The Makeup Show NYC

Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending The Makeup Show.

The Makeup Show is in it's 6th year and was at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC this past weekend and is all about the business of makeup. It is a show for beauty insiders and makeup artist to network, meet clients, develop their business' and inspire their creative side. You can speak to industry insiders, meet the brands and the makeup artist that create the looks you see in magazines, movies and on the runways! You can attend workshops and listen to

the professionals speak on one of the many different stages they have set up, to teach you everything from how to build a career in makeup to how to camouflage a tattoo or create the perfect complexion for HD TV. You can purchase absolutely any product, tool or makeup artist secret weapon for your own personal use or to use in your kit.

Beautiful airbrushed eyes and hair from the Dinair booth!

This was my first time attending The Makeup Show and when I first walked in the door, I was quite overwhelmed. There was so much to see and hear, complete over stimulation of the senses. There were huge booths of makeup brands you know and love, as well as brands you've never heard of. There were booths full of brushes and sponges, makeup schools trying to seduce you and booths selling makeup cases. There was every shade and texture of product you can imagine and products that are just launching and will be the next big thing! 

Ooooohhhh and all the Fabulous people showing off all of their Fabulousness! 



A model getting her body airbrushed to look like her insides!

Airbrushing was a very big trend at the show. There was airbrushed everything! Airbrushed faces, airbrushed bodies, even airbrushed hair! I would say that airbrush products were the biggest item being touted at the show. Most every company makes their version of airbrush makeup with the Queen Bees being Temptu and Dinair.



I LOVED THIS! Dinair again!



There was also a big emphasis on hair design and accessories. Besides airbrushed hair (my favorite being the hot pink wig with the leopard spots), there were a lot of those feather extensions that I've seen a lot of. I believe you can have them hot glued into your hair or just clip them in-they are like feather earrings for you hair! Also, the tinsel looking extensions that are everywhere! They are called Hair Flairs and Adrienne Malouf wore them last season on Housewives of Beverly Hills. I personally don't like them and think only 15 year old girls should wear them or if you want to look like you have strands of synthetic hair mixed in with your nice real hair. They were a big hit at the show! 



Sparkly eyes and body courtesy of Xotic Eyes



I also saw a lot of heavy sparkle makeup made specifically to be worn around the eyes. Eye Kandy and Xotic Eyes were the companies selling this look. Glitter near my pretty peepers makes me nervous but they are made to stay put and not flake.

So The Makeup Show is a magical place for anyone who has a love of makeup. It is a great place to see what the next big thing is, learn a little something new, inspire your creative juices, find that hard to find product and spend a fantasy day in Makeupland!

Another airbrushed lady from Dinair!

Littlegoddesscosmetics.com

Dinair

Temptu

Eye Kandy

Hair Flairs

Xotic Eyes

It's Like Buttah Baby!

  
   So the other night, me and Sweetie were watching an episode of 24 hour Restaurant Battle on the Food Channel. For those of you not familiar with the premise of the show, 2 teams of 2 are given 24 hours to create their dream restaurant (on a budget of course) and then are judged on food, decor, etc. The winner wins money towards opening up their very own restaurant. An interesting gimmick one of the teams used was when they brought your bread to the table, they gave you a little ceramic jar with cream in it and by shaking the jar, you churn your own butter! I know, too much work for some but think of it this way, you are burning some calories by shaking the jar and that means you can eat more bread and butter!

       So that led to a discussion between Sweetie and me about churning butter. I remember being in 1st grade and that was one of the cute little projects they had us do-that and make a Waldorf Salad (???WTF???) It must have taken my little 5 year old hands an hour to churn that butter but I did it and I remember being very proud!

       So where do you go when you want to learn how to do something? YouTube of course! YouTube is one of the greatest creations ever! Want to learn how to do a smokey eye? Want to watch a monkey sneeze? Want to learn how to build a deck? A spaceship? Watch puppies frolic or people fall down? Want to learn how to churn butter?! You get the picture.

       You all know how I feel about additives and preservatives in my food, so what better way to control that than by making it yourself? Anytime I can make something from scratch-I do. I have even started making my own tortillas! Most things are so much easier to make than people realize!

       So just like 2 pilgrims, we decided to churn our own butter! 2 pilgrims with a Kitchen-Aid stand up mixer!

