Tag: beauty

Fit skin: Peach and brown sugar facial scrub

When you lead a healthy lifestyle, it not only shows through your body. Your hair, nails and skin also improve a lot from eating right and drinking lots of water (something I personally have a lot of trouble with). Having healthy, radiant skin is sooo important to me. If your skin looks healthy it reflects that you are also healthy on the inside. But, you can always give it a little boost from the outside, by using a facial mask or scrub.

By scrubbing your skin regularly, you remove dead skin cells. These dead skin cells make your skin look dull, so it’s good to get rid of them every once in a while. Depending on your skin type you should scrub once every week/two weeks. If you have oily skin, you might want to stick to once a week. Otherwise once every two weeks is fine. Here’s the recipe for a peach and brown sugar facial scrub, that will leave your skin feeling smooth and looking radiant again.

WHAT YOU NEED:

One ripe peach
1/2 tbsp oil (coconut, almond or olive oil)
1/2 tbsp raw organic honey (warm it a little in the microwave so it gets runny)
1-2 tbsp brown sugar (you can use more or less depending on your own preference)

HOW IT’S MADE:

Puree the peach in a blender or foodprocessor. You can add a little water if needed, to get it nice and smooth. Put the peach puree into a bowl and mix in the oil, honey and brown sugar.

HOW TO USE IT:

Take the mixture onto your fingertips and apply on your face and neck in circular motions. Remember that your goal is to exfoliate the dead skin, so if you feel you need to add some more brown sugar, go for it!

Let the scrub sit on your face for about 5 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and/or a warm washcloth. And voilà! Your skin is ready to shine like never before! (P.S. don’t forget to moisturize afterwards!)

Face Mapping: how to listen to your acne

Struggling with acne that just won’t go away? If you’ve tried everything you can think of, and still can’t get rid of those stubborn pimples, then perhaps the causes are more than skin deep.

There’s a theory held by traditional Chinese medicine called Mien Sheng that is still around today. In this view, you can infer a lot about someone’s health (and even their personality) from just looking at their face. If your skin is pale, you may need to incorporate some more iron into your diet or if you have dark circles under your eyes, you need to get some more sleep. Besides that, each zone on the face correlates with a certain internal organ. So, when you have persistent acne that always pops up in the same places, this can be a sign of an underlying issue in some other organ in your body.

What does it mean?

The forehead: When the bulk of your acne accumulates here, this might be linked to issues in your digestive system. If your body is not able to properly break down certain foods, this could be allowing toxins to build up. So kick out some of those greasy or fatty foods and replace it with more antioxidant rich foods and drinks like green tea and lemon infused water.
On your cheeks: Spots that pop up here are linked to the lungs and can be caused by allergies and breathing in polluted air. If you’re a smoker or breathe in a lot of smoke, it’s a good idea to cut back on that exposure!
Your nose: Acne here can be an indication of an imbalanced diet, or show that you’re suffering from high blood pressure or bad circulation. Keep your blood pressure stable by watching your cholesterol intake and keeping your stress levels low.
Sides of the chin: This area is linked to your reproductive system and your kidneys. Leading up to your menstrual cycle, you may experience more breakouts here than normal. That part is pretty hard to control, but what you can do is minimize your stress. Stress causes your kidneys to do more work than necessary, so calm down, drink lots of water and eat as many vegetables as you can.

Do note, however, that there are also external factors that play a role, like touching your face regularly with dirty hands or not washing your face every night. These are just some starting points to help you figure out where your problems lie, and shouldn’t negate medical advice.

Sources: annmariegianni.com & davidwolfe.com

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How to curl your hair the easy way!

When you’re looking for an easy way to curl your hair, you should try this tutorial. After years of struggling with hairclips and curls that just didn’t do what I wanted, I finally found a method that will get you wavy hair the easy way! Just in time for Christmas!

I know what you’re all thinking: “That’s some fabulous, wavy hair… but mine could never look that good.” – I kid you not! Just give it a try this weekend. Remember: practice makes perfect but once you get the hang of it you’ll be pretty happy with the results, I guarantee! I have to admit, my hair is long and really thick so it looks really voluminous already but this will work for most hairstyles (except the reeeeally short hairstyles of course).

Step 1: Turn your curling iron on. Mine goes up to 220 degrees but I usually use the 200 degrees setting, because I want to minimize the damage.
Step 2: Brush your hair thoroughly. I love the Tangle Teezer because it’s pain free, even with wet hair!

Step 3: After spraying a heat protection all over your hair, you divide your hair in two sections and just let hang on both sides. I like to part my hair in the middle but you can part it sideways if that’s your style.

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Life is short: wear lipstick!

There is one simple rule when it comes to wearing lipstick: if the eye make-up is your focus, then keep the lips subtle: choose a sheer or nude lipstick shade that enhances your natural lip colour. BUT if you keep your eye make-up super simple (neutral shadows, a little bit of eyeliner and mascara), than you can go bold with the lips!

Every girl walked out of a cosmetic store or beauty department once with 28 different colour lipstick stripes on her hand, but the best way to test a lip shade is on (SURPRISE) the lips! So I did!

This colour lipstick is nude and doesn’t do anything for my face. Maybe a smokey eye would be better with this.

Ahh the classic red lips! I love this colour lipstick. It screams happy!

I am a big fan of the darker, more purple lipstick, like this one called Starry Eyed. Perfect for wintertime!

If you want to stand out then buy a red/orange lipstick! A total head turner!

Oeh la la! This is my Christmas favourite! A beautiful creamy, red wine lipstick, One-of-a-Kind.

With this colour red you can’t go wrong! Wear it to work or on a hot date. Either way, it will make your day!

My new years resolution for 2015 is wearing lipstick more often! What’s your favorite color?

