tarte rainforest of the sea samples review

Back in April, I sent out an order to Sephora for a couple items. The Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Make A Splash Skin Savers collection was one of them. Honestly, I just ordered this because it was cruelty free and vegan and I needed something to get my birthday gift and samples, but I had no idea I'd end up loving the products inside!



The kit came with the Deep Dive Cleansing Gel, Marine Boosting 4-in-1 Mist, and the Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer. It took me a while to finish them, but I don't like to review something until I've used most of it. One use isn't going to tell me a lot, is it?

I'm still perplexed by the name. Rainforest of the Sea? What? But the packaging and color scheme of this collection is on point. It's relaxing, but eye catching.



Now, onto the products!

The Deep Dive Cleansing Gel was nice. My skin felt fresh when I'd finished using it, but not dried out. It wasn't sticky, felt smooth on my face, and generated a little lather.

Now the Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer? It's got a long name but this stuff is fantastic. A lot of moisturizers I've tried felt like they were just sitting on my skin until they dried, but Drink of H2O soaked in well and my skin felt hydrated. There also weren't any shiny after effects!

The Marine Boosting 4-in-1 Mist was a new product type for me. It's supposed to be a moisturizer/primer/setting mist all in one. I was really unsure of how to use this, but I settled with spritzing it on after my toner and before my makeup. It worked well as a primer, and my skin didn't feel dried out. I don't think it'd keep anything in place if I was sweating, but for an average day I was happy with it.



All three of these items are cruelty free and listed as vegan friendly on Tarte's website. Win!

Overall? I'd definitely buy each of these individually in full sizes. They're all pretty solid products. I'm definitely interested in trying out other items from the Rainforest of the Sea collection.

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new friends - frogs & toads

My workplace is truly amazing. Sure, it's retail, but we have some great products and regulars that come in. But this post isn't about that - it's about critters! My bosses have a fascinating menagerie. There are toads and a giant bullfrog and recently some babies came in. Frog and toad babies! Even if you're not a fan of the scaly and slimy, you'll have to admit these guys are adorable.



Growing up I preferred the furry pets - dogs, cats, hamsters. I didn't like bugs and I didn't like anything that hopped or slithered. I had respect for them, but I didn't want them to touch me. (And sometimes I still won't touch some of the creatures that I encounter...I'm looking at you, millipedes.)



These guys are so tiny - a couple are smaller than a dime. Check out those little speckles. They hop around and when they eat their tiny pink tongues are so fast you have to really focus to see them.



Look at this little guy! He's the prettiest green and when the light is right, his skin is translucent and you can see all his insides. It's really fascinating. He was active that day, so he was a bit tuckered out in this photo.

I'm excited to watch these guys grow up!

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what a great day

Last night, we redecorated the display windows at the store. We had a great time and it looks super spooky for Halloween. We're talking fake blood and a giant spider and some glass eyeballs in a vintage bed pan along with a generous helping of dry straw. Insert gleeful Halloween dance here.

Sounds great, huh? Well, it was until I woke up this morning with hay fever and a stye the size of Texas on my eye. I can't blame the stye on the straw, though. That's from not being more careful when I remove my eye makeup. Sigh. Honestly, I can't really even blame the straw for being sick because we should've been wearing masks since we weren't working outside with ventilation. It's my own fault, but I had never reacted to it before so I wasn't careful.

So I've been laid up in bed all day having a pity party like I always do when I'm sick and snuggling with my puppies and basically being a snotty, whiny mess. The hay fever makes me sneeze and that makes me cry out in pain because I have to squeeze my eye shut on the stye and I'm just not pleasant to be around right now.

The moral of this story? Always wear a mask if you're not accustomed to working with common allergens. Even if you've never been allergic to them before! Trust me on this one.

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DIY three ingredient scalp scrub

We all know we're supposed to exfoliate to encourage blood flow and to remove dead skin cells and product buildup. I exfoliate a couple times a week, especially my face. What's one thing I always forget needs exfoliating, too? My scalp! Here's an easy DIY scalp scrub that only has three ingredients!



You'll only need three things: coconut oil, coarse salt, and a lemon. Easy peasy.

I mixed about a half cup of coconut oil, 3-4 tablespoons of coarse salt, and the juice of one lemon together in a bowl with a lid. I crushed the salt a bit beforehand to make it easier to manage. Once it's all mixed together, here's a tip: I'd advise to do this in the shower or outside. It gets messy, especially if you have long hair. There was salt all over the place!

Dampen your hair, and just rub it into your scalp as you would a body scrub on your skin. Your scalp can be sensitive, so don't be too rough. I massaged it in for a few minutes, let it sit, then rinsed it out. You'll probably feel the coconut oil still in your hair, so if you want to let it moisturize for a while, leave it and shampoo later. Another plus to this scrub? It can be used as a body scrub! If you mix up a big batch you can do all of your exfoliating in one go.

The recipe can easily be altered to fit your needs. Swap out salt for sugar, or add tea tree oil, essential oils, or swap out coconut oil for something else. Just don't eat it!

♥

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review: lush sex bomb bath bomb

I picked up the Sex Bomb bath bomb from Lush a while ago, but I've finally found time to use it!



This was my first bath bomb from Lush. I had tried other bombs from other places and I was not impressed. I dropped this baby into the tub and it instantly started foaming. Check out that gorgeous magenta!

It was really relaxing and my skin felt moisturized and smooth both during and after the bath. I can't smell, so I can't attest to if the bomb retained any scent, but it fizzed slowly and hung around for a while.

I'd heard complaints of the decorative flower not dissolving, but the one in my bomb was nowhere to be found afterwards, so I had no cleanup as there wasn't any residue left after I drained the water. That was a big plus as other bombs have dyed my tub red!

I'd definitely get another Sex Bomb!

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