Real mint: smells a lot better than it tastes

I was so excited. So freaking excited. After a long while, my mom had finally bought me some spearmint tea!

I don't think I've mentioned that I love the flavour of mint. That is, the kind you get in little tins. Needless to say, I was not prepared for the taste of real mint.

I thought it would be fantastic. It smelled good. The tea bags. They smelled delicious.

What a rude awakening. They tasted NOTHING like the "mint" flavour that I loved so much. NOTHING. Clearly my sugar levels are much too high.

I hope that I'll like the taste better when I get used to it. It doesn't taste BAD, just...unexpected. Plus, you catch a whiff of the smell as you drink, so it gives you the illusion of mint leaves, which taste reasonable.  Spearmint tea has a lot of benefits: as well has containing a high amount of antioxidants (those lower your risk of cancer), it also lowers the levels of the male hormone androgen in your body, which causes facial hair growth.

Other foods that are high in antioxidants include:

• blueberries
• cranberries
• dried prunes (yum!)
• pecans
• apples

Luckily they all taste good.

Also, the spearmint tea makes my throat feel pretty fresh, which is awesome.

Anyways, I've got a truckload of homework to get working on. Bye.

Team #Fail

This was too useful not to share. I know which team I'm on ;) but which team are you?

Sleeping Tips

Who doesn't love sleep? It's funny how we hated sleep time back in elementary school, when plenty was available to us, but after that even a few hours of sleep is a treasure. That doesn't mean you can't get the most out of your shut-eye. Here are seven must-know facts about sleeping.

1. Hour naps keep you alert for 10 hours afterward. Have to pull an all-nighter? Never fear! Get a good hour of sleep just before, and you're good to go. Be warned, however, you may experience post-sleep grogginess by exceeding 45 minutes of sleep. A solution I always go for is splashing my face with cold water. The shock wakes up your brain. Hopefully.
2. Don't work/study in your room if you can help it. By doing so, you are associating struggling, stress and tension with your room. This can have a negative effect on your sleep--you will start stressing out in your sleep. Of course, this isn't possible for everyone.
3. If you're going to exercise before bed, do it at least 30 minutes before. That's exactly the time it will take for your body to feel tired. Any less than that, and your body will still be alert, and you'll have trouble falling asleep.
4. Stay cool. I find that curling up in my blankets, unless it's really really cold, often has me up in the middle of the night, sweating and sweltering hot. Not good. A cool, relaxed temperature helps for the best sleep.
5. Don't drink caffeine right before bed. Actually, don't drink anything with sugar. This should be self-explanatory.
6. Those who sleep more are less likely to gain weight (and acne). It's true! Sleep deprivation can lead to stress, which can trigger your hormones to start storing fat. Stress also leads to acne.
7. Try to have a regular sleep time and wake-up. Your body works well on a routine. Bathroom stuff comes regularly, wakefulness is much improved, you'll feel less sleepy at other times because your body knows it will get sleep later.

Hope these helped anyone who needed them. What are your best tips for having a good sleep?

Maintaining A Healthy Weight (and Skin)

This is NOT a post for those who want to lose a drastic amount of weight. Sorry, I can't help you there. But for those of you who fear that you're going to start gaining weight, or just want to live a healthier lifestyle, here are a few important tips. Note that most of these tips actually work for maintaining clear skin as well.

• Drink water. Water has zero calories. It speeds up your metabolism (the rate at which your body burns fat). It's a great way to curb cravings. It flushes out toxins in your skin. Feeling hungry? Drink a glass of water. At any point in time, any transition, any pause, drink a glass of water. 
• Don't skip meals. Many people skip breakfast or other meals in order to lose weight. Well, erratic mealtimes have precisely the opposite effect. Our bodies, while they have adapted to today's world, they are always prepared for the worst. In fact (mini geek diversion here) when we store fat, it is in case we don't see another meal. So by not establishing a proper schedule for eating, we are telling our bodies that we don't know when we'll next eat. This prompts our bodies to store more fat in case we have to go a long time without food. Another bad effect of skipping meals is that we are so hungry by the time it's time to eat that we overeat. 
• Get 10 hours of sleep each night. While this can be hard to achieve, getting lots of sleep actually speeds up our metabolism. It keeps us alert and energized. Also, feeling tired can lead to feeling stressed, which can lead to acne.
• Satisfy cravings. Just because a food is bad for you doesn't mean you should totally stop eating it. In fact, if you do this, one day you might just crack and eat way more than is necessary. I know this from experience. Set a strict rule for yourself: one small portion of this food each day, and no more than that! That way, you'll get your fill of this food while still eating healthy.
• Exercise. This doesn't necessarily mean do a workout every day (though that would definitely help). Do it in small ways. Take the stairs whenever possible. If you can walk, avoid driving. Exercise before eating. It's said that you burn more calories if you exercise before eating as opposed to after.

