2017 Christmas gift guide under $25

Trader Joe's did it again, they brought some wonderful items back that you can gift.

1. Trader Joe's Mask Trio for $6.99

2. Trader Joe's Rainbow of Honey $9.99

3. Scarf are an amazing gift always in my opinion. When purchasing a scarf to gift I would look for something that someone can use while they are out that means not too casual. The best scarfs for women would be the following styles

If you're going to choose a pashmina, be sure to choose one with short tassels like this one:

Also, knit scarfs in neutral tones are wonderful:

4. Socks are always a wonderful gift for under $25. When purchasing socks to gift, be sure to get some that someone wouldn't get for themselves as in they are more than practical. Please don't get white cotton sock. Get something that maybe all wool like these from Amazon:

By Jiye

https://www.amazon.com/JiYe-Thermal-Winter-5-Pack-Ripple/dp/B076HMHD4S/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1510813370&sr=8-42&keywords=wool%2Bsocks%2Bwomen&th=1

You can break these socks up (since they often come in packs of 4 or more) and gift them individually. The wool socks are so comfortable and warm as well as stylish and I've gifted many throughout the years.

5. A very nice gift to give someone is a few of the Trader Joe's goat milk and camel milk soaps. These soaps are very luxurious and wonderful way to care for the environment. It's $1.99 a bar so you can give a few.

6. Bundle gifts like coffee and a french press; tea and an electronic tea kettle (some ethnic stores have really inexpensive ones); mugs with fun messages. 

Fossil Fuel Diet

Conserve gas not because there's more of it but because it's a fossil fuel and the method in which it is extracted (fracking) is very bad for the environment.

Here are my observations on some ways to conserve on fossil fuels:

1. Walk more.
2. Opt to take public transit a few times a week - I feel like there should be better incentives for this and in many big cities where people already have cars taking the public transit is just another expense and this very very sad.
3. Park and walk more. I understand that there are places where people aren't near grocery stores as such hey are forced to drive but limiting the time spent in the car is always great.
4. Stay home more.
5. Eat more salads and cold soups because they don't require cooking.
6. Limit the number of lights that you keep on.
7. Wash cold; hang to dry
8. Shave your legs less often because that would mean you'll spend less time in the shower. And, wash your hair less often too.
9. Buy less, toss less.
10. Reuse, recycle, hand it down.
11. Pick up litter around you. It's okay no one will frown upon your neat behavior. Litter less.
12. Exercise to warm up.


Please add if you know of any good ways.

Basics: Setting Powder

Setting powders allow your foundation to stay put and not run off.
In the day time I set my foundation with Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Translucent powder with SPF 30. 

You don't get a combined SPF 15 plus 30; you just get 30 if you wear the Translucent powder on top of the foundation but you can reapply translucent powder, easily dusting it on your skin with a powder brush. This step tends to build up powder on your face and thus making the skin look cake which is a phrase that's referred to too much apparent product on the skin but to me I would rather my skin stay protected throughout the day. With SPF you do get a white cast so it will make your skin look whiter than usual so please note that if you are under certain lighting or taking pictures. If you don't want to use this powder and maybe get a bit more color out of your setting powder you may research and find a foundation type powder (that can be used as a setting powder) with an SFP that  can be use throughout the day.

In the evenings I like to use a setting powder that doesn't normally have an SPF. For that the best drugstore setting powder that I've enjoyed are the Sonia Kashuk setting powders (both the loose and illuminating one are great and very comparable to high end ones).

Basics: Foundation

After applying a primer I have chosen one foundation which I think is a good value and is pretty close to my skin tone (albeit a bit dark, but since most foundations oxidize on me I've learned to live with it). The foundation that I like that is light to medium coverage is the Elf Flawless Finish Foundation and my tone is Sand:

Makeup: Primer

I've always had hormonal acne. It flairs up around that time of the womanly month for me and it will clear up with time and sometimes it gets bad and sometimes it's more forgiving. I haven't always worn makeup. Before my 30s I would use just a light layer of concealer for spots and then some blush and that would be it.

