Cleansing Milks For Every Price Point

I think everyone knows by now that I have a strong love of cleansers. Balms, oils, gels are in regular rotation but I've recently been adding in cleansing milks to my routine and enjoy the way they make my skin feel. I know many times cleansing milks are targeted more for those with drier skin, but I find they help to give me a nice cleanse without stripping the skin. I've found 4 that I like from various price points, and could easily work well with any skincare routine.

1. Chantecaille Flower Infused Cleansing Milk - Soft does not even begin to describe this formula. Whatever word means softer than soft, that would describe this cleanser.  It has a creamy consistency that envelopes the skin, immediately calms and soothes it, but does not leave it heavy with residue. In fact, when I first tested it out on the back of my hand, I was able to just rub it into the skin without using any water to rinse it off. THAT is how soft and lovely this cleanser is to use. If my skin is feeling particularly dry or irritated, I find that just rubbing this on the skin and removing with a cloth leaves my face feeling balanced and smooth.

2. Sunday Riley Charisma Creme Cleanser - As an oily skinned gal, the Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser has been a favorite for a long time. But I was curious to give this creme cleanser a try to see if I would like it as much. It's a much thinner milk texture that works best for me when applied on dry skin as a second cleanse or morning cleanse. The formula has fruit acids which give the skin a mild exfoliation and  make it look incredibly bright and radiant. I like to spend time massaging it into my skin when dry and then again when I add water to really allow for the ingredients to work their magic. Little did I know that the Ceramic Slip Cleanser wouldn't be my only favorite Sunday Riley cleanser. Seriously, this skincare line can do no wrong in my eyes.

3. Sisley Cleansing Milk with White Lily - If a cleansing cream and milk had a baby, it would be this Cleansing Milk from Sisley. It's not too thick and not too thin, it falls perfectly in the middle. I can use this to both remove my makeup or as a second cleanse. While I have been gravitating towards oils and balms recently as my first cleanse, I was amazed at how great my skin felt and looked after using this milk to remove makeup. On nights when I am feeling particularly lazy, this is actually the cleanser I reach for first because it removes my makeup and moisturizes it all at once. I actually did a test with using just this cleanser and no other skincare to determine how my skin would feel. Surprisingly, it felt soft, hydrated and smooth as if I had done a few steps. Yup, I'm impressed.

4. Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser - It's been a while since I've used a drugstore cleanser, but I picked this up on a whim one day and found it to be a great addition to my routine. It's a very no-muss, no-fuss cleanser that has little to no scent, gives a refreshing and soothing feeling to the skin and is perfect for those times when my skin is acting up/having a reaction/irritated. It is the epitome of gentle and I think it's absolutely necessary to have something like this in one's arsenal at all times. This cleanser paired with my all time favorite holy grail moisturizer for emergency skin situations makes for a first aid kit type of skincare routine that I can always count on.

*pr samples included

My Hair Products Of The Moment

Skincare is my jam.  Makeup is my jam.  Hair products - meh. I never get too excited about hair products probably because I don't do too much with my hair other than blow it out.  Now mind you, I do a fierce blow out but that's because I have finally learned how to deal with my naturally curly hair after all these years.  Since I have such a minimal hair routine, I want products that work well with my oily scalp yet still give me that squeaky clean hair feel that I love.  After a few months of using each, these three products have all but eradicated every other product in my shower currently.  I still throw in a daily shampoo/conditioner here and there, but since I only wash my hair 3-4x/wk, these are taking up most of my hair washing time.  

1. Neutrogena Shampoo Anti-Residue Formula - This is actually the one product that is not new to my regimen and has been a staple for years, however I had forgotten about it and only rediscovered it 2 months ago.  I was perusing the aisles looking to satiate my beauty fix (I love a good drugstore raid), and there is was sitting there like a long lost friend.  This shampoo takes squeaky clean to a whole new level - and my hair always looks it shiniest and freshest after a dose of this once a week.

2. John Frieda Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue Deep Conditioner - The problem with hair masques is that they ALWAYS weigh my hair down, making it feel heavy and limp.  I always try them with such high hopes, only to have it shattered post blow dry when I am forced to put my hair into a pony tail.  This was the exact opposite.  My hair felt soft, nourished, hydrated and super duper bouncy - exactly the way I want it to feel and look.  Again used once a week just on the ends is all I need for optimal results.

