A Relaxing Medical Spa for Your Feet

*I received this product free for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own*

If you are a person with feet, you at some point in your life have experienced sore, achy feet. If you are a person who wears high heels on a regular basis you probably experience this on an almost daily basis. Nothing makes tires, sore feet feel better than a really good soak, its a fact of life. The Oleavine Multi-Purpose Therapeutic Foot Soak turns a normal soak into a medical spa for your feet I've decided. This Epsom salt based foot soak product is full off extra goodies to sooth, heal, and deodorize your poor feet into a state of bliss.

In a nut shell, this is Icy Hot for your feet. If you've ever used Icy Hot, that's exactly what this smells like and almost feels like. You pour a few tablespoons of the soak into a basin of warm water, stir to make sure it dissolved, then stick your feet in for 15-20 minutes and enjoy. There is 3 different types of salt in it to soften and sooth your feet, the standard Epsom salt, the beneficial Dead Sea salt, and the uber luxurious pink Himalayan salt. I don't know if I've ever used a beauty product with Himalayan salt in it, so I feel extra fancy now. There are essential oils in it as well, most notably tea tree oil, which is both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. And there's also Rosemary and Oregano oil in it, which is great for itchy skin I've discovered. The ingredient list read like a Top Ten Most Beneficial list of skin care items.

Man did I love this product. I'm on my feet quite a bit during the day and as a Taekwondo instructor my feet can take quite a beating. Getting to stick my feet in a warm tub of this was probably the highlight of the last week. And thanks to the rather strong mint scent my sinuses are nice and clear. I imagine this would be amazing next time I get sick. The package is 16 oz, so you'll get quite a lot of uses out of it, making the $11.90 (with free Prime shipping) price tag pretty affordable. This product gets two happy feet up for sure.

Follicleanse Hair Solutions Shampoo and Conditioner

*I received this free for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own*

As someone with rather short hair (and not a lot of it anymore), hair and scalp care has become increasingly more important to me now than when my hair was down to my butt. Thanks to my current treatment routine I have to be very careful or my hair comes out in handfuls and my scalp becomes raw and itchy, which then makes more hair fall out. A hair care system that promises to not only help my hair stay looking shiny and smooth but to help keep my scalp in tip top shape is pretty high on my wants list right now.

The Follicleanse haircare system that I received is designed for oily hair and scalp, but they also make a system for dry hair and scalp in case you fall into that category. A 16 oz bottle is $20, so on the higher end for shampoo and conditioner for most people, myself included. There is a shampoo and a matching conditioner for each system, and just like most hair care products they work best if you use them together.

The shampoo surprised me the first time I used it, it is quite liquidy compared to every other shampoo I've used. And it was green in color, as opposed to the clear shampoo I've become use to. You're suppose to massage it into your hair and scalp for 1 to 3 minutes, then rinse it out. I was concerned about the lather with how liquidy it was, but this stuff lathers like crazy. Massaging it into your hair and scalp for as long as recommended not only helps to make sure your hair is super clean, but increases blood flow to your head which is good for your hair and scalp. There wasn't really a scent to it, maybe vaguely herbal? But not enough to really notice, especially once you put it in your hair.

The conditioner is pretty standard in color (white) and thickness, and with most conditioners you put it in, leave it for a bit, then rinse it out. It left my hair really soft and fluffy, which is nice. My hair is still to short to tell if it increases the shine but I'm not concerned about that aspect right now. And as with the shampoo, the scent was light enough that once I put it in my hair I couldn't really smell it at all. This scent was vaguely floral, kind of your standard conditioner scent.

Despite the hefty price tag I actually really liked this shampoo and conditioner combo. I can totally see myself buying more once I run out, I've seen a huge improvement in my scalp since I started using it. Less dandruff and itching and it just looks healthier. Whether or not it will help to counteract the damage the chemo is doing is yet to be seen, but right now it is helping. If you are interested in purchasing some for yourself you can find it on their website here. And in case you want to save a bit of money you can use the code FC15 for 15% off your entire order. Or if you want to win a set for FREE tell me below in the comments what is your biggest hair frustration. I'll pick a winner at random Wednesday at 9 AM PST.

