On the fifth day of Christmas, another fun way to do a themed gift is to make your own gift basket. My idea on the fourth day of Christmas was taking a "boring" gift and making it fun and themed. That example is when the main gift is the dvd or gift card and you're just adding a few bells and whistles to it. A gift basket is a collection of gifts where they all add up into one gift. There are so many gift basket options out there that you can buy pre-made but they're always so expensive. Plus sometimes it's just more fun to make your own. You can honestly make a gift basket out of any theme. That's the beauty of it. Since I used my Secret Santa example from last year, I'll use mine from this year as well. I heard mine really liked garlic so I decided to put together a garlic themed gift basket. I used fresh garlic cloves and a mini chopper to chop them up, garlic sea salt, garlic parmesan dressing, a bar that gets the scent of garlic off your hands and a book all about garlic that included a lot of recipes. Depending on your price range, you can do a big gift basket or a smaller one. If you have a budget, just make sure you're being resourceful in the items you get as the price can add up quickly. You also have to factor in the price of the basket. You can find affordable baskets, but you have to look for them. If you just go to a craft store and pick up the first basket you see, you'll probably spend too much!
Idea: Themed Gift Basket
Choosing the basket: Make sure you have a plan for what you're going to put in the basket before buying the basket. You don't want to get too big of a basket and then it will look empty if you don't have enough items to fill it. On the same note, you don't want a basket that is too small if some of the items you are buying are bigger. I would recommend buying the items first if you can, then searching for the right size basket to put them in. Also, that way you will know how much you have to spend on the basket after you've purchased the actual gifts. You also don't necessarily need to buy a "basket" if you can think of a more creative container that goes along with your theme. For example, if it's a drink theme, you could use an ice tub or cooler or if it's fishing themed, use a tackle box.
Filling the basket: As stated above, make sure that the items you buy fill the basket properly so it looks good. Presentation is half the fun of a gift basket. Make sure all the items are themed, don't just throw random things in unless random is your theme. Also, don't add something that doesn't go with the theme just because you have it and need a little more space to fill. You can use tissue paper or shredded colored paper as fillers for any empty space. You could also find a gift that goes with the theme that helps fill empty space. If you are making a baby themed basket, add a baby blanket to fill that space. Also make sure if you have any breakable items, that they are securely in the basket.
Putting the final touches on the basket: Cellophane, netting (similar to a veil) or shrink wrap are the best ways to "seal" up a basket. If you don't have the proper equipment for shrink wrap, just take cellophane or netting and wrap it around the basket and tie with a ribbon. If you are doing this last minute and don't have either of these choices, you can also tuck tissue paper around the items in your basket or just tie a ribbon or bow on top of the basket.
Friday, December 17, 2010
On the Fourth Day of Christmas...
Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday. On the fourth day of Christmas I'd like to share a tip on taking a "boring" gift and making it fun and themed. I personally like to give unique gifts with meaning. Whether that means it is a personalized gift or just something I know the person will really like. Well what happens when someone just wants a gift card or a cd or dvd? I mean I can't blame them, I have a huge amazon wishlist of dvds, but I just hate giving a dvd as a gift. It feels so impersonal to me. In order to make it your own, you have to give it a little flare. A perfect example I have for this is my Secret Santa from work last year. We used this program called Elfster that automatically picks everyone's Secret Santa and emails you the name. You can also create wishlists so that your Secret Santa can view it and get you something you want. Well my person had very unrealistic items on their wishlist such as season tickets to the Yankees, a new car, a house, etc. I thought about doing fun gag gifts to represent all the unrealistic wishes but then he also had The Hangover dvd on there. I figured he might really want that since it was the only realistic item on the list. I had to find a way to make it uniquely from me. I hadn't actually seen The Hangover at this point, it had literally just come out on dvd, but I knew it took place in Vegas so I decided to make the gift "Vegas Themed." First I started with the wrapping. I wraped the dvd in plain "grassy green" wrapping paper so it was similar to the color of a table in vegas. Then I printed out pictures of colored poker chips and cut them out and taped them all over the package. Then I bought a pack of cards and an airplane bottle of vodka. I also printed a mini poster of Holly Madison on a craps table. I taped the pack of cards to the package and rolled up the poster and put the mini bottle of vodka inside the poster and taped that on top of the cards. Alcohol, cards, a picture of a hot girl and a funny dvd, what more could a guy want?
