Pixi H2O Skin Tint

I'm the type of person who doesn't love heavy makeup. I mean I wear a lot of makeup, and I LOVE makeup, but if my skin is looking great, I don't want a full coverage foundation. When I was looking for a lighter option to simply even out my skin tone, I came across this Pixi H2O skin tint. I had never heard of a tinted face gel before and it sounded interesting, so I picked it up and ended up loving it!

First of all, the packaging is beautiful, as all Pixi packaging is. I loved the pump, it's one of my favorite features of this product, and I also love how much you get. And since this is a gel formula, a little product goes a very very long way.

It's boasted as a cooling and hydrating sheer tinted water-based gel. Apply as you would a moisturizer and pat into skin. And you really have to do that. It's so thin that any brush or sponge absorbs the product, so you do have to use your fingers. I don't mind, as the gel is the first thing I put on after moisturizer so my hands are clean, but if that bothers you, you might want to skip this. It is very light and cooling, this will definitely be my go-to skin tint on hot summer days. It offers just enough coverage to take out the redness from my skin and brighten my dull under eye area, but it is still light and lets your skin breathe.

The biggest downside to this is it only comes in like 3 colors. I chose the lightest color, 01, but I'm not the palest of people, if that gives you any idea of color range. I think you could use this if you were Ivory to Medium, but any lighter wouldn't work for you. It doesn't offer much darker either, so I could easily pick up the 02 when I'm tan, but that doesn't give much color range to the product. What's up with that Pixi? So while this does work for me, definitely test in store if you are worried it might not match!

Overall this is a great product for days you want your natural skin on display and is a great option for light coverage in the warm months.

Have you guys ever used a gel face tint before? If so, which one and did you like it?

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! XO

Instanatural Glycolic Peel

I've definitely tried to be more conscious about the products I'm using this last year, especially skincare. I've used the instanatural brand for quite some time and have tried a lot of different products and this one is definitely one of my favorites.

To be honest, I was quite afraid to try peels until recently. They always sounded scary, even though essentially they're just an exfoliant. When I saw this one from instanatural with ingredients I actually understood, I took the plunge and I have to say I love it.

Although you can do the peel up to three times a week I've started with just once a week. I've tried it three times and I have to say my skin looks fantastic. I do it on Sunday and my skin feels super refreshed for the week and my skin literally glows until my next application.

I love that it comes with a pump for easy application. It also comes with very specific and easy to understand instructions so even if you are a newbie and scared of peels like I was, it's super simple to follow and use (believe me, I would not try something overly complicated!)

If you are new to the land of peels and love natural ingredients, I'd say give this a try. Another plus is that it is super affordable - something I've always loved about this brand. Oftentimes the brand does a buy one get one half off or free, and that's when I stock up on their products. I'll leave the link below if you want to give it a go.

Let me know what other peels are good to try or if you've ever used a peel in your skincare routine!

Have a happy week ahead! XO -Kim

www.instanatural.com

Goodbye and Good Riddance 2017

*Warning: this post will be wordy, lengthy, and personal. If that's not your thing, feel free to leave now! You've been warned.

You guys know that I have always been very personal and real on my blog. There's no point in me having a blog if I can't look back and see the things I was really thinking and feeling. Therefore, it is my stance that I will always remember 2017 as the year I fell into a dark, deep pit and managed to claw my way back up, albeit very slowly and not without a lot of struggle.

As many of you know, I started a new career this year in real estate. I've never been one to shy away from change. I've always enjoyed experiencing new things and it's never bothered me that things change. That's life. I have to admit though, I struggled with my career change. After having worked in the same job with the same people for 10 years, I suddenly found myself in the position of not knowing my job. Being the low man on the totem pole. Having to learn everything from scratch. That in itself was a struggle. Add onto that the fact that my husband and I had never worked in a capacity where we were responsible for, or had to answer to each other. Sure, we'd met at work and essentially worked together our entire careers, but never for each other. There was a lot of fighting, a lot of crying (mostly on my part) and a lot of figuring out our new roles. I am very lucky to say that I have a great husband who was always willing to communicate, to compromise, and to just let me be an emotional wreck, which I was fairly often this year.

Add to the change the fact that I had lost a lot of the people that normally helped me through tough situations and it was the beginning of the spiral for me. It's no one's fault. People move on. People change. Our lives go on different paths and eventually I felt like my life was so separate from theirs that I didn't even know how to start that conversation. Around this time I was around a lot of negative people and I really felt like for the first time in a long time that I had lost myself. I didn't know what part I was playing in my career, in my friendships, or just life in general. I started feeling sad, worthless, and constantly exhausted for no particular reason.

Around this time I also started gaining weight. I was the heaviest I'd ever been in my life and that made me feel even worse. I didn't want to get out of bed and get dressed because I really didn't feel good about myself. I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything or contributing anything at my job and I just felt all around not good. I was being negative all the time, which is not in my personality at all, but I couldn't figure out how to pull myself out. I could feel myself being an annoyance, a burden, and a pain to be around, but I really didn't know how to not be those things.

Another big change was that we sold our coffee shops. Now this was a long time coming as we had been trying to sell them for over a year, and it was something that really needed to happen. It was consuming way more of my time then I ever intended it to and it was making it difficult for me to really get into any sort of routine or schedule, or give 100% to my new career. Even though it was a good thing, it was still so bittersweet to me. I tried really hard to make sure we sold it to someone that would keep the same integrity and the same passion that we had. Sadly, that did not happen and within a few weeks I watched all the love and hard work I put into it go down the drain. I hope that the new owners will find their way and be successful, but it was really heartbreaking to watch my dream die.

This all sounds so melodramatic as I'm writing it, but at the time it's really how I felt. I knew rationally that I was being a little crazy, that I just needed to buck up and move forward, but depression is a funny thing. You know that nothing really life shattering is happening, but you feel like everything is falling apart. All the changes that happened was for the good, but I still couldn't feel happy about any of it.

All I can say is this: it does get better. I acknowledged that I was depressed, that no matter how silly it might seem to others, I had a right to feel the way that I did. And I stopped wallowing. I found that if I laid in bed and felt sorry for myself, it got so much worse. One day turned into two, turned into a week. Instead, I got myself up, got myself to work, and did the things I needed to do. I also started surrounding myself with positive people, who cared about me, let me talk, and were just there. We changed companies, which was very difficult but also really helped put me in a place that I needed to be. I talked, I cried, I allowed myself to feel what I felt, and now I'm starting over again. Reach out, get help, do what is best for you, but keep moving forward!

Thank you to all of you who reached out, who checked up on me, and who allowed me this time off. I love you, I'm here for you, and I am happy to be back! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and here's to making 2018 our best year yet!