Skincare routine for oily skin

As most average Janes can attest, no one is born with perfect skin – those who are are walking runways in NYC. So for the rest of us we have rigorous skincare routines to keep our skin looking it’s best. First, I think that the best skin starts with a good diet and by diet I don’t mean Jenny Craig or Slim Fast for every other meal, I mean a balanced diet that includes lots of colorful fruits/veggies, appropriate portions of meats/fish, and little to no junk food. Now, a disclaimer, I like to have a cupcake now and then, but something you make yourself is going to be 10x better for you than something out of a vending machine.  Ok, back to skin.

It’s important to realize that everyone has their own unique skin and products will all work differently on different people. Myself, I have an oily t-zone and dryness, especially during the cold Midwestern winters.So, I present my skincare army, full of products every woman should have (but experiment to find which brands work best for you)

Toner: I use the toner almost everyday. This Rose Water Skin Tonic from C.O. Bigelow smells great and tones my skin nicely without drying it out. I use this after washing my face in the morning and before I put on my makeup.

Moisturizer: I love love love the lifting and firming lotion from Boots. It has some SPF (a must for a day moisturizer) and it just smells wonderful. I put a few drops of foundation in my hand and mix the two and apply it all over my face for moisturizing and sheer coverage.

Exfoliating Scrub: A scrub is a must. I use this 1-2 a week. The blemish control smells a bit strong and has a bit of a bite but it leaves my face feeling nice and fresh. It doesn’t over dry me either.

Makeup Remover/Wash: Clean and Clear, works great, gets all my makeup off. I also like to use it in the morning, it gives me a fresh start.

Night Cream: I got a sample tube of this night cream with my Aveeno shampoo, tried it and loved it. Free samples are a great way to find something that works well for you. This softens any wrinkles (yes, I’m just 24 but I can see them starting) and doesn’t make me oily when I wake up.

Things I am not proud of…

I have recently joined the Godiva Rewards Club. Meaning I get a free piece of chocolate every month and other goodies/discounts based on the amount of chocolate I eat.

I also just ordered THREE, yes, three boxes of thin mints. Granted, I usually freeze two boxes and break them out through out the year, but do I really NEED them? No… No I do not.

Starting the day off right!

I start off everyday with a full breakfast. I’ve eaten breakfast ever since I was a young child and I’m so in the habit that I can barely think straight if I don’t have something in my belly before 8am. I like to think that eating breakfast helps wake up my brain but I truly believe it helps me keep a constant healthy weight. In fact, several studies suggest that eating breakfast may reduce compulsive snacking and dietary fat. It’s important to remember though, that weight is really just  a balancing game between calories taken in and calories expended. So, eating scrambled eggs and biscuits with sausage gravy is probably going to have a negative effect on your weight. If anything, breakfast helps wake you up and it can give you some extra energy and some good nutrients (depending on what you eat).

My favorite breakfast foods are usually cereal or oatmeal with fresh fruits if I can find them. This simple oatmeal recipe is simple and delicious!

Kate’s Breakfast Oatmeal

• Quaker Oats – Quick Oats
• 1/2 cup fresh fruits or 1/4 dried fruit (I used banana and raspberries)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup skim milk

Prepare the quick oats according to the directions – I always use the heart-healthy serving recipe. Add the milk into boiling water, if using dried fruit increase water by 1/4 cup and add in before adding oatmeal to boiling water. Stir in oatmeal and cinnamon. Cook to desired consistency. Stir in fresh fruits and drizzle with honey. Enjoy!

My copy-cat outfit – Banana Republic

I like to look all over for outfit inspirations. One place I like to check out is the retailer’s favorite outfits – usually on the websites. Retailers often style their own lines and clothes to inspire consumers to purchase most, if not all, of the items making up the outfit. These outfits are often very wearable and, IMO, super chic. As an average Jane, I make an average salary and as someone saving up for a wedding and nice new furniture, I don’t like to spend $200+ on an outfit, and if I can help it I like to spend nothing. That’s why I was so excited to find this outfit from Banana Republic. I had all the components in my closet already!

