Although, I still believe in healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle that will do the most for your skin, hair, body, overall emotional mental and physical health, as I’ve gotten older I have appreciated certain beauty and natural health products that help to fill in the gaps. And because every girl/woman deserves to feel pretty from time to time, right?
My favorite facial products:
Drunk Elephant Polypeptide Cream. I’ve never found a lotion quite like this one and being that I have the world’s most sensitive skin and break out over everything that is saying a lot. This lotion helps to clear up my skin while giving it the moisture it needs without leaving any extra grease. It also has collagen peptides in it, so it helps with aging as well. This is the most expensive product I buy but after going through tens of lotions that didn’t work well for me, this one is worth the investment plus one bottle will last a long time. You can find this at Sephora.
Mario Badescu drying lotion. A makeup artist that I worked with on Dancing With the Stars introduced this product to me and I’ve been hooked ever since. I use this every night and with a que-tip I dab the product on any pimple I have on my face and in the morning, I wake up with PERFECT SKIN! JK not really but I do see a noticeable difference, so I love it. It dries out the pimple and helps it heal. You can find this at Sephora or Norstrom Rack.
Fresh Me 24 karat gold eye patch. 24k gold eye patches are a craze right now and you can pay up to 100$ for this coveted item but I love this brand because you can buy 20 pairs of these on Amazon for only 13$. I like eye patches because they help settle the under-eye puffiness and tame the dark circles.
Laneige Lip mask. Lets be real, nobody needs this product but if you are looking to treat yourself to the most luxurious lip balm ever that will make your lips feel a million bucks than this is the product for you. It’s also a great product to gift to someone and the moisture lasts for hours. It says “sleeping mask” on the packaging but really, you can use it “however you liiiiiike..” like the Drake song said. You can find this at Sephora.
Apricot scrub St. Ives. I know, I know this is like the worst thing for your face and have been told by Murad specialists that I should never use this product again! Haha yes, I get it. But in all honesty, different things work differently for everybody and everyone has to figure out what works for them and their skin. We all have different skin chemistry! As much money as I have spent on expensive facial wash’s I always end up coming back to this one which always has my mom saying, “I told you so.” But she’s right, and this product works well for me and clears up my skin as well as exfoliates and the best part? It only costs 7$ at any drugstore.
My favorite hair products:
Batiste dry shampoo. Because I have such an active lifestyle (also hair extensions) dry shampoo is the go-to item in my bathroom to get my hair looking and feeling fresh in a hurry. I’ve tried many different brands, and not only do I feel like Batiste works the best but is also the cheapest. Compare 7$ to 23$ and up to the more expensive brands. You can find it on Amazon for 7$ per bottle or you can buy a 6 pack for 30$ or you can also find it at any drug store.
IKG texture spray. Texture spray is great because it adds volume, texture and helps the style last longer, although I’ve found with many brands I’ve tried it dries my hair out, which is pretty much a woman’s worst nightmare. But this is the reason I love the IKG brand. I get all the benefits of a texture spray without it ruining my hair. You can find this at Sephora.
Caviar 10 in 1. If you are looking for a good leave in conditioner LOOK NO FURTHER! Because this, in my humble opinion, is the best leave in product and especially for fine hair. From the first time I used it I was in love. I loved the way it made my hair feel fuller, thicker, softer, and overall stronger. 10\10 would recommend or maybe just me. 😉 But really, try it. You can find this at Sephora.
Amika heat blockade. I’m obsessed with anything Amika for the simple fact that they smell SO good. And I’m a sucker for good smells. But beyond that, this product works great while also giving my hair some moisture. Again, it’s all about styling the hair without drying it out. This is my favorite heat protectant product. You can find this at Sephora.
Not Your Mother’s texture cream. This is a cream I love for curling my hair. I use a dab of cream for every curl I do, and it makes it so my hair will hold for several days and that’s the dream ladies, amiright? But the best part about this product Is the price point as you can find it at any drug store or Amazon for about 5$.
If you are anything like me and have a brain that goes a thousand miles a minute sleeping might be a struggle. Because I am not a great sleeper a nightly routine is crucial. For me it’s is all about treating and calming myself and let the day behind me stay behind me. here are a few things I do that may give you some good ideas to incorporate into your own nightly routine.
Aside from the basics washing my face and brushing my teeth, here is what I try to do each night.
- Plug my phone in on the other side of the room. If there was only one thing you took from this it would be to get away from your phone at least 30 minutes before you go to bed. My sleep improved drastically when I started doing this. It helped me to fall asleep faster and stay asleep better.
- Journal writing. Writing in my journal each night, even if it is only a couple sentences is like therapy. It helps me get out all the congested thoughts circling around in my head and helps me to feel freer and more relaxed.
- Plan out my day and go over goals. If I’m successful with planning out my day the night before, my day goes dramatically better. I have clearer focus, purpose and more space in my brain to get things done. Overall, I’m far more productive plus it helps me sleep without worrying about what is coming next.
- Natural Calm. Holy cow, this stuff is my miracle sleep product. I used to use allergy medicine when I couldn’t sleep, like a drug addict so when I found this all-natural product without the drowsiness the next morning, I was excited. It works incredibly well. You will start to feel the effects of it within 5 minutes and keeps me asleep throughout the night. I also travel a lot so adjusting to different time zones gets tricky. I take this with me on every trip I go on.
- Light a candle. I keep my favorite candle on my night stand by my bed side and light it every night to help me unwind and feel more comforted. The 20-year-old me may have said that its excessive but the 29-year-old me says “treat yo-self.” And I do.
- Heated blanket. Its practically like living in Antarctica, living in Utah so I highly recommend a heated blanket. I turn on my heated blanket while I’m washing my face and brushing my teeth, so when I get in bed its warm and keeps me warm throughout the night without having to have 15 blankets on me. I have a sunbeam heated blanket that I bought on Amazon and it works like a dream.
- Say my prayers. Saying prayers every night is probably the most important thing I do each night that helps me to gain perspective and progressing in the ways that I want to progress. If you aren’t religious though, writing down or thinking of a couple things you are grateful for can drastically improve your mood and help you see the good when sometimes its really easy become overwhelmed with the negative.
- Amazon Alexa. From my bed after I’ve done all my nightly chores I say “Alexa, turn on rain sounds” and like a good girl she does it. This helps me shut out the extra noise in my head so I can fall asleep faster. You can buy an Amazon Alexa right now for 30$ and its worth every penny in my opinion.
