Positive Affirmations #MakeItHappy

I have never really learned the skill of accepting a compliment gracefully. If someone compliments me, or gives me a positive affirmation, I cannot bring myself to look up and into their eyes and confirm that I am listening to their kind words. I'll laugh, respond with an ugly face (to make them laugh), or I might just concentrate really hard on the ground and tell myself to breath to get through it. For me it is an awkward experience filed with unnecessary tension. It doesn't matter if it is coming from someone I love or not. I can't seem to get myself use to this interaction.

This is why I love Hannah Hart's new video. She challenges her friends to a game, where they have to tell each other positive affirmations without laughing. I would probably never be able to get through a challenge like this without dying but I like the idea of making this challenge popular. Even if you are just telling yourself these affirmations. Kind words make positive impacts. 

Not only does this type of video encourage positivity but if we could get to a point where positive affirmations become a norm, we won't need to make things like these a game. It will happen naturally in every day conversation. Now imagine how much of a happier world we could live in if we could spread more confidence and encouragement like this!

Next time someone compliments you, I challenge you to take it to heart. It could make your day so much better just by letting someone in. 

Cielo 

DIY Hair Treatment: Add Strength and Thickness to Your Hair!

Since I dyed my hair burgundy (sadly its mostly faded by now), my hair has reached an all time high in terms of breakage and thinness. Ever since that lice breakout my family had when I was 10, I have gotten use to the frailness of my hair. I hate it and have tried every treatment out there to try and reverse my pitiful hair and nothing has been working…until now! Since using this home made treatment with natural oils and honey my hair has been feeling stronger. The oils don't cure my split ends, only cutting them will fix that but I don't fancy being bald. However, they do mend them together and make them less noticeable to my eyes. I've only been using this treatment once a week for two weeks. Literally two times and it has made the biggest difference to my hair.

I will say this, although some of the oils that I will mention have the ability to condition your hair, I would not concentrate much of this on the crown of your head. If you have thin hair it will just weigh down your hair down flat against your head. That isn't what we are looking for. 

I made enough to last me and my mother a good 3 months. But if you have longer hair or have more family members using it you may want to adjust the recipe accordingly. 

What you will need: 

1. 7 huge tablespoons Coconut Oil ( I used a solid coconut oil so I had to melt it down).
2. 1/4 of a tablespoon of Tea Tree Oil (this is some potent stuff!).
3. 1 tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel. 
4. 3 tablespoons of Honey (raw honey works best, but work with what you got).
5. 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil.
6. 1 Tablespoon of the Garnier Fructis Moroccan Sleeps Oil Treatment (or just use Moroccan oil if you have some). 

Instructions:

You Can Skip steps 1-3 if you have a microwave. 

1. Take any small to medium mason jar and put it in a pot of water. Make sure the water only reaches halfway to the top of the mason jar. 
2. For three minutes leave the pot on medium heat. It is important to leave the mason jar in the pot as it will heat up with the water. If you were to insert the mason jar after it was boiling you would risk it cracking or breaking as a result of the temperature change. 
3. When you see water simmering add the coconut oil and continuously stir it in the mason jar with a long spoon (as not to burn your arm) as it melts. You don't want to cause the oil to over heat and boil, so once it is melted, remove from heat. 
4. If you are using a microwave, melt the coconut oil in 20 seconds increments with breaks to stir, until it is completely melted. 
5. Add in the honey and the aloe vera first as they take longer to melt and need more heat.
6. Add in the olive oil and tea tree oil leaving the Moroccan oil last. 
7. Let the mixture cool before applying.

You don't have to use all of these oils, but after a lot of trial and error, this combination of oils has been working the best for my hair. All these oils have wonderful properties that can help your hair, skin, and nails. Feel free to mix and match and figure out what oils and in what ratios they work the best for you. 

When applying, make sure you don't concentrate on your roots, especially if you have thin hair. Adding oils to your hair won't make your hair more oily if you are careful with how much you add. You could use a brush to add the oil to your hair, I prefer to pour a little using a dropper into my hand before distributing it into my hair with my hands a brush. I would recommend leaving this in anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before washing it out with a mild shampoo and a great conditioner. Let air dry afterwards, and see the results come with time.

~Cielo

What are some of your favorite hair treatments? 

