1. CLEAN YOUR SKIN MORNING AND NIGHT EFFECTIVELY! Wash your face every day, at least once in the morning and once at night. This will keep your skin fresh and clean. Most importantly, don't overwash your skin! Overwashing your skin can cause skin irritation and redness. In the long run, overwashing causes your skin to lose its natural layer of oils which protects itself from the environment, causing your skin to become more sensitive and prone to irritation/breakouts. Every time you wash your skin with a cleanser, make sure you wash 1-3 minutes! It actually takes a minute for your cleanser to start working on your skin and the product to start sinking in your pores!

2. MOISTURIZE! Although you may have oily skin, STILL moisturize! There are many different types of moisturizers fit for different types of skin. Moisturizer is very important, as it allows your skin to retain its natural moisture and seals in your protective layer of oils. For the day time, try to commit to a moisturizer that contains sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. No matter what skin tone you have, protecting your skin from the sun is essential.

3. EXFOLIATE + SKIN TREATMENTS (MASKS). You may think that cleansing your skin is enough. But to get a deep cleanse, exfoliate your skin 1-2 times a week. Exfoliating washes away the dead skin cells and reaches deeper into your pores. However, do not over exfoliate, as it also can cause skin irritation, sensitivity, and redness! Many people love to treat their skin to a "spa day," which includes using masks. Masks can have great benefits, as it also cleanses your skin on a deeper level, rejuvenates it, and helps with blood circulation. Many masks target different goals, such as tightening skin, balancing oils, reducing oiliness, reducing redness. Choose one that can target your skin needs! Just remember, masks should only be used about once a week. To get the most effective results, make sure you open up your pores before applying your mask! To open up your pores, you can use a steamer machine or shower. Opening the pores will allow your mask to do its job more effectively, as it reaches deeper in the pores.

4. INCLUDE SERUMS IN YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE. After cleansing your face, apply serums to target the specific needs for your skin! Depending on your serum, it can have beneficial ingredients, such as anti-aging properties and effective acne treatments. For more info on the role of serums, check out this perfect IntoTheGloss post!

5. CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES AND SPONGES. Applying your makeup with dirty brushes can cause your makeup to seal in the bacteria on your face, causing more breakouts and clogging of the pores. Face brushes should be cleaned every week because they carry heavier makeup products. Since they're face brushes, they can easily carry bacteria across your face. Eye brushes should be deeply cleaned about 2-3 times a month. Since these brushes cover a smaller area of your face and usually carry lighter products than foundations/concealer brushes, these won't retain as much bacteria. However, it is also essential to maintain the cleanliness of eye brushes because dirty eye brushes can cause eye irritations and redness. A general rule for makeup brushes is that they should always be soft and should not leave any residue on your face. As for sponges, strictly speaking, they should be washed every 2-3 usages. Sponges can retain bacteria more easily by keeping the bacteria trapped within the sponge. Therefore, it's also essential to keep this makeup tool as clean as possible. 

6. CLEAN YOUR FACIAL BRUSH CLEANSERS. Similar to makeup brushes, cleansing brushes can catch bacteria easily! Clarisonic brushes often advise you to cleanse your brush once a week and deep cleanse it once per month if you use your brush every day. If you want your brush cleansers to commit to its duty of deep cleansing your pores, it's your job to keep it clean so it can function correctly!

7. WASH YOUR SKIN AFTER SHAMPOOING YOUR HAIR. The impact of hair products on your skin can have taunting effects, especially if your skin is very sensitive. Hair products are not formulated to keep your skin from clogging up. The best solution is to cleanse your skin after you shampoo your hair, so that you can wash away the residue with your cleanser! As for hairspray, try to keep it out of your face!

8. REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP BEFORE BED. The best hours for skin recovery are night hours. However, if you keep your skin clogged up with makeup, your skin will only soak up the nasty residue! Instead, keep your skin clean and healthy by cleansing it properly and sticking to a routine! Even on those days when you're tired from work, take a few minutes to get rid of all that makeup. Your skin needs its beauty rest too!

9. CHECK PRODUCT INGREDIENTS. Is your skin sensitive to a type of ingredient? Your skin type may not be sensitive skin, but it may be allergic to a specific ingredient! So pay attention to the general ingredients in your makeup/cleansers. For example, tea tree oil is famous for its anti-acne properties. However, it doesn't seem to work on me. So see what works for you!

10. DO NOT PILE ON LAYERS OF MAKEUP! Your skin needs to BREATHE! Instead of using layers and layers of foundation, invest in a full coverage foundation/concealer! Also remember that foundation isn't used to cover up those blemishes. Foundation is only the base layer. Use good coverage concealers to dot on those blemishes! For tips on finding a quality concealer, check out this awesome, thorough IntoTheGloss Post! They mention the best coverage concealers and it definitely has a few of my favorites on their list.

