skincare faves

Full disclosure:  I have generally clear skin.  Lately I've been having breakouts more often, but even that is not nearly as bad as most people experience day-to-day.  Over the years I've been curating products for my medicine cabinet (it's a drawer) because I get a kick out of having amazing things, really.  

Lush Ultrabland, Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel, Cleanse by Lauren Napier, Caudalie Micellar Cleansing Water

CLEANSING: 

1.  Lush Ultrabland Facial Cleanser :  I love this stuff at the end of the day because it peels off ALL the makeup on my skin without too much pull or work.

2.  CLEANSE by Lauren Napier:  CLEANSE is so awesome.  I bought a 50-pack on a whim because I follow the owner/creator, Lauren Napier, on social media. I used them up and every time that I went to grab a new pack of wipes for my gym bag I'd never buy because I knew that none of them would be as nice to use as these. Since CLEANSE wipes are already individually packaged, I use when I'm tired or after a workout and on the go.  The oils are so delicious smelling and gently lift dirt and makeup as thoroughly as a full cleanser would except it's in a little packet. Yay!

3.  Caudalie Micellar Cleansing Water:  I think it's the grape water that makes this stuff SO hydrating.  At this point it's obvious that I really like getting makeup off of my skin.  Actually maybe too much... But I like it!  This was once called a cleansing water before micellar got popular and the company changed the name.

4.  Dickinson's O.G. Witch Hazel:  I use this when I have a breakout coming along and also to get rid of the excess oil from all that I'm adding to my skin to cleanse since I don't typically use a soap to do so.  The toner is so light and refreshing without hitting the pockets too hard.  Find it at your nearest drugstore!

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment, Lush Celestial, Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

MOISTURIZING:

1.  Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment:  I picked this up once I realized that life was actually becoming more like what people had been telling me to expect as I age.  Simply put the general census is that things are *ahem* "different".  I had taken way too long of a break off of using an eye cream and wanted to be sure to find something lacking the average amount of additives/chemicals that would still have results.  Initially I was using too much of this stuff so I had a little breakout but I saw the coolest video on facial massaging and eye creams, lightened the amount I was using, and haven't had problems since.

2. Lush Celestial Facial Moisturizer:  I have generally dry skin but wanted a lighter moisturizer and settled on this one since it's for sensitive skin but deposits a shit ton of moisture on the skin.

3.  Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate:  This is my secret sauce and something I only use in the nighttime.  IDK what this stuff is about, but it works.  My skin always feels replenished after only using a few drops.

Patchology Smartmud, Boscia Sake Brightening Hyroggel Eye Masks, m-61 PowerGlow Peel

TREATMENTS:

1.  Boscia Sake Brightening Hydrogel Eye Masks:  I use this once a week simply because i do wear an under-eye concealer daily and I know that constant coverage on my pores can tire out the skin down there (or at least my brain tells me so).  I'll pop these on while I'm getting ready and, like all sheet masks, I just dab in the excess and keep on, keepin' on. 

2.  Patchology SMARTMUD:  I'm always posting about these things.  I like having the sensation of pulling out impurities every couple of weeks.  Just like the eye masks, this is my way of saying, "Hey skin, I still love you!  I'll take care of you as long as you take care of me."

3.  M-61 PowerGlow Peel:  Every couple of months, I'll take 1-2 weeks to do these peels 3X's a week.  They're so gentle and easy to use for an at-home treatment  to keep things fresh.

Since I'm experiencing these breakouts across my forehead, I am going to look in to what I can be using during these dark days and until further notice.  Hope this was as enjoyable for you as it was fun for me to prepare!  Here's to our skin!

xo,

Melissa

Sweat Guide: Seattle

A guide for people who love to sweat and eat.

Seattle is such a beautiful city, no doubt. It's green and creative. I was able to visit the city a few years ago to celebrate my mother getting her doctorate. We flew in on Thursday and spent the weekend running around the city as well as attending her ceremony as a family. The reason I am starting my “Sweat Guides” with Seattle is because this was the second city that I decided to root a lot of my experience around exploring in fitness. The first was Los Angeles, but Seattle kicked off my formula of taking (sweat + food) x sightseeing=fun. Back then, I was a member of ClassPass and hungry per usual. My Manager was a Seattle native and gave me a few gems to hit up and the rest I figured out on my own. So without further ado. Here's the first Sweat Guide a la melissabillions.com!

sweat

barre3 Capitol Hill: to me, B3 is the most amazing barre method in the country. So good that this class lead me to register for the online subscription recently because I still haven't found the same love for another barre workout like this one in two years. Bright sunny space. Moderate pricing. Challenging. Easy access.

Grinning Yogi: GY is a West Coast studio that offers a wide range of classes with fun names describing them to a 't'. This space is one large room, giving small business vibes, with the most beautiful Buddha graffiti backdrop in the midst of it all. Spacious and welcoming. Great price. Teaching style yoga. Easy access.

