Please Wear Sunscreen Every Day

This post is mostly for young people out there. I am begging you, please wear sunscreen every day. We all like to feel like we're pretty; let's not pretend we don't. And, the fact of the matter is, we will all get old some day. But, we can somewhat control when the effects of aging start to show on our skin. In this post, I'm going to try and convince you to take control of your health, fight the effects of aging, and prevent melanoma by one simple step- wearing sunscreen. 

Sunscreen blocks UVB and UVA rays. These rays are from the sun and are responsible for most of the effects of aging. When UV rays come in contact with your skin in small amounts, the light works to convert vitamin D in your body, which is a very beneficial thing necessary for your health. But, everyone I know, especially living in Florida, gets more than about ten minutes of sun exposure every single day. UV rays penetrate the DNA of skin, breaking down the collagen and elastin of the skin. The final result is saggy, wrinkled skin that no longer has the elasticity of young skin to remain soft and supple. 

If you ask any model what their beauty regimen is, the most basic answer they will give is "drink lots of water, sleep well, eat well, and wear sunscreen." Models are regarded as a pinnacle of beauty and typically all age gracefully, so they know what's up to stay healthy.

Take a look at these models who live by those rules:

This is Krysten Ritter. She has been a model since she was 15 years old, and now she is 32. Based on this photo, which was taken recently of her, I would guess that she is only 25.

Her secret? She stated in an interview that she always carries sunscreen in her purse.

Here's Naomi Campbell. The photo on the left is a photo taken of her in 2013 at a Vanity Fair party. In this photo, she is 43 years old! She does NOT look her age. I would guess that she looks 32 rather than 44.

Part of this might be because "black don't crack," so we'll have to consider that factor in her anti-aging routine. But, the majority of her young appearance is due to wearing sunscreen religiously and drinking lots of green tea.

Let's be real, she used to do crack cocaine, and she still looks this fabulous. Wear sunscreen, please. The photo on the right is of her at age 21 in 1991. I don't see a significant difference in her appearance between the two photos, so everyone, take note.

Here's my last success story example:

Here is Tina Fey and Amy Poehler side by side at the Golden Globe Awards in 2014.

Tina looks signifcantly younger than Amy, which is strange since Tina is 44, and Amy is 42.

Tina's secret? In her book Bossypants, she dedicates almost an entire chapter to discussing her skin care routine. She says always wear a hat, sleep like a normal person, and wear sunscreen every single day.

And here's what Fergie has to say about sunscreen:



“The one thing I've learnt about my body I wish I’d known ten years ago is how important sunscreen is."

She's now 39 years old, and she looks, in my opinion, about 45. She is still beautiful, but check out how smokin' she was when she was 18.



She has wrinkles, and her skin no longer glows like it used to, which is unfortunate. 

The fact of the matter is, even if you don't go for a sun-kissed tan, you're still accruing sun damage every single day. If you've been sunburnt more than 5 times in your lifetime, your risk for melanoma is 80% higher than if you hadn't been burnt as much. Every little bit of UV radiation causes damage, so do yourself a favor and wear sunscreen.

In my experience, girls my own age (19-20) already hate their appearances. Just imagine, how much more will you hate your appearance when it's old, saggy, and wrinkled? There's nothing wrong with aging, but wearing sunscreen ensures a much more graceful transition into maturity. This all sounds somewhat vain, but come on, everyone, let's be real here, we all love to feel like we're pretty. So, do your part in maintaining your appearance and prevent skin cancer at the same time. Always wear sunscreen that's at least SPF 30 (but no higher than 50), wear hats in the sunshine, and avoid peak UV radiation times from 11 AM-3 PM. 

Applying sunscreen daily literally takes less than three minutes, and it's a simple step that can be incorporated into your daily beauty regimen. Your skin will thank you. 

DIY Facial Toner

I'm a stickler for skin care, and toner is a vital step in any skin care regimen. After cleansing your face (hopefully by using the Oil Cleansing Method), toner removes any lingering dirt and grime and ensures your face is ready to be moisturized!

