Here's Everything I Finished In May

When I decided to add an empties post, at least every other month, I figured I should ask if people even, well, read them. I love reading empties posts when I run across them. In general, the idea of them is good. 

So often, blogging can be only about buying new and consumerism. About collecting and collecting and collecting. It can be really overwhelming. Sometimes I find myself wanting to buy something simply to buy it, because someone else has it and gosh, it looks lovely in photos, doesn't it? But I have so much stuff, especially in the way of beauty products. 

I ran a poll on both Twitter and Instagram. I posted the results on Twitter. It was a pretty close split, honestly, of those who read posts about empties and those who don't. Even though technically "no, I don't read them" won... I decided to still write this post. Because I want you to know that I'm not always buying new beauty products. In fact, the last beauty product I bought was a new foundation (to replace the one I used up featured in this post) and a new lipstick that was at Marshall's. 

Without further ado, let's dive in and talk about everything I finished up in May. 

I set myself the task of finishing up a bunch of small samples I had lying around. Those include: 

1. KORRES Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizer 

I got this moisturizer sample about a year ago? If I am remembering correctly. I got it in a Sephora order where I got a whole bundle of around 30 samples, which was exciting but took me forever to work through. This was the last sample I had and I finally set to using it up. It's a pretty decent moisturizer, but it is very heavy... so I only used it at night. I found it made my skin feel quite greasy; plus, it is very, very scented (which I know doesn't work for some people). I'm glad to be done with it! 

2. KORRES Pomegranate AHA Mask

I received this in my Chic VoxBox. You can read my whole review here; my impression there still stands. 

3. Purlisse Blue Lotus Seed Mask

I received this mask in my January Ipsy bag and it's been one of my favorite masks, because it's such a good exfoliator. Like the KORRES mask, I find it is less a mask and more just a face wash--so I mixed it with a more traditional clay mask so that it would actually dry down. 

4. FEEL Restore Warming Clay Mask

I received this in my April Ipsy bag. My review still stands: I love this mask, I love how warm it gets upon application, and I love how it made my skin look. I'll definitely be repurchasing soon! 

5. Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day & Night Cream 

I bought this sample at Target when I needed more moisturizer, but didn't really have the money to buy a full size tube. (Hi, welcome to my thrifty life.) I really love this moisturizer though and even though I recently bought Pacifica's Crystal Youth moisturizer with watermelon & tumeric, I'll probably repurchase in the future. It's a great moisturizer for those who like something a little more moisturizing at night. 

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I also finished up a few sheet face masks and one foot mask: 

1. Get Glowing Face Mask from Bath & Body Works

I can't find this exact mask on their website (I received it in a gift set that I received from my mother-in-law). However, this one looks like it has similar ingredients. This was a lovely, soothing face mask and it smelled fantastic! 

2. Revive Repairing Activated Charcoal Mask

I can't find a link to these masks anywhere. Admittedly, I bought them at Marshall's, so there are most likely a generic Korean brand and/or a repackage. They're some of my favorite sheet masks though. They are $7.99 for 6 at Marshall's, so if you're curious, they're a totally affordable splurge. 

3. Oh K! 3-Step Charcoal Face Mask

I bought this face mask on a whim after working out. I love masks that include cleanser and serum as well as a mask. This mask left my skin feeling quite smooth, moisturized, and rejuvenated. The serum was absolutely lovely and I wish I could buy a bottle of it. 

4. Oh K! Peeling Foot Mask

So, when I did this foot mask, I thought, initially, it didn't work. The way it works is that you have two packets of the "mask" and two booties. I found the booties quite difficult to keep on, so I only wore them for 30 minutes. (I've since seen that if you put socks on over them, it helps a lot. I know for the future.) When my feet didn't start peeling 3-4 days like the package said, I was sure I hadn't worn them long enough... but a week after, I was in the bathtub and I kept feeling something touch my foot. I thought it was a bug... but no, it was just my own foot skin. These foot masks are gross, but a solid 10/10 if you're getting your feet summer weather ready! 

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I also finished up the following. 

