College Gloss: Angel

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5 DIY Homemade Beauty Solutions

Like many girls out there, I can be considered a product junkie. I love trying new hair and skin cosmetics to find what works and what doesn’t. Sadly, my product obsession has resulted in a lot of wasted money and lackluster results. However, past disappointments never deter me from my search to find the perfect product. Through my journey of product discovery, I have found a few dependable methods that keep my hair and skin healthy. What are these methods? Homemade beauty remedies! Many of you may have already discovered the centuries old benefits of homemade beauty remedies, while some of you may still be unaware. The true beauty of these remedies is not only the cost, but the fact that these mixtures are effective without the addition of damaging chemicals that are added to manufactured cosmetics.

At first, it may be weird to put ingredients that you typically cook with in your hair and on your skin. Fortunately, you will eventually get used to the odd textures and smells after a couple of uses. Here are 5 tried and true homemade beauty remedies for your hair and skin. The ingredients in each remedy can be found in your kitchen.

Egg White Face Mask
Ingredients: 1 egg
Directions: Grab two bowls, a fork, and a whisk. Tap the fork against one side of the egg, in order to make a small crack. Allow the clear egg white liquid to drip out into one of the bowls. After all of the egg white has oozed out of the egg, break the egg in half and pour the yellow egg yolk into the other, unused bowl and dispose of the shell. You will no longer need the yellow egg yolk for this mask, so feel free to cook it for a snack! Whisk the egg white mixture and apply it to your face. Allow it to sit for 15-30 minutes then rinse.
Benefits: Minimizes acne and makes skin smooth and soft. Use weekly for maximum results.

Peanut Butter Hair Conditioner
Ingredients: ½ cup of peanut butter, a varied amount of extra virgin olive oil and raw honey
Directions: Grab a bowl and a food beater. Mix the ½ cup of peanut butter with a several drops of olive oil and honey in your bowl. Use your food beater to purée the mixture. Test the mixture with your finger to insure that it is not too runny. The finished mixture should be both light and creamy. After you are sure the mixture is the right consistency, apply it to your hair and leave on for an hour, then rinse. Feel free to apply a warm towel to aid the mixture in penetrating your hair shaft.
Benefits: The protein in peanut butter strengthens your hair shaft, while the olive oil and honey moisturizes. Use weekly for maximum results.

Olive Oil and Honey Conditioner
Ingredients: ½ cup of olive oil, ½ cup of raw honey
Directions: Mix the olive oil and honey in a bowl and microwave for about 5-10 seconds. After testing the mixture with your hand, apply it to your hair and leave on for 1 hour-overnight. When done, rinse and style as usual or follow with a light conditioner.
Benefits: The Olive Oil and Honey is a great moisturizing conditioner. After use, your hair will be restored of moisture and shine. Use weekly for maximum results.

Brown Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:1 cup of brown sugar (use as needed)
Directions: After getting out of the shower, lightly dry your skin with a towel. Make sure your skin is still damp and rub the brown sugar into your skin until soft. Rinse and apply lotion.
Benefits: The brown sugar helps exfoliate and soften your skin. Use weekly to bi-weekly for maximum results.

Cornmeal Face Mask
Ingredients: ½ cup of cornmeal
Directions: Apply the cornmeal to your face and allow to sit for 15-20min then rinse.
Benefits: This mask will shrink pores and refresh your skin. Use bi-weekly for maximum results.

By: Angel Mills | Image: Source

Women Don't Ask: Learning to Get What You Want

I recently became engrossed in a book called “Women Don’t Ask; Negotiation and the Gender Divide” by Linda Babcook and Sara Laschever. Babcook was inspired to research women and negotiation, after she noticed more male graduate students were teaching their own undergraduate courses, and most female graduate students were teaching assistants. After asking her dean why this was, Babcook was simply told that more men were asking to teach their own courses.

“Women Don’t Ask” asks the provocative question: are the socioeconomic disparities between men and women largely attributed to the fact that men ask for what they want, while women do not? Furthermore, are women simply not asking for more because their expectations are far too low?

“Women Don’t Ask” has forced me to confront whether I am truly taking advantage of every opportunity that is available to me. Through self reflection, I have found areas that I could improve in my own life by asking for change. What are aspects of your life can be improved by asking or negotiating a better situation?

