Aloe Vera for my FACE!

So, this weird thing happened with my face…not really sure what it is that is causing my skin to be inflamed, but I absolutely hate it! I pride myself on not having to wear make up, so I take care of my skin at all times. I looked up some things, but I’m not one to run to a dermatologist to get facial creams or medicine for my face, without first trying natural products or changing up my regimen. I don’t know if it’s dermatitis (atopic), psoriasis, or just a bad reaction to something. However, I feel like a hormonal change may also be a culprit too though…hmmm. My skin on the left side of my face started feeling dry, flaky, and then I had reddish bumps ..and then I started seeing it on the right side of my face, which I didn’t experience that before, so of course I’m a little freaked out and want to get on top of it right away!

I’ll have pictures below of what my bare face looks like with the inflammation on both sides before, and I’ll come back on here to post an after picture of what my face looks like as well. I used aloe vera juice on my face a few years ago as an overnight mask and remember that it made my face feel good, but I just did it to try something new. This time, I am using it as a form of healing and recovery for my facial skin; and rejuvenation. Aloe Vera has some great benefits; being an antioxidant, reducing redness, and superficial acne or pimple; not cystic acne or deep rooted acne, and acts as an inflammatory agent. I went ahead and cut open my aloe vera leaf and scraped out as much of the gel that I could in a bowl, my next step is try a aloe vera/honey mask, but for now I just applied the aloe vera juice on my face and let it sit overnight. I used my hands to apply the aloe vera juice on my face; a GOOD amount and then I stored the bowl in the fridge covered with saran wrap. I would recommend if you’re going to store in a fridge, that you store it up to 10-12 days. I am also going to go back to my old faithful (haha) “Shea Moisture Oil Cleanser” I actually have a blog below on that item, I’m going to use that to cleanse my face before applying the aloe vera juice on my face. I would highly recommend washing your face before applying the aloe vera juice, and wash your face with a cleanser that is non-comedogenic ! Examples of those are brands like: Olay, Neutrogena, or Cetaphil; but again oil cleansers are fine too. Hopefully, my face will snap back in a few days!

Like..why…?

Like..why…?

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Looks weird I know lol, I have this in a clear, textured bowl

Looks weird I know lol, I have this in a clear, textured bowl

I will not pay to get SNS anymore!...Like ever!

Hey y’all, this blog is not entirely what you think….

And I realize that I haven’t blogged about anything fashion and beauty in like…several months smh (face palm). Sorry ya’ll…LIFE.

So I have blogged about SNS nails before and I was sold the first time I got it done CORRECTLY lol I actually have been a loyal SNS customer for a little over a year, but the time has come when I will no longer go to the nail salon to get them done. I actually always love my nails when I get them done, I pay my lil’ $35-40 and then go about my business and come back at least a month later for another set…it’s worth it, if you have 2 hours to spare and no where to go anytime soon when you go to the nails salon…ugh, I was starting to feel some type of way going to the nail salon and having to make sure I was well prepared to spend at least 2 hours there. I actually liked my nail tech lady, but she definitely was meticulous and as I have mentioned before I’d rather that then someone who rushes through with doing my nails. However, being the unapologetic DIY lover, I knew it was a matter of time before I would say “F this, i’m doing this myself!” My last time at the nail salon was last month and I will not be returning. I actually was having a conversation with another lady as we were both waiting to get our SNS, and I mentioned to her i’m going to start doing these myself… and she was like, “yes I don’t blame you, that’s good if you can girl!”

Say no more! I looked down at my nails last week and was like, bump it i’m taking these off my nails (previous SNS set) I already have my own nail drill, acetone, cotton balls, and foil..so I had everything I needed to remove it and I did and went straight to Amazon and purchased the Kiara Sky dip powder color of my choice ( one that was Amazon prime eligible and not expensive) and then I purchased the SNS kit, also by Kiara Sky…and also made sure it was Amazon prime eligible, especially since it was days before Christmas and wanted it fast (I’ll have pictures below). I went on Youtube to see how others applied it and then went to work. I already know that since it’s my first time, I’ll be able to see and tweak where I need to for next time, and it was going to be a teachable moment for me. I was trying hard not to be anxious and excited about it, but it was hard not to lol. As soon as my SNS kit arrived today, I got all my materials I needed and got right to work! I wished I would’ve gotten these items sooner, but pampering was a part of my self care routine after having my son. I can now get back to doing those things for me, because doing my own nails was always therapeutic for me pre-baby and now I can get back to doing that, and getting creative with it! I’ll be getting more color dip powders very soon and even will experiment on my toes :-). I will link the items I purchased from Amazon below as well.

Items not included in the picture:

Nail drill

Cotton balls

Acetone

Nail file

Cuticle Oil/Hand scrub

This is the Kiara Sky- Sweet Plum

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LBBULDC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

This is the Kiara Sky essentials kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077YRFKKN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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These are my real nails…SNS does wonders to my nails and length.

These are my real nails…SNS does wonders to my nails and length.

before….

before….

After…I can see the areas I will need to pay attention to next time :-)

After…I can see the areas I will need to pay attention to next time :-)

I took a bubble bath for the first time in yeeeeeaaarsssss!

Well technically it wasn't an all out bubble bath more like knock off bubble bath, because I didn't have any of those bath bombs, bubble bath soap...Just my regular bath wash soap at the time since this was a random interest and desire to have a "bubblebath" at 10pm at night.

It didn't even matter to me that I didn't have the "typical" products this time, but honestly now I have a reason to purchase those lovely bath bombs I'd see at the mall/stores 😊 lol. I had a quick workout earlier yesterday and so I needed to cleanse my body anyway and so I didn't mind lathering up my body with my body wash and getting to work while also relaxing and letting my body soak up....But wait let me tell you an important part of my experience! I added a couple drops of Tea Tree oil to my makeshift bubble bath...Listen....Thank me lata! It felt so good to finally be able to relax and chill in the tub, and the aromatherapy I received was a super huge plus and I felt super cleansed. 

Now the reason why I haven't been able to spoil myself with this experience before was because where I lived prior, I only had a standing shower, not sure of the technical name for it, but relaxing wasn't an option lol so with this garden tub I've been blessed to have, that was one of the first things I thought about when me and my husband were looking at the home we are in now! 

So guess what?! Bubble baths are now apart of my self care activities that I will be incorporating into my schedule hopefully every week!!! Y'all it gave me life yesterday, I just had to write about it 😂 lol

 

 

This is not an actual photo of my bathtub or bubble bath experience.

This is not an actual photo of my bathtub or bubble bath experience.

Update on the NARS Foundation

So this is looooong overdue, but I wanted to get some wear out of it, since I don't wear makeup everyday. I feel like I should just let you see an image of me with a full face of makeup, now bear in mind  I don't wear a lot of makeup because I don't like the feeling of a lot of makeup on my face {shrugs shoulders}

What do you think?

 

 

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