Homemade Recipe/Ingredient of the Week: Honey!

     Moisturizing Face Masks:

      1. Honey + Avocado: Put one large, pitted and peeled avocado in a blender with a tablespoon of honey; Pat onto face and keep on for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water.

      2. Honey + Greek Yogurt + Olive Oil: Mix the Honey, Yogurt and Olive oil together, place in fridge for an hour then apply on your face for half an hour, then wash.

      3. Honey + Egg Whites: Beat an egg white until stiff. Add one teaspoon of honey. Stir together and fluff onto your face; After 30 minutes, splash off with cold water

      Moisturizing Hair Mask: 

      Honey + Olive Oil: Mix honey and olive oil and place in hair for 30 minutes for a natural moisture-packed hair mask.

      Body Scrub:  

      Honey + Olive Oil + Brown Sugar: Mix all together and lather it in the shower so you don’t make a mess!

      Lip Scrub:  

      Honey + Olive Oil + Sugar + Lemon: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then massage it into your lips. The sugar/rub part is what you should be using to scrub, while you can apply the juice of the scrub to let it sit on your lips for a bit. The lemon juice has properties to help lighten the skin (but it's not immediate and you can skip this step if you want either way). I've used this recipe without the lemon and it still gives excellent results. 

 Don’t sleep on homemade recipes – the Egyptians and Romans all had gorgeous skin for a reason – they used the natural ingredients that they had available and used them for all of their healing properties. I LOVE these masks - they are all sooo silky and leave your face smoother than a baby’s bottom.  Not to mention, it gives your face tons of good oils that is necessary to keep the moisture in your face balanced, therefore giving you that natural ‘glow’ we all crave. 

Vaseline? For What? (Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter!)

So I’ve gotten a request to talk about how Vaseline is supposedly wonderful for your face (and all your other ‘bits’, as my man likes to call them), and how it seriously keeps you looking young way into your old lady days. I’ve used it for years on my lips (don’t make that dirty) before I go to bed and I wake up with soft, supple lips (just don’t do any kissing afterward).

I keep reading that women think that using Vaseline on your face is an old wives tale, and even though my grandma was the one who told me to start using it, I’m here to tell you it works. One woman’s review said, and I quote “JESUS IN A BOTTLE”. LOL. Well, I guess that means it works.

I did a little research and here’s what I’ve found as other uses of Vaseline that we may not know about:

1.  Use it to Seal in Your Moisturizer – at night, do your regular face care routine – face wash, (toner if you use it), serum (if and when you use it – you should), moisturizer, then use a thin layer of Vaseline (please don’t glob it on) to lock everything in. You really can just use it as it’s own moisturizer because it acts as a natural barrier for your skin, therefore letting your skin do it’s thing at night. Either way, use it for a week and see how you like it.

2.  Use it on Your ‘Bits’

- Rub it all over your feet and put socks on – sleep with them on overnight and in the am, your feet will be super soft!

- Rub it on your knuckles, knees, elbows and lips (all of your crackly bits will thank you).

3.  Use it as an Undereye Cream – many women have claimed that using Vaseline under the eyes will keep them moisturized and therefore supple much longer than any other fancy cream. I’m trying this trick tonight.

4.  Mix it with Natural Oils for a Moisturizing Mask – mix Vaseline with coconut oil or olive oil and leave it on the skin before bed. Get a washcloth dipped in warm water (not hot! I don’t care how good it feels!) and wipe off any excess that hasn’t seeped into your face. Guaranteed, your face will feel like a baby’s bum (I used to do this as a teenager with a friend who had awesome skin – I don’t know why I haven’t been doing this religiously!)

5. Use it Anywhere! – all the reviews I’ve read have been women using it for a multitude of purposes, including a thicker all-over moisturizer for the winter to put on their arms, legs, neck and chest (one woman said it helped take away the ‘crepiness’ of wrinkles that was her neck area).

I say let’s let go of our preconceived notions of this product and give it a go. It’s cheap ($4 for a huge tub at Target) and it lasts forever. Use it tonight and leave your reviews here – I want to know what you all think!

Let's Paint the Town Red Lip Stain...by Tarte

Love, love, LOVE this color. It took me forever to find a red lipstick/matte that works well for my skin tone.  Funny enough, it also for those who are lighter than me as well - a friend tried it on (dark hair, dark eyes, fair skin) and it looked awesome on her too (a little more bright, but still freakin' perfect).

Anyway, I searched Instyle, Glamour, Allure and other companies that do a "Best of 2010, 2011 Beauty Products", given their readers' and editors' picks. Based on my skin tone, the ones I tried out below overlapped in a few of the different "Best of" lists.  Out of all the ones they suggested (and yes, I did try them all on at the store), this one by far gets my vote. Why you ask? Here's why:

1. It's moisturizing - WTF? Yep. It's a matte lipstick that goes on soft and is moisturizing without being sticky at all (and it looks like you're painting your face with a crayon - super fun!) It even looks super smooth and flawless as it goes on, filling in the cracks on my dry lips (it IS winter) and giving them relief at the same time.

2. The undertone color has just enough orange in it. The orange tint, believe it or not, is big for someone with olive skin because if it's too orange it makes me look like a clown and if it has too dark of blue undertones, I look sickly and like a vampire. So this had just the right combo. I'm looking into trying their other colors as well, especially their nude ones.

3. Staying power. A lipstick that feels like chapstick and lasts for more than a few hours (if you aren't drinking) is all I need to be sold on a product. It looks and feels comfortable and makes me feel super sexy without 'trying too hard'.

Brand: Tarte, LipSurgence natural matte lip stain, Color: Fiery  - @ Sephora for $24

Here is a list of the ones I tried that I didn't like. Try them yourself and see which brand you prefer:

- (Expensive) Brand: Nars, Color: Heat Wave - $24 - I heard a lot of great things about this one, but this was one of the ones that was just too orange for me.

- (Expensive) Brand: Nars, Color: Jungle Red - $24 - A step down off the orange train from Heat Wave, this one still had a bit too much for me, but actually, it came down to this one and the Tarte Fiery that I ended up choosing.

- (Expensive) Brand: Nars, Color:  Shanghai Express - $24 - A friend with a lighter complexion tried this on and it looked killer on her, but when I tried it on, it looked a little too dark red/vampire-esque for my skin tone.

- (Expensive) Brand: Lancome L'Absolu Rouge, Color:  Absolute Rouge - $29 - It took me forever to find this one at a bunch of different Sephora stores (I guess it is very popular), but once I did, I wasn't that impressed. It had more of a blue undertone and it looked too dark red on me.

- (Inexpensive) Brand: Revlon, Color: Fire & Ice - $9 - Apparently this color has been a staple in their line of red lipsticks for decades, but when I tried it on at an airport beauty store, I took it right off - it was waaaay too bright orange (and left a bit of a stain).