♡ Skincare Saturday #3- Devita Solar Protective Moisturizer Review ♡

So I thought I did a blog review of this before but I guess not. I did to a video and just filmed a updated one as well. I'm almost out this so I have a pretty good opinion of it. 

 This is seriously one of the best natural products I have tried so far.
It's great for my sensitive skin, it also has aloe to help calm.
I think the hyaluronic acid in this really softens and smooths my skin out. Every time i use it (over another moisturizer) my face feels crazy soft and healthier.
It isn't the most moisturizing thing so I do have to put some kind of oil, serum, or face moisturizer before using this.
When you first put it on it looks very shiny and almost greasy, BUT wait less than a minute for it to set and that shin will go away.
The best thing about this is the texture, it's almost like a gel and it blends in very easily WITH OUT A WHITE CAST!! Which is perfect since it's spf 30! Crazy right! I didn't really believe that when I heard other bloggers talking about it but it's true, it really is one of the best natural spf products!

♡ Tom's Lavender Deodorant Review

It's kind of hard to find a good natural deodorant in 'normal' stores! Toms is at kroger, rite aid, food lion and more.

This is a good deodorant that has a good selection of scents.
It works fine for me... unless I'm doing a lot during the day. The other day at work, but the end of the day I could have used some more. But if you have a touch up mid-day it should be fine. 

On a normal winter day, this is enough for me. But in the summer time it needs to be re applied more than once a day.
It's about $4 and I would get it again (in winter).

(note: not all their deodorants are aluminum free)

The ingredients aren't terrible either!!

♡ 2 Week Sugar Detox Diary ♡

Sigh... Taylor is trying another sugar detox?
YES! 
But this time will be a little different. It's gonna be a 2 week detox and not as hard core as before. I'm not cutting out every single thing that contains sugar,
but I'm staying away from sweets (candy, cookies, brownies, ect.) and trying to cut down on the honey in my tea. Stuff like that.
I "started" on January 1st... But I ate a Harry Potter chocolate frog that was already open that I didn't want to go bad. :P
And yesterday we went to see Frozen (which was SO cute!) And I had a few GF "cookies" my mom had... Although honestly they tasted more just like a sweet cracker.
But I'm not gonna be harsh on myself and I'll just try my best. This morning I am very proud to say I had NO added sugars.

 I had 2 fresh scrambled eggs with garlic, pepper and salt, tomato, and avocado.
2 small oranges,
and a cup of unsweetened pomegranate green tea.

♡ Resolutions TAG! ♡

I was tagged by PrimalBeautyQueen on youtube to do the Resolutions TAG, so I'm doing my own take on it. :)

Best moments from 2013?
1. My Graduation party for sure! My boyfriend Micah had said he wasn't coming and then surprised me on that day showing up at my house as I was getting ready, when I came out of the bathroom and saw him I just fell apart, hugging him and crying like crazy.... Yes it ruined my makeup :P But it was worth it.
Since he lives 3 hours away it was the best surprise I could get! I also got to see my friends Megan and Jeremiah! I didn't know they were coming either and I hadn't seen them in about a year! 


2. Me and Micah's 2 year Anniversary! He treated me to lunch at Noodles & Company (one of my favorite places to eat) and to see City Of Bones! It was great just spending time with him to celebrate our relationsip and how far it has come so far. <3

 3. Going to Micah's house.
I had never been to his house before so this was totally new for me! 
I loved being with him and his family and getting to know them better and seeing a whole part of his life that I wasn't a part of before! 
One day I loved the most was me and him going to our friends Caleb and Kate's house for dinner! The weather was beautiful and they were so fun to hang out with! I tried buffalo burgers for the first time and they were actually really good! 

Time for my 2014 Goals and Resolutions.

Online- 
1. Blog at LEAST once a week.
2. Upload videos at least 2 to 4 times a week.

Skin and Health-

1. Take better care of skin-
Try not to touch face so much,
Don't pick at acne,
Eat very low sugar (the sugar breaks me out more)
Stay hydrated (the more water I have, the better my skin is)

2. Re-focus on being healthy.
Again the same with water and sugar,
Try to eat 80% fruits and veggies.


Personal-

1. Don't stress it-
Pray about it,
Let go of things out of my control,
Don't let stress steal my happiness.

2. Set spending limits and month to month savings goals.

3. I didn't have this in my video because I didn't think it was very realistic...but dream big right?
I want to make my own homemade natural skincare products (bath melts, fizzies, scrubs, lotions, ect.) and maybe sell them on Etsy!
So even if I don't sell them this year I want to take steps to make that happen! 

Ways to do so:
I can set money aside for supplies,
I can look around for the things I'll need,
Seek advice from someone who is already doing that,
And remember... Moving slow is better than standing still.

My theme for these goals are to just take better care of myself. Mind, Body, and Spirit.

