Give your face a winter break with a toning/moisturizing mask

February 12, 2014 ~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

It’s really easy to neglect the face in the winter and rely on make-up to cover-up flaws, dullness and dryness of the skin. During the winter, all I am in the mood to do is hibernate, even my social life takes a backseat. Now that I know Valentine’s day is creeping up, and that my boyfriend wants to do something with me, I am forced to start making an effort at proper skin maintenance during these cold dark months of the year. How does one rejuvenate mind, body and spirit during this time? A vacation would be great, only my trip to Florida last month was a total disaster in terms of weather. I got no sun at all during a week of uncommon rain and cold in what is supposed to be “the sunshine state”. So now back in freezing Toronto, I have to work at being fresh faced when I am actually far from.

This is where facials and face masks come into play. I recently discovered the skin loving ingredient kaolin clay. Kaolin is a white powder with which you can do many things. It has a smoothing, absorbing effect when used in cosmetics, similar to talc, but it is all natural. Make a DIY face powder with it, add it to your dry shampoo…use it to tone your skin in a mask. For an easy face mask, I decided to use half a banana mashed with yogurt, then add a dash of honey, olive oil, and vitamin e oil. Thicken with a couple of tablespoons of kaolin. Better than Lush fresh face masks? Definitely, it’s more gentle, and much more affordable.

At Home Facials:

Doing facials at home is great. I find it much more convenient than going to a pricey spa. It’s pretty easy, but it’s better to do this when no one is around or looking, cuz it looks kind of weird doing it in process. But your face will thank you.

1. Cleanse your face with a mild face cleanser and exfoliate. (I use a homemade face scrub with equal parts honey, olive oil, and sugar!)

2. Steam your face gently. Boil about an inch of water in a pot over the stove. Remove from heat once it boils. Add some essential oils, or flower waters to the hot water. Carefully put the pot on a table and lower your face just above it to receive the steam. Keep it there for around ten minutes to open your pores and let out impurities and deep down dirt. Rinse off with warm water/a gentle cleanser again.

3. Apply your face mask thickly and evenly, avoiding your eyes. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Give it more time if needed.

3. Rinse with warm water. Pat with a warm, wet face cloth.

4. Tone your face with a bit of rosewater/toner on a cotton swab.

5. Moisturize with your favourite face cream.

It seems like a lot of work, but your skin will thank you. You will have smaller pores the next day, a more even skin tone, and a better glow to your winter ravaged skin!

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!

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