I Spent Tens of Thousands on Beauty & Wellness Trends: My Brutally Honest Reviews

What's up, you guys? Welcome back to the podcast. In today's episode, I am spilling the tea. I spent tens of thousands of dollars on beauty and wellness trends before my wedding, and let me tell you, not everything was worth the hype. So I'm gonna go through everything that I did along with my honest ratings and reviews so that you can figure out what is worth focusing on during your next glow-up season, whether it's for a wedding, a breakup revenge, or anything in between. I hope this episode helps you, you find it interesting, and I'm just gonna be raw and honest and unfiltered and share with you this whole process. So let's dive in. Welcome to the Makeshift Happen podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride. Let's go make shit happen. One of the very first things that I did when I started wanting to get my health and wellness in check before my wedding was I hired a health coach and we ran some functional lab testing. So this was one of the things that I did that was probably the biggest investment, obviously, because it involves hiring a practitioner, doing all the lab testing, tons of supplements, personalized protocol. So it was one of the biggest investments on this list, but it is a really valid one to talk about because it was a huge part of the process, and it was actually a long process. So I started this 9 months before I was set to get married, and I decided to do some one-on-one coaching and receive a personalized protocol from an incredible practitioner who actually happens to be one of my clients, Leslie. And so she was in my business mastermind, and I know what a genius she is in her area of expertise and in her work that she does. So I was like, I'm gonna hire you, let's do this. I want to get wedding ready, I want to look and feel amazing, I want to know exactly what's going on in my body. There was some specific things that I wanted to work on when it came to stress levels, hormones, skin, periods, like so many things that I wanted to optimize that weren't just about getting married or looking good on the outside for the wedding, but also just happened to be like things that I had always wanted to work on and optimize. And it was just like the right timing to kind of force me into it and be like, let's do this. I'm, I'm ready to make this big investment. And so that was the push that I needed, and I'm so glad that I did it. It was a really good experience. I did all of the lab testing that she offers. So we tested so many things, like I can't even remember all of them, but honestly, we, we tested hormones, stress, gut health. We tested for parasites, mold, food sensitivities, heavy metals, like all of my like mineral level, like so many things. And that was amazing because I love seeing data, especially knowing exactly what's going on in your body. And I think one of the biggest things from this process was actually understanding that my health was in a really, really good place. And that was so relieving to find out because I do think that there's a lot of fearmongering in the wellness space in general of just like, because there's microplastics in everything and everything is an endocrine disruptor and everything is fucking with your gut and your hormones are like— you can easily start to walk around thinking like, oh my gosh, I'm probably fucked. And you're like, I, I must have a parasite because I've traveled a bunch and I've never done a cleanse, and apparently everybody has a parasite. And maybe I have mold. Like, I live in a hot and humid place and I live in this building that was built in the '60s or '70s. Like, I'm probably ridden with mold. Like, it's very easy to just assume that you might have things, more things wrong with you than what actually is the truth. And so one of the most revealing things about process was actually understanding, like, my health and most of my markers were in a really, really good place. Were there things that we could optimize? Absolutely. And that's what we worked on, and that's what we did. But I also was really relieved to see that my gut health was in actually a really, really good place, because one of the main things that I struggle with, which I've talked about many times before, is my skin. And everyone always says, like, your skin is a reflection of your gut. But it was really nice to see that my gut is actually in really good standing, because especially a few years ago, I found out that I had leaky gut. This was probably back in— I was living in Spain at the time, so it was like 2018. 18, I did a, like, a functional test with a practitioner there, and like, my markers were not good. I definitely had leaky gut, and I had a lot of like symptoms of it too at the time, so it made a lot of sense. And I had never gotten retested, so I just wasn't sure. I was feeling better in terms of digestion and just like not having any bloating or pain or any of that anymore, and so I assumed that I was better. But it was also just really cool to see the data of like, wow, I actually healed. So that was really, that was really good and, and really just helpful for my mental health, I think, also to know like I am internally a pretty healthy individual. So there were a lot of parts of this process. I can't talk about everything because it was 9 months long, but some of the main things that we did were— a lot of it was like lifestyle changes, of course, as it relates to what I'm eating and how I'm exercising and sleeping, circadian rhythm and reducing stress. But we also did a 14-day liver cleanse. I did a 36-hour fast, which you may have heard me talk about on the podcast because that turned out to be quite a disaster for me. I decided to try to fast when Jaime was out of town. He was actually out of the country, and I ended up having a really horrible migraine, and I was left alone, and I had to take care of my dog, and there was a million other things happening. You probably might have heard that episode. That was wild times. But I did— it was supposed to be a 48-hour fast, but after the 36 hours, your girl crashed. So that was as long as I could make it. So I did a 36-hour fast, which was illuminating to say the least. And that was part of the longer, kind of like 14-day liver cleanse. I was on probably 10,000 supplements. I mean, that's an exaggeration, but there were a lot of supplements because there were many different— this is over 9 months, so there's many different protocols that we were doing kind of like step by step. There was an entire 3-phase gut protocol that happened over like a 3 or 4 month period just in and of itself. I was off of gluten, dairy, and eggs for the most part, for the large part of those 9 months. I was not perfect with that always, but I was, I was relatively good with it, I would say. And so that was just the idea behind that was just to really lower any inflammatory foods in my diet to help me achieve the results that I was wanting to get. So overall, I would rate this whole kind of experience that I went through an 8 out of 10. And the only reason I'm going to give it an 8 out of 10 is because when I think about like people that are listening to this, it's kind of an unrealistic thing for everybody to do at this level. But there are more attainable versions of this. Like even with Leslie herself, I know she has group offerings where she does this in small groups of women and it's so much more affordable, but you still get a lot of the similar benefits. And people get insane results. So I do know that it is a larger investment that is not always the most realistic thing for people to do. Again, like I said, it's probably the biggest investment that's on this list of things that I did. And also because like the protocols are a really big commitment. So it's just like, you really have to be, you really have to hand yourself over to this process and really want to do this. It's not something that you can really do casually. Like it's a really big commitment is all I have to say. I, hated doing the testing because I'm not a, a blood person. And that was really tough for me having to do so many finger pricks and fill all these little sheets of like blood from my finger. I vomited during one of them. I like got lightheaded. Like I'm just really bad with that stuff. I'm really queasy. So I really did not like the process, but I loved being able to see my personal lab results. And with the supplements, it was just like, there were so many that I couldn't totally keep up. Like it wasn't really possible for me to be perfect. Because for a large portion of the time I was taking 40+ pills per day. Like, that is so many pills to be swallowing. And yeah, like, your body subconsciously is just going to like reject that and intentionally forget about it, or like choose to like not take them because you're just like so over it. So those are the only reasons why I'd give it like