Sephora VIB Discount Time!

Chances are, If you're a Sephora shopper, this is your favorite time of year.  Sephora is offering 20% off for their VIB Rouge and VIBs this weekend and next.  This is the best time to stock up on all your favorites, try out new ones, and get those splurge items you've been holding off on.  Here are my must haves for this Bi Annual event!

Colour
If you haven't tried Milk Makeup yet, I'm gonna need you to jump on the band wagon and try out this easy to use brand (that I just happen to work for).

Sunshine Skin Tint $42 > $33.60 - Click-Roll-Blend. This is the easiest foundation you will ever use. Enriched with nourishing Avocado and Grape Seed Oil, this preservative free foundation gives coverage that looks like skin and wears all day.  Great for Dry to Oily skins who want to look fresh and natural.  I wear it in Honey.

Matte Bronzer $24 > $19.20 - I hate being white and this natural looking bronzer lets me live the lie of being bronzed during these winter months of heavy retinol usage.  Milk Melt Technology melts at the temperature of your skin blending in seconds. 

Concealer $24 > $19.20 - Since I don't like looking like I'm wearing makeup, and rarely sleep more than 5 hours a night, this gem is a life saver, and by gem I mean it has diamond powder in it!  What better way to brighten your eyes??  Arnica helps treat the dark circles, and Milk Melt Technology gets that concealer to blend super easy without creasing

Skin Care
So many great products I've been using lately, sorry I haven't had the time to post about them, I've been hella busy, but these some some products you just need to try.

Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser $40 > $32 - I've been using this every night for about a month.  You massageinto dry skin then add water and massage some more.  It never lathers, but once rinsed, your skin is left exfoliated and smooth.  Great as a daily exfoliator.

Kate Somerville DermalQuench Liquid Lift $95 > $76 - My skin has been so dehydrated from traveling, I'm obsessed with this hyaluronic acid rich spray.  Plumps fine lines and gives the skin so much moisture while still being weightless.  A must have during winter months.

Jurlique Nutri-Define Eye Contour Balm $90 > $72 - I just started using a deluxe sample size of this rich eye balm and I'm so in love.  The texture is so creamy, yet it absorbs into the skin leaving it feeling super plump and hydrated.  Might be my new favorite eye cream cause my tired eyes are looking real good y'all.

Caudalie Premier Cru The Cream $158 > $128.40 - Always a favorite of mine, this moisturizer does it all.  Hydrates, lifts, brightens, fills wrinkles, does taxes, cooks dinner.  I mean, if you haven't tried it, definitely give it a go!

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil $105 > $84 - Night time retinoid oil hydrates, brightens, smooths, calms, reduces pores, minimizes fine lines, everything you want from a retinal product without any irritation.  If you've been wanting to try a retinal but are scared of the side effects, Luna Oil is the for for you.

Hair Care
I hate washing my hair because day 1 always looks like a cheap cotton ball.  These are the products I've found to get my hair looking perfectly messy.

Rahua Voluminous Shampoo $34 > $27.20 - Rahua Voluminous Conditioner $34 > $27.20 - I had a sample packette of these that I fell in love with, then purchased the mini size to make sure, and yep, its my new favorite shampoo and conditioner.  My hair normally looks so frizzy after washing, this duo gives my hair volume, softness, and texture.  Plus the conditioner doubles as a styling creme!

Milk Sunshine Oil $38 > $30.40 - Since I like my hair to look lived in, I like a little oil in it to give that dirty look.  Sunshine Oil is also great on the face and body.  I mix it with the Reverie Rake $36 > $28.80 to give texture, hold, and an amazing earthy smell.

Milk Natural Dry Shampoo $14 > $11.20 - Since I try and only wash my hair every 4-5 days, this dry shampoo really helps me go the distance.  Cotton Fibers + Rice Starch absorb oil, leaving you feeling clean, no white residue, no texture, and a soft White Tea Scent.  I literally cannot live with out this.

