On The Daily, Part 1

Hi guys, thanks for coming back.

So I have been struggling as I have said in previous posts with just having enough room to move around.  I’m sure a lot of you know if you are unorganized and there is a lot of clutter around it’s very hard to think.  Your mind is in the same shape as your surroundings.  So even though I have things as well organized as possible it’s still pretty bad.  I have put all of my plans for this blog, future YouTube channel and most importantly my nonprofit on hold until we move.  The problem is we haven’t, I thought we would have found something and I would have been completely unpacked and half way to normal long before now.  I believe everything happens for a reason and my grandmother has really needed someone here for the first time ever.  She is very independent and has never had any health issues until lately.  I have touched briefly on her pinched nerve and if everything goes as planned after Monday, and a 2nd steroid injection, she will be back to doing everything she has always done for herself.  For 86 years old she is defiantly an exception to the rule and I admire her very, very much.  (BTW The injection went very well!)

I was watching my YouTube subscription videos this morning, as usual, and everyone has been doing a summer essentials video.  I decided I would do a daily essentials because I have never done a GRWM or anything similar so this is it.  I have found some true holy grail products in the last couple of months.  Since I am struggling to get everything else off the ground I figured this would be easy since everything in this blog post is kept very close and it’s not packed in a box, stacked in a closet or way back in the back of a large storage building.  I’ve gone back and cut this into a 2 part series because it was getting so long I don’t want to bore you guys so lets get started…

Skin Prep

Tea Tree Soap: I have talked extensively about my skin care routine on this blog.  I am still using the Theraderm once a day in the evening.  In the morning I wash my face with an organic Tea Tree soap.  Since I am using so much at night and I believe it is possible to over exfoliate and take away natural oils your skin needs I keep it simple in the morning.  This just keeps my face free of bacteria and preventing any bacterial breakouts.  Be careful not to get Tea Tree oil in your eyes, it is very irritating and it burns badly.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster: Since I got the 3 little wonders from Sephora I have used them all up with the exception of this serum.  I use it after I wash my face and it seems to brighten my skin.  It claims to have many benefits like supporting natural cell turnover, repairing cell damage as well as providing natural vitamin C.  It smells good too.  A little bit goes a long way and I believe I will repurchase this when it’s empty.

Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF 50+: This was one of the products that came in the Sephora Favorites Sun Safety Kit that I included in my Birthday Haul post.  I firmly believe in wearing SPF everyday no matter what the season is, I believe my lack of sun exposure and tanning bed ban has directly kept my skin looking very youthful and healthy.  This is a great one that has vitamin C in it and gives you the extra protection from the sun with the high SPF.  It doesn’t smell like SPF and has the wonderful vitamin C and great orange aroma.  It blends in easily and is sheer enough to wear under your favorite moisturizer.

Theraderm Facial Moisturizer: Thick, oil free moisturizer that is included in my skin care system.  I use it twice a day both as my moisturizer under my makeup in the morning as well as my nighttime moisturizer after my nightly skin care routine using my Theraderm system.  I’ve done a few posts about the Theraderm you can go back and read if you are interested in this system by Therapon, the above link is for the entire 12 posts that include Theraderm.

Hourglass N° 28 Primer Serum: I love this primer!  It is expensive so I don’t use it daily but I would if it was more reasonably priced.  This does however come in 2 sizes 0.33 for $22.00 or 1.0 FL oz for $65.00 on Sephora.com.  My foundation goes on effortlessly and stays put all day even in this heat and humidity.  The serum is so silky and I love the feel of it on my skin.  It is oil based and my dry skin drinks it in but it doesn’t have a greasy feel to it at all.  I just really love Hourglass products I wish they weren’t so expensive but the ones I’ve tried so far are worth every penny.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+: If you haven’t seen or read anything about this product from It Cosmetics you are living under a rock.  This is one of those products people are passionate about, they either love it so much or really just hate it.  Most, including myself love it.  I have some really uneven skin tone and most CC creams just do not have the coverage I need to feel comfortable.  This is the first one I’ve tried that is absolutely full coverage with options.  You can sheer this out to cover like a traditional CC cream or you can build it up for the full coverage you would only expect out of a liquid or cream foundation.  The “+” is it is good for your skin and it has an SPF of 50 without all of the usual unwanted effects of wearing a heavy SPF.  The only thing I dislike about this product is the price.  It is comparable to any mid range price of foundation but I love it so much I use it every day and that can get expensive.  You get 1.08 FL oz. for $38.00.  I did find it on QVC for $34.68 plus $4.47 S&H so you really aren’t saving anything unless you can find it on flex pay and you can spread the cost across a couple of months.  QVC also offers this on auto delivery every 60 days and if you can catch it on TSV you can lock in the price offered that day.

