Skincare Review: The Body Shop and Bio-Oil

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to share with you all my thoughts on the products that I 

have been using in my skincare routine for the past few months. First off, I have oily and acne prone skin. However, my acne usually was only pretty mild. But last December, my skin broke out horribly and would just keep breaking out. In March I finally decided to try The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Kit and Bio-Oil. Since that time I have already repurchased the Tea Tree kit. 

So now for more details...

First let's talk about the skin care kit. 

The skin care kit that I have been using is The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Kit. I purchased my kit from Ulta for $29. 

This kit includes:

-A Cleanser

-A Toner

- A Lotion

-Tea Tree Oil

- And a sample of the Tea Tree Face Mask

Since I have been using this kit for my skincare, I have noticed that my skin has had some large changes and improvements. The occurrence of my acne has definitely went down and my overall complexion is less red and irritated. 

As for other facts about this kit, the products do smell strongly of Tea Tree. This may bother some, but I think it smells clean and refreshing. Also, I would recommend purchasing this kit to try these products and also if you decide to repurchase because the size of the bottles can last me about 3 months. Therefore, I think this kit is a better value for your money than purchasing all of the products individually.

Next let's discuss Bio-Oil.

Bio-Oil can be used on various places of the body to help with scars, stretch marks, etc. I have been using Bio-Oil nightly on my face to help fade some of my post acne marks as well as fade some of my freckles. Since using this product, I have noticed that many of my post acne marks have faded or completely disappeared. 

The one draw back of this product is the price; it can be quite pricey. However, I do recommend checking out your local Walgreens, because they tend to put this product on sale for a good price. 

The saving grace that helps make up for this product is the fact that it will last you a long time because it takes the smallest amount for an application. 

I hope this review was helpful. I highly recommend checking out The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Kit it you suffer from acne. I also recommend the Bio-Oil if you have any type of marks on your skin that you would like to help fade. 

If you have any questions or a request please leave a comment down below or send me an email to KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com

Thank you for reading and until next time...

XOXO,

Kaitlyn 

Battle of the Beauty: Face Powders

Hello everyone! Today we are going to watch another battle of the beauty occur. Today's battle features some of the face powders that I have tried over the past several months. Before the battle begins, let me share with you some information about my skin type as well as the way that I tend to use face powders. 

First, let's discuss my skin type. I have oily skin so when I am testing out a face powder, I want it to help keep my face looking matte and not shiny. I also want it to not mix with the oils on my face and change color. I want my face powder to be long lasting. 

Now, let's discuss how I tend to use my face powders. I generally only use concealer and powder on my face. I want my face powder to be able to help my concealer with perfecting my face. On occasions that I do wear foundation, I want my face powder to be able to set the foundation and keep my skin looking fresh all day. 

So now that you know about my skin type and my expectations for my face powder.....Let the battle commence!

The first powder in this battle is the NYC Smooth Skin BB Radiance powder.

Click Here to Purchase

As you can see the packaging of this powder is very simple. The powder snaps shut easily. The mirror included with this powder is located on top of the inside of the lid with a clear plastic sheet separating the powder from the included sponge. The label is located on the back of the packaging. I have this powder in the shade 001 Naturally Beige. One thing to note about the shades of this powder is that I believe there were only 3 or 4 shades to choose from. I bought my powder from Walmart and it is by far the cheapest powder of the three today at the price range of $3 to $5

 Some of the claims made by this product include:  

"Smooth Skin BB Radiance Perfecting Powder for perfect and natural complexion."

"Improves the appearance of your skin and evens skin tone."

"Smooths fine lines and minimizes the appearance of pores."

"Its lightweight and long lasting formula matifies  and covers imperfections for a perfect velvet finish."

"For all skin types."

Some of the things that drew me into trying this powder was the name with "BB Radiance" because the few BB creams that I have tried before I had liked and I have never seen that type of product as a powder. I do think the texture of this powder is very smooth like the name states. When I first applied this powder to my skin, it did help improve the appearance of my overall skin complexion and texture. Unfortunately, throughout the day, this powder did not help keep me matte. As the day went on I found myself having to touch up my powder every few hours because my skin would start to appear shiny. I am going to keep this powder though, because I want to try it out on my skin during the winter months when my skin is more of a dry skin type. 

Overall, if you do have dry skin or normal skin I would recommend this powder to you. But if you have oily skin like I do I would not suggest using this during the warmer months. 

The second powder in this battle is the Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless.

