Beauty Trash #3

Ooops I got behind on posts, I took these pics in December. My Sephora Beauty Trash bag was totally overflowing-

So a lot of usual characters that I wont spend too much time on, but I did go through so makeup and random things too.  So this is about 5 months worth of trash, I have my usual face/skincare stuff, hair dye stuff, makeup stuff, and randoms.

So if we start with the usual characters I used up 6 makeup removing wipes. My usual Neutrogena that are my favorite 2 of those, 3 different types of Up & Up formulas they're fine for removing makeup swatches or when I use my fingers to application or back of my hand as a palette, and then some Simple Miscellar wipes. I love the Simple Miscellar water, also pictured here, so much I thought maybe the wipes would be good too. They were fine and kept me from running out of my bottle version as fast, but probably wont purchase again unless there's a sale. I'm constantly trying new makeup wipes so nothing new there and I'll probably repurchase a variation of these again.  The Simple Miscellar Water I'm on my last back up right now, so I'll probably repurchase again soon.

I have two empty packages of Up & Up cotton rounds, one in exfoliating and one regular and they're both fine. I don't like the exfoliating one as much I feel like it falls apart too easily, but it's great for nail polish removal. I've already repurchased both of these.  Then I have my holy grail moisturizer that Cetaphil cream love I have 3 back ups right now.  Then the odd man out in this group is my Deodorant- I use Secret Outlast and it's scent is just the fresh clean one- nothing special I've been using it for years. The only thing I don't like about it is if I'm not careful I get white deodorant marks on my clothes- I wear too many dark colors.

I dyed my hair A LOT these last 5 months. Still trying to get it back to its normal color from the bleach blonde Tyler episode of 2014. I only saved one of the hair dye tubes because the others were messy and gross, but I love this brand One 'n Only Argan Oil Hair Color it's very reasonably priced at Sally's and I've bought it at least 6 times since after I went blonde. It's very gentle and that's probably why I had to dye my hair so much because it did wash out very easily the first 4 applications. I've used the 20 and 10 Developers and hopefully I wont need to again but I think 10 is the way to go for me. I was using the 5 level at first and it would not take, it washed out so much that my hair kept ending up red, so I slowly moved up to 4 and then this last time did a 3 and it's finally stuck. I did expect it to wash out a little more but I'm fine with it and don't think I'll have to dye it again.  I also went through many packets of hair color remover wipes for my face because I'm a mess when I dye my hair. I used the Colortrak Wipe Off Color only a buck and they did the trick, they're not as wet as some but they worked fine.

For makeup I feel like I went trough small things but two I'm very proud of.  I finished a bronzer. NYC Bronzer in Sunny and after almost 2 years- I think it was about 20 months I made my way through that thing. I'm kinda sad it's gone because I feel like it's a great contour shade for me, but it has freed me up to try more. Also it's super cheap if I do feel the need to purchase it again. Then I also went through a Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in medium. It took me three tries to get my shade right but I miss this guy. I didn't use it every day because it was too drying but on the weekends I used it for a quick fix. I have other concealers I'm working through right now so I don't need it but I'll probably repurchase eventually.

Then I have three mascaras- 2 I love and 1 I hate. Maybelline's Lash Sensational  people said this was a drugstore dupe for Benefit's Roller Lash...they LIED. I hated this stuff it was too wet and never curled my lashes, I waited to it to dry and still hated it. Not for me. Urban Decay Perversion however is for me I loved it. This is the Mascara to use if you want the false lash look without the false lashes, I had this guy for over a year- tempting fate- because it would never dry out! Eventually it did and the big bushy bristles started sticking together but this guy it totally worth the $22 price. Then a sample size of Benefit's They're Real- love this mascara have already repurchased and will continue to do so. The sample size is the perfect size for me, I find it just as easy to use as the full size. This is one of my holy grail mascaras and I love it.

Then the last product is a huge dud. It's a Wet 'n Wild Coverall Concealer stick that smells like crayons and is so greasy and dry at the same time. I bought this for covering tattoos and it failed at that job. I probably had this thing for two years and I just finally gave up trying to use it, I hated it and have found much better ways to cover up tattoos that does not include this fail of a concealer.

For the last group I have some random things. My beloved hair clip! I have super super thick hair and usually go through hair clips like they're going out of style, but this monster is rubberized and I have 3 others at home because I was terrified it would break. Well luckily this guy is a work horse and I got a good year out of it before it broke. This is the Scunci No-Slip Grip Hair Claw usually about $6-8 depending where you buy it. Great clip for big hair and I cannot be without it.

