You cannot dispute the fascination and inspiration the Moon has been for humanity throughout the times. The Moon was broadly used in farming practices which are still used in current times. In many religions, the Moon phases are used to calculate when celebrations will take place. For example: Easter Sunday is always after the first Full Moon that follows right after the Spring Equinox.

In astrology the Moon represents the principles of: nurturing, caring, sensitive, intuition, feeling nature, to need, the home, mother and baby, conscious and unconscious, moods and feelings, yin energy, the feminine principle. The Moon is as important as the Sun in chart interpretation; and just like the Sun sign tells some of the traits that might characterise a person, so does the Moon by the sign and its phase when a person was born.

The first Full Moon of the new astrological year 2021 is in Libra. It highlights topics of how we relate to others, sharing, peace, harmony. For each sign the Full Moon takes places different dynamics will be highlighted.

Tonight in the northern hemisphere, she is shinning brightly, delighting our eyes and soul, triggering emotions, giving you inspiration, rest time, to be at peace, releasing, healing, dreams, calm, contemplate,  you might get moonstruck…

“Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change.”

– William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Artwork The Moon XVIII – Oak, Ash and Thorn Tarot by Stephanie Burrows and Adam Oehlers.

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The Lovers: what does lovers mean? General definition found in the Cambridge dictionary is: “a partner in a romantic or physical relationship“. In Tarot, the Lovers VI: represents relationships and choices. Is it possible to say in a few words what relationships actually are? We all know that relationships are not simple. There are complexities and dynamics, brought in from each of the parties involved. It doesn’t matter whether it is a love, friendship, family or business relationship; in each of them different forms of energies come into play.

Understanding relationships is way of learning to navigate our interactions with others. Sometimes it goes smoothly, yet other times it is a rough trip. Here is where astrology can help in understanding the energies and dynamics of the way we relate to each other. Astrology is not about giving you exact answers, or predicting when you might meet the other one, or whether a relationship will make it through a crisis. It’s about getting an insight of yourself through your birth chart. By learning about yourself, you are able to understand patterns, and the ways you react to situations through learned behaviours in childhood experiences or later in life.

Sometimes, we might need a different perspective to help us understand a situation we are going through. We might seek out help by means of a therapist or an astrologer. Sometimes we don’t, we keep on going, and like a puzzle the pieces start fitting perfectly, or they simply never do or we keep on forcing the pieces until eventually they start breaking.

What holds a relationship together you might ask? There isn’t an exact answer, because each relationship is unique to two human beings, just like each of us are unique. A relationship is like two worlds coming together and finding the common ground, while continuing to be true to yourself.

Whoever you might ask what is the secret to a long relationship – the person will tell you a different or similar answer, because we live and experience our relationships differently.

Of course, I had to ask my parents for their magic formula. Their answer: Love, respect and patience.

“The essential purpose of astrology is not so much to tell us what we will meet on our road, as it is to suggest how to meet it – and the basic reason for the meeting. Which quality in us, which type of strength is needed to go through any specific phase of our total unfoldment as an individual person”

— Dane Rudhyar

Artwork The Lovers VI – Oak, Ash and Thorn Tarot by Stephanie Burrows and Adam Oehlers.

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As for myself, it has been a journey that has brought changes starting way before the pandemic hit the world. It has given me the perfect time to dive in into astrological studies! Since the summer of 2020 I have embarked on the study of the Language of the Sky – to become an astrologer.

“When you don’t follow your nature there is a hole in the universe where you were supposed to be.”

― Dane Rudhyar   

A period of spiritual calm, a sort of hibernation before re-emerging, like a bear in the winter time sparing the energy for giving birth and keeping the precious life of her cubs, until the Spring Equinox comes in the Northern Hemisphere. A perfect time in my journey to go back to the surface: on today’s New Moon in Pisces – time of new beginnings, calm, emotional, imagination, dreams, creativity and magic!

My blog would be evolving along with me, moving to a different content and perspective:  from the inside to the outside. Skincare is something I continue to enjoy as part of my personal care. The focus from now on will be about personal growth. As my astrological knowledge expands, it is my vision to offer you inspiration, guidance and understanding of our adventures on this Earth. I hope it inspires you too!

Welcome to the Cosmos and let it be the compass that lights our beautiful journey!

