Browsing Tag

sweet picks

July Sweet Picks

Posted on July 27, 2016

Starbucks Peach Green Tea Lemonade: Every time I go to Starbucks I order the same boring thing, a vanilla late or Chai Latte. It wasn’t until my BFF Chad introduced me to the most delicious drink on the menu…Peach Green Tea Lemonade. I can’t begin to tell you how refreshing this is on a hot summer day. Needless to say, this has become my go-to drink for the summer. What are you waiting for? Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Cooling Sport Towel: The first time I ever saw a version of one of these cooling towels was at a fair and I thought they seemed a little weird to have a wet towel around your neck. I’ve always hated when my clothes get wet so I never even gave it a try or a chance and the ones they were selling were expensive. It wasn’t until last year that I was perusing the Target Dollar Spot section that I saw a cooling towel for $1 and decided to grab one since there had been so much hype around them. I thought why not for $1 I was willing to give it a try and if I ended up not liking it, I was only out $1! And until now, it has been sitting in my drawer unused until recently when I packed it along with me on my vacation to Vegas where I knew it was going to be more than 100 degrees there (it’s July after all). I figured it was the perfect time to bring it along and test it out. After getting there and enduring the 108 degree weather I broke it open! All you do is soak it with cold water, ring it out, and then snap it in the air to activate the cooling properties of the towel. I never knew how nice a cooling towel would feel around my neck. It’s so simple! Greatest little invention! It instantly cools you down and your clothes stay dry because the towel somehow keeps the water in! And this one that I have is a smaller version and has a convenient case to put it in and it’s small enough to throw in your bag. This cooling towel has definitely become one of my favorite summertime essentials!

Swan Float: Who knew a large, ridiculous, inflatable long-necked waterbird would become the trendiest accessory of the summer. My friend bought one as a joke for a friend-cation to Mexico and it turned out to be a crowd favorite. I’ve since seen it all over Instagram and even on The Bachelorette. The swan is in, boring pool floaties are out. There’s something so perfect about nestling up on this large and in charge bird. AND I feel like I my tans are better when I layout on the swan.
Image Source: Target

Sunbum Cool Down: This stuff is a sunburn miracle worker! We all have good intentions when it comes to sun protection–SPF all the way! But sometimes our best intentions are toasted (literally, ha) and despite our best attempts we still get burned. I’ve had a couple unlucky encounters with spray-on sunscreen this summer and as a result have had a few days where my skin seemed to be a dull candy apple red color and sizzled to the touch. That’s when my, wise and beautiful roommate, Emily, introduced me to “Cool Down.” This magical lotion is meant to be used as an after sun moisturizer on skin that is burnt, chaffed (inner thigh rub anyone?), or dry, and is infused with aloe, vitamin E, and cocoa butter. This triple threat combo takes the sting out (like gone) and moisturizes so well it prevents peeling. It’s awesome!! I now pack it with me on every vacation that involves the beach, a pool, or more than 10 minutes in the sun. It has saved me! I tell everyone about it and have many a friend who’s sunburn was nursed back to health with this lotion. So naturally I wanted to share it with you guys! I found mine at Target (surprising, I know), but you can also get it at Ulta or Amazon as well. Happy sunbum-ing!
Image Source: Sun Bum

Sweet Picks

June Sweet PIcks

Posted on June 30, 2016

Mom Shirt: I think this shirt speaks for itself! If you are a Diet Coke aficionado (read: addict) like me, you need this in your life. It is the perfect tee to throw on with your fave pair of jeans, a cute summer skirt or under a great light jacket. Anyone who has seen me lately, has most likely seen the shirt as well. It is just as comfy as it is cute. And even better, the cutest husband and wife duo design the shirts and run this great shop. Go check it out and grab a shirt… or two!
Image Source: momshirt.com

Batiste Hair: I’m no stranger to dry shampoo. In fact, if you look in my bathroom cabinet at any one time you’re bound to find at least 4 different brands of dry shampoo. I use dry shampoo every day whether I shower or not. I have fine hair so I use it to give my hair some weight and texture and then of course on days I don’t wash my hair I use it help eliminate oils and bedhead. I was on a work trip one time and had forgotten to bring dry shampoo and stumbled across this blonde version of Batiste at a ransom Urban Outfitters. I was intrigued by the “blondeness” it offered. My hair has blonde highlights (from a bottle) and this magic little can not only adds volume, texture, and depth, but it covers up any highlight regrowth! WIN!! It seriously is like magic. Just don’t go hog-wild and spray it all over like crazy. If you do, your scalp will glow yellow. So just spray a little on the top of you’re looking for a miracle between highlights!
Image Source: Ulta

