Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Highlights #3

Besides both my parents and I being sick, I've had a wonderful week! I spent a lot of time with Dalton as per usual and as I took care of him when he was sick last week, he sort of did this same for me this week. LOL Before we all got sick, I drove around town quite a bit running errands, so I actually put makeup on which is a rarity these days. Something I've realized is, I feel so, so much more confident with makeup on. I'm not trying to hide anything (if you watch my vlogs, you'll know I'm very comfortable makeup free), but having makeup on just gives a boost of self confidence; it adds a bit of a pep in my step.

FYI the septum is fake 😜



One benefit of being sick with my parents is that I spent a lot of time with my mom; we caught up on the current season of Criminal Minds because we were mega behind and still sort of are, but we're getting there. I really do enjoy spending time with my mom; we've both been showing an insane amount of gratitude towards each other this week. She sincerely thanked me many, many times for taking care of the house since she's been a bit out of commission the past several months so to speak. I've been trying to show appreciation in every way possible to all of my loved ones, especially my mom. I mentioned last week that, through my buddhist practice, I want to become a more appreciative, compassionate person and I feel I'm making progress. I've been chanting every day which is a huge step for me. 

As far as my recovery from my eating disorders and trying to get healthy, I'm making small steps. I got a sponsor in my program that I'm part of and she's meant to help me with meal planning and staying abstinent from foods that I binge on and from purging. I have hope that I can do this and become a healthy person. 


It's been a good week, not too eventful, but good and that's all I can ask for. I'm grateful for what and  who I have today in my life and I am determined to further enrich my life. I hope you're all doing well! Ta for now!




Thursday, February 25, 2016

On The Bandwagon|Nivea Men Sensitive Cooling Post Shave Balm|Primer

There's been a ton of buzz in the YouTube beauty community about the Nivea Men Post Shave balm being used as a primer. I first heard about this from Kathleen Lights and Jaclyn Hill and Jaclyn says the reason it works so well as a primer is because of the high amount of glycerin in it. Now most people have been using either the regular or the sensitive, but I got the sensitive, cooling post shave balm because it was the only one I could really get my hands on.


The product applies a bit like a standard moisturizer and it does have a nice, subtle cooling effect, but as you massage it in, it becomes somewhat tacky. Once it's tacky, that's when you know you're good to apply your base. I used the Rimmel Lasting Foundation 24 Hour Foundation and I did find that it blended a lot more easily than when I hadn't used the product. Speaking of blendability, any powder product I used (bronzer, blush, highlight) blended into my skin so well! There was no patchiness and it was just a very smooth application.

Before
I wore the primer for about six hours one day for two days and both times, I did find that my makeup lasted much better. On the first day, I noticed that my blush and highlighter, usually the first thing to disappear, were still very much in tact! The second day is where the photos below are form. On this day, I didn't wear too much face makeup other than foundation because my main focus was the eyes and lips. Considering I had taken a nap and gone to the gym with the makeup on with the primer underneath, I'd say it held up incredibly well! Normally after a nap or gym session, my hyper pigmentation will be clearly visible, but with the Nivea post shave balm, that wasn't the case at all as you can see in the after photo. Overall, I'd say this product works as a great primer that makes your makeup last that little bit longer and makes things look a whole lot smoother and blended together. I'd also quickly like to add that this product made it so that I could not feel any makeup when I touched my face, it just felt like my skin! Normally, I can always tell when I have foundation on when I touch my face, but this made it so that I couldn't feel anything. So awesome and for the price of around six bucks? You can't go wrong!

After
I do hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you've tried any of the Nivea Men pots shave balms or if you want to! I hope you're all having a wonderful week! xx

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #4

American Candy

American Candy is The Maine's fifth studio album and I can honestly say, it's my favorite album they've ever released! I've been a huge fan of The Maine for about eight years now; I used to go to every Southern California show they would play and I even street teamed for their record label at the time, Fearless Records. Street teaming gave me a lot of cool opportunities to hang out with the band even more than I already was; a lot of backstage access, all very exciting! As I got older and busier, though, I stopped seeing them play, but I never stopped listening to them. All of their albums are incredible, but American Candy has become a part of me.

