Disclosure: Post sponsored by Olay but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

You know when you go to a summer party and you see that one girl that just seems to have it all together? She has on the right summery dress, the hair that falls perfectly into place, and they just have that glow about them? Well, Olay Cleansing Infusions wants to help you be that girl at your next outing.

I don't know about you but summer is my favorite fashion season and as soon as we have a day that hits 80 degrees, all my cute dresses come out, especially the ones with the bold prints! I have this one I bought in the dead of winter that I've been dying to wear and I finally did this past weekend. It's a green and white polka dot dress and was perfect for a Kentucky Derby party I attended.

And to get my glow on, I used Olay Cleansing Infusion Hydrating Glow Body Wash (made with deep sea kelp) and Olay Cleansing Infusion Hydrating Glow Facial Cleanser (this one contains deep sea kelp and aloe extract). Both the facial cleanser and the body wash come in Crushed Ginger with Citrus Extract, too!

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Disclosure: Post sponsored by Olay but all opinions are my own.

If there’s one thing I have learned from this beauty journey over the past 18+ years of blogging is the importance of wearing SPF. I mean, it’s the #1 way to prevent wrinkles! And I am really loyal to putting it on in the morning. My routine is: get out of bed, use the toilet, brush my teeth, wash my hands and splash cool water on my face. Then, I apply SPF! I don’t leave the house without it on; in fact, on days when I’m not even leaving the house, I put it on as the sun still shines into windows.

So I was quite excited when I heard about Olay Regenerist Whip SPF 25 available at Target. I’ve tried their regular Whip and am a fan and now I will be adding this one to my daytime regimen.

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This post is sponsored by Olay. All opinions expressed are my own.

Each winter things take a drastic change in my house. The temps have dropped so I'm living with my humidifier on blast in my winter jammies snuggled under the heating blanket when I can. In addition to central heating zapping skin of moisture, the overall cold air outside doesn't help either. I am just constantly looking to boost my skin's moisture content! So each season I evaluate my skin care routine to see what I'll be using, and this season's moisturizer is the new Olay Regenerist Whip. It's the perfect time of year to use it as it's made just lower temperatures, like now.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay at Sam's Club. The opinions and text are all mine.

How confusing is the average skin care aisle? In this case, having choices is not so great. So how do you make a decision on what product/s to try for your skin? TV advertising? Magazines? Blogs? You want to look your best for the selfies and group pics that are inevitable since we all have cameras on our phones these days, right? Taking care of your skin is uber important in 2018!

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This is a sponsored post by Olay. All words are my own.

Have you been following me and my experience with the #Olay28Day Challenge on Facebook? For the past 28 days I’ve been using Olay Regenerist Micro -Sculpting Cream and Olay Ultimate Eyes Cream and wow, has this been the easiest challenge I’ve ever done!

As I’ve reported a few months back here, their Regenerist Micro -Sculpting Cream won a Good Housekeeping Award earlier this year, beating out 4 other pricier face creams. And Good Housekeeping doesn’t just give out awards; they have quite a process of testing out products. That’s impressive right there! It’s tough with skin care as I can’t tell you how many tubes, bottles and tubs of creams/serums I’ve gone through that promise the sun and just don’t deliver, while these do, and quickly.

I’ve been concerned about unevenness in my skin tone lately and I think the pictures speak for themselves in terms of how the Regenerist Micro -Sculpting Cream has been able to even out my tone and perk up my skin, which includes lessening  the look of visible wrinkle. Overall my skin felt hydrated all day and just looked healthier.  

*All pics by @joekohenpix except below

And the Ultimate Eyes Cream? Not only does this formula sink into the skin quicker than any other eye cream I’ve ever used, it also hydrated under my eyes nicely, so no dark circles, and it seems to have smoothed out some wrinkles underneath my eyes and around the corners. 

So are you ready to take the #Olay28Day challenge? I think you’ll be shocked by how your skin looks after 28 days.

