Wipe it Off!

Not only do us ladies have to worry about applying makeup and making sure everything looks perfect, but also taking it off can be such a hassle! Many times, we take off our makeup late at night and become very lazy with our cleansing routine, but it is so so important to make sure you have a clean and moisturized face before you go to bed! Makeup, especially foundation, is chemically made and you don’t want these chemicals to stay on your face longer than necessary, so when you take off your makeup, be sure to wipe your face clean. Here are some tips and tricks to lessen the hassle of taking off your makeup.

I don’t recommend using makeup wipes to take off your makeup because the toilettes you use contain the chemicals to take off your makeup and the chemicals stay on your face event though your makeup is off. I only recommend using makeup wipes if you applied heavy makeup for a theatre show or a show choir and then using a face wash to deep clean your face. Using a makeup wipe for heavy makeup allows you to take off the first layer of your makeup like eye makeup, foundation, blush, etc. Using a facial cleanser afterward can help really get into your skin to make sure all the makeup chemicals are out of your skin. I would also recommend using a toner after you wash your face because your skin can get very dry from the wipes and cleanser so keeping your face hydrated is very important!

Mascara and eyeliner can be so hard to take off, especially waterproof mascara. But I have a secret weapon that allows me to take off all my of eye makeup in 30 seconds. Baby Oil is the best eye makeup remover and costs way less then normal eye makeup removers. I can promise that any and all mascaras and eyeliners will be able to be taken off by baby oil. In addition, baby oil usually comes in very large bottle so you can use it for a very long time! Baby oil can also take of face makeup very easily, but I would only recommend using it for the eyes because you don’t want your face to be so oily.

Taking off your makeup can be time consuming, but it is so important you focus on taking off all your makeup because you do not want those harsh chemicals on your face! Don’t ever go to bed wearing all your makeup because it is so harmful to your face! You only have one beautiful face, remember to care for it!

Word Count: 445

#1 Fashion Rule

I truly only have one fashion rule that I must abide by. I don’t like to be following rules with fashion because I believe everyone should be able to wear whatever they want with whatever they want. Fashion should allow you to bring out your creativity and nothing should limit that. But I do have to follow this rule until I am dead in my grave. And that rule is, under no circumstances, should you ever pair navy and black together. And that is all I ask for.

Why you might ask? Well, whenever I see navy and black paired together it clashes with each other and it almost tricks the eye into what color the outfit should be. I never would wear a red shirt with maroon pants because the colors are so close in shade, it wouldn’t look good. Those apply to navy and black as well! Navy and black have such a similar shade it just clashes with one another and there isn’t a stand out piece from your outfit.

Of course there are some exceptions, like if you have a navy shirt with black lining that is okay because it is only a small amount of black. It’s only when there is a large amount of black and navy, I get a little ringing inside my ear and my head tilts slightly because I just can’t stand navy and black. Also understand there are many different shades of navy, brighter navy shades closer to the color blue paired with black is better than full on navy. Blue and black doesn’t clash as badly as navy and black.

And I know many will argue that you can pair whatever color with whatever color you want, but whenever I see navy and black together I just cringe. For me, I’ve been following this fashion rule since I first starting dressing myself, so whenever I see someone with navy and black, I immediately see the colors clash. I guess you could say the only reason I follow this rule is because someone told me that I shouldn’t wear navy and black together because they clash, but I just completely agree. So if I ever see you wearing a navy dress with black pants, I may or may not carry an extra dress for you to change into…..

Word Count: 388

Small Changes, Big Difference

Spring is just around the corner and that means I need to store away all my baggy sweaters and bulky coats for shorts and tanks. It also means that my food baby that I’ve been hiding all winter underneath my sweaters and coats needs to come out and see the sun. Many people now are working out and dieting to get that perfect “bikini body” for the summer, but for me, those never seem to work. I either get too lazy with working out everyday or spurge on a yummy snack when I’m on a diet. If I want a better, healthier body that I feel confident in, I usually follow these simple steps and see a difference! Getting a healthier body doesn’t have to be difficult, just change 1 or 2 things in your normal routine and you can see a big difference later on!

