May 2014 Favorites

       Hey everyone! Today's post is all about my May favorites, with a twist. I'm going to be showing you a couple of my personal favorites, as well as my sister Pamela's new skin care regime! I've actually tried a few things from this line, so I'll give you all my opinions on what I've tried, then I'll have a few of the questions I asked, with her answers to each one. Today's post will be a little different, but I think you all will really like having reviews on a product from two different people. :) So, let's get right into it! All thoughts and opinions will be listed in the captions below each picture. Enjoy!

First up is the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in product. I actually got this as a sample from Ulta a little over a month ago. I was pretty excited to try it out because I've heard such good things about it from everyone and their mother, haha. I'm a little late to jump on this bandwagon. Better late than never, right? Now I understand what all the hype is about. This stuff has literally been a miracle product for my hair. I spray it on my damp hair before I blow dry, then comb it through to make sure the product is evenly distributed. Once my hair is fully dry, it is SOOOOOO silky and soft! My hair has never felt healthier, no joke. It is a leave-in conditioner, helps smooth hair, helps protect from heat damage and a million other things. It's just amazing. I love it. I hate to say it, but I think this stuff has replaced my Aussie Leave-In Spray. The only problem is that it is SO expensive. It's $20 for a small bottle. I hate paying that much, but it is definitely worth every penny. I just love what it does to my hair!

Next up is C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve from Bath & Body Works. About a month ago, I had an allergic reaction to something I ate, or something outside. I'm not sure what it was, honestly. Whatever it was made my lips swell and itch like crazy. They were huge and super chapped and gross. It was awful. I was putting lip balm on what seemed like every 5 seconds, but nothing seemed to help. In fact, my beloved Rose Mint lip balm from Sephora that I raved about on here and used every night actually made my lips worse. Finally, one night I reached for this product. I bought one of these quite a few years ago, but thought "what the heck" and tried it. The next morning, my lips were almost back to normal. I couldn't believe it. Literally NOTHING was helping them. Thankfully this stuff worked. The tin I had was very old, and the product was all melted to one side, so I went and picked up a new one.

This stuff is soooooooo moisturizing and soothing on the lips. And apparently it is really good for sensitive skin. This is one of those products you don't have to use just on the lips. You can apply it almost anywhere... elbows, knees, cuticles... anywhere you have super dry skin. It's a miracle worker. It does have a rose scent (I'm sure you could tell by the name, haha), but it's not overwhelming at all. I'm not a huge fan of the scent of roses, but this I can definitely handle without feeling like it's too much. I'm not sure what I would've done if this product hadn't have worked. But it did, and I love it!

Now we come to skincare! My sister and I went shopping about a month ago, and we randomly stopped in the beauty section of Dillard's. I saw a display of the First Aid Beauty skincare line and Pamela and I went over to check it out. While we were over there, a Sales girl came up to us and gave us the low-down on this skincare line. I'd heard of this line several months ago, and everyone has just raved and raved about it, saying how amazing it is for sensitive, acne-prone skin. The Sales girl was allllll about this stuff and my sister ended up walking out with the $28 Deluxe trial kit, which included all the stuff you see above. The products are all really good sizes too. It's lasted her over 4 weeks! The Sales girl gave us a ton of samples too, so I got to try it out for myself. A little back-story on my sister... She's had problem skin for YEARS. She's tried so many different products, and different skincare lines but nothing has ever really worked. She's tried Proactive, Cetaphil, Clean & Clear, Murad (worst stuff ever, Pamela said), and TONS of others. Pamela has extremely sensitive, combination/dry, acne-prone skin. So, trying new products is a little scary for her because nothing else has worked. Until now.

First step is the Face Cleanser. I asked my sister different questions about how she liked this product. Here's what she said:

1. What was your impression of this face wash? - "It was very light. But really moisturizing. Other face washes I've used got my face so clean that my skin felt tight and dry after. But, this one didn't. It cleans my face really well, but my skin feels good after. I don't like the smell though. It lathers up well, but doesn't get super soapy. It works well with my Clarisonic Mia 2."

 

Okay, here's what I thought about this stuff. It's very creamy. You can see above that it looks almost like a moisturizer. It feels really good on the skin. Very calming, but cleanses really well! The only thing I'm not crazy about is the smell. It has a really weird smell. But it's not over-powering, so that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if I were to purchase the whole line. I only got 2 uses out of the little sample, so I can't say if it improved my skin or not. All I know is that I like it, and will probably be purchasing it soon!

This is the product I haven't gotten to try. So, I'm going to let Pamela tell you more about them!
1. What do you like about the toner pads? "This is my favorite product out of the three. I don't feel like it exfoliates... it doesn't feel gritty or like it's rough on my skin. It does help get the remaining makeup off that the face wash didn't catch. Generally, toner I've used in the past felt almost like it hurt my skin and had a burning sensation because my skin is so sensitive. So, I was nervous to use these based on the way my skin reacted to previous toners I've used. But these just feel like they're cleaning my face. They don't dry my skin out. And I feel like it really does brighten my skin. I can't say for sure that these pads are solely what are improving my skin the most. But it feels like it. I just really like them."

The last step is the Ultra Repair Cream. Again, I'll let Pamela tell you what her thoughts are, then I will give my opinion on the second picture.
1. What do you think about the Ultra Repair Cream? "I like it. It's very moisturizing. And I only have to use a tiny bit for my whole face, so this tube will last me a really long time. It's not heavy on my skin. I put it on in the mornings before my makeup and it doesn't make my makeup go on funny, or make it slide around. I do let it settle into my skin before I actually apply my foundation. I used to use the Aveeno Daily Moisturizer, and I had to use that stuff multiple times a day, and my skin still felt dry. I apply the Repair Cream once, and my face feels moisturized all day."

This moisturizer is awesome! It's not thin, but it's not too thick. It's very smooth, and your skin just drinks it right in. It works well under your makeup, but it's one you need to let settle into your skin before you apply foundation. I didn't let it fully sink into the skin one morning, and my foundation slipped all over the place and looked a little cakey. Either let it set for around 10-15 minutes before applying makeup, or just use it as your night time moisturizer and apply a lighter moisturizer in the mornings. I really like this though. Again, very calming. Hasn't broken me out at all. Just awesome!

More questions:

~ When did you start seeing results? "I noticed a difference after a couple weeks. My skin looked smoother, my makeup went on better. It was that time of the month, so I still had a couple breakouts. But overall, my skin felt and looked so much better. It helped with the texture of my skin too. I didn't have so many little bumps all over. It just looked smooth." 

~ What do you think about this skincare line overall? "I like it! For someone with VERY sensitive skin, it really helps. It is definitely the best skincare line I've ever tried. And I've tried a lot!"

~ Would you re-purchase? "Yes! I actually just bought more Toner Pads today!"


      So there you have it! My sister's and my May favorites. I hope you all enjoyed this post. I really liked being able to give you all an opinion from a different perspective. Thank you for helping me with this post, Pamismell! (That's my name for her, haha. She doesn't really stink though, hahaha). Let me know what you all think of this post! Have you tried any of these products? I'd love to know! Thank you all soooooooooooo much for reading! I hope you have a great rest of the weekend, and I'll see you soon!


                                 XOXO - Tabitha