I've struggled with some pretty debilitating mental illness for nearly the past year, and I'm sort of finally picking up out of it. The anxiety was absolutely unbearable and made it pretty much impossible for me to do almost anything, including create things, which was incredibly frustrating and upsetting.

But! I'm making things again. I'll probably be mostly posting extra content with my videos here, as Youtube is really the medium I love most! My goal is three videos a week, and if you're interested in any of that you can go here for song covers and original songs + here for.... literally everything else! (no one even is reading this, are they? ....hi, mom!)(just kidding, my mom doesn't even read this blog.)

Annnyway, this is a makeup tutorial I filmed a couple weeks ago because Autumn makes me happy and so do all of its colors. I hope you're all well and that lady Autumn is treating you so nicely.

Love love love,

Alyssa

The end of a year is always laden with heavy makeup—lots of deep colors and glitter—and something about the idea of moving into a New Year always has me feeling like January is the month of fresh, clean makeup.

AKA: GIVE UR SKIN A BREAK GEEZ

I filmed a video on what has become my "fresh face" go-to in the past year or so. Subtle, simple, and clean.

Also!!! I'm definitely planning on utilizing my YouTube channels more this year, so if you like this, please do subscribe!! :)

I suppose it's sort of symbolic that my last blog post of 2015 and my first of 2016 are both playlists.

Or maybe I just really like making mixes lately.


Now, whether I always followed through is a whole 'nother story...

But, I do kind of love the idea of a fresh start of sorts, and even though that whole "new year, new you," is so trite, this year, I sort of feel it. A changing of tides. Something about 2016 feels infinitely more promising and hopeful than the past few New Year benchmarks have. Maybe that just has more to do with where I'm at in life, currently.

The point is, I'm genuinely excited about things for the first time in a while, and for me, that means making HAPPY SONG MIXES.


CLEAN SLATE — a mix for a new year + fresh starts; cheers to twenty sixteen;

Also, listen.... I know there's, like, an excess of Hilary Duff in here. I'm not even sorry about it.

May twenty sixteen treat us all wonderfully. ♫

Naturally, because of this interest, when I was fourteen I stumbled on "beauty gurus" (I don't really hear them called that much anymore?) on YouTube, and my love of watching makeup videos bloomed and never went away.

One thing I have always had an issue with was getting my makeup to come out the way that so many girls were doing it, and I couldn't figure out why. Am I just inept? Is it my tools? What am I doing wrong?

It was only a couple of years ago that I learned that it was because there are so many different eye shapes, and what works on one may not work on another. I have slightly hooded eyes, so there are adjustments that have to be made to make things work on that type of lid. I started trying to watch more women that had hooded lids so that I could properly learn how to apply makeup to them, and these are some of the lovely ladies I've found.

1.) Bubzbeauty — Bubz is one of the two first beauty YouTubers I discovered back in 2008, the other being Michelle Phan. I've always found her so endearing and bubbly, and since those were the days of webcam videos, her quality has only gotten more lovely with time.


2.) Carly Humbert — I've only been watching Carly for about a year now, but she has some of the prettiest makeup looks. I wasn't really aware that people with hooded lids could pull off so many variations of things, but she does it so well, and that inspires me to try it.


3.) Tanya Burr — Tanya Burr seems to be a cult favorite these days, and it's well-deserved. Her looks are always so simple and pretty, and she has a very sunny personality that makes her enjoyable to watch.


4.) Bronte Jones — I've only just started watching Bronte recently, but most of her makeup tutorials are geared specifically towards hooded eyes, and she has some really pretty looks and tips!



And who are some of your favorite YouTubers? (Beauty-related or non, I just love YouTube!) Tell me in the comments! And alternatively, if you make videos, feel free to link your channel and I'll check it out!! You can also tweet me or message me on tumblr!

I mentioned in the previous post I made in this series that Ami was my favorite Scout growing up. I don't remember paying much attention to the other girls, really. I mean, of course, I didn't pay much attention to plot or anything either, considering I couldn't watch anything in order, only what happened to be on TV, so most of my impressions were formed much later than when I first fell in love with the show at six years old.


When I was older and started watching it again, I immediately gravitated toward Usagi. She got so much flack for crying too much and being childish, but she stayed true to herself no matter what. I kind of prefer the Usagi we see before she gets together with Mamoru, though, honestly. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love their relationship, but sometimes it can be fraught with so much unnecessary drama—which, hey, when you're reincarnated soulmates from different planets, that's totally understandable—but not really my thing, currently.

I guess that's where Rei came in. Headstrong, fire-y, relatable Rei. She's adamant in her beliefs and opinions, she has a quick fuse, she's sometimes a little irrational, and she's a really good friend, through and through.

And when that happened, is when the idea for this drink came to me. A drink that looks like fire.


And also, completely on accident, a little bit like planet Mars itself. Huh.


Rei's Raspberry Flame

• 1-2 raspberry tea bags (depending on desired intensity)
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• Honey and/or agave syrup (or sweetener of choice)
• Milk of choice
• Whipped cream
• Red & yellow food coloring

1.) Add 1/4 cup of boiling water to a mug holding raspberry tea bag/s.
2.) Add a teaspoon of honey + a teaspoon of agave, or whatever sweetener you'd prefer, until desired sweetness is reached. Set aside to cool.
3.) I made my own whipped cream using heavy cream & a mixer, but you can do whatever you'd like! After it was whipped up, I stirred in food coloring until I got the shade of orange I wanted, then put it in an icing tool.
4.) Put ice in a cup, pour the tea over it, and fill up the rest of the way with milk. Stir to combine, then swirl the whipped cream on top!


I used to drink these all the time during Summer a few years ago, sans the whipped cream, and using vanilla coffee creamer instead of almond milk. It's really good with a variety of fruit teas, (maybe even regular tea, though I've never tried it) and just a very refreshing drink for anytime! Let me know if you try it out!! 

I've always been very prone to overthinking. A blessing, and a curse, I suppose, but mostly it can just get annoying. Learning to deal with it and finding ways to get out of my head for awhile and just chill has been a long process, but it gets a little easier all the time, and these are some things I try to make myself do on the regular that seem to help.

WASH IT OFF —

Take a shower or bath, whatever you're into, and get all nice and clean. Pull out all the stops + really take the time to pamper yourself, whatever that means for you. Shave, do a face mask, apply copious amounts of moisturizer on your body, go wild!


DO THINGS YOU ENJOY —

Whatever that is for you! Cooking, baking, lounging with your favorite show, reading a book, browsing tumblr, anything! Set aside time to just do what you love.


SET THE AMBIANCE —

Clean up a little bit if your space is messy. It really improves your mood! Light a candle, turn on some fairy lights, turn on some of your favorite music and some rainy noises and let the chill seep in.


And if you aren't sure where to start, here's a list of things that I find soothing that maybe you would, too!

• Cooking/baking
• Candles
• Curling up with a blanket and movie/tv show
• ASMR videos (!!!! and if you don't know what ASMR is, click here!)
• Guided meditation
• Snuggling with a pet 
• Playing an instrument
• Doodling
• Writing (your thoughts, emotions, poetry, songs, stories, anything!)
• Tidying up
• Browsing the tumblr tag of something you love (my current fave: the autumn tag!)
• Listening to music
• Playing dress up/playing with makeup (sounds silly but it works!)
• Reading a book
• I don't usually take naps, but I do hear that they make some people feel better!
• Dance around to your favorite song 

I hope you find the time for yourself to unwind and that maybe some of these tips helped you a little!!