3. Julien Farel Anti-Aging Haircare Vitamin Restore (c/o) - Scalp treatments are a whole new world to me as I have always just focused on the hair itself, but I have to say it makes perfect sense.  I have seen so many come out over the past few years, and what is more essential than ensuring a healthy scalp to have healthy hair? Duh.  This is my first scalp treatment I have tried and it's made me feel like I have been missing out all this time.  It is a tad more unique than other products I have used because it is applied to dry hair along the hair line, smoothing the product through the hair and then emulsifying with water.  (Here is a great tutorial video on how to apply) Designed to regenerate and revitalize the hair, I use it once/wk in place of any shampoo and conditioner and have found my hair to be stronger with less breakage with an overall healthier look.

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Drugstore Diaries: Maybelline, Neutrogena and Avene

I'm a bit of a fancy pants when it comes to makeup (no surprise, I'm sure), but with this new series on the blog I am excited to explore the wild drug store wilderness.  On a recent random pop in, I picked up three new items and have been loving each one.  As a fan of skin mists, I happened to see this on my way to the makeup section, and have heard so many great things about Avene's Thermal Spring Water spray, that I felt my summer skin would be amiss without it.  Glad I let my impulsive side win that day because it has lived up to the hype.  It's a burst of hydration any time I need it, and it now permanently lives in my handbag so I mist anywhere, anytime I darn well feel like it.  I'm proudly exercising my 1095th amendment, a person's right to mist.   

Maybelline's Great Lash mascara brought me back to my high school days, when this was my favorite mascara.  A little bit of Clinique brown eye liner and a few swipes of Great Lash, and I was out the door.  Oddly I have never tried their colored versions in all the years they have been out, so no time like the present to rekindle my old high school memories. The formula was just as I remembered, giving thick and dramatic lashes, but the subtle purple shade (in Vision in Violet) was a nice change from standard black.  I paired it with a variety of my neutral brown shadows and it complemented every look.

Completely new to the Neutrogena brand, I simply cannot pass up a mosaic blush.  If one is good, 75 are better.  There is something about swirling colors together to get a whole new shade that never gets old to me - clearly, I am still 7.  Anyhoo, beauty age IQ aside, I was delighted with the finished look.  The color is an array of pink tones (though it looks a tad like a skin irritation when swatched on my arm, I can guarantee you it's beautiful on the cheeks) that when blended together gives a nice rosy glow.  Be aware however, that the pigmentation is light so using a heavy hand is recommended.  I have found myself reaching for this Neutrogena sheer highlighting blush in shade Pure 22 almost every day since I brought it home, and have yet to find a look with which it doesn't work. 

What are some of your recent drugstore buys?  Anything you would recommend?

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Beauty Bits: Keeping the Pale

Pale is in.  Or making a comeback.  Or poised to make a comeback.  Or perhaps I want to make myself feel better.  Fine - being tan is awesome.  It makes you look thinner, your skin looks smoother and wearing bright lipstick is a rite of passage.  But I don't tan, I splotch.  Splotch is the opposite of looking thinner, skin looking smoother and is an inappropriate palette for a bright lipstick.  So really, I have no choice - hence pale is the color du jour.  And to preserve the pale and stave off the splotch, I turn to the above products for rescue.  I have it all covered and multiple times over - face, body, lips, repeat.  The only body part that I do not shield from the sun using a cosmetic product (gasp) is my hair.  Is hair a body part?  Well - let's pretend it is for this post.  My hair is normally hidden, adorably so, under a hat - fedora not floppy (the subway ain't the kentucky derby, ya feel me?).  The key to my casper like appearance is layering - a body lotion with SPF to moisturize but then a spray for when a mobile touch up is needed.  For the face, I run from the multiple choices in favor of one product that can protect and hydrate.  Often I finish the face with a foundation, tinted moisturizer or powder that also has SPF, but I can ramble on about that another time.  Let's stick to the matter at hand.  And let's get a little intro on each product, shall we?

1. Dior Lip Glow with SPF - this is a clear lip balm that enhances the natural color of your lips, with

    SPF. Neat.

2. Olay All Day Moisturizer SPF 15 - oldie but a goodie. SUPER lightweight and all around good

     guy.

3. Julep Daylight Defense - I professed my love for this in my June favorites - it smells like oranges,

    melts right into the skin and goes great under makeup. 

4. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock - great mobile product and beach necessity.  Not 

    super sticky like some I have tried. 

5. Kiehl's Creme De Corps Lightweight Body Lotion with SPF - this is part of their iconic Creme de

    Corps line so you know it's bound to be good.  And it is.  

6. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF - another alternative to a day time moisturizer under

    makeup.  Lightweight, blends easily, feels good on skin, blah, blah, blah.  Just buy it.