Natural Beauty Products: Edible Foundation!

I have another easy, inexpensive natural beauty product for you! And the fun part about this one is that you get to actually make it. Today I am going to tell you about my discovery of homemade foundation powder!

I did some Google searching searching and found a variety of ideas, so I combined them to formulate my own recipe. All you need are three common ingredients: Corn starch, cocoa, and cinnamon.

 Some of the recipes I found online required tings like arrowroot powder and French green clay, and granted, using those ingredients would probably make a better product. But who has those things lying around their house? What I love about this recipe is that it's all common ingredients.

Now, I was a dummy and I forgot to wrote down the proportions I used, but I *think* I used 2Tbsp. corn starch, 1/2 tsp. cocoa, and 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon Of course, your skin tone will be different (mine is quite light), so experiment til you get it just right. :) You can start with those proportions and add more of whatever you need to get the right shade. Cinnamon helps give a more rosy tone, and cocoa is good if you are more tanned.

When you mix it together, it helps IMMENSELY to have a sieve to push the ingredients through so that there are no lumps, especially since cocoa and corn starch tend to clump.  If you don't have one, you can press the lumps with a spoon to get them smooth, but it's a lot more work.

And the end result will be a smooth, delicious smelling, super-soft make-up powder! I store mine in a container that used to have sprinkles in it - you can also use pill bottles, baby food jars, tupperware containers, etc.

Before I apply it, I dab my finger in my secret weapon, olive oil, and spread a VERY thin coat of it over my entire face to make the powder stick better. Tapping your brush on the side of the container or the cover before bringing it to your face will help keep excess powder from poofing all over, too. (Firefox is telling me "poofing" isn't a word. Well, I think it is!) Also, I use my finger to dab on extra powder around my eyes or on blemishes so that it's more concentrated in those areas that need more coverage.

Oh, and I should tell you that this powder will only give a very light concealing and evening effect - not like thick, store-bought make-up. So if you're a person who wears a lot of make-up, you probably won't like this. But yeah. I am LOVING it and using it every day! t goes on easily, comes off easily, costs peanuts, smells great, feels great, lets your skin breathe, and best of all, you can feel confident about what you are putting on your body. Enjoy!

Natural Beauty Products: Olive Oil

The past couple of weeks I have been on a quest to find natural alternatives to regular beauty and hygiene products - lotion, make-up, shampoo and conditioner, etc. I have not found *everything* I'd like yet, but I have gained some invaluable secrets that I am thrilled to share with you!

But first, there's the why. There are two main reasons I've been hunting down these homemade concoctions: health and cost. Regular hygiene and beauty products are loaded with a staggering amount of chemicals. Remember, your skin is the largest organ of your body - ideally, we shouldn't put anything on our skin that we couldn't eat, because it is absorbed into our bodies. Here's a good rule of thumb: if you can't pronounce an ingredient, it's probably not good for you. And the more of those ingredients, the bigger the problem. Now, I am not an only-organic/all-natural kind of person, but I am learning that these things are important, and I want to do the best I can. For example, did you know that parabens have been linked to breast cancer? And sodium benzoate has been linked to skin cancer. And those are just a couple of examples. These things are in a lot of products! I don't know about you, but that freaks me out! And the second reason: cost. If you want to get products that actually work, you'll have to fork over a pretty hefty chunk of cash, even just for the better brands at an ordinary department store. Could there be a simple-to-make, inexpensive alternative? I'm on the quest to find out!

Alright, so, here is the first awesome secret I have for you: (drum roll...) olive oil! I have found this to be a universal wonder-product. Folks, get yourselves a bottle of cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil. It's liquid gold. And, though it is somewhat expensive, a little goes a loooong ways, so in the end, you'll spend less.

 Here are the uses I've found for it:



1) Lotion
Rub it into your skin and let it soak in until it's totally dried. Your skin will be sooo soft! Tip: only put it on when you can be sure you have plenty of time before touching fabric (i.e. going to bed, sitting on the couch), since it will make oil stains. Oh, and also, it only takes less than half a teaspoon to coat your face, so don't get too much or it will drip and make a mess! Just dip a couple of fingers in and spread it on.

2) Face wash
 Oh yes, you heard me! Now don't close the window yet, I know what you're thinking: "No, I already have oily skin and acne. That won't work for me."
Well, news for you: so do I, and it worked for me! Believe it or not, adding the right kind of oil to your skin keeps your skins from trying to produce its own from the inside, which clogs up the pores. And, olive oil is anti-bacterial so it actually cleans and heals infected pores. My skin has cleared up and looked much more even toned since I've used it! Healthy skin is beautiful skin. Tip: Be sure to put on a head band to assure that it doesn't get in your hair, lest you look like a grimy grease ball who hasn't bathed in a week!

So there is my favorite secret so far - hope you all enjoy it!