1. A La Maison Rosemary Mint Shower Gel 

I love herb-scented body products. I got this shower gel at Marshall's in Idaho at Christmas. It was around $7-8, I think. I used it as both body wash and bubble bath and loved the scent! I am not particularly picky about body washes, so this is pretty basic. But it's the first body wash I've legitimately finished in months. Time to start on the others! 

2. Wet'n'Wild Cushion Foundation with SPF 15 (in the shade Light Ivory)

I love this foundation. I started using it about 2 months ago and I use it probably 2 times a week; it's perfect for days when I still need some coverage, but don't want to go all out. It is hard to get it out of the sponge (I hate the applicator it comes with), so I just use my usual beauty sponge to get product out. At $8.99 a pop, it's not as cheap as the Photo Focus foundation and has less product, but it is an infinitely superior foundation in every single way. No weird smell. Great coverage. Great tone. I have repurchased and will absolutely continue to wear! 

3. LevenRose Jojoba Oil 

I'm a jojoba oil freak. A bottle usually lasts me 2-4 months, depending on how much I use it. I use it to take off my make up at night. I used to use it as a moisturizer, but recently stopped as I noticed it was giving me a bit of texture on my forehead. I now use it to take off my make up and then, once a week, apply over my moisturizer for a bit of a sealant so I can more adequately moisturize if I need it. This is my fourth bottle of jojoba oil and this is my absolute favorite brand. 

My May 2018 Review: Hello Summer!

Remember how I mentioned that April was kind of a doozy? I feel like I've been saying this every month since January and it just keeps... going. How do I stop the dooziness? How can I make each month just, like, 25% more boring? 

May was a good month, though. Not as stressful as March, which truly took the care in terms of "how can all these bad things happen in one month", and at least we had better weather than April. Just like last month, I'm going to do something a bit different and just talk about how my life has been--something I don't do a lot here on my blog in between all the "business", you know! 

1. Enjoying (All My) Work Again

A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on May 22, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

I think like most people, I tend to wax and wane in terms of enthusiasm for basically everything. Or maybe that's just a me thing, but it seems a little universal sometimes. For example, some days, I love this blog. I think about how much I enjoy it, how I've enjoyed improving my photography these last few months, and how good it feels to really be seeing growth in my blog. I've been feeling that way about everything in my life lately. Recently, I've been feeling a major slump with just about everything: at my day job, I felt uninspired and like I wasn't doing a good job (a byproduct of imposter syndrome, probably); at home, I couldn't find the motivation to clean or cook. It was just a bit of a slump. But in May, I felt like everything clicked back into place. Was it the nice weather? All I know is I've been loving working out lately, loving going to work, loving researching blog post topics. 

2. Confronting Our Fears

A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on May 20, 2018 at 6:57pm PDT

I am by nature a scaredy-cat. I'm scared of pretty much everything. Heights, flying, bugs of all kinds (yes, even ladybugs), the dark, heavily wooded areas. I went through the car wash recently and nearly had a panic attack. 

After Forrest's almost-broke-his-arm incident last month, I found myself afraid to take him to the park again. I was afraid he would fall. Or that he'd get pushed again and really break his arm this time (and, in the spiral of fear there, I'd take him to the pediatrician and they'd side eye my story of him being pushed again). He loves going to the park. He loves playing outside and exploring. But I found myself very nervous about taking him. What if something happened? 

But one thing I want for Forrest is for him to not have my anxiety. I've been trying hard not to express my anxiety around him, so that he doesn't see it and internalize having those kind of fears. I realized that if I don't want him to be afraid of the park for the rest of his life, we need to replace that memory of being pushed and getting hurt with memories of playing. 

So, we went to the park. He has developed a minor fear of going down slides, but he had fun running around and playing with two other kids his age we met there. He was brave. I was brave. 

3. Embracing Summer

A post shared by Michelle 💐 (@michellelocke6) on May 7, 2018 at 6:49pm PDT

I say this a lot, but I've always really disliked summer. Growing up with body image issues, summer always made me feel like I couldn't enjoy myself; I don't like wearing shorts and I definitely didn't like wearing bikinis. I also grew up 40 miles away from all my friends, so summers were often quite lonely for me. As I got older, I spent most of my summers working and saving money. And then, obviously, once I graduated college, summer meant just about the same thing as the rest of the year--just with hotter weather! 

