First Aide Beauty Ultra Repair Cream | First Aid Beauty Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer | Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping  Oil | Kate Somerville Exfolikate | Pacifica Cactus Revive Face Wash | Glam Glow ThirstyMud Mask | Pixi Double Cleanse | Black Diamond Essentials Carbon Wash

A.M.: I wash my face with Pacifica Cactus Revive face wash in the shower. I apply First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream and let it soak in while I get dressed and Alex ready. Before applying makeup, I put on a thin coat of the First Aid Beauty Priming Moisturizer and apply makeup as usual.

P.M.: I remove makeup using Pixi Double Cleanse. I wash my face with the Black Diamond Essentials Carbon Wash and apply Luna Night Oil and let soak in for 5 minutes. I follow with First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream.

2-3x a week: Exfoliate with Kate Somerville Exfolikate. [The price tag may seem a little steep for an exfoliator, but trust me it is worth every penny!] Use Glam Glow ThirstyMud mask for some extra hydration. I also use the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion as a spot treatment, when needed.

Even though I am loving this routine, I am a total skincare junkie and constantly looking for awesome new products to help my aging skin. Don’t be surprised if you see and updated routine in the near future!

What types of skincare products do you use?

The post Almost 30 Skincare Routine appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I decided to give it a shot and make my own scrub at home. Worst case scenario is I throw away the one I make and give into purchasing one online. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome and so my Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub was born! There are some beauty products that I do not bat an eye at dropping money on, but when something is this simple to make at home with household items, it is not worth the price tag!

Coffee Brown Sugar Scrub

 

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground coffee
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon vitamin E oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated into a thick paste.
3. Spoon mixture into a small jar or other airtight container.

3.5.3208

And a word of caution – this stuff makes a mess in your shower. Its nothing too terrible, but you will have to spend a few minutes to get all the coffee grounds to go down the drain. Totally worth it though!

Have you ever made your own coffee brown sugar body scrub? Do you like using more natural beauty products? 

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First up are my Ulta finds.

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo. I hard a lot of good things about this brand of dry shampoo, so when I saw it in Ulta I knew it had to come home with me. Overall I really like it. I chose the paisley version based on the fact that it was prettier than the regular packaging and I kind of regret it. The special edition packaging gives the shampoo a different scent and I am not a huge fan of this one. The dry shampoo itself works awesome and I have even gotten compliments on my hair from coworkers after using it. Totally worth purchasing.

2. Real Techniques Brushes. Prior to purchasing these, I already had two makeup brushes from the brand that I was really happy with and these are no different. They are some of the softest brushes I have ever owned and they do a great job in applying products to your face, both liquid and powder. When I purchased them, Ulta was running a buy one get one 50% off promotion, so that made the price even better. Totally worth purchasing.

3. OPI Dark Side of the Mood Nail Polish. OPI is one of my favorite nail polish brands. I love darker shades in the fall and winter and this color did not disappoint.

4. Hope in a Jar. This lotion just did not cut it against the cold and wind. Even if I applied it a twice a day, I was flaky and my skin was still red. I will try it out again when the weather gets warmer and my skin doesn’t need a really heavy moisturizer.

5. Nailtiques Formula 2. If you have brittle, splitting nails, this stuff is a godsend. After I get a gel manicure, my nails tend to get weak and peel. I apply this once a day for a few weeks and my nails are strong and shiny again.

6. Facial in a Box. This was an impulse purchase at the checkout, but I did enjoy using it. The little box comes with two facials with three steps. There is a mask, a peel and a lotion. It left my skin soft and hydrated.

7. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. I heard lots of good things about this pink lotion for a long time on YouTube and beauty blogs, so when I saw it in the checkout I had to get it. Overall, it works very well to dry out breakouts. I also used it on a cold sore and it did a great job drying it out and stopping the spread. Small bottle, worth the price!

Winter Beauty Finds from @Ulta_Beauty
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Sephora Finds coming soon!

