Dry Summer Skin? True Blue Spa is AWESOME!

I'm at the pool with the kiddos nearly every single day. After all, staying in an RV leaves you with limited options! As I started spending more and more time out in the sun, and in the chlorinated pool, my skin began to dry out. I had been fighting it with my usual skin moisturizer, Victoria's Secret Body Butter. It was doing a decent job, but then I ran out. So, off to The Falls Mall in South Miami. Very pretty mall, by the way. See pic way below.

I decided I wanted a coconutty type smell this time. Victoria's Secret didn't have an intense moisturizer (no body butter) in the Coconut Passion scent I craved, so off to Bath and Body Works.

There, with a friend's help, I discovered the True Blue Spa line.

My friend told me that it was a very rich line that was ultra moisturizing. I tried out the tester and felt how rich and creamy it was. AND it was "buy 2 get 2 free". Yay! So, I bought 2 of the Super Rich Shower Creams and 2 of the Super Rich Body Creams.

I am in love with both of these products.

Why?

Let me lay it out for you, starting with the shower cream.

This much squeezed out on my bathing gloves is plenty to lather up my whole body.

It feels different from the start. Rich and thick and creamy. Yet, it suds up really nice. The lather you see on my leg below is indicative of the suds all over.

It's kinda hard to describe but you just feel like your rubbing lotion all over yourself, not soap. Yet there are bubbles. I don't know how they do it.

It smells divine, like buttercream icing. Not strongly, though. It's a gentle scent.

And when you rinse off, you feel as though you already have lotion on. It's wonderful! I adore this body wash. I think I'm a life-long convert.

Now, on to the body cream.

It's thick. I mean THICK. After all, it's got Shea Butter. Here's how I advise applying it.

When you're done showering, don't dry off. Simply blot your body lightly, leaving lots of water still on you. You don't want to be dripping everywhere, but you still want to be wet. Like you see here.

This does several things. One, it allows you to use much less. Because you're wet, the cream will glide over your wet body easily and smooth over a larger area with less cream...and using less time to do so(quicker!). This method is also how you apply body oils without ending up super-duper greasy, BTW.

This amount covers one full leg well. Or both arms. Or your entire torso.

Also, when you are still damp, you are actually sealing in that moisture. You get much more bang for your buck by using the "wet application" method.

So, this cream has very little smell, but if I were to assign it a scent, I would say it's like cocoa butter. Since I was really wanting that coconutty scent, I decided to spray the Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion over myself after applying the cream. It's a Coconut and Vanilla scent. Nice and summery.

Now I've got the intense moisture I want with the scent I longed for. Yesssss!

The Falls Mall - has a lovely stream running through it.

We spend a LOT of time at the pool.

My purchasing advice: at $15 for 6 oz. of the Super Rich Body Cream and $15 for 10 oz. of the Super Rich Shower Cream, do like me and wait for a sale. I don't know how often they have the really good one where you can buy 2 and get 2 free, so maybe sign up for email notices?

And a big "Thank You" to Alisha P. for introducing me to the awesomeness of True Blue Spa. I enjoyed spending my summer with you and your girls!

Metal pronged lash combs...do you really need one?

I don't remember where, but I read that all of us mascara junkies NEED the metal type lash comb. I have a lash comb/brow brush and honestly, I never use the lash comb because it just doesn't actually do any good. It simply folds my lashes back and doesn't actually go through them, separating them. I use it for brushing my brows only.

Well, I decided when I went to Sephora recently to pick up my Beauty Insider Birthday Perk, which by the way was a fabulous little mini-duo of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment...1 clear, 1 in Rose...review coming soon...I would see if they had any metal lash combs available at an affordable price.

I asked the consultant if they had one and he took me to one from the Sephora line. It is the SEPHORA COLLECTION Pro Lash & Eyebrow Comb #21. It had little, strong, needle-looking prongs. It looked much different than I expected. It was only $10 and that fits my budget just fine, so I bought it.

HELLLLLLO! I LOVE THIS COMB!

Seriously. I feel cheated by all the crappy lash combs I've owned before. Total. Waste. Of. Time. Even the brow brush, which is boar-bristle, is SO much thicker and more plush than any I've owned previously. It's a complete upgrade. I only wish I'd bought it much sooner.

This lash comb will help you not have tarantula eyes. Instead, it will make your lashes look so much more natural, even though they are being boosted by mascara. If I'm in a rush and don't use it, my lashes look ridiculous to me now. I will not go without this brush ever again. If it breaks, is stolen by aliens, the kids use it to trace racetracks in the sand, or gremlins eat it, I will go buy another.

In other words, YES, you really need a metal pronged lash comb!

A few tips:

1.)You gotta have good mascara in the first place (May I recommend Ulta's Legendary Lengths -very affordable, and it performed as well as DiorShow Extase, which you can see in THIS REVIEW).

2.)Time is working against you. Apply the mascara to ONE EYE then comb through. THEN move on to the other eye. Do not do both then go back. Most likely the mascara will be too dry by then on eye #1 to effectively comb through the lashes.

3.)Be careful! You have pointy things near your eyes! Take your time and be on-task when you do this. Don't be talking on the phone, sipping coffee, texting, driving or whatever else. Not while you do this, girlie. No mascara job is impressive from underneath an eye patch!

Art Fun...No Mess! BIG Crayola Summer Fun Giveaway

This summer, as many of you know, we are living in a 5th wheel camper down in South Florida. While there is LOTS to do down here (and boy have we done lots!), there are times when it seems to rain with no end in sight. Like when Tropical Storm Debbie settled right on us and sat here for days. When those kinds of days happen, it is NOT fun to be stuck in a 41' trailer with 3 kids. Thank goodness Crayola rescued us from our boredom! And with great products that are both fun and NOT messy. After all, we just recently bought our 5th wheel and we don't want marker or paint all over everything. Let's face it, with little ones, even with the best of intentions, stuff happens. But not with Crayola Color Wonder! Learn more about Crayola Color Wonder HERE.

Here's the fab stuff they sent us to try out. Cool, huh!?!

Ever wonder about those stick-on masks? Masqueology Review



In my June Birchbox, I received one of those stick-on type masks.

I've seen this type before, though most of the ones I've seen have been small area application patches, such as for the eye area, or for the forehead. I'd wondered if they really do any good. Here was my chance to try out at least one brand's take on the stick-on mask.



Photo: Birchbox

 Masqueology has a "Pore Minimizing" full facial mask "with Mushroom Extract" that is supposed to "minimize the visible appearance of pores" and "refine skin's overall texture and appearance". You can read more about what it has in it and what those ingredients supposedly do, or purchase 3 masks of your own for $24 at Birchbox HERE.