Hi my friend!
I’ll say this till I’m so old, I’ll be tucking my B cups in my shoes:
When I founded VREA Cosmetics, I didn’t just want to make killer products, I wanted to create a wellness brand. These blogs are a big part of that, and my goal is to provide you with inspiration on a weekly basis. We are here for you, through thick and thin; and your health and wellbeing will always be priority number one. Before selling product, before becoming a socially viral brand, priority one will always be YOU.
With that said, allow me to share some inspo for 2022. I highly encourage you to adopt these habits with me. They’re easy and I broke them down as simply as possible, with suggestions on how to incorporate them as well. Hope you’ll find the value in reading. I love you!
Find Ways To Move Your Body At Least 5 Days A Week.
If you’re like me and absolutely despise gyms, running, and other iron-man-like exercise, consider… dancing to your favorite songs for 20 minutes every day. Or going on a brisk 30-minute walk; that will do the trick too. It doesn’t have to be hard-core, simply get that beautiful body of yours moving.
Supplement that by parking your car further from your go-to locations and taking the stairs when you can instead of the elevator. Work on your laptop while standing up, or have a small pedaling gadget underneath your desk.
A few minutes of physical activity every day, will help you maintain healthy bone mass, healthy joints and muscles, control weight, inflammation in the body, and more.
Drink Half Your Weight In Fluid Ounces Of Water.
Every cell, every tissue and every organ in the body needs water to thrive. That includes your skin. We’ve been told that eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily is what will do the trick, but that amount has never been medically substantiated. And since not every body is the same, the 8 across the board seems like it may not work for everyone.
My favorite way of going this, is by drinking half my weight in fluid ounces. My weight oscillates 1-3 lbs on a consistent basis. Right now I’m at 142 lbs. 141 ÷ 2 = 71.
So I try to drink 71 fluid ounces of water on a daily basis. That’s about nine glasses of water.
And if you need help with reminders throughout the day, there are plenty of apps to help with that: My Water: Daily Drink Tracker is one of them, as is: Water Reminder – Daily Tracker.
Be Mindful Of Your Posture.
I remember when I was a little girl, my mom would push on my back and tell me to straighten up. She used to say “Alexandra Crina, you don’t want to be a hunched old lady one day” lol! Eastern European moms, you know!? When she said my first and middle name, she knew she’d get my attention, thinking I was in some sort of trouble. But the truth is that she was right. Good posture not only prevents aches, spinal deformities (from prolonged bad posture) and can reduce stress on the ligaments, but as I learned later in life, it also contributes to demeanor and overall self-confidence as well.
There are 2 things I’ve done to help get me in the habit of carrying good posture: 1) I got myself a posture corrector support brace from Amazon which I wear around the house, and 2) I have 3-4 calendar alerts in place (on my phone), that pop up at specific times throughout the day, reminding me to sit up straight. Done and done!
Go To Bed ½ Hour Earlier.
For YEARS I’ve been talking about the power and influence good sleep (as well as longer sleep) has on us, our bodily, and our mental health as well. Solid sleep doesn’t just give you more energy, it also contributes to your hormonal health, your healthy eating goals, your heart health, blood pressure, stress management, daily performance and more. We have a blog up with tips for better sleep - and it’s in fact the first blog I’ve ever written for our website. I encourage you to check it out, and in this new year, start going to bed a half an hour earlier than you normally do. Even if you can’t fall asleep right away, re-training your mind and body to begin the resting process earlier, will eventually pay off on the long term.
Reduce Blue Light Exposure 1-2 Hours Before Going To Bed.
Since the topic of sleep is really important, I wanted to share one more challenge/GREAT habit to have in 2022, and that is to cut down on your exposure to blue light at night. The blue wavelengths from your phone, tablet, TV, lights, etc. – have the most powerful effect on your sleep-wake internal cycles and will essentially keep you awake when the body should be winding down.
The fist thing I’ve done, was to set a reminder on my phone to turn my screen red. Both iPhones and Androids have this ability, you just have to Google how to do it. Starting at 7PM, my alert pops up, I triple tap the side of my phone and now my screen is red. While more research is needed, the current evidence points out that red light at night doesn’t disturb your inner body clock. I’ve also purchased a few red light bulbs and red light salt lamps from Amazon and those are the only lights I have on past 7 PM (aside from the TV light because, nobody is perfect :D).
It’s also important to know that initial studies have shown that prolonged exposure to blue light on a daily basis can also affect the look and health of our skin, highly likely resulting in premature aging, which is why both the 4-in-1 Concealer SPF 30 AND the Eye Goals eye masks offer blue light protection from sustainably sourced Malagasy Butterfly Ginger. Some of you may remember when Jeremiah and I went to Madagascar… well, that wasn’t just for the culture, it was also because of this ingredient we’re sourcing from there. And I have to tell you… seeing first-hand the hardship and economic status of Madagascar, I am incredibly grateful and proud to be able to ethically and sustainably contribute to jobs in their country too.
