Inspired Idea: 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Life

Published on by Lee2 Comments

We are officially in the middle of March, and I’m feeling more inspired than ever by the arrival of spring. To me, this season marks a time to refresh, clean out, and reflect. I’m sure these urges are even stronger for those of you who live in cold climates that have you feeling ready to shake off the snow and resurface as the days get warmer. In the spirit of initiating my own spring awakening, today I’m sharing some ways to do a mini life overhaul this season. Now, I’m not recommending you do these all at once, but now is a better time than ever to start chipping away at your spring cleaning to-do list. If you work through this list along with me, I can bet that by the time summer arrives, you’ll be feeling fresh as a daisy…

1. Do a tech detox.
When you hear the phrase “tech detox” you probably think I’m going to suggest you take some time off your phone to unplug. And while that’s all well and good to do often, I’m referring to actually cleaning up the contents on your phone so that it’s less cluttered and less distracting. The first great way to do this is to clean up who you are following on Instagram. This social media app is distracting enough as it is—add in scrolling through dozens of photos from accounts you don’t even know why you started following in the first place and you’re looking at a guaranteed time waster. Go through the list of who you follow, removing accounts whose content you don’t care to see as much of. The best part is that you will be able to more easily see photos from your friends, family and accounts that really matter when you open the app. The second great way to clean up your phone is to delete old photos from your camera roll. We all know that these photos take up space on our phones, causing them to eventually run slower. Cleaning up your camera not only will feel great, but it will also help you to find old memories a lot easier when looking for a specific moment from the past.

2. File away your email inbox.
If you look at the mail icon app on your iPhone and see a red bubble showing a number in the hundreds (or thousands!), this tip is for you. Take an afternoon to create a filing system for your email inbox. You can start by marking all old emails as “read” and filing them in bulk in one folder, then beginning your filing system from that moment on. The folders you make are up to you, but it’s a good idea to include ones based on the categories of emails you receive most often so that you can easily find old emails based on those categories. The end goal is to have a “working inbox” that displays a select number of emails pertaining to current projects, ongoing projects, and things that need to be responded to ASAP. It will work as a to-do list and keep you organized.

3. Tackle your wardrobe.
Now that we’ve gotten two tech tips out of the way, it’s time to dive into spring-cleaning physical items and areas of your house. Many of us clean out our closets regularly, and spring is an especially great time to go through the items you didn’t reach for all winter long and make room for new spring and summer purchases. When I clean out my closet instead of pulling out what I am willing to get rid of, I take everything out and only put back the pieces I really love and wear.  I also pack away seasonal item like scarves, coats and hats during spring and summer and do the same with bathing suit cover-ups and sundresses during Fall and Winter. If you can’t decide whether you should keep something ask yourself these questions:

  • When was the last time I wore this?
  • Do I like how I feel/look when I wear this?
  • Would I buy this today if I were shopping in a store?

If the answers to these questions lead you to believe the piece has run its course, it’s time to place it into your give-away pile.

4. Refresh your fridge and pantry.
Hoarding expired condiments and stale pantry items is a surefire way to achieve an unkempt kitchen. Organizing your fridge and pantry is, in my opinion, even easier than cleaning out your closet. It’s a black and white decision because of a little thing we call expiration dates. Those bottles of ketchup, BBQ sauce and salad dressing that have been in your refrigerator door for three years? Pitch them. Those pints of ice cream that have gathered so much freezer burn they look like they’re growing stalagmites? Get rid of them. That opened bag of crackers that’s been tucked back on your pantry shelf for an undeterminable amount of time? Toss them. Trust me, nothing will feel better than opening your fridge, freezer and pantry to see fresh items you know you’ll grab when cooking or snacking.

5. Spring clean your beauty routine.
You didn’t think I’d leave beauty and makeup out of this convo, did you? Take some time this season to wash your makeup brushes and replace old ones that have seen better days. Similarly, throw out and replace old makeup palettes, mascaras, lipsticks and everything in between. Not only will this help you to only keep what you really use on a regular basis, therefore getting rid of product clutter, but it will also ensure that you aren’t using makeup that has gathered bacteria and germs over the years. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you even take this opportunity to do a “green cleaning” by replacing old makeup with products from chemical-free companies like Beauty Counter, Juice Beauty or RMS Beauty, Fenty Beauty. While you’re at it, give those bathroom cabinets and drawers a deep clean too.

What tips do you have for spring cleaning your life?

The Right Way to Use a Jade Roller

Published on by Lee7 Comments

Guys, it’s officially time to get on board with this incredible way of reviving and renewing your skin. I’ll admit, I had my doubt in jade rolling at first. I thought ,“what could this really do for my skin?”, turns out, more than I thought possible. 