American Candy is your classic alternative/pop-punk/indie record with some of my favorite tracks being Am I Pretty?, (Un)lost, and American Candy. In all honesty, the whole album is so well written and the music behind the lyrics is so perfect for just driving around with friends on a beautiful day. There's a song called 24 Floors, a song John O'Callaghan (lead vocals) wrote about his deep depression that he went through when he was in his early twenties. It's such a darkly honest song about feeling like things will never get better, but the band pushes the message that things do get better and just to hold on to that a little bit longer.

The actual track, American Candy, is one of my absolute favorites because I relate to it so much! The candy they sing of could be anything from media, material things, to drugs and the chorus "They've got American candy/For the American kids/And even if you wanted to you couldn't stop/It's just so sweet/ But this American candy/It'll rot your teeth" and lines like "Try to think back to/Back to a time when/You loved what you loved/Because you loved it are so incredibly powerful. Give the song a listen and tell me what you think because it can be interpreted in so many ways, but either way you interpret it, there's a real depth and truth to the words.

I almost forgot how incredible the album is until I was driving around town with Dalton yesterday and we were just cruisin' along, windows down, breeze in the air, belting out the words to each song. The Maine as a whole have saved my life and got me through more difficult times than they will every understand and that is why they and American Candy are this week's Entertainment Tuesday. :) I'll leave you with the first single they released off the album, English Girls. Enjoy! xx




Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Highlights #2

Hello, hello! This past week was completely unproductive! 😑 I spent most of the week in bed with my best friend/old roommate, Dalton, who got pretty sick around Monday. He just recently moved out, but he still spends a lot of time with me and my family and once he got sick, he figured it was easier to spend his days sick in my bed than in his own. I do love him, so. We spent our time sleeping and watching Criminal Minds episode after episode.

Today, so far has been awesome! I went to a Buddhist meeting at my friend's house and I am so grateful that I went! Over the past two weeks or so, I've been having a bit of trouble with my faith. Faith, of any kind, is fairly new to me as I hadn't practiced any religion since I was 15 many, many moons ago. I've only been practicing Buddhism since August of last year and a few weeks ago, when my mom was at worst with her sickness, I found myself questioning why am I doing this? So I've avoided sitting in front of my Gohonzon (a scroll/altar we chant to in order to bring out our best version of ourselves) and chanting all this time and today I was reminded why we have faith. We make certain causes in our lives that then reap effects, good or bad, but we make those causes every day. We can make a cause to be a more appreciative, compassionate human being, for example, and I was reminded today that I want to be that. Sure, I can do that without Buddhism, but I WANT to practice Buddhism again and reap the benefits of having faith in something outside of myself.

As far as goals from last week, I completely failed on all of them other than the cutting back on smoking. THAT! I did accomplish a bit! I cut back a lot, I'll come up with a number for you in next week's highlights, but I can tell I definitely smoked less. So thumbs up there! Other than that, my eating was mostly all over the place at the beginning of the week, but according to my weekly food diary, I started eating better over the past few days. Progress not perfection, eh?

I'm going grocery shopping tonight to grab some HEALTHY options for the week and I'm happy to say my list is the healthiest it's looked in a long time. I'm going to be cooking two meals for my mom and I, but besides those I'll be keeping it fairly simple with breakfast smoothies and tuna salad. Before I go to bed, I'm also going to map out what support groups I'll be attending this week, which is what I've done every Sunday for about a month now, but tonight I'm going to put a little more in depth thinking and research into them so I'm more likely to go. Thumbs up all around!

Since my goals weren't fully met (to say the least), I'm going to transfer them to this week's goals along with a few others. ☺️

GOALS:

  • Eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner every day.
  • Continue cutting back on smoking cigarettes.
  • Ice and wrap my ankle every day.
  • Practice driving and read the driver's manual for my test on Thursday! (EXCITED!)
  • Chant and meditate daily.
  • Read more books!
  • Attend 4 - 5 support groups.
Lastly, here are the few photos I snapped last week!

