Monday Muse

Okay let me start this post by saying I’ve been trying to write this specific favorites post for two weeks now! It was supposed to go up this past Friday but halfway through the day I remembered I never wrote it- whoops! So instead of entitling this Friday Favorites I know bring to you Monday Muse, which is pretty much the same thing right? I’ve put together a few things that I have been loving lately that I think you will love too!

Sweetgrass Spray

I tried an essence and sound meditation a while back that I absolutely fell in love with. It is a guided meditation with the use of glass bowls for sound and a variety of essential oils. The whole experience is incredible. At the end of the meditation sweetgrass is sprayed on your body. Ladies, it was love at first sniff. I told my aunt I really wanted some and she searched high and low and surprised me with it for my birthday last summer. I was so happy! I keep it by my bed and spray it almost every night to cleanse the room and invoke positive energy.

Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm

If you’re into makeup and skincare at all then you probably know the brand Drunk Elephant. It is very high end and the prices can be a bit deterring but it is a clean beauty brand that uses additive free ingredients. While they are not as rigorous about testing ingredients as Beautycounter, they have banned 6 ingredients- which they call the “suspicious 6”-  and choose to focus on pH level and biocompatibility of ingredients in their products. I was looking into a lip balm and theirs is highly rated, so I gave it a try. It is becoming a new favorite of mine. I love how fat the actual stick is and that it is scent free.

Phlur Perfume

Do you know how many people I have talked to about this perfume? I’ve told you before I’m a product pusher when I really love something. I was searching for a clean perfume that wouldn’t be harmful to my skin but that would also smell good for more than an hour. I stumbled upon this company and loved that you could try three samples for just $18 and then use that $18 to purchase a full size bottle. I absolutely love the scent Hanami. It is so feminine with floral, sandalwood, and fig undertones. I haven’t purchased the full size yet because I am working through the other samples, but I don’t love them as much! They also have candles and body lotion which might be next on my list to purchase!

Cartier Bracelet Dupe

Okay you’ve seen these everywhere. All of the celebs and many fashion bloggers have the real deal but unfortunately I don’t have $6,000 to drop on a bracelet at the moment. Good for you if you do, but if you don’t I’ve found a really great dupe! It’s $13 and on prime! I love the color, quality and style of this bracelet and it fits in really well with the other bracelets in my stack. I want to get a ring next!

The Styled Collection Bracelets

I shared these in my Fall favorites but I am sharing them again. I still love wearing these bracelets and the I can’t get over the high quality. I have the Beckham and the Lexi bracelet which I highly recommend. It’s a great way to build up your bracelet stack, and they have sales on their site quite often!

What are you crushing on lately? I’d love to know!! Stay beautiful! XO.

Natural Makeup Remover Wipes

Happy Wednesday!! Halfway through the week already?? I was laid up with strep all weekend so I will be happy when this weekend comes and I can actually enjoy my time at home. I am totally over this winter season and desperately need to air out my house and hit the refresh button for Spring!

In trying to stay healthy I have been using a lot of essential oils, many of which have multi purposes. For my birthday last year my aunt made me makeup remover wipes which contained essential oils and I was obsessed with them and wanted to recreate them so you ladies could try them too!

The ingredients are very simple: 2-3 tbsp witch hazel, 4 drops each of lavender, frankincense, and melaleuca essential oils, ¼ cup of water, and 20ish cotton rounds! I just used however many cotton rounds could fit in the jar I used. You can use any size glass jar - I used a jelly jar because that’s what I had on hand. I chose these three oils because they each do something different for the skin.

Witch Hazel: This is the astringent part of the makeup remover wipe and it also contains a toner. I am a big advocate for using a toner because it helps to remove any leftover oils that are still on the skin. I like this one because it is scent free and contains no alcohol.

Lavender: I love the smell of lavender and use it all the time. It has such a calming scent to it. I used it in this makeup remover because it can help to reduce the appearance of skin imperfections. If you have sensitive skin, I suggest adding a little bit of fractionated coconut oil to the wipes to help dilute it more.

Frankincense: This oil is known as the “king of oils” and has many benefits for overall wellness. I used it specifically because it helps to soothe and rejuvenate skin.

Melaleuca: This is one of my favorite oils because it helps to promote a healthy immune system. I use this all throughout the winter! I used it in the remover wipes because it helps to cleanse and purify the skin to support a healthy complexion.

You’ll combine the oils, witch hazel and water in a small bowl and mix them together. Pour half of that mixture into the glass jar and put the cotton rounds on top. Pour the rest of the mixture on top of the cotton rounds. That’s it! Super simple and a safe way to take off all your makeup from the day. DISCLAIMER: DO NOT USE THEM ON YOUR EYES. Since these do contain oils it would not be good to put them on your eyes as it would cause extreme discomfort. I recommend this eye makeup remover from Beautycounter. I wear a lot of mascara and this takes everything off in one or two wipes.  

These wipes smell amazing and leave your skin feeling clean and refreshed. Let me know if you try them! Stay beautiful! XO.

Say Goodbye to Dry Skin

I don’t know how Spring is supposed to be coming two weeks early with all of this snow talk around here. I love a good snow day but I also love being out of school during the summer. Last year school went soooo late but this year we have a pretty good chance of making up for that. I’m hoping this storm will be one of the last *knocks on wood* we see this winter.

