My absolute favorite lip gloss (and not just for this month) is the Clinique Long Lasting Lip Gloss in Adore U. It’s the perfect plum toned gloss with just the right tough of frost and simmer. My natural lip color is on the darker side, so I feel like this color works perfectly for me.
This is a bit of a random favorite, but during the dry winter months it’s been a life saver. I bought my first tube in January when my ring finger got irritated from my engagement ring (click here to read about that mess). Since then I have been using it on my cuticles, lips and mixing it with hand lotion. I even started putting a touch under my nose at night because my sinuses get so dry while I’m sleeping. It’s definitely a staple beauty product now for dry, irritated and cracked skin.
Who doesn’t love a good eye cream?! My under eye area gets super dry and flaky. This skin area as well as my eyes themselves are very sensitive. The wrong product can make my eyes red and irritated almost like I have pink-eye. I have previously been using Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment for years which I do really like, but my local stores don’t sell it and I wanted to try something new. At the recommendation of a Benefit’s rep at Ulta, I decided to try the It’s Potent Eye Cream. It doesn’t have a must of a scent, added fragrance or parabens. It has added brightening effects which I may have noticed a bit and it keeps my under eye area hydrated. I’ve now finished the jar and I think I’ll buy it again! Definitely worth a try.
I have heard a lot about Milani Baked Blushes on YouTube being a great drugstore buy, so I wanted to give one a try. I usually like rosy/plum colored blushes, so I went with the Rose D’Oro. It definitely has more of an orange-y/bronze tone to it that I had hoped for, but I do like it. Some days I use it as a blush and other days as a bronzer. I even use it in the create of my eyelids (a favorite trick of mine) for a natural, bronzey glow.
I have been using the NYX tinted brown gel for about a year. Not sure how I lived without using something on my brows before that! Shaped brows totally step-up your look even on minimal makeup days. I feel like good browns just help you look more put together. I don’t always feel like using brow shadow and my brows themselves are pretty thick, so a tinted brow gel is perfect. Since my brow hairs are on the thick side (and sometimes get wavy!) the gel is perfect for keeping them in place. I have tried the chocolate and brunette shades and I feel like the chocolate is more natural and complements my dark blonde hair better.
Can you believe the first month of 2017 is just about over? I feel like it was just Christmas. This year is going to be extra special for me. It’s my wedding year! Just before the holidays I also moved into my first home. One of my goals this year is to be more efficient with my time and that includes making time to blog. I want to blog about skincare, beauty, wedding planning and home decor. I hope this is the year I stick to it. You can now follow me on Instagram too. Here are my most loved products of the month!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase an item through an affiliate link, I may earn a small commission. All opinions/recommendations are my own. Thank you for shopping through my links!
I purchased this Jack Black moisturizer as part a gift set for my fiance. He has dry skin and could careless about skincare, but I always try to help him out. He has nice even-toned, clear skin and I’ve made it my mission to keep it that way forever 😉 . We recently move into our first home together. It’s my first time other than college having to share a bathroom! Around the holidays I picked up this moisturizer from his drawer noticing it had some familiar ingredients. I was intrigued because I knew it had good reviews, great organic ingredients and it was created by women! Since I had some extra time off from work I figured it would be a good time to give it a try. I am so happy I did! I have been using this face cream every night since the end of December. This product definitely lives up to its name. It’s super hydrating and calms any redness I may have. When I wake up in the morning my skin looks super hydrated and refreshed.
During the Nordstrom end of year sale I decided to purchase this Mac eye liner at the recommendation of one of my favorite YouTubers, LoveShelbey. It’s a really pretty coppery brown color. The texture is creamy, but stiff enough that you can apply without making a mess.
I have been extremely surprised by this concealer. Throughout 2016 I was a huge fan of the Urban Decay Naked Concealer (Light Neutral). I probably purchased 3 or 4 tubes because it gave great coverage without being greasy or cakey. In December I ran out of my Urban Decay concealer, but knew my mom would probably put some in my stocking. When I was at Target I opted for the Maybelline FIT ME Concealer (10 Light). Total shot in the dark! I have been using this concealer every day for almost two months! I am no makeup expert, but I would for sure say the Maybelline concealer is a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked concealer. The coverage is great and it doesn’t cream or cake up. My mom did get my a tube of Urban Decay for Christmas and I have found myself reaching for the Maybelline concealer first.