Mmm, apples and peanut butter = current favorite snack!
Yoghurt and granola = best quick and easy breakfast!
Since 1D's newest album was released, it was easy for me to forget their old ones. How did I ever let that happen?? Midnight Memories is still so good! :)
You've got to love that SoCal weather!
Hope you're all well! xx

Friday, February 19, 2016

My Nighttime Skincare Routine

My nighttime skincare routine is very similar to my morning routine, with a the addition of a few more products; a makeup remover, a physical exfoliator, a mask, and a thicker moisturizer.


I start my nighttime regime with the Vichy Purete Thermale, which is a waterless cleanser. I use this strictly as a makeup remover and the way this product works is it comes out as a milk. I apply it to dry skin and it dissolves my makeup, including waterproof mascara, and I then wipe it away with a muslin cloth. It's very similar to a micellar water, but I find it's slightly more nourishing and less stripping than most micellar waters that I've tried. It's so easy to use and after a night out it'll suffice on its own without a second cleanse. 


Next, I use the Philosophy Purity One Step Facial Cleanser as my second cleanse and I typically do a second cleanse after the Purete Thermale because I like to a do a thorough cleanse with a product that I know keeps my acne at bay. After the second cleanse, I move on to my physical exfoliant, the Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub, which I use two to three times a week. Physical exfoliants are a bit controversial, but I love, love, love this scrub because it's gentle, but effective. The physical bits are crushed seeds, from what I can remember, so it's far more natural than other scrubs.


I only do this next step, again, two to three times a week. This Clarisonic Detoxifying Mask is incredible! It's honestly one of the best masks I've ever used! It really does pull out all the dirt and gunk from your pores over the next day or two following one use. It's seriously so good, give it a try if you're looking for an awesome mud mask. I also found that it doesn't dry out my skin at all. Last step is the Mario Badescu Seaweed Moisturizer. Now this product is nothing special to me, if I'm honest. I started using it in the winter because my skin tends to get a bit more dry and this helped to keep the dryness away. I enjoy it, but it's not necessarily a stand out product for me.


Overall, I'm very happy with my skincare routine at the moment and I don't see myself changing anything any time soon. If you enjoy these sort of "beauty and cosmetics" posts, please do let me know! Ta for now!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #3

I'd like to apologize for how late this is going up tonight and I have no other explanation than I've basically been asleep all day. Soooo without further adeu, I'd like to present to you....the Elektro Botz!!


This dance crew from the Phoenix area of Arizona has completely stolen my heart, recently! I've been following them on Vine for a long time now, which I believe is where they first started gaining an online following. The video above is from the World of Dance awards ceremony where they won the award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year! Huge congratulations to Phoenix, Max, and Dominic on the win and the crazy success! I think I'll let their dancing speak for itself. ;)

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Highlights #1

The Highlights is basically a look back at my week and this is the first of one to come every Sunday evening; I hope you enjoy! First off, I was reunited with an old coworker of mine, Nala (amazing name, I know). She picked me up mid-afternoon and we headed to one of the most beautiful malls in our area where we made the usual stops: Sephora, Nordstrom, Topshop, and even a cheeky look into Saint Laurent. She and I stopped for dinner and not much talking was done as we were so hungry, but afterwards we talked about so many things from boys to tattoos. Absolutely love that girl!



The week days were pretty standard for me, I attended a few support groups, watched Criminal Minds with my mom, and hung out with my dog, Toby. I found it quite hard finding any motivation to do anything this past week; there were a lot of "I don't want to leave my room or even my bed, for that matter," kind of days. I'm not necessarily feeling down or anything, but I think I just know that I have so much to work on with myself, that I get scared into this mode of not doing anything because I'm afraid to make any move one way or another. Does that make any sense? Anyway, here's to a better week next week.  :)


 



Yesterday was a great way to end the week! One of my best friends drove up from San Diego to see off a friend of ours who's going into the Navy Seals and she was able to make some time for little old me first. So sweet! Caitlyn, her boyfriend, and I met up with some of our other best friends and headed to our old stomping ground AKA a town center in the city where we all used to live to get some nom nom. They dined on fish burritos and pizza, but I stuck with my Starbucks Passion Tea. We had a great time catching up and reminiscing and causing a bit of havoc here and there among the somewhat stuck up older folk who looked down their noses at us and then went our separate ways. A good time, I'd say. ;)





At the end of each The Highlights post, I'd like to set some goals for the next week. If you've got any goals for the next week, always feel free to leave them in the comments.

