Office Party Etiquette

Office party season y’alls. Be it a big bram or a small but sophisticated gathering, how you act in a social office setting can tell your employer and your teammates a lot about your undercover personality(ies). Resist the urge to veer too far away from the person who you show up to work as everyday.

Ease off the liquor

“Two drinks is the…” maximum.

It is difficult for your subordinates to respect you after they’ve had to escort you out the office building to help you find your car, or for your superiors to seriously consider you for that promotion after they’ve seen your table top moves.

No chugging of drinks guys, it’s not a boys lime. Eat something solid, drink water and pace yourself. Ladies, if you know that you can’t handle the liquor, skip the rum punch, the Shandy and the black cake, and stick to ginger ale or sorrel on the rocks, in one of those fancy glasses, with an umbrella and a slice of lemon.

Dress appropriately

Ladies especially, it may be the festive season, there may be spiked punch, and people may be smiling and laughing more than usual but you are still in an office setting, and so office dress code rules still apply. Keep the goodies under wraps and go the sophisticated route clothing wise, but feel free to overdo it with the shoes, accessories and the hair if it fancies you. 

- No excessively short dresses/ skirts

- No inappropriate slits and/ or holes

- Keep cleavage under control and

- Keep makeup tastefully done and naturally flawless to enable the look to last throughout the night.

There may be professional photographers in the mix. These office clicks can stay in the company’s files forever, and the company may use them at will. Bring your best self.

Don’t do double duty. Don’t wear your club clothing to an office party. It’s safer to wear your office grown ‘n sexy look to the club than it is for you to wear your club get up to your office party. Still, if this doesn’t work for you, walk with a change of clothing.

If  unsure, go alone.

This may sound far fetched, but it happens. If you are single and aren’t dating anyone, resist the urge to bring along some random person as your ‘guest’.

Office parties are tricky enough when you know your colleagues. Unless you are VERY familiar with how this individual will act in a corporate environment, as awkward as you may feel doing so, go to your office shindig stag. Dress to the nines, show up and show out, and enjoy yourself. This is a chance for you to show your superiors that you aren’t only smart and possess a great work ethic, but you have a lighter side as well and know how to enjoy yourself like a grown up. 

The last thing you want to do is have your work reputation jeopardized by a guest who sulked in the corner the entire night, or worse drank too much and literally let it all spill out on the dance floor, or better still, left with your boss. Things are going to get well sticky in the office tomorrow.

 

Seen any office party faux pas in your lifetime? Why not share them below so that we don’t make the same mistakes!

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Skin Type | Oily Skin

Oily skin secretes excessive sebum, oils that are excreted by the skin. Some characteristics of oily skin are:

- Oily shine all over the face
- Thicker texture
- Enlarged pores
- Frequent breakouts
- Possible open comedones (blackheads)
- Closed comedones (whiteheads)
- Acne prone skin

Treatment

Proper management of oily skin requires that it’s secretions are balanced. Excess secretions create a favourable environment for bacteria to thrive and multiply, so it is important that bacterial activity is controlled on the skin by the use of appropriate cleansers, toners and treatment products like acne-control spot treatments for example. 

Cosmetic products that work at absorbing oil and thereby allowing the skin to appear matte also work well for oily skin. Clay masks, such as those made out of kaolin clay, work well at extracting impurities out of skin’s pores as it dries, and can also give the appearance of tighter firmer skin, and smaller pores. Other cosmetic products include oil absorbing paper products and  non-comedogenic, (does not clog pores) oil absorbing powders.

Products that contain ingredients like  benzoyl peroxide, sulphur and salicylic acid for example, are commonly used in the T-Zone area (forehead, nose and chin) to treat breakouts, blackheads and whiteheads . 

Deep cleansing cleansers, which are usually foamy, work well for oily skin types. However, just like dry skin, it is important that the skin’s protective barrier isn’t totally stripped by using harsh cleansers, as doing so would only trigger the skin to produce more oils to compensate for it’s protective layer being removed. This is the skin’s only way of balancing itself.

