My Experience Trying Anti-Aging Skincare at 22| YOUTH by Shaklee

At 22 years old anti-aging is not the first benefit on my mind when shopping for skincare products, so I was pretty shocked when Shaklee reached out to me about their anti aging line called "Youth". Before I tested the line I had the opportunity to ask their Global Ambassador, Sloan Barnett a few questions about why natural anti-aging products are so important to someone close to my age. 

Youth💫 by Shaklee

At what age should women begin looking into and using anti-aging products? 

It is not too soon to begin using an anti-aging regimen in your 20's! The best thing you can do at this age is to prevent wrinkles and key signs of aging from appearing. The best way to do this is to protect your skin from the sun everyday with an Spf-30 broad spectrum sunscreen system, like our YOUTH Age Defense Mineral Moisturizer SPF 30. In addition, preventing free radicals from damaging your skin and causing premature aging is key! All of our YOUTH products contain our patented Vital Repair+ Complex and patent-pending Muscadine Grape polyphenols to prevent this damage from occurring! Plus, our Radiance C+E Capsules contain 20% pure vitamin C, arguably the best antioxidant in the industry.

August Favorites

I can't believe how fast this summer went, I'm finally settled in my new apartment (as of a week ago), and I've been officially out of school and working for almost 4 months now! So many milestones happened for me this summer, but unfortunately none of them were really blogging related. I'm hoping to get back to my regular schedule, now that I'm not living out of boxes. 
I used to do monthly favorites like clockwork, so I'm happy to get back into the groove of things. My last one was in December! I can't believe it!

August Favorites

I received Clean on Me as a gift this summer for my 22nd birthday. The giver described it as her absolute favorite shower product, mentioning its delicious smell. I've been using this product for a few weeks now and I'm really enjoying it, it's got a great scent doesn't dry my skin, and leaves me feeling squeaky clean. This is the first Soap & Glory product I've tried, and it definitely won't be my last.  I reach for this daily. 

Surya Brasil CF Nail Polish

For about as long as I have been aware of buying strictly cruelty free products I have been searching high and low for a good cruelty free nail polish. I'm picky, before learning about how awful animal testing I stuck to one "designer" brand of nail polish, and would rarely stray.  Surya Brasil reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would like to give their nail polishes a try. When I first opened the box I was so impressed with the packaging, each bottle features an exotic animal, I received chameleon, coral snake, wolf, and narwhale. These polishes are 7-free, meaning they do not contain camphor, formaldehyde. DBP, parabens, toluene, or animal products. 

Surya Brazil Chameleon

Cruelty Free Work Essentials

I was sent two products recently that have become my little workplace saving graces. I always keep hand sanitizer and hand lotion at my desk. This is kind of another step in self care for me. Keeping things like this in addition to water and snack helps prevent me from getting burnt out. A simple ritual of cleaning and moisturizing my hands after what feels like endless typing, is a tiny break from the craziness that can sometimes ensue at my desk.  Everyone, also known as EO, sent me this lovely hand sanitizer spray. The scent (Coconut Lemon) has to be my favorite among all the sanitizers I have tried over the years. I love anything with coconut and this is such a clean scent and it takes me out of the office for just a moment. There are no synthetic fragrances, it's cruelty free, and packaged in a recycled plastic bottle. 

Also great to keep in your car! 

What's In My Gym Bag Featuring Crimes of Beauty and EO

I feel like my posts have been very fitness heavy recently, but I am obsessed and I'm not apologizing lol. Now generally I don't put a ton of products in my gym bag, but these things come in handy on Thursday nights. Almost every Thursday my friend and I go to hot yoga, shower at the gym, and then head out in town for some dinner. It's tradition to get appetizers at our favorite Mexican restaurant. 