Then I have a Norwegian Hand Cream I heard on YouTube was great for super dry hands. This did nothing for me. I can't complain too much it was under $5 but this was greasy and then disappeared without adding moisture to my hands, I was so disappointed. I'm still searching for the perfect hand cream.

And finally I have a sample of Lancome's Bi-Facil eye makeup remover.  I miss this stuff. Full size is priced over $20 and I just can't justify it, but anytime I get a sample of this I use it. This removes eye makeup so wonderfully and completely with no tugging or anything. I love it. If you just talk to the people in the Lancome section at Ulta they almost always offer you a free sample of something I recommend taking them up on it and getting the Bi-Facil. It's amazing.

So that's my trash! I miss a lot of these products. I'll try not to wait so long next time.

Beauty Trash #2!

I feel like I just did one of these! But I guess it has been 3 months... my last Beauty Trash was my first. But I've got more. I store my beauty trash in a medium size Sephora bag and when it gets full it's time to talk trash! Here's what I've got this time-

Some repeats from last time, my tried and true and some stuff I wont be trying again. I went through 5 makeup wipes bags! What? How? And only one cotton rounds? I wont spend too much time on stuff I've already talked about. 

Now I have a whole post on moisturizers so I don't need to go into too much detail except that I'm super impressed I got through an entire thing of my Vaseline Intensive Care, I only use this stuff in the summer because it's not strong enough any other time, so I'm about half way through another one too.  I've talked about the Simple Miscellar water a lot, still love it. I still just use it after my makeup wipes to get anything else off my face and eyes. It feels like you're putting nothing extra on your skin.  Next up we have something I hate and will not be purchasing...L'Oreal Miracle Blur? Ewww. It was a pretty big sample and I didn't finish it. It balled up on my face and reacted horribly with my day cream. This stuff was gross. I went through a Sephora sample of my favorite perfume of the summer Armani Si, I hope to one day own a full size but it's so expensive. Next to that I have an Ulta sample of Lancome Effacernes concealer in Light Bisque. This stuff is lovely and very hard to describe. It's very thing but has great coverage, doesn't dry out my under eyes but dries down to a powder finish. I didn't think it was anything special so I wont be purchasing it but it was nice to play with.  Then I went through a full NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray this stuff is just fine. I got a second one during one of Ulta's buy one get one NYX deal, but it's not the end all be all. If I get it on sale I'd buy again but I've yet to find my setting spray holy grail.

Lypsyl! Y'all Lypsyl. This stuff is fabulous. I talked about it a little bit in my last post and I just love this stuff. I dug the remaining goods out of this tube I loved it so much. I have a tube about half way done at work in the mint flavor and another honey one at home I'm working on. I love these things and will continue to purchase, use and abuse.  I also went through my car chapstick! I always keep one or two chapsticks near me at all times. In my car I probably have like 3 of these rolling around and the original Cherry flavor is my favorite. I have a few in the cake batter flavor left and one in the blue tube...is that mint? I'll finish those up but they're always a good standby, you're in the checkout line with dry lips and you just pick them up. This next up I was so sad to finish. My NYX Micro Brow WAH! I loved this thing! I have mine in Taupe and it's just beautiful, so much more natural than any other brow product I use. I already have a back up but I'm working through an inferior brow pencil that I've had for longer than I had this one- I don't use it a lot because it's not as good! I love this NYX pencil and will go back to it as soon as I'm done with my other one. Then finally I had a blush sample from Tarte in Fearless. Gorgeous color! These Tarte blush samples last a while because they're so pigmented you need so little of them. Has anyone ever in the history of the world gone through a full Tarte blush? I don't know how you ever could! I bought this, it took me forever to track it down they never had it at my Ulta, but I found it, I love it and it's just the perfect light pink that goes great with everything.

