Happy second day of spring! I’m so happy that it’s officially here – it’s definitely time to start pulling out all of my dresses and skirts! I’m hoping that it’ll be a warm season since winter was pretty cold this year. Speaking of spring, I’m officially on spring break right now, even though I’ve been home for a week since I had early finals this quarter, so it’s nice to be able to relax with my family!
To start this week off, I decided to do a review of a product I recently bought: the Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer from tarte!
I had been using a bronzer from the Body Shop for about three years, and being me, dropped it while I was in a rush to get ready one morning. Naturally, it shattered, and I was forced to trade in my trusty bronzer for something new. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing, because I’m pretty sure the Body Shop bronzer wasn’t the right shade for me. I think it had oxidized over the years, because lately I had noticed that it had become very orange.
Because my skin is pretty pale, it’s hard to find a contour that isn’t too dark. I don’t really use bronzer to make my skin look more tan, especially this time of year, just as a contour on my cheeks, nose, and forehead. Since I want my contour to look natural, it’s important to get a bronzer that is the right color, and one that blends well with my BB cream.
I stopped into Sephora to get a new bronzer, and wasn’t really set on getting a certain brand or product. I knew I wanted to check out the bronzers from Benefit and tarte, and of course I decided on one from tarte because of my love of the brand. I also asked the advice of one of the sales associates, and he recommended this bronzer to me because it’s one of the lightest ones they have, and would be the most complimentary to my skin.
After a couple of swatch tests, I definitely agreed with him, and decided to buy the tarte bronzer. I was initially impressed with the consistency of the bronzer, and the color was really pretty. When I put on my makeup the next day, I used the bronzer and was really happy! It went on very smoothly, was very blendable, and was the perfect color for contour on my skin! I have loved tarte products for years now, so I’m really glad that I ended up liking this bronzer. It also comes in a shimmery shade that is a little bit darker, but I decided the matte one would be better for me. Also, a little bit goes a long way with this bronzer, which is really nice so I won’t use it up quickly!
The swatch on the top is a couple of layers of the bronzer, so it’s definitely build-able if you need a darker shade.
The only downside to this bronzer is there aren’t any other shades, just the Park Avenue Princess shade that I bought. Of course tarte has other bronzers with different colors, so you could definitely check that out if you need something lighter or darker. Luckily this ended up being the perfect color for my skin, but if it hadn’t, I would’ve had to start the whole process of finding a different bronzer again.
I can’t attest to the waterproof part of the bronzer, as I haven’t worn it in the water or anything. I don’t really know how useful it will be to have a waterproof bronzer, and it does seem a bit unnecessary because I probably won’t wear bronzer if I know I’m going to be swimming, or getting really wet. Who knows, though, it might come in really handy one day when it’s humid in the summer haha.
I really like that the packaging itself has a mirror, because I used my other bronzer’s mirror to do my makeup when I didn’t have use of a bigger mirror, like in the car. The packaging is also really high quality, and very sturdy; hopefully when I inevitably drop this bronzer, it wont shatter as well! There’s also a magnet to keep the compact together, and it works really well. Tarte always has really good packaging I have found, and I love all of the natural colors they use, since most of their products are (more or less) natural.
All in all, I really love this bronzer, and I think I have found my new favorite! The shade is perfect for my skin, and the overall texture of the product is really great. Tarte has never let me down, and this product is no exception.
What’s your favorite bronzer?
Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! 🙂
It is once again Friday (did this week fly by or what?) and I have another Fit Friday post! I have really been loving doing these because I’ve been super motivated with fitness for the past couple of years. I always swam and danced as a kid, so when I got to college I really wanted to make sure that I stayed fit. This meant I would have to learn how to use the gym – I never had to use it before because I always had my sports to keep me in shape. It can be hard to get up every single morning to go and work out, but it’s definitely worth it when you feel energized and happy afterwards.
Because it can be hard to stay on track, I love to use my Fitbit Surge to keep me motivated! I am the kind of person who is really self-motivated and goal-oriented, so I love beating my own personal records from my Fitbit. Since my Fitbit keeps track of my daily steps, my first goal is to get to 10,000, and then I like to try and beat my previous day’s steps. This keeps me constantly in motion, and really helps to keep my day on track!
I workout everyday but Friday (it’s important to have a rest day!) and I use my Fitbit to keep track of my exercise. I run about three miles, and then do workouts for my abs, legs, upper body, etc., depending on what day it is. It’s really cool to see how I am progressing with how fast my miles are, if I run a little bit farther, and how many calories I burn. The calories part I tend to focus less on because it isn’t the reason why I work out; I like to stay in shape because I like how I feel mentally and physically when my body is at its best. Staying in shape allows me to stay motivated in all aspects of my life, gives me energy, and makes me a whole lot more happy!
