One Leg Up

Image: picturescollection.com

 

Ok let’s face it, I am short! I hate those politically correct ways of stating the obvious ex) “vertically challenged”—it’s not a condition people!  I can’t go to a special class to learn how to be un-short!

And on a daily basis I am bombarded with people that are of “average height”, pshh and photos make it worse usually because unless there is a point of reference I tend to forget that that girl, on the cover of the magazine? Ya hi she has the legs of a gazelle and the torso of a giraffe and that smock she’s wearing is going to look like a burlap sack on anyone under 6 feet tall. Come on! 

So alas, embracing my stature I have learned that while I can read article upon article on how to look taller, you can’t fight genetics!  So why not work with what you got?

NO, I am not going to tell you that nude shoes make you look taller because honestly they just look like you’re wearing nude shoes.  And shorter skirts don’t make your legs look longer they just look like you have on a short skirt …shame on you.  Heels will make a tall person taller and a short person taller, its not rocket science people!

What I am going to do is share how I love my little legs and show them off in a way that’s flattering for me. 

1)      Exfoliate like your life depends on it.  Silky soft legs allow you to feel elegant and confident and nobody wants to see your stumps scaly and dry.

2)      Work them out.  Squats, lunges, plies you name it to ensure all your leg muscles are toned, tight and shapely, because nobody wants wiener legs.  BONUS: leg exercises burn more calories than upper body ones

3)      Moisturize please.  My favourite is Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel.  It makes you gams glisten in the light and smells divine.  Moisturize your legs every time you get out of the shower, and then again if you’re going to wear an outfit that bares your legs.

4)      A hint of color goes a long way.  During the summer months my legs will get naturally tanned, but when the fall comes I like to mix a little self tanner into my moisturizer to give a subtle tint and hide any imperfections.  I like Loreal Sublime Tan gel it’s lightweight and not sticky.

5)      Get those toes fixed! Make sure you’re pedicure is on point.  A clean set of toe nails can go a long way.  Mine are always painted but clean fresh nails are always the cherry on top of a nice set of legs.  Nothing worse than looking like you’ve been walking through coals all day, ick. 

So there you have it! It’s so easy to feel comfortable in your little legs, just take care of them and stride right past those chicks with their spidery long legs, like a boss!

My Quest for the Perfect Brows

Image from: http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/beauty-over-plucking

On the quest for those coveted brows, I have gone through lengths you haven’t imagined and yet the beauty industry far surpasses me.  Did you know that ladies, and men for that matter, are resorting to eyebrow hair plugs to obtain fuller eyebrows a la Brooke Shields circa 1981?  And while I might not go through such lengths to get back to my natural brows, I have done some research into what might be a more sane and less invasive (and less expensive might I add) method to re-growing my brows at a faster rate.

First, when in doubt don’t pluck out! My mantra since I started tweezing at the ripe age of 16.  Although this is a hard one to follow, it works.  Don’t be tempted by what you may think is a stray hair, as usually it can make your brows from looking casually mysterious to utterly surprised. 

Second, I have been reading all around that castor oil is the cure for thinning brows and lashes.  There are stimulating properties in castor oil that stimulate follicles and the cells that may help hair grow.  There are also vitamins and minerals that prevent hair from breaking, but who’s eyebrows break? For a bottle of castor oil it cost me under $4, sold at most health food stores.  I put mine on with my fingers, but you could also use a clean mascara wand. 

Third, maintain the shape you desire.  Although this may sound like it goes against rule number one, maintaining is different than shaping.  Taking out hair that doesn’t need to be there, ie) in the middle of your brows (goodbye unibrow) or underneath your brows where they are totally off from your natural shape ensures that during this process you don’t look like a bush monkey and can conquer the world without gasps and stares from onlookers (yes, in my head, I think everyone is staring at my unkempt brows and whispering blasphemous comments when I pass by *sigh).  Keeping your brows groomed and clean while they grow out will prevent you from over plucking. 

And last but not least, during this process of growing out your brows your method of removal, in my opinion, should be tweezing!  Tweezing allows for more precise removal of unwanted hair, ensuring you don’t go overboard.  Waxing can be tricky when you’re trying to not remove those fine hairs that may help make your brows look fuller (trust I know from experience, I called my self patchy for an entire month).  Threading entails you trusting another person with string in her mouth to groom you…enough said.