Idea: Making a gift themed
Presentation - Find a way to wrap or package the gift so that it goes along with whatever theme you are going for. You can use printed pictures like I did, stickers, clippings from magazines, etc. One time I made a friend a scrapbook for a birthday present and I wrapped in completely in magazine covers of our favorite celebrities.
Accessories - Every girl knows how important it is to accessorize. Find small, inexpensive gifts that go along with the theme that you can decorate the package with or include in the bag, box or basket. If you are giving a dvd like I did, find some items that go along with a theme from the movie or items that are in a certain part of the movie. If I was giving PS I Love You, I might include some stationary or if I was giving ET, include some Reeses Pieces. If you're giving a gift card, maybe add a few small items that the store also sells. Usually most stores have small, inexpensive items by the register. For example if you were giving a Victoria's Secret gift card, throw in a pair of panties or some travel size fragrances or lip glosses.
Presentation - Find a way to wrap or package the gift so that it goes along with whatever theme you are going for. You can use printed pictures like I did, stickers, clippings from magazines, etc. One time I made a friend a scrapbook for a birthday present and I wrapped in completely in magazine covers of our favorite celebrities.
Accessories - Every girl knows how important it is to accessorize. Find small, inexpensive gifts that go along with the theme that you can decorate the package with or include in the bag, box or basket. If you are giving a dvd like I did, find some items that go along with a theme from the movie or items that are in a certain part of the movie. If I was giving PS I Love You, I might include some stationary or if I was giving ET, include some Reeses Pieces. If you're giving a gift card, maybe add a few small items that the store also sells. Usually most stores have small, inexpensive items by the register. For example if you were giving a Victoria's Secret gift card, throw in a pair of panties or some travel size fragrances or lip glosses.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
On the Third Day of Christmas...
Along with collecting wine corks with crafts, I also started collecting bottle caps. I thought there would be a lot of fun crafts I could make with them as well but after doing some research, bottle caps were a little more difficult to find ideas for. I did find one idea that I loved. Stemming from the picture frame idea yesterday, on the third day of Christmas, you can make a bottle cap picture frame. I personally love the way these look! They are very creative and you have so many options to make them look different and unique for each person on your list. Below is the picture of the first one I made. My boyfriends mom wanted a picture of me and him so I made her one but liked it so much I had to keep it for myself and make her a different one!
Project: Bottle Cap Picture Frame
Supplies Needed:
Bottle Caps (amount needed will vary depending on what words you want to spell out)
Letter stickers or thin markers to write out letters
Colored paper (construction paper or card stock)
Decorative scrapbooking mats or paper
Clear plastic picture frame (usually $1 or $2 at Walmart)
Tools needed:
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors
Pencil
Double stick tape (optional)
Step 1: Decide what you're going to spell out on the frame so you know how many bottle caps you need. You can use names or places like "Disney World" or words like "Friends", "Family", etc. The options are limitless!
Step 2: Count out the number of bottle caps you will need to spell out what you want to say and decide what color paper you want to use inside the bottle caps. You can do all one color or every other color or multiple colors.
Step 3: Trace the "top" of a bottle cap onto the colored paper to make the correct number of circles. Use a pencil instead of a pen so it's not permanent.
Step 4: Cut out the circles and glue them on the inside of the bottle caps. (Put them pencil side down in case there are any tracing lines showing)
Step 5: Use letter stickers or write the letters on the inside of the bottle cap. One letter per bottle cap looks best.
Step 6: Glue the bottle caps "top" side down so that the inside with the letters is showing. You can spell out your word horizontal, up and down, etc. I like to make the caps up and down, every other one, to make more room and to make it look more artsy.
Step 7: Use a scrapbooking decorative photo mat in the frame to use as a border. Pick a pattern that has colors that match the colors you used inside the bottle caps. I like to pick a frame that's bigger than the picture I want to put in so that the decorative border shows. If you use a picture that is the exact size of the frame you can skip this step.
