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It’s one of my favorite times of the year – the Sephora Spring Bonus Sale event! So many of my favorite products are on sale, and there are so many more I want to try. Now that I’m nearly the end of my pregnancy, I feel like I can start to get a little more adventurous with my skincare as well {once baby is here of course!} Below are a few tried & true favorites, and a few new items I want right now!

WANT RIGHT NOW

Let’s start with what I’m most excited about – the items I am dying to get my hands on right this second!

Clarins Extra-Firming Anti-Wrinkle Neck Rejuvenating Cream – all the reviews on this product speak wonders about this stuff, and boy do I need some help in the neck wrinkle area. I feel like I have a younger {or atleast age appropriate face} but the wrinkles on my neck make me look older than my years. I know I can’t reverse ‘damage done’ but it’s never too early to try and prevent more from happening! This cream is going in the basket ASAP.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum – This is one of those products that has been around for years it seems and everyone swears by it that tries it. I’ve heard it works wonders overnight and is just one of those solid does-what-it-says-it-does products. I’m going to buy the smallest bottle and give it a try!

Isle of Paradise Tan Drops – one of my girlfriends who knows way more about beauty than I do swears by these drops. She just started using them a few months ago and says they’re amazing – they don’t stain or leave you feeling stinky, and they really work. Color me interested! Especially since they have the stamp of ‘Clean Beauty’ approval from Sephora!

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum – Did you all hear about the massive lawsuit between Drunk Elephant and Skinceuticals over this serum? At twice the price, Skinceuticals cult-worthy CE Ferluic acid has been the best of the best on the market for years, but who can compete with that price difference – especially if the serums are similar and/or the same. Atleast that’s my takeaway from the lawsuit – that the product is so similar and/or an identical that Skinceuticals feels threatened and is trying to get it taken off the market! What that tells me is that I should buy up the much less expensive Drunk Elephant ‘dupe’ before it’s gone for forever!

Clarins Intensive Mask Wrap – Maybe because I’m feeling super puffy these days, or maybe because I’m getting older, but something about this mask is calling my name. It claims to fill fine lines, reduce puffiness and bring radiance back to otherwise dull skin – From Sephora: “Discover the solution to morning puffiness and swelling caused by stress, heat, and hormonal changes. This luxurious cream-mousse formula is rich in plant extracts that visibly relieve facial puffiness and brighten skin tone in as little as 10 minutes.” Um hell yes – do you now understand why I *need* this mask? Who doesn’t struggle with those things!? Especially while pregnant, this mask sounds like a Godsend. Oh – and because Clarins is a french company, the product is held to much stricter ingredient laws. This mask is free from parabens and phthalates. Winning!

Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Hydrating Serum – If you’ve been following me for a while on Instagram, then you know I love the DDG Marine Hydrating Modeling Mask. This serum seems to be the best part of the mask that you can use on a daily basis! Again, love that it is free from parabans, sulfates, phthalates. This product is also vegan and cruelty-free.

HAVE AND LOVE

Where do I begin? I have so many products I love at different times for different reasons. For the sake of brevity, I will try to pick only my absolute favorites!

Dr. Dennis Gross Marine Hydrating Mask – I love this mask. It’s hydrating and cooling and feels so great on the skin. It’s also super easy to get off {I hate masks that are hard to take off}. Once you mix the powder with the liquid, the mixture turns into a gel and then hardens. I love this type of mask and it always feels like a luxury when I use it!

Belif Moisturizer – This is one of my favorite moisturizers. It’s incredibly gentle on the skin and has a gel like consistency that goes on so smooth. My mom has extra sensitive skin and finds most products break her out – I convinced her to try this moisturizer and she loves it! It’s my favorite for the summer when I don’t want a super heavy moisturizer on the skin. I also love this moisturizer which is a super lightweight option for summer!

Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen and Poof! Scalp Mineral Powder – I have always loved Supergoop! products and these two are at the top of my love list. The Unseen Sunscreen is so lightweight and non-greasy, and absorbs right into the skin. It also comes out clear so you never have to worry about white or brown streaks across your face. The Poof! scalp SPF is an answer to my prayers – this new product from Supergoop! is going to be incredible for keeping my scalp from frying {something it always does}. I also love that it is a powder with SPF in it so it also won’t get your hair all greasy {normally I have to apply sunscreen with my fingertips and it always leaves my hair looking gross}.