Recently I received a few samples that have been incredibly handy for these days at the gym. Keep reading if you want to find out about my cruelty free gym bag essentials.  I finally bought myself a yoga mat bag, I own one from Citrus Fitness. I bought this bag particularly because it features both an inner and outer pocket. There is a large mesh one inside which I fit my cosmetic bag in, and one on the outside that I usually slip my phone inside while I am in class. There is enough room in the bag for me to stuff my mat, mat-sized towel, hand towel, coconut water, and a change of clothes-- If I'm strategic with my placement. 

The cosmetic bag I have been toting to the gym is this adorable one from Crimes of Beauty. Crimes of Beauty has a large selection of bags to choose from and they are all very affordable. I also think this one is fab "I Like My Rose Chilled and My Highlight Lit". Thanks Crimes of Beauty, I very much believe that throwing on a coat of mascara makes all the difference most days! 

A Day in the Life; Pre- Hot Yoga Routine

If you couldn't already tell by my last few posts, and a whole bunch of tweets my newest obsession in hot yoga. One of my goals for post-college life was to have a regular workout routine again, after I moved out and closer to my new job my friend and I began practicing hot yoga after finding a deal on Groupon.  It's been about a month and a half since I started and I am seeing major results. I mainly wanted to tone up, and am seeing a slight change in my arms, and a major difference in my core muscles. I won't have abs in time for the shore, but I feel way more confident now than I did before beginning hot yoga.  Another goal I had post-graduation was to take care of my body more, cut out fast food and eat healthier. Now I've never been a huge fan of fast food, so cutting that out wasn't too hard. I'll eat it occasionally but only when I'm pressed for both time and cash. There are much better options out there! It's been even easier to follow this healthy eating plan since i began practicing yoga, because I can feel a difference when I am not giving my body the things it needs. Now I am sure to always have some fruit, multiple vegetables a day and plenty of water.  If you're curious here's what my typical diet consists of when I am going to yoga or the gym: 

Breakfast

For breakfast I either have overnight oats, or a waffle. Lately I have been eating strawberry, blueberry waffles or overnight oats with some sort of fruit mixed in. 

Lunch

I almost always have a salad with added protein. I'm lucky enough to have a pretty great range of options in my office building so I usually hit the salad bar and add plenty of chicken, chickpeas, and extra veggies. My friend and I have been trying to partake in "Meatless Mondays" so on mondays I sometimes opt for a veggie burger, or have a salad with all my usual fixings but substitute the chicken for a hard boiled egg or two. 

"Mindful Unmasking" with Smoothie Beauty

On July 15th my friend and I went to our first Mindful Unmasking session at Canal Street Market in Soho, New York. When I began working full time I also took up hot yoga and have been super interested in the practice. Since I've been looking at yoga and activewear sites so often I came across a mindful unmasking ad on Facebook and signed myself and my friend up. (thanks lead ads😁) 

I'm so glad we were apart of this lovely event, I had such a nice time and it was a great way to start out my Saturday. First we were guided through the practice by Sunina, she was wonderful and I felt such great energy through the entire session. 

Art Naturals| A Cruelty Free Review & Brand Feature

If you haven't seen my last post yet be sure to check it out, I've been absolutely obsessed with using my Art Naturals Diffuser, and I finally wanted to share my thoughts on the other products they so kindly sent me. 

I was super excited to give all of these products a try, but I think I was most excited for the argan oil hair mask. I'm in the process of moving as I feel like I keep saying (it's been a long month) and I'm sharing my time between upstate NY and Long Island. The water upstate is much more mineral rich and "harder" than what I'm used to back home on LI. My hair was in desperate need of a little TLC. I've been using this 1-2 times a week since I received it and I think it's done wonders for my hair. Especially since I tend to over wash it, thanks to my new obsession with hot yoga. This product is super easy to use. I just wash my hair in the shower, cleanse etc, and then wring out the excess water and work this product through my hair, leaving it on for 5 minutes. I'll usually turn off the water and do something else for 5 minutes, like brush my teeth, before I come back to rinse it out. My hair feels the best is has in months and I see a bit less fallout as well.