please believe this

You are rare.
This means hard to find, hard to come by. This means you possess attributes that others do not.
You are not common. Not the girl or boy next door, unlike any other.

You are rare.
This means you instantly have something to offer. Your words matter, you matter.
and knowing this is different from truly believing this.
When you believe you are not common, you do not accept ill treatment.
You do not allow it to define you.
You do not shame your body, you do not hide yourself.

Believing you are rare is believing you are worth everything. It is believing you should be fought for, and not ignored. It is believing your worth as beyond physical appearance or any visible qualities.
It's about what you possess at the very core of who you are.

you are rare because you are you.
please believe this,
even if you have to fight yourself to.

let love find me

i've never known the route those other girls take.
the one where they play games too, but keep their hearts steady
the path where they find comfort for one night only,
and wait for true love to come seek them out when it's ready

i've always been a little too eager,
never knowing when to silence the storm within me
always believing that maybe true love will forget
if i don't at first let it find me

so for a years as i grew,
i would put myself in its way
i would adorn myself in the brightest of clothing
so that missing me, would be like missing day

i wasn't a hard match to please,
i was easy to fight for
and then one day i awoke and saw
that this love i had been so searching for, had not
thought it time to yet open its door

it had an assignment, it had a sender
it couldn't just find me because my heart was tender
it knew i needed to wait,
to let life run its course
but i didn't know how to listen,
i thought i could take it by force

so with each new heartbreak and open wound,
i would yell up at the clouds,
"why can't he love me the way i do?"
but snow would fall and wind would come,
season would change, meeting me undone

if only i'd known that the one thing
required of me, was simply to sit still
and learn how to love me

true love had waited,
hoping i would finally believe,
that only i, needed to see the beauty in me

the love i had spent my life trying to find
would never be the one to change this frame of mind
if i didn't at first see in me,
what i would want that boy to find,
i would only repeat this vicious cycle of choosing the route
poorly designed

so now that i'm older
i no longer search love out
i am confident in knowing
it will never complete me inside out

i know my path,
i've learned to wait
i'll take it easy
this is the only right way

i know my path,
i've learned to wait
true love will find me


i now know how to love me

Fresh Skincare–has it changed my life?

So, a couple months ago, I bit the bullet and spent close to $100 on two skin-care items. Yikes, it still kinda hurts to have to remember this day and to be honest, I'm not too sure if I have fully forgiven myself for this.

My wallet cried, I cried, and my sister asked lots of questions; "why" being the dominant theme surrounding her interrogation.

The thing was, I'd heard many influencers rave about how amazing Fresh products were, and I knew I wanted to experience this world of change. So one day I did. and I want to share my experience with you all.

Soy Face Cleanser

so the first item I ended up trying was the soy face wash (the smallest possible size of course) and I think the very first thing that stood out to me about this cleanser is that it doesn't soap up at all, which is usually a sign that it contains slim to nothing in sulphates and other artificially induced chemicals. Fresh actually wins the approval of many not because of their packaging or label, but because their actual claim to fame–so to speak, is that they only use naturally occurring ingredients in all their products.

There are no sulphates, no artificial fragrances, and no hard-to-read or understand ingredients in their cleansers. Sulphates, if you don't quite know what they are– are the number reason that drug store cleansers can give your skin that "squeaky clean" feeling, in the most uncomfortable of ways. Sulphates are a family of pretty aggressive detergents that when combined with water in face or body cleansers, foam-up incredibly well and work  to remove any grease from whichever surface they are used on. This means that many products promising hydration and glow to your skin can actually have the opposite effect because of how dehydrating the sulphates in them are.

This is the biggest advantage of the Soy Face Cleanser and what I've personally found with using it is the hydration and non-stiff feeling my skin has afterwards. and even though I typically follow up with a moisturizer, the fact of the matter is that I don't even need to after using it because my skin doesn't feel like its cracking.

The second greatest advantage of this cleanser, is it's lack of artificial fragrance. While the word fragrance may sound pretty harmless, what it really alludes to is a thousand and one ingredients and chemicals that no one can really read or understand, because in order to artificially create a rose scented product for example, you will need a million things just to make it believable. The Fresh Soy Cleanser like I said, contains no artificial fragrances and yet still smells incredibly soft and natural because it is infused with cucumber extract and rosewater, which are both naturally occurring ingredients.

