Slough Bells Ring, Are You Listening?

Season’s greetings, girls! As the winter finally descends upon Northern California (while it has presumably covered the rest of the world in a cold and wind blown blanket), I am reminded that my skin HATES winter. If you’re like me, you’re wishing for a sunny Christmas, just so your skin won’t flake and your lips won’t crack in front of company.

I somehow forget, each year what happens to winter skin. It dries up (we drink less water, and more hot cocoa and coffee), it flakes (we don’t exfoliate nearly as much as in summer, when our skin receives maximum exposure–not to mention the fact that shaving often takes a holiday, too, and taking a razor to your legs is a great exfoliant in itself), and it forms disgusting little bumps on the backs of our arms and thighs. Ewww. Winter skin is not sexy.

UNLESS…..you decide to do something different this year. Instead of ignoring the plight of your skin, and burying it under petroleum based lotions (don’t do it!) and long winter underwear, what if you treated your skin to a delicious, luxurious, gift?

Slough it off. Just strip it down, all the flakes, the bumps, the weird patches of dryness. Last week my skin (my face, my arms and legs) was in the WORST condition it’s been in for a year. This week, it is in the BEST. I am the laziest girl you’ll ever meet, and yet, I saved my skin just in time for Christmas.

Here’s what I used:

1. To gently slough my face– 100% Pure Cherry Honey Scrub– I scrub my face in the shower; the little round jojoba beads rest on the top of the jar, and the thick honey bit is below. I use a finger to scoop up both (like a Mexican bean dip) and smear and rub the mixture all over my face and decollete. As I wash it off, the water runs down my face, and the honey covers my lips. At this point, I LICK THEM!!! It tastes soooo good! How many scrubs on the market are you actually willing to EAT?!

Ingredients: Honey, Jojoba Beads, Cherry Concentrate, Vitamins C (ascorbyl palmitate) and E (a-tocopherol), extracts of Strawberry, Blackberry, Grapefruit Seed, blueberry, Raspberry, Cranberry and Pomegranate.

2. After the slough, I nourish my face– Answers From Nature Age Defying Moisture Cream– this stuff performed a MIRACLE. My actual face was flaking off, it hurt, and I looked used up. Within three days, I was looking and feeling fabulous. Bonus: It smells like Orange Sherbet, and contains MSM as well as DMAE. I adore this thick creme. I use it morning and night. My face looks plump and juicy, and my pores are less visible……I’m in love!

Ingredients: Deionized Water, MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane), Alpha Lipoic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbitol, Shea Butter, Glyceryl Stearate, Rose Hip Seed Oil, Hypericum Extract, Calendula Extract, Chamomile Extract, Orange Flower Extract, Kelp Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Aloe Vera Gel, Algae Extract, Locust Bean Gum, Co-Enzyme Q10, Tocopheryl Linoleate, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Allantoin, Lecithin, Tocopherol Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid, Amla, Grapefruit Seed Extract, DMAE Complex, Essential Oils

3. To slough my arms and legs– 100% Pure Organic Chocolate Mocha Body Scrub– This stuff is a HARD CORE body scrub made from Dark Belgian Chocolate and Fabulous Hawaiian Coffee Beans. Hum Drum shower becomes decadent and delicious. The caffeine stimulates the skin, the ground beans work hard to slough off the dead cells, and the chocolate makes you delirious with pleasure.

Ingredients: Dark Belgian Chocolate, Organic Hawaiian Kona Coffee Beans, Organic Grapeseed Oil, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Vitamin C (calcium ascorbate), Organic Blackcurrant Oil, Extracts of Pure Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Grapefruit Seed, Golden Seal and Cinnamon

4. After the slough, I nourish my legs– 100% Pure Blood Orange Shea Body Butter or Honey Almond Milk Body Creme – 100% Pure has a plethora of nice of lotions and potions. I prefer the heavy stuff, and the cremes and butters work well for my purposes.

