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What's in my Young Living Order?

3/11/2019

Essential oils have become a part of my daily routine in so many ways over the past few years! From using oils to help purely for aromatherapy, to pain relief and now everyday household products, I ALWAYS have something that I need to order. The awesome part about Young Living is their Essential Rewards program. Basically, you spend $50 a month on whatever you want or need, and you earn points that you can use toward FREE products! It is truly amazing how much free product I’ve received over the past year!

Sometimes people tell me “That sounds great, but I don’t use oils enough to spend that per month” or “I don’t even know what I would order”. The cool thing is that there is so much more than just oils! Our hand soap, dish soap, cleaning products, toothpaste, body wash and baby care products are just some examples of everyday items we order from Young Living.

The moment I see that my monthly order has processed and shipped, I get to go on and change up my order for the following month. As I said, we are always in need of something around here since so many of our household and personal products are now coming from Young Living! Here is what is in my order for next month:

Savvy Minerals Hydrating Primer
Of course there is a makeup item in here! I just ran out of my old primer, and have been wanting to try out this new one from Young Living. It is fortified with coconut oil and shea butter and gives a radiant glow, but also helps prep the skin and smooth the surface for foundation. I have been really into hydrating primers since my skin has been pretty dry, and it will be good to use for any matte foundations I use in the warmer months that will *hopefully* be returning to us soon here in Illinois!

Car Vent Diffuser
During an extremely stressful drive up to Door County with three little ones last month, I was really regretting not having a soothing scent to diffuse in the car to calm us all down! This car diffuser quickly went onto my list of necessities. Now I will be able to have a fresh scent on the go for whatever the occasion calls for: invigorating scents for early morning drives, or calming tranquil scents for those stressful rides or when we want the kids to just chill out!

Charcoal Bar Soap
Charcoal is all the rage in personal products! It helps to draw out impurities without stripping the skin’s natural moisture barrier. Young Living’s Charcoal Bar Soap can be used as a face cleanser as well as for the body. I’m going to try it as a body wash first and really get my skin where I want it to be after this harsh, dry winter weather! Here are some of the benefits listed on the YL website:

Formulated with skin-purifying activated charcoal and pure essential oils
Leaves skin clean, soft, and smooth
Made without sulfates, phthalates, parabens, dyes, synthetic fragrances, or preservatives
Vegan and cruelty-free
Cleanses excess oil without stripping the skin

Orange Blossom Facial Wash
I am so ready for this new face wash! This is formulated with 100% naturally derived ingredients and is formulated for sensitive skin. It removes dirt, makeup and excess oils while still being gentle and not over-drying. I still use the Mirah Luminous Cleansing oil to remove my makeup, but this will be my follow up cleanser to remove anything leftover.It has been awhile since I’ve changed up my face wash, so I am really excited to try this one out!

Seedlings Diaper Rash Cream
Listen, I know this isn’t the most interesting or glamorous product, but we go through A LOT of diaper cream around here, ok?! Those poor little raw bottoms need some gentle care and this has been by far the most effective diaper cream that I’ve used on them, and I have tried so many! First of all, it is made with 100% naturally derived ingredients (always a win for baby skin). Second, it is thick and coats very well (again, a huge win in the diaper cream realm if you didn’t know). Last, it actually smells awesome! Even though we use it often, one tube lasts quite a while because a little goes a long way. Definitely worth the money in my book!

Orange Vitality
Alright I said there were no oils in my order this month, but this is the one I will be getting for free! Anytime you spend certain amounts of PV (purchase volume), you can receive free products along with your order! These promotions change monthly, but depending on how much you spend, you can earn hundreds of dollars worth of free products! Just another one of the perks of Young Living.

So maybe you've been thinking about trying out products, maybe you're interested in what YL has to offer, or maybe you're even considering signing up for Essential Rewards! I hope that this “What’s in my Cart” type of post gave you some ideas and inspiration on where to start! Questions? Contact me at jamie.pontikes@gmail.com or leave a comment below!

