Talk from the heart/rant #2

The conflict. Is using many products the way to go? Or is it not using a thing? Everybody makes a different decision, but the truth is, in this age we have so much access to so much information, not knowing which is the one truth, what is the right way?

But is there even a right way? Are sulfates really the enemy? Is dairy really bad for you?

If that is true, then why are they so damn expensive? Does that mean that people who cannot afford them will not have good health?

Even though we have so much access to information, it does not automatically make us professionals in every field. Reading Medscape or WebMD will not make you the best health expert, and that’s me being optimistic, I know a lot of people are not reading from trustworthy sources, I know many people read bits on the internet written by people like them, yet they still have the sense of entitlement and feel like they are the ultimate expert. (I am not saying I am not included, because I do sometimes behave this way).

Is doing your own research really enough to make right decisions? Do we really not need to seek help from professionals? Why is there so much mistrust between people and persons of a profession, whether it is a doctor or a hairdresser?

In my home there was a saying, roughly translated from Arabic it means “Give the baker the bread, even if he eats half of it.” In that one sentence, it tells you the kind of trust you should have to a person who is working in a job, trust that he will give you the best result you can get, even if you feel like he ate half of it.

It is the same when you feel like the hair dresser cut too much of your hair, it was probably the best to do that, so your hair will look better and healthier. 

I am not saying you should not question or have your opinions and the way you like things done. I am just saying to be respectful to someone who worked hard to work this job, and not to feel like you Definitely know better or more than they do. You probably don’t, this doctor worked hard to get through med school, and this hairdresser has maybe been working for 10+ years. Just be respectful people, stop the “I know better” mentality.

Is “Natural” always better? Can our skin absorb everything we put on it? Will the things we use make us ill or die?

 Is drinking water better than moisturizing?

Talk from the heart/rant #1

Why youtube makes you lazy?

You sit down after a long day, you might be having lunch or dinner, you turn on your phone, and decide to visit YouTube to watch a video and relax a bit.

You watch the first video while slowly and absent mindedly eating your food, the video finishes and you haven’t finished your food yet, so you put on another video.

And so it goes on, until it’s two or three hours later, and you don’t exactly know how the time went, you also don’t really know how much videos you watched, and sometimes you can’t exactly tell what you watched.

Does that sound familiar?

You are not alone.

I don’t exactly know the numbers, but I have a feeling they will be shocking. Whether we want to believe it or not, this is what the ease of YouTube has done to us. As long as you have an internet connection and an electronic device, you have the abitlity to surf the waves of Youtube, not fully realizing when you drown. It happens to me almost daily, and I used to be a person who prided my self for my will power and time management, but I lost that power inthe last few years.

The problem with Youtube, and the difference between it and regular entertainment on TV, is that we have managed to convince ourselves that we are not wasting time, for many reasons which may include:

1. I am actually learning information so it is not a complete waste of my time.

2. I had a long day so I deserve to relax and watch something fun

3. I am in a bad mood so I need to watch something to make me feel better

4. I am doing something boring, like laundry or dishes, so I need something to hear or watch to help me get through it

And so on with many other reasons. But have you noticed a common theme among these reasons?

It is that in all these situations, you are just being passive, all you had to do was turn on the device and choose the video, sit back and watch.

You Tube made you lazy. Honestly I sometimes think that I get a sense of accomplishement just by watching a few videos on how to do something, without actually having to do the thing.

It has been a long time since I noticed this habit in me and a few people around me, and I have yet to discover a solution that sticks, a solution I can be consistent with and not relapse from.

I think the key is in changing our ideas, we need to acknowledge that it is a form of entertainment like any other that needs to be kept in limit. We also need to practice to increase our will power, just we try as best we can to eat regularly and in moderation. Moderation is key.

As for being a passive or active person, well that is a choice you need to make yourself, which do you want to be, but that is another topic that I might write about some time.

كيف تكون سعيد كل صباح،،

عندما كنت في المرحلة الثانوية، كنت استيقظ قبل صلاة الفجر وجميع البيت نيام، لكي اكمل قراءة الروايات والقصص، ورسوم المانغا اليابانية. كان عقلي مشغولا بها: ماذا سيحدث الان؟ ماذا يختبئ في الصفحات التالية؟ كيف ستكون النهاية؟ كل ذلك افكر به حين اتركها قبل النوم، فاتطلع الى الوقت الذي سأستيقظ فيه لمعرفة ماذا سيحصل وكيف ستجري الاحداث. كنت متحمسة للاستيقاظ في أبكر وقت ممكن، غير مبالية بالتعب أو قلة النوم، ولا تنتابني مشاعر استياء انني بعدها سأذهب للمدرسة، بل بالعكس، كنت أذهب للمدرسة بعد القراءة الصباحية اكثر نشاطا وايجابية وحيوية. الامر ليس مقتصر فقط على القراءة، يمكن ان يكون اي امر تحب القيام به، فبعدها بسنوات استبدلت حب القراءة بحب الخط، وكنت استيقظ مبكرا كل يوم قبل دوام الجامعة لكي اتدرب على الخط.

المبدأ هو ذاته، حين تبدأ صباحك بشيء تعشقه وتحب القيام به، فإنك ستضمن شيئين:

أولا ستنام وانت تفكر به وتستيقظ بكل سعادة وشوق ولهفة للقيام بما تحبه، وستحاول الاستيقاظ في ابكر وقت ممكن وبذلك تزيد طاقتك الايجابية الانتاجية.
وثانيا فإنك حين تبدأ صباحك بأمر تحبه فإنك ستمضي يومك كاملا مشحونًا بالطاقة الايجابية وستمون اكثر نشاطًا وحيوية وقدرة على الانجاز.


