Welcome to the second installment of my monthly round-up! The first one I launched in January was successful; thanks, guys! It's only been two months since the new year kicked off, but things had been absolutely crazy, at least in our household. It's the good kind of crazy, so this girl is not even complaining!
OK, enough blabbing, and onto the main reason why I brought you here.CURRENT FAVORITES
I don't have a lot to mention in the beauty department this month because I hardly wore make-up or even paid attention to anything related to this stuff, but I had to say that the following items have been performing well since I got them late last year. I've always been curious about what African black soap, so I picked these two up on my last trip to ULTA.
- SheaMoisture African Black Soap Body Wash. I don't have a particular skin problem, but winter made my skin more dry than it already is. I feel like I'm going to scratch my legs until it burns if I don't apply my holy grail lotion regularly. I started using this body wash as soon as I ran out of my old one, and it hasn't given me any negative side effects. I love that it's both exfoliating and moisturizing, but the fragrance is something I had to get used to.
SheaMoisture African Black Soap Problem Skin Facial Mask. I've only tried one type of facial mask (not the sheets), and it's a seaweed mask by Mary Kay. I don't have skin problems anymore like when I was a teenager, but since I wear make-up on some days, it's essential for me that I use something that will suck all the gunk out of my face, thus making it blemish-free.
This mask's consistency is nowhere near that of Mary Kay's, but it felt like it does its job in drawing out impurities and absorbing excess oil. The fragrance of this one is more intense than the body wash, though, and it's kind of reminiscent of Play-Doh.
All photos via Snapchat (P.S. Add me at your own risk!)
It is also worth mentioning that I'm finally able to braid my hair again! I've worn my hair short for almost a year now, and I'm kind of leaning towards growing it out again since (1) getting a haircut on a monthly basis is expensive here in the US; (2) short hair is actually more difficult to style; and (3) I think I'm done/over looking like a boy.
- Sisters. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend saw this, and said it was good. I like the moral of the story, but it isn't something that I've never seen before. I mean, if you know Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, you pretty much know how the movie went.
- The Revenant. I have to admit that the first time Roan and I tried to watch this, I got bored, and asked him to find another movie instead. When news broke out on Twitter that Leo's performance was outstanding in this film, I had to give it another shot. I firmly believe that The Revenant is a clear frontrunner to win Best Picture at the Oscars.
- Ride Along 2. Have I expressed it enough how much I find Kevin Hart funny? No? Well, he didn't disappoint in this movie (as expected). I haven't seen the first installment of this movie, but Roan claims it's just as funny as its sequel. Also, is it just me or straight-outta-Compton Ice Cube seems to be stereotyped as a detective in the movies (I'm looking at you, 21/22 Jump Street)?
- 99 Homes. I haven't watched a lot of movies in the past year, so I'm not sure what other movies Andrew Garfield was in other than Spiderman. Roan picked this out of curiosity, and man, was Andrew Garfield amazing in this film. Trust my word on this one, guys.
- We Are Your Friends. Isn't Zac Efron adorable? I mean, I almost forgot he's Troy Bolton in the High School Musical. I wouldn't say this is Zac Efron's coming-of-age movie, though. I expected so much from this movie that I ended up regretting why I saw it in the first place.
CURRENTLY COVETING
- My Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Brow Wiz' Mechanical Brow Pencil is almost empty, and I haven't been using my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade a lot these days. It's two dollars more expensive that the one I have, but I kind of want to try Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer Pencil next.
FOOD & WELLNESS
- Food preparation at home remains great, and aside from beef, I've started eating less pork meals this month, too. It's a little tough to come up with new recipes to cook with chicken, fish, and seafoods, but I was able to pull something off (thanks to my online resources) every night or so. I think it also helps that as a Catholic, we're not supposed to eat any four-legged animal during the Lenten season, so we've been successful in that department this month.
- I've been religiously getting my miles in, if not daily, at least four times a week. Roan is both supportive and competitive, so we pushed each other a little harder to be more active this month. In addition to that, Roan promised me something I couldn't resist, so that's another motivation to keep moving!