To Go Outside in the Cold?

Woke up and had a hard time crawling out of bed... With it reading a balmy 21 degrees, I thought I'd post a few more of my winter weather, cold-fighting tricks.

The Third Piece

1. Vaseline: Best product ever. Great for cuticles, cheeks (dab a tiny bit on the cheeks before heading out in the blistery winds), and lips. At night I'll also put some on sensitive spots that tend to dry out to prevent the splotches
2. Hand Cream: I love Vaseline’s ntensive Rescue and Neutrogena's Hand Cream (Norwegian Formula) for the winter. I keep it on my desk to keep my hands from drying out all winter
3. Chapstick: I use them all: Blistex, Carmex, Smith’s Rosebud Salve, and the trusty Chapstick—no one likes chapped lips
4. Hair: Moroccanoil is one of my all-time favorites. It keeps my fine, straight hair shiny and smooth, and break-free. Dab a little bit after the shower and tangles glide right out too; plus I've noticed less split ends. If your hair is still super staticky, I'd recommend running a dryer sheet over it
5. The Third Piece: a winter essential for me are knits, hats, scarves, headbands, gloves. This is a local Boston company with super-soft, hand-knit pieces. I love them because the yarn is high-quality and doesn't leave me scratching my neck or forehead! 

Stay warm!!

To Buy a Clarisonic Brush?

With this first official snowfall in Boston comes the first stretch of dry, cold weather… FUN! While I personally love winter and a fresh coat of snow, my skin HATES it. First the summer glow begins to fade and my bright blue, Norwegian veins show up (I also find these veins fascinating, but sometimes it’s a bit sickly looking). Then my skins gets little dry patches, nothing major, a little around the eyes, a spot around the mouth, etc. And then it’s real winter and that’s when I have to start paying attention. 

[Side note: I never used to have issues with dry skin, eczema, pimples… Just ask my parents. Then throw in a real job with a little stress and I’ve got them all. None of them are terrible, but one little red spot is really apparent in the winter on my pasty, porcelain skin. And for me, one spot is too many and I stress over it]

So, recently, I started trying to pay attention to my skin. As all the blogs say, at 23 things begin to go downhill and I’m two years into that slippery slope. I’ve already started using moisturizer (Cetaphil Cream), but never really cared about washing my face before bed, or removing makeup. Here I am though, $150.00 later with a brand new skincare product, and I must say I am in LOVE. 

Clarisonic Mia 2 in Amethyst

I bought a Clarisonic from Sephora. And I hate to admit I bought it because the blogs told me to (I made sure I bought it with a 60 Day Guarantee in case I wanted to return it), but I did. What I hate to admit more, is that I LOVE it! My skin is SO soft and hasn’t been nearly as dry. I still have breakouts and the random patch of dry skin, but I’m going to say that’s user error—I don’t use it every day. To fix these patches, I dab on a little of my eczema cream, Elidel, prescribed by my dermatologist. 

Clarisonic Mia 2 in Amethyst

But back to the Clarisonic—The whole process takes about a minute and a half. Usually, I give my face a quick rinse, throw some soap on the scrubber, and follow the directions. First I do the forehead, followed by the chin and nose, before moving on to each cheek. For the forehead and chin it’s 20 seconds and each cheek is 10—quick, painless, and easy. Once my face is dry, I apply a little lotion and go about my routine. I’ve used it both at night and in the morning and have noticed two differences. If I use it at night, my face is noticeably more moisturized in the morning than it was the night before or if I don’t use it. If I use it in the morning, my makeup goes on a lot smoother, and I don’t need as much.

Overall, I really enjoy the product. It’s like a bigger electric toothbrush and as I mentioned before, I love that too. My skin looks brighter and is smoother to the touch. Was it worth the $150.00? I’m going to say yes. If I had hated it, I would have returned it. It’s at least something good to try out if you’re having any problems with your skin (might want to ask a dermatologist first though).

To Use Hydrogen Peroxide?

Now, don't be too alarmed, I didn't take the bottle to my hair and go platinum (I haven always wanted to try that out though). This is a post about a frugal way to whiten teeth. I have always been pretty obsessed with my teeth and ensuring they are straight and white. Luckily, I only had to deal with braces for a year growing up, but I am one of those kids who STILL uses her retainer--weird I know. I also use Crest White Strips, Crest Whitening toothpaste, and chew whitening gum. Who knows if the toothpaste and gum really work, but I stick to it.

Recently I stumbled across a blog, Hello Giggles, where they mentioned this technique. I thought about it and it made sense since the active ingredient in a lot of these "whitening" toothpastes are Hydrogen Peroxide. I also figured it was safe since people used it back in the day. Searching in my medicine drawer, yes I have a drawer, I found a bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide. I also opened the fridge and found a bottle of water.

I emptied the bottle about 3/4 and poured in a 1/4 of a bottle of HP so the water bottle was now half full--look at that optimism right there. Then, I took a swig and swooshed it around while I washed my face with my new Clarisonic Mia 2 (another post on that later). After about a minute, I spit it out and went on with my day. 

Now, my comments:
1. The stuff doesn't taste great. It's not horrible, but it doesn't leave you with a fresh minty taste. 
2. It definitely fizzes in your mouth and gets to be a thick, bubbly consistency. I got past that too. 

The Results: 
Bright, pearly whites! I have definitely noticed an improvement and have only done the rinse a couple times a week. My friends and family have also commented on how white my teeth are... SUCCESS! 

If you're looking for something to brighten your smile on the cheap before the holidays, I recommend this trick! It's quick, painless and easy enough. You can pick up a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from CVS (mine's in a brown bottle) and mix up the solution before you head out for that holiday party!

**Caution, I'm not a dentist so if your teeth fall out, not my fault. Check first!