What you will need:

Kitchen-Aid mixer with wire whisk and paddle attachments.

2 cups heavy cream ***MUST BE HEAVY CREAM***  Preferably organic-why make it from scratch if there is a bunch of additives in it, you may as well just buy it.

3 cups ice water ***MUST BE ICE WATER***

Step 1-Put 2 cups heavy cream in bowl of mixer and mix on highest speed with the wire whisk attachment. Whisk until cream starts to break, that means just past the whipped cream stage when you will see it start to breakdown. It will look a little more curdled than whipped and will start to be a bit yellow. This took us about 15 minutes.

Step 2-At this point stop the mixer and switch the wire whisk with the paddle attachment. The reason being is you are about to have butter and it will be impossible to get the butter out of the wire whisk. Keep beating the cream for another 40 seconds to a minute, the cream will turn to butter and stick to the paddle and there will be a bunch of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. This is the buttermilk, pour the buttermilk into a glass-now go make some biscuits!



       So now you have butter! There is one more step-cleaning the butter. If you are making this butter for a special occasion such as a dinner party or you will be using it within a day or 2, you can omit this step. If you are going to make it and then keep it in the fridge, then you will need to clean it so it stays longer.

Step 3-While still in the bowl of the mixer, add about 1 cup of ice water-don't get any ice cubes in the butter. Let mixer run for about 20 seconds. Stop and drain water out, repeat this 2 more times until the water is clear. What this is doing is cleaning out any remaining buttermilk so the butter will last longer. You may want to press the butter against the side of the bowl with a spoon after every "washing" to get all the buttermilk out of the butter.

       I know this post should have had a video to go with it but it took 2 tries -the first time we thought we had messed it up because it took longer than we expected. Next time I will make a video because I will be doing this again! With 2 cups of heavy cream we yielded 1 1/2 cups butter and 1 cup of buttermilk. We still have 2 cups of heavy cream left over to make mousse and whipped cream! We are already discussing how we are going to flavor our next batch. Maybe a touch of sea salt and roasted garlic? Yum! and Honeybuns is now fantasizing about living on a farm and raising pigs and chickens and churning barrels of butter! For now we will have to settle for whipping it up in my tiny kitchen!





Little Goddess Cream Blush

Hello all you pretty people!!!!

I must express my love of cream blush to you!!! 

 I LOVE cream blush!

I love a dewy looking cheek-and let me clarify-when I say dewy, I do not mean sweaty, like you just ran 10 miles, more like you just skipped through a field with a puppy and chased a rainbow!

Dewiness equals youthfulness! Just think of the glowing, healthy, fresh faced 17 year olds, they have a natural radiance to their skin. They don't look dry or dull-they look dewy. Little Goddess Cream Blush can provide that youthful glow. Or think of Jlo, they pretty much dip her in liquid highlighter from head to toe before she hits the American Idol stage. You obviously don't have to go as extreme as Jennifer Lopez but she was just voted the most beautiful women in the world by People magazine. See what a little glow can do for a gal!

 

I love when skin looks like it is glowing from the inside out. That's what Little Goddess Cream Blush can do, it lets your skin, look like skin. Skin that is flushed, not an overly powdered version of itself. Powder blush can make skin look a little dry sometimes, especially in the winter. If you are going to use a powder blush, you should stick to a mineral blush such as Little Goddess Mineral Blush-but I will save that for another post.

As we get older, because of hormone changes, our skin starts to get drier. Sometimes we need help recreating the youthful glow we once had. If you have any concerns about dry skin, you should definitely consider trying a cream blush.

It always surprised me when I see women past a certain age mattifying everything. They wear a matte foundation, powder blush and matte lips-I don't know why but usually in a brick red color. A nice look for 1989 but most people should not wear a full matte face, it is definitely not a natural look. Ladies you want to look juicy! You do not want to look like a piece of particle board!! 

Little Goddess Cream Blush comes in 5 shades and can be applied with your fingers, a sponge, or a synthetic brush. I use a foundation brush and more recently have been using True Techniques contour brush, which I will review soon.

A great summertime look for when the weather is hot and you don't want to wear a ton of makeup:

• Apply a tinted moisturizer with SPF such as Little Goddess Mineral Sheer Tint SPF 20. Conceal any blemishes.

