Hi Hi! How is everyone doing?! What a crazy start to the year it is been (I feel like I’m always saying this) – filled with chasing our WALKING baby, lots of work, a few sickies, traveling for my job, and it goes on! We are almost out of my least fave month (bye, Jan!) & into mine AND Calvin’s bday month…I can’t believe it! I’m expecting an amazing February full of changes, birthday celebrations, successes and more blog posts than I was able to produce creatively this month.
With all the craziness, I have, however, had the time to try some new products! If you’re like me, you find things you love and buy them over and over – but every once and a while it’s just time to mix it up. The winter can be so rough on your skin, hair, and look over all, so it’s important to take extra care. Here are the affordable drugstore beauty faves that I’ve been trying (and loving) for the past 4-6 weeks:
Simple ‘Kind to Skin’ Facial Cleanser
I had never bought the Simple brand before but I was looking for a new cleanser and this one caught my eye. I love a good foaming cleanser and there are no artificial perfumes, dyes, or harsh chemicals. It does a good job removing even my eye makeup and my skin just feels super CLEAN after I rinse. The cleanser doesn’t leave behind a bunch of residue or excess product that I’m wiping away with a towel, it truly feels like I’m washing everything off and am left with a squeaky clean fresh face.
Neutrogena Alcohol Free Toner
Even though I feel the Simple cleanser does a great job and I don’t wear a TON of face makeup every day, I like to use a toner to get off anything that may be left behind. Most toner’s are very harsh and contain astringents/alcohols as the main ingredient and tend to strip out all moisture, which actually causes more breakouts in the long run. This alcohol-free toner is light, fresh, and doesn’t dry out my skin. Just apply a small amount to a cotton ball or cotton pad and gently scrub face to feel like an angel before bed
Coconut Oil
I know, I know I am LATE to the coconut oil game. I have been using it religiously as a face moisturizer twice a day -once in the morning and then once at night right before bed. In the morning, I will put it on after I wash my face and then put my foundation on right away, which is a total game changer. My makeup goes on so so much better, is so much more even, and leaves almost a dewy (not oily) look behind. I would seriously take a bath in coconut oil if I could. Or maybe a shower of coconut oil to be more efficient. When traveling for work this month, I obviously couldn’t take my whole jar with me so I didn’t take it at all and I had withdrawals (and a peely face.) Plus, it’s 100% organic!
NYX Tinted Brow Mascara
Brow Mascara: so necessary!!! If you fill in your brow with a pencil (like I do) it’s easy to leave behind lines in the brow that can look uneven. A mascara helps to fill everything in and even out the brow. So, this is step #2 in my brow game. For reference, I use the BRUNETTE shade and it is plenty dark to match my hair. Just brush into brows from inner to outer and then slightly brush brows UP – I feel like this lifts my eyes and makes everything seem more awake. Weird?
Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara
This Garnier heat protectant smells like heaven! It says “flat iron express” but you don’t have to be straightening your hair to use it. I use less than a dime sized amount on my ends and around my face where I have post-baby breakage to protect from the heat of the blow dryer and any other tools I use on my hair that day. In addition to using a protectant, I try to only style my hair with heat 2 times a week, max! This is really the best way to protect damaged hair. If you have to style multiple times a week, try this, I think you will love it! PS – if I’m being honest, I’ve been using this one a lot longer than 4-6 weeks and one bottle has lasted me several months!
Everyday Glam Guide 