My First Pair of Nikes

It's been over a month since I bought these bad boys and I've given them some good test runs so far. The verdict is...I love them! These are my first workout shoe purchases since...2008? I only have one pair that I have been wearing and washing to keep them clean. I really only used them for the gym and a couple runs outside so they stayed in great condition through the years. But now I decided to treat myself and get a brand new pair. 

'Bout time! 

I got new shoes as a motivator to go to the gym more often and I have even worn them to work a couple times even though I normally refuse to wear sneakers for anything other than working out. I really love them and the mesh toe area has such great breathability and cools down my feet when I'm walking around. I got them in a non-frilly girly-type color because I'm not into frilly colors on my feet. 

I just really like the neutral type of shoe since I like more bright colors for sports bras popping out from under a tank. There is just something about wearing a bright pink sports bra that just makes me happy. And it's the only time you'll ever catch me wearing pink...ever. 

But yes, these shoes are awesome. Maybe it is because I have not had a new pair in years or because the shoes are so light but they make me feel like I am walking on air. I feel confident and swift and I zipped around the office with ease. Then I really liked the comfort they provided while on the eliptical. The eliptical is my machine of choice because I fell on my knew once and it still acts up and the low impact makes it easier for me to get in my cardio without straining it too much. Another day I decided to give the eliptical a break and went on the treadmill for a walk as I wasn't feeling it and they did a great job on there too. I did my usual fast walking pace set to a higher incline and these kept my feet nice and comfy. 

For $40 plus tax I think I did well. I got them from the Carlsbad outlets on our way back from Escondido for my birthday weekend last month. I think what held me back from ever looking into buying a pair of Nikes was the fact that I thought they were so expensive but I bought these for the same price as I got my old Asics for. I might look into getting another pair as a switcheroo pair so they can air out. I might wait till new years to get them since there might be some good deals due to clear out/new years resolution sales that are bound to happen. But seriously, they are one of the best birthday gifts I have ever gotten myself. 

What do you think?

 Do new running shoes give you a new perspective and a pep in your step? 

XOX

Veritypretty

Dial Greek Yogurt Nourishing Body Wash Review

I was out practicing some extreme couponing one day and came upon this Dial Greek Yogurt body wash and was just thinking "Why the heck not?" I had a coupon for $1 off, this was already a dollar off and was only going to cost me something like $1.50. I really like my Caress brand body wash as it makes me feel really fancy even though it is a drugstore brand. I'm weird, I know. But Dial brand really makes me think of it as a meh kind of brand. We used to aways have the Dial hand soap in the classroom so I never really reached out and want to actually purchase a boy wash from them. I do not want to be reminded of the hand soap in grade school when I am in the shower. I like feeling fancy. What sold me was the scent, Vanilla Honey. Yumm! 

I like feeling moisturized as well and I like the idea of yogurt in a body wash, it just made it seem more luxurious than what the brand image normally conjures up for me. The scent totally is a dessert I would make for myself when I am trying to eat light but want to have something rich and indulgent. My favorite thing is a nice bowl of original %2 Fage greek yogurt (because plain Fage is for hardcore yogurt lovers who don't want froofy overly sweet berry puree in it. I honestly can't stand most flavored yogurts) and you add a little side-of-the-road or any local honey and some fresh raspberries on top for extra yummy-nes. So yes, it smells like a healthy dessert/snack. 

I do like how moisturizing this is and because it lathers a lot I sometimes use it for a bubble bath after a particularly hard week. There really is nothing better than a soap sud beard and a glass of wine on a Friday night. It is not sulfate free but I guess that's how they get it to suds so much. And wouldn't the sodium chloride (aka salt) dry out the skin eventually? I'm not too sure but I don't use it everyday so I don't think I will have a chance to find out. There's also a couple other questionable ingredients so if you're worried about what goes on your body then maybe tis isn't the body wash for you. I'm not really into the whole all natural and no "bad ingredients" movement but I know others are but I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I know what's good and what isn't. I will never give you info that I have no clue about, I'm still doing my own research and if you're interested you should do so as well. I could never remember everything that is bad for you when I go shopping even when I do my research. I try, but it's a process. 