There are also a ton of settings that Fitbit’s have, so I can choose which activity I’m doing in order for my Fitbit to better track my heart rate, and other stats. This is so helpful for when I’m running, doing general workouts, biking, or doing yoga! I have been doing a lot of different kinds of exercise so it’s awesome to have all of the different settings to choose from so I can best track my workouts. It’s cool to compare all of my workouts, too, and compare how I feel physically to all of the stats.
During my workouts, my Fitbit tracks my heart rate, which is really important. I can make sure my heart rate isn’t too high, and that I’m not pushing myself too hard. It’s also great to look back on and compare all of my workouts of the week, and see where I can improve upon. It’s also important to know what your maximum heart rate is for your age so you don’t exert your heart too much. My Fitbit helps me with this, since it tells you what your peak heart rate during a workout is, and displays your heart rate in charts and graphs, so you can easily track your progress throughout a workout.
One feature I really love is the “Free Run” selection, because it tracks my location through GPS, and tells me how far I’ve ran and all that. It also does this on the treadmill, and lets me know my mile splits. All of the sub-sections under “Run” are really great and useful to use, and are designed really well! Under “Exercise” there are a lot of sub-sections as well, and the “Hiking” selection tracks your location through GPS like the running one, so it let’s you know how far you’ve hiked! I really love that feature since I go hiking a lot with my friends.
Fitbits also track your heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and miles walked throughout the day, so it’s fun to see your stats at the end of the day. You can swipe through all of the stats right on the Fitbit screen, so you can track them during the whole day. I track my steps more than I care to admit, because I really like hitting that 10,000 step marker. Your Fitbit vibrates like a mini-celebration once you’ve hit 10,000 steps, so it makes you feel very accomplished haha.
The regular clock display is also really cool, because it’s a visual representation of your heart rate throughout the hour. As you can see in the photo above, my heart was really going at the beginning of the hour because I was walking back from class, and then it slowed down to my resting rate once I got back to my dorm. That feature is really cool to me, because I love seeing how my heart rate has differed throughout the hour without opening the Fitbit app on my phone.
All in all, I am pretty much addicted to my Fitbit, which I’m perfectly fine with. It keeps me motivated, which helps me stay on top of my workouts, and by extension, my fitness and wellbeing. Being in shape is important to me because I feel more energized, and I am able to do so much. Taking care of your body is a great way to love yourself, which you guys know I am all about. With my immune system being so terrible as well, staying in shape helps it out a little bit so it can fight off pesky colds more quickly.
Have you ever used a fitness tracker?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
I am the type of person who gets very set in her ways; I literally eat the same breakfast – oatmeal with peanut butter and dried blueberries – and lunch – greek yogurt parfait with strawberries and blueberries – every. Single. Day. I don’t get tired of it, and usually I end up eating the same dinner on most days, which is either quinoa or rice, edamame or some other type of veggie, and fake chicken (which is so delicious, let me tell you). Beauty products are no different; once I find something that I like, I tend to use it for years and never switch. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, especially since I have such sensitive skin, but it’s something that I’ve noticed lately! I mean, if it ain’t broke why fix it, right?
As I’ve been running out of a lot of my favorite products lately, I decided to keep the empty containers so I could do my first empties post and video! I’ve seen so many other bloggers and YouTubers do these, and I love watching them, so I thought it would be a lot of fun to do them for myself. I adore all of these products – except for one, which we will get into a little later in this post – so I have a lot to say about them!
Make sure and check out the video I did on this, too!
I have used this face moisturizer for a long time, we’re talking like two years. First Aid Beauty used to have just a daily face moisturizer, which I actually liked better than this ultra repair one, but they got rid of it a couple of months ago, and I don’t really know why. It was the perfect amount of moisture for my skin, and this one, I’ve found, is a little too much for my skin. Due to that, I decided to get a different face lotion since I’ve used this one forever, and also because I felt like my face needed something different.
I told you guys about this body lotion in my Keratosis Pilaris post, and I love it so much! It really helps with my KP, and it’s just generally a really great moisturizer. It doesn’t have a smell, which is also really nice for my sensitive skin. I use it right after I get out of the shower, all over my body, and I’m good to go for the rest of the day. Even though it’s meant to help KP, it’s also a really great lotion for your whole body.
This has been my go-to B.B. cream for at least a year now! It works really great with my skin, and has a very slight shimmer that gives my skin a nice glow. It also has SPF 27 which is great to have in order to protect your skin from the sun! I don’t know how much I actually buy into the whole “self-adjusting shade for all skin types” selling point, but the color does match my skin, regardless. It blends in really nicely, and provides a great base for the rest of my makeup, like concealer and bronzer.
Okay, this stuff smells amazing, to the point where I want to bottle up the scent and use it as my perfume. It’s really great for the ends of my hair, which is good since that’s what it’s actually meant to be used for haha. I use about a dime size pump of the cream and put it into the ends of my hair on the days that I wash it – which is every other day. This helps keep the ends of my hair healthy and moisturized, two things that are very important since I color my hair.
