Today I'm getting a little personal and talking about my roots and discovering more about who I am. Growing up as a biracial child in the 80’s and 90’s in a super small area of Northern California where the was zero diversity, I was almost always asked two questions, honestly to this day I get asked these questions. What are you? Insert Person staring at me curiously. Depending on the tone of the ask it can be offensive, but I get it people are naturally curious. One way I’ve learned to make it less awkward for myself is to ask the person, what do you think I am. I've heard some fascinating responses over the years!

The next question, Are you adopted? This question would mostly pop-up when friends would meet my mom for the first time, my mom is white and has dark hair and fair skin and burns very quickly in the sun and we look nothing alike, but she’s my mom. I can also remember getting starred at while shopping with my mom and sister when I was little, people always assuming I'm "the friend" my sister is white, we have the same mom and different fathers. My sister and mom look so much alike, I've always been on my own little island since I don't resemble my parents.

While I grew up in a very undiverse area in California, being around my family always felt amazing and like a little United Nations, I have family members of every shade in the book. My Dad's side is very diverse, I have both white, African American, Mexican aunts and uncles. I love that.

As I’ve gotten older and starting watching various TV Shows about finding your roots and discovering your ancestry, its intrigued me more to learn about my family. I’m a huge fan of Henry Louis Gates Jr. his show on PBS Finding Your Roots is so inspiring. His show is about sharing the Ancestry & DNA of his guests, many are famous Actors, Musicians, Artists, Writers and more and takes them on a journey going back hundreds and uncovering family information.

I love all the history they uncover with the help of science and searching for public records always has me in aww.The show makes you laugh and cry, there's something amazing/informATIVE about learning where you came from and knowing all your family's struggles and what they went through. Gives me chills.

It’s made me very curious to learn about my DNA and Family tree on both sides. My parents aren’t ones to discuss much where their "people came from."

Growing up when I discussed my heritage on my mom's side, her family is Irish and have a ‘very Irish’ last name. My mom's family is from Arkansas, and as far as she knows fought in the Civil War, unknown what side and pretty much have been in Arkansas for hundreds of years. My dad is African American, and his parents are from Arkansas too and moved out West to California in the 1940's or 1950's (its unkown). My dad's side remains the biggest mystery, our family roots lead us back to Africa, but where in Africa? My dad has also mentioned possibly having a Native American great, great, great, grandparents. Plus, I've always been curious was my mom’s family roots, are they really from Ireland?

I ordered the Ancesrety.com DNA kit on a big sale they were having a few weeks ago. The process is doing your DNA testing is very simple, you give them a sample of your saliva and mail in your kit. About 6-8 weeks later I received an email stating my results are ready! The DNA results are incredible, and of course, I called my mom and dad to share with them what I discovered and totally had an Ah-Ha moment with my Dad!

My Ethnicity | My Family Roots

My Ethnicity Estimate // I’m 22% Great Britain, 18% Ireland/Scotland/Wales, 17% Ivory Coast/Ghana, 11% Europe West (includes Belgium, France and Germany) 9% Cameroon/Congo, 6% Senegal under 5% - Benin/Togo, Scandinavian, Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East.

The cool thing about Ancestrey.com it also shares the migration patterns of your ancestors! My moms family arrived in the 1700s eventually settling in the Missouri Ozarks and Tennessee. Today the area is comprised of the following states: Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Very arcuate on my mom's side!

On my dad's side, I’m able to tell dads family arrived from Africa as slaves in the 1850’s in Louisiana. According to my DNA, I am Southern Louisiana Creole on my Dads side. My dads family roots are concentrated in Southern Louisiana (heavy concentration in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans) If you heard the term Creole before, but not sure what it means here’s the definition, its honestly a very complicated word: The phrase Creole was initially used by French settlers to distinguish persons born in Louisiana from those born in the mother country (France/Belguim) or elsewhere.

As in many other colonial societies around the world, Creole was a term used to mean those who were "native-born," especially native-born Europeans such as the French and Spanish. As time went on Creole, often implied people of mixed European and African (and occasionally Native American) descent. Which explains likely how I have 11% Europe West (France, Belgium & Germany) in my DNA.

The Louisiana connection was a huge surprise! My Dad has never mentioned having family in Lousiana. I called my dad who’s a huge skeptic and told him the results. He said my Great Grandmother was Creole and from Louisiana! I had no idea! It’s was for sure my Aha moment and so exciting, I want to dig deeper on my Dad's side and learn more about his family and more about Lousiana. It was also cool learning more about my mom's side and seeing I'm 22% English (Is this why England felt like home when I visited?)

Family Tree

What’s next? I would love for my parents and husband to do their DNA. My Dad seemed pretty impressed with the results.

Having this information and learning more about where my family roots lead me has me wanting to create a Family Tree and uncovering information about my family. I want to dive into my Dad's side of the family and learning names and dates of my family members; I would love to trace them back as far as records allow. I even see a trip to Lousiana in my future and makes me wonder if this is why I always feel so connected to the book Cane River (one of Oprah's Book Club picks, it's a fantastic read!). I'm also excited to trace my mom's family tree and see this as something she and I would do together! Are you curious to uncover information about your family roots? Use This link to Save 15% Off on your Ancestry DNA Kit.