Exfoliation

Oily skin types benefit from chemical exfoliation, the use of acid agents such as salicylic and lactic acid, or enzyme agents such as bromelain, naturally found in pineapples and papain, which is found in papaya (paw paw). The use of scrubs, a form of manual exfoliation, should be limited as this physical stimulation of skin encourages an increase in the skin’s oil production, which is not desirable for skin that is already rich in oils.

Dehydration

It is not uncommon for oily skin types to be dehydrated. When skin lacks water, it compensates for this by producing more oil. You may find that on days where you are not on top of your water intake, your skin appears shiner, and oilier than usual. Keep water intake up, as well as moisturize oil prone skin with fluid-like, water based moisturizers to help prevent against excess oil production.

Aging

As we age, the skin’s production of sebum decreases, and skin gets less oily and more dry. Under the same conditions, skins with an excess production of oil typically age less rapidly than do dry skin types.

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Tip: Skin Types
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Vids| Baz Luhrmann "Everybody's Free"

Word.

Music quote of the day: Timbaland

” Let them talk, let them watch, Take a pic, Let it click.
They can say what they want but it don’t mean ish.”

- Rumours, Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson and Jay-Z

It is what it is. Go get yours.

Happy Monday y’alls!

What would you do?: Mistaken Identity (Pt. 1)

Joe’s having a rough day, that’s about to turn into a rough week.  Thanks to the bright ideas that his team leader insists on mass producing, those reports that were to be completed by the end of the quarter, a little over three weeks away, are now due before the end of the week for ‘review’.

Who the hell needs three weeks of review time anyways? An over-achieving, I-have-no-social-life loser is what Joe thinks. But clearly what he thinks is irrelevant since he’s gotten not one of those three promotions that were up for grabs earlier this year, losing them all to the same young spark with the ten thousand degrees and the latin, greek and chinese alphabet that strings along after his name… who just joined the company like when, yesterday?

Doesn’t investing 5 years of your divine given talent give you some kind of clout these days?, Joe fumes to himself. I mean you could win a friggin’ lifetime service award with that at some companies. Anyways, with so much knowledge, young spark should know that black socks, brown shoes and navy slacks isn’t where it’s at. Black is not the new navy bro’. Great. Now he has a boss who’s both younger than he is, and has no sense of style whatsoever. Freakin’ Fantastic. 

Granted, he should have started those reports a while ago, but that’s not the point. He’s been distracted. His relationship has taken an extremely awkward turn, and he’s not quite sure what he’s supposed to make out of it.

As a man, clearly his pride has taken a hit, but he’s not too sure that it’s one of those ‘Take one for the team’ kind of hits. Things haven’t been so hot in his personal relationship bedroom lately and now this. He wonders if he’s doing something wrong.

Meanwhile, Sally’s in the Manager’s ladies room stall, on the phone with her loud mouth bff, trying to hold it together and not catch a case this bright and early Monday morning. Last night was NOT cute.

“OMG!!! Is he for real! Does he know who YOU are Sally?” Loud Mouth instigates.

” You can have any man you want, Hell, you don’t need to put up with that kind of BS. You too fabulous to put up with that ish!!! … I know a girl who had that happen to her and when she got to the bottom if it, homeboy was getting it in with her sister!” adds motor-mouth, who always knows somebody who has experienced something.

What would you do if while getting it in, your partner screams out a name that AIN’T yours?

Take the poll below.

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Q/A: Mistaken Identity (Pt. 2)
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All-in-One Meals

Eating properly doesn’t have to be a production, and need not require cast and crew. 

Cooking up a healthy, nutritious meal can require little effort and just one pan – be it a skillet, a Crock-Pot or slow cooker, a wok or a saucepan.

Stews, soups, pies, jambalayas (pelau anyone?), or stir fries, the variety of foods you can make by just combining all the ingredients in one pan are endless.

