Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Review: Number 4 High Performance Hair Care Sugar Texturizing Spray

*Product sent for review. All opinions are my own, as always*
Salt sprays for your hair are all the rage, but a sugar spray? I had honestly never heard of them before, until I was given the chance to try the Sugar Texturizing Spray from the brand Number 4. 

Here is some info on the product from their website:  

Sugar Texturizing Spray denounces salt while heralding sugar in a declaration of sweet love for hair texture that is perfectly undone. Transform limp, lackluster strands into loose, touchably soft, “beach inspired” waves with a nourishing blend of sugar and flexible styling aids. Sugar Texturizing Spray aids in style defense against humidity to help build a long-lasting relationship with texture that’s more than just a summer fling. 

Sugar Texturizing Spray achieves hair texture through simple sugar cane molecules and flexible styling aids producing a lattice of soft structure and haphazard patterns of loose, shiny waves. Flex net resins help keep glossy texture intact despite unfavorable conditions of heat and humidity, while anti-static properties provide extra nourishment.

Directions say to lightly spray on damp or dry hair and style as desired. Then you can air dry or blow dry with a diffuser. 

Now, like I said above, I had never heard of a sugar texturizing spray. Any salt sprays I would use ended up drying out my hair so bad, that I had to use a crazy amount of conditioner just to make my hair feel good again. Therefore, I would never use salt sprays, because I like soft hair that's manageable and easy to work with.  

I find the Sugar Texturizing Spray to be an absolutely fantastic alternative to salt sprays! It hasn't made my hair feel any different texture wise once I wash again, and it doesn't make my hair feel crunchy like other texturizing sprays can.

The one thing I'm not a huge fan of is the scent. It has notes of Tonka Beans, Patchouli, and Spanish Moss. If you're a fan of these fragrances, then this will likely be a texturizing spray you'll enjoy. I can be very sensitive to certain scents, and depending on how my allergies are on certain days, I have to skip this. Otherwise, I'm a fan!

You can find the Sugar Texturizing Spray on the Number 4 website, as well as a whole bunch of other products for hair and body. 

What do you think of a sugar texturizing spray versus a salt spray?

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Finding the Perfect Car w/ Cars.com

*This is a sponsored post*

Car shopping can be one of the most intimidating things to do. Being equipped with the knowledge and being prepared before going into a dealership, or private sale, is incredibly important, and Cars.com makes the task so much easier!

It's no secret that my husband and I are on a budget lately. We're also in the process of looking for a newer to us vehicle, as the one we have is pretty old. We need something that is family friendly because of Olivia, but at a great price point. Cars.com is incredible because you can input so much different info, from a certain model you're looking for, to the price point you want. The website also has a very handy Videos & Reviews section, which can really be beneficial while doing research!

When you find a vehicle you prefer, it's so important to do tons and tons of research! Look up different models you're interested in. Look up reviews. Determine your budget. With all that information, you go into a dealership feeling confident and ready to (hopefully) take home a new car! 

Another piece of advice that I've learned over the years is to not buy anything our of your comfort zone price-wise. Keep a mental note of the price you want to spend for a certain car, and keep doing your research. 

Eventually, the perfect car will come your way, and you'll have Cars.com to thank for it! 

Are you looking into buying a new car soon?

Monday, August 21, 2017

Ulta Beauty Haul

I haven't purchased anything beauty related since December 2016. Yep, a full 7 months of not spending any money on makeup, skincare, haircare, etc. If you're a reader of my blog, you know having my daughter early had me put my blog on hold, as well as taking care of myself. I used to love doing my makeup and having a long skincare routine. Since she's been born, I have yet to wear makeup and I still struggle with doing even the simplest of skincare routines. I had put myself on a no-buy for this year, but was really wanting to start feeling good about myself again. Did I need more makeup? No, not at all, but it felt good ordering new products to add to my collection, and Ulta is definitely my favorite place for all things beauty. 

I have a ton of skincare, but always enjoy trying something new, so when I saw the brand Skinfood was on sale, I took advantage! I picked up the Rice Brightening Scrub Foam and the Egg White Pore Hot Steam Pack. My skin needs some good exfoliation and brightening, and my blackheads are out of control, so I cannot wait to try these! Plus, I love Korean brand skincare, as they always seem to have the best products at typically great prices.

I need new eyeshadow palettes like I need a hole in my head. The Ulta brand had a sale going as well, and I was very interested in getting the Melisa Michelle palette. I just love her and have been following her YouTube channel for years now. Her palette comes with 9 eyeshadows, a highlight, blush and a liquid lipstick. Not a bad deal for just $20 if you ask me! I also picked up two of their other eyeshadow palettes, Rose Gold and Matte Neutrals. I can't wait to start playing with these!

During the time I made this purchase, there was a sampler pack of haircare if you spent a certain amount, so I decided to get it. There are so many nice products from Living Proof, It's a 10, Redken and more. I usually don't do much with my hair, and I typically let it air dry, but I'll be able to use most of these products. 

Is there anything you've treated yourself to lately?

