Hello world, 

A few days ago, I shared on my instagram that we have been taking proactive measures to fight back the cold and flu this season.

Thanks for visiting, 

Till Later, God bless

Hello World, 

Happy new year to you all! Hope your year is starting off great! Personally, my year is starting off really chill because I have decided that self-care and pacing myself will be my priority this year. I hope you all remember to take care of yourself in every aspect as we begin the journey to a new year. 

In today's blog post, I want to share with you all my newest obsession: It's a beauty care product and I have been using it nonstop! It is the Vaseline Lip Therapy balm. Vaseline is a brand that I grew up using and I am sure it's a brand most of you are aware of. 

The Vaseline Lip Therapy now comes in a stick form so this makes having the soothing power you trust from Vaseline even more portable. I throw one of these in the bags I mostly carry: my handbag, my wallet, and even my baby's diaper bag. I really don't want to be caught out and about without one especially during these cold winter days.

I think it's safe to say that nobody likes dry and crusty lips but I personally love using the Vaseline Lip Therapy on my lips because dry lips do not look right and they could easily lead to bruises on one's lips. I take way too many pictures and videos to allow that to happen. 

I also have to mention that I keep my lips succulent and soothed because of kisses! Yes, yes... kisses from my husband but also because I am always showering kisses on my daughters cheeks! Can you blame me though? Look at her cheeks!!!

Have I also mentioned that the Vaseline Lip Therapy products come in four different varieties and they are really affordable and easily accessible at your local Walmart? Yes, you read that right. Run to your nearest Walmart right now and grab your choices. 

First up, there is the Original. Which is my absolute favorite because I love classics. 

With this many options, I am sure there is bound to be a choice for you! Checkout the Vaseline Lip Therapy sticks right now at your local Walmart for the soothing power you've come to love and trust. 

Till later, God bless. 

Hello loves, 

Today's post is a quick update on our guest bedroom. 

I am so happy that we were able to get a place here in California that gives us space to have a guest bedroom. With being out of Texas and being away from most of our family and friends, we knew we wanted the opportunity to be able to host guests whenever the occasion called for it. 

So in putting together our guest room, the bed and quality of mattress was definitely priority for me. 

Hello World, 

Am I the only person who never cared about "skin care"? 

Wait a minute, hear me out. 

Up until a few months ago, I really thought people were crazy for raving about skin care, spending lots of money on moisturizers and worrying so much about the products they used on their faces. 

I was that person who told people to "drink water and mind their business" and their skin would be perfect without blemish. 

Growing up, I never dealt with acne (not even after puberty). 

Yes, once in a while I would get a pimple, especially when aunt flo was in town... but other than the occasional pimples that would pack up and leave on their own, I really never had any concerns with regards to my face. I drank my water, used my body lotion on my face, and thanked God for my genes.

**Insert CD scratching soundtrack here**

Oh what good times those were!

Fast forward to postpartum (after I had my gorgeous baby whose skin is ACTUAL GOALS), and also fast forward to turning 30! 

Welp, my skin as I knew it CHANGED on me. I was confused, I asked my doctors questions, I checked my diet and realized I was still eating the same things. I made sure I was still drinking water. It was a struggle to mind my business always, but I tried my best (OKAYY??!!)... I called my friends and lamented about my recent struggle with terrible skin. People saw my face and asked me what I was going through. I stopped taking photos, forgot about filming youtube videos and became really worried about my skin. 

I was so worried that I went in for consultation with an aesthetician. I would be on google looking for solutions... (Quick warning, don't ever do that... every result kinda leads back to cancer... It's crazy! sigh). 

I say all this to say, I was pressed for solutions! 

In my quest for solutions, I came accross Tula Skin care. I found them all on my own and this post isn't sponsored! I used their products religiously for over two months because I wanted to know truly if it would work. 

When I found out about Tula products and read about the benefits of probiotics topically (on your skin), I decided to give this brand a try. What would it hurt? I asked myself. My skin was already at its worst state and I needed some help fixing the problems I had - mainly dry skin, and outbreak of pimples/acne that resulted in dark spots being left behind. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, you would remember when I cried because my skin was looking like that of a crocodile and I started breaking out in pimples. 

- Turning 30.

Now let's move on to the other steps I took towards improving the appearance of my face/skin. 

 The major step I took was that I decided to stop being ignorant and learn about skin care.

Why do people rave about it so much and what is my body trying to tell me? Once I admitted to myself that I needed to take better care of my skin and feed it the products it needed, it was easier for me to start understanding and figuring out what my skin needed. 

There had to be a mental shift in how I looked at skin care. 