Lately, I've been using more makeup. I went on a long and exhausting search for a foundation and had to consider a list of things. Is my skin oily, dry, combination? Do I need medium coverage or full? Do I want matte or dewy? Oh and the list went on.  I will say that one foundation doesn't fit all. And, my skin changed from month to month. My skin produced more or less oils from month to month. It became a roller coaster so I had to be patient.

Like I've written before. Your skin will age and the sun damage that you exposed it to in your young years will begin to show up on your skin. What will happen is that your skin will have spots, discoloration, patchy areas of light and dark, scars. You should use sunscreen on your face and remember to reapply every two hours. You should use sunscreen even indoors because indoor artificial lighting will expose your skin to ultraviolet rays.

That being said I do like the idea of now having a foundation that has UV protection and a setting powder with UV protection.  

If you have oily skin you probably have larger pores than usual.  Applying a primer first will help to fill them in and make your foundation last longer. 

Matte primers that I like are the Rimmel Lasting finish primer:

I've heard that the Hard Candy Sheer envy primer is a great product:

Some days I like an illuminating primer.

My favorite are the L'oreal Magic Lumi primer:

And, I really enjoy the NYC Smooth Skin primer:

How to take care of: Cashmere and Wool clothing (not coats)

Cashmere and Wool are among the most delightful articles of clothing that one can own aside from silk. They are fine, delicate, and luxurious, however most people don't know how to wash them and take care of them to make them last.  What makes these fabrics so fine is that they come from animals and with everything that comes from animals, we need to learn to treat it with a lot of gratefulness, rather than abuse and misuse. We can all learn to connect with the natural world around us like the Native Americans did in the way that they recognized and were thankful from what they got from animals.

So I know that caring for cashmere can seem like a hastle. It's actually much simpler than you might think. You don't have to dry clean ONLY your cashmere and wool sweaters, shirts, skirts, and dresses (this exludes your coats).

You will need a plastic bin or storage box shaped like this (it doesn't have to be clear and no lid; plastic because you will be putting water in it):

Cold water

Heavyweight plastic clothing hangers

And one of the following

Salt, Woolite, or white vinegar

Directions:

Take the cashmere item and place it in the bin. Add cold water (ONLY!!!) to cover the article of clothing fully. Add about one teaspoon or so of the cleaning agents (woolite, salt, or vinegar).  Swish your clothing, gently scrub the areas that need attention like the underarms, the neck lines or any stains. If there are heavy stains it may require some soaking (if the stain is an organic stain like coffee, tea, wine) in order to lighten or remove the stain. Keep checking on the stain if you are soaking it to remove it because sometimes prolonged soaking may be required. Finally, dump the dirty water, refill the bin with more cold water and submerse the clothing in there for a rinse. DO NOT ring out the water from the clothing. You will hook it on the hanger wet and hang it over the shower rod to let the water run down the clothing naturally. If you forget and ring it, you will need to resoak it in cold water. Now if your cashmere or wool has shrunk at this stage you can gently stretch it in areas where you need it. You will pull and tug gently extending the arms of the length as the water runs down and as the article of clothing begins to shed the water. Leave the article in the shower to dry until no more water drips out, then you may move it, still leaving it on the hanger, to another area in the house, where you should leave it on there until it dries completely. 

To store it, be sure to have small sacks of Lavendar in between so moths don't get to them. I have sacrificial cashmere so that moths too may enjoy them (but these are wholier than art thou snacks lol). Or ceder chips to keep moths away. NEVER EVER EVER please never use Moth balls -they aren't good for you nor are they any better for the environment. Personally, I think that they should be banned. 

Please take care of these wonderful gifts from animals. And I don't want to see another one end up at Goodwill (yeah right! :))

Beauty of Adulting

Being an adult is having to deal with issues that require us to Adult.

So what is Adulting and how is it done? When ambiguous situations present themselves that require thought about etiquette, morals, and ethics Adulting helps adults decide how to apprach the situation, what to say and how to say it as to keep an open dialoge and an open possibility while at the same time not offending others and even trying to learn something.

Adulting may require putting your personal feelings aside to address issues in a constructive way as to not upset anyone (be mindful and sensitive with regards to other people's feelings).

