January Empties- Rebuys and Reviews

Every month I see the empties post on the various beauty blogs I follow on Instagram. I make a mental note and forget. Not this time! I actually kept my January Empties for you guys to see.

What is an empty? It's a product you've used up- emptied. January was obviously the month of... lets run out of your skincare you use everyday.

1. Bath and Body Works body cream: Twilight Woods: I think about every girl has a stash of B&BW laying around. I am a huge fan of their body creams, not so much their lotions. I only buy during their huge sales because otherwise... I am not a fan of a $14.00 bottle of lotion. This one of my favorite scents though. It's rich and fruity at the same time. Rebuy? Duh. Yes. You can score it here :)

2. Farsali Unicorn Essence: I have drooled over this product for a long time. It made an appearance in my 2017 favs and is carrying over into 2018. My BFF bought me the travel size for Christmas. I WAS HOOKED. So smooth, and it has made my skin look the best it has in quite sometime. I use it as a serum still followed up by a moisturizer. I only use in the morning. Rebuy? YES!!!! The new (larger) bottle has already been delivered. Check it here :)

3. Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser: This is my go to face wash. I had some really annoying skin issues for a while, and the Dr prescribed me prescription face was. After that was under control, she recommended Cetaphil to maintain versus continuing the Rx wash. It's great for an every day was. Sensitive skin? This will be your best friend! You can pick up at an local drug store for $6-$8. Rebuy? Always.

4. Secret Deodorant- I am the first to admit I am p.i.c.k.y when it comes to deodorant. This actually isn't empty, but I just didn't like it. I was on travel and forgot to pack it, so I grabbed what was the quickest. This isn't all that strong or protective. It's super chalky and clumpy. Rebuy? Nope.

5. Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara: I'm a sucker for mascara. I have light colored, stumpy eyelashes, so I need mascara to do it's job well. This mascara leaves much to desire. I will say it is a very light and dry formula- which I like. However... there's minimal staying power and no volume. Plus, it dried out super quick. Now... I am also bad to leave the lids slightly off, so the drying might be my fault. Rebuy? No.

6. Ladykin Affinitic Snail Cream: I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! I was introduced to this through ipsy (probably the only good thing ipsy ever sent me, LOL!). So many people were weirded out because who wants to put snail secretion on your skin?! Well, I did, and I am glad I did so. It's great for regenerating elasticity. Super lightweight. And, hello?? Did you see the packaging?! Still not sold? The last full size I bought was March 2017, and I am just now replacing. 10 months. At $20ish for a full size... that's $2 a month on face moisturizer. I've spent a lot more on my face. Rebuy? YES, actually my 2nd rebuy. Go buy it here :)

What's your empties look like? Any of the above you want to try?

Moses, Party of....Two

You might have seen this picture on my IG this morning. I'm slowly opening up about our struggles with infertility. Some day the pain and heartache are heavier than others, and today is one of those days.

I flipped back to a blog back in May where I had a glimmer of hope that we would finally have our chance. My doctor is awesome, and I was convinced that we would have a baby soon. I had 6 months of treatments, and then an off cycle of 90 days. I literally tracked everyday in my phone counting down to the last medicine dosage. I had alarms set to celebrate off cycling. I just knew this would be it. I should've have listened to that little voice back then that told me I was setting myself up for heartache. By the end of the year, my gallbladder had other plans and threw the cycle pattern all out of whack with its decision to vacate my body. I had to stop all treatments- $15K in fertility down the drain. When I went in for surgery, I contemplated begging my surgeon just to remove all my organs while in there. Obviously my uterus had failed me again. I also hoped that my gallbladder weighed about 50lbs, that didn't happen either.

In the midst of all of this, I swear every person I know either announce their pregnancy or had a baby. Congrats, I'm happy. But, I am still allowed to feel my pain. One night after soon after surgery, I had a total meltdown. My husband was at work, so it was me crying incessantly into pillows and yelling at the walls. Why? Why me? Why? I hated my body. This is not to be confused with self-esteem or self-image; I hated my organs and endocrine system. All that effort, time, money, love and hope I had put into having a baby was a lost cause. Poof, gone. What hurt even more was no one knew how to comfort or console me. Perhaps maybe one person because their journey has been just as painful and heartbreaking. Infertility is still such a taboo subject, and no one wants to talk about. I don't share my journey because people look at me with blank stares or respond with half thought answers. "Relax." "Wait." "It will happen." What do you think I've been doing? How about, "This really sucks, and I know there's nothing I can say or do, but I love you. I'm here for you. Here's some ice cream."

At this point, I'm at that fork in the road, and I don't know what to do. Do we go back down this road? Give up our dream of conceiving our own child? Turn to adoption? Surrogacy and IVF are wayyy out of the budget. Or do we say, heck with it all...That's a question only we can decide. For now, we will remain Moses, party of two. I'll just enjoy my new baby nephew and the sweet baby Ks.