Tag: make up

Buying Gifts Stresses Me Out

It’s that time of year – the ‘gift season’.  Religion seems like an after thought when so much emphasis is placed on what the holidays are supposed to be like.  Who is cooking dinner?  Has the house been decorated to the nines?  And most importantly, what are you going to buy Uncle Leo?

It really is tough, though I’m sure I make it even harder on myself than it needs to be.  I think that what I buy a person says so much about me – was my gift unique, was it thoughtful, was it what they wanted, etc.?  Sometimes I think it’s just easier to give gift cards or money but then you’re seen as boring, unimaginative and can even get accused of not knowing the person well enough to be able to read their mind and know exactly what they want. 

So I’ve come up with a list of ideas which might help you. Continue reading “Buying Gifts Stresses Me Out”

You Got The Number 7

I’d love to meet the person who comes up with some of these “Facebook Oddities”.  Like Throwback Thursday.  Or “Make your status post the color of your bra”.  The latest seems to be “I’ll send you a number, and you have to list that many things about yourself that other people wouldn’t know about you”. 

I never given into these gimmicks, but I’ve been drawing a blank lately when it comes to blog topics.  And all the marketing websites tell you to write what you’re passionate about.  So I decided to combine the two ideas and see what happens.  What could go wrong? (*cough*)

1. I’ve never seen a Hobbit or Lord of the Rings movie.  Ever.  Couldn’t even tell you what they’re about. 

2.  I like cats more than people.  Not to say I don’t like people.  I do.  Most people.  But cats don’t talk behind your back.  Cats don’t get jealous.  You don’t have to try to “read” a cat; if it’s happy you’ll know it and if it’s unhappy you’ll know that too.  No guess work involved.  Cats don’t have ulterior motives.  Cats either want your attention – all of it – or they want to be left alone.  Cats love you no matter how much you weigh, if you smell bad, if you made a mistake, and they even love you when it seems like no one else in the world does.  Top THAT humans!

3.  It annoys me to no end when I walk into a department store and see a brand of cosmetics on the shelf marketing itself as ‘green’ and ‘natural’ when it’s anything but.  Leaf shaped mascara containers, green packaging, buzz words on labels, but then you read the ingredients and need a degree in biochemistry just to get through it.  I get angry at the deception.  People who don’t know any better may actually believe this stuff is better for them.  How unfair!  But these guys have more money than I’ll ever dream of seeing, so they get the shelf space.  And all I can do is keep fighting.

4.  I’m girlie and I’m not.  I love to try on gorgeous evening gowns, but then I’ll go outside later with my chainsaw and clear the woods of dead trees.  I LOVE makeup but on a summer weekend you’ll find me sweating in my garden with dirt under my nails and looking like something that had been raised in the wild by wolves.  I can’t bear to watch gory or sad things on TV, but I have a license to carry and am a pretty good shot with a 9 mm.  I’ll hang drywall, lay hardwood flooring, repair a toilet and then go get my nails done.  I will not be defined.

5.  I’m not fond of the holidays.  Only because I’m tired of the world telling me what my life should be like that time of year.  I should be wearing an apron and pulling a turkey the size of Kansas out of my oven feeding a perfect loving family of 16.  My house should be spotless and brimming with holiday décor.  There should be a mommy and a daddy and 2.5 children and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins and babies.  And everyone should be happy.  Well guess what main stream media, most of the world isn’t like that!  And the more you try to cram it down my throat, the more I will rebel against it.  It makes me want to live on an island somewhere in the tropics for the months of November and December. 

6.  I believe it is each person’s mission to somehow leave this world a better place.  Whether you’re Einstein and come up with that whole theory of relativity thing, or you’re Mrs. Jones down the street who created a neighborhood garden to help feed her community.  We’ve been given the gift of life.  And I think we owe it to the world to somehow leave it a little bit better because we were here. 