• Apply Little Goddess Cream Blush to the cheeks.

• Apply Little Goddess HD Mascara.

• Apply Little Goddess Liptoxyl Sheer.

Radiant!

Get that Goddess Glow with Little Goddess Cream Blush!

littlegoddesscosmetics.com

My Favorite Things!!

Photo taken from Sanre Organic Skinfood's website.

I wish I could be like Oprah and give everyone in my audience boatloads of my favorite things! (and be a billionaire)

Since I cannot send each of you my favorite things, the very least I can do is pass along some of my favorite beauty booty!

I have been on the hunt for the Holy Grail of sunscreen for years and I think I may have found it!

Let me first say that as I have become involved in the beauty industry and have researched ingredients, I now have specific criteria that have to be met before I can consider a product for Holy Grail status.

1. No parabens, petroleum or harmful chemicals.

   2.  No fragrance. Fragrance is very irritating to the skin and if your skin is constantly irritated, that means it is constantly working to repair itself and that equals stress!

   3. The product should have nutrient rich ingredients for skin health.

With that being said, let me introduce to you, Sanre products. I found Sanre Supple Sunshine moisturizer with SPF 30 while I was searching the Environmental Working Group's website for a non-toxic sunscreen. This was on their 2009 top 10 list, coming in at number 5. I decided to give it a try and have been hooked ever since.

***Side Note- EWG is a group that works to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions.***

Sanre Organic Skinfood is a skin care company who believe in using organic ingredients and never using artificial, synthetic chemicals. Their line includes eye creams, face mask, lip balms, moisturizers, toners and cleansers. I find them to be a bit on the pricey side but when you find a product that is everything you have been looking for and works, sometimes you just have to splurge!

Sanre Organic Skinfood products are approved by PETA, certified vegan, part of the Leaping Bunny Program (which means no animal testing) and Green America certified.

Now back to Supple Sunshine! Supple Sunshine is an organic rosemary and lavender day cream for normal to dry skin that has an SPF of 30. The benefits, as listed on their website are as follows:

• Shields and protects your skin from sun exposure and pollution, while gently restoring moisture and elasticity, all without clogging sensitive pores.
• Applied as a daily moisturizer to provide a soothing and healing barrier against mother nature as it strives to reduce skin irritation, inflammation and free radical damage.

The ingredients are:

Organic Safflower Oil (Carthamus Tinctorius Oil): Highly moisturizing oil with an exceptionally high amount of Oleic acids. Deeply soothing.


Organic Grape Seed (Vitis Vinifera) Oil: Antioxidant, rich in Vitamin C, combats free radicals, rejuvenating agent.

Purified Water (Aqua).

Zinc Oxide: Natural mineral used to shield against the harmful effects of the sun, which is here utilized in a non-irritating, non-sticky form. Unlike other chemical sunscreen ingredients it cannot be absorbed into the skin and is not metabolized by the body. SanRe is very careful with its zinc oxide particle size; never using micro "nano" particles that can be ingested into your skin's pores.

Organic Beeswax (Cera Alba): Natural thickener and emollient, with emulsifying, hydrating and protective properties.

Organic Coconut Oil (Cocos Nucifera Oil): Antifungal, anti-inflammatory, reduces the appearance of intrusive pigments like Lipotuscin (brown, freckle like spots) on the skin. Reduces free-radical activity and oxidation, while healing, repairing and encouraging the growth of new healthier tissue. Protects the skin from the damaging rays of the sun.

Organic Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis Gel) Gel: Healing, soothing, oil-free nourishment minimizes wrinkles and infuses the tissues.

Organic Lavender (Lavendula Angustifolia) Essential Oil: Has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, which are calming, healing and purifying. Also provides a fragrant natural scent.

Organic Rosemary (Rosinarinas Officinalis) Essential Oil: Astringent, anti-bacterial, and helps to improve skin circulation.

Organic Red Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Essential Oil: Natural preservative has antiseptic and aromatic properties.

Organic Patchouli (Pogostemon Cablin) Essential Oil: Excellent rejuvenator, which invigorates and restores the skin.

