at-home pampering (+ a custom shampoo giveaway!)

I'm not one who's particularly into regular spa-going, but in this time of extra anxiety/stress, lack of access to any salon services (and also, at my house, an indefinitely-on-hold, half-finished bathroom remodel...wahh), I was thinking it would be nice to make hair, skin, and nail care a bit more spa-like at home.

So I was pretty excited to learn about Formulate, a company that creates custom shampoo & conditioner, and get to try out my own personalized set via their sleek app. Through the questionnaire on the app, I just put in my hair characteristics and goals, their chemists came up with my personal formula, and some hair pampering arrived right at my doorstep! Even better, you can enter to win a set of your own formula through my Formulate giveaway.

It's a great time for some personalized hair care, since my mane was feeling like a salon visit was overdue, but of course it was cancelled as all salons are still closed here. I was noticing split ends, and in general my hair was just feeling kind of lifeless and dull - so I requested their chemist to make my formula to help with both of those things, and to add some extra gloss and reduce frizziness (but you could also pinpoint other issues like volume, oiliness, curls, etc.). I'm loving that my hair feels shinier and more manageable after using my new shampoo for a while; I don't love-love the scent of my formula, but the great thing is that it's easy to adjust for the next bottle.

Aside from refreshing my 'do with some new shampoo, here are some other things I've been doing to increase the relaxation and pampering feels at home - that really don't take much time beyond your normal routines - in the absence of salons or spas.


Skin

• Keeping up a full skin routine, even when I don't feel like doing it before bed, because the soothing routine, pleasing scents, and resulting soft skin are worth it; for all the details of my night-time routine, check out my guest post on Dana's blog, and she can help you out with product recommendations/ordering too!
• Applying hand cream before bed, which is relaxing and also counteracts the roughness of all the extra hand washing
• Trying out (finally) some of the face scrub/mask samples that I have from various Sephora orders in the past and have just been sitting here forever

Nails

• Using a sugar scrub (I love this one, but you could DIY it!) to smooth hands and feet
• Applying DIY cuticle treatments
• Painting my finger nails for the first time in forever, with tips for the best at-home manicure from The Everygirl

General spa feels

• Taking baths in epsom salts (with a book in hand, of course) - normally I really don't like taking baths, but with no ability to get a massage when needed for my various muscle ailments, this has been lovely
• Using microwaveable heating pads to relax my shoulders and any other tense muscles
• Putting on my yoga toes nightly
• Drinking hot water with lemon - so refreshing and spa-like
• Arranging my "lotions and potions" in a nice tray to feel fancier

How are you pampering yourself these days? Don't forget to pop over here and enter the shampoo & conditioner giveaway!


Shampoo/conditioner and giveaway provided by Formulate, but all opinions are my own.

five things Friday: beauty buys edition

I don't make a ton of "beauty" purchases - I'd like to think it's because I'm fairly low maintenance, but I admit it's mostly because I'm kind of clueless in the department. But I do like looking and feeling my best, and I'm slowly finding my go-to selection in each product category - and looking forward to learning exactly what that product/brand is for each so that I can just stick with it and not have to face the million options again...

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These categories are ones I didn't feel like I quite had covered yet in my arsenal: the eyeliner, the (sustainable, less wasteful) makeup remover situation, the nighttime tone/moisturize routine, and the brows. Bonus is a quick dry nail polish that just sounded worth a shot!

These are the finds that I'm using regularly and would definitely re-buy. In the case of the mini makeup eraser (sadly sold out now, but this and this are similar options),  hopefully won't need to replace for a very long time! I love how with just a bit of water they really take off my makeup, mascara included. Was pleased with my first-ever Glossier order: the boy brow color/thickener really gives a great, full look to my eyebrows, and the lash slick eyeliner is a decent price and applies nicely. And I finally bit the bullet and invested in a whole skin regimen. I've liked some of the Countertime products from Beautycounter, but for the whole regimen (cleaning through toning through moisturizing), the Countermatch collection is a bit cheaper, smells better, and has some great products. I especially like how the serum and lotion make my face feel smooth and soft.

