Our New Boys

We are the proud parents of TWO new baby boys. Tag and Tucker. We went to the breeder to buy Tucker (right), but you know what they say - "always let the dog pick the family". When we arrived Tag (left) came running up to Loralei shaking with enthusiasm and kisses for her. Of course that melted my mother heart so we brought both of them home to be ours forever!! They are mini Australian Shepherds which means they will probably only be 10-12 pounds. They have the cutest personalities and in the few weeks they have been apart of our family have completely won our hearts. The other day Loralei had her big hat and high heals and purse and I heard her say "Come on we are going to Mimi's" and down the hall she went with puppies following.

Product Review 2007

Some of you may recall my product review written one year ago after what I can only describe as a spirit of shopping entered my body and caused me to plunder the local drug store. In that email I elaborated on the pros and cons of some of the newer products on the market. Well, here for your viewing pleasure and to hopefully get you excited about the coming summer months is Product Review 2007.

Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Body Glow Daily Replenishing Moisturizer + A Touch of Self Tanner
If you are as “translucent” as I am you’ve probably been through the gamut of self tanning options. In the year of our Lord 2001 I left for a cruise with palms and ankles stained the color of furniture polish after falling for the trendy “Mystic Tan”. Since then I have been every shade of orange, tangerine, cantaloupe and salmon found on the Better Homes and Garden website. Vaseline’s Healthy Body Glow is so fabulous I just have to recommend it. I have never had one streak as a result of using it. The premise is a moisturizer that includes a small amount of self tanner. Thus every time you use it you gradually build up to a “healthy summer glow”. It comes in several shades. I use medium and it works! Buy it at Wal-Mart, it’s not expensive and it smells nice so there is really no down side. Go forth and be tanned! I highly recommend it!!

CO Bigelow Apothecaries Mentha Lip Tint
I purchased this wonderful product recently at Bath and Body after my mom gave me a sample of the color-free version. This company believe it or not was established in 1838 and their motto is “Honesty, Genuine, Trustworthy” You gotta love that. Everything I’ve tried from them lives up to their reputation. I am particularly loving this mint lip tint. It comes in at least 4 shades. They cost $7.50 or 3 for $15. The mint is soooo nice and minty and strong. It’s better than a breath mint. The color is just enough to make my lips shiny and tinted without scaring John away. You know how guys hate gooey lips. No matter how much practice they’ve had they still think they will injure themselves in a lip slide off accident if the lips are too glossy. All that said the bonus for me is that the primary job of the product is to moisturize. I have excessively dry skin so no matter what product I use it has to moisturize. I’m looking forward to shiny, minty, tinted lips all summer thanks to CO Bigelow.

Infusium 23 Revitalizing Conditioner
Infusium has been around forever. My parent’s used it so I assumed it was a fogy product. I bought it in desperation because my hair has been getting dryer. I’ll let y’all in on a big secret, my hair is dyed. (shhh – don’t tell) The blonder it gets the dryer it gets. Infusium is supposed to “infuse hair with 23 essential pro-vitamin and treatment ingredients”. Although the side of the bottle doesn’t read like a vitamin label, after one use this fabulous conditioner really did revitalize my hair. I’ve continued to use it for several weeks now and I’m throwing everything else out and sticking with it. My hair feels and looks so much healthier.

Fruit of the Earth Block Up! SPF 30 plus UVA/UVB protection with Aloe Vera
It’s sun tan lotion in an aerosol bottle!! WooHoo. Even my kids stand still long enough to get a solid coat of sun protection. Found this two years ago and I am just mentioning it because we have continued to love and buy it. It’s cheaper than most all the other similar products on the market and I haven’t found a single flaw. It’s easy, it’s water and sweat resistant, the girls haven’t had a sunburn to speak of in the last several years and I have avoided messy oily sun tan lotion hands. Buy it at Wal-Mart!

Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer SPF 10
Anyone who’s seen those “Makeup tricks of the Pro’s” articles in the glamour magazines has inevitably read that the easiest and oldest trick in the book to making your eye shadow stay on and look great all day is to use a good concealer on your eyelids before you apply the shadow. I’ve looked long and hard for “good” concealer and have never found anything I like as well as this. Thank you Taylor C. for introducing me to it. It’s a great liquid with a powder finish. You don’t get those nasty lines-o-gunk in your eyelid crease. Plus you can use it to disguise dark circles under your eyes or hide blemishes. I highly recommend it for those of you who have been perpetually disappointed with the slew of runny, chalky, gunky products masquerading as concealer.

Johnson and Johnson’s Purpose Dual Treatment Moisture Lotion with SPF 15 and Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash
If they were movies they would be called instant classics. If they were super heroes they would be the dynamic duo. In my home they are the must-have's of simple skin maintenance. John and I both use them and they are good for his oily skin and my dry skin.

1 – Purpose Lotion: Every woman knows that gravity is the enemy when it comes to our skin but a lot of women don’t know that the number one best thing you can ever do for your skin PERIOD is to protect it from the sun. I never buy lotion, concealer or foundation that doesn’t contain SPF. Purpose Lotion has an SPF15 and contains UVA and UVB sunscreen. I use it every morning under my makeup or if it's a no makeup day on my clean skin and every night before I go to bed. It comes in an unassuming white and periwinkle container with a handy squirt top. It is oil free, hypoallergenic, fragrance free and won’t clog pours.
2 - Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash: I use to remove dirt and makeup from my face every night. It’s not harsh on my skin. You can get it at Wal-Mart next to the lotion. It’s soap free, hypoallergenic and won’t clog pours. The best thing about it as a dry-skin person is my skin doesn’t get that tight, dry feeling after using it.
Honestly I would compare these two items with confidence to all the budget breaking, highly advertised products on the market I’ve tried. I’m never going back!!

Thanks for indulging me again this year. I hope you find these reviews informative and helpful. Please Please let me know about any products you use and love!