Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs DVD Review

I absolutely had to tell you about this DVD, Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs .  I have been working out to this video since mid May 2013.  I am absolutely obsessed.  I am not one to stick to workout videos.  I usually get bored, sometimes it's not what I expected and sometimes I just have no desire to stick with it.  This video is so different for me.  It makes me want to workout every day.  I can't wait for the next day to workout again.

I love it simply because of the results that Ive seen every time I workout.  The first week or so I did not see results but I felt it.  Then after that, I would see my lower body getting more tone.  That is exactly what I was looking for.  In the beginning of the year I made a resolution to get more tone.  I usually make resolutions and never keep them, but every year I always make them.  This year, I really feel like I am achieving it.  I can't tell you happy and proud I am of myself.  It feels so good and I really enjoy working out to it.


There are 3 levels to this video.  Level one is a lighter workout but definitely gets you in some shape.  I'm on level 2 now and it feels amazing.  Just to look at my lower body and see amazing results is inspiring.  I have level 3 but I haven't worked out to it yet.  It looks intense and I can't wait to actually start that level.  I do suggest really mastering each level before making the move to the next level.  Your body will thank you.  So many people have asked me what I am doing differently because my legs look better.  What a great feeling for people to ask me that.  My thighs feel tighter, so do my hamstrings.  My back side feels much more in shape.  Also, I have lost 2 pounds since I started working out to this video.  Losing weight was not my concern, merely getting more tone  So losing 2 pounds was just a bonus.  I've been eating the same as always.


Another plus is that this video is not long.  It's about 45 min in total, including warm up and cool down.  The actual workout is 30 min.  I love that fact about it.  I can totally fit it in my schedule.


FYI: Right now my workout consists of working out to Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs, then working on my upper body with stretch bands.

I highly recommend it.  Workout- Feel Great-See results with this video!

My Hair Care Routine

I have been loving my hair care routine and I wanted to share it.  My hair has been so healthy lately.  I have naturally curly ringlet hair.  I wear my hair naturally curly at times and also blown out.  Here are the products I use when I wear it one way or the other.

Curly:
Loreal Evercurl Shampoo and Conditioner- Love that it's sulfate free!
Loreal Evercurl gel-  Keeps my curls in shape, no frizz and it's not crunchy.  (I love this gel)
Then I just let it air dry


Blown Out:
Loreal Evercurl Shampoo and Conditioner
Paul Mitchell super skinny serum- Applied to wet hair.
Then I use a hair dryer and the most amazing brush ever.  This brush is seriously the best thing for de-frizzing my curls when I blow out my hair.  I tend to like big chunky curls and this brush delivers with added smoothness to my hair.  Simply amazing.

My Hair Care Routine

Loreal Evercurl Shampoo and Conditioner, Paul Mitchell serum, Evercurl gel ,Round Brush

Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener Review

Today I would like to do a review on  Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener.

I was at Lord and Taylor a couple of weeks ago and decided to get some new makeup tips from the Bobbi Brown makeup artist.  First, let me start off by saying she was so kind and sweet.  She did not push product sales on me in anyway.  I simply asked her if she had time to help me improve my look.  I went there when they first opened at 10am and she was more than happy to help. I learned some new makeup tips and learned about some of Bobbi Brown products.  I did make a purchase and it was the Bobbi Brown  tinted eye  brightener in Bisque shade.  This product really seemed to look very nice on me.   

Let me state that I don't have dark eye circles, just some slight shading under my eyes.  Not really a big deal but when slightly covered up my eyes look much better. 

Here are my thoughts.
Very lightweight- not thick at all and does not cake up.
Blends in very nicely to my under eye area.
Color was very flattering on my skin and best of all it really did make my eyes look more awake
Staying power was great.
 I really like this product and I'm happy I purchased it.  I definitely recommend it.

BOBBI BROWN Tinted Eye Brightener in Bisque shade

Just a little side note:  I try to use all natural products whenever I can as long as they really work and are great products.  I have not found an all natural concealer or eye brightener that I really like.  For me, it's all about making clean changes whenever possible.

Swimsuit Style

Summer is in full swing and I am loving it.  I have been to the beach and pool numerous times already.

In the past few years, after having children, I only used one bathing suit the entire season.  Like I said earlier in my blog, I rarely ever put too much emphasis on myself-(my life revolved around the kids and my hubby).  Whereas my children always had at least three swimsuits to rotate.  This year, I thought to myself what fun is that.  Why shouldn't I have fun with my swimsuits as well.  I really don't have to break the bank to get them.  I have found some beautiful swimsuits at an affordable price.  And of course, they are beautiful classic and stylish. I love finding my style again.  Helpful hint:  Skip buying one high-end bathing suit and instead purchase a few stylish affordable swimsuits.

How cute would these look under a white coverup!

From left to right top row- stripe bikini,  teal bikini, triangle tankini
From Left to right bottom row- green polka dot, stripe tankini

White Swimsuit Coverups

While at the beach or pool, my  favorite accessory is a white coverup.  It's so flattering.  The one I have is no longer available but here are some that I thought were very pretty.  I must get another one, I just can't decide which one. 