an 8 out of 10. But the coaching helped me 2x the level at which I was working out, which was so amazing for me. Like, I'm so, so grateful for that. That was such a lifestyle change for me, and it really made me— forced me to break that limiting belief that I had had, which was like, I'm too busy to be able to be working out more than 3 times a week. I was really happy with being able to get into the gym 3 times a week, and— well, I don't want to say I was really happy with it, but like, I was, I was proud of myself, but I wanted to do more, but I also felt like there's no way that I could. And so the, the process of the coaching just really stretched my capacity in that way of of finding a way and figuring it out and making the time. And now I know that I can, and it's easier for me to do it and to show up for it. And I've gone out and like branched out and like tried different things, and I'm doing more Pilates and stuff. So I just found a lot of stuff that works for me, and so I'm moving my body more, which is amazing. And it also— the, the process of the coaching also helped me remove my daily craving for dessert, which I am such a sweets girl. I love desserts, and I'm not going to lie, I'm so excited for my wedding to eat the fucking dessert and to have a big piece of cake. And it's not like I deprived myself for the 9 months of like never having anything sweet. I definitely still had sweet things, but overall I would say I'm much less addicted to sugar than I was when I started. And especially for the last couple of weeks, like I've had no sweet treats or desserts of any kind after any of my meals, which used to be such a staple for me. Like after, almost after lunch and dinner, I would need to have like a little bite of like a sweet treat, whether it was like a piece of chocolate or a little bite of a cookie, or I don't know, like whatever. So a brownie from like Trader Joe's or something. Like, I always just had like a little sweet treats. But yeah, it helped me break that kind of intense craving for a dessert after main meals and just make overall some significant habit changes, which I'm so, so happy with. So that's kind of the breakdown, overall summary of the health coaching and functional lab testing that I did. Now, as part of that, I also got a DEXA scan done at start just to kind of see what my baseline was. So if you don't know what a DEXA scan is, it's like, it's kind of like an X-ray, but it's for your whole body, and it also looks at your organs and your muscles and fat percentage and like everything. So you see like the overall picture of your health, bone density, all that kind of stuff. And I had never had one before, so that was an interesting process. I found out that I was 28% body fat, which isn't bad, but I was like, I think we can get that down to 23%. And I didn't have any goals to like have any crazy, like, low body fat percentage where it would put me at risk of, you know, messing with my hormones or losing my period or not being able to get pregnant or anything. But I did want to see that percentage go down a little bit. And I kind of wish that I had done another one, but it's a couple hundred dollars and I'm like 6 days away from leaving for my wedding right now. And I'm like, I don't really feel— there's so many things going on and there's so many invoices that have to be paid. Like, I don't really feel like going to get a DEXA scan right now, but it would be really interesting to see how much I moved the needle on that. I do think that I was able to get it to go down slightly. I think I only lost maybe like 3 or 4 lbs total, but I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, just transparently. So I don't know, I, I, I really don't know. But what I did see also on that scan was that I have really good bone density happening for my age, and I have really healthy muscle mass, which is due to the entire year prior to that. I was really focused on weightlifting. That was the only kind of exercise I was doing, and I was doing progressive of overload and I had a personal trainer. And so I do think I put on a really significant healthy level of muscle mass in that process. So I was happy to see that also show up on the DEXA scan, just as kind of like proof in the pudding of the work that I had been doing. Another thing that my health coach had me do was hydrocolonic and coffee enemas. So I did this twice and I detail the whole thing. I'm also gonna sh— share a vlog with you guys of the beauty and wellness prep stuff so that you can actually see the behind the scenes of most of these things that we're gonna talk about here, and also some things that we're not gonna talk about on the podcast, but just more of like the visuals and, and in more detail, like the process of, of a lot of these things. So you will see the process of the hydrocolonic and the coffee enemas on the vlog. But I'm gonna rate this a 7 out of 10, and I think that's pretty high for something that is not that fun to do. So a hydrocolonic is, I mean, everyone knows what a colonic is, right? Do I gotta break it down? You put the thing up your butt and the water goes all the way into your your colon and your intestines and it cleans you out. Okay. So it's not comfortable and it's not fun, but I do think that it made my skin more glowy after, like significantly, because a couple of days after this, I remember even looking at myself and being like, damn, my skin is kind of— Okay. So I have something I think you're really gonna love and your business is gonna love it even more. Do you wanna steal the strategy I've been using to seduce premium buyers and sell out my offers on Instagram Stories? Chances are you're already posting, you're already making sales, but If your Instagram stories aren't working as hard as you are, you're leaving money on the table. Sold Out Stories is going to teach you exactly how to change that so that you can sell out any offer at any price point. And even high-caliber coaches miss this because selling on stories isn't about how much you post or how frequently you show up face to camera. It's about psychological sequencing. 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And I think it was the coffee enema. I feel like it was the coffee enema because it helps so much with your liver function, and your liver has a lot to do with the way that your skin looks. So because I liked the results of what happened after the first time, I decided to do it again closer to when I'm actually leaving for the wedding. So I've done that twice now. And yeah, it's about like an hour and 15 minutes process, I think I would recommend it. I really, I really think I would. The, it's not bad. Like the colonic, it, it doesn't hurt at all. There's a couple times where it feels uncomfortable, like the kind of like tummy feeling that you might have when you're like about to have diarrhea a little bit, kind of is what it feels like. Because I mean, it's flushing you out and it's like pumping you full of water. Like, so it's kind of similar feeling, but it, that usually like comes in little waves and then it passes. And you're totally fine. So the coffee enema is way easier than the hydrocolonic. Like, the coffee enema is 15 minutes, the hydrocolonic is 45 minutes. But the place that I went to was— they put like a heating pad over your tummy while you're there. They tell you to bring a blanket, and then they like cover you up with your own blanket. There's like ambient lighting in there and little like spa music. So it's like as comfortable and nice as it could be for what you're doing, and I do think I would recommend it. So the next category of things I wanna talk about have to do with sleep. I did the classic things, right? Like getting a silk pillowcase and a silk eye mask, which I've loved silk eye masks forever. We have so many of them. They're like pacifiers in our bed. They're just like strewn around in the middle of the bed because Jaime and I both wear them, but they like come off in the middle of the night. So you just like reach into the center of the bed and then there's like more in there in between our pillows. It's so crazy. I, I'm not joking. There's like 10 silk eye masks. Masks just like in the middle of our bed at any given time. So we love that. The silk pillowcase— like, I, I had cheap ones before from Amazon, but I decided to get like an actual nice true silk pillowcase. And I do like it because they say it's better for your skin and your hair, right? Like, your hair doesn't get stuck to it, it's not like breaking your hair, it's not making your skin wrinkle. They say it's better for like beauty, it's more antimicrobial than other materials for pillowcases, whatever the case may But I don't know, I kind of feel like if you're a person who does skincare before you go to sleep, I feel like it kind of sticks to the silk pillowcase more, more than it does to a regular pillowcase. So I don't know if that's just me, but I'm not like