Shhhh.... it's a (beauty) secret

Do you want to know a secret? It's not a unknown secret or revolutionary but supringly many people don't do this. My mother-in-law, once a Scientist in Russia and now a cosmetician always compliments me on my great skin. Of the hundreds and thousands of people she has treated over the years she said she has only seen 2 other people with skin like mine. For more Visit me at: http://greener-better.com

Back to blogging

So, I haven't posted for a long time. Things got hectic at work. I bought a house and renovated it which took quite a bit of time. I looked through past posts and thought I had some nice information so perhaps I can continue now that it is spring and there is lots of inspiration out there.

I moved to: http://greener-better.com

Review: MAC 187 Stippling Brush

I was hesitant to purchase this as it costs approximately $50 CDN. But due to it's great reviews, I saved up and instead of buying inferior brushes, splurged on this . After purchasing the brush and trying it for the first time on powder brush, I liked the effect but didn't think it was worth the $50. I also bought Flirt's Feather Dust Her for US$6 which is supposed to be a cheap duplicate of MAC's 187 brush.

What is it good for? Applies liquid foundation, blush, cream blush, highlighters, loose powder to set makeup.

Even my inexpensive Revlon foundation looks excellent and airbrushed with this brush as opposed to using a sponge which looks cakey and wastes a lot of product. I only use foundation perhaps once a month when I need to look absolutely flawless so there is no point in buying another 187 brush for this purpose.

Pigmented blushes such as Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks appear more even so you do not look like a disco glo-ball. This brushes tames down vibrant blushes and makes them appear more blended with less work. It perfectly buffs skin and doesn't leave any streaks. It is also great for building up layers so you don't apply too much blush and shimmer. I know turn to this brush for most applications instead of my MAC 129 blush brush.

Overall: This is a great brush for multitasking. I would buy another 187 brush but would wait for a sale at a Cosmetic Company Outlet or buying it on eBay.

Rating: 9/10 (point off for the price)

Next, I will review Flirt's Feather Duster... so stay tuned.

MAC is selling a special holiday package for US$48 which contains the MAC 187 SE brush with a short handle. I have purchased a previous years holiday collection and found them to be good but not great. So if you are on a budget, the set is probably still a good deal.

"An antique-inspired, medium clutch bag of woven cream/gold metallic thread fabric with a royal crown detail on ivory moulded plastic frame. Features four professional quality basic brushes for the face: 168SE, 187SE, 190SE and 194SE. US$48.00 "

Hand Maintanence

It is said that plastic surgeons can do wonders with most parts of the body to help reduce signs of aging except for two places: the hands and the neck. The hands age at a much faster rate than other parts of the body. Their exposure to cold, heat, wind, water, harsh detergents and soaps expose them to great wear and tear. In order to minimize the harsh effects, it is crucial to nourish our hands and look after them.

Here are some tips to keep your hands looking great:

-Avoid quick-dry nail polishes which are generally high in acetone so they will dry out your nail

-Try not to buff nails strongly as this may thin the nail and the natural oils that lay on top.

-Keep nails and cuticles away from drying soaps, detergents and hot water as much as possible

-Try to wear gloves when doing the dishes or dealing with harsh chemicals

-Avoid frequent use of nail polish remover which dries out the nail bed and causes it to split

-use a nail brush with baking soda to remove dirt from underneath nails; never use a sharp object

-DO NOT BITE YOUR NAILS

-Try not to use your nails as a tool such as to open cans etc.

-Never cut your cuticles. Soak your nails in warm water to soften cuticles and gently push them back with a soft, moist towel

-To brighten yellowed and dull nails, scrub them with white vinegar

Try the two recipes below for great looking hands and nails

Hot Oil Nail Treatment:

Olive oil promotes nail strength and flexibility and nourishes cuticles and nails.

1/4 cup olive oil

oil from 1 vitamin E capsule

Heat oil in a saucepan and let it cool until it is just warm to the touch. Add vitamin E oil and rub into cuticles and nails, massaging any excess oil into hands. You can keep some of the solution in a clear eye drop bottle holder on the bathroom counter to massage onto nails after washing your hands.

Apricot Oil & Sugar Hand Exfoliator

Sugar abrasion is a popular way to clean the skin and stimulate growth and blood flow. The apricot oil is a natural lubricant and skin rejuvenator.