Click Here to Purchase

The shape of this packaging is very unique for face powders. This is the only face powder of the three in the battle that has a square package. I liked the square shape of this powder. I think it is very sleek and also makes it easy to store in my makeup bag. The label for this powder is also located on the back of the packaging. The lid to this powder also snaps shut and the mirror included is located underneath the powder, which also can house a sponge. I bought this powder also at Walmart with a Maybelline $1 off coupon. This powder was priced in the middle of the other two at around $7 to $8. There are several shades of this powder, and the shade also matches with the line of foundations that are also apart of the Matte and Poreless line. My shade is 120 Classic Ivory. 

The claims of this powder include:

"For normal to oily skin"

"Natural pore less looking finish"

"Up to 12 hour wear"

"Long lasting shine control"

I was interested in this powder because of the "Matte and Poreless" claim to it since I do have oily skin and that is one of the main factors that I am searching for in a powder. This powder I noticed is better with a lighter hand because it can tend to look rather cakey fast. This powder did wear longer on me than the NYC powder, but I was still having to touch up too often. My oil and shine was still breaking through this powder. I did also notice that on days that I have a few more breakouts than normal, this powder throughout the day would cling to those spots making them stand out. 

I also think that even though this powder is aimed towards both oily and normal skin, it is best suited for normal/combination skin. 

The third and final powder in this battle is the Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Face Powder. 

Click Here to Purchase

The packaging of this face powder is a similar shape to the NYC powder, but it is somewhat thicker. The location of the mirror, and in this case small brush, is similar to the Maybelline powder because it is also located underneath the powder. The shade range of this powder is very slim. I believe that there were only 2 or 3 shades available. My shade is Translucent. I also bought this powder at Walmart. This powder is the most expensive of the three powders in this battle coming in at around     $11 to $12. 

The claims of this powder include:

"Minerals such as Mica and Silica provide a smooth, "second skin" feel and finish."

"Delivers a natural finish by gently absorbing oil without drying and helping to minimize the appearance of fine lines."

"For extra sensitive or breakout-prone skin."

"Minimalist formula helps reduce irritation and breakouts."

"Contains SPF 16."

What brought me to discover this powder was a girl that I watch on YouTube who had similar sounding concerns that I have. Her YouTube channel is Lilfeefifofum if you are interested in checking out her channel. But I had heard her talk about this powder in a few of her videos and the last time that I was at the store I decided to finally check it out. This powder does help make your skin look smooth and flawless. I also really like the fact that it has at least some SPF in it. I have noticed with this powder that throughout the day your skin just keeps looking better. I also only had to touch up my skin once or twice throughout my eight hour shift at work. I think this powder is really good for oily skin in the summer. 

The winner of this battle for me is the Physicians Formula Mineral Powder. I feel like it has been the best at completing the tasks that I have wanted out of a face powder. It keeps my face looking smooth and flawless throughout the day, even in the hot summer heat. It also helps keep my oily skin at bay. I would highly recommend this powder if you also have oily skin. I know I will definitely be repurchasing this powder.

Well I hope this battle has helped you when you go on your next trip to the drugstore looking for your next face powder. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com Thanks so much for reading.

Until next time....

XOXO,

Kaitlyn 

My Favorite Magazines

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to share with you all some of my favorite magazines to read. The magazines that I like to read consist of mostly beauty/fashion magazines. There is however an occasional celebrity gossip magazine that I enjoy. 

So let's see what some of my favorite magazines are....

My first favorite magazine is Seventeen.  I have been reading this magazine since way before I ever turned seventeen and now I am still reading it past the age of seventeen. I enjoy the fashion tips and advice from this magazine as well as the celebrity interviews within it. 

My second favorite magazine is InStyle. This magazine has become a new favorite of mine, but I was really impressed with the fashion and beauty tips within it.

My third favorite magazine is Allure. I love all of the articles, product recommendations, and tips that revolve around beauty products in this magazine. I also like that for every month they have a complete description of what went on during the photo shoot of the cover celebrity. 

My fourth favorite magazine is People Style Watch. O my goodness.....I love this magazine. It is the best at mixing both beauty and fashion. . 

My fifth favorite magazine is Shape. This magazine is also new to me, but so far I have really been enjoying it. It has great food recipes, workout ideas, and even outfit ideas. It also has a little bit of beauty thrown in it as well. 

