Jun
7
9 skin & hair products that don’t suck
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Hi, I’m Linda’s Occasionally-Overly-Appearance-Focused Blog. You may remember me from such posts as “11 beauty products that don’t suck,” and WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH MY BABY OH MY GOD HE’S A LEPER.
(It was a viral rash. He’s totally fine now! Also, six years older.)
I kind of got a kick out of posting my favorite makeup items a while back (mostly because the comments section gave me all sorts of great ideas for what makeup items I wanted to immediately run out and purchase), so I thought I’d do another thrilling roundup of products I’m currently slathering in my hair/smearing on my face.
(No sponsored content here, but I did include Amazon affiliate links.)
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream No.23 Natural Beige. This one’s an update on the previous makeup post when I recommended this foundation. I still love, love, love it, but now that the sun’s out more often, I found that the original color I was using was too light. This #23 ‘Natural Beige’ color is better for a complexion that isn’t super pale—it still melts in and virtually disappears into my skin, but it’s not quite so fair. (Note that some people don’t tolerate this foundation well, I guess it has mineral oil in it which can cause weird reactions? I haven’t had trouble with it and I have sensitive skin/rosacea, but buyer beware and all that.)
NARS Bronzing Powder (Laguna). Also related to summer skin, this bronzing powder is AMAZING. I just bought it recently and it’s totally replaced my trusty Benefit Hoola. The NARS product is much silkier and more subtle, and can be layered really easily: one application is a nice sunny glow, the next is J.Lo, and so on.
Clarisonic Mia. Everyone raves about the Clarisonic, and for good reason—it deep cleans like nobody’s business, and leaves your face feeling all fresh and dewy and post-facial-y. I know they’re super expensive, but Amazon sometimes runs some decent sales on this product.
Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads. Someone recommended this product in the comments of the makeup post, and I’ve fallen in love. I don’t use them very often, but when I do I feel like there’s a visible difference in my skin afterwards: softer, more clear, less dull.
Terax Crema Daily Conditioner. Onto the hair products! I like this conditioner a lot for frequent use, it does a great job of moisturizing without leaving hair feeling heavy.
Joico K-PAK Restorative Treatment. I use this one every few days, it’s a wonderful deep conditioner that helps my tragically processed hair feel softer and less damaged.
Pureology Instant Repair Leave-In Conditioner. I’ve had several stylists recommend this product, and I’m a big fan of its effects. It’s not a bigtime detangler, but it definitely helps maintain coloring treatments.
It’s a 10 Leave-In Conditioner. This is the ultimate detangler/gloss-ifier. A little goes a long way, because you can easily get Exxon-Head from this stuff.
Kenra Dandruff Shampoo. Finally, the mildest, best-smelling, most awesome dandruff shampoo I’ve used, not that I’m prone to something so disgusting as dandruff. *cough*
Your turn! Favorite skin/hair products?
Jun
3
The new normal
Filed Under Uncategorized | 48 Comments
A week into our move, I’m surprised at the things I don’t miss. I thought I’d feel terribly homesick—well, old-homesick—for a while, and that hasn’t been the case at all. All of our well-worn Seattle routines that vanished overnight in a puff of Penske smoke? They already feel like warm but rapidly fading memories, accoutrements of a different life altogether. I love everything about being here in this new house, this new town, and I didn’t expect to enjoy the unfamiliarity of it all so much.
The boys are happy, JB’s loving his new job, and even the cat seems more content. Hey, me-of-thirty-plus-days-ago: stop being so worried about change.
I have yet to make it to the neighborhood Safeway without pulling at least one U-turn, but I’m slowly learning my way around. Well, in the sense that certain landmarks are becoming familiar as I overshoot our house going the wrong direction yet AGAIN oh my GOD what is my PROBLEM. (Kids, from the backseat: “Mom, you were supposed to turn there!”)
We only have this house until September, so now that we’ve unpacked every single goddamned thing we own we’re turning our energy to househunting, which is another post altogether *inarticulate gargling, random hand-flappy motions, finger twirled next to temple, comical A-OOGA! noises* but here’s a quick tour of where we’re at:
The living room:
My office desk:
The master bedroom:
Dylan’s room:
Riley’s room:
The back of the house:
The outer part of the backyard:
The odd little extra wood-paneled room:
The kitchen:
Looking up the street:
The house isn’t perfect—there’s no garage and very little storage inside, for one thing (we have a crap ton of stuff stored in a U-Haul facility here in town)—but the windows and yard are a dream, and the neighborhood is downright magical. In fact, we like this part of town (Ferry Street Bridge area) so much we’ve nearly abandoned our original plan of targeting the outskirts of Eugene in order to find a place with some land, because it’s just so pleasant and convenient here.
I didn’t expect to enjoy being in a rental, but I do. It’s nice to set aside the burden of home ownership for a while, I guess, even though we are actively trying to become homeowners again. I like that we can just enjoy this house without having to think about maintenance, long-term upgrades, or even yardwork (thank god a lawn service is included with the rent, because NOT IT to mow that back forty motherfucker).
Oh, and also? The cabin is one hour away. ONE HOUR INSTEAD OF ELEVENTY BILLION HALLELUJAH.
The only teeny, tiny fly in my ointment is working from home while both kids are out of school for the summer. I knew it would be a challenge, but after a week of seeing how things are going, I feel like I definitely need to figure out some distractions for them so they don’t drive me fucking insane get too bored.
If you have young kids, what do your summer plans typically include? Camp? Structured activities of some kind? Feral Lord of the Flies regression?
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