I have expressed my love for Tarte before, and this is my favorite mascara! Not only does it make my lashes look great, but it’s supposed to be good for them as well. I actually do think that it helps the general health of your lashes, and helps to condition them. My eyelashes aren’t picky at all when it comes to mascara, however, I found this one and I haven’t felt the need to try any other brands since it works so well! It’s also a huge plus that it’s from Tarte, because as I have preached before, it is a great beauty brand and doesn’t test on animals. The wooden package is also really cool, and environmentally friendly! Yay sustainability!
Usually I get the makeup removing wipes from Burt’s Bees, but this last time I didn’t have time to run to Target, and I was in desperate need for something. I knew that the little District Market on campus had these Yes to Cucumbers facial wipes, so I thought they would be fine to grab. About a week into using these, my face started to get a small rash, and these wipes slightly burned while I used them. In the end, these really messed up my skin because I had a pretty big rash on my cheek, and they just generally stung my face and were pretty abrasive. I thought they would be really nice, because they smelled so fresh, but they were truly terrible for my skin, and it took it a good week to recover from them!
I’m so glad I remembered to not recycle all of these containers after I used them, so I could do my first empties post and video! It felt oddly liberating to recycle all of them at once, and I also enjoyed reflecting back on what I like, wanted to change, and what products I didn’t like at all after using them. I really hope you guys enjoyed this post, and hopefully I’ll remember to do more in the future!
What products have you been using lately?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
The cherry blossoms are in bloom at my university, and everything is starting to look like spring! I am so happy that all of the flowers are blooming – it’s definitely my favorite time of the year. Growing up, I had three cherry blossom trees at my house, and they always bloomed on or around my birthday, which made me so happy. As you all probably know, I absolutely love flowers, so I was always so excited that my favorite trees bloomed on my birthday. I’m so lucky to attend my university, because all of the buildings are so beautiful. It’s even more breathtaking when all of the flowers start blooming – especially the quad due to all of the trees.
For today’s post I was inspired by the Pantone color of the year, and Glossier (by the way, if you haven’t heard of them before, check out check out their unique beauty products)! Both hues of pink are so pretty, so it was a lot of fun to incorporate the petal-pink color. It goes perfectly with my school’s cherry blossoms, and it was a lot of fun hanging out there with Joycie (check out her blog here!) while taking some photos. I’m so glad one of the colors of the year is rose quartz, because it’s a color that I like to wear all the time since it goes with my skin tone so well. I have a lot of things in the color, so it was hard to find only a couple of things to wear in that color!
I’ve had this maxi skirt for a little while now, and I love it so much! I got it from Pacsun, and the pale pink is so beautiful, and goes with so many things. The pleats are also so cute, and the slits give it a nice breezyness. The material is really sheer, but there’s another layer that hits about mid-thigh so there’s no underwear disasters.
This crop top is from Forever21, and is one of my favorites, because I can pair it with so much. It has a pretty floral pattern with a couple of different shades of pink, so it looks nice with whatever it’s paired with. I especially like it with this outfit, because it has both pale pink flowers, and also darker ones that go nicely with my jacket.
I got my maroon leather jacket from Nordstrom, and it’s definitely a staple in my wardrobe. It can be paired with dresses, skirts, leggings, jeans…the list goes on and on. It’s also surprisingly very warm, so it’s perfect for this time of year, when the weather continuously goes between hot and cold.
I of course had to wear my favorite lipstick, Angelic Nude from Tarte, since it’s one of the prettiest pink lipsticks that I have come across. It pairs so well with any makeup look, and it’s super moisturizing. I also used some pale pink Urban Decay eyeshadow, which is pretty much my favorite makeup look since it’s so quick and easy to do.
It’s been raining non-stop this last couple of weeks, so we definitely lucked out in timing these photos! Just as I was walking back to my dorm it started pouring again. It seems like March showers are going to bring April flowers this year, which is just as well with me since my birthday is early April!
I also decided to wear my favorite letter necklace with this outfit, because it matches so well! This is definitely one of my favorite necklaces, and I’ve had it forever. I don’t really remember where I got it from since I’ve had it for so long! The poor chain isn’t the best anymore, so I actually need to get another hook to fix it, but it still works.
It’s a lot more fun walking to class when you get to walk through the quad, and I don’t find myself dreading it as much. Everyone always seems happier, too, since everything is so pretty and bright!
This is one of my favorite places in the quad, because the little path with the benches is so adorable! The cherry blossoms arch over the path, so it’s always nice and shady.
I just can’t get enough of these cherry blossoms!
Well, there you have it – my pop of pink outfit for the spring! I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and love cherry blossoms as much as I do! They are, as I’m sure I have expressed thoroughly, my favorite trees, and I’m so happy it’s almost spring. This year is flying by so quickly; I can’t believe my birthday is in less than a month! It seems like Christmas was just yesterday, and here we are already to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter!
