Learn to feel Strong Body Love

Earlier in the month I was somehow extremely lucky to receive an email with the conference code for Ashley Burnett's self love conference. Since it was over the phone I, like many others, expected it to be something addressing a group of people who were very self loathing. What I got was the exact opposite.While on the line with Ashley and hundreds of other women I somehow felt that she was speaking directly to me and guiding me to the tools I really need. For an hour I took notes (five pages) and participated in meditation exercises - definitely not something I expected!

Ashley teaches about how despite women coming into power, there is still this aspect of not fulling loving ourselves. We have the ability to move towards beautiful and loving relationships with ourselves, so why don't we? For whatever reason(s) we are standing in our own way, and therefore missing out on the large amounts of people we can impact if we were in a space of complete love and confidence.

But how does one achieve such a thing? It seems really hard, but by the end of the call I was already feeling so much better about myself. Set your intentions. For me it was to be comfortable in all aspects of life. But you also need to establish what you would really like and why. Ashley offers quite a few programs, but the one she used to aid this call was her Body Compassion Boot-Camp. It is there that you will learn how to set your intentions in a very clear way and work on different ways to achieve these intentions. The course lasts six weeks and actually has a new session starting on Tuesday. If you feel that you are ready to or need to end a war with your body, stop negative thoughts about it, create a positive image of yourself, start eating clean, get to the next level of your physicality, or feel free in your body then this is definitely a program for you.

(Obviously) I also mean that if you are sick of diets that don't work and want to learn what you are doing wrong and how to take charge and make change, then this is how. Diets are designed to deprive and almost always backfire, she will teach you. You have to learn to love and respect yourself before any method of weight loss can work. Another thing she teaches you is that what you think can really impact how your brain reacts to things. If you've ever heard the saying "Telling a lie long enough enables you to believe that it is true yourself, though you know it is not," or something along those lines... this is exactly the same. If you say you hate your body enough, eventually you will. BUT YOU CAN REVERSE THAT.

"[Manifesting is] a process and always remember: thoughts grow stronger as they're shared, so say it out loud to the Universe, [write] it down, and share it with your friends!" she told me in an email. If you feel bad about your body but want to change that, than why not let everyone know? Since the call I've emailed back and forth with her a few times about if I would be able to participate in the program or not and also about blogging about her program. Never did I imagine that I would be so impacted by a call or further impacted by emails. I decided to ask her a few questions, so you can get to know a little bit more about her line of thinking:

BRIDGETTE: Would you say you're happier now that you've begun to help others?
ASHLEY: I've always known I've meant to do work that's of service to others...and in a way I always have.  Teaching dance, massage therapy, and coaching have all been areas of service based work that I've engaged in and it's all been very rewarding.  I will say that this does contribute to my happiness--to help people live more fulfilling, connected, and fully expressed lives.

B: In three words, can you describe Body Compassion Boot-Camp?
A: Strong Body Love (smiles) Or empowering, life-changing, and confidence-building.

TRIGGER WARNING: EATING DISORDERS. The following question is directly about eating disorders, but I felt it was an important question to ask, and I personally love her answer.

B: To any girl struggling with a disorder - anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, EDNOS, etc - do you have any advice or words of encouragement?
A: I have not struggled personally with any of these disorders but here's what I'd say to these women: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, you are powerful beyond measure, and you are wonderfully imperfect. You have a beautiful body and it is truly, truly AMAZING. It’s worthy of your LOVE and affection—it’s done SO MUCH for you over your life so far and will continue to do so, it deserves to be your BFF... Think about all the time, over all the years that you’ve wasted on thinking negative thoughts about your body and yourself. All time spent in your head and not in your body, driving yourself seriously crazy. All the comparison and judgment began. Here’s the thing, it’s not your fault.  You weren’t born hating your body…you were taught to hate it. But now it's time to let go and LOVE, love, love.

She has also done an in-depth interview with Michelle Konstantinovsky of the Huffington Post which you can read here. If there's anything you can take away from this it is to just love yourself. Without loving yourself you cannot create change in yourself as a person, in your workplace, or in life. If you think negatively about yourself, acknowledge that you do so and work on learning to be positive when you think of yourself or look in the mirror. And always, always know that you have to forgive yourself for whatever harmful thinking you have done and be open to receiving love from yourself and the Universe. Check back in the next month for blogs about my personal reflections since participating.

