Beauty Things I Suck At!

When diving into the world of beauty, fails and mishaps are inevitable and it is something that we all go through at one point or another. Sometimes it can be hilarious, and sometimes not so much; like the time that I accidentally left my favorite lipstick in the car and it melted into a big puddle of red goop. But what happens when a one time mishap becomes so much more? When there is that one thing that no matter how hard you try, it always manages to derail? Whether it's getting the perfect cat eye, not bumping your nails before they dry, or getting those brows juuust right; we all have our moments that makes us want to hurl a certain product into the sun, or is that just me? A big thank you to one of my favorite bloggers, Cookie over at The Charming Cheshire for tagging me in this, now let's dive right in shall we?

Blending Eyeshadow:

Yep. I admit it. Properly blending my eyeshadow is FOR SURE not one of my strong points. In my defense, I did not start wearing eyeshadow until the last few years and even then I was wearing one color. You can imagine my epic failure when I decided to add multiple shadows to one eye look! Most of the time I can never seem to find a perfect medium when it comes to blending, either my shadows are not blended whatsoever or they become muddled and turn into one color. Alas, I am still learning everyday and maybe soon I'll be able to take this off of the things I suck at list!

Curling My Hair:

Now, as someone who loves to wear curls and is rarely even seen with straight hair, you would think that I would be a wizard with a curling iron right? Nope. Not even close. Not. even. close. While I can do the front of my hair with somewhat successful ease, the back of my head is another story. The mirror completely throws me and I usually end up with sore arms and a very irritated expression (cue the grumpy cat face).

Tight-lining:

I'll be honest here...until I got deep into the beauty game, I never even knew that tight-lining existed. Seriously. Even once I knew it existed I would often forget. On the occasions that I would have my black eyeliner in hand and decided to go for it, I would poke myself in the eye and spend the rest of the day squinting. Smooth right? These days I've started to get better at the art of tight-lining but...it still isn't one of my skills.

Nail Polish Cleanup:

I have been polishing my nails for years now and even still, I cannot for the life of me, cleanup the polish properly after applying it. I have tried q-tips, brushes, you name it. I can never get it to work. I've resulted to polishing my nails at a sloth's pace as to not make mistakes. Well okay, maybe a FAST sloth. Is that even possible?

I Tag:

Sara // Dancing With Drag Queens

Allison // Mischief Managed Makeup

Kristina // Discovering Beauty With KV

Miss Dalisay // Beauty Rehab

Aileen // Beautiful You

Well there you have it loves, my epic fails of the makeup world, I really hope you enjoyed them and I would love to hear from you all! What beauty things do YOU suck at? Comment below!

Much love xo

Liebster Award #4 & #5

It seems like ages since my last beauty post but, as you've probably read I've had a major disheartening and scarring event happen recently. That, coupled with being ill, has left me completely unmotivated. But, as the days go by, my heart is healing, my mind is becoming clearer, my emotions are simmering down and I feel productive and ready to get back to doing what I love; blogging & connecting with all of you. I've missed you!

I want to give a big thank you and an even bigger apology to Aileen and Jen, they each nominated me for Liebster's ages ago and I've just gotten around to doing it. Thank you so, so much to you both! You can check out Aileen's blog here and Jen's here.

Rules:

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate (not including your nominator)
• Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers that you nominate
• Answer the 11 questions given to you by your nominator
• Thank your nominator and give a link to their blog

Eleven Facts:

• Banana cheesecake is my favorite dessert
• Jeepers Creepers is to date, the only horror film that genuinely creeps me out
• I collect old R.L Stine "Goosebumps" books
• Six Feet Under is still my favorite TV show
• I plan on opening my own Etsy shop in the near future
• This will be the first year that I will be wearing a costume to comic con (Shaun of the Dead)
• I love gaming and reading
• I usually love horror games but, to this day I cannot play Silent Hill. I attempted to play the original years ago and have been terrified since.
• I love the cold, so much that I even have my AC on in the middle of winter
• Even though I love to cook, scrambled eggs seem to be the one thing that I have trouble getting right consistently
• Halloween is my all time favorite holiday followed by Valentine's Day

