Sometimes You Just Have to Smile

Being someone who has worked in customer service or dealt with the public for my entire 'career', I learned to 'kill em with kindness' and in doing so, I have carried with me the need to smile at all the people.  I smile at people in parking lots, at cashiers, at the dude working the drive through... and I am NOT a people person... but, sometimes, you just have to smile!

There really isn't a point to this post, I saw the meme (above) and it made me giggle so I thought I would challenge everyone reading this to smile a little more.  I promise that just smiling and maybe saying "Good Morning" to a passing stranger will not only make you feel better, but make them feel better too.  Who knows, maybe they were having a bad day and you just gave them a smile and made the day a little brighter.

Empties Update...

Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel

Picture Source

Pros:

Availability - You can get this online, through Sephora so it is pretty easily accessible to anyone who normally shops there.

Price - While some may find the $65 Cdn (for 1.69 fl. oz) price steep, compared to most other higher end skincare lines, this falls right in the middle and is definitely a price point that I think would make most people happy

Change to MY Skin - I only had a mini sample of this from Sephora so used it for about 4 or 5 nights and WOW... I was blown away by how smooth my skins texture was.  I have never used a product that provided such immediate results.  My pore were smaller and my overall skin just looked brighter. 

Cruelty Free - Pretty much says it all

Cons:

Price - I know I said the price was reasonable, but I did find that I used up my sample very quickly.  I can't remember, off hand, how big the sample was for comparison and until I use a full size I can't officially say but it did feel like it would be a product that was used up quickly

Overall:

Having only used this product for a handful of days, I can honestly tell you that I loved it.  I will definitely be purchasing a full-size of it, once I run through some other skincare I have because the change in my skin in such a short period of time was insane.  I look forward to trying more items from Drunk Elephant in the future.

Remember to SMILE!!

Laugh At Yourself

Learning to laugh at yourself is definitely a lesson that is learned through time.  In my family, you have to be able to laugh at yourself because if you don't, chances are, you will be only one not laughing.  We are a sarcastic group of people who look for any chance to laugh at one another... sad, but true.

This past weekend, on Father's Day, we had a BBQ and because the weather was so wonderful (read hot and sweaty), my parents set up a two-lane Slip 'n Slide in the backyard and while the assumption is that it was for the kids, the adults needed to give it a whirl too.

Here's the line-up:

Dad - total champion.  Great form, slid the full length and had a great dismount at the end... I sort of hate him right now

Steven (my son) - Decent form... he's 8 so very gangly and awkward, slid almost the full length and had a bunch of fun

Murray (husband) - Moderate form, slid the full length and had a slightly less than stellar dismount but I give him full credit, I didn't think he would have any form or style

Mom - Great run up but came to a full-stop at the start of the slide and basically just fell on to it and slid about 2 feet... needless to say, bad form, bad distance and no dismount to be seen

Me - Well... I personally thought I had the whole thing down pat however, it didn't go exactly as I planned or envisioned in my mind.  I took the standard 10 foot run-up and then (all this is according to the many witnesses) I swan dove about 6-feet into the air and belly flopped on to the slide.  Yep... landed flat out and had zero slide.  Zero form, no distance and horrifying dismount.

Needless to say, we have renamed the Slip 'n Slide to the Run 'n Thud.

Empties Update...

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny

Pros:
Availability - I purchase these in packs of three through Amazon because my local drugstores no longer carry this version but I have heard that they are still found throughout the US so they are very easy to get your hands on
Price - As I said, I buy mine is a three-pack for $13 (including shipping) but if you can find this in store, they generally run around $3 each
Colour - This is the perfect colour for an all over face bronzer... at least for my pale as white paint skin.  I absolutely love it!

Cons:
Not Cruelty Free - According to Cruelty Free Kitty, NYC has no clear stance on animal testing but are owned by Coty who does test on animals.

Overall:
I am so sad that NYC is not a cruelty free company because this bronzer is, by far, my favourite bronzer in my collection... and that I have tried.  I do have two more to use up before I can move on to a CF brand but I will no longer be purchasing this product.  If you aren't concerned about CF then I can 100% recommend it!

Why do so many companies still find it necessary to test on animals?

We Have Baby Raccoons

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed me for any length of time, but I love animals... all sorts of furry creatures.  We have two cats and a dog currently and I think if we lived in a larger house, I would have a very hard time turning away more cats.  Yes, I am a die-hard cat lover.  I stalk Pinterest obsessively for cute cat pictures, funny cat pictures, cat memes and well, all things cat.  My spirit animal is Grumpy Cat!

Yesterday, the tree trimmers at work came into the office to tell us that there were baby raccoons in one of the trees they needed to get into so I immediately grabbed my camera and headed outside...

I tried very hard to convince my coworkers to let me bring him in and domesticate him... I mean who doesn't want a pet baby raccoon to destroy your workplace?!  DUH!  Needless to say, they all said no and we watched as they were carefully relocated to a new tree.  SO CUTE!

*I am clearly joking about bringing the raccoon in... they are jerks so don't do it*

Empties Update...

