The Glow Getter: Origins Never A Dull Moment Skin Brightening Cleanser

Hi Mommies! Long time no talk. But now that I'm here, lets talk skincare!

Since the weather here in New England has officially turned sad and ugly, my combination skin was looking, well....sad and ugly. The cold air was making my dead skin cells cling to my face for dear life, and the result was dull, lackluster skin with mega clogged pores and breakouts...so freaking unacceptable.

As I was working out a game plan (I kid you not, its that serious), I recalled the bright, clean pored results I got from the Origins Never A Dull Moment Cleanser. I had picked up a sample over the summer and loved it, but I'd gotten sidetracked with other products, so I'd never purchased the full size. Well, girls, the first opportunity I got I beat it to my Origins store (Ana wasn't there. Sad face.) and picked up a tube.

Never A Dull Moment is packed with fruit acids and papaya extract that dissolve pore clogging debris and dead skin cells for a more radiant, healthier looking complexion. The cleanser itself is a clear gel that works into a creamy lather when added to damp skin, and it smells absolutely heavenly, like fresh cut fruit. What I appreciate the most about this cleanser, however, is the fact that it does not dry out my skin. When I rinse it away, my pores are noticeably clean and my skin is smoother, but there's no gross, tight feeling afterward. This is really huge because its important to not over dry oily skin or you risk major repercussions. Like, major.

So since my love affair with this stuff began, I've had considerably less clogged pores, my pores themselves have shrunken considerably, and I've had almost no breakouts to speak of. I've also noticed that my superficial hyperpigmentation marks have faded, and my skin is more even toned and healthy looking. Clearly, Origins and I are BFFs!

If your skin's feeling down in the dumps, you should definitely head to Origins and give Never A Dull Moment a go. You'll be glowing in no time.



*This post brought to you in part by Alexandra at Mommy Glow. Go pay her a visit, and tell her I said hi...and thanks. :-)*

The Cutest Kitty I Ever Did See…

 

Happy Halloween, Mommies!

So I’ll be the first to admit that Halloween is my least favorite holiday. The origin and true meaning of it has sent me into anxiety information overload more times than I’d be willing to admit in print. I’m used to it though, its just one of the many side effects of being a research whore who needs to know everything about everything.

Well lucky for me I have this fabulous little kitty to keep me focused on the good, yummy things in life. Without her I’d go absolutely crazy, I’m sure.

Ladies and Mommies, I’d like to present…

Robot Kitty…

…Shy Kitty… 

…and Silly Kitty!

 

She loved the pink lip. I used NYX’s Pinky lip liner and Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in Plaza Pink. She wears it so much better than me.

Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween. I’m off to steal all of Kitty’s Almond Joys…don’t judge me!

Good night :-)

 

P.S.~ I can’t wait to show you girls the skin treatment I made from the Jack-o-lantern scraps!

Taming the Beast: Tresseme Heat Tamer Spray

 

Good morning, Loves!

Its Fall! Well…not officially but it sure feels like it here in New England. The air is nice and crisp, the temperature is comfy, the humidity is nonexistent, and I’m not constantly at the mercy of blotting papers and pressed powder. Aaah, freedom!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I’m a November baby so this change starts the landslide into my birthday and the hubbub of the holidays. It always feels like a new beginning, and this year I welcome that more than I ever have. I’ve got a growing list of things to accomplish before I turn twenty seven! The clock is ticking!

Anyway, as all we vain chicks know, with a change of season comes a change in beauty! That means going from bright, punchy lipcolors and nail polish to deep, vampy ones, and smokey eyes galore. Its also my time of year to switch from rocking my naturally curly hair to sleek, straightened locks.

The only problem: my hair is a nightmare. A TOTAL FREAKING NIGHTMARE!

I’m dead smack in the middle of transitioning from relaxed to natural, so I’ve got a ton of thick, wild curls going on, with their chemicaly altered counterparts straggling behind, and its becoming super obvious! I don’t have the strength to do the Big Chop, so I needed something that would protect my hair in its fragile state while helping my roots actually stay straight so my hair didn’t look like it was having a total identity crisis.

Enter: Tresseme Heat Tamer Spray (applause!).

Product info:

"There’s one rule when you expose your hair to heat- the hair must be protected. This product guards against heat and friction to keep your hair shiny and incredibly soft. Its a fantastic tool for instantly transforming all hair textures, enhancing strands’ flexibility to reform and hold shape.” (source)

To use, simply spray each section of hair before blow drying or flat ironing, and heat style as usual. This spray definitely makes straightening my hair easier, and it does not revert back to curly as quickly as it normally would. I also noticed that my hair keeps the smooth, supple feeling that it has when I wear it curly, but I think that may be partially due to the henna gloss treatment I gave myself recently. More about that later!

