Author: akoconis

We Are Strong

Posted on by akoconis

People have been saying that we have seen nothing like the Coronavirus before in history. And while we all might believe that because we haven’t been in this EXACT situation, the fact is, it’s just not true. Because we HAVE been through this in history. Or have we already forgotten?

Have we forgotten about the Dark Ages? About the Plague? Truth be told, I’m sure the plague swept through and killed a much higher percentage than the Coronavirus currently has, but that doesn’t mean this should be different. 

I was sitting in my car, having just returned home after work, when an ad started playing on the radio. I just sat and listened to it. 

The words just stayed with me. 

We will come out of this, stronger than before. We will come out of this, together. Our ancestors have been through this, yet we are all here. They must have survived somehow; and they survived together. 

We will survive this: TOGETHER!

So what if there is a state line, a river, maybe even an ocean between us. Right now, we are all in this together. 

This virus doesn’t discriminate against race, against religion, against gender, or even against age. This virus affects us all. 

During this time, we are one family. We are living on the same planet. We are struggling to find the same cure. We are working to find a solution to help everyone. 

During this time, we all need each other. We need to support each other. We need to love each other. And we need to care for each other. 

At the end of this all, why go back to the way it was? Why go back to hate, to violence, to discriminating against each other. 

So you don’t think it’s possible to be one United Earth? 

Well I want us to prove that we can be. I want us to prove we can be united. All it takes is a little love. All it takes is a start. 

This right here, is the start. 

I’m writing this to share my love with you. 

Now go share the love with someone else. 

Love,

Lys

Farewell To My Fellow Blogger and Friend

Posted on by akoconis

We never know how much time we have on this earth. We all hope to live a long and amazing life, but sometimes God has bigger plans for us than we have for ourselves here on this earth. This past week, Heaven received a new angel.

Maria Buhler

Maria was not only a fellow blogger, but she was my friend. Maria and I met the first day of this Spring 2020 semester, and we couldn’t have been a more perfect friend match. There was something about her that made you want to be her friend. She was so happy all the time; her smile made you smile. She was so friendly and she welcomed me into her life from that first day of class.

Maria was one of the most kind-hearted and beautiful women I have ever met, and my life has been blessed by her presence. On April 3, 2020, she was enjoying the day with her boyfriend, driving in Milwaukee, when another vehicle ran a red light, taking both their lives. She was only 20 and she had such a bright future ahead of her.

Even though we didn’t know each other for very long, I considered her one of my dearest friends, and her death is such a tragedy.

Her unforeseen death taught me a few things. First, it taught me to never take anything for granted, for we never know how long we have. Second, it taught me to take chances and to try everything. And third, it told me to never be afraid.

I knew when I met her she would impact my life, but I never knew how much until she was taken. It’s true that we never know how lucky we are to have something, or someone, until they are taken from us.

This also taught me something else. This taught me to love harder than ever, and to let people know that you love them. If you never tell them you love them, how will they know for sure?

I never got to tell Maria how important she was to me, and I will forever regret that, but I know that she knows how important she was in my life because I know she is in Heaven. I know that one day I will see her again.

So until that day, Maria, I will live my life to the fullest to honor you, and to experience so many things that you sadly could not, so that when I see you again, I can tell you all about it.

Maria, you will forever be missed, and forever be loved and remembered.

Rest easy beautiful.

I love you,

Lys

Quarantine for Fashionistas and Beauty Queens

Posted on by akoconis

Are you going absolutely crazy during this wild time of quarantine? I know I sure am. So much time on my hands with absolutely no idea how to spend it. And the worst part, no one to spend it with.

I’m here to bring you so many ideas for how to spend your quarantine so you stay sane, healthy, and of course beautiful. Because ALL of you are so beautiful. Yes you, don’t even try to think otherwise.

First off I just want to start by saying that scrolling through social media is the last thing you should be doing during your day. Of course it is fun and wastes time, but that’s the thing. It WASTES your precious time. So I’m going to continue by telling you what I like to do on my quarantine days so that I make the most of it.

The first thing I do after rolling out of bed in the morning is get dressed into some workout gear. Then I grab my water and head downstairs to my at home workout space (otherwise known as a little section of the rec room next to the pool table), and I roll out my yoga mat to begin.

Yoga has helped me learn how to breathe through my anxiety and learn to relax when I am stressed. During this time of quarantine, a lot of us are stressed with financial issues, health issues, and other issues that we face in this uncertain time.

