Excuse me if this sounds incredibly odd but I enjoy being sick. Wait, I'm not some kind of masocist who likes pain but I just enjoy having an excuse to sit around and do nothing.

I'm the queen of relaxing and I'd be lying if I said Sunday afternoon was the first time I left my house since Friday...mostly because I was sick all weekend but that's not an unusual occurrence. I am so not the typical 22 year old.

Last week was a bad week physically for me. My throat felt like it was on fire and I could barely eat because it felt like there was a lump in my throat. When I diagnosed myself from WebMD, I thought I was dying but in reality, I knew I had strep throat.

I was more than happy to relax and get myself better over the weekend, mostly because strep throat is the most annoying sickness to have.

So, I laid on the couch, read magazines and watched TV all weekend and it was glorious. I feel so much better and ready to take on the week ahead!

Sick Days by royallypink featuring black leggings

SickDays2 by royallypink on Polyvore

Shop my sick day picks below! 

What do you do on your sicks days?

This is a sponsored post, as I received one of the products for review, but all my opinions are my own.

Wintertime, aside from autumn, is my favorite season. The cold, the snow, wearing big sweaters and blanket scarves...it's all amazing to me.

With the winter months, comes the blaring cold weather. I don't mind the cold (Frozen reference here) and it's never really affected me, until now. I've never had sensitive skin but over the past few months, my skin has been giving me a rough time.

Between blackheads, white heads, eczema, dry scalp, puffy eyes..you name it, my skin has had a problem with it.

I have been doing my best during the past few months, especially with the colder weather, to keep my skin as moisturized and hydrated as possible. I clearly don't mind because it gives me an excuse to buy and try new beauty products.

The best thing to do with your skin in the winter is keep it hydrated. The cold weather dries out your skin and does not make for a smooth canvas for makeup. Aside from your face, it's important to keep your hands and body fully moisturized as well. But I'm pretty sure you all knew that already. 

Over the past few weeks, I've been curating the best and my favorite products to try and review, trying to combat my mess of a dry body.

//Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe Soothe Moisture Lotion: Having a reliable, every day body lotion is the best thing you can have on hand. If you don't have anything else on this list, make sure you find a lotion that you like. I like this one because it has aloe and it's a simple, no fuss lotion. I apply it after the shower to a still wet body (applying lotion while you're still a little damp locks in the moisture) and it leaves my body completely smooth.

//Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Creme: When I realized I wasn't just dealing with dry skin but had eczema patches on various parts of my body (face, legs), I knew I needed something a little more heavy duty. After some research, I settled on this gel like cream and it's been working wonders. I apply this on my eczema patches along with on my dry, itchy legs (over the Vaseline Total Moisture) and it clears up the patches within a few days.

//Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue: I really enjoy BabyLips as a stand alone chapstick but the eczema around my lips became a little more serious. I used this (and lost it) last winter but I remembered it did wonders for me. It leaves a tingly sensation on your lips which I like because it feels like it's actually doing something and my lips have been less chapped since using. I'm going to do a "best lip balms" post because I've tried SO many but this one is definitely high on the list.

//Evian Water Facial Spray: I've always been curious about facial sprays and have read about the benefits of them but never truly tried one. I was sent this Evian Spray free for review and I was really excited to try this. I have been using this religiously in a bunch of different ways. Between spraying this before and after my makeup as a setting spray, using it in the morning before my moisturizer or at night after cleansing, and just during the day whenever I feel like my skin needs some moisture, it's been my best friend. I'm borderline obsessed with how it makes my skin feel and look and it's cool enough to truly wake me and my skin up in the morning. 

//Vaseline Rosy Lip Therapy: I jumped on the Vaseline Lip Therapy train a few weeks back after debating it for a while. I didn't like the idea of applying Vaseline to my lips...I don't like the texture of Vaseline but I finally decided to jump the gun. I don't like applying this during the day because it's too thick but applying it at night and letting the lip therapy do it's thing is magical. I wake up with my lips smooth and soft.

//Head and Shoulders Almond Oil Shampoo: Since I was about 11 years old, I've dealt with dry scalp and eczema on my scalp. It was really painful when I was younger but after a few years, I learned to deal with it properly. During the winter months, it's important for me to use an ultra moisturizing shampoo that caters to dry scalp. Head and Shoulders is by far the best I've found and it does every thing I need it too.

Honorable mentions (I'm trying out a few different ones right now and I'll do separate posts on them): eye cream, hand cream, and tinted lip balms.

What are your winter skincare essentials that leave you feeling fresh and smooth?

I've never been big on lip products. I never loved lip gloss, lipstick never looked right on me--it was just never my thing, even though I always had an influx of products.

As I got older, I realized the importance of a well put together lip. It was difficult to find my color that I loved and looked good on me. After some experimenting, I realized that a pink lip looked really good on me. I was able to wear it with a full face of makeup, to the beach when I had hardly any makeup on or wear pink lips alone.

Pink lips is definitely a summer trend so when the hot weather started to roll in, I got excited to rock the color again.

There are a few products that I found that moisturize my lips, has long lasting color and look really great on. I've definitely talked about most of these once before but thought it would be nice to have them all in one post. 

1. Maybelline Color Whisper in One Size Fits Pearl: Side note, this is the hardest color to find and repurchase. I've been out of it for a while and all the drugstores in my neighborhood are sold out of it. This is the perfect pale pink that has a touch of shimmer to it. It's not an overpowering pink and is great for everyday wear. It's almost hard to call it a pink because it's barely there but it's such a nice color.

2. Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment: I've been busting to buy a full size of this product but haven't gotten around to it. Fresh has the best lip balms, even though their a little pricy and this red/pinkish color is wonderful. It smoothes my lips but also adds the smallest hint of color. It's definitely perfect for really hot days when you need extra moisture; SPF is an added bonus. FRESH has a bunch of different shades also, if you want something a little lighter, darker, or no tint at all.

3. Maybelline Baby Lips Tinted in Pink Punch: This is by far my favorite lip product because it's the easiest to apply and has the longest wearing color. I rarely reapply and because it's mostly a lip balm, it's not heavy on my lips at all. I could go through this color in a few weeks because I apply it so much but it's so good. This is a great product for either everyday wear or a fancier occasion--no one will know that you're just wearing lip balm.

4. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Elusive: This is a product I have a love hate relationship with. Sometimes it's too pink, sometimes it's just right--it's definitely never too light. I think this is the smoothest and easiest to apply out of the four and it just feels so good while on my lips. The pigment is a little much though so I'd save this for nighttime instead of everyday wear.

All of these are in rotation for my summer beauty look and you really can't go wrong.

What are your favorite summer lip colors/products? 

Shop my look below!