This year, however, I'm trying to keep myself from being a grump about summer. I have a lot of negative energy surrounding summer (obviously)... but the best part about having a 2-year-old is that everything becomes super fun. I've bought Forrest some new outdoor toys. I have plans to build him a sandbox. And I find myself excitedly waiting for the weather to really stay nice so we can get out our outdoor furniture. 

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What was your favorite part of May? 

Actually, You Don't Need a Summer Detox

The worst part of summer is not the sticky, hot weather that starts to get oppressive around, say, late August; it's not the sunburns, or bug bites, or having to work when the weather is absolutely splendid outside. No, the worst part of summer is the diet industry. 

If you read my blog, you know that I've struggled with body image for a long time. It's what made me stop taking outfit photos. And it's why I don't really photograph myself for this blog still. Trust me, I'd love to--but it's just not something I can do right at this moment. 

And you know what absolutely doesn't help? Summer and the rapid influx of blog posts, Tweets, and Instagram posts about doing a detox. More than 10 people I follow have mentioned their recent juice detox (ugh), or their extremely pared down diet that is little more than socially acceptable anorexia (double ugh). Having to mute everyone who mentions doing a summer detox is exhausting, so let me be the one to say: y'all, we don't need detoxes. 

If you have a functioning liver, you don't need to detox. Your organs do that for you. 

You also don't need to drink special tea to help you lose weight. And you also don't need appetite suppressant lollipops. 

That's right, Kim Kardashian, I'm talking to you. Instagram is often rife with diet culture, repeating absolutely false and quite frankly dangerous information. (Does anyone else get those awful weight loss accounts in their Explore section of Instagram? I swear, it's the worst part of the Instagram algorithm.) It's not just poor, misinformed Kim K whose doing it. She's in good company, of course. Every single one of her sisters (minus Kendall, bless) has posted a misguided ad for some kind of weight loss product. 

In case you don't know, Fit Tea (and Fit Coffee and Lyfe Tea) is a tea that acts as a laxative. That's all these products are: expensive, repackaged laxatives. Not only is it dangerous to take them as weight loss products (and not just for your dignity and outfit if you dare venture out of the house after drinking one), it's incredibly irresponsible. Laxatives are not a way to lose weight. They are a way to damage your body. Just like detoxes. 

Appetite suppressant lollipops aren't just meaningless marketing tactics (most likely, they're about as effective as eating a real lollipop); they're dangerous as well. Encouraging people to "eat a lollipop" to "suppress their appetite" presumably when they are actually hungry... is encouraging people to starve themselves. Plain and simple.

Just like these teas aren't designed to make you actively lose weight (but rather to become addicted to a mindset and product that benefits only the person who sells the tea), this isn't a lollipop designed to help curve overeating or boredom eating (two things that can be helped more effectively buy body positivity, rejecting diet culture, and intuitive eating); this is a lollipop that encourages you to starve yourself and not eat, period. But the truth is, it won't work; if you try to use it that way, you'll end up eating, which makes you feel ashamed of yourself; you'll buy more lollipops, you'll try hard. And now you're stuck in a negative binge-and-restrict diet culture induced cycle. This is the damage that ads like this cause. 

Summer detoxes are the same thing. Juice cleanses don't actually cleanse any part of you. They starve you. You'll lose weight, of course, because you aren't eating food or any fiber at all. You're just drinking empty calories, sugar, and water. This is dangerous. Your body needs food to survive. As long as you are in reasonably good health (and many people with chronic illnesses are not--and they deserve to love their bodies too), you don't need to detox yourself. If you do need to detox for a medical issue, that's something you discuss with your doctor--not with some charlatan who survives off of carrot juice on the internet. 

So as June approaches, remember: you don't need that detox. Even if your sister in law is doing one and won't stop posting about it on Instagram. Even if your friends are work mention that they want to start drinking smoothies for every meal. You don't need to detox. Your body is good enough, and beautiful enough, as it is, right at this very moment. 

