Tag Archives: Aveeno

Beauty Sleep

Beauty Sleep

My sleep has been extremely not great this past month. Night owl tendencies have me up until almost midnight – the Olympics aren’t helping, either – and I’m getting woken up by my boyfriend’s alarm clock 30 minutes before mine goes off. He made his own alarms for his iPhone which are entertaining but messing with my last precious REM cycle. Highlights include the Top Gun and Jurassic Park scores and the Doug theme song.

I’m in planning mode for Operation Sleep Better. It will commence after my upcoming vacation, naturally. Post-Labor Day, I’m getting back on track.

I’ve actually already started on a new night time skincare regimen. I’ve used up a bottle (every last freaking drop) of Sunday Riley Good Genes and have been carefully using a few sample sizes I am pretending will never run out. Results are instant – I’m talking smoother, brighter skin overnight.  It has pharmaceutical-grade lactic-acid based which is gentle on my skin. I top it with Luna Sleeping Night Oil, which is like a gentle retinol. It’s good for blemishes, smooths skin and calms redness. It’s blue in color from the blue tansy and chamomile essential oils. It’s only been a few weeks but paired with Good Genes, the combo is incredible.

Have you ever slept on a silk pillowcase? I hadn’t either and then I laid my head on the Slipsilk Pillowcase and was SOLD. The brand is coming to the Michigan Ave Sephora this month. It makes a lot of sense since silk is less absorbent than other fibers so moisturizers and treatments stay on your face where they should. There’s also less friction so less stretching and tugging of your face. Honestly, it just feels a good night’s rest from the second you lay down.

I’m seriously considering splurging on the Everlane Silk Sleep Set. I get a little taste of sleeping in silk and I want more! Nothing against my oversized beer tees, but…

I take a probiotic daily but just started to do it right before bed. I like this one from Amazon. Bladder health is really important to me and well, if you happen to get frisky at night…the timing works to your advantage.

I’m a big fan of nighttime showering (or bathing, come cooler temps!) to save time in the morning. I’m going to start doing it right before bed so that I can ride the serene combo of the lavender-scented Aveeno Calming Body Wash and Kahina’s Essaouira Body Serum that smells like an exotic island vacation.

I try and go multiple days without washing my hair and have been pumping Aveda’s Dry Shampoo (smells like signature Aveda!) along my roots and crown. It has a white cast and instead of massaging it in, I leave it so that it absorbs over night. Bam! Instant volume and clean hair in the morning. It also has a non-aerosol spray so it pumps out with impact but not one that is negative for the environment and your lungs.

Any tips for getting back on track? Also, please share any silk PJ recommendations! I’ve got winter to plan for, too.

Jennifer Aniston Crushes it in NARS

Jennifer-Aniston-NARS-Biscayne-Park

Oh, Jen. We have so much in common. We both do pilates. Except your body actually looks like you do, but whatevs, beside the point. We both have stick straight hair that requires long layers to really have any movement. And you own that look on formal occasions. Way to teach me to work with what I’ve got. We both use Living Proof — which you co-own. Such a smart investor! You star in Aveeno’s ad campaigns…I use Aveeno. And we both wear NARS Biscayne Park Satin Lip Pencil, though you to red carpet movie premieres and me to walk my Boston Terrier. Parallel lives, I tell you. Doesn’t she look incredible? I need to mimic her beauty look from the ‘Life of Crime’ premiere in Toronto.  The pairing of pinky nude (but not too pale!) Biscayne Park lip with the smoky steel grey of the NARS Transvaal Eye Paint is everything with her blue eyes, which I have as well. JA is also wearing one of the not-yet-launched NARS Matte Multiples in Laos, which I am eagerly awaiting the launch of come January. She really can do wrong.

How I’m Styling My Summer

ColorMeStyled-SPF

One of my favorite faces at Chicago Blogger Network events is always Erin Bassett, of Color Me Styled. So I was excited when she asked me to guest blog on how I’m styling my summer. You could say I approached the topic in the non-traditional sense. It’s all about SPF! It’s the ultimate (albeit invisible) staple accessory of summer. Because sun-damaged skin is never in style!

