February Loves | Beauty Edition

Good morning friends and happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you get spoiled rotten even if you’re not big on the day.  I’m all about treating the kids and don’t mind a little something for myself also! 😉

It’s time for my Monthly Loves and this one is focused solely on my beauty favorites!  It’s basically a ‘Ride or Die’ list of my beauty Must Haves that I swear by and use all the time.  This post isn’t sponsored, it just my very favorites, and many of them are drugstore finds!

FEBRUARY LOVES | BEAUTY EDITION

February Loves Beauty Edition

FACE

Radiant Cleansing Balm

If you’ve been here for any length of time, you know I swear by the radiant cleansing balm for cleansing my face every day. I use it morning and night and it feels like a mini spa facial every day. The cleanser is a rich, beautiful smelling balm that you rub into your face while it’s still dry.  Then, you wet the muslin cloth that it comes with and use it to remove all the dirt, debris, and make up from your face. The cloth is soft enough to be gentle on your skin, but has an exfoliating quality that leaves your skin feeling fresh and new with each use.

p.s. Colleen Rothschild’s Customer Appreciation Sale is going on now! Get $50 off your $150 purchase with code: CAS50 

Face Oil No. 9

I use a lot of Colleen Rothschild products, but one thing I cannot live without is the face oil No 9. It sounds counterintuitive to put an oil on your face, especially one like mine that is sensitive and breaks out easily with certain products. But, my skin absolutely loves this face oil and drinks it in! Especially during the winter, I use it every night. A couple drops in my hand does the trick and I rub it all over my face, neck, hands and cuticles.

Matcha Tea Toner

This Matcha tea toner is a new product that I’ve recently fallen in love with. Many years ago, I used to use Seabreeze astringent to clean my face because I felt like it really did the job especially after a sweaty workout. Now, I realize I don’t need that harsh stuff. This Matcha tea toner is gentle and soothing and smells divine.  It’s designed to absorb excess oil, while minimizing the look of pores.

St. Ives Acne Control Face Scrub

Now for a drugstore facial cleanser, I like the Saint Ives acne control scrub when my skin was experiencing breakouts. I haven’t needed to use it in a long time, but it really works to help clear acne prone skin.  I used to use it twice a day, morning and night, and it wasn’t too harsh.  If your skin is breaking out, I highly recommend giving this a try!

The packaging recently got a new look, but just make sure to get the one that says ‘acne control’ with 2% salicylic acid.

Mally Poreless Perfection Foundation (Powder)

Speaking of breakouts, I don’t typically wear foundation for that reason. But, I like a powder that makes your skin look all smooth and perfect, like you were wearing a foundation.

I found this powder at Henri Bendel about 10 years ago and have stuck with it ever since. Along the way, I have tried other powders because this one is hard to find and I can usually only get it on Amazon, but the finish is exquisite, it doesn’t break out my face and  The color matches my skin perfectly. I use “Fair”.

LIPS

Burt’s Bees Kissable Color

Our annual favorite things party is a treasure trove for discovering new products. My friend and photographer Tisha brought this Burt’s Bees Kissable Color lipsticks one year and I was the lucky recipient! They are perfect for adding a hint of color while keeping your lips moisturized.

TEETH

Moving onto teeth, I think it’s so important to have a confident smile. When I was younger, my teeth were a hot mess (think buck teeth and spaced apart with fangs) and too big for my face. I remember being teased, and felt so embarrassed of my teeth.  Finally, when I turned about 15 I got braces and my teeth straightened out.  I have a few things I recommend to keep your teeth clean and white! (Aside from regular dental visits!  I  worked at a dental office in high school and now I’m religious about cleanings twice a year!).

Charcoal Whitening Powder & Black Toothbrush 

Y’all know I’m a coffee lover, which can end up leaving your teeth stains and dingy, so once in a while I use this charcoal whitening powder and it really does the trick to whiten and brighten your smile. The charcoal is a fine powder and I use this soft black toothbrush to gently brush my teeth with it. I especially like it because it doesn’t make your teeth feel sensitive after using it. The only downside is you probably need to floss afterwards because the fine charcoal powder can get in between your teeth.

Crest Whitestrips

If you don’t want to use the powder, today’s crest white strips really work wonders too! They stick to your teeth really well while you’re wearing them and after just a couple of uses, you will notice visibly whiter teeth!  I feel like you do have to be careful with these if you have sensitive teeth and not leave them on for the whole 30 minutes.

Oral B Electric Toothbrush

My dentist recommended I start using an electric toothbrush and only with gentle pressure because it seems I was actually brushing too hard. I found this fancy, rose gold gold electric toothbrush on Amazon and I absolutely love it! It has different settings (daily clean, gum care, sensitive, whitening and pro clean) and also buzzes after 30 seconds so you know when to move on from each quadrant of your mouth to get a full 2 minutes of brushing in.

EYES

This post would be way too long if I got into all of my make up favorites, but let’s just say lashes and mascara are my top priority when it comes to getting ready in the morning. Even if I don’t put on anything else, I usually wear mascara to wake up my face and make me look alive!

Neulash

The new lash growth serum literally changed my lashes from damaged and broken to full and thick again. I used to wear lash extensions and I loved the look of them, but hated the cost and time involved with keeping them up. I was also the type of person that pulled out the lashes when they started getting loose and you are definitely not supposed to do that. When I finally pulled out every lash extension, to my horror, I was left with barely any lashes!

I had heard great reviews about Neulash serum, so I invested in a tube and started wearing it every night. You put on the clear serum like a liquid eyeliner on your top lash line and it goes on odorless and colorless. Your lashes just feel a bit wet for a minute. You are supposed to blink a couple times to distribute the product onto your lower lashes as well. After a couple months I noticed a huge difference, and even though my lashes are full now, since the tube lasts forever I still use it!

