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My hair has not been at its best this summer.  Sun, salt water, humidity and heat, plus constant styling to battle the heat and humidity all tends to strip my hair leaving it looking and feeling dry and dull. This may sound a bit dramatic, but when I do not feel good about my hair, it can ruin my outlook on life...not kidding....and like I said, somewhat dramatic. Due to sweat and product build-up, I try to use deep cleansing shampoos in the summer, but while they do cleanse my hair, they also strip it of moisture.  What my hair required to battle summer damage was a deep cleansing shampoo that removes product build up and pollutants, but does not strip my hair, followed by a conditioner that is deeply moisturizing and repairing, yet does not weigh my hair down. I found the perfect shampoo and conditioner combo to battle my summer damaged hair woes with Volé 's Revitalizing Shampoo and Volumizing Conditioner. The Revitalizing Shampoo contains a combination of moisturizing, nourishing, gentle cleansing and rejuvenating ingredients such as coconut-derived cleansers, eucalyptus, menthol, and avena sativa (wild oats). Thanks to the menthol, washing my hair with Volé 's Revitalizing Shampoo is incredibly invigorating and I absolutely LOVE shampooing in the morning (it's a lot more effective than a cup of coffee at waking me up.)  The Revitalizing Shampoo effectively cleans my hair and rids it of build-up without leaving it feeling like straw. The Volumizing Conditioner is now my absolute favorite hair product and is honestly the perfect conditioner.  It is deeply moisturizing without leaving my hair feeling weighed down, adds a lot of shine and leaves my hair soft and also really bouncy. I have also been trying Volé 's Regen Serum, which is supposed to promote hair growth, improve strength and rebalance the hair's lifecycle.  It's too soon to tell if it's working, but if the shampoo and conditioner are any indication of the Volé Hair System's effectiveness, I'm sure I will be more than happy with the results of the Regen Serum. I feel as if I've finally found the perfect shampoo and conditioner combination for not only my summer hair concerns, but all of my hair concerns in general.  Thanks to Volé, I have a shampoo that effectively cleans my hair without leaving it dry and more damaged.  I also found a conditioner that actually repairs and improves the condition my hair.  The only thing I can ask from Volé is that they create more hair products with the same incredible performance as the shampoo and conditioner! Give it a try and treat yourself with this 20% off promo code at www.volehair.com: Girlsspa20 Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: press sample

The best part of living in a tourist area (the Poconos), is that there are a lot of little gems waiting to be discovered. For me, this gem has been right in front of my face for 13 years. I've driven by Utopia Salon & Day Spa countless times, but let me be honest, I never really gave it a second thought based on the outside. I guess you could say, I judged a book by its cover. Utopia Salon & Day Spa is located on the busy highway of Route 6 in Hawley, it's also right by an intersection for Wallenpaupack school district and Turkey Hill (where all of those tourists going on Lake Wallenpaupack are gassing up their boats.) When one of my favorite spas was totally booked, I decided to do a quick search of others in the area. Utopia was the first to pop up. I looked at their menu and saw that they were completely affordable and when they said they could get me in next day, I was stoked. It was when I pulled into the parking lot that I realized there was a lot more to the building than you could see from the road. When I entered the back of the building, I was taken back by how beautiful it was inside with its local flare of wood floors, stone fireplace and wood beam ceilings. I waited for my pedicurist, also named Shannon, and was greeted and taken down to another room to pick my lacquer. All of the polish was Morgan Taylor, and I chose Well Spent, a purple creme. I was then led to the pedicure room which is a quiet, intimate room of 3 pedicure chairs and a bench to sit on for polish drying. I sat in the chair nearest the window that looked out to some trees. I remarked to Shannon, that sitting there, you would never know that the intersection was just a few feet away. Utopia's spa pedicure ($47) consists of 55 minutes of calf and foot pampering. Aside from the typical nail clipping, buffing, polish removed and reapplied, your feet and calves are exfoliated with a citrus sugar scrub and then a hydrating green minty masque is applied. Before painting my nails, Shannon gave my feet a nice massage (honestly I probably would've paid more for her to do it longer because it was so relaxing!) The pedicure chair is a massager and I sat there in pure bliss while it kneaded out my sore back muscles. Something I particularly loved about Shannon was that she was not an over-talker. We've all experienced those kinds of people at least once or twice while spa-ing where the person giving the treatment just won't stop talking. Shannon spoke when I asked questions, made light conversation, but didn't make silence feel awkward at all. I just felt completely relaxed. When I book my next pedicure, it will definitely be with her. If you happen to be in the northern tier of Wayne or Pike counties near Lake Wallenpaupack, I recommend stopping by Utopia Salon & Day Spa for some extra pampering. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!