Aileen's Questions:

1. If you could only shop in one store for the rest of your life, what store would you choose?  Ack! I couldn't imagine only shopping at one store when there are so many awesome possum things all over but, if I had to choose, I would pick Torrid! I know that as of late, the quality has gone a bit downhill and they can very well be outrageously expensive. But, for consistently finding clothing that fits well and prints that I love, Torrid has always been at the top of my list. (Apologies for sounding like an infomercial)

2. What is the thing you like most about yourself? I would have to say my sense of humor, I'd like to think that I am a funny person and I love making others laugh

3. Who do you most look up to? My mother. No matter what, my mom is and always will be the greatest person that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

4. Name one thing in your room that means a lot to you. A jack in the box that my father gave to me when I was about five years old.

5. What is your favorite perfume / fragrance? I have two all time favorite perfumes, the first being "Daisy Duck" by Disney. Odd right? This was the first perfume that I ever owned as a child so it holds a special place in my heart. Not only does it smell wonderful but since it is a children's perfume, it is extremely cheap, about $10. My second favorite is "Twirl" by Kate Spade, I received a sample from Birchbox a few years back and immediately went out and purchased the full size. Both of these fragrances are staples in my life and I've even got quite a few friends hooked on them too!

6. What is your favorite song and why? Yesterday's Feelings by The Used. This band has been one of my favorites for years now and this song, albeit depressing, speaks to me in a lot of different ways and has helped me through a lot of troublesome times, it was this very song that inspired one of my tattoos.

7. What made you start blogging? I have always loved the world of makeup & fashion but for awhile, I never thought that I had anything to offer. One day I decided to give it a try and here I am. I have always loved to write and it's nice to have a space where I can express myself as well as cater to so many different things, body love, product reviews, PCOS awareness, self esteem, plus size fashion, etc. that way, everyone can find a post that they like or that helps them in some way.

8. One place that you most want to visit? Venice, Italy. Oddly enough, I fell in love with this city after watching The Italian Job (one of my favorite movies) and ever since it has been a dream of mine to visit someday.

9. How did you first meet your best friend? Freshman year of high school

10. Have you had any embarrassing make-up mishaps? Have I? Absolutely. My biggest mishap started in, you guessed it, high school. When I first started using makeup, I had no clue what eyeshadow was. Seriously, I didn't even know it existed! So, my "eyeshadow" consisted of smearing eyeliner all over my lids. Yep, let that marinate. You can probably imagine how much eyeliner I went through in a month.

11. What is one thing you have done in your life that you are most proud of? Oh man, I hate to "toot my own horn" so to speak but thankfully in life I have been a very lucky person and have a lot to be proud of: overcoming major illnesses, adopting my furbabies, starting my blog, and I was even Valedictorian of my school. It's hard to pick just one thing because I have been fortunate to experience so many wonderful things.

Jen's Questions:

1. What's your favorite eyeshadow color? In general greys and browns. If I had to choose specific eyeshadows I would say: Twilight (Ulta brand), Hot Mama (TheBalm), Presto & Alice Copper (TheBalm's Balm Jovi Palette)

2. Do you have a favorite book? What is it? Oh boy, I have WAY too many favorites so I'll list a few of them: Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion), The Twilight Saga (Stephanie Meyer), Easy (Tammara Webber), Beautiful Disaster (Jamie McGuire), Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson), Stolen (Lucy Christopher) and Want To Go Private? (Sarah Darer Littman)

3. If you could have lunch with any youtuber, who would it be? I love so many bloggers and vloggers but, if I had to choose youtubers I would say Cora (VintageorTacky), Rachel Whitehurst, Angie (GoldieStarling), and Glowpinkstah!

4. What's your favorite makeup or fashion brand? No favorite fashion brands but as far as makeup, I love Too Faced, MAC, and TheBalm

5. Do you prefer autumn or spring? Autumn! I love, love, LOVE the fall atmosphere; cold weather, crunchy leaves, Halloween, etc.