Forlan Advanced SKincare

*I received this free for testing and reviewing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own*

When we browse through items one of the first things we notice is the name. If I'm looking at something labeled scissors, I expect the item to be a set of scissors. Same if I'm looking at makeup or skincare items. If the item says it's a mascara, I don't expect to open it up and discover a lipstick. This is why I'm puzzled with what to make of the Forlan Advanced Skincare brand and the BB Cream they sent me to review. For those who may not know, a BB Cream is a Beauty Balm. essentially a tinted moisturizer with primer, SPF, and other skin beneficial items in it. But it is essentially a light to medium coverage foundation. So imagine my surprise to find not one bit of tint at all to my new BB Cream.

If you read the Amazon description of it, it says you can use it to cover mild imperfections (AKA a light coverage foundation) or you can use it as a base. The actual bottle, minus the BB Cream label, says nothing about coverage at all. I would actually call this more of an almost primer than a BB Cream. It moisturizes your skin, has anti-aging properties in it, and has antioxidants in it to help your skin become nice and healthy.

As a pre-makeup base I liked it well enough, though I do wish it had some SPF in it. If you typically use a moisturizer before you apply any primer or foundation you could use this in it's place. Could you wear only this and walk out the door? Sure, but you'd have no coverage on your face. I had high hopes for this, BB Creams are my jam so I'm always in the lookout for a new one to try. But alas, this isn't even a cousin to BB Creams. If you want an almost primer to add to your routine, this may work for you, but otherwise I'd give it a big pass. For $17.95 plus free Prime shipping I expected a ton more than what I received.

Soloportis Travel Jewelry Organizer

*I received this free for testing/reviewing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own*

The holiday season is approaching faster than you may want to admit. Do ahead and panic for a minute I'll wait. You done? Great, so let's talk gifts. Between family, friends, work, and school you probably have a pretty large list of people to shop for and maybe not a lot of ideas.Well I've got a great, affordable gift idea for the fashionable traveler in your life. The Soloportis Travel Jewelry Organizer is perfect for keeping their jewelry safe and tangled while looking as stylish as the person who owns it.

This tri-fold portfolio style case is black velvet on the outside, and clear vinyl pockets on the inside. The closure is a black satin ribbon for an added touch of elegance. I love how the black velvet looks and feels, it kind of has a vintage leaning to it that I really dig. And the size is perfect for travel, folded up the case is about 8 inches long and under 4 inches wide.

The vinyl pockets are divided up into 3 sections, one for each fold of the portfolio. The top pocket is the largest of the 3, and where I would store bracelets or really chunky necklaces. The middle pocket is perfect for regular necklaces. The bottom pocket is divided up into 3 separate pockets, so you could organize earrings or rings. The clear vinyl allows the user to see at a glance what is where, an issue I've had with my previous travel organizer. I hate having to open every single pocket up to figure out where I stuck that one pair of earrings, so the easy see pockets are a huge plus for me.

This retails for $23.90 with free Prime shipping (at the time of this writing), which is a pretty reasonable price. I wish I had discovered this a few months ago, it would have been the perfect going away present for a friend who is studying abroad for the next year. If you have a fashionable traveler in your life, this would make a great gift anytime of the year.

Glamulet Breast Cancer Campaign

Cancer awareness and prevention is a topic that is incredibly important to me. I lost my father to lung cancer when I was a child and as an adult I battled ovarian cancer, losing a significant chunk of my reproductive system in the process. October, in addition to having one of the best holidays ever, is breast cancer awareness month. A ton of companies are doing different campaigns to raise money for breast cancer research, and today I'd like to talk to you about Glamulet's current campaign.

Glamulet is a jewelry company that specializes in charms you can wear on a bracelet or strung on a necklace. They have a wide variety of charms, but this month they are donating 50% of the sales of their pink charms to different breast cancer charities. These pink charms are limited edition and were made specifically for this campaign. Prices range from $20 to $40, just depending on the style of charm you want, but most are around $30 on average.

While breast cancer treatments have significantly improved in even just the last 10 years, there are still over 40,000 deaths each year. Anybody with breast tissue can develop breast cancer as well, and isn't always diagnosed until later stages. Things like a monthly breast exam and mammograms (after the age of 40) can help to catch it earlier, but what we really need is more research and a better understanding of the disease itself. Which is why companies like Glamulet donating money is so important. So if you were thinking about about investing in some new jewelry, why not get some that will also help people all over the world too?

JGOB Blending Sponge Review + Giveaway!!

*I received this free for testing/reviewing purpose. All opinions are 100% my own*

If you are a lover of makeup then you are probably quite aware of the current trend of tear drop shaped blending sponges to apply your makeup. You've probably used one, or have thought about using one. And there are a LOT of them in the market right now, ranging from the $20 Beauty Blender to the one I found at my Dollar Store. The JGOB blending sponge is middle of the pack price wise at $11.99, but how does it perform? That's the question I always ask when I try new things.

