Blog Post - Blog Posts
Un pomeriggio magico.
Profumo di castagne, il fuoco del camino a scaldarci e un paio di bicchierini della malvasia di Mario, buonissima!
I'll be doing a video version of this soon! Stay tuned! February! Next week's post will be about pantry staples and stable shelf goods for paleo diets & dirty paleo diets (includes fermented dairy, oats, wild rice, and ancient grains, this is my personal diet)
Primal Chic Beauty: Making The Switch To A Less Intensive, More Earth Based Hygiene and Beauty Ritual
Before we begin, let's talk about the basic tennants before I explain the swaps I made and the products I love:
Less is More: The biggest part of the Primal Chic beauty routine is it's simplicity and minimalism. I don't want you to read this post, dump all of your current skincare and makeup into the garbage just to go out and buy the things I talk about here. Use up what you already have and make the switch gradual.
Clean Clean Clean: We want to be utilizing products without harsh chemicals & unethically sourced components. The easiest way to tell if something is on or off the list is their ingredient transparency. Especially with cosmetics. Avoid unneccessary fragrances, dyes, colorants, and preservatives, and aim for things like Cruelty Free, Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, and Triclosan free. Aim for companies that are transparent about their supply chains, both for the labor in creating them, and in their ingredient sourcing. I also prefer women owned and family owned brands rather than the "clean" lines of bigger companies.
Be Smart About Animal Products: Personally, as someone with a soy allergy, I'm a big fan of certain animal products in my skin and beauty rituals, Goat's Milk Soaps, Beef Tallow hair masks, Honey & Yogurt face masks, etc. However, while I am a proponent of using the entire animal, make sure you're checking the sourcing of these products as some companies are more ethical than others. I'm lucky in that I live fairly close to the Amish and therefore have access to a certain amount of local agriculture that others may not have access to. If you're buying from an unknown company or farm, drop them a line to see where they're sourcing their animal products from. The more ethical companies rarely have an issue explaining (and bragging) about the welfare of their source animals. Things we definately want to avoid though are things like Shark Liver Oil (certain Squalene), Ambergis (whale stomach lining), and Castoreum (artificial vanilla flavor/scent produced from the castor sacs of beavers located near the anal glands). If you want to save yourself the hassle, Vegan skincare is an option, just be sure to keep an eye out for allergens like Soy or Mushroom Enzymes.
Now, let's talk about some of the Primal Chic changes in my own beauty routine:
Old Face Routine:
Oil Cleanser
Regular Cleanser
Scrub
Toner
Oil
Eye Cream
Targeted Treatments
retnoids
Moisturizer
Neck and Chest Cream
Sunscreen
Foundation
Concealer
Blush
Highlight
Contour
Bronzer
Eyeshadow
Eyebrow Gel
Eyeliner Pen & Pencil
Mascara
finishing powder
finishing spray
New Face Routine:
Castile Soap
Miracle Balm
Almond Oil as needed for dry-flaky patches
Sunscreen
Pink Color Balm/ Multistick (Eyes, Cheeks, Lips)
Mascara
Eyeliner Pencil if I'm feeling fancy
That's it. The really crazy thing about it too? I had more acne, dryness, irritation, and inflamation with the old routine. I did have about 2 weeks of acne after making the switch as my skin adjusted but I haven't struggled with major skin issues since. Part of it was cutting back on the amount of makeup I was wearing, as a full beat vs a little blush and eyemakeup with a lip is a lot less product on the skin. Part of it was not creating new issues for myself by trying to treat the old issues with harsh chemicals. I also cut out a lot of fragrances from my skincare, with my only scented skincare product left being my sunscreen since I don't seem to have any reactions to Sun Bum's products. My used up makeup containers I take to my local health foods store to be recycled by Terracycle.