Are you excited for spring?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
With acceptance letters coming in for a lot of high school seniors, it can be hard which college to go to. I remember when I had to make this choice two years ago, and it stressed me out so much. I am a very indecisive person, so for me, this was something that I struggled and grappled with for many days. I had no idea where to even start, or how to even go about choosing the right college. I was already stressed enough about leaving home, and for college in general, so it was a scary thing to decide where to spend the next four years of my life. I completely understand how you might be feeling right now, so I decided to make my own guide on how to choose the right college for you!
1. If you can, visit every single college you are accepted to, and are considering.
This may seem like a daunting task, but if you are seriously considering going to a college, you should definitely visit it first. If you don’t think you are going to attend a college even though you were accepted, don’t bother visiting it, but if you are seriously considering going to a school, it is very important to visit it in order to get a feel for the campus. I cannot explain how important this is; you could potentially be spending the next four years of your life there, so you should visit to find out if you could actually see yourself attending the school. When I was making this decision two years ago, I was seriously considering two universities out of the four I had applied to. I was really struggling with the decision, so I visited both campuses to physically be there. As soon as I got the University of Washington campus, I knew I was home. I can’t really explain the feeling, but I immediately felt comfortable and could see myself going to classes there, and really fitting in. This feeling is like the “Say Yes to the Dress” feeling, but I don’t know if it’s something that everyone experiences. It’s really helpful, though, to visit all of the campuses of the universities you are interested in, and compare how you felt at all of the different locations.
2. Do it Rory Gilmore style and make a pro/con list.
If you are a Gilmore Girls fan like me (who isn’t?!), then you are probably very familiar with Rory’s pro/con lists when it comes to making decisions. I have always done this when I can’t decide between two things, and with this decision, it helped out a lot. It’s really important to take into account all of the different factors of college, like where it is located, what majors they have, their rank, class sizes, etc., because this is where you will be furthering your education in order to make a career for yourself. After you make your list, chances are you will have already made up your mind by the end, and if you haven’t you can mull over the list for a couple of days and see if any more pros or cons come to you.
3. Take into account what you think you will be majoring in.
This is very important, because you want to choose a school that actually has the major you want, or think you might want. It’s totally fine to change your mind later on down the road, so just make sure that you will have options at the university you will attend. Different universities have different majors, so keep in mind what you think you will study. It’s also important to know which schools have better departments. For example, University A and University B might both have a mechanical engineering department, but University A has a better one, so it would be in your best interest to choose that school.
4. Compare scholarship and financial aid offers.
College is very expensive, so it’s important that you are getting the best “deal.” If you are offered a really great scholarship to a school that is your second choice, and offered a lesser scholarship at your top choice, sometimes you can email them and let them know that. You can explain that you got a better offer to a different school, and see if your top choice school is willing to give you a better scholarship in order to get you to attend. This doesn’t work all the time, though, but it is worth a shot. Cost can definitely be a deciding factor, so do some investigating on how much you will actually be paying to attend a university. If your dream school is also very expensive, call the financial aid office and ask them about payment plans, loans, and scholarships that can help combat the costs. Most times, they are happy to help, and you can also find a lot of information online.
5. Think about your life and career goals.
I know this can be scary to do when you are only 18 or 19, but it’s important to think about where you see yourself after you have graduated college, and what your career goals are. Do some research on which universities have produced successful people, and also which one has a lot of connections to potential employers. Once you get to college, it’s very important to start thinking about what you will do with your life, and what kind of career you will have. The connections that universities have can be vital in having a successful career, so keep that in mind when you are trying to decide which college to attend.
6. Talk to people who attend the universities.
You won’t get an as in-depth view of what a university is like from anyone other than a current or former student. This will greatly help you to understand what life is really like at the university, because you will get a very unique point of view. If you are seriously considering attending a college, I would definitely suggest talking to someone who goes there. I did this, and it really helped to further envision myself actually going to the school. This can also be really useful to help make a decision if you are considering multiple schools.
Some things not to do:
Leave the decision until last minute.
This will only make you rushed, and probably leave you with a decision that you will not be happy with later on down the road. It’s very important to give this decision a lot of though, and the time you need to really find the right university that will allow you to be the most successful. Make sure you know all of the decision deadlines, because it might be possible that they are different for each university. You don’t want to miss a deadline because you are procrastinating on a decision.
Let other people influence your decision.
It’s very important to decide which university will be the best for you. What’s right for your best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend might not be what’s best for you, so make sure you are making the decision that will benefit yourself the most. It can be cool to end up at the some school as your friends, but don’t base your whole decision on that. One of my best friends and I ended up going to the same school, but it wasn’t on purpose, and we both made the decisions individually. If someone in your life is pressuring you to choose a specific school, don’t let them get to you, and make the decision for yourself.
