Product of the Week: Dove's new bodywash with NutriumMoisture

I hope everyone is well and having a fantastic week! I wanted to get on and share a new product with everyone that has been good to me and I hope you can try it so that it's good to you! I'm talking about the new Dove Bodywash with NutriumMoisture.

This product is great for people like me with dry skin because, according to Dove, it has 100% natural moisturizer that penetrate deep down into your skin to lock in moisture. - Ok, now I'm no chemist, so I can't really verify those statements. All I can say is that this stuff works.

As you may know, my skin is extremely dry so I'm always on the lookout for products that can hydrate my skin. I try everything from body washes and lotions to oils and creams. I've found a few that work before, and Dove's new bodywash ranks high on my list.

It comes in three different formulas: 'Sensitive Skin,' 'Deep Moisture,' and 'Gentle Exfoliating.' I tried all three and my favorite is the Gentle Exfoliating formula. I don't know if its because I'm a tactile person and the exfoliating beads rub on my skin, or what. But I really like it.

All three formulas smell SO good and they are creamy but they don't leave that residue feeling on your skin. I personally would recommend this product- especially because winter is coming the skin is extra dry in the winter weather.

The best thing about this product is that it isn't as expensive as other products of its caliber. When I picked some up at WalMart, I only paid $5.47 +tax per bottle. Olay had a similar product in a smaller container and it was over $8.

As I always say, being a diva is about the person you are on the inside showing through on the outside. Just as you buy cute clothes and shoes, you should invest in products that are good for your skin-- After all, you do have to live in your skin forever. Why not take care of it?

I know it's a cliche' but being comfortable in your skin is important. Great skin care is a good way to start that process!!!

Are you a strong woman, or a woman of strength?

I don't know which one is better, but being a diva is all about defining your own journey. So read and decide, which "woman" are you? Are you either? Do you want to be?

A Strong Woman vs. A Woman of Strength.

A strong woman works out everyday to keep her body in shape…
But a woman of strength builds relationships to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything…
But a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the better of her…
But a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future…
A woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be unexpected blessings, and capitalises on them.

A strong woman wears a look of confidence on her face…
But a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey…
But a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

Public Intoxication- truly a Diva Don't!

Hey Divas,

I have been on the longest hiatus ever, working on me and getting myself in order, but I'm back and ready to let you know what's really good!

I witnessed somethings today, and I just HAD to write about them. Think of this as the ultimate DIVA DON'T. First, I want to say that if any of my friends are reading this, this post is not about you in particular, but you definitely are one of my inspirations. Now on to it.

Divas, please don't go out in public and get pissy drunk! This is not cool and you have no control over yourself or your situation. You would hate to wake up next to someone you don't know, or someone you really don't like. Furthermore, it's is so hard to maintain respect for a person who does this.

Divas should look polished and always be in control of her situation- ready to handle whatever comes your way with elegance and class (and maybe a little sass). Relinquishing control over to "Spirits" totally puts you out of your element and makes you look foolish. You do things that you wouldn't normally do, and you will probably feel some regret for doing it.

Having a drink is fine, but know you limits. Always remember, a diva is classy! So when you go out ask yourself, "Am I representing myself properly? When I leave (fill in the blank), what impression will I leave on the people there?" If what you're doing doesn't line up with the answers you want for those questions, change your behavior.

Finally, never use alcohol as a cover up or an escape from your problem. As I always say, you have to fix your inner diva in order for it to be realized on the outside. If you have deep issues that you can only escape by drinking, you have a problem. I'm no psychologist, but I recommend writing them down in a diary, blogging about them, or finding someone you really trust and talking them out. There's nothing worse than having negativity pinned up inside. Don't be a burden on others with your problems, but don't let your problems rob you of your sanity either. Write them down, get them out, pray to God to fix them, and then try as hard as you can to let them go.

It's never that simple to rid yourself of deep issues and problems, but alcohol is the worse cover for it because nothing is covered. In fact, you end up exposing yourself way more drunk than you ever would sober.

Until next time Divas, remember: a true diva is whole on the inside and displays it on the outside. Diva is not a way to dress or to fix your hair. It's an attitude and an outward expression of all the fabulousness that you possess on the inside.

Diva, Don't do That!!!

Hello Divas! It's been a while since I've blogged, and I'll get into the reasons why later. I've been so busy. I'm still so busy, but I have been inspired. The title of this blog is "Diva, don't do that!" The "that" I am referring to is second guessing yourself, and it's based on an experience I had two days ago.

