Favorite Things (And Why).

This post is about products I love, most of which are beauty products, and it only feels right to start out with a little bit of my raw story.

My personal journey with beauty products has been interesting, to say the least.

I can honestly say that I struggled with my self image (what woman hasn't?) up until about a year ago. I always felt out of balance, always felt like I needed to go to a bathroom with a mirror every few hours in public to make sure everything was still looking the way I wanted it to, always felt like I never QUITE looked the way I wanted to. I remember not feeling pretty until I was about fifteen. And it was only because a boy I fell flat-on-my-butt in love with told me I was beautiful enough times for me to attempt believing it. It only took ten years for me to start feeling beautiful all on my own.

Some of this was simply puberty kicking in and making everything a hormonal hot mess. Some of this was puberty + Mean Girls' "girl world" being a reality and knowing that every teen girl in the room is combing over your looks to find your flaws when you walk into class (or at least the insecure ones). Some of this was puberty + girl world + social anxiety I struggled with, and still do some. I associated the anxiety to feeling unattractive, and thought that once I felt pretty the anxiety would go away.

Regardless of the whys, I say all of this to explain why my junior high, high school, and early college years were spent grasping for beauty products to make me feel better about myself.

Makeup to cover up my uneven skin tone, fake tanner to even out my complexion everywhere else (and to look tan, because that was a thing unfortunately), hair thickening products to give my thin hair some volume, which then led to teasing the crap out of my hair and making it a huge curly lion mane everyday (and making it a sticky tangly mess), and all the acne cleansers in the world to cope with my oily skin that I continued to cake makeup onto.

It was always a fight.

It was always a negative experience.

I hated the canvas I had to work with, and did my best to look utterly flawless by the end of my time in front of the mirror.

To go into my journey out of that shame in depth would be an entirely different blog post, and if I get enough feedback on readers wanting more of that story and how I've come out on the other end, I'll be happy to share it (Spoiler alert: The real struggle at hand was sooooooo much deeper than how I looked. It always is).

But for now, that's enough to get your feet wet in the river that has been my path in finding products that not only work for me, but are healthy for me. It feels like I've tried everything under the sun, or at least everything under the Target/Walmart/Walgreens sun (I've been a kid on a budget, after all).

It's no longer a fight. It's actually fun! Not because I've found products that cover me up the best, but I've found products that work WITH me and bring out who I am and how I was created, rather than covering up everything to become whoever I "want" to become (Another spoiler alert: I was never happy with my personally-created self, because the maintenance was exhausting).

As I have been on the hunt for quality products at the best price (again, what woman isn't?), I have found myself drawn more to personal blogs than to shopping website reviews for feedback on what is out there. There's something about the personal touch, the "I'm telling you my opinion in a space where you can get a feel for who I am in all aspects" effect that blogs have that make those opinions and reviews stick so much more for me.

It also broadens my horizons on brands and product types that I would never have thought of myself when I venture onto blogs, since reviews on shopping websites are simply there if you are searching for that particular product already.

So I'm joining the blogging ranks and sharing, from a special level of my heart (as my story shows), some products I'm using as of late and absolutely loving.

I'll go in the order of what I'd use in a morning routine to make things simple.

In the shower:

Collective Wellbeing Charcoal Body Wash: The activated charcoal in this body wash is exactly what

my skin needs, especially when it's warm outside and my skin is prone to breakouts. It deep cleans, smells amazing, and doesn't strip my skin of its natural oils. I use this before anything else just for the smell to fill the shower!

Lush BIG Shampoo: This sea salt shampoo gives my hair a gentle and natural-feeling thickness that I can't get anywhere else. I don't use this for every wash since I color my hair and the salts would fade my color too fast, but it's my favorite volumizing shampoo to date. When I'm not using this, I use Mane and Tail.

John Frieda Intense After-Color Conditioner: This is basically a full size bottle of the deep conditioner you would get in an at-home hair color box. I don't use John Frieda hair color, but this conditioner has been a wonderful hair mask that I keep in while I finish up my shower and don't wash out all the way, since my ends can be pretty dry without some help. And my color isn't fading, so something is working! :)

Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil Gel with Aloe and Vitamin E: My favorite shaving gel to date, even though you have to thoroughly clean your razor after every few strokes. It has eliminated razor bumps on my underarms and leaves everywhere feeling unbelievably soft for hours after. It's worth the razor maintenance, I promise!

At the sink:

Clarisonic Mia 2: Now, this may seem like a splurge, but for me it has rendered itself absolutely worth the cost. Imagine an ice skating rink that needs cleaning, and think about the level of cleanliness wiping it with a towel would achieve as opposed to a Zamboni. A Clarisonic is the Zamboni for your face. And at the rate my face likes to shed cells and moisturize itself, a Zamboni-status cleaning system is a necessity. I absolutely love it.

Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: My favorite part about this cleanser is that a little goes a loooooong way. I only need a pea-size dot on my Clarisonic to get a great foam and a great wash. In fact, too much can leave my skin way too dry, so watch out. This doesn't have any physical exfoliating beads, which I prefer since my skin is sensitive and gets irritated with too harsh of a cleanser. This one, when the portion is correct, is just right.

Philips Sonicare Toothbrush: Think of the Zamboni analogy again, but for your teeth. I decided to invest in this brush since I am in the process of using Invisalign to get my teeth straightened out again, and when something is pressed against your teeth and preventing whatever else is on your teeth from being naturally rinsed off, it's important to get seriously good cleanings in with every brushing. It's awesome!

In my room at the mirror:

Prosacea Gel: Once I stopped blindly covering up my uneven skin tone on my face and actually did some research, I discovered I have mild rosacea on my face and arms that there are products for. I use this on my face immediately after washing, with a moisturizer quickly following, because my cleanser and this treatment can be pretty drying if left without some moisturizing help.