This luxury facial cleanser makes skin feel amazing! I've been using Reflekt Skincare for the last 6 weeks about 2-3 times per week. In the summer, a regular cleanser alone won't do the trick to thoroughly rid my skin of all the "gunk" that warmer weather brings when wearing makeup, sunscreen, etc. You really don't need much, don't be fooled by the above image, that was just to show the texture of this exfoliant. I made a super quick video to review it, take a look (and give it a thumbs up!) You can purchase Reflekt on Amazon. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: press sample, affiliate link

Some of the best perfumes are made by indie brands. When I first began blogging in 2005, I came across perfumer, Sharon Bolton, and her amazing fragrances. For a few years she went off the radar, but I was so thrilled when she recently reached out with the relaunch as Malia B (named after her daughter.) Malia B has three perfume oils that come in packaging using post-consumer materials, which are embedded with wildflower seeds so that you can plant it and grow something beautiful. The nature-inspired perfume oils are: Luv: White flowers, gardenia and vanilla Soul: Pineapple, Papaya and coconut Malia: Orange and Jasmine with a fresh top green note I chose Luv, because I typically wear perfumes that have floral notes. I was not disappointed at all. It smells incredible! It has a fragrant sweetness to it that cannot be described - other than that I want to wear it all of the time. It is perfectly feminine and the scent is long-lasting. Each Malia B perfume oil comes in a 1/8 rollerball and price ranges from $38-$40. You can also purchase 5ml samples for $2. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: press sample

Mention "organic deodorant" and you may get a few raised eyebrows combined with some skepticism. People often wonder - Does organic deodorant smell weird? Is it strong enough? What exactly is it made of? I'm going to be straight up honest, I've never tried organic deodorant before simply because I didn't think it would have staying power. After talking with the owner of Lilly's Bathcarry one day, which in full transparency is an A Girl's Gotta Spa! retailer, she convinced me that I should give it a shot. She recommended erbaviva, saying it was the best she's ever used. Now that I've tried it myself, I'm kicking myself for not trying it sooner. I tried erbaviva Lemon & Sage Organic Deodorant and Jasmine & Grapefruit. Pictured is the travel size, which is 1 floz, but she also has full size, which is 3.4 floz. If you've never tried this type of deodorant before and are unsure, then I recommend going with the travel size because it is only $7, but lasts a good long time. Something I loved right away about erbaviva is that you don't need a degree to understand the ingredients, pure and simple - it's essential oils in organic grain alcohol. I'm not used to spritzing on my deodorant, so that took some getting used to, because you don't want to over do it (or under do it and smell bad.) I found that I only needed 3 spritzes for it to be effective enough for me. Also, a helpful tip - if you've just shaved, wait a little bit before spraying because the alcohol will sting. Fragrance-wise, I thought Lemon & Sage would be my favorite since I love lemon scents. Lemon & Sage smells good, a very clear and clean lemon mixed with an earthy sage aroma. However, Jasmine & Grapefruit became my go-to. I really like this floral-citrus combination. The scent is there for a few minutes, but then you don't notice it until... suddenly you're sweating in the heat of the day and boom. The scent is there as the ingredients are activated and working to prevent body odor. Perfect! I'm actually surprised at how much I liked this. You can find erbaviva at Lilly's Bathcarry for $7 and $20. I'd love to know if you experience trying organic deodorant for the first time was the same! Leave a comment! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: Press samples