XO Kiki

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Autumn skincare essentials

Your skin could use some extra care during autumn. The low temperatures can cause your skin to become more dry and that could bring up more flaws. I’ve collected the key essentials to create your own perfect autumn skincare routine.

First of all it’s important to know how your skin changes during the seasons. Every skin is different and because of that everyone has his/her own ideal skincare routine. Does your skin get extra dry because of the chilly weather or does it stay a bit greasy? I have a really dry skin, even during the summer. This only gets worse during autumn so I always use some extra products. Adding numerous layers of cream won’t always cause the result you’re looking for. That may even cause more flaws in the worst case.

Choose the right serum

A serum is an emulsion which you can definitely use next to your daily make-up routine. The effect of a serum is that it helps your face to stay moist. During cold days your skin may get a bit more dry and that’s when a serum will be useful. There are a lot of different serums, one may cause your face to become more hydrated while another one simply lifts up your face a bit. I personally love this serum by Weleda, their ingredients are 100% natural.

Use facemasks

Facemasks can really help your skin to get more hydrated. You could choose to make your own facemask with natural ingredients but they’re also available at drugstores. One mask a week will give your face the boost you’re looking for! Mud masks are defenitely my favourite.

Creams instead of lotion

During autumn you could choose to replace your lotion with a cream. I like to switch those up during autumn because a cream will make your skin more moist. It basically create a magical layer. If a cream still won’t do it for you, you could also try a body butter. This is even more greasy. The classic Nivea bodycream is perfect for each season of the year.

Keep on scrubbing

Giving your skin a regular scrub is just as important during autumn as it is during summer. By doing this weekly you will remove the dead skin cells. By this you’ll prevent yourself from getting annoying skin flakes. You could easily DIY with brown sugar, oi, honey and a few drops of aromatic oil. I always use Therme scrubs as they make my skin as soft as a baby’s bum.

S.O.S. hand cream

Dry hands are my worst enemy. I even get them after a really short bike ride so that’s why I don’t leave the house without a really greasy hand cream. For me it actually can’t be greasy enough. These kind of creams are also perfect for dry spots on your face. I currently take this Nivea cream with me everywhere I go.

What are your autumn skincare essentials? Please let us know in the comments!

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How to get to know your skin

Last week I visited an Dermalogica event together with our brand relations manager Shelley to attend the launch of a new product. Well, that’s always a good reason to get out of bed in the morning! I feel much more confident when my skin looks good too. And it just happens that Dermalogica is an expert in this area. We cruised over the canals in our brand new Jogha/#FITGIRLCODE car and arrived safe and sound at the event which took place in Amsterdam.

These kind of events are always a lot of fun and not only because I think Dermalogica is a cool brand! I love to chat with other bloggers and exchange stories and ideas. We don’t get to see each other that often (you know Amsterdam – Rotterdam 😉 ), so it’s always nice to discuss all the ins and outs of bloggerworld. And of course the snacks hmm… the snacks. For once I didn’t have to think about a healthy lunch.

Face Mapping

Face Mapping was an important part of the day. I had never done it before, so I was very curious! So, what is Face Mapping exactly? A Dermalogica specialist performs a skin analysis and determines which skin care products suit your skin best. I thought I was doing a reasonable job, but I guess not! I have a irritated skin around my nose and my chin is pretty sensitive as well. I’m not really surprised. I have a busy lifestyle and run from one meeting to the next. I also train several times a week at Elevator Sports. I sweat a lot during these killer workout and obviously this is not very conducive to your skin. A lot of sweat leads to irritated skin, so there you are! Conclusion: my nose and chin need extra attention and care so it’s quite handy to know which products I should use. I got some tips on how to deal with this so I will start right away! According to the Face Mapping the following products are most suitable for my skin:

– UltraCalming cleanser: purifies and calms a sensitive and irritated skin.
– Skin smoothing cream: hydrates and nourishes combined to dry skin.
– Barrier repair: helps shield the sensitive skin against environmental and internal triggers.
– Gentle cream exfoliant: helps detach dead skin cells en increases cell renewal.

Concept store Maastricht

So, did you also get curious how to treat your skin properly, then don’t forget to take a look at the Dermalogica concept store. It’s the first store in the Netherlands, yes finally! The store is located in the centre of Maastricht, so I can hear your girls thinking… Perfect shopping weekend in Maastricht! 😉 They offer many other treatments besides Face Mapping. I would love to try out the Skin Bar and Microzone treatment, but unfortunately I didn’t have time yet, busy busy busy.

Skin Bar

As a true Dermalogica fan I really have to try out this treatment. It’s calling my name! During a miniworkshop you get the opportunity to try out all the Dermalogica products. Sounds like heaven to me! Why didn’t I try this earlier? And it’s a good excuse to do something fun with your friends, or it can be the perfect birthday gift. Who wouldn’t love that?

MicroZone

As I said earlier, like many others I’m really busy and I can use a boost once in a while. The MicroZone treatment is the answer to this problem. It’s ideal when you’re busy or stressed or just need some me-time. It gives you a lot of energy so you get to it again. I’m all over the place and I find it difficult to make time and plan something like that, but I think I will manage to take a day off between Christmas and New Years and treat myself in Maastricht. I’m already looking forward to it!

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Skincare tips for Fit Girls

While working out on the regular is super beneficial for your health, not caring for your skin properly can lead to increased breakouts. We definitely want to prevent this from happening since you deserve glowing skin to match your killer body! Here are some skincare tips for before, during, and after exercising to help minimize any imperfections due to your workouts.

