💋 Lip Care 💋

On Lip Appreciation Day SeneGence International Shared this phenomenal routine!

Give your lips some extra loving with this lip care routine:


Step 1: Remove LipSense with Ooops! remover.

Step 2: Apply our LipSmooth Conditioning Polish, which contains bamboo and ivory seed powder nonabrasive exfoliators.

Step 3: Wipe off the LipSmooth Polish with our Biodegradable Fooops wipes.

Step 4: Swipe on our Moisturizing Lip Balm, which contains Coconut Oil, to provide nourishing moisture to dry cracked lips.

What is your lip care routine?

My Skincare Routine

I go through phases with my skincare journey. There are times when I am 100% dedicated to my skincare routine and have beautiful skin!

And then I get lazy.

I get lazy and think it won't be that noticeable if I am behind on my skincare. When I do that, my skin looks like this picture: red, dry, and flaky.
I had been in a lazy season during the past couple of months. Then on my spring break trip, I went back to my routine. In LESS THAN A WEEK I was seeing results. My skin was smooth, less red, and didn't itch or hurt anymore.

So here is what my current routine looks like!

Morning:

Products:

• Normal-Oily 3 in 1 Cleanser
• Climate Control
• Normal-Oily Daytime Moisturizer

I start with a warm wet washcloth over my face to prep my skin. I then use a small drop of the cleaners and massage it in over my face. Next, I wash it off with the washcloth. After cleaning the skin I take the Climate Control and spray it on my forehead and cheeks. I make sure to rub it in really well so that I get the full benefits. I finish up with Daytime Moisturizer to seal in all the nutrients and soften my skin.

If I want some quick color before leaving in the morning, I'll use the Color Correcting Tinted Moisturizer and put on some LipSense.

Evening:

Products:

• Normal-Oily 3 in 1 Cleanser
• Normal-Oily Evening Moisturizer
• Eye Cream

I start off the evening the same as the morning: a warm wet washcloth. Same things with cleaner. A small drop goes a long way and then I wash it off. Next, I use the Evening Moisturize all over the face and finish with the Eye Cream just under the eye.

Removing Makeup:

Products:

• Ooops! Lip Color Remover
• LipSense LipSmooth Conditioning Polish
• Fooops! SenseCosmetics Color Removing Wipes
• LipSense Moisturizing Lip Balm

If I wore makeup I'll go through this routine before starting my normal evening routine. This part of my routine just got updated recently. By pairing the Conditioning Polish with the Ooops, I can remove the LipSense more cleanly and take care of my lips. I start with a layer of the Ooops over my lips and then rub my lips together to make sure they are fully coated. Next, I use the Conditioning Polish, again I only need a small drop. I rub the drop all over my lips so that they get some good exfoliation. I then use the wipes to remove any other makeup I am wearing and then use the wipe to remove the Ooops and Conditioning Polish. Last but not least, I go through my evening routine and finish by putting on the Lip Balm. 

My skin has never felt better than when I keep my routines consistent. I have clear, healthy, clean skin! If you don't have a skincare routine I would HIGHLY recommend giving the SeneGence skincare products a try. And if you do have one, you might want to seriously evaluate the results that your current products have. Is the result only surface level? Or are you products healing and providing nutrients on the deepest level of the skin?

Extreme Blog Makeover

Hey y'all!

It has been forever since I have posted on here but I am back!
.....or at least I am going to try to be.

My blog has gone through many different stages. It started as a place to talk about my trips to China and advocate for kids. Then after being home for awhile, it started to transition into being a place to talk about my life and how I was adjusting to college. I've also thrown in a few inspirational posts every now and then. BUT....the last time I posted was in October of 2016......

I think it's fair to say that just a little bit of time has passed since then.

So where am I at now and what am I doing back on the blog?

Well for starters, That Boy and I are getting married this summer. We just celebrated our 5 year anniversary yesterday. So that's all pretty exciting!
But don't worry!
Just because I'm getting married and changing my name doesn't mean I'll stop being Mew. It just means Mew will no longer be my initials and will just be a fun nickname instead.

