Friday Favorites

A few little beauty treats I'm loving this week as we're welcoming the spring season.

My cuticles have been extra dry from the long, hard winter. Couple that with the scalding hot showers I prefer, (seriously, I like to be a nice shade of pink when I come out), I was fighting a losing battle. No lotion was up for the task.

I really wanted a pure vitamin e oil rather than the Sally brand -  but was a victim of the CVS inventory. Proof I don't always know best. This stuff has worked wonders. It is what it says - oil. So, I find the best time to put it on is before bed, and then wear a pair of gloves for a little while - at least until it sinks in and won't rub all over your sheets. This is not a sexy look. But neither are snaggly nails. So as in all things, find some balance.

Since Sally proved herself once, I put her up to the task again. Girlfriend works hard for the money.

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover Gel

Get's the job done painlessly. Love to multitask with this one as well. Put it on right before the shower and get rid of those cuticles while you're enjoying the scalding hot water. You have to rinse it off with warm soapy water anyways, and there is an abundance of that in the shower. Who said this blog wasn't green?

I recently had to buy some apple cider vinegar for a recipe, and thought, "Hey...you've read something about this." It was not hard to find loads of beauty tips revolving around apple cider vinegar. I liked this page.

I've only tried the hair rinse, so it's all I can vouch for. A couple of tips:
1. Don't use a bottle of water you pulled directly from the fridge. See shower temperature preference above.
2. Expectations. It does not smell like apples. Or cider. It does smell like vinegar. You will have to buck up for 4-5 minutes.

I do think it did a great job of removing a lot of product buildup that was in my hair. It was much lighter, bouncier and just generally fancy free after the rinse. I'm a little concerned about the effect it will have on color, so I probably won't do it more than once a week.

Finally, some oldies but goodies. You have to welcome spring with a hint of color. These two do the trick.

All my favorites for making coming out of winter hibernation a little prettier. Happy Friday!