Adulting is hard, but it's necessary. My models of good Adulting have been my parents, friends, peers, colleagues, and some awesome people I've never met but have watched on YouTube namely emilynoel83.  Emily is a model of the same southern grace that I experienced when I traveled to Missouri last year. She, too, expresses her thoughts about the subject matter that she is interested in calmly, decidedly, and without vulgarity. It's refereshing to see this type of mannerism. When I watch her videos I'm reminded of how nice it is to refer to the subject matter back to the "I" as in "I enjoy this" and "I don't find this does anything for me" instead of "This isn't good; don't buy this."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teK4HSNxeN4

Adulting is admitting to our vulnerabilities and being honest, but sincere. I'm writing this blog post about Adulting because it's as much about beauty as is about external issues. Adulting is beauty from inside out not only for the person who is Adulting but also for the receiving party for the examples that they set. 

I like emilynoel83 as an example of Adulting because I watched one video of her where she's applying makeup on a snowy day and she's enjoying something that makes her happy. I think that everyone can find something that makes them feel happy. Adults figure out different strategies and methods to deal with things unlike children who are limited by their desires and teenagers who want to exert their point of view. They ask people to think about things.

Adulting is accepting that everything is not perfect and still there are things to work with, make work for them, make work for others or find something to love about something else.

Adulting requires the following phrases 

"You need to..."

"I am (insert any number of discriptive adjectives like diligent, tense, eat)"

"You can find something to love about it"

Adults don't mind being assertive when they tell someone what to do, but they also know that there are options out there. 

Let me know what you think. 

Beauty for young ladies

If I went back in time I would listen to my parents. That aside there are some beauty things I would tell myself that would have helped me out now (20 years later).

Skin Care:

Use sunscreen. If you get deep sun damage it takes a long time for these damages to be reversed. Any kind that your skin acclimates to and reapply every two hours. SPF 30 is a good start.

If you have oily skin, you may want to speak with a dermatologist about it. If you can't get access to a dermatologist, know that the oil production is good for your skin and if you want to balancing your skin with the use of a skin friendly oils like olive oil, argon oil, and other face oils (Sephora will help you with this), this is a good start. Wash your face (because we live in a dirty and polluted environment and there are a lot of dust particles on your skin). Imagine setting your book on the counter for a few days and coming back to it to find all that dust, well if you don't dust it it will get dirty and if you don't wash your face you will get dirt on it. Mix dirt with oil and you have a sticky residue.

Wash your face with Dove. For added mild exfoliation, wash it with bamboo washcloth (they may sell this at Babies R Us as baby wipes). Wash your cloths frequently, by that I mean after a single use and air dry till they are completely dry before reusing them. I put my Dove bar in a pretty bowl that I purchased from Goodwill. There are all kinds of plates that you can put your bar in.

Acne:

Use spot acne cream. And, don't touch your skin. Benzoyl peroxide press gel from Clean & Clear is a great product. They have this formulation in 5% and 10%. You should try one.

If you have bad or worsening acne see a doctor. Even your general doctor can help address issues if you make it known to her or him that it's important to you. Be firm and clear with them and ask them when you may follow up with their suggestions to keep them in the loop of what is going on with your skin. 

Makeup:

If you have flawless or near flawless skin, you don't need to wear liquid foundation. Don't let your friends tell you that you do. Don't let their habits become yours if you don't need it. Be your own person.

Eye brows:

Don't pluck your eyebrows. I stopped plucking mine after follicle irritation. It's an idea that didn't work for me. Your eyebrows will get thinner over time. If you just pluck maybe the unibrow section and trim your eyebrows you will save them for the long haul. I can't tell you how many older women stop to compliment me on mine; they wish they had my eyebrows. I think I did something right.

Body Care: 

If you're going to shave your legs use plenty of moisturizer because your legs have fewer oil glands and drying them out by shaving will irritate your skin. Which moisturizer? A one labeled "body." You can try them until you find your fit. Remember your skin changes, it's reaction to creams change. For me one moisturizer worked great for years then I noticed it stopped working so I switched. Hormones change too. I hope for you that you find one that works for a long time. But, if it doesn't it's okay, there are a lot of moisturizers on the market. Shaving started in the 40s when women didn't have access to nylon hosieries but still wanted the look of wearing one. It's a new trend as far as grooming is concerned, but if you're brave, for our environment and for your own skin's health, you could do without it a few times a week or sometimes all together. 

