Restock

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh dears :) how are u today?

I had an appointment with my nurse. She is so sweet and she is the first of many psychiatric nurses I've had who understands me and can provide always a new point of view, or is reassuring when I need it. Ma sha Allah. In Finland, mental health affects so many, I mean of course it affects all but here every fifth person will have some sort of mental health issues, yearly. And it's actually very difficult to get help. The queues may be weeks, in some cases months, and hospitals are full. I feel bad for the youth who have their whole life ahead and just because of too low resources, they can't get the professional help they need. In worst case scenarios this could mean increased rates of suicides. I dunno.. it just makes me so sad. 

I never left the intro, but this is a serious matter. If you feel like you can't go on, tell about it to someone trustable. Ask for help. You are precious and you need to save yourself ♥ we need one of you's in the world with us. 

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Ok. So, I have my grocery days again, after meeting the nurse I went to buy some meat, chicken and some peppers, onion and tomato puree. Tomorrow to supermarket, and then I'm officially broke before next week.. it will be fine in sha Allah. I was just thinking how I like to stock things that nothing ever runs out. It gives me this strange satisfaction when I have the next product while the one in use is just almost empty.. Not a secret hoarder though, hehe. Just like to be organized. What works, works..

I also cleaned my shea butter box. It's a small tin, used to have some natural deodorant in it but now it works great as a shea butter stash. I use it mainly for my lips, also visible wrinkles. Smells kinda strange but it's the best. Also got some more aloe gel from the pharmacy and I am so happy I have a next one ready. (this is weird.. anyone weird with me? :D)

We also have kept one kitchen cabinet for all stocked items. The contents vary, usually there is oils, spices which don't fit the containers, the tomato puree, my teas, vitamins.. rice and bread. And hubby has his own stock cart. 

Ok maybe we are just weird people. It just makes me comfortable. I have had my times when my life management skills were not that advanced, so I have had an empty fridge so often. And the kitchen cabinets. That's why I'm just happy to finally have. Alhamdulillah. 

Not excess though, we're being reasonable with it. 😅

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So I don't know now do you like to hear about my skincare routine, but I kinda want to talk about it. The shea butter we know now, also aloe gel mentioned, I use it as a toner. Third natural product I use is my hair and skin oil. It contains

- almond oil (carrier oil = mostly it's this)

- castor oil

- carrot seed oil

- rosemary essential oil

And it's packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Castor oil has also hair growing properties, and works great for lashes and eyebrows. I don't use this every day, maybe once or twice a week.

I also still make my own shampoo bars. I get all these ingredients from Limepop, there's so much fun stuff you can use to make your own cosmetics. Note: natural products may cause allergic reaction, so try the products first on your skin (f.e. arm) if the product fits you. With time you will start to know what works for you. I like to use nettle, castor oil, rosemary essential oil and orange essential oil in my shampoo bars. 

All my makeup is also natural cosmetics, minus eyebrow pencil. I don't use much makeup, right now it's eyebrows, mascara, bronze and white eyeliner pencils, and a Lily Lolo mineral powder concealer (I love it). I have Lily Lolo's mineral makeup powder, kabuki brush, and a lipgloss on my list, I don't need it right now but maybe later. 

I use other products too. For skin, I use those Ziaja cleansing gel and the AHA+PHA peeling facial toner, sometimes Lumene micellar water to remove my makeup. Then I use Herbina body lotion, and the suncsreens, one for face and one for body (hands and feet). And yeah, good old soap too :) simple stuff. Oh, and the conditioner from last time. Still working well. 

I believe that less is more. And that it takes time to find the products that really work for you. Also learning more about your skin type is important. I like products which work for different types of skin, that way I can combine my normal skin (skin type) needs with acne prone skin needs. I see now that vitamin C works really well for me. 

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Congratulations of reaching this far, alhamdulillah, hehe. My tea has finished, time to make still one last cup for tonight. I have done my chores and Suttis and hubby are sleeping, so I can just take some me-time and relax. And dream about autumn in this hot weather we have now :D nice things coming in sha Allah. I let you know later :)

Aisha