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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

Sweet Picks

February Sweet Picks

Posted on February 26, 2016

Sweet Picks for February - sweetlemonmade.com

Check out our sweet picks for February! These are the things we are loving that we want to share with you.

Unite Boosta Spray: This spray gives a little added volume without feeling heavy or dulling your hair. A little spritz at the roots on your damp hair and you are ready to dry, style, and go!
Image Source: Unite Hair

AEO Hi-rise Sweater Leggings: If there’s one thing I love during the freezing cold season of winter, it’s sweatpants! I’ve found the perfect pair with the American Eagle Sweater Leggings. Not only are these the most comfy pair of sweatpants I’ve owned, they are super cute and keep you toasty warm. It’s a win-win.
Image Source: American Eagle

The Life-Changing Magic of Tyding Up: This book is legit. It will transform the way you look at your possessions as she teaches you the masterful art of tidying. When her methods are followed precisely she claims a relapse clutter rate of 0%. You better check it out!
Image Source: Amazon

Snow Joe: The Snow Joe Broom is a 2-in-1 tool. The large broom head makes removing snow off the top of your car so fast and I love how easy it is to use. You can easily push heavy snow off your car plus the handle extend telescoping which is nice for those of us with short arms, or for those wider vehicles. And if you need to scrape any ice off your windows or windshield, you can just turn it around and use the attached ice scraper at the end of the handle. This tool is light weight and when your done you can detach the handle from the broom for easy and compact storing in any car. If you live in a state like Utah and get large amounts of snow, you will not be sorry and will be thanking me!
Image Source: Amazon

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