Hey lovelies!
The first quarter of my year has been...well, less than ideal. I was in the hospital for part of January, and then February was filled with doctors appointments, and Tuesday I finally had my gall bladder removed. Over the next six weeks, my list of fun things to do is pretty slim, so I figure I might give my blog a bit more attention.
Monthly favorites videos are my favorite ones to watch on Youtube. I find word of mouth to be the best way to discover new products and to really get my money's worth when I decide to invest in something. You wouldn't stick with a product that you didn't love would you? Of course not!! A lot of my favorites from February were recommended through past videos I've seen (very few of these products are actually new), but some were from my own experimentation.
*Disclosure: These pictures are not my own. I don't intend on anybody thinking that they are my own, and I only take pictures from either manufacturer websites, or websites where you can purchase said product (I'm not even positive this is 100% legal). In the product descriptions you can find the website where I retrieved said picture. Also, 100% of these products have been purchased (again and again) with my own money. I'm not cool enough to be compensated for blogging, nor do I wish to be. I feel it can be too easy to sway an opinion when there is monetary or product compensation involved.*
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The first quarter of my year has been...well, less than ideal. I was in the hospital for part of January, and then February was filled with doctors appointments, and Tuesday I finally had my gall bladder removed. Over the next six weeks, my list of fun things to do is pretty slim, so I figure I might give my blog a bit more attention.
Monthly favorites videos are my favorite ones to watch on Youtube. I find word of mouth to be the best way to discover new products and to really get my money's worth when I decide to invest in something. You wouldn't stick with a product that you didn't love would you? Of course not!! A lot of my favorites from February were recommended through past videos I've seen (very few of these products are actually new), but some were from my own experimentation.
*Disclosure: These pictures are not my own. I don't intend on anybody thinking that they are my own, and I only take pictures from either manufacturer websites, or websites where you can purchase said product (I'm not even positive this is 100% legal). In the product descriptions you can find the website where I retrieved said picture. Also, 100% of these products have been purchased (again and again) with my own money. I'm not cool enough to be compensated for blogging, nor do I wish to be. I feel it can be too easy to sway an opinion when there is monetary or product compensation involved.*
Health Favorites
I wasn't allowed to do a ton of exercising in February, and my diet slacked pretty hard, too. It's part of life, and there's no reason to get down about it! I made some wonderful uses out of chia seeds. I got this 20 ounce container for about $10 at walmart, and they last a really long time. What I do is I take 1 cup of water and 3 Tablespoons of the chia seeds, combine them in a container with a lid, and let the chia seeds get gelatinous overnight. They take on the texture of tapioca, and hands-down my favorite use for them after that is in tea! Fruity teas sweetened with some stevia are my favorites, but you can use any tea you like. Check out pinterest for other awesome uses (and yes, chia seeds are exactly what chia pets are made out of)!
I'm not sure what it is about Smart Water that I love. I've never been very picky about bottled water. Tap water always did just fine for me. It's probably a marketing trick. I love the cute little critters on the inside of the bottle, I love that the bottle itself is aesthetically pleasing, and I love that I can get it in a liter size. Also, the sports caps that come on the 24-ounce bottles? I may hoard those and keep them for my liter bottles.
Smart Water, though, really is the cleanest-tasting bottled water I've ever had. Maybe they were onto something when they sucked the water straight from clouds.
Flavored Gum
Is gum considered "healthy?" Truth be told I have no idea. I know it contains less calories than candy...but that's about all I have got. However, if you're trying to lose weight, this can certainly work to your advantage! I found several miraculous gums last month that are flavored like some of my favorite candies!!
First off by Stride is Sour Patch Kids Gum. I love the Red flavor, but Watermelon is by far my favorite. It tastes exactly like Sour Patch Watermelon.
Even more exciting than the Sour Patch gum was when I discovered Wrigley Starburst Gum. I've only gotten the Strawberry, but you can't tell me you don't love pink Starbursts. That is exactly what this gum tastes like. I wouldn't be too offended if they came out with a lemon one, but I can live without the cherry or orange. I've bought 4 3-packs of this gum so far, and I really hope it isn't going anywhere soon!
Sadly, my last gum favorite (also by Wrigley) is seasonal. It is the Extra Confetti Cake Pop gum. Talk about having your cake and eating it too! Chewing this gum is like hosting a birthday party in your mouth. I have only found this gum at target in 3-packs, but rumor on the street is that you can find single packs in Dollar Stores.
Beauty Favorites
As much as I like to think that I explore the beauty realm, truth be told, I tend to find my favorites and stick with them. I've been consciously trying to get myself to explore a bit when it comes to new products, but it's definitely a work in progress.
EcoTools Brushes
For the past few years, I have stuck to my tried-and-true Mary Kay brushes and my ELF Studio Line brushes. I don't know what got into me one night, but I decided that I wanted new brushes. So, between Walmart and Walgreens, I plopped down the money for some EcoTools brushes. I got two travel-size sets and the large kabuki brush.
The first set I found was the Fresh and Flawless face set. The size of these brushes leave something to be desired, but I am madly in love with the next to last brush in the picture. That brush is the buffing concealer brush. I like to use concealer on my eyelids instead of eye primer (I currently use Covergirl's Ready, Set, Gorgeous concealer for that) and then set it with a powder (same line as the concealer) to assist in covering up veins and insuring a smooth, flawless application of my eyeshadow colors. This brush is what I use to buff the powder on my eyelids. It was such a game changer for me. The size of this brush is perfect for my eye area, and it is perfect for blending the powder in and keeping my shadow from falling all over my face throughout the day.
The next set of brushes I purchased were the Lovely Looks Set. If I told you anything other than I bought these because I thought the flowers on the handles were too beautiful to pass up, I would be lying. However, the brushes perform nicely, and I'm in love with the flat eyeliner brush for smudging a little bit of dark shadow along my eyes as a liner. My favorite brush of the set, though, has to be the angled blush brush. I always find having an angled blush brush helpful in blush placement and when contouring your cheekbones. It fits nicely in the hollows of my cheeks to make that tedious process a bit more bearable (seriously, I cannot contour to save my life practically. Anything to make it easier, I'll try).
The last brush I picked up was the Retractable Kabuki Brush. This is hands down my favorite face brush I have ever purchased. It has a nice, large head to get a good dusting of product without looking cakey, but because it's retractable, it's easy to store and won't get all wonky (and germy!) in your bag if you take it with you for touching up your powder throughout the day. This brush was by far worth every penny I spent on it.
Love and Sunshine
My final favorite for February is a new scent by Bath and Body Works. The scent is Love and Sunshine, and if you enjoy scents of theirs such as Beautiful Day, you will love Love and Sunshine. It's very fresh, with a subtle fruity-floralness that just has me ready for spring! I enjoy pairing it with my Addidas perfume Pure Lightness because the clean notes in Love and Sunshine compliment the absolute fresh factor of Pure Lightness.
My favorite products in the Love and Sunshine line are the shower gel and the Ultra Shea Body Cream. My skin is terribly dry all year long, and the body cream adds moisture without leaving me sticky or with a gross residue behind. Also, at the time of this post, Bath and Body Works is offering Buy 3, Get 3 Free from their Signature Collection line in stores and online!
So, there are my health and beauty favorites from February! What products were on your must-have list last month? Are you looking forward to any new releases this month? Let's chat in the comments below!
xoxo,
Rachel
