Coconut Oil Cult

Yes, I have joined the cult of coconut oil users. At first, I was skeptical. I didn't believe that one product could be beneficial for you in so many ways.

These are my before and after shots.

On the left is a picture of me from June 8th, before I started a coconut oil face regimen. On the right is me 20 days later (with only mascara on). My nose still has some scarring and I do have a few spots left, but I feel like I have a whole new face. My face feels healthier, looks brighter, and my acne has cleared up. The biggest difference I have seen is in fading my acne scars and evening my complexion. 

Here's what I did: I washed my face twice a day with my usual products. Around mid-day, I would take off any makeup I had, apply coconut oil, and let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing off with warm water and a wash-cloth. That's it.

I'm all for a quick remedy. I did have to be patient and consistent with it, but the results I have seen in less than 3 weeks is worth it to me, and worth sharing.

Practical Night Routine for the Lazy, Broke, and Tired College Girl

You can do a lot in 30 minutes.

Searching for tips, tricks, or even just scrolling through my Pinterest feed, I find so many posts saying the same things about sleeping on silk and having a humidifier... Well, not all of us have the will and means to be so pampering toward ourselves. I went on a bit of a mission in my bathroom to find a nightly routine that could easily be completed in 30 minutes or less, stress-free. Here's what I came up with:

1) Hair: You can do just about anything to your hair before bed and step out the door in the morning , because the "bed head" look is in. But considering my classes begin at 7:30 AM (yes, AM), I need to wake up with hair that looks presentable and will last throughout the day in hot and humid weather. For my particular trial, I split my hair into two french braids (because... layers) after brushing it and applying Moroccan Oil to the ends. {I will include links to other overnight hairstyling tips I found interesting or useful at the bottom of this post.}

2) Teeth: There's a given here: brush them. I brushed my teeth and used my whitening treatment mouthwash for 60 seconds.

3) Lips: What? Lips? Yes. Lips. I used a lip scrub and applied my favorite lip balm because nothing can be compared to drooling in your sleep and waking up with cracked and bleeding lips. (You know it's happened to you at least once.)

4) Face: I washed my face with my acne-fighting cleanser. I use a gentler, oil-free one for nighttime, rather than my usual rapid-clear formula. I applied a night cream around my eyes. Then, I made a moisturizing serum from a nickel-size dab of coconut oil and 2-3 drops of tea tree oil. I rubbed an even layer of medium thickness on my face to be left overnight.

5) Body: Moisturize. I'll say it again: Moisturize. I applied lotion to my arms and legs, adding coconut oil to my knees and elbows (the driest areas). I also applied a generous amount of coconut oil to my feet, paying the most attention to my heels and ankles. I slept in a pair of socks to lock in moisture. Lastly, I applied a hand cream to give my dry skin and cuticles some love, too.

{Helpful Hair Tips:}
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGuWokn47A&feature=share
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/155937205824842866/

5 Things To Do The Summer Before College

I've noticed that the summer before college is pretty boring. Most people get summer jobs and it's hard to coordinate schedules with your friends. Sometimes, no one has been on a pinning spree in a while or there may not be any new shows starting up on TV that you're interested in. So what do you do? I used to feel that starting something new is kind of pointless because everything is going to change again in a few months anyway. Don't let that stop you! Here are a few things I think are important to do the summer before college to make the transition enjoyable and fun.

1) Change up your look.

So you made it. You graduated high school and you're going off to college in a few months. You want a fresh start but aren't sure how to initiate that in your life. A good way to get a fresh start is to change up your look. Clean out your closet, build a new wardrobe, buy a new nail polish/lipstick color, or even try out a new haircut!
Here's a picture of my new haircut and my makeup organizer. {Feel free to check out my Pinterest boards at pinterest.com/madiburke/tresses or pinterest.com/madiburke/dorm-life for inspiration.}

 

2) Rediscover your core beliefs.

Find out why: why you believe what you do, why you like certain things, why you speak a certain way, why you feel what you feel. This doesn't necessarily have to mean reconnecting with your faith. If that's what it means to you and that path speaks to you, then by all means follow course. But it could also mean to figure out your tastes, morals, or preferences for anything in general (music, fashion, humor, etiquette, visuals, etc.).

High school was a trying time but college is even more so if you don't have a firm foundation yet. That is not to say, however, that you have to have everything figured out by September. I recommend, though, that you go in with both feet on the ground. That is, some sort of footing so that you won't sway to every person's new idea. It may or may not help you find yourself, but it will definitely keep you from losing yourself at the call of every new experience.

3) Travel.

I'm not under any circumstances telling you to go to the Bahamas or Cancun (or wherever else you could go below the tip of Florida) and blow all of your grad money to "travel" and "experience new things." I personally don't believe in stereotypical senior trips. Unless you are traveling on a budget to have a culturing experience, you don't need it. Put the money you would spend on a senior trip in a bank account and save it for next year when you're a broke college student.

