Sunday Skin Day

       My skins been looking a little worse for wear lately. I usually have really clear skin and only really have little hormonal break outs. Right now i'm in the middle of that plus some other strange break out cause. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm sick right now, but ether way my skin needs to smarten up and clear itself out. Ain't no one got time for a pizza face! So tonight I got out of work and set to clear up my face!

      Because I get lazy with my skin care throughout the week it's nice to take a little extra time at the beginning of the week and really pamper my skin! First step is always to take off my make up, I use Bioderma micellaire water. I just pour a little on a cotton oval and it basically melts the makeup off my face. I'm in love with this stuff! It's great for sensitive skin. Only problem is it's a bit hard to get a hold of in the states. I think its sold at drugstores in Canada and I brought mine in bulk and brought it back from France with me. It's worth the hassle though and I defiantly recommend it!

     Next up in the skin pampering is cleansing. I've been trying out a charcoal cleanser i grabbed from TJ Maxx last week. Charcoal grabs all the gross toxins and draws them to the surface of your skin and out of your pores. The cleanser I used is called D:tox System Purifying Facial Cleaner Step 1. So far i've been liking it, thinking about it while i type this cleanser is probably why i'm breaking out. It must be working! The number 1 best thing about this product is some of the proceeds from each product purchased goes toward breast cancer research!

     What kind of pamper session would it be without a face mask? I love LUSH fresh face masks and I picked up my favorite, Love Lettuce on Thursday with just this kind of evening in mind. It smells like lavender and has an exfoliating scrub in it. While I wait for my mask to harden I light a candle, tonights was a Bath and Body works number I bought in the 2 for 22 sale (still going on i'm pretty sure), Eucalyptus Mint, and settle down to watch some YouTube videos. After removing the face mask I tone my face to get rid of any mask residue, with the Murad Hydrating Toner and grab my Body Shop Aloe Soothing night moisturizer and Vitamen E under eye cream. Finally I treat my lovely face spots with the La Roche Posay Effaclar A. I.

    Throughout the process I drink a giant glass of ice water, and now that my face is all shiny and new I'm about to curl up in my duvet and watch Vampire Diaries.... Team Stefan!!

Primer Problem

     I have been having the hardest time finding a primer that works for me. Sephora has been fantastic with letting me bring home samples to try. Nothing has done what i was hoping. I'm looking for something to control shine, hide pores, and fill lines. That's exactly what Maybelline's Baby Skin primer claims to do! I picked it up and i have to say i am really disappointed! This is supposed to be a dupe for Benefit's POREfessional and from how this looked on my skin i'm really hesitant to try Benefit's version.

       This is a silicone based primer so it should sit on top of the skin, blur the look of pores and fill in lines. Obviously I was all over this.... everything i want at a drug store price? Yes please!

       

         It comes out clear and looks as you would expect and it apples really smoothly and easily. I used the Baby Skin on half of my face after moisturizer and left the other half without. Here I am looking beautiful, pre- foundation!

      The right side of my face has the Baby Skin primer on it, the left just has my normal moisturizer.

         Here i am fully made up for the day. I'm wearing Make Up Forever's HD foundation in the shade 110, Revlon color stay concealer in porcelain (i think... whatever the lightest shade is is what i have), the Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser in the illuminating shade, Cargo's HD translucent finishing powder, and finally the L'Oreal Telescopic mascara.

         Finally, here I am at the end of the day. I went to the mall, out to lunch, and worked a 5 hour shift. There is no noticeable difference in the sides of my face in this picture, in real life I'm a bit shinier on the right side, my makeup actually wore better without being primed.

     

        Overall the Maybelline Baby Skin didn't fill in lines, control shine, or make my make up last longer. In fact my makeup did these things better without the primer on. It didn't work for me but many people have raved about it so i handed it off to my sister. Maybe she will have better luck!

Operation Working Vacation

         As mentioned in my last post i just got back from vacation! Friends of mine recently moved back to the States from Paris and because I'm basically obsessed with their four footed furry friend, they asked me to come stay with him while they go on a family vacation. Now, as i live in New England and it's supper sunny and warm.... oh wait it was in the negatives, freezing, and there was a foot of snow on the ground, I jumped at the chance to get some place warm! Here are a whole lot of dog pictures and a few of the things i got up to while down South!

                      I couldn't resist taking some cheesy plane window pics. The sunset was so pretty!

I'm not sure it's legal to take a picture of the pentagon from above... i feel like that would be some rule that the CIA might enforce. Oh well, its done can't go back!