My sixth favorite magazine is Cosmopolitan. Now part of why I read this magazine may or may not be because of the fact that this was Elle Wood's favorite magazine. :P But either way I like the fashion aspects of this magazine. 

A few more of my favorite magazines include InTouch and People. I like to read InTouch for the celebrity news and gossip. I like to read People because it includes some celebrity news as well as true stories of inspiring people. 

I highly recommend these magazines to you all if you are looking for some new reading material. Please leave any magazine recommendations that you all have in a comment down below. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to 

KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com

Also you can follow me on Pinterest at Kaitlynm0723.

Thanks for reading and until next time..

XOXO,

Kaitlyn 

DIY Pinterest Inspiration: How to Decorate Your Keys

                             

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to share with you all this interesting idea that I saw on Pinterest. The only things that I needed for this craft were my keys and one of my favorite decorating tools........

WASHI TAPE!!

I'm sure that I can't be the only one with this problem; I have several of the same looking types of house keys but they all are for different doors/houses. For example, I have my house keys, which are also for different doors at the house and then I also have a key to my grandmother's house. When I first put all my keys on my key ring, I did place them in a certain order so that I could remember which key was which. But over time, my keys got jumbled up and I was not sure which was which so I would have to try each one when trying to unlock the door. 

What could be a possible solution to this problem?

Well,  I was sent a pin with the idea to use washi tape to decorate and differentiate your keys. So the first thing that I did was get my keys and pick which washi tapes I wanted to use. 

I had four keys that I needed to decorate. I decided to use coordinating washi tapes also. 

What I did to decorate my keys was to simply wrap the washi tape around my keys. Around the tops of the keys I used scissors to trim and shape the washi tape. I also put a couple layers of tape around each key due to the fact that some of the washi tape was sheer and I could still see the key thru the first layer of tape. To do this craft, it was really simple and it was rather quick also.

Here is what my keys looked like afterwards...

Overall, my washi tape wrapping wasn't perfect, but I do think that my keys came out looking really cute. And now I can remember which key goes to which lock easier. And another great thing about this craft; the washi tape can easily be removed if I get tired of this tape and I want to put a different designed washi tape on my keys. 

I also think that they added a cute flare to my key chain. :) 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and try this easy craft out on your own keys.

Thanks for reading and until next time.....

XOXO

Kaitlyn 

Product Empties: June 2015

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to share with you all some of the most recent beauty products that I have finished. I have split my empties up into several categories and I will share with you all the products that I either have or will repurchase in the future. I will also share with you some of the products that I would suggest skipping on your next beauty shopping trip. 

First up I have my empty hair products.

• Nexxus Frizz Defy Hairspray 
• Pureology Colour Fanatic Multi-Tasking Hair Beautifier with 21 Essential Benefits (Click Here to Purchase)
• L'Oreal Color Vibrancy Dual Protect Spray
• Batiste Dry Shampoo (Click Here to Purchase)
• Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner (Click Here to Purchase)
• Pureology Fortifying Heat Spray

The products that will be repurchased by me will definitely include the Pureology Colour Fanatic 21. I used it in my damp hair before I would dry it. It did not weigh my hair down or make it greasy. It did make my hair incredibly soft and healthy looking. Another product or products that I have repurchased are the Pureology Hydrate shampoo and conditioner. These hair products are amazing. They also do not weigh my hair down or make it look greasy. They do however make my hair shiny and soft. They also smell like mint which is really refreshing. The last product that I do not need to repurchase because I have extra stocked in my bathroom cabinet is the Batiste Dry Shampoo. If you can not clearly tell my love for this product from the six empty bottles here is a link to another post of mine where I reviewed it and compared it against another drugstore dry shampoo; (Click Here). 

As for the rest of my empty hair products, none of them were horrible, but none of them were amazing either. As for the two different heat protectors that I used up, I usually end up purchasing a different kind every time that I use one up. I will say however that the Nexxus Hairspray would have been a repurchase, but after I bought this bottle, I could never find it again. 

Now for the home products that I used up.

• Bath and Body Works candles in SMILE pink lemonade punch and Sparkling Berry Fizz. 

I love Bath and Body Works candles. If you just went out and purchased them they can be expensive, but when there is a sale or coupons, you can get them for a good deal. They tend to last a long time for me, even when I burn them 4 to 6 days of the week. I do not believe these fragrances are still available, but they always have new delicious smelling scents come out. I also have a few of these candles stored away from a really good sale. 

Next up is my fragrance empties. 

