Skin Care Basics

At least for me I didn't start thinking about my skin until I was about twenty (AND I WORKED IN A SALON!!!!!!!). That is bad if you couldn't tell.  The truth is that we need to start taking care of our skin once we hit puberty. Yes, that means roughly 11-14. I was lucky as a pre-teen/teenager to have "pretty good" skin so I got away with washing my face with body wash (I am cringing now). Anyways I wanted to share some basic skin care tips that you can use at any age and to stress how important it take the 10 minutes a day to care for your skin.

Thankfully I have the best and cutest esthetician around (Josie from La Via Med Spa) to help teach me....so now I am going to teach you. All of these are affordable!

The best time to start preventing anti-aging is your early to mid 20's (yikes I know!)

 Wear sunglasses all the time, especially when you drive (to help prevent crows feet)

 Make sure your makeup or moisturizer has SPF in it, FREAKING SUN SCREEN DAILY LADIES!

 

You can exfoliate a lot more than you think. Josie & I both like to exfoliate every night  before bed to get all the makeup off and then I use a night cream. Not everyone can get away with exfoliating so much, but it's worth a try. It just might be what helps keep away the black heads & annoying break outs. Make sure you are using a gentle exfoliant- here is an affordable option that I like

 Elevate your pillow it will help with under eye bags. If your head is elevated all the blood isn't rushing to your face so you won't be puffy and bloated in your face. 

 Another little tip is to help with those stubborn black heads...steam a pot of water and put your freshly washed faced over the steam to help open upon and loosen stubborn pours then use a pair of exfoliating gloves and rub the gloves over those trouble spots to exfoliate. Typically those areas would be your nose, chin, cheeks and forehead ...so basically your whole face !

  

I recently tried out a Beauty Box from Modere with lots of lovely skin care goodies and ALL affordable. If you are trying to stay in a budget and take good care of your skin I would go one of two routes. Start with some sort of starter kit or buy your basics then add on as you go. 

Basics

*Cleanser- here

*Moisturizer -this is what I use (and I freaking LOVE IT )

*Exfoliant (I would use a gentle exfoliant unless a professional recommends otherwise)-here

The beauty box didn't come come with a moisturizer or a daily cleanser so this would be better for someone who already has their basics and is looking to start preventing aging. I fall into that category. 

The box included

*anti-aging serum (LOVED) 

*antioxidant gel

*hair serum (LOVED) 

*dual action eye gel 

*gentle exfoliant (LOVED)

If you need one, want one, gotta have it hahaha  -then click here

A skincare collection that is better suited for everyone (pre-teen on up ) would be - THIS

I think that is a GREAT place to start and you can't beat that price. I have bought night creams more expensive than that whole collection combined...but for real tho! I love that it is an all natural product for drug store prices. 

For this baby- click here girl!

Heads  up! You do have to make an account to get the stuff but don't worry...it's not over spammy or anything and it's quick, I promise. 

To get a discount enter this promo code 978363

You will get 25 off 100 

or off 50 and FREE SHIPPING 

If you have questions about certain products you can contact my friend Ginny (435-749-0202) she knows about all the products. I have only tried some of them. Anyways, Happy Cyber Monday Babes!

Clarisonic review and Cyber Weekend Savings your skin needs

Let's talk SKIN. One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE beauty items is my Clarisonic  . I don't know why it took me years to buy one ...but it did. I bought mine about two years ago and I have never looked back. I have generally normal skin that I would categorize as "combo",  meaning sometimes dry and sometimes oily. I get the regular break out and black heads but nothing too serious. I was sick of staring at the pours of my nose and decided to take the plunge. My makeup glides on beautifully after and I have a nice glow for a couple days. I have the Mia, it was cheaper and perfect for at home use. Basically everyone needs this and it's on sell until mid-night so you better hurry!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

IPhone Photography Tips

First off, I know I look crazy in this picture (which is why I like it ). I actually look that ridiculous when I laugh so I decided, "What the heck, that's what my face looks like...so I better like it." So I am posting it! Back to the point of this post, I am going to share my top 5 iPhone photography tips.

1. Good lighting is everything. I am always getting asked about the white wall in all my hair photos. The answer is annoyingly simple, I use a white wall and my salon has incredible lighting. 

2. Overcast is great for outdoor photos. So if it's cloudy it might be a lovely day to go to the park and snap some pretty pictures of your littles. 

3. Be creative! When I take pictures of my son I sometimes get down on the ground with him or stand above to get a birds eye view. I get creative. I like to capture the moment in a way that I will look back and remember how that moment felt. Don't be afraid to lay down on the ground or climb a ladder. I will do some pretty ridiculous things when it comes to getting a good shot of my son. 

4. I like negative space, I like to make whatever is my focus the "hero" of the photo. Having negative space allows for that person/object to be the "center of attention" without them being in the "center of the photo". 

5. Apps are awesome and worth the dollar or two you pay for a good app to edit or capture with. Some of my favorite are VSCO CAM, Afterlight, Snap Seed, Pic-Tap-Go and I LOVE LOVE A Beautiful Mess & Party Party.