Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Depression Self-Care

July 24, 2022

News Flash – I’m battling some depression again. Not anything new unfortunately. What is new is the last few years I’ve actually been able to recognize when I’m spiraling down and I’m able to do things to help myself. Do I know right away? Sometimes. I’ve been crying every day for awhile so I realized something was up. I think this has been going on for most of the year but it started to intensity a month or so ago.

I found a book called “How To Keep House While Drowning” and it is just what I need right now. It’s about giving yourself grace and doing what you can when you just have too much on your plate physically, mentally, etc. to even think about what to do next. Or even wanting to get anything done. To get back into doing what you can for you, your family, etc. So for the foreseeable future this is what I’m going to do without worrying about what I can’t get done. This book will be my companion as I swim my way up to the surface again.

What will my self-care look like? Eat regular meals, drink water, take my meds and a D vitamin, regular hygiene, time to myself. For the house just take care of the basics – kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, meals, floors, and trash. Soul care – Bible reading and prayer, getting outside in nature if the weather is good (right now we’re in the middle of a nasty heat wave). And I think that is enough. Decluttering needs to be done but that will be for days I can spare the energy.

So, middle of summer getting back to basics and taking time for me. It’s time for a mental break.

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July Beauty Update Part 2

July 16, 2022

OK so yesterday’s post was a little long and I decided to split it up. Today we’ll talk about my makeup for this month. I’ve really scaled it down and, as I’ve said before, I don’t always use everything every day, but I use what I want each day.

Yep – very scaled down. I don’t even have a lipstick in there but I do have another makeup bag with the goodies I’m not using so I can always pull something from there. I just like to keep things simple so I don’t have too many choices to make. Here are the details.

Foundation – Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in Opal (1) – I also have Birch (1.5). This is a good tinted moisturizer and also has a mineral sunscreen in it. However, I layer even this with a regular sunscreen because if the foundation breaks down in the heat, then I still have some protection from the sun with the next layer. These are minis as well – hooray – so that’s how I was able to try two colors.

I tossed my Chanel Aqua Vital Lumiere foundation because it was just too hard trying to make it work. It worked well with the Chanel skincare samples and some of the other products I was using, but not with what I’m using now. And the color – needs to have more options. Otherwise, it is pretty good.

Eye Shadow – Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette – Yep, still using this. The great thing is that you can just use the lightest shades on their own for all over lid color, or go all out using several colors as well. For me, I stay with one or two colors. Just the basics. I’m old school here too with the light, medium, and dark color configuration on the eyes.

Mascara – L’Oreal Voluminous Original in Brown/Black – So I’ve been using this about a month or so now and it’s okay. If I rub my eyes it will smear a little though. I do wipe the wand off first because there is just way too much product on it otherwise, but it goes on pretty well and is creamier than the Cover Girl I think. Still, I think I’ll go back to my CG Professional – it just can’t be beat.

Eyebrows – Anastasia Brow Freeze – Yep, it’s still rolling on and I’ve had this about 9 months now. It is getting low so I’m probably going to toss before too long. I’m looking at Sephora Collection’s waxy brow pencil as it comes in clear as well as colors and is only $12. That said, the Anastasia Brow Freeze at $23 does last a long time…for me anyway. I am conservative with product usage so I get a lot of bang for my buck. Even most minis.

Blush – Benefit Dandelion – This is a perfect blush for anyone who just wants a hint of color (I think it’s buildable too) or for teens just starting to wear makeup. You can’t go wrong here and it’s a mini! I wish they’d get their Hoola Lite in a mini – been wanting to try that one for awhile.

Lips – Bite Beauty Lip Balm – This is the last one I have and it’s more than half gone. My Bite Agave Lip Mask mini is almost gone too and once they’re gone they’re gone folks. Bite is being discontinued. :( They were also one of those companies that revamped their products but not in a good way. Even at that, they’re still the best lip balms around. These two items have been my go-to’s for five years so it’s going to be tough to find a good replacement.

And that’s it – that’s all I use on a day to day basis. Even at full face it’s easy to do and I’m almost 60 I just don’t want to put that much time in anymore.

I still have some skincare items to use up but I’ve already road tested them and a lot are not going to work (too drying) so I’m thinking about just tossing those and starting over. For makeup, once an item category is out I will replace it. Just not sure what with. For those of you who can use anything and everything I envy you! For those of us with sensitive skin, it’s just a nightmare to find products that work and hoping they never get discontinued when you do find them. So, back to the drawing board – I’ll update in early August!

