Since I have nothing better to occupy my mind, I will post after all, about my Valentine’s day…or my gift to be more precise.
My Valentine’s day pretty well sucked, as in it was the worst day I have had in years…but I did get a great gift from The Man that is not only really nice, but helping me heal.
The Healing Garden ZZZTherapy has been a favorite line of mine for a while. The Bath Soak is just about the most relaxing bath ever. Sadly, it is discontinued, but I still have some left and enjoy it often. The Scent of Vanilla, Orange Blossom and Chamomile is so pretty and soothing, perfect for a long hot evening bath.
My man got me a set that includes the Body Wash, Moisture Lotion and Body Spray. Tonight I bathed in the Soak, Showered off with the Wash, and then used the lotion. My skin smells sweet and sexy, feels satiny smooth, and I feel camm and relaxed (though that may also be the Bailey’s).
I recommend this line to anyone who likes a relaxing soak in the evenings…and it is on sale at Shoppers right now!
3. Stupid husbands the cover slides with snow to make them fast and then go down them, shooting off them into the ground and injuring their tailbones and then saying they cannot shovel or clean cars.
4. Stupid husbands that leaves a cars that has not moved in 3 years in the garage so my car has to be left out and snow covered.
5. People that drive with a foot of snow on the rops of thier vehicles (usual these are the evil SUV people).
6. The salt stains all over my jeans.
Pleasant things
1. Taking a bath to make my shoveling weary back feel better.
2. Using this in the bath, and this after the bath.
I was so sick that yesterday I went to an outlet mall, to my first Coach Outlet ever, and everything was 40% off, and I coveted a gorgeous tan suede bag that would have only cost me about $100, and I didn’t get it because the line was too long and I was too tired and stuffed up and grumpy (and this annoying little voice in the back of my mind kept saying “You really don’t need another Coach bag and you know it, even if it is a good deal”.) I think, had I not been sick or had the line up not been astronomical, that I would have smashed the voice into a million pieces. Instead, I let the bag go and went back to my hotel for a nap. Here is a bag very similar to the one I almost bought:
I did, however, Buy this DKNY watch at the Duty Free Shop for $68. I have been wanting a new watch for a while, since the one I wear now (an Esquire) is very scratched and the gold tone is faded. I always go with two-tone watches as my engagement and wedding rings are yellow gold, and don’t look nice with an all stainless watch. All yellow watches look, well, gaudy. I love the look of two-tone, however the yellow tends to wear off quickly, so they need to be replaced more often than all stainless. Oh well. I think the one I got is very nice, don’t you?
Also, I found a lovely bath store called Basin White, and got some soaps for the man and the girl, and a yummy moisturizing bar for myself. Basin White is not online yet, but their parent company, Basin, is.
Besides the watch and bath stuff, I did no major shopping. Since I am a Tinkerbell fan, I did get two cute Tink T-shirts, and my man got me a Tink mug. Please ignore the multiple chins and messy hair!
In other news, the girl morphed into a Mermaid while we were gone. She is now living in our bath-tub.
I recently popped by a LUSH and picked up a bottle of Sonic Death Monkey Bath Gel. Wow. Just wow. This stuff smells awesome…beyond belief. The smell is a mixture of Chocolate and Coffee, with some vanilla and oange thrown in. I would not think Citrus and Coffee would work together…but they do. The smell is kinda like a spicy Chocolate Orange…calming yet invigorating. I want to drink it. It also lathers beautifully and leaves my skin feeling soft and clean.
Some other honourable mentions among body washes?
Frosting Forever by BBW smells like a frosted cupcake and does a good job of lathering and cleaning.
Dove CreamOil bodywashes are very nice feeling. They are more like a cream than a wash, though they do lather, and leave my skin feeling soft as could be. The scent is a thumbs down though. It doesn’t smell bad…but nothing special either…just that generic Dove smell all Dove products have, regardless of the “flavour” on the bottle.
Lucky for me, my mom picked me up a bottle last weekend when she was south of the ole’ border. Thanx mom!
It certainly lived up to my expectations. Has the same lovely vanilla scent, lathers nicely, rinses easily and leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. Since it is summer, I am not sure how moisturizing it would be on dry rough skin…but even if it does not do a great job of moisturizing, I have the matching lotion on hand always!
I’ve used St.Ives Swiss Vanilla Moisture Therapy Lotion (Used to be called St. Ives Aromatherapy Swiss Vanilla Moisture Lotion) for many years now. I use others as well, but always seem to return to this one and always have a bottle of this on the counter. I just love it!
