Winter Skin update

I felt I ought to give an update on how my winter skin care regime is panning out :
to save you having to scroll down, it's basically one clarifying wash with a foaming gel followed by a moisturising wash - ordinary cream cleanser with tea tree oil added in my case (not a cream wash or any other variation) and then I rinse, sponge or wet wipe this off with slightly hotter water so it doesn't clog the pores.

I then cream my face with a slightly thicker face cream - this winter I have varied from Dr. Hauschka's Rose Creme, to natural Shea butter. These cremes can appear greasy so the key is a little goes a long way.

My skin is looking good, thank goodness! Despite not eating healthily it still looks firm and healthy. The only thing I would change is that at the end of the working day it tends to look dry, so I am trying to teach myself to moisturise again it helps it look good and the moisture forms a barrier for my skin against the very cold weather and then very drying heating.

Autumn Blog

Hey people - it's time for me to move blogs!
why? well apparently I've done reached my limit of photos and I hate not being able to have photo's. No photo's is a v. boring scenario. so off to the new blog I go - it's just called Health & Beauty Autumn - nothing too different, in terms of title and in terms of the content will definitely be doing more of the same : exploring Health & Beauty....see you on the other side!

come on over to http://beautywinter2005.blogspot.com

Bright Red Lipstick

This morning it was a really dark morning - I woke up thinking surely it can't be time for me to get up - but looking at the clock revealed not only was it time for me to get my azz up, but I should have been in the shower.

I did my usual grooming process, but instead of just doing the barely there make up this morning I decided to use one of the many bright red lipsticks I bought in New York earlier this year, probably in some bid to brighten up the dreary morning.

No big deal, right? But what I am discovering is that the opposite sex seem to love bright red lipstick. I'm getting a lot of appreciative glances this morning...it's a little bit startling, lol.

The Body Beautiful Show

ok. So I went to this show last Saturday, the body beautiful show and to be honest, before hand, I had scanned their website to see the companies in attendence; a lot of cosmetic surgeons, a lot of dentists and a lot of beauty products groups.

I'll just jump to my impression it was okay in set up - people made an effort, but the problem with the beauty industry is that people will not do anything to their body that requires a change unless a) they are convinced of the professionalism of the person and b) they see the persons work and therefore are recommended.

The fact that only three or four of the exibitors actually addressed this issue, by having samples or their products to take away and use meant that some of the providers were not in tune with what the industry requires to go that extra leg to attract customers...that may sound harsh, but it's true. £99 for tooth whitening may be a bargain, but if I don't know someone who can explain to me how much pain is involved and who won't be getting monetary gain out of convincing me then I ain't buying!

That's the main reason why certain spots at this exhibition were just packed! you could see where the freebies were, you just had to look out for th very long queues. These queues is the reason why I queued for just under 3 hours to get a free facial (apparently it costs £200) - we got the condensed version and we were able to buy tickets for this version for a knock down price of £75, but honey, why pay for something when I could try it then and there!

I had the facial - the facialist was lovely, I've forgotten her name, but she was pretty, with gorgeously long dreadlocks, dark mahogany skin and had a beautiful/sunny character too - she gave me an excellent head and shoulder massage and I almost forgot all about how long it took to get there. I didn't really like the facial though - my skin felt really tight afterwards and I'm not used to that - tight skin to me equals more chances of getting wrinkles.

I also went to the biological Age counter - this was well publicised before hand and I was so curious - I had read something about this a magazine and all the information was laid out and an eventual age was spat out by some statistical machine.

Well, out of curiousity I decided to do mine. When I got to the top of the cue I couldn't believe what a set up these folks had! Can we say 'Quack Doctors'? They had 4 people who so looked like they had been pulled from an agency two dressed in lab coats that they had never worn before. In each section they each did a different job, one took your grip, the other checked skin elasticity, the other tested eyes with this large meter stick that looked like it had been borrowed from a museum and the final one checked blood pressure.

When I got my results I got an age for each test, 25 for two of them and 40 for one and 80 for the other.