Beauty Review: My May Ipsy Bag

You may notice something a little different about this Ipsy bag: I have 6 items here. Well, this month, I redeemed some of my points for a bonus item: a tube of Cake Beauty's Delectable Body Lotion. I've been needing a new hand lotion to keep at my desk and this was a perfect opportunity. 

The theme of this month's bag is travel--and surprisingly, the makeup bag is much roomier than past Ipsy bags! I'm excited to cover everything I received this month, so let's jump in. 

You can read my past Ipsy bag reviews here. And as always, you can sign up for Ipsy using my referral link here. 

1. Elizabeth Mott Shimmer Eyeshadow Single in Mermaid Teal, $13

You know what's funny? I received a half-size Elizabeth Mott eyeshadow in my very first Ipsy bag; I received the shade Toasted then and while I quite liked it, I'll be honest when I say I haven't used it since probably October. However, unlike the past eyeshadows I've received, this is not a bronze, warm brown, or copper. It's teal! I was really excited I got this color. 

I am not a blue eyeshadow person, but I know I need to challenge myself when it comes to my eye makeup! This is a really beautiful teal-blue; it's super buttery and blendable. I've been experimenting with ways to use it and I quite like it blended into a more wearable, everyday color like gray. 

2. TonyMoly Painting Therapy Pack, $6.50 for 30ml ($2.17 value)

You all know I love a mask and I love TonyMoly products. This mask "contains bamboo charcoal which helps to extract impurities and break down dead skin cells so skin is cleansed from the inside out. Perfect for controlling sebum and oil." Oh, girl! That sounds awesome! I tried this mask out the first time I got it. I saw some reviews that said this sample tube only gave them two uses. It has 10 ml (and a full size is 30 ml); I would say I could get probably 4-5 uses out of this tube! That's pretty good value. It made my skin feel quite soft, but not tight and dry like some clay masks can. 

3. SLMISSGLAM Sparkle Everyday Glam Beauty Sponge, $17.50

I love a sponge and I was excited to receive this one... but it's so small! It's retail price is $17.50, which actually made me gasp. I even checked, several times, that I'd searched for the right sponge. $17.50 for this little thing? But the thing I hate the most is that I absolutely love it. I love this expensive sponge! It's way better than my Real Techniques sponge! I'm spoiled now. I'm spoiled by this $17.50 sponge. 

4. Taste Cosmetics Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder, $33 for 8.5g (~$8.25 value) 

I only recently purchased the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores powder when I found out I was getting this finishing powder in my ipsy bag. I definitely grumbled--how did they know I'd just committed to a pretty big purchase!? I was excited to try a different style of powder though because you never know when you might need to buy something different. Is this powder as good as my It Cosmetics? It's a lot finer and definitely less dry, if that makes sense; it's a softer powder in general. I do find that it doesn't control my oil and set my makeup as well, but I think for those with dry skin, it's an absolutely great option. 

5. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo, $6.50

You all know I love NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams... but I just received one in my Ipsy bag! What gives!? The color I received this month is Cairo, which is described as a "pure, pale nude." Pale is absolutely correct; this is very nearly my skin tone! It's not the most flattering color, but as usual I love the formula. I just wish I had gotten one of the other colors. Or better yet, one of the 10 new shades that NYX has introduced recently. This was my one big disappointment of my bag. 

BONUS: Cake Beauty Delectable Lotion, $6 value

Did I need another lotion? Not really! But enough people had signed up with my ipsy referral code that I had so many points, I just needed to redeem something! I got this lotion for 250 points if I remember right. It's vegan and cruelty free and smells super coconut-y. I don't like eating coconut, but it's one of my favorite smells ever; I love that nostalgic sunscreen smell. It dries really fast, so I keep it by my computer for quickly applying, as my hands are very often quite dry.  

Final Thoughts

The value of my bag this month was $47.42. If you add in my bonus item I received with redeemed points, it's $53.47. It's not the highest valued bag, but I only really didn't like one thing in this bag (the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream), so I don't mind. The sponge is my favorite item and being $17.50 (seriously), it makes the bag absolutely worth it! I also love the Delectable lotion, as it smells so good and makes me feel like summer time personified. As always, you can sign up for Ipsy using my link here.. 

