Thrifty in White

Oh My, Your Skin Feels So LUSH Today!

My life has been changed, and it all happened by accident.

Being impatient sort of pays off sometimes, and this life-changing thing happened when I was too impatient to wait at the Origins counter at Macy's as my friends purchased their favorite Ginger scrub. 

I wandered right into the arms of LUSH Cosmetics, met by a sales staff who felt like long-lost friends and were all decked out in TOMS. How much time did I really spend hanging out at Lush? So much time that my friends came in to find me, only to become just as obsessed as I. We actually screamed! And the sales staff encouraged it! They even had a Scissor Sisters quote on their wall, and I LOVE THE SCISSOR SISTERS.

See? I'm still screaming.

So here's the truth: I'm not one to buy something because it's vegan or eco-friendly or natural; instead, I buy what I like and don't really consider the impact it has on anyone but me. I was an only child for 13 years, give me a little bit of a break in the selfish department, okay?

But LUSH just so happens to be animal-testing-free and eco-friendly and natural and simultaneously decadent and DELICIOSO-SMELLING, and that, my friends, is how it's changed my life. I love all of those things now because I truly notice a difference in the products. My skin! My hair! My smell! It's all so good, I could hug random strangers to prove the power of these products!

I could go on and on (and on and on, really) about these products. I really could. Instead, I'll share with you some of the key players in my fairytale cosmetic love story, starring LUSH:

This, my possibly hesitant readers, is BUFFY. We like to call her Buffy the Cellulite Slayer, but it is so much more than that. It's a $20 best-friend-like heaven that lasts for 60 amazing and skin-softening uses. It's basically a cube of moisturizing lotion (omigod you guys, the smell...SO GOOOOOD) with exfoliant that completely eliminates the need for lotion after your shower or bath. No, seriously. Your skin comes out lotioned and smoother than a baby's bottom and it lasts all damn day.

Real-life testimonials from my friends who were with me the day I fatefully stumbled into LUSH:

"Dude, that Buffy! I'm asking it to marry me tomorrow!!!!" -My friend Bailey's actual Facebook status

"Buffy is the love of my life!" -My friend Heather's Twitter update

Enough. Said. Moving on!

This is Godiva solid shampoo, and it makes the richest lather I have ever felt in my life and it has the most delicious jasmine scent. Did I know that jasmine is my favorite smell ever? Not until I met this shampoo bar. I can't even talk about it because it gives me the overwhelming urge to wash my hair. OVERWHELMING!

Oh, and the best part: Since using this shampoo bar, I haven't had to douse my hair in conditioner and go through more bottles than a hair salon in a month. Major money saver!

Another all-time favorite item (really, how many all-time favorite items can one have?) is the Aromaco all-natural deodorant, minus the plastic deodorant tube, plus baking soda, witch hazel and PATCHOULI. You heard me right. Hippy pits are happy pits, and mine have never smelled better.

It lasts through my warmest and most awkward and nervous moments, which is incredibly important when you're klutzy and oftentimes find yourself in embarrassing situations.

 

When it comes to LUSH, I splurged like a shopaholic off her meds let loose in a mall with Daddy's credit card, but I don't feel bad because the quality is amazing and the stuff just lasts. In addition to the products I just gabbed about, I also now use a rejuvenating face mask, jasmine-scented body wash, solid jasmine-scented perfume (are we noticing a trend yet?) and some intensely repairing hair lotion. And guess what? I've gotten compliments on both my skin, which is looking fiercely vibrant; and my smell, which is, in my mind, exotic and natural and love-inducing. 

Have you ever wondered what Carmen Sandiego would smell like? I secretly imagine I smell how I think she would smell. Worldy. Mysterious. Perfect for wearing a red trench coat and large-brimmed hat.

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Be sure to check out LUSH for yourself; word on the street is that they do absolutely no PR or marketing, instead relying on word of mouth and happy customers. And, obviously, blog posts from the aforementioned happy customers. OH, and did I mention everything is handmade? Just one more reason to geek out about LUSH.

Any other fans out there? Have I tempted you to try some for yourself?

*All photos in this post from the LUSH website.

  

Stay thrifty,
Hollie

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Gifts, Gifts Everywhere, But They're Kind of All the Same

Wedding season is fastly approaching, and I know what you're all thinking inside those wedding-crazed heads of yours: "I best save up my paychecks so I can buy all of my soon-to-be-married couple-friends gifts, even though they probably won't remember who got them what."

And that's pretty sad, right? All of the time spent picking out a perfect gift for a couple near and dear to your heart, wrapping it to perfection, finding the most amazing, tear-jerker card...and then nobody remembers which gift-giver gave what. OK, except maybe the KitchenAid mixer. Everybody remembers who got them that.

So what do you get for the couple who has it all, wedding gift or otherwise? 

Well, thrifty readers, I now present you THE PERFECT ALL-OCCASIONS GIFT, WHICH HAPPENS TO ALSO BE PERFECT FOR WEDDINGS:

 

 
My excited (now married) friend showing off her new last name,
gifted by her loving bridesmaids, crappily photographed by my dinosaur camera

 

Framed alphabet photography in their namesake, made up of pictures of things that resemble letters. I'm sorry, but HOW FANTASTICAL IS THAT?! Even Oprah loves them, and she gifted one to America's resident crazy (Tom Cruise, the crazy before Charlie Sheen) when he married Katie Holmes. I'm confident when I say that their picture is probably the second most precious thing in their house--aside from the totally sassy Suri, of course.