A single blade dispensable blade is all you'll need to shave your legs. The quarto blade are excessive and most cases unnecessary as well as a waste.

Mask it up: The ways to apply mask

My preferred method of applying jarred, tube, or cream masks is with a tool that I don't use for applying my foundation. You know the flat "foundation" brush that I hardly find suitable for that task is great for applying masks and not getting my hands dirty. The synthetic bristles are soft enough for the application and yet they don't soak up and absorb all the liquid in the bristles. Now, when people give me brush sets as gifts I don't frawn upon the flat foundation brush. And for traveling, you will find a flat brush in most mini sets. You can definitely take that and a mask on a trip to enjoy your time on the go.


Flat foundation brush:

For scrub or exfoliating masks I've yet to find a tool better than my fingers, but if you know of any suggestions that are better than this method please share.

Shoe Guide

Every time I purchase a pair of shoes I look on the bottom to see what kind of a sole they have. I like to get shoes that have a leather sole and usually the heel will be plastic or some kind of a rubber material. I find that the leather sole shoes lasts longer than rubber ones.

I repair the heel on the shoes that I get every so often because that extends the life of the shoe. When my family lived in Tujunga we took our shoes to Karo. He has since moved to Los Feliz and is working with his brother. Karl is a master shoe seamstress and he is one of those exceptionally talented individuals who is a true craftsman. If you live near the area be sure to take your leathers, shoes, purses, and other items to him and he will surprise you with his skill.


http://losfelizshoerepair.com



Look at the marvelous work that they did on my shoes:

Use, Reuse, Patch up and Preserve

I remember a store associate telling me once "you have to preserve yourself" pointing to a neck cream that she was trying to sell to me. I found that phrase so funny and odd at the same time. I though it was accurate of me in so many aspects, but not about how I viewed my neck. So I thought well, what do I do in my every day habits that create a small environmental contribution in my everyday life? What things can I offer the next generation to use as a guide or a tool to be conscious of their existence and every day habits. The root of this is to reduce my carbon footprint. Already, as a human and existing, my carbon footprint is huge. I wonder in our every day existence, are we just rearranging the decks on the titanic? Can we as a species live an evolutionary conscious life while helping to evolve our seeds (kids, or the next generation)? Can we help them to get on board with some simple and affective environmental savers? I think we can. I think that if enough people have the knowledge to contribute to practical methods, it shouldn't be too hard for people to join in.

My first suggestion is to capitalize on all the natural energy. The sun is free. With that I don't see any shame in utilizing some of the older and affective methods of energy usage like line drying our clothing. I hand wash as many of my clothing and hang it on a line to dry and that probably saves a lot of energy as well as saves a lot of clothes as dryers tend to shred fabric.

I believe that every human being should own no more than five underwear at a time. The method that I use is that I always wash mine when I'm in the shower and hang it to dry and alternate that way. There is no shame in hang drying your clothes, especially in the house. NONE at all and please don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I find that some apartment owners in LA don't want to make their apartments look cheap and thus will not allow their tenants to utilize the balcony space to line dry but that's okay, you can develop other strategies and make the hot air work for you.

One of my favorite brand of jeans is Levis. I've loved them for years and when I think back and remember why that was it's because the ones I had lasted me for a good decade at a time. Another reason why I love Levis is because of this small label, "Care for our planet. Wash less, wash cold, line dry, donate or recycle." What is not to love about that? I would like to add to that "Please buy quality and and it's okay to ware the same clothes more than one day and it's okay to air it out a couple of times before you wash it."

You can donate your old sheets and old bedding to a local veterinary hospital. If you have cotton sheets and bedding, you can reuse them as rags. You can also patch up clothes by learning simple hand sewing and patch up holes, you can even go the ultra mile and learn to machine sew and make quilts out of a lot of things, but that may be a stretch for a lot of people. What I'm trying to say is that before you toss it please reconsider some creative uses and if something is just too small or too big you can always donate it to a shelter. Let's all make an effort to limit waste products created in mass manufacturing of clothing that just ends up in heaps of trash.