Check out their Skin Advisor, which is the most precise skin diagnosis available to the public, so you can make a no-brainer decision about what regimen is right for you. And don’t worry, 95% of women agreed that the product/s recommendation by the Skin Adviser felt, “right for her!” Here is the link: http://spr.ly/336452Advisor

And right now, the first 15 to visit Skin Advisor will get $40 off their purchase of recommended products with code: 28DAYS7885 on Olay.com.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All words are my own.

The biggest challenge I find during the summer season is keeping my makeup looking fresh and not melting off my face! I attend a lot of weekend BBQ’s and even though they are usually in the late afternoons, it can still be quite hot at that time.

So I’ve got a few tips that have worked for me and it won’t break the bank. First, apply a moisturizer like Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with SPF 15, which I easily pick up at Ralphs supermarkets. This one gives my skin a nice base and something for the next few steps to hold on to. And my skin can always use as much sunscreen as possible!

After the Water Gel, I apply a face primer and then my foundation. The key after the foundation is to lock it in with setting powder. I like to apply mine with a flat sponge and I leave it on my face for about 5 minutes to set it, then just buff it into the skin with a brush. And put on a lot! Because it's translucent, it won't cake up. Believe me, it will help your makeup stay put. There are quite a few powders available, but just make sure it’s colorless.

When the weather is nice, I don’t want any extra trips and to be stuck inside shopping so picking up the essentials at Ralphs along with my weekly groceries is essential, which includes skin care, makeup and even nail polish.

As the sun sets, as much as I don’t feel right if I don’t fully wash my face and clean all the day’s makeup and dirt off, I admit, I sometimes get lazy the later in the night it gets. So in order to try and avoid that nagging feeling of, “I-have-to-get-up-and-wash-my-face,” I keep Olay Makeup Remover Wipes always at the ready. They’re fragrance-free and remove even waterproof makeup. 

Pick up all your necessary beauty products at Ralphs and check out the #RalphsBeautyEvent between August 9-August 22. You can save $5 instantly by buying $15 worth of participating beauty products.

Disclaimer: You can mix & match participating cosmetics, hair care or skin care. Item selection may vary by store. Must meet $15 purchase minimum after coupons have been redeemed. $5.00 off for every $15 spent on participating items.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger. The opinions and text are all mine.

This is a post sponsored by Olay. All words are my own. 

Skin care. It's a huge subject and no one really has the answer when it comes to what anti-aging products work and which don't. I mean, I think we've all tried or at least been enticed by the super expensive lotions and potions that promise the moon. But do they actually deliver? Some would say yes. Some would say no. I say, the proof is in the pudding.

And that is this is the main reason I started my blog over 15 years ago, to give my opinion if beauty product do what they say, plain and simple.

Another place that's been around forever and has become quite the powerhouse is Good Housekeeping (GHK). They have a Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) where they have been doing consumer product evaluations for over 100 years. And for a product to receive the Good Housekeeping seal of approval is a big deal as they rigorously test products and evaluate them based on performance, ease of use, safely, durability and design.

This year the folks at GHK tested Olay's newly re-engineered Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream against 10 other creams and guess what? It performed better than the others, which had price tags ranging from $26 to $440. That's amazing! I'm sure you can think of a face cream that costs upwards of $300-$400, right? So again, Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream at just $26.99 works better than all the more expensive brands tested! 

You can't argue with results like these! One of the statistics that stood out in the documented study was how long skin stays hydrated and plump. That's important when it comes to keeping your skin looking ageless.

 

Key ingredients in the Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream include:

• Carob Seed Extract to repair and regenerate
• Niacinamide (vitamin B3) to help boost cell turnover and maintain skin's moisture barrier
• Amino-peptide (pal-KTKKS) helps decrease the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Panthenol (vitamin B5) to sooth and moisturize
• Vitamin E an oil-soluble anti-oxidant which protects against free radicals
• Olivem - comes from olive oil to increase the penetration of anti-aging ingredients to the skin's stratum corneum (the outer most layer of the skin). 
• Glycerin and Hyaluronic Acid, powerful humectants with intense miniaturization properties. 

Now a lot of the above may be Greek to you as most of it was for me, but I feel the average person should start becoming even more familiar with ingredients so they won't get caught up in the hype of a product. I know I do sometimes!