My issue with store bought toner, though, is that it's packed with tons of chemicals, chief of which is normally a fairly common chemical- alcohol. This is the same alcohol that's underneath your bathroom sink for sterilizing purposes. Don't get me wrong, alcohol is extremely refreshing on the skin. It cools the skin and closes the pores. But, it also evaporates almost immediately after being placed on the skin, and it has extreme drying properties on the skin. Alcohol is the least of your worries with store bought toner (when discussing chemicals), but that's the same for almost any skin care product. So, I make my own, and now you'll have the recipe for the newest, best toner I've made!

Refreshing, Pore Tightening Toner:

• 1/2 cup witch hazel
• 1/2 cup brewed green tea
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 5 drops spearmint essential oil (or as much oil as you'd like)

All you have to do is mix it all together!

Why I Chose Each Ingredient

Witch Hazel:

Witch Hazel is a centuries old remedy for skin. It is a great astringent, which simply means that it contracts pores and capillary muscles in the skin. It is known for its fantastic anti-inflammatory properties, meaning that it will calm the face and give you lovely skin. This age-old herb solution is cooling, refreshing, and perfect to remove all the excess dirt, oils, and grime from your face after cleansing it. 

Green Tea:

Green Tea's health benefits have been fairly well studied and documented. This tea, made from immature "black tea" leaves are high in polyphenols and antioxidants which combat free radicals in the body. Free radicals are the substances most responsible for aging and cancers. When green tea is used in toner, these antioxidants and polyphenols soothe the skin and help eliminate the presence of free radicals in the skin. Also, green tea has been shown to have properties that help protect against UV damage from the sun. Studies have shown that the antioxidants help prevent sunburn in the first place rather than reversing the damage after the fact. Lastly, brewed green tea contains approximately 30-50 mg of caffeine per cup, depending on the brand of tea you use. This caffeine stimulates the skin to brighten up and allows the capillary veins in the face to "wake up" so to speak. However, this will not wake you up if you use it at night, so sleep issues should not be a concern with this toner. 

Lemon Juice:

As mentioned before, DO NOT use any product with citrus oils/juices during the day because it will magnify the sun's rays onto your skin. Now, on to the benefits of lemon juice! Lemon juice is known to lighten and brighten the skin. It diminishes the appearance of scars and dark spots. It helps heal acne due to its antibacterial properties, and due to this, it also decreases the amount of blackheads on the skin. Next, the citric acid in lemon juice acts as a mild and gentle skin peel that exfoliates the top layer of the skin. When used regularly, the lemon juice will improve the quality of skin, leaving you with soft, supple, and moisturized skin. Lastly, just like witch hazel, lemon juice is high in astringent and toning properties. 

Spearmint Essential Oil:

I mostly chose this oil because the smell is extremely refreshing, however its properties are highly beneficial for skin. First off, it is an antiseptic and is antispasmodic. This simply means that it keeps the skin clean and also provides intense relaxation. Spearmint oil contains menthol which is why it reduces spasms and induces relaxation and a cooling effect on the nerves and muscles. At nighttime, I'm always in need of a little relaxation to soothe me into bedtime, so this oil was a perfect choice for my toner. If you prefer another oil, feel free to substitute it into the recipe! Lavender, clove oil, and peppermint are all great choices. I personally believe that spearmint is the best, but the others will suit the recipe just fine. Take caution in adding the essential oils though, because their aroma is extremely strong due to the volatility of the oils. You should start with a few drops of the oil and work your way up to five. Then, shake the solution and smell it. Once you add the oils, you can never go back, so truly ensure that it's not too strong. 

Notes of Caution

 A couple important notes, though: ONLY USE THIS PRODUCT AT NIGHT. Lemon juice, in fact, all citrus juices and essential oils, will make your skin photosensitive. You CANNOT put this on in the morning because it will increase your skin for sun damage. However, for a morning toner, you can simply omit the lemon juice and add more green tea instead. This will be less of an astringent, though, and will not be as good of a toner as this recipe. For a great morning toner, check out my post on Rose Water and try that in the mornings! And, when using this product at night, make sure that you wear sunscreen the next day to ensure that your skin doesn't get burnt. This toner will last for months in a glass container, although make sure to store it in a cool, dark place if possible because essential oils like spearmint are photosensitive and will oxidize, lose fragrance, and lose viability, when exposed to light. 

Also, when buying witch hazel, pay attention to the ingredients. Some varieties contain quantities of isopropyl alcohol, which we've already established isn't good. So, watch out for that! But, if it's a small percentage of the formula (<15%), I wouldn't worry about it. 

