Why Natural Products Work

Why Natural Products Work

Last night I posted a D-I-Y Green Tea mask. All of the products I used were natural household items. All of these items can be found in your kitchen and they are healthy for your skin. 

Just in case you missed it, here's a link to last nights' blog post. And just in case you don't want to flip back and forth between windows here's a list of products that I used: 

Virgin Olive Oil 

Honey

Raw or Brown Sugar

Lemon

Green Tea 

Water (optional) 

Let's start with Olive Oil, because in addition to the Green Tea I think this is the most important ingredient in this mask. There are 4 main benefits of olive oil on the skin. 

1. It Protects Against Antioxidants

This product contains 3 main antioxidants, all of which fight against premature again. They are: vitamin E, polyphenols, and phytosterols. 

2. It Doesn't Clog Your Pores

I think this one is pretty self explanatory. Sometimes when applying a product it can get clogged in your skin, but not this one! Olive oil cleans the dirt from your face without clogging your pores and leaves your skin feeling baby soft. 

3. It Exfoliates the Skin

Now while olive oil alone won't exfoliate your skin, when mixed with sugar or salt it does a great job of lifting the dirt and removing dead skin cells. 

4. It Makes Your Skin Healthier in General 

Olive oil has great affects in general. It promotes healthier, softer, and brighter skin. I for one have dark spots around my eyes and within once cleanse I could see a major difference. This product works! 

Now the other product I really want to focus on is Green Tea. By now we all pretty much have an idea of what Green Tea can do. It's full of antioxidants and polyphenols that protect against all types of diseases and cancers. It can correct some cardiovascular damage, prevent certain cancers and fight off infections. 

Green Tea has also been proven to fight gum disease, heart disease, skin aging and even can promote weight loss. But, I think the most important benefit is definitely skin aging. At age 21 I'm not really worried about my skin aging and black don't crack, but who knows what the future holds? So I'm doing everything I can to take care of my skin, and in the words of @Shay_Nkia "keep that melanin popping!" 

In addition to my facial mask, Rachel, a blogger from xoVain.com has posted some pretty great beauty tips involving Green Tea to keep your skin looking young and healthy! Check them out here. 

Remember to take care of your skin daily! 

Until next time..

xoKenya

D-I-Y FACIAL MASK : THE SHAY TV METHOD

D-I-Y FACIAL CLEANSER: Green Tea Mask

The ShayTV Method

Okay ladies, let's keep it real for a second. Beauty COSTS! Beauty products are sky-high and sometimes it's a complete hassle trying to find one that works. You read a ton of reviews on a product, and finally build up the courage to purchase it only to find out it DOES NOT work for your skin. That's about $10 to $15 down the drain. 

I know it took me awhile to find something that I could use daily that actually worked for me. My mother is a Mary Kay consultant, so Mary Kay has been my go-to daily facial cleanser since I was a freshman in high school. 

Now, while I was using Mary Kay on a daily basis, I wanted a product that would exfoliate my skin and give it a deep, deep clean. So I came across a few all-natural face masks. I've honestly tried to oatmeal and cucumber masks and I absolutely love them, but I wanted to try something new. 

So, I was searching through my Snapchat feed and I saw a video of my friend @Shay_Nkia (go follow her) making an at-home face mask. She ranted and raved about this mask so highly that I just knew I had to try it.  It's called a Green Tea facial mask, but I've dubbed it the ShayTV method. 

Here's what you'll need to get started: 

2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons of Raw Sugar/ Brown Sugar

Half a lemon

2 bags of Green Tea

(Water is Optional)

First I added the Olive Oil, then honey, and brown sugar. Shay's method called for raw granulated sugar, but I've found that brown sugar works best for me as I've used it in my previous masks.

ONCE YOU MIX ALL OF YOUR INGREDIENTS BE SURE TO "DROP IT TWICE" (in Shay's voice) *remember this recipe calls for TWO of everything. 

