Mother's Day Gift Guide: The Health/Beauty Lover

Mother's Day is fast-approaching. (Or, as I'd like to reclaim it, Women's Day. Since it's my blog and I can.) This week, I'm creating five gift guides for the mother/wife/sister/nanny/friend in your life, all of which tie into my standard weekly posting topics. 

Up first, a guide for the health and beauty lover: 

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Primers: A Primer

I have always had an on-again/off-again relationship with acne. Which, to my dismay, got really nasty (and deeply cystic) during my pregnancy. Add that to the fact that I'm in the waning year years of my twenties, and I have discovered that I have quite a bit of scarring on my face. (I don't really like to talk about it.)

Enter primers.

I have always been a bit skeptical about the effectiveness of primers, mainly because I don't like to wear a lot of foundation. Plus, it's just more money to spend on "un-fun" makeup. Well... that was then. Now, I've discovered that the right primer can be the difference between uneven skin texture and tone and a more fabulous, not to mention flawless, face. Plus, a primer helps keep the rest of your makeup in place. (Which comes in handy around the 3:00-4:00 makeup horror hour. You know what I'm talking about.) 

In my opinion, Smashbox wins for the best products in the business. I mean, I would bathe in the stuff if I could. Stila also has a great color-correcting product that would work well if you're looking to lighten up some spots but don't have a lot of scarring. Admittedly, both brands can be a bit pricey (though are pretty reasonable given their effectiveness), so I've included my two favorite drugstore options. Use this if you need more coverage (like me) and this if you want to add a subtle glow. 

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Makeup questions? Contact me here. 

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Her

And I'm back, this time with some ideas for the ladies. Whether it's capitalizing on her love of makeup, jewelry, or pretty underthings... or giving her a little tome with sweet sentiments, the woman in your life will appreciate the effort.

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Happy Valentine's Day!