Wednesday, January 4

Must haves...

My beauty arsenal is pretty simple. My mantra? Get in and get out. No longer are the days of hanging out in the bathroom for a 15 step beauty routine. I want stuff that works, and that works well. I've tried just about everything out there. Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme, but I have invested in my fair share of fan-favorites and I'm happy to say that, for the time being, I'm very content and pleased with what sits in my cupboard. Here are my can't-live-withouts. Most of them are super accessible and affordable. One or 2 you might need to find online, but it's well worth the effort, trust me.


1. Derma E Glycolic Facial Cleanser with Marine Extract. I love this stuff more than....well, more than any other cleanser I've EVER used (and that's big, homies). A little goes a long, and I mean LONG way. It leaves your skin super smooth and even and never tight. It's pretty much the cat's meow in my opinion. I found mine at Meijer for roughly around $13.

2.  Purpose Dual Treatment Moisture Lotion with SPF 15. First of all, I never leave the house without an SPF on. Since I have fairly oily skin which has become increasingly so during this pregnancy I LOVE that this moisturizer is lightweight, never greasy and smells...I don't know...just clean. Again, I found this at Meijer for about $9 (a B-A-R-G-A-I-N) in my opinion.

3.  Tea Tree Oil. I cannot live without this goodie. I use it every night  without fail. I mix a dab in with my moisturizer in the morning. As horrible as it smells (sorry Gabe) I LOVE it. Being pregnant pretty much eliminates an entire list of beauty products that you can no longer use so I had to get a little creative. I found a great article on the benefits of tea tree oil. One of the main reasons that I use it currently is for acne, or more for warding it off. Because I can't use any traditional acne treatments, I turn to this natural remedy and, let me tell you, I will never use anything again. I'm a convert for life. (Not to mention I use this in a myriad of DIY, green cleaning products around the house). I'm pretty sure that you can find this almost anywhere. I believe that I found mine at Wal-Mart for a minimal $3.

4. Nutiva Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil. I love the smell of coconut so this was a real winner for me. I believe that I first discovered this gem over at Fresh Mommy quite a while back where she talked about using this oil for a body moisturizer. I'm always up for trying something new so I ordered some and I've been impressed ever since. My first encounter was while I was pregnant with Ethan. I had tried Bio Oil and the tried-and-true Palmer's and wasn't really impressed with either. And then I slathered this on the bump and I instantly fell head over heels. You literally only have to use a dime sized amount of this stuff to cover a pretty large area (and trust me, I know a thing or two about large areas these days...hee hee). And bonus, there's a million and one things you can do coconut oil (besides cook with it). Check out Fresh Mommy for a great video on how to concoct a simple, moisturizing hair mask with your Nutiva.

5. For an occasional mask, I use the Queen Helen Mint Julip Mask. I'm pretty sure that this green wonder has been around forever and there's good reason. It's wonderful. Normally a lover of masks in the evening, I've actually found that I enjoy putting this on in the morning. Since it's very minty, it's a nice wake-up in the morning. I like to put it on and then jump in the shower to let the steam help the mask work it's magic. You can find this at many drug stores, beauty supply stores and online. I found mine at Sallys and paid all of about $4 for it.

6. And last is a homemade citrus scrub. I found this recipe on Paula Deen's website and it works great (not to mention that it smells like summer in a glass jar). I keep it next to the tub and, when I'm feeling like relaxing (which is next to never), I scrub away. It leaves your skin impeccably smooth and smelling like an orange grove.

And that's it. What I love most is that my entire "beauty routine" (if you can really even call it that) takes me less than 2 minutes. I'll always be a skin-care fanatic, I just appreciate and take care of it a lot quicker than I used to.

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