There ya have it, folks! 

This toner is incredible, and I've noticed my skin feeling significantly softer and smoother since I've been using it. I think if you try it, you'll love it just as much as I do! For an extra pick-me-up, store the mixture in the refrigerator so it's cold when applied to your skin! It'll feel incredibly refreshing. 

My Favorite Face Masks

I LOVE facials. I've never been to a professional spa and had one done, but I make some great facials at home that I'd love to share with all of you! These are all super easy to make at home, and after putting these on your face, you'll feel the moisturizing effects immediately!

1. Bentonite Clay Mask
This mask is a must for anyone who struggles with blackheads. I, for one, get them all over my nose, and I think popping them is a bad move and causes scars. So, instead, I use this great mask which vastly reduces my blackheads in only twenty minutes!

Instructions:

Super sexy, right? Haha

• Mix equal parts bentonite clay with water or apple cider vinegar in a non-metal bowl
• Stir using a non-metal utensil
• Apply to face
• Leave it on until it dries
• Remove with warm water

Bentonite clay is made from aged volcanic ash from around the world. Because of its chemical properties, it is extremely detoxifying. It contains high levels of free ions and minerals, so when it comes in contact with anything, it reacts with the other ions and remineralizes the surface. That's why I stress not to use metal utensils when working with this product. The clay will react with the metal and render your clay useless. 

Also, if you have sensitive skin, I recommend using water to mix with the clay instead of ACV. This product will tingle on your skin, and this tingling can be quite intense if mixed with ACV. The first time you do this, try it with water and see how your skin fares. 

2. Green Tea Face Mask

This mask is an all-around great moisturizer, and I like to use this mask once or twice per week. The ingredients couldn't be simpler, and it the mixture smells great. 

Instructions:

• Tear 1 bag of green tea to release the leaves
• Mix with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of plain Greek yogurt
• Apply to face
• Leave on your face for 15-20 minutes
• Remove with warm water

There aren't any special instructions or notes to go along with this mask. It's all-around great and suitable for all types of skin. 

3. Baking Soda Mask

This is possibly the simplest mask I've ever made. Be careful, though, because this is somewhat drying on the skin, so ensure that you use a good toner and moisturizer on your skin afterwards. 

Instructions:

• Mix equal parts baking soda and water
• Apply to face
• Allow to dry (15-20 minutes)
• Wash off with a warm washcloth 

This mask is somewhat harsh on sensitive skin. For me, I can only leave the mask on for about 10-15 minutes until it starts to tingle too intensely. It makes your skin VERY soft, though. Also, for added exfoliation, when removing the mask, gently rub the mixture on your face in circular motions. 

4. Milk and Egg Whites Mask

Instructions:

• Separate one egg into yolk and white
• Mix the egg white with equal parts milk
• Apply to face
• Leave on face for 15-20 minutes
• Remove with warm water

This mask is incredibly moisturizing. The lactic acid in the milk works to gently exfoliate skin while the oils in the egg white deeply penetrate the skin to provide moisture. 

These are my absolute favorite masks, and I've listed them in order of my favorites. If you try any of these, let me know how it goes in the comment section!!

Have a happy facial and spa time! 

Weezer Concert!

My boyfriend and I have no idea when our anniversary is. We have an estimate, meaning that we know it's sometime between June and August... So, for an "approximate anniversary" present, I got us tickets to see Weezer at the Saint Augustine Amphitheatre!

Here's John and me being super cute with our tickets. We were in row U, so I thought we'd have total nose bleed seats. But, since the Amphitheatre is so small, we actually had a pretty fantastic view!

The opening band was Jeff the Brotherhood, who I've never heard of. They were pretty fantastic, and their tshirt merch had cat faces on it which is always a winning move. I'll definitely be looking into their stuff some more.

Here are some of my photos from our incredible night out!

During the show, the band threw a frisbee to get everyone to interact with them. Watch what happens when it's thrown back to the stage:

After the show, we were completely exhausted and had to endure some awful traffic trying to get home from there. We went to Steak & Shake afterwards, which I believe is a must after any show. 

