Nova monologue: This is it

The grand finale. The last shebang.

MJ planned the culmination of his career with a magnificent tour that headlined these words. A fantastic proclamation of success, a token showing of his unparalleled contribution to this world. An amazing legacy. A celebration of excellence.

Even though he was never able to see it through, the world still got one final ‘show’ in the form of a limited release movie. Yesssssssss.

I utter those words too sometimes, just not in those same way.

Same words, different intonation. Different smiley face. Different implied punctuation.

It sounds more like “This is IT?”.

I can get caught up with the minute details of life; setting goals, reaching them…or not, and then setting some more. Intensely analytical by nature, I am always compelled to have some sort of… plan in an effort to seek clarity and direction, if only just in my head. Of course this is life that I am talking about so clarity is ever illusive and every now and then I forget the big picture and walk around wondering “This is it?  Really?  This is my life?”

Then something happens. No fancy smancy pyrotechnics or anything. Something small.

A call from a best friend or a long lost one.

An email from a colleague or family member saying ‘job well done’

Or I run into long lost cutie in person… or, well virtually, lets get real (no pun intended), and some happy distant memory brings a smile to my face and my heart starts beating again.

*INHALE*

Yessssssssss. “This is it”.

This is my life

And you know what? It ain’t too shabby after all.

 

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Sexy State of Mind
Nova monologue: Having it all
It’s not me, it’s you 

 

What would you do?: Human Nature

Don’t hate. Discriminate

Fats get a really bad rep in our society, but not all fat is bad fat. As a matter of fact fat serves some pretty important functions in our body. 

Fats:
- Provide insulation for the body
- Helps to maintain body temperature (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, 36 degrees Celsius)
- Protects the reproductive system
- Stores energy, and provides energy over a longer time than glycogen
- Gives blood cells flexibility
- Stores nutrients (essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins D, E, K and A)

 

Fat also serves an important barrier function to the skin. Fat molecules in sebum (oil present in skin) attaches to epidermal cells and forms a sealed barrier that keeps water in the body, hereby preventing dehydration and keeping skin hydrated, supple and smoooooooooooth. 

 

There are different types of fats, saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and trans fatty acids.

Saturated fatty acids (Saturated fats) contribute to the risk of heart disease by raising blood cholesterol levels.

These fats are commonly found in many ‘fast’foods, in commercial products such as biscuits and pastries, in dairy products like cream, ice-cream, sour cream, cheese, butter and in oils which have a tendency to solidify or be solid at room temperature such as coconut and cotton seed oil.

Though cholesterol-rich foods should be limited, ingesting saturated fats raises blood cholesterol level much higher than eating cholesterol-rich foods. Dietary cholesterol can only be found in animal products such as fatty meats, shellfish, egg yolks, full dairy products and liver, kidney and animal brains*side eye*.

Unsaturated fatty acids (Unsaturated fats) are thought to reduce blood cholesterol. There are two types of unsaturated fats – mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated.

Sources of mono-unsaturated fats include margarine spreads such as canola or olive oil based choices, and peanut oils, avocado, and nuts such as peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews and almonds.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids have a slightly greater impact on lowering blood cholesterol than mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Sources include fish, seafood, polyunsaturated margarines, vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn or soy oils, nuts such as walnuts and brazil nuts, and seeds.

Replacing saturated fats in your diet with either mono-unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, for example replacing butter with olive or canola oil in certain dishes can assist in lowering blood cholesterol. 

Trans fatty Acids (Trans fats) are the real bad boys in this dance. 

Better Health states that:

“Trans fatty acids are considered to behave like saturated fats in the body; they raise LDL (bad) levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Unlike saturated fats, they tend to lower HDL (good) cholesterol, so are potentially even more damaging. It is the trans fats that are produced during food manufacturing that you should be most concerned about, not the trans fats present naturally in certain foods. Look for margarines that have less than one per cent trans fats on the label or choose foods with the Heart Foundation Tick. Limit how much takeaway food and packaged snack foods you eat.”

Trans fatty acids are rare in nature – only created in the rumen of cows and sheep, and are naturally found in small amounts in milk, cheese, beef and lamb.

The bulk of Trans fatty acids are created during the manufacture of some table margarines, hard hydrogenated margarines, shortening and other solid spreads used in the food industry to make baked products such as pies, pastries, cakes, biscuits and buns. Chances are they can be found in those packaged cookies and chips on the supermarket shelf that show an expiry date of 24 August 2415.

 

Let’s choose our fats wisely

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Works consulted
Better Health
Foundation for Integrated Medicine
 

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Selecting the right foundation

Ever saw a chick and wonder, what the hell was she thinking? “… Did she see herself before she left the house?…” 

It’s a whole lot easier to judge than to choose the right foundation; especially one that stands up to flashing lights.

If you choose to wear foundation, choosing the right foundation is key to achieving a natural look, otherwise you are better off wearing none at all. The type of foundation you choose will depend on many factors, including:
- Skin type and condition and
- Skin undertone

Therefore it stands to reason that not only do you need to select a foundation in the right colour, but you also need to find one in the right formulation for your skin.

Colour

Foundations should match your skin color/ tone exactly. If you are going to spend the money anyway, buy the right colour. With the plethora of shades available today there is no excuse to wear foundation in the wrong colour.

To find the right colour, apply foundation to a cleansed area of your jawline and not on your neck, wrist or on the back of your hand; It is not common for the colour of your face and that of your hands to be the same, wrists or otherwise.

Blend foundation into jawline, view in natural light or incandescent light (not fluorescent light) and ensure that it blends perfectly.

You should be second guessing as to where the makeup was applied. If you find yourself rubbing vigorously to blend the makeup in after various tries, keep it moving and try another.

There are different skin undertones, primarily yellow, pink  and olive. It is important to get a foundation that matches the undertone of your skin to achieve the most natural look. Generally, medium to darker skin tones usually carry a yellow undertone. Many lighter caucasian skin tones carry a pink undertone and Mediterranean skin usually carries an olive skin tone. If you are of mixed descent, no worries,  you may have to spend a little more time at the makeup counter.

If you have difficulty finding your colour in an inexpensive brand, it is worth it to spend the extra bucks to find a foundation that is right for you. It is very common to find foundations with a pink or cool undertone. Foundations with yellow or warm undertone are not as abundant. 

Formulation
Foundations can come in all different types and forms, including compact powders, mineral powders, dual cream/ powder blends,  tinted moisturizers, liquid formulations  as well as cream formulations.

Powdered formulations work well for Combination/ oily skin types and cream formulations work well for normal to dry skin types. Liquid formulations can work for either oily or dry skin types as there are both oil-free and oil-based liquid formations (respectively). See skin types here.

In some cases, especially where there may be pigmentation issues on the skin – certain areas like around the mouth or the chin area may be a shade or two darker than the forehead for example, it may be necessary to use two different shades of foundation and blend them where they meet. If applying one tone (usually the darker tone over the areas with lighter skin) does not seem unnatural it may not be necessary to do this.

Using a loose powder all over the face after application will help to tie both foundations together. 

Let us all strive to build our makeup on the right foundation shall we.

.

Supernova

Related GC post
Q/A: Which type of foundation is for me?

 

 

Random music quote of the day: Barenaked Ladies

“I feel fine enough, I guess, considering everything’s a mess”

-Pinch Me, Barenaked Ladies

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Gotta love Mondays y’all!

Have a great one.

Supernova