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Go-To Quick Make Up Routine

3/3/2019

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If you had asked me even a year ago if I could go out in public without make-up, I would’ve laughed and said no. First of all, my complexion was not the greatest. Second, I have a passion for make-up, so why would I go out without it? Well, here’s reality: staying at home with three children ages three and under does not require or even allow for full face of make up the majority of the time!

Even when I do go out to bring Leo to school, run to the store or to play dates, the majority of the time I just don’t have time or don’t have the energy to put on any make up. For the random mornings that I do have time and energy, I put on just the basics and I wanted to share this routine because it is actually pretty quick and easy to get a flawless looking complexion when you’re in a hurry!

Foundation (L'Oreal True Match)
Depending on the event, I bounce between different foundations, but my everyday tried and true foundation is L’Oréal True match. I’ve discovered that applying with a beauty sponge versus a kabuki brush makes a huge difference and it all depends on the coverage that you want lately I have gravitated towards the kabuki brush for a more full-coverage look, whereas in the summer I usually apply with the sponge for a lighter application. After my primer/moisturizer, I apply my foundation all over, concentrating on areas where I need more coverage.

Concealer (Too Faced Born This Way)
Lately my go to concealer has been the Too Faced Born This Way Concealer. It has awesome coverage, but still doesn’t feel heavy. It brightens and corrects, especially in the under eye area, but is easy to blend and melts in with my foundation and my skin! I apply concealer in triangle shapes under my eyes, in a T shape on my forehead and down my nose, on my upper lip and my chin, this balances the color out and gives my face dimension.

Setting Powder (Charlotte Tibury Flawless Setting Powder)
I discovered the best setting powder ever when I had some gift cards to spend at Sephora and I found the Charlotte Tilbury flawless setting powder. I put this over all of the areas where I applied concealer, and then use a large fluffy brush to distribute any excess to all other areas of my face and neck. This powder is true to its name and it never looks cakey or drying!

Contour/Bronzer (Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer)
The last major step in giving your face some dimension is applying a contour and/or bronzer in the hollows is the cheeks, around the temples and forehead, along the jawline and on the nose. You want to create shadows in the right places to help slim your face or just cast shadows where they would naturally fall! I usually go in with a smaller contour brush for the hollows or my cheeks, but then blend out with a fluffy bronzer brush to help blend and not make lines look too harsh. This gives the skin some color and dimension. My bronzer of choice at the moment is the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer because it creates a nice shadow for contour, but also gives a nice bronze when blended out.

Blush (Becca Blush)
I wouldn’t say blush is one of my favorite parts of the make-up routine but it does make a difference! I usually do a more brown toned pink for my skin color and try to blend with my bronzer. Depending on your face shape, you might apply blush to the apples of your cheeks, but I always apply mine further back on my cheekbones, right above my contour. I love this highlighter/blush duo from Jaclyn Hill by Becca Cosmetics, but it was only a limited time product! I linked a similar color blush by Becca!

Brows (Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz)
It is amazing what a difference a brow pencil or even just a tinted brow gel can make! I tend to use both of these products if I can help it because my brows are already pretty thick (thank you Greek heritage) but definitely need some evening out. I use my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz to fill in sparse areas and give a better brow shape. I set them with the tinted brow gel to hold everything in place.

Mascara (Maybelline Falsies)
If there is one step that you don’t want to skip, it so the mascara! In the summertime when I have a nice tan going I can sometimes get away with just curling my lashes and putting on some mascara and feeling good about it! I always curl my lashes first to give them some lift, and then apply two coats of mascara to the top lashes and one on the bottom. Don’t ignore the bottom lashes because they really help to open up the eye and make everything look more complete. Personally, I tend to have watery eyes (or let’s be real—just more prone to crying) so I always use a waterproof mascara. My current favorite that I always go back to is Maybelline Falsies waterproof mascara.

So that completes my go-to quick make-up look! I know it always seems like a time consuming process, but with practice, I can get this all done in around 10 minutes and be good to go! Also, if you tend to wear less make-up in general, just pick and choose from this list of products to use that best fits your own skin needs!

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What's in my Young Living Order?

Go-To Quick Make Up Routine

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