A Guide To The Beauty Aisle Of Trader Joe's

Here is a guide for those of you who are as intrigued by the beauty section of Trader Joe's as the food. Maybe not as intrigued, because...food. But there are some real gems to be found and almost everything is under ten dollars. It's also Trader Joe's so you can count on being sucked in to their clever marketing efforts. Case in point: bag of potatoes that introduces itself. So kind, so thoughtful.

Mango Body Butter ($4.99)

The smell of this is perfect. Maybe not the creamiest body butter in the world, but it is very hydrating. The main goal when using this is to smell like a tropical smoothie. On that front it delivers.

Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo ($3.99)

There is nothing as refreshing as peppermint in the shower. There is also something refreshing about a shampoo that just washes your hair and doesn't make seemingly impossible claims (mending split ends is farfetched, no?) It's sulfate-free, mildly clarifying, and have I mentioned it smells like peppermint? They also have a body wash in this scent. Just as tingly and refreshing.

Vitamin E Oil ($3.99)

This is a newfound love. The name is a little deceiving as this isn't pure vitamin E oil, it's mixed in with soybean oil. Vitamin E oil is thick and gloopy, so having a base oil makes it easier to spread. Good for winter or before bed. Also a good mixer. Add to jojoba for a thinner oil, coconut oil for a hair mask, or hand cream to boost the hydration. This oil means business so unless you want to look like a greased turkey I'd avoid during the day.

Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream ($4.99)

This is a hand cream that smells like laundry. Not as luxurious as L'Occitane, but it does perform the exact same. 20% Shea Butter and thick but not greasy. This might not suffice in the dead of winter when my hands truly betray me and become not only ice cold but also as dry and cracked as a desert. As an everyday hand cream I love it.

Blueberry & Açaí Facial Scrub ($5.99)

The standout of everything here, and also the product I was most nervous to put on my face. I generally wouldn't trust a cheap chemical exfoliant (and I never trust a physical exfoliant). This claims to be a scrub, so I was worried it'd be both. However, this really is just an AHA exfoliant; it contains citric acid, malic acid, and lactic acid, as well as colloidal oatmeal and shea butter. It smells very strongly of blueberries.

I would compare this scrub to the Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme mask or the Kate Somerville Exfolikate. This happens to be a fraction of the price and delivers amazing results. It makes my skin buttery smooth and isn't irritating or harsh. It's a quick treatment, I leave it on for about a minute at night and my face glows the following morning.

I am fully on board with a budget-friendly AHA scrub that smells like blueberry jam and can be purchased alongside cauliflower rice and mini peanut butter cups.

5 Principles To Natural Makeup

You can find a lot of "natural makeup" tutorials on YouTube that require 20 steps. No hate, I love the end result. But for the general population, spending 20 minutes applying makeup that doesn't look like makeup and dotting on fake freckles isn't realistic.

Here are my 5 principles that make your makeup look natural no matter what kind of look it is.

1. No foundation on the nose

I can't take credit for this, although it is something I found myself doing even before seeing this video. What this really means is keeping coverage light in the areas you don't need it. For example: a bare freckled nose or a sheered out tinted moisturizer with concealer where you need it. This technique tricks the eye and makes it seem like you're wearing much less (if any) foundation.

In simpler terms: Less is more. If you have freckles, let those cute babies breathe.

2. Cream products

Cream products melt into the skin and tend to look more natural. I use only cream products on a day to day basis. Especially since getting this Hourglass Trio which is my favorite makeup product of all time. If you love powders, a synergy of both powders and creams adds dimension and glow to the face. Just make sure you apply cream/liquid products first.

On zee face: MUFE HD stick foundation in 117, Benefit ka-brow in 04, NYX dark circle concealer, and Hourglass Illume Sheer Color Trio

3. Under-eye darkness can be your friend

I might be alone in this but I actually like the darkness underneath my eyes. I tried very hard to listen to Bobbi Brown and every magazine out there telling me that I should completely blank out the darkness under my eyes. But after a while I realized that doing this made my eyes look smaller and just generally weird.

I do use under eye concealer, I just don't apply it all the way up to the lash line. Keeping that darkness there actually makes your eyes look bigger. If you want to hear a professional explain this, watch 8:30 to 9:30 of this video. Or watch the whole thing if you're a makeup nerd like me.

4. Skincare

Prepping the skin is the most important step in any makeup look, especially when you want the skin to shine and look natural. Facial massage with oil is a good way to wake up the face if you want to go all in. But for every day, a good moisturizer and/or primer can make a huge difference in how minimal makeup blends in with the rest of the face. I love L'Oreal's Lumi Primer (avoiding t-zone), but use whatever suits your skin.

5. Natural Light

Put your makeup on by a window! It's the best way to make sure your skin looks like skin. Also, no better way to discover that the foundation you tried to shade-match at Sephora is 3 shades off and makes you look either ill or like a peach colored floating head.

How To Relax And A DIY Body Butter

It occurred to me the other day as I was watching Friends on Netflix as a means of relaxing after a stressful day, that I was not actually relaxing. All the stress of my day had not dissipated, but was lingering under a heavy blanket of distraction. Don't get me wrong, there's a time for binge-ing Netflix. But in order to truly relax I needed to be in the present moment. Sans social media and late 90's sitcoms.

I used to relax pretty effortlessly. I would light incense, put on a guided meditation, listen to music, dance in my room, go on walks. The day it stopped being so natural for me to relax was the day I got an iPhone. Suddenly I had other things to do to distract from stress.

To actually bring yourself peace, you have to put in effort. Maybe it's driving to a yoga class, playing an instrument, meditating, taking a bath, or listening to a Tara Brach podcast (!) We all have an activity that focuses us in the present moment and brings us a sense of peace.

And it's important to realize that being entertained endlessly by the constant stream of new information in the internet world will most likely not bring us peace. We must occasionally step away from these pleasures in order to de-stress.

For me that means running a bath, listening to Joni Mitchell and/or the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack, and lighting my favorite candle in the world (Bath and Body Works Marshmallow Fireside). Post bath, I slather myself in body butter because we all know that moisturizing is the best possible form of self-care.

Hence, the following recipe, and the reason you probably clicked on this post in the first place.

Not pictured: The grapeseed oil I used, and another glass container full of body butter because this recipe makes enough to last months. Or share, if you're feeling generous.

This is without a doubt the best body butter you'll ever use and is all natural. I usually steer clear of anything that starts with the letters "DIY," but this is worth the effort. I got the recipe from Wellness Mama and altered it slightly.

Ingredients:

1 cup Shea Butter

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil (or another light oil)

10-30 drops of essential oil

1. Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil in a glass bowl over boiling water

2. Let cool for 5 minutes, and add essential oils. Use more if you want the body butter to have any fragrance. I used 25 drops of lavender but the overwhelming scent is more "health food store" than lavender. Doesn't bother me.

3. Let it cool in the fridge for about an hour until it's partially hardened.

4. Whip with a kitchen aid or hand mixer for 10 minutes, until it's light and fluffy.

5. Transfer to glass jars and set for another 10 minutes in the fridge.

The consistency is whipped but melts into a delicious creamy oil when warmed between the fingers. You only need a tiny bit to cover your whole body, it melts almost instantly into the skin and is so ultra moisturizing that I actually feel inclined to use it every day. Unlike any other lotion or body butter I've owned, which have all been relegated to the dark, sad corners of my cabinet.