GOALS:

  • Eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner every day.
  • Cut back on smoking cigarettes.
  • Ice my ankle EVERY DAY! (Dang thing is still sprained.)
  • Attend 4-5 support groups.
  • Continue practicing my driving.
  • Meditate once a day.
I'm hoping I can look back at this little list every day next week and keep to them. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'll speak to you next week!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

My Morning Skincare Routine

Aloha! I thought now would be a good time to write about my current skincare routine because my skin is better than it's been in a very long time. It's nowhere near perfect, I still get a few spots here and there, but still my skin hasn't been this smooth and clear in years. To start us off, I'll tell you a bit about my skin type. I have combination skin, meaning I'm oily in some areas, but very dry in others. I typically get quite a few hormonal spots, but I've mainly been battling my acne scarring for the past few years. So now you have a bit of insight into how my face likes to function.



Some of these products I've been using for over a year, but the newest additions to my skincare routine are what I believe have made a difference! I start off by dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom where I start with my Philosophy Purity One Step Cleanser. I splash some water onto my face and then rub a dime size to a quarter size amount of the cleanser onto my skin for a minute and then rinse off. I pat my skin dry and then I take one of the Nip + Fab Glycolic Acid Pads and run it gently all over my face. The glycolic acid gently exfoliates the skin by removing dead skin cells along with any impurities that the cleanser may have missed. This is one of the new awesome items that I was referring to earlier. For months I had a problem with little bumps all over my forehead and a bit on my cheeks and my esthetician suggested a chemical exfoliant. The Nip + Fab pads completely got rid of the bumps after a week of daily use and they're amazing because they don't break the bank.




I sort of flap my hands at my face to dry off what's left from the pad without removing the magical stuff and then I move on to my serum which may surprise some of you. Every other day, I use the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum by taking about a pump and massaging it into the skin and a bit down my neck. The label clearly says night repair (and in next week's post you'll see I do, indeed, use it at night as well), but ViviannaDoesMakeup mentioned how she uses it in the morning as well as night, so I figured if she can, I can! I've found that this serum has helped immensely with my acne scarring. I wish I had a before picture to compare to an after picture to show all of you, but you'll just have to trust me. 😋 I finish off my routine with my all time favorite daytime moisturizer, Cetaphil Oil Control Moisturizer. It's moisturizing enough to hydrate my dry areas, but combats the oil in my t-zone at the same time. It also goes under makeup very well and I'm just absolutely in love with the stuff. This is probably my third bottle of it!



Let me know if you've tried any of these products and how they work for and also feel free to leave any recommendations you have in the comment section below! All the best! xx

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #2

For today's ET, I've got three online forms of entertainment for you. From FBI agents to makeup and lifestyle gurus, there's something bound to please you in here!

1. ViviannaDoesMakeup - Anna Gardner of ViviannaDoesMakeup (the name of her YouTube channel and blog) has stolen my heart! I've been subscribed to her channel for almost two years, after finding her best friend, Lily Pebbles (another fav blogger and vlogger). Originally, I was constantly watching the duo's Beauty Chat videos and then I started to watch the two independently of each other. I love, love, love Lily, but lately Anna's channel has been running non stop on my phone! She has such a chilled out, yet bubbly vibe to her and beauty recommendations are always being added to my "Must Treat Myself To" list. What has really attracted me to her channel recently, though, is her lifestyle videos! She has posted fitness hauls, food how to's and tips, but most watched by myself is her weekday morning routine video! I've watched that video at least once a day (a bit creepy? Perhaps) and I've been running my morning routine similarly to hers ever since it was posted. I start with faffing around on my phone, then mapping out my day, and then breakfast and I just find that I feel more organized this way. A major plus is that this routine forces me to eat breakfast which is something I never used to do! Cheers Anna, for your amazing beauty and lifestyle tips and tricks!