Summer Friday Jet Lag Mask – I love this super hydrating mask – especially when I’m traveling! It sells out all the time, so make sure to scoop it up during this sale. I’ve had mine for over a year and still have half the tube left – a little goes a long way!

Erno Lazlo Vitamin C Mask – this may be my all time favorite mask for brightening. It works wonders and just gives your face the best looking glow. It also leaves it feeling buttery soft. I especially love this mask if I have an important event coming up – it gives such a nice glow for making you stand out!

There are so many more products out there I love – click here, here and here to read older sale posts where I go into more detail on Sephora products I love! And be sure to shop the sale while the discount lasts!

Much to my dismay, I was born into a family with very fair skin. I have distinct memories of being a kid at the beach in the summer, dressed and ready to swim, but my mom insisting we all be rubbed down before we were allowed out into the sun. She would line up all 6 kids and slather us head-to-toe in bullfrog {the highest SPF on the market at the time}. It was oily and slimy and smelled like rubbing alcohol and we all hated it. But – as you can imagine – mother knows best, and with fair skin of her own, and a few too many close calls with skin cancer, she wasn’t letting us take any chances.

Fast forward to high school, and my mom suggested I start using a daily SPF. My beauty routine was nonexistent at the time, so I walked to our local Walgreens, picked out the cheapest option and started using it. Simple as that. At this point, my mom’s own experience had scared me enough to want to avoid the effects of long term sun damage, so I stayed on this simple, yet effective routine for 10+ years. Seriously – besides a moisturizer, I didn’t wear any products on my face until I was in my mid-20s! 

It was only in the last few years that I started realizing not all sunscreens are created equal. Some are thicker, some are more moisturizing, some are full of chemicals, and others too drying, too lightweight, too overpriced and so on. And every single one of them was either white or a shade of brown trying to match my skin tone. Eugh.

Enter in Supergoop!’s Unseen Sunscreen. This is the first daily sunscreen I have ever seen that is clear. It goes on invisible, allowing it to work on all skin types and tones.The texture of the product is velvety smooth and absorbs right into the skin, making it a great primer for under makeup. It’s lightweight, non-greasy, and feels buttery soft which always feels good on my dryer-than-normal skin. Supergoop! is dedicated to creating the best sun-prevention products on the market, using the cleanest ingredients to help you live a safer life. Also, if you’re wondering if the Unseen Sunscreen is safe for pregnancy, I used the EWG to help me feel truly feel confident when making my decision. I also know that Supergoop avoids controversial ingredients like oxybenzone and parabens to make formulas as healthy as possible for any mama-to-be! That being said, I advise that you contact your doctor to discuss what’s right for you and your baby!

So, long story short, if you aren’t using a daily sunscreen, you need to be. Men, women, and children should be wearing atleast spf 30 every single day – even when it rains, and even during the winter because the sun is a powerful force, and will affect and age your skin more than you even realize. I’m all about prevention, so stock up on Supergoop!’s Unseen Sunscreen before we really start spending all our time outdoors and I promise, you’ll thank me later!

Photos: The Retro Penguin

thank you to Supergoop! for sponsoring this post!

About a year ago I decided to stop washing my hair as much. My goal was to do it as little as possible, but I didn’t set a specific timeframe – I honestly wasn’t sure how long was even possible. I had heard about oil training but didn’t know the first thing about starting. All I knew was that washing my hair everyday was drying it out, and I wanted to make a change.

The crazy thing I learned about about our hair washing is that it’s actually a nasty cycle – you wash your hair because it’s oily, which in turn just makes it more oily! Your hair follicles and scalp produce oil, and the more you wash your hair, the more oil it produces. When you wash your hair, you strip your hair of it’s natural oils and your body gets the signal to produce more trying to combat the problem. Also, you are not only stripping your hair of the ‘bad’ oils, but also of the good essential oils. This reduction in oils can lead to a dried-out scalp, dull, brittle hair strands and even hair breakage.

So what do you do? Luckily, you can actually train your hair to produce less oil by, essentially, tricking it. You wash it less, and over time, it will naturally produce less oil. Yep. Sound easy? Don’t be fooled – this ‘hair training’ is how I’m able to go 6, 7, 8 days without washing my hair, but it wasn’t easy. There were a lot of greasy days in the process, but in the end, it was so worth it. Also, it’s important to note that for some, ‘hair training’ can take months, and for others, it may only take a few weeks. It just totally depends on the texture and weight of your hair. For me, I would say it took ~2 months of training before I was able to confidently go so long in between washes. Below I’m going to share with you all how I oil trained my hair, and how you can do it too.

