Hair Removal in my shower

Venus Gillette Razor for Women: Less than $10 for the handle and a few blades. This has been the razor that I have always used. My mom used to use the Bic disposable ones, but when I started shaving, I introduced her to this, and she has never looked back! It is not the cheapest option. I think you can get 4 razor heads for around $12. I shave about twice a week, and I probably replace them once a month. I don't usually get the fancy razor heads, just the basic 4-blade ones. I feel like it makes no difference, so why spend extra?

Schick Xtreme 3 Disposable Razors: About $12 for 4. I picked these up because I was out of Venus heads, and my local drugstore was having a sale, so these were cheaper. They have 3 blades compared to 4 on the Venus, but I feel like they are still nice razors, and I feel very smooth. I may nick myself a little more with these though, and I feel less economical throwing away an entire razor.

Skintimate Raspberry Rain Shave Cream: About $3.50. I feel like this in the shave cream that everyone uses. This is the only one I have ever used, so I don't have much to compare it to. I like it, and I feel like it makes shaving more fun than just using soap, but my skin is not very sensitive, so I have no problem just using soap. For the price, I don't mind buying it to feel a little luxurious. I really want to try the new EOS shave cream soon :-))

Scrubs in my shower

Clinique 7-Day Scrub: About $19. Out of the three scrubs I will be mentioning, this is my favorite. It has tiny little granules, which feel a lot more like sand than most scrubs. The price is steep, but it takes a long time to go through. I don't really know what it means by "7-Day." Maybe you will notice a difference in 7 days or you can use it every 7 days? IDK. It has a pretty bland smell, and it seems very simple. I only have the sample version, but I want to invest in the full-size.

Clinique Exfoliating Scrub: About $19. This one was very similar to the first scrub mentioned, but I noticed a slight texture difference. I felt like this one was more rough. To me, they both left me equally soft and smooth, so I see no reason to choose this one over the other.

St. Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub: About $4. I'm sure you have heard of this scrub. It is great for the price. However, it seems more cream than scrub to me, and the bits in it were on the larger size (they are pieces of actual shell.) It's good if you need something fast, but I rarely use it on my face like many people do. I keep it around to use on my body, especially my legs before I shave, and I love it for that. Oh, and the smell is nice. Fresh and a hint of sweetness.

Face Wash in my shower

St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser: About $6. I really enjoy the fresh smell of this face wash. I used it a couple summer ago when I was in Germany, so it brings back a lot of memories. It foams up nicely, and it has salicylic acid for acne-prone skin, which I need. All-in-all a good product for the price. 

Formula 10.0.6 Best Face Forward Daily Foaming Cleanser: About $6. The light smell of this face wash is amazing. The passion fruit and green tea is just the lightest floral scent mixed with some fruitiness. It doesn't really foam all that much. It is a very watery cleanser, and I didn't feel like it was ultra-cleansing, but I kind of like the lightness of it. I just always make sure to use a toner afterwards to really remove the grime. This may be a permanent staple in my shower. Plus, the packaging is so cute.

Clearasil Daily Clear Oil Free Daily Face Wash: About $5. This is a thick, white, creamy cleanser that really gets you feeling clean. It smells slightly like Double Bubble to me, which is not my favorite, but it doesn't bother me. Over the years, I keep trying out this cleanser, but I never feel like it aids my acne-prone skin. I don't know why it doesn't help, and it just doesn't have any qualities that really stand out to me.

Body Wash in my shower

St. Ives Triple Butters Creamy Coconut Body Wash: I like everything about this body wash. Except the smell. It smells like a dirty beach and not much like coconut. It is inexpensive, lathers well, and makes me feel clean, but I won't be buying it after I use up this bottle.

Ivory Original Body Wash: This is my favorite body wash that I have ever used. The scent is light and it lathers more than any other body wash I have used. It is super cheap, and I always end up buying it again and again. Just a great, simple body wash.

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Wash: One of my favorite scents in the beauty world is grapefruit. My go-to perfume is Lavanila's Vanilla Grapefruit. This shower gel smells as amazing as I thought it would, and it gave an okay amount of suds. I probably won't be repurchasing it on a regular basis since the 8.4 oz container costs about $8, and I can buy a whopping 24 oz of Ivory for $4.

Conditioner in my shower

I realized that maybe I should share my hair type with you guys so that you will know how products will work with your type of hair based off of my reviews. My hair is shoulder-length, dark brown, mildly  (not lightened or professionally) colored, heat damaged, average thickness and average oiliness. Here are some more products from inside my shower... A couple of my conditioners match the shampoos I mentioned yesterday:

Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy Total Care Conditioner: Just like the shampoo, I know I will be repurchasing this conditioner. It is $5 at Walgreens, and it leaves my hair SO soft and healthy feeling. Plus, my hair doesn't tangle as easily. Even though it helps your scalp, usually I only use this on my ends.