Photos were taken from the Strong Body Love website. Unfortunately I myself am not participating in this program at this time - this is why - but she has been so helpful in trying to accommodate me and helping me over email, so I do encourage that if you can take any of her classes that you do so. Stay tuned for my final thoughts on my Vita Vox Box and blogs about some companies that I'm really loving.

Elizabeth Arden #FlawlessFuture powered by ceramide caplet serum REVIEW

As someone who often finds herself stressed out, the Flawless Future ceramide caplet serum by Elizabeth Arden is a dream. This anti-stress skincare product is made to help aid in the slowing of early aging. For those of you that don't know - signs of aging may be sped up due to stress. To ensure that this is to the point, you can visit the Elizabeth Arden website for your country to get more information on the product, or email me!

The first time I used the product, my face was just clearing up from a break-out and ended up having some sort of reaction. Mortified is the only way to describe how I felt about my face breaking out all over, over night. "Mum, I might have to give this to you, I don't think my face agrees with it," and away the serum went. That point had me ready to give one of those one-out-of-ten-because-zero-isn't-allowed type of reviews because if it made a break out worse, what sort of face would it actually work on?

When I realised perhaps it would work in areas that weren't already irritated, half of the bottle had already been used. But that didn't stop me from further testing it! My whole life my eyes have been a tad sunken in, and when I have dark circles they show terribly. You can see what I mean below.

Why not use the product under my eyes only? So I dabbed a bit under one, a bit under the other, and rubbed the access under my temples. Immediately I could feel some sort of feeling in my skin, and I was impressed out how soft the patches of skin were. It even seemed as if they had puffed out in a firmer way, which was really nice. Unfortunately, I'm honestly scared to use this after the bad reaction I had the first time. It wasn't an allergic reaction, but the irritation to a few small pimples I felt was ridiculous. Because my face is so sensitive and reacts badly to even organic products at times, I think I will just let my mum keep this one and try out Elizabeth Arden when I am a bit older.

My rating: 3/5
Though I liked this, I wasn't able to use it enough to fully judge the product. There were no visible signs of change in my mum's face though she has used it consistently. I also tend to dislike anti-aging products that aren't made for all faces, and in my opinion, this product was not. Samples or travel sizes are definitely worth trying and if it works for you, then I would be glad that you've found a nice product!

If there is any more you want to know about the product, or if you're interested in purchasing it, you may do so here.

Product received complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster. Photos have been taken from my personal Facebook account.

The good, the bad, the lovely

Unlike my last experience with VoxBox, this was perfect. I got accepted at what seemed to be the last minute. The box arrived without warning during finals week which made for such a great surprise when my stepdad pulled the box from behind the driver's seat one day.

What was sent in the Spring Fling vox?

• Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons
• Rimmel London Scandaleyes Retroglam mascara
• Kiss Everlasting French nails
• Nivea Body Skin Firming body lotion
• Softlips Cube lipbalm/moisturizer
• Labor Day film hangable car scenter

Photo taken from my facebook.

Each product I was sent this time were things I have thoroughly enjoyed. Except for the Labor Day gift, as I don't have a car and it fell out of the box somewhere in my room. Eventually I shall find it and gift it to someone I know would appreciate it - in true Influenster fashion because isn't sharing great things the point?

Because of a glitch with the spam catcher on Blogger, my blog was accidentally deleted because of the last post in which I used all HTML. Due to that glitch, I ended up posting two reviews on my tumblr. You can click here for "#PlayOn with Playtext Sport" or here for "Kiss #EverlastingFrench Manicure"

When it comes down to being straight to the point, I'd have to say that the Nivea Skin Firming lotion is my favourite product. Each of the products are equally good and all have a drawback or two - but with my blogs I love to show photos. Who wants to see a bunch of selfies in which you can't tell if I've even got mascara or lip balm? No one! 

Photo taken from my facebook.

Have I ever known hydrated skin until now? I'm not quite sure I have. In fact, this lotion did so much more than I expected and I'm excited to be buying more of it. Since this product seems to be quite oily on the hands and face, I definitely wouldn't recommend it for facial use like other lotions and would advise washing the hands after application. Overall, this product is perfect for the summer months and I'm quite happy to say I recommend this!
My personal rating: 4/5 stars

Photo taken from my twitter.

