My Dermatologist Follow-Up: Accutane?

Hello everyone!
So, yesterday I went to my dermatologist for my 3 month follow up appointment! Please read my acne blog post  to get the full story. I am sad to say that I am disappointed. None of the things she prescribed me worked...not even the antibiotic. To make a long story short, she said we have tried all options, and the only thing left to try is accutane.
Now, I have heard A LOT of bad things about accutane (birth defects, suicide, depression, etc), so my automatic reaction was NO! She said she wanted to do a low dose, because my acne isn't horrible, like some people who try accutane. After talking about it, the thing that really swayed me to say no was the monthly check ups & blood work. First of all, my co pay is $40...THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY TO PAY A MONTH (for me)! Second, I have a serious phobia of needles, and I honestly just don't want to have blood work done every month. Lastly, WHO KNOWS how much accutane actually cost. We did not discuss that.
My acne really bothers me on a day-to-day basis, but with all the risks accutane presents, I think I'd rather not. I will keep trying different things from the drug stores. I really want to buy the Olay Pro X system. I've heard great things about it. I also may try some Cetaphil products.
I will keep you guys updated on what works/does not work for me. I know a lot of people have the same acne issues as me, and I know it is very frustrating! Let me just tell you, DO NOT GIVE UP! My skin was CLEAR for 3 years, so I know it is possible. Also, yall keep me updated on any good acne products. I am always willing to try them!
Thanks to everyone who has been following me on this. If you have any suggestions, questions, etc, please let me know!! Talk to you in my next post<3

Mani and Pedi of the day!

Hey everyone!!
Sorry I have been MIA here lately! In the past month, I've had just a few off days total, and that has left me with no time to blog! Here is a mani and pedi I did recently! Hope you guys like it! :)

Sally Hansen: Mint Sorbet; Wet N Wild: Party of Five Glitters

(I know this is hard to see)
China Glaze: Flip Flop Fantasy (HOT PINK; I realize
this looks orange); The stripes were done with a black nail art brush
(I blogged about a few posts ago!CLICK ME) I did use a white base under the FFF polish,because it is such a neon pink that
it helps it go on much better.

I hope you guys try this!! I have gotten a lot of compliments on it, and it took no time! Have a great day! :)

TAG: BEST BLOG AWARD*

*PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF YOU WERE TAGGED! :)

-what to do:

1. Link back to the person who passed you the award
2. Complete the form below
   
3. Share 7 random things about yourself
4. Award 10 blogs

**THANKS SO MUCH TO marlaandmakeup FOR TAGGING ME!**

FAVORITE COLOR: Pink

FAVORITE SONG: I don't really have a favorite song. My favorite artist's are Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, and Drake. What a combo! HAHA!

FAVORITE DESSERT: Anything chocolate!! 

WHAT GETS YOU MAD: When someone has their windshield wipers on and its not raining!

WHEN YOUR UPSET YOU: Get quiet. 

YOUR FAVORITE PET: My cat LEXI! I show him in my second blog post, I believe!

BLACK OR WHITE: Black

YOUR BIGGEST FEAR IS: Losing someone close to me that I love.

YOUR BEST FEATURE IS: Smile

EVERYDAY ATTITUDE: Happy and loud! :)

WHAT IS PERFECTION: Perfection is seeing someone who is not perfect, perfectly. 

7 RANDOM THINGS: 

• Im 21, but I act like Im 50 :\
• One of my fave youtube gurus is MissJenFabulous
•  Im obsessed with nail polish, but I suck at painting my nails
• I work in a clothing store, but my since of style kinda sucks :[
• I only wear makeup on days I have to work, or go some where important.
• I am a control freak!!

AWARD TIME !

1. makeupdiary
2. bellaglambrunette
3. grace-and-beauty
4. vibrantbrush
5. vintagemakeup
6. Amarixe
7. nailsbykatevergara
8. wifezillahekela
9. sweetashoney2
10. punchypink87

Look Of The Day: Olive Eyes (ELF Porducts!)

Hey everyone!!
So, I recently watched a YouTube video called Under The Olive Tree, by Amarixe. I loved the "green eye" effect! I think she is a great guru, so check her out if you haven't already.

The face.
I describe the eyes below.
Blush: ELF Mineral blush in Coral.
Lips: ELF Nicely Nude Mineral Lipstick
with ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss.

