Plane-ing Ahead

Hello hello sweet stuff! How are you doing?
If you have already read my past post you would have known that I'm about to travel today for two weeks. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to fly to a place I have never been before with my friends and experience so many crazy things that I had never even thought I would get to experience
Now I do know however how hard it is to be on a plane for more than seven hours (in my case around 13-14 hours). Not only do you have nothing to do , but also your skin and hair are going wildly dry and the food is disastrous. So here are my tips for those long or even short flights that would make your life just a little easier:
* Moisturize moisturize moisturize. According to your flight carrier look at the instructions for inflight hand luggage security how many ounces or litters of liquid you can get and try to squeeze in as many sample sizes or miniature products as possible. Have with you: a lip moisturizer, hand cream and a face night cream. The lip moisturizer as an obvious simple part of this, but the hand cream and face cream are a little more complex. The hand cream should be something quite natural so you can also use it on the ends of your hair to lock in some moisture that is so easily lost during the flight and for the hands obviously. The night cream is so that your skin can breathe even if you fall asleep at some point. Bath and body works make a lot of great sample sizes and so do Clinique. You might also want to bring and eye cream.
*Drink drink drink. What is the point of moisturizing on the outside if you don't drink enough? Yup, there is no point. Try to avoid drinking sweet things and drink more water, which will also help with you legs falling asleep by making your blood a little more flowy and liquified. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT drink caffeinated drinks because they actually do the opposite to the water, and they makes you much more prone to have your body parts fall asleep, which can be quite dangerous.
*Freshen up. Make sure that you get your favorite cleanser and makeup wipes on the plane (obviously if it's allowed) so that you can freshen up and take off makeup which will just be clogging your pores during the flight. Do not sleep with your makeup on, because that can just go impossibly wrong. Also bring a tooth brush and maybe mouth wash, so that you can freshen up your breath after you've been squeezed into a germ-crammed, dry tube basically (all of the things that combine to make your breath smell of natural disasters).

* Disinfect. Try to find a small enough hand sanitizer so that every time you go to the bathroom you don't feel like you've been harmed by the little petri dish that you have to use or otherwise cause a huge mess. My favorites are the Bath and Body works, because they smell divine.
* Save your self some embarrassing moments. Make sure you have a tampon or pad for any case, an eye mask if you sleep with your eyes open, or are not sure if you do, and think of all the embarrassing things you do while sleeping and try to eliminate them so that you don't feel awkward for the rest of the long flight. They can also be adorable!

*Make yourself comfortable. Not a thing more annoying than having your neck hurt like crazy, because you were crammed in a little seat for as many hours as you were. Bring a pillow to make sure your sleep is flawless. So important to sleep if you tend to get jet lagged.

*Find something to do. If the plane has movies that interest you, that is great. Bring a book, music, work even, gameboy if that's what you like, so that your flight goes as quickly as possible.
Don't forget that the flight will soon be over and then there's an exciting place on the other side. XOXO Roni J.

Bon Voyage

Dear dear readers, I love you all so sincerely much, but unfortunately for those who want to read and for the part of me that likes to write, I will be on vacation until the 2nd of August where I can't get an internet excess :( How sad!
I do, however, promise to take pictures of my outfits everyday and post an outfit of the day for everyday right after I come back home.

Meanwhile I do suggest that if you're a girl or in a deep need to understand women, you start watching the Bethenny show that is replacing my beloved Ellen show for the summer and I really hope that it manages to stick for more seasons, because it is hilarious.
Everything you want to know about beauty products and waxing or relationships, or really anything girly, you will get information about, and Bethenny, the host, is amazingly sweet and honest and has some smart tips (including business tips, because of her very successful business). I love it and deeply recommend you watch it.

I'll see you soon. Have a great end of July and beginning of August! <3 XOXO Roni J.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, in a not so far away kingdom, there was an average princess. The princess wasn’t especially known for her beauty, nor was she known for her singing abilities, she didn’t have astounding long hair; her skin wasn't like snow and her lips not like cherries; her features weren’t necessarily astonishing; she wasn’t blonde either, or had bright eyes, or an extremely big rack; she was unexpectedly just average.

After a long time being suppressed for her regular looks, and being looked down upon by other evil princesses, the princess made an escape to the big, huge actually, tower that amounted right out of the kingdom, but not before she got her servants to builda tall, humongous wall surrounding the tower in order to protect it.