Step 8: Insert the photo you want to use inside the frame. If you do use a bigger frame and the matt, I'd recommend using some double stick tape to center the picture on the matt so it doesn't slide. I've also taken multiple smaller printed pictures and made a collage on the matt.
Project: Bottle Cap Picture Frame
Supplies Needed:
Bottle Caps (amount needed will vary depending on what words you want to spell out)
Letter stickers or thin markers to write out letters
Colored paper (construction paper or card stock)
Decorative scrapbooking mats or paper
Clear plastic picture frame (usually $1 or $2 at Walmart)
Tools needed:
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors
Pencil
Double stick tape (optional)
Step 1: Decide what you're going to spell out on the frame so you know how many bottle caps you need. You can use names or places like "Disney World" or words like "Friends", "Family", etc. The options are limitless!
Step 2: Count out the number of bottle caps you will need to spell out what you want to say and decide what color paper you want to use inside the bottle caps. You can do all one color or every other color or multiple colors.
Step 3: Trace the "top" of a bottle cap onto the colored paper to make the correct number of circles. Use a pencil instead of a pen so it's not permanent.
Step 4: Cut out the circles and glue them on the inside of the bottle caps. (Put them pencil side down in case there are any tracing lines showing)
Step 5: Use letter stickers or write the letters on the inside of the bottle cap. One letter per bottle cap looks best.
Step 6: Glue the bottle caps "top" side down so that the inside with the letters is showing. You can spell out your word horizontal, up and down, etc. I like to make the caps up and down, every other one, to make more room and to make it look more artsy.
Step 7: Use a scrapbooking decorative photo mat in the frame to use as a border. Pick a pattern that has colors that match the colors you used inside the bottle caps. I like to pick a frame that's bigger than the picture I want to put in so that the decorative border shows. If you use a picture that is the exact size of the frame you can skip this step.
Step 8: Insert the photo you want to use inside the frame. If you do use a bigger frame and the matt, I'd recommend using some double stick tape to center the picture on the matt so it doesn't slide. I've also taken multiple smaller printed pictures and made a collage on the matt.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
On the Second Day of Christmas...
To keep with the wine cork theme, on the second day of Christmas, I'm going to share a super easy, fun craft that also makes a great, personable gift.
Craft: Wine Cork Picture Frame
Supplies Needed:
12 Wine corks (amount needed may vary)
Cheap plastic picture frame ($1 or $2 at Walmart)
A print of a favorite photo to go in the frame
Tools Needed:
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Step 1: Glue wine corks around frame
Step 2: Insert picture in frame
It is literally that easy. I like to use wine corks from the same winery and then put a picture from that winery in the frame. For example, in the picture above, I asked for spare corks at Keswick Vineyards and then the picture in the frame is of me and my boyfriend at the winery. I also gave my brother and his wife a picture of them together at a winery in Seattle with corks that I got from the winery on the frame. You could also mix it up with corks from wines you've tried together or different corks from a wine tour. Another variation of this would be to paint the corks to make the frame colorful. There are so many options!
Craft: Wine Cork Picture Frame
Supplies Needed:
12 Wine corks (amount needed may vary)
Cheap plastic picture frame ($1 or $2 at Walmart)
A print of a favorite photo to go in the frame
Tools Needed:
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Step 1: Glue wine corks around frame
Step 2: Insert picture in frame
It is literally that easy. I like to use wine corks from the same winery and then put a picture from that winery in the frame. For example, in the picture above, I asked for spare corks at Keswick Vineyards and then the picture in the frame is of me and my boyfriend at the winery. I also gave my brother and his wife a picture of them together at a winery in Seattle with corks that I got from the winery on the frame. You could also mix it up with corks from wines you've tried together or different corks from a wine tour. Another variation of this would be to paint the corks to make the frame colorful. There are so many options!
Monday, December 13, 2010
On the First Day of Christmas...
As promised I am going to do a "12 Days of Christmas" affordable gift ideas blog of things that you can make, bake or put together yourself. I have a whole list of ideas but I haven't tried all of them. I only want to write about ones that I've personally made myself so I'm not just copying and pasting someone else's idea.
