To Bare Or Not To Bare

Hi Ladies,

So here is my latest dilemma. I’ve started to notice that my skin hasn’t been looking that great lately. I always try to use the best products out there that will not break the bank and I’ve been pretty happy so far. However, over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed my skin looking a bit dull. It’s not as radiant and glowing as it once was. Now I know a lot has to do with diet and exercise (let’s not get into that) but I am also a big believer in using products that are good for your skin which will enhance its appearance over time. I must admit, when it comes to make-up there is nothing out there for coverage quiet like my beloved MAC. I mean there has never been a day where I wanted to hide a blemish and Studio Fix did not come to my rescue. But unfortunately I just can’t handle its weight for daily use. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to look like I’m wearing make-up. To me, nothing is worse that foundation caked onto your cheeks, suffocating your pores.

I also firmly believe that we should start by bettering our skin as oppose to bettering the make-up on it. Thus I have begun my quest, once again, to find the right skin care products that will work for me.

I contemplated for a while whether I should jump on the mineral bandwagon and eventually after half an hour at the cosmetic counter in my favorite department store, I was sold! I started using Clinique’s mineral foundation which I really liked. The best feature of this product was the built in grater thingy which allowed you to grate fresh powder with every use. The clerk described it as “grating fresh parmesan cheese on top of your pasta.” I had to try it, after all parmesan and pasta are two of my favorite Ps.

After a few months, I grew tired of it. I didn’t find that it benefited my skin that much and was once again looking for a change.

My newest obsession is Bare Minerals. I have to say, at first, I did not like the colors they had for my skin tone, and didn’t think it looked that natural on… but after switching to their newest line, I’m absolutely, head over heels IN LOVE! I’ve been using Bare Minerals for about a little over 2 months and I love the way it looks and feels on my skin.

Now I’m on the hunt for a good skin care regime. I see that BM now offers cleansers & scrubs. Has anyone tried this? Do you have any suggestions? What are some products that you use that you love and wouldn’t mind sharing?

BTW- I realize that there are some women out there who would rather get ran over by a car than share their beauty secrets. It’s ok, I understand and can appreciate that so no worries!

The Blog is Back!

It has been months since I sat down and wrote something for my blog which I so feverishly started as an attempt to communicate to the world my opinions on different matters with hopes the world would have communicated back to me. I can't believe it's been 6 months and I have not written a single thing. This was supposed to be my project. The thing I would do to bring different people, especially women, together. I was supposed to be the voice of young moms out there and my blog was supposed to bring light, inspiration, humor and camaraderie into the homes and hearts of so many.... hey it's ok to dream right?

But of course, I’ve done what I have a tendency of doing. I got discouraged. I let the lack of time and busyness (yes that is a word) of life dissuade me from doing something I am so passionate and zealous about. I’ve thought of writing several times, in fact, I have a long list of topics I have collected over the months that I plan on discussing, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to sit and write. I wouldn’t say it was a lack of motivation, or a lack of inspiration or even writers block. I’m not even quite sure what it was. What I do know is that If I sit here and try to explain or describe it I will probably end up confusing anyone who may potentially be reading this, since my mind runs 100 MPH and I sometimes can’t even keep track much less my poor readers. So I won’t. I will simply just write. I will start today with this post and continue as I go.

So here I go. I hope you will join me (again)….

Birth Control Disasters

A friend of mine recently had a very scary experience with birth control. She was bleeding for about two months non-stop and was suffering from chronic headaches. One day out of nowhere she blacked out and was rushed to the emergency room. They told her that she had lost a lot of blood and a blood transfusion was needed. After three days in the hospital the doctors finally discharged her and prescribed she take Loestrin 24(a type of birth control pill which is supposed to have a lower dosage of hormones and is advertised to give you shorter, lighter periods) to help regulate her period. A little less than one month later she suffered four seizers in a matter of a few hours. She passed out and still to this day have no recollection of what happened. When she woke up in the hospital bed about two weeks later, she was told she that she was in a coma and was on life support for over a week. There was a blood clot the size of a tennis ball in her brain. The doctors tried to remove it but deemed it to be too risky. She lost her short term memory and was receiving oxygen from a tube inserted to her nose. Apparently, in a very short period of time, the birth control pills that were prescribed to her four weeks earlier caused a series of blood clots leading up to this frightening and life threatening disaster. My friend, a young, energetic and very sweet girl now has to spend a considerable amount of time visiting OBGYNs, Neurologists and a series of other specialists in order for her to regain some sense of normalcy. She also has to take six pills every day to thin her blood and constantly check her blood level to make sure it is neither too think nor too thin.


Birth control pills have always been a pretty scary thought for me. I’ve used the NuvaRing for about six months and although I liked it, I became paranoid after hearing too many stories similar to my friends.’ I got off of it and well what do you know 3 months later I was pregnant! But what’s meant to be will be. After giving birth, my gynie recommended me use the “mini pill” since I was breastfeeding because it supposedly has no estrogen, which is known to slow down and sometimes even stop your milk supply . However, after about 2 weeks on the pill I started noticing a difference in my body which resulted in constant break through bleeding and unbelievable discomfort in my breasts. Without much thought, I stopped taking the pill immediately. Doctors have been recommending birth control to me since I started having my period at nine years old!!! YES I said NINE years old! My cycle was always irregular and my hormones were always imbalanced. I’ve been hearing the pros and cons of BC for about 17 years now and I still am not convinced that it’s a safe form of contraceptive. I know that every woman’s body is different and what works for one may not work for the other. I’ve always been suspicious of altering our natural state of being. Although there are tons of safe medications out there that are intended to help alleviate whatever symptoms and pains we may have, when it comes to birth control I’ve cannot help but be skeptical.

I know this may be a lot to ask, but if any of you have had any good or bad experience with any birth control, would you mind sharing? I would like to bring some sort of awareness to what happened to my friend and what I know has happened to many other women out there. I’m very interested to know what kind of effects these hormone pills have on our female bodies. Thank you in advance if you chose to share your stories.

For more information on Loestrin 24: http://www.loestrin24.com/loestrin/birth-control-faq.jsp