Tea Before Breakfast. How This Habit Is Changing My Life.

The one thing I regret is not sticking to a well-developed morning routine.  Everyone knows that executing a powerful morning routine can absolutely change your life.  Ideally, my morning routine would look something like this:

-wake up early

-pray, meditate, journal

-exercise

-create a daily action plan

-conquer the world.

But, in reality, my morning consists of waking up, scrolling through Twitter then getting up and walking directly to my computer to start my day.  

Not very inspiring at all.  

Once I realized that I was in a rut, I decided to do something about it.  Instead of doing a full overhaul, I decided to take the easy route and institute a single morning habit that was effortless but would produce a host of benefits.

The Daily Design // Hugh Jackson's Must Try Manifestation Technique.

I love learning about manifestation techniques.  The secret to manifesting successfully is finding the right technique that's simple and works.  Today I bring you a new method to practice.  And this one is pretty awesome.

This manifestation tip is brought to you by Australian actor Hugh Jackman.  Hugh has an extensive career that spans over 20 years.  In a recent podcast interview with author, Tim Ferris, Hugh revealed the advice from his dad that led him to craft a powerful daily manifestation practice.

His dad's instruction was clear, he urged Hugh to "always check in that everything's ok."  Most of us simply respond "yes" to that piece of advice and move on.  But Hugh opted to create an entire manifestation routine to ensure that he'd always follow his dad's words of wisdom.  Trust me, this routine is so good that you'll definitely want to try it for yourself.

[FOTD] // Summer Shimmery Lips.

For the past several years, the biggest thing in makeup was the highlight.  Your makeup look wasn't complete until you dusted your cheekbones and adequate amounts of highlight.   Heck, I even remember when the girlies were dabbing the tips of their noses with highlight just for the sake of it (is nose tip highlight still a thing?)

For the most part, the trend of overly highlighting the face has calmed down a bit. Now, it's all about a healthy, dewy face that shows off your amazing skin.  This creates the opportunity to place more focus on our beautiful features.

And what better feature to highlight than your lips?

The Supplement Proven Eliminate Eye Wrinkles 16 Weeks (..and it's not collagen).

Wearing protective face masks every day has really caused me to finally focus on the part of my beauty routine that I've been pretty much ignoring.....my eyes.  When the bottom half of your face is covered up, all attention land on our eyes by default.

At my big age, I should have a robust anti-aging routine for my eyes.  But I don't.  Sure, I rub a little facial moisturizer into my eye creases, but that's about it.  Before I invest hundreds into eye creams, I thought I'd take an internal approach instead.

Thankfully, I've stumbled on a supplement proven to improve eye wrinkles in weeks....

Meet the Skin Therapist Who's Mastered the Art of Multimasking

Back when my skin was an absolute mess, it was darn near impossible to find a skin expert who also specialized in treating dark skin. I put in countless hours of research to discover a woman on the other side of the country who was revered for creating beautiful skin for black the biggest names in Black Hollywood.

 Times have certainly changed.  There's a beautiful uprising of black women who've entered the professional skincare beauty space.  Some have gained notoriety via social media.   Others are quietly doing their thing at a nearby skin studio.   Today, we're talking to Samantha, a skin therapist who immediately caught my attention.  It wasn't just her interesting and electric Instagram feed that drew me in, but also the fact that she's a skincare professional working alongside a WOC specializing in surgical and non-surgical treatments. 

I haven't stepped into a skin treatment spa in nearly a year. I wanted to find out which new treatment to experience once I make my triumphant return.   Keep reading to find out the answer to that question and more.

The "5 Minute Action" Method is the Easiest Strategy to Get You Motivated to Do Anything

I couldn't wait for summer so I could take advantage of longer days.  In my mind, longer days would provide the opportunity to fit in everything I wanted and needed to do within 24 hours.  Unfortunately, this hasn't been case.  I often find myself wishing I completed a few more items off my list. 

Most of what needs to get done falls into two categories.  The tasks that come with little/no resistance and the ones that I have a mental struggle in getting done.  Honestly, getting over the resistance is half the battle.   Most of the time, the task itself isn't that bad.

How many times have you forced yourself to do something only to realize that it wasn't as dreadful as your mind pictured it would be?

If getting started on a task is something you struggle with, I have a super-easy solution for you.

*Giveaway* Win a CrystalPeel Body Exfoliation Set

It's been years since I've done a giveaway and we are well overdue one.  I sometimes receive unsolicited emails from companies offering the potential to partner with BelleMocha.com. Truthfully, a lot of those brands are offering products that I don't necessarily vouch for. 

But today I offer the opportunity for you to win a set of my favorite body care brand ever, Crystal Peel Collection. 

Some of you might remember coming across earlier posts that I've written about their patented microdermabrasion soap.  Their body scrub soap bars are some of my absolute favorites.  Thankfully, the good folks at Crystal Peel have offered to supply some of their best selling body bars to you amazing BelleMocha readers.

The best part about this giveaway is that there will be multiple winners who will receive multiple products including a full-size microdermabrasion body bar, a mini travel size bar and post exfoliation body creme.

Trust me, this giveaway is too good to pass up.  The winners will be selected on June 1rst so make sure you visit my IG post for details on how to enter.

