Easiest Way To Moisturize !!

Hello my beautiful readers! So as we all know the winter time brings about many woes for our skin. Between the dry air and the harsh weather conditions, our skin takes a beating. My skin is extremely sensitive to weather conditions so I know that once winter arrives, my skin is going to get dry and flaky. 

Of course you all know that the first step is to exfoliate to get away all of those dead skin cells. Now we know to use extra strength lotion, but if you are anything like me then you want to keep your skincare routine as quick and easy as possible. 

I came across the Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer while watching some commercials but didn't pay it too much mine. Needless to say I eventually decided to give it a try. I purchased the Coconut Oil bottle. The directions are extremely simple, just apply the lotion to your wet skin and then pat yourself down with a towel. I swear it is as simple as that. Instantaneously, my skin felt soft and smooth and not even a tiny bit greasy.

I would use this over a regular lotion any day because I used to have to wait to get dressed due to the residue left behind from body lotions. The Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer literally has no residue left on your skin and you can get dressed right away with no sticky feeling to your skin.

Personally I am in love with this product and it helps cut down on my time it takes to get ready and makes my skin feel amazing. Truly a genius concept and I will definitely keep repurchasing this product. Pick it up ladies and I promise, you will fall in love too!

Ciao!!

Skincare Obsessions!!

I feel like no matter what time of year, the weather will always affect my skin. I can make excuses but lets be real, my skin is just super sensitive. I have tried it alllll and believe me that spans drugstore products, expensive high-end products, and also medicated products. Of course I will be honest, there were times when I gave up too quickly on some other products because I wasn't seeing results quick enough.

The key to success (DJ Khaled voice) haha is that you give your skin time to let the products work and also make sure you are very aware of your skin type. Take into consideration the certain areas that you want to improve and make healthy.

For example, my skin is very oily in my T-zone but dry everywhere else. I have hormonal acne and my skin scars very easily. These are the main things that I know that I want to heal so now moving forward I work the products around those concerns.

I like to always make sure that my entire face is super moisturized. I don't care how oily your skin gets, you need to feed moisture into your skin every single day. The combination that works for me is the CeraVe PM moisturizer and my dermatologist prescribed Clindamycin lotion. Both of these together give me moisturized skin with medicated benefits. The consistency is light and weightless, so it does not leave a greasy sheen on my skin. I use these products on my skin twice a day.

                 

Now at night time is the opportunity to use those heavy, super concentrated products. During the nighttime I love to come home from work and throw on a face mask (Mario Badescu Super Collagen mask) so I can detox my skin from anything that irritated it during the day. After I go through my moisturizing routine I put my prescribed Retin-A on my skin. I use the .025% and I love it because it is a very creamy consistency and doesn't over dry my skin like stronger prescriptions use to do.

And now my life saver......my Smart Profile Clarisonic! This thing is incredible. It doesn't have a spinning brush head like the original ones. Instead it sends pulsing vibrations and has a timed system for each section of the face so you won't over exfoliate. Please ladies exfoliate your skin in the winter time!

Please take care of your skin ladies, it will thank you in the long run!!

Ciao!!

Color Correcting

I posted a video a couple of months back that had a tutorial on color correcting. I wanted to update you all with some products that are very affordable and will color correct your skin flawlessly.

Color correcting will be the foundation of creating a flawless appearance. By counter-acting any colors that you do not want to show through your foundation, will also help with using less product throughout the entire process. When you use less products, you will be able to also create a makeup look that will be light and natural looking. Forget the idea of just using tons of concealer to cover up imperfections, color correcting will give you a better end result for your makeup.

Makeup is considered an art form. When we were young kids and took art classes we were introduced to the color wheel. This was compromised of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. We can take this simple lesson and use it towards our color correcting. Whatever tone you would like to cover up, go to that color on the color wheel and whichever color is directly across from it will be your color corrector. 

- Red/Orange - color corrects and blue/green tones (ex. dark circles under eyes, dark pigmentation, scarring)

- Green - neutralizes any redness (ex. rosacea, acne, broken blood vessels)

- Purple - creates a brighter effect on any dull skin (better suited for skin with more yellow in it)

- Yellow - adds brightness to skin (this will be better suited for olive/tan skin and also dark circles under the eyes)

My suggestion is to buy a color correcting palette. It is better to have all of these color correctors together rather than buy so many separate products. Here are some great options:

BHCosmetics

NYX

MAKEUPFOREVER

City Color

Ciao!!

NailHur Squaletto Nails

I absolutely love getting my nails done and how they last for weeks but to be honest it becomes pricey, especially when I get tips done. They are so beautiful but definitely put a dent in my wallet. So for years I actually bought the drugstore nails that you can glue on. If you go with a good brand like KISS you can actually have them last for weeks.

It is all about buying good quality nails and also prepping your real nails first. I recently heard of NailHur that has their own line of fake nails but they look just as good as the end result of getting your nails done by a professional! The great thing is that they always have deals and top notch quality.

