Pinterest: Beyond Pinning.

Hello!

Many of you likely have a Pinterest account.  If you do not, I highly suggest that you get one! My friend Sarah introduced me to Pinterest about a year ago.  Pinterest is a photo/website sharing social media site that allows users to "pin" or save images and save them onto "boards".  These "boards" can be organized based on various themes.  Common themes include things such as, "wedding ideas", "fitness ideas", "recipes to try", and "fashion".  Or my personal favourite, "cats". Everyone needs a cats board.  The pins that are saved to each board are usually an image and if you click on the image, it will bring you to the original location of the pin.  Pinterest serves as your own personal library of ideas and web pages to refer to in the future, without saving random files all over your computer. It is kind of hard to explain and its true awesomeness is not captured by my above description. Go now! Sign up! 

My purpose for today's blog post is not to advertise Pinterest. I do love Pinterest, but what I really want to talk about is my Pinterest behaviour.  I have spent countless hours (possibly even more time than Facebook) on Pinterest pinning over 800 pins onto my themed boards.  I think "wow" what a great idea. I'll totally do that!!! THEN I NEVER DO IT. This is my Pinterest behaviour. I assume this Pinterest behaviour is likely common, so I thought I would make a goal to actually do three things I have pinned on my Pinterest account.  I am starting with a small number to ensure my initial goal is achievable and to encourage myself to do more things I've pinned.  Hopefully this will inspire fellow Pinterest users to actually do some of the things you have pinned!

Number 1: I have a board titled "yummy treats". I have yet to make any of the delicious recipes I have pinned.  In terms of my waistline, this is probably good behaviour....but it reflects how useless Pinterest is and how much time I have wasted if I don't actually do the things I pin!

I WILL MAKE ONE RECIPE FROM MY "YUMMY TREATS" BOARD.

Recipe Chosen: Cherry Salad

My mom makes a similar version of this salad, but I thought I would see how this one compares.  I also chose a fairly fool proof recipe.  My reason for this is because I did not want to try something really difficult, fail and then resent Pinterest for the rest of my days... This salad uses cherry pie filing, mini marshmallows, cool whip, crushed pineapple and other goodness.

Number 2: I have a board called "Makeup Looks".  I have an astonishing amount of pins and as readers will know, am an avid makeup collector.  I wear makeup on a daily basis and love to experiment with different looks.  So why haven't I done any of the looks I've pinned? I have no idea! BAD PINTEREST BEHAVIOUR I TELL YA!

I WILL RECREATE ONE LOOK FROM MY "MAKEUP LOOKS" BOARD.

Look Chosen: Vibrant Eye Look Using Urban Decay Vice Palette

I like this look because it is bold, but very pretty and feminine.  I am also intrigued by this look because it uses eyeshadows from the Urban Decay Vice Palette.  I recently purchased this palette from Sephora.com and have yet to use the very bright blue included in the palette and have been unsure how to use it.  This look uses the colour as a base to achieve the rich purpley blue colour on the lid.  I also love how this look makes brown eyes pop (I have brown eyes).  I also like looks like these because it shows us that blue eyeshadow can be classy and pretty and doesn't have to make us look like extras in an 80s workout video.

Number 3: I WILL MAKE A CRAFT FROM MY "VALENTINE'S DAY" BOARD.

Craft Chosen: Footprint Valentine

How cute is this??? During Valentine's Day, I will be doing a practicum in a grade 3 class.  I have been looking for good Valentine's day themed activities and I think students would LOVE this.  I will have to carefully plan out the logistics of what paint to use in the classroom and the proper protocol for notifying parents that they will be putting paint on their feet! It will likely make a huge mess in the classroom, but huge messes make for the best art lessons! I think this would be a great Valentine that my students could give to their parents or a friend.  I would like to make my own version of it, so that I have a sample for students to refer to.

So there you have it! The three things I plan to actually do from Pinterest. What is the timeframe of this challenge you ask? Oh you didn't ask that? Well I'm telling you anyway. The time frame will be my Xmas holiday! I have until January 3rd to complete these pins and report the results on this blog.  I've given myself a couple of weeks because I will be away for a few days during the holidays.  Wish me luck!

Smooth as a Baby's Bottom.

Hello! Long time no post! I won't bore you with a list of excuses for my absence. School was busy this semester...nuff said. I am now on Christmas holidays and am happy to be back to blogging. The topic of this post is smooth, chapped free lips! For an unpleasant period of around 4 months, I endured very painful, dry, chapped, flaking lips! The last time I experienced this way waaaaaay back- many many winters ago! I noticed it when I arrived home from visiting my sister in Ontario.  I thought it was a result of the airplane ride, or possibly the use of a product I may have been allergic to. When I returned home, however, the lip condition did not go away. I tried literally everything I could think of! It was an unpleasant time because I love lip gloss and lipstick and nearly every product I owned could not be used because my lips were literally peeling off my face.


