[summer ready] Why Underarm Masking Should Be Your Part of Your Beauty Routine

Although spring isn't here yet, I've already had the pleasure of experiencing some pretty warm days.  The moment I'm exposed to warmer temperatures, I automatically start thinking about prepping for summer.  More specifically, I like to focus on detoxing before summer hits.  Why? Because I have this theory that everything sort of slows down during the winter months. Our metabolism slows, circulation slows, cell turnover slows and so forth.

When warm weather finally arrives, we start to sweat again, oil production peaks causing us to suffer some unwanted side effects like acne, unflattering body odor, and congestion.  This year, I plan on adding a new ritual to my summer hygiene routine that I think will have some amazing benefits.

[add to cart.] Egyptian Magic Beauty Balm

I've made a conscious effort to temper my desire to want to buy every beauty product available.  Lately, I've tried to make purchases of items that I believe will be sure bets. More importantly, products likely to become long-term staples.  One such product, I've never spoken about until today. But I've longed to get my hands on this cult favorite for a while.

Last year, I wrote an article about how I was all about balms.  The older I get, the drier my skin becomes and balms really add that extra bit of oomph when it comes to sealing in moisture.  All the balms I purchased were great.....I hadn't found the one.

Thankfully, fate awaited me at a local Marshall's as I was introduced to the beauty balm of my dreams.

The Whoosh Effect is the Motivation You Need to Stay On Your Weight Goal Journey.

The closer we get to summer, the more we begin to think about how to shed those extra pounds from the holidays.  Losing weight can be frustrating sometimes, even when you feel like you're doing everything right, sometimes the weight just seems to stay put.   Well, today I bring you some encouraging news.

I recently learned of a weight-loss theory that could help us stay motivated through our journey to a leaner body.

[valentine edit] Your Perfect Lip Routine.

I have a love-hate relationship with my lips.  They're full, prominent, and should be a highlight of my face.  Instead, I've neglected them.   Barely doing anything other than wearing lip balm in response to excessive dryness or covering them with bold lip color on date nights.

My neglect actually produced the aspects of my lips that I disliked the most. I hated the dryness and mild discoloration. I just wanted soft, flesh-toned lips that looked amazing with our without lipstick.

And now I have the routine that gives me exactly what I want.

Yvonne- Founder of the Skin Line Focusing on Areas Ignored by Other Brands.

I love discovering new accounts on IG.  Recently I landed on Yvonne Jay's feed.  After quickly checking out her pics, I realized that she wasn't your average fashionista.  Yvonne seemed just as obsessed with glowing skin as we are!  Her passion for healthy skin is what caused me to reach out and learn more about her detailed regimen and style inspiration.  

Keep reading to learn more about Yvonne's journey to self-discovery that lead to the creation of her very own skincare brand.

How to Tap Into Your Potential Every Single Day.

It's been said that we only utilize 10% of our mental potential.  One of the reasons why I loved Limitless so much is because it explored the idea of what happens when we access the remaining 90%.  Personal development books are focused on helping us to unlock our "unlimited potential." 

I'm all for the idea of opening the doorway that unleashes our infinite potential, but I find it sometimes hard to sustain operating at max output for long periods of time.  Instead, I'd like to play with the idea of tapping into our potential instead.   Think of your unlimited potential as an extremely large sum of money.  Instead of trying to blow it all at once, maybe we find a way to access large portions of it on a daily basis. 

Wouldn't that be awesome?

IG Beauty Secret -- This Tea Helps Sheneka to "Keep Her Glow."

I have a tea drawer at home that's chock full of various types of tea I've amassed along the way.  Yesterday, as I reviewed the contents of the drawer, I realized that, aside from bamboo tea, none of the other options on hand could produce external benefits.  Sure, green tea is excellent for overall health, but I'd also like to incorporate other varieties that promote a noticeable glow.

Less than 24 hours after stating my intention to expand my beauty tea collection, I stumbled on a screenshot that I took months ago and completely forgotten about.  The image featured a story shared by Sheneka Adams.  Sheneka is a business owner and "Level Up" coach.  She often shares glimpses into her beauty favorites.  In previous posts, I've featured Shaneka's favorite hand cream and the collagen chews that she loves.

When she first shared her story on how much she loved barley tea, I thought..."that's interesting" but didn't look into it any further.  After checking out what others have to say about barley tea, I was sold.

Meet Evie Samuel - The Instagrammer with the Most Perfect Skin.

For many years, I've creeped on the Insta feed of countless women in hopes that they'll one day reveal the products and routines that create their admirable results.  This year, I've decided to step out of the shadows and actually reach out to them directly to find out more first hand.  I'm excited to bring you guys in-depth interviews of these beautiful muses in the year ahead.

Let's meet Evie from Sknperfct.  I happened to stumble on her IG feed completely by accident (or was it fate?).  The moment I laid my eyes on her skin, I immediately jumped into her dm's and requested an interview so he could divulge her greatest skin secrets.

Thankfully, she happily obliged. Keep reading you want to learn more about what makes Evie's skin so perfect.

[trending.] The Lash Lift is Back and Now It's Even Better.

I went to high school in the '90s.  Back then long lashes weren't really a thing.  No one wore false lashes and lash extensions weren't even invented yet.  But, there was this one girl who had these super long barbie lashes that I was obsessed with.  Based on a visual inspection, her lashes were absolutely real.  They were long and spidery and made her eyes look large and doe-like.  She was very much a tom-boy in how she dressed. Everything was baggy and oversized.  But she balanced the boyish style by always keeping her hair in neat box braids and framing her eyes with her extraordinary lashes.

