MY NIGHT TIME ROUTINE

All of my pre-teen years, high school years and beginning of college I washed my face with bar soap. Dove to be exact. I honestly never thought twice about it. That's what I grew up seeing my mom do and to this day still uses her Dove bar soap - and she has the most beautiful skin - go figure!

One night in college, I walked to the bathroom with my roommate, she saw me top knot my hair, pull out my Dove bar soap and go for my face. She gasped so loud, I jumped! I had no idea what was wrong. She immediately said, you are NOT washing your face with that are you? She went into detail explaining how bad it was for my skin. That's when she passed me her face wash and told me to try it and then to use her night cream. As dramatic as it sounds, I changed the entire nightly routine from that evening forward. Today, I love skin care products as much as I do my beauty products. Without good skin, how can you expect your makeup to look beautiful on you? 

Every night my routine takes about 10-12 minutes. I'm still on the hunt for new products so please let me know if you have any holy grail skin care you want to spread the word about! 

1. I always start by cleansing my face with Purity face wash by Philosophy. This is such a strong but gentile cleanser. It really gets down deep into your pours and removes even the toughest makeup. This is an every night without fail product. It works beautifully on all skin types, which is a huge plus! Also with this product you do not need loads of it. A nickel size poured into your palms will do the job perfectly! A little bit goes a long way.

Purity face wash 

8oz Bottle $24 

2. This next product, I use about 3x a week after my Purity cleanser. This is not placed over my eyes for makeup removal, that's what I use the Purity is for. The Glam Glow thirsty cleanse is such a wonderful, oil filled, hydrating cleanser. I have odd skin. My nose is oily, yet very dry some days. My cheeks are pretty dry and my fore head is a mix of dry around my temples and oily in the center. This cleanser helps even my skin out. I'm not finding that this produces excess oil in my problematic areas, it hydrates without creating a greasy film. The description says it turns into a foam once rubs on the skin - I have personally never had that happen. But that doesn't really make a difference. I attribute my skin looking very radiant lately because of this product. 

Glamglow face wash

5oz Bottle $39

3. For years I have used the Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner, I love it. Wanting to see what else is out there, I purchased the Arbonne Regenerating Toner. It truly has great benefits to it, firming, lifting skin & lots of vitamins. But I am not loving it. It has an odd, unappealing smell and I am not noticing anything great going on with my skin whenever I use it. Once this product is empty, I will not be repurchasing and will go back to the Mario Badescu toner. The MB toner works your skin to provide radiance, glow, minimizes discoloration, and reduces pore congestion. I am a toner fan and feel they really provide great benefits to your skin. 

Arbonne Toner

1.7oz $35

Mario Badescu Toner

8oz $18

4. My under eyes are always puffy and I am trying anything to get them to not look like I just got done crying! The Arbonne Corrective Eye Cream really is a great product I've been using. It has been giving me great results and a little itty bitty bit goes a very long way. 

Arbonne Eye Cream

0.5oz $55

5. Lastly, finishing up with my face cream --phhhew! I recently received 2 samples of the Korres Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizing & Brightening Cream. This is a Greek skin care line and they have so many unique products to try out!

Quick side note…. I'm Greek and if anything is advertised as Greek, I will absolutely purchase it. To me, it's wonderful to support who I am and where my roots are planted. OK, rant over :). 

I'm happy to report this product is really wonderful. It's beautiful on the skin. It feels natural, if that makes any sense. With the Korres line, I have not tried a product I do not like. If this face cream is not for you, I highly suggest looking into any of their other products. You will not be disappointed. My local Sephora will see me soon so I can buy the full size of this little gem. 

Korres Wild Rose Cream

1.35oz $38

Please don't let me fool you, there are plenty of nights I am way to exhausted for any of this and I happily opt for my Neutrogena Night Calming Towelettes. That's perfectly ok too! 

As long as we take care of our skin now while it's still healthy, we will be thanking our selves for many more years to come. 

RATE IT | NEXXUS COLOR ASSURE GLOSSING TONIC

Rated 8/10

I have not used a Nexxus product since I was maybe in the 7th grade. My Mom and Step Dad would have copious amounts of the aerosol cans of Nexxus comb thru natural hair spray. Before I had my own stock pile of hair care products, I would run into their room and grab a can. Sadly, they never knew one was missing since they would buy it in bulk - I wish I was kidding about their love for that hairspray !

