Category: natural

Glycerin is your new BFF when it comes to having glowing skin!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment
A skin rescuer for powdered make-up users...this setting spray only takes three ingredients; rose water, distilled water and glycerin!
A skin rescuer for powdered make-up users…this setting spray only takes three ingredients; rose water, distilled water and glycerin!

So about a year ago, one of my good friends told me about the skin trend in Asia particularly Korea, where the young girls not only have perfect skin, but they also have shiny, dewy baby skin, like no other in photos.  At first thought, I figured that the look can be achieved by exfoliation, followed with a tinted moisturizer, and no use of face powder, but that didn’t explain the “flawless” glow of the dewy shine trend.  How that look can be achieved, I figured out recently is with the use of a setting spray.  Make-up has a nicer real skin effect when slightly dampened, and the misting of a setting spray (water based) over foundation and powder will make your face look more hydrated, and give you the dewy shine that you crave even after it’s dried.  That’s right, shine can be pretty as long as it is not a greasy slick over your face. Another bonus is it increases the staying power of make-up that is applied.

What’s even more amazing? I found out there is a DIY home recipe for a setting spray that will make you wonder how you could have done without it for all these years! It is super easy to make, hydrating and smells awesome. A homemade spray that is just as good as any $20 spray on the market, but better since it is super affordable and preservative free.  There are different ways to use a setting spray, as in before make-up application (for adhesion and colour intensity) or after (to get rid of the powdery look and build shine)…  I mist the spray all over my face after my foundation and powder but before I do my eye make-up. That way, I get better adhesion and color intensity for my eye shadow, and it prevents my powdered foundation face from looking too powdery by giving it a healthy dewy glow.

A bottle of glycerin from the local pharmacy! Not hard to find and so good for the skin!
A bottle of glycerin from the local pharmacy! Not hard to find and so good for the skin!

Recipe for DIY Rosewater Glycerin Setting Spray:

  • 1 part distilled water
  • 1 part rose water
  • 1/8th part Glycerin** (you could use less if you find it too sticky)

**For those of you who don’t know…glycerin is a thick liquid compound that is a sugar alcohol. It is put in many products in the food industry for keeping things moist and sweet.  Since it is food grade, if you spray any of it on your lips and lick it, it’s totally safe! It’s also known to be great for your skin as it draws water to it and has other benefits too!

Put all ingredients above in a small clean spray bottle.  Shake it to mix it and spritz a fine mist over your make-up or under your make-up depending on the result you want as I mentioned above! I like to use enough that my face feels moistened, and takes about two minutes to dry.  And then start welcoming the pretty shine and dewy glow that using a setting spray imparts!

It's hard to see in photos, but the hydrating and glowing effect of using a setting spray is worth it, even as it covers the back of my hand!
It’s hard to see in photos, but the hydrating and glowing effect of using a setting spray is worth it, even as it covers the back of my hand!

Anti-aging tips and secrets…and announcing my new store!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

Hello readers and followers of my online journal.  Over the years, I have really enjoyed writing articles for this site and talking about fashion, make-up, alternative trends, and having a healthy mind, soul, and body.  One of the top concerns us women have is how to stay youthful; not only the way to do it, but finding a healthy, natural way. Yes, it is possible and I will tell you what works for me.

My kid is 14 years old now, and I had him my third year in Art College.  If you do the math, you can imagine how old I actually am.  I will not give a number, but most people cannot believe I am his mom!  I’ve been asked if he is my cousin, my brother, my nephew.  So many guesses, but mom is not really one of them.  I raised him on my own since he was four, living in a small apartment in the west end of Toronto, and I had my shares of ups and downs, good times, and bad times, great boyfriends, and bad ones.  And I’ll admit one of the first secrets of staying young is attitude.  Always be positive, try not to stress out, and accept yourself, and others for who they are.  Be at peace, find religion and God.  And remember, you get what you give.

Me and my kid. Can you imagine, I raised him since he was a baby? Now at 14, he towers over me!
Me and my kid. Can you imagine, I raised him since he was a baby? Now at 14, he towers over me!

And after the inner work, comes the outer work.  Cosmetics and skin care can only enhance and reflect what you already do have.  So treating your body and skin with the respect it deserves is key.  If your skin is dry, moisturize, if it is oily, tone it.  Listen to what it wants, and always understand that there is no turning point when skin is damaged. So prevention is most important. Stay out of the sun or use sunblock all times.

My 5 step night routine is where all the voodoo happens:

  1. Cleanse your skin.  My skin is very dry, so I use a mild liquid castile soap to do the job.  Castile soap goes back in time to the days when soap was simple.  Just oils and lye mixed together to make soap.  If you wear lots of make-up and have oily skin, you may need something stronger, like a specialty face soap, but for me, I have been loving my castile soap, as it cleanses my skin thoroughly without over drying.
  2.  Coconut oil.  Virgin, cold pressed and smelling like roasted coconuts is the way to go.  After cleaning, I slather a light amount all over my face to soften and prepare it for vitamin E absorption.  Because vitamin E and other antioxidant oils are usually thick, the coconut oil increases the spread-ability of the vitamin E.
  3. Vitamin E oil: the promised land!!! Anti oxidants are naturally ANTI WRINKLE!  I spread a layer of this stuff on problem areas first; such as the corners of your mouth/ smile lines, the corners of your eyes and high cheeks, the forehead and even under the chin.  After years of smiling, crying and just being human, our emotions try to carve out “character” in our faces by leaving lines.  Let emotions do that?  I say, no.
  4.  Use an anti-wrinkle balm/cream: I make an awesome anti aging balm called “Face Tight”, that not only aims to prevent wrinkles, but also aims to prevent the skin sagging that is often the giver away of age.  If your face stays tight, you stay young!  I apply “Face Tight” after the vitamin E application.  (Between each step, I give time for my skin to absorb each oil before slathering on another.  For me about 30 mins is usually good, but feel for yourself how long it takes for your skin to be ready for the next treatment.)
  5. Finish with a night cream–light or heavy, whatever you need.  Just before I go to bed, I like to put a thin layer of night cream to top off all of my treatments for extra protection.  During the night, your skin loses so much moisture, so I find the night cream seals all the goodness in and lets me wake up with benefits only.