• Britney Spears "Fantasy" perfume (Click Here to Purchase)
• Britney Spears "Fantasy/Midnight Fantasy" perfume duo
• Britney Spears "Midnight Fantasy" perfume (Click Here to Purchase)

    I really love these perfumes also. The duo perfume I received a couple of years ago as a Christmas present and the two perfumes separately I picked up at Walmart the day after Christmas for a really good deal. They smell so fresh and fun. I will definitely repurchase these two perfume scents someday, but first I want to try her "Island Fantasy" perfume.  

Now for the makeup.

• Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray
• Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder
• Essence All About Matte! Powder
• Maybelline Great Last Lots of Lashes mascara (Click Here to Purchase) 
• Becca Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

My one repurchase from these empties is my Maybelline Lots of Lashes mascara. I have tried tons of mascaras and this is the only one that gives me the look that I want. I love the strangely shaped brush and the formula of this mascara. 

As for the other products; the setting spray was okay. I recently bought a cheaper alternative from L'Oreal to compare and see if it is a budget friendly dupe for the urban decay. The Maybelline face powder I would not recommend if you have really oily skin, which I tend to have. It does make your skin look nice after it is first applied, but you need to touch up quite a bit to keep your skin looking flawless. Also, I had the lightest shade, but it was still a bit too dark for my skin tone. The Essence matte powder also makes your skin look great after you first apply it, but throughout the day it does not keep your skin matte, which was the whole reason that I purchased it. Lastly, the Becca perfector did an okay job at helping my skin stay matte, but I do not think that I will purchase it (this tube was a free sample). 

My last category is skincare/body care.

• Mud Pac anti stress mask
• Equate Cocoa Butter Lotion
• Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Lotion (Click Here to Purchase)
• Tone Fruit Peel Exfoliation Body Wash (Click Here to Purchase)
• Degree Motion Sense deodorant
• The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner, Cleanser, Lotion, and Oil (Click Here to Purchase)
• True Blue mini paraffin hand lotion
• Bath and Body Works Gingerbread Hand Cream
• Bath and Body Works Cool Amazon Rain body wash 
• The Body Shop Early Harvest Raspberry body butter (Click Here to Purchase) 

I really like both the Vaseline Cocoa lotion as well as The Body Shop body butters for all over body moisturizers. I apply them after I get out of the shower. I really like how they absorb into the skin and they do not leave a greasy film on your skin. They are also great at fulfilling their purpose, which is to moisturize. I have several bottles of these lotions both in my bathroom and bedroom. I really liked the Tone body wash and have since bought a new bottle, but in a different scent just because I like to switch the scents up. So far, I have also been enjoying it. The big standout from this group of empties is The Body Shop Tea Tree skincare set. I have a post that I want to write about this set soon, but *SPOILER ALERT* I really love this skincare. I would highly recommend it if you suffer from oily, red, and acne-prone skin. Keep checking back for my future post specifically about it. 

The other empties from this category are much like the hair care products. None of them were awful, but none of them amazed me either. 

Overall, I would say my favorite products that I used up from this bunch were my Pureology and Batiste hair products, my Bath and Body Works candles, my Britney Spears perfumes, my Maybelline mascara, my Vaseline and Body Shop lotions, my Tone body wash, and lastly my Body Shop Tea Tree Skincare. I would highly recommend all of these products, In fact, most of them I have already repurchased myself. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you might try and find some of your new favorite products from my recommendations. If you have any further questions about any of the products or if you have some great recommendations please leave them in a comment below or send them in an email to me at KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com

Thanks for reading and until next time...

XOXO,

Kaitlyn 

Plan With Me: June 8-14, 2015

Hello Everyone! Today I thought I would share with you how I use my planner.

 I always use my planner during the school year, but now where I have my job and I'm trying to stay  on top with my blog, I need to use my planner throughout the summer also. I was also inspired to do this post and share with you all how I plan because I love to watch these types of videos on YouTube. I hope that this post inspires you to either start planning or if you already plan, I hope this gives you some ideas how to personalize and add pizzazz to your planner. 

First off, let's discuss my planner. I received this planner as a birthday gift last year and I have used it all throughout this past school year. Unfortunately, June is the last month of my planner, which makes me so sad because I love this planner so much. I love the cover design of this planner; it is also hardback which has helped it to stay nice looking. There is tons of space on the inside for writing (which you will see in a moment). This planner was also very budget friendly because it came from Walmart and was under $15.