At the beginning of this summer I, like many of my friends, was struggling to secure a summer internship. Although I had applied to several internships throughout the school year, I was unable to obtain any of them. I found myself forced to embark on an exhausting search to find one. Eventually, I was able to find an internship. However, many of my friends were not as lucky.

A friend of mine learned mid-summer that one of her male counter-parts secured a paid summer internship and received a university car! Of course, when she inquired about how he secured the internship, it was simply because he asked his university’s career services department about summer opportunities. If my friend had only done the same thing, she may have received the same information.

Of course, every problem does not seem like it can be so easily changed by asking. Ironically, this is usually not the case. By asking for what you want, you are making a conscious decision to control your life. Whether you want to improve your relationship with your boyfriend, parents, friends, professors, supervisors, sorority sisters etc., most aspects of your life can be changed, although it may seem as if someone else has the power.

As women, we have the gift of nurturing, bravery, and relationship building; however, we don’t always ask to be rewarded for our true worth. As the new generation of female leaders, it is our responsibility to alter the negative spiral of discontent that has plagued us throughout the past. How are you going to utilize asking to get what you truly desire?

Angel Mills| Image: Source

Pack it Up: What to Bring to Your First Year at College

Although it’s only the middle of summer, many of you are counting down the days until your first day of college! Moving from home to a college campus is one of the biggest changes in a young woman’s life. Attending a college or university allows you to embark on new experiences and to truly discover who you are.

Packing and moving into your first college dorm, however, is an experience that can be both exciting and frustrating. I can remember moving into my first dorm like it was yesterday. I thought I would never finish unpacking the many items I had brought with me. However, I soon realized there were many things I had forgotten or simply did not know to bring. Here is a list of essential, but often forgotten, items you will need during your first year of college and beyond:

Household Items

• Small toolkit (including screwdriver, small hammer, and screws)
• Dishes & Silverware
• Tupperware Containers
• Egg Crate Bed Cushion ( Dorm beds are often hard and uncomfortable)
• Bed Risers (Elevating your bed will provide more storage space)
• First Aid Kit/ Over the counter pain killers
• Fan (Be prepared if your dorm AC goes out)
• Sewing Kit
• Book light (For late night reading that won’t disturb your roommate)

Clothing

• Over-the-shoulder bag (provides security and convenience when you go out)
• Rain boots
• Business Clothing (i.e. suit, slacks, blazers, moderate length skirts, pumps, appropriate flats)

Miscellaneous

• Copies of all pertinent documents (college acceptance letter, birth certificate, social security card, scholarship award letters, bank account information, etc.)
• Ethernet Cord
• All chargers for computer, phone, iPod, etc.
• Power Strips (Electric outlets in dorm rooms are limited)

Angel Mills|Source|Image: Source

A College Girl’s Guide to Thrifting

I’m not sure about you, but I love fashion. It seems like nothing compares to the feeling of finding the perfect pair of earrings or the most unique oversized bag, and to find those items at a cheap price can make this moment truly euphoric. However, it can be difficult to find wardrobe pieces that are different. Shopping at the mall, or your nearby outlet store, can become extremely redundant and boring. But, thankfully, thrift stores are a great alternative.

Some of you may have already discovered the secret treasures thrift stores often house. However, many of you may not have tapped into this loot. Although cheap prices are one benefit of thrifting, the unpredictability of what you will find is the biggest thrill of all. Here are some tips to making the most out your thrift store experience:

1. Do your research. Search for thrift stores in your area and check out the reviews previous shoppers have left. Try to find someplace well kept and with a dressing room.

2. Set aside plenty of time for shopping; thrift stores usually have a lot of merchandise.

3. Set a budget and bring a calculator. Thrift stores often have discounts between 25%-75% off. By calculating your total bill before reaching the register, you won’t overspend.

4. Closely examine your merchandise for damages before purchasing it. If your clothing is damaged, you can either not purchase it, or you could try requesting a discount.

5. When purchasing clothing, make sure it is made of quality material. Materials such as cotton, denim, wool, and leather are more sustainable than polyester, acrylic, rayon, and nylon.

6. Wash clothing properly before wearing. Be sure to check the tags of your clothing to see how to properly wash it. Some items may be dry clean only or have to be washed in a specific water temperature.

What’s the best thing you’ve found in a thrift store?