♡ Books Read in 2013- Favs and Fails ♡

2013 List:
1. A Plain & Simple Christmas
2. Reached- Ally Condie
3. The Selection- Kierra Cass
4. The Host- Stephanie Meyer
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
6.Wither by Lauren Destafano
7. Fever- Lauren Destafano
8. The Reckoning by Beverly Lewis
9. Sever- Lauren Destafano
10. Unending Devotion by Judy Hedlund
11. the summer i turned pretty by Jenny Han
12. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
13. The Lucky One- Nicholas Sparks
14. The Bridesmaid- Beverly Lewis
15. Falling Home- Karen White
16. The Short Second Like Of Bree Tanner- Stephenie Meyer
17. The Elite- Kiera Cass
18. The Measure Of A Heart- Jennette Oke
19. My Stubborn Heart- Becky Wade
20. The Proposal- Lori Wick
21. Mila 2.0- Debra Dizra
22. The Guardian- Beverly Lewis
23. The Forest Of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan
24. The Gathering- Kelly Armstrong
25. Through the Ever Night- Veronica Rossi
26. Mind Games- Kiersten White
27. Hemlock- Kathleen Peacock
28.The Magicians Nephew-C.S. Lewis
29. City of Bones- Cassandra Clair
30. Bloodlines- Richelle Mead
31. Beautiful Darkness- Kami Garcia
32. City of Ashes- Cassandra Clair
33. Vampire Diaries 1- L. J. Smith
34. City of Class- Cassandra Clair
35. The Calling- Kelley Armstrong
36.Allegient- Veronica Roth
37. Partials- Dan Wells

My 5 Favorite-

1. The Selection Series- Kiera Cass
I loved both books (Selection and The Elite) and I can't wait for the next one! It has pretty much everything I would want in a princess story! And it's futuristic, even better. ;)

2. The Host- Stephanie Meyer- 
I'm actually a fan of the Twilight Saga, but I think the books aren't as good as the movies. 
But THIS book is amazing!! I love the story and i could read it again and again. Love the detail and POV.

3. Reached- Ally Condie-
I'm a huge fan of the Matched series in general (Crossed is not my favorite though at all) I feel like this was a great end to the series, with twists and surprises. It kept me guessing till the end and I love that.

4.Sever by Lauren Destafano- 
Once again one of my favorite series in general! But again not crazy about the 2nd one (Fever) but I feel like Sever was another great end to another great series. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I also got a little mad at some of those crazy twists. But they made the story.

5. Through the Ever Night- Veronica Rossi.
This was so much better than the 1st one. The plot was much better and I really enjoyed this.



My 5 Fails-

1. Allegiant-Veronica Roth-
I really hate to put this in here because I adore the first two so much.
I felt like the plot kind of fell short, It took a lot of getting used to. I don't know what I was expecting with the government in this book but I'm sad to say I was disappointed.

2. Vampire Diaries #1- L. J. Smith
I started watching the show in 2013 so I figured the book would be even better....boy was I WRONG! The writing was actually a little annoying to me. Too much drama. I only finished the awakening (#1) and that was making myself read it.

3. Partials- Dan Wells
Okay I was expecting a really cool futuristic story...But to me this was a little on the lame side. There wasn't a deep plot at all.
Although the 2nd half is MUCH better than the 1st, and there's a pretty good twist.

4. Bloodlines- Richelle Mead-
I don't know if it was because I didn't real Vampire Academy or what but this was very confusing. It had that lame school girl drama. Once again I kind of had to force myself to finish it.

5. Hemlock- Kathleen Peacock-
Okay... I actually liked this.. BUT it was SO much like The Gathering by Kelly Armstrong... So much alike it was hard to keep each set of characters seperate. That's kind of my only complaint, but it's a big one.

So there you have it.
I'm very excited to start my 2014 book list, read any good books lately? ;)

♡ Skincare Saturday #2- DIY Natural Mint Body Scrub ♡

For this skincare Saturday I'm gonna show you a DIY Natural Mint Body Scrub! It smells like a candy cane and is very moisturizing! I used coconut oil for this but you could probably use any kind of natural oil you like. It would also be nice with some shea butter in it as well.

What You Need-
1 Cup of sugar,
1/2 cup to 1 cup of melted coconut oil (depending on how thin or thick you want it)
5 to 10 drops of essential oil (I used peppermint for this one but I have used lemon, lavender and tea tree oil before)

First put the sugar in a glass mixing bowl,
add melted coconut oil in and mix,
add your peppermint oil and mix,
and that's it! Put it in container or glass jar of your choice.

 I love using this in the bath, it makes my water so moisturizing I don't need a lotion or anything after.
 
Any idea's for more Skincare Saturdays or DIY's?

XX -Taylor

Thanks for reading!  

♡ What I Got For Christmas! ♡

Here's what I got for Christmas! I'm not trying to brag at all, I'm very thankful for what I got.

From my Aunt Sherrill-
Note pad,
ChapStick,
Pens,
Gloves.

 From My Parents (Stocking)-
Hershey Kiss Candy Cane,
Santa Hat Kiss,
Harry Potter Chocolate Frog,
York Snowflake Peppermint Patty,
Celestial Peppermint Tea

 Christmas Tree Earrings- From my Meme
Bow Necklace- from parents,
Feather Earrings- My sister Brittany

 (From parents)
Canus Goat Milk Soap- Mint and Pear,
Rainwater Botanicals Antioxidant Skin Serum,
Deep Steep Body Butter- Brown Sugar Vanilla- This smells just like Pink Warm and Cozy!

 (From parents)
Pink LED Book Light,
Harry Potter Pen and Bookmark

(From parents)
 iPod Tape,
The Little Mermaid DVD,
City of Bones DVD,
Defiance and Deception by C. J. Redwine

 (Parents)- Blue and Black long sweater,
Black leggings from Walmart- these are amazing!They have fleece inside! So comfy!
Cute ankle socks :)
(From Brittany) Gray Divergent shirt from HotTopic.

There it is! What did you get for Christmas? :)