Tag: Health

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.

Bold lipstick colours are fashionable but also kinda gross…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

There is something that is not often talked about in the make-up world, or actually should I say, over looked: and that is the sad fact that almost all bold lip colours are made up of heavy toxic chemicals and metals, some trace, and some not so trace.  The bottom line though, is that it’s in there, and that wearing a fashionable shade of red, or the current trend of fushia, is probably loaded with not so great stuff.

the classic bold red lip.
the classic bold red lip.
Lorde made fashion waves with her bold dark lips recently...
Lorde made fashion waves with her bold dark lips recently…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was younger, say ten years ago, I would always wear lipstick.  After using the restroom, I would wash my hands and reapply that creamy stick, covering up my natural lip colour.  It looked good, so I did it, ignoring the fact that lipstick gets everywhere, on clothes, on coffee cups, on ciggy butts.  But the place that it was probably getting into the most was my stomach when I inadvertently ate it.  There are statistics out there about the staggering amount of lipstick a woman ingests over a year, and over her lifetime and it’s gross.  But we don’t need statistics to use our common sense and know that we are eating it.  Anything on our lips eventually makes its way to our stomachs.  It’s on our mouths after all.  Which is why these fashionable bold lip colours are kind of scary to wear if you want to think about it.  You don’t ever want to eat lead, or mercury, or cadmium, but it’s in almost all lipsticks.  Just do the foil test to see this in your favourite lipstick shade.

My suggestion is is that if you’re not going to a red carpet event, do we really need bold lips on a day to day basis?  Probably not.  Why not wear a tinted lipbalm?  Sure, it’s usually very sheer, and less noticable, and less fashionable, but it’s healthier for your lips.  Since I stopped wearing lipsticks, my lips have naturally turned more pink, meaning I don’t actually need thick lipsticks to put colour into my lips.  Also, I barely need chapstick because my lips stay so moist, even in the winter!  I’m a bit of a crafter, so I made my own tinted lipbalm made with coconut oil, cocoa butter and beeswax, coloured it with a bit of fushia mica, and what I got was this:

Lot's of colour in tinted lipbalms, without all that gunk...
Lot’s of colour in tinted lipbalms, without all that gunk…

So pretty, no?

Am I going back to toxic lipsticks and stains? Yes, it is fashionable, and unavoidable, but for day to day, I got this moisturizing tinted lip balm to carry me through!