First Impression/Product Review.

Okay, so I've been seeing a lot of charcoal beauty products out there lately and I really wanted to give one a try. I have super sensitive, acne-prone skin, though. So I didn't want something super harsh. I ended up picking up a sample/one time use packet of the Freeman's Facial Polishing Mask: Charcoal and Black Sugar. Here is the brand's website: Click here : )

The product details are as follows:
"Pollution…debris…it's a wonder skin can breathe! This unique mask and scrub works double time to detox skin. First, naturally purifying Activated Charcoal helps absorb oil and impurities without over-drying. Then, Black Sugar helps exfoliate away dulling skin cells for softness and clarity. 

Perfect for all skin types.
Directions: Apply mask to face and neck, avoiding contact with eyes. Leave on for 5 to 7 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Use 2 times a week or as often as needed"

Cons:
I have to say, overall, I'm super impressed with this product. Though, I did wish the package warned me about the slight warming sensation the mask gives as it works. I was not totally prepared for that, but the warmth only lasts for a few minutes. It did not last the entire time I had the mask on. For another con, the mask smells pretty strong and pretty unpleasant. I can't even describe the scent, really. I didn't get used to the scent as time wore on either, which is a little disappointing.

For the pros:
At first, I was scared because it says, 'facial polishing' right on the label. That, to me, sound like someone buffing a floor with one of those...well, floor buffers. It sounded harsh, is what I mean. However, I think it depends on the pressure used when you use the mask. I didn't find it too harsh for my skin when I rubbed very lightly. For another thing, black sugar sounds like break out central...however I do not feel as though this product broke me out. After using this product, as directed, my skin felt like a baby's bottom; super smooth! I cannot wait to put my makeup on tomorrow and see how well it goes on.

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who wants a good mask as well as an excellent, gentle, exfoliator. I would suggest to use a thin layer of it, as well. I purchased the sample size and I think I can get three uses out of the one little pouch. Also, you just don't need too much of this stuff to get the job done. I would have purchased the full sized version, but my local Walmart did not carry it. For the sample size, I paid around 2 bucks. Not bad! The only real problem I had was the smell.

That's all for now. I hope this was helpful!
Don't forget to breathe.

--Dana

New things and stuff!

Hey all.
So lately I have tried a few new products and also fallen back in love with some old ones that have been floating around my makeup bag, purse, etc. Some are amazing, some are horrible, and some are just in the middle. In any case, I figured I would post this so that in case you have a product listed that you wanted to try, you have someone's honest opinion on it!
Here ya go!

Airspun Loose Powder (In the shade translucent, extra coverage)

Around 7 dollars

I have always loved this powder because of the smell. My mom used to use this powder when I was growing up and every Halloween, she'd set our cat, bunny, bride, and so on face make up with this stuff. It was awesome! I was using this powder for a while and then stopped for some reason. I don't know what that reason was. It keeps my combo skin shine free, makes my make up last, and again, the smell is nice.
I will say that this product does tend to make my face, ghostly white, a tan-ish shade when I use a heavier hand. However, if I only use a small amount it is perfectly fine.

E.L.F. Studio Cosmetics Mineral Infused Face Primer (I have the green tinted one to cancel out redness)
Around 6 dollars

This is a pretty good primer, actually. I never was into using a primer until this summer, really. It has just been so hot that my make up has been literally sliding off of my face. Gross. Anyway, this primer is cheap, blurs my pores, and creates an even base for my foundation to go over top of. I have the green tinted one, and I am not sure it actually cancels out any redness. I also have heard that there are parabens in it, which kind of freaks me out a little bit...but I'm sure most of my skincare products and hair care products do too. Overall, this is a great primer if you want to try one out for the first time. I've even applied this lightly to my eyelids before applying my Rimmel powder and it acts as a very good eye shadow base/primer!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Translucent)
Around 4 dollars

This stuff is amazing! I have to say, it gives my Airspun loose powder a run for it's money. It's cheaper, does not leave my face a different color, and it also smells nice! I find I don't need to use very much of this powder at all and my face stays matte all day long. No shine what so ever! However, you need to be a little careful when it comes to touching up your makeup. I find that if I go to touch up my face with this powder, it can become a little too cakey on my face. Over all, best and cheapest drug store powder!

