The Blondissima

My Travel Bucketlist 2023

Friday, March 3, 2023

I’ve been to 81 countries and I’m happiest when I’m heading out on an adventure into the unknown. I think you should search relentlessly until you find what lights you up inside, what makes you smile your most genuine and happy smile and then never, ever let it go. For me, that’s travel and I’ve always prioritized it in my budget. My last couple international trips have been solo trips and I truly believe that cool energy brings cool people into your life. When you're fearless and open to anything it attracts the best things possible. When you get outside of your bubble and travel alone magical things start to happen because there's nothing to interrupt the flow, thus you bump into people more easily. As a solo traveler you're able to follow intuition about what to do and where to go next. I try to see all situations in a positive light rather than in a negative way. Good energy attracts good energy!

Writing down my travel bucketlist is a reminder of everywhere I want to go but the only problem is that this travel bucketlist grows faster than I can tick off the destinations. While I have been to many places there are so many places left to travel. At the bottom of this post I’ve linked my previous travel bucketlists so it’s fun to see what I have accomplished and what is still on the list. You can use the Travel drop down menu at the top of my blog to see all of my travel posts. I continue to play the points game with travel credit cards so I can spend less while I travel more. Here's my top 10 list!

Project Pan 2023: 10 Makeup Products to Finish this Year

Monday, February 27, 2023

Project Pan is a challenge to finish makeup/skincare/ haircare products to get your money's worth. You know how if you use enough blush or eyeshadow you eventually "hit pan" and see the metal in the middle. This way you're not letting things go to waste and expire. It teaches you how long it takes you to go through an item and this will help to mold your shopping habits. For instance, you don't need to buy another blush when you already own 10 when you know it would take a whole year to go through a blush. This project should not be a punishment, rather it's an experiment for 12 months to get the full value and enjoyment out of things you already own.

Nashville Travel Guide

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Nashville is nicknamed the Music City and it's a big city with a small town feel. It has an emerging food scene and is a top destination for bachelorette parties. It's a very photographic city with its beautiful murals, parks, and historical buildings. Bar hopping on the lower broad at the honky tonks give off a Vegas feel with the iconic neon signs at night. The music scene is diverse as you'll see live musicians playing classic country tunes, bluegrass, and rock music. Nashville is both the capitol of the state and the center for the country music industry. I was there in November and to my surprise Nashville has four distinct seasons, so it gets as cold as DC in the wintertime. Reese Witherspoon opened up her own clothing store in 2015 called Draper James which sells beautiful dresses in classic southern style and extended sizing. Here are some must see spots in Nashville!

How My Dry January Went

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Dry January is more and more popular these days! Dry January is good for social drinkers to create new habits. I found a ton of non-alcoholic alternatives to drink last month and want to share my discoveries in this post. Last month I felt I could take booze or leave it, I didn't think about it at all. Turning down alcohol in social settings was empowering, I celebrated both my birthday and company holiday party during this month. Taking a 30-day break from alcohol, such as during Dry January can create a bunch of benefits, including developing a more mindful relationship with alcohol. Even though people say they lose weight by not drinking, I did not. Some people say they get better sleep during Dry January because while alcohol makes you sleepy, it interrupts your sleep cycle so you don't get a good nights sleep and will possibly wake up in the middle of the night. Another benefit is you may feel less anxious and handle stress better. Excessive alcohol consumption causes gut microbiome imbalance and impairs your immune system and ability to recover from illnesses. Alcohol dehydrates your body and skin so abstaining from alcohol may give you clearer and less red skin. Hence it's key to do this for a consecutive 30 days to get the full benefits.

My Favorite Products for Dry or Damaged Hair

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

I've been a blonde for 12 years so I'm constantly working on perfecting a healthy hair routine and these are my holy grail products to strengthen and moisturize my hair. I have 3c hair texture that is bleached and super dry. I experimented with airdrying my hair for a few months wondering if the lack of heat styling would make it healthier but that just made it extremely dry and brittle. My hairdresser told me on Sunday that I have healthy hair and I thought that was the biggest compliment ever! These are the products of someone who regularly blow-dries her hair every week (I wash and blow-dry once a week.) When my hair is blow out you can see how shiny it is.

This year I’m switching up my color to try the new hair trend of Lived-in-Blonde which is a subtle look where similar shades to your natural color are weaved into your hair, so your hair looks grown out but polished. The finished look is multi-dimensional with multiple tones that are beautifully blended. It’s a great low maintenance way to have healthy looking blonde hair. These are products I have been obsessed with for a while and my hair looks amazing afterwards, soft and smooth and sealed.

I know a lot of these products are pricey, but Sephora has quarterly sales, just keep the products you want in your cart and in a few months a sale will pop up. Last September Sephora had an Oh Hair Yeah! Sale with everything 15% off and daily deals that were 50% off. In fact I've noticed they are copying Ulta's sale model of daily 50% off deals of select products they announce in advance.

Having the right products is super important but if you don't know how to use them, you won't get the best results. I will occasionally re-read the instructions on products I use to ensure I'm using them properly. I know there are a lot of products on this list, but they have all been thoroughly researched by me, recommended by experts, tested by me for the last year. The top three innovative products from this list are: K18, Living Proof Triple Bond Complex Leave-in Hair Treatment, and Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Conditioner. These three cult hair products are seriously good! You won't see your hair's true potential unless you treat it right.