Category: body image

Hair coloring obsessions and other thoughts on my birthday…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

So recently I’ve been coloring my hair like crazy…check out my post about soap capping. It’s been a goal of mine now to have ashy, cool toned hair colour, because well, as a dark haired asian girl, that is near impossible. Black is my natural color, and that’s as cool toned as my hair wants to be. But as I age and become more pale, black hair is actually too harsh for my skin tone (plus the occassional white that hair creeps in). But when I try to lighten even just a few shades, my hair screams a bright red/orange tone, even harsher than black hair for my complexion. I actually had to go through a lot of chemical processes to get it to be the cool toned light brown I have now and I’m ashamed to say it, since I kind of fried my hair with a chemical soup to get it…But now I think I got it, and really don’t care if it’s not exactly the colour I want…me needs to let go.

So this is just part of the chemical soup I subjected my hair to trying to make it ashy: developer, bleach lightener, permanent colors…additives…etc.

Today is my birthday, I’m another year older, and I’m really thinking today about how unimportant hair color is…all the cosmetic procedures, chemicals and efforts us girls put into altering our natural appearance doesn’t add up to much. When the truth is, nobody cares about the color of my hair…I recently reviewed some lipstick on here and to think I about it, I doubt anyone really cares about my lip color either. It’s fun, but that’s it…The truth is, cosmetics and fashion is a past time I enjoy…but not ultimately what people care about in me. My dad’s obsession for example, is seeing me eat more, eat healthily and sleep.  Ha ha. Really that’s all he cares about. Most people just want others to be healthy and happy. So I know that taking care of oneself’s mind and body is ultimately the most important thing to do…

Time to say sorry to my body and hair for everything I put it through for the sake of my vanities.Whether it is soap capping twice in one night to lighten it, or putting in harsh dyes and toners to perfect my hair color, or not eating bagels since they make me bloat…I have start seeing as to how I am pretty mean to my body…and it’s time to say sorry. How do I say sorry to my body? Some ideas I have are:

  • Don’t wear make-up on my off days, I just moisturize your skin and drink lots of tea
  • Do have that pastry/cookie/candy I’ve been thinking of
  • sleep in that extra two hours…I will never run out of chores/work that I gotta do, but I know I can always do it later
  • give my hair a hot oil conditioning treatment and not worry about what it will do its color
  • Feed your mind: Do something that has NOTHING to do with being gorgeous. (no fashion/make up stuff) Write an article or read a book about something cerebral. Create something that will bring value to your health, or learn something about the world your never knew.
  • Don’t look at trends and covet them on social media. Look at yourself and what you want to accomplish and achieve…

Remember the important things in life…and be happy. That’s what I’ve been thinking about on my birthday today. Nothing is worth doing if it doesn’t make us healthy and happy. It’s really easy to get caught up in getting the latest fashions and make-up trends, and cosmetic procedures…but knowing when to stop is key.

 

 

DIY recipe for a Slim Down Tea!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

I grew up as a girl, so it was hard to avoid seeing all the fads diets, the pills, plans, everything marketed at women to buy into and believe some product that would make you slimmer.  The problem with big business using vanity to dupe us and get an extra buck has always been there. It seems to be a way for companies to grab the last dollar you have at the bottom of your messy purse…As if life wasn’t hard enough with everything to juggle, but we also have to constantly weed out false marketing scams and claims of companies bent on taking advantage of the situation. What a hard sell! But I know we’ve all fallen at least once for any of these product claims.  Wouldn’t it be great to find something that really works, is healthy, simple and DIY?

So recently I concocted something I believe to be the real deal.  All natural, detoxifying and healthy.  I’ve made an awesome tea drink with simple ingredients that can fight the bodily malfunctions that add short term gain to the frame.  Things such as water retention, bloating, gas.  These are huge factors in the difference between having a slim pretty day, and a bloated chubby day.  And I will share this recipe with you, because, you know…we’re friends! 🙂  Best thing of all? It’s caffeine free!

It looks kind of murky, like pond water, it will be a greenish brown! It tastes kinda bitter and spicy, but it works!
It looks kind of murky, like pond water; it is greenish brown in colour! It tastes kinda bitter and spicy, but it works!