Organic Hyssop (Hyssopus Officinalis) Essential Oil: Has tonic, sedative properties, and is an anti-inflammatory agent.

I have been using this product for 1 year and I am just finishing up my 2nd jar. The jars only come in a 1 oz size. I work from home most of the time so it is not used everyday, so for everyday use it would probably last about 4 months.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this product! It is moisturizing and provides great sun protection without causing any irritation or breakouts or that unsightly white cast that some mineral sunblocks can cause. It is nutrient rich and does not contain any chemicals.

My moisturizing sun protection Holy Grail. I will be using this product for a long time to come!

Littlegoddesscosmetics.com

http://www.sanreorganic.com/catalog/

Correct and Conceal

Little Goddess Pro Palette Correct and Conceal

Hello My Beauties!!

Today's tutorial is on how to use color correctors. Color correctors are those pastel colors that most people have absolutely no idea how to use! I am here to explain color correctors and to show you how you can use them to help correct dark under eye circles.

The theory behind color correctors is if you look at a color wheel, colors that are opposite each other will neutralize each other out. For example, green and red are opposite each other on the color wheel, so green and red will neutralize each other out. Keep in mind that skin is multi-tonal, maybe the darkness under your eyes is a bluish purple instead of a reddish purple, so it may take a few tries to see what will work best for you.

Little Goddess Pro Palette Correct and Conceal color palette comes with 3 different corrector shades:

Green-To neutralize red tones.

Yellow-To neutralize blue and purple tones.

Lavender-To brighten sallow skin.

Color correctors do not mimic the color of skin like a concealer does. The sole purpose of a corrector is to correct and even out discolorations (although I do use the lavender color to create a beautiful highlight on the cheekbone right under the eye area).

Color correctors should be worn under something such as foundation or concealer, as opposed to wearing it by itself and they are not necessary unless you have a very noticeable discoloration, such as rosacea or very dark circles, that a concealer or foundation cannot even out on it's own.

So here are some basic steps to follow:

1. Prep and prime skin as you normally would.

2. Apply corrector to affected area, such as dark under eye area or red cheek area, etc.

3. Apply foundation over area where corrector was applied.

4. Apply concealer if needed. This step is optional.

5. Lightly powder to set makeup.  

Little Goddess products used in this video:

• Pro Palette Correct and Conceal
• Mineral Sheer Tint SPF 20 in Light
• Mineral Photo Touch Concealer
• Hydraradiance Age Defying Mineral Powder Foundation 

Happy Correcting!!

That time of year....

Hello All!

Summertime is right around the corner and it is time to start thinking about sun protection! It is always time to think about sun protection! I wear sun protection year round and you should too, even on the cloudy days because the UV rays still penetrate through the clouds!

The days are now getting longer and everyone will be spending more time outdoors in the beautiful sunshine so I feel it is my duty to re post this sun protection post from last year-I hope you enjoy it the second time around:

Hello All! It is that time of the year again. Summertime is fast upon us, so it is my duty to make sure everyone knows the importance of sun protection. The sun makes your skin look dry, dull, uneven, wrinkled, and causes the collegen to break down, which causes skin to sag. Also, you don't even see the damage it causes until years later, which is why it is so important to use broad spectrum sun protection all the time, including wintertime and during daily activities. Besides causing premature aging, you can get skin cancer from the sun-so please protect yourself.



So what is the best protection for you? Well let me explain the difference between sunscreen and sunblock. Sunscreen or chemical sunscreen use chemicals as the active sun protection ingredients. It usually contains oxybenzone or avobenzone (also known as Parsol 1789), which can cause irritation if you have sensitive skin. Chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays before they can cause any damage. Chemical sunscreens need to be applied about 30 minutes before sun exposure as that is how long it takes to "activate" on your skin.

Sunblock or physical sunblock use minerals such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the active sun protection ingredients. Physical sunblock is much more gentle on sensitive skin and they work by forming an opaque film that reflects or scatters UV light before it can penetrate the skin. Physical sunblock sometimes has a whitish cast when applied to the skin (think of the lifeguard's white nose-that's zinc oxide).

I had done a whole post on antioxidants, they have been proven to increase sun protection so make sure you get your daily dosage of antioxidants through your diet or apply it to your skin before you apply your sunscreen, such as with the green tea toner, or a Vitamin C serum (I am going to do a post on how to make your own).

