Influenster Skin Care

Hey there! It's been quite a bit since I've talked about Influenster and this time I'm here to talk about a type of skin care. I received Active Botanicals from Olay for free. One thing I loved about this product was that it never made my skin feel greasy or get dry. I always notice that lotion can give an odd feeling to my skin after wearing for awhile and I was pleased to find out that this was not the case with this at all. Another aspect I liked about the product was the smell. It was so pleasant and not overwhelming that wearing it all day did not give me a headache in the slightest! I would definitely recommend this product as one worth trying. Give it a chance if you're trying to mix up your skin care routine and want to try something new. I have loved it so far and will probably go out of my way to find more products from Olay!

Influenster: NYC New York Color

As you guys have heard many times before, I live for Influenster. Recently, I was given the opportunity to test the NYC New York Color mascara and eyeliner. When I choose makeup I am usually not that picky unless it comes to price; I like it cheap. But I was super excited to give this stuff a try! The first thing I noticed about the mascara was that it hardly clumped at all. The biggest fault I find in mascaras is clumping and so I was pleasantly surprised at the lack thereof. The mascara was also long lasting and held up throughout the summer heat of the day. It also didn't make my eyelashes look freakish which was a plus.

The eyeliner was also a plus for me! What I liked about it was how smooth it was going on. It was dark which was awesome and also held up for the whole day.

Overall, I would definitely recommend that you give these products a try. They are worth it for the price and you can't beat the quality!

*I received these products courtesy of Influenster for testing purposes only

Hiking the Days Away

If you guys are anything like me, you get the winter blues pretty badly too. It is so difficult to stay motivated during the colder months. Once it warms up though I want to spend all of my time outside! This last weekend I was sitting in the cafeteria with my best friend and we were contemplating what to do for the day. It was slightly chilly and overcast so we weren't too keen on being outside. However, we both a text from a mutual friend wondering if we wanted to go hiking with her and another friend of ours. It was the perfect opportunity!

Where we were headed, I had been to my freshman year and it is one of my favorite spots. There is a broken down castle, a cave, wildlife, and this one spot where you have to climb over 300 steps! What was amazing about the day is that the sun came out when we arrived and it turned into a gorgeous 70 degree day; perfect hiking weather! We were lucky enough to see beavers and several turtles sunning on the rocks.

The next day, I was asked by my good friend, Baylen, if I wanted to go to the same park and hike with him. This time we took different trails and I was able to see another part of the state park that I had never been on before. Again it was a gorgeous day and I got to see otters for the first time in the wild.

I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such great friends and be able to see different parts of the country. Missouri has become my home away from home and I cannot believe the semester ends in thirteen days! 

The Kind Word Challenge

Over winter break I went through a bit of a withdrawal from just about everything. I needed a break from school and people and kindly enough my family let me. For the entire month and a half I was able to relax and prepare for the last stretch before summer break; it was heaven. Right before I was meant to fly back to school, my dad pulled me aside and I was able to have a heart to heart with him. One of the things he reminded me was that kind words can fix just about everything. One of my worst bad habits is how awesome I am at comebacks. This however means that I can hurt people pretty deeply with very few words. Over the years I have been able to tame it immensely but every now and then it slips out. Because of the stress of last semester, this habit had been creeping up on me and I was becoming overwhelmed.

My dad is pretty great about bringing me back to earth. He gives me the space I need and then lets me talk it out. Usually, he can get me to see something from a different angle than I had previously. It is pretty easy to notice when other people are treating you badly. It's harder to see how you are treating other's badly. Every now and then I just have to remind myself to take a step back and look at the situation differently. Just because I feel like I'm not being treated fairly does not mean that I have the right to attack. Kind words have done wonders for me in diffusing situations.

One thing I want to challenge you to do is to take a step back. Are there any places in your life that you can lend a kind word? When I walk into my cafeteria, I always try to hold a conversation with the student working the front desk. One of the girls stopped me one time after I asked her how she was and told me that she appreciated the way I always conversed with her. To me, it was of little importance but it made an impact on her. I never realize how much of an impact I can have with just a few words. Angry words are not the only words that stick with people. So my challenge for you is to lend a kind word. Tell the stranger on the street that you dig their sweet sweater. A classmate got a new haircut? Maybe they're self conscious and need someone to tell them how much they rock their new hair. Kind words may seem insignificant to you, but little words here and there could make a huge impact on the world.

Influenster Product Review

So if you have been around here long enough, you would know that I swear by Influenster. My latest VoxBox contained these three beauties! I absolutely love when I don't have to purchase hair products since they can be so costly. 

I was asked to try out and review the Dessange Paris Oleo Miracle Replenishing shampoo, conditioner, and oil. At first I was a bit skeptical because the smell was quite strong. I'm sure it was just the oils but once I got used to it I quite enjoy it. I'm used to floral scents but this has become a new favorite! 

My hair routine is pretty basic. I have long and thick hair so I shampoo twice and condition once. That's it! I don't usually put anything extra in because I can't stand greasy or heavy hair. I was impressed with both the shampoo and the conditioner. After my shower my hair felt lighter and much softer. I have strayed away from straightening or curling my hair so often, but you can definitely still see damage! I really enjoyed the way that these products softened that damage and made it less noticeable. The oil however was not what I expected! When I think oil I immediately think greasy. The oil however made my hair feel even softer and gave it a shine that was much appreciated. 

I would definitely recommend this product. It can be a bit pricey but the results are worth it! 

*Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing and reviewing purposes. 