In many diets, they ask you to not eat sugar or carbs or dairy, etc., but in reality, it’s good to have a little bit of everything! Plus cutting out an entire food group can be very difficult to adjust to. The most important part is to cut your portion sizes. If I’m ever at a nice restaurant, I don’t want just pick a boring salad. If I order a pasta or steak, I make sure I only eat half of it or save some for later. This way, you can still eat the foods you want to, just not as much. Usually if you eat slower and eat only half your portion size, you will still feel full and satisfied! It is especially important for dinner to cut down your portion sizes because you usually just go right to bed after dinner and can’t work off your calorie intake. So dig into that cheesecake, just remember to eat only part of it.

Snacking is a terrible habit I have taken on, but it’s too hard for me to stop doing it. If I’m watching Netflix or doing homework, I always want something to snack on. But if I want to be healthier, I always snack on veggies or fruit. This way, I can snack on a lot and still have less calorie intake than snacking on chips or candy. Fruits and veggies also have lots of vitamins that can boost your immune system and strengthen your body. So give up the chips and take in the carrots!

Finally, you don’t have to set times throughout the week to workout, but taking time to walk outside or bike on a trail can help a lot! Working out doesn’t have to be a specified activity you always do, if you have free time, just be sure to go outside and enjoy the fresh air!

Getting a healthy body doesn’t have to be so stressful, changing small things in your life can make all the difference. Summer 2015, here we come!

Bye Bye Acne (cont)

In my previous blog post, I explained what a skincare and makeup routine should look like if you are struggling with an acne problem. In this post I will be sharing some tips and tricks to help get rid of acne quicker and easier!

The first trick is to always clean in your pillowcase. When you sleep on your pillow every night, your oils from your faces are getting absorbed from your pillowcase so you need to be sure you can consistently clean it every week or so. This way your pillowcase won’t get any dirt or oils into your face, which can really help get rid of acne!

The next tip is to don’t touch your face a lot during the day. Your fingers and hands touch and do a lot of different things all day so make sure you keep the germs and bacteria on your hands away from your face! Of course, is might be impossible to never ever touch your face at some point, but just make sure you don’t do it constantly!

If you are currently suffering through an acne breakout, it may feel like the only solution is to just cover your face with foundation, but that’s not the case! Let your skin breathe and apply as little or no makeup whenever possible! I totally understand that sometimes it feel like you just have to put on foundation on because you might feel insecure, but sometimes covering it up can just look even worse. If you do breakout, just apply a little bit of foundation and concealer to get rid of the redness in your skin, you won’t be able to cover all the spots and eventually it’ll smear off, so the less the better! And once you are home or aren’t going to a social event, clean off your makeup immediately so your face can breathe and heal itself from the breakouts.

Acne breakouts happen to everyone, especially those going through their teen years. Just accept it and try your best to prevent it!

Word Count: 445

Bye Bye Acne!

Acne sucks. One morning you wake up and you see a little red pimple in the middle of your face and you wonder what you did in your life to deserve this. But acne is just part of growing up. We all have it while going through puberty, and we all do every little thing we can to try and get rid of it. I, personally, really struggle with acne and blemishes and it wasn’t till sophomore year when my acne finally began settling down. After many different skincare products, mountains of concealer wasted trying to cover it up, I have found ways to quickly get rid of acne and how to conceal it if it appears!

First things first, make sure you buy a really good cleanser. If you have really bad acne, buy an acne cleanser. I recommend any of the acne cleansers sold at the drugstore; you don’t have to spend a ton of money on an acne cleanser as long as it says it has salicylic acid in the product. With the acne cleanser, I would also buy a deep cleansing face wash like the Shiseido one I always recommend. The deep cleansing cleanser can strip away the makeup and dirt from your face and then the acne cleanser can really focus on diminishing your acne and blackheads.

If you have a solid skincare routine set for get rid of your acne, its time to start concealing. Even on days when we use 500 different types of acne products, there is always a chance acne still pops up, its just because you’re a teenager and that’s okay! If I’m having a bad skin day, I will first use a medium base foundation to cover my smaller acne scars and blackheads. If I have bigger/redder pimples on my face I will then use a concealer to cover it. My favorite concealer is the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer. This concealer covers absolutely everything! It has 4 different colors; a green tinted one for redness, a dark and a light concealer for your specific skin color, and a light powder to set everything. I swear by this concealer and promise that it can really cover every pimple imaginable. Because it’s such a heavy product, you have to be careful when using it. You can’t apply too much on because then it will be very cakey and will still look like you have an acne problem because you just tried to cover it up. A little goes a long way!

In my next post, I will explain little tricks to avoid acne, stay tuned!

Word Count: 435