How I Keep My Hair Tame In The Winter

Living in the Midwest has it's ups and it's downs. Unfortunately the climate change in the winter is definitely a huge down side; It gets cold, dry, and windy. Trying to stay warm, yet fashionable is quite difficult during these months; you put a hat on and you get frizzy hat hair from the static, or you leave your hair down and gets whipped around from the wind.. not to mention your ears will get nipped at.

To solve this problem, I use 3 products during my morning routine to tame my dry frizzy hair, and keeping it soft and healthy.

First, I wash my hair with Toni & Guy shampoo and conditioner for damaged hair.

Then, once I am out of the shower I gently towel dry my hair and throw it up in that towel while I dry off, get dressed, brush my teeth, and apply my makeup. After that I take my hair down and apply a leave-in conditioner. The one I use is from my local barber shop and is part of the "olive oil" line. I use about 2-3 pumps of the product and apply it to my hair, starting at the tips and working my way up to the roots.

Once the leave-in conditioner is applied, I either blow-dry my hair if I'm in a hurry then apply a restoring oil, or if I'm staying in, I'll apply the oil and leave my hair to air-dry. Again, I use an 'olive oil' product, however I use a very tiny amount (I'm talking a pea size amount). A little bit goes a long way. Before applying it to my hair, I rub the product between the tips of my fingers and the top of my palm. I focus more on the bottom half of my hair than my roots, since I don't want my scalp to become oily right after getting out of the shower.

And that's it. I wash my hair every other day, and this method keeps my hair tame the entire time. I also made a video over on my youtube channel, if you'd like to check it out. It might be easier to see it visually than trying to decipher my descriptions and instructions.

Here are a couple additional tips that may or may not help tame your hair throughout these cold dreadful months.

Tip #1: Drink plenty of water. You want to stay hydrated all around the year, but it's important that everything is balanced so your body is awake and healthy. I must admit I'm not 100% sure that this will make a big difference, but every little bit helps, and you should be drinking around 60 oz of water each day anyway.

Tip #2: Along with keeping your body hydrated, make sure you're getting all of the nutrients you need. Eat full course meals and take vitamins daily. Another bit of advice is look into taking coconut oil supplements; something about it makes your hair soft and healthy.

Tip #3: Turn on a humidifier. If you don't already own one, I recommend you purchase a humidifier. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a big heavy duty one, but a cheap tiny one should suffice; although it depends on how big your living space is. The humidifier will put some moisture back into the air, relieving your dry skin and hair.

I hope this helps!

Much Love! Xx

Product Review : Simple® Facial Wipes

It hasn't even been a year since I started wearing makeup and I can honestly say that I think I found the best make-up remover. Being a noob at makeup, I didn't know what I all needed, and didn't really think about taking it off at night. I know, quite idiotic because it should be obvious:

#1- Gets your bedding all dirty and possibly stained. 

#2- Leaves your pores clogged with makeup, leaving your face oily,  and becomes breading grounds for pimples. 

Needless to say I learned quite fast and made a trip to the store to pick out some make-up remover. I asked my mom for recommendations and I also asked one of the workers that was stationed in that section if she had any suggestions; she did, but I didn't take her or my mom's advice and chose a package of facial wipes.

It was almost as if it was calling my name and pulling me in like a space ship. Okay, not exactly, but I was pulled in from the packaging. It was just that, "simple". The wipes have no harsh chemicals and no artificial perfumes or dyes. For some reason, I prefer this kind of stuff to be scent-free. It was nice to know that it would be gentle on my skin and  would leave it clean & healthy. I also found their slogan quite cute: "Smile, It's Simple". Fun right?! Their products focus mainly on sensitive skin but are suitable for all skin types, and are hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, & pH balanced. Quite nice if I do say so myself! Probably the best plus of all is that the wipes don't leave behind any residue! 

There was a deal going on where if you bought one you could get another half off, so I grabbed a moisturizing facial wash as well. I wanted to test out both products to see which I would prefer: a facial wipe, or a facial scrub. I think that I actually prefer the wipes over the scrub because I don't have a puddle around the sink after washing my face, and my hair doesn't get dripping wet. Putting that aside, I found that the wipes are quite nice because you can actually see the makeup being lifted from your skin and you know that you got it all. Another HUGE plus was the fact that it didn't sting my eyes when I was rubbing off my eye makeup. 

Overall I think I will give this product a 9.4/10 only because there is always room for improvement and this is one of the first products I have tried. 

I hope that this helped any of you that are in search of a good makeup removing product!

If you have any suggestions for myself, leave a comment down below, because I'm always looking to try new things!

Much love! Xx

Definition: You

I want to start off by saying that you are not defined by one thing. 

If that sentence seemed a bit confusing let me elaborate. When I say "you are not defined by one thing", I mean that you are not subjected to one style or thought or characteristic. I remember growing up if I curled my hair or wore something different I would get weird looks from my friends and they'd ask questions like "What's the occasion" or "Why are you wearing that". There never really was an occasion; just the fact that I wanted to style my hair or dress up a bit. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to.


 Recently in my sociology class we had this assignment where we had to go out and break a norm and then see how people reacted. The norms ranged from what you wore to how you acted. During my senior year of high school we did the exact same thing but my AP literature teacher called it "garfinkeling". Looking back I can understand that in some ways I was breaking my own personal norm because I didn't dress up or do my hair every day. But on the other hand, my so-called friends were being quite rude and judgmental. Instead of complimenting me, they opted for interrogation.

If you want to dress up and wear heels, go for it. If you decide on wearing sweatpants and a snapback, do it. No one should stop you from wearing what you want to wear. As long as you are happy and feel confident, nothing else should matter. Be whoever you want to be. Don't be afraid to try new things and be unique. Step outside of the box, but don't ever ever let someone tell you who you can and can't be. It's not their life, it's yours. You don't need to have an explanation for why you are doing something. Make decisions based on yourself, not what is going to please others. If asked why, reply with why not.

I think that labels are ridiculous and we should be able to freely decide on what we want to wear, say, or do, without being critiqued. There shouldn't even be labels or categories because beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

 I have recently decided that i'm am going to be my own person.  Stepping out from the crowd and being individualistic. It feels so good not having to worry about what others think, because I'm living life and experiencing as much as I can, creating my own style and personality. The pressure of meeting others expectations has lifted from my shoulders and is a stressor I don't have to think about. Sometimes we need a little push in the right direction. That might be moving away, or deciding the people you associate yourself with is more baggage than reinforcement. Surround yourself with positive vibes and you'll live a happier life.

Don't worry about fitting in, you should be more focused on standing out. There are always going to be people who will judge you no matter what you do in life, so be yourself because everyone else is taken and an original is worth more than a copy. Just remember, opinions are not facts.

I'd like to stress that there is nothing wrong with you, no mater what people say. Everyone is different and that's okay. Accepting who you are is the first step in the right direction. I am who I am and you are who you are. I accept my flaws and embrace them. I encourage you to find the strength and do the same.

On that note, hello! My name is Bree & this is who I am.

I am silly

I am Unique

I am loving

I am full of wanderlust

I am a free spirit

I am timid

I am scared

I am curious

I am making my own path

I am inspired & full of ambition

I am confident

I am a college student

I am a lover of lipstick

I am an outdoors person

I am obsessed with everything fall

I am burdened with depression & anxiety

I am hopeful

I am optimistic

I am happy

I am me.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope this empowers you. I'd like to know, what makes you, you?

Much Love Xx