a huge stan of the silk pillowcase, but it's fine. Like it's whatever. Another thing that I tried was mouth tape. I have the Skinny Confidential classic, like pink, cute mouth tape. I'm giving this a 3 outta 10, and the reason is because I never use it. Like, it's very cute. It's the perfect level of sticky. I love that it has a little air hole in the middle so that you don't, like, feel panicky, like you're not going to be able to breathe through your mouth if you needed to. And it stays on all night and it works really well. Like, it really does work. But it's— so that's where it gets its 3 points from. But it's a low score for me because I never use it. I don't like the feeling of having something stuck to my face while I'm trying to sleep. I don't know how people do these frowny shits, and they put tape all over their face. And I tried to wear a hair bonnet. That's another thing I did, technically for hair, but it happens when you're sleeping. Like, one of those silk hair bonnets, like, that comes off. Like, I don't know, I'm just like a mess. Even from the time that I was a kid, whenever I had a retainer, or when I was younger and I used to grind my teeth, I was supposed to wear a mouthguard when I was sleeping. I would wake up and that thing would be across the room under my dresser because in my sleep I would rip it out and chuck it across the room. So I guess it's just something about me. I don't like shit touching me. I don't shit being in my mouth or on my face when I'm trying to sleep, apparently. So doesn't really work for me, but it is functional if you can handle it. This next thing that I'm gonna talk about is one of the better things that I bought, I have to say. And it's not cheap, it's not cheap, but I really do love it. And this is my air filter that I got. So this is going to help improve your sleep quality because sleep is the time when you are— your body is restoring. And so it's really important that you have really good air quality while you're sleeping. Now it's good for the air quality in your home at any other time. It just depends where you put your air filter. You can have it in your living space, you can have it in your office, you can have it in your bedroom. You can have one in all of those places. But I, I was gonna buy multiple of them, but I was like, let me just start with one. Okay. Cause this is again, not a cheap thing. And so I got this one and it's pretty big. I'm gonna say it's pretty big, but they've made it as aesthetic as possible for how big it is. Now, the reason that it's so big is because it is a commercial-grade air scrubber. Okay? This is not just your regular schmegular, like, air filter bullshit thing that's like barely doing anything. No, it's not $200. It's not $300. No, this is like an investment. The founder used to work for air quality control. He used to work in things like wildfires and relief for natural disasters and flooding and stuff like that, like clearing like the air from smoke from wildfires. And so he has this experience with like really, really heavy duty commercial grade air scrubbing. And he wanted to make that for families and for schools, but in a way that was more aesthetic and wasn't so loud. And so they came up with this air scrubber and it's called the Jasper, J-A-S-P-R. You can look up the brand, not sponsored, not affiliated. I mean, would love to be, come on the podcast. I would invite the founder on because I love mine. I really do love it. And it's beige. You know, I'm a beige girly. I love a beige aesthetic, so it fits in my house, but it is big, but it works. And it is so cool to watch this thing work. Like for example, when you are cooking and smoke is going into the air from steaks or veggies or like anything that's on the stove, the air filter, you see it go from green of like really good air quality to then it'll gradually go to like orange and it'll be like moderate air quality. And then it'll go to red and it'll be like critical air condition. And then the, the filter really picks up and it's a little bit noisier when it's like scrubbing from a critical air conditioning cuz it's like filled filtering all the smoke out of the air. And so it will stay red for a little bit and then it will like reduce down the air and it'll go back to green once it cleans the whole air. And it's been really interesting to notice what things set it off, like certain candles, spraying your perfume. Another funny one that I realized was whenever I curl my hair, like the burning of your hair makes— even if it's so slight, like it's not like I'm frying my hair every time I curl it, but I'm in the bathroom and it's in the other room, it's in the bedroom, and it picks up on that, like getting into the air, and it'll pick up the speed and I'll see it go orange and then it will go down again. And, and back to green once it cleans everything. So it is really cool to watch it work. It filters dust, pollen, allergens, pet dander, mold spores, and smoke and other things. So I'm going to give the Jasper a 9 out of 10. I love mine. And so if you want really, really good quality restorative healing sleep, put a Jasper in your bedroom. It's, it's such a hack. The next thing for sleep is the Loftie alarm clock. Now this is something that Leslie told me to get, and I'm so glad that I did. Again, it's like kind of expensive for an alarm clock, but it is a smart alarm clock. So if you've ever heard of like the Hatch that was supposed to wake you up with the idea of like gentle light, it's kind of similar to that. But I think the Hatch might have a monthly subscription that you have to pay, whereas the Loftie doesn't. So, and, and it's a little bit different, but I really like it. It's like a gentle two-phase alarm. It starts with like really like soft white noise. It's supposed to essentially like bring you— it's not supposed to wake you up right away. It's supposed to gently and slowly bring you into a state of like consciousness, and then the actual alarm goes off after that. So instead of going from deep sleep to like a jarring alarm sound, there's this first process. I don't even hear this part, by the way. I think subconsciously I do, and it brings me into that state of like kind of my minor consciousness. But then the actual alarm goes off and it wakes you up, but it's all with beautiful sounds. It's like white noise and nature sounds, and you can select which ones you want. So it helps you wake up naturally. It's way more calming for the nervous system, and it's so much better than your phone. Like, so many of us have our phones as our alarm clocks, and it's so, so bad because not just for the fact of like you're sleeping with your phone next to you, which means you're probably looking at it before you go to sleep and you're probably looking at it when you get up. Now my phone is not even in the bedroom when I go to sleep. I leave it in the bathroom. I charge it in the bathroom. It's nowhere near me. But there's also the idea of like EMF. RFs, right? Like the thing that your phone transmits that can give you brain cancer. You like— we do not want to be sleeping with our phones next to us. We definitely don't want to be sleeping with them under the pillow. Oh my God, I used to do this all the time in college with the Bluetooth on. It wasn't even in airplane mode. Like, I think about those days and I'm like cringing. I would plug it into the charger, which makes it way worse, and it would be totally on and the Bluetooth would be on and it would be under my fucking pillow, like right under my head when I was sleeping. That is sick. Please, if you are doing that, stop right away. Do not do that. Do not let your kids do that. Do not let people in your family do that. It is so, so bad for you. If you have to have your phone next to you, I always say like have it in airplane mode or something at least, and don't have it plugged into a charger if it's going to be next to you on a nightstand in your bedroom. It's just too close. That makes it worse. So the thing that I love about the Loftie is yes, the gentle waking, the sound is so much more soothing to wake wake me up. It's not jarring for the nervous system, and also it helps me keep my phone out of the bedroom when I go to sleep, which nothing else has been able to successfully allow me to do that. So that is an incredible win. I'm giving the Lofty alarm clock a 10 out of 10. So worth it. The next thing is my Brick, which I got maybe like 2 months ago at this point, so it's a little bit more recent, but I've been loving my Brick, and I don't know if I'll get over it at some point, but This is a device that locks you out of your phone. So it is a physical thing that you hold in your hand. It's a little square. It's a gray brick. Hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a listener of the month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you have to do is leave an epic review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot