The Blonde Diaries

A few weeks ago I posted about how my general practitioner left her practice and I was left scrambling for doctors. If this had happened a few years ago, I probably would have drug my feet and not worried about finding a new doctor so quickly. But there have been a few times where I have been sick and I needed to see a doctor and having a regular/established doctor was a god send.

I quickly got to work reading reviews online about local doctors and checking my health care plan to ensure the ones I was considering were in network providers. After a few appointments with different providers I have found 2 great doctors, a new general practitioner and a GI doctor. All that I have left to do is find a dermatologist for an annual skin check up. A dermatologist seem to be one of the more overlooked doctors in my health regimen but they help you keep your skin clear, check for cancer, and generally healthy. www.eczema.com had some pretty helpful information about skincare and how to care for your skin. I wasn’t looking for an eczema site because I haven’t run into that problem yet but the information was really helpful as I learned about different triggers in the environment and in food that can “upset” your skin. Knowing these things can help me ensure my skin staying in top shape.

With the uncertainty remaining about our economy, more and more people are turning to budgeting and saving. It really should be something that we do regardless of the shape of the economy but you don’t really think of it until prices and spending rise more than your income. Sticking to shopping lists, eating in, and doing more at home is really easy to control. One of the worst things though are those budget busters that you don’t really think about but after the month is over and you add them up, then you find there is a small problem.

One of the worst budget busters for women is beauty products especially when you can’t try them before you buy them. There is nothing worse than buying a product and trying it out only to find that you don’t like it or it and realizing you just dumped a lot of money. Even the drugstore items are painful when you realize that they don’t work because some of that stuff like eye cream is upwards of $15 and mascara is now $8+. I am so glad there are product review sites on the internet. They won’t totally prevent disappointment in products but they will help you avoid the real stinkers. One of my favorite search terms is eye wrinkle cream reviews because everyone wants to stop the aging process in the eye area. Who really embraces and gets excited about crow’s feet? I know they are one of my aging nightmares and, therefore, I really look into eye creams. Reading these reviews has helped me figure out which brands to buy (Boots) and which ones to stay away from.

I think we are all familiar with the saying “you only get 1 chance to make a first impression”. It can be quite nerve racking depending upon the situation. For instance, first impressions on your first date or a job interview is quite a bit harder than a first impression at a gym class.

Last week, I ran into another first impression but it wasn’t me giving that first impression, rather it was a product trying to impress me to use it more than once. This product was the Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock (spf 70).

I’ll be totally honest. I am not a fan of wearing sunblock on a daily basis. It is usually greasy and I can just feel it on my skin. Then to add makeup on top of that usually equals a disaster of sweat and makeup droopiness. I heard about this new product on Twitter and thought I’d give it a shot. I use Neutrogena at the beach and on cruises and I have yet to be burned so that is an A+ in my book. Plus, I have been trying to take better care of my skin since I noticed the faint crows feet by my eyes when I smile and I freaked out.

Last week was my first week to use the new Neutrogena UltraSheer Sunblock. I found the product to be just that – ultrasheer and a great sunblock. The consistency was similar to a makeup foundation – very light and easy to spread across the skin. It absorbs within 15 minutes so that you can continue your regular makeup routine which is nice. Once applied under my makeup, I couldn’t feel the sunscreen at all and this feeling continued all day whether I was sitting in my air conditioned office or if I was walking a couple of blocks in the Houston heat to pick up lunch.

I have really been impressed with this first week of use and I am looking forward to testing out the longer impact of wearing sunscreen on a daily basis.

Would you like to review UltraSheer®, too? Then go to http://www.giantwavepool.com/ultrasheer!

Or get $2 off your UltraSheer® purchase at http://www.neutrogena.com/suncoupon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Tidal Labs. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I think everyone has heard this song at least once. My favorite rendition was in How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. The duet performed by Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey was just hilarious. But lately, I’ve started to wonder if I am becoming more vain. I mean, I finally have woken up to the fact that I am going to age and I am not excited at all.

My morning and evening skincare routine has drastically increased and the number of products on my shelf and in my makeup bag has tripped. Sunscreens, moisturizers, acne treatments, hair oils, deep conditioners, color depositors, eye creams, concealers, cellulite cream. Basically, if it helps you look better, I probably am either using it or it is on my Sephora shopping list. The good thing about it all is that my skin is looking better and I am getting enough sleep each night. I no longer have dark circles under eyes when I wake up each morning (probably the new job is helping that too) and my skin is starting to feel softer. I just need to add in a monthly pedicure to keep my feet from being all gross but I’ll have to plan it out to coordinate with the hair removal/coloring procedures. Maybe a day of beauty one Saturday every 6 weeks. Hmm. That could be really fun!

So I ran to the mall yesterday bright and early to return a few items that have been lying around my house. I followed my usual routine of parking at Macy’s and then headed on in. While walking through Macy’s I noticed that there are a lot of cosmetics counters there that just sell perfume now and no makeup. Chanel and Shiseido come to mind. In the past they had full lines of makeup waiting to be bought but that is no longer the case. It isn’t a huge loss since I don’t wear their makeup.

I’m not sure about your Macy’s but mine has added a little Lush “store” to the mix which is a nice treat and they’ve added more skincare displays. I’ve been dabbling with skincare products lately because I’m finally facing the fact that I am aging. Sigh. There was a pretty large display that I passed yesterday for Strivectin but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to shell out the money to try it. I mean it is around $100 a bottle and does strivectin work? As usual I came home and googled to find out and received a bunch of mixed reviews. Some people highly praised it while others pointed out some good downsides to the product. So for now I’m holding off and sticking with the cheaper stuff until I can read a few more reviews.