Prep your face before your workout

Clean your face. This applies whether you’re wearing makeup or not. We know it’s tempting to run home, grab your gym clothes and go without wasting any extra time, but breaking a sweat with a face full of makeup can cause excess moisture buildup and can trap bacteria in your pores. Did you know that pores enlarge when you work out? This means that they are even more vulnerable to being clogged by any makeup you might be wearing. Even if your face feels fresh and product-free, make sure to splash some water on it or use a light cleanser to ensure that any potential cloggers are washed away.

Go easy on the hair products. When you sweat, hair products containing heavy moisturizers are likely to drip down onto your face which can cause breakouts around your hairline. This means that, if you can, stay away from leave-in conditioners or hair masks on your heavy workout days. If you must use these products (some us have frizz that just needs to be tamed on the daily), make sure you wear a tight headband or use a sweat band to keep as much sweat from dripping as possible.
Outdoor workouts: Protect your skin from the sun. If your workout takes place outdoors, make sure to use a moisturizer with around SPF 30. However, try to use a lightweight oil-free product rather than a heavy one, as this plus your sweat could lead to a bad breakout.

Steer clear from bacteria during your workout

Wipe down your equipment. Don’t trust others to clean machines after they workout, and make sure to clean your equipment with anti-bacterial wipes before and after you use it. Gym machines are filled with bacteria, and just one quick swipe of your hand on your face during an intense sweat drip could have nasty consequences for your skin. Most importantly, not matter how tired you are on the elliptical machine, focus on your Beyoncé playlist and DO NOT- I repeat DO NOT- rest your face on the machine!
- This also applies to yoga mats! A good rule of thumb is to not put your face anywhere that someone else’s sweaty feet have been. Tip: bring a clean towel to the gym to put down on any equipment that could potentially touch your face.
Drink water. This might sound like an obvious one, but be sure to drink plenty of water; sweating dehydrates you and water rehydrates you, helping to minimise any wrinkles and other skin damage resulting from dehydrated skin.

Post-Workout Care

Don’t wait to wash your face. If you only wash your face once you get home from your workout, you may give any built-up bacteria time to really sink into your skin. Bring your cleanser to the gym and clean your face ASAP to avoid this! Use a gentle, unscented cleanser if you can since your skin tends to be extra sensitive after a heavy sweat session.

Shower. Another obvious one, but take a few minutes to change out of your gym clothes and wash your body even if you don’t feel like you got extremely sweaty. This will help avoid any irritation or body acne that might be caused by bacteria build-up. If you don’t have access to a shower soon after your workout, try to at least wipe down the areas where sweat tends to build up most: your chest, back, and stomach.
Apply some moisturizer. To add nutrients back to your body, use an anti-irritation moisturizer once you are squeaky clean and cooled off.

I hope these tips are helpful for you! You can show off your healthy, glowing skin on Instagram to us by using the hashtag #FITGIRLCODE. Now it’s time to go and get extra sweaty, the bacteria has no chance against this fool-proof skincare routine!

sources: Womenshealthmag.com, Teenvogue.com, Notpasty.com

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5 Reasons women should have each other’s backs

What’s the deal with catfights, cliques, and undermining each other? Women have the reputation of being unsupportive for many reasons, whether it be in social, academic, or professional settings. This behaviour begins at a young age, and many of us don’t seem to grow out of the gossip queens we were in high school. Here are 5 reasons why women should have each other’s backs as soul sisters!

1. To live longer

Can it really be as easy as that? Being nice to other women in your life can help you live longer? According to research, being part of a tight social circle leads to a happier, healthier, and longer life. Surrounding yourself with uplifting women (and lifting them up as well) will add to your sense of purpose in life and will give you a reason besides banana bread to get out of bed in the morning.

2. To reduce stress

If you’re going through a breakup or other tough emotional situation you tend to talk about it every chance you get, even with complete strangers after a couple glasses of wine… does this sound familiar? When women go through stressful situations they actually release a hormone called oxytocin, which triggers a desire to build and maintain relationships. So go ahead girl, tell us how much of an a**hole he was to you one more time, it’s your brain helping you deal with the stress 😉 Bonding with other women is a biological response and helps soothe the stressful situations we get ourselves into.

3. To hold you accountable

Having a circle of women and peers around to give you objective feedback and to let you know when you simply haven’t done a good job or are being a lazy Fit Girl is constructive. This external affirmation and support is just as valuable as your close friend calling you out on your crap (that dress simply does not make you look fat). Nobody is perfect, and it is those close to you who will be able to see when you need a hug or an extra challenge.

4. To be your soulmates

A soulmate is a person you connect with on a level you can’t exactly explain. As women we needs lots of contact, affirmation, and both physical and emotional love. Don’t expect one person to meet all of these needs, and find other women who can provide you with joy, love, and understanding when you’re at your best as well as at your worst.

5. To support your goals and objectives

Build yourself a network of women who inspire you to DO things bigger and better, to chase your dreams. Social media has made it easier than ever to find others who share the same visions and goals with regard to fitness, careers, and other life choices. Take advantage of this! If you’re looking for someone to work out with in your area, you can even comment on a #FITGIRLCODE Instagram post and you’re sure to find a group of loving, dedicated women to lift you up and get you going!

Even if you grew up entwined in gossip, exclusion, and competition with other girls, remember that this negative energy will not produce anything positive. There is plenty of room in the world for many successful, happy, and healthy women working together to achieve their dreams. Don’t tear each other down but lift each other up!

source: www.mindbodygreen.com

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Yogurt and Egg Face Mask

I thought it was time to share another easy, inexpensive, natural beauty product with you. This time I will be sharing a yogurt and egg white facial mask to sparkle up your skin again. Read below how to make it and what the benefits are.

