Product Review - Origins A Perfect World Moisturizer

On Earth Day, I received a tube of Origins A Perfect World Age-Defense Moisturizer with White Tea from Sephora.

 I have used some of Origins face wash before and loved it, so I was excited to try this moisturizer.

Besides quality products, Origins is known for being very eco-friendly. They will recycle your old product containers for you if you take the empty ones back to an Origins location; this particular product's tube is made from 30% post consumer products, and the cap is 100% recycled plastic. It's also made WITHOUT: parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, PABA, petrolatum, paraffin, DEA, synthetic color, synthetic fragrance, or animal ingredients. So in short, it's good for you and good for the planet!

They have two formulas of this particular moisturizer, one to prevent aging, and one to correct it. I chose the age-defense (prevention) formula because I am currently not sporting any wrinkles. However, prevention is very important because, unfortunately, women's skin starts to age and decline in elastin and collagen production at the ripe old age of 23. Yes, 23 years old. So naturally, since I'm on the downhill slope, I'm trying to keep my skin beautiful as long as possible.

I've been using this moisturizer for a little over two months now and I love it. My skin is smooth, but not greasy, even with sunscreen in it. (Safe sun is another important element in preventing wrinkles and other uglies in your future. This formula has SPF 25.) The full size product is around 40.00 USD and I believe it is worth it, especially since the 1.7 oz tube has lasted me so long. I use it everyday and I'm probably about 1/4 of the way through the tube, so it will probably last me six months total. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars. Get yourself some today!!

Here is Sephora's Origins page.

Easy Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Fruit

Some kids have no problem eating their fruits and vegetables. However, some little guys are just picky eaters. I'm very lucky because my son loves fruits and vegetables, but I use these tricks to change it up, or for days when he just wants to throw everything on the ground (because apparently, when you're a toddler, that is the biggest adrenaline rush).

Option 1: Puree as a yogurt topping.

I love this because it is so quick and easy! Take your baby/toddler/kid's favorite fruits (or whichever ones you're trying to get them to eat) and puree them in a blender. My son's favorite is plum and blueberry. I used one plum (peeled and pitted) and a handful of blueberries. After pureeing them, I mixed them in with his yogurt. He loved it!

Option 2: Make a smoothie.

Obviously, I'm not serving my one year old a smoothie in this glass, it was just prettier than a sippy cup.

This is just as simple as the first option. Take 2-3 different fruits and put them in the blender with enough of your child's milk to make it smooth. If you have a baby, use breast milk or formula. (It's best to wait until a baby is at least 6 months old before introducing solid food.)  This is the milk I use:

Some good fruits to use are berries, plums, peaches, bananas, oranges, and other easily blend-able fruits. Apples work, but they're harder to blend because they become apple sauce, more than juice. I use frozen strawberries so I don't have to add ice (just look at the ingredients and make sure nothing else is added).  Remember to feed age-appropriate fruits. For example, it's best to wait until after one to introduce strawberries or blueberries because the seeds can be harder to digest. These are my son's favorite fruits:

Bananas, plums, and blueberries.

For this example I used strawberries and raspberries.

I fill the milk about a third of the way up the fruit.

Blend until it looks like this:

Yummy! Pink goo! (It's prettier in person)

An added bonus of the smoothie option is you sneak more milk in! My son LOVES these and gets excited when he hears the blender. A healthy baby is a happy baby!

That face says super healthy to me!

I hope your baby or toddler enjoys these as much as mine has!

Learn to Love Yourself

Mostly everybody, man or woman, struggles with self-esteem at some point in their lives. I, myself, have struggled with keeping a positive self image for years. This particular segment is about ways to learn to love yourself, or to love yourself again after losing some of your confidence.

First things first, there is NOTHING wrong with loving yourself, it’s not conceited, it’s healthy. There is, of course, a line that you can cross, like when you assume you are so wonderful that you are better than everyone else, or become so selfish from the infatuation you have with yourself; that’s narcissism. 

Many people struggle to being okay with loving themselves, whether they’re aware of it or not. I was walked all over by so many people in my life that for the longest time I didn’t realize one of the things stopping me from loving myself, was feeling selfish about it. I was all about making everyone around me happy, so I felt guilty putting my happiness anywhere near the top of my priorities. I know now that you can’t live for anyone but yourself. I’m not saying to be selfish, or don’t love others. I’m saying do what makes you happy, if being with your partner or raising a child makes you happy, do it. If you want to travel the rest of your life or sow your “wild oats,” do it. Whatever it is that brings you joy (as long as it isn’t killing, theft, or anything along those lines) then do it.

