Post-Travel Skin Care Essentials

As a lot of you know, I just got back from my trip to Vegas a few days ago. This year I have been prioritizing travel which has been amazing but tiring! One thing I have noticed when I get back from my trips is how dull and dehydrated my skin is. It is especially noticeable after I have sat on a plane for a few hours; I definitely blame the dehydration on the cabin air! After my trip to Spain, I spent the rest of the week trying to give my skin a little love and get it moisturized again. This time around, I wanted to share some of my favorite products to use after returning from a trip. All of these products have been some of my favorites over the past years and months and are perfect for helping to repair your skin after a flight or two.

Dior Hydra Life Fresh Sorbet Creme - This gel creme by Dior has been one of my favorites for a few years now. I buy a new one every year during the Anniversary Sale from Nordstrom. This is a great moisturizer for keeping your skin hydrated and plump. Whenever I feel like I need some extra moisture, I will put this on in addition to my normal daily moisturizer. I always feel like my skin stays moisturized with this on versus some moisturizers where my skin quickly just soaks it all in. In the summer, I will put this in the fridge which helps keep me cool and decrease any puffiness.

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil - This is the oil that I use almost every night after my toner but before my moisturizer. You only need a few drops so it ends up lasting for a long time! This oil helps refine skin texture while sealing in moisturize and it smells amazing!

The Ordinary “Buffet” - This multi-peptide serum is specifically meant to help tackle dryness, dullness and uneven texture which is exactly what my skin looks like after I travel. I usually put this on in the mornings after my toner and before my moisturizer. Some nights I will also alternate between this and the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil.

VIIcode 02M Oxygen Eye Mask - These are my favorite eye masks to use partly because you can wear them while you sleep! Often I am so busy and do not have a few spare hours to walk around with an eye mask on so putting these on just right before bed has worked really well for me! I love how hydrating they are without being oily or sliding around my face all night! I usually save these for “special occasions” when my under eye area really needs some love which is definitely the case after I travel. Awhile back I wrote a blog post all about these eye masks which you can read here.

VIIcode Oxygen Hydrating Eye Spray - This is one of the newer products by VIIcode and works well with the patches! I will use it on nights when I do not use the patches. I always make sure to take out my contacts and then close my eyes and give each eye a spritz. This spray helps to keep the eye area moisturized which helps my eyes look less tired the next day.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater - I love this mist for whenever I need some extra hydration or moisture on my face. I will sometimes use it in the morning, at night, or in the afternoon when I feel like my make up to look “newer” and is starting to get a bit dry. I love the light smell of this facial spray and love that it is refreshing without making your skin feel tighter as it dries. I usually only will do one spray at a time so each bottle lasts me a few months.

---

I have linked all of these products above for those of you interested in purchasing! Although this post is partially sponsored, all opinions are my own. As mentioned earlier, I have been using these products for quite awhile before writing this post and love all of them especially when it comes to rehydrating my skin after traveling. If you have any questions about them, please let me know in a comment below or you can always send me a direct message!

Salishan Resort Weekend

SALISHAN RESORT - March 9 - 10, 2019

As you all know, last weekend I got out of town to the Oregon Coast for a fun girl’s weekend with my blogger besties Julianne and Gia! Oregon is amazing in the fact that there are so many cool places to visit that are all under 3 hours from Portland. The Oregon Coast is one of my favorites and is only a 2 hour drive from the city. The reason for this trip was to celebrate Gia’s birthday and have a chance to all hangout and gather content. Salishan Resort, located south of Lincoln City, graciously hosted us for the weekend which was absolutely amazing! We also got the pleasure of driving down in this Voodoo Blue 4runner TRD Pro that was lent to us by Toyota.

After stopping by Starbucks and the beach on our way south, we arrived to Salishan at about 2pm. I did get a few questions about what the pink drinks are that we got, and they are the Starbucks Mango Dragonfruit Refreshers with coconut milk. So refreshing and I love how fruity they were!.

