Winter Wonderland beauty

Its that time of the year when the Northern hemisphere gets a cold front and snow, ice, wind, cold rain is setting in. I live in a place where the coldest is 24 degrees Celsius - don't be jealous, I'm a snow bunny and like the colder temperatures rather than the hot humidity I'm engulfed in everyday. I combat this by blasting the AC so its always a cool 18 degrees Celsius.

While everyone else is planning a tropical getaway for the holiday season, I'm jetting off to the snow and will be skiing. With a little bit of tweaks in my beauty routine to deal with the drier, harsher, and frigid temperatures I should be able stave off dry flaky winter skin while on vacation.

Check out 3floz.com curated ski section!

A few things that caught my eye from the site:

1) Super goop mint infusion lip balm spf 30

Lip balms are rarely SPF 30 and UVA/UVB protection. My lips get terribly wind swept on the mountain so I always need to have lip balm on hand in my pocket.
















2) Malin + Goetz Eucalyptus Deodrant

I love all beauty care products that have Eucalyptus in them!



















3) EBoost Orange Natural Energy

Its hard to get all your vitamins in while on vacation and to remember to eat healthy so we stay healthy. I've written about this company before and they have this convenient sachets so just pop them into your backpack. This would be good for the air travel as well.














All opinions regarding these products are my own personal opinions alone. The pictures are taken from the companies websites which are linked to this blog. No companies or product endorsements here. 

Affordable Beauty Thrills

Every now and then I find a product that I love with the added bonus of an affordable price point. 

(All under $15) These are my faves.

1) Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo with Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus

Basically this shampoo combines my two favorite ingredients in Bath, Shower, Body products: 

Eucalyptus and Peppermint. 

This shampoo is a great everyday shampoo and doesn't weigh my fine, silky Asian hair down to a flat greasy mess. 

2) Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner with Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus

This is the conditioner version of the shampoo above. A great pairing. 

Basic conditioner to use every 2-3 days on the ends of your hair. 

I leave it in my hair while I soap before rinsing for extra moisturizing benefits. 

3) EOS lip balm

I've already mentioned this lip balm in this blog before. 

The shape of this cute little dome shaped balm is perfect for stowing in your bag and re-applying throughout the day is hygienic because you don't have to stick your finger in a pot. 

The yummy flavors are also an added bonus. 

4) NIVEA Sun Kissed Beautiful Legs

This gradual fake tan lotion is the best one for fair skinned folks like me. 

The gradual tan makes it look less orange-y and muddy brown looking. Its very slight. 

I'm always looking for ways to run inside in the comfort of AC when the temperatures rise and the sun is making the most UV damage but I don't really want to look pasty all year round. 

This lotion is not greasy or messy like some self-tanners out on the market. 

You can apply it in the a.m. while you are wearing your shorts, skirt, or dress. Just don't wipe your hands on your clothes!

Favorite lip balms

I love lip balms - always have since I was about 8 years old! I'm always trying out new ones. I'm not one of those women that constantly applies lip balm (but I love the tinted lip balms the best because it gives a hint of color, moisture, and sometimes a hint of gloss). I always choose lip balm over gloss b/c I don't really like the sticky feeling that some glosses have. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, get those lip soft enough for endless lovey-dovey kisses.

1) Fresh Sugar lip balm
I've talked about this one on this blog several times already. I love how soft and smooth this lip balm feels. The best part about this balm is that its not sticky, you don't have to stick your finger in it either. There isn't a gloss factor in the balm so men can also use this balm too.


2) EOS in Sweet Mint
LOVE this balm for the packaging, the texture, affordability, and convenience (get it at the drugstore!). The texture is smooth and great for those harsh cold winds! The packaging is super cute. I like the Sweet Mint flavor because the minty effect is nice and tingly yet not overpowering.















3) C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve
I have this in my professional kit and I apply this balm on my clients as part of the skincare routine right after moisturizing the face. This soft multi-purpose salve has a beautiful scent to it, a hint of gloss, and makes the lips super soft. If you have dried elbows, knees, fingers, this salve can help with the dry patches too! Cheaper than the Rosebud salve that everyone loves but works just the same (in my opinion better!) than the Rosebud salve. If you've tried the Rosebud Salve and don't like how glossy that balm is. Try this one. It isn't as glossy but still has a bit of gloss to it.

"Pour some sugar on me"

Fresh is one of those luxury cosmetic brands that you love but not the price. Yet, you keep going back for more because their products smell and feel great. I picked up a concealer and the sugar lip treatment the last time I went inside the Fresh store in Soho. The sugar lip treatment is awesome, especially for this time of the year when the temperature drops and the wind chill is biting. The lip treatment is not sticky and feels smooth when put on the lips. It comes in a cute lipstick tube but this shouldn't deter the guys from purchasing this lip balm. My boyfriend uses this and likes that it isn't glossy or shiney or has any hint of color. This is great to put underneath a beautiful gloss or lipstick as well. The taste is their signature sugar. The ingredients that Fresh use in their products are sugar, rice, soy, water, etc. basically all-natural ingredients. This particular lip balm doesn't use petroleum so it doesn't feel like putting on vaseline on your lips. Next time you find yourself in biting cold weather and your lips are super-dry, you're going to want this product.

Minted lip balm

I love this Rosebud salve Minted Rose lip balm. It comes in a fairly large tin, makes your lips tingle, multi-tasking in keeping cracked hands/heels/elbows moisturized. The balm also leaves just enough gloss with a little bit of rosy hue when piled on (really pretty). This product is only $7 and can be found at Sephora and Sephora.com online.
The only downside is that it doesn't last very long on the lips but it get absorbed into the lips and leaves lips nice and soft. It is not sticky either or leave any residue.
This product is perfect as a gift. I'm obsessive with this product and apply it whenever my hands are free and I'm waiting for the train/sitting on the train or on the way out the door. My boyfriend even uses this product because its not gender specific and doesn't leave shine like a gloss does.