<-- Here's me chillin out at Steak & Shake. Check out my awesome shirt! "Join the Rebel Weezer Alliance"! Someone definitely put a lot of work into making this shirt, and I completely appreciate it. Unfortunately, though, I can't ever wash it because it feels like it's ironed on, and I think it might crack and flake off if I wash it.

All in all, we both had a fantastic night and are incredibly excited we went. It was a night we'll always remember!

Beekeeping for a Day!

Ever since I've become a super nature buff, I've wanted to learn how to keep bees. Living in an apartment, managing my own colony really isn't a realistic thing to do. But, UF has a great Honey Bee Club, and they let me join and showed me the ropes!

I put on the space suit they gave me, and got to work! We lit the smoke thingy, sent smoke into the bee colonies, and started to slowly remove the panels.

In this photo, you can see one of the panels COVERED in bees! Each colony has panels in it, and when you don't pack the panels close enough together, the bees will fill in the extra space with their built hive. That's what these bees have done.

The president of the club didn't even have gloves on when we were handling the bees! He'd pick them up by their wings. He did get stung once or twice, but he said it didn't hurt since he's been stung before.


All in all, I had a lovely time, and since this day, I've been elected treasurer of the honey bee club! Once the club starts back up in the Fall, I'll have more updates on my adventures with the bees!

Bees are miraculous creatures who make it possible for us to eat since they pollinate all the food for us. I'm so excited to start back up with the club again soon!

Rose Water Is a Gift from the Gods

The first rose bloom in my patio garden this year

In my never ending quest for beautiful skin, I've discovered what is, in my opinion, one of the beauty world's best kept secrets. We all know to wear moisturizer and avoid sleeping in our makeup, but I've just learned about rose water. 

First off, it smells fantastic. The rose scent isn't overwhelming, and it's utterly feminine, classic, and refreshing. Next, it makes my skin the smoothest it's ever been.

Every morning for the past week or so, I've woken up with morning skin, ie. puffy, tired, and sad skin. I've put some rose water on my handy-dandy cotton rounds and swept it all over my face. Within a minute, the puffiness is gone, I look bright eyed and bushy tailed, and my skin is SUPER SOFT. And, the softness lasts all day long!

Extremely intrigued by the simplicity and beauty of this regimen, I did some research and found some interesting things:

• Rose water is an anti-inflammatory agent, which explains why it made my skin relax. It can also reduce redness and irritation on skin, making it perfect for people with sensitive skin. It tightens the capillaries in the skin to work its magic.
• It is chock full of antioxidants which strengthen skin cells and rejuvenate cell tissue. 
• The sugars and oils found in rose water sooth skin and provide moisture like none other.
• Rose water is believed to lessen the effects of sun damage (still being tested by scientists).
• Rose water is a byproduct of steam distillation. Rose petals are distilled in order to extract the rose essential oil (which is super expensive unfortunately). Then, rose water is leftover! 

AND you can use it on your face, hair, for aromatherapy, and on the rest of your skin! Here are some ways I've been enjoying rose water lately:

1. In the Bath
Draw a bath, and add about a tablespoon of rose water to the hot water. The aroma will sooth and relax your mind as well as your muscles. Plus, you'll have super soft skin once you're done! For added skin-improving effect, add a cup of baking soda, and a cup of epsom salt to the bath.

2. In my Hair
Put some rose water in a spray bottle (the Dollar Tree has a great selection of cheap bottles), and after you wash your hair, spray the rose water into your hair liberally. Since I've been doing this, my hair has been shinier and softer, although the rose smell fades fairly quickly.

3. As Toner/Astringent
This is what I was talking about earlier. In the mornings, I sweep rose water onto my face with a cotton round and enjoy soft, bright skin throughout the rest of the day!

4. Undereye Area Treatment
Sometimes I have puffy bags under my eyes, and relaxing with rose water on the area depuffs all my bags! To do this, take 1 cotton round and cut it in half. Next, saturate both halves in rose water and put in a ziploc bag in the fridge. Once the cotton rounds are cool, take out of the fridge and place under your eyes. This is so refreshing, relaxing, and awakening! 

5. Daily Refresher
While you're out and about, especially during the hot summer days (We have plenty here in Florida), carry a spritz bottle of rose water with you. Whenever you need a pick-me-up, spray a small amount directly onto your face to instantly feel refreshed and cool!