From left to right top row- white beach tunic, hooded coverup dress, eyelet coverup, American flag swimsuit coverup

From left to right bottom row- floral lace dress, side tie dress

My outfit!

My Outfit!

I love this outfit!  The espadrilles are so comfy.  On some days I have worn them all day with no issues.  The dolman top is such a great alternative to the basic t-shirt.    It really is pretty.  The necklace is simply beautiful.  Of course you can always put on a pair of jeans for cooler day or night.

Slip-On Espadrille, Dolman top, polka dot shorts, boyfriend jeans, necklace

End of school year teachers gift ideas!

Hello readers: 

It's been a very busy couple of weeks.  My children have finished school. I've been helping out at school for end of year activities and also attending various school award ceremonies.  My calendar has been completely full but I have many ideas for blog posts and I can't wait to post them. 

I know some schools are still in session and there are many parents that like to give teachers end of the year gifts.  Some teachers really make a huge difference in your child's learning and you really want to thank them in a very special way. 

Teachers End of Year Gift Ideas

1.  Try checking out your local department stores jewelry clearance section.  You can find some really beautiful jewelry finds at a very low cost.  I went to Macy's and they were having a 75% sale on certain items.  I found beautiful necklaces, earrings and bracelets in that section.  The cost of each item after discounts were between $4.99 and $12.99

Macy's sale earrings

2.  Check out the clearance section of the handbag dept.  I found a beautiful Coach credit card case.  With discounts it came out to around $21.00.  
3.  Try being crafty.  Take a mason jar or a cup with straw and fill it with goodies such as:
     -lip balm  (EOS my favorite)
     -hand sanitizer
     -lotion
     -body mist or spray
     -small sunblock
     -and other small items you can think of
decorate the outside with ribbons and a note.

http://blog.volunteerspot.com/volunteer_guru/2011/10/homemade-gifts-tidy-thursday.html#axzz2WlCy7Vd9

4.    Live plants are always a nice idea as well. 

I hope this post helps.  Let me know of any great ideas you have.  Happy Summer!

Sandals

Sandals on the left from top to bottom DKNY, Chacha  ankle wrap, Naturalizer

Sandals on right from top to bottom Aldo, Nine West, Piperlime

Origami Owl- I want this!

First, I want to say Happy belated Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there.  I hope you had a great day! 

My weekend was very relaxing. 

Last week a friend of mine had mentioned to me about a company called Origami Owl and how she thought that the necklaces would be a perfect Mother's Day gift for us.  I had never heard of the company.  She proceeded to tell me about the company and when I got home I looked it up.

It is the cutest necklace concept.  You buy a clear glass locket and chain and put in floating charms in the locket.  You can put in charms of your favorite things or charms that remind you of your children and husband such as birthstones.  I think it is absolutely adorable.  I showed it to my husband and he said that I should tell him which items I wanted and that he would purchase it for me.  He had already purchased me a Mother's Day gift, so I didn't want him to purchase the necklace for me right now.  But definitely in the future.

They are just too cute and you can be as creative as you want with them.

If you have not heard of them, you will.   

$25 or Less

 $25 or less
Gap Tee, J Crew pouch, F21 shorts, ON shoes, American Eagle Aviators

 Here are 5 items for $25 or less  These items are all beautiful, classic and affordable.  So perfect for a casual spring/summer day. 

My Love For Sperry's

I absolutely adore Sperry's.  Here are some of my spring/summer picks.  Click on the pic for more information.  These shoes are so classic.  They are comfy and well worth the investment. 

Thoughts

My thoughts go out to Boston.  I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that has occured at the Boston Marathon.  I pray for everyone. 

Juice Beauty CC Cream Review

I have been trying out this CC cream from Juice Beauty.  Juice Beauty makes products that contain natural ingredients.  You can find Juice Beauty products at Ulta.  I have been using this for a little over a week now.  The color I chose was natural glow.  This is a very sheer cream.  This will not cover any imperfections.  It gives my natural skin an even better look.  I love the fact that the sunscreen is not a chemical sunscreen (suncreen spf 30 Zinc Oxide) .  After a few minutes of applying it to my skin I see how it warms up to my skin shade and enhances it.  (This product did not oxidize on my skin at all) I then dust some of my Alima Pure satin matte foundation all over my face and my skin looks so natural.  I really like this cream.  Some say it gives a dewy finish but I did not find that to be the case.  It made my skin look very natural.  This would benefit those with normal to dry skin.  Like I said this will in no way cover any major imperfections.  If you have no major issues with your skin and you would like to enhance it and apply some sunscreen in the mean time this is perfect.  I also think that this would be a great first time makeup product for young girls just getting into wearing makeup.  It did not break me out at all.  With all the natural ingredients in this product I really think that this is going to be a benefit to my skin.  I moisturized my skin, applied Juice Beauty CC Cream and then dusted some Alima Pure Foundation over the top.  Instantly my skin looked beautiful and natural. 

Let me add that the smell of this product is not pleasant at all.  But after a few minutes of wear it, the smell did go away and I did not smell it at all.  I even asked my daughters if they smelled anything on my face and they both said no.

