10 Things that Remind you Everyday that You are over 25

Running into a childhood friend recently got me thinking about my age. I love being in my twenties. It is my security blanket. It makes me feel like I still have time to do any and everything. The thought of turning thirty scares me. Yes I said it. You can judge me! Lol. When a kid calls me "miss" I find myself immediately correcting him/her by saying "No honey, It's Renée". At age 27 I am desperately holding on to my youth for dear life. When people around me turn thirty, I think "Whew, I'm glad that's not me". I then convince myself that I have years to go before the impending "dirty thirty". My peers have their own concerns too. People in their late twenties and beyond, these are their stories...

1. The weight watching
    Can someone say gym rat?! That is what some of you have become or wish you had the discipline to incorporate in your daily routines. To remain young and fit, you have to think about what you consume. If you find something from your wardrobe back when you were twenty and it still fits, you throw a party! You no longer find it easy to burn calories and drop pounds like you did in your early twenties. Chances are you were not even thinking about your weight at that time and if you were, you were only concerned about maintaining your weight. Now, you have to set a goal weight and work towards that. Bummer!!!

2. You think before you spend
    Your unlimited credit card a.k.a mom and dad have pretty much cut you off. You must now fend for yourself and that means earning your own money which we all know is harder to spend!

3. You feel a bit old when you go to some Clubs
     Night-life as you now know it is all about, well, sleeping! You make plans to go out and you think you need a power nap. That power nap then turns into a full blown sleep session which finds you waking up at 3 a.m to several missed calls and hate mail (texts) from your friends. But let's say you do go out... By 12 a.m you are yawning so much that your jaws hurt. You enter the club, you look around and see college kids and you think what on earth am I doing here? Why aren't these kids home in bed? Let's say you had a fun night out, but the next day you are so exhausted, you feel as though you partied an entire week! You think, "I'm getting too old for this!"

4. You find Jesus
    So now that you have grown tired of your heathen ways, you think it is now time to draw closer to God as if God is oh so lonely! You become Spiritual. You want a fresh start. You want to forget your sordid past and all the shameful acts of your early twenties. Best believe your friends remember, and they wont be afraid to remind you. I know someone's out there reading this and shouting a silent Amen!

5. Everybody is getting married or engaged
    Nothing much to say on this one... pretty self-explanatory.

6. Your sense of style changes
     You become image conscious. You begin to think you need more "mature outfits" and you want to always dress to impress. You may even change your hair. Some of you who have completely checked out of reality, start dressing noticeably "age-inappropriate" because you want to look young, hot and trendy. What was the last outfit that you bought? Think on these things...

7. You enjoy your own company/solitude
    Now that you can spend your own money, it means that you can now choose where you want to live and where you can designate as your own sanctuary. You even spend some of that hard earned cash on your favourite foods and liquor. Some of your best moments are times spent alone drinking your favourite bottle of wine or beverage and cuddling up with a good book, tablet or watching cable. Netflix has become the hot, sexy date on a Friday night. Score!

8. Difficulty in keeping up with the constant trends of Social Media and Social Networks
    Let's just say Facebook and Instagram is all I can manage these days. Snap who? Periscope what? I just can't!

9. You cannot hear all the words of that popular song
    You have morphed into your parents who could not understand a word your favourite artiste was spittin'. Kids in their teens are now laughing at you because you can't hear a single word that that rapper from ATL is saying. Watching BET's 106 & Park brings you down memory lane and rather than actually taking the time to watch whats before your eyes, your mind wanders off to that Ja Rule and Murder Inc era.

10. Bills
     Don't you just wish they'd go away or better yet, pay themselves!

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Eye creams: Why do we need them?

There are some of us who suffer from having those unattractive dark circles around our eyes often caused by hyper-pigmentation or the dreaded puffiness underneath our eyes. Many of us do not realize this, but the skin which surrounds our eyes is quite sensitive and prone to wrinkling very easily. Crows feet, also known as "laugh lines" can age you. Men if you think that this post doesn't apply to you? Think again. I see many of you who have already developed crows feet. But, do not be disheartened, I am here for you. For the ladies and gents who have been fortunate to avoid this skin issue, kudos to you! Whether you want to reduce the appearance of the wrinkles, dark circles or puffiness or prevent these things from happening to you, I highly recommend that you read on.

For years I suffered from hyperpigmentation, what I call discolouration. I had discolouration around my lips and my eyes. Through trial and error, I have found two things which have helped me immensely. Raw african shea butter and coconut oil have given me life!!! I alternate between the two and I also use them at night after having washed my face. I must admit that I have a slight preference for the shea butter. The appearance of the dark circles has diminished significantly. I can honestly say that shea butter is always in my cosmetic drawer and bag.

The root cause of puffiness is caused by under eye water retention. Genetics, not getting enough sleep and allergens are also culprits. My top recommendations for treating eye puffiness are shea butter, aloe vera gel, witch hazel and rose water. Try to reduce the salt in your diet. Salt unfortunately contributes to water retention/water weight in our bodies and our faces are not excluded. Drink plenty of water to flush your system. Our pillows, though useful for sleeping comfortably, can contribute to trapping dust particles which can cause eye redness and itching. Keep antihistamines in your medicine cabinets to aid with this and wash your pillow cases often.

A quick fix for under eye puffiness which has worked for me is wrapping ice cubes in a rag and resting this on the swollen area for ten (10) second intervals. Long gone are the days when we can just wash our faces and slather on some lotion... any lotion for moisture. If you're still doing that, please stop! Stop tugging at the skin around your eyes when applying mascara or eyeliner to your inner lids ladies. Be gentle. Pulling at the skin can further increase the likelihood of developing wrinkles (crows feet). Remember, you are stuck with that face for the rest of your life!