Preserving myself doesn't mean sealing my neck from the processes of time, to me. I've found my own take on the phrase and I've come to enjoy the meaning from having discovered how I have been practical in my own way.

Foundations to the face

The foundations to our face starts with skin care.

I've always suffered from hormonal acne and my skin loves to produce oils so me telling you that you should use a certain product and it will cure your acne would be ridiculous if not redundant. With that I would like to write a post on the face. Some skin care that I think is truly good. One thing is for sure, see a doctor. Please. Don't watch ridiculous suggestions that ask you to piercing your skin with tools that claim will help rejuvenate it. Whatever you do keep your face in tact as in don't scratch it, pierce it, don't puncture it and don't irritate it. I'm almost 40 years old and I just started using prescription strength retinol for anti aging and it's knocking acne out of town. I use prescription strength but over the counter formulation of retinol called Differin https://www.differin.com.

I love the results that I'm getting and I'll continue to use this over the long haul. It's not marketed as an anti aging medicine but I choose to use it this way. My skin is acclimated to retinol and I experience no irritation from the product. If you don't know how your skin reacts to retinol, you may want to start with an over the counter product like Cerave Skin Renewing Cream Serum.

Use Retinols at night and at the same time. Try not to use retinol products during the day time.

Let your skin breath. I know when it's inflamed and uncomfortable it's hard to consider it, but your skin is a living organism and it needs oxygen. It needs to breath so opt out of covering it up in the early mornings and evenings. Use sunscreen during the day and drink plenty of water.

I think that there are really nice facial cleansers for everyone. I don't know how effective it would be to use something like a brush cleansing devices like Clarisonic (I don't use them) since it tends to harbor bacteria in it's bristles. I just don't trust that putting something that comes in contact with your acne should go back on your face even if you wash it out well.  Wash towelettes that are presoaked don't remove makeup fully either. I tossed those out. So, for a while I used Olay single use wash cloths.

Since I am a major proponent of environmental care, I truly felt bad about using these, but I had to get rid of the acne.  I also use soft washcloths but I wash them well (not with your underwear - yuck!) and let them dry fully before another use. I wash my face with various hydrating moisturizing cleansers like Dove soap, Yes to Coconut Ultra Hydrating Cream Cleanser, Cerave Hydrating Cleanser.  When you have acne or sensitive skin stripping the skin of hydration irritates it more. I would even go a step further to my cleanser and add a few drops of oil like olive oil and castor oil to sooth the skin.

Soaps body and laundry

When it comes to soaps I am one of the fussiest consumers. I am very concerned about the well being of our environment and our water supply. I urge, maybe even beg people to please ease off soaps that aren't good for our future. I have been using A la Maison soap  and a variety of Trader Joe's as well as Whole Foods bar soaps for a very long time. There are a few formulations in this brand that don't have all of the natural ingredients that I look for but some are great about having just a few simple ingredients. I melt these bars to make liquid laundry soap as well.

A La Maison:

Trader Joe's soap:

Whole Foods soaps:

Let's talk underwear. Dear, reader, please wash your underwear in natural ingredients because it's a piece of clothing that comes very very close to your skin. Please don't use talc powder and baby powder on your bottom because it should be common sense by now that these products should not get absorbed into your body. I actually hand wash my underwear right when I remove them and just as I jump in the shower on most days and I think it is a habit that should come back. 

For those of you who insist on purchasing lacy underwear, hand washing them will make them last and last. Lacy underwear do get wholely and eventually they become difficult if not embarrassing to wear. I think our culture can benefit from learning to reuse and repurpose products as to not throw away things easily and waste not only money but also land fill space. I think one of the best ways to repurpose lacy wholely underwear is to wash it and scrunch it together to make a scrubby for bathroom and shower spaces. 

Mask it up

Masks have been a soothing way to unwind and detox the day away.  Think about how much time you pay yourself. In this busy world, where our time is often distributed between a number of things like work, school, kids, etc, it's good to take just a few minutes (5 to 20) or over night to treat your skin to relaxation. Some products out there that leave the skin feeling soft and do a lot of good things for moisturizing the skin are the Trader Joe's mask trio, which is a wonderful and cost effective way, to mask, Origins mask set, and Peter Thomas Roth sampler. Pick these up when they come out in sets because that way you can try more than one mask and see which one your skin acclimates to best. My skin and my nose tend to love Rose masks.

