Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Get your glow on with The Estee Edit

I’m going to start this by saying I’m not a fan of glowing makeup and excessive highlighter. Why? Because I usually have so much oil on my face within about 10 minutes of applying makeup that adding additional shiny stuff is basically redundant. Also, most highlighter has some color or glitter to it and I’m not about looking like a disco ball.

Okay, now that I’ve said that, I love the Estee Edit makeup I was sent by Influenster to try out. It has a primer/face color stick, lipstick/balm, and two highlighting products. I’ve been using it for about two weeks and I really like the results. The highlighting products I received aren’t glittery (mostly) and they really aren’t tinted, so they look natural and work with the rest of my makeup instead of against it.

Highlighter junkies, rejoice! The Estee Edit has amazing products to get your glow on any time of the year. These products are so flattering for summer, though! Can't wait to try them!

Pore Vanishing Stick

The Pore Vanishing Stick is possibly one of my favorite items I received in the Estee Edit box. This is a miracle stick (heh heh, dirty) with a color core and mattifying primer ring that blurs the look of pores and minimizes oil and shine. While they recommend using this as a primer, solo as your face color, or over makeup, I prefer it as a primer. It really does provide a nice, matte base that allows the rest of the illuminating products to do their job without extra help from oil on my face. I pay special attention to places I want to stay matte when I use this and not worry about even coverage since I put foundation over top.

The Estee Edit Pore Vanishing Stick is a miracle worker! It keeps you matte all day and provides an aweome primer base for makeup.

Beam Team Hydrate + Glow

The Estee Edit says Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is an illuminating, hydrating lotion with a touch-on shimmer concentrate. They recommend using it any time of day for an extra glow boost. Usually, I’ll mix the lotion into my foundation to make it more like a BB cream. Even though they say it can be worn alone for a healthy glow, it’s very sheer and doesn’t provide coverage. The “color payoff” is slightly golden; I mostly notice that it gives me a nice, vibrant beam and not color.

The glow boost in the cap is a little different. I thought I could just swipe it on from the container, but the cap gets in the way. I felt very smart the first time I tried to do that. This part does have some glitter in it, so I usually don’t reach for it daily, but I’ll bring this into the game if I want a bit of an extra highlight.

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

Flash Illuminator

The Flash Illuminator is another illuminating product (no shit) and claims to be “your best light in a bottle.” The Estee Edit says it’s a high-impact highlighting cream that instantly illuminates skin and provides hyaluronic acid and other skincare ingredients. There are five shades ranging from Spotlight (the one I have here) to Night Light, a darker golden brown shade.

Again, I like to mix this in with my foundation if I haven’t already added the Beam Team hydrating lotion. I’ll also use this as a highlighting cream on my cheekbones (what little of them I have) and down the bridge of my nose.

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Barest Lip Color

No surprises here, the The Barest Lip Color lipstick is my favorite item from this box. It’s a lipstick/lip balm hybrid that uses muru muru butter and real flower petal waxes for softness and shine. You can apply this sheer or layer it up if you like to live in full color. There are a range of shades, like the Flash Illuminator, though they’re all pretty much brown-nudes with a hint of pink. I have In the Buff, a nude mauve shade that’s rosy when sheered out.

I love the scent of this lipstick (true Estee Lauder lipstick that reminds me of the 90s and my grandma) and how it wears. It feels really nice, too, and moves with your lips; not that it travels, but that it doesn’t just cake onto your lips and then crack when you try to talk. Ugh, that’s the worst feeling.

The Estee Edit The Barest Lipcolor in In The Buff is a super hydrating lipstick/lip balm hybrid. What a gorgeous dusty mauve shade for summer! Definitely a switch from my bright pinks!

The Estee Edit The Barest Lipcolor in In The Buff is a super hydrating lipstick/lip balm hybrid. What a gorgeous dusty mauve shade for summer! Definitely a switch from my bright pinks!

I’m pleasantly surprised by this box of goodies from the Estee Edit. I’m actually using everything provided, even though two of the items are highlighting/illuminating products. Like I said before, while I’m not about that game, I am so about the vibrant glow they give me.

What’s your favorite way to glow?

**These products were provided complimentary by The Estee Edit and Influenster, but the opinions are my own forever and always.

