Kitchen Beauty: All Your Beauty Needs From Your Very Own Kitchen

Fridge:
Eggs
Egg whites help tone and even tighten the skin.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are great as eye pads, but can also be used in masques since it's very soothing and healing. I like keeping several cut up cucumbers in the freezer, so that it's always fresh and cold (warm cucumbers...ehhh, no thanks).
Avocado
Avocados aren't just great for guacamole or yummy avocado ice cream. Avocados have vitamins A and C, which is great for dry and sensitive skin! Vitamin A and C is a must have for healthy and glowy skin.
Yogurt
Have sensitive skin? Yogurt is a gentle and natural cleanser!
Milk
Milk is my go-to emergency beauty freak out! My skin is very reactive and sometimes the only thing that will calm my skin is milk. I mean, freaking Cleopatra took milk bathes for a reason! Cleopatra wasn't far fetch for believing that bathing in milk will result to eternal beauty and youth. Milk is actually very beneficial! It's soothing, rebuilds collagen, and gently exfoliates dead skin cells. Plus it can be found in every gorcery store, it's inexpensive, and its multi-usage and purpose makes it a must have in the kitchen!
Lemon
Lemon is all about lightening and brightening. Lemon can be used to help lighten dark spots and hyperpigmentation. Lemon can be used in a homemade masque with honey and yogurt or as a lemon scrub with sugar.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera my grandma's holy grail! My grandma is obsessed with aloe vera, she drinks it, eats it, and puts it on her skin. Any skin problem that my family has, her solution is to put aloe vera on it. Then she heads to the back yard to get us a stem of aloe vera. Gotta love my grandma!
Potatoes
Potatoes are literally the greatest things on earth. I mean you can make french fries, hash browns, mash potatoes, and many many more. But did you know that potatoes are also amazing for puffy eyes and even oily skin? Not only does it help reduce puffiness, but it also absorbs oil from your skin! Maybe that's why McDonald's fries are so good...
Pineapple
Pineapple has enzymatic properties that are like little Pac Man eating away dead skin cells.
Papaya 
Like pineapple, papayas are used as exfoliates and are often found in popular facial peels!
Ice cubes
Ice, ice baby! Ice cubes are soothing and calming. It's great for acne and shrinking pores.

Pantry:
Sugar
I love anything sweet. So it's a given that I also love sugar scrubs. I honestly use sugar in most of my at home beauty treatments. For instance, I use sugar with lemon to scrub my nails so that it can help lighten the stains that I acquire from wear nail polish all year long. I also use it with honey and lemon as a mini at-home facial scrub. Or with coconut oil for a body scrub! It's a staple in the kitchen as will as in my beauty treatments.
Baking Soda
I got baking soda, I got baking soda! Baking soda is often used as a spot treatment for acne. Just mix it with a little honey and apply it to any blemish and watch it go bye-bye! Baking soda is also used as a scrub or masque to exfoliate dead skin cells, leaving your skin softer and brighter.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal has healing, soothing and exfoliating proporties. Which is often used in facial or body masques.
Tea
Tea contains antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory. Tea bags aren't just used for your tea! Tea bags can be used for puffy eyes or tea can be used as cold compresses for a puffy face. So save them tea bags!
Honey
Honey does great things to the skin. It has a toning, healing, smoothing, tightening, and hydrating effects. Plus it's great with tea! Honey is also used in scrubs and masque to give it a thick constancy.
Coconut oil
Who doesn't love coconut oil nowadays?! It's hyped up for a reason! It's used in oil pulling (don't even get me started on that!), hair treatment, scrubs, make up remover, and as a moistuerizer. Although I would caution to to use coconut oil as a facial cleanser or make-up remover due to the fact that it may cause blemishes or maybe reactions to certain skin types, it's great in moderation and simply just listen to your skin! Your skin knows what it wants and likes.

Waxing 101

The do's and don'ts of waxing.

Do:

1. Avoid the sun after you're freshly waxed. Newly waxed skin are prone to hyperpigmentation and other skin damages!
2. Exfoliate your skin before waxing and 3-5 days after waxing to avoid ingrowns.
3. Let your wax specialist know if you're on any medication, recently had surgery, or Botox.
4. Take Advil 30 minutes before waxing (only if you're waxing your lady parts).
5. Take a shower beforehand to freshen up. It also helps open up the pores, making waxing l
6. Wear breathable clothing. Maxi dresses are great for Brazilian Day's.
7. Limit caffeine the day of. Caffeine may cause you to be more sensitive than usual.
8. Schedule your waxing appointment after Aunt Rose visits. You are less sensitive several days after menstruation.
9. Go long! Your hair should not be shorter or longer than a grain of rice. If it's too short, waxing may not pick up all of the hairs and can be much more painful. If it's too long, it can also be painful so trim, trim, trim.
10. Breathe!
 