On to the other half of my trash! Up top we have my Olay Day Cream that I talked about in my moisturizer post as well and it was such a chose to get through this. I just didn't like it. I feel like it really didn't do much. Once I started wearing more foundations and less BB creams there just wasn't enough moisture in this bad boy. So nope, I went back to my Olay Beauty Fluid and life is lovely.  This tube of Cetaphil was my last one I went through before summer and it's fabulous I love it and I have more. I went through 3 Neutrogena make-up remover wipes (talked about those in the last empties) and 1 bag of HEB cotton rounds.  Then I have two makeup wipes I was just trying out.  The ELF I had used before and hated, they weren't wet enough and the product was kinda stingy.  So I tried them again the new packaging helps keep them moist  but they're still stingy, so I use them for daily brush cleaning and wiping off swatches.  The other makeup wipes I had I heard great things about they're the Trader Joe's Miscellar wipes and they were fine, but suffered ELF's earlier fate that they just weren't wet enough. I will probably get the ELF again to use for clean up and swatches but I wont get the Trader Joe's ones. 

So that's my trash! It's fun to see what I actually use and go through. I feel so much more justified knowing I'm not wasting my money and am actually finding ways to use things up even when they're not my favorite. None of the links above are affiliate links- I'm not fancy enough for that- they're just links either to other blog posts or somewhere you can buy this stuff like Drugstore.com, Ulta or Sephora.  Let's see if I can make it till October to do my next empties! 

Beauty Trash! Or what other people call Empties!

So I have been wanting to do this blog post FOREVER! Like when I started my blog I thought ooh I can't wait to do an Empties post. But...I didn't have any empties...so I started collecting them. And kept collecting them. And then the Sephora bag overflowed and I noticed one of my cats playing with an empty cotton rounds bag on the floor and decided ENOUGH! So In the future I promise not to wait 6 months but honestly I don't go through anything other than makeup wipes monthly- so maybe we'll try every 3 months...

Makeup Wipes! I've gone through more than just what is seen here but some actually made it into my real trash over the last several months. I probably go through 2 packets of makeup wipes a month.  Prior to Marchish maybe Februaryish my go to makeup wipes were the Target Brand Up and Up Exfoliating Cucumber $3, scrubby, not too wet and perfect. Love them! I used 1 to 2 daily and they were great. Then a Target Cartwheel Coupon came through for the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes and they were even better! Not scrubby, a little more expensive $4.99 but they worked so much better a little wetter but I feel like they actually cleaned better.

Then in January I met the Simple Miscellar Water that I wrote about here .  And I started using it with whatever cotton rounds I had at the time and discovered there was still makeup on my face after the face wipes! Gasp! I believe we've talked about my dislike of getting my face wet and actually cleaning it outside of the shower so I know my face is probably gross when I just use my makeup wipes.  but I started using this Miscellar water and life changed. I love this stuff. I basically soak a cotton round (or two) in this and rub it all over my face and neck and remove all the stuff the makeup wipe leaves behind. This miscellar water also lightly hydrates and I don't feel like I have to immediately put on moisturized right afterwards which is awesome. Since starting to use the Miscellar water I've gone through probably three cotton rounds packets, but like I mentioned one fell victim to my cats. But I'm really liking this system and will continue to purchase all of these things. When the Neutrogena is on sale I'll buy it but the Up & Up still work fine and with the Simple water I feel like everything works better. I just finished that first bottle of Miscellar water on Wednesday so I feel like lasting 4 months at $6.99 (I always find coupons for this too) is a perfectly reasonable price.

I was so excited to have actually finished some makeup things! I feel like I have so much makeup that I'll never get through it all, but I'm really working now on getting through my products.  So here we have my first BB cream that I ever loved Oil of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream in Light Medium. I have to order this stuff online now and it's really cheap $7-8 depending. This was the first BB cream I started using at the end of last Spring when I was still blonde and getting into all this makeup stuff. It offers virtually no coverage, but is very moisturizing, smells great and works to somewhat even out my skin tone. As an added bonus of all the things it doesn't do it has SPF 30.  I am on my second tube and use it combined with other BB creams or tinted moisturizers. I still like it for light days. I may repurchase it because I do like mixing it with other things.

Eyeliners! I went through two eyeliners in dark brown. One was the Milani Liquid Eye and this is a mechanical pencil that was great. It's super dark, looked like a liquid or a gel, was super easy to use and stayed all day.  Well when I finished this I bought another- but Milani changed the format and put it in a wooden pencil that you have to sharpen.  I hate it! It's too creamy and just becomes a smudgy mess. I will not be repurchasing again. Luckily I mostly use gel now, but I liked a pencil for easy low-maintenance days.  The other pencil was the Milani Define a Line in Dark Brown. But this one wasn't as dark brown as the Milani. I liked this one fine and enjoyed that it had a smudger on the end, but probably wont repurchase either because it wasn't dark enough.  So two products that I wont rebuy- yay!

