2019 Favorites!!!

Can’t believe it’s the year 2020! Time truly waits for no one and has flown by! This past year, I took a much needed break. I needed to focus on me.

In doing that, I had to really make some repairs to myself. I started taking full advantage of chiropractic care and really communicating with my doctor about how I wanted my healthcare to go. I was unwilling to be unheard as my health largely depended upon ME! It can be scary to not only speak up but also disagree with your doctor about the care that is being received. I had long conquered that fear because in the end, I pay for a service and refused to just go along with care that I didn’t agree with since I would be the one living with the end results.

Some things I refused to go to the doctor for. I was suffering terribly from skin issues. It seemed that no matter what I did, my skin condition worsened. I began to get frustrated as I was not even eating certain things that were known to aggravate my acne. The acne I was experiencing was cystic in nature. I sat in pain for days sometimes. My frustration increased when that wonderful time of the month rolled around, que eye rolls, I was also suffer from hormonal acne. Needless to say, I did heavy reading and research to figure some things out.

My hair was having shedding issues. Now I do have Hashimoto’s disease so the shedding can be a problem from time to time but my shedding became coupled with massive tangling and some breakage. Again, I did research and found what I needed to help.

I didn’t play in makeup much this year, I only wore makeup about 8 times this past entire year. I did make a purchase for some faves that I had run out of…I was a hostess in my big sister’s wedding so, you know how that goes…I HAD to look good! Otherwise, I made sure to focus on healing my skin. I will still share what I bought to replace my long used favorites!

I’m on a weight loss journey so I’ve been avoiding sugar and carbohydrates like my life depended on it, partly because it started to. I had gained weight due to medication and became insulin resistant. That insulin resistance made it incredibly difficult to lose ANY weight!!! When I tell you I cried (and I’m not a crier) but I swear I could have jumped out my window without opening it. I was so done. The only thing i could think of was trying the Keto ‘way of eating’ again. Honestly, Keto is not a diet to me. I’m not indulging in anything that can contribute to insulin resistance or diabetes. If you’re unsure, be sure to do your research. One thing is sure, the SAD diet (standard american diet) has the appropriate acronym. I’m not by any means telling anyone to do keto or low carb, do what works for you but please take care of your health and eat for nourishment! That being said, below I will list all of the faves I have for this past year.

I hope you have a great day, week, month and year! I’m back to go through it all with you! 💪🏾

Favorites of 2019

Health

  1. Doctor’s Best MSM Powder

     

  2. Sports Research Vitamin K + D3 with Coconut Oil

  3. Renew Life Women’s Probiotic 90 Billion CFU

  4. EzyAbsorb Gluten Free Berberine 500mg (blood sugar and cholesterol support)

  5. Best Naturals Betaine HCL 648 mg 250 Capsules

Hair

  1. MegaFood Blood Builder Minis

     

  2. Doctor’s Best MSM Powder

  3. Sports Research Vitamin K + D3 with Coconut Oil

  4. GLISS Hair Repair Conditioner, Ultimate Repair for Heavily Damaged Hair 13.6 ounces

  5. Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Shampoo 22 fl oz

  6. Sulu Aloe Vera Oil

  7. Sulu Cold Pressed Unrefined Avocado Butter

Skin

  1. Sports Research Vitamin K + D3 with Coconut Oil

     

  2. Tumeric Powder (used to make a mask with milk, yogurt and honey)

  3. Shea Moisture African Black Soap Problem Skin Toner

  4. Philosophy the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

  5. Tetyana Dark Spot Corrector Brightening Serum [LOVE this stuff!]

Keto/Eating

  1. Surkin Fiber Syrup

     

  2. Isopure Zero Carb Protein Powder

  3. Surkin Gold Brown “sugar”

  4. Nutricost Allulose Sweetener

  5. Magic Spoon Cereal Variety Pack

  6. Premier Protein Caramel (for coffee)

  7. Slim Fast Keto Fat Bombs

Makeup

1.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Trying the “Pink Mask”

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I have two aunts that have had breast cancer more than once. I won’t be specific about who they are to respect their privacy but I thought it’d be cool to do something to bring attention and awareness to this terrible disease.

There are a few misconceptions out there so I’ve included some links at the end of this post to offer both clarity and information on the subject. In the meantime, I’m deciding to try out Boscia’s Luminizing Pink Mask and share my thoughts.

Recently, I’ve shared a bit of what I loved for skin care. If you haven’t read that post, click here. Anyhoo, this mask is supposed to help brighten and boost skin tone as well as remove impurities and excess oils (which I could definitely use). It boasts ingredients that help improve elasticity in the skin. Since I’m over 35, I definitely have no problem with that benefit!

To apply, you’re supposed to slap on a somewhat thick layer, avoiding areas like hair and eyes of course. After waiting 30 mins you can start to peel of the mask to see the results. The texture of this mask is tacky and kind of like liquid candy in thickness. As it dried, it started to lift a little which is okay with me. Here’s what it looked like on face when I first applied it:

After it was dry, I peeled it right off pretty easily. There’s minimal pain so you shouldn’t be screaming unless you caught hair in the mask. The results? Quite frankly, I didn’t see much of a difference in my skin. I don’t know if my expectations were just too high but in my opinion, this mask was just okay. No change in my skin except for a little softness. Here is my skin before:

The results look like this:

What do YOU think?

If you want to try this mask, it retails for $22 at Sephora and $34 at Ulta online but I only paid 13 bucks for mine at TJ Maxx!! I recommend going to your local store’s beauty department to see if they have any if you want to try it! If you try it, come back and let me know what you think! In the meantime, style posts coming soon!

Natural Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast Cancer Causes