Here is a photo showing how red and swollen my lips were.  A few months ago, they were even so dry that they were cracking and bleeding. This particular photo was taken on a slightly less awful day, but still gives you the idea of what I was experiencing.

I consulted health professionals. The very helpful pharmacists told me to buy lip balms. Well heck! Those people and their fancy book learnin' are so gosh darn smart! I never woulda thunk that!....please. So left to my own devices, I tried the following products:

 Body Shop Lip Butter: This used to moisturize my lips, but during this lip condition it did not help. It clung to the flakes on my lips and left a really gross residue.

EOS Lip Balm: This is sad for me to write about because I love the shape and scents of these cute lip balms.  I used to love wearing these. During the past four months these did not provide my lips moisture and even caused them to feel even drier! These left my mouth feeling very sore and red.  Even now that my lips have healed and are nearly back to their original condition, these still leave my lips feeling dry.

Nivea Lip Balm: This lip balm would work for a very brief amount of time.  It would provide some relief and would keep my lips feeling somewhat moist for about half an hour.  Then it would be absorbed and my lips would be in pain again.  It did not reduce the hideous red ring around my lips either.

 Polysporin Daily Lip Care: Getting more desperate, I purchased this lip balm.  I bet during normal circumstances, this lip balm would be lovely. It is VERY creamy. It melts on your lips.  The tube does not last very long because it melts rather quickly. Do not leave this one in your car or in your pocket for a long time! It provided temporary relief but absorbed into my lips very quickly.  It did not heal the chapped lips. Regular polysporin also did not work...if you were wondering.

Hydrocortisone Cream: My sister recommended that I try this.  It can be used for minor skin irritations and skin allergies.  I thought this was my saviour! It reduced the redness, helped with the dry flakes, helped the swelling go down and provided some moisture.  This worked for a long time. Then, about a month ago it seemed as though my lips had become immune to this cream and it stopped working. It would help with the flakes and the redness, but my skin felt very tight and sore after it had been applied.

 Burt's Bees Lip Balm: Provided minor relief, much like the Nivea lip products.

Vaseline Moisturizer: Yep. I tried stuff that wasn't even for my lips! This provided temporary relief, but did not provide moisture as its name indicates. Likely because it isn't intended for your lips...sigh.

Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment: Can I start off by saying how much I loathe the word "ointment"? Despite having to purchase something labelled ointment, this was fantastic! (for a long time). It was minty and really helped with the pain, dry skin and reduced the swelling. I was ecstatic and thought I had found my cure! It, like some of the other products that appeared to work, stopped working after long use.

Dejected and tired of what the drugstores had to offer, I visited Sephora.com and read some reviews of different lip care products.  I quickly got it in my mind that more $$$ must equal better results! I came across the lip scrub section and many reviews of the Fresh Lip Scrub were very positive.  Many of the reviews indicated that it helped exfoliate and remove dry skin, and helped provide moisture.  I was intrigued by this product.  I knew that an exfoliator would be good to get rid of the flakes, but I was unsure if I would find a lip scrub that would also provide the moisture my chapped lips need.  I also feared that an exfoliator might irritate my very sore lips further.  I went ahead and purchased the Fresh lip scrub.  It was roughly $30.  I was going to be REALLY pissed if this didn't work since $30 is a lot of $$$ for a lip product.

As it indicates on the lip scrub, it gently exfoliates and conditions! This product did get rid of the dry skin and left my lips feeling moist.  It did not irritate my lips and left my lips feeling soft and pain free! A little of this product goes a very long way! It took me a long time to place the smell.  I finally figured it out though.  It smells like iced tea mix.  I am certain that this product could probably be made at home for a fraction of the cost, but I have found something that works for me and do not want to mess with it!  I have been using this for a few weeks and have been very impressed.  I used it about every other day.  I will probably use it less once my lips return to their original condition.

My other saviour is none other than Carmex Lip Balm.

The packaging isn't flashy and the scent is boring (nothing appealing like most fruity lip balms).  Carmex lip balms kind of remind me of the type of lip balms you would find on your grandma's vanity. There is a reason Carmex is so popular and why it has been around so long. Paired with my lip scrub, it does the job! This keeps my lips moist for a long time and its slightly minty feel is very soothing.  It is the perfect consistency.  It has a smooth texture, but isn't so moist that it simply evaporates when applied to the lips.  I have used up nearly half of the tin over the past month.  I will be re-purchasing this once it is empty!

Below is a photo taken today.  As you will see, my lips are looking much better! I haven't had the dreaded red ring around my lips and they have not flaked in weeks. I am feeling much more confident and am pain free! So, if you suffer from dry, chapped lips, my advice is to try many products! Eventually, you will find your perfect cure.  While this experiment was costly due to the amount of products I tried, I do not feel it was wasted as every one of the products was used up in its entirety.  I went through a lot of lip balm! What caused this lip tantrum? No idea...stress? allergy? 

Thanks for visiting! Happy holidays! xoxox