So on the First Day of Christmas, I'm going to share my favorite craft idea. A while ago, my boyfriend and I started becoming interested in wine. As we started to try different bottles, I decided to start collecting the corks. I thought it would be fun to figure out some wine cork crafts to do. What really jump started my cork collection was him bringing home a bag of corks from his work where they do wine tasting. That way I actually had enough to make a bunch of things since you have to drink a lot of wine to get your collection started.
So once I had corks, I needed ideas. Visiting a winery a couple years ago, we purchased the cutest reindeer ornament I believe I paid $6 for it but decided it was a good investment so that I would have a tangible example if I wanted to try and make them myself.
Craft: Reindeer Ornament
Supplies Needed:
-5 wine corks (you can use cork or rubber corks but need at least one regular cork for the neck)
-Small red pom poms for nose
- Medium pom poms for tail, preferably in Christmas colors (red, green, white)
-Tiny black pom poms for eyes
-Brown pipe cleaners for antlers
-Brown felt for ears
-Thick decorative ribbon for saddle and thin ribbon to hang ornament
Tools Needed:
-Hot glue gun and glue sticks
-Scissors
-Knife
Step 1: Glue 4 wine corks together to make body and neck (see above picture).
Step 2: Before adding the head, shave the top of the neck using a knife so that the top is slanted.
Step 3: Glue the head on the slanted part so that it is at an angle (see above picture).
Step 4: Cut and shape pipe cleaners to make antlers and glue on head.
Step 5: Cut out 2 ears from felt and glue on back of head.
Step 6: Glue on 2 tiny black pom poms for eyes
Step 7: Glue on small red pom pom for nose
Step 8: Glue on medium pom pom for tail
Step 9: Cut a small piece of decorative ribbon and glue on for saddle
Step 10: Cut a thin piece of ribbon long enough to make a loop, tie it around neck leaving a loop to hang as an ornament.
This is one of those projects that's pretty self explanatory as long as you have an example to look at. You just need to get the basic body and then you can improvise with the add ons for the face, tail, ears, etc. I'm sure there are tons of variations. The first year I discovered these, I gave them as Christmas presents to everyone! They're super cute and fairly easy to make once you have all the supplies!
So on the First Day of Christmas, I'm going to share my favorite craft idea. A while ago, my boyfriend and I started becoming interested in wine. As we started to try different bottles, I decided to start collecting the corks. I thought it would be fun to figure out some wine cork crafts to do. What really jump started my cork collection was him bringing home a bag of corks from his work where they do wine tasting. That way I actually had enough to make a bunch of things since you have to drink a lot of wine to get your collection started.
So once I had corks, I needed ideas. Visiting a winery a couple years ago, we purchased the cutest reindeer ornament I believe I paid $6 for it but decided it was a good investment so that I would have a tangible example if I wanted to try and make them myself.
Supplies Needed:
-5 wine corks (you can use cork or rubber corks but need at least one regular cork for the neck)
-Small red pom poms for nose
- Medium pom poms for tail, preferably in Christmas colors (red, green, white)
-Tiny black pom poms for eyes
-Brown pipe cleaners for antlers
-Brown felt for ears
-Thick decorative ribbon for saddle and thin ribbon to hang ornament
Tools Needed:
-Hot glue gun and glue sticks
-Scissors
-Knife
Step 1: Glue 4 wine corks together to make body and neck (see above picture).
Step 2: Before adding the head, shave the top of the neck using a knife so that the top is slanted.
Step 3: Glue the head on the slanted part so that it is at an angle (see above picture).
Step 4: Cut and shape pipe cleaners to make antlers and glue on head.
Step 5: Cut out 2 ears from felt and glue on back of head.
Step 6: Glue on 2 tiny black pom poms for eyes
Step 7: Glue on small red pom pom for nose
Step 8: Glue on medium pom pom for tail
Step 9: Cut a small piece of decorative ribbon and glue on for saddle
Step 10: Cut a thin piece of ribbon long enough to make a loop, tie it around neck leaving a loop to hang as an ornament.