Happy Birthday Roomie!

room·mate

 noun \ˈrüm-ˌmāt, ˈru̇m-\

: a person who shares a room, apartment, or house with someone else

We started out as ROOMMATES, we didn't know anything really about each other. But for some reason our admission counselor thought it would be good for us to share a room. We met once for ice cream and after rejecting me as your roommate, weeks later you hit me up and asked me to be yours. We started to plan for our ideal room.

friend·ship

ˈfren(d)SHip/

noun

the emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends.

synonyms:

relationship, close relationship, attachment, mutual attachment,association, bond, tie, link, union; informalbromance "lasting friendships"

• a relationship between friends.

  plural noun: friendships

  "she formed close friendships with women"

  synonyms:

  amity, camaraderie, friendliness, comradeship, companionship,fellowship, fellow feeling, closeness, affinity, rapport, understanding,harmony, unity; More
• a state of mutual trust and support between allied nations.
• 
  

Somehow a FRIENDSHIP started to bloom. I guess it was unavoidable. We didn't really know anyone else and we were stuck with each other for the next year. Hesitance turned into trust. And how could it not, we were with each other 24/7. Same major, same dorm, same music taste. We grew closer than I thought possible, which was weird at first. But it was cool to experience our roommate honey moon phase. Meaning, you waking me up, me making you coffee and us putting in so much effort in our experiences as we trudge through the slipper ice and annoying snow to get to our 8am biology class (which I may or may not have spent it all on tumblr). 

Team mate

Somebody on the same team that, no matter what, won't quit on you, will always defend you in front of non-team members and is there for the team.

Team mates are always there for each other

And when you finally let me drag you into rugby, something we both love and hold dear we became TEAMMATES, not that we weren't already. But at least now we were "official teammates" in a sense, so you weren't just my roommate or a friend, you were a teammate. A prop. Someone who had my back to make sure no big rugby players tackled or destroyed the scrum too easily. Sometimes, my life was literally in your hands. 

plan

plan/

noun

1. 1.

   a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something.

   "the UN peace plan"

   synonyms:

   procedure, scheme, strategy, idea, proposal, proposition, suggestion,action point; More
2. 2.

   an intention or decision about what one is going to do.

   "I have no plans to retire"

   synonyms:

   intention, aim, idea, intent, objective, object, goal, target, ambition "her plan was to win a medal"

And then we both made difficult decisions and decided to move on from our initial PLAN, 

change

CHānj/

verb

1. 1.

   make or become different.

   "a proposal to change the law"
2. 2.

   take or use another instead of.

   "she decided to change her name"
3. 
   
4. we literally decided to CHANGE the direction of our lives. 

I'm so thankful to have you in my life. You literally are like a sister to me. We can't see each other every day now, but just know that I support you in everything you do and that you will go far in the world. I love you roomie and happy birthday. May the odds be ever in your favor and cheers to a new beginnings and lasting friendships.

~Cielo

P.S. Roomies who pray together stay together. Roomies who slay together stay together. Roomies who survived the crazyness of eco house will move out to a whole other state :) (inside joke).

P.P.S. I am a sap, but if anyone asks, I never did this :P.

Blogmas Day 2 - November Favorites

Now I'm not sure if I have done one of these monthly favorites before, as this blog is fairly new, but here are some of my November favorites! Note that the images below were not taken by me, but they did not have any sources. Hope you enjoy it, and if you have tried any one of those products or like any of the artist, let me know in the comments!

                                                                          Beauty

                                                                       

Favorite Beauty Store - 1. Lush: Lush is a store full of wonder and joy where you can get so many, well made organic products. Their jars and bottles are never virgins (meaning that they are all from recycled products). While their items are a bit on the pricey side, they are worth their while and I really love to use them when I can (meaning I'm at home with no college showers), and when I can afford it. Plus the service is awesome. They remember me every time I go, even notice if I get a haircut. 

2. Bubblegum- This lip scrub is awesome. It is perfect for the colder weather that tends to dry out your lips. I like to use this in the morning before putting on lipstick. 

3. Godmother Soap is like a less powerful version of snow fairy, a limited edition lush shower gel (review coming soon). 

4. Rehab is literally my favorite shampoo of the moment. It is a bit on the pricey side but you can stretch it out and your hair will love it!

5. Kiko Concealer I was hesitant to  put this on my blog because I bought this concealer in Italy. But it is a wonderful light concealer and my friends told me they opened in New York. So check it out if you can! 

Clothes

6. Literally one of my favorite things to wear. All the time. It is so warm and fuzzy and goes with everything. Especially with beanies and leggings/jogger pants.                                                                               Food                                    7. This is neither good for you or a beauty item, but ramen. I have been so tight on money I have found so many ways to make ramen into something that resembles something healthy. On a budget too. Maybe I'll show you one day.         8.  Mac and Cheese bites. Not healthy either. But damn, they are good.                                        

People

 9. Hannah Hart Literally will always be my favorite person, but her new videos are on point. And she is unapologetically herself and I love it. My goal is literally to sit with her one day and just talk. She is amazing and I could fan girl forever so I will stop.

10. iisuperwomenii, as I have spoke about her before, is also amazing and holds a huge place in my heart. I respect her hard work and dedication.

11/12: Sunshine and Lewy. My roommates. No explanations needed.