the review before you hit submit, and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram @makeshifthappenpodcast. And that's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank higher and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you. So keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen. There's a magnet on it so you can like stick it to your fridge or you can put it in a drawer like you can keep it wherever. But essentially you input the settings for which apps you want to get locked out of on your phone. And then the only way that you can get into those apps is by physically going to over to your brick and tapping your phone to it. To unlock yourself. So there's no like, oh, 5 more minutes on Instagram, the classic thing that we've all tried that never works. You need to physically walk over to the brick and tap your phone to it and unbrick yourself in order to be able to get back in. And so if you keep that brick somewhere that is a little bit inconvenient for you to reach, or it's just like far away from where you're working when you wanna be really focused, or if you are out of the house and you wanna be really, really present, and you don't have to be completely locked out of everything at your phone and you don't have to leave your phone at home. You can still have your phone with you. You can still text, you can still call, you can do whatever, but you can select which apps you want to be locked out of so that when you're out of the house, if you're going to hang out with someone or you're running errands, you're going to be with the family or whatever, and you just don't want to be in the zombie habit of going into your social media, then just brick yourself out of those specific apps. And then when you're out of the house, you literally won't be able to get back into them. Like, there's no way. You'll have to go all the way back home and tap your phone to the brick before you can get back into them. So I love the brick, and the reason why I'm putting it in this category for sleep is just because this is helping me a lot with the boundaries of not being on social media close to my bedtime, because you can also set in like automatic periods. So I've put— I've input one for myself that's called like Wind Down, and so my wind down time starts at like 9:00 PM. So right at 9:00 PM, I don't have to do anything. I don't have to hit like lock me out, like brick. It just automatically every day when it hits 9:00 PM, I'm locked out of certain apps. And then if I wanna unlock myself, I'd have to go over to my brick. And so it just reminds you like, this is the commitment that I made to myself of like wanting to not be on these apps or not be scrolling on my phone or not be doing whatever from these hours. You're just like reminded of that commitment and you're like, okay, like am I really gonna go unbrick myself right now? Unless it's for something that you really, really need to do, you're probably just gonna be like, oh well, I should probably find something else to do, which is great. So you could do a wind-down one at night. You could do like morning routine time. So every day from X hour to X hour, you're locked out of X whatever apps you want. I have one for deep focus. So anytime I'm working and I wanna go deep focus, I just open the Brick app on my phone and I select deep focus mode. And that mode specifically is connected to various apps that I wanna close down from and not be able to get into. And I just brick myself. Yourself. So it's really great, helps with your focus, and it's going to help you sleep with your nighttime routines and morning routines, just being more phone-free. Okay, let's get on to facial treatments and skincare. So in the lead-up to the wedding, I was doing regular facials every month, once a month, for about 5 months. Now this is something that I've never really done before. I'm not a big facial girly, but again, skin was like a major thing of mine that I wanted to really improve. So I was like, all right, let me go get like a facial every month and we'll see what I'm giving this a 2 out of 10. Now that might seem really, really low, but the reason is cuz I don't really think it did anything for my skin that much. Like, it was a nice experience, especially because they were really good facials. Like, it really was a great experience and amazing products, like all non-toxic, like, you know, full like face massage, arm massage, neck massage while you're getting the masks on and the CO2 treat. Like, I was— it— they were really good facials. It just I don't think it like made a difference. Like I don't think it really changed my skin at all. So it was like nice during, but the benefit was invisible for me at least personally. So 2 outta 10 for that kind of a waste of money cuz it's expensive to do that every single month. Then I went to an expert esthetician because again, my health coach was like, listen, let's get you into someone who's like gonna be able to help you specifically with the main area of concern, which which was— is my melasma. So I go to this aesthetician and I decide with her that we're going to do 3 SkinPen treatments. SkinPen is a form of microneedling, and so I decided to go ahead with it. She was like, this is going to be one of the best things that you can do for the texture of your skin, for breaking up the melasma, and it's also going to boost your collagen if you do the full kind of like 3 treatments. It's supposed to increase your collagen in, in like your face by 400%, which is crazy. So, you know, I'm in my 30s now, I'm getting a little collagen loss, we're starting to see some lines. So I was like, listen, I'm down, I'm down, let's do it. So I did 3 of those, complete with them. You'll see the process of this also in the vlog because I looked crazy, so crazy. And I'm gonna give the Skin Pen, I would say like a 6.5 or 7 out of 10. Uh, let's do 6.5, we'll do 6.5 out of 10 because here's why. The process This is not that enjoyable. Like, it's not fun to have like little needles like rubbed across your face. You are really red after, like really fucking red. You'll see it in the vlog. It's like crazy. It looks like I have the craziest sunburn of my entire life, all the way down your neck and onto your décolletage, like red, beet red. When you finish the treatment, you feel like your face is on fire, like it's burning. Like she gives you a little fan and you have to keep this fan on your face. And as soon as I get in my car to drive home, I have to blast the air conditioning on my face because it's like, it literally feels like you're in a fire, in a furnace. You're fucking burning. It's so uncomfortable. It's like really not cool. It lasts for like 20 to 30 minutes and then it goes away. But also the, the downtime afterwards is kind of annoying because you can't wear makeup for several days. You can't sweat, you can't be outside cuz you don't wanna get any sun, especially for someone like me who's dealing with melasma. After you do something like that and do such an intense kind of like exfoliation, like you can't be getting in the sun, it's really dangerous. This. So it's just like there's not much that you can do. I kind of had to like hibernate every time afterwards, and that's hard because my dog needs 4 walks a day and I really want to be working out. And it was just kind of like irritating, the downtime part of it. So that lowered the score of it for me. And I think the other reason why it's not getting a higher score is because I think it helped, but also it wasn't like an overwhelming, oh my God, my skin looks amazing after this. Do you know what I But then again, I am the person who's kind of just like, I never can tell if something makes a difference. So we'll see. Along with that, this esthetician helped me get on a whole new skincare regimen. So I started doing the Skin Better Science products. You've probably seen them if you've been to an esthetician or even if you've been to like an injector. Like I know that the guy who does my Botox and stuff, he also carries the Skin Better products. So I personally, I really like them. I think I've heard mixed reviews from from some people on them, but for me personally, they were really, really— they've been really, really good and I'm still using all of them. Like she put me on a full regimen. We're talking $1,000 in skincare. That was my first order. Like boom, let's go get it all. So again, not super realistic, but I was willing to like go crazy and do everything because I was like, when else am I gonna do this? Now's the time. This is the moment. You know what I mean? This is my Super Bowl. So we're doing whatever it is that we need to do and I'm gonna give the Skin Better Science full range, like regimen that was recommended specifically to me. It's not like they have so many products. I'm not using all their products. The aesthetician was like, for your skin, for your goals, for what you need, do