Keeping My Head Happy

I have fine, thin, very straight hair - but a lot of it!  Seriously, when I get my hair cut, I'm always shocked at how much is on the floor for them to sweep away.  I wear my hair short, and even elaborate products (when I use them) don't seem to last very long.

Even though my hair is short, in the summer I do a LOT of sweating - not glowing, or perspiring, but straight up sweating!  And so when I wash my hair, I always want to use something that makes *me* feel like it got clean.  A few years back, I tried some of the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo and really liked it.  The minty-ness of it made me feel like my hair and my head were clean and refreshed.  However, being that it is a "designer" shampoo, it's pretty expensive, even though I don't have to replenish things that often.  So after buying it a couple of times, I just went back to normal, everyday shampoo.  Though I'm somewhat picky, it's not really for any consistent reason, so as long as I could find something I liked, it was all good.

Moving right along, one day last fall, I was at Trader Joe's for something specific we like that is only found there, and I decided to take a look-see and check out the personal care aisle.  Guess what I found???

Ta-da!!!!

I was so surprised (I know, maybe you all already know about this, but I didn't), and pleased because it was maybe more expensive than some of the drugstore shampoos, but not a lot more, and it was much less expensive than any of the 'fancy' ones.  So I bought a bottle to try it out. (It was maybe $7.99? - sorry I forget, as it's been a while since I purchased it.)

And now that I have been using it - yes, the same original bottle - for nearly a year, I have to say, it's a keeper.  You don't need to use much to get a good lather going, and the tea tree and other botanicals feel so very good on your scalp.  It's just plain old refreshing, even if it's not during the heat of summer.  

So if you are looking for a shampoo that is a step above the plain, everyday ones that are pretty much everywhere, and you are near a Trader Joe's, I recommend that you try this one.  I can guarantee that your head will be happy too.  😊

I Promise It Was Technology's Fault, Not Mine!

After making a big deal about how I was going to try to post here at least once a week, I didn't post at all the next week!  But truly, it was not all my fault.  Google sent out an update for Chromebooks that had a typo (a typo!) that caused Chromebook users to not be able to log in at all.  They supposedly sent out an update, but I never received it, so on Monday morning, I performed the "nuclear option" and wiped my computer clean, meaning I had to start all over again.  I did manage to post on my other blog using my tablet, but it was so slow and painful, I decided to skip posting here.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

Anyway, there are like 2 people who read this, so hopefully they are willing to be generous.  😊

Today I want to share with you the BEST everyday sunscreen that I use on my body all summer long.  I may have shared it before, but that was a while ago, and I want everyone to consider giving it a try.

Yep, the lowly store brand from CVS is my holy grail of body sunscreen for everyday use.  Here is why:

1. It is very inexpensive (particularly if you have one of the many many coupons CVS gives you whether or not you care). This bottle/tube of sunscreen generally lasts me about 4 months - which means it is very effective on a cost pers use basis. I slather this on my arms, chest, and neck every single day, and I use a lot of it!
2. It has an extremely light scent that almost immediately disappears once you apply it (it's barely coconut scented);
3. It stays on without making you feel like a greaseball all day;
4. It WORKS!  I recently wore this when I was at a baseball game on a very hot, very sunny day, and when I got home, I didn't even have a light pink spot on my person.  

Now, one thing you should remember is that you need to get the YELLOW sunscreen - the one in the blue tube or the yellow tube smells more like you expect, and they are harder to get out of the tube!  Just say no to the other containers.  

Just for the record, CVS doesn't know I exist, so they are neither sponsoring this post, nor do they give me any kickback for recommending this product.  It's just that there are a lot of the CVS stores near my house, so I tend to go there more frequently for this kind of stuff.

Please note that I don't use this on my face.  That's mostly because I have really sensitive eyes, and the only time I tried this on my face, it moved into my eyes when I sweated, and that whole thing did not end well.  Your mileage, of course may vary.

But no matter what brand/type you use, PLEASE USE SUNSCREEN!!!

Time For a Reset

I realized today that it has been just short of a YEAR since I posted here.  Now I know I don't post that often here to start, but ALMOST A YEAR???  That is completely unacceptable! Why bother to have a blog if you never write anything?