Flywheel Sports, South Lake Union: So you may already have done Flywheel in your hometown, but have you done it early morning and then walked down to the lake while it's sitting still, and finally finding the honking of geese pleasurable? I didn't think so. Go early. Walk around. Grab a smoothie from Whole Foods and enjoy. Athletic vibes. Average studio pricing. Challenging + fun. Easy access.

see

South Lake Union Park: this was the only spot that I visited on purpose/by mistake. South Lake Union is a lake. I don't know if I would feel the same about it during normal hours. My stay in Seattle was oddly sunny and it truly felt incredibly meditative to look on such a still space with so much life and technology brimming in the city around me. Seriously. Go early. It's free. (If I say more then I'm being ridiculous about a lake.)

savor

The Wandering Goose: Friday Night Fried Chicken night. It's amazing. I can't remember if they take reservations (I don't think that they do.) There was a nice long wait for the food to be done, but it was worth it to spend time with my fam and wait anxiously because we are picky about our fried delights.   We found out about the Friday Night Fry because of the patrons.  When we walked up on Thursday at 4PM only to discover they were closing for the day, all of their guests outside eating encouraged us to come back on the next night and enjoy the fare.  Go with a group. Expect a wait. Enjoy.

Skillet: My sister and I saw this place on our way back to our hotel from barre3 and decided to refuel there. My choice was the Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash. I LOVE corned beef hash. I'm not ashamed and I am sure to make it count when I do choose to partake. It was totally worth it this time. We really enjoyed each dish we ordered and then headed off. The place was packed and full of friends. We really loved everything about it, especially the prices.

Remedy Teas: If you love tea and like to take your time. This is your spot. Think Teavana or David's but truly local. Lots of cooperation between them and surrounding businesses on top of tasty drinks to sip. Nothing ever beats shopping local.

Witness Bar: This was a fun night. On Saturday nights at 10PM, the owner does a sermon at the front of the bar. I won't spill on the topic and message because I want you to go discover it for yourself. Between all the things, we enjoyed some very delightful libations and noshed on some grub to keep the buzz at bay. I specifically remember my sister and I Ubering home to Rae Sremmurd's “Unlock The Swag” on their first album SremmLife. Imagine that. ;)

I hope that you enjoyed the first of many SG's!  See you soon.

Mel

Workout #34

38:100

I had the idea to write about this for almost two weeks.  And here I am finally doing it.

In my journey to accomplishing 100 workouts I knew that there would be a few mountains and a lot of molehills.  For example, as I write this, I am potentially going to be dealing with a knee injury thanks to an accident I had with my boyfriend on the couch, lol.  (I feel like most athlete-type fitness fans ALWAYS hurt themselves; doing nothing, at any given moment.)  On this day in particular, the day of workout #34, it was an interesting day.  Read on for more...  

It was a normal day.  Like any other day.  And I originally planned on doing my workout that morning before heading in to work.  Alarm goes off and as I began to rise, my inner voice says:  "OR...Or...you could sleep IN.  Huh?  Huh?" *nudge nudge*  I say to myself.. "Girl!  You right!" and pull the covers back over my body and close my eyes to enjoy an extra hour of sleep.  I go to work and am complaining in my mind all day about how much I don't want to do this workout when I get home.  (I'm actually working on my inner voice through meditation over the past week and a half.  More details soon.)   So I get home from work and chill, eat dinner, watch t.v. (I never watch t.v.--I was desperate for a distraction.), and I lie there.  Just staring at my ceiling.  Knowing that my laptop was calling.  

I am kinda doing the Barre 3 #ALLin challenge.  Barre 3, to me, is the most amazing barre method in the whole entire universe. *Vera from Harlem Nights voice*  To kick off the year they are doing a five-week fitness challenge.  Since I am doing Soul Cycle and Studio Lagree, I am not doing five classes a week as planned and I'm not eating every meal in the cookbook either because cost.  Because I live with another human.  Because I don't want to cook every day of the week since we split the cooking responsibilities.  (I like a snatched waist.  I also like living life.)  Unfortunately, Chicago does not host a Barre 3 barre studio within its city limits.  Very unfortunate.  The great thing is that the studio does online classes that you can subscribe to and do in your own living room.  They're SO good.

So I'm chilling on my couch.  T.V. blaring in the background.  Scrolling on Instagram.  And I finally shout in my head:  Get up!  Get it done!  You guys.  15 minutes in to the workout I was feeling so strong and the sweat was really starting to build.  45 minutes into it, I was verbally exclaiming that I was glad I got up and did it.  By the hour mark I'd decided to add the triumph to my Insta Stories and not until then did I realize that it was 10:30PM.  I cleaned up and scurried to bed, but I learned a few valuable lessons on this day.

1.  Some of that negative self-talk at work was that "I was going to fail horribly at my goal of 100 workouts."  That "I had missed so many by now and I knew that it would come to this"... Wrong!  I was actually coming off of the appropriate amount of rest days and was/am still on track to reach my goal.

2.  Just do it.  (Self explanatory.  Thanks Nike.)

3.  Keeping perspective when the odds seem stacked against you is vital.  

4.  Calm TF down.

5.  Self-scanning will help break through the wall more quickly.  Seriously.  Understanding where the "stop" is and why it's happening.  Taking a few moments to think about it will save you a few hours or days.  

So here's to the next 59 workouts (Lord willing) and here's to you and whatever journey that you are on for yourself.  Woo!

Melissa