Yogurt contains high levels of lactic acid, which is beneficial to skin and hair care. So here’s a super easy yogurt and egg face mask to promote healthy skin. Make sure to use a yogurt that is unsweetened and unflavored, because some ingredients can cause skin irritation. And that’s exactly what we’re NOT aiming for here! I’ve listed the benefits of yogurt for your skin at the end of this post.

Eggs, on the other hand, contain lots of proteins and minerals that help tighten and firm the skin.
Now let’s go…

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 tbsp (plain) yogurt
1 egg

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HOW IT’S MADE:

Separate the egg white from the yolk and pour into a small bowl
Add 2 tbsp of plain yogurt and mix together

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HOW TO USE:

Apply to face using a facial mask brush (or your fingers, whatever you prefer).
Leave on face for 5-10 minutes, then rinse face with warm water and/or warm washcloth.

JasmineJoyner-1

THE BENEFITS OF YOGURT FOR SKIN:

Natural moisturizer and skin brightener
Hydrating scrub to remove dead skin cells
Fights pimples and acne
Reduces blemishes, tanning, under eye dark circles and skin discoloration
Fights skin infections
Anti-ageing

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WIN: Dermalogica skincare goodies

THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CLOSED. THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY EMAIL.

We Fit Girls have a busy life and work out quite often which is not always very beneficial to our skin. Our CEO on sneakers Aranka regularly gets a lot of questions on how she keeps her face so beautiful and radiant. Today we share the secret of Aranka and the other Fit Girls Roos and Alicia. Keep on reading because we have a really nice surprise for you guys.

A busy job, an intensive workout, that fun party or a long summer holiday, we all know how these activities can affect our skin in a bad way. It can cause impurity, pigments and dry or greasy skin. We often forget to be good to our skin due to our busy life and to give it the attention it deserves. Besides that, skin care products often use ingredients such as soap, perfume and oils which dehydrate our skin and do not contribute to healthy skin. This can be very frustrating and that’s why our Fit Girls Aranka, Roos and Alicia decided to introduce you to a brand they believe in and use every day: Dermalogica.

Dermalogica is more than a product and doesn’t spend time on pretty and luxurious packages, but instead aims to help everybody to have a beautiful en healthy skin. All Dermalogica products are free of synthetic aroma’s and colourants and when the products touch your skin something special happens. The products are made for anyone and can be used at various moments during the day.

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Fit Hair: Hydrating Hair Mask

So we’re all trying to lead a happy, healthy lifestyle. And for me, keeping my hair healthy is also a big part of that. I recently started transitioning into more natural products for my hair and skin. Because I don’t only want to be healthy on the inside, I want it to show everywhere. Including the outside of my body.

This hair mask is for all of you dealing with dry hair and/or a dry scalp. If you’re a curly haired girl like I am, you’re hair is going to be forever dry. But you can try to limit this as much as possible by taking really good care of your locks. One of the things you can do to help keep your hair in good condition is to regularly use a hydrating hair mask. Here’s a recipe that you will have whipped up in minutes. Oh, and you could consider eating it as well…

WHAT YOU NEED:

one ripe avocado (use half)
one ripe banana (use half)
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of coconut oil

Note: Depending on the amount/length/thickness of your hair you might need to adjust proportions.

HOW IT’S MADE:

In a blender, mix all ingredients together, making sure the avocado and banana are completely blended into a fine puree. If not, it will be difficult to get the lumps out of your hair later on.

Apply it to your (dry or wet) hair and cover with a shower cap or cling film. Leave in for at least 30 minutes. If your hair is very dry you can leave it in longer or sleep with it overnight. After 30 minutes (or the next morning) use a sulfate free shampoo or botanical cleanser and cleanse as usual. Make sure every bit of avocado and banana is rinsed out!

THE BENEFITS:

Avocado: rich in vitamin E and protein. Smoothens and softens the hair. Also good for dealing with dandruff because of it’s nourishing/moisturizing qualities.
Banana: aids in strengthening weak, thin hair thanks to it’s vitamin A, potassium and protein.
Honey: a natural moisturizer because of its natural vitamins and minerals. Honey also has healing properties.
Olive Oil: probably the most important natural ingredient you should have for your (dry) hair. It is made up of fatty acids which protect damaged hair and add shine to dry hair. Softens hair, treats dandruff and frizz and makes hair more manageable overall.
Coconut Oil: fatty acids protect hair from breakage. Rich in vitamin E and K, moisturizes and improves scalp blood circulation. Contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and protects against dandruff.

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Sunprotection during your summer workout

Summer’s almost there and that means – besides going to the beach and drinking wine on the balcony all night – you’re probably going to do your workout in the park instead of the gym. You will spend a lot of time in the hot sun, which will hopefully get you a great tan. But don’t forget, UVA and UVB rays can cause skin damage. Eventually it can even lead to cancer. You probably think that any sunprotector will take care of you, but you’re wrong. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about sunprotection and how to use it during your workout.

Sun protecting factor (SPF)

Sun protecting factor, also known as SPF, is the most important ingredient in a sunscreen. It indicates how long you can stay in the sun without burning. The higher the SPF, the more sunprotection is provides. A SPF 15 blocks 93% of the UVB-rays, a SPF 30 blocks 97% of the UVB-rays and an SPF 50 blocks 98% of the UVB-rays. SPF only relates to UVB. Sunscreens vary in their ability to protect from UVA and UVB.

How to apply

To get the full SPF of your sun protector, you need to apply about a shot glass full. Most people only use a quarter of that, which makes the SPF on their body lower than on advertised on the bottle. You need to apply the sunscreen about 30 minutes before sun exposure. This way the ingredients can fully bind to your skin.

No sunprotector should be expected to stay effective for more than two hours. You have to repeat applying the sunscreen whole day long. Sunscreen should also be reapplied after swimming, towelling off or intense sweating. UVB causes sunburn, but UVA can do a lot of damage (for example: wrinkles) without even noticing. Reapplication is as important as putting it on in the first way.

