Beauty & Olive Oil

I had bad acne growing up as a teenager and kind of just went through the whole ugly ordeal. Eventually, it got so out of control I had to start taking birth control pills to maintain my outbreaks which in turn made me fat. Not a big fan of birth control pills but let me assure you that it worked wonders on my face - acne free, zit free, scar free. When my face finally cleared up, I came off the pill and was able to sustain being pimple free for maybe 5-6 years now, which allows my face to be make-up free (foundation and powder). I remember packing on that gunk on my face to hide skin imperfections and scars, so gross and it doesn't let your face breathe. I do get the random pimple from hell here and there, which I guess I can live with but nevertheless I have a freak attack every time.

Recently, I rubbed a live aloe plant on my face (for no apparent reason) and I guess it reacted with my face and I woke up in the morning with a rash (pimple like) all over my cheeks and my forehead. It was probably the worst morning of my life when I looked in the mirror. My daily skin care regimen simply consisted of washing my wash every morning in the shower with Apricot Scrub and that was it. I now wash twice a day due to the hot yoga classes I attend nightly. I had to scrummage out my concealer which, barely matches my current skin color in attempts to conceal the red swollen bumps. I used the old toothpaste trick at night to dry them out and then attempted something I never would have even considered... OLIVE OIL.

Lately, I been on that, when it doubt.... Google it tip. A lot of people were talking about the natural beauty and effects of olive oil. It doesn't clog pores, it makes your skin shiny and radiant, moisturizes it and since it has so many nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins it can be greatly beneficial. "Another nutrient that exists in olive oil is chlorophyll. This helps a great deal in healing wounds and other scars. Acne blemishes will be nothing but a bad dream, after you apply plenty of olive oil on your skin".

Now my nightly regimen consists of washing my face with soap and then dabbing olive oil on my face, focusing more on the mildly scarred areas. I have been doing this for about a week now and have already seen great results and major fading in scarring.

I am unsure if this will work for everybody and anybody but I ensure, this cost efficient, natural home remedy is amazing.

The Oil Cleansing Method

Baby Lips

Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Lip Shine, Lip Liner, Lip Pumper, whatever other lip products that are out there... they can be good at times but I personally find that they all tend to leave that gross looking white residue that I have to scrape off my lips within hours. 

For Christmas, I was gifted Baby Lips by Maybelline and this by far is my most favorite-st lip product ever!! Yes, it does indeed give you baby soft lips while re-hydrating your lips. This product is a must try! Prior to using Baby Lips, I was using Blistex Medicated Formula (the blue container) which I still stand by 100% especially in the winter time but I find that sometimes it is little much on my lips. 

They come in 6 different varieties of shades and flavors - I prefer no color and peppermint.

 

Get your lips soft and hydrated now!

Twirly, Curly magic wand!

For those of you who do not know... I absolutely suck at curling my own hair. I have spent a lot of money purchasing a salon ceramic curling iron which I am unable to fully utilize and pretty much just hibernates 365 days a year. Also, I do own a ceramic flat iron and am still unable to curl with it. For the odd times I do attempt to curl my hair, I thereafter load on the hairspray with high hopes that the curls will maybe hold for an hour; but with my extremely long locks of hair the weight just does not let the curls sustain.

As a supporter of Kim Kardashian's website ShoeDazzle in where I purchase at least a pair of shoes a month which, in turn has got out of control - there was a Dazzle Deal that had caught my eye. I unfortunately missed out on the deal because for one, it sold out and secondly the dazzle deal had ended. Then a couple of months later it was back, the Proliss curling wand. For $39.95 + applicable shipping, I am now a proud owner of this fantastic curling device. An actual curling iron cost me more than 3 times that price and I am sure it does wonders however, I am unable to make wonders with it.

Now if I can curl my hair with this product - take my word, ANYONE can. It even comes with a pair of heat-resistant gloves which will protect your hands as you curl your hair. Over time when you become more accustomed to using this curling wand, you will no longer need to use the gloves. I also find that when I use the gloves it tends to make my hair frizzy. I dont even have to use any hairspray or as a matter of fact any product to hold the curls. I was even able to curl my hair after 2 days of flat ironing my hair dead straight. All you do is wrap a small chunk around, hold it for 10 seconds, unravel and VOILA!!

 This was the outcome I got from trying this curling iron for the very first time.

Specs: 
Proliss twister tourmaline ceramic professional curling iron.
25-13 mm barrel (1").
Heats up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are some amateur pictures of the curls I created with this spectacular wand:

Click here to purchase via ShoeDazzle.

Moroccanoil

With my excessively long hair you would think that I pack on products to make my hair straight, frizz free or to curl it. I actually hate any type of hair products because of the grease and residue it leaves behind. I also do not wash my hair everyday but if I was applying products in my hair everyday then I would definitely be washing my hair on a daily basis. Also, with me doing hot yoga 4-5 times a week, the last thing I need is the gunk from the products sweating from my hair onto my head slowly drizzling down onto my face. Gross!

The only product I do use and recommend is Moroccanoil. The bottles now come with pumps, so after my shower I towel dry my hair, comb it and pump it 2 times into my hands and run it through my hair mid-length to ends. I then blow dry my hair - the Moroccanoil cuts the drying time in half; and leaves no residue. A bottle sells for roughly $40 but it worth the price and because you are only using 1-2pumps per every time you wash your hair, the product lasts for a pretty long time. I have had my bottle for almost 7 months now and still have 1/4 bottle remaining.

Overview: "The treatment for hair completely transforms and repairs as it formula transports lost proteins for strength fatty acids, omega-3 oils and vitamins for shine and antioxidants for protection. It absorbs instantly to fill gaps in hair created by heat, styling and environmental damage"

To view a short video on how to use Moroccanoil click here.

To assess a full line of their products you can visit http://www.moroccanoil.com/.

Fishtail Braid

After seeing someone with this unusual but very flattering/messy looking fishtail braid, I had decided to YouTube how it was done. At first I found it really difficult to do (maybe because I was experimenting on my own hair without a mirror) but then finally was able to grasp the concept of throwing a strand of hair over each time.

Personally, I find that the fishtail braid looks best on those with thick chunky hair however, those with thinner hair, if the braid is done looser and you pull pieces of the hair out after the braid is complete it can give a fuller look.

Here is a step by step picture tutorial on how to do a fishtail braid

This type of braid is officially my favorite.

I have the privilege to fishtail braid Rebecca's hair at least 3 times a week, which really enhances my braiding skills.

Hair Model: Rebecca Richardson

Fishtail Braider: ME

Braiding other peoples hair is way easier however, the objective here is to be able to do these braids on my own head of hair. My goal is to be able to do a fishtail braid into the head - it may be a challenge because I struggle to do a simple French Braid:

Happy Fistailing! :)