Much love and blessings to you all,

Adriana  Xx

P.S. The beautiful artwork featured is by the talented Lisa McLoughlin. The image is called: Calendula Lady – Calendula is symbolic of passion, creativity and warmth.

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I hope this post finds you all well, it has been a while since I have blogged or posted anything on Instagram. There are periods in life in which you cannot force things, if it does not feel right then I simply do not do it.

You might be wondering why the title of this post: Rebalance

It is the best way I can describe the past months of my life, from a personal and professional level. I am grateful to have the time and opportunity for reflection, sometimes it is not easy and it can even be confusing. Funny enough you come to the conclusion that you knew it all along.

It has been period of transformation, a period of realisation, a period of rebalancing, a period that is still ongoing.

This also brings me to the direction I want to take Instagram. It all comes down with keeping it realistic, re-defining the way I want to continue posting in a manner that does not overwhelms me. You do learn along the way, and here are some of the lessons I have taken from this period:

• Sticking to my “happy’ routine using products that are effective and address my particular skin concerns. Even though my routine was pretty consistent, I also fell into the hype of new launches. Can you blame me? I’m human and a beauty enthousiast! Despite keeping a detailed file of what I had, my beauty cabinet got cluttered! There will be always new launches, every month, quarter, half year, year ….it is simply unrealistic to keep up with it
• Green/organic/clean (regardless of how you define it) products have a shorter shelf life, buy when you are about to finish the product, it will save you money and wasting products
• Some natural products were or are not effective for my skin, when that is the case I need to opt for products that give me results. I might resource to a product which is a combination of man made with natural sourced ingredients. At the end of the day is all about what works for you, our skin is unique to each of us. In my mind, there isn’t right or wrong, and I certainly do not appreciate fear mongering as a marketing strategy to influence any purchase I make
• When it comes to PR it is the same as the previous bullet point. Just choose the product to try/test out that based on your knowledge/experience will be good for your skin. I think it gives you a better experience, as well as deeper appreciation towards the creators/brand who pour their knowledge and passion into each of the formulas they create. Personally, it’s a privilege when a brand reaches out to me, the more reason I want to be throughout with testing/trying the product; it gives an opportunity to choose the right product and eventually provide detailed feedback
• Cleansers and masks is where I rotate and play around. They are designed to give you an instant result, no fuss here. Fun to share, masking will be appearing more often in my feed
• While trying to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle it also means, that you need a fair amount of disposable income to afford ethical and sustainable consumption options. Hence that it’s very specific and personal to each of us. Certainly not an exception when it comes to beauty products. In my mind sustainability is not only that. It is true that starts with you trying making the right choices for yourself, however it is much broader than that. Think about fashion: what do you do with your old clothes? Give them away? Sell them? Regardless of what you do, clothes that get recycled will end up in the exact same overloaded waste stream, a consequence of the trendy fast fashion that is overflowing the second hand market. Same applies for beauty; where do you bring products that you tried but you don’t use them for one reason or the other? My point is that sustainability requires a global systematic change, that goes way beyond our own individual efforts of trying to be a conscious consumer

The way I will be moving forward will be much easier and fun to manage, hopefully you will enjoy the changes. First, I will be posting my current AM and PM routine; please bare in mind if you don’t see my very favourite products in display, it is simply because I’m using up and enjoying other products.

Afterwards it will be followed with quite a number of empties/reviews of finished products during my prolonged absence. Be ready for plenty of reading! and of course my beloved Green Diva!

I would also like to thank all of you for being such loyal followers and a very special thanks to those that reached out to check on me, so sweet and kind. Thank you!

Much love to you all,

Adri Xx

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As you might have noticed, I have not been very active on Instagram, actually I haven’t been at all! The trigger started last year around the Christmas period. Little did I know that when I decided to do it to balance my personal life, work and being a beauty blogger, I did not foresee for it to be so long.

It’s about time I get back, don’t you think? But before I do that, I decided to write a blog post about it, to give you an insight as to why and share what I have gained from having been in such prolonged absence. A summary on an Instagram post or story will not be sufficient to tell it all.

Why did I take the break? A combination of several things which led to a longer and longer period.

