You live on

You're gone, but you live in me. You live in all of our insiders, love sessions, and fights. You live in all of your favorite stores, books, and foods. You live in the music I listen too and in the stars that I count, in the fragrances that I come across.You live in my memories, in all of the moments we've had together, in photos and videos. You live in the person that I've become today. You're everywhere that I look, even when I try to forget about you. When I close my eyes, you live in my dreams. And when I cry, you live in my teardrops. But most importantly, you've never stopped living in my heart. With every single heartbeat of mine, you live on.

Glow

My fingers laced with hers and I'd never felt so complete in my entire life. Suddenly, the empty feeling that had been present in my chest for so long dispersed. I felt whole. We were the perfect fit. Our fingers fit perfectly, they were made for one another. I squeezed her soft hand a little tighter, yet gently. She didn't seem to mind at all, she gave mine a gentle squeeze back. The sand beneath me felt nonexistent at the moment; I felt like I was floating in space. And even though butterflies were present in my stomach, I had never felt so at ease, so comfortable. Things had never felt so right. I snuck a glance at her, she was glaring out onto the ocean, her face looked peaceful and content. I continued sneaking glances at her, she was even more beautiful than the beach itself. As a matter of fact, she was more beautiful than anything I'd ever laid my eyes on. I couldn't quite pinpoint why or how, but she just had this glow about her, in her own little perfect way, and I wouldn't change a thing. 

The escape

He shut the door behind him as hard as he could, with all of the strength in his body, it was about time. After all these years, he finally listened to his heart; he was tired. He'd had enough. He felt his feet lifting and landing, his legs moving forward like they had minds of their own, like they were thanking him for allowing them to let loose, to escape. The dark, full clouds above him released rain, all at once, hard and rapid, as though they felt his pain. His sorrow. He felt the raindrops pouring down on him, his pants getting heavier and heavier, but his legs still moving as fast as lightning.Thunder followed. He closed his eyes and released the teardrops that he'd held in for so long, he felt as though his teardrops overpowered the amount of rain that was pouring up above him. He felt as though he was going to drown in his own tears. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew that anywhere would be better than where he had just escaped from, anywhere. Suddenly, he was angry. Angry. Tired. Upset. His legs finally gave up on him, he dropped to his knees and lay his forehead on the hard, wet cement floor. He was breathing rapidly, trying to catch up with his breath. Suddenly, he looked up, tears still pouring down from his face, mixing in with the rain. 

"GOD, answer me. Answer me if you're up there God. Why me. You put me into this shit, now get me out of it," he bellowed, "Please just get me out of it."

Amir didn't like feeling sorry for himself. He located a sturdy tree and lay his back against it, a good resting place until he found somewhere warm to sleep. He was used to long, cold nights. And he felt safe. He knew he'd made it far enough to where they couldn't catch him. 

He felt his eyes shutting, slowly, and didn't know whether he wanted them to ever open again or not. 

Make up for dry skin

So, you're at a party, feeling confident while greeting everyone, and decide you want to go to the bathroom to check up on how your make up is doing. You look into the mirror and find someone staring you, someone with dry, chalky patches on her face. And you freak out. How could my make up look so dry?! You wonder. You spent a notorious amount of time priming, moisturizing, AND exfoliating, yet your skin is still dry and patchy. WHY? 

I've had this problem for years. Ever since I started wearing foundation. I struggled with dry, dry skin that would leave every foundation that I applied looking chalky, patchy, and cracked. I would always feel devastated, blame the foundation, and switch to a different one...until I realized that, rather than complaining, it was time to take action to solve my problem. Here are some steps that you can take to achieve a beautiful, dewy finish despite the fact that you have dry skin.

1. DRINK A LOT OF WATER 

I know you hear this ALL of the time, but it's just so true. You can't expect your skin to look fresh and hydrating if you're not sufficiently hydrated on the inside. Your body is made up of an estimated 70-80% of water, so it is crucial for healthy, radiant skin. What you put into your body definitely reflects your overall appearance.

2. EXFOLIATE 

Exfoliate. Exfoliate. Exfoliate. Once a week. This literally changed my life. When you exfoliate, you're getting rid of old skin skills and imperfections while allowing fresh skin cells to resurface on your body. Overtime, this habit will even your skin tone out and erase acne scars, hyperpigmentation, etc. it will also give you a smoother look, getting rid of the dry, patchiness appearance.

3. MOISTURIZE

Moisturizing is an essential step when it comes to achieving a dewy, radiant look. Keep your new skin cells moist and hydrated. Moisturize every morning before applying your foundation as well as every night before going to sleep. I use the Sephora intensifying moisturizer and its done wonders for my skin. 

4. Use a setting spray before and after applying foundation.

My make up routine consists of waking up and washing my face with my cetaphil facewash and then applying a generous amount of moisturizer on. I wait around for a while, allowing my moisturizer to dry and set on my skin before spraying on my make up forever, mist and fix,spray on. Allow the spray to dry before applying a DEWY foundation on. Make sure your foundation isn't matte. This is a MUST. Make sure your foundation is a cream based foundation like the new Forever HD foundation stick- works wonders for me! It's like magic. Once you apply your foundation, use some of your spray on again and allow it to dry before applying powder (optional) or anything else such as mascara, blush etc.

