hey everyone!
happy hump day and hows it going?
I went shopping for a few items that I’ve been in desperate need of during the weekend. From body lotions for myself and my husband to a vegan protein shake, I talk all about it in my video.
I’d love and appreciate it if you would check it out. Also, let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions on other types of videos or topics that I should make!
Thanks for watching.
Ugh.
I can’t even begin to express to you what I had to sacrifice in order to get this video edited and finished. Lots of dirty dishes pilled up, clutter pilled up like Mount Everest, a grumpy husband who had to be attentive to our baby girl and certain level of stress that equals that of a college term paper due the following morning that hasn’t even been started yet lmfao. yea, you know what feeling I’m talking about…
When I was officially done with the video below, I started the process of exporting it to the Youtube 1080p setting. I decided to stop exporting it because I felt like something was wrong since the time frame displayed on the progress window read “14 hours until file complete”. I kept thinking, “14 hours”, practically a whole day? that doesn’t make a lot of sense so I canceled the progress and as soon as I did, all my hard work had randomly disappeared…
I was shook, pissed, scared and annoyed!
How could my MacBook betray me like this (I kept on thinking to myself) and how is it possible that this amazingly expensive video editing tool program thing deleted my work without having any trace of the completed file stashed away somewhere in my files? could this be the work of the illuminati? whom everyone knows keeps an eye on everyone especially on minorities? anyways, I digress and yes, I’m completely exaggerating (and joking! nothing but jokes here, I’m a real comedian lmfao)
In all honesty, I’m proud of myself for magically scouting out all of the missing files that made up the video and finally getting it exported to upload! I still had to spend some more time re-editing some scenes, but it wasn’t as bad as having to re do the whole darn thing! I’ve been trying to get better at creating content more frequently for my Youtube channel. I’m really trying to build my video editing skills so I can confidently update my LinkedIn profile. Its just a little difficult managing motherhood whilst learning something from scratch.
Which leads me to say that learning to manage your stress and/or intense emotions is also a life skill that many sadly never pay enough attention to. Finding out what works, when suddenly your emotions get so out of hand that it causes you to simply react instead of stopping and thinking is so valuable. Blessed are you if you are one to recognize that as useful and admirable skill to possess. Here are some tips, if you find yourself getting out of control with yourself:
I’ve listed just a few but by no means are these the only ones. Sometime in the near future, I’ll dive more into this topic in a full blog post. But for now, heres a video on my ASOS haul of knee high black boot shoes and ugly wedding dress options that didn’t look nice on me. Thanks for watching and let me know what you think of my editing skills below!
If I’m being completely honest with you…
I’m a complete sucker for skincare: I L O V E IT | N E E D IT | I W A N T .. everything that’ll help my skin stay healthy and fresh!
I’m very careful with the amount of makeup I put on my face because I’m deathly afraid of damaging my skin. Since I’m still getting the hang of what products look good and work with my skin type compared to others, I’ve been very selective on what I purchase. I don’t know if its only me that feels this way but sometimes wearing too much makeup changes the biology of the surface of my skin. Then I feel like I need to try on other products to restore what was then lost… is it just me that feels this way? what do you think?
Recently (but not so recently) I rediscovered the Morihata Binchotan Activated Charcoal Cleansing Mask because it was stored away somewhere in my bathroom. I started to wonder where had I purchased this item from cause I don’t recall buying it. Neither do I want you to believe that this post is sponsored or an ad, nope, just a simple central American Latina Spanish mami blogger living in the big city who wants to share her opinions on this cleansing mask… so here we go!
As I squeezed some product onto my fingers, I was surprised to feel how watery and light-weight the texture felt between my fingers. The texture was not like my Soap & Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash which is thick and sticky. The charcoal cleansing mask has no fragrance or odd odor, no hints of natural or herbal ascents, which is great because sometimes fragrances in skincare can get very irritating to sniff. As I applied it throughout my face, it applied unevenly because of the watery texture. I kept on pumping more and more of the product out to get an evenly distributed layer to cover my entire face. It did get a little messy, which goes to show you how watery the product truly is and let me just warn you that it will definitely stain light colored sinks if it is not rinsed away.
