Why I didn't wash my face for 30 days. And what happened.

I know your first reaction. Ew.

And I totally understand. And this method may not work for everyone. We're led to believe we need to use a million different things on our skin morning and night and that if we don't our skin will look horrible by the age of 35.
 Before you read this post, feel free to read this post ....the inspiration.
http://www.yowzalicious.com/2013/07/why-and-how-i-never-wash-my-face.html?m=1

I came across that article and thought "You know what....those are excellent points. I should try that."
And so I did.
I took this article,like everyone other article, with a grain of salt. But I liked what happened to my skin regardless.

Sadly I didn't take any before pictures, but my main skin concerns were as follows. Redness,dark spots,under eye circles,blackheads, and huge pores.

My routine consisted of a warm wet washcloth (usually in the shower), in circular motions all over my face for about 2 minutes. I did this twice a day. You could use a Clarisonic if you're fancy enough to own one. 
Days I wore makeup I used these before I did my washcloth routine  http://www.dickinsonsusa.com/skin-care-products/refreshingly-clean-cloths/

They are paraben,acid,soap and fragrance free. And they remove makeup just as well as any other wipe.





I saw these at Kmart with a 100% mail in rebate attached. So pretty much a free chance to try them.



For moisturizer and the OCCASIONAL toner I used these two products.

Did I say I went completely product free? Nope. But I did carefully select the products I would be using for the 30 days.

(This is a referral link for the toner recommended  by http://thriftthick.blogspot.com/
https://goo.gl/Zls5Xx  you get $10 off your first order!!)

The toner I only used a few times and the cream I used every few days. This toner I really really like... a little goes a long way and I feel like this bottle will last me forever. 
 In addition I also used coconut oil as a moisturizer near the end of the 30 days. And also as a makeup remover for stubborn eye makeup.
During the 30 days I did see a few small breakouts...maybe it was a way of my skin cleansing itself out? I have no idea. But it seemed reasonable to me. At the end I did notice a difference... the coconut oil did wonders for the redness and my pores are completely different! My foundation goes on smoother! My face (Italian skin...thanks mom)isn't near as oily at the end of the day!

No more dark circles!
No forehead pimples,
and I have bangs and oily hair.
(What you see is freckles)

Redness around my nose is almost completely gone. And
so are the dry patches I've had for years.

My verdict? I think every once in a while I'll use a light cleanser.... maybe after a long day of heavy makeup. But overall...I do not plan on going back to a routine of using any cleanser everyday. 

IHG win and lose.

Where shall we start? I suppose the beginning.

This afternoon I called IHG about a complicated booking. 4 Adults, 3 kids, one suite, points and cash. Matter resolved, we're not using points to stay at the fancy resort with no breakfast and $38 parking. No thanks. We'll stay at the Holiday Inn across the street unless something shows up on point breaks between now and October. 

Moving on to the real story.

At the end of my call I was asked to do a survey with the promotional department. I almost always say no, but recently some friends who are merely IHG rewards members as of recent got asked to do a survey and ended up with a 3 night stay for doing a two hour timeshare tour. So I agreed...with the friendliest attitude I could muster up. All in hopes of milking this offer. After some discussion I was offered a 3 night stay at a resort of my choice (From a list of about 7) for $199. This included two large resorts on the west coast that would be a one bedroom condo. I said no, gave my reasons (husbands recent surgery, that's why we vacation on points,etc). Then I was transferred to a manager for a re-offer. $199 for the stay. The entire amount back in cash upon our arrival. $100 gift card for future stays.18 months to book our trip.  And all I have to pay for is about $45 in taxes. Of course, a 2 hour resort tour. But hey, we can handle that. We agreed that would be an acceptable offer. And a nice trip to use for our anniversary.  So we go through the whole process, they have to read off a million things I have to agree to. Blah blah blah. But wait. Our income?  Who would have known  you would have to meet a certain income bracket to qualify?! The poor nice guy on the phone tried to word it differently so I would accidentally say yes I think. But I had to tell him in all honestly, this past year we didn't meet that number. The irony!!! Not making enough money to get a free vacation. 

45 minutes on the phone,,,down the drain. 

(Insert dramatic soap opera music)

The only good thing that came out of that entire phone call was knowing that we qualify for two targeted offers with our upcoming trip to Knoxville and will be getting 11,0000 points back. Not bad for only spend 15,000 for our entire stay! 

I just wish I knew about the income requirement before I spent all that time on the phone. Maybe next year IHG. 

Secret Rewards card follow up....

Disclaimer: The method to use all your cards at once has only about a 50% success rate. I was fortunate enough to have nice cashiers at the VS I went to.

Remember this post?

http://savvysunshinewife.blogspot.com/2015/10/free-secret-rewards-card-from-vs.html

Well I received all my emails (I think... I mean technically they're sending email until the 14th).

In total, 16 secret reward cards, each $10 except for one with $50 on it

Sounds like a total win right? Eahh....not so fast. You can only "use one per transaction". That's alot of transactions. Especially when all but one have $10 on them. Ladies....you know $10 gets you almost no where at VS.

This is where forums come in handy. People as excited as you about all the emails they received, trying to figure out a way to use them all.

Did I mention its one per transaction online too? Last year for this promo, a certain gift card storing app allowed you to enter all your codes and then combine it into one gift card. Sounds magical,I know. Sadly, that no longer works. So we all moved on to Raise. The couponing communities life saver. Enter all your SRC in the app, it creates a bar code for each one that scans like a typical gift card. Bam! As many per transaction as your heart desires. Or your cashier has the patience for.

Like I said....some VS are more lenient than others. Some figure out that you have SRC. Some are willing to work with you. I heard both sides on the forums. I did a total of 3 transactions over two days. The first day and first store was super cool about it. The second store the next day was a little more suspicious. Over all, I was really happy with the deals I got. The staff at VS was super helpful in making sure I got to take advantage of all the promos they were offering at the time (Free blanket and robe.) since I was "spending" so much. I really hope the next time this promo comes around we can all use our cards in an organized way that works for everyone!

My haul?

25 undies (14 were gifts)

2 bras

free blanket

free robe (With the softness factor of a cloud)

My excitement is obvious after my first store worked like a charm!