How Often Should you Wash your Makeup Brushes?

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Sounds so complicated but in all reality – it needs to be done. It is so important to remove dirt, clumps of makeup and whatever else might be between those tiny bristles. Remember that these babies are going on our faces every day! And though our faces are probably clean majority of the time we are use them, there are definitely times when we do a touch up and the dirt from that day just went from our face to our makeup brush and back to our clean face the next morning…Gross!

Strive (longshot) but strive to clean them once a week. This will help keep the brushes clean and free of makeup clumps too. And it doesn’t need to be complicated either! We use our daily face wash to rinse off the brushes since our skin is already used to using this product. Lay them out on a towel to dry and voila! Clean brushes, clean skin!

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5 Tips for Working Out in the Morning!

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Any time that we tell someone we work out in the morning before work they always say – I don’t know how you get up, I could never do that! Wellll we were once in that category and never thought we could either. But one day we did and guess what? It.was.life.changing.

Okay, okay that might sound dramatic but in reality it really is. We honestly have more energy and feel so accomplished before the day even truly started. Also, when the day is over we get to just go home or go to dinner without worrying about going to the gym! It has given us more sense of freedom and we love it. We know it won’t work for everyone, however if you are looking to try the morning gym routine, read some tips below on how we got started and how we maintain the pace throughout the week.

1.Prepare the night before – or else you’re doomed!
Preparation is key. Without preparation it’s never going to work. We pack everything, prepare our lunch, have our coffee cup on the counter, gym clothes laid out, and water in our bags the night before. When we wake up we literally get dressed, brush our teeth, get our coffee and run out the door.

2. Keep as much as you can in your gym bag between visits
We both have a weekend bag that we use to bring all of our stuff to the gym. When we get home that night, we only swap out clothes, bra and underwear, and shoes. Everything else – such as makeup, hair brushes, curling iron, and all toiletries stay in the bag. If we need something that night, like an eye cream, we only take out that one item and put it back right away. This keeps us from feeling like we have to “pack” every night.  

3. Mentally prepare
Not only do we have to physically prepare, it definitely takes some mental preparation. When we start settling down for the night and all of our belongings are ready to go, we always say in our heads – “you are getting up tomorrow, you can do this. Keep in mind how you feel when you don’t go to the gym in the morning.” By having this type of preparation, we are able to always (mostly) get up and not struggle with it.

4. Get yourself on a schedule
We find it easier to stay on a schedule and stick to it. This way we know that Monday through Wednesday we are getting up and going to the gym, Thursday is our day off, and then we’re getting back up on Friday and guess what – it’s the end of the week! This helps us maintain a steady pace during the week and if we want to have a later night out, we usually make it Wednesday since we’re not getting up as early on Thursday.

5. Try waking up at different times when starting off
So we’re not sleep experts by any means, however we do know that it’s better to wake up when you are not in your rem cycle. When we started off, we tried waking up at different times to see what was easiest. There wasn’t a huge difference between the times, however Sweetness found it easier to wake up at 5:10am versus 5:20am (go figure!).

We hope these tips were helpful if you have been trying to switch your workout routine to the morning! Comment below on some tips that have worked for you.

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How Coconut Oil Helps Heal Our Skin & Keeps It Clear

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The low point: We have each struggled with our skin over the years for various reasons. Sass struggles with keeping her skin clear. She went to dermatologist after dermatologist, tried product after product and nothing worked. It was miserably frustrating and quite honestly, depressing. She hated looking in the mirror. Sometimes at night she would stand at the sink taking her makeup off and be in full on ugly tears.

Sweetness experienced the same level of frustration when it comes to keep her skin hydrated. Dry patches and irritated skin are not only frustrating but can also be surprisingly painful! Not knowing which products are going to help or heighten the problem brought on long periods of trial and error. We are sharing this with you to let you know that WE GET IT. Our paths on this journey may be different but we get what it feels like to have skin troubles that change you as a person.

The fix: Now we can’t say that we’ve found a miracle product to make it all better because at least for us, we’ve learned that the only true remedy for clear, healthy skin is living a stress free life. LOL, right, but truly the only time Sass gets a severe break out now is when she is experiencing extreme stress, i.e. the entire year she planned her wedding or when she first had a baby. And Sweetness has come to learn how to best treat the dry patches that would previously make it difficult to evenly apply makeup or make it difficult to be in the sun for fear of drying her skin out even more! So how you ask? We cleanse our skin with coconut oil every day.

All natural: When you have sensitive skin the last thing you want to do is throw additional toxins at it. Products are great, don’t get me wrong, we use plenty of them, but when you’re skin is easily reactive or naturally dry, products contain chemicals and chemicals can have very negative effects on your skin. Coconut oil is a completely natural product with no chemicals, just check the ingredients label, legit all it says is “organic coconut oil.”

Healing agent: For Sass, pimples are a build up of oil and dirt under your pores, right, we all know that but if you think of pimples and acne as wounds on your skin it allows you to treat them differently. The same applies to Sweetness and the dry patches. Topicals and luxury products generally want to dry out your skin but when you get a cut or a wound on your skin in any other place, what do you do? You apply a healing ointment of some kind. Take that logic and apply it to your face. In using coconut oil you are healing and moisturizing your skin rather than drying it out. When we were at the height of troubles with our skin we were so angry at it, we wanted to attack it like a problem but really we needed to heal it and show our skin some love.