Splurge
You're getting 20% off, so why not buy yourself something fancy!

Iluminage Skin Rejuvenating Eye Mask $35 > $28 - I just got my 3rd one of these cause I keep leaving them in my hotel rooms!  This eye mask is infused with copper to help minimize fine lines.  Whether that works or not I don't know, but it does comfortably block out all light letting me get the best nights rest.

Clarisonic Smart Profile $299 > $239.20 - The ultimate cleansing system with attachments for face, body, and feet, you'll be cleansed and smoothed from head to toe.  If you've never used a Clarisonic, this is the only one you'll need to buy!

Skincare from Down Under

I'm obsessed with anything Australian, like extremely obsessed.  Kylie Minogue, for starters, is my music idol, Aussies have the best accents, hottest guys, the best coffee you'll ever have, and create some amazing skincare.  Jurlique is one of the strongest brands out of Australian.  Pioneers in natural skincare technology, Jurlique started in the 1980s, moving the Australia from Germany, due to their pure lands ideal for starting a farm.  To this day, they still grow the majority of the ingredients use din their products.  I've always been a fan and now's a great time to try some of my favorites since they're doing 30% off for their 31st birthday! Just use code "CHEERS" at checkout

Rosewater Balancing Mist $35 down to $24.50 - This is probably Jurliques most well known product.  It has the most amazing rose scent, refreshes and hydrates skin, and has antioxidant properties.  Can be used to tone after cleansing or to hydrate throughout the day.

Sun Specialist SPF40 High Protection Cream $38 down to $26.6 - I went through a tube of this over the winter and fell in love after the first application.  It has a rich texture that goes on weightless and smells nothing like sunscreen, it have very earthy herbal scents that's hella refreshing.  It has broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) protection and antioxidant protection.  It can be used for beach wear, but I really like it on the daily.

Skin Balancing Face Oil $50 down to $35 - I just added this to my routine about a week ago and like it so far.  Rose Hips, Avocado, and Macadamia oils plus Shea Butter make this oil deeply hydrating and and help with tone and texture.

Herbal Recovery Advanced Eye Serum $48 down to $33.6 - I've been using this for about a month now, it's a super lightweight serum that helps reduce the look of fatigue around the eyes (and let me tell you, I'm regularly fatigued).  Great for use under makeup.

Rose Hand Cream $25 down to $17.50 - Put it all over my body!!!  This rich hand cream hydrates, smells like magic, and leaves lasting softness.  Definitely one of my favorite hand creams (and I need more, perfect timing Jurlique!)  Also Available in Lavender, Jasmine, Citrus, and a limited edition Rose Hand Cream Handpicked with roses from their 2016 harvest.

Rose Love Balm $10 down to $7 - This is the perfect pocket balm.  I always need something to throw on my lips, cuticles, and hands throughout the day, but so many of those kinds of multi taskers don't come in pocket friendly sizes.  This is one of my go to's (and I'll be ordering one of these as well...)

Tales of Tanning

The sun is the leading causes of skin aging, it leaves dark spots, encourages wrinkles, and causes cancer.  Enough to make you want to avoid it at all cost, right? Yeah, maybe not.  My desire for a rich-even tan during the summer outweighs all that.  Here's how I've achieved a super dark tan over my past few weeks of travel, but in the safest (kinda) way possible.

Trunk Bay in St John

Leading up to my vacation I boosted my omega intake.  Omegas are shown to boost your skins natural defenses against the sun.  This in combination with sunscreen can help prevent burning.

The Day 1 lineup

With only a few shirtless hikes on Runyon under my belt, I headed to St Thomas on a family vacation without a base tan.  Generally I like a little colour to prep my skin for the intense island sun, but I just didn't have the time for it.  So during my first day in the sun I did the Sun Bum SPF 50 Clear Zinx Oxide on my face and a L'Oreal Quick Dry SPF 30 on my body.  I got hardly any colour, but I didn't burn, so that was a plus.