The sponge arrives in a hard plastic case (with air holes), which is labelled as being a travel case. It did arrive in one piece, so I guess the case works pretty well. The sponge is super soft, it literally felt like I was applying my makeup with a cloud. And like the more expensive Beauty Blender, if you wet this sponge it will grow in size and become even softer. I preferred to use it wet, my foundation always looked flawless afterwards.

The rounded end is what I preferred for my foundation, while the pointed end is what I used for concealer and around my nose. There is a lot of surface area to use, something those of us who constantly forget to clean our brushes will appreciate. And as far as cleaning goes, it is harder to clean than brushes but it held up to my man handling without tearing so I'd call that a win.

I really liked the JGOB blending sponge, it held up great and my makeup always looked flawless. And like I said, $11.97 plus free Prime shipping makes it middle of the pack price wise so if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to a Beauty Blender this is a good option. And if FREE sounds like a better price, JGOB is letting me run a giveaway! Just comment down below on how you like to apply your foundation (fingers, brush, sponge, small cat...) and I will randomly pick a winner tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM PST.

Knit Style Headband, Fashionable and Functional

*I received this item free for testing/reviewing purposes. All opinions are 100% my own*

Fall has come to my neck of the woods and with that come the cooler weather. Keeping your head warm can be necessary at times, but a hat isn't always the right choice. A cold weather headband will not only keep you warm, but won't leave you with a horrible case of hat hair. I was sent one from Dealzip Inc to review, which I managed to do before I had to shave my head and no longer had hair.

These headbands are a braided style, acrylic yarn based, knitted, and come in a variety of colors. Mine is fairly wide, as you can see in the picture, which means they cover part of your forehead and a good chunk of your ears depending on how you position it. I think they run a little small, mine fit my son better than me. I found it tight enough that after a few hours I'd develop a headache.

The thing that makes it stretchy is the elastic cording that's the base. While this obviously helps the product, the manufacturer used white elastic on my black headband, so you do gets bits of white showing through here in there. I have no idea if this is a problem with the other colors, but it did annoy me with my black one. I do like how the design looks, it kept my head nice and warm while allowing me to wear a bun, and allowed me to easily cover up the patches of hair loss I was experiencing. And for around $5 including shipping, they are a great deal. If I had planned on keeping my hair I would have bought one in red and one in purple, I may save them to my wish list for a few years down the road.

Thursday Thoughts

Today marks the first day of October, and is also the first Thursday of the month. As per my usual I am linking up with Jen of Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for her weekly Thursday Thoughts. Let's jump right in.

You may have noticed my posting schedule has been...lacking lately. Week two after my injections is always the worst and I'm really feeling terrible. I've got a Doctor appointment both today and tomorrow (bring the count up to 6 in the last 3 weeks for those keeping score), hoping everything will check out ok and I'm not developing worsening side effects to the chemo.

Speaking of side effects, after losing a significant amount of hair I finally just shaved it all off (well down to 1/8th of an inch). You can really see how thin my hair had gotten, especially on the sides. I'm bouncing between ok and not ok with the new look, but right now a bald head is the least of my concerns. But this means I won't really be reviewing hair products for a while I suppose.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I think I'll do a few face painting tutorials for the blog this month in addition to the spooky nail art I usually do. I also might have promised some of my students that I'd wear costumes at least once a week to work. And bring candy the week of Halloween. Are there any face looks you'd like me to tackle?

My Project Pan is going very well this time. I finished ALL of the items in the skincare basket, so I've picked a new set out to work on, but I'll talk about that later. Of the picture above I've made significant progress on the eyebrow kit, tossed the bronzer (was REALLY awful), finished the two jars of loose shadow, made decent progress on the revealed quad, and hit pan in the other two shadows. The primer in the jar is getting closer to being finished, maybe mid November? The cream eyeliner is being tossed due to old age, and I've made very little progress on the cream highlighter.

Going from left to right, I finished the eyebrow pencil, ok progress on the red lip crayon, and I'm tossing the ELF concealer since it appears to be going bad. No real progress on the other lipsticks minus the lollibalm, which I did finish. I'm tossing the mascara, almost done with it and it won't survive the rainy season. I did finish the little CC Cream. So not as great of progress in this group, but I'm really going to focus on using up the lippies this month.