January Favorites ♡

It's the end of the first month of the new year. Have you guys kept your new year resolutions so far? As for me, I am still keeping mine but let's go down to what this post is all about - the products I've been loving the entire month of January (and pretty much December). So let's just get to it, shall we?

If we start off with the hair stuff, there is only one thing that I have been loving, not only for the month of January but through out last year actually, and it's this shampoo my mother got me when she went to the Philippines. 

The shampoo is called "Lan's salon - Moisturizing shampoo" for the daily care and maintenance of rebounded hair. Now I have tried a ton of different types of shampoos from all brands pretty much and my scalp is very dry and sensitive, so what most people would use, I would get dandruff. I have been struggling with dandruff since I was little, so of course I've been on the hunt for a shampoo that first of all wouldn't give me dandruff and guess what? I have found it! What Lan's Salon Shampoo claims to do is true! The first time I tried it I was hesitant since I have never heard of this brand before but since Tresseme, Head&Shoulders, Sunsilk and so on only gave me "headaches" I figured why not try it? And boy am I happy that my mom got it for me. Whenever I use the shampoo I feel an instant change in my hair, like it leaves my hair feeling softer and healthier. The scent reminds me of Head&Shoulders but I would choose this one over Head&Shoulders anytime. I can only say that I love love love it and will def buy it when I go back to the Philippines. 
- So if you do live in the Phils, do give this a try and tell me what you think. I'm sure you're going to love it as much as I do. I can only give this shampoo a thumps up! 

The BodyShop's hand cream shouldn't come as a surprise to you that it's in my favorites again since I always use it. I would say it's pretty much part of my beauty holy-grail. My hands are general very sensitive but when they get exposed to cold weather or just cold winds, they dry up quickly to the point that it bothers me, but since I've been using the Almond hand cream, my hands always feels softer and looks better. So since I bought it the first time in high school, I've always kept the hand cream in my bag. And I will tell you this, I have been using it a lot since the Danish Winter has arrived. So what I do now is apply it before I leave the house and then wear gloves/mittens and then apply it again when I enter the house.

And of course.. What is a Monthly favorite of mine without the famous EOS lipbalm? I am a loyal fan of the EOS lipbalms and got them in almost every scent you can get. I'm such a fan that I had my sister buy a ton of them for me from New York as my souvenir. Seriously, that was the only thing I wanted as a souvenir from NY, so you tell me if I'm a fan XD  

The two most "newest" favorites of mine are not really new, since I've tried these before and they are the face masks from the Bodyshop. You might not be able to tell, but I love the Bodyshop! I got the "Seaweed Iconic Clay Mask" and the "Honey & Oat 3-1 Scrub Mask" as an early Christmas gift from my Honey honey (bestie), and I have put them to good use through out December and January. 

The Seaweed Iconic Clay Mask is a mask that contains seaweed and natural clay that removes dirt from the pores and absorbs the exess oil that we humans tend to have. It also contains minerals that re-energize your skin. Though I will warn you not to use this clay mask every single day. I would only use it once in awhile when I feel like my skin needs a bit of extra looove - especially if I've had a busy and hectic week. Plus I have noticed that whenever I get a pimple and it then pops, it tends to leave like a dark "scar" but when I used the mask, right after I washed it off, the so called scar was gone! 

The Honey & Oat 3-in-1 Scrub Mask is a mask that has a triple effect on your skin. It gives you a nice and smooth skin while nourishes normal to dry skin since it has oats and Community Fair Trade honey, and because of the oats, you can use it as a face scrub that helps remove all the dead skin on your face. I would use this mask two to three times a week, depending on how my skin feels. 

So these were all my favorites of the month of January. I hope you enjoyed it and until next time - Ingat!


X❤️X❤️
Shandra.

Top 5 Fall/Winter Beauty Essentials

There are a few beauty essentials that every girl should have in her makeup bag for Fall and Winter, so thought I would share with you guys what I think the essentials should be.

So let's start of with the face: If you live in a Country where it gets really cold in Winter time, I would suggest that you should go get yourself a nice and thick face cream. The coldness and the wind can be very hash to the skin and since your face is what that is least covered up, then it needs some kind of protection from the Winter. A thick cream will help keep the face moisturized from the wind (since cold winds drys out your skin)

I am sadly a victim of getting really dry and sensitive skin in Winter time, so I'm always on the hunt for a nice cream. The one that has been my go-to cream for the past 2-3 years is the Bebe cream by Johnsons. They have a variety of creams that focus on something specific - so wether you have dry to sensitive skin or a combination, they got your back.  

Speaking of keeping something moisturized, I suggest you also have a good lip balm close to you at all times. Nobody wants dry and chaky lips and as the wind can dry out your skin, it can also dry out your lips. Don't even think about just licking around your lips, since it's only going to make it worse -So invest in a good lip balm! 

My favorite lip balm so far is the EOS lip balm. Don't think that I haven't tried other kinds, but I must say that the EOS lip balms has helped my lips the most. So I always carry one in my bag. Actually if you look around, you will see that I have a lip balm in the bathroom, one in my bedroom next to my bed and one in my bag. I would say it's one of my Holy Grails.  

The next thing as a beauty essential is having a nice dark lip colour. Every girl should at least have one dark lipstick for Fall/Winter. If you don't think that dark colours suits you, it is not true. It's just about finding the perfect shade depending on your skintone. If you feel like you don't have really white teeth and you can't really afford getting them bleached or something, then just go after a lipstick shade that has a blue undertone. That will help making your teeth look whiter. 

 

The next thing that you shouldn't neglect in Winter time is your hands. Always, always, always make sure to wear gloves or mittens when you go out! I have learned that the hard way. The Winter and cold winds can give you really dry hands and that can lead to drying the cuticles (the skin around your nails).

I don't know about you, but I always want nice looking hands so one thing I always carry around me wherever I go is my go-to hand cream from the Bodyshop. I have been using the Almond hand and nail cream since I was in College (since 2007). It is really moisturizing, it keeps your nails and skin soft, it's not sticky and it has a light scent of Almond. So if you want to try a new hand cream, why not try out the Almond hand cream from the Bodyshop - I swear by this stuff! ♡

The last thing has also got to do with the hand, or more specific something on the hands - yes, you got it, the nails! Every girl should at least have 5 types of nailpolishes in her collection, especially when we are nearing the Christmas season and the following colours are a nice navy blue colour, a shade of grey (also seen on my nails if you check out my instagram "withshandra), a dark red colour for the Christmas season and one in black for new years and of course also one with some glitters. 

Anyways I hope you enjoyed my Beauty Essentials and hopefully you've learned something new. So until next time - Ingat! 

X❤️X❤️
Shandra.