🍰 Previous Bakes, A Baking Entry 🍰

Good evening lovelies! 💕 How is everyone today?! I came across a lovely s'more cookie recipe on Instagram and have wanted to bake something again but haven't made the time for it as I should 💢 To motivate myself I'll be looking back on my previous bakes! ⭐

Growing up I didn't have access to an oven. My parents and I used to live in an efficiency apartment and despite us living there for almost eighteen years, our landlord never bothered to purchase a replacement since the stovetop still worked. When my parents were finally able to acquire a home of their own, the oven that came with it was busted along with many other major appliances and plumbing so we couldn't afford a new one until 2021. I had made brownies and other simple bakes with friends at their houses but to have an oven of my own was definitely a huge moment in my life. Needless to say, I was over the moon 💞

My first home-baked dessert was a strawberry tart 🍓I used a pre-made dough for the crust and remember hating the taste but luckily my parents enjoyed it anyway. Unfortunately, I also disliked how ugly it looked so I didn't take additional photos;; 

After the tart, I started my pie era™ starting with apple pies. I'm very unfamiliar with pies, not just baking them but eating them. They're not part of my culture or the local culture of my hometown but at the time I was nostalgic and fixated on that scene from Snow White where she's making a gooseberry pie for Grumpy 🥧

So far, pies are my favorite dessert to bake, I like how creative you can be with the dough! ✨I also made two pumpkin pies but unfortunately when I switched phones earlier in the year, a lot of the HEIC photo files from my old iPhone became corrupted so I lost many pictures 😔

From November to December last year, I experimented with basic cookie recipes and found that I thoroughly enjoy brown sugar cookies with chocolate chips the most! 🍪⭐ I found cookies unusually difficult to bake. The majority of my first batches ended up getting charred and were completely unedible 😓 There was a bit of a learning curve but in the end, I was able to get the hang of it 🎉 

In case you missed out, I spoke in-depth earlier in the year about my experience baking strawberry cheesecakes as well! That's it for now!! Thanks again for reading 💘 See y'all next time 💟

🫧 A Very Informal Skincare Review 🫧

Hey lovelies! 🐰 I hope y'all are having a peaceful Tuesday ⭐ Yesterday I received items I purchased from Herb'N Eden in the mail!! Founded by Quinton and Terran Lewis, the brand was created to bring natural skincare products to the forefront of the market. What started off as an appreciation of gardening and a love for herbs later transformed into a fast-growing holistic business. Herb'N Eden prides itself in being plant-based, and cruelty-free while using its business to give jobs to members of its community, especially their local youth in Georgia, USA. Additionally, their dedication to creating products that abstain from harsh chemicals typically used in other brands like phthalates & parabens or synthetic fragrances was what caught my attention, particularly since I've developed eczema in the past few years. 

Mind you I'm not a chemist, I'm not a dermatologist or an esthetician so please don't take my enthusiasm or recommendations as law. Please keep in mind everyone's skin is different and even if we share similar concerns, our bodies can react differently to the same product or ingredients. If you have specific conditions or questions I highly recommend scheduling a visit to a dermatologist! 

I currently have a really lax skincare routine ever since I had a series of awful eczema flare-ups that were on and off for almost six months. I used to be in a position where I could use anything and everything and was in the middle of following a strict regimen but since January I've been religiously using E.L.F's Pure Skin line instead. It's oatmeal-based which felt incredibly soothing on my skin when it was at its angriest. Plus the toner from that line used aloe-juice and oat milk instead of alcohol which was also tremendously relieving. But despite the products being reliable, I did want to start alternating between products to see if there were other items that were more compatible with my skin. 

My entire purchase! 😈

Browsing through the Herb'N Eden site was overwhelming due to the amount of products they had to offer but luckily they have different curated kits for specific skin concerns. I'm currently experiencing small breakouts on my cheek and chin areas so this acne facial kit is perfect! It comes with an activated charcoal cleanser, rosewater & aloe toner, a tea tree & lavender serum, an exfoliating cleansing pad, and a Moroccan red clay mask. They also offer a hyperpigmentation kit along with a sensitive skin kit to anyone who's interested🎉 What I thought was cool too is how the site also offers a quiz to anyone interested in purchasing something from them but might not know which ingredients or products they want to check out.

