Judith Merisha Louis

Articles Written for Specific Platforms (published with my name) Platform: Kopi Date How To Allow Yourself To Be Vulnerable Ever feel like there’s something in your way when you’re trying to be vulnerable? You can’t seem to grasp the concept or feel silly opening up? Well, you’re not alone. Many of us often feel the need to close ourselves off and stop ourselves from being vulnerable. It’s usually because we fear we may look weak or that others would judge us for what we have to say. In this article, we’ll prove to you that being vulnerable is powerful and that it’s a lot easier than you think with 4 simple steps. But before we get into how to allow yourself to be more vulnerable and open, you’re maybe wondering… Why is vulnerability so important in the first place? It helps others see your true self and makes them more comfortable sharing their own feelings with you. Being vulnerable also helps you maintain and foster good emotional health. By being open and honest about your feelings you promote awareness within yourself and avoid suppressing those sentiments. But more than this, vulnerability helps you have authentic conversations that are meaningful. It can lead to forming deeper connections and more tight-knit bonds. Being honest in this way also allows you to understand where people are coming from and gives you the means to comprehend different perspectives. So, how do you become vulnerable? 1 1. Fight that little voice in your head trying to keep you closed off. It’s normal to fear showing yourself to someone in your most vulnerable form. Because there is often a fear of rejection associated with showing our ‘true selves. We’re afraid to be seen as weak, and judged for our most intimate feelings. And so when we’re trying to open up the little voice in our heads tries to ‘protect’ us from getting our feelings and dissuades us from opening up. However, that little voice in our heads may have it wrong. More often than not, people respect vulnerability and as mentioned earlier, see it as a sign of strength. Because it takes bravery and courage to be your most authentic self. 2. Be willing to explore yourself To be vulnerable, you first have to look inward. You have to be willing to explore the deepest parts of yourself then allow those parts to be present on the outside. This takes some patience and fearlessness but the results are astounding. When you explore yourself you become more in-tune with your feelings and learn how to better manage your emotions. It also helps you lead a more fulfilling life filled with awareness and understanding. 3. Remember, being vulnerable doesn’t give others the power to hurt you. As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why we may be so afraid of vulnerability is because we’re afraid of how people may respond to it. Another reason is that we’re afraid that we’re giving people the ammunition to hurt us. It’s a scary thought to think that someone could weaponize your deepest fears and feelings against you. But just remember that no one can hurt you for being your truest self. You’re not giving them the power to hurt you, you’re just enlightening them with your realness. 4. Know that you won’t be judged by the right people. Now that you’re comfortable with being honest with your feelings and looking inward to find yourself, what if someone does judge you for it? 2 Not everyone has the capacity to understand another’s feelings and that’s ok. This doesn’t mean that everyone will treat you this way and if anything it just means that your search for understanding people to be vulnerable with continues. So here are some of the ways you can learn to allow yourself to be more vulnerable. It’s important to remember that whilst it seems scary, being vulnerable is the only way to build true human connections and connect with others on a deeper level. Sources: https://tinyurl.com/ycxc48kk https://tinyurl.com/39vnz4c5 https://tinyurl.com/2c6znax9 Platform: Newswav Pandemic Insomnia: What It Is and What You Can Do To Fix It It isn’t a stretch to say that COVID-19 plunged the world into chaos. Life as we knew it changed and soon we were all adapting to the virus. This change occurred in workplaces, schools, and even homes. The pandemic had changed our lives fundamentally. One of these changes was the appearance of Pandemic Insomnia. What Is Pandemic Insomnia? As we adapted to our new way of life, our sleep was affected. A UK study in 2020 reported that the number of people experiencing a lack of sleep in China rose from 14.6% to 20%. This increase occurred during the peak lockdown period. Another American study stated that there were 2.77 million Google searches for insomnia during the first 5 months of 2020. This is what pandemic insomnia is; the inability to sleep during this time of crisis. But what is making it so difficult for people to sleep? 