Angel Mills| Image: Source

The College Girl's Secret to Self-Confidence

Like many young women, I have insecurities. With the constant marketing of self-enhancement products and cosmetic surgery targeting us, it can be difficult for any woman to feel good enough. These constant media messages, coupled with our own negative “self talk,” can impact anyone’s self esteem. Recently, however, I had a true “A-ha!” moment regarding self confidence.

I had this moment during a book club discussion with some mortgage bankers at my internship. Although this conversation was geared toward gaining confidence in selling mortgages, I felt the overall secret of self confidence can be applied to anyone. There are many external factors, such as media images, that can affect our self confidence, but our overall self esteem comes from the way that we feel about ourselves. If we are truly confident, external factors won’t penetrate our high sense of self worth. So do you want to know the secret? It’s simple.

Do what you say you’re going to do.

Now I know this seems too easy to be true, but it is. When you do what you say you’re going to do, you prove something to yourself. For example, I told myself this week, I would exercise for four hours. I have told myself this for many weeks and did not uphold it. However, this week, my attitude was different. I don’t have an exercise routine, so I knew this would be a challenge for me.

However, I decided to split these hours up into one hour of exercise a day for four days. When I actually exercised those four days, I felt so good about myself! For once, I did not disappoint myself--by making that little change, my self confidence increased dramatically. Now, I am confident I can begin to start an exercise routine and stick with it every week. If I can exercise regularly, what else can I accomplish? By doing what I said I was going to do, I began to trust myself more. Self trust directly correlates to self confidence.

Now, I’m not saying that upholding this secret is going to be easy. It can be very difficult to accomplish your goals. But, once you tackle one goal, you will become addicted and want to accomplish everything you have ever dreamed of doing! The enhanced self esteem you will feel from doing this will eventually begin to transform the way you think about yourself inside and out.

There will be moments when negative thoughts will creep into your mind, and it can be a battle everyday to not allow negative thoughts and images to affect you. But you own your mind; you can control how you respond to those negative thoughts. Identify what triggers your negative thoughts and find examples of when you did what you said you were going to do to counteract them.

When have you used the secret to self confidence in your life? How are you going to use it in the future?

Angel Mills | Image: Source

Five Reasons to Wait

Guy meets girl. Guy and girl like each other. Guy and girl get married and live happily ever after…right? Unfortunately, this is not how a love story typically goes; dating in college and beyond is far from this simple fairytale. There are many frogs most of us have to encounter before we get to our prince. This makes the task of picking the right guy extremely confusing.

Adding sex to this already confusing situation can complicate matters further. So what are smart, savvy, and attractive girls like us to do? Though there are many images in the media that glorify the highs and lows of sexually adventurous women, maybe our real-life approach to dating should be a little more conservative. How about waiting to have sex with our male suitors? Well, of course, this is an option. Here are five reasons why you should consider putting off sex while dating:

You get to truly know your guy

According to reuniting.info, our brains release a neuro-chemical called dopamine during sex. Dopamine is associated with craving and bonding. This means having sex too early with your guy may cause you to develop feelings for him quickly. His negative attributes may not become clear until after you’ve already fallen for him. By getting to know your guy on a non-physical level first, you can better gauge his character and decide if he is truly the one for you.

You can develop a deeper connection beyond sex

Abstaining from sex with your guy will allow the two of you to find out what you have in common. For a healthy relationship to flourish, you must develop an intimacy with your mate that is beyond the physical.

You gain his respect by respecting yourself

It’s important for a guy to respect and like you. The respect of a guy you truly care for can never be earned by engaging in sex with him prematurely. Though your guy may be attracted to you and enjoy having sex right away, it is unlikely he will want to pursue a meaningful relationship with you in the future. Waiting to have sex until you are positive of your relationship says you place a value on your body and your mind. Therefore, he will too.

You preserve your self-esteem and your health

Sex is special. Giving your body to someone who is not your perfect match may cause you to have feelings of regret and shame, which can affect your self-esteem. Additionally, having sex increases your chances of getting pregnant and contracting sexually transmitted infections, even if contraception is used. By waiting to have sex, you allow yourself to make more informed choices about sex and your relationships.

Sex will be more meaningful after waiting

There is no fixed amount of time to wait before having sex. However, one rarely regrets waiting to have sex until she is sure. Though many of you reading this list may consider waiting to be unrealistic, doing this will allow you to screen a guy and discover his true intentions. Someone that refuses to respect your decision to wait is clearly not the one. With that being said, what do you think about waiting to have sex?

Angel Mills | Image: Source

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