POLL: What products make up your DIY Spa Days?

I often chuckle when Friday evenings roll around. I remember, in my younger days, when Friday nights were all about going out. 

But over the past several years, my greatest excitement on Friday nights comes from the anticipation of my weekly Spa Night.  So as I was enjoying my latest Spa Night, I decided to post about it and ask which products do you enjoy the most.

So let's get started...

My weekly spa nights are all about rejuvenation, relaxation, and revitalization.  I have been on a mission as of late to find drug store products that are comparable to my favorite department store products. So where possible, I will list both department store and drug store products.

Body Products:  The first step of my Spa Night is a body scrub to exfoliate my skin.  When I use a body scrub, I find it most effective to step into the shower and massage it in circular motions on to dry skin.  This method also benefits my feet as some of the scrub will fall to the floor of the tub or shower and my feet get exfoliated. I then rinse. Smooth as a baby's bottom. LOL!  My favorite scrubs are:

Body Scrubs:

Department Store: Philosophy Body Scrubs ($25, 23oz) and True Blue Spa Invigorating Spa Scrub - There's the Rub ($24, 24oz)
Drug Store: Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrubs ($7.49, 18oz)

I have always been a bar soap person, so after the scrub, I shower with any selected soap. Some of my favorites include several of the Nubian Heritage Natural Soaps ($3-4, 5oz, African Black, Honey & Black Seed, Peppermint, and Olive Oil Soaps) as well as good old Coast or Lever 2000 antiperspirant soaps.

On occasion, if I choose to use a body wash, my favorites are:

Body Washes:

Department Store: Philosophy Body Washes ($16, 16oz)
Drug Store: Tree Hut Shea Moisturizing Shower Wash ($6.49, 16oz)

The next step is moisturizing. I love a good body butter.

Body Moisturizers:

Department Store: True Blue Spa Super Rich Body Cream - Lay It On Thick   ($20, 10oz)
Drug Store: Tree Hut Shea Body Butter ($7.49, 7oz) or Palmers Body Butter ($7.99, 6oz)


I have recently seen several You Tube videos about personal hygiene regimens. I don't want to go into that level of detail, so just suffice it to say, I shave, pluck and prune where necessary...LOL!

The next step in my spa night is a facial. 

Facial Products & Tools:  In my mid-40s, I am always looking for the magic bullet to help with the anti-aging and acne battles. Yes, even at my age, I, on occasion have breakouts.

Facial Cleansers:

Department Store: Philosophy Purity Made Simple ($32, 16oz) and Philosophy Micro Delivery Exfoliating Wash ($37, 16oz)
Drug Store: Neutrogena Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover ($6.97, 6oz) and  Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser ($4.97, 6.7oz)

To see my recent blog post comparing Philosophy's Purity and Neutrogena's Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover, click Here.

After cleansing my facial skin, I enjoy a facial scrub. Most of us are familiar with the scrubs that consist of the apricot pit bits, but my favorites are:

Facial Scrubs:

Department Store: Philosophy Microdelivery In-Home Vitamin C Peptide Peel  ($40, 1oz-$68, 2oz)
Drug Store: Queen Helene Pomegranate and Raspberry Natural Facial Scrub ($4.29, 6oz)

Lastly, a crucial part of my spa night is my Clarisonic.

Facial Tools:

Department Store:  Clarisonic Mia ($119)

I have been using my Clarisonic Mia for about 6 months now and absolutely love it.  I know that there are several imitation products and that the Clarisonic is an investment, but it is an investment that I am glad I made.  I hope to one day purchase the Clarisonic Plus.

I follow up my facial with my serum, moisturizer, eye cream, and lip balm. This is how I enjoy my Friday evening Spa Night.  In addition to the relaxed feel of my spa night, I love that thought of the amount of money I save by doing my own Spa Night at home.  Do you do your own Spa Nights? If so, what products do you use for your DIY Spa Nights?

