Consistency Makes All the Difference

Consistency makes all the difference in establishing effective habits and accomplishing one's goals. So this year I am establishing daily positive habits and routines that will push me into accomplishing this years goals and furthering my self development.

Fluency in Spanish

I am aiming towards reaching the intermediate level in Spanish. At the moment I can comprehend, and communicate beginners Spanish adequately. However, I need to push my comprehension skills further and absorb the Spanish language at a more accelerated pace. So I will be giving myself a curriculum with flashcards, Spanish textbook, Memrise app, and the Spanish media. A daily study of two hours a day is my daily language goal. Currently at my part time job I am surrounded by Spanish speakers, so immersing myself in the language several hours a day at work will definitely be beneficial for me.

$1000 Emergency Savings Fund

Having an emergency savings for a rainy day is so crucial and fundamental to being an independent adult. Many financial advisers and books I've come across seem to agree having at minimum a $1000 emergency savings is a good starting point. So for this year I will be following a build a $1000 emergency saving challenge that takes 44 weeks. Although this is one year long financial goal, I have several financial habits I want to establish routinely. One habit I am implementing rigorously is staying on budget. Whatever the established rules are I must follow and that includes having to focus on my needs versus my wants. In another blog post I will cover needs versus wants in budgeting. Staying on task with proper budgeting to me means being less of a mindless consumer. There is always going to be new things I want but sometimes you must delay instant gratification for long term satisfaction.

Thriving Blog

My very first published blog post was in January 2014. That was four years ago to be exact! I had so many topics, areas, and ideas I wanted to cover and write about. I still have a plethora of topics I want and will publish in the near future. However I want to see this blog go forward with a specific vision and thrive this year. So going forward I will establish weekly habits to research my blog topics, write, doodle, and plan them, and then publish on a weekly basis. Considering my usual posting style on this blog was not on a consistent basis, this year I am pushing my limits to do much better.

Clear Radiant Skin

Clear radiant skin has always appeared elusive to me due to my acne scarring and hyper pigmentation. This year I am adamant about changing my skin for the better. I've always had a decent skincare routine consisting of cleansing, moisturizing, and the occasional face mask. I love the idea of using both traditional skincare methods such as clay, rosewater, diy natural facial masks, and modern skincare such as advanced sunscreen, chemical peels, and vitamin extracted serums. Nonetheless, this year I am in the process of implementing a strict morning and night routine complete with double cleansing, moisturizing, vitamin c serums, peels, daily masks, and upping my water intake.

Reading Goals

I have a moderate sized and eccentric book collection that surprisingly fits in my closet shelf next to my purse collection. In my collection there are titles on the history of bohemians, art of seduction, hostessing for the modern woman, gardening, herbs A-Z, baking in America, history of spices, African American history, and novels of all sorts. However a good portion of these books are unread and sadly untouched. I unfortunately have that tragic habit of buying an intriguing book based on its subject or synopsis but never making the plans to actually read the book in it's entirety. This year I intend on correcting that tragic habit by reading all the books already in my collection and the necessary books on my pinterest list. The books I deem necessary on my pinterest list are to further my self improvement goals and become further well read. For every month I will have a streamlined book reading list that subjects will cover strategy, relationships, self-improvement, and biographies.

That Girl Challenge Update

Sooooo I started the That Girl Challenge nearly two years ago with a nice list of what I hope to accomplish in this challenge. Well I will surely admit that it was a total bust. But it's a new start and a new year... I am still young and can turn things around. So here is my update to my that girl challenge and how I go about accomplishing this. 

Skincare Game on Point

Skincare Products

Cleanse (Aveeno Foaming Cleanser)

Toner (Rosewater)

Serum (Snail Bee High Content Essence)

Moisturizer (Cetaphil Daily Moisturizer)

Fade Cream (Ambi Fade Cream,Vicco Turmeric Cream)

Sunblock (Nuetrogena Ultrasheer 30+ Sunblock)

Occasionally exfoliate (Alba Botanica Scrub)

My Skincare routine is tailored to adjust all my skincare needs. All products are to help erase my dark acne scars, even and brighten my skin tone, and provide a youthful glow. So the basic skincare routine is to cleanse, tone the skin, use a serum for evening and brightening, a moisturizer to seal and provide supple skin, fade cream to fade dark scars and evening the skin. Sunblock as a last step, to protect the skin from the damaging effects of sun rays. 

