Organic/ Natural Skincare

Hey y'all!
Im back!! I am so sorry I took such a long break. Unfortunately we still don't have internet up at the beach, and things have just been crazy since spring break (excuses, excuses..), however I am back now! I have lots of things to update y'all on, however I thought I would start off with a little rant.
So, I generally eat relatively healthy, and I try to make sure that I am putting natural/ organic things into my body. I have recently been on the search for some natural skincare that actually works, because I am trying to cut as much harmful chemicals out of my life as possible (I know, some of you will not agree with this, but each to their own!), so I decided to research some skincare companies/ products.
I have raved about mario badescu for a while, and don't get me wrong, I love the company for the most part! I use their aloe toner which is all natural, and it contains only aloe, water, and (????) something I cant remember right now (sorry!). However, I decided to research some of their moisturizers and I stumbled upon a sight that tells you all of the ingredients in a product, as well as the health risks associated with those ingredients. Turns out, "natural" isn't always better...The Mario Badescu night cream that I had been using actually contains ingredients that have been banned in Europe, as well as multiple ingredients that cause "organ toxicity". When I researched my 7$ cetaphil cream however, I found that it contains only two or three ingredients that had health concerns related to them. I would highly encourage anyone who is a health nut like me to actually do some research on the products that you use! I have linked the site I used below and I think that it is a great tool. I also wanted to not though, that it is important to look at other resources and actually google the ingredients that may be considered harmful! Some of these ingredients are also used in food, or other things that we ingest, and so they are not harmful if used in skincare, but you may want to avoid them when it comes to your food!
I hope everyone has had an amazing week and I am so happy for it to finally be the weekend :)
Have a wonderful evening :)\
xo Kaitlyn


heres a link to the site I used:
http://www.goodguide.com/

DIY Lip Scrub and My Favorite Lip Exfoliants

In honor of valentines day, I thought that I would do a post about my favorite lip products to keep your lips looking flawless and kissable!

Exfoliating your lips at least weekly is something that I cannot stress enough! However, there are multiple ways that you can do this. If you want to go with a cheap alternative, (which doesn't work quite as well as the products that I will be recommending, however it is a fantastic alternative, especially when you are looking for ways to save some money) I would recommend putting a petroleum free jelly (basically like vaseline without the petroleum) on your lips for about 15-20 minutes to let it sink in. After that take an old tooth brush and scrub off the balm as well as any dead skin cells. If you have time I would recommend taking some sort of vegetable/argan/olive oil and mixing it with sugar and scrubbing it on your lips, then leave it there for about ten minutes. After that you can scrub it off with a tooth brush again, and then immediately put a lip balm on.

If you are going for a more luxurious lip scrub I would highly recommend Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub. I can't even begin to explain to you how heavenly this stuff smells! This is  my favorite lip exfoliant of all time, however because it is relatively expensive ($22.50) I generally only use it when I  really want to pamper myself.  Another amazing aspect of this product and the whole company in general is that it is all natural. You can use it the exact same way as the DIY lip scrub that I mentioned before, and once again just remember to put a lip balm on after scrubbing it off!

Some other amazing and not as expensive lip scrubs are from the company Lush. This is one of my favorite companies because everything is hand made and all natural. All of the ingredients (I think there are like 5-10 in each one, and all of them something that I can actually pronounce and know what it is) are all natural and listed directly below the product. The only downside to this product is it is not as widely available as the fresh products, however you can find them on their website (which I have linked below),  and they seem to be opening quite a few new stores. They finally opened one near me (yay!). The Lush scrubs are also half the price of the fresh sugar lip scrub at around $10.00. My personal favorite "flavor" is the Mint Julips, however it aslo comes in bubble gum, and sweet lips (which, as the name implies, has sort of a sweet vanilla-y scent). Best part is, you don't have to feel bad when you "accidentally" eat some of it while it's on your lips!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful valentines day! Just remember this day is about celebrating love, whether it be celebrating the love you have for your boyfriend/ significant other, or celebrating love for your family, friends, cat, dog, or even makeup! Today, I am celebrating my love of makeup and my friends (as well as my love for chocolate!) Hope everything is going well for all of you, and if you have any requests or any products that you would like me to review let me know!
Have a wonderful evening/ day :) and happy valentines day!
XO kaitlyn



WHERE TO GET FRESH PRODUCTS: www.sephora.com/fresh, www.fresh.com
WHERE TO GET LUSH PRODUCTS: www.lush.com

Best Lip Balms For Dry, Chapped Lips

I thought that I would just continue on with the whole "kissable lips" theme and talk to you a little bit today about my favorite lip balms and treatments.