Honorable Mention Products: I lieu of doing a personal hygiene post, I will just list some of my favorite products:

• Colgate Optic White Toothpaste
• C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Buffer (discontinued-need to find another product) 
• Secret Antiperspirant
• Ped Egg

Grace, Peace, & Blessings.

* FTC: These products were bought with my own monies. These are my honest opinions. I am not employed by nor was I paid by and of these companies. This is not a sponsored post.

SKINCARE: Philosophy Purity vs. Neutrogena Naturals Cleanser + Remover

If you have followed me via my blog, twitter, or face book for any time you know that Philosophy Purity Made Simple has long since been my holy grail facial cleanser.  I have used Purity easily for at least 7 years.  But from time to time I sample other products to see if there is anything similar to my beloved Purity.  I have tried several other products that never even came close. I would always return to my Purity.  The other products would always leave my skin feel stripped, tight, and dry.  As I approach another age milestone, I have been giving much consideration to my skincare regimen.  The products that I had used for acne control are no longer working for me.  Fine lines and wrinkles, dark circles, enlarged pores, and dry patches are now what I must be concerned with.  Several months ago, I switched my toner from the alcohol-based product I had used for years to a more gentle yet effective product, Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner, and I love it.  This spring, I received the Target Beauty Bag and which included a sample of Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser.  After letting it sit on my vanity for a couple weeks, I decided to give it a try.  While it did not remove all my makeup, it also did not leave my skin tight, stripped or dry, as so many other products had.  I then decided to see what other products Neutrogena had that might address cleansing and makeup removal. I am not unfamiliar with the Neutrogena brand, I just hadn't given the skin care branch much attention over the past several years.  (BTW: I love the Neutrogena Triple Moisture product line.  I found that Neutrogena had a Naturals line that included a facial cleanser + makeup remover.  I decided to give that product a try.  Here is what I found:

Philosophy Purity Made Simple	Neutrogena® Naturals Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover
·         Effective: 1 step cleanser that cleanses without stripping skin of natural oils.	·         Effective: 1 step cleanser that cleanses without stripping skin of natural oils.
·         Effective: Removes makeup without stripping. It even removes waterproof eye makeup	·         Effective: Removes makeup without stripping.  It removes most traces of eye makeup, but not all.
·         Effective: Doesn't irritate skin or eyes. Can open eyes while using	·         Effective: Doesn’t irritate skin, but does slightly sting eyes if contact made
·         Moisturizing:  Left skin feeling very moisturized. Often would forget to apply moisturizer because of just how moisturized my skin felt	·         Moisturizing: Didn't leave skin feeling tight or dry, but did require daily moisturizer
·         Works great with my Clarisonic	·         Works great with my Clarisonic
·         Scent:  Close to no scent at all. Claims Fragrance-Free	·         Scent: Fresh Clean Scent
·         Availability: Philosophy.com, QVC, Sephora, Ulta, & some department stores	·         Availability: Most drugstores, grocery stores, chain stores
·         Size:  Varying 3oz - 32oz  - $10-49.50	·         Size: 6oz only - $7.49
·         Overall Opinion:  Philosophy Purity Made Simple has been my holy grail facial cleanser for at least 7 years.  While Neutrogena Natural Fresh Cleanser + Makeup Remover, does not replace it, it is a very close second; especially for those times when my money is funny.	·         Overall Opinion:  I have finally found a drugstore product that runs a very close second to my department store Philosophy Purity Made Simple.  I had often looked for alternative product to  use for those times when my money is funny.  I have found it!  I need to try some of the other Neutrogena Natural products. It had been a while since I tried any Neutrogena products. I think I need to revisit the brand, I may have been short-changing myself.

Have you tried Neutrogena Naturals Line and if so which product? Do you recommend any other Neutrogena  products?

Grace, Peace, & Blessings.

* FTC: These products were bought with my own monies. These are my honest opinions. I am not employed by nor was I paid by and of these companies. This is not a sponsored post.

Top 10 Award! - Not Oprah's, but my Favorite Things...