During hot, sunny days it’s important to protect yourself every day, even though you are working inside because you still get in touch with the harmful rays.

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5 Inspirational books you should read

Your New Year’s resolution to cut the crap was ages ago. But you can’t seem to see the results of all your hard work in the gym… Time for a little inspiration to continue your health journey – to give you a little push in the right direction and to remind you that you are doing great! Here are 5 inspirational books you should read:

1. The Fit Bottomed Girls’ “Anti-Diet”

Everyone wants a super-quick fix to lose weight, but here’s the secret:
The only way to get the results you want is to love yourself and your life. Jennipher Walters and Erin Whitehead, founders of the uber-popular website Fit Bottomed Girls, have spent years helping hundreds of thousands of readers fall in love with a healthy lifestyle. Now, they are sharing their 10 principles that will help you lose weight, love your body, enjoy your workouts, and face every day with a positive attitude—all at the same time!

2. The Anti 9 to 5 Guide

Today, lots of women would love to integrate their passion with their career and are seeking advice on how to do just that. Michelle Goodman, a self proclaimed, “wage-slave” has written a fun, reassuring, girlfriend-to-girlfriend guide on identifying your passion, transitioning out of that unfulfilling job, and doing it all in a smart, practical way. The Anti 9-to-5 Guide realizes that not every woman wants the corner office, in fact, some women don’t want to be in an office at all.

3. When Organizing Isn’t Enough: Shed Your stuff: Change Your Life

Expert organizer and New York Times best selling author Julie Morgenstern
teaches you how to get rid of the physical, mental, and time clutter that’s keeping you from the life you want. For those who are eager to make a change in their lives—a new job, a new relationship, a new stage in life—they need to get rid of the old before they can organize the new. They need to SHED their stuff before they can change their lives!

Continue to the next page

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Review: Get Your Teeth CocoWhite

After trying the activated charcoal I found another great (chemical free) way for whitening your teeth. Flavored coconut oil in a sachet with an instruction so easy that everybody should try it! I am amazed by the result!! I want you to meet CocoWhite!

What is it? Like I said, flavored coconut oil in a sachet. Nothing more, nothing less. 🙂 I already knew that oil pulling could make your teeth whiter but I was frankly too lazy too try it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE coconut oil but I hate the fact that it is a solid brick below 24 degrees. Which means that you have to spoon out a piece (with some force) and the fact that oil pulling should be done every day … Nope, too lazy! But! CocoWhite has found the answer to this (lazy) “problem”. They’ve put the exact amount of coconut oil in a sachet. Of course it is solid but if you put the sachet under warm/hot water, then in a matter of seconds it’s liquid and ready to use. 😉 You will receive a package with 14 sachets, so you use one per day. You can choose between two flavors, minty fresh or vanilla. I tried the vanilla version!

The instructions

Step 1: Squeeze sachet into mouth
Step 2: Swirl for 5- 15 minutes (I did the 15 minutes every day!)
Step 3: Spit out & smile

Easy peasy! To be honest, I am not a big fan of vanilla so the first attempt was not a pretty sight. But I pushed myself through 14 days of 15 minutes of swirling and luckily after a few days I got used to the taste. I also started seeing that my teeth got whiter after 5 days already! The only downside that I can come up with is that it is pretty hard to swirl for 15 minutes. A few times I caught myself just staring at the TV without swirling but with the oil still in my mouth. I was like ‘Oh right! I should swirl’.. But I guess that just depends on how quickly you are distracted. Keep reading for the final result!

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Fit Chic: WorkOutfits Meet the City

It was no secret that 2014 was the year of fitness. The idea of a Fit lifestyle boomed through our social media feeds like never before.

We didn’t only see this change in the millions of Instagram accounts dedicated to workouts, progress journeys, or healthy food recipes. It was also seen in the increasing comfort of wearing our favorite sports outfits outside the gym! Now known as Fit Chic or Gym Chic, this fashion style has been embraced by girls worldwide. It is comfortable and so colourful! It seems like it has gotten the attention of some iconic fashion designers, too.

The best part about this trend, if you ask me, is the whole idea of being able to go from gym to casual drinks in about 1/4th of the time it would normally take us to fully change! Disclaimer: I would not advise this after a heavy workout, there’s a difference between casual Gym Chic and I-want-to-die-omg-is-that-smell-coming-from-me look. But Gym Chic has moved even further than just a practicality, it is a style of its own.

{Jogha Ikat Long Tights x Jogha Solid White Muscle Tee}

It’s surprising to see how much status gym clothes have gained in the last years, and it’s reflected in the most recent collections. The designs come in brighter colors and patterned looks that make a statement when they are worn.

{Jogha Solid Black Racerback Bra x Jogha Solid Black Long Tights}

In addition to rocking Fit Girls’ worlds, the uprising popularity of working out in style created a little movement in the designer world called sweat envy. Soon after, they realized that they needed workout collections to stay up-to-date, so it more and more high-end fashion designers showcased this new trend on the runways and didn’t take long to hit the shelves. Among these are Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney and Alexander Wang, which have embraced this by creating Active Wear collections and collaborating with other brands to set the sporty look under a bigger and chic-er radar.

