Helping the Planet one bag at a time

So California passed the no plastic bag law in 2014 was in effect for a short time frame in in 2015 and then stopped. Was put back on to the 2016 ballot and passed again, and in full effect in 2017.

So it is normal not to either be willing to pay anywhere from 5 cents to 20 cents for a bag, paper or plastic or to carry in purchases plastic or cloth bags when shopping. I have a small collection of various materials, sizes from all different places.

My boyfriend is currently traveling for work, so pretty much everywhere he has stopped and found a bag, he buys it for me. I dont know if he thinks I am a bag lady!

But this law forces people to have to be more mindful of the trash they are putting out into the environment, which is why I started to look for alternatives to other ways of helping the planet. I do use alot of plastic/tupper wear at home for left overs and carrying items verses to go boxes. I try to only use regular plates, tho on the rare occasion I will use a paper plate.

I have even gone as far as getting reusable ziplock style bags in order to carry smaller things (when a baggie takes up less space).

example of this is the picture below:

EZ Seal Resuable Bag: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078NXVJ7M

I am a hiker, I am currently part taking in the 5 peak challenge here in San Diego as a personal goal. I ideally like to finish them all up before Spring, I wont doubt I will do them all again with the boyfriend when he is home. But for now it's just me and my dog, occasionally a friend and their pup or child will join us. But it is definitely a great feeling to be out on the trails.

Hence it's important to take supplies, water, ear buds for music if you are alone and snacks for the peak when you take a moment to catch your breath, drink water. I carry a small back pack, so I like to try to conserve space as well as be easy on my shoulders. 

This is why I really have been enjoying using the EZ Seal reusable bags. I carry my dried fruit and nuts in it when hiking, I carry carrots for my hummus at work. And I use them about anytime I need a ziplock. They are easy to clean, warm water and soap. I have a pack of 6 and have had them for 2 weeks already. I dont see any need to purchase sandwich size or snack size ziplocks because they work better.

Every little step of making less trash, is one step to having a better life for the future of our planet.

It's all about the Face

Joyal Beauty in my collection

If you have been reading my blog for a bit, you have noticed a huge shift in posts for beauty products in particular a huge focus on skincare. I have the lovely age 35, so anything that I can do to keep my skin looking clear, clean and fresh I am totally all for. Considering I have a younger man in my life (5 years junior to myself) I try to make sure that I won't make the age difference too noticeable. 

As an earlier post before, I mentioned I have been using Joyal Beauty in my skin care routine since 2017, and there are several products that I have liked so much. I get another one for my mom, best friend or even for the man. As you can see from the picture above, this is my current items in my collection. The newest being the eye cream and the second being the item pictured below.

#HyaluronicAcid

https://www.amazon.com/Joyal-Beauty-Hyaluronic-Hydrating-Chemicals/dp/B00L0088YE/ref=sr_1_35_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1513307478&sr=1-35&keywords=hyaluronic+acid+serum

With my journey for health, both what I put into my body as well as what I put on it, I have really enjoyed products that are cruelty free as well as natural.

The Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum claims the following:

• Highest quality. Ranked number 1 hyaluronic acid serum by Health Product Report. Recommended by dermatologists. Can be used with or without microneedling devices at home or clinics.
• Highest pure hyaluronic acid concentration on the market. Highest 4% sodium hyaluronate solution. Other brands are only 0.5% or 1% solution. Thicker but non-greasy, smoother and more effective.
• Best skin absorption. Research shows the ideal low molecular weight HA of 50 kDa is the best to the skin. Size does matter. No chemical thickeners. pH is 4.5-5.5, exactly the same as healthy normal skin's pH. Gentle enough for sensitive skin or delicate eyes area. Can penetrate deeper into the skin without inflammation.
• Boost hydration of the deeper layer of skin when applied to damp skin. Help reduce the appearance of fine lines and dry wrinkles. Can be combined with our vitamin c serum, retinol serum, royal jelly serum, and glycolic acid age defy serum.
• All Natural Pure HA Serum Made in USA by FDA and USDA Organic Certified Lab. No Chemicals. No alcohol. Hyaluronic acid is derived from healthy veggies in USA. Even preservative is derived from organic radish.

I have only used this product a few times, mostly when I feel like my skin is a little drier than usual. If I have taken a hot yoga class recently, or I have been traveling, as my skin always goes dry (before it goes back to more oily).

It is also important to know that when you have oily skin, you do need to add more moisture back into it. So I use this serum about once a week in my evening time skincare routine.

I think with my on and off usage, I haven't  seen huge changes but definite small improvements the AM after using it before bed.

Eyes are the windows to the Soul

#EyeCream 

https://www.amazon.com/Cream-Circles-Under-Puffy-Wrinkles/dp/B0131T8LIE/ref=sr_1_1?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1439428577&sr=1-1&keywords=eye+cream%2CB0131T8LIE

Now being over the age of 30, I truly realize how important skin care routine is. And being active Youtuber, in particular within the Project Pan Community (which focuses on using up products from ones collection), I have slowly begun to get rid of those skincare products that don't work the best for me. And either use up or when its appropriate, bring in new products that focus more on my skincare needs. I didn't think eye creams were important, but in the last 2 years, using them on a regular basis, both morning and night. I have seen some drastic change in the appearance of my dark circles and puffiness of the skin under the eyes. And I firmly believe its from my eye creams, a well balanced diet (which is pretty new for me) and sleep. Though sometimes life gets in the way and the 7 to 8 hr s of sleep that helps banish the eye circles doesn't always happen.

Joyal Beauty has been a beauty line that I found last year and I have used several products from the line, mostly serums and moisturizers. However this most recent order I made was for their Vitamin C eye cream. And so far I have been really enjoying the results.