The last important advantage of using this cleanser is that it is formulated without any Parabens, which are preservatives that are commonly found in skincare products. Parabens help to give products a longer shelf-life and are said to be influencers of Breast cancer (they disrupt the body's hormone levels by mimicking estrogen which is known to help hormone receptor-positive cancer cells grow). Parabens have also been found to cause early puberty and decreased sperm levels.

Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner

Besides for this toner being really pretty to look at, it also has many other advantages and benefits for your skin. I usually apply the toner after using a cleanser on my face and what it helps to do, is restore the PH balance of your skin which can be disrupted from washing it frequently. It sort of brings things back to a homeostasis. When I first began using the toner, my sister would frequently comment on how "bright" or "hydrated" my skin looked, and I would tell her that it was my new Fresh toner! Just like the Soy Cleanser, this toner is formulated without any Sulphates, Parabens, Phthalates or artificial fragrances. It is an alcohol-free toner infused with actual rose petals and after cleansing my face, I use a little of it on a cotton ball and wipe my face down. I always notice that it helps to remove any residual make-up and leaves my skin looking very hydrated and happy!!

The only major disadvantages of Fresh Skincare Products is how much they retail for :(

Both items like I mentioned earlier, cost me close to $100 and this is definitely the most I have ever spent on products for my face. Being a student in my second-year of undergrad, this Sulphate-free, Paraben-free lifestyle can be a little hard to maintain so I most definitely ration my use of both my Fresh products and somedays, I choose to use drug store cleansers instead just because they are easier to afford and replace haha.

The Soy Face Cleanser retails for $47 Canadian, while the Rose Deep Hydration Toner retails for C$54 at your local Sephora.

Hope this helps to make the decision of whether to "go Fresh" a little easier for you! I would all-in-all definitely recommend their products if you can afford it, but I would also say that while Fresh has certainly added to my life by helping the overall condition of my skin, it has not in anyway "changed my life". The biggest benefits I have ever seen in the condition of my skin can one hundred-percent of the time be attributed to drinking more water and less coffee!

With love,

Princess

Raw and Real

One thing i've forever wanted my blog to be, is to be raw and real. I am not perfect by any means, and I do not ever want to come across that way.

So here's an update;

Lately, life has been messy. It's been hard and trying but it's also been a blessing. I'll admit that although I've never felt so stretched and inadequate, I've also never felt more surrounded by love in the form of friendship. God has shown Himself again and again, maybe not in the ways I would have wanted–but He's been here nonetheless and for that, I am thankful.

I think the my biggest problem with hard times is the mindset I've had that If God has called me here, I should not struggle as much as I have been. In my head, the biggest sign of God's closeness to me should be through how easy He makes my life compared to others, but obviously this is not always the case. and quite frankly this is a little prideful a desire to have haha.

I am finding that just because God calls you to a place, does not mean you will never struggle to the point of wanting to give up. It does not mean you will not fail, or feel alone or reach the end of yourself. I am learning that in fact, when God calls you to a place,  you will probably find it harder than any place you've ever been, and it will be trying because God cannot be a good God if He didn't allow you to grow.

If you find yourself in a place you feel called to, but do not like, the only logical reason for your positioning has to be that God knows what you don't, and sees what you cannot even fathom.

You are not here by accident, and your failures do not define God's calling over your life or His closeness to you in your current season. Your hardships do not mean that you don't hear God, or have made a mistake. They do not mean that His purpose for you is not a good one.

The hard and often sucky truth is that growing requires discomfort and usually pain. It's never fun to be stretched but in the end, you will reap the benefits of the obedience of saying "yes" to God, when all you wanted to do was to say no.

I hope with all my heart that anyone in a hard season would be able to feel some comfort in knowing that your Abba has not forgotten you. He is so proud of you and the progress you've made. I cannot wait to see how you grow through your hardships because I know that you will. I am entirely convinced that if you have made this far, you will continue to run strong till the end.

Philippians 1:6
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ"

with love,

Princess