ISSA SKINCARE ROUTINE!!

People do different things when they're having a bad day - some might exercise, paint, write, meditate. Me? I turn it into a "spa day" (in quotations because I don't really go all out), and part of that day includes a sort of deep clean for my face. So check out all the stuff I put on my face!

Don't get me wrong, I DO wash my face more than just once a week (but not every day because that's bad), this is just my routine when I'm off my rocker upset and want to feel better.

STEP 1: GENTLE CLEAN

Make sure you get your face nice and wet when you do this: from experience, dry rubbing with this product leaves it on the skin and can make it feel tight. This isn't for getting all of the dirt off, just most of the surface dirt, so I don't scrub super hard.

Bioré deep pore charcoal cleanser

Walmart

Amazon

Great for oily skin!

Also, is there anything more pleasing than using up all your product?

This is also what I use when I'm fresh out of the shower.

STEP 2: TACKLE THE BLACKHEADS

Gentle reminder: those little dots on your nose are more than likely sebaceous filaments and happen when oil forms around a hair follicle - don't worry, they're perfectly normal, and everyone has them! If you aren't sure if what you have is blackheads or not, talk to a dermatologist.

Garnier Skin Active Clean+ Blackhead Eliminating Scrub

Walmart

Amazon

The one listed on Walmart's website looks different, but they carry the one without plastic micro-beads as well.

STEP 4: EXFOLIATE THAT SKIN, YO!

I use a gentle exfoliator but to each their own.

For this step, I usually use my hands because I have torn open my skin before with an exfoliator, and I assure you: it's not a pleasant experience!

Up&Up Skin refreshing Apricot Scrub

Target

Up and Up also has a blemish controlling apricot scrub and a deep clean exfoliator scrub.

Walmart

St. Ives also has a  fresh skin apricot scrub.

From experience, the Up and Up is a lot finer and more gentle on the skin.

Step 5: Mask it up!

It wasn't until I was in my senior year of high school when I learned about the magic of face masks. Had I learned about them sooner, I'm confident I would have saved myself a TON of embarrassment...

L'Oréal Detox-Brighten Pure Clay Cleanser

Walmart

This stuff feels amazing and leaves skin glowing and glorious! They have other kinds as well, so if your skin is different, you can get what works for you.

Feel free to stop at this point if you so desire, but I do have one more extra and optional step for anyone trying to combat redness or splotches.

(OPTIONAL) STEP 6: REDUCE THE RED!

I dealt with a lot of redness in my younger years, and if any of you youngsters want to avoid that, then boy howdy, is this'n for you!

You can also do this earlier in your routine to help with blackheads.

Remember to be gentle!

St. Ives Blackhead clearing Green Tea Scrub

Walmart

This stuff feels as amazing as it smells and makes your skin super soft!

It also helps to calm redness, and it feels really good!

FINALLY: MOISTURIZE!!

Alright y'all, listen here: we just used a lot of stuff on our face to get rid of the sins of society, so our skin needs a little bit of help. Whenever you wash your face, ALWAYS MOISTURIZE. Yes, your skin is capable of bouncing back on its own (the human body is an amazing thing), but there's no harm in helping it just a little bit. It's like when you get out of the shower, you put lotion on? Well, this is lotion for your face. It's face lotion!

I don't have a picture of it, but I use the St. Ives Timeless skin Collagen Elastin Moisturizer. It comes in a 10oz jar, and it lasts a while - a little goes a super long way!

St. Ives is pretty inexpensive, but their products may not be for everyone. For example, if you have sensitive skin, it might not be a good idea to use a coarse exfoliator, and you might prefer the Up and Up more since it's a finer texture.

Some important things to know:

-What works for me may not work for you: finding a skincare routine that works for your skin type takes time and patience, but you can always ask a dermatologist for help.

-DO NOT WASH YOUR FACE IN THE SHOWER! I wash my face in the bathroom sink after I get out of the shower. Speaking of, don't use boiling hot water in the bath or shower - your skin produces oils that help protect it, and stripping it of that causes dry, flaky skin and no one wants that. Remember: you aren't shabu!

-Before you wash your face: WASH. YOUR. HANDS. There's really no point in washing your face if you have dirty hands because you'll just be mixing that dirt into your products.

TO ANY MEN WHO MAY FIND THEMSELVES ON THIS POST:

Listen, guys, there's no shame in practising good personal hygiene and keeping your face clean. No, it's not "girly" and no one's gonna think you're "gay". Just wash your face...

-If you're looking for a first-time skincare routine, I have two things to tell you:

1.) Listen to your skin. Ex: If it's dry, don't use products for oily skin, because that will make you drier, and

2.) Drink more water, less sugar. I'm not going to sit here and preach to you about how water is the best and only drink (After all, coffee is my bae!), but just drink more than half a cup a day. When I first started taking good care of my skin, the first thing I did was drink more water and I cut out energy drinks. Immediately, I noticed that I felt better, I wasn't as sluggish, and my skin felt so much better!