With the cold weather comes another dreadful thing: dry skin. And I mean really dry skin, in places you didn’t even know you could get dry skin! Random patches on your shoulder, in between your fingers, and your derriere - which, in my opinion, is by far the worst! My husband suffers from really dry skin during the winter months and his scratching drives me absolutely insane. I’ve never felt more rage than being woken at 3 a.m. to the sound of intense scratching, does this happen to anyone else? I know some of you must be experiencing my pain!! I seriously feel bad for him and his skin, and trust me we’ve tried so many different things to fight it. I switched to a cocoa butter body wash last winter and cocoa butter body lotion but neither did the trick. I even tried an oatmeal body wash! This year I decided I’ve had enough with trying to solve the problem with fragrance filled lotions and soaps that leave you with empty promises of nourished and moisturized skin. I’ve found three products that have worked really great for me and my husband.

Countermatch Adaptive Body Moisturizer

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the only moisturizer that has helped to soothe Jay’s dry patches of skin. Every night he would liberally apply lotion from top to bottom and he would still wake up with red marks from scratching most nights. I was almost at my breaking point when I decided to purchase this beauty and give it a go. I had heard incredible things on how it had helped people with really bad patches of eczema so I was very hopeful it would help. There are three things I love about this product. 1: it is made with safer, non-toxic ingredients. I’ve slowly been switching out most of our personal care products to non-toxic brands which has really been a priority for me over the last few months. I almost feel guilty putting anything else on my body - but more on that in Friday’s post! 2: it is effective without feeling overly thick and slimy. There’s nothing worse than slathering on lotion and then feeling like you might slip off whatever you sit on due to how slick your arms and legs feel. With the countermatch lotion it is rich yet rapidly absorbing so your skin gets everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t. 3: a little goes a long way. I feel like I say this about every Beautycounter product but it’s true! I use one pump for each limb and it does the trick which I think offsets the $39 price tag but I would honestly pay double that because of its effectiveness.  

Hydrating Body Lotion in Citrus Mimosa

If you’re looking for something that soothes dry skin but also smells decadent this lotion is the one for you. It contains a moisturizing blend of marula, mongongo, and safflower seed oils, plus shea and jojoba butters. I like to use this one during the day because the smell is to die for! You feel like your on a tropical vacation - which in these cold winter months is a dream. I love to use this sugar scrub first and then lather on the lotion to seal in the softness.

Bag Balm

This is my favorite thing to use on my hands when they are super dry. I like to use it overnight because it is very thick and sticky. I don’t generally like the feel of that but I find this is the only way to cure my dry and cracked hands. After a few night use my skin is back to normal! Growing up I used this stuff all. the. time. It was one of those staple products that cured basically every cut, bruise, and dry spot on the body.

What are your favorite products to use for dry skin? Have you tried these products? Stay healthy! Xo.

Clean Cleaning Products

Happy Monday! I love the weekends with my little family - but they go by way too fast. I spent the weekend cleaning and spending time with my husband. Jay and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day early and went to THE best restaurant on Saturday night. I ate too much food and indulged in a dessert but it was worth it. Our sweet pup is having surgery on Valentine’s Day so we will be giving her all of our love that day.

While I was cleaning I decided it might be fun to share how I’ve switched most of our cleaning supplies over to more natural and safe products. I have been using and loving the brand Mrs. Meyers. If you haven’t heard of it I am sure you’ve at least seen it; if you are a frequent Target shopper like me! At first I was hesitant to try these products because I was using a bleach based cleaner for the bathroom and a disinfectant cleaner for the kitchen. I was skeptical about the power of a plant based cleaner but I gave it a whirl and haven’t looked back.

First let’s talk about the Lemon Verbena Baking Soda Cleaner. This stuff is magical! If you have an electric stove you know about the burnt on food and water marks that get left behind after a night of cooking. I could not for the life of me get rid of these marks with my kitchen cleaner and I was about to take a razor blade to it - anyone else’s grandmother do this? Well I decided to try the baking soda cleaner because it had some grit to it and boy did it do the trick! I lathered it all over the stove top and then used a scrub daddy (if you don’t have one you are seriously missing out) and all of the burnt junk came right off! I also use the baking soda cleaner on my tub, kitchen sink and bathroom toilets and it works like a charm!

The second product I am obsessed with is the Peony Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner. It smells just like a peony, which is why I love it so much. I use this cleaner on my countertops, dining room table, and sinks. I always hated using the disinfectant cleaner because I felt like I was left smelling that harsh chemical smell in my nostrils for hours. I always associated the bleach smell with 100% clean but plants and essential oils have a lot of the same disinfectant power. My bathroom has never been so clean and smelled less like bleach!

The last product is my newest edition but I’ve already repurchased it - the Basil Hand Soap. This basil scent smells so fresh and sweet, it’s hard to not tell you that I am also obsessed with it because I totally am! I ordered a three pack on Amazon last month and stuck one in every bathroom. It gives your hands a good clean without drying them out.

The next products I am looking forward to purchasing are the dish soap and the glass cleaner. I think the scents honeysuckle and lilac will be my next fragrance choices. Have you tried any other clean cleaning products? I’d love to know which ones you like and would recommend! Stay healthy! Xo!