No, I am not giving you a car or a trip to Australia, LOL!!!  Ina from My Nail Polish Online has awarded me the Top 10 Award. Wow, my blog isn’t even a year old and I have seen such growth. Thanks, Ina I really appreciate your kindness. I am so happy to know that there are so many others whose hobby it is to blog about nails and nail polish.

The rules for this award are:

• Link back to the person who tagged you
• Pick 10 other bloggers to give this award to
• List your favorite 10 products
• The bloggers I want to give this award to are:     
1. Pass The Polish Please 
2. Lacquer Love Blog
3. Let Them Have Polish
4. Nail Addicts Anonymous
5. Nail Juice
6. Glitta Gloves
7. Candy Coated Tips
8. Don't Smudge
9. A Polished Obsession
10. loodie loodie loodie

When I first sat down to develop For Me, It Works… My intent was for it to be a beauty blog but as it evolved, I was being directed more towards nails and nail polish. However, I left the door open so that in the event that I came across a non-nail related product I wanted to share, I could still blog about it. So I am choosing to take this opportunity to identify some of my favorite products. I will split my list nail/non-nail related. And of course, it is close to impossible to limit my list to 10 so I have also included just a few (LOL!) Honorable Mentioned products.  

But first, to define “Favorite”, these are the products I buy without thought. They are the products I have repurchased time and time again. I don’t repurchase products I don’t like, so the fact that I am on auto-pilot where these products are concerned that is what makes them “Favorites”. They work and are dependable.  Over the coming weeks and months, I will try to blog about some of these products.

Top 10 Favorite Products - in no particular order

1. Favorite Facial Cleanser – philosophy purity made simple. I have blogged about Purity previously. What more can I say, I love this stuff!!!
2. Favorite Body Scrub –True Blue Spa Invigorating Spa Scrub; love the scent!
3. Favorite Hand Cream – Gold Bond Ultimate Softening Lotion w/ Shea Butter; my holy grail hand moisturizer
4. Favorite Deep Conditioner (Protein) – Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise
5. Favorite Shampoo - Crème of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo
6. Favorite Top Coat – Seche’ Vite Fast Drying Top Coat
7. Favorite Red Nail Lacquer – Orly Bus Stop Crimson Red
8. Favorite Purple Nail Lacquers: ChG-Stella, Orly-Charged Up, Ulta-TuTu Cute, ChG-Virtual Violet  
9. Favorite Blue Nail Lacquers: OPI–Yoga-ta-Get This Blue, Misa–A Sin Worth Committing, Finger Paints – Artistic Azure, Sinful Colors - Hot Spot 
10. Favorite Pink Nail Lacquers: ChG-Fly, ChG-Hyper Haute, OPI-In the Spot-Light Pink, OPI-DS Opulence

Favorite Purples

Favorite Blues

Favorite Pinks

Honorable Mentions – Skin Care

Favorite Facial Peel – Philosophy Microdelivery Peel

Favorite Facial Wash – Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

Favorite Facial Moisturizer – Philosophy Hope in a Jar

Favorite Fragrance – Philosophy Pure Grace

Favorite Deep Conditioner (Moisture) – Cream of Nature Argan Oil Intensive Conditioner

  

Honorable Mentions – Make-Up

Favorite Facial Primer – Sephora Anti-Shine Primer

Favorite Eye Primer – Sephora Perfecting Eye Primer

Favorite Concealer – Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer - 6.0

Favorite Facial Foundation – MAC Studio Fix – NW35

Favorite Facial Powder – Fashion Fair Oil Control Pressed Powder - Pecan

Favorite Eye Shadow Palette - Urban Decay Naked Palette       

Favorite Single Eye Shadows – Sephora Mono Shadows – Warm Sand N 77

Favorite Eye Liner – Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner – Midnight Black

o With the Smashbox #20 double tipped brush

FavoriteMascara – Maybelline Falsies Volum’ Express – Blackest Black

Favorite Blush – MAC Mineralize Blush – Love Joy

Favorite Lip Liner – Palladio Herbal Lip Liner – Black Berry PRL09

Favorite Lip Balm – Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

Favorite Lip Stick – MAC “O”