2. Criminal Minds - This show is not always for the faint of heart. It centers around an FBI team called the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. This team travels all around the US finding and stopping serial killers based on their pychopathology. I've been watching Criminal Minds for so, so many years and it's a favorite of not only myself, but my mom as well, so it's quite a nice bonding experience for us to binge watch it together. We went so far as to by seasons 1-8 before it found its way to Netflix. The thing I love about the show is its focus on the psychology of killers; why they are the way they are. The suspense factor has somewhat gone for me as I mostly watch re-runs, but during the new episodes that I've not seen yet, I still sit on the edge of my seat...or at least laying down on the couch with one jittery leg. Each member of the team over the years has brought something special to the show and the dynamic of the team is so important in the way that they work as a family, just as much as a team unit. I'll be honest, the current season's team isn't my favorite line up, but it's still a great show to watch and most of the amazing original characters (including the handsome and brilliant Dr. Spencer Reid) are still on there. They're currently in season 11 on CBS.



3.Rhett and Link's Good Mythical Morning - GMM is a morning show on YouTube run by two best friends, Rhett and Link. Their videos are quite different than most of what I watch on YouTube and I enjoy that GMM is sort of my version of the morning news when I wake up. They do everything from guessing bizarre mating rituals to eating disgusting things blindfolded and I just find it extremely entertaining. They have a comedic timing very different from that of some of the most popular YouTubers today and that's honestly one of the best things about their show!
              a. I'd also like to sneak in a cheeky extra, Rhett and Links podcast Ear Biscuits! It's such a            great podcast where they interview different entertainers and ask the serious questions, yet still maintain a relaxed, comedic vibe. It's great to listen to any time you're on the go!


Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #1

Hello Internet, as you can see from the title of this post, I'm starting a series on my blog called Entertainment Tuesdays where I'll be talking everything from books to music to what TV show I'm currently binge watching on Netflix. From here on out, expect your blog feed to have an ET post every Tuesday night! This is the first series I've ever done on my blog so it will most likely go through changes along the way until I feel it's absolutely right so please do stay along for the ride. 

The most recent entertainment tidbit to tickle my fancy is Pillow Talk by ZAYN aka Zayn Malik, former One Direction member. I was quite apprehensive upon first listening to the song seeing as I am quite the 1D supporter and there seems to have been some ill will between he and a few of the other boys shortly after the split from the band, BUT I got over it quickly. I'm still a bit upset with Mr. Malik (jokes here folks, I don't actually know the man), but I cannot deny that I am absolutely obsessed with this song! It's an R&B style sexy, love song, as I expected it would be, sounding very similar to the likes of R&B artist Miguel. The music is drum beat driven with Zayn hitting his infamous high notes every five seconds in the chorus, which at first I found a bit much, but now I find myself belting out the lyrics along with him. I particularly enjoy the lyrics I love to hold you close/Tonight and always/I love to wake up next to you and It's our paradise and it's our war zone. I'm not going to get into the depth of the meaning of the song, although one would suspect its about making love, but that's besides the point. This is a damn catchy song and his vocals are impeccable as usual. Bravo Zayn. 

Photo courtesy of weheartit.com
I mentioned Miguel above and ironically he's the artist of the next song that has been on repeat on my Spotify. I came across the remix of his song Simple Things featuring Chris Brown and Future and once again, Miguel has stolen my heart with his lyrics and beautiful voice. I've been a fan of Miguel's since his last album which featured hits such as Adorn and Do You? and I still haven't listened to his latest album, but if this song is any representation of that, I'm sure I'll love it. Chris and Miguel's voices blend together as smooth as butter, literally. I didn't think Miguel's songs could get any better, but put Chris Brown on 'em and you've got a monster collaboration. I could do without Future's verse on the song, but I'll look past it. This song is so beautiful, being about wanting the simple things with a lover; I just want someone to smoke with me babe/Lay with me baby/Laugh with me baby/I just want the simple things. It's what my sister would call "baby making music". 😋 Between Pillow Talk and Simple Things, I'm really wishing I had a significant other! Ha! In all seriousness, two very good songs, in my opinion. 
Photo courtesy of weheartit.com
I was planning on talking about what shows I've been binging on lately, but I'd rather not overwhelm you and plus, I'm sure I'll still be watching them next Tuesday! I do hope you've enjoyed this little segment and I also hope you're looking forward to more Entertainment Tuesdays to come. All the best!

What has been entertaining you these days? xx