How to Plan Summer Lessons for Your Preschooler

A few months ago, I realized that on the days I was home all day with Forrest, he and I both got extremely bored. Like, mind-numbingly, anxiety-inducing bored. I tried to find things for us to do: trips to the park when the weather was nice, playing outside, and more, but it's hard to fill all the time in the day. 

Plus, I had things I needed to get done at home. Shoving our schedule full of classes, trips, and more kept me from doing things like cleaning and finishing up the laundry. 

One of my friends suggested I start doing lessons for Forrest while I was home. This friend happens to be a teacher, so planning lessons was second nature to her. Not so much for me! But I sat down with PInterest and my husband (also a teacher) to pick out some simple lessons to start doing with Forrest. 

I ended up settling into a pretty good routine that helped both Forrest and I get over our boredom on rainy days and spend more time having fun together. Plus, he's learned a lot! 

Since summer is rapidly approaching and I know some parents will be at home with their preschool-age children, I thought it would be handy to share my tips regarding planning simple lessons--especially if you've never planned a lesson in your life! In these tips, I'll also talk about the schedule I follow, how to decide on topics, and what supplies you need. 

1. Focus on Their Strengths & Weaknesses

Every preschooler has their strengths and their weaknesses. Forrest is very verbal; he can count to around 12, knows most of the alphabet, and draws people. However, he's not great at following directions, something I wanted to work on in lessons, or trying things on his own initially. Whether your child is a whiz at numbers or prefers spending time outside learning about nature, you should tailor your lessons to revolve around not just their interests, but they things they are best at. 

Here are a few sample lessons that I've done with Forrest: 

• Gluing shapes to a piece of paper to create flowers
• Identifying letters along with a word that starts with that letter
• Counting the number of stickers on a sheet and using them to create a scene 

Typically, I like to pick a theme for lessons to revolve around during the week. It might be Spring, or Animals, or something Forrest has recently shown interest in, like flowers or plants. I think try to think of something simple he can do that combines that theme with something like identifying letters, drawing, or counting, as those are things he enjoys doing. As time goes on, I'm going to start incorporating more challenging elements, like tracing letters and numbers. 

2. Keep It Age Appropriate

Forrest will be 3 in September, so his lessons are definitely more simplistic than they would be for a 3-1/2-year-old or a 4-year-old. He's not going to be able to write letters at this point, for example; but he can count and tell me what he says, identify letters, and help glue things to paper. This was hard for me initially as I had grabbed some worksheets from online that were simply too challenging for him; he wasn't able to follow the instructions I told him and it was frustrating for both of us. 

3. Collect Special Supplies

We have a special bin of paper, stickers, and other art supplies that we use only for lessons. In this bin is also our tub of kinetic sand, which is often his treat for finishing a lesson. Having special supplies that are only for "school" has helped him separate these lessons from "playing"--while still being fun. I buy most everything we use in the Target dollar section; they always have tons of stickers, stamps, and more. Right now, they have a dinosaur book with magnetic dinosaurs that I'm going to start using soon! 

4. Keep It Less than 15 Minutes

This is the schedule that I follow with Forrest: at the start of every hour, we do a 15-minute lesson. That's about as long as I can hold his attention. Then, I get the rest of the hour to do one of my tasks (like cleaning the bathroom or folding laundry, fun!) or work. I try to keep lessons to 3 a day, spread throughout the day. Any more and I find Forrest gets frustrated by the end--and also it's a lot for me to plan!

Older children can definitely spend more time focused on a task on their own. But for Forrest's age, 15 minutes is best. 

5. Avoid Tablets

Tablets are definitely not bad. But in terms of lessons, I find that they don't do a lot to help preschoolers learn manual dexteriority, especially when it comes to things like writing, drawing, and more. Tablets have their place, but not in lessons. This helps you also keep the exercise one-on-one; working with your child personally will help you connect with them and they'll learn more this way. 

6. Stick to a Schedule

I find that the more I keep up my lesson schedule with Forrest, the more he looks forward to it. We've started talking to him about going to school and how it will be like the lessons he does with me; getting him excited to start school is very important to us (and hopefully, to you with your children as well!). Since I'm only home 2 days a week with him (plus 2 days on the weekend), we aren't doing 5-days-a-week... yet. But this summer, we will probably add 1 more day of lessons to help him get used to having more of a schedule. 