Looking for "Sheet Mask Level" Hydration in a Bottle? Here it is!

Since sheet masks came into my life, I've always wondered if there was a way to bottle that deliciously hydrating serum.  Heck, at one point I was bottling the stuff myself.  But I was never able to collect a large enough amount to create the type of access to pure sheet mask serum I wanted.

There a ton of serums out there to choose from.  But they always come in mini 1 or 2 oz jars.  This triggers my scarcity mentality that forces me to use tiny amounts on my face.

 So my search began for a sheet mask formula in a bottle.  I wanted a serum that was as hydrating as a sheet mask but in a full-size container.  I wanted the opportunity to use it on my face and body, as needed, without the fear of running out too quickly.

.....oh, and I wanted the product to be affordable.

Although my demands were pretty high, I still was able to find the exact product that met every single one of my conditions.

The Home Work Out I'm Doing for Flatter Abs in 2 Weeks.

Just weeks before the quarantine began, I had finally mustered up enough motivation to visit gym regularly again.  I was so certain that I'd build muscle tone by summer but, unfortunately, my plans were foiled.  As soon as the lockdown orders were in place, I found myself stuck in a house with no gym access and an ample supply of junk food.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened next.

My weight ballooned up to levels that I haven't seen a long while.  Eventually, I came to my senses and went back to eating like a normal person again.  Naturally, some of the weight came off. But I needed to incorporate a little exercise to burn off extra calories due to lack of activity.

As soon as I sought to find some at-home workouts that could tone up my midsection, I stumbled on a forum where a few ladies were discussing the astonishing results from a certain fitness Youtuber.  Although I enjoyed reading their comments and reviews, it wasn't quite enough for me to jump headfirst into doing her targeted workouts.

That was days ago.

This morning, I logged on Instagram and was greeted by another happy individual singing the praises of Chloe Ting's workouts.

At that point, I had no other choice than to jump on the Chloe Ting ab transformation train.

People Swear by the 55X5 Method for Manifesting Results

In my opinion, mastering the Law of Attraction requires 2 parts.  First, one must understand the principles and philosophies. Once you know how the law of attraction works, you must implement the universal law via a series of repeated actions.  Just knowing how the law of attraction works isn't enough. Putting those principles into action is where the magic happens.

This morning I learned of a manifestation exercise that a bunch of people swear by.  Some manifestation techniques are harder for some people vs others.  But the technique I learned today, anyone can do.  A ton of people claim to see results in as little as five days (or less) using this simple method. 

If you have a pen and a piece of paper ready, you can easily start day one of this five-day challenge.

IG Beauty Secret // Lori Harvey's Beauty Breakfast

Lori Harvey trended on Twitter this week after posting a reveal of her ultra toned summer body.  While everyone was discussing her near-perfect figure, I was more interested in a different reveal.

One thing I love about Lori is that she's open to sharing the products that she uses and loves.  She doesn't really do product ads so most of what she shares, she authentically loves.  I've published articles in the past sharing a few beauty secret reveals that she's done in the past.  You can check the posts out here, here and here.

Today, we add two more of her favorite products to the list.

Found! The Detangling Brush That Made Me Love Wash Day Again.

Not long ago I promised to incorporate frequent washing into my regimen to reap all the benefits that come along with it.  Even though I knew this was the right decision, I still hesitated.  Why? Because deep down I dreaded the thought of enduring the most dreaded part of my wash day --detangling.

You see, I rarely use a comb or brush in between washes.  This means that I have my work cut out for me on wash day.  In the past, I had the support of my trusted double row Conair detangling comb.  But, after it lost a few of its teeth, that comb was no longer of any use.  Once I learned that Conair discontinued that comb, I lost all hope.

But, today is a new day. And, today, I'm here to spread the good news of a new detangling comb that has restored my faith in wash days again.

[try this] Use Powder Before Foundation For the Best Skin of Your Life.

The warmer it gets, the more anxious I become about how summer is going to affect my skin.  Not only do I have to worry about congestion and breakouts, I also have to contend with oil skin.  Breakouts, while frustrating, are at least somewhat manageable.  But oily skin seemed so uncontrollable.

Or so I thought....

That's until I was introduced to a makeup artist secret technique that might change everything.

Loungewear. But Make It Fashion.

Now that we're spending more time at home than ever, many of us have traded our normal articles of clothing for more comfortable attire. I've seen a few online boutiques send out emails urging us to grab some loungewear outfits to ride out this quarantine.  Before you pick up more sweats and flannels, I want to offer loungewear inspiration ideas that are comfortable and super cute.

[Lifestyle Design] Use Your Travel Fund to Alter Your Life

Sometime last year, my husband and I made a quick list of all the places we planned on visiting in 2020.  On Jan 1, 2020, we booked our first escapade which was supposed to take place in April.  Obviously, the trip didn't happen.  And neither will the other vacations we talked about.  Ultimately, we've accepted the fact that we probably won't travel for at least a year or two.

At first, I was really bummed.  But then I had a random thought that completely changed my thinking....vacations are great for a multitude of reasons, but they're expensive.  We would have spent thousands on flights, room & board, food, etc.  That money can now serve a new purpose.  If allocated properly, that money could be utilized to create something new.