Reader’s Choice Beauty Awards: Part 1

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Okay you guys, I know this was a long awaited post…and as I was going through ALL of your amazing beauty recommendations…SKINCARE was the #1 type of recommendation you sent in! So Part 1 is going to focus mostly on skincare! And I will save a majority of the rest for Part 2.

I have to admit, I am a complete minimalist when it comes to skincare. I really don’t use much of anything except a moisturizer. So this was a true learning experience for me to see ALL the the many amazing products you all use on the daily…and I am going to have to check a few of them out for SURE.

I had asked for some natural recommendations since eventually I am leaning that direction of switching over some products. That being said…there are still some products that aren’t “natural” that I use and love and I am open to learning about ALL products right now, so I have recommendations on all fronts listed here. I have linked them all for your convenience, especially during this holiday season since you may find something for yourself or as a gift for someone else! Please let me know if you have specific questions about anything!

Without further ado…here are your FAVORITE SKINCARE products!!!

 

Moisturizing Oils:

Cocokind Chia Seed Oil (face)

Cocokind Chia Seed Oil

 

Maya Chia Face Oil

Maya Chia

 

Almond oil (whole body) – no brand specified, but found this one at Target

Almond Oil

Marula Oil (evening) – no brand specified, but found this one at Sephora

Marula Oil

Young Living Rose Ointment

YL Rose Ointment

Doterra Geranium Essential Oil

Doterra Geranium Oil

 

Moisturizing Creams:

 

Belief True Cream Moisturizing Bomb (day)

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Natura Culina Skincare Set – this is actually a full set, not just a moisturizer, but wasn’t sure where to place it

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Young Living Sandalwood Moisturizing Cream

YL Sandalwood

Beautycounter Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion

Beautycounter Adaptive Moisture

Beautycounter Brightening Face Oil

Beautycounter Brightening Face Oil

Doterra Immortelle

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Murad Day Cream (with SPF 30)

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Olay Age Defying

Olay

 

 

Astringent/Toner: 

-Witch Hazel – no brand specified, but I found this one at Target

Thayer's Witch Hazel

Heart Grown Wild

Heart Grown Wild Toner

 

Exfoliator/Scrubs:

Sunday Riley Good Genes Acid Exfoliator

Sunday Riley Good Genes

Beautycounter Exfoliating Facial Scrub

Beautycounter Exfoliator

Homemade Pink Himalayan Salt, coconut oil, essential oils for body – here is a good recipe

Himalayan-Salt-Scrub-Recipe

 

Cleansers:

Philosophy Purity along with a Clarisonic

Philosophy Purity

Beautycounter Cleansing Balm

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Beautycounter Charcoal Cleansing Bar

Beautycounter Charcoal Cleansing Bar

Marie Veronique Replenishing Oil Cleanser

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Serums:

Sunday Riley C.E.O

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Young Living Rejuvenating Serum

Young Living ART Renewal Serum.jpg

Drunk Elephant C Firma

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Heart Grown Wild

Heart Grown Wild Serum.jpeg

Aster + Bay Purify Serum

Aster and Bay

Agent Nateur Youth Serum

Agent Nateur Youth Serum

 

Mists:

Beautycounter Rosewater Mist

Beautycounter Rosewater Mist.png

 

SPF:

Josie Maran

Josie Maran SPF

 

Face Masks:

Manuka Honey

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Natura Culina Rose Berry

Natura Culina Rose Berry Face Mask.jpg

Beautycounter Charcoal Mask

Beautycounter Charcoal Face Mask.jpg

 

Makeup Remover:

Coconut Oil – How to remove your makeup with coconut oil

Aveeno Wipes

Aveeno Cleaning Wipes.jpg

 

Hands/Body:

Dr. Bronners (both bar and bottle)

Dr Bronners Bar Soap.jpg

Dr Bronner Bottle

 

J.R. Watkins Coconut Milk & Honey Hand Cream

JR Watkins Hand Cream

Trader Joe’s Hand Cream

Trader Joe's Hand Cream.jpg

 

Lotions:

Homemade beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil combo – Instructions for how to make this

Nourish Organic Lotion

Nourish Organic

 

Eye Creams:

Cocokind MyMatcha Stick – under eye puffiness (also great as a chapstick) – not really a cream

Cocokind MyMatcha Stick

100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Cream

100 Percent Pure Coffee Bean Eye Cream.jpg

Young Living Wolfberry Eye Cream

YL Wolfberry Eye Cream

 

Deodorant:

Primal Pit Paste Stick

Primal Pit Paste Stick

Nivea Pure Invisible

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Spruce Tips Apothecary Orange Cardamom

SpruceTipsApothecary

Native Deodorant

Native Deodorant


WHEW!!!!!!! WOW, you guys….I am completely BLOWN AWAY!!!! Thank you SO much for all of your beauty recommendations for Skincare (and a few other things). I will absolutely be trying many of these out, and I hope you are able to do the same!

If you agree with something on this list, I want to hear it!!!

If you believe something needs to be added to this list…I want to know!!!

And lastly…as I work on Part 2, I’m still taking recommendations for:

Concealers

Eye Shadows/Liners

Mascara

Blush

Lipstick

Foundation

Gloss

Nail Polish

Hair Products

Thanks again for all the amazings recs, and I hope you guys are having a fantastic week!!

My Christmas Cards are finished, so now I am busy over here thinking about Christmas shopping and about our new ab + booty focused workout program that is pre-launching SO soon! (December 14th). Getting excited. I just love this time of year!

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season too!

XO,

Gina

Sunrise on Branch Lake

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It’s 4:13am and I am awoken in the middle of the night due to pregnancy and my inability to control my bladder from the urgency to relieve itself these days.  So, I hop out of bed to make my way downstairs to the restroom in the lake house, when I look out the bedroom window.  Holy sky.  This is amazing.  We had thought about waking up early to watch the sunrise, and had set our alarms for 4:55am since the sun was supposed to come up at 5:00am, but we weren’t really sure if we would be able to force ourselves out of bed at that hour.  After waking up and taking care of business, I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots across the lake and into the colorful sky.  It was eerily quiet, peaceful and serene.  Just me and the lake and the brightly colored sky.  I wrestled with the idea of whether or not to wake the rest of the gang this early, and ultimately decided that they needed to see what I was seeing at that moment.  It would just be too selfish to exclude them from this view, and by 4:55am, they may have missed all of this.  So I woke up Zack and our friends, Erin and Rai.  They weren’t too pleased at first, grumbling and groaning, but when I showed them a photo I had taken of the sky, they knew they too needed to jump up before they missed this magical moment.  Zack and Erin got so excited in fact, that they broke out the kayaks and enjoyed the sunrise from atop the water.  Rai and I stayed behind taking in the moment from the lake house dock and capturing photos.  I know photos can’t really do justice, but my memories and these photos are all I’ve got.  Hope you enjoy.

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If you were still unsure about whether or not you should visit Maine, then these photos probably did the trick.  We were lucky enough to wake up to this view every morning, even though it might have been a bit earlier than we were used to!

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday.  I am looking forward to a little girl’s night.  My friend Jess is moving to New Jersey at the end of the month, so this will be the last one she hosts in her NYC apartment.  I then have to go home to pack for our trip to Maryland this weekend for both my friend Teri’s bridal shower and my baby shower for the Little Monkey.  We are trying to get the guest bedroom cleared out, and after this weekend it’s go time on that nursery!

XOXO,

Gina

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