How to Get the Perfect Sun Free Summer Tan

The last time I used self tanner, I was 13 years old. 

Needless to say, I didn't do a masterful job applying it. But I dedicated myself to having bronzed legs for a solid 6 months, to the detriment of all my school uniform khaki pants. I distinctly remember one of my legs being darker than the other and applying a "thin" layer to my other leg, only to end up with it being roughly the color of balsamic vinegar. It was a mess. At the time, I used the Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Foam, which was a new product at the time; my mom had been a Jergens sunless tanner user for years. 

All tanners back then smelled absolutely terrible. And honestly, they all looked so orange. But if you couldn't afford a spray tan and wanted to avoid sun damage, it was the only way to go. 

Thankfully, things have come a long way and there are a ton of great sunless tanners on the market now. 

Why Sun Free Tanning is the Way to Go

While I truly think most of us know better by now, the truth is a lot of people still aren't educated on the effects of sun damage--or what really constitutes sun damage. 

I'm in a beauty group and every few days lately, someone asks about base tanning. Base tanning is the idea that you lie in a tanning booth, get a small tan, and therefore are protected from burning on vacations. This is incredibly irresponsible and has been disproven by multiple sources. 

If your skin changes color in any way, you are damaging your skin, whether it is a burn or a tan. And starting with a tan won't stop you from burning or from getting sun damage. In fact, your skin doesn't even have to react to have sun damage. I've never been sunburned or tanned on my face, but according to my dermatologist, I have sun damage on my face. 

There is no safe tanning when it comes to laying out or lying in tanning booths. 

Sun damage can cause a multitude of skin cancers--all of which are preventable by using sun protection. As well, sun damage causes accelerated aging, wrinkles, melasma, and more. Protect your skin & go sun less when it comes to tanning. And always, always wear SPF and physical protection when spending lots of time in the sun! (I'll cover SPF later in this post as well.) 

1. Invest in your tanner. 

You can purchase a tube of sunless tanner at Target for less than $8, universally. But I highly encourage you to take this opportunity to go a bit more high end. 

On Mother's Day, I popped in to Ulta to treat myself to a gift and got the NKD SKN Tinted Tan Mousse in Medium*. It's $19.99 for a tube, more than I would really ever spend on something like this, but I'd heard good things about the brand. There are many high end sunless tanners these days though; St. Tropez is a tried-and-true brand as well. 

I was very nervous to try this tanner--my experience in middle school had left some scars, clearly--but from the get go, it was so nice. It doesn't smell at all and goes on so smooth and evenly. I put on one layer to start and it dried instantly. No stained sweatpants or sheets. The next morning, I took a shower and while the top layer did rinse off, I was left with a really great, light tan look. Not super dark, not super orange. It's very natural! 

So while $20 felt like an absolute luxury, I wouldn't ever pay anything less now. 

NKD SKN also has a Gradual Tan Daily Moisturizer that i am very interested in. 

*As a note, NKD SKN is a vegan and cruelty-free brand! 

2. Use a mitt. 

The best way to apply a perfect tan? A mitt! How did I never know about mitts before!? I'm convinced these are a new invention. I bought the Double-Sided Sunless Tan Mitt from Ulta Beauty for $9.99 (they were buy one, get one 50% off) and quite like it. Funny enough, St. Tropez sells a cheaper mitt for $5.99--and it actually looks nicer! There are also some great sunless tanner kits that include mitts, like this one from Fake Bake for $30 and this one from Tarte Cosmetics Braziliance for $39.  

A mitt helps you keep your application from streaking. It also keeps your palms and fingernails from getting stained orange! If you're planning to do a full body tan as well, a mitt helps you reach all those tricky spots--especially if you have to ask for help from your partner! 

3. Exfoliate & moisturize. 

It goes without saying that the smoother and more moisturized the surface of your skin, the better self tan goes on. The instructions on NKD SKN say not to moisturize immediately before. I had exfoliated and moisturized my legs earlier that day, so I just applied some moisturizer to my knees and ankles (to prefer going too dark in those dry spots) and it worked a charm. My ankle did end up a bit blotchy that first time, but a bit more moisturizer next time will do the trick. I did the same thing with my elbows and wrists when I did a full body application. 

