At home facial.

I felt like my skin was craving some serious TLC and since I'm going to be flying this weekend half-way across Canada, I felt an all out at home facial was much needed. I googled the steps of an at home facial and found most sites to say the steps are 

1. remove makeup 

2. cleanse 

3. steam 

4. exfoliate 

5. clay mask 

6. toner 

7. sheet mask 

8. treatment 

9. eye cream 

10. moisturize 

I put on The Handmaid's Tale and turned my bathroom into my own little spa. The results are indisputable. If you're interested in my at home facial process and the products I used, carry on reading!

This is what my starting point looked like. My skin had a massive breakout after a weekend away involving far too many vodka & ginger ales. My skin always breaks out when I consume sugar. I was feeling like my skin was really red, spotty, and dull so I wanted to take the time to care for it and infuse some life back into it. 

To remove my makeup I used the Garnier Micellar water. I love this version of the water as it removes waterproof makeup but is also suited for sensitive skin. I use this product on a muslin cloth from The Body Shop. 

To cleanse my skin I used the Bioré deep pore charcoal cleanser. I love that this cleanser pulls all the little spots of dirt and impurities out of my skin. It's like a gunk magnet! To use this cleanser I lather it into damp skin and rinse it off with water - nice and simple. 

I don't have a fancy steamer or anything but boiling water in a pot over the stove always does the trick. I would do two minutes over the pot with a towel over my head keeping my face about six inches away to avoid burns. I did this three times, giving my skin a couple minutes break in-between. After this step I used a clean konjac sponge to exfoliate. 

This L'Oreal clay mask is composed of three types of clay and eucalyptus. It's designed to be purifying and mattifying. I applied this with my fingers and let it sit on my skin for fifteen minutes then rinsed it off with warm water. 

After removing the clay mask I used The Body Shop moisturizing toner on a cotton pad. 

I chose the super hydrating and anti-fatigue sheet mask by Garnier because it's exactly the issues I wanted to combat. This mask works extremely well and smells amazing. I put the sheet mask on my face and sat with it for fifteen minutes before peeling it off and working the excess product into my skin. 

For treatment, I used The Body Shop tea tree oil. I applied this basically to my entire face, only avoiding my eye area. 

I used the L'Oreal eye defense eye cream under my eyes and under my brow bone. I love that this eye cream prevents aging and contains caffeine, making the eyes look more awake. 

Ignore the eye cream in this picture because I haven't used that in ages. But for the last step of my at home facial, I moisturized with (of course) my Clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel. I've been using this moisturizer for probably three straight years, but recently I've been thinking of trying something new. Just have to wait until I've used it all up!

Before

After

The results of the at home facial are indisputable. My skin looks glowing, radiant, and most importantly it looks healthy. I'm so happy with the outcome of my first at home facial experience. I'm excited to make this ritual a weekly thing!

Have you ever done an at home facial? Let me know the products you use! 

Thanks for reading,

Five minute healthy dinner.

Yesterday was just one of those days where time ran away from me. I worked at 5:30pm so when I realized it was already 4:30 I had the choice to eat Tostitos chips and con queso or figure out something quick and healthy to make. Since I had gone to the gym and wanted to keep my day on a healthy path, I chose to raid the fridge to see what I could whip up. My first thought was salad but unfortunately I was out of spinach and lettuce. I took a peek in my pantry and saw gluten free millet and brown rice ramen noodles. The noodles cook in about five minutes, making them a perfect option. I chose tuna for protein and grape tomatoes. 

I sliced the grape tomatoes in half and threw them into a frying pan with some oil, garlic, and black pepper. I added the sodium free canned tuna to the pan, stirred it all up and let everything heat through. I cooked the ramen noodles how the package instructed. After draining my ramen I topped it with the tuna and tomatoes, splashed some Franks Red Hot Sauce on top and gobbled it all up in record speed. It was really delicious! All together my dinner was a mere 490 calories.

Including prep time, cooking, eating, and cleaning up my meal took a grand total of twenty eight minutes. The cooking itself only took six! This is a perfect meal option for when you’re rushed but need something warm and filling in your belly. 

Let me know if you try this recipe. What are your go to quick dinners? Let me know in a comment. 

Thanks for reading, 

Why I stopped blogging.

When I started this blog I was in a gap year, trying to figure out myself and what I wanted to do with life. I love writing and I love photography so starting a blog seemed like a really fun adventure. I was writing about anything that came to mind - hair, makeup, skin care, food, exercise, and life in general. Gosh, I loved it.

My blog started to gain a small following. Brands and causes started reaching out to me for partnership posts. It was really cool getting sent trial items that I could share my honest opinion about, or work with causes I was really passionate for. 

When I moved to Ottawa and started the photography program, my life switched to fully online. All my photos were uploaded to my website, all my marketing was online, all my clients found me and contacted me online. My blog was discovered by people in my personal life and for some reason that made me indescribably uncomfortable. 