I grabbed a black/white printed skirt purchased from Express several years ago (the skirt is a little spring themed but I don’t care), a black cardigan from Banana Republic, and my black thigh highs (I hate panty hose and avoid them like the plague). I finished it off with my Target boots.

Funny story – so, I love thigh highs, but I’ve either slimmed down (which is a possibility, the fiance is torturing me with bi-weekly workout sessions) or I didn’t pull them up high enough. I think it was the latter, but walking into work I felt the nylons slipping down my legs with each step. I momentarily panicked, wondering whether I should just say ’screw it’ and shove them down into my boots until I got to a restroom or try to pull them up without looking obvious or flashing anyone. I went with neither, not being able to decide fast enough, I simply positioned my purse and lunch box in front of my know exposed knees and attempted to shield my fashion shame from the world. Luckily it seemed to work and I hurried to the restroom to pull them up. After a quick adjustment I was set, and I didn’t have any other problems the rest of the day – thank God!

Money saver – making your own lunch

Sundays happen to be my food prep days. Several months ago (about the time that the fiance and I put together our wedding budget) I decided to stop eating out for lunch at work. I was spending probably $6-$7 a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month. That really adds up so I’ve resolved to make my own lunches. I use Sunday to plan out the week’s lunches because if I don’t I end up fumbling around in the kitchen in the morning and giving up.

This week I decided I wanted to try lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza from the smitten kitchen. I pretty much followed the recipe but I only used green zucchini (because it was on hand) and I added lemon zest and dried basil to the goat cheese mix.

Oh, also I cheated and used a prepackaged pizza dough. Making bread is kind of frightening to me and I haven’t tackeled it yet.

And 13 minutes later…

I had one piece for lunch today, it was sooo yummy. I have a love affair with goat cheese, ever since I went to NYC and had the most amazing goat cheese and tomato salad. I’ve been obsessed.

Making your own lunch is great, not only is it a HUGE money saver but I really can control what I eat and I know what’s in my food. Maybe you can make making your own lunch a New Year’s resolution – and then use the dough you saved to buy yourself a great pair of shoes!

Investment Pieces – Purchasing Riding Boots

Guess what? I am not made of money, far from it, so when I make a clothing or shoe purchase I want to make sure it lasts. I’ll admit it took me awhile to form this habit, I had to break my college habit of spending as little as possible but eventually I learned that all the glitters is not gold and that anything from Forever 21 will eventually dissolve in the washer/dryer. So when I go shopping I try to ask myself the value of a piece, the lifetime, and how often I’ll wear it. For example, I made a fatal mistake when I purchased my tall boots for the winter. I needed something fast, I was going out and the weather was calling for tall boots. I made a snap decision and purchased a pair of black boots with a bit of a slouch from Target for about $30.  I completely regret that decision.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Target boots are actually quite nice and I’ve gotten plenty of compliments on them but I HIGHLY doubt that will last more than one season -the small heel cover has already come off of one boot (luckily the piece was so thin that it’s not too noticeable). I also regret my color choice – black. I’ve found that I just feel wrong wearing those black boots with a brown ensemble and now I’m very limited in what outfits I can wear if I want to use my boots (which with a couple inches of snow on the ground I want to wear them almost 24/7). Additionally, I already own some very darling black booties, so another black boot was really a poor decision.

Now, since I have a strict fashion budget and am currently saving for a wedding I will only make one boot purchase ever – which means I’ll wear the current boots into the ground before I get anything new. However, if I was in a possession of Doc Brown’s fantastic delorean I would go back in time and make a different and much more budget friendly decision.

A great boot example - the Ciao Bella Toni Leather Riding Boot in cognac from DSW.

Kate’s Tall Boot Buying Guide:

Design. I would get a more classic design. I like the classic riding boot – not extra embellishments or overt slouchiness. This style will never go out of fashion.

Color. Black is not as versatile as I would like, it alienates the browns in my wardrobe. I would rather have gone with a taupe or cognac color which tend to be brown/black neutral and pretty much look great with everything.

Material. Leather, leather, leather. Not only do I just love the smell of leather (I’m an avid equestrian and the scent of clean leather reminds me of hanging out in the tackroom) but if you take care of leather it will last forever.

