My Favorite Products Summer 2017

      I am spending time with friends and family this summer and recently compiled a list of my favorite things.  I am excited to share these gems with you and hope you try them and love them as much as I do.  I know that a product is a keeper when I share it with my sister and mother and they start using it too (they are a tough crew!).  I am going to share five wonderful products, that by the way, I am not getting any payment for endorsing.  Sit back, relax and enjoy my favorite things for the summer of 2017.

Karma Wellness Water

     My friend, Liz, introduced me to Karma water and I am in love with this product.  It is full of  A, E, D, and B vitamins and probiotics.  It comes in awesome flavors like pineapple coconut. berry cherry, acai pomberry, and strawberry lemonade, to name a few.  I bought these at CVS for between $1.50 - $2.00 per bottle.  The calorie count is around 20-30 calories for the entire bottle and my daughter is obsessed with the packaging.  You have to lift the label on the lid and then press a button to release the dry mixture into the water.  You shake well and then drink.  It is very portable and I am sure that I will stock my refrigerator in my classroom with these drinks to quell the late afternoon sweet attacks that are sure to strike.  I also love that these drinks are not sickeningly sweet. They are more like a water with a hint of flavor.

Karma Wellness Water on Amazon

Confidence in a Cream

     I would consider this product to be a splurge at $48 for 2 fluid ounces.  It claims to rejuvenate skin with a creamy emollience that softens skin, but doesn't make it greasy.  I am 52 years old (that's probably too much information about a person that you just met, right?) and find that I am dehydrated regularly (more TMI) and my skin will often appear crepey and dry (don't go visual!).  I started using this awesome product last winter because my skin was feeling tight and cranky.  The assault on my skin was caused by the addition of the dry heat inside as the temperatures outside plummeted.  I like to keep the house warm during the day (much to my husband's chagrin), probably around 78 degrees and it was taking a toll on my skin.  With one use, my face immediately felt less stressed and my skin felt soft to the touch.   It also didn't interfere with my foundation that I applied over the Confidence Cream.  Sometimes, my foundation will separate or disintegrate when I use greasy products that claimed mega-hydration.  So, I was super skeptical when this product claimed to be emollient, which is really code for greasy.  Nope, it was like I gave my skin a huge drink of comfort.  I don't have a problem with large pores, so that is a claim that I'm uncertain about.  I have average sized pores and the cream didn't settle in the pores or create acne, like some of the other emollient creams I've tried. It also claims to make skin appear younger and make fine lines and wrinkles decrease.  I would agree with this claim.  I feel my skin looks younger as a function of it being well moisturized without excess grease.  If there is one product that you must try, this one is it.

Confidence in a Cream

Jergen's Bronzer

     Okay, I took a different approach to tanning this summer.  Since I spend the summer on the Connecticut shore, I was feeling a little pale when we showed up at the end of June.  I am a teacher and my skin hadn't seen the light of day since the previous summer, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and "fake bake" until I was able to achieve the real sun kissed glow I desired.  I used this great bronzing foam that was easy to spread and soaked into my skin, creating quite a realistic tan in one application.  I was not offended by the smell and did take the time to exfoliate before attempting to slather my whole body in this luscious foam.  It worked like a charm.  I was comfortable enough to wear shorts and sport the old tankini on the beach the very same day!  I still use it to even out my tan.  I find myself sitting my bottom on the beach chair and not moving until it is time to head home.  That being said, the back of my legs don't get much color, so I slather some more foam on after my shower and voila, an even tan. Love, love, love it!!! The price is around $9 and is worth every penny.  My daughter caught me using the bronzer and I now have to wrestle her to the ground to get a handful or two.  I recommend you hide it if you have any female teenagers in the house.  We do laugh at our brown palms if we don't wash our hands quick enough.

Benefit Cosmetics "Precisely My Brow" Eyebrow Pencil

    I don't know about you, but our Ulta store boasts very little in the way of customer service.  The reason I mention this is because the stars must have aligned the day we hit Ulta in Old Saybook.  It was music to my ears when the sales person actually asked if she could assist us with anything.  My sister stepped up with her priority list and the sales person worked some kind of magic on her eyebrows.  Being the older and bossier sister (she calls it "leadership skills"), she insisted I get in the chair and have the lady fill in my brows with this magic pencil made by Benefit.  I was sold!! It was the perfect color and camouflaged the sparse hairs that I once called eyebrows.  Again, I'm told that this is perfectly normal for a woman of my age, but I'm here to tell you that the hair that used to be on my head and eyebrows is now showing up on my chin and neck.  Don't know what that is all about, but I'm just going with it.  This Benefit product is awesome.  I just outline the shape I want the brow to be, fill it in with the pencil and then use the other brush end of the product to smudge it and make it look very natural.  I am using the color #3.  Audra, who is much darker, scored a pencil in color #4.  I must have lost my mind that day because the pencil, or should I call it gold, retails for $24.  The pencil comes in 6 shades, so there is surely a color for everyone.  I will let you know if I find a cheaper dupe out there for this product.

Rosehip Oil

     It really seems like this blog should be about my favorite anti-aging products.  From a very reliable source (Women's Day Magazine), I learned that rose hip oil helps re-hydrate the thin skin under the eyes that seems to get thinner as I get older.  I noticed a huge problem with my under eye skin when I used thicker concealer to disguise my dark circles.  The thick concealer really settled into the fine lines under my eyes and made a huge mess and if I added any powder, I looked like the bride of Frankenstein.  So I took the advice of my trusty grocery store rag and started applying rose hip oil that I secured from Whole Foods and was satisfied that the oil was stamped "organic."  I have later learned from my sister that I need to make sure that I purchase pure rose hip oil that has not been laced with any filler oils (referred to as carrier oils).  Yada yada.  I have been amazed with the level of hydration I was able to achieve with just a couple drops of this very concentrated oil.  It is nothing short of miraculous.  My thin, crepey eye skin has flattened out and even plumped up a little. It takes the concealer wonderfully and I even mix it with my concealer if I am using a really thick one like Bye Bye Under Eye.  That stuff is like spackle and I only use it in emergency situations, like the nights I lie awake in bed even though I am dog tired and don't catch a single wink of sleep.  This goes on for nights on end, and the doctor thinks it's some consolation when she tells me it's part of menopause.  I digress, use the rose hip oil and trust me when I tell you that it works wonders.

I hope you enjoyed my 5 favorite products!!  After I finished this post, I feel like I should write an entire blog just dedicated to the subject of aging and menopause.  I would have enough material to keep me busy for years!!  Let me know what some of your fave products are by commenting below. Hope you are having a blessed summer!!