The Rosewater I've been using.
This brand is great.

6. To Set Your Makeup
Rose water is often used to set makeup after applying, so take your spritz bottle full of it and spray a small amount onto your face after applying your makeup for all day longevity.

7. Aromatherapy
I recently bought an aromatherapy distiller which is meant for oils. It has a tea light in the bottom, and a glass dish on top to hold the carrier oils and essential oils. But, I've found that if I use a mixture of a lot of sunflower oil and a few drops of rose water, I can enjoy the aromatherapy of the scent of roses without spending a million dollars on rose essential oils. The scent fills my entire apartment and relaxes me instantly.

8. Baking
I personally haven't tried this yet, but I've read that if you substitute rose water for regular water in cookie recipes, your cookies will subtly smell of roses!


As you can probably tell by now, I'm extremely excited about rose water and am so glad that I can incorporate it into my daily life now. It's a cheap product with a lot of uses. For example, my 8 oz ounce bottle of it cost me about $6, but I've used it plenty and have barely made a dent in the bottle! If you're extra DIY and cost-efficient, you can even take rose petals from your garden and steep rose water on your stove yourself! I highly suggest that you go buy a bottle from your local health and wellness store and enjoy the effects of rose water soon!

How to Thrift

Anyone who has me as a Facebook friend knows I love to thrift. I post my best findings, 
not to brag, but because I want everyone else to learn how to buy fantastic things on the cheap! I want to spread the knowledge! That's why today's post is how to thrift. 

I'm not really sure how I learned, but it was far before "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Actually, when that song came out, I had tons of people sending me links to it telling me it was my theme song! If I had to narrow it down, it was probably a combination of being around my boyfriend and my sister, who are both fantastic thrifters. 

Why should I thrift?

• Save money
• Find cool stuff
• Find lots and lots of cool stuff
• Save lots more money

"I have some concerns about thrifting"

You might be a little skeptical right now, and I understand. Whenever I suggest thrifting to some people, they're adamantly against it due to a couple stigmas I'll discuss now. 

"I don't feel like digging through tons of disgusting clothes to find one cute thing."

This is a legitimate concern, but think about all the time you spend at Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe digging through ugly clothes to find a cute piece to add to your closet. It's really not that big of an issue! 

"Aren't thrift stores dirty?"

Skirt: $2      Shirt: $2       Belt: $3.50
And it's just as cute (if not more than) as Forever 21!

I'm not going to lie to you: Sometimes thrift stores are icky. But, there are ways to get around this. For beginners, you should start at Salvation Army or Goodwill, and most branches of these stores are clean and organized. They don't sell any personal hygiene or beauty products, and anything kind of questionable, they throw away instead of selling. Most places are clean. Once you get into more obscure thrift stores, they can be a little dirty. In my experience, the worst you deal with is dust and dirt. Let's be real, though- Have you been to the mall? That place isn't exactly in pristine condition either. Yet, that's where a lot of people shop. In thrift stores, there's never mold, never anything rotten, and nothing that's legitimately gross or going to hurt you. If you want to stick just to Goodwill and the Salvation Army, you can. You don't have to go to the thrift stores that are a little bit dirty, so this isn't a big deal either! You can pick and choose where you shop, just like when buying new. 

I thrifted this entire outfit last week.
 H&M shirt for $3, and high-waisted shorts for $3!

"I don't want to buy used, especially clothing."

Why not? What reason could you possibly have for only buying new things? The goal here is to find fantastic things for super cheap, to save money, and have really cool stuff that you'll enjoy. If money isn't an issue to you and you can afford only new clothes, that's great, but you're missing out on some wonderful, used items that you can't ever find anywhere else. There's no reason to not give it a chance. 

If you buy clothing, all you have to do is wash it in your washing machine and it will be completely and totally fine. What could possibly be on the shirt that would keep you from buying it? If it's stained, don't buy it. If it's torn, don't buy it (unless you can sew). If it's ugly, don't buy it. But refusing to buy clothing just because it's used is absolutely ridiculous, superficial, and to be honest with you, it's a little bougie and stuck up. 

If you buy bowls, spoons, or anything you'll be eating off of, just wash it. Bleach it if you feel that's necessary. Stick it in the dishwasher. Bam. It's clean. Good as new.

Some super cute chicken and duck glasses! $2!!

