Great find

I have been on a foundation quest for many years.  The quest for the perfect foundation.  My idea of a perfect foundation is one that looks flawless, and most importantly - STAYS PUT.  I have always had oily skin, so my make up blotches.  Additionally, I live in Texas where 100 degree days are common, so the heat would just melt make up away even faster on my oily skin.  After some extensive internet research and make up blog stalking, I have found a product I like.  It's not a new foundation, but a primer of sorts.  It's by Smashbox called ANTI-SHINE.

I was skeptical at first - how could a product absorb oil or prohibit the production of it so that my make up will last most of the day (or at least until lunch)?  The package is not a lot to look at and the $27 price tag for such a small tube is enough to shy anyone away.  I bit the bullet and I was pleasantly surprised.  I am a big fan of MAC Studio Fix make up and these two products work great together. 

I think it's early to admit my search is over, because I am just never happy - BUT this has put the search for perfect foundation on the back burner for now.

Weekly Skincare routine

I recently wrote about my new skincare products - all by Mario Badescu. I just love it and can't get enough of it. However, I wasn't using all the products as often as I should have. I have now come up with a routine that I follow, and I love my skin!!

Every morning, the routine is the same...I wash my face with Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Cucumber Lotion, Gycolic Eye Cream, Oil Free Moisturizer w/SPF 17. The evening routine differs:

• Monday and Thursday, I wash with Enzyme Cleansing Gel, I use the Silver Powder for blackheads (works like a DREAM - way better than the duct-tape-like things I used to put on my nose - I think by Biore), then I use Cucumber Lotion, Gycolic Eye Cream and Seaweed Night Cream.
• Tuesday and Saturday, I wash with Enzyme Cleansing Gel, then I exfoliate with Kiwi Face Scrub, and follow that with Cucumber Lotion, Gycolic Eye Cream and Seaweed Night Cream.
• Wednesday and Sunday, I wash with Enzyme Cleansing Gel, then I use Orange Tonic Mask and follow that with Cucumber Lotion, Gycolic Eye Cream and Seaweed Night Cream.
• Friday's I don't use any "speciality" treatments, I just wash with Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Cucumber Lotion, Gycolic Eye Cream, and Seaweed Night Cream.

Can't wait to earn more money to buy more products!

When Don and I were much poorer (not that we are well off by any means!), but I stopped buying "stuff". I hadn't bought make up or skin care (and it showed) in a really long time. I just didn't have the money to do it. Don was working for a while, and I had a little bit to spare. I was able to catch us up a little and have some money to buy these things - and it makes me happy!!

I'm really looking forward to losing weight and buying new clothes - that would make me REALLY happy!

MAC

I love to buy make up. I especially love to buy MAC make up because they have such a great variety of colors whether you are looking for a new eyeshadow, or lipstick or glitter eyeliner. I have joked with many MAC salespeople over the years that I should create a list of things/colors I currently have, to eliminate the chance of duplication. And wouldn't you know it - it happened. One neutral eye shadow color was duplicated. That isn't too much of a big deal - but I didn't realize it until I finally drug out my make up stashes and went through it all and created a spreadsheet of my MAC cosmetics. I carefully went through it all and I organized it the way I wanted, and as I looked at it - I noticed that the lipsticks looked a little light - I thought I had more. But maybe I just wasn't as bad as I thought. After looking at it, I realized, I have an entire make up bag under the sink with a TON of lipstick in it. I need to go through that real soon and update all my stuff. Besides, going through all that might make me feel like I was buying something new, again!

Some more faves

This is the ring that my husband got me for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised and I wear this all the time. It is such a great accessory and since I wear a lot of black, it goes with most of my wardrobe.

The polish on my nails is another favorite for Spring, it's OPI's Dutch Tulips. It's the perfect dark pink/almost red and looks great on my toes as well.

I have had scalp problems for a number of years. Aveda made a scalp therepy that I loved and cured my problem for a while. However over a year ago, they changed the formula and the new formula doesn't work for me. My scalp is dry, itchy and flakes. I did some research and instead of trying different dandruff shampoo's I went straight to Nixoral. It's expensive at $9.99 for a small bottle, but I thought why mess around! I used to wash my hair about every other day. My hair is dry and any hairsylist will tell you that with my curly hair, you aren't supposed to wash your hair daily...however I want to clear up my scalp! Every day for a week I have washed my hair and it seems to be working! YIPEE!

I have a $10 off coupon for Trade Secret that has to be used in March - so I'm going to look through my magazines and find the perfect deep conditioner since my hair needs additional moisture.