Amope Pedi Perfect: Summer is officially here and that means…you probably need to show your feet some love to get them into tip top shape to wear your flip flops and those cute strappy sandals you’ve been itching to wear! Because let’s be honest, we are not all blessed with feet and heels that are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Haha! I sure wasn’t! So, if you are like me and have been cursed with dry rough heels that have to be attended to all summer long you know a professional pedicure each week is just not doable for us busy working gals that don’t have the time. But don’t fret because there is a way to get smooth heels at home on your own with the Amope Pedi Perfect! This little machine will file your rough heels and smooth them out and it’s easy to use. All you have to do is turn it on and move it all around the rough areas. This little tool is great for at home pedicures and perfect for touch ups in between those professional pedicures.
Image Source: Amazon

Younique Touch Liquid Foundation: I have gone most of my life without wearing any type of foundation. Every kind I’ve tried feels heavy and sticky. Now that I’m turning 29 (+4 ), my skin is changing and is not like it used to be. I decided to try the Younique Touch Liquid Foundation since I kept hearing such great things about it. (No, I don’t sell it, but if you are interested I can put you in touch with about 20 consultants!) This stuff is absolutely amazing. It has great coverage and the best part is, I can’t even tell I’m wearing it. Once the liquid touches your skin, it feels like powder. If you’re in the market for a new foundation or are curious because of my awesome review, I highly suggest you check it out!

Sweet Picks

May Sweet Picks

Posted on May 19, 2016

A Thousand Wishes Fine Fragrance Mist: While shopping for Mother’s Day gifts, I couldn’t help but stop by Bath & Body Works. Unbeknownst to me, they were having a special deal, spend $30 and you’re qualified to pay $30 for a gift bag worth $120. Of course I had $30 in my basket and you bet I paid for the gift bag of goodies! I was so excited to check out my loot when I got home. As I pulled out body spray, shower gel and lotion, I noticed the scent was something new. I’m very particular with my perfume and lotion scents, so I was leery when I saw it was called “A Thousand Wishes”. What is that?! To my surprise, I love the way this scent smells. I think it’s safe to say it’s my new favorite! The scent doesn’t last too long with the body spray, but it smells more like a perfume than a light scent. This is how Bath & Body Works describes the smell: Warm your heart a thousand times over with a festive blend of sparkling champagne, crystal peonies & almond crème. Yum!
Image Source: Bath & Body Works

Trader Joe’s Chicago Style Popcorn: My sweetpick favorite for the month has got to be the Trader Joe’s Chicago Mix Popcorn! I could eat a whole bag–it’s so good! The Chicago mix has caramel corn mixed with cheddar cheese popcorn in one bag. And as the bag says–it’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty. Some people find the mix weird but I love it! Just a warning to all you that like your flavors and foods separated–this popcorn will probably make you cringe with its flavors all mixed together in ONE bag. I know some of you are already saying “ewww” too but, if you have never tried it you have to give it a chance at least once. You never know, you might discover that you like it. And the rest of you who don’t think this combo sounds gross is salivating and wishing you had some right now. Am I right?!? This mix definitely falls into the category of sweet and salty– love or hate. I personally have enjoyed this combo even before I knew there was such a thing called a Chicago mix. Remember those giant tins of buttered popcorn, cheese popcorn, and caramel corn that you’d get from your grandparents around Christmas time? They had those paper dividers to separate the flavors. Some(for those people who hate when their flavors mix) would say they were there for a reason. Haha! You were either that kid that was careful not to knock your tin over or else you might get that cheese popcorn in your caramel corn section and you would have to spend the time separating them apart into their rightful sections or you just didn’t care if some of that cheddar happened to get into the caramel corn. You just dove into it and ate both of them together and didn’t worry about separating them.
Image Source: Trader Joe’s Reviews

BAN.DO: On a recent business trip I found myself in with some time to kill one evening. My hotel was situated just a few blocks down from a large shopping district in Atlanta and the weather was inviting. So naturally, with money burning a hole in my pocket, I ditched the hotel and went to peruse the shops. Time got away from me (perhaps it was the 11 things I tried on in the dressing room or the clearance section bursting at the seems) and I soon found myself wandering Macy’s with arms full of stuff when I realized the store was closing. Somehow I missed the four announcements over the loud speaker notifying me of this and I was in a panic to make some decisions and purchases. It was difficult to part with some items, but feeling resolute, I took my newly thinned pile to the register. And on my way I saw this BAN.DO Travel Tumbler and had to have it. I don’t know what it was about it, but the whimsical floral pattern and fun colors hooked me. I pictured it sitting on my desk making me happy everyday. So I bought it, duh, because who doesn’t want to be happy everyday? And it worked, every time I look at it I feel a little happy. Totally worth the $14. #itsthelittlethings
Image Source: Nordstrom