So I have determined that it is time for a reset here.  Part of my hesitancy to post here was because I am not really a "beauty influencer," an exercise guru, or really an expert on anything related to beauty, health, or fashion.  But you know what - who the H cares???  I started this blog in addition to my other blog because these are also things I enjoy, and I should be able to share that if I like.  Most of the readers of my other blog are primarily interested in crafting and reading, and I'm not sure they would care what I thought about say, eyeliner, you know?

Now I'm not saying I'll have something to say every day here - I don't even do that on my other blog or on social media.  But I'm not going to sit back because a) I'm not an expert, and b) because I am worried what my non-interested-in-this-topic friends might think if they come across this particular blog.  Like most people, I contain multitudes, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to like all of them!  And if reading what I think about a lipstick or what my latest exercises consist of annoys you that much, I probably don't care if you just sign off altogether.

It feels good to get that off my chest.  😌

Anyway, my goal is to post at least once a week here if not more frequently when something strikes me.  I can't say it will always be riveting, but that's not the point.  I enjoy writing and I like to share things I do like and don't like with others, whether or not "others" are even here!

******

Consider this the first post in my reset.  Have you heard of Flower Beauty?  I know it started a few years back, with Drew Barrymore* behind it.  I was kind of excited to hear about it, because it was a cruelty-free brand at a time when there were not that many of them at a lower price point.  Originally though, the brand was only available at Wal-Mart or online.  I tend to not buy lower price point things online if I have never tried them, because the shipping and handling often takes the price up enough that it's no longer any more affordable than other brands.  And I am not a fan of Wal-Mart at all.  I'm not saying I never have gone into a Wal-Mart, but when I have, it's usually been a last resort, and I am fortunate enough to live someplace where there are other choices.

Anyway.  About a month ago, I was in the neighborhood CVS, and noticed they had an endcap devoted to Flower Beauty products - surprise!  

I decided to give one a try (well, OK I also had a CVS coupon for $3.00 off), and chose the Color Shift Lip Smoothie.

It only comes in this one shade, but supposedly once you put it on your lips, the color adjusts to your pH and your lips look like yours, but better.

I figured if nothing else, it might be a nice lip moisturizer, and as someone who has dry lips year round, I use something all of the time, even when I'm just sitting around at home.

Well - in my case at least, this turned out to be a lovely product.  It goes on nicely, without any "tugging" on your lips, and feels not just smooth but soft, if that makes sense.  The color actually was extremely subtle, but it did make my lips look a little bit brighter.

Like most lip balm/moisturizer/whatevers, it isn't long lasting, but I didn't expect that.  The very best thing as far as I'm concerned is that it is NOT sticky at all.  Nothing bugs me more than anything on my lips that feels sticky or tacky - ICK!

I recommend this if you want a bit of a color upgrade with your lip balm.  As I said, I had a CVS coupon, but I think it generally retails for $10.00, which is not completely cheap.  But it's not that expensive, considering that a tube will last you for a while.  And it's not expensive at all when you compare it to some of the "better" brand's products that make you feel like your lips are either varnished with glue, or with some sticky substance that will never go away!

*Drew Barrymore.  Sigh.  I'm never sure how I feel about her.  On the one hand, she kind of makes me crazy.  On the other hand, I have a sense that she is exactly who she appears to be, and I give her props for that.  It's a love-hate relationship I guess ...

When It's Necessary to Make a One-Time Exception

Hello - I generally don't do this, but today I'm sending you over to my other blog to read what I wrote.  I realized that I would be writing pretty much exactly the same thing here, so just decided to link to that post (because, laziness).

I hope you enjoy it, and have a lovely weekend!

How I Changed the Way I Washed My Face

Hello and Happy Labor Day!  Though it's kinda weird this year, like so many other holidays have been.  But in any case, I hope you have a good day wherever you are and whatever you have decided to do ... or not.

At the beginning of the summer, I went to wash my face one morning and realized that I was out of the cleanser I generally use, and have used for years.  Generally, I'm more on top of things, but like so much else that has fallen through the cracks, my ability to pay attention to those kinds of things and be prepared before it happens had failed.

I knew that regular soap didn't feel good on my face, and that it also made it feel really really dry.  So that morning, I turned on the cool water, and just wet my washcloth and "washed" my face three times in a row, with a rinse in between.  Then I did my usual sunscreen, etc.  It actually felt better than when I would use the cleanser.

