My Battle with Acne Scars; Clearasil New! Refreshing Superfruit Wash

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Clearasil, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SuperFruits  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and struggled with what you saw. Have you cried at the image looking back at you, reminding you of something that will be there forever. Have you ever wished that you could change something about yourself, improve a characteristic, or make it all go away completely. I think most women around the world can attest to struggling with a physical characteristic or flaw. Whether that be too big, too small, too dark, too light, too short, too tall. For me that characteristic is something that I have to stare at day in day out. My face.

Growing up, I was that teenager that when going through puberty, I developed that inevitable, ugly acne. I'd have periods where it would get better, and periods where it would get worse. But never would it go away. I did what your mother always tells you not to do, and that is to pick at those dreaded awful little {sometimes big} red blemishes that stare at you all day. All I wanted was for them to go away. But instead of doing that, they only got worse.

Looking back, I wish so badly I would have listened to my mother. Not the only time that I have said that in my life. I remember specifically sitting in the car, driving home from school, and crying at the wheel. I had had one of the biggest breakouts and my face was tired. I was tired. And I wished so badly that I could have that flawless perfect skin that so many other girls my age were walking the halls with. It was in that moment that I realized that although I may not be able to make this go away, I better figure out a way to live with it.

A good skin regimen is, I believe, what finally got me through that time in my life. It's what helped to battle the breakouts and what minimized the severity of those breakdowns. Clearasil was a cleanser I remember specifically using. One of the few that stuck through during the trial and error phase. One of those that I could feel a difference as soon as I put it on. I was excited to be able to test out their new line of cleansers, Clearasil's NEW! Daily Clear Refreshing Superfruit Cleansers , which are made with sensorial Superfruit Extracts, mildly medicated with 1% salicylic acid acne medication, and help to prevent future blemishes from surfacing.

Are you struggling with acne? If so, my advice to you is this:

1. Don't pick! Don't don't don't do it. If you don't want to listen to your mother {like me}, then please listen to me and learn from my experience.  

2. Set up a routine, a skin regimen that you will stick with. Your skin needs as much TLC as possble. 

 3. Go to Walmart and buy the Clearasil's NEW! Daily Clear Refreshing Superfruit Cleansers and save $1.00 by using this coupon. 

Today, acne has completely gone away {with the exception of a pop up here and there}. The only thing I am left with is scars. Scars that will forever remind me of what tormented me for so long during the teenage years.  Scars that I'm sure will lead to my children asking about them.

Which then, I can get on my soap box proudly and say, "Kids... don't pick! And take care of your skin!"

We should all listen to our mothers more often.

My Workout Gear. Work Out with Hanes.

We all know that a big component of motherhood that {many} mothers stress about is time. Time to get chores done. Time to meet everyone's needs. Time to get "me" time in. And time to just slow down. Time is never enough and always goes by too fast.

One of the things, for me, that I struggle with is finding the time to get exercise in. Something I used to be so diligent about. Something that was very important to me. Yet, something that I have let slip by and never looked back.

Three years later, two kids later, and here we are. Me tapping my pen on my the table, staring at my calendar, trying to figure out how to squeeze in a workout here and there. More importantly, how to figure out a routine, because, after all, I want to make this a habit and be successful.

So I turn to inspiration, and something that has always given me that little oomph to get my running shoes on.

My Hanes panty #Undercovercolor is:Pink

Color. Getting my color on, putting on something bright, and making me feel good. Also reminding myself that there is still weight, more importantly, extra skin, that needs to be lost {or in this case, toned}.

That is when I turn to Hanes and their variety of undergarments and bright colored tees to piece together and make working out not feel so dull and dreadful. Something about color just brightens the mood, and gets my legs moving. It builds this fire inside me and cheers me on. I've always been that way with fashion and clothes in general. When I look good, I feel good.

No different with pairing my working out gear.

On top of wanting good, the Hanes undergarments fit perfectly to the body. The form fitting stretchy material allows the undergarments to move with you through every stretch, shift, and change in position. 

And can we talk about saving money? Most important aspect of working out for me is not spending too much money to work out. That means no gym membership, little cost on equipment, and budget-friendly attire.

So now that I have my work out attire figured out, I just need to throw on my running shoes and... go. Time? I'll figure that one out along the way.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

What Bliss Looks Like

I've had many beautiful moments in my life. Moments where I can close my eyes and recall every aspect of that memory. Whether that be just a few minutes in time, hours out of the day, or weeks that stood out to me as moments of bliss and happiness. Some of these moments can be stated as the obvious. In fact, as a parent, these moments are probably characterized similarly to those that other parents hold onto. The moment where your child is first born. Their first steps. The first time their voices called out to you. 

But some of the moments that I see as complete bliss are also moments that do not have a "big event" attached to them. Sure, they may be forgotten one day. May not be significant or monumental in my life. But yet they are still moments worth looking back on. Moments of bliss.

What does a moment of bliss mean to me?

1. Peace and Quiet. Something that is very rare in our home. Something that I do not always want or need, but something that is sure great to have once in a while. Most of us moms would also like to call that nap time. 

2. Sitting on the front porch. This is blissful to me. Rain or shine. There is something so calming and serene about sitting out on the front porch, taking in the fresh air, and listening to yourself think. 

3. Getting able to do what I love. Whether that be writing, or taking photos. During these quiet moments, I love nothing else but to let my thoughts run free. It's something that I cherish in my life. 

Putting all three together, sitting on the front porch, peace and quiet, and getting able to do what I love... well that is my exact definition of a blissful moment that may not be at all significant, but just as important to have every once of a while.

Stress is a big problem that people struggle with day in day out. Being a parent is no exception to that. Recently Neuro conducted a stress study surveying more than 1200 consumers which revealed that nearly 50% of those people spent at least half of their day stressed. Wow! That's big. As a nurse, I know how important eliminating stress in our lives is.

Neuro is urging Americans to join the stress reduction movement and has created the Bliss and Tell campaign, urging people to share their blissful moments. Be sure to check it out and enter the weekly contest and giveaway for a chance to win a $10K dream vacation. Now that would relieve a lot of my stress!

Lastly, another way to minimize stress and soothe the mind is through the neuroBLISS drink, containing powerful vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! With a citrus flavor, only 35 calories per drink, and no artificial flavors or colors, you can start your day out in a more calming, blissful way.

Download the coupon above to get $1 off any neuro drink!


Because at the end of the day, who needs stress. Neuro in, stress out.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.