Brush Hygeine

Sophie FLeave a comment

Let’s talk brush hygiene. If you’re like many people you’re probably wondering, “what hygiene???”

But, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense, you put your makeup brushes into makeup and onto your face everyday so they should be clean. Additionally, the product build up (in my opinion) makes the brush perform at sub-peak levels.

The general consensus regarding brush cleanliness is that you should wash them once a week.

Now you’re thinking, “ugh! But that’s so tedious.”  Well, I agree. I wish I could say I’m a model citizen and that I wash my brushes every Sunday at 4PM on the dot, but I don’t. Especially at the ridiculous quantity of makeup brushes I own it can turn into a 30-45 minute ordeal. But, I’ve gotten my brush washing system to a place that makes it less terrible. Let’s go over the supplies I use:

Great, now you’ve got your supplies. The first step (very important) is to play a podcast so you don’t die of boredom.

Next, wet your brush with warm water (do not get the barrel wet) and swirl it onto the soap. Once it is soapy rub it over the mat until the brush looks clean. Run under the water to make sure it runs clear and then get any soap out. I then gently squeeze out the excess water and reshape the brush.

Now comes the drying. My favorite method is to hang them on a towel bar with elastics (see below). I find this dries them the quickest. This method also works with a clothing hanger. Otherwise find something to prop the brushes against to dry them at an angle on a towel to prevent the barrels from getting wet.

The last thing you want to do is to wipe down the barrels with alcohol to kill any germs that are on there from your hands touching them everyday. Tada! You’re done and ready to conquer tomorrow’s makeup look.

TIP: If you have 1000000 makeup brushes like me, I recommend rotating the ones you use and just cleaning the ones you’ve used, to save yourself the hassle.

Brush Hygeine

Menstruation Series: Part I

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Hey everyone!

A couple of months ago, my partner and I were invited to serve in the Peace Corps. Super exciting! While we are still waiting for medical clearance (fingers crossed), this possible adventure got me thinking a lot about periods. Where we were going, there is very little electricity, and no running water, not to mention strict views on gender. What’s more, the more I read about being a woman in a developing country, the more I learned that traditional pads and tampons simply aren’t available due to lacking resources and heavy menstruation taboos. What is a Peace Corps volunteer-hopeful gotta do?

Turns out, there are a couple of ways female volunteers deal with periods out in the field–the Peace Corps supplies all women with menstrual cups. However, I became more interested in how locals deal with menstruation, and of other ways to period both back home and in the developing world. This Menstruation Series will be divided into four parts, each discussing a different period product that is both more environmentally friendly, developing nation friendly, and tested out my yours truly. For part I, I want to share a couple of things I have learned about what it is like to menstruate for girls and women living in the developing world.

Girls miss school.

Yep, you read that right. Millions of girls miss school because of their period–and eventually drop out. This is a problem both where I might be going with the Peace Corps, and worldwide. The infographic above from Her Turn is a great visual of the problems present. Many girls report lacking resources to deal with periods. In rural areas, there are usually no bathrooms, garbage disposal, or running water in schools. Many girls end up using old rags and clothing in place of a pad to get through the few days of their period.

Girls who stay in school longer grow their country’s GDP, have more economic opportunity, less children, marry later in life, and if they do have a family, their kids are more likely to live past the age of 5. Education lifts up everyone, and girls make up half the world. Let’s not keep them back.

There are tons of organizations trying to alleviate the problem sustainably, such as AFRIpads–check them out here.

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Another big factor affecting girls and women who are menstruating are the heavy taboos placed upon it. Because there is little education or understanding of female health and hygiene, many people view periods as unnatural and unclean. Sometimes women and girls have to live apart from their communities during their period because of this. And, if a girl bleeds through her clothes at school, she faces extreme embarrassment from community members. If you thought it was hard talking about periods in the United States, think again.

There are programs like WASH by UNICEF that are trying to change this, at least in terms of hygiene for not just girls, but all children. There is also the Thinx Foundation, whose goal is to educate and empower girls around the world, particularly regarding periods.

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That’s all for this week! I encourage you to do further research, because this is an issue we can fight and put an end to. I hope that I am able to dedicate my life to service around the world, and if not that, we can work together to improve the lives of those in our own communities.

Until next time,

Marta

Menstruation Series: Part I

(Yummy) Ugly Gluten free, Dairy free, Vegan cake

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Helllooo,

It’s been a while since I wrote to you guys. Things were a little rough, but what doesn’t a sinfully delicious chocolate cake not solve?

I think the best cure for the blues is whipping out the batter and the oven with your little sister. All this while listening to Crank that by Soulja boy.