I went through a Mascara! Well I didn't actually go through it, but after 3 months it started to get chunky and became sad...it was my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes a beautiful $21 mascara from a brand I love. I got this in my Holiday Tarte set and fell in love. High End Mascara is where it is at my friends. This mascara has a real bristle brush instead of all those plastic brushes I normally use and it's fantastic. Your lashes but better. I will totally buy this again...when it's on sale.

I also went through an eye shadow primer.  Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Eyeshadow Primer This was the first eyeshadow primer I ever bought! I got it at the beginning of last summer and it lasted me till mid February. It's cheap at $4.99 from and drugstore and it works great. I feel like there was still some product left in it but it started to separate and not work as well towards the end. I've already bought a replacement because I've tried some other primers like Milani's and ELFs and they just don't work as well.

One ELF Primer that does work well though is the ELF Studio Hydrating Undereye Primer. I think I've mentioned in previous posts that I didn't realize this stuff worked so well till I stopped using it. I love this stuff. It's super hydrating and I feel like it helps my concealer not look cakey under my eyes. I always notice when I don't use it. And the only reason I don't use it is when I forget. I've already started working on my second tube and love it. 

Next up moisturizer! I love moisturizer. I think I've mentioned all these things before but here we go again.  Cetaphil moisturizing cream this stuff is amazing and since January I've gone through these two tubs and am half way through a third. The bottom tub is larger size and actually got me through January and February. The top tub is the regular size and got me just through March. My April tub is also the larger tub so I expect it to take me into mid-May and by then it'll be time to start using regular lotion again.  I love this stuff, in the winter my skin literally drinks it up and at $11 a tub I'll keep buying it.

The Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream  is something I miss. I'm using a new night cream that doesn't work half as well so I will be repurchasing it when this it's finished. This stuff was awesome, lasted about 8 months and at $12 that's not too bad.  It's so thick and creamy that you don't need much at all, it spreads evenly and soaks into your skin overnight. I would wake up and my skin felt hydrated and not tight at all. The only downside to this stuff is it isn't really made for age defying just hydration.

The Olay Beauty Fluid is something I've used for years off and on. It's really light but hydrating and really good for under makeup.  This also doesn't have any age defying ingredients so I have switched to something else, but if I wasn't started to get older I'd still probably use the pink beauty fluid again.

And last I have these sad little samples of products.  Two I liked and 4 I could do without. I really liked The Body Shop's Vitamin E mask. I just used this as a lotion at night and it was fabulous. I may one day buy more of this, but this little paper packet lasted about a week because you didn't need much for the way I used it.  I also loved the Ganier Night Time Moisturizer- this actually does have anti-aging stuff in it so I may debate getting this instead of my other Neutrogena night cream, because I remember really loving this stuff. Hydrating and if it helps with aging fabulous.

Now the stuff I didn't care for...The Body Show's Tea Tree Clay Mask, way too drying for my face, just not for me.  The Philosophy brand Renewed Hope   which is supposed to be a moisturizer but did anything but that on me. I know some people love this stuff but it's cool that I don't because it's pricey.  Another item I had super high hopes for was the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream one the smell was awful and two it made my hands itch. I don't know what's in it but my body said no.  This stuff too is super expensive and so I'm happy my skin likes the cheaper lotions and creams from the drugstore.

So there you have it. My beauty trash from the last little while.  I'll probably do this again at the end of summer. Hopefully by then I'll have finished more makeup.  We'll see!

Stuff I'm loving right now. April 2015

Instead of doing a full favorites post, I want to just highlight a few items that I'm really enjoying right now.  Some are a surprise and some are not.  But they're all cool products I want to share about.

We'll go biggest to smallest.  So first up are the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Face Wipes. Now I've been a fan of my Up & Up cucumber face wipes for years and rarely try different ones because I know they wont be as good, but these were on sale one day and I tried them and fell in love. They don't dry out my face as much and I feel like the towelettes are larger so I get more and more product off because of them.  I still follow up with my Simple Micellar Water- that I've blogged about before...and yes makeup still comes off after I've used both sides of these wipes, but I really feel like there's less than with the Up & Up. I am going to try the Target version of the Neutrogena ones in the purple bag, but I still have two Neutrogena packs to go through before then.  So if you're looking for a good makeup wipe I recommend these, they're gentle yet strong.  They're usually around $6 but I always find coupons or Cartwheel deals for them.

