Do It Yourself!

Throughout the last few years I have been huge on skincare and cosmetics.  I constantly love trying new products and hearing advise from my fellow people in the beauty community.  I follow many makeup artist on youtube and have many friends who are intrigued with skincare as well.
I have used everything from clean and clear and cetephil to lancome and laura mercier.  Currently, I am using my Lancome face lotion (which is a holy grail for me), clean and clear smoothy cleanser (which I switch in and out from with my Lancome cream cleanser), and a clinic toner.  My friend use to work at lancome and introduced me to a lot of their products so if you have always been interested in trying their products and don't mind dishing out the cash, lancome is a great company for skincare.
Although I do love the products I am using, a few of them are very pricy and over the years I have picked up a few recipes to make your own skincare treatments that are AMAZING and I personally know worked for my skin.
These home remedies are cheap, fast, and easy to make... so lets get started!


Strawberry Yogurt Mask
What you will need:
5 strawberries
2 spoonfuls of plain natural yogurt
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 spoonfuls of oatmeal


Why is this mask amazing?
This yogurt mask is one of my personal favorites for moisturizing and renewing the skin.
This mask has brightening effects and makes your skin glow
It keeps your skin elastic to help prevent the signs of aging
It treats oily and blemish prawn skin
Strawberries are known to sooth and treat blemishes and suck up extra oil that your skin produces throughout the day 
Yogurt  is known to refine pores and nourish the skin.  It also has anti bacterial effects to help fight off blemishes and clear pores 
Oil  is extremely moisturizing.  Many people are afraid of oil when it comes to skin care but extra virgin olive oils particles are actually to big to fit into pores and clog them, therefore will not penetrate the skin and cause irritation and acne. 


What to do?
Smash your strawberries with a fork until they are in a pureed form.  Then add your yogurt and mix well.  The mixture should almost be a smoothy consistency.  Add your olive oil and honey and mix until completely combined.  You should be left with a mask that is somewhat watery and runny.  Add in your oatmeal and mix until everything is completely added together.
Apply mask with clean hands or a clean makeup brush and let sit for 10-20 minutes on clean skin then rinse

Green Tea Sugar Mask 

What you need:

1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

Do not use regular vinegar... it does not have the effective nutrients your skin needs and is way to harsh on skin

2 tsp luke warm green tea 

1 tsp honey 

5 tsp sugar 

Why is this mask amazing?

Acne/Scar reducing mask

This mask is an exfoliating mask good for those with normal to acne prawn skin.  The ingredients in this mask are good for those with oily and dry skin, which I love because my skin is constantly changing depending on the weather and the time of year. 

Apple Cider Vinegar is packed with alpha hydroxy and amino acids (getting fancy).  This simply means that it will gently dissolve dead skin cells on the surface of your face and helps break down scar tissue from acne scaring or any other kind of scar. 
Sugar  is a natural exfoliant that will not clog your pores.  It also contains glycerin which softens and brightens the skin.
Honey  is a natural acne treatment that helps the skin retain moisture and reduce redness and irritation 
Green tea is good for your body for many reasons, not only is it good to drink, it is amazing for your skin.  Green tea detoxifies the skin and has antioxidant benefits which protects the skin from free radicals. It helps break away toxins that billed up on the surface of your skin from access oil on your tzone and pollution. Green tea is also great in fighting off harmful UV rays.

What to do? 

simply mix all of the ingredient together in a container and apply to a cleansed face.  This mask can be stored for weeks in the fridge. 

Be warned... this mask does not particularly smell very good... but it is amazing for your skin. 

Do this mask once or twice every two weeks 

Homemade wax

What you need:

    For eyebrows

2 tsp brown sugar 

1 tsp honey 

1 tsp of water 

    For legs 

2 cups brown sugar 

1/4 cup lemon juice 

1/4 cup water 

What to do? 

Combined the ingredients together and (for eyes) heat in a microwavable container until the mixture appears to be bubbling and liquified.. check every 15 seconds or so.  (for legs) combined over the stove and heat until the brown sugar has melted.  Leave the mixture to cool so that it is cool enough to apply to the skin.  The mixture should thicken to a wax consistency. Use waxing strip or material you have around the house. 

**AND MY FAVORITE HOME REMEDY**...

The pore strips. 