Not sure if I've mentioned this before or not but I am getting my major in Social Work and a minor in Chinese. I will be graduating spring of next year.

Oh yeah, and last year in April I signed up with SeneGence International as a distributor!

Alright, I can hear some of you on the other side of the screen asking senewhat?
SeneGence is skincare and cosmetics company. You may have heard some buzz going around about one of their WOW products called LipSense. It has been almost a year since I became a distributor and I am getting ready to head to my first Seminar in a few weeks!!!!!!😁

I might just be a tad excited.


So that's where I'm at now but I'm sure you are still wondering......what about the blog?
Right now my plan is to use the blog for a few things. I still will post occasional life updates, kinda like this post. But I will also post a few things about my business on here. A few upcoming posts may include things like how and why I joined, personal product testimonies, some of the science behind the products, what Seminar is like, and whatever else I think of later.

I plan to have my posts labeled so you can easily see what each post is about. Also on the side somewhere (I'm not sure where I will move it permanently), there are tabs to my YouTube, Facebook, etc.

But I think that's the gist of it. Thanks for joining me on my journey!

See ya next time!

F.I.N.E.

Before posting yesterday I showed That Boy, my post. After reading it he reminded me of something we have talked about before, something he heard at a men's conference (though honestly, it applies to everyone). Instead of adding it to yesterday's post, I decided it should be its own short post.
At this conference he was introduced to the acronym fine:

Feelings I'm Not Expressing

I didn't realize how accurate this is until I reflected on my own life and any time that I've said fine. And what do you know, every time there is something I'm hiding, something I'm not saying when I say fine. Occasionally I'm underplaying how excited I am over something but more often than not I'm trying to hide a negative feeling. These feelings being anger, sadness, annoyance, tiredness, you name it.

I get the feeling I'm not alone in this usage of fine. I know that between That Boy and I, we had decided to try and stop saying fine and say something else that expresses how we feel. It is not easy. Fine is a safe word for many people because often times when fine is said people don't want to express those feelings.

Maybe not everyone you meet needs your life story but for those close to you who truly matter, they deserve more than just fine. It's important to have someone in your life that you can express exactly how you feel. So maybe instead of saying fine, today we should try saying how we feel.

"I'm Fine"

How are you doing?

I'm doing well.....

Good....

I'm okay....

Ehhhhh, alright......

I'm fine......

This is how a basic conversation goes when you see someone:

How are you?

Good.

Me too.

See you later!

Bye!

The problem is that these conversations are too surface level. Most people who ask how someone is doing don't actually want to hear their life story, rather they just want to give a socially acceptable greeting. We are so accustomed to this system that often we don't think about what we just said. It is a natural response,

I'm fine.....

I find myself stuck in this trap all the time, and this week I found myself giving a knee-jerk response without actually considering the question. Because this week......

I'm not fine!

This is more than the it's-midterms-week-and-I'm-a-college-student not fine. This is the I-just-found-out-someone-close-to-me-passed-away not fine. This is the feeling of my heart being ripped out of my chest and a longing to be home with those I love.

This week a very dear life was lost. A close family friend. A loving wife and mother. There is a family grieving that my own family has lived life with, and I can't be there with them.

So in case you were wondering how I'm doing, 

I am not okay.

I am hurting. 

I feel lost.

I want to have answers. I want to say I'm okay. But I'm not. Most people will probably still hear "I'm fine," when they ask how I'm doing. That's because right now that's the safest answer I can give. An answer that won't leave me in tears. But for those who are close to me and know me better than to take the face value of the lie that I'm fine....

I'm hurting.

Today I want to do anything I can for those who are grieving, but I also can't stop living my own life. I can't hide from my responsibilities, I can't ignore tests and homework, and I can't shut out those who care so much about me. 

Sorry if this is a mess....but that's how I feel today. Processing grief is incredibly messy and most the time people don't know what to say to make you feel better. Maybe that's the point. Maybe for today it just needs to be okay that I'm not okay.

Proverbs Day One

Hello peoples!

Sorry for being gone so long. School got really busy and already the semester is halfway over! I've had a lot of things on my mind lately and just haven't known what to write. But I knew if I didn't try and write something I would just forget about it.