So now that you all know some details about my planner, let me show you what supplies I tend to use to plan. 

This week I am going to use these four different pens from the brand Zebra I believe, These were a new purchase, but I must say they were very nice colored pens. I also pulled out four different rolls of washi tape, some small sticky notes, and some fun and cute stickers. 

So now that you know what I'll be using, let's start the planning. 

The first step that I did was with my washi tape. I used a fuchsia colored tape horizontally across the top and bottom of my weekly page layout. (BTW my planner starts with Monday on the top left space with Tuesday and Wednesday on that same page. The next page has Thursday, Friday, and then Saturday and Sunday beside each other at the bottom of the right page.) Next I used a striped washi tape (which has a stripe that matches the fuchsia tape) vertically on the two pages. Lastly, I took some decorative scotch tape ( which also matches my fuchsia tape) on Thursday to indicate that it is pay day for my job. 

During the second step of my planning I simply wrote in all of the things that I had to do this week. The picture above shows Monday thru Wednesday. Various things that I had to plan and schedule were my work schedule, basic chores that I need to complete, and errands that I needed to get done on Monday (which was my day off).  The picture below shows Thursday thru Sunday. These days also included things like my work schedule, chores, and also the yard sale that my family is having on Saturday. There was not a reason for labeling my certain tasks with the colored pens that I chose. I simply chose those colors because they also matched my washi tape color scheme. I also used a couple of matching sticky notes to plan chores that I want to get done on those certain days, but just in case I do not complete them on those days, I can move my sticky notes and try to complete those tasks on a different day. I decided not to use any of my cute stickers this week simply because I felt that they were not needed this week. 

Well that is how I schedule out my week in my planner. I hope you all enjoyed this post and if you would be interested in seeing a post like this maybe bi-weekly or monthly please let me know down in the comments. Also, if you have any other requests let me know down below. You can also always send me an email to: KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com 

Thanks so much for reading and until next time

XOXO,

Kaitlyn 

Book Review: Nurse The True Story of Mary Benjamin, R.N.

Hello Everyone! I'm back today with a review on the latest book that I have finished. This book is titled "Nurse The True Story of Mary Benjamin, R.N. " by Peggy Anderson. This book is a nonfiction book, which is a different type of genre than what I usually read. But despite this I still found this book very enjoyable because you all may know from my "About Me" section, I am a nursing major in college. 

To begin, let's start with the synopsis of this book.

"Sometimes I help people live. Sometimes I help them die. Always, I help them. I'm a Nurse. The shocking, inspiring, surprise bestseller Nurse is the story of eight weeks in the life of a nurse in a large urban hospital. It is all here:  the joy and pain; the death and drama; the mistakes, successes, and secrets. Nurse reads like a novel, but sticks in the memory like real experience. Because it is.

NURSE

The True Story of Mary Benjamin, R.N. 

Now for my opinion. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I received it as a gift and like I previously stated, I have not read many books like this before so I did not know what to expect. I was afraid that it would be boring or difficult to understand. But to my surprise, the line from the synopsis is true. This book reads like many of the other novels that I have read before, but you still do you remember that these stories are true, and the people that are involved with them are real. The narrator, who is Mary Benjamin, R.N. speaks to you through this book like you are sitting right beside her. I liked how when she described certain procedures that she would have to perform on patients, she would also describe them so that you, as the reader, could easily understand. You could tell by the way that Mary described her job and patients that she enjoyed being a nurse and this made her very like able. 

I also like this book for the details of  patients that it involved. I do not live in an urban city so I do not know if I will ever encounter some of the situations or people she described, but it was nice to hear about her experiences in her urban hospital because I believe hearing this knowledge is better than not. This knowledge will be useful to me as a nursing student and future R.N. because it will help to keep my mind open to all situations and people that I may someday have to care for. 

This book was an excellent, enjoyable, and easy read. It has helped excite me even more for the possibilities of what I could achieve in my future nursing career. It has also introduced me to a new aisle at the bookstore, because it has made me what to seek out other nurses' stories and experiences. Whether you are a nursing student like me or you are already a nurse, I would highly recommend checking out this book. 

If you all would like to see more posts with tips for applying to nursing schools or as the new school year approaches in August, more info about my experiences with starting nursing school let me know down in the comments or in an email to 

KatchingUpWithKaitlyn@gmail.com 

I hope you all enjoyed this book review. Thankx for reading!

Until next time,

XOXO

Kaitlyn