6. Do you have siblings? Yep, one wonderful sister

7. Do you have any hidden talents (cooking, singing, playing instruments, etc)? I love to cook and bake and I'm constantly trying to learn and experiment with new recipes. I would love to learn to play piano someday.

8. Which musician/actor do you currently have a crush on? Hmm. I guess Lee Pace, not only is he attractive (to me) but, I think he is a wonderful actor as well.

9. If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be? Why? Venice, Italy. Oddly enough, I fell in love with this city after watching The Italian Job (one of my favorite movies) and ever since it has been a dream of mine to visit someday.

10. What are your top two biggest pet peeves? Those than do not show appreciation/love/thanks to those that support them and people that shame others, in any of it's forms.

11. Name a happy childhood memory :) Riding my very first bike...well, right up until I crashed into a tree. I haven't ridden a bike since lol

I Nominate:

Haley // Haley Here

PinkGemma Plus

Plump Parsnip

Lilybobombs

Emily // In A Faraway Tree

Becky // Does My Blog Make Me Look Fat?

Lozza

Cassandra // I Can't Afford My Style

Beth // Tinkerbell And The Lost Girls

Jackie // Five Two Certified

Kelly // Studio Gold

Questions For My Nominees:

1. Who is your favorite band/artist?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. Do you have a current favorite TV show?
4. What is one fashion item that you've been coveting recently?
5. Name three of your favorite stores to shop.
6. What is the greatest thing that you've learned since starting your blog?
7. If you could be any villain from a Disney movie, who would you be?
8. If you wanted to, what is one thing you could change or improve about your blog?
9. Best book that you've read recently.
10. What is your dream job/career?
11. If you could try anything new, what would it be?


Photo is from Google Images

Much love xo

Versatile Blogger Award #2

Hello my loves! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend; the weather has been increasingly amazing here and I can finally tell that spring has arrived :) I am truly amazed that I have been nominated for another Versatile Blogger Award; I cannot explain how absolutely marvelous you all are!! A HUGE thank you to the gorgeous Jess from Let's Play Makeup who nominated me! You can check out her blog here. If you haven't heard of her blog before, please go check it out now!

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog
• Tell seven things about yourself
• Select fifteen blogs that you recently discovered or follow regularly to nominate. Let those blogs know that you nominated them

Seven Facts About Me:

1. My car is named Ponyo (I LOVE Hayao Miyazaki films)

2. I am a complete sucker for B-horror movies! Here's looking at you House by the Cemetery & Dellamorte Dellamore

3. I have never learned how to ride a bike

4. My favorite tea is Earl Grey

5. I love to cook and bake

6. I attempted to to work as a scare actor for a haunted house...once

7. I LOVE SLOTHS!

I Nominate:

Holly // Busy Kissing Bees

Jade // Little Pennies

Pretty Purchases

Melissa // Scene Girl's Lifestyle

Just Vic

The Girl Who Invented The Romance

Photo is from Google Images

Much love xo

Liebster Award #3

Hey lovelies! I hope you all are having a spectacular weekend so far! :D I cannot believe that I have been nominated for another Liebster Award! A huge thank you to the beautiful El, who nominated me; you can check out her blog here. Onward we go lovelies!

Rules:

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate (not including your nominator)
• Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers that you nominate
• Answer the 11 questions given to you by your nominator
• Thank your nominator and give a link to their blog

Eleven Facts About Myself:

1. My favorite pattern is...you guessed it, Polka Dots!

2. My go to hobby is jewelry making

3. I very rarely watch TV with the exception of a few weekly shows

4. My favorite snack is croutons, I prefer them to potato chips

5. I dislike most sugary products

6. I have a secret tradition of naming my furbabies after the first thing that pops into my head

7. I accidentally stepped on Gerard Way's foot :(

8. I have a phobia of wearing contact lenses. I put them in once and started hyperventilating!

9. When I finish my half sleeves, I plan to have one arm dedicated to horror movies

10. It is my goal to open an animal sanctuary later in life

11. I collect old coins

El's Questions:

1. If you could only use 3 make up items what would they be? Lipstick, Eyebrow powder, and liquid eyeliner

2. Name one positive impact blogging has had on your life. Meeting such wonderful people! I have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of amazing people on my blogging journey.