Start to finish: ELF $1 eye primer, NYX Jumbo Pencil in French Fries, ELF Endless Eyes Pro Mini
Eyeshadow Palette in everyday classics (I used the dark green from the 3rd row all over the lid,
and then I used the light green, on the same row, on top of the dark green.) I mixed a dark and light brown
together, from the 2nd row, as my crease color (any 'darkish' brown will work.) Then my highlight
color is the white from the 1st row.
Eyeliner on top lash line is Covergirl Liquiline in Brown.

I lined my top and bottom waterline with Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Zero. (A nice
doupe is the Sephora Kohl Waterproof Liner, $9.) Mascara: Loreal Telescopic, Blackest Black.

The Palette, http://www.eyeslipsface.com

What do you guys think about color on the lid? Would you wear it?

I do apologize for the lighting. I hope it doesn't look too "washed out."

Thanks so much for reading! I am thrilled that I have over 40 subbies! How AWESOME! :)

On a side note, I'm not ignoring yalls comments, but when I comment on someone elses post, it does not notify me of any comments back so I kinda figured "whats the point in commenting back?" Am I right or is there a way? (Hope that made since) I am still pretty new to all this! Hehe! BUT I DO read ALL of my comments and I LOVE them all! Just didn't know if people would see my comments back!? ...thanks everyone  :]

~Brooke<3

Make-up Tag!

Hello everyone! I found this tag as I was blog surfing(randomly) and thought it might be fun! I tag you ALL! :) Thanks for reading*

 

1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup? I was in middle school, so around 12 or 13 probably. Not much at that time, just eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss. In high school was when I started wearing foundation, eye liner, etc.

2. How did you get into makeup? If you know my mom, then you know how I got into makeup. My mom will not leave the house without a full face of make up on, and has been like that for as long as I've known her...hehe! It just kind of came natural after seeing her do it daily.

3. What are some of your favorite brands? E.L.F, Covergirl, Maybelline-- Mostly all drug store. I own very few high end products.

4. What does makeup mean to you? Oh gosh, makeup means a TON for me. I have bad acne (refer to last blog post) so for me, makeup makes helps me feel better about myself because it helps me cover up scars and blemishes. It's also a fun way to be creative! Lastly, it helps enhance your natural beauty. I am a firm believer in "natural beauty." I do not believe everyone should wear "a pound" of makeup everyday, but a little makeup every now and then, goes a long way!

 

5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be? Moisturizer, Foundation(Revlon Colorstay), Mascara(Maybelline Define-a-Lash Waterproof), & The Tarte cheek and lip stain.

6. What is your favorite thing about makeup? Makeup is so fun, and lets you be creative in so many different ways! It is also a confidence booster for me, because it helps me cover up scaring I would otherwise be self conscious of.

7. What do you think about drugstore makeup vs high end makeup? I think most high end makeup (in my opinion) is a rip off. I do not own very much, but what I do own (Urban Decay, Tarte, Too Faced, Sephora) is very "doupeable." I think Covergirl eye shadow is just as good as Urban Decay, etc. I could go on all day, but I don't waste my money on high end makeup because the drug store has all the makeup I could need, for my daily makeup routine!

8. What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner? YOUTUBE!! haha...But really, watching someone apply makeup is very helpful for me. You could tell me "apply this to your crease," but watching someone do it is much more helping. Also, don't go overboard. Start out small and then work your way to bigger and better things! :)

9. What do you think about the beauty community on YouTube? I think it is a very helpful place! I have bought (and not bought) things that I have watched reviews about. I also blame YouTube for my makeup addiction! LOL!

10. What is one makeup trend you never understood? Well, this is not a trend, I just never got into it. LIP LINER! I have never understood why someone would want to line their lips, and have a big ring around it(yes, I'm exaggerating). I am a lip stick and lip gloss kind of girl. No lip liner for me!

My Experience With Acne: From 2005-Now

Hey everyone! I first of all want to give a warning: this post WILL be long. I have had many people ask me about my experience, (what I'm using, etc) and to get the full effect, I will need to go into detail. If you have any questions and you do not want to ask in the comments below, please feel free to e-mail me @ HEATHEREAGLES@AOL.COM.

