Getting Back to My Routine

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that my life has gotten a little crazy and that I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do. It’s been a very challenging couple of months but I’m happy to report that my father has had his surgery and with a little bit of luck, will be on the mend very shortly! My brothers have been helping by spending time in Florida with Mom and Dad and I have resumed (temporarily) my life in Virginia and my life back on the road.I will be going back to Florida in about two weeks but, for now, I’m back to my old routine!

Despite being a bit “out of sorts,” I did manage to try a lot of new products and even take on some DIY projects. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to do any writing but that all changes this week! Here are a couple of things I have been working on:

• Testing and full review of the new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes
• Since smudging and flaking mascara are huge pet peeves of mine, I’ve made a big effort testing just about every waterproof/smudge proof drugstore mascara I can find. So far, I’ve tried over 20, with about five “winners” found. Over the weekend, I purchased probably ten more mascaras to try. Hopefully there will be some good ones in that bunch as well!
• I’ve created a salicylic acid based toner that I like very much.
• I had an unfortunate run-in with an ingredient that my skin didn’t like and developed a mild case of contact dermatitis. That lead to researching allergic reactions and I’m working on a post covering that subject.
• I’m working on learning how to formulate shampoos and have research various surfactant systems. I’ve even tried my hand at creating my first shampoo!
• Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve formulated my own mineral makeup and have tried it out for wear ability.
• I’ve made several lotions.
• I’ve formulated a cuticle cream.
• I’ve tried several new drugstore blushes that I like just as much as some of my former favorites.
• Mink eyelashes have made it into my collection and I’m anxious to tell you about them!
• There are several new eye shadows that I’ve tried and will be writing about soon.
• I’ve discovered several new drugstore eyeliners that look pretty promising.
• Lots more skin care and makeup to tell you about!

I really have tried to incorporate what I love to do into the routine I adopted. Now it’s time to get back to business and share what I learned!

Thanks for sticking with me during this difficult time. Looking forward to writing and posting more this week. :)