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Blog Health + Beauty

2014 Nighttime Skincare Routine

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

One of my resolutions this year has been to wash my face every night. I’m usually really good about it, but we all have had those late nights where you just want to fall into bed rather than washing your face. On nights like that, I would sometimes use the Neutrogena makeup removing face wipes which seemed to get the job done. But this year, there will be no excuse for being lazy and not washing my face.

Your body repairs itself while you are sleeping; how can you expect optimum results when you are leaving a mask of the day’s dirt and bacteria on your face all night? I’m sure everyone’s heard the saying, “The best makeup is good skincare!”

To remove my makeup and cleanse my face, I start with my trusted Clarisonic Mia and Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple cleanser. I recently got the sensitive brush head for the Mia and I am really liking it.

muffinchanel-clarisonic-mia-philosophy-purity-made-simple-night-skincare1-1024x785After using the Clarisonic on my face, I’ll use my fingers and some more of the Purity to gently remove my eye makeup/cleanse my eye area.




If I have any blemishes or problem areas, I’ll use a pump of Grease Lightening from Lush. It’s called a cleanser but it works more as a toner or spot treatment for me.

muffinchanel-lush-grease-lightening-toner-cleanser-tea-tree-night-skincare-routine1-662x1024The newest addition to my nighttime skincare routine is the Josie Maran Argan Milk. It works with the Argan Oil to be an intensive hydrating treatment. Full review here.

muffinchanel-josie-maran-argan-milk-intensive-hydrating-treatment-night-skincare-argan-oil1-638x1024

I use the Josie Maran Argan Oil right behind the Argan Milk — just a few drops for your face and neck. I kind of pat/press it into my skin so it really sinks in. Check out some other ways I useArgan Oil here.

muffinchanel-josie-maran-argan-oil-night-skincare-face-neck-398x1024

Next up is my under eye area. I find that I don’t really like the feel of a night cream under my eye, but I really love the Lancome Genifique Yeux eye concentrate. It’s like a cooling serum to help de-puff and brighten the eye area. The secret is in the application because the wand has a pivoted “pearl” at the end that helps gently massage the under eye area.

muffinchanel-lancome-genifique-yeux-light-pearl-eye-illuminating-serum-night-skincare1-657x1024I then seal everything in with my favorite night cream ever — the Lancome Absolue Night Cream. It smells amazing and isn’t too thick or greasy.




muffinchanel-lancome-absolue-night-premium-night-recovery-cream-skincare-routine-1024x807Then to moisturize my chest and the rest of my body, I use Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil. This stuff has been amazing for me! Click for my review. This is the jumbo sized jar from QVC in the unscented version.

muffinchanel-josie-maran-whipped-argan-oil-ultra-hydrating-body-butter-night-skincare-1024x741

And, of course, I couldn’t forget the Dior Creme de Rose lip balm. I use this at night as a lip treatment and, as you can see, I’m going through it pretty quickly. See my full review here.

muffinchanel-dior-creme-de-rose-lip-balm-night-skincare-routine-lip-treatment-1024x486And that’s it for my nighttime skincare routine! It may seem like a lot, but skincare is important to me. No matter your age, it’s never too early to start really taking care of your skin. What’s your current skincare routine?

Categories
Blog Lifestyle

Holiday Travel Essentials | Beauty

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

Many of you may be traveling for the upcoming holidays. It’s always fun to go somewhere new or see friends & family, but it can be difficult deciding what to pack or just carrying everything you want.

I always try to pack just the “essentials” so my bags aren’t loaded down and I’ll have room in case I get a few souvenirs. You really need to ask yourself what you want; try to only bring products that have multiple uses. For example: with makeup, see if you can find a blush you like that can double as an eyeshadow. Or a dark eyeshadow that you can also use to fill in your brows. With beauty items, it can be a little more tricky. You don’t want to neglect your skin while you are on holiday, but you don’t want to carry your full sized bottles either.

This is where those sample sizes from Sephora or little mini bottles of products come in handy. I always save the samples for traveling because they hardly take up any room and you can just discard them when you are done. If you don’t have the sample sizes of the product you want to bring with you, there are always those mini travel bottles you can buy at the drugstore.

