On Aging Gracefully and the New Trend

I just saw that #grayhair and #grannyhair is trending (as in, girls are dying their hair awesome shades of gray), which reminds me: I have many gray hairs, and they're slowly multiplying.

When I found my first gray hairs in high school, they were easy enough to pluck out.  Thankfully, no one, not even the girl behind me who would point them out, made a big deal of them.  I would hold the yanked hair between my fingers, laugh, and casually mention that my mom's hair was mostly gray by the time she was 18.  When my thought process gets to that part, though, the part where my mom started dying her hair its original dark brown color before reaching her 20's, my mouth stops the family story.

via Google 3.29.15

I don't want to dye my hair.  At least right now, I don't think I do.  For one, I'm cheap, and I don't want to invest tons of money on maintaining an artificial outward appearance that naturally comes with age.  Another thing, though, I would love to be happy with my hair, how it naturally is, and dying it could lead me into worrying more about it than I would like.

Skincare Rescue Plan: Sunscreen

Sorry for running a little slow this week.  I was getting up to speed at my new job yesterday!!

Now, as scheduled, the next installment to our skin rescue plan!

 What's So Bad About Sunlight?
Get this straight: sunlight isn't the enemy, the dangerous UV light that comes with the sunlight is the enemy.  The sun actually emits 3 different kinds of bad UV waves.  Twenty minutes of un-screened sunlight a day gives you plenty of Vitamin D (another thing emitted by the sun), but further exposure allows more UV light onto your skin than you want.  As you can see in this light graph, Ultraviolet light is not visible to the human eye.  Because we can't see it, we aren't always aware of its presencs.  We also assumme that because it's cloudy outside, then there must not be much risk for sun damage.  This is a myth.  Keep in mind that you can't see the UV light that damages your skin, and its presence is not indicated by how sunny it is outside.  This is why you need to wear sunscreen every day., even in the snow.  In fact, snow reflects UV light up to your face!  Take precautions no matter the weather.

Skincare Rescue Plan: Moisturizing

Moisturizing!  I think this one is the easiest figure-it-out step of a skincare rescue plan.  Everyone needs a moisturizer, even those with oily skin.  Read on for some tips!

Skincare Rescue Plan: Serums and Spot Treatments

Today we'll be learning about the special creams and serums that help your face get rid of acne or scarring,  reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and just help your skin look its best.

Skincare Rescue Plan: Exfoliating

This is another fun one that totally changed my perspective on skincare.  I think it has the most wow factor, too.  Chemicals?  Good for my skin?  Yes!

Skincare Rescue Plan: Cleansing and Determining your Skin type

Part three!

If I'd been writing this post for my teenage self, I think it would have mostly been filled with information on what not to do.  There are so many ways I messed up this step, and I didn't even know I was making mistakes!  Also, figuring out my skin type always seemed really complicated, for some reason.  Well here we are again to knock out some research!

Skincare Rescue Plan: Removing Your Makeup + Oil Cleansing

Ladies, if you're wearing makeup, you need to be removing it each night before you go to sleep.  I know, I know, it can be a time consuming pain, especially when bedtime is so inviting during these cold and sleepy nights.  That's why we're going to talk about the consequences of leaving your makeup on at night, because I want to scare you into taking better care of your skin.  Stick with me, though, because I promise it can be easier than you think.  Here we go!

Skincare Rescue Plan: Overview

Guys, it's starting!  I'm sharing all I've learned, all my resources, and all my budding passion for skincare!  I'm starting a new series that originally began as a cheat sheet for my sister, but there's so much information about skincare out there, things quickly began to mount into an ever growing Google doc.

In this initial post, I'm going to break the ice on the topic of skincare and give you an overview of what we'll be learning.  There's always more to learn, but I'll be covering the solid basics, offering additional resources, and sharing my own experiences with what I've tried.  Let's start with some super important information.

Argan Oil Hair Mask Review: Sister Edition

This week's real life recommendation!
(Click here for this week's recommended links.)

This thing works, guys.  I'm glad I had the idea to wrangle my sister Taylor into this project, because this product made such a difference in her hair.  We've got a survey, before and after pictures, and great results today, woohoo!  Let's get started!

Paula Dorf review: Lipstick and Blush Reviews

 Every lip needs a touch of legend.

Put a pop of passion in your day.

These are the slogans for the products I got to review this week.  Paula Dorf's lipstick in "Legend" and blush in "Passion."  And once again, I have before and after pictures for you, because science.

Free Haircuts in Atlanta!

I got a free haircut last Monday, and if you're in the Atlanta area, you can too!

Van Michael is a posh salon in Buckhead, and they offer stylist classes and continuing education courses.  The stylists taking these courses always need people to practice on and be tested on, and that's where I came in last week.  I connected with a girl named Victoria on the internet last week who told me she needed to complete a long layers cut to finish her course.  I've had that cut for years, and November is haircut month, so we quickly made an appointment, and I was in her chair the same day.

Sponsor Post: Paula Dorf 2+1 for Brows

Today we have our first little adventure in makeup together!  I had an opportunity to try out this brow kit from Paula Dorf, and I wanted to go for it.  Of course you might have already known this, but I've been learning more about makeup since August, and I found that lots of girls will fill in their brows if they have sparse spots (like me).  I wasn't sure if I wanted to make eyebrow coloring a part of my daily routine, but I did want to see what the difference would be for me, and Paula Dorf was kind enough to oblige.

I received my brow kit just yesterday and was able to try it out this morning.  Now I've only ever used one other brow product, ELF's brow kit with the floppy brush. That kit and my natural brows are all I have to compare to.  Without further ado, here we go!

Simple Nail Art Collection

I've got a few more looks from the summer to show you.  (Yes, I'm still trying to catch up!)  These ones were all very simple, but pretty.  See all the details below after the jump.

Summer Nail Art Round Up

I wanted to share some of my different manicures from the summer.  I post them on Instagram, but here they are with the details listed.

I started doing my nails in 2011, started to get creative in 2012, and started to get crazy in 2014.  (One time I spend $80 in one month on new nail stuff.  I'm a little ashamed.)  If you have any questions about anything you see or if there's something you'd like me to try, just shout.  And if you're in Atlanta, I'd love to do your nails!  Drop me a comment or email!

My First Try At DIY Dry Shampoo

I learned of the wonders of dry shampoo in 2012 and found that the Batiste brunette variation was my favorite.  The dark color meant my hair didn't look like chalk, and the nice smell was fun.  It soaked up the oil in my hair and let me start washing my hair only every other day, which was a great time saver, too!  However, after finishing the first experimental can and loving the dry shampoo, I realized that it was mega expensive.  The brunette formula I used cost upwards of $8, and it only lasted me a couple months!  Plus, that pretty smell wasn't enjoyable anymore, because the propane and everything else in the formula started to aggravate my lungs each time I sprayed it.

Cue the Wellness Mama blog, my health nut kick, and this super easy recipe for homemade dry shampoo!  There's even an adaptation for dark hair, and it couldn't be simpler!

To Be Feminist or Not to Be?

"You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked 'female'."
               - via wardrobe oxygen via Dress a Day

 What a relieving and rebellious idea!

I'm talked about feminism a good bit on this blog, and I... guys, I'm not a feminist.  I know that a lot of feminists claim that Feminism is about bringing equality to the sexes, but in America, it's not.  It's about elevating females to the same place as males, which is done through female-focused programs and calling out all of the terrible injustices committed against females.  The problem I have with this is how it leaves males in the dust.