Heritage Rosewater & Glycerin: Guys. This is probably my favorite product on this post, and one that I myself found on a blog review. It is a liquid spray moisturizer that is light (since it's mostly water), smells subtly floral, and has given me some of the best redness-reducing results I've ever experienced. I spray this on my face after Prosacea and spray it on my upper arms where I have redness as well. It is soothing and cooling, which is something those with rosacea need desperately in a product. And at that price, forget about it. This is staying on my vanity the rest of my life!

Clarins Bright Plus Brightening Hydrating Day Lotion: This is one of the more expensive products I use, mainly because it accomplishes so many things in one bottle: it brightens, hydrates, and is an effective facial sunscreen. It doesn't muddy my complexion like other screens have, and it hydrates without oiliness. A little goes a long way with this one, so 1.7oz is a hefty amount in the long run. It's the perfect protective "seal" for my clean and hydrated face.

Neutragena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen: This is the King of Sunscreens for someone with moody skin that doesn't respond well to greasier alternatives. I can rub this on and head out the door a minute later without feeling like I'm oiling up to be fried on a grittle, and it doesn't leave me smelling like I'm a kid going to the beach all day, either. Since I wear it everyday and everywhere, these aspects of this sunscreen make it worth the price every single time.

Smith's Rosebud Salve: This Vasoline alternative has been fantastic as a long-lasting lip balm with the tiniest hint of rosy pink color for a polished natural glow. I've also used a little bit in my eyebrows for subtle shaping when needed. It lasts all day and doesn't dry my lips out like other balms seem to do, so this one is a keeper as well.

In my hair:

Surface Bassu Hydrating Oil: This was a gift from my colorist in Portland when I told her I was having trouble with dried out splitting ends. I put this on my ends while it's wet, whether I'm blow-drying or air-drying. My hair soaks it up like water on a hot desert day. Plus it's a great hydrating oil for your skin, too, so my legs enjoy the leftover oil on my hands once my hairs are happy.

Surface Trinity Protein Cream: This was also from my colorist since, along with split ends, my hair likes to break off and therefore never give me any serious length. I spray this protein cream in my hair, wet or dry, when it needs some extra love and I also want some of my natural waves to show.

L'Oreal Paris EverStyle Volume Lifting Root Spray: This product is near and dear to my heart for several reasons. I have been using root lifting sprays since I was about thirteen, since my hair is pathetically flat and limp without them. There are some that did nothing, and others that did WAY TOO MUCH and left dried alcohol residue in my roots that I'd have to methodically brush out before attempting to wash my hair. I only found this spray about two weeks ago...(*que Tangled lanterns scene*) and at last I see the liiiight! It is alcohol-free, smells amazing, and is effective without the beauty pageant theatrics of other brands. I can run my fingers through my roots and it simply feels like I have thick hair, not like I have thin hair with gunk in it. Oh, sweet victory.

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray: This is a fun product to use when I'm going for a natural wavy look, which seems to be more and more these days. I spray, scrunch, and blow dry, and I can add as much as I want as I go since it's good with wet or dry hair. Love!

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Dark and Deep Brown): This is another product near and dear to my heart. As a blonde for most of my life, I could get away with using baby powder on no-washing days on my (you guessed it) super oily hair. It was a cheap and relatively effective way to prolong my style, however it wasn't always easy getting the extra powder out of my scalp, and it lent itself to look like dandruff one too many times. I tried dry shampoo a few times as a blonde, but it seemed to run out after about two spray sessions and wasn't as effective as baby powder, so I stuck with my dandruff head look. When I decided to go brown (DARK brown), I knew baby powder wouldn't cut it anymore and I needed to find a dry shampoo that actually worked. This was the first one to catch my eye in Ulta since it's specifically for dark hair, so I grabbed it and gave it a try. SWEET LORD, I'm never powdering again. It's lasted me so long, each spray is so effective and lasts all day, plus I don't have to brush out any grey residue that other brands have left. It does, however, give your water a brownish tint in the shower when rinsing out your hair, so just be prepared for that and you're golden.

Thus ends my Beauty Saga!

I do use a few makeup products, but perhaps I'll save those for another post. I'm becoming more and more particular about what I use and how much I use it, since my background is full of overuse and using too many at once. For another time.

For fun, here are some more of my favorites that aren't beauty products, but they have benefited my life in their own special ways:

Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Products: All of them, for everything, forever. They are cruelty-free, aromatherapeutic products made with essential oils. I am obsessed with the lavender and lemon verbena scents, and currently have some dish soap, hand soap, countertop spray, and dryer sheets of these delicious smells. They are light, effective, leave no residue, and get you excited to clean yo thangs!

Capri Blue Candles: They last forever, look adorable, and smell divine. My personal favorite is Volcano, I could eat it for dessert.

Kaufmann Mercantile Products: This is a dangerous new discovery of mine. The cookware, the drinkware, the decor, the wool blankets, the everything. I need.

Fair Trade African Handwoven Bolga Baskets: My mom loved and sold Longaberger baskets when I was a kid, and now I understand why; baskets are just wonderful, and incredibly versatile. Find a few that you love and you can find all sorts of ways to incorporate them into your house decor and storage systems. I see myself with a few of these handwoven African beauts in my near future.

Everlane Products: I love their honesty and breakdown of how much their products cost to make, along with their affordable pricing. I just got their reversed denim dopp kit in the mail (because I have a concerning obsession with stowing travel-size toiletries in my purse) and it's wonderful. They'll definitely be a go-to for basics in the future.

I think that's enough free advertising for one post. ;)

I'm off to enjoy the quiet rain on this Nashville summer day.

Happy Friday everyone!