The Lotion costs about $6.99 CAD a bottle, and is often on sale for less. St.Ives products are easily available in Canadian drugstores and supermarkets. 1 bottle lasts me about 4 months with almost daily use.
It smells great!! It smells like Vanilla Ice cream, in a good way. Not too sweet. It is strong enough to smell on your skin all day if you try, but not to strong that it would clash with your perfume or follow you around.
I like to smooth it on my skin after my shower; while my skin is still slightly damp. It is not at all greasy feeling and absorbs quickly, leaving smooth feeling skin and that lovely scent. That smooth feeling lasts all day as does the scent (not strong, but if I sniff for it it is there).I’m not sure if it would be moisturizing enough for SEVERLY dry skin-but it does not claim to be. For my sometimes dry and tight skin it does the job-and I never notice any dry or flaky spots once the lotion is absorbed, as I sometimes do with other lotions.
I also usually apply some of this lotion to my hands and shoulders before bed, on dry skin. It absorbs almost as well as on wet skin…and smells great in bed!!!There is a matching body wash, but not in Canada
The product looks like pink whipped cream with little beads it it, and has that wonderful Pink Sugar smell I love; like candy floss with a touch of citrus! Seriously, whenever I open the tub, it takes all my willpower to not dip a finger in there and lick it off!!
A blob of the scrub massaged into the skin with a pouf creates a pile of sweet smelling lather, gently cleaning and exfoliating as the little scrubbies (Jojoba beads and sugar) diossolve, making it easy to rinse off.
My skin is left feeling clean and smooth, and the scent lasts all day. Not in an annoying headache inducing way, but if I sniff my arm, it is there.
When I want more of the scent, I use some of the matching body glaze…I did this last weekend for a party and got several compliments about how great ti smelled.
Head on over to Creative Wanderings and check it out. If you use the code *RAF001* you’ll get 5% off your first order. Don’t forget to tell Jen that PrettyMommy sent you!
The time has come to start working on a safe tan, if you so desire. I, personally, have learned to cherish my lily-white skin and no longer self-tan. but I have used my years (at least a decade) of self-tanning experience to write a definitive guide for those that remain on the tanning train:
1. Exfoliate before you self tan. Tanner can get pooled in dry skin and bumps. It will blend more easily into smooth skin. Spend a week or so on daily light exfoliating with a loofah or a scrubbing wash to get rid of all the winter flakies before you start tanning.
2. Choose a light tanner if you are pale. Using a deep color will not look natural on pale skin, and no one who knows you even a little will fall for it anyways.
3. Consider one of the moisturizing self tanners-they are more of a body lotion with self-tanner involved. Dove, Coppertone, Neutrogena and Jergens all make them. These allow you to build your color subtly resulting in a more natural tanning process as well as controllable color.
4. Start from the bottom up-feet, ankles, lower legs, upper legs, bum, tummy, back, breasts, shoulders and chest and neck, upper than lower arms. That way you are not reaching past already tanned areas, and risking smudging.
5. Start with the fronts of your arms and legs, where you naturally tan darker, then blend the excess into the backs of your arms and legs, where you naturally tan a little lighter.
6. If you are really nervous about missing spots, try one with a color guide that shows you where you have applied. I personally have found that if I use a nice circular motion and go slowly, I never miss spots.
7. Let it dry until it is fully dry to the touch. Do not get it wet, let anything touch it or sweat until this time. Foams tend to dry quicker than lotions or creams.
8. Don’t be scared to shave or exfoliate self-tanned skin. Yes, you may lose a little color, but you will have softer skin and it seems to keep the color looking more smooth and even.
9. Use a light touch on areas that bend (and therefore pool color) like elbows, knees, and ankles. If those spots still seem a little darker, check out the next tip.
10. Make dark spots (like knees, elbows and ankles) lighter and blended in by rubbing with a loofah (if you have time to shower) or one of those acne face pads, the little round ones with a bit of texture. It takes off just enough of the excess color to make those dark spots blend in.
11. If you like the color, try your face. Make sure to blend evenly and use a light hand (especially in the creases-chin, next to nose), just enough to not be “pale-face”. Make it a little darker with bronzing powder on the cheeks and nose. Many lines now make a facial tanning moisturizer. I have not tried these yet, but I imagine they work well in combination with the matching body product. Let me know if you try one.
12. Wash your hands well afterwards, then apply to the tops of your hands and fingers with a cotton-pad, blending well around the sides. White hands are a clear give-away.
13. Don’t forget about feet.
14. If it comes out a little uneven; a shimmery body lotion will help make the color look smooth and even until you have time to fix it.
15.If you make a big mess of it, take the day off work and visit mystic-tan!!!
