maegan mariee

Hello everyone!

I don't think there's anything quite like getting your face all scrubbed up and squeaky clean. It's a wonderful feeling, and if you have naturally oily skin like I do, sometimes you find yourself washing your face in the middle of a lazy day because it's just accumulating. (Gross, I know). The skincare products I've decided to share with you today are ones that I tend to use daily. I meant it when I said in my last post that I was really getting into my skin routine!

I've been a fan of Simple since it debuted and I have to say that while I have a liquid bottle of Micellar Water, I really tend to go towards the wipes. I don't know why. I know the liquid is technically supposed to be better and hey, it's less wasteful! But I always go back to the wipes. Always. I follow up with a quick face wash and water before I use my toner. Toner is new for me, but I've heard nothing but good things about Pixi's Glow Tonic. Coming in at fifteen dollars for such a small bottle, it better be good! I haven't been using it that long to see if there's any difference in my skin that would warrant a repurchase, but we'll see in the coming weeks!

Clinique's All About Eyes is really the only under eye cream that I like to use, as it's the only one that has given me any results. It's definitely worth the money, in my opinion, and you can get them in bulk off of ebay! It's a cheaper option compared to running to Sephora every time you need a new tub of it. Garnier's Moisture Rescue is kind of like the little sister of Clinique's Moisture Surge, for half the price. I did a separate post on it back in February, which you can read here. A new product I picked up on a whim is Urban Decay's b6, which is a complexion prep spray. Kind of like a primer. It works to reduce redness, absorb oil, and minimize pores. It's really great, actually, because it's so hydrating. I use it during the day when I'm home and my skin needs a little refresher and it makes my foundation have a healthy glow to it.

When it comes to masks, I've been a little experimental lately. If you've read my last post, you would have seen me playing around with some fiber masks. They worked pretty well for a quick fix, and were really cool because they were formulated for different situations. I grabbed Origin's Clear Improvement mask, mainly because I've heard so many good things about it, but I wanted something that looked harsh so it would really pull out all the gross stuff out of my skin. After using it for a few days, I have noticed that it really got rid of the blackheads living on my nose and minimized the pores there. So that is something I consider a win!

I was also sent another mask from the good people over at Brandbacker and Valentia. I've reviewed one of their products before, which you can read here. This time it was a Skin Detoxifying Clay Mask, which just sounds intimidating. The contents were a bit separated when I opened the container, but a good shake mixed everything up well. It doesn't smell bad, but it does have a strong scent to it, much like the last product they sent me. After slathering this all over my face, my first impression of it was OH MY GOD THIS BURNS WHAT THE HELL. Yes, it burns so horribly that I was sure I was allergic to it. But after five minutes, it went away. My grandmother used to say that if it doesn't burn, then it doesn't work. That's not entirely true, but it certainly popped into my head.

I left this on for twenty minutes before wiping it off with a damp cloth and, wow. All I can say is wow! My skin was so soft and it was noticeably brighter. My dark circles, which I've always had a complex with, were practically gone, and any laugh lines that I may have had around my eyes were gone as well. I would highly suggest this to anyone looking for a good mask because this just blew me away!

You can also find Valentia on Instagram and Facebook for more information!

Valentia Skin Detoxifying Clay Mask

Origins Clear Improvements

Pixi Glow Tonic

Clinique All About Eyes

Urban Decay b6 Complexion Spray

Garnier Moisture Rescue

Simple Micellar Wipes

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*This post was kindly sponsored by Brandbacker and Valentia. All opinions are my own, as always!*

If you're like me, then you know how rough it is to struggle with stress and anxiety. For a lot of people, anxiety comes to us differently. Some are worse than others, some handle it differently. How we perceive our anxiety is the key to how we can overcome it. I'm not going to sit here and type all of this out like I'm a doctor or know everything there is to know about it. The one thing I am going to do is share and recommend what has worked best for me. And hopefully it helps you as well! When I've had a particularly nasty day, whether it be at work or just a bad day in general, I really like to try and set aside some time for a bath. A lot of people recommend this and it's because it just works. Lighting a few candles, popping in some bubbles, and sprinkling some bath salts can really do wonders for the body and mind.

If you don't like bath salts, you can substitute it for a bath bomb instead, but the Lavender scent of this salt that I found really relaxes me and slows down all the crazy thoughts that are causing havoc in my head. Lavender is known to help calm the body and soothe the mind, so I really, really urge you to find something lavender scented. A pillow mist is really good. Spraying a bit on your pillow before bed will help you get to sleep. The book pictured above isn't necessary, but it has a lot of good tips and tricks to helping you become more knowledgeable with your stress and anxiety. It's very visual and they also have an app that can walk you through some meditations. It may seem strange and awkward at first, but having some time to yourself and focusing only on breathing in and out is incredibly refreshing.

Taking public transportation to and from work like I do is where I experience the most anxiety. It builds up in my chest and it feels like I can't breathe. A lot of people suffer similar attacks and the only way to calm myself down from this is to simply close my eyes and breathe deeply. The Calm App has really helped me focus on my breathing, especially with a ton of people around. The last thing I want to do is cause a scene when something like this happens, so being able to just pop in my earbuds and have someone tell me to focus and relax has been a tremendous lifesaver. These are only a small handful of things that I do to help myself calm down. Do you or anyone you know do anything differently?

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Everyone loves a good face mask and I can't say that I'm any different. I've been experimenting a lot with different skincare products lately, so I was very excited when these arrived in the mail. These masks by When are perfect for different occasions! I haven't found too many face masks that I like, but these had a couple of benefits that I enjoyed.

First of all, the masks weren't huge. Most of the standard face masks are made to fit all, which is fine, but my face is just a bit smaller than average. These fit comfortably over my face without too much excess. I didn't feel like I was wasting half the mask. Waste not!

Not only that, but I have to say that I loved that they cater to your specific needs at the time. Snow Magic is great for brightening your skin. Glamour Base helps prepare your skin for makeup, so is best used in the morning or before a night out. Travel Mate is perfect for when you need a little refresher after a plane ride or road trip.

You can see the other types of masks they have by visiting them here!

What are you favorite types of masks?

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**This post was kindly sponsored by Brandbacker and When masks**

Hello Lovelies!

Whoops, it's been a couple of weeks, hasn't it? I'm going to be honest, I really haven't been in the blogging mood lately. I've been keeping busy with testing out new skin products and catching up on my reading, TV show watching, and music listening. So I haven't been completely unproductive!

I wanted to quickly talk about one of the books I'm reading, as I'm finding that it's taking me longer to get through than I originally thought. I was very excited to get How To Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman. This is a book that, summarized, tells you everything there is to know about living in Tudor times. Which was roughly from 1520 to 1600. (That is just a generalization, I know I'm probably completely wrong there). If you've been with me from the beginning of this blog, you know that I'm completely gaga for anything and everything Tudor. So naturally I grabbed this as soon as a copy was available from the library.

It is INCREDIBLY detail heavy. From how they stitched their clothing to how they prepared their dinners. It's so much to take it that I've been reading it at not my normal pace, so I don't miss anything. Also, I won't lie, after I get through a couple pages I get sleepy. So I stop earlier than I would a regular, less detailed book. However, I am enjoying it and if you love history and things on the Tudor era, I would suggest picking up a copy for yourself!

Some of the other things I've been digging into the past few weeks have been: