Without leaving your home.
How are you feeling lately?
Well-rested?
Overwhelmed?
Anxious?
Allow yourself some time off.
Imagine you are in a foreign country
Exploring the wonders of a new place
but from the comfort of your own home.
I challenge you to a week of isolation
From friends, family, and social media
Be just you and your thoughts
In a world where we are so easily reached
Close yourself off and enjoy some alone time
For a week,
Be alone.
2020 has already started out bad. In a time like this, of isolation and separations, it is important to still have the ability to remain calm and grateful.
Grateful to be safe,
Grateful to be alive,
Grateful that most of us don’t have to be fighting for a new breath every day.
At times like these, it is easy to feel discouraged, depressed, and sad. To feel like we have lost all control, after all, the scariest time is the time spent in isolation. Alone.
So I challenge you to a ‘clarity challenge’
FITNESS: Move A Little In Silence
I challenge you to a run, or a jog, or a walk.
Every day for as long as this quarantine lasts, I challenge you to some time alone.
It can be a five-minute jog or a five-hour walk in solitude.
My only request is to do this alone and with no music.
How hard or how soft you want to go with the workout is up to you, so long you do it alone and with no distractions.
Just you and your thoughts.
MINDFULLNESS: Stretch A Little In Rhythm
I challenge you to a twenty minutes stretch session before bed.
Call it yoga, call it stretching, call it light movement.
Move parts of your body that you have neglected for some time.
Maybe the neck, maybe your hips, or maybe your wrists and ankles.
Put on this playlist and move freely with no thoughts… or a particular plan.
Let your thoughts run wild.
Do you feel shame for eating the last slice of pizza? or perhaps for saying something you didn’t mean to someone you cared deeply for? whatever it is, let the thought come to your mind and let your body show you how you feel about it.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to take deep breaths.
Let the air clean out all the doubts, fears and worries.
Breathe to the sound of your emotions.
THE HEART: Connect A Little Deeper With Loved Ones
I challenge you to disconnect.
Log off social media. Delete the apps from your phone.
Instead of scrolling all day, grab a book or even better call a friend.
Recently I learned the joy of mindlessly speaking on the phone for hours on end with a friend, learning far more than I would of if we were face to face.
Learn new things about your friends, rediscover their past.
There are always more stories to learn.
Exchange the endless scrolling on social media
with deep phone conversations with your loved ones.
Enrich your relationships,
take this moment as a moment to detox from social media.
So in a time of stress, I challenge you to make a little change every day.
Have fun. Stay Curious.
– Tia ✨
To me, skincare is all about self-love. The more love and care you give your body, the happier and loved you will feel. Remember, you only accept the love you think you deserve; oftentimes, how much love we think we deserve is reflected on how much care we are willing to put on our selves.
As a pharma-student, it’s hard to find the time to take care of your body and health. but think of self-care as a full-time job. A full-time satisfying job. I love taking care of my skin. As soon as I get home – off the makeup goes, and these are the products I live by:
I use this gentle coconut cleansing water first. It is really gentle to the skin, but I find it alone doesn’t remove all the makeup. Or maybe it does, and I am just too lazy to use it properly. All I do it wet a cotton pad and trace my skin softly with the water.
Once the skin is somewhat makeup-free, I do one of two things: either I just wash it with this cleansing balm and call it a day
or I would use this coconut facescrub and call it a day
or I would use my Clarisonic with a facewash and deep clean with that
Regardless of the way, I make sure to follow that cleansing ritual with a facemask. Lately due to my overdose of makeup and heavier foundation routine (which is totally unnecessary btw) I find myself reaching for my charcoal purifying mask to deep clean my pores and prevent acne – to which is a successful battle if I manage to religiously follow my skincare routine – a true pharma-student knows how hard that is.
Once clean, I tone my face. A quick tip, if before toning you feel your faces super dry and stiff the products you are using on your face are too harsh for you. You should change into softer products.
I have yet to find my perfect night-time face cream. Currently, I am trying out this avocado cream from Antipodes. I don’t have any complaints yet, but it’s not like I love it either.. it’s just… there.
For the really terrible days. The days where I am super tired and literally couldn’t be bothered… I make sure to keep an “I.C.E ONLY” makeup wipes by my bed so that I can always reach my side and literally have no excuse to sleep with makeup. Especially lately, since I have gotten into the habit of wearing heavier makeup than usual.
And there you go! Skincare products I can’t live without. I feel like lately coconut has become my signature scent, and I could not be any more obsessed!
Ps: Click on the image for a direct link to the products. You’re welcome babe 😉
Have fun. Stay Curious.
– Tia ✨