Here is the recipe for the wonderful cake:

https://minimalistbaker.com/1-bowl-chocolate-hazelnut-cake-vegan-gf/

And here is how it turned out:

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It looks very appetizing (I know) but not very pretty. But sometimes that food is the best tasting food out there. What matters is that it was made out of love and extreme enthusiasm. It made me and my sister dancing all over the kitchen and laughing.

This is home and this delicious chocolate cake it only an evidence of how home makes everything better for me.

(Yummy) Ugly Gluten free, Dairy free, Vegan cake

Stay Gold

giannathemermaid, , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Hey Everyone!

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As I’m sure most of you know, graduation season is well underway. Seeing my friend’s and family’s graduation pictures has made me think about my own graduation and how I have grown in the years since. It all started a few weeks ago when my classmates told me about about a conversation they had with one of our teachers. According to them, somewhere in the conversation my teacher said something to the effect of “Gianna is a damn good actress. She should quit her job and start acting in some plays.” It kind of blew my mind to hear that, because it brought me back to my original plans for my life once I graduated high school.

I ended my high school year thinking that I was going to move to LA and start auditioning, learning about acting, and working as an actress as soon as possible. But then life happened and I ended up getting a job as a cashier at Whole Foods after a few months and I have been there ever since. During those years, my passions had to take a backseat. That was okay for a while it turned out, because moving to LA was huge culture shock. Having some sort of stability helped me to gain some confidence again. But now, after three years I feel that my life needs to take a new direction.

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I think there comes a point in everyone’s life where they have to try and decide if their dreams and goals are worth risking it all for. What I have decided for myself is that I would much rather “fail” at the thing I am most passionate about, than to be safe and “successful” at something that I hate doing. Life is too short to not live it to the best of your ability.

At my school, we get many opportunities to speak to actors, directors, agents managers etc, who are very successful in the industry. It’s a great opportunity to hear these people speak, and I always feel lifted and a little smarter once I leave. A common theme that I have noticed in all of these talks is this: The only difference between people who “make it” and people who don’t is the level of commitment. It truly does not matter what you look like, where you come from, what gender you are, how tall you are etc etc. All that matters is how much work you are going to put into it everyday. If you want it more than anything else, it can and will be yours. This isn’t just true for acting, it’s the truth for any and every goal set by everyone.

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As you move forward into the next stage of your life, whether you just graduated from high school, college or you’re still in school, remember to stay true to your passion and dreams. Be the person who goes after their goals regardless of how bumpy the road looks ahead. You matter, and your dreams are important no matter how big or small they are.

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If you leave this blog post learning only one thing, let it be this: Graduation is a time of celebration and new beginnings. It may seem confusing and scary at first, but know that everything you want can be yours if you work hard enough and you believe. It will take a lot of dedication and hard work, but everything that is worth having is worth working for. You owe it to yourself to be courageous and to keep pushing your own personal envelope because you never know what treasures are waiting just beyond your comfort zone. This is how I am choosing to live my life from now on, and I hope to inspire you all to do the same.

Stay Fabulous.

-Gianna

Stay Gold

Eye Makeup Brushes

Sophie FLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

It’s been a hot minute since I wrote a blog post, as I pre-wrote my posts for the month of May while I was in Europe. I had a fabulous time and can’t wait to write about some of my experiences in later blog posts.

But today I want to talk about makeup and more specifically makeup brushes. Back in December, I decided I wanted some nice quality eye brushes as I was getting more into eye shadow. Before then, I had a random assortment of drugstore and Morphe brushes. And while they were OK, I just felt that there were better brushes out there. Cut to me furiously researching eye makeup brushes and I decided that I wanted The Complete Eye Set from Zoeva. I picked this set because Zoeva brushes has a good reputation and the price was reasonable for what I wanted.

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Wow, was I ever impressed by these brushes. They’re very soft against my eyelids, which actually made me realize how scratchy my other brushes were! The set is awesome, it has everything that I could possibly need. I really think having better brushes has helped me elevate my eye shadow game.

Another thing I noticed about these brushes is that they are super easy to wipe off and use again with a different color. Honestly, I don’t have enough brushes to grab a new one every time I want to use a new color so I need brushes I can quickly wipe off and reuse. I just wipe off the brush on the back of my hand until I don’t see color coming off anymore. In addition, when I do wash the brushes they hold their shape once they dry.

I’d recommend these brushes to someone who really wants to get better at eye shadow and sees themselves using the brushes regularly, otherwise they’re not really worth the investment.

Lastly, I want to highlight a few of my favorite brushes:

  • 227- Luxe Soft Definer: I use this for any blending or applying of shadow in the crease. It’s narrower on its side so it can be used more precisely or for a wide area.
  • 234- Luxe Smokey Shader: A great brush for packing a shadow all over the lid.
  • 231- Luxe Petit Crease: I love this brush for intensifying color in a small area or blending out shadow on the lower lash line.
  • 237- Detail Shader: A tiny brush perfect for inner corner highlights.

