Product Review: Certain Dri

It's summertime my friends! It's hot as hell, and you know what that means...sweat! Lots and lots of sweat! And if any of you are like me, you are (unfortunately) a sufferer of excessive underarm perspiration (a.k.a you have sweaty pits!). But fear not, my fellow excessive perspirers...for I have a solution!

Ta-da!

Certain Dri! Some of you may have seen the cheesy TV commercials for this product, but this stuff really works! How do I know? I've been using it for YEARS!

I think I started using Certain Dri during my freshman year of college. This may be slightly TMI, but my underarms would sweat a lot, probably more than a normal. It was pretty embarrassing! One day I saw a commercial for this stuff, and I decided to give it a try. It worked like a charm! And it still works for me to this day. 

You use Certain Dri at night before you go to bed, and the new formula says it's supposed to last 72 hours. 72 hours is right! For anyone first starting to use it, I would use it every night until your underarms get used to it. After a while, you should be able to cut back to like three times a week. It doesn't have a scent, and you only need to use a little bit at a time. And just a sidenote, DO NOT use it right after shaving your underarms. It burns like hell :)

Sorry if this post is kinda random and weird. I had a friend ask about this stuff the other day, so I just thought I would share my opinion with everyone. 

Enjoy your summer!

Best & Worst Self Tanners

Interested in doing a little sunless tanning this Summer? Not sure which products are good/bad? Check out this video from YouTube makeup guru emilynoel83 :)

Check out some of her other videos while you're there!
www.youtube.com/emilynoel83

Mini Skin Care Haul!

Hey guys! I know it's been a (long) while since I've posted anything. I'm still trying to figure out how to make this beauty blog super awesome and whatnot. Anyway, on to the mini haul!

Summer is upon us, people! Th weather is hot, the pools are open, and the clothing is...well, skimpy. As a member of the League of Pale Skinned Girls, summer isn't exactly my favorite time of year. The sun is my fair skin's arch nemesis. I don't even try and lay out by the pool and get a tan because THIS is what happens...

OUCH!

I went to the pool yesterday with a friend of mine, and this was my punishment. Okay, maybe I should have used more sunscreen...but I JUST WANT A TAN DAMMIT! 

So why am I telling you about this hideous sunburn of mine? Well, it has to do with two of the products from my haul!

From left to right:

• St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Scrub. I keep seeing commercials for these new Green Tea products from St. Ives, so I thought I would pick up this scrub and give it a try. It says on the package that it "gently fights blemishes and reduces redness & irritation caused by acne." I'm looking forward to trying this product and seeing if it actually does reduce redness. That's the main reason I don't enjoy leaving the house without some sort of makeup on my face because my skin gets red and irritated for various reasons. 

• Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer & Jergens Natural Glow Healthy Complexion Daily Facial Moisturizer. This is where my sunburn story come in. Instead of torturing my fair skin with the violent rays of the sun trying to get some sort of color, I've decided to try using these Jergens products. I've used the body lotion before, but I've never tried the facial moisturizer. When I used the body lotion before, I did see a difference in my skin color. I've read some reviews where people have said that the lotion turned them orange, but I didn't experience that. It gave me a very natural color. I'm hoping the facial moisturizer will do the same for my face!

• Sally Hansen's Soften Your Step Ceramic Stone & Brush. Summertime also means breaking out the cute sandals and flip flops, which means your feet need to be in tip top shape! I'm on my feet a lot at work, so I know they could use a little TLC :)

What are some of YOUR favorite Summer beauty products?

Ulta/The Body Shop Haul & Nail Polish Of The Week 5/8/11

I did myself a little shopping this weekend! I mostly bought clothes and a new pair of adorable wedges, but of course bought myself a few beauty products.

OPI nail lacquer at Ulta was buy two, get one free. Do you think I could pass that up? Of course not! I got myself some pretty pink shades, and one of them is my nail polish f the week :)

Charged Up Cherry | Princesses Rule! | Cozu-Melted In The Sun

This week, Princesses Rule! is my color of choice. It's a very sparkly light pink, and very subtle (not what I'm used to!). It's a great color for Spring...and any other time of the year, of course ;)

Forgot to fix my polish boo-boos before I took the photo. Messy manicure!

On Thursday, I ordered myself some products from The Body Shop. I used to use their line of Tea Tree skincare products a long time ago, and decided I wanted to try using them again. I didn't stop using the products because they weren't good. To be honest, they're a little pricey (in my opinion, anyway). But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. When I used the Tea Tree skincare line in the past, I saw a big difference in my skin. I have oily/acne prone skin, and when I use these products there's a huge decrease in how oily my skin gets and no acne whatsoever. Acne prevention is one of the main things I look for in a skincare product, and the Tea Tree line from The Body Shop definitely does the trick. 