Next up is a new one- my Jojoba Oil. I got this one from Trader Joe's but you can get it anywhere and it's a really nice oil.  I've been a fan of coconut oil and sweet almond oil for a while now and use them for makeup remover, moisturizer and hair treatments and apparently you can do the same with this.  I've been loving it on my hair because it doesn't make your hair greasy but gives good shine and supposedly helps the health.  I bought a sample of Josie Maran Argan Oil and din't like it for anything- I felt like it made my hair dryer and my face felt like I'd done nothing to it- maybe I'll use it for a cuticle oil, but I feel like this Jojoba Oil like my coconut and almond oil is a multitasker that can do just about anything so I'm really liking it. It absorbs fast too! It's about $8-10 depending where you buy it.

I've been loving switching up my blushes lately. I used to use the same blush day after day after day and not think anything of it, but now I love switching up my blush depending on what I'm wearing or how I do my eyes. It's been fun.  So I'm loving the Milani Rose Powder Blush in Tea Rose. It's a beautiful soft dusty rose, but can still be bright if you apply a little more. I love this for early spring, it goes great with navy blue and my usual natural eye, but it's just gorgeous. The Blush in the pan is in a pretty rose shape that makes it feel extra fun and fancy. You don't need a lot to get it to show up and it's not powdery at all, it sticks perfectly to my Real Techniques Blush Brush.  The blush is only $7 and I have a feeling it is going to last and long long time.

I have two new ELF Brushes I'm just loving. The ELF Studio Contouring Brush is a great short bristled, stiff, flat brush. It allows for really precise placement of contour powder and you can really cut your cheek bones with it and get super close to your hairline. I don't use it for blending to much but I have and it works great, but I love using it to just place my contour color is a sharp straight line and then I'll bring in a fluffy brush to blend up.  It's also great for getting around my temple and hairline because I don't have a very large forehead and so most brushes are usually too big to contour and bronze above my eyebrows. But not this guy- he is a little more expensive for ELF brushes at $6 but I don't mind because it gets the job done and ELF brushes are excellent quality.  The other ELF brush I've been loving lately is my ELF Studio Eyebrow Duo I love this guy too. It's got a mini spoolie on one side and a flat angled brush on the other. The spoolie is perfect eyebrow size! I hate with eyebrow powders come with full size spoolies for your brows because they're always too big, but this little guy is exactly the length of the width of my brows so it's perfect.  The angled brush is also an excellent size and works well with both brow powders and creams.  I use it frequently with a product I'm going to talk about later.  This guy is only $3 so that doesn't both me either.

Oh Benefit Roller Lash how I love you. I hate to love this product because it's not cheap...$24 for a mascara is ridiculous...but I had a gift card and a coupon so I got it and love it. I've been a fan of Benefit Mascaras for a brief minute starting with the They're Real Mascara I talked about in January and this does not disappoint either. I've even used the two together and shut the front door it's awesome. So the gimmick with the roller lash is that you're not supposed to have to curl your lashes beforehand and while I don't really notice it curling my lashes extremely I do know I haven't used my eyelash curler in over a month now so that's a big plus for me. I feel like this mascara got better after I used it for about a week and now it's just perfect. I don't find it clumps at all and it's great at separating my lashes. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the curved shape of the wand and the bristles but I like the formula as well.  So while I wont be purchasing another tube of this right away when it runs out because like I said it costs $$$ but I do like it and if I ever have some extra Ulta $ aroud I'll totally get it again.  

Next up is a different thing for me. Even since I cancelled my Ipsy bag I've been looking for another subscription that would be kinda cool and had heard about a perfume one that sounded interesting. I go in phases where I wear perfume and don't, but I've been trying to do it more often because I do like the way it smells and there's just something fun and sexy about perfume.  So I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a full bottle of perfume and then get tired of it half way through and then I remembered hearing about Scentbird from a couple of youtubers.  It's a $14 monthly subscription where you get a 30 day supply of designer perfumes in a fun little atomizer.  This is a great way to try a lot of perfumes at a fraction of the price.  So you get to fill out a little survey with the perfumes you like and the notes that interest you and then they recommend scents you might like. You can read comments and look at the notes and then fill out your schedule so you get the scents you want.  For this first month I got Si by Giorgio Armani. Oh it's delightful I cheated and smelled it at Sephora first and so I knew I wanted it to be one of my selections. I've filled out my calendar for the next four months to test is like I did Ipsy. Now they say they give you enough for a full month but it looks like more to me and especially if I don't wear it everyday, so I'm interested to see how long the samples they give last, but it's a fun little thing and kinda different so I wanted to share it as well.  The first link is a subscription link and if you use it I get points towards a free month I think- never understand how those work.