The Benefits of Jade Rolling

Here’s a little background information for all those new to the world of jade rolling. Jade has been used for centuries for it’s healing properties and its association with protecting against negative energy. As for your skin, daily jade rolling is said to promote increased blood circulation, lymphatic drainage and reduce the look of fine lines. On top of that, it helps products and serums to penetrate easily into the skin and soothes inflammation.

It is a facial massage with a tool that is basically a knife- and needle-free stand in for plastic surgery. I know it sounds extreme, but devoted rollers can’t get enough of the tool and as a convert myself, I can vouch for the jade roller’s effectiveness at decreasing puffiness, minimizing lines and making sure your daily serums are penetrating deeply into your skin. By using a jade roller every day (sometimes twice a day if you’re feeling saucy), you’re actually giving yourself a gentle facial massage. That massaging motion not only increases circulation (hello, plump, firm, glowing skin), it also works to break up any stagnation in the lymphatic system that may be causing puffiness or blemishes and gives your neglected facial muscles some much-needed TLC. (Tense muscles = wrinkles, FYI.)

The Right Way to Jade Roll

It’s a simple process that anyone can do in 10 minutes a day. After applying your morning skincare, roll your jade roller against your skin in an upward motion over your face and neck. The cooling effect of the stone instantly calms the skin and starts to de-puff and deflate any puffiness.

Convinced? Here’s how to use your jade roller.

Cleanse + Treat

You should only be using your jade roller on clean skin. Like I said earlier, the massaging motion will help any product on your skin sink in deeper and the same is true for old makeup and dirt. So before you even think about picking up the jade roller, wash your face.

If you’re going to roll in the morning to decrease any I-barely-slept-last-night puffiness, consider popping your jade facial roller in the fridge overnight. The cool jade will lower swelling by shrinking blood vessels. It also just feels really amazing on tired skin.

Rolling at night? Go through your standard cleansing routine to remove all traces of the day and apply any serums and/or oils you like before bed. After giving them a minute to sink in, roll your heart out. The jade face roller will help skin drink them up before they have time to evaporate or rub off on your pillow.

Get Rolling

Now comes the fun part. There’s no right or wrong area of the face to start, but do make sure you’re rolling from the center, out. I also like to visually split my face in half using my nose as the divider and work on one side at a time to make sure I’m not missing anything.

Start at your chest and using gently pressure, perform outward and upward strokes with the jade roller along your skin. Pass over the same patch of skin three to four times, always moving to the outer edge of your face. When you need to return the roller to the starting point, pick it up and place it back at the start (don’t roll backwards).

From your chest, move up: neck, chin/jawline, cheeks (roll from your nose out toward your ear), undereye and eyelid (use the small end of the roller here and very gently move from the inner corner of your eye out to the temple), eyebrow (switch back to the larger side and roll out and down, following the contour of your brow bone), forehead (start in the middle and roll out).

Switch Sides

Now do the exact same thing on the other side.

Finish with a soothing upward roll from between your eyebrows, up to the hairline.

The whole process should take two to four minutes, depending on how many passes you’re doing and how many areas of the face you’re hitting. As you’re working the jade face roller, you’ll see your skin start to flush — this is a good thing! It means circulation is increasing.

Clean That Roller

If you want to apply additional serum or moisturizer, go for it. If not, your final step should always always ALWAYS be cleaning the jade roller thoroughly with warm, soapy water. This thing is touching your face every single day: keep it clean.

Thinking of adding this to your skincare routine? If you have already, let me know how you’re liking it and if you’ve already seen results in the comments! Thanks for reading xo

Looking for a new serum to take your skincare to the next level? Check out my SERUMS 101 post for the perfect options next week!

Your jade roller is just the beginning. Check out my other favorite beauty tools here next week!

5 Easy Food Swaps Your Skin Will Thank You For

Published on by Lee3 Comments

The bottom line is, you could have the most amazing beauty regime consisting of dozens of miracle products, but if you’re not eating well and drinking plenty of water, it’s going to negatively affect your skin. You have to remember, your skin is the largest organ in your body, so if you’re not providing it with the right nutrients, minerals, and vitamins, you’re more likely to experience dull skin and breakouts. But don’t worry, I am not suggesting you drastically change your diet and only eat steamed broccoli, instead, try just a few healthy food swaps; cut out the bad stuff and replace it with something more nutritional. I promise, it won’t even feel like your making a sacrifice, and you’ll be trading in skin aggravating ingredients for beauty-boosting foods – it really is a no-brainer.

