Recently on my Instagram, I posted a picture of me with only mascara and lipgloss. Since, I have gotten a few people asking me about my skincare routine, welp here it is! Its pretty simple and easy to follow.
One of my most essential tips, based on this site link, for great skin is drinking lots of water. Water is the main basis for the condition of my skin, I drink water all day and when I’m not drinking water, I follow-up with coffee or other drinks by drinking more water!
As for the products that I use on my skin, I use the following steps:
Step 1: Cleanse
Ambi Even & Clear Foaming Cleanser
I’ve been a fan of Ambi’s facial cleanser as long as I can remember, I use it because its very gentle and lifts a great amount of dirt and oil from my face after a long day of wearing makeup. I also have a few scars from pimples that have faded greatly since using Ambi. The scars are so light that you can’t even see it in the picture!
To start, I moisten my face by splashing warm water on my face and then 2 pumps of product and massage it into my skin to break up the dirt, oil, and makeup on my face, then I rinse my face with more warm water until all traces of the cleanser is removed.
Step 2: Scrub or Mask (Weekly)
For this second step I usually use this step once a week and then I alternate between using a scrub or a mask.
When I use the scrub, its generally because Ive been wearing makeup a lot throughout the week and my face feels a bit more “dirty” than usual. So to get my skin feeling extra clean, I use the scrub pictured above.
Freeman Facial Masks
When I don’t use the facial scrub, I use one of these facial masks to either tighten my pores or to add extra nutrients to my face that general stresses of day to day can strip away.
Step 3: Tone
Burts Bees Rosewater Toner
After cleansing and using a scrub or mask, I pat my face dry with a terry cloth towel (way better than a regular towel because it soaks up the water faster and isn’t as abrasive) then apply rosewater toner to my face using a cotton ball/pad. Doing this helps to refresh my face and dissolve any dirt that the cleanser or mask may have missed in my pores and prepare the skin to receive the moisturiser. I like rosewater toners because they smell very nice and arent harsh on the skin. I used to make my own (I’m sure you can find recipes on Pinterest) but when I don’t have the time I usually pick up a bottle of Burt’s Bees.
Final Step: Moisturise
Palmers Daily Facial Lotion
Once my face has air dried a bit, I apply moisturiser to my face and neck. This helps to keep my skin smooth and I like that this particular moisturiser isn’t heavy, so it allows my skin to breathe. I use this particular brand because cocoa butter naturally has tons of Vitamin E and when we eat it or use it in skin care, it helps to give a great glow and keep skin plump and flexible.
I’ve shared my skin care routine, what products do you use? Tweet me or Instagram me. I’d love to hear what other great products I may be missing out on!
It’s funny how social media can put you in contact with people you would least expect to meet. The connections that you can make, the things that you can get done in business and in life can all come about within the instance of a tweet or a Facebook comment on a post. That’s exactly how it came about that I met Mr. Over Time Grind, Mr. OTG if you will. When I came across his Twitter account I checked out his website and saw that he was a producer and fell in love with the grind and the business model of his site http://www.idoublel.com/. (Check it out you’ll see what I’m talking about) I thought why aren’t all producers/artists doing something like this and being about the business of music instead of expecting everything to be for free? I reached out to him and asked if I would pick his brain with an interview for the site and he agreed and below is a synopsis of what we talked about as, he had a lot of knowledge and experience to give. I decided to share with you all of the note worthy information, especially what is most useful for all of us who are looking to get up and get out there and make it.
For this interview, I started it out a little differently. Instead of diving into my questions I decided to start out with questions that I had asked my Facebook friends to give me for Mr. OTG and this was his response.
Steph W. Asks the following questions:
What are the top 3 adversities that you have had to face in order to get to where you are today?