Still always on the look for my holy grail mascara, but as recommended earlier this week, currently I'm just doing away with mascara entirely, having gotten my lashes tinted. Probably won't re-do that until the summer, but I'm going to love not needing to apply mascara in the sweaty days. In the meantime, any great mascara recommendations for me?

five things Friday: Sephora stock-up edition

Word on the street is that Sephora's spring insider sale is going on. While I'm sure you've already seen a zillion product recommendations from ladies with higher "insider" status than I do, now that the sale is open to all levels of insiders (sign up here to be one) I do have some go-to items for the everyday girl's beauty routine, and this sale is a great time for stocking up on them!

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It's fun to try out new products, but as someone with a pretty minimal makeup routine, I like to use the discount time to get a good deal on some stuff that I use all the time so will be needing to replace at some point anyway...

I've tried a bunch of different dry shampoos, and the Living Proof is definitely my favorite - seems to work better than any of the others. The eyeliner is really easy to apply and stays on nicely, and this lip tint is just the perfect barely-there, feels-good-on lip color for any time of day. Can't ever have too many hair ties (I keep one in every bag and car and drawer, pretty much), and the Invisibobble are by far the best.

Finally, the makeup setting sunscreen spray. I actually have only recently started trying this out, but I love the concept so much - a great way to up your sunscreen protection when you don't want to wreck your makeup!

five things Friday: beauty clean up edition

I've never been much of a beauty/skincare person, but as I get a little older I have enjoyed exploring the arena a bit more (and, yeah, feeling like my skin needs a little more of this kind of attention as it ages...) - and part of that exploration lately has been finding clean products. If you're on the "clean up" quest too, I have some new favorites to recommend that are phthalate-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free, and all that good stuff. Plus - not expensive!

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The Pixi glow tonic is something I heard a lot about on blogs/podcasts, but I'm never sure whether stuff like serums and toners actually do anything for me. This one makes my face feel so tight (in a good way) and bright though - it's great, and only $15 at Target. (The bamboo rounds are the absolute perfect thing for applying it. Perfect size, nice and soft, and no waste, because I can wash and reuse them!)

Also for nicely priced Target buys, I highly recommend the Honest Beauty mascara - feels comparable to the Beautycounter one I used, but half the price - as well as these deodorant wipes. They're so great for after a workout when you don't have time for the full shower - gets rid of the BO and replaces it with a really lovely scent.

And then I'm always a sucker for a good-smelling shampoo; when my stylist changed salons and introduced me to the Kevin Murphy line of hair products I probably would have switched anyway for the smell (and the cute packaging), but knowing that it's made without any of the yucky stuff and it's cruelty-free, I love it even more.

So those are my new favorites in my regular skin/hair routine - any other clean beauty suggestions that I should check out?


Sharing on The Blended Blog.

five things Friday: beauty buys edition

Despite the adulting that I have totally figured out by age 32, I manage to still be pretty much a complete beauty novice. Though I would actually like to look like an adult! Thanks to some tips and gifts (thanks for the great mascara, mom!) I have really upped my game in the beauty products lately - finally. (Also thanks to these products for making the grown-up beauty process totally easy.)

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After reading a couple of handy Pinterest-found tutorials I have finally figured out how to do some makeup contouring, so I have accumulated a few appropriate products - and the bronzer/highlighter duo is a perfect size for my gym bag, with the 2-in-1 brush being just the thing to pack along with it.

The gel setter top coat is awesome because it gives that hard and shiny gel manicure finish, but you can use it with any nail polish - nice because while I like the idea of the gel, I already own all of these colors that I like in regular polishes.

And my hair stylist suggested this dry conditioner, which I love for more than just its amazing scent. I've been trying to wash my hair less, because (if I can avoid any greasiness) it behaves so much better on day 2-3, especially as we get into the humid seasons. She suggested using this in addition to a dry shampoo; this one goes more on the ends of the hair and gives you the smooth, just blow-dried look.

What products are helping you put on your grown-up face lately? Because I need all the help I can get...