11. WIPE DOWN. This means disinfect the screen of your phone, wash your yoga mat and disinfect those headphones that stick to the sides of your face. Believe it or not, these places actually have layers and layers of bacteria! We never seem to think of this, but our skin contact these areas every day!

12. LET FRESH AIR CIRCULATE YOUR WORK SPACE. Having fresh air allows your pores to breathe. Declutter your work space if you have to. After every spring and summer clean, I always feel better when I get to work in my work space because the decluttering keeps my anxiety levels low and allows the fresh air to actually circulate my whole room! Circulating Fresh Air = Circulations of Good Energy.

13. DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Since June, I invested in a 24 oz Mira water bottle which keeps cold water cold and hot water warm. THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST INVESTMENT IN MY LIFE. Since it's such a large water bottle, I only need to refill it 2-3 times a day and I get to have a good amount of water intake! Some of the biggest reasons why I never stuck to drinking water were because my water bottles always leaked, were always too bulky for me to carry around, and always change the water temperature to room temperature water. I love chilled water! So to be able to transport this sleek water bottle without leakage, refill it as the day goes on, and maintain the water temperature is absolutely amazing. Most importantly, I've seen that my skin has reduced its breakouts (knock on wood!). 

14. WATCH YOUR DIET! It's not a good idea to eat greasy foods (pizza, cheeseburgers) every single day. What you eat is what you shine through! Excessive oils can cause an imbalanced digestion, which can reflect on your face. Breakouts around your eyebrows are signs of liver problems, which means you should improve your water intake. Breakouts around your forehead are signs of indigestion. Generally, consume enough veggies and fruits in your daily meals. If you don't like the taste of these, you can always blend it and add ice to make it into a good smoothie. Adding ice always makes a good smoothie. Adding fruits gives it some natural sweetness! Essentially, pay attention to what you eat. Each person is different, so what works for you may not work for her. For example, milk doesn't work well with my digestion in the morning! Sounds weird, but it's true! Milk also gives me more breakouts. Oddly, cheese doesn't have that effect on me. Ultimately, pay attention to what your skin is telling you! 

15. MEDITATE + DESTRESS. Personally, my key to destressing is designing, sketching, and watching Youtube Videos/Netflix. However, some days I don't have that time! So I would use 5 minutes to meditate and play a calming song in the background. Destressing is an important tip to living a healthy, happy life! Destressing also prevents excessive breakouts by limiting hormone imbalances.

16. SEE A DERMATOLOGIST. If you can't seem to figure out a way to unclog your pores, or if you have severe breakouts, contact a dermatologist! They're specialized in this department, they know what's going on :)

*Disclaimer: I am not a skin professional. These are only personal experiences that I've gained and decided to share with you!

Hi Loves! Today, I wanted to share with you the top 5 items on my grown-up checklist. One of the most challenging and adventurous aspects of life is setting goals and beginning new journeys. Since I'm approaching adulthood very soon, I decided to create this Grown-Up Checklist, similar to the bucket list of want to accomplish as an adult!

1. Traveling LOTS with friends and family! Every time I return from a vacation, I get to learn something new about myself. Embarking on these adventures and discovering the world and yourself are important steps to living a fulfilling life! 

2. Living a clean, minimalistic life. Some days, our values may be clouded by the materialistic aspects of life. I believe that living a minimalistic life will really open my eyes and allow me to focus on life, its journey, and the beauty of the world, instead of the materialistic things. Plus, having a clean environment to work and live in clears the mind of clutters, allowing me to be more motivated to get things done!

3. Account for my spending. For the past year, I suddenly felt like spending money was WAY easier than saving money and spending wisely. So in my bullet journal, I decided to keep track of my spending for a few months and see how much my living cost would be. I accounted for the little shopping sprees, the lunch money, the toiletries. Everything. The sum was actually very shocking! So over the summer, I ended up making more of my own lunches and it felt great. Not only did my body get cleansed of unhealthy foods and toxins, but I've also felt a lot healthier, customing my own foods, eating more salads, and living this simpler lifestyle. For those of you transitioning from high school to college, or from college to adulthood, it's great to start this method to account for your spendings, just to see how much your living cost will be. This is the perfect method for keeping a balanced budget!

4. Drinking LOTS of water! Now, I don't mean binge-drinking water as if I was a girl at the bar drinking away my sorrows. I want to drink the average human's water consumption, which is about 6-8 cups of water daily. Over the entire summer, I got this Mira 24-oz Water bottle from Amazon and it's the perfect water bottle to maintain my water intake. I just need to drink 2-3 bottles of this and I'm set! The best part is, it's insulated! It keep cold water cool for 24 hours and hot water warm for 12 hours. Now, by the end of the 24 hours, the water won't be ice cold. But it's still pretty chill! I would HIGHLY recommend checking out this amazing water bottle because it's so worth the investment!