We’ve all noticed this magnified focus towards fitness and a healthy lifestyle, but we never really take a step back and see it when it’s happening. Soon enough, Fit Girls will be glam-ing it up and shopping for their sportswear at Valentino and Gucci. Although if you ask me, I’m not one to look the cutest during a workout because I like to work up a sweat! At the risk of sounding lazy, I most definitely am looking forward to the day I can wear a cute sports outfit to class and then straight to the gym.

fitgirlcode beauty fashion

How to make you beauty spa at home – PART 2

We all need a break from life sometimes, that’s why I shared some tips & tricks for creating your own beauty spa at home a few days ago. If you didn’t read PART 1 of this article yet, I suggest you do that first, because you have to enjoy the entire spa treatment 🙂

Your face… it needs my kisses

Wet your face with warm water and use a brush or washcloth to scrub your face with a face polisher or scrub. Don’t scrub too hard, just rub your face gently and don’t forget your neck, nose pads and a part of your chest/shoulders.
Tip: Don’t have a face polisher? Use brown sugar to scrub your face. It’s a natural exfoliate that works for all skin types. Mix it up with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil.

Clean your face with a hot-warm towel until the scrub is removed.

Make your own facial steamer with a bowl filled with HOT HOT water. You could put mint and/or lemons in the bowl or rose petals for nice fragrance. Don’t use any oil or soaps otherwise it will hurt your eyes. Put a towel over your head and hang your face above the bowl, close your eyes and control your breathing into a nice slow pace. Relax and let it steam for 10 minutes.
Note: Your face should be very warm during this treatment, but not uncomfortably hot. Otherwise let the water cool down before you steam or don’t put the towel over your head.

Since your pores are open now from the facial steamer, this is the perfect time to pluck your eyebrows, remove any zits or pimples and wax your moustache 😉 To relax your face again after the waxing and plucking unwanted hair you can put ice cubes into a plastic bag, and gently rub it all over your face for a couple of minutes.

You are ready for a home made facial masks. Get some slices of cucumber and make sure you have a brush or cotton wool to spread the facial mask on your face and neck/part shoulders. These are my favorite homemade facial masks recipes:

Lemon facial mask
This facial is both exfoliating and moisturizing. Mix up juice from one lemon with ¼ cup olive oil or sweet almond oil. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse your face with a WARM washcloth or towel.

Banana facial mask
Mash up a ripe banana, mix it up with ¼ cup of plain yogurt and 2 tablespoons of honey.
Let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Your face will relax, get moisturized and because of the honey you’ll get a bit of a facelift. 😉 Wash your face with WARM water.

Avocado facial mask
This facial mask is especially for women with dry skin. Mash up 1/2 of a very ripe/ soft avocado and stir it up with a 1/4 cup of honey. Apply to your skin and leave it on for 10 minutes. Rinse your face with a COOL washcloth.

To have the ultimate face treatment don’t forget to moisturize your face after your facial mask. You can do this with your day cream but preferably use oil. Use facial oil or almond oil. Coconut oil is good for girls with a dry skin BUT it could lead to pimples since your pores get clogged up.

Make your body the sexiest outfit you own

For those lucky Fit Girls amongst us who have a bathtub you can start filling it up with hot-warm water and bath oils, beads, salts, bubbles. You can also add milk and oatmeal to your bath, because these have a moisturizing effect if you have a dry skin. Or add almond oil of coconut oil for a baby-soft skin.

Just lie in your bath like a mermaid, close your eyes and just dream away, for as long as the water is warm. You could also pour yourself a glass of wine and have a healthy snack. Whatever helps you relaxing!

If you don’t have a bath take a nice hot-warm shower. If you are able to sit in your shower you can pretend to stand under a waterfall with your eyes closed. Try it! It’s very relaxing and good for your imagination.

While you are in your bathtub or in the shower take the time to massage your sore muscles from your work outs. Tip: close the door of your bathroom so you will keep the heat in and create a home sauna / steam room.

Turn off your shower or get out of your bathtub to scrub your body with one of the following homemade scrubs:
Chocolate body scrub
Mix up 1 cup coconut oil with a 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup with cocoa powder. Mix it well and scrub your body with a brush or washcloth. You will get a beautiful skin and smell like chocolate all day! YEAH!

Mango body scrub
Mix 1/2 cup raw sugar with 2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Mix it well until the sugar gets mossy. Add 1/4 cup chopped soft mango pieces and add 3 or 4 drops of orange essential oil. Mash everything together. If you don’t get a sticky substance yet, you can add more sugar or coconut oil. This body scrub will give your skin nutrition and a fruity fragrance.

Oatmeal body scrub
Especially for Fit Girls with a dry skin the oatmeal body scrub is prefect. Mix 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup raw oatmeal and a 1 cup olive oil. Rub your skin with it and hit the shower. Your skin will feel like butter! Tip: When you scrub your body, do this in a circular motion, start at your feet and work your way up. The circular motion will activate your blood veins, which is good for the blood circulation in your body.

If you don’t like to scrub your skin with a body scrub, you can also try out DRY BODY BRUSHING 😀 Fit Girl Kiki explains all about this new treatment which is definitely worth trying. Read more : “Why dry body brushing is the bomb”.

After you’ve washed off the body scrub or took a nice warm shower or bath if you treated yourself with a dry body brushing you can wash yourself with a body cream or oil. Use the towel to pat your skin dry instead of completely drying up your skin.

If you still have rough spots on your skin you can take a freshly cut lemon and rub it gently on the rough spots, like on your elbows and knees. The acid in the lemon will soften the rough spots on your skin. Try it to believe it!

