Possibly the Cutest Yoga Mat? : Lululemon "The Mat" Review

(Review at bottom)
Some background
I had been practicing pilates and yoga on a cheap mat from TJ Maxx before I finally bit the bullet and bought the much talked about, $68 mat from Lululemon. When using my previous mat I would slip , sometimes the mat would move around during my practice, and it was starting to shed. Not to mention it looked like it had never been washed (which it had been! I swear!) and every time I rolled over my back, I could hear and feel my spine crunching into the floor. Not fun. or healthy sounding for that matter.

Needless to say, it was time for a change. I started looking for a new mat that was both stylish and very functional. I'm sorry, but if my mat is not  lovely looking, I just won't practice as much. I know its  vain, but it's the truth.  I had heard of "The Mat", but wanted to see if it was truly the best option. Turns out stylish, thick, high quality mats with great reviews are had to come by! Out of all the reviews,  comparisons, and yoga mat compilations I viewed, the most talked about mat was by Lululemon. So it seemed like a natural fit.

Once at the store, it took my literally 15 minutes to decide on a beautiful dark lavender mat. With my new mat I felt like a seriously legit yogi and was ready to test out my newest purchase. Here's what I found:

Pros

• super comfy ( I actually fell asleep on it, twice!)
• great color
• doesn't slip, no matter how sweaty your practice
• reversible ( one side has textured strips for added grip
• it's wonderfully large :) ( 76" x 26")
• it's just really pretty * sniffles*

Cons

• It smells, like really bad
• It stains very easily

The Smell

I'm not going to lie, this mat smells like a tire factory. Be prepared to lay the mat out for a few days to air out. Oh, and try to avoid the room its in because the smell might just knock you out. I had heard it had a slight smell, but was not completely prepared for the magnitude of the stench. However, It has faded away after keeping it out for two weeks.

Staining

like I said, this mat stains. throughout all my research, no where did anyone mention this! So I am telling you now that this mat stains! got it? If you are sweaty, or have oily skin like mine, after practice you will fine dark spots in some places where you touched the mat. This is extremely annoying and frustrating. However, I have found that you can avoid them, and they eventually fade with proper care.

What, you don't practice with hand paint on?

How to Avoid and Treat Stains

• before stepping on the mat, wash your hands and forehead, and wipe off your feet. to remove any oil or dirt.
• purchase a mat in a darker color, as stains are not as noticeable.
• After a particularly intense session wipe down your mat with a lemon, baking soda, water concoction ( just spray it on and use a terry cloth to rub it in). The instructions  included say to use warm soapy water, but I have found that this does not help remove stains at all. 

All and all, I think " The Mat" is worth it. I use it every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and it works splendidly. I often just leave it unrolled in my room because its really quite pretty and very inviting! I think that if you are careful with the stains and treat them properly you will find that they fade away and are really not a huge problem. I hope this review has been helpful, and please let me know what your experiences with "The Mat" have been if you can relate to staining, and how you dealt with it!

Happy Practicing!:)

Get your jasmine on! + DIY costume!

Disney Day

Finally at long last it was Disney Day! ahhh I had been waiting so long for this, I mean who doesn't love all things Disney?! It was an extremely difficult choice but in the end I  decided to go as Jasmine, because that girl is FIERCE. Sooooooo without further ado, let's begin this DIY.

For a wee bit more conservative take on Jasmine's sexy outfit, I wore high-waisted harem pants from  Greece that I borrowed from a friend. You could probably use leggings or even teal sweatpants. Here's how to make the top:

1. Find a white strapless bra that you don't care about.

2. buy a couple yards of light blue tulle, hot glue gun, and glue sticks, you also might want some thread and a needle.

3. take one edge of the piece of tulle fabric and hot glue it to your strapless bra.

4. Without cutting the tulle, glue the tulle to the top inside edge of the bra in a slight gathering pattern like your making a pie crust. your know when you pinch the crust dough and then fold it over in a certain direction? sort of like that. I apologize about the pie tangent. 

5. When you get to the middle part of the bra between the two "cups", twist the tulle and bring it around the bra and repeat the pie-crust-tulle-pinching- process again.        

6. once the tulle is glued to the bra, you can cut small strips off the end of the piece of fabric and either safety pin, or handset on straps if you want. Then simply wrap the remaining tulle around yourself and secure with safety pins, and you're done!                      

Jasmine's puffy ponytail is an iconic part of her entire look, here's how to re create it:

1. secure your hair in a low side,ponytail with a gold hair tie if available (mine's from H&M)
2. twist the ponytail and secure it with a second gold hair tie.
3. Next, tug outwards on the twisted portion to make it puffy
4. grab the bottom portion of your hair in two sections, and pull out, pushing the hair tie upwards.
5. repeat steps 3 and 4 until desired "puffiness" is achieved, and spray with light hairspray.

Makeup:
Eyes: gold and brown eye shadow (Lancôme), liquid Eyeliner (Maybelline)

Face: Clinique BB Cream, Bronzer (Clinique), blush (Lancôme)

Lips: Lipstick and lip gloss (Lancôme)

If you would like a Princess Jasmine makeup tutorial please let me know in the comments!