Nail Polish Revolution

(Image found here)

You see them everywhere, O.P.I, Essie, China Glaze and hundreds more. We're talking nail polish. One of civilizations first beauty products. Dating back to 3000 B.C. early nail polish ingredients consisted of beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, and vegetable dyes (Found here). The industry is growing and more people want manicures and polishes that last. In 2012 alone the nail industry raked in $7.47 billion (Nails Magazine). Women and men across the globe spend upwards from $12 to $50 per manicure (Angie's List), and pay a very hefty risk as well.


You know the smell and could pick it out of the atmosphere in Grand Central Station. 
The problem is what is behind the smell.

Many nail polish brands contain a toxic mix of chemicals that not only risk reproductive and endocrine health, but can cause damage to the central nervous system. These chemicals include, but are not limited to:

• Toulene: A chemical found in gasoline with known links to reproductive health damage and central nervous system damage.
• Fromaldehyde: One of the most infamous carcinogens, leading to respiratory and cardiac problems.
• Dibutyl phthalate: Banned in Europe, it is linked to damage to the endocrine system. 

(Research conducted at Duke University).

But are there organic alternatives?
 I'm here to tell you. YES. You can still have glamorous nails and at no cost to your reproductive or nervous system health. 

My top three natural nail polishes are;

• Scotch Naturals (my personal favorite, this is an amazing product.)
• Acquarella (they make non-toxic remover too!)
• Honeybee Gardens (comes off with either rubbing alcohol or vodka, or the all natural remover.)

I directly linked to the company website, however, most are also available on Amazon too.

It's safe to say that limiting exposure to harsh chemicals like carcinogens is the best bet.
Most nail salons are more than happy to manicure your nails and paint them with polish that you bring from home. I have done it plenty of times! 

-Jillian

Hair Hacks

This is one of my favorite D.I.Y videos. It was one of the reasons I was interested in the topic!
Check it out!

26 Lazy Girl Hair Hacks

-Jillian

ADELE Live

So, for those of you who don't know my 18th birthday is coming up in exactly a month, it is. Whether I'm ready to legally be an adult or not.
After 6 devices sat on Ticketmaster and every show sold out within 2 minutes I thought I would never get to see my favorite artist in concert.

That was until late August. 
I was doing AP summer work and decided to take a break from learning about amino acid chains. I looked at my iPhone and I had gotten a notification via Facebook that a man who always is selling tickets to shows like Coldplay or a Bruins games had posted in the Sturbridge MA Area Yard Sale page. I always look to see what he posted, so I checked it out.

"***FOR SALE: 4 Adele tickets to either 9/14 show or 9/15 show!"

I truly don't think I have ever replied so fast. Not only did I like and comment on it....I messaged him within 30 seconds of him posting the ad. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a once in a lifetime show. We got four tickets. My mother, my cousin, a family friend and I packed up and drove into the city for an amazing night.

After arrival at the TD Garden in Boston, she opened with her famous "Hello" from the album 25. She talks a lot between songs, and doesn't care if you want to hear it or not. We heard stories about her inspiration behind songs, about how she swelled in her elbows when she was pregnant, and even about her obsession with country singer Alison Krauss. Even though her South London accent was hard to understand at times she connected with her audience in a way I haven't seen before and delivered a performance that sounded exactly like the edited CD version.

Adele creates a welcoming environment while performing one of the best shows I have ever seen. Her set list included...

• Hello
• Rolling in the Deep
• Someone Like You
• Rumor Has It
• Set Fire to the Rain  (and she really did set fire to the rain. Rain fell from the fixtures above her stage and vibrant orange lights beamed through it).

...along with many more songs and a heartfelt dedication to Amy Winehouse. She would have been 33 yesterday. It was 19 songs in total. It was a great assortment of all three of her albums (19,21 and 25).

As a fan since her album 19, it was such an amazing experience to stumble upon these tickets to the show. What was the chance of this ever happening again?

Big thank you to my mother for getting this for me, I never would have thought from watching her "Chasing Pavements" music video on MTV that I would have been able to see the performance of a lifetime.
Who would have known legal adulthood would taste so sweet?

Jillian

  If you're like me, you do more stain treatments on your laundry than the average person, buy industrial sized packs of Tide To Go stain remover pens, not to mention having one in your car, backpack, purse and just about every room in your house. The hard truth, unfortunately, is that Tide pens don't work on carpet stains....Not that I have tried that or anything.....(I have).
       Average carpet shampooing prices range $51 per room (data from Angie's List), and your conscience hates those numbers- especially if it's for the removal of a single stain. Not only pricey, most shampoos use harsh chemicals like Perchloroethylene and Naphthalene, both heavy-duty dry cleaning chemicals. These chemicals can pose potential hazards to babies, adults, pets and are usually discarded into the environment. 

Here is an easy way to get those pesky carpet stains gone for good!

What You Will Need: A sock (I have a designated Stain Sock), and hairspray! Pantene always does me right.

Step One: Spray hairspray onto carpet stain until it is white and has a foamy look to it

Step Two: Allow hairspray to become a clear color. It usually takes 3-6 seconds.

Step Three: Take your stain sock and scrub away. It works best if you go  in the opposite direction of the shape of the stain. If it's horizontal, scrub vertically; vertical, scrub horizontally. 

Step Four: Use the money you saved and treat yourself!

WHY it WORKS: The combination of Aerosol and Alcohol is the Batman to the Stain Joker. I have gotten Sharpie, long-wear foundation, kohl eyeliner and now waterproof mascara out of my carpet using the Pantene hairspray. Alcohol dries out hair, so I recommend trying to find a hairspray that has no alcohol in it for your hair and have a mini can of Pantene for your stain removal needs. Notice how I have the largest can humanly possible for my stain removal. 

Happy Sunday!

-Jillian

Photos made with Photofy and PicStitch.

Method to the Madness

9/8/2016

    On average, America produces 250 million metric tons of waste per year (NBC). How much of this trash is capable of being reused in sensible and useful ways? That is what I aim to show readers. Whether it be carpets made from plastic bags, vases made from recycled paper to even just glamifying a container into something usable and sensible.

Junior year of high school I took AP® Environmental Science and became a person who was informed about the environmental toll that littering and pollution have on not only humans, but plants and everything in-between. I can truly say this class changed my outlook on my participation in preserving this planet, and I want to show that to others and maybe get one less person to throw away that empty coffee container or magazine.
Pollution is a major threat to the planet, and our genetic diversity and species richness. Any small step could potentially move mountains.

We only get one Earth. 

-Jill

Image made with Photofy