4. Wear SPF. 

Keep your skin safe! When you've got the perfect summer tan, you know that taking care of your skin is important. Look for a high SPF to wear all over your body, as well as a separate facial SPF. I've used Sun Bum's SPF 30 for years and love it. If you spend a significant portion of the day in the sunshine, you need to reapply sunscreen every 45-60 minutes, covering your entire body and face; you should realistically use 1/2 to an entire bottle of sunscreen every 8 hours you spend in the sun. 

For facial SPFs, my favorite of all time is Coola's Mineral Face SPF 30. (And don't forget to put sunscreen on the part of your hair!) Coola also makes an amazing SPF 30 lip balm that's perfect for sunny days; your lips are particularly vulnerable to sun damage! 

Now, what about wearing make up? Good thing for us, there are now SPF setting sprays we can carry outside with us to keep our makeup flawless and our skin protected. Using a foundation with SPF, like Wet'n'Wild's Cushion Foundation with SPF 15, can give you good base coverage alongside using an SPF moisturizer like Coola's. I really like Ulta Beauty's SPF 50 Rose Water Setting Spray and Coola's Classic SPF 30 Setting Spray with Green Tea and Aloe. 

Look flawlessly tanned and protect your skin! 

Beauty Review: Lottie London Eyeliner Stamp

Winged eyeliner stamps have been floating around the internet for the last two or three years--ever since winged eyeliner became back in style and we all realized that to get the perfect wing every single day took a massive effort!

For years, winged eyeliner was my look. I was an extremely dedicated fan of Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner; for a long time, it was the only liquid eyeliner pen with a brush tip. I'm not a fan of felt tips; I've tried to make them work for ages and it is just... never going to happen. It's a lost cause! However, I suspect Kat Von D reformulated the Tattoo Liner within the last year or two; the last two I bought dried out really fast and went on more dark gray than black. It was super disappointing. Plus, they went up in price to $20 a pop--which was a lot for me, especially after having Forrest.

I tried other liquid eyeliners, but found it was hard to find a formula as good as Kat Von D's. Plus, with a baby, I didn't really have 15 minutes to dedicate to my eye makeup everyday. Doing eyeshadow was quicker and I could do it with Forrest playing beside me and bumping into me. 

However, I recently stumbled upon a Lottie London Wing Woman Eyeliner Stamp at Ulta. I can't find it on Ulta's website, but you can see the U.K. website of it here. It appears that Lottie London is a brand carried by Ulta primarily online here in the U.S., as well as in some Forever 21 stores (and online at Forever21.com). Here is everything that Ulta sells online of Lottie London. 

I paid around $8 for the one I bought at Ulta; if you have an Ulta near you and want to check this out, it's pretty affordable and it might be in stores. (it also appears some third party sites, like Dolls Kill, sell Lottie London in the U.S. as well; just please check the security credentials before ordering!) 

I had seen other stamps that were quite expensive, which always stopped me from using them. But for $8, I was willing to try it out, especially because I miss the look of winged eyeliner! It's a much more simple, classic look. 

For this eyeliner stamp, one side is the stamp and one side is a (felt tipped) eyeliner pen. I wasn't a huge fan of the eyeliner pen right off the bat; the formula is quite thin and seeps into my extremely fine lines, even on my hand (not even mentioning what it does on my eyes!) I knew I would needed to use an eyeliner alongside it.

I have had the NYX Epic Ink Liner for a long time; it's $8 and I remember not liking it way back when I bought it, about a year ago. But after reusing it with this stamp, I've changed my mind. I really love it. 

I have round, deep set eyes that are partially hooded. (I've gone back and forth on whether my eyes are "really" hooded or not; some people say yes, some people say no. All I know is sometimes my eyeliner can disappear into the crease.) Winged eyeliner can take a lot of patience, because I usually have to draw my lines looking straight ahead into a mirror, without closing or touching my eyes; that way I can make sure my wing won't get folded up into my crease! 