What are your favorite beauty products? Do you stick with tried and true products or do you like to try new things?

*Post contains affiliate links*

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First is a water bottle that I am obsessed with. I got this bottle at FitBlogNYC and have probably used it every day since them. The bottle is called the CitrusZinger and it has a built in juicer that you smush (technical term) a lemon or other fruit into to flavor your water. I usually keep my water on my desk and everyone who has walked into my office over the last few weeks has asked about it. It has also helped me drink a whole lot more water throughout the day and I love it so much that I bought a second one for Tommy to use.

Next is my vanity mirror and my whole vanity in general. When we were renovating, the one thing that was my must have was my vanity. I had dreamed of having a vanity for years where I could organize all of my beauty products instead of having them scattered around my bathroom and bedroom. The vanity itself is the Malm Dressing Table from Ikea and the mirror is Conair Oval Double-Sided Lighted Makeup Mirror. The mirror is magnified on one side and the white ring around it lights up. I have even used the mirror in the dark to get ready in the morning on some mornings when Tommy was working second shift.

I am a fan of defined brows and I fill in my brows almost every day. I received the Eyeko Brow Liner in my swag bag at FitBlogNYC and when I saw it in there I was super excited. It has an applicator similar to liquid eyeliner pencils which allows you to make little strokes that look very natural. I will definitely be repurchasing this when I run out.

This Benefit cheek palette is all of my favorite cheek products in one. I am a huge fan of Benefit and have had almost all of these blushes/bronzer in their individual little boxes over the years. When I saw that they put them into the cute Cheeky Sweet Spot Palette I had to get it. The blushes are a little bit smaller than the separate products, but for the price of $36 it is so worth it if you are a Benefit fan.

I got a haircut a few weeks ago and I got layers all over and long side bangs in the front. My forehead tends to be oily, so I have been using this Toni&Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo on days that I don’t wash my hair. The product works great, but I am not a huge fan of the smell, but it does not bother me enough not to use it.

Last but not least are my OXO Kitchen Tools. Before our renovations, we threw out all of our old kitchen tools because they were old and in desperate need to be replaced. Tommy found a great deal on OXO at KMart and they price matched their website in store for us. We bought almost everything they make including measuring cups, grater, colander, pop containers and everything else you see here. The quality of the products is great, they wash so well and I love the satisfaction guarantee and philosophy behind the brand.

What is your favorite beauty product?

The post October Favorites appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I started reading up on the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar after Jenn posted her ACV Mocktails, and I figured aside from the smell, adding some ACV into my life can’t hurt. Every morning I mix a teaspoon of vinegar with a mixture of half apple juice and half water. The first few days, I had to plug my nose to get it down, but so far so good.

Other than drinking ACV, I’ve started using it directly on my skin as a toner. I’ve also decided to give up on soap and all other commercial facial cleansers. Instead, I am using honey, oatmeal, baking soda and coconut oil as my skin cleansing routine. I make a face wash of honey and ground oats (which I grind in the blender) to wash my face every night and moisturize with coconut oil. A couple times a week I use baking soda in place of the oats to make a more abrasive scrub.

If you don’t want to give up your skin care routine, but want to incorporate some of these natural ingredients, you can also try different combos to make face masks. Mix honey, oats and some water into a thick consistency and slather onto a freshly cleaned face. Keep on for around 20 minutes.You can also make a baking soda mask, which is very effective for acne, by mixing baking soda and water in a 2:1 ratio. There are tons of variations on natural face masks, some even use yogurt, so you can put that Cho to good use!

Now you might be wondering, why these things?

Apple Cider Vinegar is plain and simply good for you. Aside from giving you cleaner, healthier skin, ACV supports a healthy immune system, promotes digestion and ph balance and can even help with muscle soreness and sore throats.

Honey is a natural antiseptic which prevents bacteria from growing on you face. It also aids in the healing of wounds and is a natural moisturizer.