I'm Painting My Face

Makeup Arsenal

Primer (Black Radiance Primer)

Foundation (Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24hr)

Powder (Too Faced Pressed Powder)

Blush (Wet n Wild Mellow Pink)

Contour kit (Sleek, optional)

Eyeliner (Wet n Wild Liquid Eyeliner)

Mascara (Maybelline Colossal Volume Express) 

Lip liner (Mac Cork Lipliner)

Lipstick  (Nude/Revlon Mink Pink)

For the past few years I've been trying out different brands of foundation and powders and experimenting with my makeup techniques. I'v settled into a nice set look and I seem to be receiving compliments all the time from family and friends. I like to call my makeup addiction face painting or putting on my face in the morning, LOL. It's a wonderful art form that adds a touch of luxury to my morning rituals. My everyday makeup routine is a uniform look I've perfected to achieve the look of nice skin and bright big eyes. I use foundation to even my skin tone and conceal my dark marks. For my eyes I create a thin winged line for eyeliner and volumizing mascara to create larger doll like eyes. I just started dabbling in blush and contour powders and I just have to say how much I love these powders as they bring so much life to the face. Pink blush makes my cheeks really rosy and contour powder helps to sculpt my baby cheeks.

Haircare Game on Point

Haircare

Prepoo overnight coconut oil (irregular)

Shampoo twice twice a week

Deep condition protein/moisture twice a week

Moisturize and seal every two or three days

My hair has definitely come a long way, but boy have I had some serious setbacks. I want to say with definite confidence heat is the devil but we are still good friends. So I have just come to terms that I use heat sparingly and I will purchase only high end quality straighteners. I've recently found a set hairstyle that fits my oval face graciously. Half up ponytail half down twistout with a side part of bangs (twists). Side part bangs frame my face really well more so than no bangs. I sometimes change my hair products and try out new ones but I do have a few holy grail items that I keep in regular rotation. Holy grail status: Organics Hair Mayonnaise, Coconut Oil, Aussie Moist Deeep Conditioner, and Shea Moisture Shea Butter Conditioner

 Developing Personal Style 

Nine West Open Toe Heeled Ballet Flats

I have finally found my balance between under dressed and overdressed; it's all about the shoes and the lips. In the last few years I began to cultivate a sense of personal style. I have my new go to flats that are not too casual or too dressy but works for almost any event. Just like with my beauty routine my fashion starts with the basics that compliments my figure and style. In partaking upon that girl challenge I've discovered my own personal style that reflects my personality. My style is classic, chic with whimsical notes and I always go for feminine pieces. My body shape is straight so I steer towards outfits that accentuate my waist and I overly indulge in dresses and skirts more than anything. I tend to gravitate towards solid colors, a few prints, mostly neutral colors or one bright statement piece, flare dresses, a line skirts, and kitten heels. 

In keeping up with that girl challenge, I will be updating once a week. Let me know below in the comments if you want beauty and fashion pictures included everytime. Kind of like Oufit Of The Day (OOTD) and Face Of The Day (FOTD)

Tumblrs I Love

http://www.artoflovely.com/

   


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http://lecoil.com/

      

           



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That Girl Challenge

That Girl Challenge:                                           

"You are the finest,loveliest, tenderest,and most beautifulperson I have ever known -and even thatis an understatement."- F. Scott Fitzergerald

I truly believe in feeling wonderful everyday if you want to be productive everyday. The old saying goes if you look good you feel good. So with that said I joined a thread around January on a forum I frequent called That Girl Challenge. The premise of the challenge revolves around being THAT Girl. Well who is that girl one must ask? For me personally, that girl is ... one who looks well put together everyday. She has a long lovey and soft mane of hair, with subtle to moderately applied but effective makeup that compliments her features, and perfectly painted nails everyday. She is that girl who knows when to wear the right clothes at the right time for the right occasion. She inherently believes in the phrase "Dressing well is just good manners". That girl is also very well poised, elegant, and generally just graceful all around.

Now please don't get me wrong I believe That Girl isn't only radiantly beautiful on the outside but beautiful and highly knowledgeable on the inside. That Girl is well versed on current, past, and future events and world history. From my standpoint That Girl respects and I curious of other cultures and their histories and politics. She delights in acquiring new knowledge whether it relates to her studies or not. That girl is just all around polished on all levels: beauty, brains, and all. On my blog I will update weekly on my That Girl Challenge. Stay tuned ^_^
                                                                                                                                                                 

That Girl is... Pretty, feminine, and angelic like.

That Girl is...Lovely, beautiful, and always alluring

That Girl is...has a great skincare regimen
 with attention to natural and modern techniques

 

That Girl is... has luscious, soft, bouncy, and springy natural curls and kinks

   

That Girl is...has a marvelous sense of fashion

That Girl is...is Healthy & Fit Shape

                       

                                    That Girl is... has glowing, youthful, even toned brown skin