Once you've mixed the oil, honey, and sugar, add in the half of lemon (I just squeeze it twice) and then add the two bags of Green Tea. I would suggest putting the mixture in either a small mason jar or a small Tupperware container so you can store it in the fridge for use at a later date. 

SIDE NOTE: It smells awful, but that's how you know it's going to work miracles. lol

Apply the mixture to your face using a make up brush or you can take it to the hood like me and use a paintbrush. (shrugs)

Anywho, allow your face to bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. I'm actually baking my face as I'm typing this tutorial. 

I made my roommate join in on the fun! 

After you've finished baking (as I like to call it) rinse off with warm water and apply your regular moisturizer!

Your skin should be feeling brand new, soft, regenerated and fresh! 

Let me know how your experience with this mask goes. 

Until next time...

xoxo Kenya  

KENYA FEEL WHY: Some Things Should Be Left to the Imagination

KENYA FEEL WHY: 

Some Things Should Be 

Left to the Imagination

The pictures above are of two completely different women. Now, before I go on I am in no way, shape, form, or fashion trying to "slut-shame" Lira Galore. It's her body and she's allowed to do what she wants with it. However, I personally do not agree with her style of dress.

But, what I do find to be pathetic and sad is the fact that Ayesha Curry caught so much hate from women, because she expressed her opinions on the way women today dress. Not once did she shame anyone or put anyone down. She simply stated that "everyone's into barely wearing clothes these days huh? Not my style. I like to keep the good stuff covered up for the one who matters". 

The simple fact that this caused an uproar is exactly what's wrong with this generation.

Women's bodies have been overly-sexualized for so long that they are starting to think dressing half naked is okay. It's not. There is nothing cute about walking around showing everything that should only be shown to your husband. My mother and I have a saying, "you campaign, you get elected". It basically means if you walk around showing off your assets, don't be upset when a man approaches you or makes the assumption that that's all you are. 

While I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to be sexy, I do think there should be a limit. I'm a college senior, and like any other college student I like to party. I love to go out and have a good time with my friends, and I want to look damn good while I'm doing it. But there's a difference between showing a little cleavage, or a sexy split up the side and just completely baring it all. 

Guys want something to look forward to. If you're giving him everything he's looking for upfront then what does he have to work for? Nothing. What does he truly have to respect? Now let's be honest for a second. Say I'm having a conversation with a man and I'm wearing outfit A (the scandalous one) 9 times out of 10 he's going to be looking at my breasts or ass the entire conversation, and he's not going to take a single thing I say seriously. Now say I'm having a conversation with that same men, but this time I'm wearing outfit B. He's most likely going to take me a little more seriously, and actually listen to what I have to say. 

I like to look at things from a business perspective since I'm going into the professional world soon. It's already hard enough for women to get into the working environment and compete with men. We have to work twice as hard as they do, and we have to demand our respect. We should want to respected at all times no matter where we are, so we have to dress the part. 

The next time you decide to go out clubbing, or have a few drinks with your friends, remember this blog post. Give him a little sneak peek, and then leave him wondering...

love always,

Kenya 

KENYA FEEL WHY: It's Important to Have a Prayer Life?

KENYA FEEL WHY:

It's Important to Have a Prayer Life?

I'm from the South, and not only am I from the South, I'm a black woman from the South. If there's one thing women from the South don't play about (besides fried chicken) it's prayer. Southern women pray hard. Have you ever heard the saying, "if it wasn't for my praying mother/grandmother"? It is a saying that basically means I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for my mothers' or grandmothers' prayers. I can't express to you how true that saying is. 

Alabama is a part of the Bible Belt, so as youngins we were brought up in the church. We attended Sunday School, regular morning service, and sometimes even a second service if we had it. In the South, church on Sunday's is an all day event. I can remember getting to church at 8:oo some Sunday mornings and not leaving until well after 6:oo p.m. We would run home to eat at about 1:oo, and be back by 3:oo ready to sing for the second service. 