Baking soda is a physical exfoliant, which makes it highly effective at removing the dead skin cells without causing excessive irritation. It is also a neutralizer, which can neutralized acids and bases which your skin comes in contact with.

Oatmeal treats three of the conditions that contribute to acne – excessively oily skin, harmful bacteria on the surface of the skin and an excess of dead skin cells. Oats absorb and remove excess oil, remove bacteria and exfoliate dead skin cells.

Coconut oil l is a source of two of the most powerful anti microbial agents found in food –  Capric Acid and Lauric Acid, the same acids found in breast milk to protect babies from infection. It is also full of Vitamin E ,which ensures proper functioning of sebum glands and clears blockages, treating the cause of acne.

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I’ve only been using these ingredients for about a week, and haven’t gotten any new breakouts. So far, so good. Hopefully these things will prove to be effective so I can do a before and after post. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

12/31/12 UPDATE: I’ve been following this skin care regimen for a little over three months now and I think it’s time for an update. I am happy to report that my skin has improved. I love how soothing the coconut oil is on my skin and I haven’t experienced my usual wintertime flakiness thanks to it. I also haven’t had any breakouts other than a hormonal pimple here and there, during that time of the month. I’ve seen a decrease in blackhead and in the sensitivity of my skin. Overall, I am happy I started following a more natural path for my skin, and I don’t see myself returning to overpriced store-bought products anytime soon. Good luck!

The post Clear Skin From Your Kitchen appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

2. Regular planks are difficult, up/down plank are real hard and plank jumps are almost impossible…for now, that is. Thank you Tina for the butt kicking this morning!

3. You can tell if an egg is raw or hard boiled by how fast it will spin. A hard boiled egg will soon very quickly, while a raw egg will barely turn. Go try it!

4. Sometimes the simplest, DIY at home methods work the best. I found a recipe for this Aspirin Mask on Delighted Momma’s blog and I am loving the results I got after one use. All you do it crush up four uncoated aspirin tablets, mix with a teaspoon of lemon until it forms a paste and apply it to your face for 10 minutes.

What have you learned lately?

The post Things I’ve Learned appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Things have been a bit of a whirl since Monday night, when Munchkin woke up from a nap a very unhappy baby. The rest of the evening and night was filled with a lot of snuggling and soothing and after a phone call from a nurse, we found out that he probably had an ear infection and we would have to go back to the doctor on Tuesday. Luckily, on Tuesday Munchkin woke up feeling a lot better, but we still went to the doctor who confirmed that he did have an ear infection and would have to take antibiotics for the first time in his life. I’m very proud that he has been healthy for this long and his little immune system is strong enough to fight off the infection that have come his way, so far. I used to work as a pharmacy tech in college and I would cringe at mothers who came in month after month getting antibiotics for their seemingly healthy looking kids – it only takes away from the kid’s immune system and makes them more likely to have to use antibiotics the next time they are sick. It’s kind of a Catch 22 I guess, but I’m glad that my little man is feeling much better.

Since I was all over the place yesterday, with going to court from work and to the city to take Munchkin to the pediatrician, I didn’t have much time to eat. And when I finally got to eat, I was too hungry to remember to take a photo for WIAW. So, instead of WIAW this week, I’m giving you WILW – What I’m Loving Wednesday. These are some of my favorite things as of late, and it’s the perfect way to share my latest obsessions!

First up on my list are Twistbands.

I’ve got a lot of hair and regular hair ties always snap when I try to make a bun or ponytail that it tight enough. I first tried Twistbands thanks to Birchbox and when I realized I had a credit with Birchbox for being a monthly subscriber, I used to to buy these babies. They are super soft, don’t pull out your hair and stretch as far as you need them to, to get your hair up. Love!

Next up is a scent – White Citrus. I fell in love with this smell when it first appeared in Bath and Body Works a few months ago, but their last Buy 3, Get 3 Free sale sent me on a White Citrus kick.