#JadoreDessange @DessangeParis @Influenster 

Positive Thoughts Part 1

Can I be honest for a moment? Being positive all of the time sucks. It can be so emotionally draining to feel like you can never be down. Does that make sense? When I first came to school I was a ray of sunshine. I had my moments certainly, but mostly I was fairly cheery. I am still happy but over the last few months a lot of events have dampened my mood. It became difficult to always be cheerful or positive and when everyone expects that of you, it's draining. I never felt like I could have a bad day because others would call me out on it or say that they were going through something worse. Why is it that we are so quick to say that we are worse off than the person next to us? It's like a competition to have a crappier life! So you feel better because you have a worse life than another, but really it is a bad thing because you're life is not good. It all hurts my head. For once I wish that instead of comparing two and two, we would listen with a caring heart and then be heard by an equally caring individual. 

Because I am a fairly competitive individual, I fall into this trap. When really, maybe an event is taking a toll on someone differently than it would me. Lately this is something that I have been working on. I have been trying to place a kind word somewhere maybe I would not have before or attempt to make someone feel like they are being heard. In this way, my hope is that person will pass this on. If they don't, that's alright. I just hope to lift one person even slightly. 

Learning to find the middle ground between being positive and negative can be tricky. I struggle with it every single day. Everybody struggles and everyone needs to feel heard. So if you're reading this, I hope you know that it is okay to have a bad day. It's normal to not always feel like you can smile. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not allowed to hurt or be sad. On another note, don't let anyone tell you that they hurt more than you. Yes, the circumstances might be different than yours. No, that does not mean that your troubles are insignificant. Be compassionate but don't allow yourself to be told you aren't allowed to hurt. Take a mental health day because it is good for your soul. Recoup and get back out there. 

Everyone Needs a Best Friend Like This

As you may have noticed from past posts, I go to a college that is well over a thousand miles away from home. Because of this, I have had to really put myself out there in school in order to feel at home away from home. I've met so many good friends this way and it has really put me into perspective about different people. I'm incredibly thankful to all of the people who have welcomed me into their lives and their homes.

One friend in particular I met freshman year because we were on the softball team together. She was actually the second player I met and she was the sweetest one right off of the bat. An example of this is about two weeks into the semester, mind you she hardly knew me, she invited me and another player out with her family for her birthday because she knew both of us were from out of the state. That was the sweetest thing that anyone had every done for me. It was just a preview of what a kind-hearted person she is.

Fast forward to first semester of sophomore year. We were both having a particularly trying week. She was upset about her boyfriend and I wasn't much better. Because of this we were in her room and feeling pretty miserable about ourselves. One of our ways to fix problems like this is slushies. We enjoy slushies late at night because that is when they taste the best. Nothing is better than a giant plastic sized cup of sugar at three in the morning. On this particular night, we were dressed to impress. I had slept over in her room so I had riding boots, yoga pants, and a baggy sweater. While she had sneakers and tall socks over tights. This began the tradition of wearing whatever we have on to go out and fetch slushies-no matter how ridiculous we look. Honestly I felt so much better after that. It was so refreshing to look ridiculous and I'm so thankful for a best friend who is willing to look like a fool for me.

Personal Struggles

Lately circumstances in some of my relationships have caused me to take a lot of steps back. It's certainly not an easy thing to balance your needs and others. For me it feels like if I give in I am backing down and not being true to myself. I definitely struggle with this on a daily basis and because of this at least one relationship has struggled. This has forced me to reevaluate the things that I want, need, and the things that the people in the relationship with me want and need.

One thing I realized was that just because you're using kind words instead of yelling, it does not mean that you're weak or that you don't feel strongly about the issue- just that it is counter-productive to be loud. When people yell at me, I tend to shut them out. It's taken me a while to realize that the same is true for if I yell. Nobody wants to be screamed at and then be forced to admit they are wrong. This is one aspect that I have been working on.

Pointing fingers. I despise the thinking that anyone will force me to do anything. But when I get mad, the blame is immediately on the other person because it must be their fault because they made me mad. I definitely struggle with this all time and am working on being patient and learning when it is worth fighting.

Staying quiet or walking away from an argument is not easy. I've learned over the past few years that I do better when I can walk away from an argument and talk about it later when I am calm. However this can also lead others to feel like they are being shut out. I'm working on finding the happy medium.

Apologizing doesn't mean you're wrong and I struggle with that. I'm not perfect but I'm working to be more productive when upset.

Always,
A

Unilever Dry Spray Review

As I've mentioned before, I participate in a great online freebie site called Influenster. Recently I was given the opportunity to receive and review the new Degree Unlilever Dry Spray.

Now I'm a pretty picky deodorant and I've had a hard time finding one that I really like. I usually prefer to use Secret deodorant which can be pretty expensive so I was really excited to try out a different brand.

The first thing that kind of threw me off was the fact that it was a spray. Although the bottle is very attractive looking, I wasn't sure how I would feel having to spray on deodorant. I managed to get it on, only managing to get it in a few other places, and was good to go for the day. I wanted to test this out on a normal day and so made the decision to wear it on a class day where I could really trust the results.

First off, I did enjoy the scent. I've read a few other reviews from other bloggers that it was too strong but I didn't find it to be that overwhelming.

Secondly, the deodorant seemed to hold up well throughout the day and I never felt sticky or damp.

I would definitely recommend this product if you're willing to try something a little out of the normal.

*Disclaimer: I received this product complimentary for reviewing purposes only.

#TryDry #Walmart #contest @Influenster