While packing for our Labor Day mini-vacation last week, I noticed something slightly alarming. The amount of facial products I use could warrant their own suitcase and I am not even including my make-up. Take a look at my daily regimen…
12 different products.
The only one I don’t use every single day is the apricot scrub. Funny, because that is one of the cheapest.
Here are the products I use in the morning. Granted, I do not use them all at once but all are utilized by 10 am.
I always begin with the Witch Hazel. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed is wipe the night time oil build-up off with my trusty and inexpensive witch hazel. It immediately refreshes me. I really don’t like to splash cold water on my face at 5:30 am.
Pre-workout and depending on greasiness factor, I will wash my face with Neutrogena Naturals. It’s a nice, gentle cleanser that doesn’t dry my face out. If the children made an appearance in my bed the night before I will gently pat (read: slather) on Zirh herbal eye cream to cut down on the puffiness.
After my workout, I will wash my face again and may use the apricot scrub. I then immediately apply my recently prescribed clindamycin phosphate topical gel because for the past several months I have been getting these super annoying cystic acnes. They are painful and unsightly. I don’t do unsightly so my dermatologist kindly found me a solution. So far, it’s been working out.
When that dries, I apply my Obagi Vitamin C serum on my forehead, crows feet, cheeks and neck. My absolute favorite product.
Lastly, I combine my Aveeno SPF 15 moisturizer with my Laura Mercier SPF 20 tinted moisturizer and start my day. Combined does that give me an SPF of 30? These are the things I ponder.
Now for my nightly ritual:
I take my time with my night products. I begin by washing my face. Because I am a greasy little creature, I end up washing my face 3 times a day. That is why the Neutrogena Naturals works well with my skin. Finding a good cleanser has been a long, hard road. I am also a fan of the Obagi cleanser but that’s not always in the budget.
Next, I apply a combination of Obagi Skin Bleaching Cream in Clear with Obagi Trtinoin Cream (Retin-A). These two products help reduce the appearance of freckles and uneven skin tones. I have been using this combo for a couple months and am very pleased. It’s not drying out my face or cracking my lips like other Retin-A’s have in the past.
I finish by applying Vivite Night Renewal and Vivite Revitalizing Eye Cream. Both are very thick so I only use small amounts. Vivite is expensive BUT it lasts forever. I have been using these two products for 6 months and I am only half way through the jars. Something to note is that I take the majority of all my products down into the neck area. Never neglect the neck!
So, that’s my routine. Is your’s more or less intensive?? I would love to hear what you do to stay beautiful.
Written by Lea Barlow •
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I have run into my first obstacle of the new school year. Breakfast. Over the summer, breakfast wasn’t an issue because our mornings were long and unstructured. Breakfast was served when they were hungry and they had a solid hour to finish it. Now we have to be out the door at 8:25 and they conveniently do not want to eat until 8:15. So what’s a mom to do? Skipping the most important meal of the day is not an option unless I want my children acting like Linda Blair from the Exorcist at school pick-up. That makes a 5 minute drive home seem more like a 5 hour drive home. Below is what I have stocked up on for quick, easy and healthy breakfasts. No recipes. I’ll save the fancy cooking for the weekend. *Prep time is based on serving 2 toddlers*
Breakfast #1
2 hard boiled or scrambled eggs
Fresh fruit like strawberries, grapes or watermelon
1 piece of toast
Glass of orange juice
Prep Time: 5 minutes (Make sure to hard boil the eggs the night before)
Breakfast #2
Triangle toasts with Almond Butter
Top with sliced bananas, strawberries or apples
2 microwavable links of Applegate Farms sausage
Glass of low-fat milk
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Breakfast #3
Fruit Smoothie
Half a bag of frozen fruit (I use the berry combos)
Stoneyfield Organic Vanilla Yogurt
A splash of apple juice
Add a little ice and blend
You may notice I do not use any real measurements. I wing it on the smoothies. It’s not like I am being reviewed by Bon Appetit.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Breakfast #4
Fresh Muesli
Plain low-fat yogurt
Organic granola
Fresh blueberries
Prep Time: 3 minutes
When the weather gets less suffocating I will be re-introducing Organic Instant Oatmeal with Flax combined with fresh fruit. Oatmeal is a fantastic breakfast option. Just stay away from all of the ones with added sugar. Hope these ideas help your own hectic mornings!
Written by Lea Barlow •
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This is a very special school year. It is the last year the kiddos will be in preschool together. Next year, the big girl goes off to kindergarten. While I was anxious for school to begin being that this was the longest summer in history, I was still pretty choked up at today’s drop-off. It’s the little moments that are truly the sweetest. Here is a snapshot of our morning…
This is the 3rd year I have decorated Tennison’s bag. She picks out the patches and mama irons them on. It only took 3 hours, $60 and 2 trips to the craft store to complete. I secretly relish it.
Thanks to Scott, Grayson has the coolest bag in class.
We went through all of her new dresses until she decided on the pink polo with matching headband. Very preppy. Tomorrow it’s her edgy black dress with striped leggings and a bejeweled headband. The girl’s got style.
The most adorable children. Ever.
Daddy Love.
Reunion #1. So happy.
Reunion #2.
Here’s to a memorable year!
Written by Lea Barlow •
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2011 has been an extremely challenging year for me. I feel guilty even writing those words because life could be so much harder. We are all healthy, fed, nicely clothed and comfortably sheltered. But the discontent coursing through me is still palpable. This isn’t an Eat Pray Love moment. I am not trying to find myself. I know who I am. My discontent stems from one word – uncertainty. Our family has been in a transition period for almost a year. Unfortunately, no one knows what or where we are transitioning to. Living in this constant state of flux has started to take its toll on me. The stress is causing my hair to literally fall out of my head, my menstrual cycle is unrecognizable and my brain is totally scattered. Knowing the physical stuff is nothing to mess around with I recently began acupuncture and an herbal supplement. Just taking that step made me feel better. My mental state is a whole other animal. Here is what I am sure of: Everything will work out. It always does. It works out because I make it so. I do not fail. I have to admit though this is the longest I have gone using positive affirmations to get me by. Last week I hit my limit. I needed an outside party to tell me I was correct. While some people will go to their priest or pastor I opted to go to a psychic. Having never been before I did a little research before heading out the door. Basically, there are 3 rules. 1. Keep your mouth shut. 2. Be open-minded. 3. Beware of the frauds. These are pretty easy to spot. Typically, they will try to get you on the weekly reading plan and charge you lots of money for taking a horrible curse off you. I tried my hardest to not break Rule #1 but ended up failing miserably at keeping my mouth shut. Frankly, I didn’t care. I wanted to talk. I needed to get this stuff of my chest to someone who would not judge or argue with me. Someone to affirm that I am doing the right thing and that everything is going to be ok. The psychic said my future looks very bright. And you know what? I didn’t NEED a psychic to tell me that. I know it will work out but it felt so good to hear someone else say it. Well worth the $20.
*Okay, okay. You probably want some details on what she actually told me. Give me a couple weeks. I want to see if any of it pans out…*
Written by Lea Barlow •
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