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July 2022 Beauty Update

July 15, 2022

Yep – another new month and another round of beauty products from my stash to use up plus a few new things. I’d almost forgotten this was the whole premise of the updates – to use up what I had. :P On with the show!

Skincare

As you can see I completely revamped what I had been doing. I wasn’t thrilled with the products I was using and they were almost gone anyway so it was time for a new regimen. I pulled my three Fresh mini’s from my stash and added in the basic mini’s for a complete routine. I also had to buy a new sunscreen because my Neutrogena Healthy Defense was gone. I hope I can find that one again because it was actually pretty good. Okay – here’s the new line up kids.

Cleanser – Fresh Soy Cleanser – Yeah, I’ve used this one before and I have a love/hate relationship with it but I needed it to complete the Fresh routine. It really doesn’t clear off the makeup and sunscreen but it is gentle and would be a good cleanser for people who don’t wear a ton of makeup or even a young teen starting out.

Eye Makeup Remover – L’Oreal Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover – My go-to.

Exfoliation – Fresh Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash – I use this 3 mornings a week but I don’t know if it’s making a difference. Basically it’s a riff off the original Brown Sugar Scrub in the jar – more watery and possibly gentler for daily use. On the other hand, it smells great and is fun to use.

Toner – Fresh Kombucha Antioxidant Facial Treatment Essence – First off, I’m old school. I don’t do any of this put the product in your hand and smoosh it over your face in some weird style. Nope – I put it on a cotton round and swipe over face as a toner. Guess what? Works the same! I actually like this and think it does work in some way but it’s really expensive (the mini alone is $36) so not sure if it’s worth it for me. If I did have the money though, I’d love to try the whole Black Tea line from Fresh. The Corset Cream is really good (I had samples a few years back) and I think it would make a difference for my mature skin. Maybe someday I’ll get brave enough to drop the bucks – to me it’s worth the money if the products work. Dermatologists are really expensive too so I think it would all come out in the wash money-wise.

Moisturizer – Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream – The original was good but this one, in my opinion, just isn’t as good. They upped the hyaluronic acid and it just kind of sits on my face now. Before, the product really sunk in and nourished. Why do these companies tinker with an already good thing? Besides, me and hyaluronic acid don’t really get along but it’s really hard finding moisturizers that don’t have it.

Masks – Fresh Rose Face Mask – I kind of like this one. It’s cooling and refreshing and soothing on my skin, whether it moisturizes or not I can’t tell.

Fresh Floral Recovery Calming Mask – I got this as a freebie with Sephora and I recently tried it since I’m getting low on the face cream and split it into a day and night duo. It’s not for me. It felt prickly on my face at first, but then that went away and it did moisturize. Whether it calmed my skin or not the jury is out. It did seem less red in the morning, but my skin tends to be that way anyway. So – I tossed it and won’t be repurchasing.

About masks in general – they’re not my thing. For most, you smear them on and then have to spend an eternity rinsing them off or using cotton rounds or a washcloth to get it off and then rinse again to get the….ugh…you see where I’m going with that. And the sleeping mask trend? They are just night creams with a different name as far as I’m concerned.

Sunscreen – Banana Boat Sensitive Mineral SPF 50 For Face – I bought this at CVS on sale when my Neutrogena one ran out (well, it was separating and had to go). While this works really well, it is a little tricky to use. It is 100% mineral so it’s zinc oxide with titanium dioxide. And now that I’m looking at the product info online – it says to shake it up before use. WTF? I have not been doing that so I’ll recap later on if that helps application any better. At any rate, it is very white and dry at first, and you have to manipulate it quite a bit to get it applied. However, that kind of helps you to see that you got it on everywhere. :P I wait about 5 minutes and it dries down to clear (or maybe it sinks in?) and then I can put my makeup on. I’m going to see if shaking it before use helps any and I’ll update. Guess I need to read directions first. ALL that said – it is a good sunscreen for sensitive skin and affordable.

OK well that took some time so I’ll come back tomorrow for the makeup update edit. In the meantime – stay cool – especially if you are in the middle of the country like I am. It seems we will be in Mother Nature’s Oven for some time. UGH.

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» 2022 » July » Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Depression Self-Care

July 24, 2022

July Beauty Update Part 2

July 16, 2022

July 2022 Beauty Update

July 15, 2022

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