2013 Beauty Roundup

My year of Birchbox ended on a whimper. I really didn't like anything in my last box, so this post will not be limited to Birchbox beauty items. I would like to say I enjoyed my year of Birchbox, but not enough to continue beyond the year. I guess that is the problem with Birchbox: if they are doing their job well, you'll probably find what you need with a year long subscription or if not, you will be extremely disappointed with the service. They do amazing things like give away free beauty boxes (remember my Nuance box?) and they have really good gift with purchases. I was lucky enough to get a free Gorjana necklace with a $50 purchase. If you follow them on Facebook/Twitter, Birchbox has really great tutorials about how to do hair, apply makeup, and other beauty advice. Right now, any order of $25 or more has free shipping. And you know how I feel about free shipping. I actually just put in a Birchbox order (to use up the last of my points!) for Caudalie Divine Oil and Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Sugarbomb which I described in my previous Birchbox post.

So continuing the 2013 Beauty Roundup, here are some of my favorite beauty items which I discovered this past year.

Indie Lee Blemish Lotion I have oily skin which is great/annoying. I have a youthful appearance yet still get breakouts. Most products for breakouts do not work on my skin and these days my breakouts do tend to scar. I read about Indie Lee's Blemish Lotion a couple months ago and was intrigued. As a cancer survivor, Indie Lee adheres to natural products in her entire beauty line. The ingredients to the Blemish Lotion are super simple. It doesn't work perfectly on my skin (I probably need a higher sulfur concentration), but it does work the best. The solution is bright pink, so I would suggest using it overnight unless you work from home. Also if you do order this, order it directly from Dermstore.com instead of Amazon. You will received it faster.

Dickinson's Witch Hazel wipes Since I have oily skin which can be problematic, I've always been drawn to people who have amazing skin. I am truly obsessed with Scott Foley's skin on Scandal (full disclosure: I was always Team Noel) and always comment "He has aged well." Honestly, it is super distracting. I'm obviously Team Jake. Okay, back to the topic. Another person whose skin I've always admired is Drew Barrymore's. Doesn't she always look...luminous? So you can imagine my surprise to learn she uses a product which costs $7.50! I use the wipes once or twice a week and they are great.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50 Living in SoCal, I buy alot of sunblock. Right now, I have 5 different types under my sink (I just checked). But the Hawaiian Lotion sunblock is my favorite. It hydrates your skin and protects well. I wouldn't use it on my face (it is quite oily), but it really is my multi-purpose sunblock.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy (Eucalyptus Spearmint and Lavender Chamomile) I only mention these two items because I was at Bath and Body Works today buying Christmas presents due to the buy 3, get 3 free sale. When I am stressed out, the only thing that helps me relax is aromatherapy. I would use the Eucalyptus Spearmint scent during the day and the Lavender Chamomile scent in the evenings. I'm not sure how it works (I've done the research) and maybe at this point, it is just a placebo effect on me, but it does help me. I'm a big supporter of aromatherapy and have given the scents out to various stressed out friends. Some friends now swear by aromatherapy too. If I had a big enough sample population, I would do my own research. However, I'm just glad Bath and Body works was having a buy 3, get 3 free sale.

Water. Yeah, yeah we all know we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. But my godbrother recently experienced kidney stones, so let's all try not to know what he went through these past couple of days. Water is the best thing for anyone's beauty regimen. One of my friends sets an alarm on the hour, for every hour he is at work. So when the alarm beeps, he knows he should get up and get another glass of water. Or finish the rest of the previous hour's water, so he can get more. I haven't adopted his water schedule (I can only think how many times I would go to the bathroom), but I do try to drink more water. Really, it can only be good thing.

So who knows what 2014 will bring? I'm looking forward to a year of amazing skin, a beautiful smoky eye application (you really do need 4 different brushes), and a perfect beauty routine. Well, one can always hope :)