Fave Five: February 2014

Hey, friends! Today I would like to bring you my five favorite products for this month. Why five? Because things are better in fives. And because alliteration is my favorite thing (but I am not counting it in this list of fave five). But let's get on to the good stuff:

Olay Night of Olay Firming Cream ($6 for 2oz)

After finishing up my sample of La Mer (see my Evening Skincare Routine and Full Review), I returned back to an old favorite: the Olay Night of Olay Firming Cream. This was in my 2013 Favorites, because it's a great no-nonsense product. This is my third jar of this, and I don't repurchase products unless I absolutely love them. It's easily accessible, since it can be found at all drugstores, and it fits into my budget. This 2oz jar lasts me quite a long time, since it's thick and you don't need a lot. I have dry-combination skin, and I find that it moisturizes my dry cheeks while not making my T-zone look greasy. It feels nice on the skin and when I wake up in the morning, my skin still feels hydrated (which a lot of moisturizers, high-end and drugstore, don't seem to do for me). If you have dry skin anywhere on your face and need a nice, affordable moisturizer, I highly recommend this.

Birchbox: February 2014 Review

Hey, friends! Today I'd like to share with you my February Birchbox. When I saw that it weighed only .0385 lbs, I was a little disheartened, but now I see that I had no reason to worry. Sometimes the best things come in small packages. Plus, it came a day earlier than the tracking said it would (which never happened with Ipsy). Woohoo!

Birchbox? What's that? - Birchbox is a monthly beauty and lifestyle subscription service. It sends 4-5 deluxe samples that are curated to your beauty profile. It is $10 a month, and has a wonderful rewards program, in which you can earn points for reviewing products and making purchases in the Birchbox Shop. You can then redeem those points for full-sized products in the Birchbox Shop! It's probably the best rewards program out there, in my opinion, which was one of the big draws in me signing up. If you're interested in subscribing to Birchbox, I would love it if you used my referral link. If you do, we each get 50 free points ($5) to use in the Birchbox shop! Everybody wins!

Products I've Used Up: February 2014

Hey, friends! There is something so rewarding and exciting about using up a product, isn't there? Perhaps it's that you get to open and use the new ones you have lying around! I hope I'm not the only hoarder around because then this will just be awkward. I have quite a few empties to share with you today, and along with that I'll let you know what I thought about them. Without further ado, here are my empties for the month of February!

Sexy Hair Healthy Sexy Hair Color Safe Soy Moisturizing Shampoo 
($10 for 10.1oz)

I always get "high-end" shampoos at TJ Maxx or Marshalls, but if you don't have one near you, Amazon is the next best thing (affiliate link above). This was my next shampoo on my sulfate-free journey. I like the Sexy Hair brand, but I preferred other sulfate-free shampoos I've tried (EVOLVh, Ecru, Beauty Protector). Much to my surprise, this contains C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, which can actually be harsher than a regular sulfate, even harsher than SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate)! Technically it's not a "sulfate," but ugh this is why I hate marketing. Never believe the claims on the bottle. I bought it because it was sulfate-free, but it wasn't really, and then I had to use up the whole bottle of it. This is definitely not color-safe, because products like sulfonates and sulfates strip the hair of color and can be quite harsh. If you have curly hair, I definitely wouldn't recommend this. Not that I have curly hair, but if you do, I think even if you use a really good conditioner this will still dry out your hair. Right now I am using my Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioner from my Birchbox last month, which are not sulfate-free, but at least they don't claim to be. All in all, if you are on a sulfate-free "diet," I would highly advise steering clear of this.

Sample Review: La Mer Creme de la Mer

Hey, friends! Today I wanted to review a rather "controversial" product for you. I talked about it briefly in my Evening Skincare Routine, and you'll see it again later in the month in my monthly empties post, so in case you were interested in learning more about this moisturizer, look no further!

At over 1600 reviews on Makeup Alley and an almost 50-50 split on people who love it or hate it, the original La Mer Creme has always intrigued me. When I got a sample redemption card in a style magazine I was reading, I was so excited to finally try this famous (or perhaps infamous) moisturizer.

This product has quite a lot of back-story behind it, so let me start from the beginning. 

Haul: e.l.f. Cosmetics

Hey, friends! Today's blog post is brought to you by a snow day, because without it I wouldn't have time to write this. (Though, technically it isn't an official snow day, because my school is lame and only cancelled classes until 4pm.)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share my miniature e.l.f. haul with you. I have a really hard time getting e.l.f. products, since the closest Target to me is an hour away. Even then, Target doesn't have a lot of the stuff that e.l.f. makes, so my only real option was to purchase from their website. I finally had accumlulated enough products on my To Buy list from e.l.f., and with a "Free Shipping on $15+ Orders" code in hand, I placed my order. I used Christmas Consumerism as an excuse to buy this for myself. Yes, this haul is actually a few weeks old, but that just means I've had time to play with the products and can sort of review them for you. See? Everybody wins.

My Evening Skincare Routine: February 2014

Hey, friends! Today I'm here from the Beauty and Fashion Blog Community to bring you my evening skincare routine! In the morning, I'm usually trying to get out the door as fast as I can because I stayed in bed for "just five more minutes" (x4 on a good day), so the nighttime is usually when I try to rejuvinate my skin and give it some love. Without further ado, here is my PM Skincare Routine, aka "I apologize for putting you through Boston winters every year."

First, if I'm wearing eye makeup, I'll go in with my CVS Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover (Generic version of Neutrogena) ($6 for 6.4 fl oz).

This was a 2013 Favorite, and with good reason. I pour some of this onto a cotton pad, hold it against my eyelid for a few seconds, and then wipe my eye makeup off without a problem. Usually I can get both eyes with one side of the cotton pad, and then turn the pad over and get my whole face with the other side (since I only wear light face makeup).