When we got to Salishan, they had two conjoining rooms waiting for us with some champagne and cupcakes. In each room were two full sized beds, a fireplace and an outside deck overlooking the forest and expansive golf course. Although there were other rooms right next to ours as well as above, we never once saw or heard our neighbors which was really nice! Thinking back, although there were other guests around the resort, I don’t think we talked to a single person during our stay besides the Salishan staff.

By the time we had checked into our rooms and unpacked our stuff, we were starving!! We drove back to main building where the two restaurants are located. The Sun Room is the fancier of the two and located on the ground floor right off the main entrance. By the looks of it, the Sun Room is a little fancier with a formal, sit-down atmosphere. On the second level of the main building is The Attic. They both have the same menu but The Attic is more casual with a bar and bar stools on one wall and also an outdoor seating option. The deck outside helps bring a ton of natural light into the room which was so nice after all the rain we had had. Both places served the same menu but they did have different hours. When we arrived to have lunch, it was around 4pm so only The Attic was open which is where we had our lunch.

All of our food was absolutely amazing!! Honestly one of my favorite parts about this trip was the food! For lunch we ordered the local fish tacos, the steamed clams, the crispy brussels sprouts, the salishan burger and the clam chowder (clockwise). I’m a huge fan of brussel sprouts and these ones were amazing! I ended up ordering my own serving for dinner! This was also my first time ordering clams and they were surprisingly good! I’m not a huge shellfish person but I couldn’t pass up eating at least some seafood while we were at the coast! We weren’t ready to starting drinking yet so I ordered a freshly squeezed raspberry lemonade and Julianne and Gia got “mystery drinks.”

Raspberry Lemonade

The two mystery drinks and my lemonade

The Magic Mikey (changes from purple to pink)

After lunch, we checked out the bike rentals at the front desk and then headed to Lincoln City to watch the sunset! The bike rentals are completely free and in the summer, Salishan is also adding a rope course and a zip line! We have already decided that we need to come back for that! We totally lucked out with the weather because it had been snowing the night before at my place in SW Portland. So to have sun and clear skies was so refreshing! We then made it back to the resort just in time for Gia’s birthday dinner up at The Attic again. This time we did get some alcoholic drinks and our waitress had the best suggestions! Julianne got one with chocolate liqueur that arrived on fire and I got the Magic Mickey which had a shot that made the whole drink change colors!

---

Sunday morning was Spring Forward so we took our time getting up and ready before packing our stuff. Even though the rooms are separate buildings away from the main building, they do still offer room service! For breakfast we ordered some mimosas, breakfast sandwiches and pastries and hung around in the comfy robes on our two decks.

After we packed up the car, we headed across the street to the Spa! When we got there, the staff was so welcoming and had been expecting us. Right away they got us set up with spa robes, sandals and lockers for our stuff before giving us a tour around the facility.

Down the hall from the Women’s Locker Room were private showers, sinks and fully stocked hair products and styling tools. On this side of the spa was the women’s only amenities that included a sauna, steam room and then this beautiful heated pool (pictured below). The pool overlooked the lawn and Siletz Bay.

After spending some time in this indoor pool, we headed outside to the infinity pool. This section of the spa is open to both genders and there were some lounge chairs outside as well!

Even though we went on a sunny weekend day, the spa was not too crowded or loud. We did see a few other guests using some of the amenities but the spa is definitely geared towards providing “me” time to each visitor.

In addition to massages and facials, the spa also offers nail services, waxing and even cut and color options.

Our last stop at the spa was a room called The Hearth. It is technically the “waiting room” if you are getting a service but there is also a lounge area s well. Two of the walls are made completely of glass and give an amazing view of the surrounding nature and the bay. Set up at the front of the room are a row of lounge chairs where you can sit back, relax and sip on some wine or champagne.

At the back of the room is a fireplace and some surrounding chairs and magazines to read while you wait. This is the only room where you are allowed to drink and the staff is great about bringing you your choice of red, white and sparkling wine.