How are you feeling about college?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
How are you feeling about college?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
This past weekend was incredibly busy. I had work every day, and also a ton of other things to do. Even though it was very busy, I ended up really enjoying myself! Friday was spent doing homework during the day, since I have finals coming up, and then I had work that evening. On Saturday, I woke up bright and early (we’re talking 6 A.M.) to go to yoga in Chihuly Garden and Glass here in Seattle! My roommate and I bought tickets a while ago since we both love yoga, and it was so much fun. Core Power Yoga put the whole event on, and they are known for giving incredible classes. It was so awesome to be able to do yoga in a huge room with a giant structure of glass flowers hanging overhead!
For those of you who don’t know, I go to school in Seattle, and I’ve really been wanting to blog more about “being a tourist in my own city” because there are so many incredible things to do in Seattle! I am not from Seattle, so it’s a lot of fun to go on adventures around the city, and experience all that I can. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to start this series! Chihuly Garden and Glass is essentially a museum of beautiful structures made of glass. Most of the structures represent plants of some sort, and it was truly incredible to look at all of them. Along with getting to do yoga there, we got to look around the museum! Here are some photos:
 |
| This was part of the ceiling of one of the rooms! |
 |
| This is the room where we did yoga! |
 |
| As you can see, the museum is right under the Space Needle. |
 |
| It ended up being really sunny, so the light looked gorgeous through the glass! |
 |
| All of these pieces are so intricate and unique. |
The whole experience was so cool, and my roommate and I ended up having a lot of fun! It was really cool to do yoga in a place that you don’t usually do it, so the change of perspective was really refreshing. There were people at all kinds of different levels in their practice, so it was something that anyone could do! I think that’s one thing that I love about yoga; no one is yelling at you to be better, or telling you you have to do things a certain way. Yoga is up for interpretation (as long as it isn’t harming your body, of course!), and there is absolutely no pressure to be perfect.
After yoga in the morning, I had work all day until 4. I went home for the night, because my aunt and one of my cousins came into town to see our new property! I mentioned briefly on my blog that my family moved this past summer, but I didn’t say anything else about it. Most of my family hasn’t seen the new place yet, so it was really fun for my aunt and cousin to come up and see it! Our family that now lives close to us also came over, so Sunday was spent with the family, which was really nice. I have been so stressed out lately due to the impending doom of finals, so it was great to be able to spend some time with my family, and especially my dogs and cats. Speaking of which, here’s a cute picture of one of our dogs and cats!
Even though I was only home for less than 24 hours, it was great to get a relaxing start to the week. This week is dead week, but I actually have all of my finals before the real finals week. That means lots of stress and studying in the next couple of days, but at least spring break is close!
What did you do this past weekend?
Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! 🙂
Tinder has been around for a while now, and I had yet to try it out until this past weekend. I wasn’t really interested in the whole aspect of it; I am more traditional in that I want to meet someone in real life rather than on a dating website. I understand the draw of it, because you are (theoretically) matched up with people who share the same interests as you. However, I like the spontaneity of meeting someone in real life and forming a connection by talking face to face. This is difficult for me, though, because I am very much an introvert, and it is hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and actually talk to guys who I’m interested in. So, I decided to try out Tinder just to experience it, and also I was curious about the obsession my generation has with it right now.
I went over to one of my best friend’s apartment while we FaceTimed our other best friend (Joycie and Rachel, as I’m sure you all know), and we made a Tinder account. This was slightly awkward, because it was like I was screening myself. I couldn’t post pictures that I loved because they weren’t “Tinder” enough: pictures have to be attractive, but not look like you’re trying to hard, smiling but not too much or too little, and you can’t post too many group photos, because apparently that is a bad thing in the Tinder-verse. I was already uncomfortable at the thought of potential dates perusing through my photos. It kind of freaked me out that guys who I had no idea even existed could look at my profile, and see a side of myself that takes me a long time to show to people. I am a shy person, plain and simple. It takes a while for me to completely open up to people, so it made me feel so strange to know guys were able to find out so much about me just from an App.
I think part of the reason why this made me so uncomfortable was because I knew guys would be initially judging me only on looks. If they didn’t think I was pretty enough, most likely they would just swipe left without any regards to what kind of person I might be. That’s one of my least favorite parts of Tinder, because it makes people super focused on others’ looks, when there is so much more to people than just how they look. I noticed myself just judging guys on their looks too, and it made me feel bad. It bothered me that guys were judging me, but I was doing the same thing! I tried to become more conscious about actually reading through a guy’s profile before I decided which way to swipe.