I told myself that I could no longer continue to use baby wipes every night to take pounds of makeup off my face.

I had to start acknowledging that people were not being stupid for washing their faces and moisturizing it every day and night. #SkinGoals I screamed when I saw people with flawless skin, but I refused to admit the work that went into it! 

I had to admit that while black skin doesn't crack, it can be pimple prone and and look dehydrated.  

I also came to the conclusion that the devil was not after me and I just need to grow up and take better care of myself. Did you know that Hashtag SelfCare actually means that you have to TAKE CARE of yourself? (Yes you, I'm looking at you). 

BASICALLY, I had to unlearn some bad behaviors and open myself up to better behaviors that would give me the results I wanted.

So, now that you have a decent enough backstory, let me introduce you to my Tula Army (as I fondly call them). 

I'll start with the Foam cleanser. It's advertised to be good for keeping pimples away, but I love to use this as a makeup remover as well. It takes off my makeup flawlessly and leaves my skin feeling and looking squeaky clean. The end result of clean skin is truly less pimples and so for that reason, I recommend it. 

Secondly, the Go Away Spot Treatment. This one is actual magic in a bottle. Nowadays I only get pimples when aunt flo is in town. You know, Aunt flo, the lady with the magic red juice who likes to come every month to remind us that we are not pregnant and... wait, where am I going with this? 

Phew, let's get back on track Lizzy. 

As I was sayinggggg, I only get a few pimples during that time of the month and I usually just let the pimples do what they want and they would leave in their own timing. But ever since Tula came out with the Go Away Spot Treatment, I started to use it to attack those pimples. 

The first time I used the spot treatment, I was in awe. I used it on a budding pimple at night, went to bed, woke up the next morning to the pimple drying out. I thought it was a fluke till I used this a few other times. It's Legit and I approve. 

I wish I had this in the past - on those random days where a pimple showed up on my face right before a big event. 

Next Product I will absolutely recommend is the Hydrating Day and Night Cream. 

This one is a multi-tasker as I like to call it. It is so hydrating and I saw improvement in my skin with about 2 weeks of use. The dryness I had started to give way and it was really at that point I decided to remain dedicated. You only need small amount of this all over your face and it stays hydrated. Use it at night and wake up with supple skin! 

The next products I absolutely recommend is the Pro Glycolic Ph Resurfacing Gel and the Glow and Get It Cooling Eye Balm. 

As for the glow and get it cooling Eye balms (the pink one below is the newer version - Rose Glow)., I honestly just love how "awake" they make me feel. They claim it brightens under eyes and I have noticed that they reduce bags underneath my eyes and the cooling effect is just really soothing. 

And last but not the least, these products below. 

On the Left is the Super Calm gentle milk cleanser. I know what you're thinking.. Another cleanser? LOL... Well, to be honest, I barely use this one and have nothing much to say about it. But if your skin is very sensitive, I have read that this one does wonders. 

In the middle is the So Polished Exfoliating Sugar Scrub. This one I use about 1-2 times a week. I love how well this works. I like to use it without water so that it really exfoliates, I massage it really well into my skin till the sugar melts off, and then I wash it off. It's also GREAT on your lips for kissable and smooth lips! 

On the right is the Aqua Infusion Gel Cream. This product is my sideline product. It's just an extra layer of moisturizing for me.  I could do without it, but I like having it. 

And this product below. It's not really skincare per-se, but it is an AMAZING product - The Face Filter Blurring and Moisturizing Primer. It should actually have been in the first round up of this blog post. 

Why do you need a filter blurring primer if all of this skin care is supposed to already help you have flawless skin you ask?

Well, with all of the products mentioned above, my face is certainly much much better than it was. I really believe it now when they say, good makeup starts with great skin and this primer is that extra layer of "great skin" that you need underneath your makeup. I was not much of a primer girl but when I tried this, I knew it was a win!

 All I have to say with regards to this product is that "trying is believing". I don't really know how to sell this one to you, but they didn't lie when they said it's a Blurring face filter primer. A layer of this underneath my makeup makes the finished result look fantastic.

Alrightyyyyyyy!

In case you are still reading this and wondering why I sound so giddy in my write up, it's because I mean every word I'm saying and also because I can now take photos like the one below.

 This photo was taken right after I showered and did my face routine. I have NO makeup on my face.  My face is also not edited (Photo was taken on my canon 70D camera with the 18-55mm lens). You can still see some of the darkspots I'm working on, and some texture on my skin, but I have come a long way. 

Oh and in case you wanted another look at my "no makeup" face, here it is again below. I am so proud!