That being said, I do think it is important to go somewhere and experience something new, with a little bit of responsibility. For example, I recently went on the first family trip I'd been on in maybe 3-4 years. I came back early for an event, so I drove myself and a friend there and back. I'll also be going to Chicago with my mom for her business convention in July. We are making a senior trip out of it and going a few days early. As you grow older, you realize that your mom is truly your best friend. There's nothing like having a girls night with your mom. Nothing can be more culturing than her tried-and-true advice.

Here's a picture of our view on vacation. Just appreciate the little things, like a sunset or lights on a summer night.

4) "Date" yourself.

Whether it is obvious or not, you should not start a new relationship before college if it's going to go nowhere. There are certain exceptions, such as a couple who's been a long time coming or the continuation of a long term relationship.

Perhaps you've heard of the concept of "self-dating." If you haven't, it is by no means having a romantic relationship with yourself; it doesn't work like that. It is, however, the notion that you can and should tap into your own interests. In the spirit of Parks and Recreation, "Treat yo'self!" Take yourself out to lunch. Go get that mani-pedi. Take time out to just think by yourself and reconnect with your self-worth.

5) Keep record.

Maybe you think you're way past the appropriate age to keep a journal, but you're never too old to keep records of your thoughts. You can keep a notebook of time spent in prayer, write down words when you're feeling overwhelmed, or even just write down what you did during the day. You don't have to be totally emotionally invested, but it's nice to look back and see how your thoughts have changed and matured with experience.

If journaling isn't your style, you can make an inspiration board or even keep a photo album, whatever you like to keep record of this exciting time in your life.

3 Ways to De-Clutter & De-Stress

As I prepare to move out into a college dorm and future small apartment, I've realized the importance of living with fewer, nicer things. To me, it is better to have one long-lasting thing that can help you with many tasks than to have many things you'll only get a few uses out of. As spring is starting to transition into summer, I've been cleaning out my room and organizing my life. When you have a clutter-free life, you have a stress-free (or almost stress-free) one as well. Here are my top 3 tips to help you do the same.

1) Have a calendar or schedule and plan out your days/weeks.

Making a list or plotting out the things you need to accomplish will help you stay on task. Checking them off of your list will also make you feel more productive after you've completed them (tangible gratification?). I personally have a desk calendar, a calendar app, and a planner that I use to keep my days in order. I don't recommend taking it day by day, because there's nothing wrong with getting into the habit of planning for the future, but I would advise taking an hour out of your Sunday and planning out your week. As new things come up, you can add or remove things from the list.

{Secret: Planning out tasks and marking them off as you accomplish them actually makes you feel productive and in control. = Less Stress}

2) Clean out your phone / social media.

Nothing is more annoying than the notification saying your iPhone cannot be backed up or has run out of storage. Delete text messages from people you haven't talked to in months, videos you don't remember taking, songs you are now embarrassed you ever listened to, and those 49 selfies it took to get the one you posted on Instagram. I recommend prioritizing your contact list. Pick the top 5 or even top 10 people you talk to on a regular basis and give them some recognizing feature, like capitalizing their name, assigning them an emoji/contact picture, or both. Also, cleaning out your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will not only make things easier to find, but it will make you seem more put together for future networks or employers who reach out to you. Remember: A person's phone/appearance online says a lot about them, whether you realize it or not.

{Secret: If you're really ambitious, clean out your Pinterest. It takes me about 2 weeks to clean out my whopping 13k pins, but I've found taking it one board at a time to be the best approach. I've also found that having more boards with less things in them is better than less boards with more stuff. More stuff = more clutter you'll never be able to find again. I know we all get bored and find ourselves on "pinning-sprees", but you should be pinning things for a reason. For example: I cut down my original fashion board to only 300 pins. I went through everything and asked "Would I actually wear this? Is it comfortable? Is it somewhat modest? Would this set a good example?" and deleted pins I did not deem worthy of my new board.}

3) Organize your living space.

No one can function in a messy, disorganized area and be completely stress free. Whether your goal is to clean out your closet, remodel your bathroom, or deep clean your entire house, take it one area at a time. If you're going all out, make a budget/layout list first to keep yourself from going overboard. Keep daily tasks separate. Put all electronics on your media shelves, all school supplies on your desk, or all beauty products in the same cabinet. This makes things easier to find and work with. Come up with some sort of filing system that makes sense to you. Organize clothes by color, style, or season. Order CD's and DVD's by genre or series. Don't hesitate to get rid of things you don't use anymore. Throw it out, donate it, or sell it, anything to reduce clutter.

{Secret: When cleaning out your bathroom or closet, ask yourself "Has it been 6 months since I wore/used this? Am I keeping this for sentimental reasons? Am I saving this for a just-in-case item?" If you answer yes to any of those questions, its time to get rid of it.}

I wish you all the best of luck de-cluttering and de-stressing your life. Here's a picture of my newly cleaned and organized desk. My room is still a work in progress, but then again, so is life.

x Madds