3 What Causes Pandemic Insomnia? There are a range of reasons as to why some of us now find it difficult to sleep. Because this crisis hit us all in different ways, it is impossible to list all the causes of this phenomenon in one article. However, here are some of the most common causes of pandemic insomnia. 1. Pandemic-Related Stress In a survey from June 2020, 13% of adults reported new or increased substances to use that were linked to pandemic-related stress. Many were finding it difficult to cope with the number of changes that occurred so quickly. Others found it difficult to watch the deteriorating state of the world that was battling the crisis. It’s no secret that stress affects sleep. You can find yourself unable to put your thoughts to rest and doze. Or you can find yourself dreading the next day which makes you too anxious to sleep. It is understandable why the pandemic had caused a rampant increase in stress that then affected sleep patterns. 2. Disrupted Routines To adapt to the virus, lockdowns and movement control orders had to be implemented. This made it difficult for people to go to work, school and carry out their once-daily activities. Gone were the days when people could move freely about at their convenience. Even though changes to your routine may seem small, they can still affect your sleep. For many, a daily routine helps keep them motivated and moving. Without one some may find themselves prone to sleeping in and taking naps. These siestas can decrease the hours you sleep at night and the quality of that sleep. Furthermore, the comfort of staying at home makes it easy to be swayed by distractions. Attention diverted away from your priorities means that you will attend to them later. The later you attend to your work, the later you finish it, and then later you sleep which leads to a disrupted sleep pattern. 3. Pandemic Related Mental Exhaustion COVID-19 had been a lot to deal with for many, physically and emotionally. As reported, there seemed to be an increase in depression rates throughout the pandemic. These statistics are understandable. 4 Being unable to go outside and socialize, many had felt isolated and depressed. While others may have felt suffocated, unable to leave their homes freely. Isolation and depression are known to disrupt sleeping patterns. What You Can Do To Promote Better Sleep During the Pandemic 1. Eat Better, Sleep Better To get good rest you need to take better care of yourself and that starts with what you eat. 8 It has long since been discovered that diet can affect your sleep. Foods like acidic foods, alcohol, caffeine, spicy foods, and high-fat meals are all tasty delights that can mess with your sleep. You might be wondering, “How has the pandemic affected my diet?” Well, it was found that because of the pandemic many started making poor dietary decisions. There was an increase in convenient food over home cooked meals and unhealthy comfort food. There was even an increase in unhealthy snacking and alcohol consumption. These decisions coupled with lack of physical activity had impacted the health of those who were studied. So one of the best ways to ensure a night of good sleep is to take care of yourself. 2. Fixing Your Internal Body Clock With Natural Light With lockdowns having many of us stuck at home, we were exposed to less and less natural light. Natural light helps your body’s internal clock know when it is time to go to bed and when it is time to be awake. Your sleep pattern (circadian rhythm) is what makes you feel sleepy at night and to keep it in check you have to expose yourself to the light. 3. Create a Routine For Yourself As mentioned earlier in this article, one of the biggest consequences of the pandemic was a disrupted routine. Routines may seem boring and monotonous but following a schedule will help you feel a sense of order which can promote sleep. 5 As you follow your schedule you may once again feel a sense of normalcy and you will be able to ensure plenty of downtime in the night for you to rest. Talk to Someone Mental health is as important as physical health. Although we may sometimes neglect it. During this trying time, it is important to talk to someone. It can be a counselor you find online or even a friend. It is important to communicate your feelings and relieve some of the conflicts inside of you. There is nothing wrong with needing a little TLC for your mind. Here is just a little bit of how the pandemic has caused many of us restless nights. The important thing is to remember to take care of ourselves amidst the chaos. Articles that were ghostwritten (written by me but outlined and published under other authors) The Magical Purito Bb Cream Review – Do You Really Need It? Published, Commissioned, and Outlined by Karmen Rozsa A dry skin must have – If you have dry skin and never heard of the magical Purito BB cream then I’m here to tell you that I’ve tried it and it’s absolutely magical. No kidding! Purito’s Cica Clearing BB Cream has easily become my holy grail. I couldn’t imagine my life without it! I’ve been using this cream for over a year now and it very quickly became a staple in my everyday routine. I’m currently on my 5th bottle now and I know I’ll very quickly be onto my 6th! I was looking for a product that was both moisturizing and blurring, and when I found the Purito BB cream I just knew it was the answer to my prayers. 