Winter Night Time Routine

Hey Hey,

Anyone else completely off from the time change. Not only are my girls INSANE lately, but Ami is also a little sick and a hot mess 75% off the time. AKA sucking the life out of me.

But I just keep giving myself grace, like I'll eventually get to the blog, and work and shoot I'll sign those contracts later. To only knock out as soon as I hit the pillow with my computer propped on my bed... lol One day I'll feel rested, right?

It just all goes by so fast from Halloween till the New Year and these days of less sunlight and cold weather that keeps us inside a lot more means lots of change. One big change that I can actually solve is my skin, dry dry dry. My blehhhh mood isn't as easy... lol

Well there are a few tried and true things I do. The skin is your largest organ and well it needs to remain hydrated in order to look and feel it's best, right? So for me it's making sure I keep up with my water intake and sometimes it means hot lemon water in my yeti instead of cold. Just easier when my bones can't kick the cold. And then there is a change in my skincare routine. Below are the products I have used for the last few weeks (and loved last Fall & Winter too!).

Cleansing Balm - This little multitasking gem is your go to during these cold dry months. I cleanse with it before the Nourishing Cream Exfoliator.

Then I double cleanse with the Nourishing Cream Exfoliator. It's super gentle but cleanses so well.

Rosewater Mist Spray gives my skin a little post cleanse life. It also a great makeup setter and my favorite way to refresh my face on travel days, before bed and especially after I cleanse.

Overnight Resurfacing Peel - this stuff is magic, I use it almost every night. Just wakes my skin up, takes away the gunk and allows my skin to look glowing and rested in the AM.

Rejuvenating Eye Cream - I need all the 'bags under my eyes' help I can get.

I seal all the magic in with the cleansing balm ( on nights I don't do the resurfacing mask I put the cleansing balm on as overnight mask). This is my moisturizing magic. Because the honest truth about having your skin look younger or more rested will always be get it moisturized. With H2O and all the skin moisture you can find. I make sure to skip around my eyes, and load up on it on my lips and hairline (where my psoriasis will flare up).

Balancing #3 Oil is my key to keeping my psoriasis. I massage it into my hairline, eye brows, and pat the rest on my face. LOVE this little oil. This trio is a great travel set or to simply try out all three oils.

It may seem a little time consuming but I swear to you that it's not, and the few minutes are SOOOOOO worth it. I also try and add more dark greens to my diet and even considering some vitamin D to my routine.. Anyone else take some supplements during winter months, send some recs my way, please!

xoxo

Natalie

#beautycounter #skincare #wellness #beauty #winterandfall

Hey Mama, Take Care of You

Hey mamas,

New week is here and I am determined to turn this mood around!

Let's talk about self care. Because I feel like this is how you can turn things around.

Life has been really hard this last year, first with my little Ami's hip issues, the worry of the unknown, the constant crying and cluster feeding to most recently some health issues and finally a diagnosis for our Ami (I promise to talk about this soon) reminded us that we need to really be present in today. In these moments. We need to live, feel, taste, enjoy, sit, snuggle, kiss, hold, rock and really just be. Which is insanely possible for me.

Another thing the last few months have taught me is the importance to check in with myself. As a mama, we give, give, give, give and even when it feels like nothing is left in the tank we give some more. It is f'ing worth it. It is. But I have learned that if you don't fill that tank regularly you will burn out. And there will be nothing to give. All that is left is half assness, frustration over silly things and tears. So many tears.

So here I am telling you, take the time to meditate (this podcast was recommended and I love it), get that massage, take your morning walks, or get up before the crew and enjoy one hot cup of coffee alone which is my favorite. Write in your journal. Call your bestie. Cry. Take that stroll around Target and buy a few things you don't need.

Whatever filling your tank may be, make time for it and do it regularly. A couple weeks ago, out of the blue my mama friends and I had a spontaneous drink date. A couple hours of chatting about our girls! lol We really tried to stray away from talking about our babies but it kept coming back to the little humans that brought us together. I walked away with a pep in my step. A much needed moment of me time. No one asking for water, catching sippy cups, cutting food or to be picked up, no one nursing and for a little bit I was just me and my gf's sitting at a restaurant on a Thursday night (and seriously wondering how the heck so many people were out!) .

