Even now, though, I give her a bit of a break. For instance, this morning I had to leave for work at 6:00 a.m., so I let her sleep while I played with the youngest at 5:00 a.m. and let him hang out with me while I got ready for work and we ate breakfast together. It was precious little time spent together, as I wound up coming home 30 minutes before his bed time. Sigh. Only two more weeks.
In spite of it all, I've managed to squeeze in some product testing on a few "beauty-liscious" products. They were my indulgences over the last few weeks. Ways to remind myself that I'm worth the effort, even if it's for only a few minutes.
Hello Cutie Mud Mask: This was a fun product to try. It is made with things like pomegranate, peppermint, and green tea extract, among other items. I loved the peppermint smell, which was the last thing I expected from a black mud mask. I liked having a brush to 'paint' the mud onto my face, and how my skin instantly felt tighter when the mask was removed. Just be sure not to remove the mud with a white washcloth! That black is hard to get out! Overall, I really liked this mask. I'm saving it for a "pamper me" weekend with my two daughters so we can all get masks together!
24 K Gold Vitamin C Serum: This stuff is fancy! For some crazy reason, I thought the gold would disappear, but duh! It's gold! It doesn't disintegrate. Luckily, it wasn't overwhelming, but it did add a little sparkle to my face. It did a pretty good job of moisturizing the skin too. My favorite aspect though, was that it was a serum and a primer wrapped up into one. One of my biggest pet peeves now that I'm 40 is having to layer on product after product before I even begin putting make-up on! This enabled me to take a couple of steps out of the process. 
Thin Botanicals: Thin botanicals are a body wrap, which seems to be all the rage. The wraps were quite simple to use, and I must say the customer service is UH-MAZ-ING. I spoke with them several times about the wraps and was given several tips to maximize the results from the wraps, as well as other weight-loss related information. They really went above and beyond with their service.
Hair Growth Accelerator: All I can say about these is WOW! No seriously. WOW. I'd normally tell you that I was so impressed that I'll be putting it on my Amazon Wish list to buy again later. However, it's worked so well, I don't want to get any more! I've been taking the capsules for about a month, and I've added several inches to my hair, my nails have completely quit splitting, and I've begun biting at them because they're so long (remember my hair was just below my shoulders at the end of May)! Is it possible for something to work TOO well? If you're looking for longer, thicker hair, or stronger, longer nails. THIS is what you must buy. Look no further.
Teeth Whitening: I'd been really excited about this product because I'm pretty self conscious about my teeth. They've got a nice yellow tinge to them, but I've heard horror stories about teeth whitening products. I finally relented though, and gave this a try. I loved how you could put the mouth guards into hot water and they'd soften up enough for you to create custom trays for your teeth (pretty stinking cool!). But I quickly discovered that the bleach provided began to burn my gums and top of my mouth. I was only able to handle it about 5 minutes before I had to take the product out and rinse my mouth out. In their defense, my daughter had the same problem with the teeth whitening products our DENTIST gave her. I think this is one of those hit-or-miss products that you'll just need to try yourself and see if you can handle it.Slim Extreme 4D Thermal Cellulite Serum: This is another product I tested because I've used Evaline products before. In the past I've purchased their
"Slim Extreme 3D Thermo Active Serum Shaping Waist, Abdomen and Buttocks", "Slim Extreme 3D Super-Concentrated Modeling Bust Serum - Total Push-Up Effect", and a third lotion that has a cooling effect instead of a warming effect. Needless to say, I like their products. This one, was also pretty good. When your stomach is as big as mine (remember I'm still 280 lbs), you can't expect the lotions to make your stomach disappear. But what it does do is firm the skin and tissue, as well as increase it's tone. And this is what I'm looking for. I want my skin to have elasticity so that, as it shrinks, it won't become some wrinkly nasty flabby mess. I'm running a marathon here people! Not a sprint!
Pedicure Callus Remover: OK, so I totally cheated on this product. I got one of these a couple years back as a Christmas gift because everyone in my family has notoriously nasty feet. I have been hooked ever since. So, when I had the chance to test a newer version, I totally jumped at the opportunity. And guess what? It was all I hoped it would be. The callus remover turned my feet from uber nasty-icky to almost normal in just a matter of minutes. I love these things! PLUS, this thing is rechargeable, instead of the battery-operated one I used to use. Upgrade!!! UPDATE: Courtney asked for a girl's night and guess what we did? Good times!!!
*I received these products for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