Back to the actual creation of my profile, there was a lot of pressure to make my bio punny (I’m sure you all know by now how much I love my puns), witty, and let guys know my interests. I kept mine pretty broad, made a Parks and Rec reference, and listed three of my interests – dogs and Harry Potter among them, of course. After that my profile was complete, and I could start swiping. This was very strange at first, and there were a lot of different kinds of guys. There were the studious ones, hunters proudly displaying their fish they had caught, and those who “weren’t looking for anything serious.” When I made my first match it was exciting, because yay! Someone liked me! I didn’t like that I had to be validated by a guy to feel good, but it was exciting knowing that there was mutual interest. Some guys messaged me, and some didn’t. The ones who did usually sent a cringe-worthy pick-up line, and then would ask me about my interests, etc. One guy asked me what my ethnicity was with no introduction, which bothered me because why should that even matter? If I didn’t give him the answer he wanted to hear, would he stop talking to me? I ended up not messaging him back, because he didn’t even send a simple hello. At one point, Joycie and I matched with the same guy and he ended up messaging us both the exact same pick up line. I mean come on use some more originality, man. There was another guy who sent a Parks and Rec pick-up line, which I thought was hilarious so I sent another one back, and he didn’t even watch the show.
While I was messaging guys, I was extremely uncomfortable. Like I said earlier, I am an introvert and extremely shy, so it felt so odd to message someone I didn’t even know. I like to know who I’m messaging, so it was really weird to be talking to a guy who I didn’t know in person. Basically, everything about actually messaging guys on Tinder was odd. It felt forced, and oftentimes the guys wanted to meet up after talking for all of thirty minutes. I of course did not meet up with any of them, especially at 9 o’clock at night.
I kept Tinder for a couple of days, and ended up deleting it three days after I had created it. I didn’t feel any regrets about deleting it, because the whole experience made me too uncomfortable. I was stressing about it far too much than what it was worth, and I did not enjoy the experience in the slightest. I was also super worried about seeing these guys in real life, or meeting someone who saw me on Tinder. Not that this would be a huge deal, I just felt like it would’ve been really awkward and a situation that I didn’t really want to be in.
Tinder is right for some people, and not for others, which is true for most things in life. I personally was not taken with it, but I have friends who absolutely love it and are able to meet people on there. I really like the concept behind Tinder, but at the end of the day it just isn’t for me. I don’t even know if I’m at a place in my life where I have time for a relationship, so the best thing for me to do was to delete it. I felt like I had to try it, though, before I could really have a valid opinion of it. The saying “don’t knock it before you try it” is definitely true for a lot of things, so I knew I should at least try it out before I wrote it off.
Tinder is right for some people, and not for others, which is true for most things in life. I personally was not taken with it, but I have friends who absolutely love it and are able to meet people on there. I really like the concept behind Tinder, but at the end of the day it just isn’t for me. I don’t even know if I’m at a place in my life where I have time for a relationship, so the best thing for me to do was to delete it. I felt like I had to try it, though, before I could really have a valid opinion of it. The saying “don’t knock it before you try it” is definitely true for a lot of things, so I knew I should at least try it out before I wrote it off.
Have you ever used Tinder?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
I have been sick now for the last couple of weeks, and somehow got worse again this weekend, so I’m finally going to the doctor tomorrow. Winter is definitely the worst season for health! I hope you are all powering through this rough flu season with plenty of orange juice.
Today I wanted to talk about something that I am sure you have all heard about: the Kesha court case. I think it is so horrible that in today’s world, a woman still has to work with a man who abused her after she spoke out about it, and made it known to a judge. The fact that our society gets to “judge” whether or not a woman actually got raped is scary; we should never make a woman who was abused in any way feel like her experience is not valid. The way some women are treated after they are raped is horrible, too. They should not be looked down upon in any way, be blamed for what happened to them by another person, or lose any of their merit in regards to their professional life or career.
It is heartbreaking to hear sayings like “she was asking for it,” or “well, dressed like that, what did she expect?” Women should now be blamed for actions that are done to them without their consent. It does not matter in the slightest what they are wearing, no means no. Just because a woman is wearing a mini-skirt and a tank top, as opposed to head-to-toe clothing, does not in any way constitute them being asked to be raped. The fact that I, and every single woman, have to question our outfits as being “acceptable” or not too risqué, shows just how wrong our society is in the way in which women are viewed, and have to act in order to protect themselves.
It is also incredibly sad that women do not feel safe while walking home alone in the dark. It is natural for us to have at least one other person with us in order to feel safe, and even then, will cross the street if there is a group of guys making sexual remarks to us, just to be safe. My parents never had to worry as much about my brother being raped, or assaulted in any other way, as much as they did (and still do!) about me. The fact that their worries are extremely valid is the most sobering part. When I went out in high school, it was expected that I would send them quick updates throughout the night telling them where I was, my expected time of arrival back home, and if I had any problems with anything. Their concern comes out of a place of love, which I appreciate greatly, but it is also sad that they had to worry so much about letting their daughter go anywhere only with friends. Even my older brother (read: overprotective older brother) worried about me going out when we were younger, and still does with me being at college. My parents were also super anxious about me going to college, because they wouldn’t be there to constantly know my whereabouts, but we talk everyday which allows them a little (tiny) bit of relief.