My top favorite lip balm of all time is the Fresh Sugar Lip Balms. They come in about every color imaginable and they are great for dry, cracking lips. They also smell amazing! From the name you would think that they smell sort of vanilla/sugary, however they have a very fresh citrusy scent. Like the Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub that I mentioned in an earlier post, it is on the pricier side at $22.50, however I think it is well worth it! Also, if you are a sucker for packaging like me, the packaging is absolutely beautiful! It also has a twist top so if you accidentally forget and send it through the washer/dryer, or if you leave it in a hot car, theres no chance of it melting and leaking out all over your clothes or your car. Fresh also has a treatment balm, which honestly works miracles. I would highly recommend it for those of you with extremely dry lips and its great for people on Accutane.  I purchase mine from sephora, however you can also get it from the fresh website.
My next favorite, and substantially less expensive, lip balm is the Vitamin E Stick by Reviva Labs. I was hesitant about posting this on here because it can be difficult to get ahold of. The only place that I have found it is Whole Foods. If you can get your hands on it though, I would highly recommend it! It has a very different consistency on the lips than the fresh sugar lip balm. As soon as it is on the lips, it is very similar to putting straight olive oil on your lips. It also seems to have that olive oily taste/ smell. I could see how this could be irritating to some people, but I personally dont mind it. If you are going to put this on before your lipstick ( I would highly recommend putting some sort of balm on before any other lip products), I would make sure that it has completely sunk into your lips, and I would recommend wiping off any the excess oils from your lips before you apply your lipstick. If you just leave it on, your lipstick will most likely fade off within about an hour. As I mentioned before, this product is significantly less than the fresh lip balm, and the last time I bought the product I believe it was somewhere between $3.00-$4.00.
I have tried about every lip balm imaginable, and these two are by far the best! If you have any questions for me or anything that you would like to see a review on please let me know!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day :)
XO Kaitlyn

Chanel Vitalumiére Aqua

I have been searching forever for a medium coverage foundation that actually looks like skin and doesn't get caky or greasy throughout the day, and I have finally found it! Vitalumiére Aqua is one of Chanel's newer foundations, and it is also one of the more affordable Chanel foundations at $45.  This is one of the new oil free, water based foundations that seams to be increasingly on the rise. The product gives an incredibly lightweight and natural finish, although it still gives you a medium coverage. As soon as the product is on your face, you can't tell that you are wearing any foundational at all. This is especially great for people who have larger pores because this foundation smoothes right over them instead of settling into them and making every pore and fine line more visible. The finish reminds me a lot of Origins VitaZing (amazing product!) or Mac's Mineralized Skinfinish Natural. I have extremely sensitive skin, and this is one of the only Chanel foundations that does not break me out or cause my skin to become dry and flakey. My skin is combination dry, and I find that this does not cling to my dry skin or become super greasy looking throughout the day. One thing that you must keep in mind though, is that because this is a water based foundation you MUST shake it well before use, otherwise you will end up with water lumpy product instead of the smooth consistency that you were expecting. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone with combination oily to dry skin, and this has become my new holy grail foundation! 

Cost: 45$

Finish: Natural

Coverage: Light to Medium

Best Suited For: Combination Oily- Dry. I would not suggest this foundation for those with extremely oily skin, and it may sit on the skin slightly more for those with very dry skin.

Comparable to: A fuller coverage BB cream (Beauty Balm) or tinted moisturizer. Same finish as the Origins Vitazing or Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural.  

Would You Recommend This Product?: YES!!!

Overall Rating: 4.8/5

Product Available From: Chanel, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.

Origins Vitazing

I fell absolutely in love with this product when I first tried it about a year ago. VitaZing is a fantastic oil free moisturizer that starts out white, but then as you rub it into your skin, it reacts with your natural pigmentation and turns into the perfect tint for your skin giving you a beautiful sun kissed glow. It will even out your skin tone and I feel that it also really helps reduce some of the redness that I have around my chin. I was a bit skeptical at first because I am so fair  (I have a hard time finding a foundation pale enough for my skin) and I was worried that this would make my skin look orangey or like I had a bad fake tan, however I was pleasantly surprised. If you are as fair as I am (Mac NC 15 or paler) you are going to need to blend it down your neck to make sure that you don't have any harsh lines but it truly is a beautiful product. I think that it goes on best with my hands ( just because I feel that it is faster), although I occasionally will use a stippling brush to apply it. In the summer when I have a tan and my skin is looking better I generally use this as my regular foundation because it evens out my skin tone and you can't tell that I am wearing anything on my face at all. In the winter when I am paler, I generally wear this as my daily moisturizer and then set it with a light pressed powder such Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural, or if I am going for a more full coverage look I will use Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, both of which I highly recommend.This product definitely doesn't break me out, and if anything I think that it actually makes my skin become clearer.This is also fantastic in the way that although it does have an SPF of 15, it doesn't seem to have the casper effect in photography (when wearing a foundation with SPF, flash photography can make it so that wherever you put your foundation looks about 5 shades lighter than it looks in real life which is never a good look!).  This product also has a really pleasant almost minty sort of smell. I would definitely recommend this product, and if you have an origins store near you, it is definitely worth going and testing it out.

Cost: $35

Finish: Natural

Coverage: Light

Best Suited For: All skin types

Comparable to: It is a very unique product. I can't compare it to anything else I have ever tried.

Would You Recommend This Product?: YES!!!

Overall Rating: 5/5