When using the activated charcoal cleanser I immediately felt the peppermint oil. I guess I have some leftover fears from using other products because I mistook the light sensation as my skin reacting negatively to the product but it was just me being unfamiliar with the ingredient and how it's supposed to feel on contact. The smell isn't overpowering either which was deeply appreciated by me! My skin felt refreshed and after waiting around for fifteen minutes my trouble zones were significantly less irritated.

In the past, I've used other aloe and rosewater toners but none that had the two ingredients combined. Not too much to add other than it felt as moisturizing as expected and that the elongated dropper was a pleasant feature.

I wasn't expecting the serum to be as thick as it is and immediately regretted how much product I used since it made my skin feel heavy and sticky. 

Pictured: Herb'N Eden's Tumeric Power Clay Mask, a free sample of their Cedarwood & Sage Body oil, and their Rosewater Hydrating Facial Mist

When browsing the site I noticed they offered a Turmeric Powder Clay Mask meant to target dark spots and hyperpigmentation. Since I have the terrible habit of picking at my blemishes I wanted to do some damage control before any scarring became visible, so I'll be using this product instead of the Moroccan Red Clay Mask that came with the Acne Facial Kit I got. 

I currently have a combination of both oily and dry skin so I opted to skip out on the apple cider vinegar and instead used a teaspoon of honey with equal parts of the power and water. My skin was noticeably brighter after washing the mask off with cold water but I'll write an updated review along the way to see if it helped with any long-lasting results. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how effectively these products work with my skin in the long run! So far I have a great first impression of both the items themselves and the customer service from Herb'N Eden 🌺 If anyone else is ready to try out something new I highly recommend them to check out the shop as well ✨ I would love to hear your thoughts and if anyone ended up getting something as well!! Thanks again for visiting 💕 I hope y'all have a fantastic day!!! 💌

🧿 About Tarot and My Latest Tarot Deck Additions 🧿

Disclaimer: In the following post I'll be discussing tarot cards. Due to the religious controversies the cards hold and the strong feelings they can stimulate - I urge all readers who might feel uncomfortable, angered, or frightened by the topic to please refrain from proceeding further. All readers assume sole responsibility for any decisions that they may make after this warning. All hate comments and any form of harassment will be reported.

Good evening lovelies! 💗 I wanted to show off new additions to my growing tarot deck collection ✨ I'm a tarot reader and have been doing so for the past five years ⭐ As I'm typing this post I've been gifted over fifteen decks and have purchased some of my own along with a few Oracle decks as well. I enjoy reading and helping others reflect while offering guidance through the messages I receive from the cards.

If you're unfamiliar with tarot, it is (usually) a deck of seventy-eight cards. Each card contains its own imagery and symbolism. Additionally, the deck is divided into major and minor arcanas - the latter being further categorized into four classic elements: water, fire, earth, and air which are traditionally represented as cups, wands, pentacles, and swords respectively. 

There are many different ways people can interact with tarot, I personally don't incorporate numerology, astrology, or the Kabbalah into my readings nor do I focus on fortune-telling. 

I do not represent all readers (or anyone else. I can only speak for myself) nor am I a spiritual leader, a witch, or the ultimate source of knowledge on the matter. I'm just an ordinary person who deeply appreciates tarot. My spirituality/religious beliefs are complex, evolving, and deeply personal and they inspire how I interact with my decks and in doing so it strengthens my connection with myself, to others, and to the world we share (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ🌺

Additional disclaimer: Before moving forward, I want to further emphasize tarot is no substitute for medical advice either physical or mental nor should it be sought out as an alternative solution for legal or financial guidance. Tarot is merely a tool to decipher surrounding energies at the time it is being used which is best for planning, goal setting, or entertainment purposes. All potential querents should think responsibly and critically for themselves and refrain from basing major life decisions on the outcome of a tarot reading. Additionally, it is not wise or safe for tarot to be used in exchange for crisis counseling or any similar services.