 

 

 

 

Eye Makeup Brushes

Living Radically: A Capsule Wardrobe

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Hey everyone,

This week, I want to share a cool new thing I’ve been doing… capsule wardrobes! What are those, you ask? Simply put, a curated closet with approximately 37 pieces total, including footwear, outerwear, and various accessories. It is a minimalist way to live, and has saved me time, money, and worry.theeverygirl_spring_capsule20wardrobe

A few months ago, I was overwhelmed with life. It is safe to say that perhaps being a senior in college had something to do with it, but at the time I was seriously fed up with everything on my plate. The first victim of a crazed college student? My closet. I remember waking up every morning, going to my closet, looking inside and just wanting to burn it all down. I had tons of clothes, but nothing to wear. I would leave getting dressed to being my last to-do while getting ready in the morning, hoping that a good breakfast came with a stylistic breakthrough. It was at this point that I decided I needed change.

I did lots of searching around the web–mostly how to declutter your life, and other things like that. I felt like I already knew that it all came down to getting rid of the things I don’t need or use, but I needed the Internet’s approval. But through this search, I discovered something trending on minimalism blogs everywhere: the capsule wardrobe. Upon further inspection, I realized… this was exactly what I was looking to do, with a structured approach.

It became so simple: I emptied out my teeming closet, picked out clothes I wore on a regular basis and go-to outfits, and packed away the rest. It felt like my very own boutique, complete with all the items I enjoy wearing. It might sound crazy to have so little in your closet, but let’s be real: you don’t need everything in there. Don’t let consumerism bog you down with the weight of too much textile. Fashion is meant to be innovative and creative–let’s keep it that way.

Living radically,

Marta

 

Living Radically: A Capsule Wardrobe

Vegan Eats: Part 3

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Hello, hello everyone!

This post marks the final installment in my mini-series “Vegan Eats”. In case you’re new to the site, my last two blog posts have been about have to find great vegan replacement foods for those day when you are missing your old favorites. If you’re looking for some recommendations/inspiration, check out my last two posts which can be found here and here!

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1. Califia Farms
This brand is probably the one that I have the least experience with, but I have only good things to say about it. They make plant milks, coffee creamer and coffee itself. And everything is plant based! My personal favorites are the Toasted Coconut Almond Milk and the Vanilla Almond Milk. I love to use them for oatmeal in the morning. Even though I’m not a huge coffee drinker, I’m also a fan of their Salted Caramel Cold Brew Coffee. Overall, If your looking for a good replacement milk, Califia Farms is a great place to start out.

 

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2. Earth Balance
I have been eating Earth Balance products for years. I remember when I first was introduced to them. I was in high school and I was vegetarian at the time. My step-dad had issues with high cholesterol, so he wanted to stay away from real butter. My mom picked up Earth Balance Butter from Whole Foods, and the next thing I knew, that was all either one of them was eating. They both loved it. I was against it at first, thinking that nothing could be as good as real butter, but one day I decided I would try it anyway. I was blown away, and from that day I have not eaten regular butter.

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Since then, I have tried a lot of their products, and now it is one of my most trusted brands. I really love their Vegan Cheddar Puffs, Cheddar Squares and their popcorn. Something else that I really like about this brand is that their websites offers vegan recipes, and info about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. It is truly a great resource from an awesome brand. Check out the website here.

 

 

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3. Tres Pupusas
This brand is not entirely vegan, however it deserves a mention on this list because the vegan products they do make are wonderful. For those of you who don’t know, a pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish of a thick corn tortilla filled with various ingredients. In short, they are deliciousness wrapped in more delciousness. My Father’s family is from El Salvador, so I was excited to see a vegan version of a traditional dish that I usually had to stay away from.

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Tres Pupusas offers two vegan options: Black Bean and Sweet Corn and Kale and Pinto Bean. My personal favorite is the Black Bean and Sweet Corn. These have become a staple in my household because they are delicious and super simple to make. They are perfect for nights when I don’t know what to make, or I don’t have time to cook. I love these little guys, and I don’t know where I would be with out. Thanks, Tres Pupusas, for looking out for us vegan Latinas.

 

And, that concludes this mini-series! I had a lot of dun writing it, and I truly hope that it will help you in your vegan journey. As always, please feel free to ask me any questions that you may think of after reading this. Also, feel free to leave suggestions for future posts and other mini-series. I would love to hear your thoughts.

As always…

Stay Fabulous!

 

-Gianna

Vegan Eats: Part 3