Canadian Beauty?

Today I am participating in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" Friday. Today is all about beauty, beauty tips, etc.

Tips

1. Always moisturize your elbows, neck, and decolletage. These places will droop and/or dry out as you get older.

2. Always spend money on good make-up and skin-care. You wouldn't eat McDonald's every day, would you? So why put the equivalent on your face?

3. Eat antioxidant-rich foods such as berries. These will do wonders for your skin!

4. Exfoliate exfoliate exfoliate...did I mention exfoliate? Without removing the dead skin cells from your face/body, creams and other moisturizers simply sit on the surface and do not absorb. If you don't exfoliate, think of your skin like a dry, cracked side-walk and a downpouring of rain.

5. Sleep! Often! This is the time when your body's cells regenerate and your DNA duplicates. If you don't sleep, your body will fail to perform these vital functions effectively.

Products I Use

I happen to love a particular line of cosmetics called Benefit. Here are a few specific products I like from their line:

Thank the heavens for this Erase Paste! I have huge/dark circles under my eyes that I inherited from some family member and if I ever find them I will....anyway...BEST product I have ever used. From one 'bag' lady to another, I beg you to try this!


BADgal mascara. What can I say? Everyone wants to be a BAD girl...with BADass lashes. I have naturally long eyelashes, however, they are sparse. This is the ONLY mascara I have found that lengthens, thickens AND doesn't clump!


Now who doesn't want Big Beautiful Eyes? I have small eyes and I find this trio of beautiful, sparkly eye shadows does the trick in making my eyes look bootiful and big. Note: It also comes with handy dandy instructions for the cosmetic illiterate--literally telling you where to put each shade to achieve maximumally (is that a word?) big and beautiful peepers. I couldn't live without it. If the earth flooded tomorrow and I could escape with three things, one of those would be this eye shadow. Beauty is survival isn't it?

Skincare. I am not going to lie, I spend a mint on skin-care products. Not literally a mint, but you know what I mean. At least it's a mint to a starving student. However, I believe I will benefit from its use in years to come and the cost of it might balance out in the future when I can keep my job longer because I still look younger. ;) haha!

There are two products I use for my skin. They are formulated specially for sensitive, dry skin which is what I inherited from my lovely mother. I shall not complain though as I was never afflicted with acne and for this I am thankful. Let it be known that these two lines can be purchased at your local Shoppers Drug Mart/Walgreens/Walmart, etc.

Avene.

Avene Light Hydrance Cream. Did I mention you should moisturize? Oh, I did? Well let me tell you again. This 45mL bottle is nothing to shake a fist at. It's...well, moisturizing! Without being heavy. It's a light daily moisturizer perfect for post-cleanse.


Avene Gentle Purifying Scrub. Did I mention to exfoliate? I have dry, sensitive skin that reacts to absolutely nothing. It's like a young teenager who freaks out at the slightest thing. It's like that, seriously. I get out of the shower and it's like someone gave me numerous hickey's all over my face and neck and chest. Alas, my life isn't that exciting. This stuff gets rid of the dead skin without irritating my sensitive skin that likes too much drama in its life.


Vichy. I absolutely LOVE Vichy's line for sensitive, dry skin. Here are a few of their products I use.

Vichy Hydra Soothing Detoxifying Toner. I cannot stress enough the importance of a good toner suited to your skin type. This works in tandem with the antioxidant-rich foods to pull out all of the free radicals/dirt/oil from your skin. It's like a magnet that reaches into your pores to get the guck out. We don't like guck 'round these parts.


Vichy Detoxifying Cleansing Milk. I have been a happy woman since this product entered my life. It's like spring cleaning every day for your face. It rebalances, reorganizes, and gets rid of the crap. It's also non-drying and non-irritating--how I like my sisters. It's creamy and cooling and a beautiful thing. Get it. Get it now.

And one last item that I die for. It's by Bath & Body Works.
My favourite Lip Balm. It's made with shea butters which are ultra-moisturizing. What I love about this lip balm is it gives moisture and shine without being goopy or sticky. Nothing kills me more than when my hair gets blown into my lips and stays there. Ick.

And there you have it folks! Just a few products that I would sell my soul for. If I had one. Kidding. Really.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend! I'll be writing a thesis.

Chars <^><

Dawn