You’ve mastered the “cat eye” make-up, now let’s do the “mouse eye”

January 20, 2014February 7, 2014 ~ Emmie Reve ~ 1 Comment

I am not really that into Theme Parks. They are tourist traps that suck up all your money on junk food, cheap souvenirs, and just temporary thrills. But there is still something about being young at heart and liking Disney World. There is definitely something magic in the Disney Parks, something they did well, something that can generate memories, just by walking down it’s whimsical streets to having your photo with Ariel, or with Mickey, himself. That’s why this year, I took my kid to Disney World in Florida.

To celebrate this occasion, I’ve been thinking about different make-up looks to create and try on this trip. How about a make-up that incorporates mouse ears somehow? Hmm, I am getting a feeling that this would not be pretty. What about Minnie Mouse…how can she inspire me? She’s got some long lashes. Three to be exact…

Then I thought of the time that I caught a mouse in my house. Well, actually, my cat caught it and almost ripped it to pieces. I saved it, from my cat, but it still ended up dying. I was sad. It had the cutest little beady eyes, surrounded by what seemed to be bushy eye lashes. So now, combining Minnie Mouse’s eyelashes and that of a real house mouse, I’ve created “mouse eyes”!

Similar to the famous “cat eye” make-up of an angled slanty-eyed look with black liquid liner on the top eyelid, I decided to get a bit more playful and curly with my “mouse eye” look. Here’s how to do it:

This is me without makeup. Not too shabby I hope!

Start with a clean face. I apply my bb cream/foundation, and set with a dusting of powder. Next up, my brows…fill in with a pencil or with a powder filler. Then start with the eyes. First of all, trace a thin black line around your eyes, making an almond shape.

I don’t usually do tight lining (which is lining the bottom lid as close to the eyeball as possible), but I get as close as I can, without hitting the wet lid. Then, this is where the artistry and steady hands come in. Using gel liner in black, I draw in some bushy curly lashes, that extend from my outer eye, and curl two more times to form three pointy peaks.

The result is the illusion of incredibly thick lashes, that resemble that of a mouses lashes. What do yo think of it? “Mouse eyes”. I’m going to be wearing this during my trip to Disney World…and hopefully some of the magic that is in the air there, will be reflected in me! Don’t forget to add a smidgen of blush and a bit of lip gloss. Th oust ready to go theme parking at Disney now!

How I amp up my conditioner for extra shiny hair!

January 4, 2014January 19, 2014 ~ Emmie Reve ~ 3 Comments

New Year, it means, “new hair”, right? There is nothing more attractive for hair than shine. My hair when I was younger, had the most amazing sheen. It was because I didn’t chemically process it. However, now a days, everyone does something to their hair, whether it is a perm, or a colour, it affects it’s shine. So how do I put in a bit of newness and shine to processed hair? I boost up my everyday conditioner with a few natural ingredients!

A while ago, the dullness really bothered me. I tried adding leave-in hair products to help increase shine. The drawback was was that it weighed my hair down, and coated each strand with build up making the problem worse. Then I tried natural oils like grapeseed oil, as a finishing touch to dry styled hair, but that made my hair too greasy. That’s when I gave up with after shower shine products and focused on deep conditioning, which I now believe is key.

First of all, start off with a good everyday conditioner. Then add into the picture: a conditioning hair mask, olive oil, and honey. Regular conditioner acts as a base. The conditioning hair mask adds extra softness, the honey attracts moisture and help the hair absorb it, and olive oil gives extra gloss. Mix all four ingredients in a dish, and then get in the shower. Shampoo well, then spread your hybrid mixture of conditioners into your stressed out strands. Leave in for 5 minutes. Rinse well.

And the results are perfect. My hair is adequately hydrated, and without build up, the natural oils in my hair can evenly coat each strand to boost shine. So here is my simple recipe that I mix in a small bowl, each time before showering, so that it is ready to use as soon as I am done my shampooing:

1 part hair conditioner

1 part hair conditioning mask

1/2 part olive oil

1/2 part honey

Mix and blend every ingredient together until uniform in colour and texture. This stuff will smell amazing as most conditioners already smell great but add in the honey and olive oil and you almost want to eat it! It is now ready to use.