Look at this face! Is he not the cutest guy? This is Buddy my house mate about a week and a half, he's 7 yrs old and is a lab mix. I think he's got some American Eskimo in him because of his tiny paws and tail. I miss him so much already. I'm a bit dog obsessed, i blame my parents for depriving me of one my entire life.

He's got relaxation down to an art, huh?

I was staying right outside Columbia which is about 2 hours away for Charleston so the pooch and i hoped in the car for a road trip. Charleston is absolutely beautiful! It's really cool to see the old southern style houses and imagine I'm a southern bell. We walked along the Battery and Buddy basically pulled my arm out of the socket trying to get to the water, had a session of fetch in one of the off leash parks, walked a whole lot, and had some lunch. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and 80 degrees so off course i burned through my SPF, #albino.

I also took a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo which was AMAZING! I hadn't been to a Zoo in ages and I was like a little kid i was so happy!

                                                  Just casually modeling for me, work it!

                               This elephant got lazy, that's a lot of weight to carry around!

Oh, and the best part????? I FED A GIRAFFE! He ate right out of my hand, it was the coolest thing ever!

I love the south, it's such a great place to live! I wouldn't mind relocating once I'm out of school! I'll leave you with one final Buddy picture, because who could get tired of this face?

Post Vacation Haul!

      I've neglected blogging for the past week and a half because i was on vacation! I went to South Carolina to puppy sit and enjoy the warm weather! Being on my own in a new city means a lot of time to shop and while I didn't actually buy anything while in SC (there is sales tax there and i live in NH sooooo i waited to get home), my window shopping influenced a bit of a shopping spree. Without further ado, drumroll please, to the stuff!

       My first stop was Zara, I flew into Boston and whenever i'm in the city i HAVE to hit up Newbury St. The first thing i picked up is the gray shift dress.

          It's super simple from the front and i picked it up thinking i would hate it in all honesty, the gray part feels kind of like a softer, worn in burlap material (doesn't sound very appealing i know, i just can't really describe it) and the white lining is a chiffon. I love the way the white hangs down at the bottom and adds a little girly touch. It's a drop waist and is gathered in the back. This is one of those things that has ALL the design in back. I love anything with pockets too!

        Next I beelined straight for the leggings to pick up these black high waisteds. I had bought the navy in this style back in September and have been thinking about the black ones ever since. I love that the top of these leggings is kind of like a control top, it sucks everything in! So i feel comfortable wearing a cropped top with them.

      Such as this baby pink 3/4 length sweater! Its really simple but i think it will go with a bunch of things in my closet

      Finally i grabbed this tank off the sale rack, it was $30 marked down to $6! I love the royal blue collar and it has a really cool texture in the front of the body.

      Then i went to Urban Outfitters and picked up some socks with lace around the ankle that i thought would look super cute with booties and the gray dress for spring. And because i got my cleanser taken away by TSA i had to stop into ULTA. I picked up the L'oreal Go Clean Deep Cleanser  and the Pur Minerals Melt Away make up emulsifier. Going into ULTA is always dangerous for a beauty junkie so of course i walked out with more than i went in looking for. I picked up the Cargo HD translucent powder and the L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara. I've heard a lot of beauty gurus on YouTube rave about these and let's be honest people, the L'oreal commercials just suck you in! The wand is really cool and different on this mascara so I'm excited to try it!

       It's a miracle that i didn't walk out of ULTA with some sort of lip product as thats usually my weakness, but theres always next time right?

People These Days

           I have been working in retail for 6 years now. I started at Hollister Co. transferred to Abercrombie and now I'm working at a DKNY outlet. Through the years I've come across many different shoppers but last week a very special family came into the store.
       
          A family of Canadians came in, speaking French with so thick an accent I couldn't understand a word and I can speak a bit of French so I should have been able to talk to them. They spread out and took over the store trying things on, laughing, joking with each other. All if a sudden the dad and the little boy left, shortly after the mom and the rest of the family bought one sweater and also left. It was a little strange and we had expected a pretty big sale. A little while later my manager came up with a mop from the fitting rooms. What was he mopping up you ask? A spilt drink? Maybe some melted ice cream. But nope that would be expected. It was PEE! As in urine, as in this boy ( who looked about 12), decided that instead of leaving the store to do his business, he dropped trow and pee'd in our fitting room!! I don't think I have never been more disgusted. And I seriously hope that's not a thing I ever have to deal with again.... I mean the family just left, they didn't even let us know or apologize!      

        Retail workers seriously deal with some interesting people and we're doing it with a smile on our faces! Hope you enjoyed my little story, it probably won't be the last if it's kind.