Boscia Konjac Cleansing Sponge Review

It's Winter. And I'm lazy. I'm lazy anyway, but about three months  out of a year, I have an excuse! My motivation for most things lessen when it gets terribly cold out. I don't want to clean, I don't want to food shop, I don't want put makeup on, I don't want to get "dressed"

..... you get the picture.  

While I obviously can't abandon my skin routine, (although about this time I wish I could), it needs to get as simple as possible for me in order for me to keep up with it.

So the problem is this:

While I love the Clarisonic and it works wonderfully, for a lazy person like myself, it can sometimes be a hassle. Half the time when I go to use it, it's not charged. When it is charged, I am impatient to wait for the timer to finish washing my face. Then I have to clean it. I realize how very silly I sound but the skincare struggle is real! I just don't have it in me this time of year! I have tried exfoliating scrubs for the face and I find they are too harsh or too soft for my Winter skin.

I do believe I have found a solution to my dilemna:

I was browsing the Sephora website for nothing in particular and came across the Boscia Konjac Cleansing Sponge and a light bulb went off. For $15, maybe it was worth a try?

I purchased it and used it for the first time last night so I want to give you my personal review.

It's a good "whisking away" sponge. Good for getting all of the surface gunk off of your face. Would I say its a deep clean? Not necessarily. But I'm actually ok with that. That is what my Clarisonic is for - a vigorous and deep clean. I needed something for every day to give my cleaning a boost when my fingers weren't cutting it. It's just just enough muscle to do the job and its soft enough that it doesn't feel like it's scraping my face off. If you have sensitive skin, you can use this every day with no irritation. It comes on a string so you can squeeze out the excess water and hang dry it which is nice so it doesn't collect bacteria and germs sitting on your sink. The packaging came with a complimentary sample of the Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel. That was also very lovely. Smelled like a spa treatment.

When I used these both together, my face was squeaky clean. No flakes, no dry spots, no redness. It was quick, easy and efficient.

Would I purchase this product again? Yes. Absolutely. And if you're lazy like me, I would suggest you do too for those days when you just don't feel like doing the whole bathroom production of it all!

Happy Winter!

V.V.

Pinterest Bedroom Dupe

I've been looking to spruce up my bedroom for a while. When we first moved into the apartment, there was so much to do, I focused more on the common areas first and put my bedrooms on hold. Now that we are settled in for the most part, I figured it was time to give the bedroom the TLC it deserved. 

I had been collecting images and ideas for a few months and came across a picture on Pinterest (which I'm sure a lot of you have seen floating around the web) that stopped me in my tracks. I can't put my finger on the exact reason why it drew me in, but when I saw it, I immediately knew that it was "the" picture and that's what I wanted to do.

Some highlights about this picture;
- It seems so luxurious, but so simple. Beautiful, but totally attainable.
- The wall color is neutral - the same as mine so it wouldn't take an entire paint overhaul to recreate it.
 - My bedroom is small and this seems to be about the same shape and size.
- It's feminine and masculine at the same time. Perfect for a couple.

So it was settled. This was the new design I was going with. Since the holidays  were upon us, I couldn't very well just run out and spend up a storm. This was going to take some strategy on part! I started collecting pieces here and there for a few months when I could (and kept stuffing it in the closet) keeping the picture on hand at all times to make sure I was still in theme. My husband kept asking..."What is this? What is that?"  to which I would respond..."shhhhh.....not to worry. I'm in the decor lab, I'll  show you when it's done."
He would shrug, roll his eyes and keep it moving like a wonderful husband should!

And so I give you to my Pinterest Bedroom Dupe.

This is the JWS Interiors original image:
(Follow JWS Interiors on Pinterest or visit the JWS Interiors Blog)

This is my take (while not exact) on that:

Some similarities are obviously the white bedding, the fur throw, the neutral tufted bed frame,  and the black and white pillows on the bed, although different. If you wish to purchase the original pillows shown on the JWS Interior's image, you can find them here.