But, as time went on I grew tired of the same ol thing. As a child you pray because you know that's what you're supposed to do. You go sit in church all day because you can't drive so you rode with your mom, and you really have no choice. By the time you're actually able to drive yourself to church you begin to find excuses as to why you shouldn't go. I know this was the case for me. 

You see down here in the South we're hounded with this idea of what a 'Christian' should be. Christians shouldn't curse, they shouldn't have sex, they can't wear clothing that stops above the knees or show the slightest cleavage, and they shouldn't talk about other people. You have to get on your knees to pray, you have to start every prayer off with 'Father God', and you have to mention it in a monotone voice at least 50 times in your prayer. This is what created a problem for me. 

By the time I got to college, I rebelled against the church. I honestly haven't stepped foot in a church in only God knows how long. But, what I realized that other 'Christians' around me didn't was that the church won't save you. The church is just a physical building filled with sinners just like me. I found the church house to be filled with more judgmental people than a court room. The true church is found inside of you, and everyone's relationship with God is different. Surround yourself with like minded people and the rest will take care of itself.

My relationship with God is more so of a casual one. Don't get me wrong, I come to him with respect, but it's not the mundane, repetitive prayers that you hear all the time. My time with God is a time where I can be completely open and honest about any and everything, and that's exactly how it should be. God doesn't want us to follow what everyone else is doing because we think that's what we're supposed to do. He wants us to come to him as we are. Cast all your troubles and cares to him and he'll take care of the rest. Once you confess to him he will intercede on your behalf. 

Just recently, a friend of mine rented the movie War Room for me. At first I didn't want to watch it, because I really don't usually like Christian movies. I feel as if they are chessy and they're exploiting religion to make profit. But, this movie was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my life. It honestly changed my entire prayer life. It caused me to begin to pray like I've never prayed before. I opened one of my old notebooks, ripped all the used pages out, and began writing out prayers. I made a list of who I wanted to pray for, and what I wanted to pray about for them. As I sat down and had one on one time with God, he began to change my life. Not only did he begin to change my life, he started to change the lives of those around me. I'm telling you I've honestly never felt anything like it before. 

I'm telling you prayer still works. And it pays to have a strong prayer life. I highly recommend that all of you watch this movie. It is currently available in the RedBox and on Netflix. To sign up for a free trail on Netflix, click here. I hope you all get as much out of the film as I did. 

Until next time..

God Bless,

Kenya 

If You Knew Your Death Date...

If You Knew Your Death Date...

What Would You Do?

No, seriously if you knew the day you were going to die what would you do differently? I for one would spend time with those that matter the most, and fearlessly chase my dreams. 

Death is inevitable, yes? That means we are all going to die some day. That day might not be today, or tomorrow, but some day we are going to leave this Earth. Knowing that should inspire us to live each day like it's our last. 

I shouldn't have to pose the aforementioned question for you to desire to change your life, or live it to the fullest. You should already live each day as it's your last, because tomorrow isn't promised. Would you be content with living a life full of regrets? No, I didn't think so. Who would?  

The world is your playground, and it’s just waiting on you to explore it. Don’t sit back and let life pass you by. Make the most of the moments you experience on a daily basis. There is an expiration date on everyone’s life.

I remember when I was first asked this question; it caused me to look at life differently. I always found myself making excuses as to why I couldn’t do something today. My favorite line was always, “oh I’ll do it tomorrow.” But, sometimes we don’t have until tomorrow to do something. Why put off til tomorrow what you can do today? I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to get as much done as you can in a day, and not waste time. Your time is valuable, and precious, and should be treated as such.  

Take advantage of the opportunities around you. Take advantage of the people around you. Go out and have drinks with friends. Learn a new language. Play a sport, even if it is just for exercise or fun. Spend time with those who matter most. Every day is a gift from God and a chance to start over. Make it count.

No matter what life throws at you, no matter how bad things may seem, no matter how bad you want to give up, remember this is not the end. Strive hard for success, and follow your dreams. You don’t want to end up with a pocket full of ‘what if’s’?

So I pose the question once again; if you knew your death date what would you do differently?

xoxoKenya