If you know me, you know that I'm a senior in college and that I'll be graduating in four weeks. *Yay me* So this story begins at the end of my junior year. Last May, one of my professors approached me and asked me to do an honors paper and represent my department in the program. I was very honored that I had been asked. Few receive that honor (in fact, I was the only one from my department this year).

I accepted the offer and proceeded to research and write the paper.

Now, keep in mind, this paper is worth 6 credits (or 2 classes) and is expected to be excellent work. Another requirement of the paper is that the scholar does a presentation for the campus (or whoever decides to show up).

So here it is, April. I've worked on this paper for 2 semesters, and it's time for my presentation (on Friday past). So what happens divas? Thursday night I got SOOOOOO nervous. Not at the fact that I had to present, but at the fact that I had to present last. I was so shaken by the fact that others would go before me and that the panel of judges would have other presentations to compare mine to. I was literally shaking in my boots (althought I actually had on cute sling backs *and pearls* hehe).

I was so shaken by this, I couldn't eat, or sleep. I worked on perfecting my presentation all night long. I don't think I could have been more shaken, which is not like me because public speaking is not something that bothers me at all. I was even afraid to attend the other presentations because I thought they would be so good that it would knock my confidence level down even more.

I complained about this so much. Finally my boyfriend said, "you have to go to the other presentations. Look at your competition. Learn from them, and then do better than them." So, I listened to him, and divas, let me tell you what happened when I got to the presentation room:

I sat and watched the other girls present and they BLEW MY MIND!!! There presentations had NOTHING on me! Not only was my presentation the best, it was the most interesting and easy to understand. I had the audience involved- I made them laugh and think critically about my topic. After it was all over I couldn't believe I was THAT nervous. So from that experience, I've learned this:

NEVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER-ESTIMATE YOURSELF!!!!

Don't even do it divas. First of all, you should build your confidence up so high. Go into these kinds of situations knowing that what you have to offer is the best. And on that note, make sure you PREPARE adequately for such an event. Let your light shine bright in every situation you're in. The only way you can shine, though, is if you are charged up! Prepare like you'll be presenting for God Himself. Here are a few tips that can help you be the best you in any social situation:

1. Go into a business session, or a social setting knowing as much as humanly possible about whatever the topic of conversation will be.
2. Dress appropriately for the occasion, and make sure you are entirely comfortable in what you're wearing. (There's nothing worst than being uncomfortable or under-dressed).
3. Think positive. Being nervous is understandable, but there is no reason to be shaken! Learn from my experience, and "don't do that." Quote scripture, sing songs that make you happy, or call a friend for a joke or funny story. Do whatever you need to do to smile and be positive.
   
4. On that note, recite an affirmation that will help you make it through the situation. For my presentation, I wrote on the top of my presentation notes: "Today will be a good day. I will be full of energy, and my presentation will be GREAT!"- and it worked for me.
5. Beleive you can accomplish ANYTHING with the grace of God on your side. The Lord will never put more on you than you can bare.
   
6. Realize that confidence comes from within. Work on your INNER DIVA (as always), and know that YOU CAN DO IT, no matter what it is. Prepare yourself on the inside, and never let 'em see you sweat on the outside.
7. Finally, think of your nervousness as humility. Yes, it is great to be confident, but you must also be humble. You might have the best presentation, or performance than anyone else, but you don't have to go around telling everyone that. Let your actions speak louder than your words.
   

For a quick recap: Never underestimate yourself. Build your confidence from within. Prepare (as much as possible) for what life will throw at you. And always be humble while doing so.

As a last note, know that whatever the situation may be, it will only be temporary. You might have a bad hour or two, but then you will walk out of it and move forward with your life. Try not to stress too much, and when it's all said and done, praise God for being wonderful and seeing you through!

Until next time: love yourself above all, and continue your journey to diva with grace, truth, and positivity. **Muah, Muah**

17 Ways to Love Yourself!

I found this on Myspace and I liked it. This just outlines 17 ways to love the diva within. Enjoy!

1.
Fall in love with Yourself:

Think about what makes you You. Just like a flower that needs watering to grow, learn to nurture yourself in every way. Love yourself for all the good that you see and accept your flaws and the fact that you are imperfect. This does not mean that you do not learn to change from your shortcomings; instead, you are being gentle and kind to yourself for all your flaws. Look in the mirror and fall in love with the reflection that is You.

2.
Eliminate Self Criticism:

Do you often berate yourself over the tiniest thing? Is there a little voice inside your head that often tells you that you are no good because you are stupid or make mistakes. If you find that you criticise yourself often, make an effort to stop the self criticism.