Here's the thing, about mid-way through a school year, an Afro-Brazilian girl transferred to our school. She had a heavy accent and it was obvious that she wasn't yet indoctrinated into American culture.  Within a short time, she and the girl the amazing lashes became great friends.  Then something interesting happened.  The new girl started looking more and more like my friend with each passing day.  She too wore box braids and baggy gear.  It wasn't long before her lashes began to look amazing.  I ever ran into my friend from high-school again, the first thing I would ask her is to divulge her eyelash regimen.  Because after seeing the new girl completely replicate the look, I knew there was a method to her results.

Sadly, I've never been able to recreate the look from mascara alone.  But, thanks to modern technology, I may have another option that may work just as well.

[try this] The DIY Combo for Your Own Glow Enhancing Body Serum.

Ever since I wrote the article not long ago about body serums, I've had intentions to try a few of the options available on the market.  Unfortunately, I have some other wish list purchases that take priority so I had to improvise.

Winters are torture for my skin. As soon as the humidity drops, everything goes south.  Each year I'm plagued with dry, itchy legs and thighs.  The itchiness is so intense that I sometimes end up actually creating surface-level scars on the skin.

I've tried to address the itchiness with lotion but it's a losing battle.  But last night a tried a combination that turned out to be absolutely amazing.

"Every Minute Spent Organizing is an Hour Earned." - Confessions of a Self Proclaimed Planner Addict

One of my resolutions for 2020 is to get better at creating a written plan for my day.  It never fails, anytime I consistently use my trusty planner, I'm guaranteed to accomplish more than when I wing it from the top of my head.  Here's my problem.  Planning works so well that I start to believe that I'm a naturally productive person.  Then I enter this slippery slope of thinking that my productivity will stay the same even without a written plan for the day.

The truth is, if I want to have an uber-productive day, week, or month, using a planner a sure-fire way to achieve that.  Since I'm on a mission to reimplement the habit of daily planning, I thought I'd reach out to someone who embodies this habit. Shara Simmons is a card-carrying member of the budding planner community.  I've followed Shara on IG for years.  From afar, I've seen her launch her nursing career, buy her dream car and acquire a beautiful home.  If I had to guess, I'd theorize that her dedication to jotting down action items has influenced the direction of her life.

 I follow an entrepreneur who launched her own clothing line several years ago.  Over the years, her company has flourished.   One secret she revealed in a vlog was how she always keeps her planner nearby to document everything she needs to accomplish. 

Let's take a peek inside the mind of a person who's dedicated to the art of planning and see if we can gain a few takeaways to apply in our own lives.

I Modified the Manifestation Journal Concept and Made It Better.

A while ago, I attended a women's empowerment seminar.  The person leading the event dedicated an entire segment to the power of journaling for manifestation.  To further convince us of the effectiveness of this practice, she invited several of her students up to share testimonies of how journaling produced amazing outcomes in their lives.

Hearing their incredible stories inspired me to start keeping my own manifestation journal.  Because I didn't purchase her journalling course with step by step instructions on how to journal for success, I kinda winged it.

My idea was to practice journaling current manifestations as they happen in real-time.  Along with that, I planned writing out future manifestations in the present tense to help generate feelings of already achieving what I want.

It was a great plan....but I wasn't consistent.  Eventually, I stopped journaling altogether.

But here's the good news, this year I developed a modified journaling routine to one that I could actually maintain.  So far, it's working beautifully and I can't wait to share the process with you.

This Might Be the Greatest Sheet Mask Tip of All Time!

I can't believe that we're months into winter and I haven't written the sheet mask post yet.  Don't worry ladies, I won't let you down, because I'm here to share one of my best sheet mask tips yet.  I can't even begin to tell you how many sheet masks I have in piled up in my drawer.    I'm always making silent promises to use up my masks, but fitting in that extra step into my already elaborate skin routine isn't always convenient.

Deep down, I know that if I were to mask more often, my skin would be immaculate.  But who has the time?

I do! Especially now that I've discovered a secret sheet masking tip that a Korean beauty enthusiasts swears by.

This Heat Protecting Oil Has the Ability to Scientifically Rebuild Your Hair!

I haven't used direct heat in my hair for a long time.  The plan is to stay consistent with my wash day routine, feed my hair from within, then enjoy the fruits of my labor this summer.  Ideally, I hope to have retained a few more inches that I can flaunt this summer.

When it comes to using heat, I've shunned traditional heat protectants for natural oils.  Using oils as a heat protectant isn't recommended.  Instead of protecting the hair, some oils could heat up on the strands potentially causing damage.  Even though I was aware of the risk, I still took the chance because of how well my hair responds oils.

This morning I learned of the existence of a new styling oil that protects against heat while also repairing the hair at the structural level.

Why Vitamin D Could Be the Key to a Flatter Tummy.

It never fails, whenever I put on a few extra pounds, it always goes directly to my midsection.  Of all the times in the year, I seem to pack on belly fat during the winter.  Most of us will dismiss this phenomenon as a result of the extra indulgences that occur during the holidays... and that may be so, but I've recently learned of another trigger that could be causing us to have more belly fat than we should.