Rhino cup $1!

The thing to remember is that you're buying something that's been used before you, but it's brand new to you. 

Or, you can find an item from the 50s,
like this Chuck Berry record!
You're not gonna find this at an FYE,
but instead at Goodwill for 50 cents

If you want an item from the 70s, you're not going to be able to buy it new, so what will you do then, bougie readers? You can't buy certain things brand new, so you have to get over it and open your eyes to the fabulous, previously owned items available for you to purchase. 

So let's get to it!

The first step is finding out all of the thrift stores in your area. A great site for this is The Thrift Shopper.  On this site, you can type in your zip code, and it'll pull up a directory of all the thrift stores in your area! This is a great place to get started. 

Now what?
At this point, you should have a list of all of the thrift stores in your area. If you're a beginner, you should start at a chain of thrift stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. If you're a little more advanced, you want to have low expectations for these stores because they're usually overpriced. What you really want are the smaller, mom-and-pop type of thrift store because that's where the super savings are. 

Before you go to these stores, here are a few tips and tricks to help you out once you're there:

1. Everything is cheaper than buying new, but some deals are better than others. 

Example of why you should always
check the shoes. Pumas for $7!

Beginners going to Goodwill, this is especially the case for you. Goodwill is extremely overpriced relative to other thrift stores. Shoes are at least $6, and the most awful items are $1.99. You may be thinking "Wow, I'd love to buy shoes for $5," but no, you don't. The $5 shoes are awful because rest assured, if Goodwill notices that shoes are from Target or Old Navy, they will charge you at least $10. The $5 shoes are from old women's collections and are mostly awful. Always check the shoe section to ensure that dumb employees didn't put good things there by accident, but don't get your hopes up too high. You can find better deals. Unless the shoes are the most fabulous things you've ever seen, leave them behind, which leads us to my next point...

2. Just because it's cheap, that doesn't mean you need it. 
Yeah, the cow figurine with the smiley face is probably super cute, but do you need it? Really? Ask yourself these questions:

• Where will I put this?
• Will putting this in my living room offset the room so much that my spouse/mother/roommates will want to evict me?
• Is this worth it?

Better example of why to check shoes.
My best friend found
St. Laurent boots for $10! These boots
were originally over $1000!

Consider a Goodwill scenario. The cute cow weirdo thing is $4. Would you rather have a Starbucks frappucino or a cow figurine that's just decoration? There will come times that you HAVE to buy something. It speaks to your soul, and if you can afford it, you should get it. But, sometimes, the line between need/want is quite blurry. Eventually, if you thrift enough, you'll end up with a house full of stuff like I have, and you'll start to regret buying the cow figurine when you need the space for an ironic cat figurine. 

3. Learn to see the potential in things. 
Certain items will appear to be incredibly awful and ugly, but as you continue to thrift, you'll start to see the potential in every item. Maybe you need a new lamp for your bedroom. If you like the shape of a lamp at a thrift store but the color sucks, don't discount it just yet! You can ALWAYS paint the items! This goes for furniture, lamps, and even clothing. You can always cut the sleeves off of shirts or rip the jeans to make some cute, new shorts. A word of caution, however: Don't buy a million things with potential, because these will all turn into projects that you may never feel like finishing. It can get a little overwhelming. This is why you should try to...

4. Thrift with Purpose
Remember the lamp you need for your bedroom? That's a good purpose to buy one. But, you should never buy a lamp that you don't need just because you can. This ties back into tip #2. If you're not careful, you will end up with a living room full of tacky items that don't flow cohesively with the room. Yes, you've only spent about $30 total, but was it really worth it?

$1 Shirt    $2 Skirt    $3.50 Shoes

$4.50 Dress

These are all my tips for thrifting!! The easiest way to learn how to do it is to jump right in and go thrifting! Also, don't forget to check out your local flea markets, estate sales, yard sales, especially any mom-and-pop stores! Those are the types of places you can haggle and truly get some great deals. As you embark on this journey, it'll be tough at first to discriminate between things you truly need. You'll probably end up buying a lot of items at first, only to wish you hadn't because you need the space for something else (ie. my dishes cabinet). But, the skill of discernment will come with time, and soon enough you'll be an expert thrifter like me! Good luck, and find some awesome items!!