Zendaya photographed by Raoul Alejandre.
Fire and Air placements be like
#Tips
another big list?
Start from the top down.
Start with your hair. I wore wigs for years, switched to clip-ins and extensions for convenience, and now my hair is healthy enough to wear on its own. Figure out what you want to do with your hair in terms of style and colour and begin nourishing it so that it looks good and you’re happy with the way you choose to wear it. Wigs are a great option and I know so many women of different races and ages who choose to wear them because it’s convenient and they’re able to do whatever they want without worrying about how their natural hair will react to drastic changes.
Find a skincare routine that suits your needs and run with it. I’ve experimented a lot and finally settled on a routine and it works for me, my face, shoulders, décolletage, and neck look good, and I’m comfortable in my own skin. Finding a routine that works for you and doesn’t break the bank is SO important for the entire process and your skin is your largest organ and a good reflection of your health. The one thing I will say is sunscreen and a good lip balm are a part of every good skincare routine.
Drink more water and either eat or drink your greens. I thought juicing was a joke for the longest time and I didn’t enjoy it at all but I started drinking hella water, juicing, and focusing on small ways to improve my health and I feel better. I drink iron supplements, make sure I’m getting my greens in by drinking juices (still experimenting with this one), make sure to have at least 2.5 litres of water every day, take my supplements, and feel great. Not everyone needs supplements and a bunch of extras but they can be great for the women that do have deficiencies and I love my selection.
Get to the gym. I do pilates 6 days weekly, go to barre on Sundays, walk 10,000 steps daily, keep up with my cardio, and do some light lifting to stay in shape and I actually look much better than I ever have. Making sure to move your body is an essential part of success and surgery can’t and won’t fix everything; you need to put the work in to see real results and going to the gym can be the most satisfying experience. I’ve been getting more into swimming and trying to swim early mornings and embracing water aerobics and fun classes, I’ve been having the time of my life keeping my body toned, and my stamina has majorly improved.
Find a hair removal routine that works for you and stick with it. I favoured epilation for the longest time but my sister in law convinced me to try the woman she goes to for laser so I’m going to switch to that. Having smooth skin, no hair, and a good canvas for whatever you’re choosing to do with your body is so important and keeping your body moisturised and free of ingrown hairs and bumps is so satisfying. I personally use exfoliate and use oil whilst my skin is still wet from the shower and then use lotion to make sure my skin is deeply moisturised and I love the sheen it gives my skin.
Do not start down the surgery path unless you know how to say no to yourself. It’s extremely important that you don’t start fucking around with fillers, botox, implants, and the entire world of surgery unless you know when to stop and when to tell yourself no. One of the saddest things in the world is seeing women who’ve gone too far and have started looking for cheap surgery in order to keep going or somehow get their old look back. Don’t start with surgery if you can’t afford quality surgeons, don’t get procedures you don’t need just to fit in, don’t go too far, and listen to doctors when the tell you that they don’t think that you need something.
Maybe this is just me but maybe it’s not. I think that everyone looks good with a little bit of colour but the key is only going for what’s natural for the skin tone you already have. I only tan a little bit, I never go too dark, I try not to let myself get patchy, and I don’t go for any unnatural forms of self tan. I call the colour I go for ‘summertime glow’ and I love it because it’s natural and not at all orange, perfectly bronze, and it suits me whilst still looking like my natural skin colour. The goal is beachy vacation, not whole different race. I also think that self tanning is great for covering up scars and it gives you a little bit of warmth when the weather turns dreary.
Figure out what works for your nails and stick with it. Literally every woman I work with has a French tip, I see how a little tip has suited my sisters, and I found that a little acrylic overlay and gel polish work wonders for me. I’ve done the same nail combo ever since I moved to Texas and I love the way it looks, it gets me the MOST compliments from men, and it’s simple enough to match every outfit. I talk about French tips constantly and how they’ve never done me wrong so I’ll leave off here but having a go to nail combo for your mani-pedi will take so much stress out of your daily routine and help your o look polished even when you’re down.