You would need at least one type of all of the following:

- Protein
- Vegetable
- Grain or Starch 

and add appropriate seasonings to taste and it’s on like boil’ corn. 

Switch up the esthetics of the food. Tease your eyes and boost your nutrition by substituting vegetables of different colours and  switching to different proteins and grains/ starch from time to time. Also, switch up the taste by experimenting with different herbs and spices, and leave excess sugar and salt out of the mix. For sweetness for example, add some sweet potatoes/ yams to the mix.

Just toss the ingredients into the slow cooker before you head to work, turn that baby on, and come home to a hot, satisfying home-cooked meal.

Alternatively, toss in the ingredients into the cooker at night, close the lid and go to sleep. You’ll wake up to a hot meal that you can pack yourself for lunch.

Slow, simmered, root vegetable foods are rich, flavourful and exactly what the doctor has ordered for the winter blues or end-of-year family get togethers. 

You save time, energy and money, and best of all, you have less dishes to wash!

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Nail Savers

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Apart from clipping or polishing, some of us don’t think about very much else regarding our nails. Here are some steps that we can take to protect their health. 

1. Don’t use your nails as tools

Invest in a can opener, staple remover, varnish remover and bathroom scrubber.

2. Limit water logging and chemical contact.

Water is not a nail’s best friend. The nail bed is relatively porous and  too much water will result in the nail becoming overly flexible and fragile.  Although it may be relaxing, resist the urge to have your nails soak for extended periods of time in water at your nail salon. Nails do not have to soak that long, or at all, for the cuticle to be pushed back and/ or removed. Also consider:

- Using rubber/ vinyl household gloves for washing dishes/ cleaning around your house/ apartment.

- Using disposable latex or vinyl, cosmetic or pharmaceutical gloves when washing roots of hair. This will protect your nails from the stripping effect of the cleansers present in most shampoos. 

Further to not water logging nails, use gloves when working with detergents, and other household chemicals. 

Acrylic nails also do a number on the nail plate and will cause some damage to it. This damage may be made worse if these cosmetic nails are not properly applied and removed. Any damage caused to the nail during this process may be irreversible.

3. Quit the biting habit

It’s unsightly, can damage nail bed and allows you to ingest bacteria. Ew. Come on, we’re grown folk now.

4. Nourish Nails

Whether or not you wear nail polish, use cuticle oil daily on natural nails, at least every night just before you retire to bed.

Cuticle oil is available at any beauty supply store or pharmacy. Alternatively you can use the following  oils that you may already have in your pantry/ skin-care cabinet:
- Jojoba
- Vitamin E
- Almond
- Grapeseed
- Olive

When applied along the sides of the nail plate (where the nail meets the flesh of your fingers/ toes), these oils condition the nail, as well as soften the cuticle and the surrounding skin, preventing the skin from becoming dry and brittle. This can also prevent the splits and rips that tend to occur  on the skin that surrounds the nail area.

When applied to the cuticle and rubbed on the natural nail, these oils also aid in preventing moisture loss through the nail plate.

5. Eat well and get physical.

The growth of your nail plate is affected by your nutrition, lifestyle and general health. 

Hydrate, take your multivitamins and eat your green and leafys.

Tappity Tap.

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Music quote of the day: Octavia

“The good times we shared, I always will remember
But don’t wait for me to change, it will be a warm day in December.”

- 2 The Limit, Octavia

*snicker* 

Happy Friday y’alls!

Have a safe, wonderful weekend.

Be blessed.

Maintaining the flab

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Personal health is tied very closely to financial health.

A person is considered obese if s/he is morbidly overweight, i.e. the person is at a risk of dying based on health complications that s/he has developed because of his/her weight.

Obesity is very expensive. Suze Orman, internationally acclaimed personal finance expert, shared some interesting tidbits on Obesity in America with the contestants of NBCs “Biggest Loser”, Season 8.  