Old Shower Routine:
Pre-wash oil
Shampoo
Scalp Scrub
Conditioning Mask
Conditioner
Soap on the body
Body Gel
Body Scrub
Body Oil
Shaving cream
Lotion
Body Mist
Perfume
Deoderant
New Shower Routine:
Castile Soap for hair, body, & shaving
Occassional Home Made Sugar Scrub
Almond Oil (2 drops worked through the ends of my hair, then worked across the body)
Occassional use of cocoa butter on knees, hands, feet, & ankles
Deoderant (I still use a conventional Dove deoderant)
I save so much time, my showers are maybe 10 minutes long if I'm not shaving that day, and 20 minutes tops when I do a little trimming. I also switched from disposable heads to an old-school single blade safety razor. Also, rather than investing in chemical exfoliants I switched to dry brushing and body scrapers/ gua shas to exfoliate and massage.
Most of the products I use I can buy in bulk from my local low/zero waste store and simply store in mason jars rather than continually add to plastic production and disposal which is hard on the environment. Dr Bronner's soaps come in paper refill cartons as well for your original plastic bottle, or, if you have a dry shelf in your shower, you can simply buy the paper carton and skip most of the plastic all together.
We're also in an era where there are more resources than ever on creating your own, at home, grooming and hygiene products where you have complete control over the ingredients that go into them. I used to be super into soap making however as I went back into school and started my full time job, I found I didn't have time for all of my hobbies and it became one of the ones on the chopping block. You could also use shampoo & conditioner bars packaged in paper. A growing number of regular grocery stores such as Giant, Wegmans, or Shoprite have a natural hygiene care section near their pharmacies or other hygiene sections, and there's usually atleast one soap maker at arts fairs and farmers markets in more metropolitian areas.
I think, as part of our respect for Earth & our environment it's worth asking what we can do to limit our harm to the planet in pursuit of vanity.
Primal Chic Beauty: Making The Switch To A Less Intensive, More Earth Based Hygiene and Beauty Ritual
Before we begin, let's talk about the basic tennants before I explain the swaps I made and the products I love:
Less is More: The biggest part of the Primal Chic beauty routine is it's simplicity and minimalism. I don't want you to read this post, dump all of your current skincare and makeup into the garbage just to go out and buy the things I talk about here. Use up what you already have and make the switch gradual.
Clean Clean Clean: We want to be utilizing products without harsh chemicals & unethically sourced components. The easiest way to tell if something is on or off the list is their ingredient transparency. Especially with cosmetics. Avoid unneccessary fragrances, dyes, colorants, and preservatives, and aim for things like Cruelty Free, Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, and Triclosan free. Aim for companies that are transparent about their supply chains, both for the labor in creating them, and in their ingredient sourcing. I also prefer women owned and family owned brands rather than the "clean" lines of bigger companies.
Be Smart About Animal Products: Personally, as someone with a soy allergy, I'm a big fan of certain animal products in my skin and beauty rituals, Goat's Milk Soaps, Beef Tallow hair masks, Honey & Yogurt face masks, etc. However, while I am a proponent of using the entire animal, make sure you're checking the sourcing of these products as some companies are more ethical than others. I'm lucky in that I live fairly close to the Amish and therefore have access to a certain amount of local agriculture that others may not have access to. If you're buying from an unknown company or farm, drop them a line to see where they're sourcing their animal products from. The more ethical companies rarely have an issue explaining (and bragging) about the welfare of their source animals. Things we definately want to avoid though are things like Shark Liver Oil (certain Squalene), Ambergis (whale stomach lining), and Castoreum (artificial vanilla flavor/scent produced from the castor sacs of beavers located near the anal glands). If you want to save yourself the hassle, Vegan skincare is an option, just be sure to keep an eye out for allergens like Soy or Mushroom Enzymes.
Now, let's talk about some of the Primal Chic changes in my own beauty routine:
Old Face Routine:
Oil Cleanser
Regular Cleanser
Scrub
Toner
Oil
Eye Cream
Targeted Treatments
retnoids
Moisturizer
Neck and Chest Cream
Sunscreen
Foundation
Concealer
Blush
Highlight
Contour
Bronzer
Eyeshadow
Eyebrow Gel
Eyeliner Pen & Pencil
Mascara
finishing powder
finishing spray
New Face Routine:
Castile Soap
Miracle Balm
Almond Oil as needed for dry-flaky patches
Sunscreen
Pink Color Balm/ Multistick (Eyes, Cheeks, Lips)
Mascara
Eyeliner Pencil if I'm feeling fancy
That's it. The really crazy thing about it too? I had more acne, dryness, irritation, and inflamation with the old routine. I did have about 2 weeks of acne after making the switch as my skin adjusted but I haven't struggled with major skin issues since. Part of it was cutting back on the amount of makeup I was wearing, as a full beat vs a little blush and eyemakeup with a lip is a lot less product on the skin. Part of it was not creating new issues for myself by trying to treat the old issues with harsh chemicals. I also cut out a lot of fragrances from my skincare, with my only scented skincare product left being my sunscreen since I don't seem to have any reactions to Sun Bum's products. My used up makeup containers I take to my local health foods store to be recycled by Terracycle.