My hands have gotten super, super dry this winter. With all of the extra cleaning that came along with moving into a new house my hands were awful! The dryness even contributed some problems with my engagement ring fitting. I got this hand lotion as a Christmas stocking stuffer and have used it every day since! It helps keep my hands soft, smooth and crack-free.
Love this pinky-white shade by OPI, unfortunately I think it is discontinued! I decided to get this color because another favorite YouTuber of mine, Alex Garza, mentioned it in one of her Vlogmas videos. I would have to agree with her statement, she definitely knows how to pick a good color! I was happy my local salon had it. It’s definitely going to be one of my regular colors and may even be in the running for my wedding day color!
Godmother Bracelet
My sweet Goddaughter (and future flower girl) gave me this special bracelet for Christmas! This bangle fits in perfect with the Alex and Ani style bracelets. The quality of the bracelet is great. It’s made by Georgie Designs and my favorite part is that you can send it back to them to be resized, just pay for shipping. They include resizing instructions in the box. I think this makes their bracelets a great gift because bangles aren’t one size fits all.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I am trying to make more of an effort to blog regularly and have been considering adding a wedding planning section to my page too. I love reading tips from brides-to-be and would love to share some of mine as well. I decided to write this very long blog about the issues I’ve had with sizing my engagement ring. I have learned it happens to more brides than you would think. I have slim fingers, but my engagement ring finger knuckle is just big enough to be causing me sizing issues. Fear not my fellow brides, you are not alone and you will get your ring to fit!!
I was shocked when my fiance proposed we never had serious talks about the type of ring I wanted. He just knew that I wanted everything to be a surprise. I totally didn’t care how he popped the question! When he proposed we had been together for about 5.5 years, so in that time I had slipped him some ring ideas. If I sent him a photo, I would hope he at least glanced at it, but we never talked about it. I just crossed my fingers hoped that when the time came the proposal and the ring would be a perfect fit for me. With the help of a great jeweler he picked out the perfect diamond and setting for me. I have been in love with my ring from the second he slid it on my finger (and I realized it was an engagement ring and he wasn’t kidding…which took a few seconds). My ring is an oval diamond with a halo and pave band. I don’t know any of the specifics and I am happy to keep it that way.
I was so set on EVERYTHING being a surprise that I never had my left ring finger professionally sized. Towards the end of college I also stopped wearing rings all together, so I became unfamiliar with my true ring size. When my cousin got engaged a few years ago, I knew her ring was a 5.75 which seemed like a good fit for me too. Boy, was I wrong! I really wish I just took a random trip the a jeweler to be sized once I know my fiance was “the one.”
After a month of being engaged we went back to the jeweler to talk to her about re-sizing my ring. At that time my ring was flipping all around and I could slide it off easily. I actually started wrapping a Band-aid around the bottom of the ring to help keep it in place. This was the first time I experienced a jeweler’s perspective of how an engagement ring should fit. Jewelers want it to be very, very snug. I was very nervous about having my ring made smaller. At a 5.75, it seemed so tiny already! That day the jeweler sized me at a 5.25 and was even swaying me to a 5, but I just thought it would be too tight. She also mentioned that due to my setting she wouldn’t be able to re-size my ring more than 1 size to protect the setting itself. When I got my ring back it fit and all was good.
Towards the end of year when the weather turned cool my ring started flipping around. It also took very little effort for me to slide it over my knuckle. Knowing that it wasn’t the dead of winter yet, I started to worry about my ring sliding off. It was so loose that I felt it could get caught in my pocket or a glove. I once again resorted to wrapping a Band-aid around the ring to help secure it. I was hoping I could make it through the winter with the ring as it was and decided what to do the following summer when I would pick out my wedding band.
After a few weeks of having my ring flipping around I stopped at a local jeweler to see if I could get a ring guard. The jeweler had a great reputation and is comparable to the jeweler who made my ring. She did not recommend a ring guard because the diamonds on my band come pretty far down and a ring guard could damage the setting around them. Instead she gave me a clear tape like ring guard to wrap around my finger to help secure my ring until I decided on a more permanent solution. After a few more weeks, I couldn’t take it any longer and decided to have ring balls soddered into my engagement ring. The balls were a good semi-permanent solution that would help re-size my ring, but they could be taken off in the future if needed.