Songs

And my all time favorite video iiiiiiiiiissssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments below. 

xoxo

Cielo

Day 1 Day 3

No Drought- Dry Shampoo Review

I haven't really done a review on a product in a while. Mostly because I am a broke college student who can't afford to go around buying things for a blog...as much as I would like to anyway. But this is a product that I had to try because I have so much faith in lush as a company. As part of my daily routine I usually bathe in the evenings, right before going to bed and if I need to shower I do so in the morning as it helps me to wake up. But lately, all this work has been piling up and I haven't been able to properly dry my hair before class. So I run around with wet hair in the cold that sometimes freezes depending on the whether. My solution. Don't wash it in the morning...but that wasn't working. So I decided not to wash it....my hair is too oily. So I started trying dry shampoos. Some dry shampoos make my hair feel like I literally have hairspray in my hair. With others you can actually see a little film of white. And with my newly dyed hair it is very noticeable. So I decided to go with Lush No Drought dry shampoo. Here are my thoughts.

Application: 8/10
This isn't a spray, you literally click the little button at the top and it makes a little opening at the top of the bottom. From then you can poor out as much product as you want. A little really goes a long way with this product. Trust me you don't want too much. It reminds me of the baby powder method, but it doesn't smell anything like it.  I prefer this to a spray because then I can see exactly where and how much I will be applying to my hair. If I poor too much out I can poor it back into the bottle. Next  I put it where I need it and shake the rest out of my hair. Stuff from a can is probably easier to use, but I'm not about all those chemicals.

Packaging: 9/10
Simple is the best thing for this product. You can see how much you have left in the bottle and it seals in the scent well. You can recycle the bottle afterwards as well. Simple and sweet.

Scent: 10/10
Dry shampoos seem to get a bad wrap for its sometimes bad smell. And while their job is to get rid of excess oils, sometimes we want to freshen up our hair and make it smell nice. It is nice combination of mainly grapefruit and lime, it really makes my mouth water a bit. It can become a problem.

Price: 10/10
Most dry shampoos in their full size are around $8-$10. No Drought costs $13.95. Usually that would be a problem, but a dry shampoo bottle lasts my roommate at most 3 months. I purchased this bottle in late August, it is now November and it is not even 1/4 of the way done. I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted until next August.

Availability: 9/10
Sadly, this product is only available through Lush Stores. But this product is also vegan so many more people can use it. Which is why it gets such a high ratings.

What is your favorite dry shampoo? Any thoughts on Lush? Let me know!

xoxo
Cielo

Building The Confidence

In my sociology class we learned about in-groups and out-groups. In-groups are any group of people that share the same interest and approve of each others actions. Out-groups are any people who the in-group likes to reject, make fun of or who they just don't approve. There are deeper explanations that I could go into but for right now but I won't as it isn't necessary. The more time passes the more I realize that media is becoming an impossible in-group to join. You see it everywhere. In magazines, on Youtube, Tumblr. Anywhere that can be manipulated by the media will be. And the more we try to fight it the less it seems that our messages are being heard.
                               

 The people we see on our magazine don't even look like themselves! Photoshop, though really cool is altering our beliefs on beauty. Beauty isn't something that you can even fit in a box. There are so many more layers than what you look like that determine your beauty. That definition changes by culture and location. It is sad to see that Americanized version of beauty is bleeding into some many other cultures, and in some places girls are bleaching their skin to fit into these molds.

To me, molds are meant to be broken. Nothing should be a cookie cutter version of another. Everyone is inately different. You will never met someone like you in the world because everything fluctuates. There will never be another 19 year old Cielo, typing this blogpost in the library of her college at 2:30 pm instead of being in her Organic Chemistry class in the year 2014.

I wish there was more diversity in my social media feeds. I want people of different races, sexual orientations, sexes, social classes, sizes and religions on my Youtube subscription list. I want beauty gurus and fashion blogs from other countries to gain more recognition for the work. And most of all I want the originality that can only come from these differences to shine through. Being biracial I can say that having different points of views, and beliefs is a wonderful experience. Being able to pick and chose what you do and why is empowering. Having these types of resources are important and I hope that more young girls step up to plate and shine.
xoxo

Cielo

"We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion."

Halloween 2014

Halloween isn't something that I ever really looked forward too. You guys are aware that I've have alway had a bit more of me to love. I was Cinderella for like 5 years, a gypsy for another three, then I just stayed home in a fort, well into my high school years. I was a minion last year. But push comes to shove, I haven't really put any effort into my costume in for a long time. This year was different. Having done a sugar skull make up before for my visual arts class,  I decided to transfer it onto myself, with some help with my roommate of course. I got a cheap make up set from Walmart, didn't spend more than 6 bucks on it, and then I got an eye pencil for just 1 dollar.