Let’s start with mentioning time. Yes, it does take time: preparing each post of the line-up of each of my routines, the shooting, the lighting (always looking for natural sunlight), the time of the day, the text, etc. Mostly my photos are taken at the moment. I know I should switch to the mode of taking several photos to last me a week or two, but in that way I kind of miss the inspiration of the moment. Let’s not forget there is my beloved Green Diva who is always involved and watching over my shoulder or getting down to play with the goodies! A reason why I don’t do texture shots because she will want to taste it, I guess it can be considered a good sign.

Most of you know what it takes to create the posts, followed by the lovely reactions from my beloved followers, and brand owners. Thank you always so much for your support. Sometimes I fell behind on engaging with each of you, simply because of my job – long hours and by the time I got back home, I had little to zero energy. I tried my best but at some point I started feeling pressured, like it had to be a must. In the meantime I was also missing out on moments in my life. Missing out on living and experiencing the small events that are priceless! Here is an example: cooking while responding to comments, instead of enjoying a conversation with Frank as my attention was diverted. Or not fully reading a book because I had the mobile next to me. Also taking public transport and not looking out the window at what was happening around because my head was into my phone, just like many other people like me stuck in their mobile screens. Sit down and observe how many people are not paying attention to what it’s happening in their surroundings: forgetting to grant a smile to a stranger or a simple hello, the bird on the tree singing, the beautiful flowers displaying their colourful beauty.

Since this is my hobby and not a living, I have certainly invested on my beauty products, but sometimes I was exceeding my budget because of the new launches, always so exciting! Can you blame me? There is only so much product you can be using or testing at the same time, and in order to see results you must stick to at least a month or more to see results. I love organic products which also means a shorter shelf life as well after opening date. (Spoiler: next blog post will be my journey into green/clean/organic beauty and my views). That investment is money which I don’t want it to go to waste. What’s the point of organic sourcing and small batches production, so that we consumers end up wasting what nature has given us in the first place? Consumerism… Food for thought here…

While I do test products and gather well my thoughts about it before posting a review, it means I take quite some time to do so. That lead me to feel slightly bad towards brand owners because I am not one to share my opinion about a product until I am truly able to see results or not. I feel very honoured and grateful when a brand or store owner reaches out to me to ask if I want to try products. Since each formulation is so well thought of, I want to be respectful in sharing my experience and give as much information as I possibly can. Just as much as the formulation has been trialed, tested and sourced with the best possible ingredients. At the end of the day a product might work wonderfully for me, but not for you or vice versa – our skin is so unique to each of us.

During this break period, a particular project I was working on had to be delayed because a few weeks back a personal situation came up that took me off guard. Just when I was ready to come back! Murphy’s Law but it’s life, always full of surprises, good and bad ones, isn’t it? My focus turned into dealing with it (still) and transforming the frustrated energy into something positive.

Along the way I was not feeling inspired, posting for the sake of posting, no; I had lost my mojo!

Here I am, got my groove back with a fresh look and renewed energy; excited for things to come but above all because this long break has enabled me to put down the phone and enjoy the simplest things in life, save money instead of spending it and the healthy balance that I was looking for.

To all of you, thank you so much for being there and being so supportive. My apologies if my silence caused you to feel that I left you; I never have, I never intended to. It was simply a period to refocus on myself.

Sending you all much love, missed you!

Groovy baby!

Adri Xxx

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A podcast created and hosted by Rayna who is an amazing beautiful woman and the owner of Reina Organics. An online retailer where you will find gorgeous beauty brands based on their integrity & philosophy. Reina Organics aims to empower customers through the products offered by helping them feel good in their skin. Quoted from her website: “Beauty starts with you”.

Rayna and I crossed paths through Instagram, we had a beautiful click when we first met, which has evolved into a wonderful friendship which I very much cherish and feel grateful to have.

And guess what: Episode #9 is where I became part of her podcast, it has been a honour! For Green Diva too who, of course, could not miss out the fun! Besides the particular interview with me, there are so many wonderful chats to listen to in her Podcast: from Brand founders (Ava, Josh, Laurel) to bloggers (Rachael, Neige, Jana). I look forward to listen to more of Hail the Queen future interviews!

Here is the link to it.

Happy listening & enjoy!

Xx

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There are plenty of ways to treat melasma from topical creams / serums to laser treatments to chemical peels. Before you choose how to go about it, you must understand what caused it. The main triggers known is partly by sun, genetic predisposition, and hormonal changes (think about pregnancy, birth control pills).

