Tag: dry skin

Holiday Gift Guide #1: Self-Care Edition!

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Hey everyone!

This week I’m kicking off the first part of my three-piece Holiday segment — Holiday Gift Guides! Each week will have it’s own theme, and comes with plenty of recommendations of all my favourite products and gift ideas! My hope is, for those of you who absolutely hate Christmas shopping, that you’ll be able to find a couple great ideas from this post.

Even at the best of times, Christmas shopping can be an ordeal. Picking out gifts for anyone can be stressful — yet alone those who are simply impossible to buy for. As well, aimlessly walking around crowded malls is unpleasant to say the least. No matter how much you love shopping, when it comes to Christmas crowds, we all have other things we’d rather be doing. Hopefully, with these lists, you’ll be able to go in with a plan, get all the gifts you need — and the reward of seeing how much joy these gifts will bring will make up for all the struggle.

This week’s theme is self-care, so if you have someone in your life who’s been feeling a little overwhelmed this year and really needs to spend time over the holidays relaxing and recuperating before 2020, this list has you covered. Any one of these items would make a great gift, or for a particularly special someone — feel free to package them all together into a little self-care basket!

For Someone Who Loves A Little Luxury

Who doesn’t love a good candle? Candles make the easiest and most ultimate home-decor/self care gift for so many reasons. They’re cute, simple, create a cozy atmosphere in the winter. Plus, they make cute decor even if you don’t want to light them. I personally ADORE Jo Malone candles over any other brand — they may be expensive, but they smell AMAZING, can burn forever. These candles make absolutely stunning additions to any room they’re in, and don’t overwhelm too much with a heavy smell.

Feeling inspired? Check out this product here!

For Someone Who Loves Smooth Skin

Okay, we all already know that I adore the Herbivore Crushed Amethyst Body Polish. It makes the perfect gift for anyone in need of a little extra TLC this holiday season for so many reasons. First of all, weekly exfoliation is super important to maintaining clear, soft, healthy skin — especially in the wintertime. As well, this exfoliator smells like lilacs (!!!!), comes loaded with all kinds of hydrating oils, and provides a fantastic exfoliation. It’s not too rough, nor does it dissolve in water as you use it. There’s very few products in the world I would deem completely perfect — but this is definitely one of them.

Feeling inspired? Check out this product here and at Sephora here!

For Someone Looking To Decorate

I can’t even count how many times I’ve been referred to as a “plant mom”. My apartment has more plants than any other kind of decoration — I can’t help it, I just love them! Plants make a perfect gift for so many reasons. First of all, as decor, they go with just about everything. As well, plants are great for filtering air in stuffy apartments, and have been proven to alleviate symptoms of depression. So whether its a little aloe or an extra-large Philodendron, consider plants for anyone in your life who could use a little decor and a pick-me-up!

I’m not going to link to any online shops, but some good plants to consider are aloes, cactuses, snake grass, rubber plants, miniature palms, dracaena, or money trees!

For Someone Who Struggles With Winter Weather

In many places, winter is just a truly brutal time for your skin. Besides the cold, it can often get incredibly dry — leading to all sorts of problems for your skin, face, and lips. Luckily, in Vancouver where it rains all winter, its not too much of a problem — but I still remember how dry winter can get from my years in Toronto very well. So, for anyone who may need a little help tackling winter dryness, I have a couple solutions that would make great gifts!

The first item on this list is the Fresh Sugar Hydrating Lip Balm. I’ve been using this lip balm for over a year now, and I’m pretty convinced its the best one there is. This lip balm hits all the necessities for me — it’s ultra hydrating, incredibly smooth, and not a little bit sticky, greasy or heavy. Plus, it smells amazing! I guarantee this lip balm would make a great present for anyone who hates suffering from dry, cracked lips this winter season.

As for those suffering from dry skin in the winter, the “Sleepy” Lush body moisturizer makes a great gift! It’s a little on the heavier side, which I’m usually not a fan of, but it’s not too heavy — and really helps with keeping skin soft if you let it absorb overnight. Plus, it smells like lavender, making it the perfect, relaxing end to any self care night!

As for hand cream, I’ve always been a big fan of Crabtree and Evelyn. Their luxurious hand creams come in all kinds of scents from neutral, to floral, to citrus, to herbal, so there’s guaranteed a scent for everyone on your list. They especially make fantastic add-ons to a gift, or a little gift when you’re gifting for multiple people (ie. teachers, coworkers, etc). Who could ever dislike having silky-smooth hands in the middle of winter, right?

Feeling inspired? Check out the Fresh Sugar Coconut Hydrating Lip Balm here (available in other flavours), the Lush Sleepy Body Lotion here, and the Crabtree and Evelyn hand creams here!