After a body scrub, it’s time to use nourishing body lotion, body butter or a nice body oil. Take the time to cover your complete body. Put on your bathrobe and give the lotion time to absorb into your skin before you get dressed in your I-am-staying-in-and-hang-on-my-couch- pants-and-hoodie 😉

RELAX, SIT AND ENJOY YOUR BEAUTY SPA HANGOVER
After a day in a beauty spa, besides feeling completely relaxed and balanced again, I also feel a bit “hangover”. Your mind is turned off, your body feels heavy and your skin glows. The best thing about a beauty spa day at home is that you can immediately crash on your couch or into your bed and RELAX. Pour yourself (another) glass of wine, put some (healthy) snacks on the table and watch a movie, read a book, listen to music or simply fall in a long deep sleep…

CONCLUSION
Make it a priority to enjoy some relaxing time every now and then. You can either enjoy your beauty spa alone or with your BFFF. Everyone deserves a moment of peace and quiet. It’s important to relax for mental clarity, reduce stress, giving your muscles time to recover, and to take care of yourself.

Hopefully all these tips and tricks inspired you create your own beauty spa at home! 😉 ENJOY!

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How to create your own beauty spa at home – PART 1

We all need a break from this hectic thing called life from time to time. People go into their relax mode after a work-out or while they have a romantic walk to their refrigerator, but my absolute all-time favorite spoil-your-cute-butt–thing is enjoyinging a beauty day at the spa. Since I don’t have money growing on a tree, we Fit Girls need to be creative with the budget we have and create our own beauty spa at home. Here are a few tips and tricks to get into relaxing mode on your well-deserved day OFF!

MAKE YOUR HOME INTERRUPTION-FREE

When you decide to have a beauty spa day at home, make sure you pick a day when you don’t have any interruptions or a busy schedule afterwards. Turn off your Smartphone (after you’ve posted on Instagram you have a relax day 😉 ) and pretend not to be home for the next few hours.

AT HOME SPA-TRICKS

Beauty spa’s always look flawless and have this relaxing atmosphere. Well, with these tips & tricks you can turn your home into your own private spa and set the mood for relaxation:

Check Youtube for ‘Spa Music’ and you will find hours of relaxing music, which you can play at the background. Relaxing music not your cup a tea? Than choose any kind of music which will bring you in the relaxing mood.

The best thing about a beauty home spa is that you can use your whole house and don’t just have to limit yourself to your bathroom. So turn your living room into the treatment centre and relaxing room where you could take a beauty nap, do your home yoga practice or finally read your pile of magazines while having your healthy smoothie. Click here for recipes of four delicious smoothies!

Get your #FITGIRLCODE bottle or large can and fill it up with water and slices of lemon, cucumber, mint or raspberries. Make sure you prepare this “detox” water a few hours before your beauty spa day. This way it won’t just keep you hydrated but you’ll also have the benefits of antioxidants.

Take the largest towel you can find to wrap around yourself and make sure you have plenty of clean smaller towels for all those treatments you have scheduled for yourself 😉 You can even roll these towels up like they do in a beauty spa.

Fire up some candles and close your curtains to create a more romantic and intimate setting.

Get out all your nail goodies, like polish, file, clipper, cuticle pusher, hand and feet creams. You probably have tons of samples of body-lotion, face cream and scrubs. You can finally try them all out!

And if you really want to go flamingo-crazy, decorate your home with flowers, rose petals and incense sticks or aromatherapy products. Make a bowl with fruits and a plate with veggies for the finishing touch, like strawberries, kiwi, apples, carrot, bell pepper, candy-tomatoes. Because you will get hungry while you are busy relaxing 😉

SET-UP YOUR TREATMENTS

First take a nice hot shower to release the stress and clear your mind. This could be a quick water-dip of 5 minutes but make sure you clear your face, wet your hair (don’t wash it yet) and remove your make-up. Brush your teeth and floss afterwards so you shine like a diamond. You can even brighten your smile with activated charocal like Kiki did.

Now you are ready to treat yourself for a long and relaxing day. Try out he following treatments:

Beautiful hair makes a happy head

Strawberry hair maskBesides eating those sweet hart shaped fruits you can also use them for your own homemade hair mask. You’ll need a cup of strawberries (preferably the ones who are a little mushy to eat), one egg yolk and two tablespoons of olive oil. Mix this all together until the strawberries chunks are like juice. Rub this in your hair and use a plastic hair cap (or plastic bag ) to avoid a mess. Leave it in for 20 minutes. Rinse your hair and wash it with a mild shampoo.

Coconut cream hair maskThis hair mask is for Fit Girls who take serious time for their spa day at home. Believe me, it’s worth every minute of your precious time. First thing you need is a hot-warm wet towel ready to wrap your hair into. You could lay your towel in hot water and wring out or WET your towel and use the microwave for 15 seconds to warm it up. Crack open the coconut (mini work-out ), take a chunk of the coconut cream and warm it up in your hands. When it’s soft enough and pliable, massage it into your hair. Repeat this until your whole hair is covered with coconut cream. Carefully wrap your hair into the warm towel and leave the hairmask in for about an hour. Rinse your hair and wash with a mild shampoo.

In the meantime you continue your treatments…

Happy Feet

Remove your old nail polish and have a footbath. Take a tub and fill it up with hot/warm water and leave your feet there for about 10 till 15 minutes to rest. You can also put salts and oil in the water for extra soft feet.

Relax and read your magazine or just close your eyes and listen to the relaxing music…

Take a pumice stone to remove the rough spots on your feet and dead skin on your heels and toes. Put your feet back into a new tub of warm water to wash them one more time. Dry your feet and get ready for your pedicure.

Trim your toenails in shape with the clippers. Make sure you round off the edges to prevent ingrown toenails. Push back your cuticles with a cuticle pusher. If you like you can also polish your toenails or just leave them natural.

Take some body lotion or your feet cream and give yourself a short foot massage. Use a bit more cream than usual and take the time for your feet to dry up. Outcome: Happy-relaxed-beautiful -FEET!

Beautiful hands make light work

Remove your old nail polish. It’s better to use acetone-free nail polish remover, since acetone could dry out your nails.