I promise promise that your skin will look fresh, dewy, and clean if you follow these steps. You won't deal with the dry, patchiness look again.

The mist and fix spray is a setting spray that moisturizer your face intensely. You can even feel it hydrating your skin as soon as you spray it on- it smells great too, which is a plus. 

TIPS: 

Be extremely cautious when applying powder if your skin is dry because powder, especially if it's matte, dries your skin out even more and gives it that chalky, cracked look.

Sprinkle a little translucent powder on top of your foundation if you want to set it or dust a little on! 

Have fun dolls- hope this helps! 

Am I pink or yellow undertone?

As if finding the right shade of foundation isn't already tough on ladies, they also have to decide whether they are a pink undertone or a yellow undertone. *yikes* I personally feel like every woman should ignore this whole "pink/yellow" undertone frenzy that's been going on for as long as I can remember and should much rather just focus on their skin, what they're looking for, and what makes them happy.

I speak from personal experience and after wearing foundation for SIX years and being unhappy about the several thousands of shades that I tried *exaggerating* I FINALLY found the perfect shade for me- in my opinion- that most "make up experts* would disagree with. For the longest time, ever since I started experimenting with foundation , I was told that I had a "yellow undertone." I listened to what I was told because obviously, they're "experts" and know better than me- a rookie. I went through a bunch of different foundation brands, from laura mercier, Clinique, Chanel, Kat Von D, tarte BB cream, sephora photo ready BB cream, etc ONLY to be left disappointed over and over and over again. I'd leave my house feeling like my foundation, that was supposed to "perfectly" match my skin, was either WAY TOO DARK OR YELLOW. I felt like a mud faced chick who looked really sick. Finally, I went into sephora and complained about all of the foundations that I'd ever worn and asked the beauty expert for samples of foundations with pink undertones. They told me that yellow would look better, but I insisted and walked out of the store with a bunch of samples. I tried the pink undertone shades on and FELL IN LOVE. It was love at first sight. My skin looked radiant and bright, it was glowing AND matched my neck perfectly. I no longer looked like a clay face. And every time I went out, I got tons and tons of compliments from friends, family members, and even strangers. "What's your skin care regime" they'd ask, and I'd reply with "try BOTH PINK AND YELLOW UNDERTONE foundations" ha- not really, but you get it. Everyone is different, there's no beauty expert in the world who knows your skin better than you- so don't settle until you're perfectly happy because honestly, this whole yellow/pink undertone thing doesn't make sense. Bobbi Brown claims EVERYONE is a yellow undertone *nope* and MAC has this weird way of differentiating the two...don't get me started. Have fun shopping! Kudos. May you shine as bright as you are.

Different

There was something different about her..she wasn't as lively, as full of joy as she'd always been. She wasn't as loud, as cheerful. She didn't swoon everyone like she used to. Her smile was almost nonexistent, half and forced. Her eyes were puffy and distant, they had no life in them. Her head hung low. I missed her. The old her. I missed the loud, happy, carefree her and it made me sad. It actually broke my heart because she was the one person who I never ever wanted to see change. Her smile had the ability of lighting an entire room up and her laugh made your heart sing and fill up with joy. Her eyes were full of life, full of mysteries and her lips were always curved upward. She always had this ryhtm to her- this positivity and no one could deny it. She was someone that everyone renembered- that everyone loved, but did she love herself? Or maybe, perhaps, she let a silly thief break her heart and suck the life out of her? Maybe she forgot to love herself because of a few flaws? Maybe she lost herself whilst loving someone else? No matter the case, I want her back. I miss her. I want her smile back. My soul aches to hear her laugh, to see her dance. There is something different about her, a little too different.

Ponder

We often times ponder over the things that don't really matter in life. Such as what tomorrow is going to hold or how much money you're going to be making or what people think about you. In all honesty, sure, some of these thoughts may hold some value, but only minor. In reality, tomorrow is nonexistent when you're living in the moment; today is all you have. How much money you make and how many people are in your favor should be the least of your worries because to the people who really and truly love you, they are. To the people who really love you, deeply, their main concern is your happiness and your health. And that should be your main concern as well. Thrive to be happy. Thrive to be healthy. And the rest will slowly fall into place. Do what you love because doing what you love will bring you all kinds of joy that you maybe perceived as nonexistent. Enjoy the smaller things in life and don't sweat to much over what is not in your control at the moment. Love deeply for there is no greater reward in this life than loving deeply. Whole heartedly. Love everything you do. And you will feel the love, the joy in your heart and soul. Create inner peace and live as though it's a treasure because it truly is and despite your hardships- you're blessed. We're all blessed. Remember this when you're feeling blue. Remember this when you're losing hope. Look into your heart and ask yourself what truly matters on this earth- only you can decide.