How Cigarettes Affect Your Appearence

Image from NBC News

I didn't smoke for that long before I had to quit, thankfully. I started smoking way before I should have, probably when I was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and I quit in April. The only reason I quit was because I was pregnant or I would still be smoking, but I still think about it a lot more than I should which people told me wouldn't happen anymore after a month. They lied! So I've had to look for other sources of motivation to stay quit after I have the little because I like to tell my boyfriend, family, and friends that I'll only buy the one pack and once it's gone I'll be done. One of those sources of motivation has been constantly Googling the phrase "affect of cigarettes on appearance," which I've been doing a lot the last few weeks.

If you do what I did you'll find a lot of things like pictures of twins, one that smoked and one that didn't, and the one who did smoke generally looks a lot older than the one who didn't smoke. I personally am not a fan of wrinkles, though it isn't something I really have to worry about at my age. However, nicotine really speeds up the process of getting wrinkles and generally makes your skin look like crap. It dulls the skin, it can cause breakouts, and it can cause wrinkles like I've already said. Why is that? Because smoking actually keeps your skin from getting oxygen and other stuff that it really needs to look as good as it can. I don't want to look like I'm thirty-five when I hit twenty-five, because at the rate I was going that would definitely happen. I was smoking a pack a day or more if I was having a really crappy day. Yes, I know that was a huge waste of money.

Then there's the affect is has on your teeth! As we all know tobacco yellows teeth, fingers, nails, whatever else basically, but it can also do a lot more to your teeth than make them look ugly. It can also literally make them rot and fall out. I know we've all seen someone who has brown spots on their teeth from smoking, and even if you do that's not as bad as it gets so don't think just because you have something like that it isn't going to get any worse! Your teeth could literally fall out and let's be honest, brown teeth are probably preferable to no teeth at all. Plus there's always whitening options if you're not too far in. Thankfully I wasn't and my teeth are getting semi-better.

What didn't I know smoking could cause? Psoriasis! Now of course having psoriasis isn't the end of the world and it can come about even if you don't smoke, but if there's a possibility you could avoid it why wouldn't you want to? If you're wondering what psoriasis is it's extremely dry patches of skin that are scaly and can be discolored as well. They're uncomfortable and I imagine they'd make someone very insecure, but I can't really speak for that because I've been lucky enough to avoid that in my life so far. Also, I had no idea smoking could cause sagging skin, saggy arms, and saggy breasts. This is because the skin loses a lot of elasticity while you're a smoker and that also makes it easier to get stretch marks. Eek! Hopefully that won't be a problem in my pregnancy because of my smoking.

So if cancer, the smell, or the money weren't good enough reasons for you to quit smoking for good you should try to torture yourself with articles like I do. A good place to start would be this WebMD article about how smoking can change your appearance and some health threats in smoking you may not have heard about. You can also Google search for things like I did and keep in mind the things that I read that bothered me. I feel like I've done so much research on it that I'm nearly an expert, only not actually. It may be an ugly truth, but I'm glad I shared it with you guys.

10 Ways to Feel Better About Yourself

People these days definitely have problems with self confidence. With constant pressure to live up to impossible standards of beauty, fitness, and style it's difficult to actually feel good about ourselves. And everyone deserves to be happy with who they are are the inside and the outside, even if we aren't stick thin, even if we don't have perfectly clear skin, and yes even if we have insanely frizzy "humidity hair," as I like to call it. So, here are a few easy ways for us to feel better about ourselves without altering our appearance. They work for me and hopefully they'll work for you, too, if you need them to.