Sponsored by AmLactin Skin Care

  We all know that getting older comes with pros and cons. Older and wiser (that's a definite), knowing who you are and what you want... and then all those lovely skin issues. Dark spots, wrinkles, and other fun skin ailments like eczema, psoriasis, and Keratosis Pilaris are exacerbated by dry skin. So what are those of us with aging skin to do? According to data from a 2015 national online survey of over one thousand U.S. women over the age of 18: Nearly two-thirds of U.S. women report that the older they get, the more difficult it is to keep their skin moisturized. (Yes, this is me.) U.S. women feel an average of six years older when their skin is dry and dull. (Ugh, me again.) 56% of women report being just as concerned about the signs of aging from the neck down as they are about the signs of aging on the face. (Truth.) Can you also relate to those statistics? I recently tried out AmLactin Skin Care's line of products that have been trusted by dermatologists for over 20 years. With its unique combination of exfoliating alpha-hydroxy acids and hydrating humectants, AmLactin moisturizers smooth away roughness to reveal smooth, healthy-looking skin. In this video I discuss AmLactin Ultra Hydrating Body Cream for my Keratosis Pilaris (a skin issue that I'm often embarrassed by), AmLactin Foot Cream, Moisturizing Body Lotion and my absolute fave, Cerapeutic Restoring Body Lotion. AmLactin products are non-greasy, fragrance free and work as an exfoliating + hydrating lotion. Would you like to try AmLactin Skin Care for FREE? Follow these steps to enter my Soft Skin Giveaway:

1. Visit AmLactin’s website and look at each product.
2. In the comments section below, tell me how your skin has changed over the years AND provide a link to the AmLactin product you’d most like to try by August 24, 2016 at 11:59pm EST.

On August 25th, I will randomly pick one commenter to receive $100 worth of AmLactin products! WINNER: Stephanie Liske *Giveaway is open to United States residents only. Product and shipping provided by AmLactin Skin Care. No cash or product substitutes. AmLactin and A Girl's Gotta Spa! have the right to cancel this giveaway at any time. Void where prohibited. Check out AmLactin's social channels: Facebook Twitter YouTube Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Uncover smooth, radiant skin with AmLactin Alpha-Hydroxy Skin Care. Its unique exfoliating and hydrating alpha-hydroxy therapy gently removes dead skin cells to reveal soft, hydrated skin. It’s the difference between skin care and skin therapy. AmLactin moisturizers are available on Amazon.com and at your local Target, CVS, Walgreens, Costco, Walmart and Rite Aid. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of AmLactin Skin Care. The opinions and text are all mine.

Sponsored by Mirum Shopper. All opinions are my own.

Lately I've been on the hunt for products that aim to treat my skin and hair for the issues I'm having as I age (not just things to make me look younger.) Being in my 40's comes with a plethora of issues that are both as a result of my actions when I was younger (or inaction in terms of taking care of my skin and hair) and the normal course of getting older. Yay me. I've used Nexxus hair system products in the past and I've been really happen with the results. So when I learned that you can get a 3-product full size set from Sam's Club for just around $26, I was game to check it out. While Sam's Club may be associated with large bulk items, it's also a great place to generally save on items that you love. There are 6 different sets of Nexxus products that you can choose from that include a shampoo, conditioner and hair treatment. Or if you don't want all of the same products from the same collection, you have the ability to choose 3 different Nexxus items for the same price through their customized regimen. For example, you could purchase the Color Assure Vibrancy Shampoo and Conditioner, but then select the Promend Split End Binding Cream. The 6 systems are: Emergencee Damage Recovery System: for weak and damaged hair Oil Infinite Frizz Defying System: for frizzy or unruly hair Diametress Luscious Volume System: for flat and fine hair Color Assure Vibrancy Retention System: for color treated hair Youth Renewal Radiance System: for fine and weakened hair Promend Split End Bonding System: for hair prone to split ends If you type in Nexxus in the search bar on the Sam's Club website, each system will show up, as well as a way to customize your set. Choosing begins with conditioner, then shampoo and then a hair treatment. For this review, I chose the Youth Renewal Radiance since my hair is weakened from coloring and heat styling my hair. And while I have a lot of hair giving it the appearance of being thick, it's actually pretty fine. Nexxus Youth Renewal Radiance Shampoo, Conditioner and Elixir smell and feel incredible. The only way I can describe the fragrance is like a creamy, comforting lotion. The texture of the 3 also align with this as well - most especially the Elixir, which is a white serum that is dispersed through a dropper. Youth Renewal Radiance Shampoo and conditioner both have ingredients like coconut oil, hydrolyzed elastin, keratin, pearl and wheat protein. The Elixir is also enriched with liquid pearl and concentrated 100% pure elastin protein. After use, each strand feels plumped up, incredibly soft, hydrated and shiny. Something I noticed after using these products, is that my thermal brush grips my hair better without ripping and breaking any strands as I am drying my hair. This means frizziness has decreased considerably and breakage from styling is way down. My hair looks great and I really love this hair system. There's definitely a Nexxus hair system to solve your hair woes, and to save $16 on a bundle, head over to Sam's Club website to create yours now! Leave a comment and let me know if you've tried any of these products from Nexxus yourself! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!