Swap lattes for Americanos and green tea

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from countless dermatologists and celebrity nutritionists, it’s that we should avoid dairy (more specifically milk) as much as possible. The reason being, dairy is full of hormones and when you consume it, it’ll cause your other hormone levels to rise; including testosterone and progesterone. These hormones are the main cause of excess oil and sebum, which can block your pores and trigger breakouts. So try and stay away from milky lattes, and trade it in for either a black coffee or an almond milk latte. Almond milk is full of skin-loving vitamins like vitamin E, which helps strengthen your skin’s epidermis layer while giving it a healthy glow. But, possibly the healthiest trade, would be to ditch your latte and have a Green Tea instead, which can lower oil production, fight against acne, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and sun damage while removing toxins from your body. Plus, it’s practically calorie-free.

Trade milk chocolate for dark chocolate or cacao

Ok, so I have to admit, this trade may take a little bit of time to get used to, but once you’ve committed to this health swap, you’ll be thanking me. Chocolate doesn’t just contain dairy; it’s also really high in refined sugars and white sugars, which are bad news for your skin. Sugar can dehydrate your skin, cause inflammation, and it can even cause premature aging (digested sugar attaches to the collagen in your skin, breaking it down rapidly). Obviously, I’m not suggesting that you give up chocolate entirely (I’m not crazy!), just opt for dark chocolate cacao-based sweet treats instead. Dark chocolate and cacao are the rawest form of chocolate bean and aren’t sweetened, and they actually have a ton of health benefits! I know they may taste slightly bitter, but they both contain beauty-boosting anti-oxidants and will improve blood circulation so that more oxygen is delivered to your skin, leaving it looking radiant AF. Just make sure your dark chocolate is 75% or more, or find some delicious cacao recipes here.

Swap butter or oil for grapeseed oil

Even though it may taste great, cooking with butter or sunflower oil isn’t good for your health or your skin. Both are super high in cholesterol, which triggers your body to produce more hormones, thereby increasing your oil production, making breakouts more common. Cold-pressed grapeseed oil, however, reduces harmful cholesterol. It also has a very high ‘smoke point;’ the temperature at which oil begins to smoke – the higher the smoke point, the better. So next time you’re cooking, reach for the grapeseed oil to improve your health and your skin.

Switch sugar for Manuka honey

As mentioned, white refined sugars aren’t good for your skin, so you should try and avoid them wherever possible. Instead, try using honey to sweeten your food, more specifically Manuka honey – whether that’s in your morning coffee, your oatmeal, or in your cooking.  Not only will it help you curb your sugar cravings, but since honey is a natural humectant, it will make your skin super soft, whether applied topically or ingested. It also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, so it will help remove toxins from your body while improving digestion. Manuka honey is especially beneficial as it’s the rawest form of honey, which is free from preservatives and has a higher concentration of nutrients.

Swap soda or fruit drinks for detox water

The truth is, no matter if your fav soda or fruit juice is ‘calorie-free’ or ‘not from concentrate,’ a soda or fruit juice is never going to do good things for your skin. Not only are these soft drinks high in refined sugars (the average can of soda contains 8g of sugar), but sodas also contain nasty chemicals such as aspartame, which make you crave more sugar. And when it comes to fruit-based drinks, like orange juice, although that may seem like a healthier alternative to a can of Coke, chances are it’s full of sweeteners and additives that’ll dehydrate your skin and steal that glow your favorite face oil promises to deliver. Instead, make your own detox water that will hydrate your skin and rid it of toxins that cause inflammation. Check out BLB Readers fav detox water recipes here.

For more beauty-boosting miracle foods, check out this post. Let me know if you have any other healthy food swaps in the comments below.

GHETTS – BLACK ROSE ft. KOJEY RADICAL

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Directed by Netti Hurley

An ode to black female beauty

‘Black Rose’ is an anthem for intersectional feminism from grime artist Ghetts, and ruminates on the rapper’s hopes and fears of raising his daughter in a society that regularly neglects women of colour. Paired with black and white imagery from London director Netti Hurley, the video is a hard-hitting exploration of black womanhood and representation, opening with the rapper’s young daughter asking, “Daddy, how come there’s no dolls that look like me in the shop?” Ghetts’ lyrics weave social commentary and personal experience, focussing on colourism and hyper-sexualisation of black women in the media, and delivers a moving message of black and female empowerment.  

‘Inspired by the work of famous black female artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson and the poetry of Maya Angelou, this film is an ode to black female beauty in every sense,’ says Hurley.