new beauty product favs.

if you've followed my blog for a while now (if anyone even reads this thing) then you know I'm a beauty product junkie. I love finding new products and the older I get, the more skincare obsessed I become. Here's a few of my favorites I've discovered over the past few months...

first of all, hoooooly HYDRATION.

I came back from Fripp so burnt!!  I couldn't stand it. I guess the older you get, the less hydrated your skin is plus yes, let's face it I was a bit dehydrated too from overindulging and 100 degree heat for 6 days out in the sun!

So I immediately stopped in ULTA before going back to IOP and bought this on a whim. It smells HEAVENLY (if you love coconut) and it sinks in to your skin flawlessly. My skin literally drank it up. It helped with the itchiness and turned my sunburns into a golden tan, I'm not even exaggerating. Far better than my aloe lotion did. A little dollop of this also goes a loooong way. I've used it on my heels and feet too and it's helped a ton. You can use anytime , but I put it on immediately after the shower to lock the moisture in and I even use lotion on top of it to kinda seal it and you never even feel greasy or sticky at all. It's amazing and helloooo 100% coconut oil , so has to be good for you right?

Your skin feels so hydrated and GLOWS!!!!!!!

Snag this stuff asap, this is for sure my most favorite recent find. $6 bucks on Amazon right now

Speaking of budget friendly finds, ummm $5 bucks. (Well $5.29 at Target to be exact). For years, I used a $25 Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil but then I got a new makeup brush set in my FabFitFun box and there was an eyebrow / eyeliner brush so I decided to give this NYX Tame and Frame a try one day. Well I just bought my second tub of this and I'll never go back to a pencil. I no longer use an eyeliner pencil either, I use this Merle Norman Lasting Creme Eyeliner with an even smaller eyeliner brush.

But y'all,  this NYX Tame and Frame is soooo much easier, better coverage and looks more natural. Faster thanks to the better coverage. A few brush strokes and you're done! I use the color chocolate.

Next up, ok so I use GLO mineral satin foundation and recently a Mary Kay loose pressed powder foundation on top for extra coverage when I have bad melasma (aka sun spots)  but I wanted something a bit less messy and more compact and used my ULTA gift card on this iT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation Illumination on a whim before the beach.

 I love that it's not super matte bc I do love a glow in the Summer (and usually have one thanks to #sweat. I'm always glistening! LOL) and you seriously just have to make one little swoop with your brush and it covers SO INSANELY WELL. Sometimes at the beach I just brushed it on as my actual foundation after my moisturizer/sunscreen. I never do that with powder. This is definitely going to be one of my new Summer favorites and great for traveling but I will say it doesn't come with a sponge like a compact, it's just the powder. You definitely have to use a brush and pack a brush with you for travel! 

I've found over the past year that purple shampoo in the Summer really does help with my blonde highlights. Why do I get blonde highlights? Well, it's a heck of a lot easier to sprinkle some blonde highlights in to cover my grey vs. dye my entire head dark brown every time. I do that in the Fall/Winter though for sure, but for Summer I always go lighter and purple shampoo always seems to keep the blonde highlights fresh blonde and not brassy! Picked up this new purple shampoo at my salon last time and while I don't love the smell as much, it did the trick. Blondes or those with blonde highlights, do not go through Summer (sun, chlorine, etc...) without a purple shampoo!!!!!!!

and speaking of hair, I can not brush this coarse curly hair nap without a Wet Brush. I'm hooked. Have been for years, actually. Can't find my dang usual brush since back from vacay so I ordered this set today. My beauty hack is that you can always find these at TJ Maxx and the off brand, super cheap. I was just too lazy and had zero time to even stop by TJ Maxx this week, so there ya go.

Ok so lastly, exciting news: my dentist office (yes, dentist) is now carrying my absolutely favorite skincare line...OBAGI.

They hosted a fun girls night out in June to kickoff the line and I was so excited to attend , chat with girlfriends over wine + receive 20% OFF EVERYTHING and also have a private consultation with an OBAGI EXPERT/REP.

gotta love when you buy so much you get the free tote. #YOLO If there's one thing you should invest in, it is your SKIN!

I went ahead and snagged my beloved NuDerm set at 20% off which I use at the end of every Summer to lighten my melasma (sun spots/hyperpigmentation) that gets so much worse bc of the sun every Summer (ummm, you should see it now just after two weeks at the beach). 

You can read my blog post all about my OBAGI review/results HERE.

  I also picked up this NEW Obagi microdermabrasion polish + mask at 20% off because EVERYONE was raving about it and literally left with it that night too. 

First of all, it smells amazing - just like oranges. Packed full of vitamin C and the l-ascorbic acid helps it penetrate deep down in the skin cells. It's a fine, gritty polish but also after you leave it on as a mask you can really feel it working, which I love. It brightens, tightens and leaves your skin feeling so refreshed and glowing! I've been using it once a week and can also say a little bit goes a long way. It also comes with a little spatula to scoop it out.

Here's a little bit more about the product from Dermstore's website (the authorized Obagi retail site that I use to order the line from before I could purchase it locally)

Obagi's Professional-C Microdermabrasion Polish Mask minimizes the appearance of fine lines, hyperpigmentation and sun damage to boost a youthful glow. This exfoliating formula first sloughs off dead skin to refine skin's texture. Then leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes, as it infuses skin with botanical oils and vitamin C. This two-in-one polish and mask leaves lackluster complexions with a soft and brighter finish.

Key Ingredients:

• Vitamin C: brightens and protects against free radical damage
• Essential Oils: smooth and hydrate dull skin

Key Benefits:

• Helps smooth and brighten skin with a powerful level of antioxidant vitamin C.
• Helps to refine rough texture and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Transforms skin from dull to smooth and radiant.
• Helps minimize dryness and maximize glow. 
• Enriched with conditioning botanical oils to help restore supple skin.
• Formula is paraben, sulfate and phthalate-free. 
• 
  

I also picked up these cleansing wipes and while I do feel like they got my skin SUPER CLEAN (way more squeaky clean than most regular wipes) , it did burn my eyes a little when trying to remove my eye makeup.  I probably didn't read the instructions but whatevs. It was a great add on for our back to back beach trips, I would even tear them in half and get more uses out of them. They're huge wipes!

So yes, the older I get it's medical grade skincare from here on out. 

Worth every penny and while I save on less expensive makeup, etc... I will absolutely splurge and invest in the overall wellness of my skin to prevent the signs of aging , acne and sun spots. 

So yep, that's all for now. I did recently cave and follow the blogger craze and order this makeup case. I'm ashamed, yet excited all in one because I have so many dang brushes and hated them mixing with all my other crap in my makeup bag. 

Maybe I'll do a review on that later along with more favorite makeup products!

Stay tuned...