3. What celebrity is the most inspirational to you? There are quite a few people that I admire and look up to but if I had to choose only one it would be Marilyn Monroe. She is just absolutely stunning to me even without the glam and makeup. Unfortunately, she was very misunderstood and people often judge her before knowing her story or anything about her life which was both fascinating and tragic. 

4. What social media site do you promote your blog on the most? At the moment, Twitter. Although I'm thinking about starting a Tumblr and Youtube channel in the future.

5. What is your skin care routine? I wash my face and exfoliate with my Ulta brush followed by moisturizing with either my Ahava Day moisturizer of my Philosophy Miracle Worker

6. Do you follow trends or prefer timeless pieces? Timeless pieces

7. What are your favorite make up brushes? I really don't have any favorites. The brushes that I use currently are a random mix of Walmart, Forever 21 and one Real Techniques brush.

8. What is the best advice you have ever gotten? Be yourself no matter what

9. What would you like to learn the most, such as language or a make up technique etc and why? I would LOVE to learn how to play piano. I love instrumental music and pianos in particular have always been very beautiful to me; hopefully one day I learn how to play.

10. Colors or neutrals? Neutrals mainly but, I do enjoy having pops of color here and there

11. Where would you like to be in 5 years time? I hope to be in the process of buying my own home and somewhat established in my fashion career. 

My Questions:

1. What is one goal that you have for yourself?

2. Who is your makeup and/or fashion icon?

3. What is your favorite accessory?

4. What is your favorite skincare item?

5. Name your holy grail makeup item.

6. If you follow trends, what has been your favorite trend of the year so far?

7. If you could time travel, what decade would you choose to go back to?

8. If you could, what influential person (alive or dead) would you like to meet?

9. What is your favorite color?

10. If you celebrate Halloween, what do you want to dress up as this year?

11. How and why did you first start blogging?

My Nominees: I wanted to stick to blogs that I have just recently discovered this time around

Jess // Let's Play Makeup

Kate // Katexo

Jessica // Olive + Hazel

Irna // Little Beauty Lashes

The Charming Cheshire

Photo is from Google Images

Much love xo

Say Hello To, Pie

Hey lovelies! I know that this is quite different from my normal blog posts but, I am just so excited! Since the little guy is all settled in now, I just wanted to share with you the newest pint sized addition to my furbaby family. Say hello to, Pie! He is a male Syrian hamster and I am absolutely enamored with him. Enjoy his little photo shoot below, isn't he adorable?! I think so!

I like to stuff my cheeks!

He has been here nineteen days now and has even introduced himself to the kitties already (while safely in his rolling ball of course!) It is hilarious to see their confusion and intrigue, they haven't quite figured him out yet.

Hello there readers!

I chose the name Pie for him because when stuffing his cheeks he reminds me of a pumpkin, aka Pumpkin Pie. And lets be honest, who doesn't love pie? 

Also, I want to hear from you all! If you have any, what are the names of YOUR furbabies? Comment below! 

Much love xo

Versatile Blogger Award!!

Hey lovelies! I cannot believe that I have been nominated for two awards in the same week; it means the world to me, you all are amazing! The lovely and gorgeous Athena over at Modestly Sophisticated nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award and I can't thank her enough! You can check out her VBA post here

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog
• Tell 7 things about yourself
• Select 15 blogs that you recently discovered or follow regularly to nominate. Let those blogs know that you nominated them.