1. Stop telling yourself that there's something wrong with the way that you look. There's no reason to be looking in the mirror every day and telling yourself that you're fat, that you're ugly, that your skin isn't clear enough, that your hair isn't straight enough, that you don't have the right curves in the right places, or anything else negative. When you tell yourself those things it just reinforces them, so even if it's hard you need to try to cut out the negative thoughts.
2. Stop worrying so much about being seen without makeup. You're beautiful even without your face on, girl. After I started participating in makeup-free Mondays I started feeling a lot better about people seeing me without makeup in public again. People don't really care as much as you think they do about the way that you look, and if you stop obsessing over it then you'll feel a lot better about those times you have to rush out of your apartment without any makeup on and without your hair fixed
3. Share your insecurities with someone. Even if you feel like they're going to laugh at you, even if they do, it will help a lot just to get those thoughts out of your body and into the air. What's they're out and someone tells you that you're beautiful anyways or that they don't see that problem it's easier to feel better about yourself. I shared some insecurities of mine in my makeup-free Monday post.
4. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. That includes your friends, your sisters, random girls you're friends with on Facebook, and even celebrities. You're not them and you're never going to be, so you should start focusing on yourself. They aren't going to be you either, after all.
5. Start eating right and exercising regularly. I know this probably sounds ridiculous coming from me, because I'm 20 weeks pregnant and getting big and I can't really do that much to work out, but I do indeed do yoga and I've been eating better than I ever have before even though it's really hard. Just don't starve yourself, make healthy choices, and come up with a workout plan that works for you. It'll make you a lot happier to be healthier.
6. Be present in the moment. That means don't be dwelling on things that you've done or things that happened to you in the past as well as don't be constantly stressing yourself out about what is going to happen in the future. It's important to be happy with who we are right now more than who we used to be and who we are becoming.
7. Follow a beauty routine in the morning and evening. It's definitely an accomplishing feeling when you get done with everything you need to do before you go to bed or after you wake up. Though I've changed it a little since I made the post at the beginning of the month, I follow a very strict nightly routine before I go to sleep and I wake up every morning feeling happier about myself than I did before I  started doing it when i fell asleep every night with makeup on watching TV with my sister or boyfriend.
8. Cut negative people out of your life. If you don't live up to someone's standards for how you should be then you don't need them. If they're constantly making rude comments, laughing at you, or adding any negativity into your life then tell them that they need to change it. If they still don't then you probably shouldn't be spending time with them right now. It should be important to your loved ones that you're happy, and happy with yourself.
9. Don't dress for other people. I know we've all been through that phase where we strictly follow trends or we dress how all the girls at school dress, but that may not be how we're most comfortable looking. It's important for self-esteem to develop your own personal style and disregard the standards of others. If people don't like you for who you are no matter how you dress then you should just number eight them.
10. Do the things that make you happy. We shouldn't be brought down by doing things we don't love doing. Just stick to what makes you happy, it'll make you a lot happier!

What are some things that you do to be happy in your own skin? Do you consider yourself insecure or self confident? Let me know what you're thinking.

Fashion and Feminism

In the past fashion and feminism were never considered things that could coexist. As a matter of fact, fashion has been considered anti-feminist because of the way that the industry treats women. Designers, models, and other people who were influential in the industry have been criticized for calling themselves feminist and yet on the opposite side female scholars have been criticized for paying attention to fashion because they should be spending their time with something more productive. As most of us know the fashion industry is known for demeaning women with revealing images, body shaming and portraying unrealistic images of women, and lacking diversity in color and size. However, bloggers and other influential members of the fashion industry could be changing all of this.

The fashion industry has been highly criticized for over sexualizing women's bodies with revealing images in ad campaigns and sending women half naked down the runway when we were raised to believe that no self-respecting woman would be caught dead seen like that. But is it really a problem with the fashion industry or what we have been taught? Women should be allowed to wear whatever they so please, and the models aren't being held down and forced into the clothing, they should know what they're getting themselves into. "Some women find empowerment in wearing very little, such as the topless protestors of FEMEN, while others find empowerment in covering up from head to toe, in the case of Muslim women donning the hijab," says Diane Taha, founder of the fashion and beauty blog Style Context, who just so happens to also be a feminist. "Regardless of where you lie on the spectrum, I think it's a testament to how powerful a medium clothing (or lack thereof) is for expressing oneself." If you feel good dressed in barely there shorts and a crop top then you can wear that, but if you feel better in pants and a long sleeved shirt then that should be okay, too. It isn't hurting anyone if it isn't hurting the girl and we shouldn't be judging her for what is on her back, or not. Though Diane mentions that it's important not to impose your fashion views on others.