A prince that was intrigued bythe wall that was so marvelously built, and was sure it was made for the mostspecial princess of all decided to see what’s on the other side. He decided on climbing that wall so that he could reach the abnormal princess, but once he encountered the actual princess, he was so horrified when he noticed she was average, because off his shallow, dark heart that he ran out screaming, making a hole in the big wall that the princess worked so hard to maintain.

Once the princess heard his body poke a hole through her sacred wall, she was broken. Although the prince was obviously an ass (this is a fairytale for rather a mature audience), and that was all she basically knew about him, the princess cried in her tower for weeks.

That was until one day the princess decided that if the evil prince could go through the wall so easily then this wall is certainly not enough to keep the hurt away from her. Th eaverage princess decided to surround the wall with booths full of guards that look exactly like her, but also bark, so that if any prince comes around he’ll run away screaming even before he reaches her. That way, she thought, the handsome, genuinely immodest, superficial princes wouldn’t hurt her.

She asked for a well-known wizard, also known as the Mind, to make guards that look like her. The Mind made those guards her clones so that they would look perfectly alike, but he added some teeth to the mix to make them a little less average and more out of rage.

For years, these walls were efficient in keeping the princess safe and sound, but soon the princess started feeling very lonely. When she tried to tell the guards off she simply couldn’t, because she saw the pain in the guards’ eyes, the pain she knew all too well what they had to experience in order to protect her from hearing those same insults.

The princess has grown a lot since running into the tour, and was already becoming the beautiful swan she had always dreamed of being, but by the time she was ready to flourish, her clones were so hurt by past princes that ran away screaming that they also kept those who really were interested in the princess away from her, and yet, she could not let the clones go. It was like looking in a mirror filled with pain.

The princess is I. No, there was no evil prince. No, there was no wizard. Nor were there clones, or a wall or even a princess for that matter. The princess though, is everything I’ve ever been.

Just like the princess I got hurt by people judging and only giving thought to what I didn’t have and couldn’t change. They only saw my faults. Just like the princess I’ve isolated myself for a while so that I could grow back a healthy young woman, without being worried that my heart will be stumped upon along the way. Just like that wall, people have made holes in my wall. People whom, as much as I wanted to keepout, I couldn’t help but being intrigued by them. Yes, just like that evil prince they’ve hurt me.

So I decided to channel myself away, shut myself out, and let my Mind make the rational decisions rather thanmy heart. Then it got really lonely inside this shell, and it really is hard tobreak out of it.

This year I’m setting it as agoal for myself to let those guards go. They’ve done an incredible job while Ineeded them, but now that it’s gotten a little too lonely here, and I am much stronger, and have much more faith in myself, and after I’ve finally decided I’m ready to face the music, even if loud and obnoxious, they’re no longer needed, and actually doing more harm than good.

Besides all the things that I’ve put as small goals for this upcoming senior year, this is another resolution,because the change comes from within. No one will get closer to me if I attack them every time they try. So I need to let my guards down, and set myself free.

Just like a bird first flying outof it’s nest, I might not be able to spread my wings at first, it might causeme some harm, but there are good people around me and my faith to make sure I’m healed and to make sure I keep going.

I’m not sure how well you know this about me, but I am as strong willed as a person can be. If I set myself some goals, I will hit them otherwise I will hit myself.

It’s time for all of us to putthe hurt behind, and forgive all of the people who’ve hurt us ever in the past,because only once we do that can we free ourselves from our insecurities that we’ve been collecting obsessively over a very long time, and have been the reason for us being so insecure.

This was just a post to get things off my chest. Be back with a fashion related post soon, XOXO Roni J. 

Summer Essentials (June Favorite's Replacement!)

Hello hello dear readers! How are you today? Me? I'm extremely warm at the moment.

Because of all that heat that's striking me right now, I have decided to switch my June favorite, most of them which are anyways a part of this post, with a summer essentials post that will refresh your sweaty face, hopefully. 

Now, this is how it's going to go down. First, I'll list some optional summer products that I personally don't use on a day to day basis, and then I will list my absolute (and personal) summer essentials (meaning that you should take only what suits you from the lists below). 