 Second point, if there’s something you don’t like about yourself, change it or accept it. It’s really a simple concept, but hard to put into action. If you are overweight, change your habits. If you don’t like your wardrobe, get a new one. If you’re a pushover, learn to stand up for yourself. If you’re an asshole, learn to be nicer. These things take time to do, but it’s more productive to spend a year changing yourself for the better, rather than being in the same place the next year. 

Lucky number three, accept change and adjust accordingly. I have had so many changes in the past few years, and I’ve had to learn to adjust. Quite frankly, many of those changes sucked, but life sucks sometimes. Some changes were positive, but still took adjusting, like having a child. I think pregnancy messes with a woman’s self image more than any other event in life, physically speaking. So many women have a touch of BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) and cannot see how beautiful they truly are. I can now look back at pre-pregnancy pictures of myself and say, 

“How in the hell did I think I was fat back then?”

I’m not alone in this, it’s very common for women to see themselves quite differently in the mirror than everyone around them. Perception is reality, if you think you’re fat or ugly, that’s what you’ll see in your reflection. A good tip I have is to take pictures along the way as you are losing weight or transforming something on your body. I took so many belly pics while I was pregnant, but I also took a lot of post-pregnancy belly pics. It helps me remind myself of where I started (because I would like to forget it) and not be so hard on myself.  If you take pics (although I know it’s hard because you’re not taking pics of something you like) then you can see the transformation and know that you’re making progress. I recently looked back at my transformation, and my stomach looks 100x better than a year ago, when I had my son. Yes, I still need to lose about 10 more pounds and get rid of the last few stretch marks, but I’m okay with how it looks now, especially since I know it’s getting better. [Shape of a Mother is good site for women who just had a baby or are pregnant and dealing with low self-esteem.]

Four, get over your past, because as the old adage goes, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Junior high and high school are not the highlight of your life, it may be awesome for you, or it may suck, but in 10 years it doesn’t matter. Believe me, I was made fun of; I was weird (still am), fluctuated in weight, smart (because apparently that’s a bad trait), nerdy, and had health problems (forever labeled “the sick girl”). Don’t get me wrong, I had friends, but I can’t even tell you how many times I was called ugly or fat. I was a late bloomer, face wise. I didn’t get pretty until high school, but luckily that gave me a great personality (“ugly duckling syndrome”)! ;-) Honestly, I don’t give a shit what any of those people think now because if someone wants to spend their time bringing down others, then they have issues of their own to deal with. 

Fifth lesson, surround yourself with people who make you happy and don’t bring you down. If you’re in a bad relationship, get out! If your “friends” suck, end those friendships because that’s not what they are.  As I mentioned above, I used to be surrounded by negative people who used me and walked all over me. This is very common and most people don’t realize it until it’s been going on for years. I finally started to speak up for myself in my late teens, and now nobody uses me as a doormat. I’ve always spoke my mind, but it took me a long time to actually speak up for and defend myself. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself, which bring me to my next point...

Six, don’t be afraid to be yourself. To love yourself, you need to be comfortable with the person you are. I’m weird, I know this, and I’m fine with that. “Normal” people are boring. Dr. Seuss once asked, “Why blend in when you were born to stand out?” So don’t be afraid to stand out from a crowd for good reasons.

Lucky number seven, refresh your look. If you’ve been feeling down lately, get a new haircut or change the way you do your make up. Men, this applies to you too (minus the make-up, unless you’re a drag queen; in that case, go all out)! Little cosmetic changes can actually boost your self esteem quite a bit.

These have just been some ways to help you love yourself, no one can make you do it. It’s not something that can be forced, because it’s love. I know that I am nowhere near perfect, which is fine because I’m human, but I love myself. I accept my flaws, physically and emotionally, and for the first time in my life I can say I am beautiful inside and out, (and mean it). I can finally look at myself in the mirror, without make-up, and still think I’m beautiful. Of course I have days when I struggle with this, because I’ll get caught up on a flaw, however, overall, I am pleased. I hope this helps men and women to build their self-esteem because you only have one life (unless you believe in reincarnation, but you probably won’t remember your past lives) so don’t waste it hating yourself; it benefits no one.