this, this, this, this, this, this. Okay. So doing that, love it. I really feel like my skin is better from that and I'm gonna give it an 8 outta 10 for that reason because to me it's working. I like the products. I don't have any bad reactions to them. I do think it makes my skin more glowy. The sunscreen is incredible. Like it gives me a glow underneath my makeup, but also what it helped me do was it helped me come off of tretinoin. Tretinoin, and instead I'm just using one of the Skin Better Science retinols that is less damaging to the skin barrier. So that's another reason why I'm giving it such a high score, because it was so valuable to me to be able to get off of tretinoin. Not only because tretinoin is very stripping and drying and not the best thing to be using all the time for the skin barrier, but also because I— like, my skin has not been breaking out at all even while off of tretinoin, which is something I was so scared to do, especially in wedding prep, you know. If you're relying on something to keep your skin clear, deciding to go off of that thing when you're in the lead up to your wedding is probably a big thing that most girls are not going to do. So when I tell you I trusted this esthetician with everything in my being, I was like, I'm really gonna get off all of these things that are supposed to be helping keep my skin clear, and I'm gonna trust this process. And it worked. And I think my skin barrier is healthier and my skin's looking good. So that's the tea on that. Now for my melasma specifically, like I said with the skin pen. I don't really know if the SkinPen made my melasma any better at all. We did some imaging and like, I don't really think it got any lighter. But what I will tell you did make it lighter was when I was on hydroquinone, which you cannot be on for long periods of time. You have to like cycle it. So when I was on that for several months, that— because I take progress pictures of this melasma because it's the bane of my existence— that 100% is the only thing that has ever reduced the dark marks from the melasma. So after I was done cycling off of it, 'cause I had to be off of it for a little while, I went back on it. So I'm back on it right now and I'm hoping that it like kicks into gear in time for the wedding to like lighten things up a little bit. But that has been incredible. The one that I use is, is from Muesli. You can get it online. I think it was like viral on TikTok and my sister-in-law sent it to me and she was like, Sam, everyone says they get amazing results. With this for their melasma, you should try it. So you can order it through one of those like online dermatology services. They like, you send photos and you connect virtually with the doctor or whatever, and then they like send it to you in the mail. They send you the prescription in the mail. That's Musely, M-U-S-E-L-Y. Again, like not promoting this, not affiliated. Uh, hydroquinone, I will say, I think is not totally legal in all countries. I don't think you can use it in Europe, so I don't know. Like much, like all the safety about the, the medication. But I will say it definitely made my melasma lighter and I'm giving it a 10 outta 10 for that because it's the only thing I've tried. A lot of things. I've tried lasers, I've tried peels, I've tried all the skincare. I've tried, uh, like I wear sunscreen every day. I wear hats. Like I've tried everything. That is the only thing that worked. So if you also have dark marks or melasma, that might just be, might just be a solution for you. I'm trying to hook the girlies up. Okay. Last thing when it comes to skincare. Was I decided to get filters for my water, especially in Florida. The water is so bad here. We have such hard water. It's such shit quality. Cause we're like at sea level, like where the fuck is the water coming from? There's not a mountain to be found for miles and miles of states. So I, I used Filterbaby and I put one on my sink water. I've actually had one on my sink for years at this point already, but I also decided to put one in my shower. So I put one on my shower head. So I was filtering the water more to hopefully help again with like skin and hair stuff. I'm gonna give it a 6 outta 10 because I like knowing that it's filtered, but like I don't know that much about how it's actually working or what it's doing if we're being totally honest. But I do like the peace of mind that it's giving me. Okay. Oh, and another thing I did for skin was I decided to be really, really committed with the Clean Skin Club towels so that I was always putting a fresh clean towel on my face every time I washed my face. And not using my shower towel because with bacteria and stuff like that, that's not good for skin. So I just got on the subscription of the Clean Skin Club natural towels and I have the little box in the drawer in my bathroom and I just use that every single time that I wash my face. And I even got little travel packs so that when I'm away from my wedding, like I'm making sure that I'm using fresh towels on my face every time I wash my face. Okay, next up is lymphatic drainage. Now I went to get a lymphatic massage and I was about to book several of them and then I was like, slow your roll, Sam. Let's just do the first one and see how you like it, and then you'll know more, like, if you want. Because I booked face and body, and I'm like, let's do it, and then moving forward you can see which you prefer, if you want to do more of both. And I am so glad that I did not pre-book more of these things because I am giving this a 0 out of 10. Literally a fucking zero. I hated this. This was so bad, and it's not because they did a bad job. It was Brazilian lymphatic drainage, like the Holy Grail, what everyone tells you to get that's so good. It hurts, y'all. Like, it's not a fun massage, and I knew that. It's not like a relaxing massage. It's not a deep tissue massage. It's a very specific massage technique that is designed to drain the lymph, to help the body detox, to reduce excess water, bloating, toxins, whatever, all the stuff. So they mainly focus on your abdomen And I don't even want to go back into the memory of what this was like. The aggressiveness with which she was rubbing my torso. I was sore for 2 to 3 days afterwards, like sore to the touch, like walking my dog. The dog leash just grazed my side. Oh, oh, it hurt. It hurt so bad. I wanted to leave. I sweat through the table, the massage table that I was on. I had to have her take the blanket off because my thighs— I'm not kidding you. Were like Niagara Falls sliding, sloshing together because of the anxiety of how much this was fucking hurting. And then they use tools. So it's a combination of working with the hands and then also with tools and then also with the little cupping device. So if you ever seen people do the little cupping thing on your, on the face to do like a little suction so that you can kind of, yeah, like move the same, like the same effect as like a gua sha, but it's a little like suctiony cup thing. They do that on the face, but then they also do it on your body. Body and on your abdomen and on your legs. So it's like hands, tools, suction cup. And I just got to say, it was really painful. What— she had this like giant, almost like a gua sha, but like a huge one for your body. And she was rubbing it up and down my torso. And like, I have top abs. Like, I don't have bottom abs, but like I have top abs. And when I tell you the sound of that tool scraping, again, tensed. My muscles was like— I was crawling out of my skin. I wanted to get out of there so badly. I was like, this is not it. I hate this. It hurts so bad. And then she should— they take pictures before and after of— because you're supposed to see like the bloat and inflammation go down like instantly. And she was showing me the picture so freaking fast, and I was just like, I don't even think I see a difference. All that and I don't even like see a It was just crazy. And then by the end of it, she was like, okay, I don't think I'm gonna have time to do the back of your legs. And I was honestly like, that's fine, I don't, I don't even care at this point because this hurts so bad. There's certain points like the inside of your thighs, oh, those are so tender and sensitive when they're like aggressively like rubbing that over and over and over again with hands and then tools. And then it just really was painful, so I didn't like it. Other things that you can do for lymphatic drainage that don't involve the painful torture of an actual Brazilian lymphatic drainage massage are rebounding, like the mini trampolines you might see people jumping up and down on. That's really good for lymphatic drainage. Dry brushing is really good for lymphatic drainage. The vibration plate that everyone's obsessed with is put— like, supposedly good for lymphatic drainage. But also just walking. The more that you walk and the more that you move your body, the more that you're