After a quick 5-10 minute yoga session, I start my morning workout. This workout ranges from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on what I’m truly feeling that day. Some mornings I am really into the workout so I go longer, but other times I get so hungry (since I don’t eat breakfast, yes I know that’s the most important meal of the day). The workout ends with me running up the stairs to make my protein shake and shower to really start my day.

The next parts are the most fun parts of quarantine, you know, if a quarantine had fun parts.

Now is the time to choose what to do. Do I want to curl up with a cup of tea and read my book? Do I want to have a mini spa day, do a face mask and paint my nails? Do I want to read the Bible? Do I want to take a nap. Notice that doesn’t have a question mark. Naps are never a question. Of course I want to take a nap!

So pick your poison. What are you gonna do today?

Do you have a pet you can take for a walk? Is there a hobby you’ve been wanting to try? Is there a book you’ve wanted to read but didn’t have the time? Are your kids driving you crazy? Just tell them to go outside and play.

There are so many things you can be doing! Everyone is being affected by this quarantine, either directly or indirectly. If you miss shopping, check and see if local boutiques have a website you can check out and shop. Shopping local small businesses is a great way to spend a few hours of your day. Working at a small business, we absolutely love our local customers supporting us in such a time of need.

So pick a new hobby, read a new book, call an old friend or family member, shop a local business. Whatever you decide to do, do it for you. We are all in this together. This quarantine will make us stronger when we come out of it.

Stay home, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay beautiful.

Love you all!

Lys

Trends have no age

Posted on by akoconis

Working in fashion, one of the most common questions I hear is “is this too young for me?” But why does that matter to you? Are you that worried about what other people will think of what you wear? If you like an item, why not just buy it for yourself?

The issue is, most people care more about what others will think, rather than what they think of themselves. This blows my mind. Why are societal norms so important that you feel you can’t be yourself wearing something you absolutely love?

Think about it. How many times have you passed on the purchase of an item because you were worried about what others would think? How many times have you said “this is too young for me”? If you are someone that said “never” to those questions, then you’re good! You are someone that doesn’t care what others will think, and that is great! But truthfully, that mindset is pretty rare. I am sure most of you have had at least one occasion where you cared what others would think. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Not as long as you don’t question every purchase you make, worrying about what others will think.

There are so many trends that come and go, and they can be for any age! Overalls, for example, have come and gone so many times within the past few decades. Flare jeans are back in style now after being out of style for probably a decade or two. Scrunchies are back in style and bigger than ever! The amazing thing about trends is that they are never for a certain age group. Yes, scrunchies seem to be the most popular among pre-teens, but older women also love them! I’m a sucker for velvet and silk scrunchies. Trends are for everyone who falls in love with them.

In fall, the leopard print trend took off! Leopard accessories; leopard shoes; leopard clothing. No matter the age, almost every woman and girl was wearing this trend. And why is that? Because trends have no age. This leopard print trend is timeless, which is why I believe it took off so fast.

This spring and summer, pastel colors are forecasted to be a huge trend, as those colors continue to flood our new shipments at my work. Will you join in on this trend? Or a better question would be, why wouldn’t you join in on this trend? Pastel pinks? Yes please! I give this trend full permission to flood my closet.

So the next time you are looking at an item, ask yourself if you like it. If you do, then buy it! Don’t consider if it’s too young for you. Don’t think about what other people will think of it. What other people think should be completely irrelevant to your purchase.

When I go shopping, of course I like hearing what my family or my boyfriend thinks of the clothes I’m trying on, but when it comes down to purchasing the item, it only matters what I think. Be independent! God made us all different for a reason! Show off your own style.

When you go shopping, it only matters what you think. So go shopping! Take yourself on a shopping spree and buy all the clothes you love, and only care about what you think.

Happy Shopping!!

Getting Unready with Alyssa

Posted on by akoconis

You know what my favorite part of the day is? It’s not getting all glammed up for work, or finishing my classes for the day. It’s not my morning tea or my lunch break. My favorite part of the day is when I arrive home, change into comfy clothes, and take off my makeup.

That’s right. My favorite part of the day is getting unready.

Taking my makeup off used to be such a hassle. I tried to use micellar water or tea tree oil makeup removing wipes, but my eyes would always feel raw after from scrubbing my makeup off. Many of you probably know that feeling. When I tried Clinique’s take the day off cleansing oil, I immediately fell in love! The oil cleanser made it feel like my makeup just dissolved away because when wiping my face off with my wash cloth, barely any makeup would show up on it! Neat right?