Recipe for my “Slim Down Tea”

  • 1/4 cup of finely sliced ginger root (fresh)
  • 2 bags of herbal dandelion leaf tea (find it at health food stores)
  • 1.5 liters of fresh cold water
  1. Start to boil the water in a a small/medium sauce pan
  2. Slice up a knob of ginger finely. I like to do 1″ long thin slivers of ginger because I think the ginger really releases all its magic into the tea when it is cut finely.
  3. Place the sliced ginger into already turned on pot of water…wait for it to reach rapid boil, then lower the heat to a gentle, but rolling simmer.
  4. Simmer the ginger for 15-20 min. Any longer and it gets kind of bitter and burned, too soon and you don’t have the ginger spiciness in it.
  5. Turn off the heat.  Drop the bags of dandelion leaf tea into it, and cover the pot with a lid, while steeping everything for another 30 mins.
  6. Remove tea bags and strain the tea with a spoon while pouring into a pitcher.  Refrigerate and enjoy for up to 1-3 days!

Why does this concoction work? The reason is because ginger is a soothing cure all to stomach pains and digestion problems.  It can also control bloating to a minimum.  It is also super good for you! Antioxidants!  Dandelion leaf is a natural diuretic and aids in helping your body shed excess water, discouraging water retention and also providing potassium, a mineral which many people lack day to day. Put these two plant powers together and your stomach and body will be thanking you, and you will feel a difference.  I like to take this tea cold, in the afternoon to evening…and also all day before any big event! What tricks do you pull to give you an extra edge against feeling pudgy?

Yummy! I like using this tea all day before an event in the evening.
Yummy! I have a tendency to retain water like crazy, but little tricks help me.

Taking a passport/ID photo is not as easy as it seems…

~ Emmie Reve ~ 3 Comments

No smiling, no tilting the head, no posing, no hair in the face…etc. These are all the restrictions that come with the territory of taking an ID photo.  I used to think it was pretty simple, but now I realize the government doesn’t want you to look good, or look like you are having any fun in these photos.  In all seriousness, they want you to look miserable so they can capture the facial features of the face in a “no frills” kind of way.  As a result, a passport photo that you barely even like, and barely looks like “you”, becomes the representation of you for the next five to ten years.  Yes, you will have to look at it every so often, and see the unflattering lighting, how it hit your face at a bad angle, making you look not your best.  *sigh* It’s not that bad, or is it? Without sounding vain, wouldn’t you want to have the best photo you can get while still meeting requirements the government demands for formal IDs?  Here are some of my tips for making the best of a trying situation:

My Personal Tips

1. Don’t wear dark colours like black, navy or charcoal.  They weigh you down in spirit, which will weigh you down in the photo too.  I like to wear pastels and cheerful colours to reflect a lighter mood, to combat that downer feeling that taking a non-smiling ID photo can give.

2. Don’t smile, but think happy, relaxed thoughts.  Make your eyes smile.  This may sound crazy, but they can smile!  Look into the mirror prior the photo, breathe, relax, and look at your non-smiling expression.  I find practicing your “non-pose” can really help you see if you are making a weird face by default, or just looking too severe.

3. Wear your hair DOWN.  I can’t say this enough.  But for some reason, this makes all the difference.  Hair that is up makes your face look larger, because of the awkward cropping of all ID photos.  Not that a large face is bad, but in photos, smaller usually looks better in my humble opinion.

4. Make-up: Lots of people say to wear neutral make-up, and I kind of disagree.  I feel you ought to wear the make-up colours you feel like wearing.  So if you often wear bright eye shadows, why change to neutral for a passport photo? For my most recent passport photo I wore a bright fushia eye shadow in the corners of my lids and I love how they made my eyes pop!

5. Concealer and other tricks: I love the look of natural skin with its freckles and marks, and am not a big fan of concealer just because unless you have acne, what good is it really for on a day to day basis?  But for ID photos I would recommend it.  I saw the way those flashes magnify every flaw on the face…so use accordingly.  The day of my photo taking I had under-eye puffiness, so I used a bit of ice on it to deflate them before my photo.  Stay really hydrated to avoid water retention and bloat.  All these little things do make a difference to the end result.

What tips do you find help you take good government ID photos?  Is it just too much trouble to worry about these things and do you just don’t care when it comes to how you look on photo documentations?  Or do you think official documents should show a good photo of you most definitely?  During my recent photograph session, I remember a lady customer before me at the shop.  She was also taking her passport photo, and she walked into it with no prep, just dabbed some lipstick on before jumping into it.  The lady was so disappointed with her results, when the store showed her the proofs.  Don’t we all wish that it was just as easy as putting on lipstick!

IMG_2403 (2) edit
This is my new pic. It looked better in the proofs, but the reprint of it into the passport is very grainy. Still, I liked it, considering how I couldn’t smile, and the photo peeps took it in 2 seconds flat! Does it say “run away with me!”?  Hee hee.