Product Review: MB Drying Mask

Since this past weekend i seem have gone back to being a teenager with the WORST breakouts i've had in a long time, so last night, since i was home alone while G was at school... i decided to try this mask... (i know he's going to have to get used to seeing me look like a freak eventually, but i'm trying to ease him into it! LOL)

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Details from the Mario Badescu website:

Help clear acne eruptions. This Colloidal Sulfur based mask dries existing pimples and oil and helps clarify problematic, acne prone skin. Soothing Calamine makes this mask safe and gentle for most skin types. Great for back and chest acne eruptions as well. Best when used as a companion product to our Healing & Soothing Mask and Buffering Lotion.

How to Use: Apply a thin layer on clean skin avoiding eye area. Wait 20 minutes and rinse with tepid water. May be used 2-3 times a week all over face or on problem areas only including back and chest.  


My review:

My sample!

I think I look a bit scared in this pic!

Pros: The formula wasn't sticky at all and glided on smoothly and evenly. I was able to coat my face rather quickly without having to use that much product. It seemed to dry fast (less than 20 minutes - thank GOD, see Cons below) and washed off very easily. As this isn't a mask that's made to make your skin bright and glowing after, I didn't notice anything like that. However, it seemed to bring the blemishes to a head, thus speeding up the drying time.

Cons: 2 words: THE. SMELL. omg... people i could BARELY keep this on for the designated 20 minutes... the smell was SO bad...

The Verdict: B. A solid B - i didn't actually spend any money for this product, i have a friend that works for MB that gave me some samples for my birthday. So with that said, i'm glad i didn't spend the $18 for the jar... for now I'm sticking with my dermatologist recommended products - maybe you have to use this more than once to see actual real results so to speak.


Let me know what you think? What are your favorite masks?

Hurricane Irene = Fattest Weekend EVER

Hello Loves! I'm back after a weekend of wind, rain and EATING! Yup, that's right... i feel like this today.

heffer.

G and I spent the weekend watching movies, playing games, eating and eating and eating... hmmm, isn't someone trying to fit into a WEDDING DRESS in 3 weeks??? yeah, that's what i thought. so glad i have a fitting on wed night... (do you sense the sarcasm in my voice?)

Anyway... we watched a couple movies...

 Both definitely good movies, though G fell asleep during Hall Pass (after mocking me because he thought I would fall asleep first!) And I love love loved Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel in Life as we Know it.... sooooo good together... (albeit a bit predictable).

We played this:

and then i kicked some butt in THIS! (yay, go me... i win everytime though! muah hahahaha!)

Overall we were pretty lucky... we didn't lose power once... we didn't have terrible flooding or anything breaking off the condo... it almost seemed like just a really bad rain storm. Other places in Jersey, NY and the rest of the Northeast weren't as lucky... So my thoughts are with all those people still without power...

Work was closed today since all the roads to work were flooded... I'm almost hoping the same is true tomorrow... gotta call the "emergency" work line in the morning to find out!


What did you do this weekend?

The Muppets Invade OPI!

oh. em. gee.

have you seen this?!

they are the new MUPPETS Collection from OPI debuting in November!

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i'm loving SO many of these colors! i want them RIGHT NOW! the sparkles, the deep berry colors... FUN FUN FUN!

the muppets used to be one of my favorite shows when i was a youngin'... it was muppets, then bed time... i was also a fan of the cartoon the muppet BABIES... do any of you remember watching this?

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What colors do you love? Were you a fan of the muppets?

I got the moves like Jagger...

Tomorrow i get to go see these guys (Maroon 5)!

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who are in concert with these guys (Train)...

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How excited am I! Should be a great song... and i hope to hear this song...

Yup, i was driving into work, car dancing my little ass off to this song...
well as much as i could with a seat belt on... LOL

I hope that Hurricane Irene holds out and doesn't

rain on my parade!

Though we DO have actual seats (vs lawn seating)

so at least we'll be nice and covered if it does rain...

Hope you all are having a great Thursday, 

what's on your playlist this morning?

What WAS that???

So, not sure if y'all heard... we had an earthquake on the east coast yesterday... or as i called it, a "quick shake".... which reminds me of this...

see, it wasn't an earthquake, it was ALL those (nonexistent) boys showing up in ma yardz!
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Anywho, I have a sinking feeling that a lot of West Coasters are laughing at us right now. I read this in the news today about my county:

Monmouth 911 center asks people not to call about earthquake

FREEHOLD — No emergencies have been reported in Monmouth County following the reported earthquake in Virginia that sent a shock up the Northeast. 

The county’s dispatch center is fully operational but the Sheriff’s Office is asking that people use the line for emergencies only.

“Everybody’s calling 911 saying, ‘What happened? What happened?’” said Cynthia Scott, the office’s spokeswoman. “We just want to make sure that we get to all the emergencies.”

OK, people.... UM REALLY??? I'll admit... it was a leetle itty bitty scary for about 30 seconds... BUT, once it stopped... life returned to normal... i mean, imagine if it had been like this:

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or this:

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Anyway, don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that everyone I know is OK... I just thought we over reacted JUST A BIT! :)

Happy Hump Day! Today is my brother's bday so i'm off to dinner at the rents house to celebrate! Maybe i'll actually try to take some pics! He is young, single and available ladies!

You Fascinate Me...

So for my wedding day, I've decided on hair up... and using a fascinator... i know what you're thinking...