Old Shower Routine:
Pre-wash oil
Shampoo
Scalp Scrub
Conditioning Mask
Conditioner
Soap on the body
Body Gel
Body Scrub
Body Oil
Shaving cream
Lotion
Body Mist
Perfume
Deoderant
New Shower Routine:
Castile Soap for hair, body, & shaving
Occassional Home Made Sugar Scrub
Almond Oil (2 drops worked through the ends of my hair, then worked across the body)
Occassional use of cocoa butter on knees, hands, feet, & ankles
Deoderant (I still use a conventional Dove deoderant)
I save so much time, my showers are maybe 10 minutes long if I'm not shaving that day, and 20 minutes tops when I do a little trimming. I also switched from disposable heads to an old-school single blade safety razor. Also, rather than investing in chemical exfoliants I switched to dry brushing and body scrapers/ gua shas to exfoliate and massage.
Most of the products I use I can buy in bulk from my local low/zero waste store and simply store in mason jars rather than continually add to plastic production and disposal which is hard on the environment. Dr Bronner's soaps come in paper refill cartons as well for your original plastic bottle, or, if you have a dry shelf in your shower, you can simply buy the paper carton and skip most of the plastic all together.
We're also in an era where there are more resources than ever on creating your own, at home, grooming and hygiene products where you have complete control over the ingredients that go into them. I used to be super into soap making however as I went back into school and started my full time job, I found I didn't have time for all of my hobbies and it became one of the ones on the chopping block. You could also use shampoo & conditioner bars packaged in paper. A growing number of regular grocery stores such as Giant, Wegmans, or Shoprite have a natural hygiene care section near their pharmacies or other hygiene sections, and there's usually atleast one soap maker at arts fairs and farmers markets in more metropolitian areas.
I think, as part of our respect for Earth & our environment it's worth asking what we can do to limit our harm to the planet in pursuit of vanity.
Primal Chic: The Princess Saves Herself & The Planet in this It Girl meets Survivalist Lifestyle
If you think it girl, you may think of high maintenance, high consumption, pampered, luxe living. I want you to take a step back from that idea with me and introduce a new mindset, Primal Chic. Borrowing from the Clean Girl, GORP Girl, It Girl, Stoic, Survivalist, and Prepper, Primal Chic is all about minimizing your impact on the planet, maximizing your self-sufficiency, and building meaningful sisterhood.
Primal Chic in 3 Words is: Sustainability, Self-Sufficiency, & Sisterhood.
Body: Fuel, Movement, & Beauty
Fuel: Our bodies and minds need high-quality fuel, and that's offered by a whole-food, paleo diet. Many of the foods on the market are heavily processed and loaded with low-quality fillers that drive calories and macros up without meeting our micronutrient needs. On top of this, a huge segment of the market is imported from outside of our local communities, adding heavily to the carbon footprint of our foods. Choosing locally grown, non-GMO, organic produce and proteins from fair trade, regenerative, or woman-owned agri-businesses is a fantastic stepping stone if you can't generate your own food due to time, space, or monetary constraints. I love shopping locally owned health food stores, farmers markets, and farm stands. The price of organics also goes down if you shop store-brand organics. There are also Facebook groups and Pinterest boards dedicated to Paleo recipe swaps. You also want to make sure you're honoring your body's needs in all of it's areas, rest, relaxation, movement, and nutrition.