Day 2 I kept the Sun Bum SPF 50 on my face but switched to Kate Somerville Body Glow SPF 20 for body, I had received it a few months prior and was excited to try it.  I was even more excited when I realized it had gold shimmer in it, cause nothing says "vacation" like gold shimmer.  Now the second day of sun was slightly more booze fueled than the first and I may not have been reapplying my sunscreen correctly.  *You should always reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after a lot of time in the water*.  Since it's usually only my shoulders that burn, there's where I was reapplying.  This vacation was an exception to that, I burned my stomach around where my sternum is, so random, but it got super red.  I brought along with Kate Somerville Tan Maximizer, I applied this liberally every evening to calm down the redness.  It has that distinct sunscreen smell, which I'm not a very big fan off, but whatever, I needed the hydration.

Day 3 Since I was still feeling a bit burnt, I kept using the Kate Somerville SPF 20 on body and switched to my favorite Jurlique Sun Specialist SPF 40 for my face, it just smells so damn good and feels rich and hydrating.  I wear it on the daily even though its designed for beach use, its just so good.

Day 4, I needed a break from the sun and pretty much slept all day, had a quick workout, and bathed in after sun lotion.

Day 5 Still feeling a bit worried about my not yet peeling burn, I bought some Sun Bun SPF 50 for my body so I wouldn't get anymore burnt.  My tanning had haulted, but I wasn't peeing yet.  I stopped by a shop in St John and got Solar Recovery - Save Your Skin that has a concoction of natural oils to stop burns.  The label even said something to the effect of "We don't know how it works, it just does" sounds good to me!  My skin looked better over night, it is such a nice light hydrating spray and smells amazing. I'm still spraying it on myself when I get out of the shower every morning.

The Ultimate Tanning Lotion

Day 6 I wasn't about to leave this island without a dark tan, time to call in the big guns! I busted out my absolute favorite Lancaster SPF 6 Tan Deepener, and proceeded to bake in the sun, seriously nothing is better!  Without fail it got a beautiful tan and my burn didn't get any worse, woo-hoo!!

I continued using the Solar Recovery Spray to prevent my tan from fading, but I knew my tan would start fading if I didn't find something heavier for hydration so I grabbed the Coola ER+ Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion and instantly fell in love.  Almost 100% natural ingredients, an emollient formula designed to prolong your tan and reduce inflammation.  It's been my body moisturizer since.

A little poolside stretch  

The following week I was working in Vegas, my sister was kind enough to get me a cabana at the Caesars Venus Pool for my bday.  I laid out for about 4 hours using the Lancaster SPF 6.  I would have stayed out longer, but when you're getting free drinks and they're the size of a big gulp, nap time comes a bit sooner than normal.

And the week after that I went in Hawaii for work, I took full advantage of the little sunny free time I had (about 4 hours total in 2 visits) and again used the Lancaster SPF 6.  This stuff is legit a tanning miracle, every time I use it I get amazing colour without burning.  Only problem with it is the sheer tint is a bit staining on white clothes.  Being that I was sporting my white AussieBum booty shorts, it can be a bit of a problem.

In case you couldn't figure it out, here's my formula for tanning.  Start off with a high SPF to get your skin use to the sun and gradually lower your protection to get darker once you've built up a tolerance.  Always use hydrating and anti-inflammatory after sun products, this will calm down your skin, prevent peeling, and help maintain your tan for a longer period of time.  It's been 2 weeks since I've been in the sun and the tan on my body hasn't faded at all.  My face does get a little lighter due to all the exfoliants and retinoids I use, but a few drops of the Clarins Radiance Plus Glow Booster helps fix that problem.  This is my routine all summer long, then come winter it's time to break out the chemical peels and heavy retinals to get rid of all that sun damage I just caused...