Doesn’t look the greatest, but it works!

Mix well, and you too, can have this one phase result!

After showering, I towel dry hair, and then allow my hair to air dry half way, then finish with low blow dryer heat for 5 mins. My results when I do this is weightless clean shine, with no need for extra leave-in products! My hair is super soft, and it has a natural shiny halo to it on the crown of the head or anywhere else it catches the light. For me it’s like having virgin hair again, while not having virgin styled hair!

Reasons to not have a hair stylist…

December 12, 2013January 20, 2015 ~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

I was reading an article online recently about 14 reasons to splurge on a fancy salon, and well, here is my counter-argument to that piece…reasons not to go to a salon. Most hair stylists would probably hate me if they knew me. I haven’t been to a salon in over a year and I don’t plan on going anytime soon. I don’t depend on them to keep me with the trends, I do all my own hair styling, even cutting. I stopped going when I noticed quality chemical treatment and colour products are available to the average person, and dared to ask to question if I could do without the salon industry. I started colouring myself with those home dye kits at the pharmacy and then eventually graduated to professional colours/rinses from the barber supply. I took a bit of a risk to learn the ins and outs of basic haircare and chemical processing, and once I learned them, the risk element diminished, leaving even less reason to go to a pricey salon. I’ve heard people insist about how “magical” professional hands are to hair and how they are just a must. Not true. Sure, if you can afford $150 for a colour job then go for it…it is easier to sit in a chair and let someone else do it. But for around $10 worth of professional products you can do the legwork yourself and save a whole lot of money. Then use that for new clothes, stuff for your kids, and good food. Sorry hair stylists, but I’ve put a target on your business in this entry.

looks like it cost something to breath the air in here! — looks like it costs something to breath the air in here!

A lot of people argue that stylists are needed, because and average person is inexperienced and can mistakes. That is totally true. I mean, I won’t lie and say I’ve never messed up my hair. But the difference is that I can own up to it, and hair will grow back and I learn from it. Hairdresser have made mistakes with my hair before, and I still had to smile and tip politely at the end. Not fun. Depending solely on hairdressers for hair functioning is also problematic, because in my experience, they often do not understand or listen to the customer, and they don’t seem to really care about how you turn out. Nobody can care more about how you turn out than yourself. There are the pricey hairdressers that might listen, but a lot of women can’t justify spending this much on just hair, especially in this time and age where money is so hard to come by. And I don’t want to go to a hairdresser’s college just to get a decent affordable cut from a student stylist. You’re giving your hair to someone who is going to learn from cutting it…and your own payback is a slight discount. Not good enough. We deserve more than that…

My last dependency on hairdressers ended when I started watching how-to videos online with simple instructions on hair cutting and layering. I learned these and performed them on myself, made evaluations…all in all, it was something at I could do reasonable well. Also, my hair is long, so long cuts are easier to maintain in my opinion, they are free flowing in general, so fancy cuts are not needed. So…now I realize that my need for hairdressers is pretty much obsolete. And it’s nice to be free. I don’t have to save up my piggy bank to get something so essential as a proper ‘do.

Rapunzel did her own hair. That turned out well, didn't it? — Rapunzel did her own hair. That turned out well, didn’t it?

Nobody talks about avoiding hair salons, because I think there’s a lot of business at stake, and there is so much riding on keeping women hooked. My current hair-do is something I created to maintain myself, and I’ve gotten many compliments on it. It’s a medium long hair length with wispy layers, and a straight cut medium length bang, coloured with a punchy pinkish red colour rinse put in after pre-lighting by toning with 40 volume peroxide, no bleach. And I do it on my own, after a few trials and errors, but the end result is what I wanted. And that was worth the work.

Maybe when/if I become a bride, on my wedding day, I’ll treat myself to a pampering blowout from a good hairdresser, because I admit that they do do beautiful blow outs and shaping after a shampooing. They obviously know how to make an updo. But until then, they are a luxury that even if I could afford, I have decided is not worth it.

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