6 Dewy skin is no longer just a dream for me, it has become my reality. But before we continue on with this magical bb cream review I’d just like to mention a few things. Firstly, I’m not a dermatologist. This Purito BB Cream review is purely based on my experiences with the products mentioned. Furthermore, I’m not working with Purito for this review. I just happen to really like the brand and a lot of their products have worked incredibly well for me. However, just a reminder that this article may contain some affiliate links. These links will cause you no additional costs. If you would like to support me and what I do then I urge you to check some of those links out! Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on to the fun stuff! Who Is Purito And What Do They Stand For? Purito is a Korean beauty brand that was created in 2013. Its mission was to make beauty products that were pure, natural, and made without chemical ingredients. Purito products are vegan-friendly and 100% cruelty-free! They’re firmly against testing on animals (Yay!) and they even donate a portion of their profits to the Best Friend Animal Society. And that’s not all! They’re actually an environmentally conscious brand that uses sustainable packaging. They do this by limiting their use of packaging in general and when they do use packaging they make sure it's made out of recyclable material (or is biodegradable). Another cause very dear to them is the KFEM (Korean Federation For Environmental Movement), to which they also donate a portion of their profits too. So if you’re like me and this matters to you, you can rest assured that Purito is a brand that’s not only great for your skin but also for the planet. Now I can tell some of you are already falling in love with this brand but hold your horses! Let’s get to why the Purito Cica Clearing BB cream is so good in the first place! What’s So Magical About The Purito Bb Cream? This Purito BB Cream comes in 6 shades at the moment: ● Natural Ivory, a cool Ivory with peachy-pink undertones. ● Rose Ivory, a warm Ivory with pink undertones. ● Light Beige, a true cool beige. ● Natural Beige, a neutral beige. ● Sand Beige, a warm beige. ● Deep Warm, a deep tan with warm undertones. 7 * Just a reminder that these creams do sheer out quite a bit. So if you don’t see your exact undertone represented here, you can try for the closest shade or mix two shades together. I will admit there’s a little trial and error when it comes to finding your shade for this cream. I used about 2-3 different colors and found that Natural Beige worked best for my skin tone. So if you’ve got a similar skin tone to mine, that’s the shade I highly recommend. The cream comes in a 30ml squeezy tube (1.0 fl .oz) and retails for about $13 dollars. You can get through this stuff pretty quickly if you’re using it every day (I would know I went through 5 tubes of it) but in my opinion, it’s pretty worth it. The product itself comes free from parabens, artificial dyes, essential oils, and artificial fragrances. So those who are sensitive to these ingredients can definitely try this Purito BB cream with no worries! However, I do suggest that you get a tester first! As a rule of thumb when it comes to skincare, always try something out on a test patch to be sure you’re free from any irritations before applying it to the entirety of your face! On top of the sun protection the product provides, the CICA extracts within help strengthen your skin barrier and leave your skin feeling supple and moisturized. So you’ve got coverage and skincare all in one tube! Now let’s get to the actual wear of the BB cream. The cream provides a light to medium coverage that looks fresh and glowy on the skin. The lightweight texture of the cream also helps it look more natural on the face and not cakey at all. I will say that this BB cream isn’t very buildable and although it has a light to medium coverage, it won’t be able to cover very pigmented areas. But of course, this is to be expected as it’s a BB cream. But a plus is that from my experience, even as it dries down it doesn’t oxidize or darken. Therefore the color of the Purito BB cream stays pretty much the same from when you first put it on at the start of your day, till the end of it. In terms of longevity, I will highly recommend you to set it down with some powder if you don’t want it moving around. Again, being a very