As I was waiting the recommended 10-15 minutes until it was time to rinse off the product, at first it felt very cool on the surface of my skin. I did get a mild, tingly sensation as the product was hardening. It felt nice because once the mask become stiff, it was warm. As soon as I rinsed my face with lukewarm water, my face felt completely rejuvenated and there is possibly no words to describe that feeling unless you’ve personally experienced it. My face felt tightened and even a little brighter while my pores looked smaller. Since I had to rinse off the excess, I didn’t get a chance to analyze if there were any blackheads or white heads removed which would have been nice to see (yet completely gross yet sort of satisfying… you feel me? lol) I really enjoyed the experience and I’m planning to continue using it at least once a week to get the full benefits! Some of the benefits of activate charcoal are;
Charcoal is seemingly everywhere, especially in products for your skin. If you scan the shelves of any drugstore, you might find a few products with charcoal printed boldly on the packaging as its main ingredient. Although the packaging for the Morihata Binchotan Activated Charcoal Cleansing Mask is very unimpressive with its plain cardboard like packaging and white labels, the product is well worth the splurge because of the novelty in the ‘activate charcoal’ ingredient. Binchotan charcoal is regarded as the purest and most effective type of activated charcoal deriving from the ancient kilns of Japan. And if your wondering ‘what the heck are ancient kilns of Japan?’ I’m right there with you friend because, essentially, they are ovens made from big rocks that were used during ancient times in Japan.
Thanks for reading along and let me know in the comments below if you’ve personally tried this product or something similar. Be sure to check out my previous blog post!
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Now I know what your thinking, rent the runway? what is that? how is that possible and where can i get the hook up ? lol for those that don’t know what the website is about, think of it like the netflix of fashion, you get to rent out clothing for a fraction of the cost that it would have cost you to purchase it at full retail price. They have a bunch of different categories to choose from, like: street style, wedding, black tie, etc. From the moment I heard of them, i was very intrigued yet very skeptical since it kind of makes you wonder if they just keep reusing the same size of the same style over and over, customer by customer… but thats a story for another day.
I had forgot about them completely, until one day I had noticed a few cute and eye catching ads convienetly placed over the lights in a subway cart as I was riding back to my apartment. The ad spanned the whole train cart, end to end and each one had beautiful fashion illustrations (which i’m a complete sucker for since fashion school) and I promised myself that the next special occasion I had in my calendar, rent the runway would be my number one source for some beautiful designer fashion looks…
Hopes were running high as I ventured into the website in search for an inexpensive and glamorous, yet informal wedding dress. I loved the appearance of the website, albeit the promotions and pricing models were a bit confusing, from a new customers perspective. The website offered a section for “Occasions” and a subsection for ‘Wedding’ looks and styles already picked out helped a lot since the website hosts a lot of different looks. Generally, I enjoyed what I saw but all of my personal selections just fell a little short and I kept thinking that if this dress had a little more or maybe if it looked like this etc, I would be happy with it. It’s not that they didn’t have a good selection, it’s just that I wanted instagram glam, do you know what i mean?
Instagram glam consists of sparkles, shimmer and with a bit of sophistication with a touch of sexiness. I wanted something show stopping and memorable, although my budget wasn’t going to allow for much of either. I kept on justifying my irrational ness by telling myself that it’s for my special occasion, that I deserve something memorable cause it is my wedding! Yep, a bridezilla was being hatched and I’m not even having a grand elaborate ceremony.
Anyways, I was quiet surprised that they still carried Marchesa Note clothing and how sad that out of all the options, I was so quickly drawn to them because they were the most glamorous and feminine ones. Marchesa is the fashion brand owned by Harvey Weinsteins now ex-wife and well, need I explain the horrid details of this major Hollywood executive that fell from grace after multiple sexual misconduct accusations from hundreds of female movie stars.