Yes it is true, almost everyone looks better with a tan, but there are much healthier ways of getting that tan than sitting in the sun or a tanning bed such as using a self tanner, going to get a spray tan, or using Little Goddess Mineral Bronzer in Congo! Also keep in mind that when your skin tans, it is actually protecting itself from the rays that are damaging it.

**TIP**When applying bronzer to your face, remember to hit your neck, chest, and even the tops of your hands so everything matches and looks uniform, and your face doesn't look like it's a different color from your body.

Ok guys, I hope you found this re-post helpful and informative! Please don't go outside without your protection and if you have any questions, you can always message me!

Love and Sunshine,

Jessica

CLOSE-UP

Hello All!

This past week the Soho Film Festival took place in NYC. I had the pleasure of attending the screening of CLOSE-UP, a movie about a recovering drug addict/down on his luck actor trying to get his life back on track, played very convincingly by Shaun Paul Costello. The cast is rounded out by Valentina Mohle, Brian Gallagher, Brian Anthony Wilson, Jacqui Schneider and Ryan Dunn of Jackass fame.

My Lovely Niece Erica



CLOSE-UP was written, directed and produced by Jose Cruz and my lovely niece Erica Lenart acted as associate producer on the film.

Enjoy the trailer!

Click here to read about CLOSE-UP and Cruz Control Pictures

Simple Smokey Eye for the Donna's

Not my eye! Photo pilfered from
the internet!

I have three friends named Donna.

There is Donna, Dona and Madonna (not that Madonna, but this one is just as fabulous!)

My three Donna's love a smokey eye, however, two are hot momma's on the go and just don't have time to sit around perfecting the smokey eye-and the third hot tamale does not feel extremely skilled in the makeup application department.

So in honor of the Donna's (and as requested), I have posted a simple smokey eye tutorial! The smokey eye look is the most requested makeup look as it is a very sultry, sexy look and who does not want to look sexy? There are a bazillion different ways to do a smokey eye (and probably a bazillion different videos on YouTube showing you how to do a smokey eye).

The following is my simplified version. It may look like a lot of steps but it really is simple even if you don't feel like you have a lot of makeup know how.  

First, let me start by saying that smoking your eye out is a technique! It is not referring to the color of smoke even though traditionally smokey eyes have been done using blacks or greys. It is referring to the technique of blending the eyeshadow colors to give it the effect of smoke. Think of smoke coming from a fire-the smoke is most prominant near the fire source but then gradually lessens and disappears. Same effect with a smokey eye, the darkest colors are going to be closest to the lash line and then blended to soften and fade into the browbone. There should be no harsh lines, and if using multiple colors, you shouldn't know where one color ends and the other begins. That hold true for most makeup looks when you are blending colors together.

Second, I must stress that the key to having  makeup that will last is to layer. In this video, there is a base eyeshadow, eye pencil, more eyeshadow, more pencil and more eyeshadow to set!! Your makeup should not move for hours!

The products I used for this look are of course all Little Goddess products (except for the black eyeshadow) and are as follows:

Silk Sheets Polychromatic Eyeshadow

Sand Mineral Matte Eyeshadow

Ink Mineral Eyeshadow

Wild Pink Cream Blush

Sandstone Mineral Eyeshadow

Absolute Black Eye Pencil

HD Mascara in Carbon

Brow Shaper Kit in Medium

Nude Lipliner  

         Liptoxyl Lipgloss in Angel                

So before you start you want to make sure to prime/prep your skin and apply foundation/powder to the skin as you usually would. If you don't usually use foundation, please at least powder the eyelids.

Step 1: Apply Silk Sheets eyeshadow all over the lid from lashes to browbone. There are multiple reasons why you need to apply a base eyeshadow:

• Eyelids are naturally oily and you need to powder them down to prevent creasing and slippage.

• If you put foundation/concealor on your eyelids, you need to powder them to set the makeup and prevent it from sliding and seperating as the day goes on-which is why makeup disappears during the day if it is not set properly.

• The additional shadows and makeup you apply needs something to grab onto that is not skin. So the base layer provides a barrier between your skin so your application is smoother and last longer.

