Fabulously Cheeky

Ideally, your eyes are supposed to be one eye size apart. If you are one of the lucky ones who fit this ideal, you don’t need to read this post. But for the rest of us, who aren’t quite that perfect, we can still look good with makeup. We just have to know how!
The first thing to do, if you think your eyes are closed set, is to check your eye brows. Put a pencil next to your nose and see if your eye brows go past the pencil, towards the nose. If your eyebrows are also too close together, you can easily fix it by nipping out a few of the hairs that are creeping towards your nose. Once you get your eyebrows a little further apart, your eyes will also seem to move apart.

Next, make sure you put a highlight color in the inner corner of your eyes. This will make you look wide eyed (and bushy tailed) in no time.
If you are using any kind of dark contour color, it should only be used around the outer corner of the eye. The same applies if you use eye liner or pencil. Only line the eye from the middle and out on both upper and lower eyelids. If you try to line the whole eye, you’ll look like your eyes just moved an inch closer to each other, so forget lines all the way to the inner corner.
Think out and up, and light towards the nose and dark on the outer corner. Also, don’t put dark color in the crease more than half way in.
Finish it off with mascara on both upper and lower lashes. Wait for it to dry, and then put more on only the outer half top lashes. Now take a look in the mirror. Even with subtle day time colors, the difference is huge!

Glossy vinyl looking lips are in! And, I must admit, I do love that look! But, however, innocent your lipgloss tube may look, it should actually come with a warning on it!

What you don’t know is that the glossiness of the lip gloss acts as a magnifying glass on your lips when the sun hits it, so it actually increases the effect of the UV on your lips.

The skin on your lips and upper chest and eyelids is thinner than anywhere else on your body, and is therefore more susceptible to sun damage than the rest of your skin. And, if you then add a shiny liquid with no sunprotection in it, you can easily end up with lip cancer (which is both dangerous and deforming).

Evidently, lip cancer is more aggressive and faster moving than many other cancers. So, this kind of lipgloss should be saved for evening looks only.

The first sign of trouble is if your lips are constantly chapped and dry, no matter what kind of lip balm you apply, so go and see a doctor if this is the case. And always look for lip balm or lip tint with SPF. You can even put some under your lipstick!

Enter discount code save2mf to get $2.00 off!

The first time I tried it, I put it on 3 of my biggest moles first, since I didn’t know how many moles I could remove. The container was sooo tiny, but I tell you, this stuff goes really far. So, I did 7 moles, just to see what would happen, and there was still more left in the container.

First they burn and sting for a few minutes, then you wash it off. Very simple! The moles will disappear after only ONE 20 minute application!

After washing it off, the moles looked very dark and kind of flat. By the next day, there were scabs on all of them. About a week later, the scabs were coming off, and under the scab was just a small reddish spot. Now, about 2 weeks later, some of the moles have completely disappeared, and a few are still in the process of disappering.

So, I took the rest of the stuff and put it on another 8 moles, small ones. That is when I discovered that the small ones don’t sting too bad. It seems that it stings more if the mole is very big.

So, that tiny bottle was enough for removing 14 moles, some of them quite big and raised. Not bad!

I got very excited about this product – this really works! Can you imagine how much money I saved by doing it myself rather than seeing a dermatologist? We are probably talking hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And I didn’t have to be anesthesized, cut, or stitched!

So, I decided to share this info with the rest of you. I even made an agreement with the company that anyone who comes from my blog will get a $2.00 discount if they add the code “save2mf” at checkout.

If you want to order this product, you can either click on the picture in this post, or you can use the permanent link on the left side of my blog.

For any one who doesn’t know me, I want to make you aware that I make a completely natural skin care line called Green Beauty Cosmetics which rates at 0-1 in the cosmeticsdatabase.

I have been working like a busy bee since Christmas, reformulating my green beauty products after I found out that I had to change preservatives. I was lucky enough to find a new, natural preservative that is corn derived and ECOCERT certified. The cosmeticsdatabase rates it at a 1, and it is approved for use in USA, Japan, Europe, Australia and Canada. It is also a moisturizer, and it was found to increase the moisture levels in the skin during tests.