I hope you have success in growing out your brows, wish me luck on my journey to conquer my brow plucking addiction!

Top 5 Mood Boosters...Bust This!

“It’s snowing still…and freezing…however…we haven’t had an earthquake lately.” –Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh.

Ever had one of those Eeyore days? Down in the dumps, sooooo tired (yawn) or a smidge cranky?  Well it could be the foods you are not eating and vitamins that may be missing from your diet that are making you miss that pep in your step.  These Eeyore mood busters are rich in vitamins and minerals that help keep you energized, your blood cells functioning normally and provide an overall better quality of life! 

1) Foods High in B12 Vitamins and Folic Acid or Folate (which is another B vitamin):

 

-You need between 2.4-2.8 micrograms of B12 in your diet

-You can get your daily does of this vitamin from your diet by consuming fish like salmon and having your daily amount of dairy products

-many breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid also.  Another reason to eat breakfast!

-Folic acid can be found in beans and spinach.  Enchilada anyone?

2) Eat your Fruits and Veggies!

 

-not only are they high in fibre which help your gut health, they’re a sweet treat to brighten up your day!

-choose foods that are especially colorful such as berries and dark leafy greens

-pick fruits and veggies that are in season in your area because they are normally higher in their nutrient content than off season ones

3) Whole grain Breads and Cereals

-these foods are high in Selenium, no not Selina like the singer, selenium!  It’s a mineral rich in antioxidants that help prevent cell damage

-you need at least 55 micrograms a day, and you can get 70 micrograms of this mineral by eating 2 slices of whole grain bread and not even thinking twice about it!

4) Walnuts

 

-or any food that is high in Omega 3 fatty acids, salmon is well known for this

-Omega 3s are considered essential fatty acids because we cannot produce them in our body and thus need to come from our diet

-do not exceed eating a handful of these delightful nuts as they are high in calories

5) Daily dose of D:

 

 

-Vitamin D has been show to cure a variety of mood disorders such as PMS and seasonal affective disorder.

-The recommended amount of Vitamin D is 600IU, but you can go as high as 1,000-2,000 IU a day.

-Vitamin D is rare to find naturally in foods, so usually a supplement is recommended, but you can get a jump on the D by putting on your favorite sunnies and catching some rays outside and load up on salmon, cheese and fortified beverages and cereals that boast this depression ditching vitamin!

-more on Vitamin D here:  Alyssa Elle: Your Dose of D

**BONUS!

 

 

 

-Dark chocolate can be considered an “upper” in that it has an effect on your brain stress hormones

-some studies have shown that those that eat 1/3 of a dark chocolate bar daily found lowered blood pressure and an overall sense of wellbeing, and why wouldn’t you when you’re eating chocolate! Just make sure it’s a small piece, and make sure its pure dark chocolate the higher percentage cocoa the better (a snickers bar does NOT count….sorry guys)

Hope you give some of these mood busters aside and say goodbye to your inner Eeyore!

Photos from Driscolls, Martha Stewart

You're Juicing It Wrong...

 

Of course we have all seen the green juice fads take over mainstream diets.  But the way you drink up on these juices can have an effect on your diet and weight loss goals (if you have any).  Take note of the following if you want to juice it right!

 

1)      You may be leaving some fruits and veggies out of your diet

 

-While most juices are packed with a variety of fruits and veggies including green leafy vegetables, it is rare that we add vegetables such as eggplant, squash and other gourds, cauliflower and other white veggies like onions and mushrooms, that have nutritional benefits, to our drinks

 

-And when we find a juice blend we like, chances are we stick to it and stop experimenting with adding a wide variety of fruits and veggies, so we are not going to always get the most bang for our blend (get it?) from our juice blends

 

2)      Its not going to fill you up like whole foods do

 

-There is more to consuming fruits and veggies than their nutritional benefits.  Whole fruits and veggies are very high in fibre and help to keep you fuller longer.  For one, if you are straining the fibre out of your juices, you are missing on the fibre.  If you keep the fibre, it is more beneficial but there is also something to be said by the act of chewing your food (chewing alone burns some calories FYI), the time it takes to chew and swallow and how much space a whole product takes up in your stomach than one that is pre blended, that add to your satisfied appetite, keeps you fuller longer and prevents you from over indulging later.

 

3)      You may be consuming more carbs than you think!