Do not:

1. Forget to apply SPF!
2. Wax if you're using Accutane, Retin-A, blood thinners, or any medication for acne.
3. Expose your newly waxed skin to the sun.
4. Head to the gym after you've waxed (down there). Avoid the gym for 24 hours...and treat yourself!
5. Exfoliate right after you've been waxing. Wait a few days.
6. Tan or sunbathe 24 hours after waxing.
7. Shave in between waxing sessions. It messes up the hair cycle (leaving some hair longer and shorter than others) and also a more painful and less "clean" experience.
8. Touch freshly waxed skin if hands are not clean.
9. Apply fragranced or alcohol-based products to freshly waxed skin. It may cause redness or irritation. However witch hazel and tea tree oil is great to use to soothe redness and irritation.
10. Wax at home (unless you or your BFF is a licensed esthetician).

Mani Monday: OPI Infinite Shine

OPI recently came out with OPI Infinite Shine. It's their long-lasting and gel-like nail polish. Yes, polish! Not gel (it's pretty much OPI's version of CND Vinylux). OPI Infinite Shine gives you the gel-like shine without the need of the light and it's soak-free removal. Which I love, because I have a bad habit of picking at my nails when I have gel. Which you can probably tell if you take a look at my thumb, no it is not a glare...it's actually a few layers of my nails missing because of my bad habit.

Just like any other polishes, OPI Infinite Shine works best if you follow three steps: OPI Infinite Shine Primer (base coat), OPI Infinite Shine Lacquer (polish), and OPI Infinite Shine Gloss (top coat). The three OPI Infinite Shine Lacquer you see above is Pretty Pink Perseveres, In Pursuit of Purple, and Tanacious Spirit.

Even though I normally do well with OPI nail polishes and am in love with all of OPI Infinite Shine vivid color options, it's just doesn't last for me...more like 4 1/2 days. But again, I do a lot with my hands and I wash my hands before and after I touch everything, so that may be the cause. However for it's price and "gel effects", I'm a little bummed out that mines didn't last up to 10 days.  I do like OPI regular polishes compared to any other polishes for its brush and polish consistency. But for long-lasting polish, CND Vinylux takes the lead!

Are you loving or hating OPI Infinite Shine? What's your favorite OPI Infinite Shine?

Bedside Beauty for the (Lazy) Busy Gals

I've made cleansing my skin part of my daily routine like brushing my teeth and making my bed. Something my middle school and high school me didn't quite think was important. Yes, I too used to sleep with my make-up! Some nights, my bed or desk was far too comfy for me to get up and walk to the bathroom (which is only about 10 steps away from my room) to actually wash my face.

But when I went to college, things changed. I left my beauty products on my nightstand or closet, because my dorm was one of the oldest and we didn't have the luxury of huge cubbies (plus I didn't want any of the boys stealing my shampoo)! This sudden change made me question what I've been doing all of my teenage years. Having all of my beauty essentials right by my side, make it easier to lazily cleanse my skin, as I'm finishing up an essay at one in the morning or after a night out. So, when I came back home, I kept my beauty products like my facial wipes, night creme, and serums on my nightstand for emergencies. I also picked up an odd habit during my years in college which is showering really late at night no matter what. But that's a different story for another post!

Anyways, keeping my beauty essentials on my nightstand was the best thing that happened to me and my skin! Besides being too tired to wash your face, hopefully some skincare science will help you with the transition--did you know that you should never store your skincare products in the bathroom, because the heat and steam from showering can cause the product to deteriorate? Yup, it's true! But maybe that doesn't matter to you as much as being able to cleanse your skin in bed with your eyes closed is. Either way, there's no morning guilt!

So for all my lazy busy beauties, all you need by your nightstand are:
1) Cleansing wipes
2) Moisturizer/night creme
3) Lip treatment

*Whatever your night regime is, keep it by your night side! Maybe minus the cleanser, because that'll only get messy and it's weird. As you can see, I like to keep my serum, hand creme, and essential oil on my nightstand too. One to combat dryness and the other to relieve stress.

What's on your nightstand? XX

Happy Galentine's Day!

Galentine's Day falls on February 13, the day before Valentine's Day. It's the day that you celebrate with your BFFs, mom, coworkers, and all the other special ladies in your life. So what does one do on Galentine's Day? Everything...

1. Brunch

2. Drank

3. Mani-Pedi

4. Massage

5. Shopping

5. Dance party

6. Karaoke

7. Movie night

8. Dinner/night out

9. Slumber Party

And remember...

And this...

And this...

Happy Galentine's Day!