Here’s my travel makeup bag:

muffinchanel makeup holiday travel essentials genius gel marc jacobs naked palette urban decay laura mercier secret brightening powder they're real mascara lancome hypnoses drama star the porefessional prier face brushes mack amazonian clay blush tarte flowerbomb viktor rolf mars eyelash primer watts up highlighter fresh lip target bag

This bag is actually a clutch from the Marc Jacobs collaboration with Target last year; it’s a shiny metallic pouch that’s fairly large and fits all you see here ^ very nicely.

Here’s my skincare and toiletries bag:

muffin chanel victorias secret clarisonic mia samples lancome genefique vissionaire neutrogena sunscreen josie maran argan oil light 100% altoids toothbrush beauty essentials makeup bumble and shampoo conditioner serum purity philosophyThis bag was a gift with purchase at Victoria’s Secret a few years ago. It’s metallic gold, but has vertical pink stripes inside and it’s pretty large.

What’s inside?

Let me know if you have any holiday travel plans coming up and what your must-have beauty travel essentials are! ❤

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Categories
Blog Health + Beauty

Sephora Haul | VIB Rouge

photo 2

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

Sephora’s 20% off sale for VIB’s just ended. Being only $34 away from VIB Rouge, I decided it would be a good time to get a couple things I had my eye on, and tip my VIB status over to the next level.

muffinchanel sephora haul urban decay living proof, clarisonic vib rougeAfter a few recent hauls (HERE, HERE, and HERE), I was pretty set with everything I wanted. I did pick up a couple of items, got a free VIB tote and redeemed some of my Beauty Insider Points.

Clarisonic Brush Head Replacement – Sensitive





muffinchanel sephora haul urban decay living proof, clarisonic vib rougeI use the “Normal” brush head now on my Clarisonic Mia, which is nice, but I wanted to try a softer brush.

Living Proof Restore Repairing & Damage Reversing Travel Kit

muffinchanel sephora haul urban decay living proof, clarisonic vib rougeI’ve been looking for a new shampoo/conditioner since Garnier Fructis changed the formula on the Triple Nutrition line. :/ My hair isn’t damaged necessarily, but it will feel dry and frizzy, especially in the winter.

Urban Decay Essentials – 500 Point Perkmuffinchanel sephora haul urban decay living proof, clarisonic vib rouge

  • b6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray (0.5 oz)
  • All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (0.5 oz)
  • Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging (0.13 oz)
  • Eyeshadow Deluxe Sample in Mushroom (0.03 oz)

This perk seemed really nice. A deluxe sample shadow, eyeshadow primer and two mini facial prepping/setting sprays. I’ve never used the Urban Decay facial sprays, but they seem like a cool idea. And for free 500 points, it’s a nice way to try out a new product.

And *Drumroll*, the VIB Rouge Welcome Kit!





photo 3So exciting! It came with a mini lipstick designed by Bite exclusively for VIB Rouge members. I now get free shipping on all orders, free makeovers anytime, special surprise gifts, and invites to exclusive rouge events. Yay!

Check out my first VIB Rouge perk!!!

Categories
Blog Health + Beauty

Night Time Skin Care Routine

This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here

The Clarisonic Mia is my favorite skincare tool! I love it. The Mia is perfect for travel and everyday use because of its size — it’s Clarisonic’s smallest skin cleansing system. The Mia runs for one minute on one setting. I’ll use it twice — once for my face and once for my neck & décolleté.

bluemiamed-new2I use my Clarisonic with Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple cleanser. This cleanser is so gentle, yet it is strong enough to remove all of my makeup. With purity and the Clarisonic, I know I am removing all of the impurities from my skin.

s407304-main-heroAfter my skin is clean, I’ll apply Lancome’s Advanced Génifique serum.  3605533117217_1-7oz_advancedgenifiqueI love this because it absorbs quickly into my face, neck and décolleté. My skin looks youthful and radiant after using this serum and I feel that it preps my face well for the final step to my night time skin care routine, Lancome’s Visionnaire 

screen-shot-2013-05-27-at-1-44-46-pmThis cream has a pleasant smell and is essentially, a skin corrector. It fixes visible pores, wrinkles, discoloration, and makes your skin feel soft and healthy.

See my UPDATED night time skin care routine here. 🙂