LUSH Crush

I have been walking past this store front for months at my local mall and I've always wanted to go in but have decided to stop myself. I didn't want to get addicted to the colors, the fun looking products, the smells of natural oils and organic skincare, because I knew myself and because I knew I'd instantly be hooked. Well dammit, I was right. I'm now in love.

I walked into LUSH a week ago to see if they had anything for my itchy skin. Maybe something organic would do the trick. There are so many fillers in our lotions and body washes that probably do more harm than good half the time anyway. Well, I walked in on one of my lunch breaks and was greeted by so many kind people who worked there. Most stores like that freak me out because I really don't like to be bombarded or pressured to buy things when I shop but these people were like old friends from grade school you hadn't seen in years. They were friendly, did demonstrations and told you how and why each and every product was natural and wonderful. I knew I was in trouble when I saw Bath Bombs the size of my head staring back at me in hues of bright pink and blue. Then it took everything I had not to scream in delight when one of the workers there took my arm and a rose smelling body conditioner was draped over my arms filling my nose with relaxation.

Sure enough, on my first visit I had to get something. I got a Peace Massage Bar. A massage bar? I had never heard of something like this. It filled with olive oil, cocoa beans and Shea butters to moisturize and calm skin. They have several different flavors but this one was recommended for my skin. Not only does it feel great on my skin but it smells so good. I love the idea of using natural skin care.

I went back for a second visit and once again felt like I was greeted by old friends. I discovered some new products this time. I wanted to get a some sort of bar of soap to soothe my skin and was recommended to get Putty in your Hands. This is a soap that doesn't actually have SOAP in it. Kinda bizarre I'd say. The product states that it's a combo of oats, lavender, tea tree and chamomile oils. It says online that it's for your hands only but I used it as a regular bar of soap and it was great. The oils are natural antiseptics so you don't actually need soap as these oils clean just as well without drying out the skin.

Here is what it looks like:

My last rave of this blog was the Bath Bomb's. Like I mentioned earlier these huge bath bombs are so colorful and fun looking. There are so many different kinds and scents but I had to chose 2 Butterballs and 1 Rose Queen. While they were $4.95 a piece I was told what great soaks they were and how soft they make your skin feel. They also mentioned you'd smell great the entire day after bathing with these. Before they could finish their words I had 3 in my shopping bag.

I couldn't help but take a bath after all these products I had purchased to try. Tonight I used the Rose Queen. It's a pink bath bomb that smells like roses. When I dropped it in my tub I was delighted by the instant fizzing of pink that was filling my tub. I was even more amazed when hot pink flower petals began exploding out of this bath bomb. I felt like I was at my own one person party and I was so excited.





Check out what my tub looked like:

HOORAY! If anyone knows me, they know how much I love pink and how much I love flowers! My bathroom was filled with the smell of roses and I soaked for a good 10-15 minutes in this loveliness. My only concern was how I was going to get ride of the flower petals but I was too happy in the moment to care. All that matters after a hard week's work is relaxation at any cost, even if a little clean up in involved.

I came out of the tub as soft as a baby and smelling like flowers and it has latest me several hours so far.

While the store is a little pricey, nothing beats wonderful customer service, a colorful environment full of organic cleansing and skin care products. It's a great place to visit to treat yourself from time to time and I'll definitely be a regular customer in the future.

Hope you enjoyed reading! Now go out and visit a LUSH store today!

Real women have CURVES

Please watch this video before reading this blog to understand my point of view. 

While I understand that high fashion prefers emaciated skinny women over curvy women I'm sickened by an anonymous beauty blogger who recently posted a blog online bashing Katy Upton for being "FAT". If your interested in reading this specific blog that has sparked some serious drama see it here Katy Upton is "Well-Marbled"

In the blog written, it states that Katy has "Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition – she looks like a squishy brick. Is this what American women are “striving” for now? The lazy, lardy look? Have we really gotten so fat in this country that Kate is the best we can aim for? Sorry, but: eww!"

While everyone is allowed to have their own opinion on the matter I must say my own opinion is nothing but disgust. We wonder why women today outside of the modeling industry are not only anorexic but depressed as all hell. Look at the standards we are expected to live up to! Katy Upton's measurements are 36-25-34.  That's a normal sized women. It's about time we have women out there confidently modeling who look "NORMAL" for a change. If her thighs are considered huge and her body is considered "LAZY & LARDY" then what does that make the rest of us? I'm happy Sports Illustrated had her as their cover model. Anytime I see women bashing women's bodies and figures it really gets to me (obviously). We weren't all born to look the same or be shaped the same. We're supposed to be supporting each other, not insulting each other. While I feel like our country is starting to come around as to what's considered "beautiful", blogs posted like this just take us a step backwards. It's easy to judge someone when they have half there clothes off but hell, she's obviously doing something right if she's made it as a super model in our "1 size fits all" modeling industry. And I'm happy that we have a girl out there confident to show off her normal figure and be proud of it.