3.
Be Kind And Positive:

When you start to think kindly and positively about yourself, the love you have for yourself just grows. Make it a habit to praise yourself everyday, while in the front of the mirror. Because of such thoughts, you naturally undertake empowering actions that support your development.

4.
Acknowledge Your Effort:

It’s not always about winning or having success in everything that you do. Many times, it is the effort that counts! Acknowledge that you’ve done your best, even if you have failed to produce tangible results.

5.
Let Go Of Worry:

Loving yourself requires you to let go of your worry. It is a horrible way to live a life filled with constant worrying. I can attest to that! Worry does not help in any way. It cannot, on its own, make things happen. Only wise actions can! So instead of worrying, spend time thinking about what you can do to help in the situation. If the situation is beyond your control, then ask the Universe for your desired outcome and let things work out on their own. Things will come to be, if they are meant to be.

6.
Trust Yourself:

Have confidence in your abilities. Know that you have the ability to make important changes for yourself, for as long as you put your heart to it. You can also support yourself by visualizing desired outcomes.

7.
Forgive Yourself:

If you have made mistakes in the past that had caused you to feel less worthy, then you need to forgive yourself. All of us make mistakes; so there really is no need to beat yourself up over them. Or if you’ve been carrying around a baggage of emotional hurt because of a childhood trauma, learn to forgive yourself that it is not your fault.

8.
Be Truthful To Yourself:

Loving yourself requires you to be truthful about your own feelings. If you are happy, acknowledge the joy. If you are sad, acknowledge the sorrow. When you are truthful about your feelings, you do not try to lie to yourself or seek to bury your negative emotions. Instead, acknowledging what you feel provides a good guide to what your thoughts are. And as we all know, thoughts can be changed, so that healing and self growth can take place.

9.
Grow Spiritually:

When you spend time growing spiritually, loving yourself is an automatic thing. You become more peaceful, connected, kind, loving and compassionate. You nurture a mind that grows more beautiful by the day.
How to not love yourself in the process?

10.
Make Positive Affirmations Everyday:

Post affirmations that can help raise your self esteem everyday. For instance, say this to yourself “I love and accept myself completely and unconditionally.” Read your affirmations out loud several times a day.

11.
Express Gratitude:

Express gratitude for the person that you are. For instance, cultivate an appreciation for your strengths and gifts. Also, feel a sense of gratitude that you are alive and well, and fully capable of making a difference in your life.

12.
Nurture Your Dreams:

Why deny yourself your dreams? When you nurture your dreams, you would love the life that you are leading. Every moment that you live is a joy because you are expressing yourself fully.

13.
Boost Your Self Confidence:

Make a deliberate attempt to look for opportunities that can help improve your sense of Self. For instance, if you are particularly good at doing something, set aside more time to indulge and improve your skills on it. Knowing that you have particular gifts can boost your self esteem.

14.
Relax:

You need to give yourself space to take breaks every now and then. If you spend your time working, without paying attention to your health, it also means that you do not love yourself well enough to take care of your own body. Fill your time with silence, soothing music and visions of beauty; anything that nourishes your Soul.

15.
Have Fun:

Inject some fun into your life. Life is meant to be an enjoyable. Don’t take life or yourself too seriously. If you can think of life in this manner, you automatically relax and quit worrying over things that do not matter.

16.
Look After Your Body:

It is important that you strengthen yourself with proper nutrition and regular exercise. Your body is a temple and you should treat it with respect, love and care. It has been found that the lack of self love is often the root causes of conditions like eating disorders, obesity or even terminal diseases.

17.
Learn To See Beauty:

When you learn to see beauty in every thing, you will also see beauty in yourself. Hence, stop to smell the flowers. Notice everything. Feel everything. The pink blush of the flowers in your garden, the greeness of the plains, the whisper of the gentle wind, or the myraid hues of an evening sky.

The definition of diva.

The reason I decided to make a blog about being a diva was because of Beyonce's song "Diva." In her song she says, "A diva is a female version of a hustler." Now I love Beyonce, but I disagree with that statement. To me it makes absolutely no sense, however, I love the fact that Beyonce makes her own definition of 'diva.'

According to Dictionary.com, a diva is a distinguished female singer; prima donna. That is totally inconsistent with the whole point of this blog right? To me a diva is a person (most likely a female) who defines their own journey and destiny, and is not ashamed to be themselves at all times.