So overall, I liked it but I want to find something less "bad" for my skin. I will continue to use it as a bubble bath here and there as actual bubble bath products are so dang expensive. Plus they don't get as frothy and I get pretty awesome soap moustaches with this product. 

XOX

Veritypretty 

*This product was bought with my own cash monies with lots of coupons. Coupons are awesome. Thoughts and review came of my own weird thought process. 

La Neige Bright Renew Original Serum Review

Lately I have been obsessed with making my skin look good. I have always had problem skin prone to being oily and acne prone. As I have gotten older the oily part went away but it didn't take the acne with it. Most of the time its hormonal acne and I get one huge honker of a pimple somewhere. On top of that I am trying to be proactive about taking care of my skin and using anti aging products now before I really really need them. I decided to look into getting a serum to add into my routine and this LaNiege Bright Renew Serum was the first one I bought. 

I bought this because I really do like trying Korean skincare products or pretty much any Asian skin care product for that matter. This one promised to brighten my skin and when I tried the tester on the back of my hand I was really impressed with how lightweight it was. I really like to layer my products so having good stuff in it and being lightweight is essential to my game plan. As I do have some (mostly) hormonal acne I get a large pimple or two and maybe those small little whitehead looking pimples. Those baby pimples really are the devil. But I scar very easily and no matter how careful I am to not pick at my acne, I do and I end up with acne scars that eventually go away but as soon as one leaves, a new one is there to laugh at me in the face. So anything that helps lighten and brighten my face and fade my scars goes home with me. 

What I did notice about this product is that I really liked it from the start, except for the light scent. I'm not into scents too much as it can cause irritation in some people. The scent/perfume didn't irritate my skin but I know someone out there might be affected by it. I did like the scent though, it smelled like clean soap and cotton and wasn't too offensive. I will say that I eventually plateaued with this and put it in the back of my pile of skin care. I decided to give this a try again maybe a month or two later but this time I had started using a my Sea Breeze toner which I talk about here. This with a toner worked even better for me then before and pretty soon my bottle was empty. 

I will say even though I liked this product and eventually got it to do what I needed it to do with the help of other products, I think I will try even more serums. I'm not ready to settle down just yet and this is really only the beginning with serums. At $45 for a bottle of this I want it to work and work well all the time. So yes its's good but I feel that there my be better out there or at least I hope there is better. I have just purchased another product from this line, the BB cushion and am just testing it out to see how I like it and I might look into using the emulsion that they have. I'll let you know about the BB cushion and if I do get my hands on the emulsion I will let you know how that goes as well! 

XOX 

Veritypretty 

*This product was bought by me with my own hard earned cash monies

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner Review

Holy Bejebuz Batman! It's been a long time since I made a post for le blog. I have just been kind of busy going back to school so I can get my life on track again. It's been a few years since I stopped going but now I am back. But enough excuses, I needed a break and thought I would give this a crack. Speaking of crack, deep conditioners is my crack. I swear I am addicted and I don't really care about anything else but my hair and eyebrows as of late. I just ran out of my usual Tresemme and went to Target but they were all out of the deep conditioners. I decided to give this Aussie 3 Minute Miracle a go since it's only about $3 and comes in a nice convenient squeeze tube. 

I bought the color treated formula even though I haven't dyed my hair in months because I figure it would be more gentle. Plus the only other choice was this or the "moist" formula and super moisturizing formulas tend to weigh down my thin hair. It's definitely not a good look for me. I have been looking for something super moisturizing since I have been putting off my haircut for awhile now. My ends have been feeling a it stiff and crispy even though I don't heat treat my hair most of the time. I mean, nothing replaces the feeling of taking off a few inches but I really got to stop my urge of reaching for my scissors at my desk to snip off bits here and there until I can do what I want to do with my hair. I'm thinking a copper-ish ombre. We'll see how I feel about it by next month though....