moisturizing BB cream it does have a tendency to wear down throughout the day. But I honestly didn’t notice much of a difference. When I was using this product I found that both a sponge application and brush application gave me a similar finish. However, I will say that the sponge absorbed quite a bit of the Purito bb cream and the brush sometimes left a streaky finish. But overall the product blends in very nicely when worked into the skin. And it really didn’t require much effort at all to do so. Like I mentioned before I have pretty dry skin so dry patches are always an issue for me. 8 But I didn’t have any issues when using this product. It actually left my skin looking pretty smooth, glowy, and supple. I absolutely loved how moisturizing the Purito bb cream was and lightweight it felt. It was almost as if I had just put on moisturizer and went on with my day. The way my skin absorbed the goodness from this BB cream is to die for and it didn’t make my skin feel overly tacky or slick! Other Purito Products I Absolutely Love You may be wondering at this point, “Karmen, all you’ve done so far is rave about Purito. Are you sure you aren’t being paid for this review?” Well, to answer your question, yes I’m not being paid for this review, I just happen to love their products. I’ve used several of their other products before such as face creams and they’ve really worked out for me. They provided the moisture I needed without leaving my skin feeling super oily or heavy. I’ll let you in on a little secret, Purito happens to store one of my all-time favorite serums. Their dermaHA-3 serum is something I always reach for during the Winter and Summer. It’s my secret little weapon against lackluster skin during these dry seasons. The serum comes in a 50ml dropper bottle (1.7 fl. oz) and is made for dehydrated and oily skin. It not only helps with hydration but also helps with firmness and fine lines. When I’ve used this product I felt like my skin got an instant recharge and became pillowy and fresh. And not just me! My boyfriend tried it with me and he’s helped me go through 4 bottles of this magic potion. It’s safe to say he loves it as much as I do! One of the serum’s core ingredients is Hyaluronic acid which is supposed to attract and seal in moisture. So dry skin babes, this is another Purito must-have! In addition to that, it’s also alcohol-free, essential oil-free, and fragrance-free! Products That Didn’t Work Out So Great For My Skin Of course not all their products have worked out for me. I have tried the Purito Oat in Calming Gel-cream before which was supposed to alleviate skin sensitivity, redness, and irritation. However, for me, it wasn’t great because I needed something more moisturizing. Though I do think the Purito Oat in Calming Gel might work great for those who are prone to irritations and flare-ups. I think it could really calm your skin down without leaving it feeling very oily. 9 Let’s Talk Drama Now although Purito is a great brand it’s not without its controversies. In all honesty, I had missed the bulk of the drama but here’s a little rundown of what I could find out. A major controversy that had occurred was regarding Purito’s sunscreen. What had happened was INCIDecoder, a popular ingredient database, had shared lab results that revealed that the Purito Centella Green Level sunscreen had an SPF19 instead of the marketed SPF50. Purito’s response was to shelve the sunscreen and offer refunds right away. Now it’s important to note that there could be several reasons for the lab results being different from the marketed SPF. One being, different testing, and regulations between the US and Korea. Another product that got a bad rep was Purito’s vitamin C serum. Although I haven’t used it much myself, I read in a Purito vitamin C serum review that the product had great ingredients but was formulated terribly. Again, I’m no certified dermatologist but from what I read this formulation had a risk of causing irritation and skin sensitivity. But it seems that Purito has also recognized this weakness as its Vitamin C has been said to have gone through a reformulation recently. Currently, the ingredients are listed here. Each ingredient on this site is explained really well so I urge you to check it out! Overall scandals aside I still think Purito is a trustworthy brand, one I’ll still be buying from. The reason I say this is because their responses to the scandals have really impressed me and have shown me that they do care about what they put on their shelves. This is just my opinion though! So My Final Thoughts? My hope for the Purito BB cream is that in the future I want to see a wider shade range. I feel as if this should be the norm for modern skincare brands no matter which market they’re launching in. That being said I do recognize that the brand has added shades since their launch so I hope they keep it up! 10