نصيحتي لكم في بداية العام الدراسي الجديد: خمس دقائق صباحا تقضونها بالقيام بما تحبونه لن تضركم شيئا ولن تتضرروا ان استيقظتم خمس دقائق ابكر يوميا لاجل ممارسة عملكم المحبب، بل ستملأ يومكم بالنشاط والايجابيه وتساهم في زياده حماسكم لليوم الجديد، وستتحمسون للعمل والدوام المدرسي ايضا. مارس ما تحب اولا كل صباح، كي تكون سعيدًا.

Review: Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know how sometimes a person comes to you at just the right moment in your life? This book was that to me. I have been in a slump for a really long time and it has been months and months since I last read a book and finished it. My emotions were rolling all over the place, my motivation and ambition were at their lowest points, and I thought that I will never be creative again or enjoy reading again. I know it is cliche to say this book changed me, but it really did, it gave me the spark again.

I am excited to read and write again. The book taught me that is okay to post my work out into the world even if I think it is not worth it and that it is the most embarrassing boring thing. we put so much pressure on ourselves by wanting everything to be perfect, and if it's not perfect then we give up and stop trying.
This book gave me the courage to share, and the guts to create new content and feel that it is something worth it. Right now I try to tell myself everyday, that my work does mean something, if it is good it will motivate me to work more, if I think it is bad, then I can focus my energy on trying to create something better instead of filling my mind with negative thoughts and surrendering from the beginning.

I am so happy I found this book and grateful for the wonderful effect it has given me, I hope I can keep the motivation high as long as I can.

View all my reviews

An Almost Empty from Avène

I bought this in a set with a toner and cleanser (which were amazing) a long time ago, when I had skin that this cream is suitable for ie. blemish prone skin.
Right now it doesn't really do anything for me. It's light-weight, kind of non-scented, and nice under make-up or on its own.
But it was not what I would call nourishing long-term. I mean it feels comfortable when I put it on after cleansing or after I shower, but I never felt like it was doing something amazing long-term. I sometimes think that because I used The Body Shop's Vitamin E serum for such a long time, it has kind of spoiled me and now I have very high expectations from my products.
In conclusion, if you have super oily to kind of oily skin, or suffer from blemishes, this is a nice and light moisturizer. As for me I don't think I will be repurchasing.

Ingredients from the product page:

AVÈNE THERMAL SPRING WATER (AVèNE AQUA). ISOHEXADECANE. PROPYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE. CETEARYL ALCOHOL. BUTYLENE GLYCOL. DIMETHICONE. POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE. GLYCERIN. 1,2-HEXANEDIOL. ALGIN. BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER (BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII BUTTER). CAPRYLYL GLYCOL. CAPRYLYL GLYCOL LINSEEDATE. CARBOMER. CETEARYL GLUCOSIDE. DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE. DISODIUM EDTA. DISODIUM PHOSPHATE. FRAGRANCE (PARFUM). GLYCERYL LAURATE. PAPAIN. POLYACRYLATE-13. POLYISOBUTENE. POLYSORBATE 20. POTASSIUM SORBATE. SODIUM CETEARYL SULFATE. SODIUM HYDROXIDE. SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE. WATER (AQUA).

Review: The Body Shop Tea tree...Wash-scrub-mask

Let's start by saying that I probably would not have bought this myself. I got this as a gift, and it is just not agreeing with my skin. I am currently more dry and sensitive than oily, and this product just aggravates my skin, the beads especially feel scratchy. The tea tree tingle also makes my cheeks red and sensitive.

I have not used this as a mask much, just because it takes alot of effort to remove, and I noticed it was the same with the other Body Shop tea tree mask I used.

I think you would like this if you enjoy physical scrubs, and like tea tree smells and tingle.

As for me, I just can't leave a product without finishing it,  so I will use this up but not repurchase. It is nothing against The Body Shop, I love their products and think they definitely work, it is just that this product did not work for my current skin now.

My next step is to find a good gentle creamy cleanser to soothe my skin.

Ingredients:

Your skin first....بشرتك أولا

قد تدفع الفتاة مبلغا من المال لشراء حقيبة أو حذاء، ومهما كانت هذه الامور ذات جودة، فإن مآلها إلى الرمي في القمامة. لكن هل تستطيعين أن ترمي بشرتك في القمامة وشراء بشرة جديدة؟
نحن لا نمانع أن ندفع الكثير من الاموال على عشرات من زجاجات العطور، لكن لا ندفع بالمثل للحفاظ على صحة بشرتنا التي تغطي جسمنا بأكمله. أنا لا أقول أن ننفق الآلاف ولا حتى المئات من الاموال، لكن لا بأس بتخصيص جزء من الميزانية للمحافظة على صحة البشرة، بدلا من تخصيص جُل الميزانية على أشياء استهلاكية زائلة لن تبقى معنا للأبد، بينما بشرتنا ستبقى معنا مدى الحياة. 


في الحقيقة إن العناية المنتظمة للبشرة قد توفر لنا الكثير من المال، وذلك في وجهين:

١- إن كانت البشرة صحية وطبيعية فلن نحتاج للكثير من المساحيق والماكياج لتغطية الشوائب والتجميل، حيث أن البشرة جميلة في الاساس بشكلها الطبيعي. 

٢- إن كانت البشرة صحية ومعتناة بها منذ عمر مبكر، فلن نحتاج للعمليات والاجراءات التجميلية المكلفة. 


وفي النهاية نقول أن لكل شخص الحرية في أن يختار أين يضع أمواله، لكن أتمنى أنني تمكنت من إقناعكم بالتفكير قليلا بأن تخصصوا جزءًا من المال ولو كان بسيطًا للمحافظة على صحة بشرتكم.