Soapopolous

Avon Solutions Total Radiance Day Lotion

I still can’t believe I have more products to review from my Avon haul from a few months back! Anyways here is a day lotion review.

Advantages:

• Cheap.
  It is regularly $16 but since Avon regularly has sales this was $7.99 when I purchased it.
• Light, and oil-free.
  I like that it’s not a heavy product that just sits on top of my skin. It really does absorb quickly.
• SPF 15.
  Perfect since I’m indoors most of the time.
• Great for those with oily skin types.
• Travel friendly.
  This product uses a pump to dispense itself, but the great thing about it is when you turn it, it locks so you don’t have to worry about it getting all over your clothes when it’s hanging out in your suitcase!

Disadvantages:

• Lightweight.
  Although there’s SPF 15 with this product I prefer a heavier dosage. I would have to worry about reapplying especially if I was outdoors for most of the day. I also found it to be a little too light in terms of moisturizing my skin since I do have drier/dehydrated skin most of the time, but this would be perfect if you have combination or oily skin type.

Last words: Overall I wasn’t amazed by this product, but it’s still good enough that I would reuse it and recommend it. It might not be perfect for me but it could be for you!

Skincare 101

Photo credit: Allure magazine

Regardless of your age or gender I think we can all agree that having healthy skin is desirable. Having a good skincare routine now will be beneficial in the future especially if you are in your 20s. Forget puberty! I noticed a lot more changes in my skin once I hit 20. You might start seeing small wrinkles, new freckles, more breakouts, etc. Well here are the essentials of skincare:

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Beach & Pool Party Essentials

Now that summer is approaching (where I live but maybe it’s hotter for you at the moment) I’ve combined a list of essential items that everyone should have in your beach bag and some tips for your makeup!

What to keep in your bag:

• Sunblock/sunscreen SPF 30+
  I would never recommend someone going without sunblock or sunscreen in their bag. First off sunburns hurt like a mother, second no one wants to look like a lobster after a day of fun, and third no one wants wrinkles. Reapply your sunscreen throughout the day or live with the consequences!
• Small plastic bag
  I like to use old shopping bags to keep my bathing suit in after. That way sand isn’t all over your bag at the end of the day and it’s dry!
• Extra hair ties
  I guess this only applies if you have long hair, but inevitably someone always forgets to bring a hair tie, so why not help them out and carry some extra ones? Plus sometimes they break!
• Sunglasses
  Squinting in your photos, not cute.
• Beach towel
  Sometimes hotels run out of towels for you to use, so it’s a good idea to bring your own. Plus you can use the extra ones as a pillow or to reserve chairs.

How to do your makeup:

• Sunblock/sunscreen
  I did not reapply when I went to Las Vegas last year and my face burned the first day we were there. Not fun!
• Skip the eyeshadow
  Your eyes will most likely be covered up by sunglasses so you don’t need to contour or have smokey eyes.
• Powder options are the best options
  Although cream blushes/eyeshadows/concealers/whatever give a more natural look you don’t want to wear it when it is humid because you will sweat off your makeup, so choose powder blushes, powder over your foundation or concealer, powder over your eyeliner, etc.
• Lip balm with SPF
  I have thankfully never experienced sunburned lips, but I definitely don’t want to try. Take a pass on the lip gloss.
• Waterproof mascara
  Even if you do not plan on going in the water someone might think it will be funny to throw you into the pool, or you could be by the pool and people start doing cannonballs. Better safe than raccoon eyes!

Now when planning out your makeup you have to decide if you are going to be lounging around the pool/on the beach or are you actually submerging your head underwater?

Option A: Lounging
Since you won’t be underwater you can be a bit more liberal with your makeup since you know it won’t washing off in the water. If you really want you can wear eyeshadow and contour your face if you’re going to lounge around the pool.

Option B: Swimming
Waterproof EVERYTHING! A good way to test out your makeup is to put some on your hand and submerge it under some water. If it smudges then you know it is no good, but personally if I was swimming I would not bother with applying any  makeup since you’ll be wearing sunglasses anyways and no one wants to fret over their makeup.

Winter Survival Guide

I don’t know how cold it gets for you during winter but where I live it gets flippin’ cold! Anyways here are some of the few things I do to survive the cold weather without being completely miserable.