Versatility: We buy a tin of coconut oil and use it as a facial cleanser, a body lotion, a hair moisturizer, and although it is a different tin, we also use it for cooking! Sass even used it on her baby bump to prevent stretch marks!

Affordability: We can buy coconut oil at just about any grocery or drug store and compared to prescription and high-end cleansers, it is SO AFFORDABLE! We spend no more than $10 on a jar of coconut oil that lasts for MONTHS! Trader Joe’s also makes coconut oil packets that are perfect for traveling or a gym bag and is only $3.99 for a box of 14 packets!

What you need to know: You want to buy organic, unrefined, cold pressed coconut oil. We use Vita Coco Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, which we literally bought at the grocery store for about $9. When it comes to brands, there isn’t much difference but we like this one because of the shape of the jar! Sounds silly now but when you get to the bottom of the jar we can still easily fit our hands in to get the rest out! Anyway, we use it whenever we take our makeup off and anytime we shower we put it on our face and a little bit on the ends of our hair. We take two fingers worth and rub it on our hands and then rub it all over our skin. We then follow it up with witch hazel to remove any excess makeup. (Just be careful not to get it on your eyes if you have eyelash extensions like Sweetness!)

So, if you are in dire need or are just curious about a more natural way to remove makeup and keep your skin and hair healthy give coconut oil a try! And be sure to let us know in the comments below what are some of your favorite skin hacks! We’re always open to new ideas!

 

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Our Perfect Staycation with Crane & Canopy

What does the perfect staycation mean to you? It might be time spent alone, relaxing with a good book or inviting some family and friends over for a fun BBQ! We are sharing what our perfect staycation looks like, which includes time with friends, and of course food and drinks!

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To make it feel like we were at some tropical resort and not in our own backyard, we set up this beautiful table scape with drinks and refreshing fruit. Can someone say #pinterestgoals ?! We set the table with some decorations we had laying around the house and made a refreshing frosé drink to help us keep cool in this sweltering heat! The recipe for our drink by Bon Appetit can be found here. We then added a tray of fruit and macaroons (yum!) so our friends had something to snack on. Flowers completed the table to add pops of color and we even added petals to the ice bucket, which looked so cute!

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One item we couldn’t forget was our Crane and Canopy Fouta towels (here). They are 100% Turkish Cotton and feel sooo soft. They also absorb water quickly (which was much needed on this hot day!) and the best part is they matched our color scheme perfectly! Relaxing in the backyard and catching up with friends over drinks and food was the perfect staycation for us. We were able to kick our feet up and not worry about having to go anywhere!

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As the sun went down and it was time to get ready for bed, we made sure that the guest bed was perfectly made with Crane and Canopy’s Mirabel duvet cover (here) and that they had fresh bath towels to use. The Fouta towels have so many uses and the bath towel even has a cotton loop to hang up and dry properly. How great is that?! But just like any other vacation, staycations must unfortunately come to an end. We are feeling recharged and less stressed that we didn’t have to travel far and we were able to still have an amazing time!

This was a collaborative with Crane & Canopy. All opinions and thoughts expressed here are our own.

 

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The Yummie 6-in-1 Shaping Tank

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Yummie released a new tank top, the 6-in-1 Shaping Tank and we are OBSESSED! No matter your body type, this tank is made for you. While Yummie may not have had your name in mind while designing it, they have thought of just about everything when it comes to function and styling. Here’s what we love about this new high compression tank:

The Panels: There are panels inside the tank that are moveable! Yup, remember when we said this tank was made for you, well it can truly be tailored to your body. To smooth out your tummy, place both panels in the front. To smooth out love handles, place both panels in back, or for all-around smoothing, put one panel in front and one in back. It’s that simple! Generally we are fans of all-around smoothing but depending on how we are styling the tank we change it up. For example, when wearing the tank on its own we definitely want that all around smooth look but when wearing the tank with a cardigan we put both panels in front for an extra smooth tummy since our backs are covered. Do what works for you!

The Grip Tape: Yummie included non-silicone grip tape on the bottom hem of the tank so that it doesn’t ride up! Is this not the most genius thing ever?! That was truly one of our only concerns with the tank is that it would ride up but the grip tape holds the tank in place to your legs and you don’t even know it’s there!

Necklines: The tank can either be worn as a v-neck or a scoop neck for all of your styling needs!

Versatility in Styling: This tank can be worn like a bodysuit tucked into jeans or under a sheer blouse or dress. The 6-in-1 Shaping Tank can be worn on it’s own or as an under garment!

Yummie developed a product that can truly be worn by everyone. Sweetness loves bodysuits and Sass believes this tank to be what postpartum dreams are made of! No matter your body type or style, this tank is for you. It comes in black, white, or frappe in sizes XS to 3X and runs TTS. Get yours today for that #yummietothecore look and feel! Clearly, we highly recommend it!

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