Beauty Talk : Combating Winter Dryness

Hello All!!

It's no secret. This winter has been rough! So today, instead of simply complaining about the weather that is driving us all batty, I will give you some tips on how I deal with the inevitable dryness the winter brings to our life. (Especially for those of you used to a milder winter.)

1. Water.

Duh. As obvious as it sounds, when we're cold the last thing we are thinking about is water, but it is still just as important to drink as much as you can. For me, I know herbal tea helps me get my intake everyday. That way you're not over-caffeinated and you're warming yourself up with a nice hot drink. However you need to get it into your system, just make sure you drink up.

2. Exfoliate

Once the dry skin is there you've got to get rid of it. There are two ways I do this. The first is my dry brush.

I'm sure you've seen people around the blogosphere talking about the wonderful benefits of dry brushing. So you should definitely try it for that. It's also GREAT for getting rid of dead skin. The second way to rid yourself is of course a scrub. My absolute hands down favorite of all time is the Lush Ocean Salt scrub. Its amazing. I've written about it a few times. There are also some wonderful one's made by Bath and Body Works. The Orange Ginger is my favorite! If you're in a DIY mood there are plenty of recipes on pinterest using plain old sugar and oils around your home.

3. Don't be afraid of oils!

I received a vial of this, as a gift when I purchases my clarisonic.

After I wash and moisturize my face I put a few drops on top to help seal in moisture. Sometimes after I wash my face at night I'll put a layer of coconut oil on my face. When I wake up my skin feels so smooth and soft. I will say that I am prone to getting breakouts here and there from hormones and stress, and the oils don't negatively affect my skin at all. As always you should experiment to find what works best for you, but definitely try it out. Coconut oil is not just for your face. You can slather that coconut goodness all over your body. It's an amazing natural moisturizer.

I personally love to use it on my hair as a deep conditioner or just as a moisturizer. Of course I have curly 'ethnic' hair, so my straight haired readers will need to rinse it out. If you leave it in like I do, you'll end up a hot stringy mess.

4. Deep Condition

If coconut oil isn't your thing, then add some much needed moisture back to your hair with good old fashioned deep conditioner. My current favorite is this one!

Also a good leave in conditioner goes a long way!

5. No Poo....or Less Poo

Since it's been colder I've been using a cleansing conditioner. I use a clarifying shampoo once every few washes too because I'm still pretty attached to the clean feeling of lather, but once my clarifying poo is all gone I'm going to experiment with one with no sulfates.

6. Moisturize

This is another duh, but don't forget to moisturize. Put on your face moisturizer. Get some shea butter and slather your footsies up. (Then put on some socks to help lock it in.)

Keep some hand cream at your desk and put it on throughout the day. Grab some cuticle oil and put a few drops on your nails at night and give yourself a quick hand massage.

7. Don't overheat!

Don't use too much hot water. Limit your use of heat styling tools. The gentler you are on your body, face and hair, the better it will be able to weather...well, the weather.

These are my tips. Do you guys have any good ones?

Baby It's Cold Outside...

First, to all the newbies that have found their way to KGB, WELCOME!!!

Guys.

Mother Nature basically pooed on my face this morning.

Last night I sat down to go through my blog reader, and up pops and email from Boomer's school saying school was canceled. I laughed. I laughed because at that moment it was raining and part of my parking lot was flooded. Cancel school? For what I say?

Mother Nature is laughing this morning. Not I. That semi-flooded parking lot is now a skating rink. I almost busted my ass on said skating rink, trying to open my frozen shut door for Boomer this morning. Its COLD. Also...it is only going to get colder. I'm not complaining. I know I live in Ohio...but to put it into perspective...

It hasn't been this cold in Columbus in 20 YEARS.

Ohio State University closed today. I only remember them closing maybe 3 times in the 22 years I've lived here. No joke.

Last night I finally got to use my new pretty pink Clarisonic. Do you know you have to charge those bad boys for A DAY before you can use it???? All I was thinking was it better be worth the wait! Its weird because you turn it on, and it doesn't even look like its moving. Then you put it on your face and its like 'Whoa!!!' THEN...when I went to rinse my face off with some water I actually felt how smooth it was. I don't think my face has felt like that since birth. I'm also experimenting with some oils that came with it as a gift with purchase, so I'll let you know how those work for me.  I'm only going to use my Clarisonic twice a week to start, just because I feel like there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I also bought the model that came with the sensitive brush head. Start easy and then you can always build up!

Also since the video I posted Friday got all wonky with sound, here is a pic of the nails I was so proud of. The base is OPI My Vampire is Buff with a glitter gradient of Essie Hors D'oeuvres.

Happy Monday Loves!

Beauty Review: Lush vs. Bath and Body Works

Hey Lovelies!

And a special hello to my new followers. It seriously warms my heart every time someone new is interested in the inner workings of my mind.

Today we're talking beauty products. Awhile back we talked about my love for Lush's Ocean Salt Body Scrub. 

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Its got avocado and coconut for hydration, and vodka and lime for antibacterial and anti blackhead/blocked pores action. IT HAS VODKA IN IT! Yeah, I likes my vodka. The sea salt minerals are great for sloughing off dead dry skin and soften skin as well. This product is fantastic, although as I said before I wouldn't recommend it if you've got sensitive skin. I even use it on my body. Last summer it was my bikini line/at home pedicure SAVIOR!

That said the stuff isn't cheap. 8.8oz will run you $34.95 and the 4.2oz is $19.95.

So being the bargain hunter that I am, I was looking for an effective replacement for use as a body scrub. On one of my travels into Bath and Body works I happened upon this stuff.

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 I liked that one of its ingredients was also sea salt so I thought I'd give it a try. According to their website the minerals in the sea salt are also good for removing dead skin and softening skin, and the Eucalyptus has cooling, refreshing properties.

For the 24oz size found here it will run you $24.00

So roughly $1 an oz (before taxes) vs about $4 an oz for Lush.

Here's the rub: (pun totally intended)

The Bath and Body Works scrub just didn't do it for me. It gobbed on in places, seemed to disappear in seconds in the shower and I found myself having to use more and more to get the results I wanted. The smell of the product was just so-so.

Bottom Line: As much as I love a good deal, I felt like I got a better one with the more expensive product. The Lush scrub can be used on face and body, and a little goes a long way, versus having to continually go back for more of Bath and Body Works scrub. With Lush you get the added benefit of knowing EXACTLY what's in your product and where and when it was made. Plus you can recycle your used up pots for new products. (Much like MAC's Back to MAC program.)

So there's my first review! Be back with more bloggy goodness tomorrow.

*Disclaimer*

These products were purchased by me, and any opinions expressed are my own.