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And i PROMISE it won't be obnoxious like that... more so along the lines of this...

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Does that girl look familiar to you? Ohhhh, right, you can't see her face... its THIS pretty girl right here!

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After reading Kristen's post here, i totally fell in love with the idea of a fascinator... though i plan on wearing my hair in a low up do - think a simple bun rather than down. Here are some of the fascinators i found that i think might work.

(All images via Etsy)

I think all these fascinators are soooo gorgey... i don't know which to even choose! 

Here's my hair inspiration found via Pinterest.

Being that the wedding is about a month away i guess i need to make a choice soon! Sooooo, you tell me, which ones do you like/not like?

Oh how Pinteresting! DIY edition...

 Linking up with The Vintage Apple again since i was finally able to have a few minutes to pin some neat things! Been way too busy at work and at home to have time for this (i know... the travesty...)

Anyway, here we go!
Love the idea of these fun swirls to give this pumpkin an artsy look!

Or how about this one, with designs using black tacks!

This looks like a fun piece of art, wondering if G would go for it... god knows i have TONS of extra buttons... this would put them to great use!

This is a great idea for mini Neosporins for the purse...

Floating candles in mason jars... pretty... may be a nice idea for our wedding table.

Adorable ruffled t-shirt... i'd love to try, but afraid it would turn out NOT looking like that by any means!

What are you loving on Pinterest lately?
All images via Pinterest.

PS.... dress fitting TONIGHT! woot woot!

Aged to Perfection...

Today is my dad's 70th birthday... we had a surprise party for him this past Saturday and it was great! He was super surprised and so happy to see everyone. Aside from it being a big number birthday, it was even more special to celebrate it because of what a challenging life my father has lived.

You see, when my dad was 17 years old, he was injured in a high school football game. Back then, they didn't know what they know now about the dangers of football. His neck was broken and his spinal cord severed. He never walked again and has had to deal with the challenges of being a quadraplegic (paralyzed from mid-chest down).

However, he went on to graduate high school, then college and then 3 other colleges to eventually get his doctorate of education in psychology. Today he is retired, but has a successful private practice and still sees clients. He has shown me that despite every negative challenge life had thrown at him, he was still able to build a successful career, meet a wonderful woman (my mother) and have a family (via adoption, my brother and i).

Family portrait time! i was about 7 here... wasn't my brother a cutie?

Being in a wheelchair with no use of his lower body, and limited use of his arms has been full of health risks... unrelated to this, he was diagnosed with colon cancer several years ago and was able to successfully beat that as well. But through it all, he has kept THE MOST positive attitude of anyone i have ever met. He has perservered where a lot of people would have given up, and he's shown me that despite his body being broken, his mind and heart are strong and steady.

Dad with little sister (left), his father (behind) and his brother (right)

In short, my father is my hero... without him i wouldn't have had the nice comfy life i had... he's provided our family with everything - a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a plethora of love, knowledge and understanding.

So, happy birthday to my dad, he is truly aged to perfection!

Taking a Breather!

Whewwwww! Ladies... it has been WAY too long since i got a chance to sit down and do a "proper" post... so here's the update on life for the past few days...

Wedding Planning - Haven't really done much... met with our "pastor" (did i mention we're Presbyterian now? LOL jk...) and he seemed like a nice guy. He gave us these fun questionnaires to fill out separately and then we bring them back to talk to him about them. We also got the stuff to design our ceremony. I have my walk in song (thanks to PinkLouLou) and am narrowing down a walk OUT song... and then i have to throw in some music in the middle. Got my dress... and its AMAZING. love everything about it and am super super excited to go for my second fitting in a few weeks. Can you believe i haven't taken any pictures of it??? However, here are some of the dresses i didn't choose...

Yes, i am making a stank face... LOL

Thought this dress was gorgey, not sure why i continued with the sourpuss face...

 i absolutely loved this one, it was super pretty and a front runner for a while.

SO, yes, i did find my dress eventually... and you will see pictures... eventually!

Moving - I'm happy to report that all my furniture is out of the townhouse and either SOLD or moved into G's condo... i must honestly pat myself on the back for being such an awesome Craigslist sales girl. I sold my dining room set, couch, end tables and TV stand all in one week. I still have to sell 2 desks, some cabinets and a few other odds and ends.

SOLD!

SOLD!

and... SOLD! 

Other than that, i do still have a LOT of packing to do... but at least i have the next two weeks to really sort thru and get things in order... so much stuff. and i swear i try not to be a hoarder... G is VERY happy that the 55" flat screen is finally in his possession and parked on the bedroom dresser. He is watching True Blood as we speak and i swear the vampires are going to come out of the TV and eat him... LOL.

Work - i think i finally got a chance to catch up at work... well maybe not catch up, but at least i met all deadlines on the projects i had last week. I have 2 big projects on tap for this week and then hopefully i am taking Friday off to get things ready for my dad's party. In the meantime, i've gotten a ton of freelance design work for a company that sells Trollbeads... i totally appreciate all the work and would never turn it down because the extra money is great... but its been so hectic with everything ELSE going on that its a challenge trying to juggle it. However, i was able to take a nice little shopping trip to F21 to get some cute things so like i said, not complaining!

Anyway, hopefully this week i'll have a little breathing room so i can get my dad's birthday stuff wrapped up and design the wedding invites! Hope you all had a good weekend!