For Someone In Need Of An At-Home Spa Day

Nothing says “self care time” like a long, relaxing bath. For anyone in need of a good night off to unwind, consider bath bombs as a gift!

An absolute classic is the Lush bath bombs, you really can’t go wrong with these. They smell amazing and come in so many fun colours, there’s absolutely one for everyone here. A couple of my personal favourites are “Big Blue” and “Avobath“, but really, you can’t go wrong with any bath bomb from Lush. Plus, they have plenty of holiday-themed options to choose from!

These next two I haven’t tried personally, but I’ve been dying to get my hands on them and both look like they would make absolutely fantastic gifts. For someone looking for a true spa experience, Ouai’s new Chill Pills make the perfect gift! Not only are they supposed to smell amazing, but they’re formulated with Jojoba Oil, Safflower Oil, and Hemp Seed Oil, making them fantastic for your skin. As well, I’ve tried a number of other Ouai bath products and all of them were incredible — so I doubt you can go wrong here.

For someone looking for an insta-worthy soak, consider a bath bomb from WWFCO! I’ve been following them on Instagram for ages, and not only are their bath bombs beautiful — they’re handmade, and come loaded with unique and great ingredients in every bag. They have all kinds of rave reviews, so I’d be willing to put my money on these making an absolutely wonderful Christmas gift for anyone who needs a good, relaxing night off.

Feeling inspired? Check out Lush’s line here, Ouai’s Chill Pills here, and WWFCO on Instagram here!

For Someone Needing To Feel Special

This one is a particularly special one for me, as it was actually a Christmas gift I received last year from my little sister that I wear absolutely every day.

Kate Spade necklaces are so beautiful and simple, all of them make a fantastic gift. However, what makes this one in particular so special is how personalized it is. On the front, it’s engraved with an “M” (for Meredith!) and the back reads “one in a million”. Something this personalized is so sweet and special, and I can tell you firsthand makes an incredible gift for someone who needs to feel a little special this holiday season.

Feeling inspired? Check out this product here (and other Kate Spade necklaces here)!

For Someone You Want To Spend Time With

@element5digital on Unsplash

A manicure day is a great gift because it can also offer the gift of spending time with the person you give it to! A great way to pull this gift off is to make a little coupon to give to whomever you’re sharing it with, make plans to go sometime in January, and enjoy hanging out while pampering yourselves! This gift is also great because it works for just about everyone — whether its for an extra AF friend who want long, blinged out acrylics, someone who never gets their nails done and could use a pick-me-up and a bit of polish, or for guys who like to take good care of their hands. For an added cute touch, if you and the person you’re buying the manicure for are both getting polish, get matching nails!

As An Extra Little Add-On

@julianamalta on Unsplash

Gift cards can seem like a bit of a cop-out as a standalone gift, but when added in addition with something else can seem like a nice extra touch. Plus, I don’t know about you guys but I love online shopping — when it arrives it’s like a little gift to yourself, plus you don’t have to deal with crowded stores. For an extra special touch, add a note with something along the lines of “treat yourself to something nice” or anything else you feel works! Some great ideas for gift cards to add on can be Amazon, Sephora, FashionNova, Nordstrom, Aritzia, Glossier, The Bay, or UrbanOutfitters! Obviously, it all depends on who you’re buying for, but hopefully these options give you some ideas.

Hopefully some of you guys got some great inspiration from this post for your Christmas shopping this year, or at least got a little more in the Holiday spirit! Stay tuned for next weeks list — with a new theme and all kinds of new ideas!

Hope you’ve all had a relaxing weekend, and are gearing up for a productive week!

Much Love,

Meredith

Tuesday Favourites: August 27th

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CosRX Acne Pimple Master Patch

Hey y’all! Happy Tuesday!

So, as many of you know, I adore skin care and really pride myself on my clear skin. However, as I’m sure everyone knows, it’s impossible to keep your skin 100% clear 24/7, 365 days of the year. Even those of us blessed with the best genetics, the most high-end skin care products, and the best luck, will develop zits and break outs. No one’s immune to bad skin.

I’m a huge fan of scrolling through BuzzFeed in my spare time, in particular, I’m often drawn to lists of skincare products recommended by BuzzFeed users (obviously). Time and time again, I saw these pimple patches pop up in every single post. I rarely buy anything I see in these types of posts, otherwise, I’d be buying new products weekly and wouldn’t be able to keep up with my purchases. However, after seeing this product constantly, and all the glowing reviews users had, I was sold. Plus, at just under $15 for three packs, it sounded like a great deal.

