40 Day Coffee Break

Sugary drinks, while delicious and refreshing, are very unhealthy for you. If you don’t believe me, just google “unhealthy soda facts.” Sodas can lead to so many health problems that they really aren’t just worth the tasty flavor.

Sodas aren’t the only culprits, however. Sugary juices, coffee drinks, and alcohol are also the cause of multiple health issues.

One of my roommates recently decided to quit drinking everything except for water and hot herbal tea. I figured this would be a great opportunity for a blog post! So here I am, chronicling her adventure!

I sat down with her and asked her some questions about the switch.

Q. What was the hardest beverage to cut out?
A. Coffee. I haven’t really noticed not having soft drinks, ‘cuz I’ve cut those out before for like, months at a time.

Q. What’s hardest part of making this switch?
A. The hardest part for me is figuring out the way to have a comfort food in the afternoon. Typically I would have a latte…and now I’m trying to figure out a healthy way to replace that, and I haven’t found that. Coffee’s just part of my routine.

Q. Have you seen any cosmetic improvements, like in your skin or hair?
A. So far, my skin looks and feels about the same. My hair’s been really soft, but I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. It might.

Then she got thirsty and got a glass of water.

Q. Have you seen any health improvements?
A. I typically would drink coffee for energy. I haven’t found that the absence of coffee has affected my energy. Water gives me the same amount of energy that coffee would. I’ve noticed when I’m dehydrated more.

Q. So you can like, tell when your body needs water?
A. Yeah.

Q. Do you often use the hot tea as a substitute for coffee?
A. I’ve had it probably 3 or 4 times in place of coffee over the course of two weeks.

Q. How long are you planning on doing this?
A. Until Easter. It’s for lent.

Q. Has this switch motivated you to make any other healthy decisions?
A. Yeah! Well, throughout this year, for essentially a month at a time, I want to try different challenges- most of them being health related. The next one will probably be like “Do a certain amount of ab exercises every day”.

Q. So you’re starting this year off with the water thing and then you’re gonna be adding and trying new ones?
A. *She nodded*

So there you have it. The exciting water adventure of my roommate, Elizabeth. Tune in for more updates!

If you’re thinking about making this switch to only water, DO IT! Be strong and just try it for a month or so. You’ll be glad you did, and so will your body!

Get clipped!

Hey, friends!

When people talk to me about trying to grow out their hair, one of the first things I ask is “when did you last get your hair cut?”

It may sound counterproductive, but one of the most important parts of growing out your hair is getting regular haircuts. But why?? It just doesn’t make sense.

There’s a myth out there that getting your hair cut regularly makes your hair physically grow faster. That’s just not true. Your scalp can’t tell when it’s getting cut and push out some extra hair to make up for the length that you lost. Even so, there is a reason for these regular cuts.

Over time, no matter what we do, the ends of our hairs split. Take a look at this:

See the hair shaft on the right? The cuticles are starting to raise up and split. Over time, the splits will get worse and worse. It will start to split up the hair shaft, and unless you get your split ends trimmed regularly, the split ends will get out of control. Before you know it, you’ll have a halo of split ends all over your head, and your hair will be brittle, fragile, and lifeless.

Seriously. Just get it trimmed. It’ll look way better.

If you’re growing out your hair, you should wait about 8 weeks in between trims. 5-6 weeks is recommended for those who want to just keep it at a specific length. Your hair grows half and inch per month. So let’s do the math:

Initial hair growth – Length of hair trimmed after 8 weeks = remaining hair length
1 inch                     –                .5 inch                                          =      .5 inch

So you’d still have half of an inch left after a hair cut!
Okay, I’ll admit…it will slow down the growth process, but you’ll be SO grateful you chose to get your hair trimmed. It will make it look MUCH better.

I LOVE GETTING MY HAIR CUT.

It’s one of my favorite things to do. For real. I always feel so pampered!

Let’s take a look at the before picture, yes?