This is one of those projects that's pretty self explanatory as long as you have an example to look at. You just need to get the basic body and then you can improvise with the add ons for the face, tail, ears, etc. I'm sure there are tons of variations. The first year I discovered these, I gave them as Christmas presents to everyone! They're super cute and fairly easy to make once you have all the supplies!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Countdown to Christmas the Crafty Way
I love countdown's to Christmas. Everything from ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" to advent calendars to those green and red chains paper chains we used to make in elementary school. I love that as soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers are packed in the fridge, the whole world turns into a magical snow globe filled with holiday music, movies, shopping, decorating, crafts, baking and gift giving. Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot resist a theme and the holidays give me a whole month of themed bliss. I really wanted to do a blog a day in December to countdown to Christmas but unfortunately I missed the train considering today is December 2. Aside from that, I will also be in Florida for a week starting on Saturday at the Baseball Winter Meetings where I don't count on having much time to blog. So instead, I will offer the more classic "12 Days of Christmas" version which will run from December 13-24. I will feature fun holiday craft and baked good ideas as well as Do It Yourself gifts. To hold you over until then, I offer you the classic countdown to Christmas paper chain project!
Craft: Basic "Countdown to Christmas" Paper Chain
Needed: Colorful paper, scissors, stapler and staples or glue or tape: For the paper you can use any colors: red and green or red, green and white would be the most classic for Christmas. You could also do blue and white for winter. Construction paper works best.
Additional supplies: If you want to spice yours up, use glitter, holiday stickers, photos, markers, crayons, etc to decorate the chain.
Step 1: Cut out 25 strips of paper: 1 for every day from December 1 until December 25 (Christmas).
Step 2 (optional): If you'd like to decorate the individual strips, you can add glitter, stickers, quotes, wishes, etc. before linking them to make a chain.
Step 3: Take the first strip and make it into a circle; staple, tape or glue the ends together.
Step 4: Take the second strip and loop in through the first strip and staple, tape or glue. If you're using multiple colors, make sure to go every other one. (see photo above)
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 until finished.
You can use your chain as a decoration by wrapping it around your tree or railing on your staircase or just hanging it on the wall by your bed, calendar or in a doorway. The goal is to remove a link each day until Christmas as a fun countdown.
Stay tuned for my "12 Days of Christmas" blog and Happy Holidays!
Needed: Colorful paper, scissors, stapler and staples or glue or tape: For the paper you can use any colors: red and green or red, green and white would be the most classic for Christmas. You could also do blue and white for winter. Construction paper works best.
Additional supplies: If you want to spice yours up, use glitter, holiday stickers, photos, markers, crayons, etc to decorate the chain.
Step 1: Cut out 25 strips of paper: 1 for every day from December 1 until December 25 (Christmas).
Step 2 (optional): If you'd like to decorate the individual strips, you can add glitter, stickers, quotes, wishes, etc. before linking them to make a chain.
Step 3: Take the first strip and make it into a circle; staple, tape or glue the ends together.
Step 4: Take the second strip and loop in through the first strip and staple, tape or glue. If you're using multiple colors, make sure to go every other one. (see photo above)
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 until finished.
You can use your chain as a decoration by wrapping it around your tree or railing on your staircase or just hanging it on the wall by your bed, calendar or in a doorway. The goal is to remove a link each day until Christmas as a fun countdown.
Stay tuned for my "12 Days of Christmas" blog and Happy Holidays!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sampleicious Pot Luck: The Search for the Perfect Moisturizer Part 3 and More
As I've mentioned in the past, I love Sephora and love getting all of their free samples when I order something on their website. I've gathered quite the collection of samples but haven't been proactive about actually sampling the products. Sometimes you just need the right motivation to step aside from your daily routine and actually try new products. Now my first few "Sampleicious" reviews were specifically on moisturizers and were from a sample set that I purchased so the samples were "deluxe" samples which means they are bigger and will actually last a week or two. Most of my samples are little packets that are good for 1 or 2 uses. This does make it tougher to actualy get a gauge of if the product works or not but it's still great to feel the consistency, get a whiff of the scent, etc.