Tea Tree Blackhead Exfoliating Wash | Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash | Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion | Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner | Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

I'll be adding these products to my skincare routine again!

Interested in these products or anything else The Body Shop has to offer? Click Here!

Skin Care Routine

I was one of the lucky ones during my high school years who never suffered from acne. I don't exactly know why, because I didn't really do much to take care of my skin. I didn't wear much makeup yet (really only wore eyeshadow and lipgloss), so that could be the reason. As soon as I hit college, that all changed. I started getting really bad acne on my face out of nowhere. It didn't matter if I took off my makeup before I went to bed and washed my face twice a day religiously, I still suffered horrible breakouts. I started using Proactiv because I thought that was really my only solution. It worked pretty well for me, but it got to the point where I didn't feel like I needed it anymore (plus the price was kinda ridiculous). So I stopped using it and tried just doing a normal three-step skin care routine. To my surprise, it worked!

For a while, at least.

I didn't need to use Proactiv anymore, but the three-step routine didn't seem to do the trick as well anymore after a few months. So for the past couple years, I've been using a four-step skin care routine. I was browsing online one day for advice about skin care regimens and whatnot, and I read on a blog that you should wash your face TWICE at night. I was curious to see if this worked better for me than just washing my face once at night. I started using a gentle scrub and a cleanser at night. I can honestly say, washing my face twice at night makes a huge difference. I hardly break out anymore, if at all.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to some good friends of mine...my current skin care regimen!

Sea Breeze astringent, Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Daily Scrub, Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Foaming Wash, St. Ives Apricot Scrub (CVS dupe), Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Cleanser, Clean & Clear PERSA-GEL 10 (CVS dupe), Pond's Dry Skin Cream (CVS dupe)

Nice looking bunch, eh? 

I don't use all of these products in the morning AND at night, of course. I have a nighttime skin care routine, and a morning skin care routine (that's normal, right?...haha). 

Nighttime

Step 1: I use Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Daily Scrub first. It's a really gentle scrub (it's so gentle, I think it barely passes as a scrub). I use this first to take off my makeup & remove any dirt and oil from my face.

Step 2: Next I use Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Foaming Wash. I use this after the scrub to remove any "impurities" that may have been left behind after the first round of washing my face.

Step 3: After I wash my face, I use Sea Breeze astringent. This removes anything left behind after washing your face. I've been using this stuff for years, but recently I was told by a woman who does all the skin care services at the salon & spa where I get my hair done that it's HORRIBLE for your skin. I've never really noticed anything negative about my skin during my years of using this product, but I may switch to using a toner instead. I'm gonna finish up this bottle first... :)

Step 4: The last step of my nighttime skin care is a moisturizer. I use Pond's Dry Skin Cream. I like it mostly because it lasts me a very long time. Other moisturizers I've tried don't last that long, and I had to go buy more after a couple weeks. Along with the moisturizer, I use Clean & Clear's PERSA-GEL 10. It's an acne treatment gel. I use it maybe three times a week. I used to use it every night, but it dried out my skin. So I knocked it back to three times a week, which works just fine.

Morning

Step 1: First thing I use in the morning is about a dime-sized amount of St. Ives Apricot Scrub for oily/acne prone skin. I'm well aware that they say it's not good to use an exfoliating scrub every day, but I've never noticed my skin to be irritated or anything from using this product on a daily basis. What can I say, I'm a rebel. 

Step 2: Next I use Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Cleanser. For some reason I've gotten into the habit of washing my face twice in the morning too. It's really not necessary, I just feel the need to do it.

Step 3: Sea Breeze astringent

Step 4: Moisturize!

And that's basically it, kids. It's simple, but effective. Another thing I do is I try to switch up the products I use (especially my cleansers/scrubs). After a while your skin becomes used to the products, so they aren't as effective. Plus switching it up every once in a while gives you a chance to find new products you love. That's ALWAYS fun!

Nail Polish Of The Week #2

Nicole by OPI's "Peas & Q's" and OPI's "Hollywood Blonde" 

Spring is here, folks! I thought I would get into the spirit with this beautiful pastel green color called "Peas & Q's" from Nicole by OPI. For a nice shimmer, I used one coat of OPI's "Hollywood Blonde" on top.

What are YOUR favorite nail polish colors for this Spring season?

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter! The weather here in Northern VA is BEAUTIFUL today, so I'll definitely be spending some time outside.

I was thinking about doing an Outfit of the Day video later on, but I'm kinda nervous! I've never done a video before (and my webcam doesn't make very good quality videos...ugh). I'm still deciding! I also want to do a tutorial of the eyeshadow look I'm wearing today, but again my camera is horrible quality. I might try it just to see how you guys like it (or not like it...either way!) :)

Happy Easter!