5. Do what I love, earn lots of money, give back to the community, and start a charity for abused and abandoned animals. Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to become a humanitarian and start my own charity. Even today, my life's biggest goal is to earn enough money for me to start my own charity for abandoned and abused animals. By earning lots of money, I would be able to establish my own farm/care facility for abused and abandoned animals. Animals are the most loyal creatures a human can have as a companion. Yet, when they're abused, they can't speak for themselves. Humans are always fighting for women's rights, racial equality, wage equality for both genders. But animals can't fight for their own causes when humans are the cause of their abandonment. So I'll fight for them. If the these abused animals regain their happiness, and if our community bands together to aid in this cause, that'll make me a happy lil human being :)

6. Saving up early. Recently, I've read that 40% of millennials don't have current plans for retirement! People of this generation have gained the strength to spend instead of the power to save, making the economy plumage more than ever. Teens of this generation are entering the most debt any generation has experienced before. The worst part is, after graduating from college, they continue to spend and leave the idea of "debt to return" for a decade later. Why not save early? Why not start saving for your future children, so they can have an easier life, financially? Why not pay back your debts early? Why not get rid of this financial burden before it becomes a leash holding you back from a brighter future? One of the best financial tools/apps to budget your personal capital is the app "Personal Capital Money and Investing" by Personal Capital Corporation. It's a free analytics tool that'll aid you in finding YOUR financial strategy in budgeting your lifestyle! While being an independent adult feels fun, don't forget to keep an eye on the future and save up!

Those are the Top 6 Items on my Grown-Up Checklist! I hope these tips to becoming a responsible adult helped!

Til Next time!

Every year, I LOVE to decorate my notebook covers, especially if they're plain notebook covers. But I wanted something simple so I can repeat for like 5+ notebook covers. I'm VERY picky about my notebooks. I feel like some notebooks have super thin paper (I don't like) and I won't use cardstock-cover notebooks because they tear super easily (especially when you're sliding it in and out of your locker constantly). So I always stick to plastic covers. However, drawing/painting on plastic covers never seems to work. So, I thought of this DIY. There's probably 1 key component... maybe 2. So I'd like to share this with you! (Hey, that rhymed!)

4. A cheap paint brush to apply glue the Mod Podge and glitter glue with

5. A Permanent Pen/Marker if you want to write/draw on the decoration

6. LABEL PAPER (I used the Full sheet type, not the small labels. The full sheet ones are like printer paper and a super large paper sticker. It's basically a paper-sized label). I used the Avery 5353 type. (Click here to buy)

7. A notebook

8. Printer to print the pattern/design onto the label

Let's start!

1. Choose the design/picture/wallpaper you want to print onto the label paper. I googled "tribal patterns," "vintage patterns," and "tumblr patterns" for the patterns I used shown in the picture. (Also, the rose wallpaper is by Lily Pulitzer)

Materials:

- Scissors

- Cardstock/Watercolor/Acrylic (heavy duty) paper (I used the XL brand paper)

- Markers/Pen/Pencils (to write on the paper)

- Small Binder Clips

- Ceramic Disc Magnets (available on Amazon)- (the bigger the magnet, the heavier papers it can hold. I chose the smallest, pea size ones which are very lightweight)

- (OPTIONAL) Mod Podge

IT'S TIME TO START THE DIY!

1. Measure your paper and draw lines for your desired size. (Mine is about 2x3 inches)

2. Cut the paper along the lines to your desired size.

3. Write/Design your paper (can be a simple word or even a quote!) I happened to recreate some words originally created by PiecesCalligraphy! Be creative! Use a silver sharpie! You can even print some drawings/designs instead of drawing them!

4. (OPTIONAL step): Seal everything with a layer of Mod Podge to give it a glossy, textured effect!

5. Lay out all your Magnet pieces in your locker/on the refrigerator.

6. Attach a binder clip to each quote.

7. Stick the binder clip onto the magnetic disc!

YOU'RE DONE. 

♡♡♡♡♡,

Cathy

Since Back to School season is right around the corner, I thought some Freshman Advice would be the most appropriate to kick off my #BTSSeason series! Here's my advice to all you freshies out there!

1. Don't be skeptical or stereotypical! Be openminded! Not every school is the same, and you never know what type of people you'll end up being friends with!

Although I said freshman year should be taken seriously, stay chill and stay relaxed. STAY SANE because this is only the beginning. ENJOY high school while you're young!

STAY SAFE AND LOVE YOU!

                               ♡♡♡♡♡,

Cathy

PS. Upcoming posts: Backpack essentials, planners, lockers, outfits!