The PERFECT lotion.

I live in Canada, where you're swimming in humidity in the summer, and doing everything in your power to not dry up into dust in the winter. Now that cooler weather is upon us (no snow yet though, thankfully!) my skin has been itchy and flakey and all together disgusting.

Enter: Baby lotion.

This ain't your baby's baby lotion.

I don't have any children or infant nieces or nephews, or any reason to ever be in the baby isle, so I was totally unaware that Johnson's is now making baby lotion that doesn't smell like babies! Lucky for me, my drugstore put out an end display that caught my eye. I picked up the Shea and Cocoa Butter version, but there are also Vanilla Oatmeal, Lavender, and Apple-Honey versions. They are all safety-sealed, so I can't comment on any of the scents except for the one I got, but mine smells a bit like how you'd expect a lightly scented green apple hand soap to smell. It's fresh, clean and not overpowering.

This stuff is totally non-greasy. And it absorbs crazy super fast. And it has made my hands, arms, and legs softer than I've felt them in years. The bottle promises to maintain moisture for 24 hours, and it totally does! It also doesn't leave that weird lotion filmy feeling all over your skin.

Along with the lotion, each scent has a matching body wash, which I am considering picking up. I'll let you all know how that one goes!

Johnson's baby lotion can be purchased for $4-5 at drugstores. Click here for more info, or to purchase online.

DIY Weekend!

Yesterday, I attempted to give myself an at-home pedicure. My nail polish skills are far from awesome, so it only ended up looking okay, but before I ruined everything with paint, I made myself a little scrub, and oh, was it amazing.

For your own at-home-foot-scrub, you'll need two ingredients which you likely already have:

1. Olive Oil. Any brand.

2. Epsom Salts. Again, any brand is fine.

For mine, I mixed about 5 tbs of salt with about 1.5 tbs of oil. You can play with yours a little if you want a more oily/salty consistency. 

I soaked my feet in a warm bath for about 5 minutes, then massaged some of the scrub on. I used a wash cloth for extra scrubbing power, but I'm sure you could also use a loofah or pumice. Then I rinsed the mixture off my feet, and quickly went over my feet again with the wash cloth to get rid of some of the excess oil. Once I dried off, I was good to go!

The epsom salts I had laying around happened to be lavender scented, so it all smelled very lovely, and the olive oil left my skin crazy soft. I would have thought it would feel like I dropped a greasy burger on my foot, but not at all! 

I had the afterthought of adding tea tree oil to it, for added fungal and bacterial fighting power, but couldn't seem to find my bottle. If any of you try this at home, let me know how it goes!

Over all, this is a pretty wonderful scrub, easy to make, easy to use, and super crazy cheap! Your feet will love you for this one.

Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker: Your Lips But Better?

I had read on another blog fairly recently (I'm sorry, I don't remember which one, if you know please leave a comment so I can give credit!) that the Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker gives what experts call the "Your Lips But Better" effect. It has a sheer red tint, that just adds a little oomph to everybody's natural lip color. I decided to stop by Wal Mart to pick one up and try for myself.

Warning: Memories of second grade may come flying back.

I ended up taking before and after shots of my lips so you can compare for yourself! There wasn't significant change, but I do agree that there is a slight reddish tint, and it obviously makes my lips look more hydrated.

This was before. Nothing on my lips. They're oddly pink naturally.

And After! I feel like the difference was slightly more noticeable in real life,

but hopefully you can see some of the change in these photos.

Verdict: Yes, the Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker does give you the YLBB effect, but it may single handedly transport you back to elementary school. It still smells awesome, and still tastes vaguely of crayons, but for under $2, who cares?

Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers are available at drugstores, Wal Mart, and basically anywhere else that might sell lip balm (but it is usually stuck in the kiddie make-up section and not the lip balm isle) You can get more info here

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish Review

Okay, so I know this is sort of a generic review, and as with all nail polish, formulas will vary depending on color. That being said, I now own 4 very different shades of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish, and all are an absolute dream.

The bottles look like this, incase you get overwhelmed

by all trillion varieties of Sally Hansen.

The claim is that these are a base coat, polish, and top coat all in one. I wouldn't quite go that far. Though I'm sure they're fine on their own. I always use a base coat, just because I'm really freaking pale, and every polish seems stain my finger nails, so I try my best to prevent that. I also use my Revlon Quick Dry topcoat, because I really like the extra shine, and the quick dry time.

