Top 5 Summer Beauty Essentials

I'll come out and say it, summer is a rough time to try and look good. If you live pretty much anywhere in the United States with the exception of a few places it's a problem you deal with. Between the humidity, rain, and extreme heat getting anything to stay on can be a nightmare! I especially have a hard time in the summer because I always get such oily skin and on top of that my legs always seem to be extremely dry. I have compiled this little list of essentials that I use to combat these two problems and threw in a little extra something!

One: Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets $4.99

As I mentioned before I get really oily skin in the summer due to the heat and humidity. These little sheets are a lifesaver this time of year! They work so well and the best part is that you can use them after you put your makeup on and they won't mess it up.

Two: Neutrogena Oil-Free Cleansing Wipes $5.99

These are actually something that I use year round but continuing with the oily skin problem, these are a great buy. They really do get your skin clean and also double to remove makeup. I use them every night and when I skip a night I really notice a difference in how my skin feels the next morning. 

Three: Almay Truly Lasting Color Foundation $10.79

Foundation is the only kind of makeup that I use everyday and I have used this one for probably seven years now. I love that it has SPF and is also hypo-allergenic. It doesn't clog my pores or make me break out and it stays on even in water or extreme heat. It's very beach friendly which is great for me because I am a freak who wears makeup everywhere. I always get compliments when I wear this too, it covers up a multitude of sins! If you are looking for a lightweight foundation, this probably isn't for you though. 

Four: Victoria's Secret Body Butter $5 (On sale!)

Back to the dry legs problem, I swear by VS Body Butter. It makes your skin so soft and smooth. I have extremely dry legs and the fact that anything makes them smooth amazes me. The awesome scents they come in are an added bonus too. I found this Endless Sunset at the Semi-Annual sale for only $5!

Five: A bright, fun nail polish! $1.99 to $9.00

Pedicures are usually the very first thing on my list for summer. You don't want to be wearing cute sandals and not have cute toes too! I love any bright orangey-red nail polishes for this season. I typically get OPI Cajun Shrimp but for this post the picture is Sinful Colors Big Daddy. This shade is very similar to the one I usually use and I would say it is actually more of an orange than it appears in the picture! This Sinful Colors polish is only $1.99. 

I love these items because they work and also don't break the bank! I hope this list is helpful and maybe you've found some new products to try. What are you summer beauty problems and fixes? What would you add to the list? I would love to know!

(All pictures in the post are mine.)

Love in a Box Swap

This month I decided to participate in the Love in a Box swap that is hosted by Kimberly at Kimberly's Chronicle and Megan from Lush to Blush. I really don't remember how I found it, sometimes I just go look at blogs and end up clicking away and don't know where I'm going. Unfortunately this was the last month for it but I still had a great time! 

I was paired with Kristen at Simply Strive and I'm so happy I was. We happened to have similar likes so I think we were able to give each other some great things. In my emails I mentioned my upcoming move to Montana and how I was trying to expand my cooking since Evan will probably want to eat and also that I was getting more and more into beauty lately. That's a story for another time but she sent me some awesome stuff.

First off, sorry for the bad pictures. My iPhone hasn't had a back on it for over a year now and was also dropped in a porta-potty so it's not the best. Anyways, she included two cooking magazines, one her favorite face masks, and also a package of the cutest chocolates ever.

The magazines, EveryDay with Rachel Ray and allrecipes, have already come in handy. There are so many things I will be trying when I get out to Montana! There was also an article in EveryDay about traveling to Alaska, and that might have to happen soon too. 

The chocolates were called Sweet Little Things by Lindt and were so good! They were all eaten very quickly, I even shared but the bag was thrown away before I could get a picture.

The face mask was probably my favorite thing I received though. It's Alba Botanical even advanced deep sea facial mask. I almost always have red cheeks for some reason, which no one ever sees because I always have foundation on. Thank goodness for that! But as soon as I used this I noticed even after being completely make-up free the redness was gone and my skin really did look more even. I would say that it lasted almost three days after I used it also. Just for fun I'm going to put up a picture of me with the mask on so now no one can use it for blackmail. Haha.

I really enjoyed doing this and I hope I can find another swap to do or maybe this one will come back! Do y'all know of any good swaps to participate in? If so, what are your favorites?