Seven facts about me:

1. My favorite food is sushi. I LOVE IT. If you have never tried a godzilla roll, you're missing out!

2. I love the city of Venice and I really hope to live there someday

3. One of my favorite movies is The Italian Job (2003). This is how I came to love Venice and Mini Coopers!

4. In case you have never read my F.A.Q, I am 6'1

5. I love horror, especially zombies!

6. I have a weakness for banana cheesecake. It is delicious kryptonite

7. I love to read and I try to have a novel in my bag at all times

I nominate:

Sara // DancingWithDragQueens

Maddy // Missing All The Cracks In The Pavement

Kristina // Kristina's Beauty Bag

Christina // The Daily Sugar

Steph // Fun Size Beauty

Diana // FashionCandyFloss

Emily // WhatSheHearts

Pocket Rocket Fashion

Georgia // Georgia's Unique

Lexy // MissGlammyGirl

Sarah // StarlingBright

Robin // DiaryOfAClassyBroad

Anastasia // Glamorable

TheGlitterThread

Stiletto Siren

Thank you again Athena! To those nominated, congrats! I look forward to reading your answers. 

Photo is from Google Images

Much love xo

Liebster Award!

Hey lovelies! I'm excited to announce that I've been nominated for the Liebster Award TWICE! By the gorgeous ladies Maddy and Sara! You can check out Maddy's blog here and Sara's here. If you're not sure what a Liebster Award is, here's a little info: "The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find new blogs that they want to follow"

Now onto the rules! :

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate (not including your nominator)
• Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers that you nominate
• Answer the 11 questions given to you by your nominator
• Thank your nominator and give a link to their blog

11 Facts About Myself:

1. I love, love, love pinups, the 50's and anything vintage 

2. My shoe of choice are converse

3. My favorite film is Ever After

4. My favorite color is grey

5. I LOVE Frankenstein and Bride. I try to collect any merch of them that I can get my hands on

6. I listen to scores more than any other type of music

7. I love animals. Especially, cats, owls, bats and penguins

8. I am actually allergic to cats and yet, I own five. I would never ever trade them or any others for the world

9. I attend comic con every year

10. I currently have three tattoos and I plan on finishing my half sleeves in the near future

11. My blog name is based on one of my tattoos

Maddy's Questions:

1) Who is your fashion/makeup icon and why? This is a very difficult question for me, simply because I've been inspired by so much and so many people both famous and non-famous. I've always loved retro/pinup style fashion so I absolutely adore Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page. If I had to choose for the present, it's just impossible to narrow down so my favorites are Tess Munster, Teer Wayde, Marfmellow, Vintage or Tacky, GoldieStarling and so many more. To me, these women are just absolutely stunning and I'm awed by their makeup, fashion, and confidence. 

2) What is your favorite thing about yourself? I like that I'm a very carefree and confident person, it allows me to walk through a lot of situations with my head held high. Also, my eyebrows! For some odd reason they stay the same shape and I never have to shape them or bother them. 

3) What would you do if you came to a large sum of money? Well, first and foremost I would pay off all of my hospital and schooling bills and after that, I would absolutely donate to a few charities, depending on how much I had left my next goal would be to purchase my own home

4) What would your three wishes to a genie be? 1. Health for myself, friends, family & pets. 2. A lifetime supply of cheesecake in a variety of flavors. 3. More wishes. 

5) Best new dish you've recently tried. Baked lasagna from scratch!! I LOVE to cook and recently I've started making all of my meals completely scratch from start to finish. Amazing!

6) One fashion/beauty item you can't live without. Red lipstick! I adore red lipstick and my look honestly doesn't feel complete without it.

7) One fashion/beauty item you regret buying. Oh boy, well thankfully I have not purchased many duds on my makeup and fashion journey. If I had to pick however, I would say lime green converse. Now that I think back, I didn't give them the wear and love that they deserved. 

8) A goal you wish to accomplish by the end of 2013. Graduating, getting healthier and moving out. Wait..that's three. Oh well!

9) Best advice you ever received. Be yourself. No matter how outrageous, loud, or quirky. The best thing you can be is yourself because you are amazing, you are YOU and people will love you and you will love yourself.

10) What is something you could improve on? I try to learn and evolve as much as possible. With that said, I know that I could improve upon the content that I post on my blog to include a lot more fashion and not just reviews.

11) What came first, the chicken or the egg? Some primitive form of bird; something had to lay the egg right??

Sara's Questions:

1. When and why did you start blogging? I started blogging on January 30th, 2012. I started because I love makeup, I love writing and I felt that I had something to offer even if it only helped a few people.