Value for money, 5/5. Quality, 4/5. Effectiveness, 4/5. Definite London look! Unlike other mascara products I have used, the non-waterproof version does not hold up to any form of water - even watering eyes - which I found odd and slightly disappointing. It also seeded to make my eyelashes really dry. Despite these two drawbacks, I found the product to be extremely effective in creating bolder looking lashes, as well as gliding on a little easier than any other brands I have owned. The brush alone is pure perfection, so I would totally recommend a little DIY to keep the brush and use it in the future. If this mascara was a little friendlier for sensitive lashes/eyes, it would definitely be a 5/5. I may buy and review the waterproof version just in case, as it might be the difference for us sensitive faced people.
My personal rating: 4/5

My softlips review can be found here on their facebook page. These products are most likely to be found at any grocery store (Ralph's, Albtersons, etc.) or pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) near you! They can also be found online at places like Walmart or Target.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Self-care date featuring Boots Botanics Iconic Clay Mask #powerofplants

Bonjour! Last I blogged here with any bits in French was introducing my J'Adore VoxBox from Influenster at the start of the month. It's been enough time now that I've decided on my favourite product from the lot, and I think it is obvious which when the title of this blog is read. If you read my last blog about the products you will see that my rating for the Boots Botanics mask was a 10/10. Now I will show you how I use this product. Let's get to it, shall we?

For a lovely self-care day as my recommendation with this product, you will need the following:

• Boots Botanics Iconic Clay Mask
• Warm running water
• Cold running water
• Bathtub
• Book of your choice
• Music of your choice
• Any facial products you use (Though I do suggest the SimpleCare Products Conditioning Oil and a Dove beauty bar)
• Friends if you want them (Start one with space between so you can each use the bath)

Step one
Using warm water to open your pores, wash your face using your hands or a soft facial towel. If you are wearing makeup try to remove as much as possible only using water. I find that this helps lessen irritation of my face.

Step two
Begin by pinning your hair back from your face. Apply your Boots Botanics Iconic Clay Mask to your face surrounding your mouth and eyes. You will want to put this on your nose to help clear pores, as black heads are likely to form there. If you aren't uncomfortable doing so, cover your eyebrows as well. 

Step three

Set your timer or alarm for 10 minutes and crack open the book you chose. If your face begins to burn or feel irritated, you will want to wash it immediately and pay attention to further reactions. If your face has not dried within the 10 minutes and you wish to leave the mask longer, you may do so.

Step four

After the timer goes off or you decide you want to take the mask off, begin to rinse it away using warm water. As your face cooled off previously, the pores closed. You will want to use warm water to re-open them and clean them out. Do so with your hands or a soft facial towel. You may need to dry your face off with a soft towel before repeating the process with some sort of facial towel to remove any staining green colour - I use my hands both times so that I do not irritate my face. As you can see my face appears to be nice and smooth, which it did not before I started. You can also see a stain from my all-natural water-proof makeup that I kept forgetting to take off.

Step five

When your face is good and not green, start running your bath. As the tub fills, use your conditioning oil or moisturizer on your face. If you are using an all-natural conditioning product, leave it whilst you soak. Steam is great for the face. Filling the bath with lavender oil helps for relaxation. If you wish, play some music or continue reading your book. I prefer listening to a full album or at least a 30-minute equivalent while soaking in a bath heavy with epsom salt. Maybe even have a nice cuppa.

Step six

When you are done with your bath, you may like to rinse off standing due to dead skin that flakes off into the water. You might also like to wash your face using warm water and a cleanser now; my recommendation being the Dove beauty bar, as I've noticed it generally left my face nice and soft. (Yes, the bar shown below is in Russian.)

After you've finished your relaxing facial care, you can continue on however you'd like. Mani-pedi, eyelash extensions, reading, writing. Finish your self-care day however you enjoy most.

Products: Boots Botanics Iconic Clay Mask ($10, £6) | Simplecare Products Conditioning Oil ($9, £6) |  Dove Fresh Touch Beauty Cream Bar ($2.5, £1.5) | The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield ($15, £9) | Farewell Fighter "The Way We Learn" Digital Album (Free)

I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Author? Me? + Lucky Cate McNabb

16 days. That is how long it has been since I was last here, which is completely unacceptable. Of course there have been loads of thins I've been meaning to blog about including products I will be testing, sweet gifts from friends, and things I've been up to. As a blogger and a student and an artist, however, I've found it extremely hard to make time when life gets in the way - rather, make time and remember. My lack of a camera or proper phone for photos has also created a problem. To the two lovely ladies that won my giveaway: I have not forgotten and hopefully it won't be in the latter half of the 6-8 weeks that the postcards actually reach you.