Another way I make sure I get a break daily Is that I have Zoe take her quiet time in her room now, while Ami takes her second nap. This allows me to work on this little blog, work on my growing Beautycounter gig and sometimes to simply sip that Diet Coke in quiet. I also take this time to start dinner, alone and a podcast or my book on tape.

I also make sure I talk things out, the hubby is great for this but my mom, sister and besties are also ones I lean on when I need to just say everything I am feeling out loud without being judged. I feel like I have someone for different things. Whatever it is I am saying or saying to, having a sounding board is key.

I love buying flowers, the hubby has taken over the grocery detail during these winter months and he always brings home whatever is on sale and spreading them through out the house just makes me happy. Especially during these gloomy winter days. I do need to get myself into a flower arranging class!

Diffusing oils. Citrus fresh, lemon, lime, grapefruit, ylang ylang, gentle baby, stress away and lavender. All some of my favorite things to do diffuse. I have become a hoarder of diffusers and my collection/obsession of oils has really helped with my self care. One of my favorite things is turning on my diffuser in my bedroom before the girls bedtime routine, and then after they are down my room becomes my little sanctuary.

Skin Care Routine. This is how I know I am getting old... lol but taking the time to take care of my skin, put on a face mask, sip my wine, slather my face with oils and my favorite over night mask is EVERYTHING. Not only am I investing in my body but it's probably my favorite part of the evening.

I'd love to hear what you do for self care, comment below or comment on my last IG post! Cheers to doing this whole mama thing together, because there is NO WAY we could do this alone.

xoxo

Natalie

#beautycounter #skincare #safeskincare #saferskincare

6 Biggest Product Culprits to Swap Now

Hey hey my loves.

Happy Sunday!! Sneaking in a quick post with a little deal (at the end of the post!)

For those of you that have been around for a while you know how my journey to nontoxic started with my pregnancy, baby products and home products. But most recently (last couple years) I've started the journey of swapping out my beauty and skincare products. Finding Beautycounter a year ago was a complete surprise, finally skincare and makeup that was both non-toxic and worked so well with my skin! And I can't even rave enough about the makeup. But I will be honest that swapping out all of my products was super daunting for me.

I started off with familiarizing myself with ingredients, the ratings of the products I used daily and how my body absorbed these toxic ingredients right into my blood stream made it a priority. Especially while pregnant, nursing and snuggling sweet babies.

In comes the clean swap program that Beautycounter is running, which makes it so easy to start! Knowing the 6 biggest culprits is an easy way to start. So go, look up your shampoo, eye cream, face mask, mascara, body lotion and lipstick on this site, and start that journey. Need help choosing products, colors or want me to look them up for you? Email me!!

You get 1 deluxe sample (my Favorites are the #3 balancing face mask, #1 brightening oil and the lipstick in Twig!) for each that you replace from the 6, FOR FREE!

Below I have listed a little explanation of the ingredients you want to watch out for in these 6 products and why. Because knowing what makes the products toxic is what really helped me make going non-toxic a priority.

And for those of you that make a purchase of $150 or more by the end of February, will receive a sheer lipstick from me, as a welcome to this wellness journey!

I am looking forward to helping each one of you make the swap to safer and cleaner.

Xoxo

Natalie

---

Glosssary of Toxic Ingredients

1. Carbon black is a dark black powder used as a pigment in cosmetics such as eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. It is produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-based products such as coal tar, petroleum and has been linked to increased incidence of cancer and negative effects on organs.

2. Artificial fragrances include benzene derivatives (carcinogenic), aldehydes, toluene and many other known toxic chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions.

3. Sulfates. Products with a high concentration of them have been linked to cell damage and excess stripping away of natural oils and hair proteins. Neither a good thing for healthy body or hair.

4. Mineral Oil. Certain components of mineral oil (which is in many cosmetics) are toxic, and any that does get into the system does not metabolize." (this article was eye opening.)

5. Use in Cosmetics. PEGs (polyethylene glycols) are petroleum-based compounds that are widely used in cosmetics as thickeners, solvents, softeners, and moisture-carriers. PEGs are commonly used as cosmetic cream bases. It functions as an enhancer and can allow harmful ingredients to be absorbed more readily through the skin.

6. A formaldehyde releaser is a chemical compound that slowly releases formaldehyde. It's used as a preservative in products and linked to cancer.

#beautycounter #beauty #nontoxicmakeup #nontoxicskincare #nontoxic #skincare