Body shaming and the portrayal of women as "perfect" beings is another key issue in the industry for women. As we all know most models are stick thin with perfect hair and perfect skin, but not actually. The pressure is on to lose that weight, get rid of that acne, and just generally be perfect. Although it's been getting better, many brands and shops, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, brand their products distinctly for "beautiful" people. And this beautiful isn't all inclusive. This beautiful is tall and thin with perfect hair and skin. Barbie dolls, in other words. We've been trained to believe that this is what we're supposed to look like even if the standard is unrealistic for the most beautiful women in the world. Even when photographers are uncomfortable with doing so more times than not they are convinced to Photoshop the images to unrealistic lengths. They smooth the skin, elongate the bodies, and add boobs that weren't previously there. They turn images of perfectly beautiful women into something that they aren't and the rest of the women of the world are expected to follow along.

And as we have all figured out, I'm sure, the fashion industry is white washed out the wazoo. It's not very common to see a super model of color, though black models are starting to spread there are still definitely more white girls and barely anything of anyone else. On top of that racist stereotypes really affect the way that women dress and fix themselves up. For example, an Asian woman may not feel comfortable looking "too Asian" and may curl her hair or try to make her eyes look bigger because they have pin straight hair and smaller eyes. Stereotypes like that really just hurt how the person comes across. It makes it difficult for women to express themselves, including their background which is a huge part of a person.

It is our job as consumers, bloggers, and people actively involved in the fashion industry to stand up to these issues and to let the world know that fashion is an art meant to express ourselves through clothes. Clothing can be just as powerful in expressing something as words or traditional painting. Women should be defined by their complex personalities and not the way that they look, everyone should be defined by their personality! We need to express that the fashion industry should be all inclusive and that models can be short or fat or stick thin or tall. And we need to let it be known that we can believe in women and fashion. Fashion and feminism aren't mutually exclusive things. "It's important to make a distinction between fashion and the fashion industry," says Diane regarding the rep that fashion has gotten for being anti-feminist, "The former is an art form and mode of communication, while the latter is an institution with its own self-interests." This speaks volumes for fashion today. We can't judge the art of fashion by what some people do in the mainstream fashion industry, because there are bloggers, brands, charities and websites that promote inclusiveness in fashion. J Magazine, for example, is a fashion magazine that had it's first issue revolve around neofeminism. Blogs like Jezebel, Man Repeller, and Style Rookie (for young women) definitely put down some stepping stones for us to make a difference.

Though there is a lack of feminism in the mainstream fashion industry, it is slowly creeping it's way in and with our help we can definitely speed the process up. Bloggers from around the world are letting it be known that they aren't going to let mainstream beauty ideals change who they are as women, posting photographs of their personal style regardless of what the rules are, and expressing their own personal views of what fashion really is and how beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The power is in our hands because we are real women with real bodies that we should be proud of, and we can use fashion as a feminist statement. We can make a change by promoting inclusiveness and feminism in fashion in our own ways. How could you help out on your own? Make a response to this post and entitle it "Re: Fashion and Feminism," make your own post about feminism in the fashion industry, be thoughtful when making a post and don't body shame models, bloggers, or anyone else, complain about the issues in mainstream fashion endlessly because believe it or not we do have power, and anything else that you can think of!

I would like to thank everyone who sent their interview responses back to me, but a special thank you to Diane who had especially thoughtful responses and sent them back in time to be edited into the final draft. You can follow Diane on her blog here and on Twitter right here. If you would be interested in a Feminist Fashionista Twitter chat, let me know in the comments, so I can get a head count. If you have any ideas to promote feminism in fashion go ahead and leave a comment below. Also, if you are a woman of color and would like to be involved in my next post like this (in August) on Racism in Fashion leave your blog URL and a way to contact you so we can talk.