7. I’m a control freak.  I’m a clean freak.  I’ll cry over a cartoon if it’s sad, but I’ll never cry in front of anyone.  I like tomatoes but only if they’re hot (sauce, soup, bruschetta); raw cold tomatoes make me gag.  I’ve never been happy with my body weight, ever.  I would do anything to save or protect an animal.  I don’t kill spiders.  I catch them and release them outside because I think it’s wrong to kill them just because they look kinda creepy.  I’ve never eaten Brussels sprouts.  I am fiercely independent.  I am honest to a fault.  I hate seafood.  My favorite holidays are Valentine’s Day and Halloween.  I believe that everyone is responsible for their own actions, and our lives are the results of the choices we make.  I believe you can have anything you want if you want it badly enough.  I believe everyone has a purpose.  And I don’t think I’ve figured mine out yet.         

The Past Year: What Worked, What Didn’t

 

 

I’m always up for trying new things.  And those things usually involve my health in some way.  Be it trying new healthy recipes, herbs/supplements/diets or lifestyle changes, I want to be the best person I can be.  If I’m the healthiest I can be, that’s a good start.

Over the past year I’ve blogged about many of my adventures.  In the long run, some worked and some not so much.  Here’s what I’ve found.

Lemon Water – I blogged about this in Sept 2012.  The purported benefits of drinking water infused with lemon juice include weight loss, improved digestion, boosts immune system, balances pH (reduces acidity in your body), clears your skin, acts as a diuretic, relieves respiratory problems, freshens breath, reduces stress, helps kick the coffee habit, hydrates the lymph system, boosts energy, flushes toxins from your liver and kidneys, suppresses appetite, reduces cellulite (because it increases blood flow to the skin and helps your body flush out waste), boosts your body’s ability to metabolize fat, and lowers your risk for heart disease, strokes, cataracts and gout because of the high amount of vitamin C.  If drinking lemon water allowed me even one or two of these benefits, I had to try it.  A year later, I still like it.  I went off the wagon for a few weeks.  Got lazy I guess.  But I found that I actually look forward to my lemon water in the morning.  The idea is to drink it first thing upon waking, and not put anything else into your stomach for at least half an hour.  Easy enough.  I bought a pitcher which has an infuser attachment.  I chop up a peeled lemon (organic if possible) and put it in my infuser pitcher with filtered water.  It lasts a week (adding more water as needed).  Even throughout the day, I find I grab the lemon water pitcher before I grab my iced green tea if I want a quick drink.  If nothing else, this means I’m consuming less sugar.  And I seem to make better food choices throughout the day when I’m ‘on’ the lemon water.  Whether the benefits are psychological or physical, the lemon water thing gets an A+.

Juicing – I don’t think I’ve blogged about this yet.  This past summer, I bought a Vitamix.  I know I need to get more fresh fruits and veggies into my diet and, opting for the method of least resistance, thought “why not smash them up and drink them”?  My intentions were good.  And the Vitamix is awesome.  It even makes hot soup!  But back to my point.  I went to the farmers market and stocked up on lots of fresh fruit (berries and bananas mostly).  I also ‘bravely’ added kale, carrots (which I hate) and chia to my morning smoothies.  However, I was overly ambitious.  Using my American ‘the bigger the better’ mindset, I would juice a LOT of fruit and wind up with 30-40 ounces, which I would drink down throughout the morning.  This lead to a very bloated belly.  And too much sugar.  Being the blonde that I am, it took me a month to figure out that while my intentions were good, my methodology sucked.  So I stopped juicing.  Also bad.  Now that I’ve got my head out of my butt, I am going to make better juicing choices (less sugar, more veggies, smaller quantities) and see how that goes.  There is not doubt in my mind that moving to a more plant-based alkaline diet is better for the human body.  I just need to find a better way to make it work for me.