The bad news was that it wasn’t an emulsifier, like the last preservative I used, so some of the formulas became unstable when using the new preservative and therefore had to be reformulated. So, this took me on a journey through the internet until I found this wonderful organic farm that offered a long list of natural, plant based ECOCERT emulsifiers and viscosity builders, as well as natural and organic tinctures and extracts that I couldn’t find anywhere else. So, I bought lots of stuff, replaced my dry herbs with the new tinctures (no more herbal sediment in the bottles) and now I’m very happy with the results. The over all rating is still 0-1 in the cosmeticsdatabase, and I think that this transition has greatly improved the quality of my products.

On my journey through google, I also came across some really cool recyclable airless containers that will keep the products completely contamination free during use, and also increase their shelf life. So, I took the plunge and repackaged (and relabled) everything while I was at it (and my website has also been changed, in case you go in there…) A rediculous amount of work went into this, but I think it was well worth the effort.

If you go to my website (see permanent link on the left side of my blog), you’ll notice that most of the products are back up for sale (the rest will be available very soon), and one of the lotions with the old preservative and old label is on sale for about 1/2 price. CLICK HERE to check it out!

I have a makeup book called “Staging your Comeback” which specifically focuses on makeovers for mature women. He’s got some good things to say about clothing style and how to understand your figure and learn to work with it, but I don’t agree with his use of makeup.

He usually uses full coverage foundation because he believes that the less we show our skins, the younger we look. It may look better on a photo where you can manipulate the light and make the skin look perfect, but you step out in bright daylight with a thick layer of foundation caked into your wrinkles, and you look in a mirror and tell me how young that looks!

Not only does it look painted, fake and caked on, but the color NEVER matches your true skin color. It is always too yellow, too pink, too fake.

No, as we get older, and our coloring gets softer, we need to work with nature. Makeup is supposed to ENHANCE your natural beauty, not cover it up!

My approach is to use a little bit of concealer on dark circles and blemishes, and then use a very light, sheer cream foundation. Tinted moisturizer usually doesn’t contain enough tint to really make a whole lot of difference. It is better to go for a sheer, light coverage foundation that allows your natural color to shine through, but evens out any kind of mottled skin tone. This kind of foundation looks very natural in sun light, and all you need is a little cream blush on the apples of your cheeks, some mascara and eye pencil, and a little bit of lip tint or gloss on the lips, and you’ll look fresh and glowy without looking like one of those old fashioned wooden dolls with harshly painted faces.

To pick the right color of foundation, put a line of the cream on the edge of your jaw, down the neck a bit and see if it blends in. This is because the neck is usually a little bit lighter than the face, and if you want it to look natural, it must match your neck.

Mascara is important. It gives your eyes a lift, and don’t forget to darken the eyebrows a bit, too. Use a soft eyebrow pencil that is not too dark, or some eyebrow powder. Don’t draw a solid line. Little feathery ones that resemble eyebrow hairs work better.

Lipstick should be in soft colors, and sheer lipsticks look way better on mature women than solid lipsticks. Stay away from lip liners – even though they give the lips more definition, they also give the face a harsh and painted look. Gloss is good – it makes your face look young and fresh. Stay away from matte lipstick, it will age you 20 years…

Also, stay away from powder. A matte face looks much older than a slightly shiny face. So don’t set your foundation with powder. Use a creamy foundation and a cream blush, and you’ll look lovely!

The winter is so rough on the skin, it is like freeze drying! And when the skin dries up, wrinkles appear, and without moisture, the skin simply looks old. But there are things we can do to prevent some of this damage.

First of all, we have to be careful not to use products that strip the natural oils out of already stressed skin. That means no soap, no harsh cleansers and no alcohol based toners! All of these products just add to the problem.

So use a soap free cleanser and a non alcoholic toner first thing in the morning. The next thing is to use a good moisturizer, preferably a light serum. The only purpose of a moisturizer is to moisturize with ingredients that increases the water levels in the skin. So, it should contain first of all water, then hyaluronic acid, which can hold the water on the surface, and possibly also ingredients such as glycerin, lecithin, rose water, etc. Leave the moisturizer on the skin for a few minutes before adding anything else so the moisture can penetrate the skin properly.

After moisturizing properly, the moisture has to be sealed in, or it will simply evaporate as soon as you go outside in the cold. To do this, I recommend using a thick rich cream or some kind of face oil that can create an emollient barrier that protects the skin from the cold and keeps it moisturized.