The "original" creator of this alphabet photography goodness is Sticks and Stones, which is run by a cutie-cute family from a city in central Illinois (where Dustin just so happened to go to school). Prices range from $140 to over $300 depending on frames and various other options. And did I mention that there is a Sticks and Stones picture hanging in the White House? Well, there is. I KNOW.

For some of us on a more restricted budget, a Sticks and Stones picture may seem like a really great idea. And we might be tempted to buy one because they are just so gosh-darned sweet. But if the price is still a bit much, have no fear...

...because you can find the same thing for less on Etsy. 

 

Framed alphabet photography via AnotherFrameofMind, $75

 

I did a quick Etsy search and uncovered oodles of talented sellers who offer the same exact thing anywhere from $50 and up, and buyers are able to handpick whatever letter pictures they want. Talk about the easiest DIY project in the universe, seriously! And if you're a die-hard DIY-er, you can even purchase separate letters and frame them yourself with tons o' love.

Of course, if you're handy with the camera and you have time on your hands to seek some found-in-nature letters, that would make it even more special and people might even scream or faint at your sheer talent. (Note to people who might want to do this: A photography professor in college gave us this very assignment to complete in just one class, and guess who got a total of five letters? This gal. My professor wasn't pleased.)

And for couples who won't be sharing the same last name, there are so many other frame-able options to choose from: Sweet words, short first names, a wedding date, blah, blah, blah. I'm sure you could come up with something.

What's the verdict, kidlets? Do we love this idea or do we LOVE THIS IDEA?! Would you buy one for some soon-to-be-married friends, your parents, new babies, the nice neighbor who offered up their snow blower so you didn't have to shovel the entire driveway yourself? All of the above?

 

Stay thrifty,
Hollie

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Hair's What's Happening in the Curly World

When people with barely-there curls come up to me and sympathize about having naturally curly hair, I get mentally exasperated and internally lose my cool. Maybe this is because annoying junior high school boys used to call me "raccoon," and maybe it's because my hair gets lampshade-shaped when I try to straighten it, and maybe it's because I'm terrified of swimming in public because the frizzy, productless result post-air dry has a monstrous life of its own.

And after years of struggling with my curls, trying to chemically relax them and getting more bad haircuts than anyone should ever, ever have to endure (once a stylist cut my entire head of hair dry using only a razor), I've come to terms with my hair. It makes it easy to pick me out of a crowd, lends itself well to ginormous hair accessories, and takes a whopping five minutes to do in the mornings.

So after all this hair-induced anguish, I figured it was high time to share my wealth of hard-earned curl knowledge with people who may be cursing their own hair and fighting with a straightener on a daily basis. This post is dedicated to you, my wild-haired friends.

First up, my hair product arsenal. I shampoo my hair maybe once every three days, dump gallons of conditioner in it daily, and never leave the house without my LA Looks gel:

 

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Oh, incredibly inexpensive mega mega hold, how I love thee. Gone are the days of fugly vacation photos when you forgot to pack the hair gel, because you can find this in any drugstore, grocery store, anystore, everywhere. It is the only thing that defines my curls and keeps frizz at bay. Two words: OBSESSIVE LOVE. Three more words: Can't live without.

But you know what? It can feel crunchy. I'm accepting of this (I secretly like it), but I understand it can be a deal-breaker for some people. So for my soft-curl days, I present you Noodle Head and B&b Grooming Creme:

 

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Pretty self-explanatory. All of these products make me happy. Strong-wind-tested, curl approved.

 

But perhaps the best piece of advice I can give anyone with curly hair is A) find a hairstylist who specializes in curly hair, and B) get a good cut. I get that this is technically two pieces of advice, but coming from someone who recently learned the power of an amazing stylist and chop, I can't begin to express the importance.

I mean really, do you understand your hair's curl patterns? Has anyone actually painstakingly gone through your hair, section by section, and literally read the curl types to you as you sit in the chair, caped and shocked by this whole new world of information?

 

First I was like...and then I was like...

 

As unique and exotic as curly hair may seem, it's easy to get sick of. When my hair was long, it was heavy and blah. It would ambush Dustin's face as we hugged. Alas, I decided to go the PWC (PRE-wedding chop) route, and put my hair-fate in the hands of a curl specialist.

After my hours-long, long-to-short chop, I cried. And no, it wasn't the sappy "I miss my long hair so much because it was a part of me and I was used to it and now it will take forever to grow out," cry. It was actually an "I can't believe I lived so long without having an actual style, and oh, how I wish I could go back and chop it sooner," cry.

So, wild-haired pals, whether you rock the long locks or a short 'do, here's some wedding day curl-spiration. And yes, some of it is so awesome, I almost consider growing my hair out. Almost.

 

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Please tell me other people can relate to this perpetual, life-long curl struggle. Or do you hate curly hair because you were forced to get a perm as a a child even though you really wanted the timeless rat-tail-bowl-cut combo? Do you battle curls with a flat iron or chemicals, and are you freaking out over a curly wedding-day 'do?

And PS: If you see a curly-headed stranger and feel the strong urge to reach out and touch their locks, please refrain. It's just weird. And it makes that person feel like a puppy.

 

 

Stay Thrifty!
Hollie

Follow us on Twitter: @ThriftyinWhite
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