The stamp comes in handy here, because it's a lot easier to use than an eyeliner pen to do that. I actually found myself not using the stamp full size (it's quite a dramatic size!), but rather using about 2/3 of it (and getting eyeliner on my eyeball in the process) to get the size of wing I prefer. Once I stamped, I then used the NYX Epic Ink eyeliner pen to fully draw the wing and then line my eyes. 

Sometimes, it worked better than others; this was mostly user error on my part. However, I found that it took my winged eyeliner routine from about 15-20 minutes to closer to 5-10 minutes. In the morning, that's pretty significant! I also felt like my eyeliner was much more even. 

If you're looking for an affordable stamp for winged eyeliner, this is definitely one to try. I have thought about what I'll do once it dries out (and I'll update this post when that happens to give a time of how long it lasts), but I think you could also coat it with your eyeliner of choice and make it work that way! 

Beauty Review: Honest Beauty Younger Eye Cream

I wrote on Instagram last week about my experience with my Honest diaper bundle and customer service, but to reiterate: I receive Honest diaper bundles for Forrest and the past few months they've been showing up, well, absolutely destroyed. This month was no different, with my bundle arriving torn apart, diapers missing, and, worse, the free gift I had received (the Honest Beauty Younger Eye Cream) was nowhere in sight. I was extremely disappointed.

Thankfully, however, Honest Customer service sent me a package of the missing diapers and eye cream that arrived within 2 days. They really are amazing. 

I've been somewhat acutely aware that I needed to start including an eye cream in my routine for a while--I don't necessarily have dry skin, but at 29, I do want to start thinking about how to keep wrinkles as unlikely as possible. My skin has definitely gotten more crepey, especially around my eyes. It's not severe yet, but it was something I was watching.

Enter the Honest Beauty Younger Eye Cream. As I had the opportunity to add it to my bundle for free, I figured, why not!? It's free! Here's what it promises: 

“You’ll love this deeply hydrating eye cream, which contains hyaluronic acid to attract moisture and hydrate skin. This botanically charged formula also features barbary fig and baobab fruit, both rich in essential fatty acids. A chamomile and calendula blend helps calm and soothe. Eyes look younger and more refreshed. With results so eye-catching, don’t blame us if you get carded.”

Oh la la! At $28 for 0.5 fluid oz, it's not the most expensive product out there--but it is a bit more than I usually spend on a skincare item! However, since you don't use much of it at a time, it will last quite a while. Here are the results of a test study, according to Honest: 

“In a consumer study of 106 women, after 4 weeks of use:

94% agreed eye area felt refreshed after use.
88% agreed eye area looked rejuvenated and revitalized after use.
86% agreed fine lines around eyes were less noticeable after use.
84% agreed wrinkles around eyes were less noticeable after use.
82% agreed they looked like they had a good night’s sleep after use.
82% agreed eye area looked younger after use.
81% agreed eye area was instantly plumped after use.”

Oh wow! However, that's only 106 women and only 4 weeks of use. 

My Experience

I've been this for 2 weeks now. I know that's not a very long time for a review, especially of a skincare product, but here are my thoughts about that: 

• As I don't really have wrinkles or severe signs of aging around my eyes, my visible results are going to be much more subtle. 
• I'm adding this purely for extra moisture. 

So, do I like it? 

It took some getting used to to remember to put it on before my moisturizer at night--and it's especially difficult to remember to pat it and not blend it. (Cut to a flashback of me in high school absolutely destroying my face by rubbing it and scrubbing it. Old habits die hard.) 

I do quite like it. It doesn't feel greasy or heavy; it doesn't pill if I put it on under my make up; and I don't feel like it makes my make up wear off. I have felt like my eye makeup has applied better lately, but that might just be wishful thinking. 

One thing I don't love about it is the smell. In reviewing other Honest Beauty products, I've mentioned this as well; they smell is odd. It's not bad. But it's not good. It's not added fragrance, but it doesn't smell natural either. It smells vaguely like plastic cheese, if that makes sense. They really do need to work on the fragrance of their products, because while the smell doesn't last all day, it is very obvious when I'm applying it! 

Do you use an eye cream? What kind do you use? Once this tube is done, I'll be looking for a replacement!