How I Remove My Makeup

This post may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Hello lovelies!

Anyone who wears makeup has their own special routine when it comes to removal. Some people have complex makeup removal routines, while others opt for the simpler version. I consider myself to be somewhere right in between. Today, I'm going to give you a run-down of how I remove my makeup, and why I choose to do it this way. 

The first step in my routine is taking off my foundation, concealer, powder etc. For this, I use the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths. I've talked about these cleansing cloths before, but if you haven't heard me mention them, they are my go-to makeup remover wipes. These cloths remove the makeup very gently, because they are so soft. Seriously, they're the softest makeup wipes I have ever used. Plus, they are (usually) wet enough that I only need to use one wipe on my whole face. Sometimes I find with other wipes that they just don't saturate them enough in the cleanser. You wipe half your face, and it's already bone dry. Not so with these!

The second step in my routine is removing my eye makeup, if I'm wearing any. For this I bounce between two different products. If I don't have waterproof eye makeup on, I use the Simple Eye Makeup Remover. I've been using this remover for the last few months, and I think it does a pretty good jobs. It removes my eye shadow and mascara well; though, I did need to clean them twice the last time, because it didn't take off all my eye shadow. (That's the first time it's done that). If I do have waterproof eye makeup on, I use the Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water for Waterproof Makeup. Oh, my, word. I love this stuff! It takes off my waterproof mascara so easily! All I do is shake it up, soak a cotton pad, leave it on my eye for a few seconds and then wipe. It takes a few wipes to get everything off, but it truly does get everything off. 

Most people would then move onto step three, which is washing and moisturizing your face as you normally would. However, I don't do this and there is a reason why. I used to move right into cleansing my face. But the combination of products I was using at the time made my skin react badly. So much so that I now get dry patches on my face that really can burn because of how dry they are. Instead, I remove my makeup a few hours prior to needing to wash my face. The gives my skin a chance to adjust and for the products on my face to dry or dissipate. Since doing this, I haven't had any bad reactions - though my skin is still suffering from the last one. 

That's it, friends. My Makeup Removal Routine. If you're curious about any of the products I mentioned and want me to do full reviews on them, I'd be happy to do it. Also, if you want a post on how I cleanse my face after makeup removal, I'd be glad to write that too. 

Hope you all are having a lovely day!

God bless,

Laura

January 2016 Favorites

This post may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Hello lovelies!

January is already over. Can you believe it? Weren't we just obsession over tinsel and Christmas themed Starbucks drinks? With 2016's first month already gone, I thought we might step into the world of Favorites. You've all seen the myriad of Favorites videos on Youtube, and I'm sure you've stumbled upon a blog post gushing about the latest foundation. So, I thought, why not throw my favorites into the mix? Maybe you'll find they have become your Favorites too.

*****

1. Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water

Micellar water seems to be the newest trend in the skin care world. I considered jumping on the bandwagon when Simple came out with their cleansing water, but decided against it. Why add another step to my skincare routine when I was still trying to figure out what worked? However, when I saw Garnier had come out with a micellar water, I thought I would give it a go - specifically for the removal of my waterproof mascara. Let me just say, this stuff removes waterproof makeup beautifully! I don't need to rub (much) for the mascara to come right off. All I have to do is soak a cotton pad, let it sit on my eyes for a little bit (I would recommend 10 seconds or so) and BAM! Makeup is breaking down. Yes. My former loathing of waterproof mascara is officially over. We're buds now.

2. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel

After discovering a dry patch on my face several months ago, I decided I needed to up my moisturizer game. I had heard good things about Hydro Boost Water Gel, but I was skeptical. My face can get oily in certain places, and this sounded like an intense moisturizer to me. Wasn't it going to make me a grease ball? The short answer is No. In fact, I feel as if this moisturizer has done such a great job that my skin type has evened out. No more grease ball! It is such a luscious formula. It glides on my skin like silk, but moisturizes like a heavy duty cream. Since I started using this last month, I've seen a change in my skin. The dry patches are gone (though they can crop up at times - I think that's my own fault) and my skin just feels healthier. Neutrogena, I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it. This stuff is fabulous. 

3. Youtuber: PopularMMOs

Okay, so this isn't actually a products, but I had to put him on the list. PopularMMOs is my current Youtube obsession for several reasons. One, I love Minecraft and enjoy watching gaming challenges that make quality videos. Two, Pat (and Jen) are absolutely hilarious! I mean it, they are split your sides funny sometimes. And Three...did I mention they're hilarious? You can find a bunch of different Minecraft series on his channel. My favorite has got to be the Lucky Block Hunger Games. Essentially, Pat and Jen battle each other Hunger Games style, while using a ton of different lucky block mods. Spoiler: Jen always looses. 

