Oh Hey, Best Month Ever!

Full time siblings... part time models

It's my birthday month.  I was never one of those girls that decided, at a random age past 21, to suddenly hate her birthday.  I'm going to like my birthday when I turn 30, 50, 70 and 99.  I will still blast the Captain Zoom birthday song and everyone will still be required to dote upon me.  I am finally starting to get back to my happy-go-lucky self.  My brother's wedding was last month and, with it, came a much anticipated and much needed vacation to Northern California.  It was beautiful, magical and all around perfect. The best part of all?  Toresil is now officially my Toresil.  However, with extremely happy events comes the extremely blue and sad let down.  Now what am I supposed to look forward to, get ready for, buy pretty dresses for and plan ridiculous dance moves for?  Sigh, being so drunk on happy sure can bring on a hangover of melancholy.

What has gotten me through the past couple weeks of meh is continuing my hunt of "non-dirty" beauty and skin products.  I already have some favorites.  I also have some on a "Come to Katy" list that I plan to treat myself to once I pay off my rockin' rehearsal dinner dress I bought for last month from Nordies.  For the next few posts, I will share one thing I love and one thing on my wish list.

Can I just say I am a sucker for good packaging?

Thing I Love

May Lindstrom The Clean Dirt cleansing clay & The Problem Solver mask - Can I just say that May Lindstrom is fantastic?  You know that type of person that makes you feel like the only and most important person in the room when they are talking to you?  May accomplishes this via her online presence with her customers.  Her Youth Dew serum, while amazing, seems to just not agree with my skin.  I have read countless reviews from people that dub it a miracle product, but for some reason my weird post Accutane skin doesn't like it.  I e-mailed May my problem and some questions and she responded to me within 24 hours with suggestions on how to better introduce her line to my skin.  I absolutely love her cleanser, which I use about three times a week, and her mask, which I use weekly.  There is something so comforting in her concoctions of basic, pure, and effective ingredients that are made by hand.  Each time I use them, I feel like I have been invited into May's very special circle of friends with whom she chose to share her talent.

Come to Katy

Jiva-Apoha Body Oil - I read about these body oils on Seed to Serum, a clean skincare blog that is a new obsession of mine.  I have been looking for a clean alternative to the various dirty body lotions I have been trying to use up.  After reading the various descriptions of the oils, scents, and the feelings they intend to accentuate, it is readily apparent that most seem to be right in my wheelhouse.  Not only do the Jiva-Apoha oils moisturize with high quality oils from the best ingredients, but the creator is trained in Ayurveda and holistic healing methods. Therefore, each oil has different therapeutic benefits it can bring to its user.  The most exciting option?  Getting a personalized oil speciality made based upon how one responds to a questionnaire.

If summer were a weekend, we are now well into Saturday afternoon... what are you doing to make the most of it?  My to-do list consists of going to a Lake Erie beach, catching a show at Playhouse Square (Book of Mormon, here I come), going to a weekend Tribe game and getting Stoddard's custard.

More Glow, Please!

Cleveland E. 9th Pier @ Sunrise

I think I'm scaring my Mom. I am a self-proclaimed make-up aficionado who, yesterday, declared that "I think I am going to start trying to be more cognizant of the ingredients in my cosmetics and what I put on my skin..."

Oh boy.

I have always been aware that there is scary stuff in cosmetics. I even read somewhere once that mascara is one of the worst things on the planet you can put near your peepers. However, you are reading the thoughts of a girl who suffered through debilitating acne in high school (from which, I'm pretty sure, my self confidence has never fully recovered). I use products to exude different moods and perceptions, much like I do with clothing. Am I really going to ditch my favorites because they contain scary stuff I can't pronounce? Well, maybe.

Lorain-Carnegie Bridge Guardian
a.k.a. My Boyfriend

I used to fall back on the idea that our skin is a canvas... A barrier between our insides and the outside world. This theory crumbles when one considers medicinal patches such as birth control and nicotine... Obviously something passes through this barrier and is effectively absorbed into the bloodstream. Oh, crap.

There is more science there and probably some arguments for the barrier theory; however, it was enough to get me to start researching kinder skincare and cosmetics. I'll save you all the trouble and just tell you: it is flipping overwhelming. I can't suggest any products yet, because I haven't tried anything. That will be for later posts. What I will say is that a girl who knows nothing about natural beauty products found a diamond in the rough at The Spirit Beauty Lounge website (please Google, some people are weird about linking to their website).

Nothing is better than Ohio grass on
barefeeties.

Spirit's website lets you request nine samples of almost any of her products for $25, which includes a coupon off your next purchase (an assumption that you will buy one of the items). All the products I had read reviews on went on my list. I'm super pumped. Most of these products are only sold in specialty brick and mortar locations, so this practically eliminates the risk of the product collecting dust in my make up drawer. Natural cosmetics are a tad more expensive, which makes sense, so this would give me much heartburn than normal.

Have any of you thought about this? Apparently there are documentaries that scare people silly about it. I haven't drummed up the nerve to watch them yet.

PS- Since I haven't bought anything yet, I had no pictures to go with this post. Therefore, these are random pictures from my life the past couple weeks. You're welcome.

Who needs junk food when you have this?  West Side Market
organic heaven.  Swoon.