Makeup Free Monday and Insecurities

This post is difficult for me as I am pretty self conscious about the state of my skin right now. And though it doesn't bother me to not wear makeup out in public it bothers me when there are pictures floating around of me without makeup, but why should I be bothered by that?

Today is my first makeup-free Monday! The whole idea is from TheBeautyBean.com and I think it's a beautiful, positive concept. I'm going the whole day without makeup, including the shopping trip I'm going on with my best friend. The point of this is to promote positivity and learn to love ourselves for who we are. We shouldn't be so ashamed of our flaws that we're ashamed of ourselves. We shouldn't have to apologize for not wearing makeup in public, because these are our bodies. We should be happy in our own skin, even if it isn't perfectly clear.

Yes, I did try to hide this picture farther down in the post, don't judge me. I have been very insecure about a lot of different things since I've gotten pregnant whereas before I just didn't give a crap, but now that I'm gaining weight I want to look better in other ways. My skin is covered in spots, the tone is uneven, I have horrible lines under my eyes. Not only do I have acne on my face, but I have acne scars from pimples of the past. My teeth are also not as white as I want them to be, so I hate smiling for pictures, but that isn't something that I can fix with makeup. I have short eyelashes, too. I look like a twelve year old, especially when I don't wear makeup and being pregnant that isn't exactly fun because people give you dirty looks. And lastly I hate my natural hair and eyebrow color which is showing at the roots right now. But I like my lips, I like the color of my eyes because it's very distinctly me and I like my cheeks. Find things you like about yourself. No one should be so bothered by their flaws that they can't do what they want.

The point is that you are beautiful no matter what you're insecure about and you should believe that! I'm working on it. How can you do something? Get liberated and take part in Makeup Free Mondays with me. You can tweet me your pictures @debbieshapes or you can post about this on your blog to spread the word. Just remember that you are beautiful, everyone has insecurities, don't apologize for not wearing makeup, and go makeup free this Monday.

Why It's Difficult for Plus Sized Women to Go Shopping

According to the CDC more than 35% of Americans are considered obese. That's why it's so confusing that it's nearly impossible for plus sized women to find clothing in their sizes at popular retailers, even though they sell plus sized products online.

I recently read an article about this on Huffington Post and it blows my mind. I grew up with long arms and legs, but an extremely thin frame, which caused me problems finding jeans that were long enough, but I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be plus sized and not be able to find any clothes at all in stores! These women can't possibly be sure that the clothes are going to fit and look right on them if they can't try them on for themselves.

The fact of the matter is that it just isn't okay. Not only does it alienate plus sized women even more than they already are on a regular basis, because of modern day expectations and body shaming, but it poses a huge problem to more than half of the women in the United States! How is that fair?

The research that ModCloth did came to the conclusion that "more U.S. women report wearing a size 16 dress than a size 2 and 0 combined." If this is the case, shouldn't it be more difficult for a smaller girl to find clothes? Being that girl that wears a size zero I happen to know that the stores always carry my size.

And on top of it being hard to find plus size clothing in stores many major retailers don't even carry plus size clothing at all! I won't even get myself started on the recent Abercrombie & Fitch controversy about the CEO wanting "beautiful people" to shop in their stores which is why they didn't carry bigger sizes.

I understand that brand image is important. However, alienating such a huge portion of the population from being able to shop at your stores or buy your clothes at all is not a smart marketing decision at all. Why is everyone so stuck on shallow, juvenile, unattainable beauty ideals? Everyone deserves the same treatment, so I hope that after this gets around and starts causing controversy they'll start carrying bigger sizes in more stores.

We need to fight back, because this is not okay! Let these retailers know that this is not okay to the women that they're doing this to!

If you'd like to read up more on the subject click the links below. Or if you have any feedback feel free to leave a comment below.


"Plus Size Clothing Sold Online But Not In Stores Poses Problem for Shoppers," HuffPost
"More U.S. Women Report Wearing a Size 16 Dress Than a Size 2 and 0 Combined — ModCloth Introduces Full Range of Sizes," Modcloth