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Dessange Paris Unboxing and First Impressions

Out of all of the beauty-related items I have, haircare is probably the lowest man on the totem pole.  I have enough makeup to Spackle an army, nail polish to paint another Sistine Chapel, and a fair amount of moisturizers, sprays, and perfumes to get the stink out of…well, I’m running out of analogies, but you get the point.

Dessange Pairs Oleo Miracle Replenishing line has three weightless oils to nourish your hair without leaving it heavy or greasy. It's a Paris hair secret! Loving it! #influenster #voxbox #JAdoreDessange

That isn’t to say I don’t have hair products that I buy time and time again, but I really don’t do anything outside the norm.  Shampoo/conditioner (sometimes a conditioning mask), leave-in conditioner, and finally a shine serum after I blow-dry (that is if I blow-dry at all).  And if I curl my hair, Hot Off The Press heat protecting spray.  Dry shampoo if I can’t bring myself to wash (and subsequently dry) my hair.

So when Influenster sent me new haircare items from Dessange Paris, I was intrigued.  I received the Dessange Paris Oleo Miracle Replenishing Line with a Replenishing Shampoo, Conditioner, and Oil.  I  could easily see myself incorporating all of that into my hair routine without a problem.

The whole Dessange Oleo Miracle line is infused with three natural oils: argan, camelia, and pracaxi – and yeah, I have no idea how to say “pracaxi.”  The only oil I’ve heard of here is the argan oil.  I LOVE argan oil.  Josie Maran’s argan oil is usually what I put on my hair when I’m done drying it.

As you can tell, I can’t say Dessange without a funny accent.  Oh, and a note in regards to the Replenshing Oil: you are supposed to use it on dry hair.  It’s a highly-nourshing yet non-greasy leave-in treatment.

The first thing I noticed was the smell.  It was pretty perfume-y, but thankfully it doesn’t stick around strongly.  That said, Jonathan did mention he prefers what I was using before – good ol’ Pantene – to the Dessange smell.

When I hosted a French foreign exchange student, I did notice that most of the beauty products were heavily scented, so that must be the “thing” to do.

After one day using this, I did notice my hair had more life.  I recently got it cut, which always brings out a little more volume, so we’ll see if the volume is due to the Dessange or the fresh ‘do.

Dessange seems to be all about adding nourishment and shine to hair without weighing it down.  Like I said in the video, my hair is thick and heavy and it just hangs unless I take time to style it.

Truth be told, after one wash, I can’t tell much of a difference in texture or softness.  It did seem like it got “bigger” and had to brush down some frizzies that I don’t normally have, but again, it could just be thanks to a recent cut.

I’m interested to see what happens with continued use.  I think the biggest obstacle to using this is going to be getting over the smell in the shower – it’s just so heavily perfumed, like Great Aunt Bethany – but I do like the volume.

What’s your miracle hair secret?

[disclaim]Influenster sent me these products to test and review.  My community means more to me than some shampoo, so you can bet I’m going to tell you my honest opinions.

Want to be an Influenster?  Join me here!  Yes, it’s a referral link.[/disclaim]

Review: Boots No7 Protect and Perfect

I am in my mid-twenties, but I’m conscious about what I put on my face to help slow down the aging process.  I made a decision to invest on the things that go on my skin and get a little cheap on things like mascara and lipstick.

I usually use Philosophy skincare products and I haven’t purchased anything from the drugstore (aka the drugstore section of Ulta) in ages since I no longer work close to an Ulta.

Review Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Advanced Serum

So I am out of the loop when it comes to what brands are available.  Thanks to Influenster, I know that a quality Boots No7 skincare line is available at Target.  I just know them as color cosmetics, but I guess they’ve grown up.

I received the Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Serum to try out.

I was excited to get it because it is for the early signs of aging.  I know my skin isn’t looking old, but now is a great time to start to ward off problems down the road.

Trying out the Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Serum

I liked the way it made my skin look and feel.  It was light weight and left my skin feeling fresh and supple.  It was almost like splashing water on my skin.  This serum made it feel comfortable and I did see a bit of a glow on my skin when I used it.

I did see that after using it for a while, I had some pitting in areas I never did before.  I don’t know if I had some problem areas from acne scarring that weren’t noticeable or this created some issues I’ve never had.  Either way, it was unusual to look at my forehead and see dimples.

I haven’t seen them since the sample ran out, so who knows.

Serious drugstore skincare from Boots No7

My big problem is the sample.  Boots No7 says that you’ll see first results in two weeks and full results after a month.  Fantastic.  Buuut…..