Soon enough I shall be blogging about various teas that I've tested - either from smaller, independent companies or as gifts. Along with gifts you'll get to see my crystal collection which has recently been added to by some of my lovely tumblr followers over holiday. As soon as I get all the pictures together, I'll write about my time at Holi on 8 March; amazing people, amazing time, and loads of books to read and review.

Speaking of books, I've recently started a class for Creative Writing. CalArts hosts this class and every Sunday I take a train, subway, and a bus to get to Sunset where the class is held. It's quite the experience every time. We've had a few different assignments in class, none of which I actually enjoyed the results of on my part. There are a few students that have marvelous writing, like Patrick, who has quite a way with words. I've most enjoyed how he seems to write things in poetry style, instead of paragraphs. The teachers are pretty swell, too.

The most recent assignment we've had was an out of class assignment in writing a flash piece. A flash piece is a short writing which conveys a specific moment in great detail. For this, in order to make sure we were all writing about the same amount, the piece had to fit on the back of a postcard and cold not be more than 10pt font if typed. The biggest struggle, for me, was choosing a postcard that went with my piece, was meaningful, or looked nice. This arose after I became attached to the one I had bought from Stories cafe and originally planned on using - "Ready for the big Indian pow-wow" from M36.

Postmarked 28 June 1950 from Wisconsin Dells the card was sent out to a Mr. & Mrs. J Erickson in Mundelein, Illinois, the card read:

Dear Grandma + Grandpa
Having a swell time - this will probably reach you after we get home but we wanted you to know we were thinking of you. Marie - Bob + Mary Celeste

Complete with the standard card information "NATURAL COLOR POST CARD MADE IN U.S.A. BY E.C. KROPP CO.. MILWAUKEE, WIS. -- (HEY)" as well as lot or card number 23761 and a one cent postage stamp. I found it very fascinating and decided to keep it in exchange for painting on one of the many stationery postcards I had from an old 1950's or 1960's set.

Do you see my dilemma?

These are all the different postcards I could find in my house: from LACMA, from an old scrapbook, ones my aunt sent me. The second row is the one painted by myself with oil paint and the one I had originally purchased. I enjoyed this assignment so much, I'm going to share with you my writing.

Cold fingertips, cold glass. Odd how the daily routine transformed from normal to haunting in seconds flat. In an instant her face filled with stress, eyes a window to things falling apart. Slow movements made it seem as if time had stopped. Such a blank look on her face made the heartbreak evident – the drop of her fragile heart could be felt with one glance. Through the halls she moved, distressed; tears clearly blocking her vision. Pacing back and forth only caused the small room to close in tighter. An illusion. Voices; a jumbled mess actually, turned to white noise rising louder and louder. Still the ticking of the clock stood out as immensely as her pain. Such a sorrowful sound her crying was, as it had appeared that she was no longer breathing. How could it be true? An instant, unbearable heaviness descended. Her knees giving out, the flow of tears continuing soundlessly as she sank to the ground.

21 is not supposed to be a year to die, it is supposed to be the year to live.

In the middle of writing this the postman came around with a delivery from Cate McNabb cosmetics - my favourite - from the St. Paddy's competition I won. And right on time! The eye shadows came in loose gold (You're Golden) and green (Kiss Me, I'm Irish). The packaging was so lovely, complete with a sticker for me to show off my luck and Paddy's themed confetti! For now I've done little swatches on my hand (which looks oddly swollen) but will definitely be doing other photos soon. These are the perfect colours for me and my green eyes.

Oddly, the golden seems to be showing very subtley - almost not at all on the computer - when it showed so nicely whilst I was taking the photo. Anyways! Both colours are absolutely wonderful, so I'm sure the rest of the collection is too. This is part of their just-released collection which features all new containers and colours. Each product they have is high quality, so I do recommend it. What do you think?

Oui, j'adore VoxBox!

Délicieux, utile, adorable, sucré, charmant, amusement - all words that come to mind when I think of the beautiful VoxBox I received from Influenster in the post just a short time ago. J'adore VoxBox was a nightmare at first, arriving late and to the wrong house which caused me quite a bit of anxiety. But the amazing products inside definitely made up for it.