• Sunblock/Sunscreen
  I’ll say it over and over again. You need it. Sometimes in winter it can be worse when the sun is reflecting off of ice and snow so wear it because a sunburn is never cute.
• Thicker moisturizer
  My skin gets quite dry with all the indoor heating, wind and dry weather so using a thicker moisturizer at night really helps. 
• Baby oil
  If you take a lot of hot showers during winter then use baby oil after. It’ll help seal in the moisture left. If not cut down the time you spend in hot water.
• Hand lotion
  I tend to carry around a small bottle of hand lotion in my bag and not only can you moisturize your hands but you can also use it in your hair! Static tends to come around during winter so take a dime sized amount and just run it through your hair. Plus it makes your hair smell great :)
• Don’t wash your hair everyday.
  I already follow this rule throughout the whole year, but for those who don’t this tip will be helpful in winter. Think about it. The weather is drying out your skin so it’ll probably do the same to your scalp and some of you might not condition your hair properly so it’s getting dried out by the weather, over-shampooing, heat from your styling products and heating indoors which all affects your hair and scalp. 
• Using lotions and potions.
  I like to use hairspray but in winter it seems to take wipe out any effect the hairspray might have on my hair, so in winter I prefer to use serums since it gets rid of static, and keeps my hair moisturized and in place!

Alright now that you have it you’ll know how to keep your beauty even throughout the cold, harsh weather!

I went camping!

During the long weekend me and my friends went camping. It was a grand ol’ time except I’ve realized camping is too much work/preparation for what you really do. I mean you have to pack everything but you use nothing :P

Me playing Washu? (I forgot what it’s called lol)

The gang minus our friend Ryan!

Anyways enough pictures of me and my friends. I’ve realized that sometimes people don’t know what to pack when they normally don’t go camping so here’s a little list of items that should be brought:

• Bug spray
  Those bugs like to bite!
• Sunblock
  I was the only one who was smart enough to bring sunblock and guess who didn’t burn. ME! Plus mosquitoes don’t like the smell/taste.. I don’t think I have any bites.
• Polysporin
  Shit happens. Helps with so many things like cuts from nature hikes, opening things or burns from roasting marshmallows, sunburns, etc.
• Marshmallows
  Its not a camping trip I want to be a part of if I can’t roast marshmallows lol 
• Extra items
  People tend to forget things like toothbrushes, towels, flip flops, etc so it helps if someone has extra!

*I’m talking like I know what I’m talking about/go camping all the time!

Coola Organic Moisturizing Suncare Review

I’ve used this product for a while now and at first I didn’t mind it, but now I can’t stand it. I think I might throw out the rest.

Advantages:

• Great if you have more oily skin.
  I find that it dries out my dry skin rather than moisturizes it.
• It has SPF.
• Doesn’t really smell like sunblock/sunscreen.

Disadvantages:

• Can cause breakouts on some skin types.
• It started clumping together recently making it unusable.
  There’s no expiry date on here…
• It dries out skin.
  I wouldn’t recommend this for those with dry/combination skin.
• It’s really irritating for my eyelids.
  I don’t know if it’s an allergic reaction or what but you’re supposed to use sunscreen on your eyelids since it’s so thin but my eyes start watering like crazy when I use this.

I would not repurchase this product. I don’t think it’s worth it since it hasn’t really helped my skin and I still have to use a light moisturizer underneath it otherwise my skin feels too dry. There are definitely better products to use (in my opinion)

The Ultimate Summer Accessory Is:

SUNSCREEN/SUNBLOCK! Duh.

I have heard countless people say their excuses for not wearing any sunblock. Excuses like: “Oh, you don’t get tan if you wear it”, “I don’t need to. I’m young” or random stuff like that.

I wear SPF 30 on my face EVERYDAY and I use sunblock whenever I go out to tan (and that’s a minimum of SPF 30) and I still get tan lines people! I’m here to prove that you should never skip out on protecting your skin!

• Prevent your skin from aging.
  A lot of people (especially as you age) tend to start worrying about how their skin will look when they’re older and by not wearing anything to protect your skin you’re pretty much guaranteeing sun spots, discolouration, wrinkles, etc. 
• It takes 10 seconds to apply.
• You can still tan!
  I wore SPF 45 while vacationing and my shoulders burned which is a lot better than one of my friends who wore SPF 20 and burned her everything plus her feet! But we both ended up getting darker hahaha
• Skin damage/cancer is preventable.
• You won’t get as many tan lines.
  Everyone always gets a sandal tan and this helps to minimize it!
• Skin burns hurt!

So go out and enjoy the sun but be smart about it people!