This glossing tonic was in a clearance bin at my local Target and I was drawn to it from the packaging. My husband makes fun of me all the time - he says, I'm a marketers dream. If something is shiny, I'm like a moth to a flame. He knows me so well! If the packaging of products is appealing, there is a 99.9% chance I will pick it up. I'm happy I picked this product up. Not only was it priced at $5.99 - it appealed to me regarding the glossing factor for the color treated hair. I have recently gone lighter with my hair and was in the process of looking for some good hair care, color protectors. With the price, I didn't think there was anything to loose. After a few weeks of using this product, I like what it's doing to my hair. It does not create any greasy residue and it's seeming to bring out the vividness of my color. This is a pretty good product, not the best I have ever tried but definitely one I will keep under my sink.

Nexxus - Color Assure Glossing Tonic

THE BIG MOVE

My husband and I are currently living in high rise condo, I love it. It's our home. It's cozy, it's sunny, it's everything we love.

 But the one huge problem is, the condo is 800 square feet - that's including our balcony. We are on top of one another, all the time. We are either sitting in the family room or sitting on our bed. We cannot have people over for dinner without someone sitting on the couch to eat their dinner. If one thing is out of place, the condo looks like an absolute mess. When we moved in almost 2 years ago, I thought we can easily make this work. With getting engaged and married in the last year we have accumulated a ton and now we are rapidly out growing out little home (over 80% of our shower gifts are being stored at my parents home - eeeeks!)  This was our first place living on our own, we have so many memories here but it's time to spread our wings and find a bigger place. We are still deciding on where we will land - city….suburbs…. it's currently any ones best guess. But with this all I have been doing is online window shopping. I.can.not.stop!

Frankly, I'm excited to decorate, paint and make something truly our own.

 We, (cough,cough, me) are changing our entire style for this new condo/home. I want clean lines, bright, whites, creams, heather grays, golds, etc. I'm envisioning Z Gallerie + Joss & Main + Restoration Hardware = The Tiu's perfect home. Yay! My online shopping and Pinterest boards have been getting used in over drive lately. Any ounce of inspiration I see, I book mark and save.

Makeup by Tiffany D has beautiful DIY projects and lots of decor inspiration - I have been loving following her blog recently
Tiffany D's Blog

Style Me Pretty has such a wonderful blog. Lots of amazing ideas and inspiration
Style Me Pretty Blog

Alexandrea Garza has an amazing You Tube channel. She has lots of great home decor ideas that I am absolutely holding on to!
Alexandrea Garza - You Tube


I'm swooning over the looks below. Lets hope this all isn't a pipe dream and all can fall into place once the new place is purchased!

Alexa Canister - Z Gallerie

Edessa Pillow - Z Gallerie

Hudson Park bedding

 I am going to continue to love our little shoe box of a condo and appreciate the days we have here. We will never get yesterday back. I have a terrible habit of forgetting to live in the moment, I am always dreaming of the future. For now, I will live each day, appreciate all that I have and savor all the memories we will continue to build in this little home of ours. 

RATE IT | Blissful Body Butter with Kokum and Shea

RATED : 10/10

This absolutely amazing body butter deserves a 10 out of 10 when being rated on the 'do I need this product in my life' scale. 

My skin has always been odd. It's not always dry and it's not always oily, it is true combination skin. One thing is for sure, it lacks radiance and looks ashy. My hands are without a doubt the driest part of my body. They look awful in the winter months. I am constantly applying all types of lotions, moisturizers, creams and nothing seems to do the trick. Now with this body butter I am done fooling around with all of these other products. 

My skin now has beautiful radiance! Do you know how exciting this is for me? Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would look down at my arms or legs and see radiant skin. My hands are smooth, soft, and everything in between has evened out with my skin. Never have I ever owned something like this. I could shout from the roof tops - this is so exciting!

The body butter does not leave an oily residue, this does not create breakouts, it's hand made, all natural, not tested on animals. Everything good I can say about this product, I will!