BabyLit Books: These books were love at first sight! A compact, cardboard version of your favorite classic books… what’s not to love?! The cover alone is enough to make you fall head over heels for them and lure you into thinking you need every book they ever put out, whether you’ve got kids of your own or not. (I may or may not be guilty of just that.) They are perfect for story time of any age while incorporating the classic book characters we all love. They are my go-to baby gift and love to pair them with my favorite Little Unicorn swaddle. Go grab yourself one or two or all of them.
Image Source: BabyLit

Sweet Picks

April Sweet Picks

Posted on April 22, 2016

Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint Hand Sanitizer: Who hates germs and stress? *all the hands* Yeah, duh, me too. I work in the hospital as a nurse practitioner so obviously I’m anti-germ and usually a little stressed (ok or a lot stressed) and this hand sanitizer is a little piece of heaven. You can ask anyone I work with. I have a large dispenser of this spearmint and eucalyptus potion on my desk and when emotions or tensions are running high, I give everyone a squirt. If someone comes into our office afterward they always comment on the relaxing smell. It seems crazy, but using this flavor of hand sanitizer and taking a few deep breaths of the scent is really relaxing! Grab the travel size and sneak a few zen moments/sniffs when and wherever you need—right before a big meeting or waiting in line at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru with a van full of noisy kids. Trust me, the stress relief promises with this product are no lie. Try it!
Image Source: Bath and Body Works

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer: A couple years ago I noticed my makeup was patchy on my skin and not applying very smoothly. Little did I know, the main culprit was my lack of facial moisturizer. I had never used a facial moisturizer before so I was pretty clueless to all of my options. In my mind, I would just pull out the cherry almond scented Jergens Lotion that’s been sitting in my closet for the past decade. I decided to go to Ulta and ask someone for some better advice. My skin can be very sensitive to products so I was hesitant to try something new. She suggested Aveeno and I haven’t used anything else since.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer is oil free and hypoallergenic, which is perfect for my sensitive skin. I’ve noticed that it has evened my skin tone and has eliminated my patchy makeup problem for good. This moisturizer goes on smoothly and is really light weight. My favorite thing is it also has SPF 30 so I know I’m always protected without putting on extra sunscreen.
Image Source: Aveeno

Love Addict Mini Fragrance Mist from Victoria Secret: When it comes to fragrance mists and body sprays, I’m all about the fruity and sweet scents! So when I discovered the Love Addict fragrance mist one day during one of my frequent visits to Victoria’s Secret (which is every few weeks when I redeem my FREE panty coupons I receive in the mail–because who would turn down a freebie with no strings attached! Not this girl!). I sprayed the tester on my wrist and loved it immediately. I kept catching myself smelling my wrist as I walked around the store! I knew I wasn’t leaving without it and lucky for me the mini fragrances were BOGO (buy 1, get 1 FREE) that day! They have this deal quite often!

I am horrible at describing scents so it’s a good thing the description tells me that Love Addict has notes of wild orchid and blood orange. Also, I love the convenient size, as I can easily throw it into my purse or makeup bag. (7 ml/.23 fl oz.) FYI–the mini fragrance in Love Addict is hard to find and not sold online, so search your local VS store and get your hands on one of these!
Image Source: Victoria’s Secret

Tinkle Razor: The worst name, but the best product. These little guys are so handy. You can use them for shaping your brows, unibrow defense, to take care of those sneaky dark hairs that appear on your upper lip giving the illusion of a mustache (ugh, I feel you) or you can go wild and use it to get rid of all your face hair. “Shave your face? What?” Yes, it’s a thing. That’s what I do. It’s awesome. My skin feels smoother. My makeup goes on perfectly. It’s great. No foam or water necessary, just you, your face and a tinkle (I know, it makes me snicker to say tinkle out loud too).

These little guys come in a pack of 3 for about $5 and of course you can buy them on Amazon. There are other brands and razors out there like this, but I splurge the $5 and buy the real deal, Tinkle razors. Some things are worth going name brand for, this is one of them. If you’re a visual person like I am and want to see these Tinkles in action, check out this “How-To” video.
Image Source: Beauty Plus Salon

Sweet Picks

March Sweet Picks

Posted on March 23, 2016

Hey friends, so in case you haven’t noticed we’re doing something here and it’s called “Sweet Picks.” Every month we will each share something awesome that we love (like a beauty product, book, gadget, etc., you know, our “must haves”) and then we will give one away to YOU. Think Oprah’s Favorite Things, but cheaper (no cars here). So stay tuned each month for your chance to win!