So, I invested in a pack and waited for a break-out. I kept seeing them online used on massive pimples, so I assumed that was their intended purpose. Finally I got a chance — I am fairly prone to zits and clogged pores around the edges of my nose. So, I stuck on one of the smallest patches and fell asleep, excited to see how my pimple would be miraculously erased come morning.

I now realize I didn’t quite use the patch correctly, as when I peeled it off the next morning I was a little disappointed. While my pimple HAD improved overnight, it was still there.

I kept using all the tiny patches up, to no avail. They worked at getting my zits about halfway gone, but it certainly didn’t seem to have the same effect on me that it had on others. So, eventually, I gave up — sort of.

Sometime along my trip in South East Asia, my bug spray exploded all over my cosmetic bag and soaked half my products. For the most part, it was nothing a simple rinse couldn’t fix — but for these patches, the packet was pretty gross and I decided I didn’t really want to have to put it back in the bag when we relocated to our next stop. So, instead of throwing them out, I stuck a bunch over the sides of my nose. At this point, I really only had the larger patches left, so I just went for it — I didn’t really think my pimples were large enough to warrant them, so I hadn’t used any until this point.

The next morning, I woke up, peeled off the patches, and suddenly was in shock. While I hadn’t really had any pimples around my nose at the time, I had PLENTY of clogged, gross pores that had never seemed to be swayed by any product. But suddenly, I peeled off these patches and found that my clogged pores were no more — it was, as the reviews had raved — magical.

Suddenly, I was struck by two very different epiphanies: one, that I may have simply been using patches too small for my pimples, and two, that these patches had potential use outside of outright zits.

Something that has plagued me, literally, for years is dozens of whiteheads in my under-eye area. For those of you who’ve been following my posts for a while, you’ll know that my under-eyes are already a sensitive topic for me. However, on top of my bags and dark circles, it seemed like every single pore in my under-eye area was clogged beyond the point of solution. I had seen facialists, tried spot-masking with charcoal, and basically everything else you could thing of, but NOTHING would unclog my pores. Unfortunately, as my aesthetician had noted, there was not much that could be done — the area was too sensitive to complete extractions from, and there was far too many for her to even try.

Up until now, I just accepted these whiteheads as a part of life — my under-eye area was constantly patterned with their strange texture, which only became more apparent when I applied makeup. But there was nothing that could be done. At least, until I found these patches. The following night, I took the remaining patches and covered my under-eyes with them, using up the remainder of the pack. The next day, I peeled them off — and where each of them had been, my whiteheads had magically disappeared. I was blown away. I’d managed to find a solution to an unfixable problem.

Nowadays, my skin is the clearest it’s been possibly ever. My whiteheads? Gone. Clogged pores? Disappeared. Zits? Unheard of. It took me a while to figure them out, but I swear to God, these patches are absolute witchcraft. I’ve never been so amazed at how effective (and cheap) any singular skincare product was in my life.

So, if you’re acne-prone, have stubborn whiteheads, clogged-up problem areas, or just have the occasional zit, check this product out! Especially at its price, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Find them on Amazon here!

And that’s it for this Tuesday! If you try this product out, or have used it before and absolutely loved it, drop a comment below! (Or if you hated it, too, I love to hear any and all opinions).

Xo,

Meredith

Tuesday Favourites: June 11th

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Clinique Moisture Surge 72-Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator

Hey guys! I’m back!

So to take a break from all the travel posts (I hope…I wrote this super far in advance and scheduled it for when I’m away so let’s hope this all makes sense) I thought I’d share a new Tuesday Favourite with you!

Sooooo, for those of you who know I have combination skin that is WAY more dry than it is oily. So moisturizing is super important to me. That being said, I tend to hate the texture of cream moisturizer — I find it to be super heavy on my skin, as well as it often takes forever to dry. Because my skin is so dry, light creams don’t really work for me — I much prefer gel formula moisturizers.

Which brings me to this product–The Clinique Moisture Surge Hydration Gel! I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve been using this product religiously for like, five years. I love trying out new products and have considered switching occasionally to see what else is out there, but why mess with a good thing? (Read: I’m scared I’ll waste a lot of money on something new and then my face will break out and I’ll hate it).

This stuff is super lightweight, quick-drying but still packs a lot of punch. Furthermore, it doesn’t really have any kind of residue so your face feels pretty normal after. This makes it super easy to apply before makeup, midday (if you forgo makeup for the day), or before bed! Really, this stuff is amazing. I just keep coming back for more.

Anyways, if a lightweight product and hydration are what you’re looking for, be sure to check this product out! You can find it at Sephora here.

Much Love!

Meredith