As I mentioned above, I own four shades of this polish. The brushes are more flat and wide than your typical brush, and although I've heard mixed reviews about it, it seems to really work well for me. I start with one line down the middle of my nail, then another on each side. I'm by no means very good at painting my nails, but this stuff always seems to look good when I'm done. The brush just seems to work perfectly on my (slightly larger than normal for a female) nails. 

I've had no troubles with discoloration, shrinkage, bubbling, peeling or lifting with these polishes. They're pretty excellent that way.

Check them out next time you're at your local drugstore. They should be between the $6-$8 mark. You can also get more info and see available colors at sallyhansen.com

EOS Lip Balm Review

Shoot guys, I'm really failing on the "new post" front. I'll try to be better! Today's post is about the EOS lip balm sphere. I'm sure most of you have already heard of them if not tried them, but I'm pretty new to them, and am still in love.

Swoooooooooooon.

I thought I had lost my beloved Burt's Bees lip balm (turns out my boyfriend had taken it), so I went to the drugstore to pick up a new one, and found these! I heard a lot of good things about them, so thought I'd give them a try. They're all natural and 95% organic. They glide on smooth, the flavor (I got sweet mint) isn't too strong, but strong enough that you know it's there, they aren't sticky or waxy or any other bad things that lip balms tend to be.

The packaging is unique, and kind of adorable. Though they would be a little bulky if you wanted to stick it in your pocket, they would be perfect for the bedside table, desk, or purse!

I got mine for $3.90 at PharmaPlus. But if you want to order online, they are available here.

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve Review

There are basically two major companies making Rose Salve. One is C.O. Bigelow (available at Bath and Body Works and some drugstores) and the other is Smith's (available at Sephora) I know a lot of people who swear by the Smith's variety, but I bought the C.O. Bigelow kind during a "buy two, get one free" promo at Bath & Body.

I mostly bought it because of the tin.

I have mixed feelings about this stuff. At first I was using it as a lip balm. It added a nice sheen, with just a hint of rosy color. I actually quite liked the look and feel of it, until about day 3 when all around my mouth broke out in the worst case of acne in the history of my face. 

Since the packaging reads "lips, face, cuticles, elbows, knees" I figured I'd keep it and try it out on other areas. Turns out that it's great on really dry elbows, rough patches on feet, and I LOVELOVELOVE it as a cuticle oil substitute (it absorbs super fast!). In the winter when I get annoyingly rough patches between my fingers, I'll slather some on there too. It moisturizes really well, and has a nice light floral scent.

I'm curious to try the Smith's Rose Salve, since I have heard such great things. I'm hoping to do a comparison in the near future. What do you guys think? Have you tried either?

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve is available at Bath & Body works for $5.50. Click here for more info.

Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat Review

I used to hate top coats. I just didn't understand the point of them. They never seemed to add anything to my polished nails. But a few months ago, I picked up a bottle of crackle nail polish and I decided to also get a bottle of top coat, because (not fully understanding how the crackle worked) I was worried the crackle might fall off without it. I ended up picking up whatever was on sale.

This is what was on sale.

Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat was on sale that week for $3.99. I decided to give it a shot. That moment was life changing.  Or at least, nail changing.

If you're into nail polish, you know that Seche Vite is the holy grail of top coats. It dries quickly, and has an unbelievable shine.  I've tried Seche Vite at a friend's house, and I can honestly say, I like this stuff better.

The dry time on this is just slightly longer than SV. You're going to be un-smudgeable/un-dentable in 3-5 minutes. The shine is the same. The price is quite a bit less (when it's on sale), it won't shrink or discolor your manicure, and it's way easier to find!

The thing I really love about this top coat, is the consistency. It's thin enough to evenly spread over my nail, but thick enough to not get messy.  I find the more top coat I use, the faster my nail polish dries, so I tend to just put a big blob near my cuticle (when my nail polish is still a bit tacky), and gently spread it across my nail. It hides any minor imperfections, and evens out nicely.

This top coat can be up to $9 in stores, but if you shop around or wait for a sale (it's almost always on sale), it can be found for $4-5.

You can find the Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat at Wal Mart and most drugstores, or you can buy it here.