There are many advantages or disadvantages for each of the treatments, I will focus on my particular choice. I highly recommend you discuss either with your esthetician or your Dermatologist the treatment that is most suitable for you.

When first diagnosed, I was prescribed a topical cream containing Hydroquinone, it is skin lightener used in many whitening creams and dark marks fade treatments. It reduces the production of melanin in your skin, meaning that is greatly used for fading hyper pigmentation, acne marks, sun spots, melasma, and other skin discoloration issues.

Despite Hydroquinone being prescribed to me, I decided not to use it after doing an evaluation of pros and cons (same for lasers and chemicals treatments too). Since it inhibits melanin production to help lighten skin, in the long term it can damage your pigment cells, it makes your skin more sensitive to the sun, it can cause redness, irritation, and contact dermatitis. All in all, not a risk I was willing to take.

My approach towards it is to prevent more damage and maintain the affected area as healthy as possible, it might have a mind of its own. Ingredients / products I have chosen are meant to either prevent or help reduce the dark spots. Keep in mind that during summer months my melasma might be more pronounced than during the winter time due to the nature of my skintone.

Here are my personal golden rules. I’m not an skincare expert but I do consider myself an expert when it comes to my own skin, only you can tell how your skin condition is on a daily basis and your esthetician if you visit one on regularly. The regimen should cover some of the basics:  a gentle but effective exfoliator, antioxidants combination and sunscreen.

Disclaimer: the products shown on the following photos are my own personal choices, this is not a PR post in any way. The products used are all strictly based in my own personal experience. It’s simply for the purpose of giving you examples of what you can look for.

Exfoliation

For exfoliation, AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids work on the surface) and BHAs (beta hydroxy acids work deeper) both types provide the benefit of: decreasing inflammation and appearance of large pores and surface wrinkles, remove dead skin cells, even out skin tone, unclog pores and improve skin texture. You can use an exfoliating toner or an exfoliating mask depending on your skin type and the acids you can tolerate. Consider Glycolic and Lactic acid the most known AHAs; Salicylic acid an example of BHA. There are other less know on acids that are helpful to treat melasma, as well as hundreds of products out there to choose from, finding the right one for your skin is can be a challenge. Golden rule: start slow (once or twice a week) and built it up, your skin is your compass. Always when using acids be aware that your skin might become photosensitive, you have to be religious with using daily SPF.

Hydration and Antioxidation

Since the skin affected by melasma is already damaged, you need to consider that it might require extra care. I find the area to have a tendency to be dry, to help skin to retain its moisture a Hyaluronic acid serum is a great option. Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced by our body, however as we age the production decreases; and I can use all the help I can! Aloe Vera is another great humectant which is why so popularly used in skincare. Others to mention a few are glycerin, seaweed, algaes, etc. The point I am trying to make is to add into your routine products that will help lock the moisture to the epidermis.

Prevention

SPF 30 minimum – 365 days a year non negotiable. Wearing a daily sunscreen is essential. Yes, it is a pain in the bum to find one that works for you but once you do, you will never be without it; you will apply it without even thinking. Make sure the sunscreen you choose does not irritate your skin or melasma as it might make it worse. I cannot emphasize enough how important SPF is, it will not only prevent more melasma or hyperpigmentation of appearing but also delaying the appearance of fine lines. Wear it even when you don’t think you will need it, I rather be safe than sorry!

Vitamin C serums – Vitamin C is is quite key for skin health as it helps in collagen synthesis which  keeps our skin firm and resilient, protecting it from wrinkling. Vitamin C may help prevent and treat ultraviolet induced sun damage. There are many forms of Vitamin C some stable some not, but that’s not the point of this post. I have found Vitamin C serums to help brighten the overall skin tone and prevent the melasma from getting any darker.

Extra boosters

Adding Serums specifically formulated to help treat melasma, hyperpigmentation or scars are certainly a great thing to do on top of your usual routine. It will help enhance the effect of your other products giving the extra oomph.  Look for ingredients like Rosehip oil, Sea Buckthorn oil, Tamanu oil, Prickly Pear Seed Oil Turmeric, Pomegranate, Green tea, Licorice and so many more.