I’m usually not a big fan of citrusy scents because I feel they smell like Lemon Pine Sol, but the white citrus smells deliciously refreshing. The BBW website describes it as a mixture of Crisp Lemon, Invigorating Grapefruit, Lush Waterlily and Alluring Ginger Flower. Amazing!

The following item also came out of a Birchbox (they have been sending me some good stuff lately). The Sugar Lip Treatment has been keeping my lips super soft. Usually when I get sick, my lips get very dry and cracked, but I’ve been using this religiously to great results.

It also has a bit of a rosey colored tint which has helped quite a bit to brighten my sickly face.

Another thing I’m loving is the fitness kick I’ve been on thanks to the Best Body Bootcamp. I’ve become a regular exerciser and I could not be happier with this fact. I’m getting my pretty nice arm muscles and I can’t wait for tank top season to start showing off the guns.

My current greatest obsession is CB2. I texted Tommy this morning that I’ve found the place where I want to register when I get married. Now I just have to wait for someone to ask me! I hope my boss isn’t reading this, but I spent a good chunk of my workday ogling away at pages of dishes, furniture, and other home accessories. Here are a few of the things I need to buy, like right now.

If anyone wants to purchase any of these wonderful things for me, I’ll be more than happy to send you my shipping address. I’m only half kidding.

I feel like there was another thing I wanted to include on this list, but it seems to have slipped my mind. Maybe I don’t love it that much at all!

Have a great Wednesday!

What is your latest love/obsession?

The post My Latest Obsessions aka What I’m Loving Wednesday appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

this post is going to be a bit all over the place with things I’ve been wanting to share, but have had to put them on the back burner in favor of studying for midterms.

On Friday, I made vegetarian Mexican stuffed peppers. I broiled the peppers for 5 minutes and stuffed them with a quinoa mixture that I thought up. After cooking it in chicken broth with a teaspoon of chili powder, I mixed the quinoa with a can of black beans and 8 oz of salsa and stuffed the peppers. I topped it all off with some Mexican blend cheese and put it back under the broiler for a few minutes until melted.

I’m really enjoying trying out different vegetarian recipes because of Lent and meatless Fridays. Any ideas for me for this week?

On Saturday I indulged a bit and went to get a mani/pedi at a new nail salon that was renovated and reopened in my neighborhood. Since I had a gift certificate, I decided to splurge and get my first gel manicure, an OPI gel manicure to be exact. I chose A Grape Fit for my color.

This manicure is supposed to last for up to three weeks because its layers of special polish painted onto your nails and cured with a UV light. So far, so good. If it really does last three weeks then it will be well worth the $20 price tag. Don’t mind the plastic cow.

We went to a Christening party for my cousin’s new baby, Tiana on Sunday. We all got to get dressed up and I can’t get over how adorable Munchkin looked.

Does he clean up real nice, or what?

It’s only fitting that a random post end with a random fact..

Have a great Tuesday!

What’s your favorite vegetarian recipe? Share a random fact!

The post Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and a Bit of Randomness appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

To get in the Valentine’s Day spirit, I have a heart shaped breakfast yesterday. I picked up the bowl over the weekend at Target – I just couldn’t resist. What better way to start your breakfast than with some oatmeal in a heart shaped bowl!

I took a trip to CVS yesterday before going to school and while perusing the makeup aisle, I found a lip product that I’ve been keeping an eye out for, for a while. I am a total makeup junkie and I probably have more lip products than anything else in my stockpile collection. I got the idea that since Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love and love = lots of kissing, I’d share some of my favorite lip products today. Who doesn’t want kissable lips on Valentine’s Day?

First up on my list is Burt’s Bees Chapstick. This has been my go to chapstick for years and I always have one with me wherever I go. I love the cooling effect it leaves on you lips.

Next up is Rosebud Salve. Rosebud Salve isn’t only for lips, you can use it on your cuticles or skin if you’re feeling a little dry. It also helps heal small cuts and soothes bug bites. I apply it before bed and wake up with hydrated lips every morning.

