Haiiiiiii-yah! Taking it up a notch.
Oh and that’s all fast walking because something always goes wrong when I try running, even couchto5k. I’ll do a fitbit breakdown of April soon. Really liking it so far but wish there were a few things different with the band. #fitbit #fitbitflex
Plank-a-day April 2014 progress
#ffaprilabs #plankaday proof photo mid month (and the photo shows me that I probably need to get my butt lower.)
- I ended up completing planks 17 out of 30 days in April.
- I think the longest time was 30 seconds and I was typically holding 20 seconds and I know I could improve on the time.
- The app I used to track my progress is called “Lift” and can be found for iphone or android https://lift.do
Planks are a simple but good exercise and I want to continue to keep it on my daily todo list. You can do planks almost anywhere and you can be wearing jeans or pajamas so they’re good if you can’t find the time to do a full workout.
I know I only completed a little over 50% of the month of April but I have to say it’s not my only goal or priority. I had a couple of distractions. For example you can see I missed a few days around the 15th of the month – I was distracted by making sure my taxes were done on time (quickbooks decided to give me some trouble so I barely had time to sleep, planks were not at the top of the list those days.) I also ended up simply forgetting to do a plank a couple of times as well.
I am installing a mirror though below one of the windows so I can check my form more easily. I had a spare wall mirror that will work nicely once I get some new mounting brackets.
There’s more than one way to do a plank though. I’ve included an excellent resource I found on Pinterest below (can’t seem to find it on the original site listed at the bottom of the image or I would have linked to that.)
Do you plank? 🙂
Oaks Day outfit
So I didn’t get dressed up or even watch the races today but I did at least wear pink and a hat for Oaks Day. (These jeans used to be bright coral!)
People in Kentucky will probably be the only ones who know what I’m even talking about… 🙂
The hat is back! Apt. 9 ® Scalloped Braid Fedora
I bought one of these crushable fedora’s from Kohl’s last summer and have worn it a lot as well as received a lot of compliments on it. They seem to be carrying it again this summer and it’s the Apt. 9 ® Scalloped Braid Fedora. It’s also under $20! 🙂
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1623685/apt-9-scalloped-braid-fedora.jsp
Screen shot above is of this hat in a video here:
http://clothingcult.com/2013/07/17/july-2013-birchbox-vs-ipsy/
Birchbox unboxing April 2014
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel
I have brows that are already thick and pretty much stay put so this isn’t a very useful product for me. You could however probably also use this as a very natural-look mascara though. But it does have parabens in it and it ranks a 6 with the cosmetics database.
Color Club Gala’s Gems Collection in Gold Rush
Always welcome Color Club nail polishes and they are 3-free. The colors this time are neither here nor there though. The one coat I applied was only ok looking. They look like pastels online but are actually a frost shade. Gold rush is a frosty white with the tiniest touch of warmth and pink to it.
Davines Oi / Shampoo
Cones rule this one out for me. And then there are the ingredients that it’s not finding that are messing with the report. But even without those unknown ingredients, the report comes back a 5. This is pretty high for a shampoo and if you could figure out those other ingredients, they might make this an even less healthy product. I think I would pass.
Davines Oi / Conditioner
Again more cones rule this one out for me. This doesn’t have any unknown ingredients like the shampoo but it ranks a 6 with the cosmetics database. Not healthy enough.
KIND Healthy Grain Bars
Sugary but WAY better than a candy bar! 🙂 Kind is a good brand. nonGMO and gluten-free. I wish brands would stop using soy lecithin so much but it’s an emulsifier and I get why they do … (not the same as soy protein which is what most people can have a problem with) so I’ll cut them some slack on this. Heck, I was trying to avoid soy but soy lecithin is in most chocolates too so oh well. Great extra.
Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Body Wash
The Gilchrist & Soames website says “…contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol. They do contain food-grade, naturally derived USP glycerin and natural conditioning agents from honey and the brassica plant. We’re also committed to cruelty-free development and vow to never test our products on animals.” But there are no ingredients listed on either the Birchbox site for this nor on the company’s website. I really wish companies would get their ingredients online both for transparency as well as for those of us who have some allergies they need to check. 9 times out of 10, when all of the ingredients aren’t posted, the product probably isn’t healthy for you (unless there’s simply no product info online yet.)
So a bit of a miss on this month’s Birchbox as well for me. :/ Oh well – sometimes they are a perfect fit and others not as much. 🙂
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Ipsy Glambag April 2014
Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm
Cones rule this one out for me personally. Otherwise though it ranks a 2 with the cosmetics database so it’s not unhealthy for you.
Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil Travel Size
dimethicone is the first ingredient. Again this is natural but cones have without a doubt caused major acne breakouts for me. Again another one that ranks well with the cosmetics database that I just can’t use. This one ranks a 1.
Demeter Jasmine Perfume Oil Roll On
From the Demeter website: “…some Demeter Classic fragrances are all natural, we do use some synthetic ingredients in most Classic fragrances. Generally speaking, the ingredients in our fragrances are at least 95% derived from natural and sustainable sources, and we use no artificial color or Phthalates or parabens.” Since synthetic fragrances rank poorly when it comes to your health, 5% is still not natural enough for me for a fragrance. They do have a small natural fragrance line that they say “Demeter Naturals fragrances are completely natural.” But I also know that they are allowed to put things into products in very small quantity without adding it to the label so I think I would rather go with some essential oils than trust a brand that primarily makes a synthetic fragrance line. The Jasmine Perfume Roll on is NOT part of the naturals line. It does only rank a 3 though which is below my usual threshold for trying something … torn on this. The only purpose is scent and it’s synthetic…
dr. brandt® microdermabrasion
no cones, no parabens, no phthalates, etc etc. It does have synthetic fragrance added though. The current skin deep cosmetics database report ranks it a 6 HOWEVER the ingredients on that report are wrong and don’t match the current product ingredients. So I did a custom report and it ranks a … 6 still. Oh well. This is higher than I want to go on a product that scrubs skin off my face. Particularly with the synthetic fragrance added.
Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow in champagne
Cones again rule this one out for me but it ranks well and is only a 1 with the skin deep cosmetics database.
So this month was a bit of a bust in my opinion on the Ipsy bag for me. Nothing I can use but there are some good products in here nonetheless.
I looked at the other products that people were sent and there wasn’t anything I was too excited about.
I would have loved another Coastal Scents eyeshadow brush simply because I love the one I have. I haven’t bought another because of the shipping is more than the brush. The Classic Shadow Medium Natural brush is only $2.49… heck I’m just going to go ahead and buy a couple more since my other eyeshadow brushes have seen better days and it’s currently 25% off. Oh and my other problem is that I look at their other brushes and want to try them and before I know it I have 20 other brushes in my cart when I just thought I was going to go buy one… 🙂
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