Can you get all of this out of one product? I don’t think so. If you use a thick cream or balm, it won’t have enough moisture in it to actually moisturize the skin. It will definitely create a barrier, but a barrier isn’t enough in itself. Both are needed. That is why I prefer to use a light moisturizer first, and then add a barrier on top for cold protection.

The good thing about layering products is that you can add more of a barrier in the winter, and just use a simple moisturizer in the summer without a barrier on top.

Remember, the makeup can’t look good unless the skin underneath is looks good. So, take good care of your skin, especially in the winter time.

Are you considering hormone replacement therapy? Think again! Those medications are far from natural, and if you google it, you’ll find long lists of possible side effects! So why do people get on HRT? Mainly two reasons, hotflashes and fear of osteoporosis. However, the HRT itself can compromise your health, too.

HRT works by suppressing your natural cycles of hormones so that your hotflashes can get under control. But, suppression never cures anything. Whatever you push down, must come back up, it is as simple as that! I have heard about women who have been on HRT for over 10 years, and as soon as they quit, the hotflashes are back!!!

But, I wasn’t going to talk about hotflashes. (By the way, they can easily be dealt with with homeopathy – send me an email if you would like a consultation). I was actually going to talk about the possibility of osteoporosis. Evidently, lack of minerals can cause the bones to become brittle, which causes them to break easily. Well, that can also be fixed with natural remedies.

Susun Weed (famous herbalist) recommends drinking infusions of raspberry leaf and nettle leaf. An infusion is what you get when you pour a quart of water over 2 handfuls of herb and let it sit for 2-3 hours before drinking it. It tastes horrible, but supposedly, it works really well.

Another thing I came across today was the use of apple cider vinegar to avoid brittle bones. Very interesting article. CLICK HERE to read more! Evidently, drinking a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily (mixed with honey if you wish), will prevent osteoporosis! So, we don’t need any HRT – apple cider vinegar will do…

When menopause comes, moles often follow, especially if it is in your genes. Unfortunately, my family grow moles like other people grow carrots. I remember my grandfather’s brother before he died. He was so covered with moles that his whole face was spotted, and my grandfather wasn’t far behind. The last time my mom came to visit, she was full of moles as well, and looking down my own belly, I can see them coming! A big one under the bra strap, another big one right at the waist line, two on my chest, one on my neck, one on my face and another one near the bikini line, which always gives me trouble when I shave. And then, lots of little ones, of course, but the little ones don’t bother me. It is the big, raised ones that has to go, especially if they are in places that get irritated from the waist on my skirt, or the seat belt. So, I started searching the net for answers.

First, I came across a bloodroot cream from an herb farm, only $15.00. I bought it and used it for 2 weeks on one of the moles, with no effect whatsoever. Then I went back to the net again, looking for something better. I came across a horrible picture of a large wound caused by using bloodroot, and a big warning! Glad it didn’t happen to me!

Eventually, I came across something called WartMoleVanish, supposedly all natural and NOT containing bloodroot. Got super good reviews from everyone. There was only one problem – the price of about $90.00 for an amount of cream the size of a green pea. Yes, I know that it is cheaper than going to the doctor, but still…

So, I kept looking, and I found a company called molepaste.com that sells exactly the same formula for half the price. The formula consists of all natural plant extracts (and NO bloodroot), and is said to work after ONE 20 minute application.

I bought the product, and it scared me a bit because you have to scratch the moles with a needle to rough up the surface first, and then rub them down a bit with an emery board before applying the stuff. I followed all their instructions, applied the product and it was surprisingly painful! For about 10 minutes it stings like hell.

After 20 minutes, I washed it off, and the moles dried up and scabbed over. Now, about a week later, 2 scabs have fallen off and left a small pink spot where the mole used to be, so this stuff really works! So, if you are in the same position I was, and want to do something about it, this stuff is worth trying! CLICK HERE to go to their website! (Or, you can find it on ebay).

What do you think about the use of nanoparticles in sunscreen? Here is a video interview with Professor Tilman Butz from Leipzig about this issue. He has done microscopic skin tests to find out whether nano particles such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide penetrate the skin, and found that they actually don’t! What a surprise! They are actually safe to use on healthy skin! CLICK HERE to see the video.