Bold & Bella

Fun fact about me: I'm a bit of a product junkie. I love to experiment with new ingredients and formulas for hair, skin, make-up, you name it. Recently, I've been on the hunt for a facial cleanser that is both acne and budget-friendly and stumbled across African Black Soap. Now, apparently, I'm super behind because this product has been a trend for some time now, but (as always) I had to do my research before trying it for myself.  What is African Black Soap?  According to Healthline, African Black Soap is an all-natural product that is handmade from plant-based ingredients in Africa. It's not your average soap in that it doesn't smell, or  look  like other soap bars that you may have seen. In fact, it looks for like a rock (in my opinion).  It's antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties make it the perfect, one-size-fits-all product to address issues like acne, hyperpigmentation, and stretch marks (among many other things). Th...

2020 is just a few days away. It's extra special because it's not just the beginning of a new year, but the beginning of a new decade.  If you're like most people, the last few days before a new year are filled with reflection on the year that has passed, and goal-setting for the year that is come. This time, though, you're likely reflecting on the last 10 years of your life. (It still blows my mind that I'm able to think about the last 10 years of my life with actual memories...being 30 is really something!) Ya know what else most people do? Look back on their lives with a focus on what hasn't happened, rather than on what has. For some reason, many of us get caught up in other people's timelines when thinking about what we've done with our lives, and we compare where we are to where social media, our friends, or society in general tell us we should be. Do yourself a favor and don't compare your life to anyone else's.  Think back on the ...

If you've had acne most of your life (like me), you've likely tried all kinds of products and treatments to try to get it under control. I have used everything from Proactiv and Dermalogica to Clean & Clear and Clearasil (remember when that was cool?). The only bandwagon I absolutely refused to jump on was the one that claimed that people should cleanse their oily skin with oil. Any person with this skin type will tell you that oil is an absolute no-no, and that you should stay as far away from it as possible...right? Wrong. Oily skin is actually parched skin that overproduces its own moisture because it's not getting enough (the human body really is amazing). I have always been taught that I should wash the oil away and slather on oil-free products and ingredients to keep my skin as matte as possible. Turns out, that really only makes the oil production worse.  Some initial research revealed that there may be some truth to this whole idea, but it became a ...

One of the greatest pieces of advice that I've ever received was a cousin to the familiar "Happiness is a choice," that you may have seen plastered on many an Instagram feed: "Overwhelm is a mindset"  I wish I had been cool enough to come up with that on my own, but the #bossbabe who actually penned the phrase is Jen Sincero (author of You Are a Badass, which you should 100% read, if you haven't already). In her tiny book, You Are a Badass Everyday, Jen (I can call her that. We're friends, right, Jen?) goes on to say that feeling overwhelmed is making the choice to focus on everything all at once, rather than what's in front of you in the moment. I have been guilty of unnecessary overwhelm. I'd wake up in the morning and immediately go through my to-do list: OK, I've got to get up, have my coffee, work out by 5:00, shower by 5:40, wake up the kids at 6:00am sharp, get them both dressed and get out the door by 6:40... This wou...

I am obsessed with taking care of my skin. Having acne most of my life, I've tried a million products and been given a TON of (mostly unsolicited) advice. Currently, I'm in the process of transitioning from commercial cleansers to essential oils, but more on that in another post. In this post, I want to share with you what I have learned from personal experience about what works (and what doesn't) for oily, acne-prone skin. Keep it Simple - Just like it's necessary to take a shower everyday, you have got to wash your face, BUT you don't have to go out and buy a fancy, acne-specific cleanser full of ingredients you can't even pronounce. The best cleansers are the gentle ones, like Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser, Cerave Foaming Cleanser, or my new favorite African Black Soap by Shea Moisture. Stay AWAY from ingredients you can't pronounce - Ok, Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide are hardly ingredients that you can't pronounce but the poin...

Ever met a person who was entirely too honest when you asked them how they were doing? Oh you know, just tired, as always. My kids were crazy this morning, this weather is disgusting and I have a million things to do when I get off work today. But you know, other than that, I'm alright, I guess. Recently, I have come across so many people like this, and honestly...it's a huge turn off.  If you are one of these people, I am so sorry if I hit you in the feels, but really, please staaaahhhp! Even if you feel like your life is truly awful, don't make it worse by breathing life into it.  I actually understand people like this because, for a brief time, I was one of them (*gasp*). It wasn't until someone called me out on it that I even noticed it was something I did. My boyfriend's cousin greeted me one day by saying that he wasn't going to ask me how I was doing because he already knew what my answer would be. "You're always tired," he s...

Living a healthy lifestyle is challenging all the time, but during the holidays? It's so much harder. I don't know about y'all but I turn into a bear. I eat like I'm storing up for winter, and sleep like hibernation is a marathon that necessitates training. In short, the struggle is real. My solution to this problem is usually to just let myself go. I YOLO my way through life from November to January, squeeze in workouts when it's convenient and tell myself I'll do better when I get into the new year. The only problem is that I go into each new year rounder and heavier and it takes about 6 weeks to get back on track. This year I promised myself to do better and stay on track during the cold months and see if I can emerge in the new year looking and feeling like my normal self. To do this, all I really have to do is keep up with my regular routine, but with zero breaks. Scheduling workouts first thing in the morning - Each person does what works for them....

A while ago I found myself in one of those weird, perpetual bad moods. Everything and everyone irked me, and I rarely opened my mouth for anything other than to complain. I should add a little backstory here and tell you that I'm actually one of the perkiest individuals on the planet. Give me a good mix of coffee and curse words, sprinkled with some prayer and I'm generally in a good mood. So for me to be grumpy, something has to be off. I blamed this looming dark cloud of a mood on several different things: work stress, the tiny humans I teach, the ones I brought into the world, lack of sleep,  you name it. It didn't hit me until just before my 30th birthday (yep, I have revealed my age!) that maybe the problem wasn't in my circumstances, but rather in how I viewed them. Picture this: It's a hot June day, I'm in my pajamas, drinking coffee on my couch, and I get a reminder from my phone calendar. It reads: Pack for Denver!!! Now, a normal, happy person woul...