Back to the Kesha case, it is tragic that she is going to be forced to work with a man who abused her, and that she can’t do much of anything about it. No woman deserves that. The fact that a judge gets to decide whether or not she can break her contract after she was sexually abused by the man is also terrible. It should not be up to debate; because she was abused by this man, Kesha has every right to break it.
–
I have never posted anything like this on my blog before, but I think it is a super important topic that everyone should be talking about. The Kesha case is just one of many, and though it is really well-known right now because she is a celebrity, it is bringing a lot of awareness to the disparities women still face today, especially in regards to rape and sexism.
–
I have never posted anything like this on my blog before, but I think it is a super important topic that everyone should be talking about. The Kesha case is just one of many, and though it is really well-known right now because she is a celebrity, it is bringing a lot of awareness to the disparities women still face today, especially in regards to rape and sexism.
Do you stand with Kesha?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
I hope you are all having a good week so far! We are nearly to Friday, which means we are so close to the weekend, and the weekend=sleep. These past few weeks have been so incredibly busy, and my sleep schedule has definitely been suffering. I can’t wait to just sleep in this weekend and relax a little bit!
For today’s post, I’m going to be talking about Keratosis Pilaris, or chicken skin (not my favorite term), which are those pesky little bumps on arms, and sometimes thighs. I often get a couple on my cheeks in the winter when my skin is dry, and I have always had them on my arms. When I was younger, I was extremely self-conscious of them, because they can be very unsightly at times. As you already know, I didn’t have great confidence when I was younger, and my arms were a huge part of that. I hated wearing short sleeve shirts because they showed my arms and Keratosis Pilaris, so in turn, I hated my arms. This was problamatic because I was always in dance and swim while growing up, but I actually never really thought too much about it, because I was too focused on the activity at hand. My teammates were like family, anyway, so I felt comfortable enough around them to show my arms.
These bumps are usually white or red, and itch sometimes, but are otherwise not physically bothersome, other than not looking very nice. They are the results of the buildup of keratin in hair follicles, which blocks their growth and forms these bumps. The cause for this extra keratin is unknown, but has been linked to a couple of different things, like gluten intolerance. Funnily enough, when I stopped eating gluten because of my allergy, my bumps improved greatly. I can’t say with certainty that these two things are linked, but other people have noticed this as well. According to doctors, KP is supposed to go away by the time you are 30. My mom has KP as well, but once she was around my age (19), hers started improving greatly, and they were essentially gone when she reached her twenties. My KP did improve a lot once I got to high school, which was really nice. Today, I don’t have nearly as much as I did when I was younger, but I also know how to manage it a lot better now.
My mom and I tried most everything to get rid of my KP since it bothered me so much. We asked my doctor about it, who prescribed a couple of creams that didn’t really help, and I couldn’t use them continuously anyway since my skin is so sensitive (we’re talking extremely sensitive here, so much so that I have to use baby sunscreen). Then we heard of KP Duty from Derma Doctor, which you can get from Sephora, and the product seemed very promising. We excitedly bought it, hoping for the miracle results it promised. I gave the lotion a couple of months, and I didn’t notice a difference at all. It was a good moisturizer, yes, but for that price, it was not worth it at all.
After that, we decided to try all-natural products, so I started using a Burt’s Bee’s honey body butter. I absolutely loved it because it smelled really nice, and did improve my bumps a little bit. It wasn’t expensive, so I stuck with it for a couple of years, since there wan’t really an alternative that worked better. In conjunction with this, I read that coconut oil could help improve the bumps, so I made a coconut sugar scrub to use in the shower. It really helps to moisturize my skin, and also gently exfoliate it a bit. I don’t use it that often anymore, simply because it’s a little messy to use in the shower, and I don’t really have the time to keep up with making it in college.
I also tried the Lush Buffy Body Butter, which was a really good lotion bar, but didn’t do much in the way of improving my KP. It was a nice replacement for the coconut oil sugar scrub since I didn’t have to actually make anything, however, it wasn’t worth it for me to keep buying it. Plus, it was a little too abrasive for my sensitive skin.
Last year, I saw a commercial for a lotion from Gold Bond called “Rough and Bumpy Skin,” and was really eager to try it. I read reviews of it online, and they were all really positive, so I decided to give it a try. I again gave it a couple of months to really start working, since it takes a while for any treatment of KP to have an effect, and I was pleasantly surprised! No, not all of my bumps are gone, but they are greatly improved. I still have them, but I wasn’t expecting for this to be the cure-all bump-slayer, because these little suckers are incurable. I’m not sure if they are going away simply because I am getting older, or if this body lotion is really doing its job. Either way, this lotion is really moisturizing, and comes in a huge tub that lasts me for a couple of months. It doesn’t have a smell which is really important for my skin, because it typically does not tolerate scented products. I slather it on all over my body right after the shower (which is the most important time to moisturize!), and my skin is nice and moisturized for the rest of the day! This product is also really great for the winter when my skin is especially dry.