naturally going to to get like the lymph moving. So those are other things that you can do if you also do not want to be tortured with a lymphatic drainage massage. I will say they gifted me a free massage after that, not because I didn't like the experience, but because the masseuse, like I said, didn't have time to do the back of my legs, and she also didn't have time to like fully do the scalp massage that I had paid for. So they gifted me another free massage, and I was like, I'm not getting another lymphatic drainage massage. I was like, let me look at this menu of things that they have. So I ended up booking a relaxing Swedish massage with hot stones. And I haven't gone to that yet, but I'm going to, like, right before I leave, because I was like, I'm done suffering in the name of the tiniest, almost invisible results. Like, I'm just over it at this point. If it were months ago, I might be like, no, do it, Sam, it's worth it for the grind. You got to do it for the dress. But at this point, now that we're so close, I'm like, it is what it is. I look how I look, and this is just going to be what it is. So I'd rather enjoy it. I'd rather enjoy the the process. So we're going in for a relaxing massage. Okay, fitness. Now I think I shared recently in another episode things that I was doing in, in my fitness routine. Basically what I've been sticking to is mat Pilates, lower body lifting in the gym, like weights, and walking and occasionally running. That's like the only things that I've really been doing. Mat Pilates, I'm going to give an 8 out of 10 because this for me is right now currently the most enjoyable workout for me, especially because I've been really bored of the gym. Gym and weightlifting because that was my only form of exercise for so long, and I'm just kind of like over it. I find it really hard to get myself to go, and so actually having a class to go to and a time to be there for Mat Pilates, I just love it. And it's challenging me when I go with like the right instructor and to the right place, and it gets me like sweaty. And I don't know, it's just, it's just what I'm loving right now. So 8 out of 10 for Mat Pilates. I also was doing reformer Pilates for a little while. I'm gonna give it a 4 out of And it doesn't really make me sweat. It feels too quick. The class goes by so quickly. I think like, yeah, there's some moments of intense burn when you are pulsing and pulsing and pulsing in one muscle group over and over again. But like overall it doesn't give me any sort of post-workout high of feeling like, oh, that was such a great workout. I just kind of end like I'm not sweaty. Like I just, I guess burned like my glute for 20 seconds or something. But I, I don't know. I think that Mat Pilates is more difficult than reformer Pilates. Unless potentially we're talking about like a solid core thing, but again, solid core isn't actually Pilates. It's just a whole other beast of its own. So that's 4 outta 10 for me. Okay. Lifting in the gym, lower body focused. I'm gonna give it a 7 outta 10 because even though I'm bored of it right now and I dread going, it is effective and it's been one of the best things for like body recomposition for me over the past couple of years, not just in wedding prep, but in general. Running, I'm giving a 5 outta 10. 10, because I always said like, you will not catch me running. I don't run. I hate running, and I still hate doing it, but I do feel really good after. And I think it's because it's so challenging for me personally that it makes me feel so accomplished after I do it. But I skipped it a lot. Like, it was one of the things that I just— I didn't do it as often as I was programmed to be doing it. And it's also really fucking hot and humid in Florida, in South Florida, to be running. And I don't like running in Running on a treadmill is so boring. Oh my God, so boring. That is like a mental battle. So I really need to be running outside, but it is so hot. So earlier in the year it was okay, but more recently it's just been really hard to run outside. Walking 10,000 steps a day, 10 outta 10 recommend. So effective at melting body fat and it makes you sleep amazing. Like the days when I get insane amounts of steps, by the end of the day I am cooked. I'm so tired. I sleep like a baby. It just like knocks you out. If I get 15, 17, 18,000 steps in a day, like, oh, I can't wait to get to my bed. You don't have to try to beg me to go to bed on time those days. I'm like crawling into bed. So that's really good cuz I will stay up late. And that is one thing, if I'm genuinely physically tired, I will be going to bed on time. And that usually happens when I walk a lot during the day. So I'm someone who used to get probably like like 5,000 to 7,000 steps a day. And now I've been averaging 10K, 12K, 14K. On really high days, I'll be getting like 17,000, 18K. Really easy to get up to 18K when you're also running. Like if I do a 40-minute run, that alone will give me 7,000 steps. And so you're already like out of the gate winning. So that's amazing. And I am gonna try to focus more on the running and just like Matt Pilates in like the final lead up to the wedding because I just want to feel really, really good. And also I'm going to be in Spain, so I'm not going to have a gym membership. I'm not going to probably really be able to lift that much, but I am going to be staying at a hotel where they have a little mini gym. So I'm going to try to stay active at least just to feel good, really not thinking that it's going to like change my body a ton, but just to— the endorphins, you know, it feels really good. So I had a gym membership for lifting, just regular gym membership where I always went, and then I also got ClassPass during this time period because I wanted to be trying all these types of like classes and going to Pilates and all things. So while I'm in Spain, when I'm in Madrid before I go to Mallorca, I'll be able to use ClassPass cuz there's places that accept it there. And so that's kind of the plan, is just Pilates and running in terms of like the fitness that I'm going to do right before the wedding. We've got to talk about injectables, and I have only done these two things. I've had my lips done and I've gotten Botox. Now I had never had Botox before until it was wedding prep time, and I decided that I wanted my wedding makeup makeup to lay beautifully flat on my forehead, and I didn't want to have wrinkle lines. So I was like, fuck it, I'm gonna try and I'm gonna get Botox. So I got it the first time months and months and months before the wedding because I wanted to see how I liked it, how many units, at what point do I like how much it's frozen or unfrozen, just to know my sweet spot so that I could time it accordingly for when the wedding actually happened. So I did it then, like late last year, and then I did it again more recently to be ready for the wedding. So I've gotten Botox 2 times. It does make your forehead so smooth, like there's no denying it. It looks really good, I gotta say. But it's expensive, and I personally do not like the way that I look during week 2 to 3 of it, like taking its full effect when it's like really at its fullest strength, like its highest level of frozen. I do not like the way that that looks. So I made sure to get my Botox like 2 months before my actual wedding, cuz that's when I'm still movable and look kind of natural, but like the forehead is still smooth. So that's my personal preference. I'm gonna give the Botox an 8 out of 10. Now with lips, I went on a journey with my lips leading up to the wedding. I decided to get them completely dissolved because I wanted to have them fully like reshaped and done so that they looked a lot more natural and just better fitting for my face. I had gone to other injectors that overfilled me and I felt like the filler was kind of like moving and I just— I didn't like it. It wasn't perfect. There was little parts where other people may not have noticed, but like, I felt like it was a little lumpy, like it wasn't fully even and fully symmetrical. And so I went through this process, which is a little bit of a longer process because it involves multiple appointments. I had to go to get the filler dissolved 2 times, which is not fun because you're getting needles injected into your face, and then also you don't look good after. Like, you look bad, and then you have to go back and do it again and look even worse. And people say that the dissolving, it hurts more than the injections. I don't know if that's totally true. I, I try to be really, really numb for the whole process, so it wasn't like that bad. But yeah, it's like relatively painful. And then I got them completely like redone with a lot less filler and done by a more experienced, precise injector who is like insane about symmetry and making it perfect. And that was what I wanted. So these are my lips now. They have a little bit of filler in them, but they're completely