Above I mentioned finding the right motivation to actually try some of these samples. My motivation stems from cold weather, super dry skin, and one of those crazy people that won't leave you alone at the mall. I'm sure the end of that sentence needs a little explaining. I know all the ladies know what I'm talking about. When you're walking through the mall and a woman or man approaches you asking to see your nails. They might start by giving you a sample of lotion and if you take it, they have you hooked. Because I've been through this before, I usually don't take the sample or make eye contact with these people because they're very nice and I don't want to be rude but I don't want what they're selling and once they have you hooked they won't leave you alone. Well they caught me on a day when I was on a mission to try and find men's white flip flops the last weekend in October. Obviously this was a tough task and I was very distracted trying to decide what stores to look in and I made the mistake of taking the sample. The woman had baited and hooked me and because I didn't want to be rude, I let her reel me in. I told her right away, I already have that nail buffer thing they say is so magical and I honestly never use the thing. I thought I could get rid of her quickly because I thought that's all they were selling. Much to my suprise, she had a back up plan. Before I knew it, she had my sleeve rolled up and was rubbing dead see minerals on my wrist showing me how it slothed off dead skin cells and how moisturizer doesn't work properly without exfoliating your face twice a week. Now if I had some extra money, she may have gotten me, especially after she kept bringing the price down (never take the first offer from these people!) but I didn't so she wasted her time. However, she did plant the seed in my mind that I needed some sort of facial scrub so that my moisturizer would work properly. Especially since I am in the process of finding a new moisturizer, I want to give each sample a fair test on a fresh face.
So there was my motivation. I sifted through my samples to see if I had any facial scrub, mask, peel or exfoliant and came across Kate Somerville Exfolikate. I immediately started running the warm water, read the directions and began making circular motions with the grainy green substance all over my face. It burned a little and my face was red after rinsing but that was to be expected after rubbing a harsh substance in circular motions on your skin and the redness and stinging sensation didn't last long. Ultimately my face felt fresher and moisturizer ready after using this product. This product is very pricey, you can get .5 oz for $19 but for the full 5 oz size product, it's $175! I need to keep looking for an exfoliant because this is way out of my price range but since you are only supposed to use it twice a week, I'm sure a full size once would last you a while! Below is the fitting description from Sephora.com:
What it is:
A dual action exfoliation method.
What it is formulated to do:
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment is Kate's top-selling product, and the next best thing to seeing Kate in the Clinic! Treat yourself to this at-home facial for fantastic, instant results. This signature formula works both physically and enzymatically to deliver safe, dramatic results in one application. It effectively combats acne and blackheads, reduces discoloration, and polishes skin for a smooth complexion. Welcome to healthy skin, a healthy glow, and a healthy you!
What else you need to know:
This expert formula harnesses the power of fruit enzymes to clarify skin by removing dead cells and eliminating bacteria. It is ideal for all skin types, except sensitive skin.
After sampling the exfoliant, I needed a moisturizer to finish my at home facial. I thought I had grabbed one but I actually had a similar looking sample that was an eye cream. I decided to try that first. It was Ole Henriksen Visual Truth Eye Cream. I believe an eye cream is one of those products that you feel better using, but I'm not sure how easy it is to see the results. Eye creams are probably more for long term use to save your eyes from wrinkles than instant visualization. Either way, this one felt nice on my skin and you only need to use a very tiny bit since the eye area is small so the sample actually lasted me all weekend. The one issue I had with this eye cream was I tried to put it on before bed one night and got a little in my eye, my eyes were watering for like 20 minutes it burned so bad. So be careful and don't put this product on when tired where you might make a mistake and get some on the inside of your eye. It's $45 for .5 oz but the eye area is small so this should last you a long time.
Acting as a second skin this extra rich eye creme utilizes powerful humectants to bind moisture to the cells as it provides intense free radical protection to help prevent further damage. It instantly provides lift and resiliency to the delicate tissue surrounding the eyes, promoting elasticity and muscle tone to keep wrinkles at bay.
After using the eye cream, I popped open the matching moisturizer. This one is Ole Henriksen Express the Truth. This moisturizer felt really good on my face. I think it had an advantage because I had just exfoliated so any moisturizer may have felt great after that. This one does not have an SPF so it may not be what I was looking for but while marked unscented, it has a very pleasant scent to it and includes ingrediants such as African Red Tea and Vitamin C which appeal to me. It's $65 for 1.7 oz so it is quite pricey but again you don't need a lot per use even though you're covering your whole face.