Another disappointing factor was that not all of the clothing that you see “available” is truly available to be shipped to your address zone area code. At the very last minute, I realized that I might need to buy a nice outerwear coat to compliment my beautiful dress since its still freezing in NYC. I found myself with a lot less to choose from as soon as I typed my address area code simply because they didn’t offer certain styles to be shipped to these area codes… which is odd and instantly took out the fun of shopping for my wedding day. Now I couldn’t get the sophisticated white coat that I so had my eyes on.. well, what was a girl to do? (the picture below shows the one I wanted)
One really helpful factor was seeing the reviews of the dresses because some of the customers who ordered that dress posted up pictures of themselves in the dress. It was extremely helpful to see how the dress looked like on different body types and how the details of the design translated in real life.
All in all, I can justify shopping through rent the runway and could see myself trying out their new feature of Unlimited renting for a monthly fee to keep my closet option refreshed on a monthly basis. The main thing I was expecting, though, was more recognizable higher end designer brands like the Versaces, the Balencia or even streetwear favorites like Fear of God by Jerry Lorenzo. If that were the case, I’ll truly have a closet in the clouds like the ad campaigns slogan.
PS. thank you so much for checking out this post and viewing my blog site. For more daily updates, follow me on my instagram or my twitter
Here was the agenda for the day…
Go to Manhattan to get drug tested for a new job
Go Northwest of Midtown for the DMV office
Go Southwest to visit campus to complete registration for this Fall
&& then to go back into Brooklyn to my parents house, to pick up my youngest autistic brother from the school bus…
ooh, my day wasn’t over just yet cause I needed to, then, go across town. To get back to my apartment and finally EAT!
Then once I got home, immediately start breastfeeding my babygirl cause engorgement is a mother f******.
All this had to be done in 80 degree weather, so I decided to wear some lightweight coverage because I wasn’t about to look like I just rolled out of bed…
My day was full of errands and just as I finished up the last touches of my coverage, I ended my routine with the Wet N Wild PhotoFocus Vaporisateur Setting Spray. I didn’t notice much of a scent, which is great because I hate having strong perfumes or smells around me (unless I actually put on perfume). The nozzle is not hard to push down and it doesn’t get stuck on itself as your fingers are pushing it down. From the many makeup Youtube videos I’ve seen, setting spray is key and should be one of the last steps to helping maintain all that effort you put to applying the makeup in the first place. This is a classic drugstore find and for the price point, you’ll likely find me hoarding this cause I’m a huge fan.
Throughout my agenda, I paid special attention to the overall appearance of my face which is more on the oily side and these are the things I noticed on my skin;
-my nose was not so oily even after power walking to catch the train with some of my nose contour still in place! I was really surprised by this little victory because my nose is usually the first thing that gets super oily.
-at noon, the temperature was at its highest and I started to get some sweat beads around my hairline but my eyebrows stayed the same as when I first left my house (hurray!) and
-by the time I got to my parents house, I felt super hot and humid. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised to see that my skin still looked a bit airbrushed, except for my nose. The bit of oil on my skin looked a bit glowy also (as if I’d applied some highlighter) which was a very nice effect!
For the first time trying it out, I was really impressed by how long my coverage stayed on especially on such a challenging hot New York City day. To back up my experience and see how others felt once they put this to the test, I looked up a few Youtube videos to just see what others had experienced. Nathalie Marie Kay, a beauty Youtuber Creator, did an awesome comprehensive review of multiple drugstore and high end brand setting sprays. She felt that the Wet N Wild PhotoFocus was one of her top three choices (link of the video down below because its awesome) and she even compared it to the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray.
Her review made me feel even more excited about this purchase because it was money well spend. Nothing gets me more disappointed then when something is overpriced and your not getting the quality that you expect for it. Especially to someone like me, who’s learning the effects of different products on my skin after pregnancy since my hormones have changed the texture of my skin.
Thank you so much for checking out this review, I’ll try to post on a more consistent basis, but I get lazy and, honestly, sometimes uninspired. Thank you again and have a blessed day!
