the bubblegum lip scrub! They have many more flavours and you can lick it off when you're done!
The only ingredients are castor sugar, vegan flavouring, and jojoba oil.
Okay, so now that you've scrubbed your lips, you want to apply some sort of honey based or beeswax chapstick. I know everyone reaches for the cherry or any other fun flavour but trust me, those wont get you results.
Not only will the lip scrub rid your mouth of dead and dry skin, but it will open the pores to absorb the chapstick. In my experience, Burts Bees and Nivea chapsticks work the best.
All the best on your journey to kissable lips!
xox
-A

My first post on a new blog

Today while scrolling through my tumblr dashboard, I realized my love/hate relationship for it. It is amazing and inspiring and everything else, but I feel I get sort of lost in the pictures and feelings and everyone elses entries and such. All this brought me to blogger where I wont be following anyone, just paying attention to my own posts, posting what I want and what I have come up with. I hope for this blog to stay originally ME.
That being said, there is no theme for this blog. I will most likely write journal-esque entries about my day/events that take place, reviews or rants about products (makeup, beauty, etc.), interior design ideas, DIY projects, food/cooking/recipes, holiday specials, fashion, and much much more.
I think you get the idea that this blog will consist of everything and anything and you can expect to see something new everyday (hopefully).
Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy your visit! :)
-A