Weight Loss Monday's: Week 17

     Sleep, one of my favorite things in the world, sadly I don't get enough of it.
         Yesterday I slept from 3:00 am until 2:30 pm, so of course I barely got any sleep last night. That's my thing I sleep really good one or two nights a week, other nights I go on about an hour of sleep.
       I hate cramps and bloating, A LOT. None of my jeans fit, but I guess it's a good thing I don't have to go anywhere this week.
      So obviously since I'm bloated I'm not sure if I've lost any weight. Which sucks, but I don't really care right now. Why? Because I feel like there's a million tiny aliens in my uterus stabbing me with knives.
     I think I may have exercise twice last week, and there's no hope for this week. So I think I'll stick with just strength training for this week. My diet on the other hand has been really well, I did eat Pizza Hut pizza one night.
    Yesterday I did get a lot of sleep, but I didn't eat much. I had 2 waffles, and a can of Spaghetti O's, and probably one serving of Frito's Chili Cheese Flavor chips. I also had a Dr. Pepper.
      I also got my hair done last week, it's starting to get blonder. Here is a picture, the lighting sucks and I'm not wearing any make-up, but oh well.

     I'll try to put up a better picture soon. But it's looking pretty good. I also got 2 inches cut off and some layers, and I decided to go back to parting my hair to the right.
 I like parting my hair to the left and I like trying something new, but personally I don't think I look like me with my hair to the left.
Taking off a few inches and adding in the layers has made my hair feel so light, it's going to be so much easier to deal with this sweltering heat.
     I discovered something last week, when a medicine says stay out of the sunlight, it really means it. I have to use a cream on my arms for Dermatitis, and I thought I would be fine in the sun because I was just riding in the car for 5 minutes. Boy was I wrong, my skin started burning, thankfully it went away after I got my arm out of the sun, but I won't be making that mistake again. Lesson learned!
       So that's all for today, I'll have a new post up for you on Wednesday.  Stay Creative my lovelies, I'll post again very very soon.
                                                                                                 XOXO,
                                                                                                     Lori Ann
      Also contact me:  
                                  E-mail:      loriboyd15@gmail.com
                                   Twitter:   @LoriAnnBoyd

3 Things You Should Think About Before....

Hello lovelies,   

Today's post is 3 Things You Should Think About Before Dyeing Blonde Hair Brunette.

I'm a natural Blonde, and have had Blonde hair my entire life, but last June I made a decision to go Brunette.

Okay so the left photo is me in October 2011, right after I had my makeup done by a lovely lady at the local Clinique stand. The right picture is me on Thanksgiving 2012.

Sometimes I regret dyeing my hair, but most of the time I'm glad I did it. I regret it because I miss my blonde hair, but I'm glad because I've become more adventurous. Since last June I've changed my hair up multiple times.

 I used to be scared to do anything to my hair, I would literally have a panic attack when just getting a trim. In September I got choppy layers, and in October I got bangs.

At times I still regret those decisions but I'm still thankful I did it. I'm not really enjoying growing my bangs out, but who freaking cares, I made a change and I'll probably do it again.

So let's get started on the things you need to think about before dyeing blonde hair brunette....

                                   1. Money- Can you afford regular coloring's?

            This was my biggest mistake, I didn't realize how fast my hair grows or how blonde my hair really is, and thought I would be able to continue my regular every 6 month trips. But now I realize I can't, I need to go once a month, but I can't afford it. I've started lightening my hair already, and I hope to be back completely blonde by the end of the year

.

    2.  Time- You need to make sure your going to have the time to go to the salon to get your hair done.

        When I went the first time to have my hair dyed dark it took 5 hours to do. The second and third time I went it took about 2-3 hours. So dyeing your hair darker is a very long process, it's nothing like  going lighter. Going lighter you usually spend about two hours in there because of the chemicals in the dye are different from that in dark dye.

   3. Skin Color- Make sure the color is going to compliment your skin color.

I have very pale skin, so pale you can see nearly every vein in my body. So when I dyed my hair I didn't think about how darker hair was going to make me look even more pale than before.

And now that I've started the lightening process I made the same mistake. The picture I showed my hairstylist is that of someone with tan skin, and it looks wonderful on her, but makes me look washed out.

 Here is a picture to show what I mean. The left is me before dyeing my hair last month, and it had obvious fading. The right is today, showing what it looks like a month after coloring.

 (Also please excuse my awful dark circle's in the right picture, I'm anemic.)

  So the point of this blog post is you really have to be careful about dyeing your hair, make sure you talk with your hairstylist to get what will look right on you, not what looks right on someone else.

Okay so that's all for today, I really hope you like it.

XoXo,

 Lori Ann

Skincare Routine

   Hello there, so It's time for my newest post, today it's gonna be about my skincare routine, I'm gonna tell you all about all the products I use and some tips I have. I have a post coming up soon, probably tomorrow where I talk a little about my skincare routine, but I decided I wanted to go a little more into detail.
                                                                Face Skincare
    Okay, So I have really oily skin, mainly on my T-Zone, and over the years I've tried a numerous amount of products trying to find something to help cure my acne. I've had acne since the third grade, so I finally got committed to finding the right product, it was trial and error for a long time, but finally last fall I found the right combination.
     Clinique. Yes I know Clinique products are quite expensive, but they really do work, I use the Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser (Here) and the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (Here)
     So now you know what I use for my face, I also want to point out that with the cleanser before I wash it off I have an exfoliating face pad ($2.00) that I use everyday. I use to use a Clinique scrub once a week, it was the 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula (Here) , I just haven't repurchased, cause the one I had was a sample. Also I would just like to point out that their sample's last a really long time, I think all of mine lasted for three months.
    And here comes the unusual part about my skincare routine, I only wash my face once a day (night). But you have oily skin? I know, I have no idea how it's possible, but for me it works. The only time I wash my face of a morning is when I wear foundation, and the last time I wore foundation was in March for my birthday. Sometimes when I wanna wear a moisturizer/sunscreen during the day, I'll wet my face scrubber or just wet my face then dry it, before I apply the moisturizer.
 