Of course, you won't start to see results immediately. Sometimes weight-gain (or acne) happens because of hormones, and this is something you can't control. It's ok. Do your best, and everything will even out in the end.

Facial Yoga

So I was browsing around, wasting time as usual (wink, wink) and guess what I found?

There's body yoga.

There's breathing yoga.

And there's...facial yoga?

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as facial yoga, and it is supposed to be the "new Botox". Regularly practicing this type of yoga correctly is said to keep your face as healthy and youthful as does a face-lift. Interesting, eh? The best part is that you don't even need any materials or stuff like that: all you need is your face. You can do it anytime, any place--although I would discourage you from pulling these faces in public.

Here are a couple of my favourites.

Surprise!

This exercise keeps your forehead smooth by working the muscles around your eyes and forehead. Simply widen your eyes and stare at a point until your eyes start to water. Longer, if possible. Repeat.

Baby Bird

This exercise prevents jowl formation (otherwise known as the loose skin that hangs down from your jaw) by keeping those muscles firm. Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth, look up, smile, and swallow. It's going to feel as if your skin is splitting, but that's ok. Just don't overdo it.

Cheeky

This exercise keeps your cheeks firm and toned by keeping cheek muscles perky. Puff out your cheeks as much as possible and hold for as long as possible.

Buddha Face

This is a relaxing exercise that basically smooths out all of your face. Close your eyes, imagine a point between the brows, and smile very slightly.

Those are just a few of my favourites. While it looks silly, yoga actually does work. Try it sometime. What works for you?

Hair Tips

If you're anything like me, you have really thick, wavy, nearly unmanageable hair. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair (thanks, mom, dad). Everyone wants shiny, soft, smooth hair, so here's what I do to maintain my hair. Oh, and all the credit goes to my mom, who taught me this stuff, because her hair is even thicker and softer and shinier than mine.

Many people wash their hair everyday. I don't. I do it once a week, usually Saturday. It's not necessary  for me to wash it everyday because I wear it in a ponytail all the time. Many of my friends balk at this, but then again, they wear their hair down all the time, so it needs washing more often. Plus, my hair would get super rough if I washed it everyday. Anyways, to each his own.

Washing Hair:

• The night before I shampoo my hair, I cover it (rub it into my scalp, too) in oil and lay a towel over my pillow. Keep this in overnight, it's like a pre-condition. There are several oils that work. I use an Indian oil called "Bhringraj Tel", but you can use any of these oils:
• Coconut oil
• Almond oil
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Any other kind of oil that comes from veggies/fruits
• While shampooing, I take a small mug and put in a small dollop of shampoo. Then I fill up the mug halfway with water and mix it up with my fingers. I'm diluting the shampoo. This way the shampoo spreads and cleans all my hair and isn't too much. I use anti-dandruff shampoo, but any shampoo is ok as long as it's diluted. Then wash it off nicely.
• ALWAYS USE COLD (AS COLD AS YOU CAN TOLERATE) WATER WHILE WASHING YOUR HAIR! Hot water breaks bonds. Cold water keeps the shine in and helps with frizz control.
• I use Kirkland Conditioner, it smells neutral and it's really awesome. Generally I squirt liberal amounts of conditioner onto my palm and spread it all over my hair. Then I use a wide tooth comb to carefully spread the conditioner to all parts. Then I use one of those clips (I call 'em crocodile clips) to keep my conditioned hair on top of my head. That's when I wash the rest of myself/brush my teeth or whatever. Anything to keep you occupied for five minutes. Then I let it down and wash it all off. 

Drying Hair:

• I DON'T use a towel to rub the water off. I let my hair loose and tame it with a wide tooth comb. In all honesty, it's best to let it dry before combing it at all, but you can't really walk around the house with hair that poofs up and curls like mine.
• Once it's dry, you can brush it.

Smoothing Hair:

• For smooth hair, you can either braid it or twist it up into a bun. Or two. I prefer to twist it because braiding makes it all curly. Me want wavy! No curly!
• Leave the bun in for as long as possible (this is why I do this whole thing over the weekend).
• Take down. Ta da! Smooth, beautiful hair!
• If it's still frizzy, you can use a mild oil to tame it. It won't make your hair stringy. I use Keo Karpin. But usually I don't put oil in my hair.

Happy hair!

5 Creative Anti-Smoking Ads

These anti-smoking ads are both creative and effective. Ugh. Imagine brushing your teeth with cigarettes.