Cost. Ok, this may sound hypocritical of a budget-conscious buyer like myself but I would probably purchase a boot between the prices of $200-$100.

That’s original cost though, I would probably try to scoop something up on sale (which now is the best time to buy boots, they are being clearanced out to make way for the new spring lines). Leather costs money and boots are really an investment piece, especially if you get a classic design. I would expect boots to last 5-10 years (with some TLC) so if I spread that cost over the lifetime of the boot it is really quite affordable.

Coach Holiday Blog-a-Day Giveaway

Coach has asked 30 of their favorite bloggers to talk about what’s new and amazing from Coach this season as well as giveaway coach purses!

Yes, you heard that right, they are giving away Coach purses. Visit the link below to see the giveaway of the day and enter to win – and heck yes I’ll be entering as many giveaways as I can.

Holiday Blog-a-Day by Coach

Black Friday

My Black Friday routine:

12:10am – 2:30am Midnight madness at Tanger Outlet Mall (hitting up Fossil, BR Factory, Gap, and Corningware)

3:15am – 4:00am Coffee and muffins at Perkins

4:00am – 4:45am Kohls

5:00am – 5:15am Target

5:30am – 6:00am Best Buy

6:00am – 12:00pm NAP

For myself I got some cheap tights and a pretty camisole from BR Factory. I did get my sisters, mom, and fiance some good gifts – including some very cute gold flats and argyle sweater (sisters) and a wool coat for the fiance.

 

Was it worth the lack of sleep? Probably not, but it was kind of fun shopping with the fiance, who normally does not like to do so.

 

Myth Busted: drinking water hydrates skin

Okay, it’s time to face reality, it’s winter and if you live in the midwest like I do then that means a whole litany of woes for your hair and skin. The biggest adversary in the winter months is dryness, the cold winds and leave your face chapped, dry, and scaly. You might have heard that one way to restore your skin is to drink lots of water to hydrate and plump the skin. Unfortunately, this is a beauty myth (according to the gals over at Martha Stewart Weddings).

The truth is that there have been no controlled studies that ever actually concluded that drinking water equals hydrated skin. Actually, when water is being absorbed in the body the last place it goes is the skin cells – the intestines, bloodstream, and kidneys all take precedent.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t drink water, it does wonders for your energy, appetite, and overall health. It does mean, however, that drinking the allotted 8 glasses a day won’t make your skin any less dry and scaly. The beauty experts at Martha Stewart Weddings suggest that the best way to have dewy skin from the inside out is to eat a diet that’s rich in fatty acids. Such as walnuts, salmon, and olive oil.

Wishlist: Ann Taylor Loft Friends and Family Sale

Ann Taylor Loft (and Ann Taylor) are having their friends and family sale (30% off!) from Nov 17th to the 22nd.

Now, I’m thinking: ‘Kate, you’re saving up money for your summer wedding, do you really need more stuff? Don’t you think you can put this money towards something better?’

Answer: ‘Yes, I can totally survive without buying more stuff, but do I want to? Heck yes.’

I should really wait until my birthday at the end of the month (Nov 28) before buying anything new but I didn’t ask for a green cardigan and brown tights. I’m still a little iffy on the cardigan, mostly because I am fully aware that I have cardigan lust and I would own 5 cardis in every color if no one stopped me. I do want those tights though and for $10 (after discount, rounding down…) I think I will def pick them up. So far my tights arsenal consists of some thick black tights, two semi-opaque black thigh highs (thigh highs are sooo much more comfortable than tights, btw), and a pair of purple tights. I’m lacking on the chocolate tights front – I’d actually prefer thigh highs but I haven’t been able to locate any nice (warm) brown thigh highs. I not-so-secretly want to try the tights with gladiator pumps look. It’s iffy, I haven’t tried it and if it’s a no go I still have some nice chocolate pumps that I’m getting for my birthday.

I’ll ponder that cardigan a while longer but I must just break and pick it up.

Update: Bad news bears – just got the quote back on my car repairs… It’s looking like I’ll just be walking away with the tights.