Newest additions! I found the Everyday Tarot after stumbling and knocking it down from the table it was displayed on. And it was on sale! 🌷Trungles' Star Spinner Tarot was gifted to me by a lovely friend 🥰

Trungles' Star Spinner Tarot features eighty-one cards and a wonderfully descriptive guidebook that's great for beginners and more experienced readers alike. Trungles has emphasized that he wanted to create a deck that was more diverse and inclusive towards non-white and LGBTQ+ people. This deck comes with four different versions of The Lovers card which include portrayals of MLM, and WLW couples.Not only are the illustrations gorgeous but the friend who gave it to me knew I was a fan of Trungles making this present more precious to me. I look forward to working with this deck and finding out what lessons it has in store for me 💞

The Mini Everyday Tarot deck is great for doing readings on the go. This deck was created by Brigit Esselmont, the creator of Biddy Tarot, a self-proclaimed "intuitive entrepreneur." Her site, Biddy Tarot provides wonderful resources on tarot, especially for people who are completely unfamiliar with the subject yet want to learn and eventually do readings themselves. This deck was also seemingly created for newbies since the illustrations and color palette are more simplistic than most decks. Furthermore, the deck also comes with two additional cards to further help beginners settle into the deck. 

Thanks again for reading! Please feel free to leave a question in the comments if you have any tarot questions! Like I mentioned before, I don't want to be treated as the only reliable source but I'll gladly answer any questions those who are well-intentioned and interested in learning more. I am currently not offering personal readings to others outside my friend group at this current time but will post an update when I can do so!! I might do more in-depth reviews on the decks I have later so look forward to those as well 😎 Thanks so much for stopping by today, I'll see you soon 💌

🖥️ Check Out My Tumblr Page 🖥️

Hello again lovelies! ⭐ I just wanted to plug my Tumblr page now that I've been more active on it recently. I use it to create a continuous mood board and will continue to do so while using this blogspot as a space to be more personal (•ө•)♡ 

🛍️ 07/08/2023 Life Update 🛍️

Hello lovelies! 🌻 How is everyone today? It's still unbearably hot here;; 😖 Seemingly larger amounts of Saharan dust have traveled to the US which is drastically affecting temperatures and the amount of thunderstorms we are experiencing. The air quality in my area is moderate and there's not much daily news coverage about the precautions we should be taking so I highly recommend everyone check out AirNow.gov even if you're not in the affected zones. I was looking forward to the summer but I can't even enjoy the later sunsets because I feel like a gross melted popsicle at the end of the day 😭

I'm still on break and decided to use today to do some shopping and treat myself with the gift cards I was gifted the other day! There's a "new" Target in my area so I took a day trip over there before heading to TJ Maxx on the way home. While it was fun to explore a different side of town and take a different bus route I ended up walking more than I expected and like I mentioned earlier, the heat became insufferable to the point I was getting dizzy even when sitting down in the shade. And I know it's not me being a weenie since my phone shut down due to a safety mechanism because it overheated despite me not actively using it. Luckily I made it safely to where I needed to be 😎 

I stocked up on some of my makeup essentials! I also bought a contour palette from E.L.F after coming across a lovely makeup tutorial the other day. All of my previous attempts at contouring were unsuccessful - I've ended up looking "muddy" so fingers crossed that I can finally get it right! 🤞If anyone has some pointers they'd like to share please don't hesitate to let me know ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶

I feel so blessed that the TJ Maxx nearest to me has so many "care" products to choose from ✨ I've been so busy up until this point that I haven't been upkeeping as much as I'd like so I bought two sets of face and foot masks along with a tub of body exfoliator to get back on track 💅

I also dyed my hair this weekend 🎉 I've been meaning to change it for some time now but I finally made an appointment after someone took a candid photo of me 😵‍💫 While my hair was long and nice - it was so painful to me how boring it was! With my sister's encouragement, I went with copper highlights and got some layers while chopping off four inches of hair  💁‍♀️I'll eventually take a decent selfie when I'm not struggling to keep my cool 💦

That's all for this post 💕 Thanks so much for stopping by and reading today! See you all again soon!! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