Step 1:

You need to reset your scalp, so look for a clarifying shampoo that will clean out all of that gunky buildup on your scalp {this is especially important for people who use a lot of dry shampoo or hair spray!} I like this one from Bumble & Bumble, but if you want to spend less, I have heard great things about this option from Neutrogena. Use no more than 1x per week.

Also, pro tip: when using conditioner, only apply to the lower part of your hair, and never directly to the roots. The weight of a conditioner will pull down your hair and cause more oil to form.

Step 2:

Leave your hair alone! Try not to mess with it, or touch it more than you need to. The oil from your hands will transfer to your strands and affect how greasy your hair is already feeling. You will start to have the urge to wash your hair, but now is the time to leave it alone! Try styling it in a top knot, heidi braids, or even wear a baseball cap. Anything you can to stretch out the washes during this time is best.

Step 3:

On days where you think you can go no longer, bring out the dry shampoo. This should help hold you over for atleast an extra day. I like to apply at night, right at the roots, so my hair has lots of time to absorb while I sleep. When I wake up, I take a small brush and tease out {at the root} the small sections that look the greasiest. This will give your hair some volume and help spread the grease throughout your strands. This dry shampoo is my favorite {along with the rest of the world it seems!} But I also have this much less expensive one and love it too.

Step 4:

Wash your hair! If you can bear it no more, go ahead and wash your hair. In the begining, I made note of how long I made it each week without washing. If I went two weeks in a row where I only went 2 or 3 days, that was ok! I just wanted to keep a log so that I could push myself over the course of the training. In the first few weeks I only went three days, so that was always my goal – jus get to day 3, Bridget. Then, once I felt secure at day 3, I would stretch is out an extra day and do that for 1-2 weeks. The cycle continued until I was up until 6/7 days {where I am currently}. Depending on your hair type, you may want to start even slower – washing your hair every-other-day. That way, you can build up your comfort at a slower pace. It’s totally up to you! Do what feels best.

All in all, my hair is the healthiest it’s ever been, and it’s the healthiest it’s ever felt as well. It’s soft and voluminous, and I don’t have as many fried or split ends from using my blow dryer and styling tools as much. I love that I’m able to pop out of bed, brush through my 3 day old curls, and get out the door in no time at all. I especially think this low maintenance hair will come in handy one day when I’m a mom and really don’t have the time! Also, I’ve also found that the weeks I use less product, are the weeks my hair looks the best. I didn’t even bring dry shampoo with me to Munich and my hair looked great for 8 solid days. It feels good to not rely on so many products.

Last but not least, I wanted to answer a few questions I know I’ll get asked about hair training below!

Is it OK to wash hair once a week?

Yes! It is totally safe to wash your hair as little as you feel comfortable with! I can go up to 7/8 days, but does that mean I always do? No! I play it by ear. Life is unpredictable, and if my hair starts to smell because I worked out more, or went to the ranch, then I just wash it! I don’t stress about it. Also, I tend to have normal/dry hair, so I can go longer than most. I think it’s totally ok if you only stretch your washes out

Do you shower while hair training?

Yes, of course! Just because I am skipping the shampoo, does not mean I am skipping the shower altogether {ugh!} I just throw my hair into a bun and do a complete body/face wash + rinse, and it’s never been an issue! You could also use a shower cap if you want that extra level of water/steam protectant! I like these double layered ones that offer a bit more coverage.

Can I/how do I work out while oil training?

Of course if you work out on a regular basis, your hair will build up more oil faster – but there are things you can do to stop this from being too much of an issue. I personally don’t sweat a lot from my scalp/head when I workout – sometimes my forehead will sweat, and definitely my body, but luckily I don’t deal with a lot of head sweat. If you do though, don’t stress. Wear a sweatband while working out to absorb some of the sweat at your hairline. That will help keep it from getting into your roots. Also, after you shower, use my dry shampoo trick before bed. As I mentioned before, this will help your hair absorb some of that extra oil that was produced during your workout.

Ok! So that’s all I’ve got! Let me know if I missed any big questions in the comments and I’m happy to answer them!