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

May, June & July 2017 Empties

 *Links are affiliate links*
I fell incredibly behind on updating you all on the products I've used up. Being a mom has, of course, taken precedence in my life, and my daughter has had a ton of appointments. She's also been wanting more attention, so I try to get things done during naps, but she doesn't seem to like sleeping either. Anyway, I have three months worth of empty products to share with you, and I'm quite proud of what I have!

I'll start with skincare, since that's what I have the most of. I used a When Glamour Base sheet mask, which I was a fan of! I feel like it did brighten up my skin and helped it feel more hydrated. 

The Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream took me a while to use, considering it's a deluxe sample size. It has SPF in it, so I would only use it on days where I would leave the house. It seemed like it was fine, but nothing special. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner used to be one of my favorite toners to use, until I discovered it has a high concentration of alcohol in it. This was my last bottle, thank goodness, so I won't repurchase again. 

I LOVED the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster! I would put just a couple drops into my morning moisturizer, which really seemed to help with some dehydration I was having. I doubt I'd repurchase, since Dermalogica is quite an expensive brand. 

I had the Michael Todd Pumpkin Nutrient-Rich Facial Mask in my stash for quite a while, so I'm glad I was able to use it up. It was very tingly on my skin, and left it a bit red once I rinsed it off. It did, however, make my skin feel super soft. 

The Boscia Luminizing Black Mask is a love/hate for me. I love how incredibly soft it makes my skin feel, and it grabs any little baby hairs that are annoying. I hate how hard it is to remove. Seriously, if you get this anywhere near eyebrows or hairline, oh man does it hurt! I think I may have one more of these deluxe samples, but I wouldn't buy a full size. 

Origins is one of my favorite skincare brands, so it was no surprise I enjoyed the Make A Difference Plus Rejuvinating Treatment. I used it mainly as a serum before moisturizer, but it could be used by itself for very oily skin. I would consider buying this once my stash runs low. 

I used the Clinique Spot Healing Gel on any blemishes I may have gotten. Most times I only had to use this once, and the next day my skin was clear. I'm not too fussy when it comes to spot treatments, I just can't use benzoyl peroxide. 

I'm completely horrible with using body scrubs, but I adored the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Coconut Lime scent. I have so many scrubs to use, but I will likely buy this brand again when I use up what I have first. 

I go through lip balms like crazy normally, but I only have 1 I used up. I love the Badger brand, and their Lime Rocket scent of their Cocoa Butter Lip Balm is fabulous! Very moisturizing and kept my lips soft throughout the day. I have many different scents in my lip balm stash and don't think I'll run out anytime soon!

There's a sad story to the OXG Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil, since I didn't get to use it. I was cleaning up around the house and found the bottle laying on the floor, empty. I have no idea what happened to it, because my carpet is fine. I really wanted to use this too! My hair breaks easily, so I thought this would be great to use. Maybe one day I will purchase one for myself. 

I don't wear my contacts often, so it took a while to use up the Opti-Free Pure Moist contact solution. I surprisingly liked this, since most solutions burn my eyes, but this didn't. 

With how often I wash my hands, you would think I'd have more than one hand soap. Lemon Meringue Cheer from Bath & Body Works smelled amazing! Plus, I love these soaps with the scrubbing bits, although I think they end up drying out my hands more. 

Only one hand cream as well, also from Bath & Body Works. I absolutely adored this Island White Pineapple scent and would consider buying again. This is a great Summertime hand cream as it's not too heavy or greasy. 

We must've loved brushing our teeth the past few months! There's the Colgate Cavity Protection, Tom's of Maine Rapid Relief Sensitive, and a mini Crest that I had from when Olivia was in the hospital. The Colgate one my husband mostly used, and I always need a sensitive toothpaste. I was not a fan of this particular Tom's toothpaste, though. It made my teeth feel clean, but the taste wasn't very good, and I felt like I had bad breath really fast. 

I gotta include the baby products! So my daughter has fairly sensitive and dry skin. Because of that, her doctor recommended baths no more than twice a week, so we only used up two mini sizes of the Johnson's Head-to-Toe Wash, as well as a mini Johnson's Baby Lotion. I gotta admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Johnson's, but we have a ton of products we were given, plus I was able to take home what was used in the hospital, so we're likely set with body washes and lotions for the next year. 

The Hydraguard Phytoplex Silicone Cream is what was used on Olivia's diaper rash while she was recovering in the hospital from open heart surgery. Guys, THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I kid you not, this cleared up her diaper rash so fast, and made her butt so soft! I went on a hunt for this because I had never heard of it, and I found it on Amazon. When I run out of other diaper rash creams, this is what I will be buying. It's a miracle! Plus it smells like cake batter. 

Number of products used up: 21
Total used up for the year: 43

I probably mention this in nearly every empties post, but my goal for the year was to use up 150 products. That includes full size, deluxe samples, foil packet samples, and now Olivia's products. Considering we have about 4 and a half months left to the year, I'm not quite sure I can make that goal. I'm doing well so far in August, and have a bunch of stuff nearly finished. I also want to start doing my makeup again, and I know I need to clear out some old stuff that hasn't been used since before Olivia was born! So maybe I will make my goal, who knows? 

What are some things you've used up recently?