Masks with brightening properties are also a fantastic addition to your skincare regimen for treating melasma or other skin concerns, they are simply fantastic extra boosters to feed your skin.

All of the products I use are helping tremendously to keep at bay the dark spots, my personal choice is to go for non aggressive treatments and keep an overall healthy looking skin.

Be happy with your own skin, care for it and be proud of your imperfections, after all is all about loving yourself as you are.

Xx

P.S. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

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As a teen, I would regularly travel to the coast of Honduras for a weekend of fun with my school friends, we all enjoyed water skiing, swimming and of course “bake” ourselves out on the deck covered in coconut oil mixed with carrot juice for that extra gorgeous glow. Freshly hand extracted coconut oil, the fresher the better we thought. Oh my goodness, we must have been a sight, laying flat and turning every so minutes to get that perfect even tan. It was with pride that we would come back to school on Monday showing off our achieved tan over the weekend.

I grew up never hearing that you need to wear SPF everyday. Neither saw my mother or my grandmother or any other adult woman around me use it on a daily basis; they both avoided and still avoid the sun like a plague. Grandma would cross the street to be on the side of the shadow, despite always wearing a hat or an umbrella, she did that whenever she was running errands or babysitting my brother and I while we played outside.

Later on I got my Scuba Open Water Diver certification, oh the fun times and of course plenty of sun; by then I was wearing sun protection, you have to, otherwise you will burn so badly your skin in the Caribbean gorgeous scorching sun, it shines exactly 90 degrees on top of your head at 12 o’clock.

At some point I moved to Europe, first the UK and eventually Holland – if you live in the northern part of Europe you know that the sunshine is sparse and when it does shine, you practically drop anything you might be doing to be outside. As you can imagine, coming from the tropics missing the sunshine I found myself running outside to enjoy those precious rays of sun for a few minutes and feel the warmth on my skin after months of hiding under layers of clothing to avoid the cold. By then I was a daily sunscreen wearer, I was aware of the long term damage it can cause and the increase of developing skin cancer.

Yes, having a warm skin tone my skin reacts to the sun by producing melanin a natural skin reaction to protect you from the sun, and yes I do get a gorgeous caramel brown tan, however nowadays while I still have the urge to be out in the sun, I do take every possible precaution when out and exposed. 365 days a year, sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, dry or wet, all seasons SPF is a must in my skincare routine and other products that help to repair and prevent.

…..then one day sitting in my mother’s kitchen while visiting my family and enjoying breakfast all bare faced, my father asks “what are those brown spots on your nose and your cheeks? I had not seen them before”. A visit to the dermatologist and my face looked at under UV light the damage revealed itself. Not a pretty sight I must say. Diagnosis: Melasma! I don’t know exactly when they showed up, all I know is that ….unannounced and quietly my Melasma appeared.

I have accepted these brown spots as part of me, of who I am; I do not bother trying to hide them much, because when I look at them it brings back so many wonderful memories, living life and enjoying it. Hearing back my grandmother’s voice in my head is simply beautiful….I hope to see her soon and hear her telling me “See, you did not listen to me” and I will reply to her: I love you Grandma!

The post ….unannounced and quietly my Melasma appeared appeared first on Adriana Maradiaga.

Funny enough, I have wanted to do it for a long time but let’s just say in between things happened like it always does in life. It was also the fact that I was trying to figure out what I wanted to share here. The last thing I want is for this blog to be categorized under just skincare; here I want to share with you my thoughts, my journey in life, style, ideas, travel, art, nature, photography and other topics I feel passionate about.

Along this idea that played around in my head, I rediscovered Instagram about 2 years or less ago, and just got fascinated by its visual content, sure enough one day I came across skincare posts. At that moment, I realized that I could also share my skincare passion and I simply started doing it, trying to find the style of the lineup of the products, the right lighting, a process that continues to evolve every day. The most amazing surprise in this adventure is the fact I have met such beautiful people from all over the world, some have become dear friends whether they are in Holland or any other country, the distance does not matter. The opportunities to meet in person have also happened and I cannot tell you how energetic and positive energy flows around when that happens.

Today, I start the journey of my blog, an exciting one and I am looking forward to see how it will evolve into a site with fun content and a place to share ideas or thoughts.

Hope you join me!

Love,

Adriana

Xx

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