Get a bowl with hot-warm water and leave your hands in them for about 5 minutes. If you want to polish your nails afterwards don’t use any oils or soap in the water. Otherwise your polish won’t adhere correctly.

Dry your hands and use a fingernail clipper to trim your nails. You can also use scissors or a file to shape your nails. To finish this treatment push back your cuticles with a cuticle pusher like you did with your toenails. Do this gently otherwise you can cut your cuticles and get an infection.

Time for the challenging part: polishing the nails of both your hands. Practice makes pefect! You can just polish your nails with one coat of your favorite color or you can have a full manicure with at least three coats; a base coat, a color, and a topcoat. This way you have maximum coverage and it will last longer. You do need the patience to dry every coat. Also don’t polish your nails if you still need to wash out your hair mask. Trust me, not a pretty sight!

WTF (Where’s The Food)

Beside your plate with fruits and veggies it is also important to have a good lunch or dinner, depending on what time of the day you are having your beauty spa. Since it’s your spoil-your-cute-butt day, you might as well go all out and make yourself a healthy snack, lunch and dinner. Click here for healthy recipes the #FITGIRLCODE crew has shared before! Schedule kitchen time in between your treatments or before the start of your beauty spa day.

Stay tuned, because you can read the second part of this article in a few days. I’ll include some tips and tricks for a great facial- and body treatment. Did you set a date for your beauty spa at home yet?

woman beauty body zen

Why dry body brushing is the bomb

Forget about body scrub, dry body brushing is hot and happening and definitely worth trying!

What is dry brush exfoliation?
A dry brush exfoliation involves the use of a soft, dry, natural brush to gently brush the skin. It is used in spa’s and recommended by holistic practitioners to remove dead skin cells, improve the circulation of blood and lymph, and to enhance detoxification through skin.

Your skin is the body’s largest organ and the body’s first line of defense. In addition to exercising or getting massages, skin brushing will enhance and speed up the body’s release of toxins by also encouraging exfoliation, blood circulation, and new cell growth. The purpose of dry brushing is to stimulate blood and lymph flow, and to remove toxins from the body. It can also be very relaxing. Some sources also claim that dry brushing can smooth fat deposits and reduce cellulite. YAY!

Benefits of dry body brushing

Helps prevent premature ageing.

Opens the pores to release stored toxins.

Softens deposits of hard fat below the skin and prepares them for discharge.

Allows excess fat, mucus, cellulite and toxins to actively discharge to the surface rather than to accumulate around deeper vital organs.

Relieves stress through meditative action of rubbing the skin.

Calms the mind.

Helps muscle tone

Promotes circulation.

Activates the lymphatic system, especially when scrubbing underarms and groin.

Creates a profound and loving relationship with the body, especially parts not often shown care, and especially for a person with body image problems.

Reduces muscle tension.

Reenergizes in the morning and deeply relaxes you at night.

source: findyourtruthcoaching

Step-by-step guide to dry body brushing

It’s best to dry brush first thing in the morning before you shower. Start with light pressure until you’re used to the sensation, then move on to firmer strokes.

Use a natural bristled brush (I use a brush I purchased at The Body Shop) or a loofah as a second choice. Avoid synthetic or nylon brushes or gloves as they’re too sharp and can damage the skin.

Start with the soles of your feet, use swift upward strokes and brush from the feet, up the legs, working towards your heart.

Once you’ve covered your lower body, move to your hands and work up your arms toward your heart in the same manner.

Next (using a long handle brush or get your partner to help out), brush your back.

Last, work on your abdomen (moving in a clockwise direction to follow the movement of the colon), chest and neck. It’s best to avoid your face as most people’s facial skin is too sensitive.

Always shower after you dry brush to wash off the dead skin.

Keep a separate dry brush for every member of the family, and be sure to periodically wash it.

You can brush anywhere from 2 – 20 minutes depending how much time you have, obviously the longer the better. Your skin may be a little pink afterward, but it shouldn’t hurt – if it does, you need to lay off the pressure!

Important notes:

Do not brush over sunburn or inflamed or irritated skin.

Avoid breasts & genitalia area.

Wash brush after use to remove dead skin cells.

Brush from your feet upward and toward your heart.

Drink a glass of hot water and lemon to help jumpstart your digestive system.

Did any of you ever tried dry body brushing?

XO Kiki

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Smokey eye tutorial

The smokey eye is the perfect look for NYE, at least if you ask me! It doesn’t matter if you have brown of blue eyes, it will look great on everyone. But no concerns if you have never applied a smokey eye, it really isn’t that hard.

What you need:
– Light eyeshadow color like with a little sparkle (base)
– A mid eyeshadow colour
– Very dark eyeshadow color (go wild) (check out this handy eyeshadow palette)
– Eyeshadow brush
– Angled brush
– A soft brush
– Mascara

Step 1:
With the eyeshadow brush apply your base eye shadow color on the lid and above the socket crease. lend out slightly towards the eyebrow.

Step 2:
Using your mid color eye shadow apply along the base of the lid above the lash ( I always stop on the half of the lashes, you can always apply more if you like) and into the eye socket crease making a > shape

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How to brighten your smile with activated charcoal

Forget about whitening toothpaste and expensive treatments at the dentist, you can have whiter and brighter teeth within 5 minutes for less than $20 (€14,99) !!! How? With one little capsule of activated charcoal!

This has to be by far the craziest thing I have ever done on the beauty department but the results are really worth it!! I came across an article on Pinterest that claimed that activated charcoal powder could brighten your smile. Needless to say that it caught my attention. How could this black powder, whiten your teeth…? Well, it has an absorbent quality, which can pull out stains, bacteria and toxins from our mouths.

What do you need?

– one old toothbursh
– one capsule of activated charcoal
– cup
– water or a sink nearby

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