Head on over to Color Me Styled to check it out!

Melanoma Monday, But It’s Not What You Think

Body-Suncreens

While I find the name “Melanoma Monday” to be extremely ill-conceived, I think it’s an important day of awareness. But first, let’s not get it twisted with Taco Tuesday, Pizza Friday or any other day connected to something you want. A few weeks ago, I commented to my gym friend (you know the people you see in class each week but don’t really know outside of that room) that she was looking nice and bronzed. I assumed she would tell me she got a spray or used a new lotion, because really, what 30+ year old woman actually goes to a tanning bed, right? Wrong. She said she was “tanning for her wedding” but “just a base.” It took me a minute to process and I felt that I didn’t know her well enough to shame her into never doing it again.  Shame might be a bit harsh, but tanning beds are cancer/wrinkle beds. Why mess with that?

What’s worse, according to a new sun study being released today by L’Oreal, is that American women give themselves a “C” when grading their sun care habits.  Basically, we know we should wear sunscreen, but don’t. What gives? I hear often from my friends and coworkers that it’s “cloudy” or “I’m inside all day” but honestly, the sun is smarter than you think. It reflects off of everything — concrete, snow, windows.  I also think there is a perception that sunscreen formulas are smelly, thick and goopy. Not the case anymore.

While I’m good about wearing SPF every day on my face and neck, even I can do a better job with my body. It’s not just when you’re at the beach or doing outdoor activities. So my Melanoma Monday commitment is to make it a routine to SPF my legs, arms, chest and hands. Don’t forget the hands! Will you join me in making a MM commitment?

Arming myself with a body SPF for all situations:

Kiehl’s Activated Sun Protector / L’Oreal Sublime Sun Sheer Protect Sunscreen Oil / Skinceuticals Sport UV Defense / Aveeno Natural Protection

Spring Cleaning: Bathroom Drawer Edition

Spring-Beauty-Cleaning

Meet the place where face creams and kabuki brushes come to live. Otherwise known as my bathroom drawer. I think my spring cleaning urge has officially activated. I relish in a good cleaning day. Organizing and decluttering can lead me to my happy place. But the mood has to strike. For example, on New Year’s Day I spent hours cleaning my pantry. Talk about the ultimate sense of achievement. I’d been putting that one off for a loooong time. With all this talk of spring beauty, I realized it’s time to tackle the drawer. I’ve only got so much bathroom counter real estate, so I tend to cram and stack a lot in there for the sake of keeping things tidy.

The “before” is a sight and I’ve already made a note to move my near empty Kiehl’s Rosa Arctica tub in the recycling bin (back to Kiehl’s of course — they give rewards!) and to repurchase my favorite SPF. But there also some new discoveries in here that are making their way into my spring beauty routine.

Beauty-Discoveries

In my March Birchbox, there was a pretty hefty sample of MAKE Eye Makeup Remover. It’s gentle and removes even my most challenging makeup (like this). This is a brand new on my radar but between this and the mini lipstick I received, I’m interested in knowing more!

Eco-Tools came out with this nifty Foam Applicator that has one flat side and a pointy edge. It applies concealer pretty flawlessly.  Plus, it’s cheaper than lunch.

Dr. Dennis Gross makes my favorite self-tanning body towelettes and now he came out with a sunless version for body. It smooths (tackling keratosis pilaris), evens out discoloration, exfoliates and tones. Short sleeves and bare legs are coming and these are helping my body come out of hiding.

Aveeno entered the land of BB Cream! Their new formula lends a light and luminous coverage with an always welcome SPF 30. I wore it to the gym last weekend since I don’t like walking there without SPF protection. It held up well. Testing continues!

Now that I’ve begun the task of pretty-ing this drawer up for the sake of spring beauty, I’m excited to see what else I uncover.

Note: Aveeno provided me with a sample of the BB Cream as part of their 2013 Ambassador program.