Go Crazy Remix
Well the top 3, I’d have to say would be Confidence, you know getting my confidence up in order to take some of the feedback that the industry can bring your way. As an artist you wear your creativity and your heart on your sleeve and you have to be strong to be able to accept that people may not like everything that you put out. With that I’d say that my second one is learning how to take criticism. I’ve had to come to understand that the things that people say aren’t because they don’t like what you do, it’s because they have their opinion and they just want to help to make what you are doing better. The last thing that I’ve had to overcome is learning not to dis-count anyone. I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t have the money or connections that you are looking for doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give then a listen or a chance to hear what they have got to say. I’ve looked over a lot of quality people in the beginning who are not doing it big in the industry and realized that I’ve missed out on making a connection with them when I had the chance. So if there is anything that I really want people to know is that I’m open to talking with people and hearing what they have, you never know where it may go.
The saying goes, “It’s not what you know it’s who you know.” Does that account for the minority or majority of your success in the industry?
Crown +Dro
I would say it’s definitely what you know. There are things that I didn’t know and in the industry a lot of people aren’t willing to share information about how to protect themselves and how to really make money and to continue to be a success in this industry. When I first started, I didn’t know too much about copyrighting my music, and joining ASCAP and all of that stuff on how to protect yourself and really profit from your music. There are still things I’m still learning about the business like the promotional photos, and things like that, that artists and producers need to promote themselves.
After all you have achieved…What is your primary inspiration that allows you to continue what you do and come up with fresh concepts?
Postman (Dirty)
My primary inspiration comes from life. I’m a regular blue collar dude, I work with my hands and working with my music for me it’s a release. I draw inspiration from things that are going on in life around me. Like the other day I was walking towards South St. and I saw the bums on the street and I went home and worked on a song about that and how they looked to me and the struggles and the life they must go through. I’m not the type of artist that raps about the 8 cars or the huge mansion that I don’t have, that’s not who I am and that’s not what I aspire to be, I just want a good car, place to live and the things that I need to take care of, to be taken care of, and I don’t have problem working in order to get that.
What was your most rewarding experience as a producer?
I 2 L’s
My most rewarding experience would have to be when my girlfriend at the time told me that she just heard one of my beats on TV, on a promo for the Tiny and Toya 2 show. I didn’t believe her when she said it then I told her to rewind it, and then I heard it! I was like WOW, and I wasn’t excited because it was playing on TV I was happy because the feedback I got from my friends and family was so positive and it was rewarding to me that people would be able to share in my music.
Luis Y. asks:
If the eight year old version of him was to walk up to you today, what would the eight year old version of you have to say to you today?
84 More
Well the 8 year old me, would probably be like, why didn’t I end up like the dudes in Hoop Dreams lol! But based on how I grew up it was kinda like that, except I got hurt and it ended my ball playing. As it turned out I had to find something else that I was good at to occupy my time and eventually it brings me to where I am today. But I think the 8 year old me would be proud of me.
After we finished the Facebook questions I asked a few of my own, mainly about the business of his music. I started off asking how he got the name Mr. Over Time Grind.
SO when I checked out your website, I was thoroughly impressed how you have your beats up and ready to go either for sale or for lease and you even give bundle details on the beats! When I saw that I was like he truly is Mr. OTG, this dude is not playin! [laughs] Where does that name come from and where did you get the concept for that site?!
Novacane Remix
Well I used to work my job all day and spend all night at home working on my website and my music to the point where when I would come into work I would have bags under my eyes and be super tired and people stated calling me Mr. Over Time Grind and the name just stuck and if been focused ever since. For the site the site came about as a way for me to promote my music and have it available for anyone who was interested. Similar to the blogs that I have, that is more about the promotional aspect and networking for my music and to give others a way to have their work out there and get attention to their music.
What kind of success have you seen with your music being on those sites?
Well I have been fortunate enough to now be working with Philly artist Tone Trump, I’ve had my site talked about on the Star and Buckwild show and with my own music I’ve had over 55,000 downloads of my mixtape.
I think that I have covered everything; I know that we have covered a lot! Is there anything that you would like to mention that I may have missed?
