I usually come back from a trip feeling like I need a vacation from my vacation. But after returning home from a weekend in Aruba with the Philosophy team, I am completely rejuvenated. Three days in the Caribbean learning to cleanse my body, mind and skin was exactly what I needed for a spring refresh. Here are four lessons I learned from our mind and body detox that I’ll be incorporating into my everyday routine:

SETTING INTENTIONS

We kicked off day one of our detox weekend with a meditation circle led by Rachel aka Yoga Girl. She had us pick an Angel Card to set our intentions for the weekend. Mine talked about rewarding yourself. It was so incredibly fitting. I’m always focused on success, which has certainly helped my journey as an entrepreneur. But it’s also important to make time for self-care. I saved a photo of my card in my phone so I can remind myself of the balance between giving and receiving daily.

Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple cleanser helps with this daily reminder. It leave your skin feeling balanced by cleansing, toning and hydrating. And the philosophy written on the bottle reinforces the important message of setting intentions for self-care.

STARTING WITH A CLEAN SLATE

While learning about Philosophy’s new Purity Made Simple Pore Extractor, an analogy really stuck with me. You wouldn’t eat off a dirty plate, so why would you apply product to a face that wasn’t perfectly cleansed? I tried the mask in an outdoor shower at our hotel, Ocean Z Aruba. Afterwards, my skin felt so incredibly clean that I couldn’t stop touching it. It was a fresh slate to lather up in moisturizing SPF throughout the trip (Renewed Hope in a Jar is amaze!). I also used the mask pre-flight so my skin could soak up my moisturizer, leaving my face hydrated on the plane.

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

My Angel Card about rewarding myself stuck with me througout the trip. I really tried to live in the moment and soak up all the beauty around me. Highlights included: laughing as Yoga Girl’s goat, Lucy, curled up in my lap; practicing yoga on a paddleboard as I listened to the waves; diving into a secret pool where the colors mimicked a mermaid’s tail; and dancing with my new friends on a boat as our caftans blew in the Aruba breeze.

EMBRACING NEW FRIENDSHIPS

As you get older, it’s harder to make new friends. You don’t have the luxury of meeting people at school or extracurricular activities. So when I’m thrown into a situation with new people, I always try to learn about each and every one of them. Instead of talking about work, we chatted about relationships, insecurities and our goals in life. Each night, we stayed up poolside at Ocean Z laughing over wine and late night snacks. By digging deeper I was able to form some incredible friendships that I’m excited to continue to grow.

Thank you to the Philosophy team for such a beautiful experience!

To see more from the amazing weekend, and to follow my Philosophy girls, check out the #powerfulpurandsimple hashtag over on Instagram!

 Photos by Mark Joseph, Sunita and Dawn

{what I wore in order of photos} Blue bikini: Triangl / Gold bikini: Luli Fama (similar here and here)/ Silver sunnies: Elizabeth & James / Cleanser: Philosophy / Face mask: Philosohy / One-piece bathing suit: Roxy (similar) / Denim shorts: AGolde / Caftans: from the boutique at Ocean Z / Hat: French Connection / Tortoise sunnies: Alice + Olivia / Romper: Lily Pulitzer (similar)

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