2. What's one thing you've learned about yourself because of blogging? I've learned that I'm not the bad writer that I sometimes view myself as and that my blog posts do actually help a few people and that's all that matters.

3. What is one thing that has surprised you about blogging? (Ex. I didn't expect people to be so nice) It's not as easy as some might think. A lot of thought and effort goes into purchasing, reviewing, styling and keeping up with everything. I love it and I absolutely wouldn't change it but, some seem to think that it's just merely sitting behind a keyboard.

4. If you could only wear one makeup up look the rest of your life, which would it be...eye makeup with bare lips or lipstick with no eye makeup? Lipstick with no eye makeup, I need my red lips!

5. Who is your biggest beauty inspiration? This is a very difficult question for me, simply because I've been inspired by so much and so many people both famous and non-famous. I've always loved retro/pinup style fashion so I absolutely adore Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page. If I had to choose for the present, it's just impossible to narrow down so my favorites are Tess Munster, Teer Wayde, Marfmellow, Vintage or Tacky, GoldieStarling and so many more. To me, these women are just absolutely stunning and I'm awed by their makeup, fashion, and confidence.

6. What is your biggest pet peeve about bloggers that you've noticed? People who do not show appreciation for their fans/followers/readers, etc. This applies to far more people than just bloggers! You would not be in the place that you are if not for your amazing and dedicated followers. It saddens me to see individuals who brush off those who stand behind them as though they've gotten where they are simply by a gust of wind. 

7. What age did you start wearing makeup and what was the first makeup item you owned? I was 14/15 and I wore heavy eyeliner. My first and favorite was Estee Lauder's Automatic Eyeliner. Ahh the memories!

8. What is the best advice you've ever received? Be yourself! No matter how outrageous, loud, or quirky. The best thing you can be is yourself because you are amazing, you are YOU and people will love you and you will love yourself.

9. What's one beauty rule you always follow? I guess maybe prepping my nails before polish?

10. If you could be somebody else for one day, who would it be and why? Chris Hemsworth, I mean...who doesn't want to be Thor?

11. What are you most proud of with your blog? How much Dollface Beauty has grown! I started doing this with absolutely no clue and here I am over a year later going strong with 17 followers and over 5,000 page views. Thank you!!

Questions for my nominees:

1. Who or what has been your biggest inspiration in life so far?
2. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
3. What is your one ultimate holy grail product?
4. When you first started using makeup, what was your biggest "makeup crime"?
5. If you could be whisked away to one place, where would it be?
6. What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
7. What is one fashion item that you can't bear to throw away no matter how old it gets?
8. If you listen to music while putting on your makeup, what song really pumps you up for the day?
9. Is there a makeup/fashion trend past or present that you love but, haven't tried yourself?
10. What do you hope to achieve with your blog?
11. If any, what message or advice does your blog portray?

I Nominate: 

Kristina // Kristina's Beauty Bag

Mary // Glitter Odyssey

Miss Dalisay // Beauty Rehab

Michaela // I Sold The World

Dee // Xxelle Fatshion

WeLoveSwatches

Jen // JenTea

Alisa // Curious Alisa

Athena // Modestly Sophisticated

V // Beauty Out Loud

Gabs G // Beauty Madness

Photo is from Google Images

Much love and many thanks! xo

WOW!

Hey lovelies! Dollface Beauty now has fifteen amazing readers and I've reached almost 5,000 page views!! How incredible is that? I'm so happy it's insane; it still blows my mind every single day to know that people read my blog and actually enjoy my posts. I just wanted to write a quick message and say thank you, THANK YOU to each and every one of you. It is an amazing feeling to hear from you all and to know that I'm doing a good job so far. If you have any suggestions for me on how to improve, please don't hesitate to let me know. As I've said before, my biggest goal is to grow, improve, and evolve with you all!

So THANK YOU to all my lovelies that take time out of your day to read my blog, it means the world to me and I hope that this little blog continues to grow. I love you all.