---

Overall the weekend was so fun but way too short! Since we were working most of the time to create content, we did not get to relax as much as we had hoped. This trip definitely has us already talking about our next girls trip which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. I know all of us want to go back to Salishan with family or friends for a longer stay especially when the weather is even nicer! For anyone looking for a relaxing getaway or a girls weekend, I highly recommend Salishan! It was a literal dream and there are so many fun things to do at the resort and in the neighboring beach towns. This resort is also dog friendly and you can bring up to two furry, canine friends so it is perfect for the WHOLE family : )

[While our stay and this post were sponsored, all opinions are my own]

Links

Book your stay at the Salishan Resort

Book a service at the Salishan Spa

Check out Salishan’s Instagram

Check out Gia’s Instagram

Check out Julianne’s Instagram

Read Julianne’s blog post about our trip

Smile Brilliant

GIVEAWAY

I am so excited to be working with Smile Brilliant to give one of you lovely readers a free electric toothbrush of your own! All you have to do is follow me on instagram and fill out the form below! For an extra entry, you can also follow Smile Brilliant!

https://www.smilebrilliant.com/gb/velvetandsequins

Everyone who enters will receive a 20% coupon code just for entering so honestly everyone wins! Simply message me or comment on my Smile Brilliant Instagram photo once you have entered and I will send you the discount code!

---

My whole life I have always struggled with my dental health. Sadly I was not blessed with strong enamel so making daily efforts like flossing and using mouth wash is not only important but also necessary. I used to floss at least once a day growing up but part way through College, I got super lazy and just stopped. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to get back into the habit of flossing every night which I’m proud to say I have kept up!

Up until now I have been brushing my teeth with basic plastic toothbrushes that I buy from Target. I often feel like I need to replace them because I will squish the bristles from vigorously brushing to get all of the food out from between my teeth. It was also hard to judge how long to brush my teeth for and honestly, i was probably cutting the time short. When Smile Brilliant reached out about their cariPRO Ultrasonic toothbrush, I was super stoked to try it out!

If you have never used an electric toothbrush or have not used one in years like me, it can take a bit to get used to the feeling! The cariPro has 5 different settings (Clean, White, Massage, Gum Care and Sensitive) all of which go for a total of 2 minutes. Every 30 seconds, there will be a pause so you know to switch to the next quadrant in your mouth. The 5 settings are:

In my opinion, the first 3 settings were all too aggressive and caused toothpaste to go flying everywhere! After brushing my teeth the first time with this brush, I was feeling pretty discouraged because of how difficult it was to move around in my mouth while still retaining any of the toothpaste. As I moved down the 5 options, I ended up really liking the Gum Care and Sensitive settings!

The toothbrush manual recommends doing 30 seconds in each quadrant of your mouth (bottom right, bottom left, top right and top left). When I saw that the brush stays on for 2 minutes, I was kind of worried about what a long time that was! By splitting it up into 30 second segments, it makes the time go by SO fast! Now I actually find myself wishing it went longer sometimes! Another worry I had was figuring out when to spit. At first I tried spitting during the 30 second period which, combined with the first 3 powerful settings, meant most of my toothpaste ended up all over my hair. I finally got the hang of it and now I either spit during the brief pause or I will wait to spit at the end of the two minutes.

The biggest differences I noticed was how well the toothbrush cleaned and how smooth my teeth feel. I always floss before brushing and am able to get rid of most of the food that way. Since using this brush, I will notice that it removes pieces of food that my floss wasn’t able to get to. Before, all of that food was staying stuck between my teeth but now I am able to get it out! I also love how smooth and clean my teeth feel afterwards! Throughout the day I can feel when my teeth are dirty because they will not feel perfectly smooth.

I also love how little effort it now takes to brush my teeth. Before I felt like I was constantly moving my arm in a repeated brushing motion which did get a little tiring! With the electric toothbrush, since it moves on its own, all I have to do is move it across my teeth slowly while it does the rest of the work.