                                                          Body Skincare
     Okay for my body I don't really do much, since I have really sensitive skin it's hard to find products to use. For body wash I use Dove Sensitive Skin Body Wash, and as a lotion I use baby lotion.
      I have eczema on my hands, and I've tried everything to get rid of it, but nothing works, and I've had an allergic reaction to many lotions I've tried. So far I've only found three that I'm not allergic to.

1. Johnson's Baby Lotion
2. Nivea Cream lotion
3. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream

   For number one, duh, who hasn't used it, it's amazing, especially for those with very sensitive skin. For number two, I've used for about two years, but since it's really thick I can only use at night, but it's still amazing, and helped relieve my skin. For number three, I'm in love and I've found the most amazing product in the world.
     If they ever discontinue this product I think I just might cry.. The Neutorgena hand cream has been a life saver, and not just for my hands, but also lips, knees, and elbows, the bottle says it can also be used on the face, but I'm a little skeptical about trying that.

      Now that's all I use, other than my makeup, but I'll probably do a post about my most used beauty products eventually. So have you used any of these products? And do you have any product  recommendations for  people with sensitive skin? If so leave a response in the comments or, tweet or email me.
                                                                                    Stay Creative,
                                                                                                 Lori Ann

Contact me: 

                     E-mail: loriboyd15@gmail.com

                     Twitter:@LoriAnnBoyd

Pale Skin

      Pale skin at times can be a pain in the arse, but it can also be quite beautiful. I have always had pale skin, I can't tan, I burn then peel. That's it. I actually use to be quite insecure about it, I wanted to be tan like all the other girls I went to school with, but I just couldn't.

     I think the real reason why women have problem accepting their pale skin is due to the media constantly showing us perfectly bronzed women everyday.  The problem is we never see  pale women modeling clothes that we want to buy so we know it looks good on their tan skin, but what about our pale skin..... it's kinda like the whole overweight vs. underweight ordeal, what looks good on them might not look good on us.

     I think as women we are naturally worriers, we constantly worry about everything, even if you have ten other people who are organizing something for you, you're still going to worry about it. So naturally we are going to worry about how we look, and since our skin is the largest organ we have, we know we have to take care of it. The funny thing is we use all kinds of treatments to try to save our skin to take care of it, but we still abuse it everyday, just because were not happy with it's color, or if we have a blemish or not.

      There are movements for all sorts of things, bullying, obesity, abuse, everything. But not for those of us who have pale skin and feel the need to change it just because. If everyone else is allowed to be happy in their skin, why shouldn't we, it's our natural skin. It's not like we're trying to lose a hundred pounds or prove that curves are sexy. It's our skin it's natural, Why change it? 

      Pale skin does have many challenges, like being washed out, pink cheeks, more defined dark circles, but that also means there are many ways to help enhance our natural beauty. Because pale skin is sexy. Below are some tips to help enhance pale skin, so you can show your true beauty to the world .......  (and also some tips on protecting you skin and make-up application)......

1. Blend foundation into neck so you don't get a line around the face. This will avoid a mask look.
2. If the consistency of your foundation or concealer is too thick and you would like a more natural base, mix a little moisturizer with the foundation.
3. Always use SPF, 365 days a year, even on rainy cloudy days harmful UVA Rays can damage your skin.
4. Skin tones change as you get older. So your skin tone now may be darker or paler than it was 10 years ago. It's always a good idea to get matched for a new shade of foundation at least once a year, preferably twice so you have a summer shade and a winter shade.
5. In the winter you may need a heavier moisturizer due to harsher weather conditions that may dehydrate your skin.
6. Don't feel the need to compare yourself to others just because you have pale skin, while they look like an oompa-loompa. In 10 years you'll still look youthful while they'll have wrinkles and sun damaged skin.
7. When applying make-up know your face structure and where you need color and highlighting at, because even though we promote pale skin, you don't want to look like a ghost. 
8. For special occasions when you do use bronzer, remember less is more.
9. Pale skin, red lips, and a soft cat eye never go out of style.
10. Feel confident in yourself, and your make-up. Self-confidence in yourself will show in the way you carry yourself.

    I don't want anyone to feel like I have something about those with dark skin, because I don't I just feel that us paler ladies should be allowed to be our self's too.

     I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have anything to add to this or you have some tips leave a comment below. I am by no means an expert on pale skin these are just some of the tips and tricks I've picked up over the years. Do you have pale skin? Do you think we are looked down upon for having pale skin? Leave a response and discuss below.

                                                                       Stay Creative,

                                                                                        Lori Ann

Contact me: 

                     E-mail: loriboyd15@gmail.com

                     Twitter:@LoriAnnBoyd