A Few of My Favorite Beauty + Bath Products

The boys have been on spring break this week, as usual, we opted for a stay-cation.  We tend to save our airfare dollars for our summer vacations when we can stay somewhere longer than a week, and the thought of a road trip makes me tense up and want to cry.  Living in the Midwest means you have to drive FAR to make it to warm temperatures and ocean waters.  I have lots of admiration for all my friends that make the drive every spring break.  I wish I had the stamina required, but I don't.  There are some benefits of staying home too.  There is no rushing around, bed times go smoothly because we are in our own home,  and we make an effort to get out and enjoy things in our own city.  This week we went to Columbus, Ohio for a couple days (a short car drive I can handle) and it was perfect.  The kids loved staying in a hotel, we ate out at great restaurants (bonus for me), shopped where they had a big Lego store (bonus for the boys), and spent a really fun day at a children's science museum.  It was just enough for all of us to do something a little out of the ordinary.  In our day of shopping, I stocked up on some old and new favorite beauty products and thought I would share them, just in case any of you are looking to switch it up or experiment in that department...

^^ I am a big fan of the Citrus line of Fresh body lotions and shower gels, especially for spring + summer.  I picked up this lip polish while in line at Sephora and I'm addicted.  I've used it daily even though it suggests 2x per week. Your lips feel amazing afterwards! ^^

^^ Speaking of lip care, I've gotten a number of requests to share my lipstick color. (thank you, by the way, even though questions like that always give me a little chuckle.)  I have not been purposefully evasive, I just hadn't had a chance to jot down the colors.  I actually combine 3 different shades to get the one you see here. (Why does Clinique keep discontinuing my favorites??)  I start with Covergirl Outlast Lipcolor in 625 (Sun Kissed), then add just a tiny dab of Covergirl 542 (Brazen Raisin).  I only apply the CG colors once, in the morning, then I use Clinique's Long Last Glosswear in Fireberry throughout the day.  I find the CG gives enough color to last all day but it can be drying on its own and I like a glossy finish.  See?  Not a simple answer. Ha. ^^

^^ Last summer when we had a layover in Michigan, I was killing time at a L'Occitane store and picked up this exfoliator.  I loved it so much, that I've used it weekly ever since and it leaves my skin super soft, refreshed, and dare I say, glowing?  Again, I could use it daily, but I stick with the recommended 2-3x per week.   For years (since age 12) my skincare routine was Dove + Olay, but I'm learning that there really are some incredible products out there that make a noticeable difference in my skin tone and overall appearance.  I fear I'm heading down the path of beauty product junkie, which I always prided myself on avoiding, thinking it was all just hype.  My Nana swore by her Olay and she had beautiful skin, but I think that might have had more to do with her avoiding the sun.  Which I don't.  However, I still like to keep my routine simple, I've just switched things out for what I feel are better suited products for this stage in my life.  I added the accompanying Immortelle Brightening Moisturizer this week and so far it is equally impressive.^^

We took Payton (our dear neighbor + friend) along with us to Columbus.  She is a 12 year old shop-a-holic.  After 6 hours of shopping, I was ready to just plop down with a Starbucks, but she kept me going.  It worked out well, because the boys went back to the hotel and put together new Lego sets,

while we shopped wherever we wanted.  I introduced her to the joys of the Paper Source (why oh why, do we not have one in Cincinnati yet?!?!) and she introduced me to a very cool bath store called Lush.   I have seen their products in department stores, but I had never looked very closely.  I thought it was all just soaps that looked a bit like sidewalk chalk.  While they have soaps, they seem to be known for their "bath bombs."  These giant balls of scented and sparkly goodness you drop in the tub.  Some fizz, some bubble, some just condition.  I might have bought a few too many because I knew Charlie was going to love to experiment and sometimes he's not super excited for bath time.  We've already tried a couple and OH MY GOODNESS do they smell incredible!!!  The whole bathroom smelled heavenly, and while the bath water turned a vibrant lavender color, there was absolutely no residue left when the water was drained.  I couldn't resist picking up a few for Easter baskets too, since they had some spring ones just for that occasion.

^^You swirl around one carrot to make a bubble bath and they are reusable^^

^^They describe these golden eggs as "sweet honey-toffee bath bombs dipped in creamy, moisturizing cocoa butter" Yeah, think I'll save these for me. :) All the Easter products can be ordered online, here.^^

(bathroom image sources can be found my bathroom pinterest board)