Diorshow Maximizer Lash Primer

One thing that makes a huge difference in the look of your lashes is putting on a lash primer before you apply mascara. I promise you, this is a total game changer! I cannot recommend it enough and it’s not one of those up sells that doesn’t make any difference. The best lash primer I found is this one by Dior. It goes on white just like you apply your mascara but then dries clear. It coats each lash making them look fuller and longer in preparation for applying your mascara.

Charlotte Tibury Full Fat LashesMascara

As for mascara, I have probably three favorites, but the Charlotte Tilbury full fat lashes mascara is the one I’ve been using lately and I really love it!  Use this in combination with the Dior lash primer and you’ll have lashes for days!

False Lashes

For photo shoots or special occasions, I like to up the lash auntie with false lashes. Once you get the hang of putting them on it’s super easy! But, unless you want to be super dramatic, you really don’t need a lot of lash in your falsies. I prefer this type of false lash just gives you a little something extra without making you look like you’re wearing fake lashes.

HAIR

Now onto hair! Again, I could expand on this with all of my favorite products but in the interest of keeping this from becoming a novel, I’ll just share my top three.

Batiste Dry Shampoo

Y’all will not believe this, but I’ve become a total convert to only washing my hair about every four days. I used to be a daily washer for years until I actually realize my hair looks better on day two and three, and it saves so much time without having to wash and dry every day. Even with my sweaty workouts, I can get away with just wetting the front in the shower and drying it and then applying a dry shampoo.

I’ve tried several dry shampoos and the one I always come back to is Batiste.  It’s the one I can use for several days in a row and it never feels like it’s getting built up in my head and always makes me feel fresh. I spray it in to my roots in different sections and let it sit for a little bit and then work it in with my hands and finally brush it through.

I’ve also been experimenting with putting it on at night and wearing it to sleep and that seems to work well also, because you wake up in the morning and your hair doesn’t feel greasy at all.

Wet Brush

I’ve always had the kind of hair that gets super tangly and I could not live without my wet brush! I use it on both wet and dry hair and it gets the tangles out so easily. I usually start at the ends of my hair and work my way up to my scalp. I even have a mini wet brush for Jordan‘s hair. She hates getting her hair brushed, but I go slowly and tell her I’ll do it gently, sometimes I even give her a lollipop while I do it to distract her!

It’s A 10 Miracle Leave In

Out of the shower when my hair is wet, I always spray it’s a 10 Miracle product into my wet hair and that helps detangle it also. It’s also a heat protectant, which you definitely need to use especially if you apply heat to your hair. I usually blow dry mind and use a curling wand, and I’ve been using a straightener at the ends so my hair does get a lot of heat. That’s also one of the reasons why I like to go longer between washings, so my hair is not subjected to the blow dryer every day.

BODY

Curel ‘Daily Healing’ Lotion

Can I tell you my very favorite drugstore product?! It’s Curel body lotion! It’s my absolute favorite, even among all of the fancy ones with fragrance. I actually love that this Curel barely has any scent, it just smells fresh.  It goes on smooth and is very moisturizing, but doesn’t leave your body feeling oily or greasy. I put it all over my entire body after every shower and it keeps my skin moisturized and soft.  I also use it on my hands all day long, especially after washing them. You can’t beat it!

SLEEP

Olly Restful Sleep

Finally, although not an actual beauty product, sleep is so important to making us look and feel great. I know when I am not rested, I’m a bear! If I need help falling asleep or know I need to get to bed early, I will take one sleep gummy and it helps me fall asleep gradually within about 30 minutes. If I take two, the dosage recommended, I will be knocked out within about 15 minutes. I don’t like that because I feel like it hits me too hard, so I just stick with one.

I don’t take this too often, but they help in a pinch. If I want to go to bed very early, I will take one around 8 o’clock. That’s after Jordan is already asleep and right before James’s bedtime, so that I’m asleep when the kids go to sleep. Then, I have no problem waking up feeling refreshed at 5 AM.

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Okay guys, I could go on and on! If you guys want, I could expand on this list in the future! I really enjoyed sharing my favorites with you! 

What are your Must Haves?  Did any of mine top your own list?

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

18 Comments

  1. I loved this post too! You can’t beat a good beauty favs list and this is a good one! I plan to try the body lotion for my teen kids dry winter skin.

  2. I’m trying to figure out dry shampoo (lol). It would be great to see a post/instastory about how you do your hair with dry shampoo, particularly when it’s curled already. 🙂

  3. Loved this post! Please share more… I ordered the eyelashes to give them a try! I’m getting married and want come extra umph for my wedding day, but don’t want to look too fake! I’m going to try the lotion too 🙂

  4. I would love to hear about more products. I have never heard about the charcoal teeth whitening powder – never used anything whitening because of sensitivity. I’m going to try this product, than you!?

  5. Love this mix of products and looking forward to trying rhe charcoal powder and false eyelashes! And I love that I can introduce my 13 yr old to sone of these too (without making me go broke!?)!

  6. I ordered the Mally powder because I am always looking for a powder to just lightly blot over my tinted sunscreen. I am fifty two and have some rosacea so the redness bothers me because I never had it when I was younger. The package came and was sitting on my counter and my nineteen year old make-up loving daughter saw it and asked what it was. I told her and she grabbed it skeptically because she thinks she has more knowledge of these things:) She opened it and wanted to try it out on me, and I let her but was worried I would have to hear that I wasted my money. Her words were “this is really good” and “your skin looks like a doll”. That one thrilled me because I used to hear that when I was her age. I told her I was pretty sure it would be good because this blogger has never disappointed in her recommendations(that sports bra saved me, and more…). Thank you!

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