Include More Leafy Greens Into Your Diet.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I grew up with the taste and love for bread, creamy sauces on everything, fried foods, and with the hectic schedule I’ve had over the past 21 years since I started working – junk food as well. I’ve made excuses after excuses throughout the years, from being too busy, to… It’s the weekend, or it’s a Holiday, or.. I “deserve” a “treat”… and while occasional “indulgence” is perfectly alright, it’s the everyday habits that we’ll see and feel as we get older. And I WANT to be healthy, I WANT to have energy, and I WANT my skin to look its best. The leafy greens provide the water, the fiber, the folate and all the other good vitamins, minerals and nutrients we need to thrive, perform at our very best and look our best as well.
My challenge to you? Make sure that at least ONE meal a day in 2022, is predominantly green veggies. We can do it!!
Plan Your Meals More Often.
One of my resolutions in 2022 is to meal prep. I haven’t done it in years and I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never quite done it consistently. If you saw the blog post (we emailed it) about the TIPS & TRICKS TO KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS then you know that new habits have to start small, if they are to be sustainable. So the way I’ll go about it, is by committing to meal prepping once a month. Every second Sunday of every month, my calendar reminder will go off (I’m obsessed with using my calendar, can you tell?) as early in the morning as possible, so I have time to make it happen throughout the day.
Meal prepping will save you time and money in the long run, but it will also allow you to “stay on the wagon” so to speak, so I don’t fall into the “no time” trap throughout the week, and make less than fortunate eating choices. I highly encourage you to meal prep more often in 2022.
And hey, on this note, let’s prep our Vitamins for the week as well, so we don’t forget.
Go Offline Once A Month.
Gabby and I sent an email on the first of the month, talking about how much of this “new year, new you” messaging we keep seeing out there, and in that email I said this: “The world is promoting acceptance yet is still critiquing ‘flaws’” – and it’s true, don’t you think? The pressures of social media and society and very much alive and well, so this year I encourage you (if you’re not doing it already), to go dark at least once a month. Pick one day every month, where your phone will stay on the nightstand, charging in its little glory, and you won’t touch it till the evening or (ideally) next day.
It’s hard, I know… but if you leave it on “Do Not Disturb”, only your “Favorite” contacts will be able to call you in case of emergency, so you can rest assured that nothing is happening, and you can go about living your merry life.
Oh and.. if you’re new here and haven’t signed up to get our emails and texts, believe me when I say that we are a WELLNESS-driven company, so you won’t get only “salesy” stuff from us. You get tips, and inspirational ideas and so much more, I really hope you can sign up. Sign up here.
Learn Something New This Year.
The reason I’m promoting this, isn’t just because life is always better and more interesting with new experiences in play, but it’s also a critical element to keeping our brains healthy. This year for me, will be learning more Spanish. My mother in law is from Mexico, and Romanian (my native language) is one of the five romance languages, so there’s no excuse for me to not be more fluent in Spanish.
Learn a new language, sign up for a dance class or a creative writing workshop. Learn some painting or photography techniques. Take a cooking class, play an instrument or take up knitting. Whatever soothes your fancy, make it a point to add something new to your portfolio of skills and I can promise you that you’ll not only expand your personal reach, but you’ll feel really empowered in the process too. The mental work of learning something new, can also slow the signs of aging and could even delay the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
Make Room For Self Care.
Work, kids, life… there will always be stress, and “busyness”, and demanding circumstances, but for YOUR wellbeing and the wellbeing of all your relationships as a result… you simply MUST make time for yourself on a weekly basis.
I’m running VREA Cosmetics, I’m running the social media platforms for Alexandra Potora, and I’m assisting Jeremiah with 2 of our other businesses as well. I’m a full-time caregiver for my mom, take care of Chloe (my Scottish Fold kitty) and my friends and other family. I have many friends with multiple children, and I’m the daughter of a single, working mother. I can truly wrap my head around the time-consuming facts of life, but the only time you’ll catch me not doing self-care things will be when I’m six feet underground. Every week I schedule an hour when nobody else exists. I catch up on my housewives, with eye masks on, a face mask on, moisturizing gloves/socks for my hands/feet, while sipping on tea and eating snacks. I’m also proactive about masking throughout the week, even if that’s during calls, cleaning the house or working on blog posts (like right now). I put a few drops of lavender essential oil in my shower every night, I try to go on daily walks by the beach where I take my shoes off and ground myself into the sand... Point is, self-care on the daily is life-changing, even if it’s the most minute thing. And then once a week, really dedicate time to it and indulge in this wellbeing.
How will your self-care look like? Is it a bubble bath? Watching a show with your skincare layered on? Exercising? Whatever it may be, dedicate uninterrupted time to it. And nothing else exists.
Thank you so much for reading this and thank you for being part of the VREA family! I hope 2022 will bring all your hopes and wants to reality.
- Alexandra (Founder | CEO)