Do's and Dont's of 4th of JULY style!

 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! 

As women we are free to be whatever we want to be in this country. From cooky to wacky. From goth to diva-liscious. Go ahead girl and WORK IT! :)

Let's start with the Eye makeup for the holiday.

DO wear blue eyeshadow. 

Start with a light blue color all over your lid. Blend a darker blue in the corner. Use a highlighter below your eyebrow and really blend it all together so it's clean looking. Finish it off with some black liquid liner and a volumizing mascara.

DON'T color block your eyeshadow into RED, WHITE, AND BLUE and then decide it's a good idea to have your eyeshadow match your lips. BAD IDEA.

Next lets go with what to wear!

DO wear a cute top with red white and blue in it. I think it's cuter to wear a top with red white and blue in it then rock a generic shirt with a flag on it but it's up to you.

DON'T  wear this dress out in public. It's cute to be patriotic but this outfit can wait for Halloween.

As for shoes. Here is a good idea!

DO rock some red, white or blue flats

DON'T ever wear these EVER...because...just please don't. :)

Next is NAILS! My favorite.

DO spend a little more time tonight painting your nails red, white and blue! Paint your nails white and then take red, white and blue nail polish and use a toothpick to create little dots on your nails and let the dry and add layers.

DON'T get cray girl. 

Hope you enjoyed my Do's and Don't's of 4th of July style. I just found a good blog also on 10 songs for your 4th of July playlist if your interested in checking that out, created by one of my favorites...Lauren Conrad.

Stress Affects on Skin

June was a very challenging month for me professionally and personally. What summer in anyone's life isn't crazy? Well, with my company, we are currently short staffed and 6 months into being a supervisor I am interviewing trying to get some additional help for our team. On top of that I had been planning my girlfriends bachelorette party, as well as getting stuff together for her wedding, our company had officially merged into our new company, I volunteered to create a video for a company contest, my brother is moving to Colorado in a few weeks, I'm trying to figure out if I can maintain a new budget and maybe move outbefore I'm 30..and the list continues. It's been insane.

None the less the stress had really gotten to me and I noticed my skin was starting to itch really bad. My scalp, my legs, my arms..I mean everything. For the past 2 years my skin has been acting up really bad. My scalp is super sensitive and my body goes in waves of itching. My mom works for a dermatologist and I had previously gone to see him for help in this matter but besides good lotions there wasn't much I could do. And then a week ago I spoke with my Aunt and she said "Well, Danielle, are you stressed?" and I said "YES!" to which she replied. "Your stress is causing you to itch."

At first I couldn't believe it. How was that possible? I had many stressful times in life but it had never gotten to where I itched. Of course I ran to Google and instantly typed in "Stress and Itchy skin" and all these articles popped up. My aunt was right. My stress/anxiety over the past few weeks had caused me to be itchy.

What causes this is you have these epidermal layers made up of skin cells forming a strong barrier. Yet when your stressed this layer of skin cells becomes disruptive. Stress actually cases your skins cells to break up and shrink causing harmful bacteria to seep in through those cells causing Eczema and Psoriasis. I in fact have Eczema and never understood why or what caused it and all this stress over the past two years makes perfect sense.

What other things does Stress cause in regards to your skin and health?

1. Bad acne
2. Melonoma or other harmful skin cancers
3. More severe dermatitis
4. Cold sores
5. Frown lines
6. Dryness
7. Dullness

I knew stress was bad for you but I never really thought how severely it impacts your skin. I knew stress effected your insides, your brain, your heart rate but to read up on how it affects your skin has been really interesting to me. 

As a person who doesn't smoke or drink much due to the awful effects it has on your body, I am now more aware that while those two things affect your skin that STRESS is another culprit. In order to squash the stress over the years I made a promise to myself 4 years ago to never stop exercising. As of the past 7 months I have been actively doing Hot Yoga which has had a huge affect on how stress impacts my life. I realized even more so now with the stress I've been having I really need to work out at least 3-4 days a week to maintain a balance. In that balance hopefully I'll find a way to center myself and rid the nonsense from my skin.

I also suggest if you are in the same boat as me to purchase some good anti-itch lotions. There are so many great ones out there that I'm not going to name drop on this blog. Also, go to Groupon and find a massage deal in your area. Haha! A good massage does wonders for stress.

Thanks for reading! Happy 4th of July!