So what products was I sent to test?

• Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask from Boots Botanics
• 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray from John Frieda
• Looks So Natural Lashes from KISS
• Crème Caramel Simply Indulgent Tea from Red Rose
• Lemmon Chiffon Simply Indulgent Tea from Red Rose
• Family Size Bag of chocolates from Hershey's

Photo taken from my twitter.

The products definitely work well for someone who may be on their way out and goes through a special routine - I however, do not, and wanted to give about a week to test the products before posting full reviews. As I gather the pictures for this, I can totally see myself with the clay mask on struggling to take a sip of my tea and enjoy a chocolate; deciding instead to straighten my hair and prep my lashes. My excited tweet from when I first got the box.

Another photo taken from my twitter.

How fitting that my coffee/tea cup has the Eiffel Tower on it. Crème Caramel is probably a really odd flavour for a tea at first thought - caramel usually being a preferred flavour for a frappuccino perhaps. Since I was sent more samples of this than the Lemon Chiffon, I decided it would be my first test and there aren't any words for it. The tea had an amazing scent, and a taste to mach. Though I had to be up early the next morning I still refused to sleep until I finished. Not only was it pleasing to smell and sip, but it was definitely preparing me to sleep as it calmed me. I only tested this tea once, because I'd like to find a retailer near me before wasting the other samples - it was that good! Another tweet of mine.

My personal rating: 10/10

Also, I'm wearing a mask as I complete this blog.

"Oceanic minerals help draw out deep-rooted impurities and oil without overdrying. Skin is left clearer, softer and smoother." Now it says to use this product weekly, but since my face naturally produces a larger amount of oil daily, I used it two days in a row and then every other day. Plus, this was my first ever clay mask and I really enjoyed it. Each result was the same - my face was extremely dry, though overall smoother and softer than with other products. For me this is great, because any product without oil leaves my face severely dry. 

Cleansing with a light warm water for about five minutes to wash away the green tint left behind, (Though who doesn't want to feel Wicked fabulous while they're singing in their room?) and using my conditioning oil from Simplecare Products was a perfect combination. After the first use, my face was a little redder in the immediate cheekbones than it has been over the last few months and I did break out, but I chalk that up to all the trash that has passed my pores being pushed out as I convert to mineral products.

My younger sister also tried the mask, and seemed to like it well enough. She didn't say much or take a picture, but visibly her face looked 100% better.

My personal rating: 10/10

Left: KISS lashes. Right: Creey wide-eye to show my own.

This last few years I have experienced much loss of my own natural lashes. For what reason, I do not know. Compared to many other girls in my area, though, my lashes are still extremely long - almost as long as these KISS Looks So Natural Lashes - in "flirty". As someone who never wears lashes due to trouble trimming, clipping, shortening, etc. I was very excited for these - perfectly natural lashes from the start, no need for me to mess around with them. However, putting them on was such a hassle for me that I didn't even bother with the other. 

For whatever reason, I just can't seem to get false lashes to stick to my lash line properly. This may be because of my already lengthy lashes, so I don't mind. For every type of lash in every type of brand, someone is able to use them successfully - as I will assume true for these lashes. Looking up, they looked really nice and really natural, though with eyes closed it was a different story - I'd suggest some eyeliner, with a wing perhaps. The corner kept popping up, but trying it farther from the corner of my eye only made them lose the natural effect.

As you can see from the set of four pictures to the left, these lashes are great quality! They have tapered ends so they look more natural, and with the right styling I don't doubt they'd do good for others. For now, I'll just have to ask for some tips on how to work with false lashes if you have naturally long lashes or don't enjoy the terribly obvious look. And if you are looking for a natural set, I recommend these.

My personal rating: 7/10

Of course, the Hershey's kisses were fabulous. Now the only thing left to do is to test John Frieda's 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray. My cousin has said she would test it out with me, so I'll be getting in a follow up blog with that review. For your convenience, the below links for these products are straight from the company websites, with prices rounded to the nearest dollar.

Boots Botanics Clay Mask ($10, £6) KISS Lashes ($4, £2,40) Red Rose Simply Indulgent Teas ($5, £3) John Frieda Flat-Iron Spray ($10, £6)
These beauty products can be found at most beauty retailers near you, the tea and chocolates at most stores. Each have many online carriers.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.