 

-Because you are juicing the fruits and veggies, they take up less space in your cup than the whole food

 

-Some store bought blended drinks contain almost a whole pineapple, 2 bananas, spinach, kale, carrots…basically way more than you would eat in one sitting let alone a whole day if you were to eat these foods whole!  That’s way more carbs than you need in a day, and all you’ve had is one blenderized drink!

 

 4)      Replacing your meal with these juices means you’re not getting a balanced diet!

 

-If you opt  for a shake at breakfast, ensure that its going to have protein in the way of some yogurt or protein powder, fibre such as ground flax or the pulp of the fruit included, otherwise you may find yourself craving whole real foods throughout the day

 

-Chances are you are missing out on other vital minerals and vitamins.  For example, you are not going to put any kind of meat or legume in your drink and if you are using your blender drink as a meal replacement, there goes a good chunk of your iron intake for the day.  And while your leafy greens account for some, the iron you get from meats cannot be found in plant sources.

 

So, if you are going to jump on the juice/shake/blend bandwagon, ensure that you are making the right decisions.  If you want to consume all your fruits and veggies for the day in a blended beverage, don’t strain the pulp out and be realistic with how much of these whole foods you would eat in a day.  Don’t cut out entire food groups either and try to have a variety of fruits and veggies in your drink, avoid sticking to the same recipe.

Give juicing a try, with the seasons changing there are always delicious options for you to try!

Photo from: Martha Stewart

Beauty Recipe: DIY Luscious Lemon Lavender Cuticle Balm

 

 

Even though spring is around the corner, my nails are less than lust worthy.  After the dry winter air, work etc. my cuticles are drier than the Sahara Desert.  Enter my Luscious Lemon Lavender Cuticle Balm.  While you can always go out and purchase a cuticle cream, making it is just so much better!  Ingredients such as lemon rind help to add a little vitamin C and brighten the surrounding skin, lavender as an antiseptic and olive oil for its Vitamin E content and a few extra moisturizers for healing it is the perfect balm that is sure to cure your cuticle crisis!

You will need:

-an empty clean tin of some kind, an empty lip balm container would be perfect

-1 tsp. cocoa butter solid

-1/2 tsp. shea butter solid

-1/2 tsp. beeswax

-1/2 tsp. olive oil

-1/8 tsp lemon rind, finely grated

-a few drops of pure lavender essential oil, or tea tree oil if you have it

-a double boiler, I used a small pot filled halfway up with water, then put a heat safe measuring cup in the water to melt my ingredients

Heat your double boiler water to a rolling boil before putting all the ingredients in, and let them all melt together, the heat helps release the oils from the lemon rind, so the longer you keep it heated the more will release.  Once its pourable and clear pour it into your container and allow it to harden completely before using it, about 1 hour

Tips:

-If you don’t have the cocoa butter, shea and beeswax, you can substitute with a vitamin E cream base found in most drugstores your cuticle balm will be more like a salve than a solid though.

- You can strain out the lemon rind, or if you put large pieces of rind, pick them out before pouring into your container.  I grated mine finely so that the lemon scent lasts longer and it also helps exfoliate (bonus!), if you’re ambitious you can put a few drops of fresh lemon juice too.

 

Enjoy you fresh, moisturized nails!

 

Lusts and Musts: Cleansing Oils

 

 

 

Hitting beauty counters with high impact are oil cleansers, which are essentially oils that are meant to clean your face.  You heard right! No longer are we supposed to pine for the bubbling foaming delightfulness that our traditional cleansers bring us, we are to look to the oil to clean our precious faces.  My FAVORITE on the market right now is Josie Maran’s Cleansing Oil, found here: Josie Maran Cleansing Oil .  I love all of her products because of their key ingredient: Argan Oil, more on that in my other blog post here: My Face My Argan.  It also contains other oils that are beneficial to the skin, such as grape seed and olive oils that have a high Vitamin E content, perfect for anti-aging and hydration and grapefruit seed oil, which also contributes to its light citrus scent, perfect for morning face washing!  The key to cleansing oils is that you are not stripping your face of your natural oils, so it is great for all skin types.  Yes even oily skin types, like me, can benefit from cleansing oils.  By washing your face with the oil, you are sealing in all the moisture, thus not forcing your skin’s oil glands to produce an excess amount of oil, makes sense right?

