Let me just admit that back in the day I was a sun worshiper! I shudder just to think about the damage I did to my skin in my early twenties. But I’ve since wizened up and started using sunscreen on a daily basis. When I did decide that I was going to protect my skin every day it was SO hard to find a sunblock that I like.

I’m demanding when it comes to my sunscreen. I live in Chile. There’s a hole in the ozone layer right above us here making the sun ridiculously strong. Therefore my sunscreen needed to be at least SPF 30. It couldn’t be greasy since I’d be wearing it every day, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t smell like a coconut either since I don’t think it’s too professional going in to work smelling like the beach. I searched and searched until I finally found the perfect sunscreen: Neutrogena Age Shield Sunblock.

I am OBSESSED with this product. I wear it every day. It’s SPF 45 so it protects my skin, but the formula is light enough that is absorbs easily and doesn’t make me look shiny and greasy or clog my pores. The Age Shield is a special formula that shields skin “6 layers deep,” and protects from both UVA and UVB rays so I feel like I really have found the best protection that I can possibly get.

Everyone should be wearing some kind of sun protection on a daily basis. If you’re looking for a good one, I can’t recommend Neutrogena Age Shield Sunblock enough!

Cost: $17.15 for a two pack.

Click to purchase Neutrogena Age Shield Sunblock with Helioplex, SPF 45, 4-Ounce Tubes (Pack of 2).

Okay so here’s the deal, most of us WANT to look amazing and have flawless skin, but we don’t have the high dollar budget to do so. Don’t worry because I found an amazing moisturizer and it’s about $17.50 and trust me this 2.0 oz jar will last you awhile.

For me my biggest concern during the winter is keeping my face moisturized without that yucky greasy feeling. So I searched long and hard and spent way too much money on a slew of different things until someone said, “Hey try Kiehl’s“. So try I did and boy did I like it. Let me break it down with a nice simple Pro’s and Con’s list…

Pro’s:

1. It’s super affordable and the bestest part is when you buy it they give you three free samples of whatever your little heart desires. YEAH, free stuff!

2. You don’t have to use a lot therefor it last much longer.

3. It works. Hands down this is a really great formula that moisturizes.

4. No scent! Yeah you heard me, no icky, yucky, chemically scent.

Con’s:

1. No SPF. So you will have to either A. Get an SPF, or B. Use a daytime moisturizer and only use it at night, or when you need something stronger. (I also consider this a pro though because you can use it in the daytime and night. All you have to do is get a separate spf.)

2. When you first put it on it can feel a little greasy, but the feeling goes away in a minute. There’s a little trick I do which is warm it in my hands before putting it on and you have a virtually feel great product.

3. No scent. Yes I know I listed under Pro, but some of you might like a scented moisturizer.

So to end this little love fest, if you want an affordable product that works and you DON’T have super oily skin then try KIEHL’S “Panthenol Protein Moisturizing Face Cream”.

I uploaded the ingredients list and you can click on the below thumbnail to check out what’s in it.

Cost: $17.50 for 2.0 fl. oz. jar. $25.50 for 4.0 fl. oz.

Click here to purchase Kiehls - Panthenol Protein Moisturizing Face Cream.

UPDATE: Vera uses this moisturizer too.

I have a confession. I, Virenda, am a Lip Gloss a-holic and have been known to spend way too much money on way too many lip glosses. You know when people do those polls and ask you what you have in your purse and people talk about the clothes they carry and young children? I talk about the 15 lip glosses I have and how you never know which color you need. Sure most of my lip glosses are varying shades of pinks and um...pinks, but whatever. No one’s perfect.

My point being I love lip gloss and I’m deathly afraid of lipstick. I don’t know why so don’t ask. Or ask, but don’t expect a logical answer. My obsession has brought me great knowledge oh young one. I know which gloss is the right gloss and which is too sticky, too gooey, or wears off to quickly. That is why when I found Lancome’s “Color Fever Gloss” I fell IN LOVE. Here’s how it happened:

I was with my friend and her child, along with my three kids and we were in Nordstroms’ to find my friend a gloss at the Lancome counter (she lost hers). Now normally I stick to drugstore glosses, because I enjoy the late night browsing and of course the cost. But there was this lip gloss calling to me. CALLING. TO. ME. And really who am I not to answer the call of lip gloss? I mean stronger woman have failed. So I mosey on over and pick it up and try it on.

OH MY GOD! It’s perfect. The color actually brings out the color of my eyes. Plus, when I blot it off the color is still perfect. No gross gooey feeling, just a smooth application and then nothing. I’ve had this gloss for about 2 months and let me tell you it only gets better. After I apply it I rarely re-apply and no matter the moment it always looks good. Even after I’ve had my coffee and some of the shine has diminished, the color is still fantastic.

FYI, I’m a brunette with fair skin and hazel eyes. I choose the “Noise Maker” color. Please don’t let the dark color fool you it actually goes on as a more purply pink.

Cost:$23.00.

Click here to purchase Lancome’s Fever Gloss.

I was reading your post about the beauty products and I have one that I would like to share with you. I’m not too sure if you use the Clinique Three Step Skin Care System. I started using it this past September and I don’t know how I ever used anything else before! When I was 19 years old all of a sudden my perfect skin turned into a nightmare! I had acne everywhere. It was from the top of my forehead to the tip of my chin. The acne was from ear to ear. I didn’t know what was going on because I had perfect skin up to then.

Five years later most of my acne had gone away but I still had some pretty bad breakouts. The acne had left my cheeks marked under the skin. From putting too much makeup on I had terrible pores. I had tried everything under the sun to make my skin better but nothing worked. I was embarrased to be seen without makeup. One day I ran into a friend and her skin had cleared up and looked amazing! She too previously had not the greatest skin and really big pores. She recommended that I try the Three Step System.

Within a few weeks my skin looked amazing. It was even, my pores were shrinking, and I was confident in myself. I had never realized how much my bad skin effected my confidence! Fast forward to six months later…I have not had a breakout since I started using the Three Step System and I have the confidence that I have never had. My skin is clear and almost free of the acne marks under my skin. I would recommend this product to everyone out there even if they have perfect skin. You never know when your skin will break out. — Erica M.

Cost: $48.50 for the set

Click here to purchase Clinique’s Three Step Skin Care System

I’ve tried them all. And I mean all. The expensive kind. The ones you get at the drugstore. The samples you get when you purchase something from a department store counter. And I always go back to the first make up remover I ever used. I was 14 or so and my (then) stepmother let me play around with her Clinique bag. That is when the relationship began and to this day, it’s the only remover I use.

Honestly, I don’t know why I felt the need to shop elsewhere considering there is absolutely nothing wrong with Take the Day off Makeup Remover by Clinique. Perhaps I felt the need to jump on some trendy wagon just so I could say I was using product X. But product X doesn’t do what Clinique’s remover does. So I’m sticking to it and darn proud of it.

Totally tugless, two-way formula speeds the departure of hard-to-remove eye and lip makeups. Even waterproof mascara. Safe for contact lens wearers.

Cost: $28.33

Click here to purchase Clinique Cleanser Take The Day Off Make Up Remover