If you properly powder your eyelids with loose powder, you can skip the base eyeshadow.

Step 2: A smokey eye needs lots of black eyeliner. Apply Absolute Black eyeliner to top lash line and smudge with a smudge brush (or a Q-tip) to soften. Remember-no harsh lines.

Step 3: Apply Ink eyeshadow on top lid, from lashline into the crease. I used a flat shadow brush, you can use whatever you have.

Step 4: Take a clean blending brush and blend the outer edge of the shadow (or) blend a neautral shadow such as Sand Mineral Matte into the edge of the shadow to soften and fade. You can also use loose powder for this step if you don't have a neautral shadow.

Step 5: Apply a second coat of eyeliner to the top lashline. With a stiff slanted eyeliner brush, set top lash line with black eyeshadow.

Step 6: Apply Absolute Black eyeliner to the lower lashline. With a stiff slanted eyeliner brush, set lower lashline with Ink shadow.

Step 7: Add Sandstone to brow bone and inner corner of eye to highlight.

Step 8: Apply HD Mascara to both top and lower lashes.

Step 9: Shape eyebrows using LG Brow Shaper Kit.

Step 10: Apply Wild Pink Cream Blush to cheeks-or whatever neautral colored blush you have.

Step 11: Apply Nude Lipliner and Angel Liptoxyl Gloss-or whatever neautral toned lip colors you have.

I hope this is as simple as I intended it to be! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment and I will respond-Donna's, you can just call me up!

Please enjoy the video!

Happy Blending! 

 All products can be purchased at

Littlegoddesscosmetics.com

Ban the Bun!

Hello All!!

I just wanted to share something that I learned the other day while getting my hair cut that some of you long haired gal's (and guy's) may find useful.

While sitting in my hair guy's chair after he cut my hair and finished blow drying, he said to me "you know-you have to be careful", so I said "careful about what?". As he is running his fingers through my hair and looking at me with some concern, he asked me "what are you doing right here?" while firmly palming my crown-ahem, let me clarify-not the crown I wear while at home in my kingdom, the actual crown of my skull. I replied "nothing-I don't do anything there"

Him: You don't put clips right here? (hand planted firmly on crown)

Me: No! I don't clip my hair!

Him: Well you're doing something right here.

Then it dawned on me-my beloved bun!! or as sweetie pie calls it-my pom pom!

I love my long hair but I really love my long hair when it is sitting in a tight bun on top of my little head! For the past 100 years, the first thing I do when I walk in my door is put my hair up in a bun perched right on top of my head! Very conveniently out of my face and out of my way! I have also noticed for the past 100 years is that after I blow dry my hair there are always these little baby fuzzy hairs sticking straight up like a little highlighted porcupine but I just chalked it up to my blow drying skills not being up to par. I have also begun noticing these little broken hairs at the front of my hairline and was wondering where the f**k are they coming from?! Well I know now-my beloved bun!!

So I asked could my bun be causing all this damage? "Yes!" he said, "that is it!" and then banned me from my bun loving ways!

So rather than risk going bald on top of my head and resembling a bald monk that has been tonsured, I've had to reprogram myself. I am allowed to wear a loose bun at the nape of my neck-fun stuff.

So for all you ladies (or men) that are noticing broken hairs, thinning hair or have a bun addiction-Please be careful because you may be abusing your hair and not even realize it!

Even though bald is beautiful, full healthy hair is spectacular! 

Ban the Bun! 

2011 Top Beauty Blog!

Hello All!!

Congratulations to Little Goddess Cosmetics for being chosen by Beautyschool.com and

Mysocialbeauty.com as one of the

Top Beauty Blogs in 2011!

So a big Thank You to everyone who subscribes and follows me here at Little Goddess and also a big Thank You to everyone at Beautyschool.com as well as well as Mysocialbeauty.com

Making the world more beautiful,
one Goddess at a time!