Simple Sensitive Skin Experts Cleansing Facial Wipes

Pros:
Availability - Can be found at Walmart and most drugstores
Moisture Level - I find that these hold up throughout the whole package and never leave me needing a second
Cost - For a name brand wipe, these are pretty comparable to all the other brands available

Cons:
Cost - While comparable to most other name brand wipes, $9.99 Cdn for 25-wipes is still fairly expensive,  Technically, you need more than one package a month
Not Cruelty Free - Even though the name indicates 'simple', the brand does currently test on animals

Overall:
These wipes have been my go-to makeup removing wipe for years... YEARS and I am deeply saddened to learn that they test on animals and that the Simple brand is not cruelty free.  For that reason, and that reason alone, I will no longer purchase these once I finish the hoard I have as back stock... we are talking many MANY packages so it will be a while.

Looks like the Clarisonic (not a cruelty free brand but I already own it so...) and some regular facial cleanser will be my way to go for the future.

Declutter Series | Candles

Time to start the next area of my declutter and no, it's not makeup because I am not ready for that... yes, I will get there but right now, I want to tackle the closet in my makeup room and to do that, I am starting with the insane hoard for Bath & Body Works candles that I have.

The problem that I have with the BBW candles are that they smell amazing but I only burn them in the fall and sometimes the winter.  This year I have burned them a little in the spring, if the weather is nice and cool (fall-esque) but I don't burn all year long.  Also, I am super sensitive to certain scents and order most of my candles online so there are candles that I have lite once and gotten an instant headache.  Instead of passing it along, or returning it, I just stash it back in the closet to never use again.  Total FAIL!

Currently, I have candles in my collection.  I hate to even say collection because THEY ARE CANDLES!  My goal isn't to just get rid of them because I would like to use the ones that I know I enjoy and even try the ones that I haven't ever used.  My plan is to figure out which candles I know I will never use and set those aside for the community yard sale this weekend.  Bath & Body Works candles are insanely expensive ($24 USD each, although I always buy when they are buy one get one free) so I know that they will get snapped up quickly.

The Plan:

1. Organize by Size and then Scent - I have multiple sizes of candles, from the mini's to the 3-wicks and really only like the 3-wicks so can just declutter any of the smaller ones.  As for scent, I love anything bakery, food scented so will likely keep anything in that range but cannot stand the more floral, summery scents.  For some reason they give me an instant headache and that's just not worth dealing with, even if the smell is amazing.
2. Set Aside Untried Scents - After combing through and removing any scents I know trigger headaches, I want to set aside the remaining candle scents that I have never tried so I can test each one and see if they are a trigger.  If they aren't, I will keep them but if they are, they can be added to the discard pile.

The plan here is pretty basic, if I like it and don't get a headache from it, it will stay... as long as it's a 3-wick.  Otherwise, it's out!

Once I have burned through the remaining candles in my collection, I will have to take a better look at Bath & Body Works cruelty free policy as some have said that they are not a CF company.  Bath & Body Works is owned by L'Oreal, who does test on animals, but I am not basing my decisions on the parent company, only the actual company I am purchasing from.  In this blog post (more so the comments section) you can see that as of late May 2016, BBW still was not selling in China and are currently listed on PETA's website as cruelty free.  However, they are not listed on the Cruelty Free Kitty website which is the holy grail of websites for CF information.  Let's get to the end of the stash and then see what the opinion is and maybe look at other companies for different options.

UPDATE:

Forgot to take a picture of the stash I got rid of and all of them sold at the yard sale this past weekend... who wouldn't buy a BBW candle for $1?  Ugh... so much waste.

Anyways, I now have just a handful (8) 3-wick candles left to burn and then I am going to see what I want to do.  While I love burning candles, there may be a more household appropriate option out there.  

Empties Update...

Sephora Collection Instant Moisturizer and Age Defy Night Moisture Cream

*Just a note that these products are no longer available as is and have been reformulated.  I can't say that the formula is the same on the new ones so this review is only for the creams in the jars shown above*

Pros:
Cost ($29 Cdn for 1.69 oz of the Instant Moisturizer & $42 Cdn for 1.69 oz of the night)
Instant Moisturizer is a great weight for a day cream
Easily available at Sephora stores and online (assuming the formula hasn't changed)

Cons:
Possible formula change and no longer available on Sephora in these jars
Instant Moisturizer does not contain an SPF
Night Cream is a little light weight for aging skin
The Sephora line is not cruelty free

Overall:
While I found that both pots of moisturizer lasted a long time, making the money well spent, each of the products seemed to be missing a little something for me.

The Instant Moisturizer, which I used as my everyday cream, doesn't contain a sunscreen which I did not appreciate.  Even though I know that I can add the extra step of putting on an actual face sunscreen, I am lazy and prefer to have it in my face cream and makeup so I don't have to worry about it.

The Age Defy Night Cream was my everyday night cream and I just found that it was a little slippery and didn't sink into my skin the way that I would want a night cream to do.  Having the aging skin that I do, that is extremely important to me so I was disappointed by this.

If you have younger skin and don't mind the extra step of adding an SPF, these might work great for you.  However, for me, both weren't great and because they aren't CF, I will not repurchase.

I'm still mildly shocked that I finished these at the same time... that never happens!