Optional Summery Stuff:

* Bronzer: I think bronzers are great and they are very good when used correctly, but personally, I think it's better to just leave your face as clean as possible, because the sweaty months don't bring with them skin miracles for me, and coating that with an extra unnecessary layer to me seems a little too much. If you do, however decide to go for bronzing yourself, I would suggest that unlike with winter bronzers, you'll get one with a slight shimmer rather than none at all, and put it where the sun would hit you face naturally (top of the cheek bones, forehead, bridge of the nose, and chin) and blend it a little bit down your neck. The shimmer is going to help with the slight summery glow, but not going to make you so shimmery that you look like you're shiny and like your face is melting away. Not a good look on anybody. Not contouring the face and rather putting the bronzer in the places where the sun will hit your face will give you a tan look rather than a thinner looking face, which I think looks better anyways (the tanner looking face over the thinner looking face). My favorite is the bronzing & highlighting face powder duo by Benefit. It is the perfect amount of shimmer and it also has a blush. It's huge and it's 28$, which in my opinion is a good deal, because it has two huge products that will last forever. Love the color, suits both the fair ones and the darker ones.

* Self Tanners: I am personally do not need to self tan myself, as I am comfortable with my own skin color, and tan easily even when putting on sun screen (IMPORTANTE!), and I don't like putting unnecessary things on my skin, because I want it as healthy as possible, and these are dies, which ultimately can't be the best thing for you if they dye your skin. Yet, I have found that everyone around me that tans enjoy the St. Tropez self tanners the most. These ARE expensive, but from what I know they give an even finish, they don't stink, and they are easy to apply. If the smell of self tanners does bother you I would suggest smelling it anyways in a store, because these are expensive and no one like wasting their money. They have a range of mists, sprays, mousse, and lotions, so whatever suits you best is... The best. I showed a random picture of a self tanner from the website so you know the logo and all that, but that does not mean this is the one I would love the most.

* Powder: This is for the girls or boys that maybe have oilier skin and need to powder it down so that they don't look shiny during the day. Again, this is caking another thing on top of your face that is just going to add on to everything on your face; dirt, sweat, make up, oil. Just an unattractive combo in my opinion. Therefore I don't use it. But for those of you who still need that I would recommend the Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Ready SPF 15 Touch Up Veil. It has a translucent shade and a tinted, and I prefer the translucent because it suits most skin tones. It is 22$ at Sephora, and it has an SPF in it which means it's perfect for summer. 

*Blotting papers: This is my more preferred option for getting excess oil off of your face in the hot months, because it doesn't cake another layer on top of your face. Bare in mind I have never tried blotting papers, so I don't really know their pros and cons. These are the options from the Sephora website.

*Waterproof mascara: I think they're a pain to get off, and that on nights out go with a regular mascara, but when going to the beach, why wear any makeup at all? I love the brush and formula of this washable mascara, and heard really good reviews on the waterproof one. It's volumizing and separating and the brush is great for getting all the lushes coated. It is the Maybelline Falsies Flared Waterproof mascara.

Must Have Summer stuff:

* BB cream/ Tinted moisturizer: Just instead of the foundation you'd regularly put your face, switch it with either a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer depending on the amount of coverage you need. I don't need nor do I want high coverage, I like my little freckles and imperfections, and therefore I go for a tinted moisturizer. I have personally never tried a BB cream, and I'm not a foundation user at all. I do the tinted moisturizer year round. My tinted moisturizer of choice is something my dermatologist  gave me. I've tried more in the past, but they slide off of your face, which kind of defeats the point of wearing something at all. It is much lighter that foundation so it won't be as thick to put on and won't look weird if you sweat it off a little. The one she gave me is the Dr. Kadir protective moisturizer. It has the SPF of 30, it only has one shade that suits every skin tone, but gives your skin a little bit of color. It makes your skin super soft and moisturized, and I love it. Another less pricey option and more reachable option is by Garnier, and though I haven't tried it I have heard great reviews from people who have. It is the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector. I think it's 10$, so even not so bad to just test it out. It is a BB cream by the way.

*Water bottle: I don't care if it's those fancy water bobbles or just a plastic one from the grocery store, personally I do the plastic one, as long as it hasn't laid out in a warm space for long, because that causes the plastic to release chemicals that aren't good for you. It is so important to drink when you're out and sweating, or just running around doing stuff, because we get dehydrated so fast we don't even notice it until our heads hurt or something. If putting water in a cuter bottle helps you drink more than get one. I cannot stress how important it is enough. It clears your body from toxins and help acne. It's just the easiest thing you have to do in order to stay healthy. I know it might be more tempting to drink sugary ice cold things, but sugary drinks are awful to drink more than once in a while. Try to keep it simple.