Yoga – I used to be a gym rat.  For about 5 years or so, I would be at the gym five or more days a week.  And not just to socialize.  I actually worked out.  And I liked the results.  Was I as thin as I wanted to be?  Will I EVER be?  But I did have good muscle tone which I knew was healthy.  And then I made some big changes in my personal life and wound up dropping the gym membership.  Just quit cold turkey.  In reality, my body needed a break.  And surprisingly, I didn’t gain weight.  But I lost muscle tone.  Having strong muscles is sexier (and healthier) than overall body weight in my opinion.  I needed to get it back, but was still mentally done with the gym.  Enter yoga.  If you haven’t done it before, you’ve got to try it.  There’s something for everyone, be it stretchy yoga, hot yoga, Barre yoga (which almost killed me!) or power yoga.  It works.  It can be a surprisingly difficult workout, a therapeutic muscle relaxer, a flexibility creator or a mental healer.  Yoga has so much to offer and I can’t say enough good things about it.  Try it.

Coconut Oil – I wrote about this wonder ingredient in December 2012.  One of our Facebook fans mentioned using it as a make up remover, so I tried it.  And then I read more about it and started using it daily.  Not only is it the best make up remover, but it’s a superior moisturizer and excellent cleanser.  If you missed my December blog article, go back and check it out for details.  I will never go another day without using coconut oil. 

Massage – I don’t think I wrote about this either, but it’s something I firmly believe in.  Now I’m weird.  We’ve probably already established that.  But one of my quirks is that I don’t like people touching me.  Between that and having had my back broken in a car accident when I was 19, you might say I’m NOT a good candidate for massage.  The trick to is finding out what works best for you.  Studies have found that massage can benefit the following disorders: 

  • Anxiety
  • Digestive disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Headaches
  • Insomnia related to stress
  • Myofascial pain syndrome
  • Paresthesias and nerve pain
  • Soft tissue strains or injuries
  • Sports injuries
  • Temporomandibular joint pain

Beyond the benefits for specific conditions or diseases, some people enjoy massage because it often involves caring, comfort, a sense of empowerment and creating deep connections with the individual performing the massage.  If you are looking to strengthen your intimate relationship, I highly suggest massage.  You don’t have to go to school and become a massage therapist to make this work.  Pick up a book, or go on line to learn about a handful of techniques, and go from there.  I personally like using a massage bar instead of massage oil because it’s moisturizing, not messy and allows the hands to flow more easily along the body.  Honeybee will be coming out with our own massage bar very soon.  But you don’t need anything other than a comfortable quiet space, time and patience.  Give and receive.  Even if it’s just 15 minutes with your partner (or try self massage) before you go to sleep.  The physical and psychological benefits are amazing. 

Reducing Sugar and Dairy – This is a daily struggle, but one I truly believe in for overall health.  Sugar seems to be in EVERYTHING from the obvious coffee additive to the seemingly harmless banana.  Recognizing all the sources of sugar in your diet is step one.  Step two is either eliminating or finding substitutions.  And sugar is incredibly addictive: The more you eat, the more addictive it becomes.  Studies show that all the sugar in our diets either directly or indirectly contributes to diseases like osteoporosis, obesity, heart disease, and cancer.  I am NOT a fan of sugar substitutes in any form (xylitol, stevia, etc.)  There are articles on line you can read about recognizing sugar in foods (especially hidden sugar) and steps you can take to reduce it in your diet.  Same goes with dairy.  We are the only species that drinks another mammals milk.  That thought kind of grosses me out.    Our bodies weren’t made to digest milk on a regular basis. Instead, most scientists agree that it’s better for us to get calcium, potassium, protein and fats from other food sources, like whole plant foods: vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds and seaweed.  And let’s not forget all the  pesticides, hormones, antibiotics found in conventional milk CAN’T be good for you.  Will I give up cheese?  Nope, probably never.  But I will have very small amounts and only on the rare occasion. 

So what DIDN’T work for me over the past year?  A few things.

Dry Brushing – I wrote about this in January of this year.  Dry brushing is supposed to have several benefits, but I couldn’t find hard scientific evidence to back any of them up.  At least it will exfoliate your skin, if nothing else.  I have a dry brush.  I do it occasionally (more so in winter when my skin is ugly and dry).  But getting my butt into the shower in the morning is difficult enough.  Stopping to dry brush my entire body first just isn’t going to happen on most days.