Joico K-Pak Reconstruct Conditioner: Like its shampoo, it is expensive and not very impressive. I would say it's less impressive then the shampoo was. I would always feel the need to layer another conditioner with it to add softness to my hair. I also felt like it made my hair a very not-soft texture when I would get out of the shower without using an additioner conditioner.

Nioxin Scalp Therapy Conditioner Step 2 for Noticeably Thinning Hair: For a pretty large bottle, this conditioner runs about $30. I found it half off at TJ Maxx, but I would say the price is the main negative about this product. It is supposed to make your hair grow thicker and stronger, and it is applied only to the roots. I put the Clear conditioner on my ends when I use this product. I have not noticed that the Nioxin makes my hair oily at all. After leaving it on for a couple minutes, my head starts to have the slightest tingle. It smells strongly of peppermint, which I really enjoy (especially in the summertime.) You have to use your fingertips a little bit to work it into your scalp, but it's no problem at all. I can't wait to see what this product does for my hair with extended use.

Shampoos in my shower

I am going to start back up on this blog with a 6-day series. I will give my opinions on the products that I am currently using in my shower. Each day I will talk about a type of product (for example, today is shampoo.)

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Total Care: I only have the trial sized version of this so far, but I know that I will buy the full size when I run out. I am trying to grow out my shoulder-length hair, and I am loving products that are nourishing for my scalp. This is only $5 at Walgreens currently, and I think it is a steal. It lathers well, leaves my hair feeling clean and ready for conditioner, and it doesn't have a scent (neither a pro nor con, in my opinion.)

 Joico K-Pak Reconstruct Shampoo: It is a decent shampoo, and I was drawn to it because it claimed to repair damaged hair. However, it lathers less than the Clear shampoo, and it doesn't leave my hair feeling as clarified. There is not a noticeable scent with this shampoo either. It is nothing special to me, and for the high price tag, (about $15 for 10.1oz at Ulta) I won't be repurchasing it.

Spring Break

This past week was my spring break. My sister and dad and I went to Florida for the week, and we had a really great time. After stumbling upon "leansecrets" on YouTube and downloading her book, meal plan, etc. from here, I have decided to try to eat naturally and wheat-free. I consider myself a connoisseur of all things wheat. Bread and pasta are my two favorite things to eat. However, since living on my own and having control over what goes in my fridge, I have felt very guilty after mass-consuming these foods. This feeling was not aided by doing some research on the benefits of being wheat-free.

Now, I could completely give up on this lifestyle change, but I have been keeping up with it very well since Tuesday, only slipping up with things that I truly had no idea contained wheat. i.e. soy sauce. I have since noticed that I have lessened food cravings and I can go longer between meals without starving.

What I am trying to get to is that I was craving something sweet tonight and came up with this smoothie recipe that is natural, gluten-free, dairy-free, and delicious. Enjoy.

Ingredients for 1 generous serving:
6 oz frozen berries (raspberry,blackberry,strawberry)
2 T 0% greek yogurt
1/3 c. sweetened almond milk
1 t. sunflower butter

Spice Up Your Apartment

A decorative box on the toilet holds extra shower gel, lotion, air freshener and a candle.

A short string of paper lights brightens up a boring corner.

When you look into the hall, there was just a blank wall. Hence, artwork by my sister!

Pictures of my roommate and I with our friends and family.

We used mini-clothespins and twine to hang the pictures for a simplistic feel. (Quarter is for size reference)

Best Cookies Ever.

Since I moved into my first apartment last fall, I have been trying to establish my "go-to" recipes, and I have finally found my "go-to" chocolate chip cookies!

These cookies are soft chewy and thick. Of course, feel free to add in some extra chocolate chips, like I did :-)
Also, a little tip... to keep your cookies from getting hard after a couple days, put them in an airtight container with a piece of bread. The cookies absorb the moisture from the bread.

 

Awesome site!!

I just found this awesome site called whatshouldireadnext.com. You type in the name of a book you loved, click the link that shows up that describes that same book, then you get a list of titles that are similar to the book. It's super easy to use, and it gives you a link to where you can buy the book (usually an amazon.com link.) I'm about to spend a lot of money :-))

I heart knitting

When I was a little girl, my great grandmother taught me how to knit a basic washcloth. Since then, I'd forgotten, but over the weekend I asked my mom to refresh me. My grandmother has passed away, but she left my mother handwritten directions for knitting a washcloth. We sat down, and I have a little over half of the washcloth done. My dream is to one day knit the blanket below. This one was from Anthropology, but I couldn't find it on their site, so it must have sold out. I have seen an identical version handmade by a woman on Etsy, but I couldn't find it. She even had a pattern that she sold. I will find that pattern and make that blanket.