I have been using this for the past few weeks and I can say it is now my most favorite deep conditioning treatment ever. EVER. I swear it has helped my crispy ends and makes my hair feel super soft without weighing it down. You know those little tube of deep conditioner that come in the box dyes? It is better than those and I hoard them like nobody's business. I have been having a problem with tangles which comes wit the territory when you have tons of thin but dried out hair like me. I was so close to just grabbing the scissors myself and lopping it off but then how am I going to explain that to my hairdresser Sara when I go in for her to fix it? Plus it didn't smell too perfumey which I like. I like a more subtle scent that doesn't overpower whatever other  smell I have going on. I also love how I don't have too leave it in for too long which is a good thing if I am running late. Other deep conditioners I leave in for about 5-10 minutes but I can leave this in for 2 and it still does the trick. I have also noticed my hair doesn't get as poofy and tangled at the ends when I have second day hair. 

And this is officially my favorite way to deliver product to me. I am way too clumsy to be dealing with tubs of conditioner and this is even easier than the flip caps. Just lightly squeeze until you get your desired amount of product. This is seriously the best for lazy/busy people like me. I want everything to come in this packaging now. Overall I really loved everything about this deep conditioner. I plan to stock up on this so I don't have another deep conditioner shortage. Since it's so affordable I might as well. Im seriously a big fan and would love to try any different ones that they may have except for the "moist" formula, I'm too afraid of my hair being weighed down too much. 

Hopefully I can crack out a few more posts tonight to schedule for later. 

I'm glad to be back guys! 

XOX 

Veritypretty

My Skin Saviors

I have really gotten into taking care of my skin and just getting it in tip top shape lately. In my efforts I have started exploring the world of serums and I think I am in love. But what made me fall even more in love with them is adding an astringent to my daily routine as well. I swear that since adding a toner to my daily routine it has improved my skin dramatically. I bruise and scar like a peach so getting rid of my monthly blemishes caused by hormones is a challenge. I started out using the La Niege Serum and liked it and then felt like it plateaued after a few weeks. I never quite got the same results as when I started. 

I then decided to start using The Sea Breeze Sensitive Skin Astringent because I remember I really liked stealing it from my mom's stash when I was a teenager but never bought it for myself. I have used the regular formula and remember liking this one better because even though I do not have sensitive skin I do like how strong yet gentle this formula was compared to the other. Plus it's a really pretty blue color. Sue me. 

As soon As I started using this with the rest of my routine it made such a big difference it wasn't even funny. The dark scar on my forehead that has not budged for over 6 months started to fade and fast and to top it off my pores looked smaller. I also loved that my skin started to break out even less and not as severe as before. It just really takes off all the left over dirt and grime leftover even after washing my face. Yes, there was still dirt and buildup on my face after washing it and using a face scrub. What am I doing wrong?!! Do I really have that much dirt on my face? Am I cursed to never have really clean skin? All very good questions with no real answer. It usually takes about 5 cotton pads for both face and neck to get clean but is worth the extra time and effort. Without that layer of grime the serums had a clear highway to permeate the skin and work its magic. 

Since my discovery I have been even more into trying new serums, all of which I have yet to review here but those are posts for another time. For now I sing the praises of the miracles toner has brought me. It seriously is my new favorite re-discovery and has made strides in making my skin look pretty for once. But is there something else out there I am missing out on? It feels like there can be something more I can do to help my skin say blemish free, be rid of dark acne scars and prevent early signs of aging. As my skin evolves I will have to adapt to meet it's needs but for now, I can say I am happy with my routine. 

So how about a post on my routine? That's for another day....

XOX

Veritypretty