Nyx Cosmetics Eyebrow Cake Powder (Brunette)
Around 6 dollars

I have never been one to fill in my eyebrows but this stuff has really changed my mind. Your eyebrows really do frame your face. It also helps to make your makeup look that much more polished. That being said, this product is awesome. The first time I tried it, though, I used the brush it came with and my brows looked super duper dark. I happened to have an old angle brush and that worked much better! Use a light hand and be patient. Just follow the natural shape of your eyebrows and you'll be fine. It also comes with brow wax for keeping those pesky hairs in place. I also think it is a good price considering that this will last me forever.

DO NOT BUY
Maybelle Fit Me Stick Foundation
Around 5 dollars
This product is the only one I HATE with a passion. It was just nasty. I applied it to one half of my face and then as I was applying it to the other half of my face, the side I had already applied melted off! Just melted off like...like...like something that melts! It claims to have an anti-shine/powder core to the stick and it just is false advertising. It did not provide any coverage what so ever, either...ya know for the 2 seconds it did manage to stay on my face.This product also made me break out. Not nice. I returned it and stuck to my Loreal True Match foundation.

That's all for now. I hope some of you found this useful!
Take care and don't forget to breathe :)

--Dana

Breakfast this morning!

Hey all!
I just tried this new smoothie recipe and wanted to share :)
I thought why not just list everything I ate this morning while I was at it. Here ya go!

One cup of 'Bite Sized Shredded Wheat' cereal, dry. I usually don't eat cereal in the morning with milk. I'm weird, I know.

One cup of green tea with honey. For the caffeine fix. I've been trying to stay away from coffee. It's hard, but I think I've been doing okay :)

And finally, the smoothie!!

I used:
1 frozen banana
1 cup (about) chocolate almond milk
1/2 teaspoon of chia seeds
1 teaspoon of vanilla whey protein powder
1 heaping table spoon of all natural, smooth, peanut butter

Blend and enjoy :)
I don't like peanut butter in smoothies usually so next time I think I'll add less. Overall, though. It's quite tasty!

I hope you lovelies are having a nice day! Don't forget to breathe :)
--Dana

Today's workout :)

Today I had a lot of fun with my workout!
Word of caution,you may feel like a dancin' fool after this one :P Me, I felt a bit silly in the beggining of it, but when you feel just how much your legs and abs and everything are working, you go for it :D

First I warmed up:




Then, danced :P



Then I stretched with the same warm up video just to reduce the amount of soreness in my legs and butt.

I liked this so much that I may do this tomorrow as well :D It really got my heart rate up but in a fun way! and it's only about 5 minutes!

I hope this was helpful!
Don't forget to breathe.

--Dana

15 minutes a day work out.

Hey all.
So I've realized that setting goals of working out EVERY single day for half an hour, up to two hours, every day...is just not realistic for me right now. I think this is a big reason that I stopped working out for about 3 weeks. Anyway, I've now committed myself to working out 2-4 days a week, aiming for 3 days a week, for 15-20 minutes at a time. This way, I feel I have no excuse for not working out. 15 or 20 minutes a day is an easy enough time to set aside!

So here are some work outs I've been doing for those 15-20 minutes :)

I always start out with this warm up before doing any yoga routine:



Then, I will usually do one, or if I'm feeling really good, two of the following:













Then, I usually cool down by doing some light stretching or one of the following yoga videos:




I have to admit, I absolutely HATE doing any ab work out. HATE it. But, when a video is less than 10 minutes long for the abs, I feel I can better commit to it and actually get up and do it. The goal right now for me is to keep up with the workouts as best as I can 15-20 minutes a day, 3 or more days a week. Hopefully once I make this a habit, I can create bigger, yet attainable goals for myself when it comes to my workouts :)

I hope this was helpful to some of you!
Don't forget to breathe.

--Dana

Lower back pain: tips, remedies, and so on.

Hey all.

Lately my back has been flaring up with it's stiffness, pain, and just all around comfortableness. It sucks. Anyone who suffers from back pain, can definitely agree!

Here are a few things that have helped my chronic back pain over the years as well as recently. I hope it helps some of you back pain sufferers out there!

Yoga has probably been the number one thing that has helped my back pain over the years. Not only does almost every move in yoga strengthen your core, which then helps to less strain on your back (or so I hear), but a lot of yoga poses help to stretch out the back.

Here are some poses that have helped me:

Downward Dog

Child's Pose

Child's pose can be done with the hands/arms behind you as shown, or you can place them out in front of you, stretching forward. When doing the second option, sometimes it feels really nice on my lower back to shift my knees further a part rather than closer together.