My Skin's Chemical Romance

           
        My skin loves chemicals. Yep, that's right and anyone who knows me will see the absolute irony in that statement.              
        For those of you who don't, let me explain-I hate chemicals. It started many years ago when after cleaning my bathtub with some chemical cleanser, I didn't want to take a bath because I was completely grossed out by the thought of soaking in a bathtub that would most likely have chemicals floating around in it. I hate everything about cleansers, the way they smell especially-clean does not smell like a fake chemical pine forest! I started making my own cleanser by combining baking soda, cream of tar tar and white vinegar. I felt much better about my bathtub after I started cleaning it with my homemade scrub. I despise air "fresheners"-there is nothing fresh about them. When someone sprays air freshener I don't think "aah-how fresh", I think "I'm going to get cancer".
        It started with cleanser and then moved to the foods I eat. I had already stopped eating most meats-especially processed meats. I have not had a hot dog, hamburger, or a cold cut (minus cheese) since 1987. So now I decided to take it one step further. I believe people should eat whole foods-that means foods that have had nothing added to them and nothing taken away. In other words, no processed foods. I do not eat anything fat or sugar free. If you take the fat or sugar out of food, you have to add something back in to make it taste good and that means chemicals!
        So this past year, I had decided to apply my no chemical stance to my skin care routine. I decided to change all the products I used and not only was I going to shun parabans and petroleum, I wanted all of the ingredients to be from the earth. I wanted the moisturizing agents to be oils pressed from the finest fruits, the anti-inflammatory ingredients to come from the leaves of an exotic plant and the anti aging magic to come from the petals of a fragrant flower. I wanted to be able to eat my skincare if I needed to.
        So I started out by purchasing a sample package from an all organic "natural" line. The ingredients featured Aloe Vera Gel, Soapwort Extract, Jojoba Oil, Golden Seal, Grapeseed Extract, Chamomile, Sugar Cane and Green Tea. Perfect! I was so happy! All I envisioned was my already beautiful skin being transformed into the most wonderful, luminous skin ever created! What I got was the biggest breakout of my life! OK-I was not going to give up, I was convinced it was the Aloe Vera, so I would just avoid that. So my first all natural product and not only was I avoiding chemical ingredients, I was now avoiding natural ingredients. Great. I ordered a face cleanser from an online "natural" website that didn't work and ended up being used as a hand soap. I purchased a cleansing cream from the health food store because it was all "natural" and contained Sea Buckthorn and Cucumber. Next I tried another line by a well known Doctor who follows an '"all natural" lifestyle and shuns chemicals. My skin only got worse.
        One day honeybuns looked at me and said "you look like a 15 year old girl" due to my adolescent worthy breakout I had been having for the past 5 months. That same week while handing my landlady my rent check, she looked at me and said "what happened to your face?" I knew something had to be done. I was going to have to sleep with the enemy. I purchased some samples from Paulaschoice.com and almost overnight, my skin cleared up.
        The moral of this story is: not all things that are natural and from the earth are good for your skin, and not all things synthetic and man made are bad for your skin. You just have to figure out your comfort level. 
        Just as I try to eat healthfully and mindfully as much as I can, don't be surprised if you see me devouring the occasional bag of Doritos. I still try to avoid the parabans, sulfates, and fragrance and be mindful of what I put on my skin, but I am a little more open to all ingredients including the synthetic ones.

       

Hope you all had a safe, happy, healthy New Year!

       

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello All!

Just a quick post to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you will all be spending time with loved ones, eating a lot of food, laughing, napping, and drinking! All of the good stuff-I know I will!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to tell you all about my beautiful, and very talented, cousin Kristin.

Some of you may remember when I had my little baking gig with Hurley Girly Sweets and Treats. We used to sell our delicacies at the Old Stockade Farmers Market in Kingston. 

Kristin was 1/3 of our baking team-the other 1/3 being my mother, Lucille.

I was never a big fan of baking, I would much rather cook a meal, however Kristin loves it and she is quite wonderful at it.

She has continued down the baking path with:

   Confections by Kristin

 She is taking orders now for her holiday goodies!

Yum! I am getting hungry just looking at the menu!

Kristin's cookies are homemade with the finest ingredients and a lot of love!

(I know she doesn't have them on the menu, but Kris makes the most amazing apple cider donuts! They are a little bit of sugary heaven!)

So if anyone needs to bring a dessert, give a gift, or you just don't feel like baking your own this year, give Kristin a call or send her an email and she will help you out!

She is primarily delivering in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, however, you can call her to discuss shipping options.

Everyone have a very safe Thanksgiving!