*Sunscreen: This is so important for your body. Wrinkles and sun damages are so unattractive and unhealthy that I really see no reason to skip this important step. Get a good sunscreen that has more than 30 SPF, that doesn't sweat off, and that its smell doesn't bother you, because if it does you won't do it. I've found I really like the Piz Buin range, but anything that works is OK. The range IS really expensive so don't necessarily go for it unless nothing else works.

*Lip moisturizer with SPF: Sometimes we neglect putting SPF on our lips, because we think they'll be alright or whatever, but this is an amzingly important step. It is unhealthy to neglect our lips, and also very unappealing. Dry, chapped, aching, flaky lips are definitely not a good look to sport any time of year. Labello, Carmex, and Burt's Bees, and Blistex, and any other company that you can think about, do sun protecting lip balms. Go as cheap or as pricey as you want (Laura Mercier, MAC, Piz Buin..)

*A product containing Aloe: It calms any sun burn like a dream. A gel or lotion or whatever you can find really. In case that doesn't work, try putting yogurt, yes, yogurt on your sunburn and it will cool it and calm your skin down like magic.

*Sun glasses: Yeah, you do not want your vision to go bad, nor do you want the sides of your eyes to wrinkle soon because you squint all the time. Invest in a pair that you can trust will protect you, not just cheap ones that you can find in the market. At least try not to, and you can always find something on sale. Obviously they also make for a fashionable accessory.

*Deodorant: I think this one is fairly clear.

*Wax strips/ Razor and shaving cream/ Appointments for lazering/ Any other way for hair removal: We all want to be smooth for the shorts and bathing suits. I am against shaving really, because it hurts the skin and creates bumps and ingrown hairs, and also makes hair grow thicker and faster. If it works for you though, go ahead.

*Hair ties, bobby pin, and everything that will keep hair out of your face: It makes your face produce more oils and makes you hotter. Just a good way to cool yourself down a little. Try all sorts of different updo's. It can also be a fun way to spice up your look.You might also want to try a cute head scarf to add a girly touch, or a hat to keep the sun off of your face and scalp, which are both very sensitive. The patterned hair ties are from Urban Outfitters, the headwrap is from American Eagle, and the hat and many more summer accessories can be found in Zara. 

*Another must have for summer is a summer playlist: This is the most random playlist, because most of the songs on it have nothing to do with each other. They remind me of all sorts of summers. I love these songs and sometimes I forget how much.

Have an amazing sun, but don't forget to be safe in everything you do <3 XOXO Roni J.

Watch It.

Hello there beautifuls! (?? That's not a word is it?)
Happy Wednesday! Hope you are all great. Either way, if you feel like sharing, please do.
It's weird how time passes. One minute I remember being in the first grade, the next minute I remember moving to a different school right before second grade, I remember finishing lower school, moving abroad, coming back, and things rolled so fast that suddenly, and it does feel like out of the blue, I'm about to go into my last year of high school.
It is so weird to think about it that way, but school, no matter that I moved a thousand times from school to school, school is school, and it has been in my life for almost two whole thirds of my life. Isn't that crazy?! And this is not what freaks me out the most. It does freak me out that time passed so fast, but far more creepy is the fact that I will soon have to leave this system (schools) that I have gotten so used to, that I've met so many different people through, that has been there for almost as long as I can remember myself.
Don't get me wrong, I am used to changes. I accept them in open arms for the most part, because they are, at least in my opinion, good for you. And yet, being out of school is scary as heck to me. I need a gradual change. And school was always quite the protective environment. The system you are so used to and the system that protect you from all harm is now kicking you in the behind out of its doors and you fall flat on your face hearing a big thud that kind of sounds like "BAMMMM LIFE".
Not that I am pessimistic. I actually do believe in my abilities. I believe I can get far. I believe I can make a change in the world, but first I will have to get used to the change in my world.
Time is weird. You can't feel it passing. After quite a chunk of it has passed, only then do you feel that it has taken its toll. I'll be happy to pay mine, but just, maybe, let me stop at a gas station to refresh myself. I know you don't usually stop, dear time, but maybe today is the day to start taking breaks.

Speaking of time I want to talk about my new obsession in fashion- watches.