Some people place their masks in the refrigerator for an added cooling affect upon application, but I would watch the temperature and make sure that you are not freezing your skin.

I'm not the biggest fan of sheet masks because I don't like having to throw sheets of stuff away (reduce carbon footprint) as I find them unnecessary waste of material, but I do feel like we have an excellent infrastructure in water cleansing so washing things that don't have SLS (sodium laurel sulfates), other surfactants, and toxic agents should not harm our water supply. With that I do read ingredients to mask carefully, as should everyone.

Origins masks:

Peter Thomas Roth masks:

Home made masks too are a wonderful way to experience masking.

Some self made concuctions that have worked are a mixture of some skin care products that I received and didn't have time to go through them. I got a bottle of Vitamin C serum with hyleronic acid that I couldn't use in the morning because the acid would pile up my foundation so what I did instead was I put it on then I would follow it up with moisturizers that I didn't want to continue using in a thick layer, wait about 10-20 minutes and wash it off. Yes, that worked as a mask very well. 

I often find the combination of ingredients in other home made masks to be drying for my skin. When a mask dries more than it moisturizes I often call quits on it because it's not the purpose that I would like it to fulfill for me. 

I remember the all natural route that I too participated in once. I have put honey on my face, aloe, butter, you name it. I did not see any particular improvement in my face other than drying after the application of these natural products and thus I have come to believe that skin care companies do try their best to  deliver products that work for us. We should all have a little faith in chemistry. 

What should be done with all the empty bottles of masks? Recycled. Please 

Introduction

I've decided to create a beauty blog where I can share my finds, opinions, and create a community where others too may share their thoughts about beauty and beauty related products.

I would like to kick off this first blog post with a review of a product that I regularly use. Body butter.  No other product has made a statement in beauty for people and for the longest time in history. Whether it's moisturizing skin by pouring a number of oils to sooth dryness or whipping up concoctions to seal sore and broken skin in the attempt to aid in it's healing, body butter has done a number of good things to hair and skin.

Of the number of products that are out there and available today, I enjoy a few products that provide my skin with a good amount of moisture. I enjoy Josie Maran whipped argan oil. My favorite scent is Apricot Vanilla, such a soft and comfortable to wear item. Some of the holiday sets have been a treat to get. Although this is a pricy item, in many ways there aren't other body butters out there with this consistency. If you're looking for this creamy texture and don't want to spend the money for this item you may opt for a lotion instead. Josie Maran butters run anywhere between $30 and $45.

Trader Joe's Body Butter Trio in Fresh Pear, Coriander, and Orange Clove are a treat to get. They are soft and the scent is delicate. My favorite of the three is the Orange Clove. This comes in around $7 and you can divide them and gift them out.

Stock up on Petroleum Jelly, which is a sticky mixture of hydrocarbons, an occlusive moisturizer that reduces water loss to the skin; kind of like a trap. Layer it with your lotion or apply it to wet skin. It is non-comedogenic so it won't clog pores. Yes, you can put it on your face. It is non toxic; it reduces trans epidermal water loss by more than 98%, compare that with shea butter and coconut oil which have a trans epidermal water value of below 20%. When you want the big guns in moisture, call Petroleum Jelly. This is the cheapest topical solution that you may find. A 13 oz bottle may run you just a few dollars (Walmart).

The water on your skin evaporates, so you need to add water to keep it drinking and seal some water to keep it from evaporating fast, to keep it hydrated. Your perfect formula in a butter is all about trial and error. These are the ones that work for me.

You may now be asking why should you bother getting body butter when you can slather on coconut oil and be done with it (not to mention save yourself a ton of money). I'll answer some questions here about the necessity of emollient products. First off, most body butters have a number of ingredients which help the skin to absorb their ingredients, like alcohol and citric acid. They also have some kind of a silicone product like dimethicone which is used as a lubricant and a conditioning agent. Yeah you should try mixing your own body butter, if you have the time. For myself, I enjoy what these products are offering.