Movement: Functional, outdoor movement benefits body, mind, and soul. A good hike, a lake swim, or even just a good jog with your pets are all great ways to get your cardio in. Outdoor yoga, rucks, rock climbing, and calisthenics are low-cost, high-reward strength and conditioning exercises that help you to keep toned and ready for action in your day-to-day life. Don't forget ROM either, active recovery walks, daily yoga, and deep stretches ensure you remain flexible and reduce pain from tight, stiff muscles and joints. Adding in a few friends allows you to build sisterhood and meet your social needs too, and being outdoors helps with the chronic vitamin D deficiencies most modern women face.
Beauty: Choosing clean, sustainable beauty and reducing the number of products used is good for your body due to fewer toxins, your mind with lower body and facial dysmorphia from high glam makeup looks, and the planet with less harsh manufacturing processes. Consider switching to multi-use products, reducing the number of products in your skincare & makeup routines, and swapping to washable/reusable body, skin, and feminine hygiene products to care for yourself and our planet. I'll be going into more detail on the swaps I made personally in a blog post next week.
Side Note: Planning a girl's weekend yoga retreat or having a buddy to do the Whole30 (a great intro to Paleo eating) with you is a great way to build up your sisterhoods and your own resolve for this new lifestyle.
Mind: Clarity, Wisdom, and Continuous Growth
Stoicism: The serenity prayer is a fantastic example of the basis of stoicism, letting go of the things you can't control or change, courageously sticking to your values and virtues and changing or controlling the things you can, living in harmony with nature, practice emotional mindfulness and emotional chastity, and practice resilience, learning to bounce back from failures and misfortune. With all things in life there is a learning curve, and allowing yourself to be ruled by algorithms, propaganda, and impulses reduces your own personal power.
Minimalism: Cut out overconsumption to help save the planet, save your wallet, and save your space. Choosing quality, durable, practical, and multi-purpose items allows you to spend less time organizing and cleaning and more time with friends and family, and doing the things that truly feed your soul. You don't have to have a spartan, sterile, white living space to embrace minimalism either, you can still inject your own personal style and personality into your choices, but be more mindful about where and how you're spending your hard-earned money.
Dedication to Continuous Growth: Instead of doom-scrolling or watching brain-rotting television, try switching out social media for micro-learning, soaps for documentaries, and limiting screen time to 1-3 hours per day. Try switching out happy hour for a self-defense or first aid class. Get involved with book swaps and information databases or group PDF sharing.
Heart: Love Thyself, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Planet
Self-Love: Forming a sisterhood and meaningful community starts with loving yourself. You can't draw from an empty well, so being honest and vulnerable with yourself and taking care of yourself is the first step in being able to be there for others at your most authentic. Reminding yourself of your inherent value is important.
Earth: The frequencies of the earth are often interfered with by our man-made surroundings, taking time to ground yourself and connect with the world around you, either on your own, or in a group, is good for the heart. Try and take an hour or two per day and spend it outdoors, really soaking in the beauty you may have been numbed to by having it become mundane.
Connection & Community: Not everyone you meet deserves your whole heart and mind, however, they do deserve basic human dignity and respect, for those closer to you, they do deserve having a reliable friend who they can turn to in times of need and times of victory. Forming meaningful connections across generational divides makes us stronger as women and enriches our lives.
Soul: Mindfulness, Purpose, & Resilience
Mindfulness: Meditation, nature walks, situational awareness, and group activities keep the mind and soul well-fed and the senses sharp should the need arise for defense. Live in the moment as much as you can, rather than drift aimlessly through life without a plan of attack. Spontaneity can still exist here, as you should have a balance of routine and flexibility.
Purpose: What drives you? Who drives you? What values are at your core? Answering these questions allows you to live a purposeful life where you are true to yourself and your community. If your values don't align with the life you're living what changes do you need to have them align?
Resilience: You don't have to make your life harder, but preparing for life's rough times through mental, spiritual, physical, financial and material preparedness is still important. Building a solid community will help with this, but ensuring you yourself have the tools and skills necessary for survival will help even more so.
Planet: Stewardship, Sustainability, and Conscious Consumption
Stewardship: Bring a bag with you on walks and hikes to collect trash and follow the old Girl Scout principle of leaving things better than you found them. Encourage sustainable practices with where you shop and invest your time and resources, and take advantage of your local parks and wild spaces.
