Boots No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes

Boots No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes are rated fairly highly and for the life of me I don't understand why, but every bad review I've seen seemed to be for the same reasons I have. In my opinion, these are completely useless or dang near close. They claim to remove mascara but unless I pulled so hard that I ripped out half of my lashes, even non-waterproof mascara still clung to my lashes. They left my face feeling like it had a residue left behind, particularly if I was wearing makeup. For half the price I've gotten store brands that were much more effective. I wound up using the remainder of them for ho baths while I was camping. They DO make the feet feel cleaner, at least......

Hourglass Extreme Sheen Lipgloss - Extreme is an understatement!

If you're a lip gloss junkie, you owe it to yourself to try at least one tube of Hourglass Extreme Sheen Gloss. Yes, it's on the pricier side at roughly $28, but it's WORTH IT for this little dose of daily luxury. It's so shiny that your lips look like glass, giving even the nude shades a real eye catching va va va voom. It's not super sticky (it doesn't grab onto my hair like double stick tape!) and has a lovely light vanilla scent. Enriched with vitamin e, it actually feels like a nourishing lip treatment as opposed to just a gloss. Your lips don't feather and it makes a fantastic gloss enhancer over drier lippies. I especially love it in the drier winter months when fake heat makes my lips peel like crazypants. The shape of the tubes is another fantastic selling point, they've got a cool flattened tube making them convenient for pockets and evening bags or wristlets. I like the nude shade Truth and I especially like to wear it with a bold eye and a nude lip liner underneath it for extra staying power. So yeah- the one complaint is that like many glosses, you will need to reapply through out the day- don't leave your tube at home, especially if you want to maintain the glassy shine. If you're looking for really high pigments, you might want to look elsewhere;with a few exceptions, these are mostly pretty sheer colors. I'm also a huge fan of the handy dandy doefoot applicator.

Truth, a good neutral nude

Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss Truth

As you can see, many of the nudes are quite similar in shade with slight variations of undertones to complement different skin tones.




Available at Sephora- and while you're there, check out 2015's color of the year!

Bath Salts - make your own for pennies!

Bath Salts are super easy to make, and doing them on your own allows you to customize them to your specific needs. Using real essential oils gives you fantastic aromatherapeutic benefits as well. A favorite of mine for perking myself up after a long day when I still have far to go (you know those Fridays when you have plans that night but worked your keister off all week?) is to do a blend of tangerine and mint essential oils. Tangerine Essential Oil is rich in the powerful antioxidant d-limonene. It also helps to release stress and occasional nervous irritability while peppermint oil can be both energizing and soothing. 

An Epsom salt bath soak is detoxifying, can alleviate stress and tension, and does wonders for the skin. Try using scents like lavender, jasmine, and cedar for a calming bath, or citrus scents like grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or lemon for clarity and joy.

• 3 cups Epsom salt
• 2 cups sea salt
• 2 tbsp essential oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda

Mix the salts together in a large bowl, then sprinkle in the essential oil. Mix with a whisk or a fork to break up any clumps that may form, then add baking soda and mix well. 

Et Voila! Your "me time" awaits! 

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Meadow Muffin Gardens "Beauty Is Only An Herb Away"

These all natural and organic products are made in small batches by a family that started out with herbal gardening and is now making these amazing products on a farm that is recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a certified wildlife habitat! I highly recommend that you visit them at their website to find out more about this fantastic company. If you read my blog or watch my videos, you know how I feel about small batch, handmade products!


This picture from their website is one of the many gorgeous photos of their fantastic garden. Wouldn't you like to use products made from herbs grown like this? Well I certainly do, and highly recommend the ones I've tried.



Their Holiday Home Air Spray was a lifesaver for me this Christmas. My fiance had to work Christmas and I was stuck at home all alone. This blend of vanilla, frankincense and sweet orange gave the house a feeling of cozy warmth and took me back to holidays at home. I spritzed some of this, made a big mug of eggnog and cuddled up on the sofa with my dog to watch Santa Claus VS The Martians. Made with essential oils and a carefully distilled vanilla tincture, this spray not only cleared the stuffiness of artificial heat from the house but also cheered me up immensely! (Thanks, sweet orange for being such a happy smell!)