Life is Beautiful

My mind is full of thoughts - happy thoughts and random thoughts, mostly.

I'm sitting at my kitchen table with my laptop, and the house is quiet. The sounds I hear are the quiet buzz of my computer, the wind chimes on the front porch twinkling lightly, the chattering of my fingers typing quickly, and the woodstove in the back room.

Mom and Dad are visiting my brothers for the weekend, so Zach and I are on our own. It's very quiet, but so far I don't mind. It's peaceful.

There's snow pouring down outside, and it looks beautiful. I have an intense delight in all of nature - it is so beautiful and refreshing. I can't imagine living in the city, separated from all of God' glorious natural creations! I'd rather be outside than inside any day.

Last night I made chocolate chip brownies that taste incredible.

I have so many good friends - old and new, near and far, kindred spirits and friendly acquaintances, all of whom I am very thankful for. I never cease to be amazed at how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life.

My piano teacher is in India on a missions trip, so I am playing the piano in church for the next month. It's a big stretch and at first I didn't want to do it. I am reading about Moses in my devotions, though, and how he refused to do something that God placed in his lap and really missed out. I don't want to be that way. So, if the Holy Spirit can speak through our mouths, I'm sure he can play through my hands. I'm excited at another opportunity to grow up and accept responsibility!

I love reading and writing and thinking. It seems my desire for these things is insatiable!

I also love people. And I love animals. They are just fabulous.

I think pretty much, I just love life. It's so wonderful! Without Christ, I truly could not enjoy any of these things because they would have no purpose and I would be wracked with fear and despair. But with him at my side, life truly is beautiful.

June 2012

Beauty Secrets

Every girl wants to be beautiful. It's a natural desire. So, I thought I'd share a few secrets to being beautiful that I have discovered.

~Beautiful Hands~
To have the most lovely hands, wash dishes and scrub toilets often,
hold onto other people's hands,
avoid letting them sit idly for long periods of time
and always extend your hand to someone who needs one.

The most beautiful hands are hands that serve.
"She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy."
Proverbs 31:19-20

~Beautiful Face~
Make sure your lips are always turned upward,
and your eyes are brightened by joy and cheerfulness.
Apply generous amounts of compassion and peace to your expression,
and never wear anger, sullenness, or worry

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance:
but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
Proverbs 15:13
"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice:"
Ephesians 4:31

~Beautiful Hair~
Apply humility, style reasonably.
Wear your hair to the delight and service of the Savior
He made it, so He deserves to get glory and delight from it!

"In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel,
with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,"
1 Timothy 2:9 (Braided hair was showy in that culture)
"Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus,
and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil."
John 12:3

That's all I have for now... happy "beautifying!"
:)

To tan or not to tan?

This summer I decided I was going to get a tan. Yup, that's right. Me, Christy - who is normally bleach white - decided to tan! So, I proceeded to lay out in the sun for a while every day. And sure enough, I got a tan! But then I decided to do some research because I wanted to know the truth about tanning.As you probably know, our culture is completely obsessed with physical beauty. We're the only ones, though - many other cultures have also done absurd things because they want to look attractive. Throughout history, people have: broken girls' feet to keep them small, stretched out women's necks with metal rings (to the pint that they can't even support their own heads), tied boards to their babies heads to make their skulls cone-shaped... the list could go on. When we observe those practices, we can see that they are clearly harmful and unnecessary. We would never do something like that in America! Or would we?

As a mater of fact, we have all sorts of harmful "beautifying" practices. Tanning is one of many. According to research, too much exposure to UV rays greatly increases your risk for skin cancer. Yikes! Why would I do that?!On the other hand, however, many people shun sunlight altogether for beauty purposes. Since pop culture glorifies youth, women often try to avoid sunlight to protect their skin from aging. Well, it's true that sunlight ages your skin. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, because sunlight is good for you, too! Sunlight is the #1 source of Vitamin D. Studies indicate that people who wear sunscreen every time they go outside in the summer are very likely to have vitamin D deficiencies. Vitamin D is incredibly necessary for your body in many ways. It helps prevent many types of cancer, it keeps your bones strong, and keeps your hormones in check. In other words, vitamin D deficiency is a very bad thing!So what am I saying? Sunshine causes skin cancer, but yet prevents cancer? It's good, and it's bad? What are we supposed to do?!

Well, my final conclusion is this: live your life! Don't worry too much about it. And don't try too hard to be "beautiful." Enjoy sunshine reasonably. If you're going to be in it for a long time, slap on some sunblock. In the end, you may not be very tan, and may get some wrinkles when you're older, but you'll be healthy! The Lord never tells us to stay young or to have perfectly bronzed skin tones, but He does tell us to be good stewards of what he gives us, and to take care of the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is our body. We don't have to harm ourselves to beautiful because He sees us as beautiful when we honor Him with our lives, through Jesus Christ. So live life, enjoy it, and strive only to please your Savior!