Retro Hair Dry Clean Dry Shampoo: Alarm goes off…BEEP.BEEP.BEEP. Snooze. Blissful 9 minutes. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. “9 minutes gone already?” I ask myself in a sleepy stupor. Enter negotiation mode. “I don’t really need to eat breakfast.” Snooze. And 9 more minutes of happiness. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. “I’ll do my makeup in the car. There are always lots of red lights.” SNOOZE. Nine more minutes of sleepy, dreamland. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. “Forget washing my hair. I’ll wear a ponytail.” SNOOZE.

If you know these irrational sleep negotiations like I do, you need some dry shampoo in your life. It will soak up that bedhead and give those roots some spring in their step—all without washing your hair, saving you precious time in the morning. And you know, experts say you shouldn’t wash your hair everyday anyway (every beauty blog and even WebMD). So obviously this is a win-win. I know what some of you are thinking though, “Yeah, but I NEED to wash my hair everyday.” No, you don’t. You really don’t. I promise. Here’s how.

Enter Retro Hair: Dry Clean, dry shampoo. Grab the can (kiss it first because you’re about to fall in love). Then tip your head upside down and spray your roots, making sure to get those greasy bedhead cowlicks extra well. The spray will hit you with a cold burst of air and leave your hair with a damp, powdery feel (however, it will NOT leave a white, powdery residue behind like some other dry shampoos. This is key if you have darker hair). Next, key tip here (learned from one of my favorite bachelor alums via snapchat—don’t judge), with head still upside down take blow dryer and meet those cold roots with a blast of hot air for just a minute—moving blow dryer around entire head. Flip your head up, give your roots a little lift and poof with your hands and blow dry again if needed. Then brush out that wild mess the blow dryer left behind and style. Entire process takes 3 minutes and you didn’t even have to get it wet. I get more compliments on my hair on a dry shampoo day than any other day. Like cheese and fine wine, I feel like my hair gets better with time. Yours will too.
Image Source: Amazon

Glam Glow Mud Mask: I was introduced to this little gem on a summer getaway with my best gal-pals. We rented a lake house in Cape Cod and spent the days lounging in swimsuits and yoga pants and ate M&Ms and kettle chips all day. It was a glorious time. One of my favorite parts of that trip though, was our “favorite things” exchange. We each brought everyone a product that we love (cue sweet lemonMADE sweet picks) and exchanged them. This is where GlamGlow mud masks came into my life. My NYC BFF, a compulsive beauty junkie (that’s a compliment), was the one to introduce us to them. She always knows the best beauty products and isn’t afraid to try them all—and I think the fact that she lives in NYC gives her extra street cred. But just incase you aren’t ready to trust my reviews you can rest assured that Sephora reviewers (all 1,684 of them) loved this stuff.

So what’s so magical, you ask? I think the magic is in the tingle, or maybe it is the volcanic pumice rock or the French sea clay…whatever it is, it’s awesome. It is pretty simple to use, just cover your face with the concrete-colored mask (don’t be alarmed by the bits of green tea leaves mixed in), spare your eyes, and wait for it to dry. As the mask is drying your face will start tingling and your skin will get tight (boom…take that wrinkles!). You’ll notice when the mask is dry because the color will change to a light seafoam color, but you can leave it on for 5 to 20 minutes. When you’re ready to be done just get warm water on your hands and start scrubbing (circular motion is what the beauty Nazis recommend) and rinse it all off. Then touch your face. It will feel like a baby’s bum. You’re welcome.

P.s. We are giving this away on Instagram, so go enter. I hope you win. You want this stuff.
Image Source: Sephora

Fujifilm Instax Share Printer: If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to instantly print photos from your smartphone or tablet, the Instax Printer is the way to go. The printer fits in the palm of your hand, so it’s easy to store and the only requirement (besides buying the Polaroid film) is to download an app to retrieve your pictures. You can even get creative by adding templates, fonts and other icons to your picture. This printer is so much fun, but it will cost you a pretty penny. Be prepared to spend $129 and an extra $20 for a pack of film. This “toy” doesn’t come cheap, but it’s the perfect way to get the vintage feel of a Polaroid while using modern technology.
Image Source: Amazon

Benefit Cosmetics Stay Don’t Stray Eyeshadow Primer: The Benefit Cosmetics Stay Don’t Stray Eyeshadow Primer is a life saver and one of my makeup go-to products that I can’t live without. If you are like me, and have a problem with oily eyelids this stuff is amazing! Before I started using this primer, my eyeshadow and eyeliner would just melt off an hour after I’ve applied my eye makeup and make my eyes burn. I like that the primer is tinted (to give your eyelids an even base color) and the doe foot applicator is nice to keep the product clean by not having to put your fingers in the product. Even though it is a bit pricey at $26.00 a bottle, it’s worth it and it lasts quite a while since you use a small amount each time.
Image Source: Benefits Cosmetics

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