Classic Smokey Eye Tutorial

Every woman loves a sexy, smokey eye. There are many versions you can do, Parisian, pink, golden, bronzed (which I happen to have a tutorial over), and many more. Knowing the basic techniques in a classic smokey eye will give you the tools to branch out and make more creative interpretations of this old time favorite!

You will need the following:

• A palette with a highlighting color, base, and matte black. I will be using my favs, Tigi's palette and Urban Decay's first Naked palette. Naked II will work also because it has the matte black included.
• Shadow brush
• Brush to apply set powder
• Powder brush
• Set powder (I recommend MAC set powder)
• Primer (I recommend Urban Decay's Primer Potion)
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
• Liner brush or smudgie liner

Here are my maps of each palette so you know which colors I'm referring to:

Start by applying primer to your eyelids, this will help your shadow stay all day. While that's drying, apply set powder underneath your eyes to catch excess shadow . Use a brush to gently "mash" the powder from your nose to the outer edge of your eye. This is what I use:

The Almighty Duo

Use a shadow brush to sweep "champagne" from the Tigi palette across your brow bone. Always start with your lightest colors and work your way across the rainbow to the darker stuff. Light colors will highlight an area and darker hues add depth.

Next sweep "sidecar" from the naked palette from your inner corner to about one third of the way across your lid, then do the same on the bottom. This helps catch the light to make your eyes look awesome!

It doesn't look like much now, but believe me, it makes a difference!

 Now time for some smoke! Metaphorically speaking, of course. Add "purple haze" from the Tigi palette to your lid. Start where you left off with "sidecar" and go to the end of your lid. Pack that pigment in! Use your shadow brush or even a sponge applicator to push the color into your lid.

Now add the same color ("purple haze") to your crease.

Also add a thin line of "purple haze" to your lower lash line on the remaining 2/3 that the "sidecar" isn't on.

Make a little triangle of "black" from the Tigi palette in the outer corner of your lid.

Make sure your brush is clean, then blend everything together. When you blend, just blend the seams between colors, don't make your whole eye purple or it'll just look like domestic issues; nobody wants that.

Now add your highlighting colors again, just to make them "pop."

"Champagne" 

"Sidecar" in the corner.

Eyeliner in a smokey eye is very important. I favor a cat eye line, where you start thin and expand as you get towards the outer edge. If you start too thick, or just put too much everywhere, you won't look sultry and smokey, you'll look like Taylor Momsen.  I used Laura Mercier's Tighline Cake Liner (which I recently reviewed) on the top and a line blended on the bottom from outer corner to about where the "sidecar" starts (this is where the smudgie comes in if you're not using a liner brush). If you put it all the way across, it'll make your eyes look smaller.

I then use Tigi Perfect Eyeliner in black on water line (inner rim.) I put that across the whole line, since it's inside.

Finish with mascara, and you're gorgeous! I used Benefit's "They're Real!" mascara. Don't forget to use the powder brush to sweep away the set powder.

Front/straight on.

Top.

Bottom.

When wearing a smokey eye, the eyes are the focal point of the face, so it's best to pair with a light or nude lip.

Jesus, I'm so smokey!

This is the basic technique for a smokey eye and pretty universal colors. You can personalize it, if you have green eyes (like me), I would stick with violets. If you have brown/hazel eyes, I would go with more of a blue-violet. For blue eyes, I would use more chocolate tones. Contrasting colors will make your specific eye color stand out. Have fun and be sultry tonight! Love yourself, because in the words of RuPaul, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?"

:)

Save Money By Making Your Razors Last Longer!

 Most women and men buy disposable razors these days, which are awesome because they are more sanitary and convenient. The downfall however, is that you can spend up to $30 sometimes on cartridge refills, or have to constantly buy new razors.

I have a solution. If you keep your razors clean and dry, they will last much longer! The most common issue people have, whether they realize it or not, is that hair and shaving cream or soap get in between the blades (since every razor has 800 blades now) and clog it. Also, the razors stay in the shower or sit beside the sink in a puddle of water only to rust or corrode after a week.

To keep your razors both clean and dry, first rinse them after each stroke. Then scrub with an old toothbrush, like so:

Scrub the back in a horizontal motion with the blades; then the front in a downward motion since your previous action forced the hair out and onto the front. I scrub during and after shaving, but only scrubbing after you are finished will suffice. After you're finished and the razor is clean, pat dry with a towel. Be sure not to wipe it because you will get towel fibers stuck in the blades, this doesn't hurt the blade, but you'll just have to clean it again.

I hope this helps you make your razors last as long as possible!

:-)