4. Amazon Prime Instant Video

For Christmas, my Mom got a Blu-Ray player, and one of the apps on it is Amazon Instant Video. What in the world did I do without this glorious feature?! I love being able to find shows I've never seen before, and watch as many seasons as I like. Currently, I'm on a Star Trek Voyager obsession. Somebody needs to play the theme song at my wedding. Seriously. Anyway, I love that there are tons of movies to pick from - though I wish the TV show selection was a bit better. However, I do believe more shows are going to be added as the year goes on. You can download the app on a ton of devices, I believe, so you can take your shows wherever you'd like. Thanks, Amazon, for feeding my inner Fangirl. 

*****

That's all I have for today. There weren't many products I tried out last January - at least ones that have become Favorites status. However, there are some products I've just started using this February, so you may get to see those in my next Favorites post.

Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll talk to you later!

God bless,

Laura

Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Part 2: Life Now

This post may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Hello lovelies!

If you haven't read Part One of this series, then I suggest you click here before continuing on.

Learning to live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has been one heck of a battle. When I first became sick, it wasn't unusual for me to cry several times a day. I don't think my tear ducts have ever worked so hard! Figuring out my limitations and dealing with said limitations was a moment-to-moment struggle. Thankfully, I've learned over the last 5 and a half years what my body can and cannot do, and how that affects daily life. 

Currently, I am sitting on my bed trying to make sure this blog post sounds cohesive, and not as if a drunk woman wrote it. My mind is attempting to keep it's thoughts in order, while my body is fighting the fatigue that so often sits right behind my eyes. The fatigue is always there, but it is especially heightened today because I went out for a few hours. What did I do all that time? I sat in a chair, read a book, and scrolled through my phone. It is simple tasks like those that can knock me out like a prize fighter. 

Since that moment I first noticed something was very wrong, my life hasn't looked much different than the paragraph you just finished reading. My day usually consists of getting up and setting out to accomplish several things that would be no problem for other people. Finish a bit of school work (online, of course). Watch Youtube videos (currently, PopularMMOs is my obsession). Maybe work on my Etsy Shop. There is a substantial amount of resting between those things - less than there should be, actually, because I have a tendency to push myself. 

'What about working?' you may ask. I have held one part time job in my life, and unfortunately, wasn't able to stay due to shift changes. Now, I spend a good portion of my day searching the internet for a job that I can do at home. (I never knew there was an official word for it until yesterday - telecommuting). 

So far, this blog post has sounded pretty pessimistic, and I must confess, it's not hard to travel down that road. But in all honesty, my life has had its fair share of joyous moments since becoming ill. I have seen love and kindness and compassion in so many different forms. From a group of women deciding to pray hourly for me, to a Mom who made sure I remembered God's love for me in the darkest times. The years may have been scattered with darkness, but they also have been scattered with light. 

So, what's life like now? It's difficult, and beautiful, and scary, and delightful. It's a crazy cocktail of emotional high's and low's, and I've learned a lot from each and every second. In Part Three of this series, you'll get a little peek into those lessons, and hopefully, you learn something beautiful too. 

God bless,

Laura

New Writing Series & A Question!

This post may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Hello lovelies!

Odd post title, considering each post is...writing. 

Anyway, for my birthday, I received quite the unique gift. It was a book I saw at Target, called 642 Things to Write About by The San Francisco Writers' Grotto. Essentially, it's a book that contains a bunch of different prompts you can write about. I haven't looked through the entire book, but some of the prompts are pretty creative. Props to the SFWG; you guys and gals did an awesome job! Below, I'll give you a few examples of prompts.

1. "Make a case for your favorite fruit." (The San Francisco Writers' Grotto, 2011).

2. "Everyone was laughing, except you." (The San Francisco Writers' Grotto, 2011).

3. "Her secret obsession" (The San Francisco Writers' Grotto, 2011).

As I was working on the first two prompts, I thought to myself, "Why not blog about this?" At first, I thought it might be a good idea. But then again, maybe not. 

In order to help me defeat my indecision, I'd like to enlist your opinion. Would you be interested in seeing me go through the prompts and write about them? Or would you rather sit in a corner for the rest of your life and look at cat memes? Let me know down in the comments below! (I do love cat memes).

This is gonna be fun.

God bless,

Laura

Reference:

The San Francisco Writers' Grotto. (2011). 642 things to write about. California: Chronicle Books