We always talk about how we don't want wrinkles or dark spots or crusty skin when we reach elder status. The best way to prevent that? Wash your face!

My go-to Peanut Butter cookie recipe

I like to bake. I like people who like to bake, I liked baked goods, and I'm always up for trying a new baking recipe. That being said, there are also sometimes where I don't want to try anything new and still want to bake something, and my go-to is peanut butter cookies.

Naturally, if you have a peanut allergy or intolerance, you won't agree with me on this, but what's not to love about peanut butter cookies? They're good as chewy cookies or crunchy biscuits, you can dunk them in a hot chocolate or milk, and don't even get me started on how they taste paired with the perfect cup of coffee.

So basically, I like peanut butter cookies, and I think I like making them even more. For me, it's a super easy process that takes probably twenty or so minutes (depending on how big I want the cookies to be), and the recipe I follow has been in my family for quite some time.

*DISCLAIMER: I don't remember where the original recipe is from, but you can find different variations of it with a simple Google search to compensate for any allergies.*

What you need:

• 1 cup peanut butter ( I prefer creamy, but you do you)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tbsp baking powder

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 Celcius if I mathed correctly) and grease baking sheet.
• Beat peanut butter and sugar until well blended, add egg and baking soda. Beat until mixture is thoroughly combined.

• Roll even teaspoons of dough into balls and arrange about 1" apart.
• Flatten balls with a fork dipped in flour making a grid pattern. (This is optional and recommended if you want a biscuit instead of a cookie.)
• Bake until edges are a light golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.

Following this recipe, I usually get about 24 cookies, but you may get more or less depending on how big you want them to be.

"New Year's Resolutions"

The start of a new month usually means a fresh beginning, at least for me. With December here and gone already, I've begun to ask myself what kind of impossible resolutions am I going to set for myself in the New Year? Then I realized: I'm not a huge fan of the term "New Year's Resolutions".

To be clear: I don't hate anyone who decides to make them, anyone who enjoys them, or anyone who believes in themselves enough to see them through. What I hate about them is the vibe they've come to carry. Throughout the years, the term "New Year's Resolution" has gone from "this is what I plan to accomplish in the new year" to "this is what I plan to accomplish by the end of January", and quite honestly, I hate that.

See here's the thing about the new year: From 00:00 January 1, 2018, to 23:59 December 31, 2018, is the 2018 New Year. You don't have to lose all the weight you wanted to lose in a year in one month. You don't have to cut all bad things from your life cold turkey.

If you are one of these people who thinks that going on a New Year's diet means you aren't allowed things like chocolate, coffee, doughnuts, or the occasional glass of pinot grigio, I have news for you: You are a human. You are allowed to mess up, you are allowed the occasional treat, drink, nibble, and sip.

With that said, losing weight is more about accountability then how fast you lose it. If you slip up: oops! Just get yourself back on track.

Now I'm not one to sit behind a computer and tell you that you're a horrible person because you didn't meet all of your #goals. This post isn't meant to shame you, bully you, or make you feel bad about your life. After all, I'm human: I've made resolutions, and I've forgotten all about them, but here's the good thing: you're allowed to start working on that goal you set January 1st on February 18th. Your life is your own and you don't necessarily have to follow Sherry's 16-week workout plan for 16 straight weeks if you still have that leftover cake and wine that Trina let you take home from her block party. You're allowed to wait until June to sign up for that Gordon Ramsay Masterclass, and you certainly don't have to redo your whole wardrobe/lifestyle in one month (especially since you spent all of that money the last two on Christmas gifts and food!) Follow your own pace, and good things come to those who are patient.

You can do it!

A Rather Daring December: What I Want to Accomplish in 31 Days or Less

If there's one thing that I absolutely love, it's watching people better themselves. Something about the pure wholesome idea of someone wanting to become a more beautiful flower gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside, so I recently began thinking to myself: How can I become the better version of me? Simple: by going all natural! Well not all, but mostly!


1. Hair
Honesty time, my natural hair is curly, and I mean curly. It's both a blessing and a curse really, but one I am more than happy to carry. So I gathered all of my hair straighteners (all two of them) and told my mum to hide them away! I want to give my hair the proper time it needs to relax (without all of the relaxers), and hopefully, in January it will thank me!

2. Water!!!

It's pretty much a given that we're going to have a ton of water in the form of snow sometime, but with dogs that have to go to the bathroom, I'm not a huge fan of eating any snow that falls around my house. That being said, I have a ton of those plastic bottles that you can buy at pretty much any retail store, and I know without a doubt that I need to drink more water than I am now, so that's exactly what I aim to do.

3. Skin care

If there are two things I pride myself on, it's my love of video games and my skin. I have pretty skin. It took me a long time to come to terms with my skin colour, and I don't plan on letting something like acne or sun spots dull my sparkle! So I plan on taking care of my skin so I don't have too many wrinkles by the time I'm 22...

Aaand that's pretty much it - nothing much else! I believe that all great things start as baby steps, so baby steps I shall take! I hope that this inspires you to take the steps to become your best self, regardless of the season, month, year, or reason. See you all next time!