What you need: 

1 tbsp milk 

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin 

What to do: 

Combined together in a microwavable container and microwave for 10 seconds.  Wait for mixture to cool a little and apply to a clean face like you would a pore strip.  Wait for it to dry (will become transparent) and simply peel off! 

pore strips can be expensive and hurt or take forever... this recipe for poor strips is simple... cheap... and very effective! 

I hope you guys try some of these and they work for you as well as they worked for me! 

PICTURES TO COME 

Hot for the pot stickers?

I have always loved pot stickers but I have been working out and trying to lose 50 pounds so I've been trying to cut back and eat healthy. Sometimes, however, we need to indulge in our secret pleasures. 
These pot stickers are amazing AND healthy! Although I do not recommend eating them a lot because there is soy sauce in the recipe and you should try and stay away from salt as much as possible. They are a great alternative to the fried or store bought pot stickers filled with bad preservatives.  The only oil involved in cooking these babies is nonstick cooking spray! I hope you like them as much as I do. 


THE RECIPE 

For The Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 5 tablespoons white vinegar
• 4 teaspoons Sriracha sauce (I bought mine at whole foods; you can find it in the international section of grocery stores too)
• 2 tablespoons sugar  (Raw organic cane sugar is best or agave nectar)
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• Scallion greens (optional), for garnish

• Direction

  In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, sugar, ginger, and sesame oil; set dipping sauce aside.

This sauce is absolutely to die for... this recipe makes a lot so feel free to cut down the amounts. 

For The Pot Stickers

• 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium carrot, diced medium (or grated)
• 1 large egg white
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 36 wonton wrappers (You can find these at any grocery story... usually near the dressing where the veggies are)
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 
  

Alternative to shrimp!!!

 I am allergic to shrimp so I used chicken instead.  

what to do:  grill the chicken and dice it into small pieces or dice the chicken and put it in a frying pan and cook until done. 

Directions

1. Make pot stickers: In a food processor, process scallions, carrot, egg white, and half the shrimp (or chicken) until a paste forms. Transfer to a medium bowl. Roughly chop remaining shrimp (or chicken) and add to bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons dipping sauce.
   
   
   ** for those of you without a food processor don't fret! you can still make these... simply grate or dice all of your ingredients and mix them together... make sure you chop them fine!! the texture will be different but they will still cook and taste the same!  
2. Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place 1 scant tablespoon shrimp mixture in center. With a wet finger, moisten edge of wrapper, then fold over filling and press to seal. Cover filled dumplings with a kitchen towel while you work.

3. 1. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over high. In batches, cook dumplings until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Carefully add 1/2 cup water to skillet, cover, and cook until water has almost evaporated and dumplings are tender, 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until remaining water evaporates (reduce heat to medium if dumplings are overbrowning). Transfer pot stickers to a plate. Wipe skillet clean between batches. Add scallion greens to dipping sauce if desired and serve alongside pot stickers.

1. The best part about these is that they are delicious and low in calorie! They make a really good appetizer, meal, or snack.  Enjoy! 
   
   

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Press on... eyeshadow?

I don't know about you, but press on eyeshadow sounds like a very intriguing but horrifying concept at the same time. Sephora has come out with press on eyeshadow, I am not sure how recent there new miracle, look like a pro makeup artist eyeshadows are, but I hope they are not there to stay.  There are so many gimmick makeup products out there right now, like the 24 hour lipsticks and fit me foundation that molds to your skin color, but these press on eyeshadows have completely taken the cake.
Sephora claims that these new eyeshadows only take seconds to apply.  All you have to do is apply the eyelid shaped sticky paper to your eye, smooth it out, and peel it off.  Then you are left with oh so perfectly blended and designed shadow that will last you all day.  They even come in animal print designs for those who want to look "editorial?" and fierce.
As someone who loves makeup and studies it in school, I laughed when I saw this product.  No piece of paper with shadow on it can mold to an eyelid perfectly and leave you with BLENDED eyeshadow. Something sadder then this product itself is the fact that it has been advertised in Elle magazine and Seventeen.

They may be okay for halloween, but if you wanted to wear them on a daily basis or even for a photo shoot, a lot of extra blending would have to be required.

Grail of Fail?
Fail.  There is no way these products could ever become a holy grail. Id say save your money and invest in a normal eyeshadow color you like and a good blending brush.