fall faves

I haven't fallen this hard for a product in a while. My moisturizer is meh, and I rotate cleansers constantly...I'm content with all of them, I just like to try new products. Basically, I like to keep my skin guessing. Anyway, I recently tried Sunday Riley's Good Genes and oh my heaven's do I wish I had skin like this all the time and I wish I could afford it! This is a product that my skin loves and it's obvious when I haven't used it...so I guess it needs to stay in the routine! It's a nighttime serum that is primarily a 30% lactic acid. Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy (think: glycolic) but because it is derived from milk, it's the gentlest of all the AHA's. That's why a 30% isn't such a scary amount when it's a gentler ingredient from the get-go. But if you're super sensitive you can apply it a couple times a week and leave on for a few minutes, then rinse. I personally use it about 4-5x a week (without rinsing it off), put a moisturizer on over it and go to bed. I wake up with skin that is clearer, more even, pores are tighter and fine lines are harder to see. Now you see why I love this product?

Ole Henricksen Empower Me Cleanser is a gentle, creamy foaming cleanser. When the weather turns cold I know my skin needs more moisture so I like that this doesn't strip my skin of it's hydration. It's also pH balanced, so it has a built-in toner and technically removes makeup too. Oh, it also smells fabulous!

I know the EOS Shave Cream is a bit random here, but I'm really crazy about this lately. I've used it all summer long and it's a rich cream that doesn't lather (unlike most shave creams that foam) so a little goes a long way. I get such a smooth shave when I use this, and my legs feel so soft and hydrated that I probably don't even need body lotion after.

The Peter Thomas Roth Blue Marine Algae Mask is a lovely mask that makes my skin feel cushioney soft and plump with hydration. It's a gel mask that is loaded with algae and hyaluronic acid, which infuses dehydrated skin with loads of moisture. This is also great at calming inflammation and can be used 2-3 times a week, or everyday if needed. And in the winter, it might just be needed everyday.

So now that the season has changed, do you change your skincare products too? I'd love to hear what your using!

Perfecting your pout

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Thank you again Blog Better Boston for featuring this post (along with 7 other fab bloggers) for the {hub}links round-up about all things love.  

I don't know about you, but I love kissing and if you've got dry lips, you might have loved ones questioning whether they want to kiss you or not... and that should never happen. Because every day should be a kissable day, there's no excuse to have scaly, peeling lips. Also, if you like to wear a dramatic lip color, your dry lips become even more obvious- and then you go from wanting to look polished to looking like you stopped drinking water and moved to an arid climate.

If you've never exfoliated your lips, you're going to love it! The scrubbing action makes them feel slightly tingly and it's equally as nice removing that texture.

And then the magic happens. Once you apply a hydrating lip balm/ moisturizer your lips are truly buttah. They're like a slip n' slide of satiny perfection and you won't be able to stop rubbing them together. So here's the two step process for perfectly kissable lips:

Step 1: Exfoliate

Fresh sugar lip polish/ Lush popcorn lip scrub/ e.l.f. lip exfoliator/ tarte maracuja lip exfoliant/ Bite Beauty whipped cherry lip scrub

~ Just like exfoliating your face, you'll only need to exfoliate your lips 2-3x a week, at most. It's best to exfoliate your lips in the morning so your lips are soft all day. Just take a tiny amount of the lip scrub (half the size of a pea should work) and with your index finger, rub the scrub not only on your lips but the skin around your lips too. Rinse or tissue off any excess. Keep the lip scrub near your sink, or where you do your makeup, to act as a reminder. 

Step 2. Moisturize

EOS organic lip balm sphere/ Kiehl's lip balm #1/ Josie Maran argan lip treatment/
Sephora Collection super nourishing lip balm/ Jack Black intense therapy lip balm/ Neutrogena Norwegian formula lip moisturizer SPF 15/ Dior creme de rose smoothing plumping lip balm

~ Immediately after exfoliating, you'll apply the hydrating lip balm. For really dry lips (especially in the winter) have a stash of lip balms in all sorts of places- in your nightstand, purse, desk at work, car, diaper bag, etc. That way, you'll be able to maintain the benefits of your lip exfoliation. If you want to apply a lip color afterwards, just fold a tissue in half and "blot" or press your lips gently onto the tissue to remove some of the lip balm (don't rub it off though, that defeats the purpose).

You'll love how soft your lips feel, and hopefully, others will too!

Beauty Fixation: November

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You guys, this is seriously a favorite of mine. The ~H2O+ hand and foot smoother has been my go-to foot cream for close to a decade (I typically buy 3-4 at a time to always have a stock-pile). It's got a blend of Alpha Hydroxy Acids so it actually exfoliates and hydrates. It's not too heavy for a foot cream, which helps it absorb really well.

top/ bottom (sorry for the graininess of the images)

Don't get me wrong, I still need to exfoliate my feet with a foot scrub and pedi file, but I don't need to do it that often- maybe once a month (more in the summer though). I put the foot cream on every day, after my shower. When your skin is slightly damp everything absorbs really well (same rule applies for your face & body) so apply right after the shower and it'll work even better! I am also a slipper fanatic (I currently have 3 in my everyday rotation- yes I just realized how much of a crazy person that makes me!) and I always reserve one pair for my foot cream (they never leave the bathroom). The slippers help keep the foot moisturizer from smearing all over the bathroom floor, keeping it on my feet instead!

Any foot products you've had success with?