Another downfall of winter is the dreaded chapped lips. I keep a tube of balm in my purse, at my desk at work, by the bed, and downstairs in the living room for when I'm watching TV. I seriously have that many different tubes going at once, but I have to say that their Honey Bee lip balm is something special. No parabens or artificial gunk being swallowed into yer gullet every time you lick your lips or take a drink and a combination of honey, sunflower oil and lemon essential oil creates a moisture rich protective barrier that provides lasting relief.

Two thumbs up!

SMASHBOX High Definition Healthy FX Foundation

An oil-free, weightless, liquid foundation packed with antiaging, revitalizing, and firming ingredients.





I absolutely LOVE this foundation. I also love that it has an SPF. You can't rely on just the spf in a foundation to totally protect you but every little bit helps, especially when married with an spf moisturizer. It's a fuller coverage foundation but still goes on lightly without an overly made up, mask-like feel. It gives a dewy look and covers up my red areas (facial scarring from an accident) while still letting my freckles show through- personally I'm a fan of my freckles :-) It applies best when first warmed up on the back of the hand and applied with a foundation brush or sponge. It comes with vitamin c to brighten the skin and antioxidants to improve skin texture and fight free radicals. To get the best wear from it (which, with my long days, I need. I tend to get home roughly 12 hours after I leave the house) I recommend using blotting papers during the day instead of a powder which can make for a less natural, glowing look. It certainly photographs really well! This was after a full shift at work and only using a Boscia blotting sheet to touch up.

Sadly, I went to go buy some more, and OF COURSE with my luck, it's been replaced by their HALO foundation. I'd like to give that one a shot, but until then one of my favorite online stores still has it! Bless you, Brigette's Boutique! They have a ton of awesome brands at great prices, so I recommend you check them out and snatch some of this stuff while you can.

Strawberry Coffee Smoothie yumminess

The last few days got me all revved up to buy some more strawberry coffee mix from Lip Smackin Creations, but when I went to their Etsy page, they were no longer around :-( I wanted to add it to the smoothies I've been having in the mornings for breakfast on my long train ride into the city since I can avoid getting in trouble for eating but still break my fast. I also like the idea of adding some caffeine to my morning without having to urgently poo during an hour and a half commute. Brewed coffee does a number on my princess innards. Le sigh. What's a girl to do? Well, figure out an alternative, obviously. Woot!

Strawberry-Coffee Smoothie Recipe

• a large handful of strawberries (I like them frozen) 
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee grounds (brewed coffee makes it too runny) 
• 1 banana, peeled (if you have bananas going to mush, stick them in the freezer then pull them out to make great frozen smoothies!) 
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (this is a great way to add amazing extra nutrients as well as helping to create a fullness. Here is a great list of all the amazing benefits of chia seeds. I have become a huge fan.) 
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla protein powder by APS, their grass fed whey is great if you aren't a vegan. The whey comes from 100% grass fed cows with no antibiotics or hormones. You can actually buy it at Whole Foods and Albertsons.) I then tried it with the chocolate powder and it was amazeballs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract if you use unflavored protein powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk or Greek Yogurt

The coffee was a nice, subtle addition and gave me an extra energy boost without being overwhelming. The chia seeds and protein powder made it quite filling, which was especially helpful on a day when I wasn't allowed a lunch until 3 in the afternoon. (though I did sneak a yummy kumquat and persimmon fruit leather when no one was watching. I work for sadists :-)  That's a joke, please don't fire me!) 
Tomorrow I'm gonna try it with a chocolate powder and see how they compare......

Shaped By Hand handcrafted jewelry

A while back I received these sterling silver and czech glass earrings from Shaped By Hand in a sampler box. Very well made and quite striking with the hair worn down, they became one of my go to pairs. Recently I rediscovered them while unpacking and realized that I needed to check out their Etsy store and see if they were still around. Lucky me, they are! Whoo hoo! FINALLY I don't have to mourn the door shuttering of another indie business.

There is SO much gorgeous stuff on this page, I highly recommend you check them out. 

I want this necklace so hard it makes my face hurt. Mama needs to stop having an overdrawn bank account first..... Losing three months of work because of spinal surgery kinda puts a crimp in the old financials.