Ok! I am 21 years old (will be 22 in August) and I have been struggling with acne since I was 15. Now, when I was in high school my acne was mostly "white heads" or just regular pimples. My most common break out area was my forehead. After trying proactive, drug store face washes, etc, and nothing working, I finally consulted a dermatologist.
When I was 17 years old I went to my first dermatologist appointment. I went to a Dr. Smith in my town and to make a long, useless story short, he helped me none. He only wanted to prescribe the "high end" prescriptions to me, and would not settle for generic. For example: one of the creams he prescribed was $250. So I made an appointment with a well known dermatologist in my area, Dr. Girrard, and even though the wait was 2 months to just be seen by her, I waited. My first visit she prescribed me an antibiotic called Minocycline 200Mg a day, tretinonin cream .025%, benzoyl peroxide face wash 4%, and some expensive face lotion I never got filled.
The Minocycline made me so sick every time I took it, to the point where I would throw up! I eventually had to quit taking it. The tretinonin cream was meant to be a "spot treatment" for when a pimple would come up, but when I used it, it totally made my skin peel right off as if I were sunburned. The point of this cream is to make the skin produce new cells more rapidly, in turn, making your skin peel off. I used it for about a week or two, but I saw no results and I honestly didn't like the fact that my skin was peeling off. What REALLY cleared my skin up was the Benzoyl Peroxide Face Wash 4%. After I started using that nightly, my skin cleared up automatically(within a month)!
I used the BP face wash for 4 years(until this year), but my acne started coming back about a year ago in 2010. This time my acne was cystic, which means under the skin. The kind of cystic acne I have starts under the skin (you can not pop this pimple, not that I recommend that, I'm just saying that's how deep it is) and then after about a week it would surface. (Note: some of my cystic acne never surfaced. Some of it went away on its own, and some cysts have been there for months.) My acne is really bad along my chin and jaw line now. It's also on my cheeks and hair line as well. I do get the occasional "forehead cyst" (which hurts very bad and always causes me to have a headache).
After dealing with this for a year, I decided to go back to the dermatologist. In April 2011 I went back to the doctor. She prescribed me Minocycline 200Mg a day (again), benzoyl peroxide face wash 10%, and Clindamycin Phosphate Face Wipes 1%. After taking a full round (60 days) of the Minocycline(which still makes me sick, I just started to get use to it eventually), using the face wipes once to twice a day, and using the face wash twice daily, I still haven't seen much progress.
I will say my acne has minimized some, but not much. A lot of people say "get on birth control" but I have been on the pill for 5 years now.(that was one of the reasons I got on it.) I think my face is tired of BP. I go back for a follow up appointment in July, so I will be sure to post and let you guys know the verdict.

What I would recommend from my experience:

•  Your make up/moisturizer does make a difference. See if the label says "dermatologist tested" or "does not clog pores." I recommend getting something that says both!
• Try benzoyl peroxide if you never have. Mine is prescription, but they actually sell BP 10% at CVS. It may dry out your skin in the beginning, but this did work for me for 3 years.
• I have read success stories of people being on antibiotics like Minocycline, and their acne did clear up. I just don't think my body reacts well to it.
• I do use salicylic acid 2% at night on pimples, and it doesn't always help, but it normally doesn't get worse. 

I tried to make this as short as I could. I did shorten some stuff a good bit, so if you have any questions please let me know! I tried to make this as "readable" as possible. I hope when I go back in July, we can try something that I haven't really tired yet. Having acne at 21 years old is pretty embarrassing. When I get my acne cleared up, I will then focus on scaring...I have quite a bit. :(
Thank you for reading! I hope this was helpful to someone out there! :)

In the Kitchen With Brooke: Buffalo Casserole

Hey guys!
So today, my boyfriend and I of 3 years decided that we would cook something...for the first time EVER! We both still live at home, work full time and go to school full time, so cooking just hasn't really been "our thing."  I told him that he could choose what we cook, so he found a Buffalo Casserole Recipe HERE. We followed it to a Tee, MINUS the hot pepper sauce, and we used Tobasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce instead!

We boiled two chicken breasts for 25 minutes on medium to high heat, and then followed the recipe EXACTLY, and it turned out great (even my mother and her boyfriend liked it)!
Let me know if you guys try anything like this! Do yall like to cook? We really enjoyed it! I plan on doing more posts like this!

Going in the oven! See you in an hour!

Fresh out of the oven! We added some more shredded cheese to the top.

Side view; fresh out of the oven.

My serving! This recipe makes 4 large helpings.

Thanks for reading!! :)