redone from what they were before. And I love them so much more, and I think they're really, really well done, and I love them. So I'm giving it a 9 out of 10. It would be 10 out of 10, but like the process is just annoying as hell and takes a really long time with the multiple dissolves and stuff. But that's my fault because I had that— or not my fault, but like I had injections that I don't think were precise. And I was— someone like used a type of filler in my lips that my new injector is like, yeah, I would never use that on you. And it was like overfilled and whatever. So unique journey to me, but that's just my raw review on that. Now hair, I got a fresh color and I'm gonna go tomorrow for a cut cuz it's gotta be like right before the wedding. And the one thing that I can't give a rating for you guys on yet is I'm going to get extensions, which I've never had before. Like not clip-in, like I'm actually getting extensions just a little bit. I'm doing like one row of extensions for a little bit of added volume and like the tiniest bit of length. I don't wanna change my look. I don't wanna look not like me. I don't wanna have like Rapunzel, like crazy hair. I just want fullness and volume. And I don't know, like it was kind of a, like little bit of an impulsive, like month and a half before the wedding decision of like, I kind of wanna do that because I've never done it before. And I've always been afraid to get extensions because I'm like, I will probably love the way that I look, and then I'll never want to get them out. And also my hair is fragile and I don't want to break my hair more or damage my scalp or any of these things. But I'm like, what's the harm in like a little row of extensions before my wedding? I just want to like— I just want to feel pretty. I just want to feel cute, you know? So I'm gonna try it. We'll see. I'm gonna— I'll vlog it, so it'll be in the vlog, the vlog version of beauty and wellness stuff. You'll see the extensions process because that is happening tomorrow. And then just like the basic things that you kind of have to do before you get married, like teeth whitening. Like, I got my Crest White Strips. That's the only thing I've ever used to whiten my teeth since I was young, and I've only done it like 2 or 3 times in my life, and my teeth stay pretty white. So I just got my little handy-dandy Crest White Strips that I've been doing. I'm using them to— for 2 weeks before the wedding. I am going tanning. Don't come for me. I know it's bad for you. I'm not advising anyone else to do it, but I can't have tan lines for a wedding dress. So I got to be naked in the tanning booth. What can I say? What can I say? And I'm going to give tanning an 8 out of 10. Some of the points, I'm not going to lie, are for the nostalgia purely of going to a straight-up tanning bed. Brings me back to like 7th, 8th grade spring break when everyone was going on vacation but you weren't, and they were all going to come back tan, so you had to go to the South Beach Tan or wherever you were going. And the smell of the lotion and like the eye thing that you— the eye mask you have to wear. Like, it's all just so nostalgic, but it works so well. It's so fast. You look so tan. You can do no tan lines. Like, it's really just incredible. And don't even come for me with this, like, oh, get a spray tan. No, I absolutely am not getting a spray tan before my wedding. I do not want anything even remotely fucking orange anywhere near my palms at all. I don't care. I don't think spray tans look natural. Ever. Like, they can look good, there's really good ones, but I want just a real actual tan in my skin. So that's what I'm doing. Don't judge me, I'm sorry. I like it. I like it. Only do it for emergencies. Only for emergencies. We live in Florida, like, we don't need to be go tanning all the time. But yeah, and then, oh, laser hair removal. Luckily I was mostly done with laser hair removal. I did my armpits and Brazilian, and I did that for over a year, and then I was like, I can't go back again because it was another one of those things that I I just fucking hate it. I would sweat through the paper on the table every time from how anxious and stressed out I was. It hurts so bad. I don't care what anyone says, it fucking kills. It's the worst thing ever. It's like someone putting cigarette butts out on your inner labia. Like, it is horrific. It is horrifying. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. The only reason that it's not a zero is because it works. And the flawlessness of not having to shave your armpits is truly unmatched. So that's why it gets a 2 out of 10 for me. But I did have to do one touch-up session because like I said, I hadn't been in a year, and unfortunately the hair has been growing back. So I did one touch-up session. I probably should have done a few more, but again, I hate the process, so I was like, whatever, it is what it is. If I have to shave my pits like the tiniest little bit before my wedding, it's not the end of the, end of the world. And then like, I, I'm gonna get like my eyebrows done, I'll get like a little, you know, lift and tint of eyelashes. I'm obviously gonna finally get my nails done. I've been raw dogging it with 12-year-old nails. I look like a boy. No nails because they were so bad from like having them always manicured. I just wanted to give them several months to breathe and get really healthy, and they're like fully grown out, brand new nails. So I'm happy about that. But I am going to be getting my nails done, of course, before the wedding. So I just want to close this with some real talk. Like, I want to say that all of this— yes, I'm giving you the reviews, I'm telling you all the things that I did But the bridal era really made me so hyper-aware of every aspect of my physical body in a way that I had not experienced in years. At certain points throughout this, like, I really did feel like I was having flashbacks of body dysmorphia days and just like fixating on any possible flaw. Now, because of all of the growth and like healing work that I've done, thankfully I would never turn to something unhealthy like restriction or not eating or anything like that. I love myself way too much to do that. And I know too much, like I know better than to do anything like that. But it was a really interesting process to like, for the first time in years and years and years to actually like not feel fully confident in my physical body and to just be more aware of like, oh yeah, like I do have a little extra fat right there. And just noticing things that I never really noticed. Noticed before. I think that the bridal beauty pressure is real, and it's kind of insane. And I, I know that even though we're influenced by these outside sources like social media and influencers and Pinterest aesthetics and all the stuff, I don't blame anyone outside of myself for how I was feeling. Like, I'm not going to be like, oh, it's the patriarchy, and it's whatever. Like, no, none of that whiny shit. I just think, like, if you have any level of perfectionism inside of you inherently, it can just be awakened like a monster when you are about to get married because there's so much time and money and planning around this one day. And so of course you wanna be perfect and you want to look and feel amazing. And so I do think that it makes sense why that happens. But for anyone that also might be experiencing that, I just want to share about it so that you also don't feel alone. Like I am a very confident person and I, I rarely ever feel like there are things quote unquote wrong with me, but I will say during this like bridal era, I was noticing a lot more that could be optimized or fixed or worked on. And I did feel a lot of pressure of like really, really wanting to get to the day of my wedding and be like, I am her. Like I am the woman that I've always wanted to be in terms of like just looking and feeling amazing internally, externally, all the things. And that is a really big thing to try to achieve. It's a really big mountain to climb, especially because there is no limitation to what we can achieve when it comes to beauty and health and wellness and fitness and like all of those things. And so to wanna be optimized in every area all at once for one day of your life is sort of like an insane, impossible task. So after doing all of this, everything that I've just told you that I did, if I'm being really honest, I don't even feel like I've made a super noticeable physical transformation, which is kind of like the biggest bummer ever, lowkey, because you think I'm gonna do all of this, I'm gonna go so hard, I'm gonna put in all this time and effort, and by the time I get to my wedding, like, I'm really going to like look like I've never looked before. Like I'm going to just wow. Like it's gonna be amazing. And I really did kind of feel like that, especially because I was willing to go all out for it and really like do