As far as how I manage my KP, I have found a routine that really works for me. I exfoliate my arms (gently!) once or twice a week with the Simple Smoothing Face Scrub, and use the Rough and Bumpy lotion everyday as soon as I get out of the shower. This works for me, and I have been through many different products to get here! Different things work for different people, so make sure you find out what helps you the most, and stick with it! My mom always told me my KP would get better as I got older, and it really has been true for me. However, waiting until you’re 30 for your KP to improve is really frustrating when you are young and unhappy with the way your skin looks, so try out a couple of different ways to see what helps!
I also made a video about this, which you can check out here!
I hope these tips helped, and that you find a way to manage your KP! Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
This is NOT a sponsored post, and all opinions are mine.
Before I get into this post, I just wanted to let you guys know that I got into the study abroad program I applied for in San Sebastián, Spain! I found out on Saturday, so now I’m just waiting to hear back from the London program, and depending on what they say, I’ll choose between the two! At least now I know for sure that I’ll be studying abroad this summer. I am so, so, so excited!! Both locations would be a blast, so I don’t think I can go wrong with either program. Hopefully I hear back from the London program soon, though, so I can decided and start getting ready for the program I choose, because they are both coming up in about 5 months! That really isn’t long, and I like to prepare early, so I’m itching to make a decision.
I also just found out last night that I got into my major, which is International Relations! I am so relieved to finally find out that I got in, because now I can start planning even more for my future. As you all can tell, planning makes me very happy haha. I went out last night with my friends and got ice cream to celebrate, and I ate way too much, but I was too happy to care! I just wanted to update you guys really quickly, because I’m just so happy! 🙂
I also just found out last night that I got into my major, which is International Relations! I am so relieved to finally find out that I got in, because now I can start planning even more for my future. As you all can tell, planning makes me very happy haha. I went out last night with my friends and got ice cream to celebrate, and I ate way too much, but I was too happy to care! I just wanted to update you guys really quickly, because I’m just so happy! 🙂
Now moving on to the post at hand: you may have heard the term “lampshading” here and there, and you’re probably thinking uh, why would I want to look like a lamp? When I first heard of this, I was super confused as to what it actually meant, so I looked around, and I am loving this trend! It just basically refers to wearing an oversized turtleneck sweater, with either tights and boots, or knee high boots. I always wear mine with sweater tights for warmth, but I think they also look so cute with knee high boots! I have really been wanting to get a pair of knee high boots because they can dress up any outfit, and they are just really cute in general.
When it comes to sweaters, I usually always go for more neutral colored ones, so I really wanted to try something new with this electric blue colored one! It’s great to brighten up your wardrobe in the winter, and it makes my hair pop, which is really nice. I got this sweater from H&M.
I usually wear this sweater with my sweater tights from Nordstrom, but it can also be worn with leggings! Whichever you prefer will be really cute, because you can’t go wrong with these sweaters.
I like to wear simple statement jewelry with my sweater, because I want the main focus to be the turtleneck aspect, and the color. Here, I have a couple of my favorite rings: my moon and star one from Tilly’s, my vine ring I always wear, and also a geode ring one of my best friends got me. I like the eclectic collection of all of them when they are put together!
Keeping my hair in a half bun also keeps it out of my face, which is really nice, and adds a little complexity to the look. Turtleneck sweaters also look really nice with your hair pulled slicked back into a ponytail, for a more chic look! I actually did that today with this outfit, and I love how it looks. You can also always go for an effortless down ‘do!
Here, I’m just wearing my classic baby pink bag from Ted Baker, since really anything goes with this sweater. It gives it a bit more of a girly look, but I think pairing this with a dark bag could make it look super cool as well. I was wearing this out during the day, so I tend to go for lighter colored bags when I am running errands. This one also happens to basically contain my life, so it’s easier to grab when I know I’ll need random little keepsakes from my purse.
I like to wear my classic combat boots from Steve Madden with this outfit, because it gives the look a bit more of a grunge style to it, but if you pair different shoes with a turtleneck, it creates a whole different feel to the outfit! Thigh high boots make it look super chic, booties can add a really cute night-out look, and I love my combat boots when I wear this during the day.
Those are my tips on styling an oversized turtleneck sweater, and how to achieve the lampshade trend that everyone is talking about! It’s a bit of a strange urban trend – I’ve seen it a lot in downtown Seattle – but I think it is so cute, and works for everyone. It seriously feels like you’re wearing a blanket all day, and is perfect for a cold winter day when you just want to cuddle in a huge sweater, but still look cute!
Do you like turtleneck sweaters?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