My Personal Skin Care

That is my step one: taking my makeup off with the oil cleanser. Then onto step two. My skin is dry combination, so I use Clinique’s mild liquid facial soap. After washing my face with this, it feels so clean it actually shines! Then comes the most important step. Step three: moisturizing. Now I could talk about this forever. Moisturizing is insanely important but I used to just skip this step because I thought it would make my skin oily. What I didn’t know was that my skin was producing oils because my skin was dry from not moisturizing, making this is the most important step.

The question is, how do you find a moisturizer that you really love? I tried some that I absolutely hated, which lead me to trying new ones I absolutely love. What brand? Clinique of course, with a hint of MONAT as well. Clinique makes a moisture surge hydration moisturizer that is my absolute favorite, but truthfully, it’s expensive and I don’t always have the money to buy it. The next best solution was a creation of my own. Here’s what it is. Take Clinique’s dramatically different hydrating jelly and add a little MONAT Rejuveniqe oil intensive. The combination leaves my skin feeling so healthy and hydrated. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds weird adding an oil to your moisturizer when you are trying to avoid oily skin, but for me, the oil helps lock in the moisturizer. When I use this combination before bed, it leaves my skin glowing in the morning upon waking up. The oil has also helped with acne scars and red spots, which a lot of people have.

All those steps are great if you’re just trying to keep your skin glowing and hydrated, but when a blemish pops up unexpectantly, you will need an acne treatment. My go to acne treatment: Clinique’s clinical clearing gel. Make sure to still use moisturizer with this gel because it is so powerful that it will dry your skin out if you do not moisturize with it. Lesson learned on that one.

Now you’re probably thinking I am completely bias toward Clinique since that is basically all I use. You would be right. However, I tried so many brands before falling in love with this one: Neutrogena, Biore, Proactive, Clean and Clear (which worked great till they changed the formula and it gave me hives), Panoxl, and Cetaphil. Those brands had products that worked for the most part, but never gave me the feeling of loving my skin. Clinique and MONAT have given me so much confidence in my skin. My skin tone evened out and it is super healthy now.

I couldn’t be more confident in my skin and that is why getting unready at the end of the night is my favorite part of the day.

If you want any advice on how to find a product to fit perfectly in your routine, I’d love to help! I want all of you to feel just as confident in your skin as I do.

Adding a Little Modern Nature to Your Routine

Posted on by akoconis

One of the first things we notice about others is their appearance. We notice their smile, eyes, clothes, and of course their hair. We identify with our hair: length, color, texture, style. But how much time do we actually worry about what our hair looks like? On a typical day, I used to worry about my hair for most of the day. If it was summer, the frizz appeared. If it was winter, it would be dry and brittle. And don’t even get me started on bed head.

What if we could wake up and not have to worry about doing our hair? What if when we woke up, it looked almost naturally perfect? Taking away that stress and time consumption would be amazing, but I mean, do you even think that is possible?

I’m here to tell you that it is COMPLETELY possible to not have to worry about doing your hair! How cool is that?!

Hair is not a one size fits most

Does this work for everyone? Of course not. No hair is exactly the same and no hair product will react the same way for every person that tries it. But what if you could try products for 30 days with a 100% money back guarantee? The worst thing that could happen is that you return the products and get your money back.

Now onto the details

Let me introduce you to Modern Nature, or MONAT for short. MONAT is the best hair care line I have ever used. Not only does my hair smell amazing, but the products have restored my hair back to its original health. In the past, I tried so many hair product brands like Suave, Pantene, Garnier, Dove, and Herbal Essences, but my hair was still greasy and damaged with me worrying every morning about how bad my hair looked.

Finding the right products to use for MONAT is so easy because the company provides you with a hair quiz to take. When I first started using the products, I was really skeptical of them even working for my hair. Its not that my hair was bad before starting MONAT, I just knew that my hair could be a lot better and a lot healthier. So I took the quiz and started my MONAT journey.

My hair transformation

Almost four months later, I am now helping others to find the right products for their hair because my hair transformation was so incredible. My hair is thicker, shinier, and healthier all around. One of the best things that MONAT products did for me was to regrow hair in a little bald patch near my hair part. Yes, I had a bald patch at my age. The confidence that my hair gave me was incredible. How awesome would that be to actually see your hair re-growing in a place you thought it never would again?

So now the real question is, are you happy with your hair? Do you worry about doing your hair every morning? How much time and money do you think you would save if you didn’t have to worry so much about your hair?

The biggest question

Are you ready to add a little Modern Nature to your routine?

If the answer is yes, I encourage you to take the hair quiz with the link provided below. Fill out all the criteria, and I will email you as soon as I get your results! I can’t wait for you to start your hair transformation!

https://hairquiz.monatglobal.com/5672706/alyssakoconis/us