March Favorites

March 30, 2018

March Favorites

April starts in two days and I seriously have no idea where the entire month of March has gone. I don’t even feel like I was that busy! I just keep thinking we’re still in the first week of March. How is that even possible?! And what’s even more weird is that we actually had more warm, Spring-like weather in February than we did during all of March. Maybe that’s why I can’t believe it’s already April. This Florida girl needs more warm weather!! I actually have quite a few favorites to share with you that are completely new, and they’re all really, really good! Let’s get to it!

Actually, this first one is certainly no new favorite considering I’ve been wearing it for a little over a year at this point. But I’m including my engagement ring as a favorite this month because we had some problems that caused me to be without it for an entire month, so you might have seen me wearing my old promise ring in some recent blog and Instagram photos. I’ve always talked about how much we adore Sam N Sue, the husband and wife company that we bought all of our wedding rings from. I’ve even had someone ask if I’ve ever had anything wrong with my ring and up until this point, the answer was no. It’s a little bit of a long story, so I’ll try to keep it as short as possible while still giving you all the important details.

I noticed that the main aquamarine stone came loose one morning when I was putting it on in early February. We took it to some local jewelers who were too afraid to work on it in fear of damaging the stone. After much hassle of trying to get in communications with Sam N Sue, we finally got in touch and sent it back to them which was in late February. Once the ring was delivered, it took them a few days to pick it up from their P.O. Box and we were again having a difficult time trying to communicate. When they finally did pick it up and inspect it, they told us it would take three weeks before they could send it back. Three weeks. That was completely unacceptable considering all they needed to do (as far as we were told) was tighten the prongs. After some more back and forth, they finally agreed to do the repairs and send it back in a week -- two weeks after it had been delivered to them. They sent it back, without any shipment notification to us, and it randomly showed up one day in early March. Thankfully we were home to sign for it, otherwise we would’ve had to make a trip to the post office.

After all of this, I’m now uncertain of whether or not I would recommend them anymore. They make an absolutely beautiful product, but their customer service is ridiculous. The ring seems to be fine now, but I’m still living in fear that something might happen again. I just wanted to include this little update for those who might be looking into their products and I knew it would only be fair considering how much I’ve praised them in the past.

Onto more happy news, I got a new mouse to replace my old one for my laptop and I absolutely love it. I had always just used Logitech ones before that I’d buy at Target, but I ordered this one off of Amazon. They have a ton of colors and obviously I chose the white and gold one. I not only love the way it looks, but also the way it works and feels. It’s a lot more slim than other ones that I’ve had before and it’s really quiet when clicking around. I will definitely be buying more in the future!

Update (April 2018): The mouse broke within a month, as a lot of the reviews on Amazon had suggested. Thankfully, I was able to get my money back and needless to say I probably won't be repurchasing this one.

When watching one of Kathleen Light’s videos on Youtube recently, I noticed she used a small handheld fan to dry her setting spray faster. Sometimes I sit there and flap my hands, but other times I’ve been known to use the cool setting on my hair dryer. Yes, it’s okay to laugh. How did I not think about one of these little fans?? I found this on Amazon for $13 and it has been a life saver! I use it all the time to set my setting spray, dry my facial toner, and even when I get too hot in the bathtub. This one has a rechargeable battery (via USB) and has three speed settings. I’m so happy with this purchase and I can’t wait to use it when the hot Florida Summer finally hits!

I’m kinda scared to admit this because I can already feel the judgement that’s about to come, butttt I’ve never used any Lush products before. I know, I know, I’m like a trillion years late to the game. I’ve always wanted to try it, but there was never a store near me until recently and I wasn’t going to place an order for scents online that I hadn’t smelled in person first.

The products I had my eye on specifically were their bubble bars. I can do without the bath bombs, but gigantic bubbles needed to happen in my life and nothing else has come close to my expectations. I picked up the Comforter and the Milky Bath bubble bars. I loved them both and am so impressed with all the bubbles they make! I cut them in pieces to get more baths out of each bar, but a trick that I learned (in this demo) is to shake the water as it’s filling up to really aggravate the bubbles and get even more. I’m hooked now, I will definitely be back!

Another thing I like to put in my baths is epsom salt. I’ve talked about this many times before, but what’s different that I wanted to share with you this month is that I’ve been keeping it in this airtight container recently and it’s so nice. The epsom salt that I buy at Walmart comes in a 5 lb bag, so it’s kinda difficult to scoop out without it going all over the place. This is nice to keep right by the bath and doesn’t make a huge mess.

A few other body products that I’ve been loving recently are two lotions. The first is by Dr. Teal’s and it’s their Foot Cream with Epsom Salt. I actually don’t like very many of Dr. Teal’s products, but my thinking behind this is that the epsom salt would soak into my feet and take some of the pain away, just like an epsom salt bath would do. Unfortunately epsom salt isn’t very high up on the ingredients list (why I don’t like most of their products), so I’m not sure how well it’s going to work like I thought it would. It is a nice lotion, though, and leaves my feet very soft.

The other lotion I’ve been enjoying is Amlactin. I’ve had these red bumps on my thighs for as long as I can remember. I’ve always just thought it was ingrown hairs or my conditioner clogging my pores. But after a little experimenting and research, I’m pretty positive that it’s keratosis pilaris which means I would have excess keratin on my skin causing acne-like bumps. This lotion has lactic acid in it, which is supposed to break down the keratin and help the skin clear up. I’ve been using it every day all month long and I’ve noticed a huge difference. My legs are finally clear for the first time in years! I forgot what that even looked like!!

I’ve finally worked my way through most of the primers I had sitting in my drawer, so it was time to find another one. I still haven’t found a good primer for oily skin that I was absolutely in love with and I really wanted to get one from the drugstore that I knew I could count on. I decided to try the Covergirl TruBlend Primer for oily skin and I’m actually really impressed with it so far. It is a silicone based primer that does blur my pores pretty well and extends the wear time of my makeup. I’ll keep you posted in the future if anything changes, but so far so good!

I don’t know what happened, but I completely forgot that powder foundations were even a thing. I randomly remembered them a few weeks ago and went on a hunt to find the best one like I’ve never heard of them before. I remember liking the Maybelline Better Skin concealer, so I decided to go with the powder foundation from that line in the shade Classic Ivory. The shade is perfect for me and the coverage is wonderful. I’ve been reaching for it constantly because it is so fast and easy while also keeping everything covered all day long. It doesn’t look heavy, but it can feel a little too powdery at times. I make sure to set it with the Evian spray that I’ve still been loving, which makes everything melt together flawlessly and feel super comfortable. I can’t recommend this one enough!!

Profusion Cosmetics has never been a brand that I’ve ever really been impressed with, as you might have seen in one of my old reviews. Since I posted that, almost 1 ½ years ago, they seem to have stepped up their game. I got a package that included a few of their new products, one of them being this Mixed Metals Peach palette. I was concerned with the quality at first, but it’s actually really nice.

The packaging feels very sturdy and the shadows have a lot of pigmentation. I love the color selection and the huge mirror that they included. My one complaint is the smell. It has a very strong artificial peach scent to it that can make me sick if I hold it too close. Other than that, I’ve really been enjoying it. A full review and tutorial of this will be posted in the very near future! ;)

There were so many new product finds this month that I really enjoyed and was actually very surprised with. The powder foundation is seriously a game changer when it comes to the amount of time it saves in the morning! And I’m already looking forward to my next Lush trip to pick up some more bubble bars!!

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it using one of the buttons below. If you have any other questions, leave them for me in the comments! Have you tried any of these products? What were some of your favorites this month?