After some thought, I decided to try an experiment.  I mean, I was going to be home anyway, and so if things didn't go all that well, it's not like I'd have to go to work or whatever anyway.  I gave myself a week to try it to see if anything was different.

Here was the plan:  In the morning, I would do the washcloth-and-cool-water wash, followed by sunscreen, etc.  Then at night, I would use my aforementioned cleanser (which I had replenished after a trip to CVS), moisturizer, etc.  The idea behind it was, how "dirty" did my face get overnight, when all I was doing was sleeping?  Why did I need to use cleanser at all in the morning? 

Now that it's been months instead of just weeks, I'm very happy to report that my skin actually looks better than ever!  My new routine seems to have worked well enough that I don't have as much redness overall (I suffer from rosacea), and my skin is smooth and brighter, I swear (or I am really good at convincing myself of this).  

Now, please note that if I have done a morning workout, or been working around the garden or house first thing in the morning, I do use cleanser when I wash my face - but that's because I have been sweating, or been outside, or been moving dirt/dust around, and I want to make sure any of that kind of grime gets washed of completely.

And it may well be that once winter comes, I'll want to do something else for extra moisturization, I'll have to see.  But for now, my simplified face-washing is doing the trick better than I could have anticipated!

(Not me.  Not even close!)

I Almost Bought Some Stuff, But Then I Remembered ... Masks

Yesterday, I was staying in the house if at all possible because it was too hot and too humid for me to be able to stand being outside.  This is not unusual during the summer, but I was in one of those moods where I just didn't feel like doing anything even though I tried to start a couple of times and almost immediately stopped.

I was scrolling through Instagram, and saw an ad for Wander Beauty.  I've heard of the company, but not paid a whole lot of attention, but because I was feeling both bored and lazy, I decided to check out their website.  I admit to thinking makeup is fun, and even though I don't wear a lot of makeup, I wear some and I'm always on the lookout for good products that are also cruelty free.  It helps if I think they are reasonably priced as well.  Anyway, after poking around on the site, I saw some things I thought looked really nice.  Then I remembered that I had a Sephora gift card for about $100.00 that was from returning a bunch of stuff that one of my sisters sent me for Christmas that I knew I would never, ever use (she spends a ridiculous amount of money all the time on cosmetics ... but again, she also shares it with me sometimes!).  So I thought, well, go look and see if Sephora had any of the Wander products I was thinking of trying.

I considered the powder foundation:

I had also read that their On-the-Glow Blush and Illuminator was nice:

I'd also heard good things about their Unlashed Volume and Curl Mascara:

So I was thinking, well, maybe I should try them all, since I have the gift card with all of that money on it, and I would be spending my sister's money instead of my own.  That seemed like a brilliant idea!

Oh yeah, except for the pandemic.  And mask-wearing, which will be required all day, everywhere in the building (and on the way back and forth from work) once I go back to work.  Anything I'm wearing on my face would a) be mostly hidden by the mask, and b) rub off on it anyway.  

I'm glad I thought of it before using my gift card.  Because $100.00 is a LOT of money, and though I'm more than happy to use the gift card, I'd rather wait until it makes sense to use it.  It has no expiration date, so I don't need to worry about not being able to use it at some point, either.

You may be wondering, did I buy anything at all?  I did.  I purchased a mini size of the mascara, which was $12.00.  And I just went ahead and paid for it myself, because it hardly seemed worth using part of my gift card for a mini size of something I wanted to try anyway.  

So I'll be wearing my moisturizer and sunscreen under my mask, but at least my eyes will look good.  😊

The Really Important Things

I saw this on Facebook the other day, and thought it was worth sharing, particularly since it talks about something that people are especially worried about in the summer - how could I possibly wear a swimsuit in public if my body is not perfect?

"Three good friends went for a swim.
The one who was fat wished she was thin.
The one who was curvy wished she was clever.
The one who was clever wished she swam better.
The really great swimmer wished she was witty.
The one who was witty wished she was pretty.
All three friends thought the other two were just fine.
If only they could let their own bright light shine.
So throw on your swimsuit if you're fat or you're thin.
Enjoy fun and friendship .... love the skin that you're in! "

Gorgeous painting by: Watercolours by Rachel