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 tablespoons apricot oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine ingredients and immediately rub the mixture on hands. Rinse with warm water and pat dry and moisturize.

Carmindy's 5 Minute Face

I wanted to do a book review for Carmindy's "The 5 Minute Face".

The Good: As many people know, Carmindy is the makeup artist on TLC's popular tv show "What Not to Wear". I was really excited to receive this book and couldn't wait to read it. The book is beautiful illustrated and the makeup on the models and Carmindy is flawless and gorgegeous.

Carmindy believes the secret to looking beautiful is to enhance your best natural feature. Such as if you have beautiful eyes, you should play on those instead of complaining about your thin lips and wasting time and money in order to plump them or using smoke and mirror tricks with gloss and angels etc. I think this is good advice as too many women compare themselves to actresses/models and these women are not examples of real women. You may want Angelina Jolie lips and try potions and injections to try to achieve that look when you are really missing what beautiful almond eyes you have and should focus on how you can make those stand out. It's about embracing what you have and not what you don't have.

She also talks about trends and while they look great on the runway, they don't always translate to real life so don't get sucked into buying every limited edition colour because they change constantly just like fashion. In my opinion, you don't need to add 1 more blush to your 20 blush collection just because this one was released by Dior winter 2007 collection. Remember you can duplicate almost any colour so there is no need to be a slave to trends.

The Bad: I found this book too basic. You can basically get the heart of the message of the book by looking at this one youtube video which actually explained things a lot better than in words.

This book is good for beginners who know nothing about makeup but when one is intermediate or an expert, this book just goes over the beginning steps. I guess from that point I would recommend online videos like on youtube or videojug or pictures of tutorials on popular makeup sites.

Also, I found that the advice given was minimal. That is to say, there wasn't enough material covered in the book. There are a lot of empty white spaces in the book and one page will include 61 words and 2 large pictures of swirls of liquid blush with a picture of Carmindy on the other side. Sixty-one words? Really? That's about 6 sentances. Could the author just not think of more things to say? Did the publishers want the book to appear larger then it is so they filled it up with more pictures the necessary and white spaces in order to justify the price by increasing weight and volume? Did they try to stretch the material as much as possible by expanding the book by 110 pagess? If she wanted a 200 page book then why didn't she write more detailed descriptions of how to apply makeup and other advice that only makeup artists would know. I've learned more on the internet through "everyday women". The words are scattered throughout the page and put into "cute little graphic bubbles" with labels such as "The Freckle Factor" and "Please love your freckles and don't try to hide them behind concealer. Let them show'". It seems like something you would read in a teen magazine.

I happen to be blonde and her advice is very simple like "Choose shades for the eyes in cool browns, taupes, bronzes, granity, mauves and plum". It is so simplistic! I don't need help choosing the colour but about the application of the colour. I also believe that most women past their teens already know from experience what colours looks good on them. I also believe that women can make almost any colour work but it all depends on technique and good brushes. I also believe that women can get stuck applying the makeup that was popular in their 20's and carry on the same technique decade after decade. Like my Aunt who's frosted blonde hair and bad 80's makeup techniques age her. If she only listened to Carmindy, her makeup would probably look the same because she isn't using modern techniques.

I would have liked more before and after shots or detailed tutorials on how to do different techniques such as tightlining, getting glossy eyes, different techniques for eyeshadow application, descriptions on how to contour cheeks, where your crease is etc.

There is one chapter on "special occasion looks". I really liked the look of the "holiday face" which showed a look of an alluring 1920's feel with a light modern twist. Great. How do you achieve the look? By using the same 5-minute face steps as before but this time you apply plum shadow and smudge, apply a deep plum lip stain to your lips and apply two coats of black mascara. That is all she writes on how to achieve the look. I've seen better descriptions in the newspaper.

As it is, this is her 5-minute plan:

0:00-01:00 Apply Foundation / Tinted moisturizer - I don't do this step

01:00-01:20 Pat on concealer

01:20-01:55 Spot conceal any redness from tiny veins or breakouts - I don't normally do this

01:55-02:15 Use powder to set makeup - I don't do this

02:15-02:45 Sweep on highlighter - Applied on the brow bone and the inner tear duct area as well as the top of your cheekbone. I usualy leave this step for last after eyeshadow and blush but if you don't want to apply eyeshadow then this is a good step to open up the eyes. Note, I just saw a video on youtube where she explains that you can highlight using a chubby pencil... much better then loose powder.