Sustainability: Opt for natural materials in clothing, decor, & home goods. Choose materials like wood, cotton, real fur, leather, and linen rather than plastics and petroleum-derived products or "natural" materials with harsh production processes like viscose or bamboo fiber. Reduce your consumption of new products, and shop thrift or vintage where you can, and go as ecologically friendly and durable as you can afford when buying new.
Conscious Consumption: Shop local, woman-owned, small business, and fair trade products wherever you can, skip out on mega polluters like Amazon or Shien, and avoid sweatshop and slave labor wherever you can. Before making purchases, ask yourself if you truly need an item or if you're just looking for a quick dopamine hit. Mend your things if possible rather than trashing them, and opt for donation of things in good condition that no longer fit with who you are.
All in all, the Primal Chic lifestyle is attainable for everyone, and about making conscious, cognizant steps toward a more meaningful, impactful, and mindful life where you live sustainably, & self sufficiently while building meaningful community and sisterhood.
If you're a kid, please take some time to disconnect from your phone today (and every day). Phones aren't necessarily The Enemy™, but I think you'll notice a positive difference in your mental health and overall well-being if you take time each day to read a book, go outside, play with any pets you have, etc. It might sound kinda silly, but I promise you that these things are helpful. Frankly, I wish I knew this as a kid, specifically as a teen. Be safe out there, and take care of yourselves. 🧡
I tried to draw and the keyword here is "tried" but here it is! My version of something distantly related to sketching !? I don't know man. Oh! Did I mention this is drawn while listening to no body no crime by Taylor Swift! God! The evermore album made my December magical ❄ and if anybody is interested or not this scene is taken from The ghost teller. It's a manhwa or webtoon.
~hello everyone! welcome to my blog~
🍄🌼🍁you can call me pipsqueak, pip, or jay!🍁🌼🍄
pronouns are she/they. I'm a self taught artist who has ✨no social skills✨ and also (most likely) has ✨adhd✨(not diagnosed!)
I am a minor, therefore you will be blocked if you request me to draw nsfw. (I will sometimes post mildly suggestive art, like nudity and such, but no nsfw.) also, I would appreciate it if you did not ask me for donations!
as an artist, I kindly ask everyone who looks at my art to REBLOG, not REPOST. if you repost, even on a different platform, PLEASE CREDIT ME.
my tags: #pipsqueakyart, #pipsqueak rambles, #pipsqueak reblogs, #ninjago identities au, #identities au ✨💙
extra stuff under the cut
🍄🟫!!STUFF I LIKE AND THINGS I DO!!🍄🟫
I’m currently obsessed with Ninjago, slowly becoming obsessed with Brokeback Mountain and Resident evil, and FOREVER obsessed with Marvel ♥️
✨Ninjago✨
✨Brokeback Mountain✨
✨Resident Evil✨
✨Marvel✨ (og6 avengers come home I miss you)
as I stated before I am a self taught artist, so I draw lots of stuff for these fandoms! (mainly ninjago) I’m really bad at proportions though so I’m sorry in advance lmao !! I also really like drawing cats. like. I do cat designs for everything… oh, I also have an odd obsession with mushrooms, moss, and flowers :3
I have started using my signature in my art, so if you see art with this signature: (apologies for bad quality)
and it’s not coming from my account, please lmk. I do not tolerate art theft. although i keep forgetting to put my signature…. I have to work on remembering to do that. lol.
my askbox is currently open for any and all who want to ask me things about the fandoms I like, or ask for drawing requests!! idc!! it can be anything!! any questions (besides nsfw asks) are completely cool with me and I’ll be happy to answer! {please ask me about my Ninjago identities au. I will yap and be the giddiest person in the whole world ✨🍄}
my Artfight account! (no characters or attacks yet. this is my first year on af!)
extra links:
https://magma.com/artist/kittey/about
discord acc: electric_jay6 (display name is pipsqueak)
⚠️DNI LIST⚠️
-proshippers -bigots -homophobes -transphobes -racist people 🤮🤮 -sexist people 🤡🤡🤡 -people who use ai art -people who trace/steal art -anyone who genuinely thinks Jay Walker is misogynistic SORRRYYYY but BYE!! get out!! there’s the dore!! sorry I’m so sensitive about these fictional legos lmaoo