minimalist girl (in Japan)

I found the perfect natural moisturiser for my face. I used shea butter for the first time on my skin last year when I bought Sprout Wellness Cream, $32. My skin responded really well to it, as I am always looking at ingredients list, the main one was shea butter.

I was not prepared to pay $32 again so I decided to buy the unscented handcrafted shea butter from Alaffia for $8. It is unrefined and smells earthy, which I really enjoy. It is so good for my dry, tight skin that easily breakouts from absolutely anything. It moisturises and creates a barrier. I think it is a good natural alternative to Vaseline petroleum jelly.

My skin has been well moisturised and hasn’t broken out at all. The texture is grainy and melts into a butter. It is a little hard to work with since it is quite solid but a little bit goes a long way. It naturally contains vitamin a and e too. I also put it on my lips and in my hair.

I love finding gems like this because I like to avoid chemicals and animal tested products wherever possible. Alaffia is a beautiful fair trade brand that runs many projects that help the community and the environment. I am always happy to buy from them.

With the much anticipated warm weather, it goes hand in hand with some spring cleaning! 

I did some deep cleaning yesterday in the kitchen and today in the washroom. The energy, or “chi” has really changed for the better. I like to do a bit everyday or else I’ll end up with a sore back but every little bit makes a difference in terms of feeling light and generally positive! I really wish the hub didn’t have so much stuff! Our living area and wardrobe have something left to be desired, but such is life.

When the time comes, I would like to rent a wedding dress or get something I can wear again because I don’t want to be stuck with it, taking up space in my closet forever after one use.

I have loved using soaps for a few years, and I delved into the icky side of soap lately that everyone hates about soap. Commercial soaps remove all the glycerin that is a natural byproduct of the soapmaking process. In short, they dry your skin out like a mofo. The reason they remove the glycerin is so they can put it in other skincare products like lotions, to put on after the soap dries your skin out. See what they did there???

Handmade soaps still retain their moisturising properties, which is why I loved using them so much. But using commercial soaps have made my skin so dry, sensitive and itchy. I hate them a lot! I will go back to Chagrin Valley soaps once I finish up what I have in the summer when my skin isn’t so dry. Dr Bronners didn’t dry me out either.

End rant.

I believe that we are no different to animals, we’re all living things.

I believe that there may be more to life, something more important.

I believe that there may be more places other than heaven, hell and earth. 

I believe that nothing is permanent.

I believe that life is a series of lessons to be learnt.

I believe in being a good person and leading an honest life without the need of anyone telling me I need to.

I believe that we are never alone, there is always someone looking out for us.

I believe in being true to who I am, no matter how unconventional.

I believe in being mindful of my actions impacting people and things beyond me.

I believe in always being positive, always smiling, always being calm and content, always feeling, always being a ray of light in the world.

People do not wear sunglasses in Japan! Even in summer. I was so confused by this and I looked it up why this is the case.

It is because they see it as suspicious and just an accessory, rather than serving a purpose. So I haven’t worn sunglasses in a very long time and I miss it. Maybe I need to dress a little more touristy or less gangster-like (not that I try to) so that my sunglasses can be accepted and don’t appear suspicious? I don’t know, any thoughts?

1. Turn off wifi on your phone.
2. Go to sleep.

My hair has been falling out a lot in the past year and it has been a cause of sadness for me. I’ve always been the one with the long, crazy mane. I had no idea what to do and how to stop it from falling out even more.

Luckily, I figured it out with some common sense. For the past year, I haven’t been out in the sun as much as I used to, being indoors a lot more than ever.

So I did a quick search on Google and it turns out vitamin D and hair loss are correlated. Hurray! I was so happy to find the source of my problems. For the past two to three weeks, I have been out in the sun a lot more.

Spring is here, so it is a nice time to be out at our local park, Ueno Park. Five minutes of sun, uncovered everyday or every other day is enough. I’ve been making an effort to getting some sun on a daily basis to boost my vitamin d quickly, but only because I know I am quite resilient in the sun and don’t burn easily. But I think that anyone who tries this should use their common sense to the dangers of burning and skin cancer.

After the first week, I already noticed a reduction. I noticed my hair doesn’t come out in crazy handfuls as it has been for a while. When I run my fingers through my hair, only one hair falls out. My hair is so thin now but I hope that it can grow back again to its former glory.

Hope this helps someone.

I’m no doctor though, so take this advice with a grain of salt. This is from my personal experience.