For every purchase, the owner of The Blissful Body donates a portion of her profits to ministries. This goes towards helping women and children in need. What a beautiful soul. This is the type of company I love to support. All natural, you know what is going into your body and your purchase does good for others. 

Stop by her Etsy shop and pick up some products. Your skin will thank you! 

The Blissful Body

MY RIDE OR DIE BRUSHES

For most, makeup brushes can be intimidating. Blending, contouring, flat stiff brush, angled, stippling, beauty blender, kabuki - OH MY! Truly, where does one start?

Believe it or not, it's not as complicated of a process as it seems. This is a list of my ride or die brushes, with a brief description of each.I do not believe in spending ungodly amounts of money on brushes but I do believe in buying staple brushes for your collection. You would be shocked, how a good brush can pull together everything so seamlessly.

Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki

If you are going to buy 2 brushes for your entire collection make sure this is one of them! This brush applies your liquid foundation like butter. Your skin will look airbrushed. I'm talking Victoria Secret Angel flawless skin. 

Run…do not walk to purchase this brush. I have heard other companies have similar brushes but I love what Sigma stands for. They provide wonderful products but also have not once wavered with their customer service. I purchased my F80 about 2 years ago, one day I noticed the synthetic hairs coming out. It was not applying my foundation as beautiful as it once was. I contacted Sigma and asked if this was normal or if I should purchase a new brush. The customer service rep did not ask me a single question, all I was told was to expect a new brush within 3-4 business days. For that, I will always stay with Sigma. 

F80 Kabuki

Morphe G7 Rounder Brush

This brush is wonderful for applying bronzer, blushes, blending out your contour, it's basically a jack of all trades. The softness of this brush really is amazing and the blending capabilities are endless. This a staple in my collection. 

Side note... if ordering online isn't your thing and you want something immediately, try the Real Techniques large powder brush. You can even save a few dollars with that. Both brushes hold the same power and can make your face buffed out and beautiful. 

Morphe G7
Real Techniques

Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush

This is the other one of 2 brushes you must own! This and the Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki are game changers. When I use this brush my eyes look perfect - well I like to think so! It can be used to softly dust on your favorite sheer shadow or it can be used to apply and blend out the boldest eye. I am forever a life long partner with this baby! 

E80 Tapered Blending Brush

Sigma E30 Pencil Brush

This is a brush that I never thought I would need - I was so wrong! 

This is a very small, dense, accurate brush. The main use is to smoke out a bottom lash line. However, this can also be used for packing color on a certain area of the lid or your crease. It is very precise. Once I purchased this brush, my eyes were taken to a whole new level. When smoking out the bottom lash line, it doesn't always mean dark colors. On days when I want a simple soft look, I take a soft brown shadow and run it all along the lower lash line. It some how pulls everything together for your look. 

Do you need this brush? No. 

Do you want this brush? One hundred million percent yes. Truly, you will never know how you lived without it. 

E30 Pencil Brush

Morphe B80 Pointed Crease Brush

This brush has densely packed, tapered bristles for a precise look. This brush gives you the ability to create definition with your shadows. I love this for creating a heavy cut crease look or for something as simple as adding a pop of color for an everyday look. 

B80 Pointed Crease

Morphe B75 Flat Liner Brush 

This brush really is pretty self explanatory. It's a wonderful brush to create a tight line across the upper or bottom lid. When I want to move things along a bit faster, this is used as a replacement for my pencil brush. Use small, buffing strokes and buff out the bottom lash line. Is it as soft and precise as a pencil brush? No. But it really gets the job done when in a bind. 

B75 Flat Liner Brush

Beautyblender

This seems like an odd product but I cannot imagine my life without it. Sounds dramatic, I know, but once used - you will be hooked! Just like a typical house sponge, this is meant to be used damp. I apply my foundation with the BB to achieve a soft dewy look. My under eye concealer never has looked better because of the BB. It creates a beautiful highlighted under eye if that's the look you are going for. If not, it works wonders with a light dab on concealer.

Naturally, I was hesitant when this was purchased. I really thought it was a gimmick, that is the furthest thing from the truth. Who ever developed the BB knew what they were doing! I have purchased less expensive blenders and the out come was not even close to what the original BB can give you. 

Beautyblender

Happy shopping loves!