The differences are the side tables. Mine are mirrored, I didn't do the gold mirrors behind the bedside tables, I decided to center a mirror above my bed instead. I also added black and white curtains to tie in the black and white theme. The original picture's bed sits on a white fur rug, whereas my white fur rug is in front of my bed.

Here is a breakdown of items I purchased and where I got them:

Nate Berkus for Target black and white graphic pillows. I got these on clearance. I can no longer find them online but you might get lucky at your local Target!

Nate Berkus black candle stand and candle. I also couldn't find online but I'm positive they are in the candle section as a permanent item in the line.

Faux Fur blanket (and still so soft and glorious!) I found at Homegoods.

Mirror above bed also found at Homegoods.

Tommy Bahama comforter, pillows and sheets at Homegoods.
(*note*  My bed is a Queen bed but I went with a King comforter for extra length)

Black and white striped curtains I got at Overstock. A big plus about these curtains - they're black out curtains!!! And they really, really work! Do you know how hard it was for me to get up this morning? Probably because I woke up in a cave!

My biggest compliment was from my husband who told me he felt like she was sleeping in a hotel. So I want to take that as a job well done. xo

I'm happy this project ended up panning out in January. I am still all about the newness of the year and fresh new beginnings, etc. so this was nice to start 2015 off in a new bedroom. And is there anything more lovely and gratifying than climbing into clean, new, soft bedding?!

Thanks to JWS Interiors for the inspiration and thanks to you all for checking it out and reading along. I hope I have sparked some of you to find a picture that speaks to YOUR heart and you execute it in YOUR own way. Anything you wish is doable and attainable. 
Now get out there and kick some home decor butt!!! (A little early Super Bowl motivation!)

:) :)

V.V.

Makeup Organization

Happy New Year! Boy I tell ya, as cliche as it sounds, my type A personality just looooooooves the fresh start of a new year. I so much adore the idea of a brand spanking new beginning. I love using my new planner, I love making new lists, cleaning and organizing.

So what are we organizing today? Our makeup! Fun, fun, fun! 

Brief rundown: Before I got married and moved out, in my old room, I transformed one of my dresser drawers into a huge makeup drawer with acrylic trays that allowed me to see and use everything at hand. In my new apartment, I hadn't really found a permanent place for my makeup and it's been kind of.....everywhere! I am completely in love with the acrylic beauty boxes everyone has. While they are beautiful, they're quite expensive.

I have had my eye on the "build your own" acrylic boxes (actual item name: "Luxe Acrylic Modular System") from the Container Store and I said guess what....I got some Christmas loot floating around in my pocket, it's time to get this makeup mess together and I'm gonna do it! (Half the price - HELLO?!) So I did it. 

This has made me so happy. I am so pleased with the outcome. What a relief to have my everyday items all in once place again, displayed attractively and clearly seen. I didn't make it very big or it would overtake my desk where it sits. I built a good size for the things I use most often and whatever didn't fit in the cube, I kept in a drawer. This is what makes the difference (for me, anyway) between the other lucite boxes and the ones from the container store. You can customize it to what you need according to the items and spacing you have. You can also control the price! Saving our pennies in 2015, girls!

Here are some pictures I took when I was done filling it. Some are with flash, some without.

If you like this item, I will link below all of your options for acrylic and lucite makeup organizers because there are so many different companies and prices to choose from.
This particular system worked for me, but everyone is different! It doesn't matter what you choose or how much you spend - as long as you keep your resolution to yourself to get organized or clean up a mess you've been putting off.......I figured it would be more fun if we did it together!  ;-)

I hope we all make this our best year yet. 

Here's to new beginnings.....and finding our lipstick! 

 - V.V.



Glamboxes

Original Beauty Box

CosmoCube by Sephora

Acrylic Organizers by Amazon

Luxe Acrylic Modular System

My Acrylic Organizer