Another multi-purpose lip product is the Korres Lip Butter. This stuff is super moisturizing on your lips, but can be used on your cheeks for a pop of color as well. All of the butters smell amazing too. Like I want to eat it out of the little pot amazing.

Buxon Lips was one of the first higher end lip glosses I ever purchased, and since then I’ve been repurchasing it when I get through the tube. It’s a lip plumping gloss, so it gives you a bit of a tingle and cooling feeling when you put it on.

Next on my list of glossiness is MAC’s Cremesheen Glass. MAC lipglosses tend to be sticky and glittery, but not these babies. This give you a nice, natural, glossy lip. The only downside is that if you get a limited edition color and fall in love with it, it might be tough to repurchase.

 Last but not least, Revlon Lip Butter is my latest purchase. I’ve only used it for one day, but so far I like it. It is moisturizing and leaves a nice sheer color on your lips. I also love that the colors are named after dessert – I got cupcake. No surprise there.

Slap on some gloss and go give someone you love a kiss! Have a great Valentine’s Day! I’ll be back tomorrow with some very yummy eats.

What’s your favorite lip product? How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day?

The post Valentine’s Kisses appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

We started off Friday with a trip to the dentist. Luckily, it wasn’t me who was going into the dreaded dentist chair, but Munchkin. I really love his dentist, the whole office is strictly for kids and the waiting room is covered in toys and all the rooms have a different fun theme. Not to mention every kiddo gets a balloon when they leave.

I am happy to report that Munchkin has perfect teeth and was a champ during the exam. No tears for this little man!

Friday night Tommy and I went out for sushi! We went to our new usual Sushi Village and the place was packed, as usual. The sushi was delicious, as usual.

On Saturday, we lazed around the house for a very long time. We finally decided to get out of the house and headed to Target. I scored some really great deals from their bodega section. I got an 18 pack of Cliff Z Bars for under $7 and a huge variety box of Annie’s Bunnies for under $6. I also picked up some stuff for Tommy’s Valentine’s Day gift.

On Saturday night, we headed out to the island to visit

the best baby girl in the world! Tommy’s goddaughter is now walking and I had a blast playing with her. Munchkin also had a blast playing with all her toys. It’s funny how a change of scenery and toys can keep a child occupied for hours.

We woke up pretty early on Sunday with the idea of getting bagels for breakfast. But not just any bagel would do, so we headed out to Astoria to Brooklyn Bagel. Since the last time we were there I took the sweet route, I figured this time I would go savory. I got a toasted whole wheat everything bagel with scallion bacon cream cheese. It was pretty amazing and I can’t wait to go back there.

After breakfast we hit up the mall. I wanted to get my eyebrows done and Tommy wanted to check out some new spectacles. When I got to the Benefit brow bar, I was told that they didn’t have anyone on Sundays that does eyebrow so I tried out the new threading booth that opened not too long ago. It was my first time threading and I probably won’t be back to the brow bar for a long time. Not only was it half the price, the lady gave me a punch card so when I get my brows done 5 times, the 6th is free! That’s a winner in my book.

While we were out and about, I got a call from my mom telling us not to eat because she had bought steak and was going to make it for dinner. When we got home, I prepped the steaks and made some sides.

Dinner was so yummy – steak with brown rice, spinach and asparagus. Can’t go wrong!

After din din, I got down to some homework. I have an assignment due on Thursday in which I have to revise a really bad contract and I have to say its pretty killer. I went through the contract a ton of times trying to make sense of it, but it’s written in such archaic legal terms that it’s difficult to understand. One I got a first draft of the contract down, I turned my interest to a certain gift that I am making for a certain day of Valentine.

I can’t say much about this gift, but I am having a lot of fun making it. I can’t wait to share later this week!

That’s all for now my friends, I need to run. Work is calling my name.

What did you do this weekend? Are you a gift buyer or a gift maker?

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