I covered my face with a white liquid base. My only issue was that it did not dry properly and it too so many layers to get something that resembled an even white canvas on my face. Next I used the black eyeliner to give myself a black eye and I made sure to go over it with matt black shadow to help it last throughout the night. Ravyn drew in the design with black eyeliner and filled in any petals with a pink shadow as well. It was a simple but effective design. I mixed 3 lipsticks to get a dark shade of  lipstick and went over with the black pencil to give myself stitch marks.

For my outfit I used one of my long floral maxi dresses, and a scarf my best friend gave me for Christmas a few years back as a veil.

At college you get two days of Halloween, Friday and Saturday. So for Saturday I only did half of my face as a sugar skull and did my normal make up on my other half with a bigger design. I think it came out pretty good. Considering we danced the night away on Saturday, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxox

Halloween no es algo realmente he tenido ganas de celebrar. Yo fui la Cenicienta por 5 años, una gitana por tres, y después me quedaba en casa en mis años de escuela secundaria. No he puesto ningún esfuerzo en mi traje de Halloween por un largo tiempo. Este año fue diferente. Después de haber hecho una calavera de azúcar para mi clase de artes visuales, decidí trasladarlo a mí mismo con un poco de ayuda con mi compañero de habitación, por supuesto. Me compre un maquillaje barato de Walmart, no gaste más de 6 dólares en él , y luego me dieron un lápiz de ojos por sólo 1 dólar.

Me cubrí la cara con una base de líquido blanco . Mi único problema fue que no se secaba correctamente y tuve que ponerme tantas capas para conseguir algo que parecía un lienzo blanco, pero en mi cara. Siguiente usé el delineador negro para darme un ojo negro y me aseguré de ir sobre ella con negro mate sombra para ayudar a que dure toda la noche. Ravyn dibujó el diseño con el delineador de ojos negro y relleno los pétalos con una sombra de color rosa. Era un diseño simple pero eficaz. Mezclé 3 barras de labios para conseguir un tono oscuro de la barra de labios y me acerqué con el lápiz negro para darme la puntada marcas.

Para mi ropa he usado unas de mis vestidos largos florales, y un pañuelo de mi mejor amigo me dio para la Navidad hace unos años como un velo.

En la universidad te dan dos días de Halloween, viernes y sábado. Así para el sábado yo sólo hice la mitad de mi cara como una calavera de azúcar e hice mi habitual hacer en mi otra mitad con un diseño más grande. Creo que salió bastante bien. Teniendo en cuenta que bailamos toda la noche del sábado, me sorprende que duró todo el tiempo que lo hizo!

xoxo

Cielo

Miss Manga Review

Whenever I judge a mascara, I always end up comparing it to the Benefit, They're Real mascara. That mascara is amazing, it literally gives my lashes so much life. Beautiful lashes can literally change the way you look. Longer lashes make your eyes look bigger and when paired with the right under eye concealer can make you look more awake. Some people might even say more youthful and innocent which is what the Japanese tend to go for in their fashion and in their manga. I have been trying out this mascara for 2 weeks now and I can definitely see it replacing my way more expensive Benefit mascara. 

Packaging 9/10

The packaging is pink and shiny, it is easy to grab the attention of any girl looking to add to her make-up collection. It shows manga characters in the background, which are know for their characteristic long lashes. The wand is flexible and can easily bend with enough pressure. It makes it easier to apply to the inner corners of your eyes. The only thing that I wish was different was the fact that the tube is chunky, even though it probably doesn't hold more mascara than other tubes do. 

Availability 7/10

Maybe it was just me, but none of my near by drugstores(Duane Reads) carried this mascara. I ended up finding it a mile from my house. And living in the city, with so many stores, that was shocking. I guess there wasn't much of a demand for it. But slowly it has been appearing in my area. 

Price 10/10

I paid around $8 for this mascara, which I feel is very affordable for the quality you are getting. Though prices may vary depending on where you are from.

Before Picture

Being very excited about trying this out

Lasting Power 9/10

Usually it is the wand that makes the mascara, but in this case I think it is the formula. I tried out the waterproof brand, even forced myself to see a sad movie to see how it would do with me crying and it worked out pretty well. I feel like it lasts 8 hours before it starts bothering you with flakiness and dryness. The formula is very tacky and it dries quickly. It lets you build up with it. Your lashes do look fake if you build it up enough. It isn't difficult to remove if you have a make up remover, water doesn't do so well. But if you don't have any, olive oil works really well too. 

As you can see above my eyelashes are really popping out. They even have a nice curl to it, something that my lashes always refuse to do. They even held up for 2+ hours which never happens, no matter what I am using. 

Making weird faces at the camera. Can you see my lashes? :)

 9 hours later, very tired as you can see. There is only some slight smudging but the lashes still look wide and long. I love it. Wish I would have taken a better picture though!

Let me know what your favorite mascaras are below! Any recommendations? 

xoxo Cielo