I own three watches currently, all of which I love equally- to death.
First one is this golden Casio watch. I don't know much details about it, because it is pretty old, maybe like 5 years old even. I love it. It goes with any outfit as long as you're not wearing different toned accessories (if you mix gold and silver or something, it works). It is long lasting (five years I would think) and its battery doesn't go die after two days. I love it. It was handed down to me from my sister when she left to go abroad, so it reminds me of her as well.
Next one is an Urban Outfitters watch that my father got me after I've been Eying it for a really long time. It is so unique, having two faces rather than one. Plus it's analog, which I personally prefer over digital, because I think it is more classy, and it goes, yet again with almost every outfit, because mine has the brown leather strap and it has one white face and one black face, rather than the one in the picture in which both faces are white.
The last one I own is the Swatch watch from the Lady Collection. I own the first one from the right, which has a burgundy or berry color, that looks so good on my skin tone which is a little olive-y. It is a wrap around watch which makes it very fashionable, and the color selection is simply divine. My sister has the second one from the left, which is also very beautiful. I can't find myself saying that one of those colors isn't. Very summer pastels and neons, or a little more to the neutral zone like mine, the cream one, and the white one. Love these very much.
Prices are the highest for the Casio watch, and they differ in a lot of places. As far as I know the Swatch watches are second and they cost 50$, which is pretty good for a water proof (very summery) stylish watch. The Urban Outfitters as far as I know is the cheapest and it is 34$, but it does have real leather straps which I didn't like the idea of, but my dad didn't know, so if you are against it you should probably alter. If you have any watches that you've been eying that you like, please share them with me.
Love you very much. Hang in there it's almost weekend. Happy 4th of July for the Americans who read. XOXO Roni J.

The Haul Wide World

Hello there ladies and gentlemen, yet again I would like to ask all of you to forgive my awful attendance. Unfortunately it doesn't mean much anymore, sadly, so I will just promise to make no more promises about my attendance. Crap! I just did.
What more can I tell you about my life?
I have a question to ask you. Is it bad to wish someone out of your life? It's not that I hate these people (they have multiplied over the years. Seriously, before you get pregnant make sure that the combination of you and the other person with whom you get pregnant genetically won't make one of those people by mistake. Obviously, I wasn't all that serious when I said seriously). I actually care about these people a lot, but for some reason every time I let myself care about them it backfires. I'm just tired of the fights and the drama and of being, myself, quite an unpleasant person. I have a big part in all of those relationships and in them becoming unbearable, but while I mostly try to take the highroad and back away from any kind of dramatic explosion they just get drawn to the drama like flies to a lamp. I try to save both sides from getting burnt alive, but it's like they don't see the consequences of their actions.
Maybe it's also me that isn't really looking past my actions to the consequences of those actions. Maybe I'm just doing the most immature thing and blaming it on the others, as if I am not at all to blame. Maybe I'm a drama queen that loves it and therefore creates it time and time again, but I find it all hard to believe when I'm always the one to say: "hey, we should really not go on with this conversation. We just fight all the time and this needs to stop".
It's not that I wish they never existed or something, god forbid, or that they were never in my life. No, no, it's not that at all. I just wish that, at this exact point while we still have some sweet memories and they're not yet clouded up by those bitter fight, they move to Antarctica, because they parents got a job there or whatever, and disappeared. Is that awful? To wish them as far away from me as possible? If so, if you think this is awful and I'm a bad person, please tell me in the comments below how you would react to endless fights with people you still care about somewhat. I would seriously love to know, since i am way past being out of ideas.
Now for the long anticipated (or not long anticipated at all) haul!
These glasses, the loves of my life, these were purchased in a local store (comment below for information). I love love love these glasses, because, and I have a confession here, I have a big nose. Well, not big, but I don't really love it. Therefore I love patterned sunglasses. They take the attention away from my nose. Plus, these remind me of a pair I saw on H&M online, but could NOT find it anywhere in stores which is not even on the website anymore. Ugh.
The Aztec-y inspired bird necklace is from Forever 21. I think I saw it on Estee from Essiebutton on YouTube and got inspired to buy it. I love the Aztec-y items like nothing else hence the pair of colorful pants I'm wearing in the next photo. It's silver, which I wasn't really all into until I saw the silver jewelry that Clothesencounters' Jenn was wearing and fell in love.
The next shirt, like every shirt I've bought this summer, is a sleeveless button up shirt. It is made of the softest denim ever, and I bought it from a local designer (so is the next necklace I got), so for more information contact me through the comments down below.
Last but most definitely not least is this pastel colored necklace I got. The squares are different sizes and one of them ( the light blue one) has the cutest bow on it. I love it.
Tell me what you think about the topic of the day and about the items purchased! XOXO Roni J.

Here's a song I love. Hope you enjoy it!