Favorite Lip Gloss – C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine

   

Last, but not least,

Favorite Snack – Ice cold Coca Cola and Nacho Doritos…

Product of the Day: Philosopy's Purity Made Simple

When I first started "For Me, It Works...", my intention was to talk about many different beauty products but I eventually redirected towards nails and nail products.  However, I left the door opened so that I could, when necessary, still review beauty related products.  So today I would like to share with you my Holy Grail facial cleanser.  I don’t know about you, but after a long day, the last thing I want to do is spend a lot of time removing my make-up and cleansing my face.  My absolute favorite facial cleanser is Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple – One Step Facial Cleanser.  This stuff is irreplaceable but it did replace several products I use to use.  No longer do I need a separate eye make-up remover, cleanser, or toner.  This one product does all that and more. 

I was first made aware of Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple via QVC, the television shopping network. I had previously used Philosophy’s Amazing Grace fragrance and loved that.  But being skeptical like most people, was hesitant to try Purity.  How could one product do all that they claim. 

Here’s what they claim:

“our award-winning daily facial skin cleanser is formulated to gently cleanse, tone and melt away all face and eye makeup in one simple step, while lightly hydrating the skin.”

Directions: gently massage a quarter-size amount onto a lightly damp face, and massage for 30-60 seconds. rinse and pat dry. use morning and evening. follow with appropriate treatment and moisturizer.

Claimed features & benefits

   -deep cleans pores and eliminates makeup build-up
   -natural oil extracts help condition skin
   -fragrance-free formula

Here are my observations:

During the demonstration on QVC, they had the model in full make-up, cleanse her face on camera.  She rubbed it over her eyes, lips, and entire face.  She was able to open her eyes with the product on her face, without burning or stinging.  Really?!

So one day, while in Sephora, I saw a small 3 oz bottle for $10.  I thought I would give it a try.  If I didn’t like it, Sephora has a great return policy.  That was about 4-5 years ago and I have been a dedicated user ever since.  I have used it daily as my facial cleanser.  It removes all my make-up, including the waterproof mascara and waterproof eyeliner (Smashbox Jet Set).  I tried that “open your eyes while using this stuff trick” and it really does not burn or sting. It is free of strong, obnoxious fragrance.  Also, I don’t get the tight skin feeling I experienced after using other facial cleansers.  For most products, my success measuring tool is repurchase.  One does not repurchase a product unless they really like it.  Let’s just say, I buy this stuff in the large 32 oz bottle and have repurchased that 32 oz bottle many times over.  Other uses I have tried: I use it to remove hair color from my skin (not that I color my hair, wink!).  I also use it as a shave cream and I get a really smooth underarm shave.  The one aspect that took a little getting used to is that this product does not lather or form.  It is a cream that “melts” away the make-up.  But if you are a die-hard lather person, there is a foaming version, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t speak to the quality of the product.  But I would expect the same outstanding results.

Philosophy claims that Purity is for all skin types.  OK, I use it on my combination skin and my mother uses (and loves it) on her dry skin.  Side note: The fact that my mother now uses Purity is a miracle.  She had used Noxzema for as long as I can remember; I’m talking decades.  She tried it once and was convinced and converted.

This post is a lot longer than I anticipated but this product is so worthy…Give Purity Made Simple a try…IMO, you won’t regret it. 

2^nd Side Note: Philosophy’s skin care line as well as their bath & shower and fragrance lines are all outstanding.  Just to mention a few that I LOVE: Fragrance-Pure Grace, & Inner Grace; Skin Care: Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, Microdelivery Peel, & Hope in a Jar Moisturizer; Bath and Shower products: Salt Scrubs, Candy Cane 3 & 1 Shower Gel, & Pure Grace Shower Gel.

Grace and Peace.