Look at all those split ends! My hair was so dry and frazzled because I’d just finished my “No Sham” experiment. The baking soda DRIED OUT my hair so badly, despite the amount of conditioning I tried to do. My hair stylist reprimanded me about it (lovingly, of course.) I  should have sought wise council before I embarked upon that journey… Anyway. Check out those HORRID ends at the bottom, and the frizziness and the colorless roots…I was in dreadful shape.

After my wonderful, sweet, TALENTED hair stylist worked her magic, my hair looked like…

THIS!

I KNOW. I. KNOW.
MAGIC.

Wait. Wait. Let’s get a look at the back, too:

AHHHHH!!!!
Sleek. Rich color. Shiny. Soft. I make everyone touch my hair right after it’s cut, because it feels so great. I just love it so much.

Just a trim of the ends of your hair can seriously make all the difference.

So be good to your hair. Treat it right, so it can treat you right. Get it clipped!

With Love ❤

P.S.- If you live in my area, I can recommend you a wonderful hairstylist.

Valentine’s Day Nails!

Hey, friends! I wanted to get this blog post up just in time for Valentine’s day so you can paint your nails and get all dressed up for your night out with that special Valentine.

It took my a while to settle upon this design, and it really was a last minute decision. Like, my roommate just started painting on my nails, and this came out. I really like it, though.

So without further ado, my valentine’s day polka dots!

Start off with a base coat to protect your nail, and keep the polish smooth. I didn’t take a picture of this, I thought it would be boring and pointless.

I started painting a rosy pink color on my nail.

You can use any valentine-y color you want, I just like this one. =)

Next, my roommate painted leetle light pink hearts on my nails. She dipped a paper clip straight into the polish bottle. I had to do 2 coats of the light pink hearts because otherwise they didn’t show up.

 

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This is the end result. It was a really easy design to do, and plus it was fun. =)

 

Enjoy, and happy Valentine’s day!

The Makeup Product that Changed my Life

Friends, I’m here to share with you something that I have recently fallen in love with. It’s changed my makeup routine, or at least added a little spark to my daily routine.

It’s called highlighter. It comes in many forms: Powders, pens, gooey stuff, shimmery, matte…different things work for different people. Right now I’m hooked on the gooey stuff, and here it is:

This is a close look at what I use, it’s really not very big.

See? It fits into my palm. Pretty small. This is my Mary Kay shimmery highlighter. They also have a highlighting pen that I plan on trying once I run out of this. (I’m a huge Mary Kay fan. Almost all of my facial and make-up products are MK.)

Though this makeup comes in many shapes and sizes and types, the application technique is basically the same everywhere. You just need to highlight your facial features. Here’s a little help for you.

Thank you, internet.

I don’t always stick to this exact pattern laid out by this picture, but it gets the basic idea down. I focus on the undereyes, the bridge of the nose, and the forehead when I highlight. Here are some before and afters:

Awkward picture BEFORE highlighter

Awkward Picture AFTER highlighter

Notice that there is no DRASTIC  difference in my facial appearance. My face still looks natural, as it should with correct make-up application. My features are just enhanced.

Highlighter adds a more youthful appearance, as well as the illusion of being alert and awake. The shimmery kind, which I love so much, gives a dewy, natural glow that I really enjoy.

This product is definitely a favorite now because though it didn’t simplify my routine, it especially enhances my natural features in a way that is so…nice. I don’t even know how to explain it. I first apply some concealer, then my MK tinted moisturizer, then a TEENSY bit of MK mineral powder foundation, then I apply the highlighter. If I really want the highlighter dulled down and not shimmery, I apply it before the Mineral Powder foundation. Here’s just one more before and after, just in case I haven’t made a believer out of you yet:

Awkward Before-Take 2

Awkward After- Take 2

See how it just brightens up the face, and adds contouring?

I love it. So. Much.

It works really well when paired with a light blush, as well. I don’t do them together on normal days though. If I’m not careful, I’ll become one of those girls who cakes it on and has no idea what “natural” is supposed to look like anymore. Sometimes, in make-up, less is more. =)

With Love ❤