Apparently, research has shown that:

- Obese people earn less than people who aren’t obese, on average about $7,000 per year. 

This is based on a number of factors including more sick days taken, and the increased cost to the employer for things such as health care insurance.

- On average, a family who eats just one meal at home every day can save up to $8,760 in just one year.

The average daily cost of the meal was calculated at $24.

- Americans spend $4.4 billion dollars per year on gastric bypass surgery.

With an average cost of $20,000 per surgery, that works out to 220,000 people per year.

- Obesity related healthcare issues cost Americans $147 billion dollars per year, 63% more than is spent on cancer related issues.

- An individual who has moved from being at an obese weight to his/her ideal weight would on average save $1 million dollars, in health care and other costs related to obesity, over 40 years.

Wowzers.

Makes you want to drop and do 3 sets of 12, STAT.

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POSSIBLY RELATED GC POSTS

Diet Downfalls
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Dining | Manners maketh Man 

Skin Type| Dry Skin

Dry skin is one of four categories of skin types, and is the skin type that lacks oil. Some characteristics of dry skin may include:

- Thin texture
- Lack of sebum (skin’s oil secretions)
- No oily film present
- Tight/ taut sensation
- Lack of suppleness and tone
- Matte complexion
- Closed pores
- Rough texture
- Flakes of dehydration
- Expression lines (frown, smile etc) as a result of reduced natural lubrication and superficial dehydration
- Dull, lackluster skin 

Treatment

As the protective barrier on dry skin is already compromised, harsh, soapy, detergent cleansers can completely ‘strip’ skin’s protective barrier. Products with a higher oil (lipid) content work well for dry skin as they help reinforce this protective layer.

Cream or emollient cleansers, conditioning cleansers that are ‘non-soapy’ and often have either a thick or a fluid like milky look, work best for dry skin, especially chronically dry skin – skin that is prone to cracking, splitting and bleeding. The thicker the consistency of the cream cleanser, the more beneficial it is to drier skin, as the more oils the cleanser contains.

These same rules apply when choosing a moisturizer for dry skin. The drier the skin the more it benefits from the oils present in cream based moisturizers.

Exfoliation

For normal to dry skin, frequent mechanical exfoliation, with the use of appropriately mild facial scrubs 2-3 times a week is beneficial, as it helps shed the over abundance of dead skin cells present on the skin’s surface that can contribute to a dull, lackluster skin tone. 

This exfoliation of normal to dry skin also helps stimulate the skin’s sebaceous (oil) glands and promote the skin’s production of oils that this skin type lacks.

Harsh exfoliating agents such as crushed walnut/ apricot shells should not be used on the face, especially on chronically dry skin. Even though these shells may be finely crushed, the pieces are not uniformly smooth and may contain sharp edges that can rip, tear and damage the skin’s surface.

Exfoliating agents that dissolve in water, like crushed cornmeal or exfoliating agents that contain spherical ‘microbeads’ work better at exfoliating skin without damaging its structure.

Alternatively, products that contain chemical exfoliating agents like alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as glycolic and lactic acids  can work well to smoothen rough-textured, dry and dehydrated skin. Contact your skin care therapist before you start using these products as incorrect use can severely damage skin.

Dehydration

Usually, but not always, dry skin is also dehydrated. Therefore, using products that contain a high water content, like toners and/ or fluid moisturizers, can help to hydrate the skin, leaving it more soft and supple.

Drinking the required amount of water daily and having a diet full of vegetables (that contain mostly water) also assist dry skin to maintain flexibility.

Aging

Because dry skin often is dehydrated and lacks oil, suppleness and tone, it is prone to faster aging than oily skin. A proper and consistent moisturizing habit as well as the use of sunscreen are two ways to help prevent pre-mature aging.

Possibly related posts
Q/A: Is toner important?    
Q/A: Skin type vs. Skin condition 
 Premature aging