You Need THIS Skincare in your Life!

Ole Henriksen - Balance it all

Ole Henriksen just came out with a new skin care line that focuses on giving you oil control while still giving you glow and not robbing your skin of moisture. This is my ideal skincare line. I received all three full-sized products last week (a moisturizer, toner, and cleanser) for free from Influenster and it was love at first use. I've been testing the products every day for the past week and believe me when I say, you need these in your life. You can purchase these products from Sephora or the Ole Henriksen website. So now lets go over the pros and cons of this line:

Pros:
- smells like a spa
- the cleanser doesn't strip my skin
- the toner isn't too harsh
- the moisturizer is moisturizing, but not overly saturating (perfect to apply in the morning as a primer for makeup)
- packaging is adorable
- all three products work like a dream together
- all of the products are squeeze tubes so you aren't sticking your ands into any pots and being unsanitary
- I personally think this is great for all skin types, except for EXTREMELY dry skin types


Cons:
- I prefer spray toners (this one you have to put on a cotton pad and then apply to the face)
- the toner doesn't come with as much product as I would like for the price
- I can only use this moisturizer in the morning (I prefer a thicker moisturizer at night)
- There is no serum in this particular line (which sucks because I love the scent and performance of all of these products)

Cost Break Down:
Cleanser - Ole Henriksen Oil Control Cleanser $25
Toner - Ole Henriksen Oil Control Toner $26
Moisturizer - Ole Henriksen Oil Control Hydrator $34

What is the most worth it???
I say if you don't want to go with all three, go with the moisturizer and cleanser and skip on the toner!

Hope this helps and I hope that you all enjoy my reviews. See you next week.

Drugstore Makeup Products You Need in Your Life

Are you wanting to update your makeup stash without breaking the bank? I have the perfect affordable makeup options for you! These products are AMAZING quality for a killer price. Also, I have personally tried all of this makeup, so it is coming from first hand experience. I'm going to suggest makeup products from all different categories:

Foundation - Wet N Wild Photo Focus Foundation. This foundation is cruelty free and amazing. I love it as much as some of my high end foundations. It is only $5.99, so even if you try it and don't life it, it will not break the bank. It has a spatula applicator and it is designed with photography so you won't get flash back in photos.

Concealer - Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser. I love this product. It is worth the $9.99 price tag. It looks so natural on the skin and I really love the sponge tip applicator. This brand however is not cruelty free, so I will not be repurchasing in the future.

Bronzer - Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer. This bronzer is better than any of my expensive high end bronzers. I love it so much. It smells like a tropical drink. It is a little pricey for being at the drugstore, but it will last you forever and I love it so so much.

Blush - Milani Baked Blush (in the shade Luminoso). This blush is amazing. I love the Milani brand. They are cruelty free which is important to me. This blush is $8 and it will last you forever. The color is so beautiful and the formula is amazing.

Liquid Lipstick - Either Colourpop.com or Milani. Colourpop is not technically drugstore, however, it has drugstore prices. They are only $6 and they are amazing quality. Milani is an awesome option as well. 

Eye Shadow - Milani Eye Shadow Palettes. The quality on these is unreal. I don't recommend using the brush. It is not very good. However, the eye shadows themselves rock. They are only $10 for a palette and you get a whole eye look out of that.

Setting Powder - Elf Cosmetics translucent powder. It is only $5 and I use it to set my under eyes and to lightly dust on the rest of my face.

Beauty Sponge - Real Techniques sponge. Only $8. I use a DAMP beauty sponge to apply concealer and foundation to look as natural as possible. 

Hope this suggestions help! I love these products. Let me know if you want to see a high-end version.

Cruelty Free Makeup & Why it is Important to Make the Switch

I hadn't really thought about this issue until lately. Honestly for most things in life, we are purposefully ignorant to how things are made and how they get to us. This includes most of the things we consume. We either pick up our products from the store or have them delivered to our house. In modern America, no one makes everything they consume.

This is especially true in makeup. We just apply our foundation and mascara and don't do the research to see where it comes from or how it came to be.

Makeup companies that test on animals don't need to do it. There are so many successful brands that don't. I guarantee you that if you were to watch an animal being tortured or a child slaving away in another country for you to have your eye shadow, you wouldn't purchase it. At least I wouldn't. There is no need. If we stop buying from these companies they have to stop. Below I have attached a list of some of my favorite makeup brands that are cruelty free (and some are even vegan) and that you should consider purchasing from if you enjoy makeup.

Sonia Kashuk (Target)
Lush (Lush.com)
Anastasia Beverly Hills (Sephora/Ulta)
Kat Von D (Sephora)
Urban Decay (Sephora/Ulta)
Tarte (Sephora/Ulta)
Too Faced (Sephora/Ulta)
Nars (Sephora)
Hour Glass (Sephora)
Wet N Wild (Drug Store)

These brands are awesome and I respect them deeply. Please consider making the cruelty free makeup switch. There is no need to torture animals when we have other AMAZING options.

The Importance of Recycling

Imagine for a second the trash that you produce in one day. Now one week. One month. One year. Could you imagine carrying that trash around with you everywhere you went or having to keep it in your house? Not a very pretty picture. However, we have the luxury to put our trash on the curb and it is out of our life and is no longer a burden to us. This trash has to go somewhere though. And it does. It is going to landfills and various water ways. We think that we can't see the trash that it is no longer affecting us, but we couldn't be more wrong.

By trash going into waterways, it is polluting drinking water and seafood that we eat. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from landfills. By recycling, we not only cut down on this pollution but we also conserve resources, save energy, protect our environment, and reduce landfills.

It breaks my heart and I get extremely emotional when people tell me that they don't care about recycling and they think it is a waste of time. What about our future? What about our children? What about the other living beings that inhabit this planet? Are we that selfish of a species to not separate things into different bins? It honestly blows my mind.

So get out there and recycle. Let's take care of our planet and our selves.