I am in constant search for the perfect concealer. I feel like it's a never ending journey because I'll use one for a while and then it seems to just stop working for me! It's so frustrating.  So I bounce around a lot, but I think one of my problems could be that I just don't use enough or I don't prep my eyes well enough. So lately I've been using my Benefit Erase Paste but a pretty generous amount of it. Instead of just dabbing the tip of my finger I'm using the spatula that came with it and getting a good later of it on each eye.  It's super creamy and smooth and so a little does go a  long way, but I found if you put on a generous layer it covers the blue under my eyes better and it lasts all day.  I use shade 02 Medium and it's a great match. It is kinda peachy but when you put on a thicker layer it seems to match my actual skintone better. I sometimes will top it with another concealer but this week I've been using it on it's own and I really like it.  Now it is $26 at Ulta but I have a pretty good dupe in my Pixi Correction Concentrate from Target and it's a bit dryer so it naturally applies thicker and it's great as well, but my Benefit definitely has been getting a little more love this month.

And lastly my NYX Tame and Frame brow pomade in blonde...yes blonde. I had the chocolate which is the lightest brow shade and it was laughably dark. I love this stuff. It takes some getting used to but like my concealer quest I am always in search of better brow products. I love brow pencils because they're easy and I love brow powder because it's forgiving but the pomade does so many things at once. It fills, it draws and it holds those suckers in place.  I feel use this with my ELF brow brush duo and its great, but this product is so soft in the pot that I frequently get too much and have to rub it around in the cap to get it how I want it.  I find this stuff lasts all day and doesn't budge. The color match is a bit annoying because my hair is not blonde but the lightest brown was too dark but that's okay because the blonde is pretty taupe so it goes with lots of shade.  This product is $7 from Ulta and if you can find a display that has it then you're in luck. I seem to be going through it pretty quickly, but the price makes that okay.

So those are all the fun things I've been enjoying lately.  Its a lazy Saturday morning right now, the cats are lounging by the windows, I'm doing laundry and drinking coffee but now that this post is out of the way I guess it's time to put on my makeup. I'm trying to do more minimal makeup on the weekends but it's so hard, I really just enjoy my usual full face of makeup, but I also know my skin needs a break, so we'll see what I come up with.  Happy weekending! I'm going to try to do my lip product makeup madness clean out later this week.

Moisture is important.

I've tried to write this post two other times and it's seriously gotten away from me. There is so much I could say about lotion, hydration and dry skin. Seriously I could talk your ear off- or write your eyes..off..okay nevermind. So I narrowed it down.  I'll just say this, I have dry skin, skin as dry as the desert, it's seriously dry and has been a constant struggle my whole life to find a moisturizer that I like- I've found some that work, but NONE of them are perfect.  So here's what I'm satisfied with/using right now. 

This was my favorite lotion of the summer/warmer/more humid months. I've used lots of different Vaseline products and this one and the Rescue are my favorites but I think I like this one better because it has a slight shea butter smell that I love.  It goes on very wet so you may worry that it wont get absorbed it'll just dry, but I find that it really soaks into the skin fast and works wonderfully.  I can put my clothes on within 3 minutes of application which is great and don't worry about it getting on my clothes or leaving grease stains.  I used this past year between April and October.  Some days I would need to reapply more than others, but usually a morning and evening application was all that was needed and it was great. This larger size bottle with pump lasts me about a month sometimes a little less. Vaseline Intensive Care you can get it anywhere for between $6 - $9