You don't have to follow some long list of rules, dress one certain way, or where you hair one way. That's not what being a diva is all about. Being a diva is about defining what you want to be and how you want to be perceived and then working to make yourself that way.

If you want to be 'that bitch' that when you walk in the room all the women are jealous and all the men are speechless- then hey, find out what you need to do to be that person. Personally, I want to be strong, successful, pretty, fashionable, articulate, and fun to be around. I put things on this blog that are some-what catered to my journey to diva, but are also general enough that other people can enjoy.

Another main point that I hope comes across here is that YOU define what you want to be. Don't be guided by famous people, or others. Really sit down and think about what you want to be/how you want to be, and then come up with a strategy to do that. Even if you just come up with a starting point, start! I would recommend getting rid of that bad habit that you have. You'll feel accomplished and it will compel you to do more to better yourself and your situation.

So lets sum it up: Being a diva is about defining yourself, and appreciating your journey to becoming the person you want to be. Appearance can easily be altered, but we all know that 'diva' comes from within and any real modification you want to make will also have to come from within.

Always stay true to you and love the diva within. Until next time, **Muah**

Your INNER Diva!!! (Breaking bad habits)

Working to improve yourself is difficult. You may have deep (or not so deep) emotional and psychological issues, a messed up childhood, and a whole host of issues that can stop you from being the best YOU that you could be. And for that I really can't help you. I'm not a doctor or a psychologist- so if your issues lie that deep, then by all means see a therapist. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and even if you are, your visits are confidential and you don't have to tell anyone.

Now for the not-so-deep issues that you can solve on your own:

To try to be your best, work on breaking your bad habits. Now I don't mean those things that you do that annoy other people but that you don't have a problem with. If you don't have a problem with it the forget what others think of you, however, if you do have a problem with one of your habits, then you should try changing it.

Personally, I have a few bad habits that I'd like to work on, but my advice is to work on one at a time, and not to move on until you've mastered that one. Give yourself a time line of when you want to be done with that bad habit, and then get to work. Do whatever it takes to rid yourself of that habit because once you do you will not only be a better person, but you will feel good that you accomplished your goal and it will reassure you that you can do anything!

The bad habit that I'm working on now is pushing the snooze button! It may not seem like such a bad thing to you, but I'm always running behind or rushing because I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to sleep! This can get in the way of my *diva* because being late to things (especially job interviews, important meetings, work in general, or a friends' performance/party, etc) sends off a bad message. It's almost like saying that you don't care for [insert event here] and that you'd rather not be there.

To be a *diva* you shouldn't make people feel that way. Always be respectful of people and their time. If you don't want people to waist your time, don't waist theirs. Fashionably late applies to parties and social settings. Never conduct business that way (late) because you'll come off as a prima-donna (dare I say b****), and unorganized, and not as a classy woman.

Now, with all that said, the question is what do you do to break a bad habit? (I'll answer that by relying on a good resource- ehow):

1. Decide how serious you are about breaking the habit. In addition to a strong commitment, you'll need time and energy to pay attention to your behavior so that you can change it.

2. Keep track of when you do the behavior. Keep a notepad or journal handy.

3. Write down when it happens (what is the situation) and what you were thinking and feeling. Writing increases your awareness of when and why you have this habit.

4. Read and think about what you write down. What does this habit do for you? Is it a way to deal with feelings of boredom, anxiety, stress, anger?

5. Think of what you could do instead of the habit that would be a more positive way to deal with the feelings or situation. Write down some simple alternative behaviors that you could do instead. Pick one you want to practice.

6. Try to catch yourself when you find yourself doing the habit and stop yourself as soon as you can. Start the alternative behavior you decided you wanted to do instead.

7. Aim to do this once a week and increase the number of times per week over time. The more you practice a new behavior, the more it becomes the new *good* habit.

8. Get support from others by letting them know you are working on the habit and telling them what they can do to help.

The bottom line is this: being a true diva starts from within and breaking bad habits is an easy way to help you feel good about yourself-so start there! Always stay true to yourself and make yourself feel good about who you are and what you represent. Never underestimate the power of change! (Hey if it worked for Obama, it can work for you.)

If there's something you don't like about yourself, change it. Don't let people around you dictate how you have to live your life. Know that flexibility is an essential part of womanhood and that includes your personality, style, hair color, and even the food you eat. Don't get trapped into a box because you feel scared of what's in front of you. Face it head on and love yourself while doing it.

(And if you don't like your new self- don't hesitate to try over again. Reinvent yourself as often as possible until you feel good (and comfortable) with yourself!)

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