This truly superior antioxidant moisturizer helps your skin resist the formation of new wrinkles as it works through the night to repair existing fine lines and wrinkles. This ultra hydrating rich texture creme is packed with nature's most powerful antioxidants like ester C and African red tea to help to calm and soothe the skin as well as fight off environmental aggressors and free radical damage. Dry skin will be hydrated, lifted, and protected utilizing a synergy of ingredients like all natural macadamia nut oil, a deeply nourishing extract that works to repair skin during the night and polylysine, a unique all-natural peptide that greatly improves skins elasticity and muscle tone which inhibit deep wrinkles from forming.
The final sample I tried this past weekend was Laura Geller Lip Strip Cooling Sugar Scrub. I always have issues with dry or chapped lips so I'm addicted to trying any new lip products, especially ones that promise softer smoother lips. In the past I've used Mary Kay's Satin Lip Set and I used to be a big fan of it but I think I'm ready to see what else is out there. I've been saving this sample for a while now and I was finally ready to take the plunge. The one mistake I made was trying it after putting moisturizer on my face. A lip scrub can get a little messy around the edges so it's best to wait to put any products on your face until after using the scrub so you don't have moisturizer running down your chin. Aside from that minor mistake, I was very pleased with the scrub. You need very little so a small pot of this would last a long time. You just rub circular motions on your lips with the scrub and then rinse with warm water. My lips definitely felt softer after 1 use so I can imagine it would be even better using this product on a regular basis. Now the weird thing is, I am pretty sure I got this sample from Sephora where I get all my samples, but they don't seem to sell the brand or at least not anymore. After some googling, I did find this product at QVC, Amazon and Macy's along with some other sites ranging from $15-$19 for a 1 oz pot. Below is a description from QVC.
Above I mentioned finding the right motivation to actually try some of these samples. My motivation stems from cold weather, super dry skin, and one of those crazy people that won't leave you alone at the mall. I'm sure the end of that sentence needs a little explaining. I know all the ladies know what I'm talking about. When you're walking through the mall and a woman or man approaches you asking to see your nails. They might start by giving you a sample of lotion and if you take it, they have you hooked. Because I've been through this before, I usually don't take the sample or make eye contact with these people because they're very nice and I don't want to be rude but I don't want what they're selling and once they have you hooked they won't leave you alone. Well they caught me on a day when I was on a mission to try and find men's white flip flops the last weekend in October. Obviously this was a tough task and I was very distracted trying to decide what stores to look in and I made the mistake of taking the sample. The woman had baited and hooked me and because I didn't want to be rude, I let her reel me in. I told her right away, I already have that nail buffer thing they say is so magical and I honestly never use the thing. I thought I could get rid of her quickly because I thought that's all they were selling. Much to my suprise, she had a back up plan. Before I knew it, she had my sleeve rolled up and was rubbing dead see minerals on my wrist showing me how it slothed off dead skin cells and how moisturizer doesn't work properly without exfoliating your face twice a week. Now if I had some extra money, she may have gotten me, especially after she kept bringing the price down (never take the first offer from these people!) but I didn't so she wasted her time. However, she did plant the seed in my mind that I needed some sort of facial scrub so that my moisturizer would work properly. Especially since I am in the process of finding a new moisturizer, I want to give each sample a fair test on a fresh face.
So there was my motivation. I sifted through my samples to see if I had any facial scrub, mask, peel or exfoliant and came across Kate Somerville Exfolikate. I immediately started running the warm water, read the directions and began making circular motions with the grainy green substance all over my face. It burned a little and my face was red after rinsing but that was to be expected after rubbing a harsh substance in circular motions on your skin and the redness and stinging sensation didn't last long. Ultimately my face felt fresher and moisturizer ready after using this product. This product is very pricey, you can get .5 oz for $19 but for the full 5 oz size product, it's $175! I need to keep looking for an exfoliant because this is way out of my price range but since you are only supposed to use it twice a week, I'm sure a full size once would last you a while! Below is the fitting description from Sephora.com:
ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment
What it is:
A dual action exfoliation method.
What it is formulated to do:
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment is Kate's top-selling product, and the next best thing to seeing Kate in the Clinic! Treat yourself to this at-home facial for fantastic, instant results. This signature formula works both physically and enzymatically to deliver safe, dramatic results in one application. It effectively combats acne and blackheads, reduces discoloration, and polishes skin for a smooth complexion. Welcome to healthy skin, a healthy glow, and a healthy you!