You will not, and I mean not, experience the suds and bubbles you get with your traditional face wash, so it will take time to get used to, you may get a slight milky emulsification, but trust that after your first use you will be hooked!  When looking for a facial oil that’s right for you try to find one that has as little additives as possible, like Josie Maran’s, which only has 2 chemical additives for preservation because most oils used have a short shelf life.  Be sure that you don’t have nut allergies as often companies will use nut oils as their main oil ingredient, so read the labels!

 

I hope you love cleansing oils as much as I do!

A Day In The Life: Meal Plan

Thought I would let you in on what a day in the life of my meals look like, hope you find it useful!

Snack Attack: Coconut Oil Wrap! FOR YOUR HAIR!

                                                                               

As Winter comes to an end, for most of us at least, it is time to undo what those cold months have done to our hair.  Why not treat your tresses to a moisturising shine enhancing hair wrap!

Coconut oil has been in the media lately as a great health food, boasting its multitude of benefits for physical ailments, and while I am definitely not an advocate of scarfing spoonfuls of this gunk (more on that on another post), it is an age old beauty tool used to treat dry damaged hair and strengthen your locks. 

On a side note, coconut oil is a very heavy oil, note that it is solid at room temperature, and can be hard on your pores and follicles, so when applying it to your hair, try not to smush it into your scalp as this can clog your follicles and have a negative effect.  Concentrate on the shaft and those pesky split ends.

Set aside 2 hours for yourself, as this is how long you need to sit with the oil on your hair.

You may need to warm the oil up as it should be a pourable consistency, and massage it into damp hair, focusing again, on the ends of your hair.  Wrap you hair in a towel, or put one of those free shower caps you get from the hotels on your head (classy), wait two hours, perfect time for a movie, and let the oil do its work.

Wash your hair out as you would normally, avoid heat styling if at all possible.  You can repeat this treatment once a week, as time permits.

The A's BB's and CC's of Creams

 

As of late, alphabetic makeup as I like to call them, have taken over drugstore and department store shelves.  Almost every major beauty brand has their formula for BB and CC creams.  While BB creams became huge last year, see my Blog: “BB Baby”, CC creams are the new sister to the alphabet makeup family.  So what’s the big diff?

To break it down, BB cream or Beauty Balm hits all the factors you want for your face but technically not a foundation.  Target age group: teens – 20s  It has sun protection, moisturizing qualities of a face cream and more full coverage than tinted moisturizer.  Many beauty gurus suggest it can also be used as a primer to actual foundation, depending on the formula.  It is suggested that you set them with a translucent or light coverage powder. 

 My Brand suggestions are:

1)      Maybelline: it says 8-in-one but that’s the point of a BB cream, moisturize, sunscreen, nourish, protects, revitalize, brighten, conceal and correct. Price: $

2)      Garnier: definitely for dry to combination skin.  Highly scented so avoid if you don’t like your makeup to have perfume. Price : $$

3)      Smashbox: comes in a vast array of shades, I used this on at Fashion week on all the models, from porcelain white skin to ebony black.  It did not need setting with a powder, and gave a great glow. Price: $$$

 And the new contender is CC cream, which stands for color correcting.  It’s a step up to BB.  If you pay close attention to the models used in some of the advertisements, it is geared towards a more mature makeup wearer. It boasts to fade imperfections and prevent future discoloration (this is over prolonged use). It has a mousse like consistency but covers just like a tinted face cream, evening out fine lines, dark spots and uneven skin tone.  The key idea to CC cream is correction, in that it corrects like a concealer would blemishes, redness and dark spots.

 Brand Suggestions: Per popularity in the media

1)      Clinque: Light coverage can replace the Clinique “Moisture Surge” gel cream, as a face cream, SPF 30

2)      Smashbox: Light coverage comes in 5 shades, lightweight, controls oil and has an SPF 30 factor

3)      Olay: can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, a lightweight coverage with SPF 15

Hope that helps you make your choice in the world of alphabet makeup!

Product Push: NYX Xtreme Lip Cream

My new obsession in the realm of lip color, is NYX Xtreme Lip Cream.  In a nutshell, it is the best color, its creamy but has a lasting power of a long wearing lipstick.  It glides on like a lip gloss, but the color is so pigmented, just like a lipstick.  My current color addiction is "Buttery Nude" and at this price point, you cant go wrong! I want them all!
Find them all at http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/p-153-xtreme-lip-cream.aspx or your local drugstore