If I had to pick a Holy Grail lotion it would be this tub of white hydration.  I love this stuff.  And I hate this stuff.  This was the first over the counter cream my dermatologist recommended I use back in the 7th grade when we learned I had Ichthyosis.  This cream has no smell, is really thick and can be a little greasy. BUT I love it.  And still kinda hate it. As soon as I put this on my skin you can almost hear my skin sigh, it's so glad when I start using this again.  This is my cold month lotion I use it all winter long and anytime it's really dry out. This takes some time to really soak into your skin but it stays with you, the moisture lasts all day.  Now I still will apply it twice a day, but when I'm lazy I can usually get away with just a morning application.  This stuff is amazing and works fabulously and if it wasn't for the price tag I would love it.  But this tub which is slightly bigger than the normal size tub barely lasts me a month.  Usually I finish one of these after 3 weeks- 3 weeks! And the price tag makes that really upsetting.  Because you find this Cetaphil moisturizing cream for $10 - $15 depending where you buy it! So thank goodness I only have to use it a few months out of the year, but it stresses me out to spend that amount on a product I have to use multiple times a day.  But again it's what I always come back. I try other things and nothing compares.  I'm currently purchasing it from Amazon and it's a little cheaper but still...

Now I don't use either of these lotions on my face.  My face is kinda weird- sometimes it'll be super duper dry like the rest of my body and other times it's pretty normal and I don't have to worry too much about using a super heaving cream on it.  But because it's winter and because I'm wearing a lot more makeup than I used to do, I've noticed I need to be better about lotion-ing my face. 

I will always remember my 25th birthday when my facialist told me I needed to start thinking about wrinkle prevention and one of the things she stressed was night cream.  I basically said whatever woman I'm 25 leave me alone.  Well over the last year I started searching for a nigh cream I liked.  Around March I found this Neutrogena deep moisture night cream.  Done! This stuff works great and lasted me basically a year. I probably have enough to last me till the end of this month.  Now I didn't use it daily, I probably used it 2 - 3 times a week and just a teeny tiny amount.  But it's great, I love the way it makes my face feel and in the morning I feel hydrated and ready to put on my day cream.  This stuff costs $12.99 usually and I didn't really mind spending that amount on a product I was using on only a small part of my body.  Not sure if I'll repurchase this one or go with an Olay night cream, but if I don't like whatever I try next I'll come back to this one. 

Olay! Oh I love Olay.  This is just your most basic day cream that Olay offers in the Age Defying category.  My facialist's voice is still in my head.  It's light, absorbs instantly and I'm pretty sure it does not offer extra hydration but just kinda a base level.  I used to live by the original Beauty Fluid but decided I  needed something specialized for day and then night.  So the reason I can get away from a thinner day cream is because I only use tinted moisturizers, BB or CC creams on my face, so those have a lot of hydration in them. So I use this first let the first layer soak in, reapply and then add my BB cream on top.  That's perfect for me. I find my daily BB cream works just fine on top of this and I don't feel dry.  Now I'm probably going to try the Classic Renewal cream next to see if it's the Instant Hydration that makes it less cream like but for again $12.99 I'm totally fine with the price of the Olay Instant Hydration Age Defying Day Cream 

Now for something a little extra.  GlamGlow! This is the GlamGlow Thirsty Mud Hydrating Treatment for the low price of $69 it can be yours!  Well the full sized one, I bought a sample for $19.  This stuff is a treat. I use this when my face is tight and dry and I have active flaking.  You use the smallest amount of this stuff and in minutes your dryness is gone.  Now this is sold as a mask or treatment because you're meant to wipe it off afterwards or rub it in to leave on.  Well my skin doesn't really give me that option, I put this on and my skin absorbs all of it! It loves this stuff.  I use it mostly around my eyes, nose and eyebrows where I'm the driest and it's fabulous. It smells delicious too.  Now will I buy the full size? Probably not $69 is crazy.  But it was fun to try the smaller version to see what all the hype was about from the YouTubers pushing it.  

So as is hopefully evident I'm a little more picky about my body lotions  than my face lotions.  I feel like my face is less picky so it's fine.  My body however will instantly tell me when it doesn't like a lotion, it will start to itch, it will flake off, my Ichthyosis will get terribly painful and make me cry.  So while I love trying out new lotions and soaps (another story) I know that they could have disastrous results.  I know Cetaphil works so why do I keep trying other things, I know in the summer I can usually get away with using a lotion over a cream and something lighter and less expensive.  We will see if I ever find something to trump my Cetaphil. Or if I ever find something I can use year round.  Cetaphil is way too thick to use in the summer.  But for now this is my arsenal for my skin- if you have dry skin give it a try or if you have recommendations I'm always willing to mess my skin up and try something new.