Variation of Child's Pose

Knees to Chest

This pose is extremely helpful, especially when I first wake up in the morning and need a good stretch. You can even do it right in bed! Also, while holding your knees, as shown, you can gently rock back and forth. This really helps to release any lower back tension.

This is just ONE of the many youtube videos for lower back pain yoga stretches that have really helped me.

Remember, yoga, especially when it comes to relieving any kind of pain, is not about how perfect you can get the pose or how flexible you are. Listen to your body and do what feels good, back off of things that don't. Also, you have to keep at it. Although some stretching can help instantly with pain and discomfort, yoga is meant to be practiced. Even if it is 5 minutes before bed, your back will surely thank you!

Other things to consider:

• Do you do a lot of bending and or lifting through out the day? If so, make sure your bend from the knees and not through your back. If something is too heavy, ask for help. This is something I have definitely been doing to help prevent injury but also to help lessen the usual chronic pain I have with my back. I work retail and it can be very physical at times. If I feel there is a potential I could hurt my back, I take my time and ask for help when I need to.
• Are you drinking enough water? Water is IMPORTANT. Not only can water improve your skin and over all health, but it can actually help your back immensely! Water helps to keep our bodies (joints, muscles, and so on) moving so drink as much water as you can.
• Consider seeing a chiropractor. I know that seeing a chiropractor really helped me when my back pain first started about 6-7 years ago. I can remember being so scrunched up and tight that I couldn't even sit upright without being in excruciating pain. I am a firm believer in taking pain as a warning sign. If you are in more than just a little bit of pain and it persists, see a doctor and have them refer you to a chiropractor if that is the best thing for you.
• Ice and heat. This is another thing where you should just listen to your body's needs. Usually a hot shower or warm/wet heat (as in a wet and warm washcloth) can help more than an ice pack for me. However, some times ice is also useful in my case. You can also use things like icy hot or aspercream if you find they help. However, creams and rubs have never really done the trick for me. Like I said, it is all about listening to your body. There's also over the counter asprin/advil/alieve you can take for inflammation and so on. However, those have never really ever touched my own back pain.
• An herbal remedy that has helped not only my back pain, but my chronic knee pain as well, has been a tea, actually.  Yogi tea makes a tea called 'joint comfort'. This tea has been something I have had to get used to just because it does not taste the best. It tastes kind of minty...herbal-ly? I'm not the best at describing tastes. Anyway, I usually use one-two tea bags a day with one green or black tea bag as well as some honey/brown sugar. When I combine it with another tea bag, it tastes pretty good actually! This tea also has ingredients that are meant to calm inflammation. It's awesome :)

Don't forget, breathing can sometimes prove beneficial. Just breathing! think about it, when you're driving to work or school and you don't even remember how you arrived at your destination. Were you even breathing correctly? Were you slouched in your seat the entire ride? Noticing things like this can really help your back pain in the long run, at least it has for me!

I hope this blog post has helped some of you out there and feel better!

Don't forget to breathe, again.

--Dana

All Natural Face Mask!

Hey, all! I was just thinking to myself, wow I'm really stressed out. I'm so stressed, I'm breaking out! So what did I decide to do? Kill two birds with one stone, of course!
I made myself an all natural face mask using organic honey, lemon juice, and clove powder. Oh yeah.

Not only was it a nice, relaxing thing to do for myself, but the ingredients also help to fight acne!

Instructions:

First, make sure your skin is free of makeup, primers, moisturizer, and so on.

Then, you want to prepare your face-mask-mixture.

I eyeballed everything, then realized I should have measured it out because I had WAY too much face mask for my one face.

Use: a table spoon to a table spoon and a half of honey, a few drops of lemon juice, and then about a teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half of the clove powder. If you don't have clove powder, you can use ground cinnamon or even nutmeg...or all three :)

Once everything is mixed into a paste in a bowl, you want to either wash your face with warm water, or take a warm towel and let it sit on your face a few minutes. This opens the pores for the mask.

Pat your face dry and then apply the mask. Wait 20 minutes and then wash off! BAM!

Clove, as well as lemon and honey, are great natural antiseptics and honey is actually antifungal. In other words, it kills all the bad stuff that can cause a break out! Lemon juice also is very good for lightening acne marks and scars. I would do this mask 1-2 times per week or whenever you need a little pick me up :)

I hope this was helpful and don't forget to breathe!