I went ahead a chopped this post down as well.  I talk a lot in my day to day life so I guess it directly translates to my blogging, sorry if it's to long.  Thanks again and I will follow with the rest of my daily favorites here in a day or so.  

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
Facebook @Kelley.lively
Pintrest @Kelleyjo333
LinkedIn Kelley Lively

Birthday Brow Miracle and Some Theraderm Too

Hi guys, thanks for coming back.

I don’t think I have written about my horrible brow experience as well as my daily brow misery.  I have been getting my brows done at the closest nail shop, you know the one on every corner, for years.  I have never been good at tweezing, waxing, filling in and shaping my brows, ever.  So after years of frustration I decided a couple of months ago I would pay the $20.00 fee charged at the Ulta brow bar.  I assumed that this would be what I had been missing in my brow routine and I would come out looking like a normal women with really great brows.  Assumptions are dangerous and this one was as well.  The young lady didn’t have anyone in her chair and I hadn’t made an appointment so I asked if she had time.  She said sure and sat me down.  Not 1 minute later a lady approaches and says “Hey I’m here!”  Apparently I had been worked in during the 3 minute break between clients.  Whirlwind wax and pluck and out the door.  I wasn’t asked if I wanted any specific shape or if I needed any help with what I was using at home, nothing.  I had even brought my Urban Decay Brow Box along with every brow pencil I owned just to get some education.  The education came from the look of my brows afterwards.  I had a huge gap in the arch of my right brow along with no real shape to the other parts of my brows. 

I decided to let my brows grow out.  I had been reading in a ton of beauty blogs that it was the thing to do, start fresh.  Over the last 3 months that is just what I’ve done, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided it was time.  My question was where do I go?  There is the nail places, Ulta (different location than last time), random beauty shop or the girl in the mall who does the threading.  As you already know I served time in prison and I have a deep understanding of threading, it hurts!  So I asked around at Sephora, they recommended the girl who does the threading, I asked at the Mac counter in Belk, Jackpot!  The two girls who work there knew a girl who used to work there.  So I said sounds good, best idea I had heard all day.

I was given the cell phone number of an aesthetician who had worked at Mac a few years ago and was currently working in a local beauty studio.  I made my appointment for the next day and off I went.  Sarah Crisp is a slender built, young lady with big beautiful eyes and a glow that just lets you know its all ok.  This was going to be perfect.  She had a great little room, dimmed light and a table to lay down on.  I laid down, shut my eyes and we just talked.  She asked me what I wanted in regards to my brows and I told her all about my journey that brought me to her.

Sarah put me at ease and the conversation was very pleasant.  She told me she had tinted my brows because they were so light and it would last a week or so.  She waxed and plucked for over 30 minutes.  She told me to sit up so she could see them while I was upright.  She plucked one here and one there.  She was finished, she handed me the mirror. 

I’m not sure why I am so emotional about eye brows, I cried.  Tears streamed down my face as I looked in the little mirror, these were tears of joy.  They are beautiful, absolutely perfect!  Brushing my brows out is now my favorite part of my makeup routine.  I will visit her monthly to keep them looking perfect and the bonus is that she wants to help with the nonprofit. 