Link of Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJa9uWdMaNI&t=1004s
When I purchased the Burt’s Bees Brightening Dark Spot Corrector with Daisy Extract I was sold on the promises marketed on the packaging. Its a huge goal of mine to fade out the dark spots and so called freckles on my cheeks that were caused from too much sun exposure. If you have sun damage, you know how difficult and annoying it is to apply a full face of foundation because the freckles will easily give your attempts away which sucks! Sun damage causes age spots by the UV rays, hyperpigmentation and collagen damage. For me, sun spots are tough to tackle, so this post is a review of my first impressions on this $20.00 drugstore product.
The packaging is cute with a daisy printed on the center of the box followed by a yellow, gray and red packaging color palette. The wholesomeness of its appearance shows the honesty of the company’s 100% natural and gentle ingredients (which I love). If you would search on google ways to remove sun spots, one of the options is to bleach your skin which honesty seems unnatural and more damaging long term then sun damage.
Although it took a while to see some difference on the surface of my skin, there were a few qualities of the product that I didn’t enjoy. If you’ve tried this product before, let me know about your experience in the comments below…
Personally, I hated the smell because it was a bit bitter and like sour tea. Although I didn’t expect it to have a lot of fragrance, in my mind I envisioned a subtle floral scent or nothing at all. The smell was out of left field in a strong bad way and its was the main reason why I wasn’t using it every single night and morning like the directions suggested.
During the times I did use it, the liquid would sometimes come out clear without any traces or hints of some color even after I would shake it. It was weird. But then there were times that it looked slightly brown. Then as I got close to finishing the bottle, the color of the liquid was brown… brown? whether that was normal or not, it seemed a bit odd. After seeing that, I can’t help but feel as if I didn’t get any product throughout the time that I used it especially since it was a clear liquid that smelled bad.
From afar, I can’t notice most of my dark spots except for the ones that are in ackward places on my face which sucks. My old job required me to drive a lot and most of the time I would forget to put on sunscreen so I got more damage on one side of my face then the other. To completely thank this product is hard because for most of the year it was winter and now that its summer, I’ve been putting on sunscreen even to go to the corner store.
One thing I should have done to really monitor the product performance was to take before and after pictures. Now I know for next time but weather or not I’ll be spending 20$ for another 1 oz bottle… I don’t think so.
Thank you so much for checking out my blog! Have you had a similar experience before with this product? Whats your summer beauty must haves? Let me know in the comments below and have a blessed day!
I’ve just finished reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and omg, how I wish I would have read this book earlier. What I mean by earlier, I’m referring to the first semester of college, before adulting really set in! Its truly a wonderful read with interesting observations and research to back up her statements. If someone were to ask me who do I admire, I’d gladly admit its now her!
In the book, she digs deeper into the issues that have stalled the progression of women in leadership roles in the workforce. Throughout the book, she provides personal experiences as well as hard data to to back up her observations that “cuts through the layers of ambiguity and bias surrounding the lives and choices of working women.”
It sounds a lot more boring then it really is but when the author is ranked in Fortunes list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business, along with Times 100 Most Influential People in the World, its worth taking a chance to read it especially for those who are ambitiously following the myth of “having it all”, yet consistently falling short (yup, I’m talking about myself here). The idea of “having it all” in all aspects of our lives from family to career to personal fulfillment comes from what society enforces women to buy into and also how determential it truly is because of the pressure. In reality, we’re sacrificing one thing over the other and instead of feeling guilty about it, we should accept it and learn to improve what we have more control over. With witty humor and wisdom, she encourages men and women by providing specific steps to combine professional achievement, personal growth and fulfillment.
She’s currently promoting her new book called Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Building Joy. In which she chronicles the pain that followed after losing her husband. She gives helpful guidance to those who’ve lost someone or are going through personal emotional hardships.
Lean In was inspiring in how she lays a foundation for the recent college grad, the career building women and for the women who’s debating between parenthood or workforce.
Thanks for reading everyone, and lets start a conversation! Have you personally read this book, if so what was your favorite part?
With that said, have a blessed day everyone!
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