bootiful stuff: products I love (feb 2015)

In an attempt to a) justify the epic sephora charges on my bank account b) make the most of my birchbox membership and c) increase the variety of content here, I now give you a feature where I talk about beauty products I am feeling right now.

To be totally honest here, I have no idea why you should take my word on this stuff whatsoever or why I'm sharing, outside of the aforementioned justifications and come on now if blogs aren't at least a LITTLE bit for vanity then I just don't even know what. I also had a lot of fun putting together my Holiday Gift Guide so let's just keep this party train rolling and call this the next iteration of that. 

Whateva whateva, here goes: 

1. Briogeo – Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Quinoa Co-Wash: Last October I took the plunge and went and got my hair colored blonde. To be fair, I did rock some highly questionable Kelly Clarkson season 1 American Idol blonde CHUNKS in my hair back in the early aughts, but this blonde journey was a JOURNEY to say the least. Using my Stevie Nicks Halloween costume as an "excuse" I pretty much put my hair through hair murder (although my stylist was as gentle and thoughtful about this as he could be). The change resulted in my hairs getting a little (lot) angry with me and my needing to be a WHOLE LOT more gentle and kind back to them because of what I put them through. I know the ingredients in this sound more like what you pick up at the Whole Foods salad bar than what you put on your head, but this co-wash - which I use between washing my hair which now happens every 3-4 days at most - is amazing. It doesn't strip my hair with all that harsh bad stuff like sulfites, it detangles it and keeps it soft and clean and it smells DELICIOUS and not even literally. 

2. Royal Apothic Cuppa Cuppa Firming Tea Treatment Mask: I am a sucker for a good face mask. Something about the act of smearing goop all over my face, lighting a candle, snacking on some cold pizza and sitting around binge watching Friends on Netflix is the ultimate relaxation combination to me. Ahhhhhhhh, I can picture it all now. The face mask element is important because you just lather it on and then it just sits and works its bootifying magics while you get to do all kinds of other nice things. I also always leave face masks on for a bit longer than you're supposed to (read: lazy) and after getting a sample of this one in a Birchbox I was instantly feeling it - literally feeling it because it has a lovely tingle to it. Tingle means it's working, right? It left my skin feeling really soft and probably firmer too since that's what it says it's supposed to do. I feel more relaxed just thinking about it. 

3. Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil: HAIR OIL YOU GUYS. I feel like it is a thing. A big thing. For someone with bangs, OIL is typically viewed as a three letter dirty word. No-effing-bueno. But due to the hair pain I inflicted on myself after the aforementioned blonde transition, I've been experimenting with different kinds of oils because... frizzy mcfried head is simply not a good look. A little of this particular oil goes a long long way and makes my hair SO soft and manageable. Thanks oil! You da best. 

4. Make Up For Ever – Smoky Extravagant Mascara: This mascara is like BOOM! POW! OH HEY GIRL HEY. Need I say more? Also every time I read the name I read it like "MAKE UP FOREVAAAHHHHHHH" and that's just fun. 

5. Essie Metallics Nail Polish - Jiggle Hi Jiggle Low: Typically I have always viewed "metallics" as a series of bad make up concepts I had circa age 18-19. Having "learned my lesson" in such things, in recent years I have stuck to straight up matte and gel colors without a lot of pizzazz. Maybe the occasional glitter top coat to stave off boredom and some misadventures with nail stickers also happened, but metallics has been a pretty big no no until recently. This particular metallic I snatched up at a recent mani/pedi session and threw caution to... my finger nails. And I was a little bit more than jazzed at the results and didn't feel too teenagery at all. It also dried in a hot second and was not even remotely painful to get off. #blessed