XX

DIY Sugar Kiss Scrub XOXX

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and while you are stressing out about booking a mani-pedi and wax appointments. Don't forget that your face needs some extra loving too! Have no fear (for an esthetician is here), there's no need to book another appointment this time. Instead, try out my DIY facial scrub! No worries, everything you need can be found and created in your very kitchen.  XX

Sugar Kiss Scrub Recipe:
1 cup sugar (brown sugar works too, but I prefer granulated sugar)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1-2 drops vanilla extract or your choice of essential oil
1 teaspoon Honey (optional)

Directions:
1. Microwave the coconut oil for 45 second if it's in solid form
2. Add sugar
3. Mix the vanilla oil into the coconut oil and sugar. If you like honey with your scrub, be sure to mix it with vanilla extract/essential oil before adding it into the mix--it'll clump up otherwise!
4. Cleanse your face to wash away dirt, oil, and bacteria
5. Apply the DIY Sugar Kiss Scrub and scrub-bah-dub
6. After a few minutes you can rinse off and pat your pretty face dry and apply your moisturizer or you can give your face some more loving with my DIY Chocolate Facial (don't worry you and lick the spoon or your face after).
5. Now, just sit back and relax with your boo thang, girlfriends, or Netflix.

P.S. This recipe can be shared with your boo, girls, or you can give yourself a body treatment! Trust me, it's a lot. But why not treat yo self?

What's your favorite Valentine's Day beauty treatment? XOXX

10 Beauty Sins: Oily Skin

Are you struggling with oily skin? Does your make-up "slide" off after you just applied it? Are you constantly blotting your face every hour? Do you find used blue blotting sheets everywhere?  If you answered yes to these questions...you may be suffering from oily skin. But what exactly is oily skin?

Oily skin aka lipidic skin is characterized by an excessive amount of oil production (duh). If you happen to have oily skin, you'll notice that you have much larger pores than someone who has dry skin. The visible and large pores can easily lead to blemishes like pimples and black/whiteheads, due to excessive oil and dead skin cells clogging the pores. The buildup of dead skin cells can make the skin appear thick, oily, congested, and unhealthy. Having a good skincare regimen, diet, and regular facials can help balance the skin, keeping blemishes at bay and your skin happy!

Here are 10 oily beauty sins!

1. Genetics 

If oily skin runs in your family, than chances are you'll also inherent oily skin (but keep calm and know that you're less likely to wrinkle and sag than your dry-skin friends). 

2. Whack out hormones 

Whether it's medication or stress; hormone changes can cause an increase of oil production. Meaning an oily and shiny face. Them crazy hormones! Hormones can also lead to dehydration which can cause even more oil to secrete.

3. Too much washing

If you think that cleansing your face 3+ a day is going to help control your oily skin...you're wrong! Stripping the skin too much of its natural oil and drying out the skin causes the skin to freak out; unbalancing the skin and acid mantle can send your oil production in over drive. Resulting to more and more oils to be produced and a very very shiny face. 

4. Overusing products 

This is not an easy one. I think a lot of us ladies are so used to bad beauty myths. We think that the more we cleanse or so, than we'll rid ourselves from our skin's problem. But that's not the case! Especially with oily skin, however overusing or overdoing can irritate and even dry out your skin which makes it worse, because it actually triggers the oils glands to produce more oils.

5. Not moisturizing your skin

For some reason, a lot of ladies (and especially the gents) think that oily skin doesn't need moisture, because they're already "oily". But did you know that neglecting to provide your skin with the moisture it needs can result to an increase of oil. Why? Welp, because the skin notices the lack of oil and in result tries to lubricate the skin by producing more oil! Hey--your skin is just trying to help you out!

6. Using the wrong products 

Sharing in this case is not caring. Just because your friend is using a certain product or because so-and-so is using it, doesn't mean that it's for you! Everybody's skin is different and not all products work the same for everyone. Using the wrong skincare products for your skin can once again freak the skin out, causing it to react. Such reactions like an increase of oil production, blemishes, or even hives! Ekkk!

Even products that claim to control oil or eliminate oil can be wrong for oily skin, because it may contain ingredients that irritate the skin or too strong.

7. Doing too much

Having oily skin doesn't excuse you to try on every treatment or products all at once. Doing too much to your skin may irritate your skin, triggering more oil. Yup, just like over-cleansing or using the wrong products!

8. Not having enough water 

Not drinking enough water means dehydrated cells and dehydrated skin means shiner appear and more oil production. The reason why there's more oil being produced is the body's way of making up for the lost or lack of much needed water *mind blown*. 

9. Excessive exfoliating 

Although it's important and beneficial to slough off dead skin cells. Excessive exfoliation can not only make you appear shiny in photos due to light reflecting off the skin but it can actually make you oilier too. If you're not sure if you're over exfoliating, listen to your skin. Shineness, oiliness, tightness, and even redness is your skin telling you that you're over doing it. Try to limit your scrub days to 3 days a week.

10. Greasy food, greasy skin

It's simple, you are what you eat. This is linked to hormones where certain food can trigger excess oil to secrete. Too much processed and unhealthy food not only harms your insides, but the harmfulness can also reflect on the outside from oiliness to blemishes. Introducing a balanced and healthy diet can not only improve your skin, but also your body.