I recently used the 24 Shades of Grey by NailHur. They look amazing and feel so comfortable! Here is a picture below:

So basically the right way to prep your nails so the fake nails stay on for weeks is by following these steps:

- Take off all nail polish

- Wipe down nails with rubbing alcohol

- Make sure nails are cut very short

- File down the top of the nail so that it is a rough surface

When putting the fake nails on make sure to size them on your  nail before gluing. Then it also helps to put nail glue on the fake nail and your real nail. Then glue it on and apply pressure for about ten seconds. They should last you abut two weeks.

Give it a try and your wallet will thank you! 

Ciao!!

Your Life's Purpose

There are many days that pass by where I find myself in deep thought. I could be doing a mundane task and catch my thoughts drifting off on their own journey. Usually I sit there and ponder my own personal growth over the years and the woman I am today, I'm sure we all catch our minds drifting off into conversations about the possibilities and the dreams that we have. These thoughts can cross over between positive and negative. Many times a day I think about how I can constantly become a better person. It is as if the person I am today is not enough. I don't mean this in an insecure way towards my own self-perception, I look at it as a way to constantly evolve. Truthfully, we have an intense power to constantly evolve and become better individuals.

I correlate this mindset to my childhood. Growing up my parents instilled important morals and values into our lives. Not a day went by where we weren't taught something important and life changing. A simple family dinner conversation would be filled with important lessons from my father. Our parents took every opportunity possible to mold and nurture us into inquisitive and insightful individuals. Their actions of devotion, loyalty, and wisdom would later impact me in ways I never expected. Through trial and error I was able to find myself and truly learn more about the person I am inside. The moment I accepted who I am, I was astonished to feel a wave of emotions. Of course I felt extremely liberated and confident, but I also felt anxious and overwhelmed. In that moment I knew that I had become the woman my parents raised me to be, but I felt that there was more to it. 

Growing up in my family it was always expected that you treat everything in life with compassion, love, respect, and dignity. This pertained to responsibilities, family, friends, and strangers you met on the street. I would say that growing into the person I am today had its struggles at times. I would sometimes feel different from kids my own age because they didn't share the same philosophies as me. Whether you want to call me an old soul or traditional, I sometimes felt the strain of being different. Yet, it pushed me to learn more about what was close to my heart. The people and circumstances that came in and out of my life opened my eyes to see that I am proud of the woman my parents raised. My values and mindset might not align with this generation and some might call it outdated, that is okay with me. 

As a woman who was always unsure of what professional career decisions to make or where she wanted to be in ten years, I now confidently have that answer. No career or title can define who I am because I am more than that. My life's purpose is to care for and nurture everything important to me. Each day I find it important to impact the lives of the people close to me through love, loyalty, dedication, and commitment. This is what fuels my drive to keep going and grow on a daily basis. Everything I am today will become better as each day passes because I will always make sure to learn from my mistakes for the greater good. This goes deeper than a career or job, because this is what my family is built on and what my future children will be taught. Life will test us through hardships, but if you hold on to that power inside your heart you will come out better than you could have ever imagined. 

Ciao <3

Dull to Glowing Skin

I woke up this morning to find the thermometer reading 34 degrees Fahrenheit! It's still October, but here in Jersey it is known to get chilly in the fall. Just a couple of years ago it was snowing on Halloween. Needless to say the weather fluctuates constantly and it can have serious impacts on my skin. As my beautiful readers know, I have the most sensitive and problematic skin. There are a lot of variables that can cause breakouts this time of year, so lets talk about ways we can combat those skin issues.

As we go into the colder months our skin tends to dry out quicker. The products that you use during the summer months won't be beneficial to your skin. You need to change up your routine. No matter what I always opt for a very soothing face wash because of my skin texture and how it reacts to certain ingredients. My holy grail face wash is the Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Cleanser in the foaming formula. This is by far the most gentle face wash, and afterwards your face feels very fresh and clean.

As the weather gets colder and dries out our skin, we have to take extra care and make sure we exfoliate weekly. This will take care of clearing up any dry or flaky skin. I personally love my Clarisonic. I add my face wash onto the spinning brush and I use circular motions to exfoliate all over. This all helps keep my blackheads and clogged pores at bay. Exfoliating also helps lighten any hyper-pigmentation on the skin. I use my Clarisonic about 2-3 times a week. 

Since you are exfoliating, you also want to be careful with the harsh products you use on your face after cleansing. For example, you might not want to use a retinal as frequently as you did during the summer months. My skin tends to get dry very quickly everywhere except my T-zone. So I tend to opt for a more nourishing moisturizer. I use the Anti-aging and Clearing moisturizer by Paula's Choice. This is a very thick moisturizer that feels velvet soft on your skin. It doesn't leave your skin feeling oily or slick and it absorbs super quickly. 

Like I said I keep my skincare routine very very simple!! So keep that skin glowing this winter :)

Ciao !!!!