Much love xo

My Skincare & Haircare Story

Hello lovelies! I thought I would share a little bit about me today. Like so many others, I've been through countless things trying to find the best products and the best routine and let me tell you, both my skin and hair have really been on a journey. From horrific to bad to decent and everything in between. Over the last year or so I have really taken an initiative to get my skin and hair healthy and on track. Like all things, no matter what you do on the outside, it all needs to start from within first and foremost. Because of my PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) condition, my skin, hair and nails have always been in a constant brittle state and no amount of love could really turn that around, until now.

The PCOS causes thinning spots in my hair but lately I've found that my hair is a lot thicker, stronger and overall much healthier. I start by washing my hair every 7-10 days or so. I know this might seem like a loooong time to some people but because of my extremely dry hair (we're talking BONE DRY here!) this is what works best for me. I've been using John Freida's Frizz Ease Hydrating shampoo & conditioner and I really like these two. Unlike other shampoos that I've used, this one does not make my hair feel dry or like straw, my hair actually feels really silky and soft after using it. After washing, conditioning and towel drying my hair. I use Organix Extra Strength Moroccan Argan oil in my hair, about 2 quarter size amounts, because my hair is so dry, I use this daily. I then use a quarter size amount of John Freida's Frizz Ease Straight Fixation Smoothing Creme. I brush my hair well and blow dry my hair on low hot until it is about 90% dry and I finish by letting it air dry. Every 2 weeks I deep condition my hair with pure olive oil and egg yolks, I mix the two together and leave in on my hair under a plastic cap for an hour before washing it out. My hair has really come a long way since I started this routine and trying to eliminate as many chemicals and heat sources as I could.

For my skin, again because of the PCOS, my skin is VERY acne prone. For as long as I can remember, I've always picked at my face and spots. Horrible I know. Even though I know better now, the damage has already been done in the form of dark spots and acne scars all around my face. Add that to never using moisturizers and you can see why my skin was in such a horrid state. For awhile I had been interested in skin lighteners but I've always been weary of using them out of fear of what might go wrong. Thanks to Birchbox who sent me the DDF Brightening Cleanser which is now a holy grail product for me, it has lightened my spots and scarring and really helps keep my breakouts at bay as well. For a moisturizer I use the Philosophy Miracle Worker Anti Aging serum and moisturizer. I like to leave my skin pretty natural and so I don't use foundation, I personally try to stay away from caking makeup on my face and more so, I just don't like the way it feels. I use a primer + powder for a matte airbrushed face. Every few weeks I like to give myself a whipped egg white facial, I use one egg and let it sit on my skin for 15 minutes.

Because of my condition, it is very vital that in addition to my medication, I supplement with a multi-vitamin, echinacea and probiotics. Not only have these helped my overall health but they've done wonders for my nails. I also drink tons of water and have altered my diet to include lots of fruits and veggies. I have always had trouble with my nails breaking and peeling. The only product that I've found to help this has been Revlon's Calcium Gel, I use a coat of this under all of my nail polish. It took a long while but my nails have gotten a lot stronger and they don't peel nearly as much. I might not ever see a day where my nails are completely problem free but as of right now I couldn't be happier.

My biggest problem overall was stress, eliminating stress from my daily life has been the hardest thing to accomplish by far and even though I haven't mastered it completely, I've noticed that just doing simple things have helped my health so much more. After battling these problems for so long, it finally seems like my skin and hair have taken a turn for the better and I can only hope that it continues from there. I cannot explain the sheer embarrassment and low self esteem that I used to experience because of this and I know that even though that's all better now for me, people everywhere are still dealing with it. I encourage you to do like I did and take the initiative to turn it around and remember that no matter what, always love yourself. You are gorgeous just the way you are and all of your flaws are what make you perfect. Also, if you are a woman battling PCOS let me know in the comments below, send me an email and share your story with me, I would love to hear from you.

I love you guys but please, please, please consult with your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet. It's for your own safety.

Much love xo

You Are Beautiful

Photo is from Google Images

Remember this and pass it on. Just 3 short simple words can make someones day so much better. When you're feeling down or unsure just remember, You are beautiful and you are amazing just the way you are.