all the things that were in my power to optimize wise. But it just reminded me of like how we always have these dream goals and visions of a perfectly curated Pinterest board life where we think, once I can do this or have that, then I'll be happy. And the real lesson is always, always, always that you will be happy when you decide to be. Like, duh, fucking duh. I'm humbled and reminded once again. But this is the human experience, you know? And so I wanted to be honest about that whole part of this process. And now sitting here a week away from leaving for Spain for this wedding trip, I have really landed in acceptance and I genuinely do feel really, really good and happy and confident and I feel like I look amazing. But the real real is that like 3 weeks ago I was like, I think I've never looked worse. Like that was— it was a crazy thing where I was like, I'm looking so much worse. And I think I just went through like this weird, like, psychological thing where, especially because like I'm not having my nails done, and also I— my roots were like so grown out because I had to wait until the exact right moment to be able to get my hair redone so that it lined up. So it was almost like I was letting these things like fall apart, and then I was just trusting that like once, once everything came together, I was like, I feel like I'm looking worse, but then I'm gonna look better. And also it was just the mental game of being like, there's only 4 weeks left, like you're not going to be able to change that much more, like you need to lock in, you got to get on your workouts. But when you get to the point where it's like actually there's not even enough time left for any like additional crazy physical transformation to take place, you have no other choice but to like reach the place of acceptance and actually letting go of feeling like I needed to be on top of everything and like locking in and like going so hard with everything. Was the thing that completely shifted me feeling like, no, I genuinely do look amazing. So I didn't work out for like 4 or 5 days because I was focused on wedding stuff and serving my clients and wrapping things up with work before I go on this vacation. And I let that be fine. And I wasn't, you know, putting so much pressure on myself anymore because it didn't even make sense to. It's like, there's 2 weeks left. Like, what are you realistically gonna do? And so I I just had to land in the acceptance. And then what do you know it, like a week after that, I was like, oh my God, I look so good right now. I was like, I actually think everything is working. Like, I think it's finally clicking. Like, I think it all came together. Like, I'm feeling so confident. And so whether it actually is in the physical or it's just in the mental and the spiritual, it doesn't really matter. But for anyone who is kind of feeling that, or if you are also in your bridal era or you're gonna have a wedding, like if this happens to you, I want you to remember this conversation so that you don't go crazy. And you're like, it's actually gonna be fine because like right before I'm just gonna feel fucking amazing. Like just trust and believe that that is what's gonna happen. I just got naturally, like without even trying naturally so much happier with my physique. I felt like my skin was starting to look clearer again. And I was like, oh my God. Like I think like the angels are just like, they're making it all happen in, in the right timing. One thing that I am really excited about is that I set myself up to take a wedding leave. And this is a big part of my kind of like wellness prep for the wedding in and of itself, because I want to really reduce my stress. And so my leave starts before I even go away for the trip. I'm actually on my wedding leave right now as I record this. And so I'm still doing some work things like recording a podcast or posting, but I set up 3 weeks weeks, like concrete, of being off from work. So no calls, no clients, no Telegram, no coaching. And that's all been, you know, shifted and dealt with so that I can really be present and honor this whole experience that there's been so much lead up to and really just wanting to be fully, yeah, like fully immersed and present with my family and my friends who are traveling so far and wide to be there for me during this time. And also just like reduce my stress and be in the moment and not feel like I'm frantic or like panicking or having to try to pack like quickly between like calls and client things. And I just really want this to be a beautiful experience for me and my soon-to-be husband. And in order for that to happen, I really need to be in my rest and digest, in my feminine energy, in my calm, collected, you know, everything's working out, I've got everything handled kind kind of space. And so I needed some spaciousness from work to be able to do that. And that was probably one of the best things that I did because as we get into this final stretch now, it's really helping me relax so much and focus on the things that I really need to focus on and lower my stress. It was a really good thing for me to figure out how to serve my clients in creative ways, like during the time that I'm gone. And they are so beyond set up. Like they're not missing anything. We just move things around instead of doing them, then we do them at other times. And the incredible, like, guest experts, like insane, are coming in and doing amazing sessions for them. They're even doing, like, mentors of mine are coming in and doing hot seat coaching with them. Like, they are so set up and I think it's actually even adding more value to the investment that they've made through this. And so it's really good for me and I think it's gonna be really good for them. And I'm just really, really excited about that. And I think it's one of the best best things that I did. So if you have any capacity to take significant time off for your wedding, that's probably one of the best things that I did. And in general, as we kind of talk about all the wellness things, I think the best things you can do are walking a ton, hydrating, eating mostly meat, fruit, and veggies, like being low inflammatory to the best of your ability, limiting your sweets, and reducing your schedule so that you can stay calm and lower your stress goals. Like, that is the formula. You don't even need to go super crazy. Like, I did all of this so that I can give you the honest reviews and also say that, like, I don't even think you need to go that super crazy. And all those things that I mentioned just now, that they all happen to be pretty low cost compared to the other stuff. So that's amazing. I don't regret going all out for the wedding prep. I don't regret doing all of these things. It also is kind of fun. It— I'm not gonna lie, it's been fun to go and do all these things and have new experiences and challenge myself from like a health and wellness perspective and fitness. And it has been fun for sure. And I leaned out a little bit, I improved my internal health, I made significant habit changes for the better. Again, I challenged myself, I learned a ton throughout the process. Like, it was really positive overall. But I know that people will often share all the things that they did, like, oh, here's everything that I did, and it's just this like crazy, like impossible routine. And you're like feeling like, oh my gosh, is that what I really have to do to feel good on my wedding day? And they don't share or any of the deeper context to how well any of those things actually worked or if it was worth it. And so I wanted to give that context personally from my experience. I've also never personally heard a, a podcast episode where someone was just really honest about the bridal beauty pressure. So I wanted to make sure that that existed somewhere on the internet for any woman who might need it. So whether you are a bride-to-be or not, or you're just in your own kind of glow-up season of any kind, I hope this episode was helpful for you. If you know someone who could use this conversation, right now. Copy the link, send it to her in a text message, let her know you were thinking of her. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. I can't wait for the episodes that are yet to come, especially for some of the ones while I'm away on my wedding leave. We have some really, really good ones set up, some new guests and some more things. So stay tuned and I'll see you guys soon. I'm about to go get married. Ah, all right, talk to you guys next week. Bye! If you loved this episode, make sure to check out the show notes where I've linked a few similar episodes I know you're also going to love. You'll find them under the similar episodes section in the description down below. Below with direct links so you can dive in and start listening right away, or add them to your queue for later. Binge away for even more growth, expansion, abundance, and fire motivation.