Oil Pulling – I wrote about this unusual practice in April of this year.  I had read a few articles about it and again found a myriad of conditions is was supposed to help from arthritis to PMS.  It involves swishing oil around in your mouth for 20 minutes or so, and spitting it out.  The oil is supposed to ‘pull’ the toxins from your body.  Again, I didn’t find a whole lot of good scientific evidence to back up the claims.  And as with dry brushing, I don’t have the patience or energy to deal with this first thing in the morning. 

Dark Chocolate – I experimented with dark chocolate because 1) I love it, and 2) like everything else, it’s supposed to cure almost anything.  What I was really hoping is that it would cure my sweet tooth.  I thought if I could eat a small square of dark chocolate a day, I would eliminate my desire for sweets forever.  It didn’t quite work out that way.  While I still LOVE dark chocolate and think it’s a healthier alternative than having a donut, I don’t think it will ever be found as a cure for cancer, nor will it ever keep me from still craving a slice of cake. 

Tanning – I’ll admit it.  I tanned.  For around two years, about once or twice a week.  My husband convinced me that I looked better tan.  I was also convinced that cellulite would be less noticeable if my skin was darker.  Being naturally fair-skinned and therefore more susceptible to skin cancer, fast-forward three years and five skin cancer biopsies (two basal cell carcinomas).  Not to mention that it aged my skin incredibly.  I regret having done it.  Did I like the way I looked when tan?  Yes.  Is the skin damage worth it?  No.  Will I avoid the sun completely?  Nope.  But I will wear sunscreen, still tan naturally, but never burn.  I could use self tanners I suppose, but don’t have the patience to slather my body with something every day (not to mention the ingredients some self tanners contain).  So I will be pale most of the year.  Deal with it. 

AA + BB = CC? No, This Isn’t A Three Stooges Gag

It started out with BB creams. Then brands started adding AA, CC and soon, DD creams to their line ups. What ARE these alphabet creams, and what do they do?

Let’s start out with BB creams, since they’ve been around the longest and seem to be more prevalent than the others. According to Wikipedia, the BB cream “was originally formulated in the 1960s in Germany by dermatologist Dr. Christine Schrammek to protect her patients’ skin after surgery. Introduced to South Korea and Japan in 1985 – where healthy-looking, porcelain skin is heavily prized – the cream was hailed as ‘the secret of Korean actresses,’ and was heavily endorsed by Korean celebrities”. “BB” stands for Beauty Balm, Blemish Balm, or Blemish Base. They are an all-in-one products that claim they can replace several products current sitting on your makeup vanity. Like foundation, they are tinted to even out the skin, contain moisturizers to hydrate, vitamins, brighteners, primers, serums to fight aging and SPF to protect. The SPF factor can vary, so be sure to check the label carefully. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends SPF 30 for daily use. The primer portion of the formula should also be looked at closely. It can include water, silicone, or mineral based ingredients to absorb oil creating a matte finish, or illuminate the skin with light reflecting pigments. BB creams tend to be very moisturizing. Some target a specific skin concerns such as oily, dry, or aging. But again, the basic premise is to be a ‘one formula can do it all’ type of product.

The “CC” creams can stand for Color Correction, Color Control, or Complexion Correction, and promise to provide better coverage with more skin nourishing ingredients to help with more long term effects than their older BB predecessors. CC creams are created to help with current existing skin problems whereas BB creams essentially prevent skin problems. CC creams still have all the ingredients that BB creams have; they’re just amped up.

CC creams may be for you if you have dark under eye circles that are puffy, acne, age spots, or discoloration. Anti-aging properties claim to repair damage, even skin tone and texture, firm and improve elasticity, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, brighten complexion, and moisturize. Many contain antioxidants which can limit the production of free-radicals. The texture ranges from a whipped mousse to a heavier cream.