Have you done your DNA Testing you? Where their any surprises in your results?

When I relaunched my blog in January under my name, my plan was to include more lifestyle content. For me lifestyle means adding more topics to my blog I'm passionate about, including travel, entertaining and girl stuff. Sharing the 'stuff' I chat with my friends about and on Instagram Stories. One of my favorite topics lately is skin care!

In late 2016, I was noticing how dull my skin was looking; I'm talking zero radiance and zero glow. I looked on Groupon and opted to try Microdermabrasion facial, I had two sessions, and my skin began looking better. Microdermabrasion is a treatment that is supposed to help treat light scarring, discoloration, exfoliate your skin giving it a fresh feeling.

My biggest takeaway from the sessions was talking to the Esthetician at length about my skincare regime and my skin type. I have sensitive oily-dry skin; my forehead easily gets oily and other areas on my face dry-out. I was using the same skin-care products on my for years with no positive results. I was stuck in a skincare rut, and my face was paying the price. At the beginning of 2017, I decided to make some skin care changes and completely threw out my old Neutrogena products and looked for products that are naturally based and would help the appearance and smoothness of my skin.

Over that past year, I've created a buffet of products for my skin and my skin is loving it! My face now is now more even in tone, feels hydrated, feels smoother, breakouts are non-existent and I feel like my skin glows! I can honestly say my skin has never looked and felt better! Before buying my new products, I read every review and allowed myself time to try the new products and confirm my skin loved them.

There is something empowering about changing up a routine that is not working for you. It's a good feeling. I'm currently using three different skin care brands to meet my skincare needs: Aveeno, The Ordinary and DeramaE. I love them all. Below I'm sharing the skin care products and love and how I use them.

Morning Skincare Routine

In the morning I wash my face with Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleaner and then use The Ordinary Toning Solution. When I was using Neutrogena toner, it would always sting my face, with The Ordinary Toning Solution there is zero stinging. After toner, I use Aveeno Positively Radiant Lotion with SPF 30, I'm obsessed with this lotion. It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy, I add 1-2 drops of The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil to my Aveeno lotion. It's like my little pot of GLOW! I typically wait about 30-60 seconds before applying makeup. My makeup routine is very minimal, most days I'm makeup free. when I am wearing makeup it's a simple combination light foundation, pressed powder, a little blush and maybe mascara and lipstick. After applying makeup I spritz my face with DermaE Hydrating Mist, this can be used any time of the day when you face needs a refreshing boost. I typically use it after applying makeup as a setting spray. Love this spray, it's feels so good on my skin!

Honorable Mentions: I also love DermaE Essentials Radiance Toner, its magic in a bottle! I used this religiously until my Ordinary Toning Solution arrived. Both these toners are amazing and both of them sell out! I was stalking The Ordinary Toner for months before it was back in stock.

I also love the DermaE Illuminating Rosehip and Cranberry Face Oil, its such an incredible face oil. Another favorite of mine is Rose Water by Mario Badescu, love it! It's a great Summer Hydrating mist, it smells good and feels really refreshing.

Evening Skin Care Routine

In the evening I add a few products in the rotation to help hydrate my skin and help diminish hyperpigmentation. My skin tends to scar very easy and discolor. I use my favorite cream cleanser from Aveeno, then The Ordinary Toning Solution. I used Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, I love this cream it's nice and thick and a little goes a long way, I add 2-3 drops of The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil to the cream and then wait about about a minute to allow the cream and oil to absorb into my skin. Lastly, I apply The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone, this cream is very similar to apply primer to on your skin., it glides on smooth. Vitamin C is supposed to be really good for the skin and helps brighten the skin, reduce the signs of aging.

Weekly Skincare Favorites

The products I shared above I use every day and swap a few of them out a couple times a week. I use Aveeno Positively Radiant Overnight Hydrating Facial 2-3 times a week (swapping it with my regular night cream) The next morning after using the cream, my face feels incredibly soft and refreshed. I also love using the Aveeno Positively Radiant Shower Facial 1-2 a week in the shower, it's a great gentle face scrub. My new favorite is The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, aka The Vampire 10 Minute Facial Mask. This is bananas good! I used this last week and loved it, my skin looked so good the next day! I was a little nervous to try because my skin is so sensitive, but it my skin was fine!

It's incredible how my much skincare has changed in one year and how much better my skin looks and feels. As I mentioned, my goal was to use more natural skin based products, which makes me heart DermaE so much, they're a California Based company with skincare products that are cruelty-free, GMO-Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free. I'm also in love with The Ordinary; I love their scientific approach that is free of all the crap. They clearly state on each of their products what it is free of nut-free, water free, vegan and so on. Plus their products are affordable! I'm also a huge fan of Aveeno, love their skin care products for the mind and face! I love that the mix Active Naturals with a scientific approach to create amazing skin solutions.

All the skin-care products I use are in the $6-18 range! I think good skin care products don't have to cost an arm and a leg to work!

Good Skin Days _ My Favorite Beauty Products.png

Now that I've shared my favorite skin care products that I've been using, what are some of your tired and true brands? Are you also a fan of the skincare brands I mentioned above? If so what are your favorites?