….C’mon now.  This packet doesn’t have two weeks’ worth of product in it.  I think I got a scant week out of it.  Sadly, I don’t know if I’ll be purchasing more.

I know, the whole point of a sample is to give you a little taste, hook you, and make you buy the full size.  It’ll start to work its magic and you’ll want to keep it going.  I get that.  I just wish I was able to get a little more of a well-rounded review out of this.

Overall: I like this serum, but with the imperfections that I noticed the longer I tried it and the short trial time, I don’t know if I’ll be picking it up.

Have you tried Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Serum?  What do you think?

Disclaimer: I did receive this product from Influenster to review.  As always, you’re getting my honest opinion.  This post does contain a referral link to Influenster should you like to sign up!

Five things that make winter suck less

Winter sucks.  I’m sorry to those who are on speaking terms with winter, but in my mind, it’s like winter is wearing pink and it isn’t even Wednesday.  Colds, shoveling, ice, freezing temps.  There’s nothing good about it.

Except these five things.

How to make winter suck less

Here are five things that make winter suck less for me and hopefully for you, too.

A good, warm beverage

I am all about a good cup of coffee.  In the wintertime, it’s even more important.  There is nothing more satisfying than wrapping chilly fingers around a steaming mug of deliciousness.

Tea is my thing right now.  I have a wicked cold that’s kicking my ass and tea is the only thing that warms, soothes, and doesn’t put my nerves on over-drive.

Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane TeaCandy Cane Lane tea from Celestial Seasonings tastes fantastic (the peppermint covers the blah green tea taste) and is decaf.  I love the Gingerbread Spice, too.  The flavors are outstanding.

Snacks

Dude, you best believe I hibernate in the winter.  I just ate ice cream and now I’m debating something crunchy.  Usually I go for chocolatey/sweet snacks, but you can’t beat guac and chips or good homemade hummus (why yes, yes I did make that delicious hummus pictured below).

Homemade hummusI’m also digging these Fruit Vines from my Influenster #FrostyVoxBox.

Fruit VinesI’m not a huge fan of made-mostly-of-gummy-sugar-stuff treats, but I love the sweet strawberry flavor and the chewiness.  Very satisfying.

A full Netflix queue or a stack of books

There are days when I just don’t want to do a damn thing.  Living with a parent requires me to look like I’m a contributing member of society, but when I lived alone, there were weekends when I didn’t eat anything with nutritional value and ripped through seasons of SATC in a day.

I can quote each episode and I still cry when Aidan leaves for the last time.  Since I discovering the miracle of Netflix, though, we’re no longer exclusive.

Books are also a necessity.  Anything that you get emotionally invested in or are hilariously entertaining.  Yes Please was done in a weekend.  Bonus points if you’ve already spilled food on the pages.

A low-commitment and high-guilt-removing workout

I have to start training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon soon, but when I don’t want to drive out to the gym just to use the treadmill, I gotta have backup.  I feel better telling myself, “Well I didn’t run today, but I did do __ instead.”

Plus, you may want to add a little physical activity to get endorphins flowing and combat the winter blues.  Or something.

I’ve been getting into kettlebells lately.  It’s a low-impact strength workout that gets the heart rate up.  I also love 10 minute workouts from FitSugar because we can all suck it up for at least 10 minutes.  And Yoga With Adriene is a new obsession.  Since my doctor said yoga is an acceptable workout, I feel totally justified by subbing this in.*

*I’m not a doctor, so don’t take this as end-all-be-all health advice.  I just told you to pig out, remember?

A project

When you finally have drank, eaten, read, watched, and worked everything out and can’t stand it anymore, something to focus your energy is necessary.  I’ll clean, knit, write, organize, anything to get my mind off winter.

30 Days of ListsHomemade bound book for 30 Days of ListsBonus: you can binge-watch and scrapbook at the same time.

I love doing #30Lists.  It gives you something to do every day that’s easy to manage.  Plus, I got to make my own mini-notebook for it out of Project Life cards.

Or you can try a new hobby.  Book binding or photography, anyone?

When all else fails, have a stock of beer on hand!

What do you do to make winter suck less?

Disclaimer: I received the tea and Fruit Vines from Influenster for testing and review.  These are my authentic opinions and everything listed is what I actually recommend to make winter less awful.

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