I was conscious that every post I uploaded would potentially be viewed by my friends and family. The potential for judgement was crippling.

Maybe if I didn't want my blog to be discovered I shouldn't have listed it by my name, huh? Hindsight is always 20/20. 

I've missed blogging. I find myself missing explaining my makeup routine in the morning and remembering the days I took pride in my outfits. 

I'm not promising regular posts, because I truly can't. My life is hectic and my job is unpredictable. However, I will be posting, I will be sharing, and I will be back. 

Until next time,

Carrot Cake Breakfast Smoothie | January fourth.

When it comes to breakfast I think the easier and quicker the better, so smoothies are a great choice. A breakfast smoothie needs to be filling enough for me to get through until lunch. I created this carrot cake breakfast smoothie with some inspiration from various Pinterest posts. 

To make my carrot cake breakfast smoothie you will need:

- 1/2 cup oats

- 5 to 7 baby carrots

- 1 tbsp WowButter (or nut butter if you can have nuts)

- 1 tsp honey

- 1 tbsp Greek yogurt

- 1/3 cup milk of choice (more or less to preference)

- cinnamon to preference

I start off by grinding the oats in my blender until they are super finely milled. I then throw everything else into the blender and blend until the carrots are shredded and everything is incorporated. 

This smoothie is so delicious, high in protein thanks to the WowButter and Greek yogurt. The oats make it filling and keep me full throughout the morning and the honey gives the smoothie a nice sweetness. 

This is a go-to, staple breakfast smoothie for me. If you try it do let me know if you like it!

January third.

I f*cking suck.

I don't know why this blog, that was once something I was so passionate about and focused on, has fallen by the way-side. 

I'm busy, but I'm not that busy. 

I think about writing on this blog quite often, but it seems my focus always get pulled to something else. I've gotten to be so unproductive toward the end of 2017. 

I think its cliché to say the whole "new year new... " bull crap. However, I'm a firm believer in new years resolutions. Not the typical ones like eat healthy, exercise more, etc. For me, every year I have always set a list of ten new ideas or philosophies to try and adopt into my life for the new year and all the years to come. 

For my first (and hopefully not my only haha) post of 2018, I thought I would share my resolutions for this coming year. 

1. Make every decision consciously 
Whether it's what to eat, what to say, what to wear, or what to do, I want to make every decision with purpose. 

2. Find a way to be fit and active that works for me and I enjoy doing
I don't like going to the gym and I don't like doing intense, sweaty workouts. I know I enjoy walking, running, and yoga so going into the new year I will stop trying to jump on the gym life bandwagon and adopt a fitness routine that I will stick to and enjoy. 

3. Make time for the things that I love
This blog. Reading. Writing. Scrapbooking. I have a lot more time than I think I do and instead of wasting it I would love to use it to do the things I really enjoy doing. 

4. Give more compliments and say thank you more 
I find myself thinking things like "oh that's a cute top" "I love her nails" "her hair looks amazing" but I never have the courage to actually give the compliment. I think positivity is something that's seriously lacking in this world and if I can spread positivity in any way I would like to. I would also like to make an effort to say thank you more often. I want the people in my life to know I appreciate them and am grateful for the presence they have in my life. 

5. Stop apologizing for things I'm not really sorry for
I will no longer apologize for laughing too loudly or eating too much or missing things I didn't want to go to in the first place. First of all the apologies are insincere and second I don't need to apologize for who I am, because I actually like who I am and I don't want to feel shameful about myself any more. 

6. Make more time for God every single day
I always talk to God while I'm showering and driving alone but I surf social media every night before bed when I could be reading through my Bible study app. I want to change that.

7. Take more pictures
I love photography and I want to make an effort to not only photograph new and beautiful things but also the simple and mundane things in life. 

8. Strengthen the relationships I have and build new, intimate ones
I'm quite guarded as a person and throughout 2017 I worked on opening up. I feel like I can be more honest about myself and vulnerable. It's easier for me to let people in now so I would like to get to know them all on a deeper level. 

9. Learn to control my emotions
I feel everything very deeply which can lead to me being overly emotional. I would like to learn through this year to take a step back, internalize, and respond instead of reacting. I can still feel everything deeply- happiness, sadness, anger, disappointment- but I'd like to learn to control how I express what I'm feeling. 

10. Make an effort to wake up every morning and choose happiness 
I want to make a conscious effort to open my eyes and thank God that I am alive and so blessed. I want to smile more, laugh more, complain less, see goodness in everything, and enjoy every moment. I've been through so much in my life that it's become my nature to be negative because it feels like the worst case scenario has always happened. I don't want to live that way anymore. I am in an amazing place, surrounded by people who love me and I'd like to choose happiness so I can fully appreciate how amazing my life is and can be. 

I feel like every year I'm able to learn new things and improve on myself, so every year always gets better. I'm excited for 2018 to be the best year of my life yet! I hope you all are successful with your resolutions and that 2018 blesses you beyond measure. If you want to share your resolutions for this coming year, I'd love to read them.