Upon inspecting the ingredients (as all self respecting natural hair enthusiasts do!), I realized that the Heat Tamer Spray contains two different types of silicones as main ingredients: amodimethicone and dimethicone. The significance of this will vary depending on your hair type, because silicones are essentially plastics that coat the hair and can prevent moisture and nutrients from entering the hair shaft, and can even cause breakage when used incorrectly.

So what’s a curly girl to do? Be sure to wash your hair with a shampoo that contains sulfates or other cleansing agent to remove the silicones, and deep treat the hair thoroughly with a silicone free conditioner EVERY TIME. If you don’t, you could be depriving your hair of much needed nutrients and moisture when using this stuff.

As long as you know how to use it, Tresseme Heat Tamer Spray can definitely enhance your hair straightening experience!

Bust out those flat irons, girls! Fall is coming!

Need food for thought? Have some Kandee.

 

Kandee Johnson

Hi loves!
As I type, I’m in a state of blending in with my sectional, flanked with an extra large mug of tea and a pile of old magazines while Rachel Zoe is showing on the telly. She’s so fab.

Don’t envy me, girls! See, I woke up this morning with a bad stomach ache and a horribly weakened resolve. The thought of going to work and pretending that I was happy and well was making me even more weak and nauseous than I already was.

So what did I do?

Called in sick and decided to feel sorry for myself for the day.  Quite the perfect opportunity to catch up on Youtube videos and blogs, so I got comfy and logged on.

My Youtube subscription box is filled with beauty gurus (naturally), and one of them is Kandee Johnson. She’s an extremely gorgeous, optimistic makeup artist who makes information filled videos with cute, cheeky titles (“A Whole Lot of Nudes!”, “Oh my MOD (twiggy)”). It was while browsing her channel that I came across the video “Go Get Your Dreams and My Story”.

I have to admit, I don’t usually watch these kind of “inspirational” Youtube videos. I usually find them to be a little contrived and a lot egocentric, but something, most likely my weakened resolve, made me click that link.

It wasn’t contrived, corny, or egocentric. At all. It was the story about her life before tv, Youtube stardom, and Glaminars. With watery eyes, Kandee recanted her story of abuse, near homelessness, malnutrition, and becoming a mother in the midst of all the chaos.

That’s right, she’s one of us :-).

After listening to Kandee’s story about her dreams and how she made them come true, I forced myself up from the couch, swigged some Pepto, and proceeded to clean my entire apartment. And by clean I do mean clean. I put away all of my Lovebug’s toys, washed all of the dishes, took out the trash, moved all of the furniture so that I could vacuum and sweep the entire floor, cleaned the baseboards, put everything back, scrubbed the toilet and bathtub, uninstalled and stored the air conditioner for the season, and all the while pondered : Why the HELL am I feeling sorry for myself?


Don’t get me wrong, my life is hard, but life is hard for everyone. I know its an understatement to say that single motherhood is difficult, but that’s really what it is, and it was getting to me for a while. Its taxing and stressful, but its also what feeds me, gives me life, motivation, and purpose. Even though roadblocks and curveballs are part of my everyday life, I know there are plenty of successful people who have walked in these same proverbial shoes.

I want to be one of those people.

No, I need to be one of those people.

I was racking my brain trying to figure out who, what, and where when I remembered something…

It was a weekday night, and I was making dinner, so my Lovebug dragged her wooden step stool into the kitchen so she could watch me cook. Its one of her absolute favorite things to do, and she’s becoming quite the little sous chef. I could hear her grunting and panting as she lifted the weight of the stool that almost equaled her own, but I let her struggle her way across the room.

When she finally reached her destination, she plopped it down, planted her foot on the top step, and looked at me triumphantly and said “I did it Mama! I’m strong.”

“Good job!”, I said, as I clapped and kneeled down to plant a big kiss on her heart shaped lips. I was so proud of my girl. When I pulled back, she was staring at me with her eyebrows threaded together, looking very concerned.

“Are you strong, Mama?” she asked.

And I, without hesitation, replied “Yup, Mama’s strong just like you…you made me that way.”

And at that she beamed so hard that her eyes turned to slits, wrapped herself in a hug, and gave me an affirmative nod.

Like she knew all along.

Some Carol’s Daughter Love…

Carol’s Daughter’s Hair Milk has been around for a few years now, and there’s a ton of hype about this product. They definitely don’t need my little blog post to promote it, that’s for sure. Its popular among natural, relaxed, and blow dried women of all ethnicities, and I can totally see why!

This product is really lightweight, yet moisturizes effectively because its actually sinks into the hair instead of coating it. I apply about a dime sized amount to my little love’s damp hair, and it transforms her mane from a dry puff to moisturized and defined goodness! Have a lil’ look see: