The importance of good photography in our life

Our photographs tell us what is important to us. When you ask people what possessions would they rescue from their burning house, one of the most frequent answers is the photo album or a computer  - holding their digital images. It's so interesting that when panic mode hits, you're most likely lunge for you photos rather than for your valuable jewelry. This impulse to save our recorded memories is a powerful force that just show us the important role photography has in our life and our constant desire to distill and imortalize our most precious moments into images.

Photography preserves the most important events and people in our lives. Photos are our personal story, they construct a timeline of our lives, filled with faces and places that we love.  And they allow us to share our life and important moments with others. They allow us to share and communicate, and can convey all kinds of emotions! 

So yeah. Having good photos, that really capture the moment is very VERY important. But not every one can do that. We all have some amador photographer in us. And that's enough for every-day memories, vacations and family gatherings. But for important moments -- moments that you want to capture no only the people but also the feelings -- you have to with a professional photographer. Don't ask you cousin that own a professional camera to take pictures of your weeding. You will definitely regret it! 

So, how do you find the right photographer? It may not be an easy task, but you only have three rules:

1. Find a photographer that matches your style, your aesthetic. Some with the same sense of style as you. Because most likely he will produce something that he likes, and if you have similar taste, you will like it too.

2. Find a photographer who edits well. Editing can really change a picture, the mood and the feeling it conveys. You if you have an editing style in mind you should find a photographer that is capable of delivering that style with consistency. If you don't know what you want, go trough your prospect-photographer's portfolios and see if you like what you see. Just make sure that the photographer you pick has a consistent editing processes, and be sure to communicate the tone and atmosphere you want your photographs to give off.

3. Find a photographer who has a good personality. Your photographer will be everywhere with you. Up in your face all day long. And there is nothing worse than having a photographer who is too opinionated, too boisterous, or too awkward to be around. So find someone you really click with. That is positive and has has an upbeat personality. Try meeting him over a coffee and really get to know him, build relationship with him, turn him into a friend!

And how about where to find the right photographer?

You can google it, ask your friends for recommendations OR you can use Fixando. Fixando is an online platform that makes hiring profissional services very easy, including a professional photographer. It's really easy to use -- you just answer a few questions about what you are looking for, how much is your budget and this information will be sent to all the available professionals registered on this platform. They will then submit their proposals and you can compare the different professionals, check their portfolios and compare prices. Fixando is available in several 

locations, including Portugal. So yeah, if you are in need of a Photographer in Lisbon or Photographer in Porto or a Photographer  really anywhere else in the world, Fixando can help you.

REVITALE Salicylic Acid Scrub Soap | The Amazon best seller against acne

Personally -- and thankfully -- I don't suffer from acne. Never did. Not even on my teen years. But I know that many of you do, and I hope this post can be helpful to you. I saw this product and I immediately thought that I need to do some research on it!  This product is all the rage right now and I've heard it absolutely does wonders for acne prone skin! The only reason I haven't ordered it and tried it for my self is because, well, I don't have acne prone skin or a lot of blemishes, but I thought you might all enjoy reading about it and maybe try it!

It's known that one of the things that helps with blemishes are products rich in Salicylic Acid and Sulfur. And today we can find all kinds of products marketed for acne prone skin. Products that claim to get rid of all your blemishes, from pills to pomades, but not all of them actually do what they promise. And some of them can be extremely aggressive for you skin -- and for your wallet as well!

But one product that I've been reading more and more about is this Salicylic Acid Scrub Soap, from the English company Revitale. It's very cheap and from the reviews I've red on Amazon UK, it really makes a difference! It's currently the #2 best seller in Face Scrubs on it has a 4+ star rating! 

But what makes this soap so special?

The magic of this soap starts with the abundant exfoliating almond and walnut shell particles, that can be very abrasive but work wonders in deep cleansing pores and stimulating cell renewal. Then you have Salicylic Acid (2%) that unclogs your pores and removes dead cells, revealing a clearer, renewed complexion. And to help removing any bacteria and absorbing any excess oil we have the Sulfur. But the treatment doesn't finish here. This soap is also enriched with Vitamine E1 that leaves your skin feeling incredibly soft, nourished and ready to face the world!

It's pink and beautiful and really easy to use, according to the amazon reviews. It ladders up really easily but I did find some complaints about the smell, but hey, it's sort of a medicinal product I wasn't expecting it to smell extremely good. 

I think you can only get it from Amazon -- and unfortunately for Portugal you have to pay shipping -- but from what I've seen it's worth every cent! If you find it somewhere else, please let me know so I can update this post!

Do you have acne? What do you do to control your break outs? 

Have you ever tried a soap like this? 

⇝ This is NOT a sponsored post, I just found out about it and decided to write about it. Just because it's not useful to me, it doesn't mean that I shouldn't share it with you! ⇜

REVIEW | COLGATE MAX WHITE CHARCOAL

All of us feel that our teeth could be a little whiter and a little brighter every now and again, am I right? 

Me, I drink a lot of coffee and even though I brush my teeth 3 times a day, I'm not able to avoid having my teeth stained. It doesn't bother me THAT much, but you know, if there's anything simple that I can do to help tone down the yellowness, I'll definitely give it a shot. I am not a huge fan of those treatments you can do at home -- you know, whitening strips or retainers with whitening goo. I prefer to keep my teeth white by brushing daily with a good whitening toothpaste.

BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING -- Do you know how most whitening toothpaste, how they make your teeth whiter?? It's by scrubbing the surface of your teeth. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, however this information was passed to me by my concerned dentist: most of whitening toothpastes contain some sort of abrasive agent that literally sands the stains of your teeth surface of your teeth.most of the times you can even feel the abrasive agents if you rub the toothpaste between you index and thumb -- it feels like tiny particles of sand! And sanding of the top layer of your teeth -- the enamel -- can damage your teeth. This will make your teeth more pron to sensitivity to hot and cold. And no one wants that. Since my dentist told me this, I have been paying more attention to what tooth paste I buy, because I've always suffered with some light sensitivity and I deferentially don't want to make it any worse. But I do also still want to have whiter, brighter teeth!

The other day, while browsing the toothpaste section of my local supermarket -- as one does -- I found this toothpaste and it instantly piqued my curiosity! I bought it and started to use it right a way.

This is the COLGATE MAX WHITE CHARCOAL. It mentions "Gentle mineral scrubbing" and it says on the tube that it is "Clinically Proven to remove up to 100% of surface stains". Let's pay attention to this claim -- they do mention "surface stains" and do talk about scrubbing. So yeah, this goes right along with what my doctor told me. But hey, at least they are putting things as they are. It's right there on the box! You are going to scrub the surface of you teeth by using this product. They don't say it like this but you know, it's implied. So if you decide that you do want to use this type of toothpastes, you should be careful! Don't use it every day, just two or three times a week, don't apply too much pressure when brushing. And when you are not using this one, use a toothpaste rich in fluoride.  And this applies to pretty much EVERY WHITENING TOOTHPASTE OUT THERE -- including AP24 - the one that is super famous on social media with all the fake pics.

This one in particular has charcoal. And why is the advantage of charcoal? Well, activated charcoal is known for having the ability to bind to toxin, so it might well remove some of them from you teeth. The charcoal gives the tooth paste a jet black color making it look kind of scary for a product you put in your mouth. It tastes minty, just like regular toothpaste. You can feel de charcoal in it, which is in this case the abrasive substance that will scrub you teeth.

Have I been noticing any differences? Well kind of, but nothing very significative. I've been using this for the past two weeks but only when I brush my teeth at night, before bed. Once a day. ( In the morning and after lunch, I use my regular toothpaste). I feel like this will help me prevent new stains while slowly getting rid of old ones. I don't know if this makes any sense, or if it works, but hey -- that's how I roll. I believe that with a more frequent use you would be able to have better results, but the idea of damaging my teeth really scares me.

Have you tried any black whitening toothpaste? How was it? 

Waxing makes your hairs thinner? Myth or Fact?

Summer is officially here! So we all are starting to face the big summer conundrum of how to deal with all this body hair that is just the most annoying thing ever. I mean, evolution should have taken care of these already, am I right?! Jokes aside, there are so many different types of hair removal available today, that can be hard to decide what to go for.

Me personally -- until very recently -- I'v always preferred waxing above any other method. I feel that it lasts longer than shaving, I can go somewhere to get it perfectly done by a professional, and for me it doesn't really hurt that much!

Body hair removal is ultimately your choice, you decide what is best for you. And of course I advise you to go for a more permanent hair removing treatment, like laser or IPL. And even tho these are cheaper that they were a few years ago, they are not yet cheap. So you know what's your second best option? Waxing! Why? Because indeed, waxing makes your hair grow slower and thinner.  That's not a myth my friends. THAT IS A HARD FACT. There is no guarantee for permanent hair, but waxing regularly can drastically change your hair

Let's just think about what waxing does to your hairs and skin. When you wax of your hairs, you are basically ripping the hair from it's root, damaging the hair bulb. The hair bulb is what provides nourishment for newly forming and established hair. By waxing repeatedly, the hair bulbs get more and more damaged and they are not able to give the hairs what they need to grow. This means that the hairs can't grow properly resulting in thinner hairs, that take longer to grow. Some follicles can become so much damaged that hairs may not even grow there again. 

And contrary to popular believe, shaving doesn't make your hairs grow thicker! When you shave, the blade cuts a sharp edge at what is the hairs thickest point of the shaft. This not only make your hair feel ticket but it also appears darker That's why when you pass your hand on you leg a few days after shaving you feel like the little sharp hairs poking out. When you wax, hairs basically grow with a more rounded edge, so when they break the skin t don't have this sharp edge, and they feel softer and thinner. 

And here is another girly advice: if you wax frequently, buy one of these Roll-on Wax Warmers. They are very inexpensive, the wax cartridges usually cost under 1€ and you can use it over and over again. I own one, and let me tell you, it was the best investment I've ever made! I actually prefer having it professional done but it is perfect for in between appointments touch ups. Makes waxing easy and super cheap.

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-- This post was sponsored by Presença de Luxo produtos para depilação a cera --