My ring felt funny and very snug with the ring balls, but the jeweler said that’s how an engagement ring should fit and after a few days I wouldn’t notice the balls. Within a few hours I actually didn’t notice the ring balls. It was snug, but I could get it on in the morning and off at night. It was even still flipping around at times. After Christmas I noticed my ring was more snug than usual, but I didn’t think much of it until New Year’s Eve. I fell asleep on the couch for a few hours and when I woke up I could not get my ring off. Although I didn’t want to, I went to bed with it on, knowing my finger would only swell more while I was sleeping.
I woke up knowing that I shouldn’t try to take my ring off so I relaxed, had breakfast, drank a good amount of water and put an ice cube on my finger. I even watched TV with my hand above my head. Even though the ring wasn’t budging over my knuckle I was still able to spin it around the base of my finger. With ice, Windex, coconut oil and the Grace of God, I got my ring off, but it was VERY uncomfortable.
Once my ring was off, my knuckle was now noticeably swollen and throbbing. I immediately realized I probably should have left my ring on (for a few days if needed) until my knuckle swelling subsided. Forcing it off only made the situation worse. By that evening, I realized that a callus had formed around my knuckle from the pressure of my ring. Gross! Fortunately, I wasn’t as gross or noticeable as it sounds, but it was definitely preventing my ring from sliding on and off.
Over the course of three weeks I had my ring balls shaved down twice then had them removed entirely. I could get the ring on, but because of the callus getting my ring off was still very difficult. My finger was so sore! I decided to keep my ring off for an entire week to let all swelling subside. I called my dermatologist’s office to see what they would recommend. They suggested I liberally apply Aquaphor throughout the day and a thick layer at night with a band-aid. After a few days of lotion-ing up my hands constantly with Aquahor and Eucerin hand lotion my finger healed.
My ring fits the way it did after having it sized. It wiggles around and comes off with just a bit of effort. It’s not perfect and without a doubt is going to be bit annoying, but I am more comfortable this way. Now that I have experienced two extremes of ring sizing, I much rather it be spinning around a bit and not causing pain to my knuckle. This summer I will be picking out my wedding band which I plan to order in a size 5 and will decide if my engagement ring needs to be resized to a size 5 too.
My advice to fiances-to-be is to get your finger sized before you get engaged and when it comes to sizing, go with your gut. No one can decide how your ring should feel on your finger, but you.
Update 11/21/17: I am now married and wear my wedding band with my engagement ring. When I ordered my wedding band, I found out that my engagement ring was special ordered in a size 4.75 and was re-sized to a 4.25. I think it was a mistake on Mike or the jeweler’s part, but it worked in my favor. My ring was never a 5.75. It wouldn’t have even stayed on my hand if it was! My wedding band was also ordered in a 4.25. Together both rings fit more snug than alone, but there are some days I think I need a size 4. Overall, they fit fine and I love them. I have realized that my fingers fluctuate in size and some days my rings spin, and that’s okay!
Here are the at home “treatments” that I think helped me out the most to reduce swelling and get rid of the callus. I am not a doctor or any kind of=r medical professional. These are just the tricks that worked for me.
-Keep your ring off for at least 1 week (power through girl, I know that advice makes you want to cry!)
-To reduce swelling, try icing your knuckle a few times a day or soak your hand in warm water with epsom salt
– Wash your hands with an exfloiating cleanser (I used my Derma-E glycolic acid face cleanser for a gentle exflotiation)
-After soaking your finger or showering, lightly buff the callus with a gentle pumice stone
– Apply Aquahor ointment to the irritated area throughout the day
-Apply a good quality hand cream througough the day (I like Eucerin)
-At night apply vitamin E (straight from a vitamin E capsule) to the irriated area then apply aquaphor and a Band-aid
-Apply a fesh lemon peel around your knuckle and secure with a Band-aid. After a few hours remove it and gently buff with pumice stone then apply Aquaphor, vitamin E and hand cream.
-Breath! It will all be okay!
I hope this blog was helpful to anyone experiencing the same problem. Leave me a comment below to let me know or share your own experience. Would you like to read more engagement/wedding blogs? Let me know!
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