With it being the 1st of the month I decided to start reading a chapter in Proverbs each day of the month. So this morning I started by reading chapter 1 and I just wanted to briefly touch on a few verses that stood out to me.

The first verse that really grabbed my eye was verse 5, "let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—." In context this verse is among a set that describes the purpose of the proverbs and parables that are in the rest of the book. As I read this verse it became my prayer and desire for the rest of this month as I study Proverbs. That I would listen for wisdom and teaching, and find guidance from God each day.

The next verses that stood out to me were in a section where Wisdom is personified and she is speaking to the people. Verse 23, "Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings." This was a very strong reminder this morning to approach God with a heart of repentance so that I would be open to his teaching and discipline. In the same section verses 32-33, "For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Again another reminder to be listening to the word of God, but it really stood out as I read this morning.

That was about all I have on chapter 1 that I wanted to point out. While I plan to read everyday, I don't know if I will be able to blog everyday of this journey, but I will do my best to post when I can.

That's my view!

The Butterfly Effect

Hello peoples!

If you have not read my "That Boy" post yet, pause, read it, and them come back.

Okay...I think we should be good now. For those who don't know, the butterfly effect is when you look at an event, fiction or nonfiction, and change one small thing and then look at everything that one choice effects.

This morning That Boy and I were having breakfast together and talking about all sorts of things and at some point in our conversation he mentioned how at one point he had had the opportunity to test up a grade but his parents had decided it would be best if he stayed where he was. Initial though was wouldn't that have been cool if we were in the same grade. Or would it? Of course with me it couldn't stop there, so we started talking about all the implications that would have.

First just looking at when we would have met. It probably would have been in middle school, maybe through band, maybe in a different class. That Boy was in an advanced placement class called Stretch in middle school. But if we are moving him up a grade we decided he may not have made the cut for the class, and while still very smart would have also just barely missed being put in a higher level math course. It would have been 7th grade when we met since that's when I switched to public school. I didn't have high expectations from the kids around me and was often fed up with their lack of commitment to learning and rules. I was a good student, very smart, but had no patients for my peers, especially the boys. He admitted that 7th grade wasn't his best year, he hung out with kids who weren't as smart in an attempt to seem cool and he tried to fit into the popular crowd. From what he described he would be exactly like the kind of student who really ticked me off. The type that even when we got to high school I probably would never have been able to look past that terrible first impression. Knowing I probably came off a bit snobbish at times in middle school, he may not have had much of an interest in getting to know me either.

After that shocking discovery we went on to hypothesize that if we had found a way to look past middle school faults, did we have any chance of reconnecting with each other in high school. To which we quickly discovered was probably a no. Part of the reason we met is because I hung out with younger students and we were both friends with Bunny, which is how we initially met. If we never dated then we can't even be sure we would have ended up at the same college because the college we are now at may not have been on his radar.

Continuing down this rabbit hole we had another realization! He would have had a completely different friend group! I know this seems obvious but friends have a huge impact on how you grow and develop different parts of your personality. If he had taken and passed that test back in elementary school he would have met totally different people. Even at church he may not have been in the same Sunday school class as his best friend! He may have been closer to some of the older boys but it would have changed the dynamics of his church youth group a lot. His school friends would have been the people in my grade but that would have changed dynamics in the friendships those people already had too.

There are so many different ways we could take this but it didn't take to long to discover that the chances of us meeting and liking each other were slim to nonexistent. Even discovering that all the friends that shaped That Boy would be totally different, in essence changing the type of person he grew up to be. While a lot might be similar about him, he wouldn't be exactly who he is today. Even looking at how each of us has influenced the other the past two years and wondering who we would be today if that influence was gone?

I could talk forever about all the different possibilities but in the end it doesn't matter. God had a plan for each of us and how we would meet. As hard as it is some days to be a whole grade level apart, being the same grade may actually have been terrible for us. As shocking as all that was to think about, I had a lot of fun theorizing about what things might have been like. But I am so glad that everything has happened the way it was supposed to and that he never took that test.

That's my view!