Ingredients: Organic Unrefined Butters of Shea, Mango and Cocoa, Organic, Unrefined Oils of Virgin Coconut, Mango, Cabernet Wine Grape Seed and Black Currant, Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Extracts of Lemon, Rosemary, Grapefruit Seed, Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry and Raspberry, Organic Essential Oils of Blood Orange and Sweet Orange

Ingredients: Organic White Tea, Organic Rose Hydrosol, Organic Cocoa and Avocado Butters, Organic Cabernet Grapeseed, Blackcurrant, and Rose Hip Seed Oils, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Lavender Honey wax, Pure Almond Aroma, Extracts of Cherry, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Blackberry, Almond and Grapefruit Seed, Natural Food Preservatives from Cranberries and Salts (less than 0.1% of Sodium Benzoate & Potassium Sorbate)

This holiday season, treat your favorite organ right, and it will glow with appreciation. I expect all of you to recover before the New Year. Slough off the old, ring in the new!!

How Now, Brown Brow: The Art of Filling

I recently wrote about the extreme importance of careful brow plucking and shaping. Today we’re going to chat (actually, I’m going to lecture) about the two most oft employed methods of brow FILLING, and then I’m going to recommend two green makeup lines that address these methods.  I promise you will NOT look like a comedy act if you follow a few guidelines.

METHOD ONE: Filling in the brow using a brow pencil.
NOT a fan. Why? Because the result looks drawn on, and the brow, rather than looking like hair looks like a WAXY smear (brow pencils are like crayons, and remember, brows are just your regular hair, attractively perching on your face for the purpose of framing and lifting your eyes, in addition to being tools of expression. Eyebrows should look like HAIR. Brow pencils also transfer color too quickly, too thick, and too dark. Give them up.

METHOD TWO: Filling in the brow with a non-waxy brow gel or paste
With a little care, BEAUTIFUL results! Use an angled brow brush (not the super stiff toothbrushy bristle brow brush, but a finer, softer-yet-still stiff angled brush). Dab your brush in a pot of the paste in a color that is (unless you’re blonde) at least three shades lighter than the darkest part of your hair. If you have warm chestnut tones, chose a light brown that has a hint of warmth to it. (A great light red brown=TAN) If your brown hair has a lot of blonde, choose a neutral light brown (A WHEAT color). Dark brunette? Go for a medium brown– trust me, your existing hair with provide the depth, we’re just trying to provide the “fill” in a way that won’t make you look like Groucho Marx. Start making soft dashes, filling in any sparse areas. I usually begin at the arch, go down to the tail (which usually needs the most help) and then go BACK to the beginning. The place you first begin will have the most amount of color. Many women already have nice, strong beginnings, and just need help with the finish.

METHOD THREE: Filling in the brow with a powder eyeshadow
My favorite method. It’s FOOLPROOF! Such a soft, subtle effect–you will appear as though you came out of the womb with magnificent brows– Use your angled brow brush and tap it into an eye shadow. YES, an EYESHADOW that is several shades lighter than the darkest part of your hair. You will think to yourself: ‘This color is WAY too light to do anything’. Do it anyway. Thank me later. Follow the above application.

Finishing touches: I always love to brush a little loose face powder across the brows after they’ve been filled in. It lightens and softens them even more. Brows love powder!

For a great brow pot, I love 100% Pure’s Eyebrow Gel. They also offer a great vegan brow brush that gives great results.

For eyeshadows, you can feel free to use your green loose mineral shadows (Larenim has a great selection) but if you (like me) prefer a pressed eyeshadow and want a few great colors all in one palette, I think you’ll love Eco Nvey’s eyeshadow palettes (they have 5 great palettes, or you can buy the shadows individually). You’ll also adore 100% Pure’s Cocoa Pigmented Eyeshadow palette!

Now look at your gorgeous self in the mirror and practice raising one perfect brow.

Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Gotbaby