A few weeks ago, I was laying in bed on a Friday night reading a magazine with the news on in the background when a story about an appetite-suppressing lip gloss caught my immediate attention.  The segment was a welcome change from the usual 11pm broadcast because hello!  It was a beauty product, and it was on the news!  You would think the Redcoats were coming with as alert as I became.  In all of my excitement, I forgot to write it down and when the morning rolled around– I couldn’t remember who made it or what the name was.  I did a little bit of google-action and I found it!  All is well again.

The product I was desperately seeking was “Huge Lips Skinny Hips” from Purple Lab, and since I was so intrigued with the concept of an appetite-suppressing lip plumper, you know I had to check it out.  Here’s what I learned:

Huge Lips Skinny Hips is formulated with Hoodia, an all-natural extract often associated with weight loss for it’s appetite-suppressant abilities.  It is said that Hoodia can target the parts of the brain that tell you that you’re full by mimicking the effects of sugar.  Very interesting!

The best thing about the Hoodia appetite suppressant is that it takes a direct route in reducing hunger rather than acting as a stimulant. When your brain senses that blood sugar levels are low it sends out the signal we recognize as being hungry. By fooling the brain into believing that levels of blood sugar are high this signal is not sent out and therefore a person with a very small amount of food in their stomach, or no food, can feel full. — herbalshome.com

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I am amazed, more like absolutely astonished that I am sitting here right now looking at the title I just typed that says “Week 8″!  For a few minutes, I was at a loss for words.  Well– that didn’t last for very long because you know me!

To catch up any new readers that haven’t been following along on my weekly updates over the past 2 months, I’ve been on the NutriSystem program to get myself back down to a healthier weight.  It consists of eating 3 pre-packaged monthly delivered meals and 1 snack/dessert daily.  It’s also supplemented by your own fruits and vegetables.  With the start of week 5, NutriSystem delivered several frozen meals and treats to be placed into the mix with their Select menu options, in addition to the variety of foods I had already been eating.  I had more options and I think that variety helps the plan from potentially becoming boring.  I enjoy an ice cream sandwich from time to time and a few were delivered!  I’ve had 2 speed bumps along the way but after that week I picked myself up and dusted myself off.  I’m happy to say that I have found this an extremely gratifying and worthwhile experience.  At week 4, I even gave away a month of the NutriSystem plan to one lucky reader.   Which reminds me, I’ve gotta check in with her and see how she’s been doing.

So here we are at week 8!  I’ve had a cumulative weight loss of 18 pounds in 2 months which is an average of 2.25 pounds lost per week.  Some weeks were more than others, but in the end it has all worked out to a desirable result.  To my understanding, the average amount of weight loss that’s recommended is 2 pounds a week so that is just about in line.  Everyone’s metabolism and body is different– I’m not sure of another person’s take on this or on their results since I can only speak for myself.  I’m not ashamed to say that I feel proud of my dedication so far and I’m grateful for all of the encouragement I’ve received from everyone.  It’s been awesome!

My point in putting myself out there like this over the past few weeks was to answer a few questions I had:

Does NutriSystem work? In my case, yes.  It did not come without my contribution of hard work in addition to the plan however.

Can I give someone else who may have difficulty obtaining a healthy weight encouragement and hope? Id like to think that was achieved.

Was it something I could even stick with? Yes!

Regardless of whether you decide to use NutriSystem or another method of weight loss, I applaud you for doing what’s right for you.  I don’t make any guarantees for anyone else, but I am so satisfied with my own performance that I have made the decision to continue the plan one month at a time and evaluate my needs as I go along.  I won’t be updating weekly anymore but I hope you at least found some value in what I shared!

xo
Amber

It’s kind of hard sometimes to explain how great a body wash/shower gel is and why it’s worthy of your cashola.  Before shower gels became the norm, I remember how much I coveted the first few I had and it’s almost like I didn’t want to use them because they were so special.  I became so used to bar soap that left ick on my body that shower gel was seen as a privilege.  Poor, poor child.   Let’s have a moment of silence for the classic soap bar.  You are long gone, but not forgotten.

Now, there are stores that are practically devoted to their existence.  It’s kind of like picking out what top you’re going to wear for the day– “Hmm… think I’ll use cucumber melon, nah… I’m not feeling very melon-y today!”  Often I’m not even thinking about any other benefits this liquid miracle could be providing for my skin other than cleansing.  Is your current body wash working as hard as it can for you?  The next time you are in your local grocery or drugstore, take a whiff of the new Tone Blueberry Antioxidant Body Wash.  If you don’t agree with me that it smells like it could be on the shelf at a specialty bath retailer, I would be very surprised.  I would spend the usual $12-$16 for it based on the scent alone– lucky for me it’s only about $3.99!  But it’s also got antioxidant and skin conditioning benefits from blueberries and vitamins A & E.  My skin doesn’t feel tight like some others make it feel once I towel off, and the creamy lather makes me happy.  Smell it… if you like it, welcome to my world!  If you don’t, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.

We’ve made it through an entire year together on this little ol’ beauty blog here of mine you guys!  July marks the 1st birthday of Beauty Junkies Unite and I’m so excited, you have no idea!  Thank you for reading all of my rambling thoughts, your participation and interaction with myself and other readers, and for even teaching me a thing or ten over the past year!  It has truly been a blast and I look forward to sharing more with you for some time to come.  I want to celebrate both the arrival of summer and BJU’s birthday with a fun giveaway for you all, so check this out!

I’ve got 4 Summer Survival Kits with summer’s most essential items that were hand-picked by yours truly to give away.  I think they are excellent products and want you to experience them too!  Each Summer Survival Kit will include the following:

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I’m always up for a little nail polish challenge, and I adore OPI products.  Naturally, I like Nicole by OPI nail polishes by default and I’m sure you can figure out why!  I’ve seen Nic’s Sticks in the beauty department of my local drugstore and at Target pretty often, but I’ve found that whenever I was ready to take the plunge, the selection was lacking due to either stock issues at the store– or Nic’s Sticks were so awesome that they just weren’t able to keep a decent amount in stock for the people like me who waited too long.  So finally I was able to secure a few, ta-da!  Here are the four I tried:

From top to bottom:

Need it Yesterday — purple pearl
Snow Time to Wait — opaque white
Red Eye to NY — blood red cream
I’m on Deadline — violet-blue pearl

There’s a really interesting method to the madness here!  The polish is in a tube in the center which is encased in a hard plastic cylinder and shaped like a pen, complete with a brush at the tip.  In order to use, you simply point down, pump, then paint!

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