What else you need to know:
This expert formula harnesses the power of fruit enzymes to clarify skin by removing dead cells and eliminating bacteria. It is ideal for all skin types, except sensitive skin.
After sampling the exfoliant, I needed a moisturizer to finish my at home facial. I thought I had grabbed one but I actually had a similar looking sample that was an eye cream. I decided to try that first. It was Ole Henriksen Visual Truth Eye Cream. I believe an eye cream is one of those products that you feel better using, but I'm not sure how easy it is to see the results. Eye creams are probably more for long term use to save your eyes from wrinkles than instant visualization. Either way, this one felt nice on my skin and you only need to use a very tiny bit since the eye area is small so the sample actually lasted me all weekend. The one issue I had with this eye cream was I tried to put it on before bed one night and got a little in my eye, my eyes were watering for like 20 minutes it burned so bad. So be careful and don't put this product on when tired where you might make a mistake and get some on the inside of your eye. It's $45 for .5 oz but the eye area is small so this should last you a long time.
Visual Truth Eye Creme
Acting as a second skin this extra rich eye creme utilizes powerful humectants to bind moisture to the cells as it provides intense free radical protection to help prevent further damage. It instantly provides lift and resiliency to the delicate tissue surrounding the eyes, promoting elasticity and muscle tone to keep wrinkles at bay.
After using the eye cream, I popped open the matching moisturizer. This one is Ole Henriksen Express the Truth. This moisturizer felt really good on my face. I think it had an advantage because I had just exfoliated so any moisturizer may have felt great after that. This one does not have an SPF so it may not be what I was looking for but while marked unscented, it has a very pleasant scent to it and includes ingrediants such as African Red Tea and Vitamin C which appeal to me. It's $65 for 1.7 oz so it is quite pricey but again you don't need a lot per use even though you're covering your whole face.
Moisturizer # 3:
Ole Henriksen Express The Truth, $65 for 1.7 oz
This truly superior antioxidant moisturizer helps your skin resist the formation of new wrinkles as it works through the night to repair existing fine lines and wrinkles. This ultra hydrating rich texture creme is packed with nature's most powerful antioxidants like ester C and African red tea to help to calm and soothe the skin as well as fight off environmental aggressors and free radical damage. Dry skin will be hydrated, lifted, and protected utilizing a synergy of ingredients like all natural macadamia nut oil, a deeply nourishing extract that works to repair skin during the night and polylysine, a unique all-natural peptide that greatly improves skins elasticity and muscle tone which inhibit deep wrinkles from forming.
The final sample I tried this past weekend was Laura Geller Lip Strip Cooling Sugar Scrub. I always have issues with dry or chapped lips so I'm addicted to trying any new lip products, especially ones that promise softer smoother lips. In the past I've used Mary Kay's Satin Lip Set and I used to be a big fan of it but I think I'm ready to see what else is out there. I've been saving this sample for a while now and I was finally ready to take the plunge. The one mistake I made was trying it after putting moisturizer on my face. A lip scrub can get a little messy around the edges so it's best to wait to put any products on your face until after using the scrub so you don't have moisturizer running down your chin. Aside from that minor mistake, I was very pleased with the scrub. You need very little so a small pot of this would last a long time. You just rub circular motions on your lips with the scrub and then rinse with warm water. My lips definitely felt softer after 1 use so I can imagine it would be even better using this product on a regular basis. Now the weird thing is, I am pretty sure I got this sample from Sephora where I get all my samples, but they don't seem to sell the brand or at least not anymore. After some googling, I did find this product at QVC, Amazon and Macy's along with some other sites ranging from $15-$19 for a 1 oz pot. Below is a description from QVC.
Laura Geller Lip Strip
Why is it different: This delicious formula blends cosmetic quality Brazilian sugar, a natural and mild exfoliant that smoothes and soothes, with peppermint and spearmint oils, which provide an invigorating, cooling sensation without irritation, in a creamy base. Loaded with lubricating butters, this soothing and effective treatment will help to smooth away dry, flaky skin on lips. Plus, it's so natural, you can actually lick it off!
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