According to their website this items claims the following:

• REVOLUTIONARY PREMIUM FORMULA FOR TOTAL PERFECTION: Best Organic Eye Cream for Dark Circles Under Eyes,Puffy eyes,Wrinkles and Fine Lines Under Eyes. * Bioactive Vitamin C. *Avocado- Rich in Vitamins K,C,B,E,A. *Hyaluronic Acid *Caffeine. *Peptides
• THE ONLY EYE CREAM WITH SQUALANE, NIACINAMIDE AND HYALURONIC ACID. Good for both dry skin and oily skin. I
• THE ONLY EYE CREAM WITH AVOCADO,PLANT STEM CELLS, AND PEPTIDES TOGETHER.

Overall, I have noticed in the few weeks that I have been using it the difference in the darkness under my eyes has ligthened. I have combo more towards oily skin (tho I use to be combo more to dry before) and this DOES NOT effect any oil production under my eyes. Nor does it effect the way make up applies either under the eyes.

I am throughly enjoying this product, and I would highly recommend it to friends and family.

Selfie Light..Why Yes Please

Selfie Heart Light: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N102UGT

It’s safe to say that 11 years on, selfies have consumed the world. Let’s just look at Instagram for example,  today “#selfie” has 271,363,840 posts.

The word selfie was even Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2013. Ellen Degeneres’ 2014 Oscar selfie is one of the most retweeted tweets ever, with 3.3million retweets. There’s even a song about selfies. They’ve entirely changed the way we use social media.

If you have just left your house once in the last five years, then you’ll know Kim Kardashian is infamous for her selfies. With over 61 million Instagram followers and decades of taking selfies, she’s revolutionised the art of taking a selfie. She even has a selfie book, unsurprisingly named Selfish.

Well, have you ever wondered how to truly get that Kardashian glow? Or how Kim Kardashian gets the perfect selfie every single time? Well here’s your answer – the LuMee case. Kim has even taken a LuMee selfie with Hilary Clinton – selfie goals.

It’s like a portable studio light

Selfies have changed the world so is it really any surprise that a company called LuMee decided to come along and create a phone case that enhances selfies even further? They’ve been spotted all over fashion week and they’ve even been featured in Vogue.

Needless to say I finally fell into the Selfie Light Train, which is why I got the Heart Clip Light to put onto my phone. Whats nice about it, is on the back is a mirror so you can do the quick check for anything in your teeth or if the lips need to be touched up. 

Overall, super happy with my purchase!

Waxing at Home?

Get yours here: http://amzn.to/2fUBaAd

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOFT & HARD WAX?

There are many different types of waxes that you can use (ever heard of sugar waxing?  ) but today I’ll be using hard wax. I prefer it, personally, and if you plan to wax sensitive areas (summer is around the corner….biniki line, anyone?) I highly recommend you use hard wax. The most popular type of wax on the general market is soft wax — where you use the clothe strip to place over it — so I want to compare the two of them really quick for you. 

Soft Wax — This is very liquidy and is applied to the skin in a thin layer. A muslin clothe is placed over the wax, rubbed down to fully adhere the wax to the cloth, and then once it starts to harden you pull the clothe away, bringing the wax — and hair — with it. You can’t go over the same area twice, as it removes layers of dead skin and repeating on the same section will results in more skin damage and possibly bruising. This type of wax is best used for large sections of the body, tougher areas, and if you have particularly fine hair — your thighs/legs, for example. Also, this method of waxing is most commonly more painful.

Hard Wax — It gets it’s name from the fact that it does not require a clothe strip to be placed over it to remove it, you simply let it dry and it’s thick and firm enough for you to grab an edge and pull it off. This wax is a lot thicker than soft wax and when it cools it adheres — or ‘shrink wraps’ — around the strands of hair (as opposed to sticking to your skin). It still strips away a layer of skin, but is comparable to using an exfoliate. This wax is ideal for sensitive areas of the body that has coarse hair — bikini lines, Brazilians — but can be used anywhere and on any type of hair. Which is what I do. Also, if you don’t have a high pain tolerance, this is the wax to go with.

While ripping your hair out in one big chunk can’t be painless, using hard wax greatly reduces the amount of pain you feel. I know this is kind of TMI — but, hey, we’re talking about waxing here! — I use this wax for my bikini area and while there is some level of pain the moment the hair is pulled out, it goes away instantly and there is no lingering pain afterwards — which I always experienced with soft wax.

So, yes, in a nut shell soft wax is commonly available and hard wax is gentler and less painful. My recommendation is hard wax, all the way! 

Using the wooden applicator take a gumball size amount out and twirl it to keep the wax from dripping. Then apply it to your hair, following the natural direction your hair lays. This gives you the best results when you go to remove the strip. When you are gliding it on, make sure you make it a decently thick layer. Too thin and it will just crack and break into a million pieces when you try to remove it!

Also make sure you leave a thicker piece at the end so you can easily create a ‘lip’ — as pictured above — and remove the wax strip. If you can’t get a lip, you’ll have to slowly pick at the wax until you bring enough up to create that lip…and that’s not a pleasant feeling to slowly be pulling at a few hairs at a time.

Once the wax has cooled and is firm to the touch, grab the lip and pull in the opposite direction of hair growth. Do this in one  quick motion, if possible, to lessen the pain. Also make sure you keep your hair close to your skin as you pull it — you never want to yank the strip straight up as this intensifies the pain and can bruise or damage to your skin.

And you should be left with a clean, hairless patch of skin! Repeat the steps until you’ve removed all the hair that you want to.  Keep in mind with hair wax you want to work in small sections. This may make it longer, but the results are worth it.