12 Days of Christmas.....

Oh how I love the Holidays! From Thanksgiving, to New Year's I'm a busy little bee! Although they can be hectic, nothing warms me more than a cup of egg nog and spending it with family and friends.
I was inspired by the Christmas Carol classic "Twelve Days of Christmas" to write my very last post of 2008 and to ring in 2009.
So below, you will see a list of some things (12 exactly) that CCW has discovered in '08 and cannot live without.

1) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in "Just Enough Buff". This is by far the prettiest nude color I have ever worn. I can put a bright bold lip gloss on top and it mutes it just enough so that you don't see my lips arriving before the rest of my face. Buy it here for a 2 pack of $13.31

2) Sunsilk Hydra TLC Shampoo & Conditioner. Definitely worth every penny you spend. It makes my hair super soft and ask my friend Momto2, I have very coarse hair. This makes it manageable. Buy it here for only $4.49

3) Nars duo Eyeshadow in Portobello. My hatred of mushrooms did not even deter me from buying this. It's so so pretty! Very neutral, you can wear this every day and it doesn't look like you're wearing makeup at all. Nars products have great staying power. It lasts me all day! Buy it here for $32

4) Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette. What I love about this pencil is, it is so thin, my eyebrows don't look drawn in. What I love even more is there is the spooley brush on the end to even the color out. Being Asian, I'm a bit limited in the eyebrow department so I need as much help as I can get. This makes my eyebrows look totally natural. Buy it here for $18.

5) Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream. The most wonderful thing about this product is a little goes a long long way! Just a pearl size amount is fine for my hair. It takes away all the fly-aways and makes my hair shiny to boot! Worth the money. Buy it here for $27.

6) Loreal True Match Foundation in Natural Beige. Who knew that such a wonderful foundation could be found in my local drugstore? They were not kidding when they said "true match". I really did find a color that matched my color tone exactly. Sometimes I like working with liquid foundation, I can put on as little or as much as I want for my own coverage. I like to dot a bit on my foundation brush and just put it on my T-Zone for work. I look like I was born with perfect skin. Buy it here for only $10.95, can you believe the price?

7) Avon Pore-fection Skin Refining Toner. As of late, I've added toner to my skin care regimen. I like my skin to be as clean as it can be before I put on moisturizer. You'll be surprised how much extra makeup comes off on the cotton ball. I bought it from my local Avon Lady for only $6

8) L'Occitane Verbena Soap. Momt2two had a luxurious stay at the Four Seasons and brought me back a couple of bars. While using it, I convinced the Mooch to try it and we've been hooked ever since. The smell is so clean and fresh and it makes your skin so soft! Buy it here for $10/bar.

9) Jonathan Dirt Texturizing Paste. I admit. The Mooch tried this product first and I've been dipping into it every now and then. This wax does amazing things for my hair. First, it makes my side-swept bangs look like they've just been styled, I rarely have to push them out of my face. And second, when I don't blow dry my hair, which is often, I just run a dab through my hair and it has that nice "slept in" look. Buy it here for $26, and use sparingly.

10) Chapstick. Now, this was not discovered in '08, I've been using this stuff since maybe I was 12 years old, but it is something I cannot live without. I replenish every few months and buy about 5-10 tubes at a time. I often find old coats with 2 tubes in a pocket. Every so often when I change purses, I will find one in there, but I cannot live without this. I have one at my desk at work, one in my purse, one at the side table in front of the TV, one at my computer desk and one at my side table next to my bed. Like I said, I cannot live without this. Buy whatever flavor you like, I like medicated. Buy it here for only $1.99

11) Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. This product makes my skin look like I drink 10 glasses of water every day! I love to use this at night over a candlelit dinner while gazing longingly into Mooch's eyes. I put this on my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, my Cupid's bow and my chin and I look lit from within. One bit of advice, go light on this product, you don't want to look greasy! Buy it here for $38.

12) Nars Blush/Bronzer Duo in Orgasm/Laguna. This product is the end all-be all of products. The blush (Orgasm) literally looks like, well, you know. Hence the name. The bronzer side is perfect to sweep on my forehead, my cheeks and my nose. I look ready to go. Don't go too heavy on the bronzer though, you don't want to end up looking like Lilo! Buy it here for $37.

And that my beauties, is the last must have list of '08.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivis, whatever you may celebrate and a very Safe, Happy & Healthy New Year.

Thank you to the 3 people who read my blog, I love writing this and I hope to continue many more posts in '09!

I remain yours,
The CCW

Pathetic

Just pathetic. My beauties. I'm so sorry I have not posted in like, FOREVER! I have been SUPER SUPER busy with stuff and I got a little sidetracked.

Enough about me though, seriously, let's talk beauty. YAY!
So, coming up in January will be the big 3-3 for me. Yes. 33! I just can't believe it. I feel like high school was yesterday and I cannot believe I'm in my early thirties (Thank goodness I can still say that).
I know you're wondering where I'm going with this. I do have a point. See, in High School, from what I remember, my skin was beautiful. Maybe the monthly pimple, but it was glowing! I don't really remember having to deal with Clearasil or anything like that. I would really just wash my face, put on some moisturizer and be gone.
Now? It's so sad. My skin regime in the morning and night takes a good 20 minutes. I wash my face, tone, serum, and then the proper moisturizer, then....yes...EYE CREAM! YIKES!
So the real reason why I'm posting? In my teens, I've never had to deal with acne, but as soon as I entered my mid twenties, it's a constant battle. Ugh. Adult acne of all things.
My main concern? Blackheads. Gross. Yuck. Something I've never really had to deal with.
I've tried so many products, I would not even want to go into that right now.
But I found something.
In these hard recession times (Thanks GW!), I'm finding that my weekly trips to the Bergdorf Beauty level are few and far between. I can barely go to Lord & Taylor. $35 for face wash? You must be joking, I have bills to pay.
The product I'm talking about is so much more inexpensive and it just requires a quick visit to your local drugstore.
It's called the Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser. This product has literally done wonders for my skin. Particulary the blackheads I tend to get on my nose.
Remember my earlier post on the Neutrogena Wave? Forget that.
This product is really really great! I use once a day with the little pad they include and my skin feels baby soft! In addition, my blackheads have really cleared and my skin glows.
Buy it here for only $19.99 for starter pack with 20 cleansing pads included.

Until next time, I remain yours,
The CCW