Just like most, Sarah has been touched by addiction, her best friend has almost a year clean as well as an ex-boyfriend.  She offered her services as well as gift certificates we can auction off or sell for profit.  I believe God puts people in your path for a reason.  Sometimes we are unsure of the reason but this one is so clear.
If you are in my area and you would like to have Sarah’s contact information you may contact me and I will be very happy to pass it on to you.  She is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is a licensed aesthetician preforming facials as well.  I can’t wait to go back for my hour of pampering.  The brow service was $15.00 and worth so much more.

I finished my travel size Theraderm products and I bought another travel size so I could continue using it, I’m still not sure enough to jump in for the entire $150.00 full size system.  This time instead of the regular moisturizer I got the peptide hydrator to see if that might make a difference.  I’m not sure I am very happy with the results from use of the Theraderm system.  I have been using it every day for 7 weeks.  In the last 2 weeks I have begun using it twice a day.  Because it is a fruit acid exfoliate I have decided to go back to only once a day.  I picked up the Ole Henriksen 3 little wonders from Sephora on Friday.  I decided to add something hoping it will boast my results.  I also will have medical insurance in the next 30 days and look forward to seeing a dermatologist.

I believe I will give the Theraderm only until I finish this travel size.  I only got the small size of the Ole Henriksen 3 little wonders so I will also give it until I finish them as well.

Thank you so much for reading my blog.  The nonprofit is really coming together.  Everyone I speak to about it really believes it is a great idea and offers to help where they can.  I hope to post a poll as to the name here soon.

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo

Twitter @kelleyjo3334
Instagram @kelleyjojo333
Facebook @Kelley.lively
Pintrest @Kelleyjo333
LinkedIn Kelley Lively

Theraderm 1 Month Review

Hi guys, thanks for coming back to my blog.

So tomorrow is my 1 month mark from the time I started the Theraderm Skin Renewal system. I have really been dedicated to using this and just finding out if it works. Keep in mind also that I used the Clinique 3 step system daily since September of last year until the time when I started this system. The products I have are the travel set and you can buy it from their website as well. The travel size set is $20 and the full size set which includes all 4 products is $140. In the world of skin care that is really affordable. A lot of skin care lines are much more expensive, however you can find something that works for almost any budget.

So as I have already told you this was recommended by my Aunt who works for a plastic surgery group and has been with them for like 30 years. She has recommended this product in the past and I wasn’t as concerned with my skin as I have become recently. I had pretty good luck as a teenager and didn’t have acne or any real trouble keeping my skin clear. Even up into my 30’s my skin was in pretty good condition. I never went to the tanning bed and I never spent a lot of time in the sun. Most of my family have medical careers, my mother was an x-ray tech, my aunt and uncle both nurses and I even have a couple of cousins that are in medicine as well. So I was always aware of the dangers of UV light even back when everybody thought the tanning bed wouldn’t hurt them. Of course we know now just how bad the sun and UV light is for our skin.

My chief complaints with my skin now are dark spots, a large one in particular on my cheek and uneven tone and color. The texture of my skin has remained fairly soft and firm. My first goal is to prevent further damage and aging to my skin. I believe I have done that to some extent. I haven’t developed any new dark spots or any noticeable fine lines and wrinkles. I believe from looking back at pictures I have taken to document the effectiveness of the product that the dark spot on my cheek has in fact gotten somewhat lighter in color. I can also tell that the redness in my cheeks is not so bright and easier to cover with makeup. I have also started washing my face prior to using the Theraderm cleanser with a tea tree soap. I have just started doing this in the last week but it does seem to leave my skin less dry than just using the cleanser.

Be sure if you are unfamiliar with my previous posts relating to this journey to use the label index in the left hand column to jump to the other posts.

The travel size has lasted me a month almost to the day. I do still have a small bit of cleanser and step 2 and 3. I am completely out of the application rounds for the acid and I’m out of the moisturizer. I am hoping to get more product and keep going for at least another month so I can have a better idea of how well the product works. Things are kind of shaking up in my world with my husband starting a new job soon. We appreciate all your prayers and well wishes so much and I would like to ask you to please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make this transition.

Much Love and God Bless,

KelleyJo