I'm sharing #MyOliaStory as part of a Garnier® sponsored series for Socialstars™. All opinions and hair color are my own.

If you've been following #MyOliaStory for the past few months, then you know I've been dyeing my hair at home with Garnier® Olia every 6 weeks. This is the most consistent I have been in years, since I had stopped dyeing my hair all together during my pregnancies.

For some reason, my hair had become a very dark brunette during that time - which I can tell you is not my natural color, but I'm not entirely sure how it came to be. (Has this happened to anyone else??) I wanted to go back to a much lighter version of brown while retaining the look of it being natural. If you still haven't tried Garnier® Olia for yourself, let me tell you some of the things I have loved about using it: Olia is an ammonia-free hair dye - I love that even though my color is coming from a bottle, it certainly doesn't smell that way during the process.

The dye is powered by 60% oil - That means my hair is being nourished during coloring and won't end up dry and brittle 100% gray coverage - This girl has got grays, but I don't need anyone knowing that. Gray hair is tough, but I love that Olia completely covers them.

Hair feels soft and manageable - Sometimes dyeing your hair can result in it feeling like straw, but my hair feels really soft. I used Olia 6 1/2 .3 again as my shade, but instead of just doing my roots this time, I actually did my whole head. I was a little nervous about that, but I'm happy with how it came out.

Overall, I really like using Garnier® Olia and the fact that you can find it just about everywhere and it's affordable means that I know it is always accessible when I need to freshen up my color again. I think in September I'll go back to darkening it up a bit for Fall/Winter with a warmer brown.

To follow the story from the beginning, check out these posts:

Garnier Hair Color Review

Getting My Hair Summer-Ready

5 Surefire Ways Pampering Boosts Your Mood (and Confidence)

How to Lighten Your Hair 

In the skin department, Summer usually means oilier than normal skin for me. Which also means clogged pores, and at times, acne prone skin accompanied by dehydrated and irritated skin thanks to time spent in the sun and insane amounts of sunscreen. One of the best ways that I deal with summer skin issues is by relying pretty heavily on face masks.  For me, it's just easier to introduce face masks intended to treat my particular skin woes than to change my entire skincare routine; plus masks always makes an at-home facial feel incredibly indulgent. Two masks that I just recently discovered just in time for summer are the African Black Soap Clarifying Mud Mask and the Raw Shea Butter Hydrating Mud Mask from SheaMoisture.  Mud masks are great for oil absorption, pore-clearing and overall skin detoxification, combined with an ingredient like shea butter which is both hydrating and restorative, SheaMoisture Mud Masks are basically your best skincare weapon against summer skin issues. I love using the  Hydrating Mud Mask whenever my skin feels dry and dehydrated.  It leaves my skin feeling both moisturized and soothed.  The Clarifying Mud Mask is great for when my skin is clogged thanks to heat, humidity, sweat and sunscreen.  The Clarifying Mud Mask unclogs my pores and leaves my skin feeling smooth and refreshed. Using these masks on a weekly basis, depending on my skin needs, has enabled me to avoid irritated, clogged, oily, acne prone skin so far this summer! I love them! I'd love to know if you've tried them! Leave a comment! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: press sample

It's a common beauty myth - switch to a sulfate free body wash and you have to give up that luxurious lather that makes pampering so much fun. But it's not true. Sure, you won't be able to bury yourself under a mountain of bubbles, but you don't have to sacrifice the suds if you go sulfate free. Here are our favorite sulfate-free body washes that will still make you want to hasthag with #treatyoself A Girl's Gotta Spa! Energizing Citrus Body Wash: If you're in need of something uplifting for your pamper session, this is the body wash to go with. It's foamy goodness that will still keep your skin feeling soft and not dried out. Aloe and other plant-based ingredients moisturize the skin. Lancer The Method Body Cleanse: An anti-aging body wash intended to do to the body what Dr. Lancer's system does for the face. Bubbles immerse your skin in exfoliating acids to give you a glow. Nurture My Body Wild Eucalyptus Body Wash: This is my favorite fragrance when I have a cold or allergies that are making it difficult to breathe. This scent is exhilirating to the senses and lathers just enough to satiate your pampering needs. What's your favorite sulfate free body wash? Let me know in the comments! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! *Disclosure, affiliate link, owned brand