Here are the ingredients per Juice Beauty website:
Active Ingredient: Zinc Oxide 20%
Inactive Ingredients: Juice Beauty proprietary blend of fruit stem cells: apple buds, grape buds & lemon bark. Organic juices of pyrus malus (organic apple juice)*, vitis vinifera (organic white grape juice)*, aloe barbadensis (organic aloe leaf juice)*, cocos nucifera (organic coconut oil)*, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbitan stearate, ricinus communis (castor seed oil), polyglyceryl-10 laurate, magnesium sulfate, helianthus annuus (organic sunflower seed oil)*, simmondsia chinensis (organic jojoba seed oil)*, tocopherol (Vitamin E), magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (Vitamin C), sodium hyaluronate (vegetable hyaluronic acid), malus sylvestris (apple buds), vitis vinifera (grape buds) & citrus limonum (lemon bark), iron oxides, phenethyl alcohol, ethylhexylglycerin, citrus reticulata (mandarin) & citrus aurantium (petitgrain) pure essential oils.

Again, I really liked this product. 

Earth Mama Angel Baby Lotion

I was placing an order on Vitacost today and remembered that I wanted to tell you guys about Angel Baby Lotion  from a company called Earth Mama.  This lotion is literally one of best lotion that I have tried.  I absolutely love it.  It really has kept my hands and body feeling so soft and not dry this winter.  It is all natural and my husband and children love it as well.  It has a wonderful  light orange vanilla scent.  You must give it a try. 

Ingredients as stated on Earth Mama Angel Baby website:
Aloe barbadensis (organic aloe) leaf juice extract, Olea europaea (organic olive) oil, Olea europaea (organic olive) oil, Aspalathus linearis (organic rooibos) extract, Calendula officinalis (organic calendula)flower extract, Olivoyl hydrolyzed oat protein, Cetearyl alcohol, Glyceryl oleate, Glyceryl stearate, Kosher vegetable glycerin, Vanilla planifolia (organic vanilla) fruit extract, Butyrospermum parkii (organic shea) butter, Citrus sinensis (organic sweet orange), Xanthan gum

Warm Weather Thoughts!

I am so looking forward to warmer weather.  It seems that every time I look out the window all there is snow.  Flurries here and there.  Flurries everywhere.  Ugh!!  So I decided to look for some fun warm weather clothing pieces to pick my spirits up a little.  I hope that you find some inspiration in these pieces.  These are definitely on my wish list.

Honeybee Gardens Pressed Powder Review

 Shade:  Supernatural

 Compact you can purchase.

Compact does come with mirror and puff. 

Today I want to review Honeybee Gardens Pressed Powder.  I wanted to get an all natural pressed powder foundation for when I want to touch up on the go.  Also, sometimes loose mineral powder can get messy.  I read some great reviews about Honeybee Gardens pressed powder, so I decided to order it from Vitacost.  The powder cost $7.39 and the compact was $7.39.  The shade I picked was supernatural.  I also ordered the compact to go along with it.

Here are my thoughts:

Pros:

• The shade I picked was a perfect match.
• It did go on very nicely. 
• It looked very natural on the skin.
• Smooth texture
• All natural product
• Affordable

Cons:

• Sadly, this broke me out with tiny red bumps on my face. 

This was the only product that I had used differently on my skin.  The next day after using I noticed the red bumps.  I gave it another try after about a week and the same exact red bumps appeared the next day.

So for me this product did not work and I will not be repurchasing it.

Here are the ingredients from the Honeybee Gardens website:
Mica, Kaolin, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Magnesium Carbonate, Zinc Stearate, Boron Nitride, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Potassium Sorbate, Chlorphenesin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499

Have a great day!

Burts Bees Lip Gloss Review

While I was at Rite Aid shopping I cam across a display of Burts Bees new Lip Gloss.
  I was really excited to try this natural lip gloss.



They looked so adorable and the colors were very pretty.  I picked up the shade Rosy Dawn.  It was the cutest shade of rosy pink.  I thought this color would look lovely alone or on top of many different lipsticks that I own. 


On to the review:

Cons:

• The applicator only holds a little product on the wand.  You have to keep putting the wand back into the tube to get more product and after three times of getting product it went on very sheer. 
• I really did not like the taste of this lip gloss.  I kept tasting it for awhile after application.
• This lip gloss only lasted for maybe 10 minutes on my lips before it literally melted away into my lips.  All that was left was the horrible taste.
• Not glossy at all.

Pro:

• The only thing nice about this product was the color.  It was beautiful in the tube but came out very sheer on my lips.

I really like some of the Burts Bees products but this was a fail for me.

Happy Valentines Day

I absolutely love Valentines Day.  Here are some items that are perfect for Valentines Day!  Have a wonderful day.  (Click on pictures for information)

Perfect boxers for your honey! 

Beautiful Handbags

If you are need of a new handbag here are some suggestions.  I came across these pretty bags on the Piperlime website. 


Click on pictures for full information.  Happy shopping!