                                                           Olay is the light under the Stars!

And this is so perfect for summer! The temps are regularly hitting 80 degrees and up and keeping skin hydrated during these hot months is important and I was stunned by the study that found this cream increased moisture by 50% over a 24-hour period. So when using this in the morning, I apply some before sunscreen and at night I apply a little after cleansing and toning my face. 

Did you know that in a study by GKI, 155,000 women showed that 80% of skin's anti-aging destiny is within a women's control and not related to genes? So you better start arming yourself with something powerful like Olay's Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream if you want to make a difference in your skin. 

 
Read more about Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream @ Olay.com and read the study for yourself @ goodhousekeeping.com. 

I partnered with Olay on this post but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay. The opinions and text are all mine.

How many different products do you use to remove makeup and clean your face at the end of the day? And more importantly, what do you use to aid these products? I usually use a liquid makeup remover, then a cleanser, a toner and serum before applying my moisturizer. Yes, quite a few steps.

Well the folks at Olay want to help you cut out some steps in your everyday routine. Like all things in life, your beauty routine should be simple and quick, cutting corners where you can, especially since you will probably be on the go a lot as we get closer to summer.

I'm sure you're familiar with all the beauty wipes that are on the market by now. And yeah, they work for the most part but these Olay Daily Facials Daily Clean 4-in-1 Water Activated Cleansing Cloths could become your new summer BFF. The 4-in-1 part is that one cloth has the cleansing power of a scrub, toner, mask and cleanser to gently exfoliate your skin.

Each generously thick cloth has special cleansing pockets to gently break up and lift away dirt and makeup without stripping the skin.

Of course I had to give these the ultimate test of removal and put one up against a liquid lipstick because we all know those are really hard to remove and it did, no problem! So you can replace your micellar water, pre-wet makeup remover wipes and liquid cleanser with these Olay Daily Facials Daily Clean 4-in-1 Water Activated Cleansing Cloths and know that your skin is getting really clean when you need it to be.

There are 33 in a reusable container and to use, just apply water, or I like to use a facial spray as I always have one on me when the temps go up. Visit Olay.com for more info.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay . The opinions and text are all mine.

Disclaimer – this is a sponsored post. All words are my own.

What do you use in the shower with your body cleanser? One of those beauty puffs? Yeah, I’ve gone through many of them over the years and just recently some beauty bloggers and I were having a discussion on those puffs. As in, have you ever tried to clean one? Or do you even clean them? Well a couple of outlets have rang the bell super loud on why we shouldn’t even use these to clean ourselves because of the bacteria that can build up on them. I mentioned that I put mine in the washing machine with a load of laundry but even then I’m not so sure that gets them really clean.

In any case, there is now a solution and it’s called the DUO Body Cleanser and comes from 3 brands, Olay, Ivory and Old Spice. I did an unboxing on my Instagram when I got them last week, which you may have seen, and I really think these are game changers as we’ve never seen anything like it on shelves before.

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What makes a great sunscreen for me? Yes, the high SPF protection and protection from both UVA and UVB. But the most important trait? That it sinks into the skin quickly with no leftover white residue. Haven’t you had this happen where it lingers? After you apply sunscreen you have to sit around and wait for it to absorb before applying makeup, and even then, it usually makes your face greasy? Maybe this is why some people don’t even apply sunscreen in the morning? Things that make you go hmmmm.

Anyway, this one does not leave a totally matte finish but I think it dries down pretty quickly and half the time I don’t even see that I have it on. Big plus! So am I shallow in just wanting a sunscreen like this? So be it … but I’m shallow with no residue on my face!

So all this brings me to a super recommendation for you - one that not only sinks in super quick but it’s quite purse-friendly. OLAY Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with Vitamins E & B3 UV Skin Shield SPF 15 Lotion (wow, that’s a mouthful!) is also non-comedogenic and contains vitamins E and C. They are somehow able to include a sheer zinc oxide (the sunscreen part) in this and it protects from both UVA and UVB. Big recommendation. $8.99/4oz @ walgreens.com.