Experiment with perfumes, soaps, and scents but DO NOT overdo it. Experimenting with scents, figuring out what suits you, trying out custom blends, and finding ways to enjoy perfume will bring joy to your life. I love love love perfume and experimenting with different scents and I think that the perfumes and scent blends I choose to wear have levelled up my look exponentially. You don’t have to spend a million dollars on designer perfumes when you can work with soaps, scrubs, and affordable choices, there are so many indie perfume makers who have great blends, and it’s fun to start with samples and work from there so that you can figure out what you like without breaking the bank or having to do lots of blind buys.
Makeup and accessories are going to go into one category because I talk about both far too often but I’m going to tell you this: less is more when you don’t know what you’re doing. If you don’t know how to apply makeup then maybe starting off with a full face, heavy contour and conceal, and a complicated eye isn’t the way to go. Start slow, watch tutorials, take the time to learn what you’re doing, and don’t spend millions on high quality makeup before you know what you’re doing and know what you like. It’s the same with choosing your accessories; don’t buy a million different bracelets and necklaces before you know what you’re doing or you know what your personal style is and don’t chase after aesthetics and ideals that don’t fit you and waste money on trends that you actually hate.
All things I’ve said before.
Hormone balancing juice:
• Pomegranate: Rich in antioxidants, supports estrogen balance & heart health
• Beetroot: Boosts circulation & helps detox the liver, key for hormone regulation
• Carrots: Supports the liver in flushing out excess estrogen & promotes healthy skin
• Orange: Packed with vitamin C, helps regulate cortisol & improves overall energy
• Ginger: Reduces inflammation & aids digestion, which is crucial for balanced hormones
Additional ingredients you can add:
• Turmeric: Anti inflammatory & supports liver detox, helping regulate hormones
• Apple: Adds natural sweetness, fiber & supports liver health
• Lemon: Boosts digestion & further helps with liver detox, supporting hormone balance
• Flaxseeds: Rich in omega 3s which help regulate estrogen levels
• Cucumber: Hydrating & soothing, helps flush toxins and balance hormones
• Spinach or Kale: Provides essential nutrients like magnesium, which supports hormone regulation & reduces stress
Half the game is getting yourself out of environments that no longer serve you & that don’t align with the life you want
i needed to read this today so im sharing it to all of you!!
#study tips
General Plan:
Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:
Learn the fundamentals sentence construction
Learn how to spell and count
Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings
The Alphabet
Numbers 1 - 100
Subject Pronouns
Common Greetings
Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have
Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles
Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:
Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day
Start conjugating regular verbs
Days of the Week and Months of the Year
How to tell the time
How to talk about the weather
Family Vocabulary
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:
Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary
Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar
Colours
House vocabulary
How to ask questions
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Forming negatives
Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:
Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country
Finish memorising regular conjugation rules
Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants
Money and Shopping Phrases
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:
Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences
Adjectives
Reflective verbs
Places vocabulary
Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:
Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs
Wrap up vocabulary essentials
Adverbs
Parts of the body and medical vocabulary
Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:
Learning Vocabulary:
What vocabulary should I be learning?
There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.
Choose the words you want/need to learn.
Relate them to what you already know.
Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.
Record them so learning is never lost.
Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.
How should I record the vocabulary?
Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.
Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.
Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.
Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.
Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.
How should I practice using the vocabulary?
Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.
Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.
Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.
Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.
How often should I be practising vocabulary?
A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.
Ideally, words should be reviewed:
5-10 minutes later
24 hours later
One week later
1-2 months later
6 months later
Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:
Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).
Its grammatical category and other grammatical information
Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.
Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).
Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading
Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.
Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.
Tips for reading in a foreign language:
Start basic and small. Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.
Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.
Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.
Tips for listening in a foreign language:
Watch films in your target language.
Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.
Listen to the radio in your target language.
Watch videos online in your target language.
Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:
Try drawing a picture of what was said.
Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.
Provide a summary of what was said.
Suggest what might come next in the “story.”
Translate what was said into another language.
“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.
Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing
Tips for speaking in a foreign language:
If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner.
Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.
A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.
Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.
Tips for writing in a foreign language:
Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.
Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:
Diary entries
Shopping lists
Reminders
What could I write about?
Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.
Make up a conversation between two people.
Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.
Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.
Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.
Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).
Write a short story or poem.
Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide.
There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:
Read a lot
Write a lot
Get your writing corrected