An American Lady (AL) then came and spoke to me about my results. AL : your blood pressure results are bad, me: I'm suprised they are normally quite good. AL: *snort* well this is bad!. Me: Well I have about 3 blood pressure tests before and a well woman assessment which all told me I have low blood pressure and have I am at low risk of heart disease. AL: well, the thing with the machine we use is that because we only have a short time we can only use the pulse for a quick test, we couldn't get the machine that you squeeze and ........

yeh, yeh, and the rest!

the second thing that I found out about the cockamami test was that the lowest age you would get on the results was 25! and no lower! I am so sure that the test was set up to make women who want to stop everything going south get hooked on to them and buy their products. It's companies like these that really make me believe that the beauty industry needs a makeover.

My hair has got to grow!

yesterday I was wandering around London and I saw a black girl zipping by, I knew she was in a hurry but I had to stop her and ask whether what she had was on her hair, realising what I said I immediately apologised, and she, obviously used to being asked the question told me it was ok. All the will I stood their looking for signs that the hair which was well past her shoulders and on its way to reaching her elbows was not hers - but I could see that is was. She quickly told me that she has regular deep conditioning steams I thanked and we said "bye" and she passed on.

Her hair is no different in texture at all, but I knew I had to make an effort to care for my hair, put some strength back into it and stop it from breaking in general. I went back over my well kept list of websites for hair care that I had come across in the past including www.longhaircareforum.com. But for me the best (looks professional, includes visual clips which show technique) has to be http://www.growafrohairlong.com/crownandglory.html. The Crown and Glory technique was created by stylist Robin Woods and goes into details about hair care for the basic types : Natural, dreadlocks, relaxed and permed. It looks at Food, vitamins, how hair is washed, how it combed, everything. I hope this can do something for me in my hour of need!

Fine Lines and wrinkles

I'm no where near the age where I need to start worrying about wrinkles, but I've been aware of them since forever (as far back as my teens) and only because I am a real beauty aficionado.

Plus living in a country that seems to be a breeding ground for premature wrinkles means that I am always on the look out for the next big product.

Simply out of preference botox doesn't appeal to me, neither do restalane or isolagon - all of which sound wonderful, ( I believe restalane (sp.) lasts for 6 months, so is a great investment if you do go down this route).

This weekend I came across a different, non-invasive method of handling wrinkles. Scouring through the latest edition of vibe vixen magazine (the sister magazine to Vibe, see www.vibevixen.com) they had a page where they stopped various women and asked them a beauty question - one person in particular revealed that her mother uses premarin on her face which really helps to reduce fine lines her actual words were "It really works!".

Now for those of you, who like me, had never heard of premarin before it is a cream that deals with vaginal atrophy (!!!!!!!!!!!!). So if you can get past this then you're already one step ahead. According to a website I accessed the cream works by 'temporarily inflamming the skin'. The good thing about this website is that it is also reveals the down side. (click here to view : http://www.a2zwrinklereduction.com/wrinklespremarincream/)

What I would love to correct at the moment is the skin around my eyes - I've seen a picture of my grandfather and he didn't so much have bags as great big suitcases around his eyes. My plan is to stay well away from that look and so I am trying to prepare now for the future, so to speak. The site above made reference to a cream called Preparation H which is supposed to help. Now I've actually heard of this before and used it in the past. Preparation H is a cream that is administered for haemaroids (sp. - I need to sort out my spelling!) but it has been revealed in articles and beauty books as being great for the skin around the eyes. I did try it, btu the only problem was that it had no moisture at all - it was almost clay like in texture, which put me off. Looking at this website I received much more information about Preparation H; I did not know that it contains steriods and steroids can thin the skin - the skin around the eyes is already a delicate area etc. But again, the verdict is that preparation H really works also.

At the moment I am thinking of getting both the creams and 'watering' them down with other lotions or creams that I currently have thereby, hopefully, minimising any bad effects. As usual I will have a loooong think about it before I actually decide whether to go for it or not

This Months Beauty Wish List

I have my peepers on the following :-

1. Under Eye Caci treatment - which promises to lift the eye
2. Electrolysis or Laser treatment on the upper lip - their not that noticeable, but I really want them gone already!
3. Chair massage - I booked for a free one at work (lucky me!) but I could really do with one now
4. Pedicure - loooong overdue
5. Against the wishes of my stylist I plan to get my hair braided in winter
6. I'm going to the beauty show due to take place at the Olympia in London this month http://www.bodybeautifulshow.co.uk so will be looking for movie star level beauty secrets out there which I will, of course, edit and add to this list