---

You can read more about the toothbrush here:

https://www.smilebrilliant.com/product/electric-toothbrush

electric toothbrush reviews

A Unique Valentine's Day Gift + Giveaway

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I am so excited! This is actually one of my favorite holidays whether I am in or out of a relationship. I love everything from the idea of celebrating a positive emotion/feeling to all of the candy and cute gifts. I know that finding the perfect Valentine's day gift can be hard though since you want it to summarize how you feel about the person you are gifting it to. That is why I was so excited when Jord Watches reached out to me since it is the perfect gift idea for you or that special person. If I have learned anything from post-college life, it is that you need a good watch. I used to wear a cheap digital watch as a kid and then as cell phones became a constant accessory, I ditched my watch in favor of just checking my phone for the time. Now that I am working full time though, I cannot always be checking and carrying around my phone which is why a watch is a definite necessity.

The great thing about Jord Watches is how unique they are! Lets be real, how many people do you know with a wooden watch?? There is also the option to customize the gift with an engraving on the backside of the watch (only certain styles) or on the wooden box. You can add a cute message, the person's name, an anniversary date, or even the location where you met! 

All Jord watches are 100% natural wood, splash-proof and are made with sapphire crystal glass. My watch is from the Fieldcrest series and is made with zebrawood and maple. I prefer slightly larger watch faces and so this 39mm case width is perfect. I love how the wood is a great neutral colors since one problem I've run into with metal watches is how to match my silver, gold and sometimes rose gold jewelry. Lucky for me, all of those metals work with the color of my watch.

You can shop my specific watch here

---

GIVEAWAY TIME - GIVEAWAY ENDED 2/18/18

The giveaway has now closed and the winner has been notified. Thank you to everyone who entered my first giveaway!

---

JORD WATCHES WEBSITE: 

MEN'S WATCHES: http://www.jordwatches.com/shop/men/#velvetandsequins

WOMEN'S WATCHES: http://www.jordwatches.com/shop/women/#velvetandsequins

MY WATCH: http://www.jordwatches.com/series/fieldcrest/zebrawood-and-maple/#velvetandsequins

JORD WATCHES INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jordwatches/?hl=en

Luxury Wooden Watch

{Disclaimer: This blog post and giveaway is sponsored but all opinions and photos are my own}

Customizable Cases

A while ago the company Caseable reached out to me to let me try out their products. I had actually been looking for a new phone case and some accessories for my iPad Mini 2 so the timing was perfect! The cool thing about Caseable is that you can either customize your cases with your own images or you can pick from a wide range or art designs created by artists in Brooklyn and Berlin.

To start, you first pick out what item you are looking for a case for. Back when I first got my iPhone, I also got my iPad but to be honest, I hadn't used it yet partly because I did not have any accessories for it. I was also looking for a new phone case as we enter into the end of summer and the beginning of fall. For many of the products there are several options of cases to pick from. For example, after selecting "iPhone 6s" I had the option to pick from a hard case, a phone pouch or a flip case. There are a crazy amount of designs to pick from so it actually took me a whole week before I finally settled on what I wanted. Here is what I ended up ordering:

- Apple Macbook Pro 13 Laptop Economy Sleeve featuring Graphic 33 by Mareike Böhmer

- Apple iPad mini Retina Tablet Cover, Graphic 110 by Mareike Böhmer

- Apple iPhone 6s Smartphone Hard Case, Wildflowers by Terri Henson

Out of the three products I ordered, I would most recommend the iPad case and the soft laptop sleeve. I like that the iPad case also features an elastic strap to hold it together to protect the screen when I carry it around in my bag. Although I liked the matte finish on the phone case, I am pretty clumsy and drop my phone A LOT. I definitely need a little more protection than this hard case offers since it does not have a bumper going around the entire side.

To check out the other fun designs that Caseable has, you can visit their website here

{All photos taken by styledportland}

---

Disclaimer: Although this is a collaborative post, all of my opinions are always my own and are always honest. If you have any further questions, definitely leave me a comment or feel free to contact me!