    So these are the 5 products I use nightly! it's a lot, but don't knock what works: (left to right) liquid castile soap, virgin coconut oil, vitamin E, anti-age balm, night cream.
    So these are the 5 products I use nightly! it’s a lot, but don’t knock what works: (left to right) liquid castile soap, virgin coconut oil, vitamin E, anti-age balm, night cream.

So that is my nightly skincare routine!  I’ve been doing my face this way for years now, and I find it the way for me to prevent and heal fine lines that want to creep up.  I also find this is how to keep collagen and face elasticity up, during the years when your face becomes tired and wants to sag a bit.  So gear up and fight this!

My anti-aging balm is now available for sale through my newly opened E-store online at dreamecosmetics.com Check it out, and maybe place an order on “Face Tight” or on any of my other natural based cosmetics aimed to give you results you want, and nothing else!  Thanks for all the years of loyal reading! ❤

Silicons in Hair Products, what do they really do?

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment
On the left are products loaded with silicones...hey, they give the results, but are they evil? On the right, silicone free products from Tresseme.
On the left are products loaded with silicones…hey, they give the results, but are they evil? On the right, silicone free products from Tresemme.

As you all know I craft handmade cosmetics on a regular basis to give my face and hair a rest from the chemical stuff that is out there at pharmacies today: hair spray, lotions, shampoo, conditioner–they all have preservatives, cheap synthetic additives and little to no healthful ingredients.  At home, I stock up on things like organic natural coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter and use it in all kinds of handmade natural products. But as much as I believe in the benefits of natural stuff, I know the limitations, cosmetically, of what natural products can do.  I also know that some synthetic ingredients such as silicons are often over vilified based on the fact that they are not naturally derived.

Silicones, the good news and the bad news…

The most common forms of silicone are dimethicone and cyclomethicone.  The actual ingredient name may vary from product to product, but you will see some form of “icone” at the end of the ingredient name if it is a silicone.  The higher it is on the list of ingredients, the more there is in the product.  Now to explain why it has a bad rep: It is a synthetic product that is derived from sand by chemical means and is very processed; its manufacturing and the washing of it into drains is bad for the environment.  When silicons are used in hair, it fills porous areas, giving only the “appearance” of healthier stronger, more hydrated hair.  But the actual effect is cosmetic.  Your hair is not really stronger, healthier or more hydrated.  It is shinier, and thicker because silicons coats each strand with a seal that is water resistant, oil resistant…and makes hair unable to breathe because of that seal. This is the good news: Hair is not alive, it doesn’t need to breathe. Hair is made up of an organic protein called keratin. A coating of silicone on the hair is not suffocating the hair, like I hear so many say, but it actually tames it and makes it shine like diamonds!  It becomes unhealthy when it builds up, and prevents natural oils from penetrating the inner hair shaft, making it dry and brittle.  Over use can turn a little beauty trick for softness and shine into a dependency for function.

Going au naturale…

I often hydrate my hair with coconut oil in salve form on dry hair and also as an additive in my conditioner to give it more conditioning power.  Coconut oil has been known to be able to penetrate into the hair shaft and really strengthen hair, not on just a cosmetic level.  But coconut oil also makes my hair limp, greasy, dragged down, and if it builds up, it takes away shine, actually.  But my hair is actually healthy, and hydrated, even if it looks dirty and unstyled.  I have been able to grow my hair longer these years by using coconut oil and just shampooing and heat styling less.  But boy did my hair love, love, love soaking up all the silicons in this hair conditioner I tried after coloring my hair the other week.  My hair was thicker, bouncier, fluffier, shinnier, and just more smooth feeling after using the silicone heavy conditioner included in the color kit.  I saw first hand how silicones are more powerful at giving an appearance of health than using natural products, even if it is a “fake” look of health, and I couldn’t believe how soft my hair was after using the silicon loaded conditioner.

This was the ingredient list for the conditioner in the box kit. Wow... amodimethicone is the second ingredient. Amodimethicone is a heavy silicone, and hard to wash off...No wonder my hair shone like the sea after this...
This was the ingredient list for the conditioner in the box kit. Wow… amodimethicone is the second ingredient. Amodimethicone is a heavy silicone, and is hard to wash off…No wonder my hair shone like the sea after this…

So should we avoid or embrace silicones in hair products?

Silicones are not inherently bad, but if over used, they can cause your hair to form a dependency that is bad.  Also, their use and manufacturing causes damage to the environment, lakes and wildlife.  So perhaps the solution is to cut back and rely less on silicons to have healthy hair.  Get healthy hair it the hard and true way by not over heat styling or over chemically processing.  Condition hair with nutritious oils.  Also, avoid shampoos with silicones! Removing build up is key to hair health, so it baffles me why so many shampoos have silicones in them?!  It is like peeing in the tub, you’ll never get clean. Use hair conditioners with less amounts of silicone (lower on the ingredient listing) and/or only use silicones in finishing products as a means to cosmetically boost shine and maintain a style, as a last touch to give your hair the fake confidence it does need!

Shampoo is supposed to clean build up, right? On my fave shampoo I found two silicone ingredients! Not in my shampoo too!
Shampoo is supposed to clean build up, right? On my fave shampoo I found two silicone ingredients! Not in my shampoo too! I say, try to cut back.