02:45-03:05 Blush

03:05-04:05 Line your last line

04:05-04:50 Apply Mascara

04:50-05:00 Slick on lip color

My list wouldn't look like this but I have pretty flawless skin without foundation (modest, I know but that is one of my best features) so I don't need to spend a lot of time evening out my skintone. My biggest complaint is she hasn't even applied a wash of shadow on the eyes. If I don't use concealer on my lids you can see they are veiny and red and this doesn't provide a polished look.

Overall impression: I guess it is a fun read but I wouldn't be looking at this book time and time again. I will try the 5 minute routine for when I don't want to put on that much makeup or have little time. I read about new products I haven't heard of and I like how all the eyes on the models do look bright. Would I recommend purchasing the book? Hmm.. no, just look at the youtube video. That video of her doing the 5-minute routine is much more informative.

Matte2

MAC has released Matte2, a collection of matt shadows which are going to be part of the permanent MAC line. I'm not really a fan of MATT shadow and find it hard to blend and look right so I'm not going to go into too much detail with this post. This is more for information sake. At least these shadows are well pigmented (from what I've heard) because generally matte shadows don't give a good colour payoff. There's a nice mixture of neutral and bright colours from rich sea green and aqua to a darkened puple grey and mid tone greys.

Mask It Up

Hard a bad day? Hard a long day? Take a few minutes for yourself by using this spa formula to treat yourself. This recipe can easily be whipped up with common household ingredients.

Below you can find the benefits of each of the ingredients so you can see for yourself why this mask is so beneficial.

Heavy Cream is high in calcium and protein.

Carrots are high in beta-carotene and anti-oxidant vitamins. It is quite popular, more-so in Israel then in Canada, to drink fresh Carrot juice which can be bought from many local kiosks. I have gotten into it and it is sweet and quite good for you. Carrots are very benificial to one's health and help lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks and cancer.

Avocados are almost a perfect food and are the most nutritious of all fruits. I once heard on the radio that if you were stranded on a desert island and there was only one food native to the island, you better hope that it is the avocado as it is the one food that gives you the most daily vitamins/protein intake etc. Avocado is rich in potassium and vitamin A. It is also used to heal skin problems as it contains antioxidants and can be made into a paste and applied to rashes and rough skin to make it smoother. The pulp is also believed to be both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It is also a superior natural sunscreen. They help in stroke prevention, are a source of protein, and are a fiber source. In skin care, the two major advantages of the avocado are its marked softening and soothing nature and its notable absorption. Compared with almond, corn, olive, and soybean oils, avocado oil had the highest skin penetration rate (Swisher, 1988).
Swisher, H.E. 1988. Avocado oil: from food use to skin care. J. Amer. Oil Chemists' Soc. 65: 1704-1706.

When choosing an Avocado, remember that the brighter the fruit, the more beta-carotene (the substance that helps to prevent cancer) your avocado contains. You don't need to discard the pit of the avocado when you are making this mask as the pit makes an excellent and natural massage tool. Rub it and roll it against your skin to sooth tired muscles.

Honey: Women in Ancient Rome used to use a mixture of honey and tepid asses' milk as a face lotion following the lead of the emperor Nero's wife Poppea who employed a hundred slaves to attend her beauty.

Honey has a nourishing, bleaching, astringent and antiseptic effect on the skin. Consumption of honey raises antioxidant levels which provide defense against free radicals (which cause cell damage). Honey is a wonderful beauty aid that nourishes skin and the hair. It acts as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and helps disinfect and speed the healing process in wounds, scrapes and burns. To give your hair lustrous shine, mix 1 teaspoon of honey into 4 cups of warm water. Use as a hair rinse. And if you're a blond, add the juice of 1 lemon, too.

Now onto the Carrot, Avocado & Cream mask recipe and directions.

Recipe:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
1 carrot, cooked and mashed
3 tablespoons of honey

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and spread over face and neck. Relax for 15 minutes before rinsing with cool water.

This mask is a combination of heavy cream, carrot, avocado and honey, things most people have in their kitchen so you don't need to look far and wide to create a great mask fit for the spa. This facial mask, when used regularly will help improve skin texture, diminsh age spots and rebuild skin collagen. You can also benefit from the properties of carrots, avocados and honey, which I wrote about above, through this mask as well as by consuming them regularly in your diet.