AA stands for Anti-Aging, typically in a cream or moisturizer. These products claim to reduce wrinkles, crow’s feet, sagging, help with blemishes, as well as discoloration. Common ingredients will include retinol, Vitamin C, sunscreen, and anti-oxidants. Interestingly, they don’t seem to be as popular as the BB and CC creams, at least in the US.

And coming soon are DD creams. “Dynamic Do-All” or “Daily Defense” aren’t going to be just for your face. Rather they are heavy duty body and foot creams. DD creams can already be found in Korea, the UK and Japan. DDs coming to the US seem to have more of an anti-aging focus to diminish fine lines and wrinkles over time. So basically, DD can mean a lot of things, except of course making your bra size bigger.

Personally, I have not tried any of these creams. If I’m going outside, I’ll put on an SPF and my Pressed Mineral Foundation over top. As you know, my philosophy for skin has always been “less is more” and “the less you do to your skin, the better.” A tip from those who do use these creams: try before you buy. The color, texture, and benefits differ greatly from product to product. Be sure to read ingredients carefully.

I’m waiting for the following to come out next: EE (Erase Everything), BTS (Better Than Surgery) and RT (Reverse Time).

The Look of Marilyn Monroe

Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth…these lovely ladies had classic beauty. The old Hollywood glamour make-up look seems to be making a comeback with celebs. Kat Von D, Anne Hathaway, Katy Perry and Gwen Stephanie make it part of their signature look. But unless you’re an A list celeb, this look is generally used for special events. Few people pull this off as an everyday look. So how do you pull off vintage Hollywood red carpet glam without it looking street corner harlot? Here are a few tips:

1. Those ruby red lips: Anyone can pull off ‘the red lip’, regardless of your skin tone. The Hollywood stars of yesteryear had flawless skin to complement their crimson pout but the key to getting this makeup look on point is to choose a color that matches your skin tone. Apply concealer around the outside of your lips to further define them. Honeybee shades to try: Desire, Risqué, Vintage Merlot, Burlesque.

2. Flawless skin: Unless you were born with a porcelain complexion, you may have to use a combination of foundation, concealer, and pressed powder to get that picture perfect look. Start with moisturizing your face, then use concealer to hide any blemishes or dark circles. Next, apply foundation and powder for a flawless finish. Our Pressed Powder Mineral Foundation has buildable coverage, so if your skin is pretty decent to begin with, you may be able to get that hi-def matte look with just one product.

3. Cat Eyes: Always a classic, this makeup look is becoming more of an everyday phenomenon. Check out our May 15, 2013 blog article for details on creating this look.

4. Well-defined brows: Perfectly groomed and defined eyebrows accentuate the eyes and give them a polished look. It seems that all the starlets had a well-defined, dark brow back in the day. Pluck, trim and shape your brows to a perfect arch. Then use a dark brow powder or liner to fill in and shape your eyebrows. Our JobaColors Eye Liner in Brown Sugar is often used for this purpose.

5. Keep eye shadow neutral: Don’t overwhelm your otherwise flawless makeup look with overpowering eye shadow. Use a cream or vanilla color on your eyelids so they aren’t competing with the rest of your face. A neutral palette will also draw more attention to the natural color of your eyes. Our Cosmopolitan Eye Shadow Palette is a good choice, or consider PowderColors shades Flirtatious and Chai.

6. A healthy glow: After achieving that flawless foundation, use a rosy powder blush on the apples of your cheeks. This will give you a nice glow and balance out your vintage inspired makeup look. Think porcelain doll, but don’t overdo it. You just want a hint of color. Try our Healthy Glow Mineral Blush in Kitten or Cherub.

7. Big lashes: It’s not too difficult to create the look of false eye lashes, without actually having to deal with the glue and sticky strips. First, use an eye lash crimper to curl your lashes. Then apply your first coat of mascara, working product from base to tip. Use a spooly or eye lash comb to separate any clumps. Once the first coat is dry, apply a second coat, focusing mainly on the tips of the lashes. If your lashes are long enough, you can even go for a third coat, remembering to remove any clumps.