Autumn Winter Beauty Part II

Now that autum/winter is truly here operation 'protect-myself-from-the-dangers-of-central-heating-and-cold-weather' (phew! long title) is in full swing. part 1) I've started doing my olive oil face washes. I do a clarifying was with normal face wash then put olive oil on my face have a shower and then clean the oil off with a hot water and natural sponge and then moisturise my face as normal. My moisturisers are now Dr. Hauschka Rose creme, which is quite a thick moistureriser, mixed with nivea sun creme for SPF protection and dermalogica firm skin booster serum.

The second most important thing is my hair - I never could figure out why it was that around february my then natural hair would break and fall out to the point that people thought I had cut my hair. This year moisturising is the name of the game and I have many to suit all my moods and treatments.

The day before I wash my hair I oil it with Amla hair oil which has a woody smell to it.

For any other day I use Rasta group's wonderfully revitalising mango and lime oil. Because oils and lotions work in different ways I tend to mix the two together so something lotiony like or a cream gets used in conjunction. Usually pure shea butter, which I add essential oils to - my latest block has drops of lemon grass and camphor added, Elasta QP's mango butter which smells edible or Pantene Relaxed and Natural moisturising creme. I always feel that my temples and nape need extra moisturising so at night I tend to add the shea butter slightly thickly to these areas. I have the Rasta Groups cactus serum, but it doesn't have that much moisture in it so not sure if it would be great under cooler conditions. If it doesn't have any moisture it will simply dry out the hair and could lead to breakage so I have to be careful if I do use it!

Finally food and exercise - I have been stepping up the campaign with Diet Buddies and now have, count'em, TWO diet buddies. They both appear to be normal so really looking forward to it - especially as these are the months when we really feel like snuggling up and eating lots of stodge. I spend a lot of my time at work and tend to eat both my breakfast and lunch there so for my lunches I plan to add scotch-hat peppers to my lunches so that I am warmed up and feel full when I eat.

Diet Buddy Angst

As some of you will know I've been trying to find a decent diet buddy for a little while. Whenever one is in the position that they have weight to loose it's best to find a diet buddy because you can achieve so much when you get the right buddy.

Without knowing it I had one a few years ago - a friend and I were loosing weight, at the time I lived in North London and She lived in South London so we couldn't meet up to exercise or for a general chat, but we usually spoke to each other every day and as we were both on diets we talked about what went wrong, what went right, and when I felt low about overeating she'd cajole me into believing I could go on and vice versa - it was fantastic!

There are inevitably times when someone is dieting and they do not feel like exercising or going out for a jog or breaking into a sweat....when my friend and I were on this diet the motivation was there because talking about it kept us going - when one of us was down the enthusiasm of the other was infectious and kept us going. I lost about 35 lbs which is no mean feat I can tell you!

So you see what I mean about having a diet buddy being a brilliant thing...but it's finding one that's the nightmare. I contacted one before who left an advert, but if her emails are a reflection of her attitude she will find it very difficult to get one. The second time around I posted an ad on a website and received an email almost instanteously. Fantastic! I thought....Immediately I started giving details about how much I wanted to loose and why I wanted a diet buddy now, etc.. all the usual chit-chat you give to someone you have never spoken to... I got replies, but talk about unenthusiastic! As life is far too short I know I don't have time for attitude so I will be widening my search...in the meantime if any of you are looking for a diet buddy then email me at evols1dog@yahoo.co.uk, lol.

Eternal Youth

I'm always going on about how I believe the 'canvas' has to be right if all the make up and clothing etc is going to look good. This is not necessarily true, people who know how to hide this and that can really make themselves look amazing. But I always like the idea that if you go right down to the 'root' of a person they have that healthy glowing look.

Beauty and Youth are definitely not just about the products we use, and our grooming process or the amount of exercise we get and what we eat - although these definitely factor.

It's about the inside too, which in my opinion doesn't get explored enough.

Let's take Youth : a lot of this is marketed in bottles of high promising creams with all sorts of vitamins and ingredients which 'peel back the hands of time' or provide that inner glow. But the truth of the matter is I have many an aunt and uncle from Africa and the Carribean who've never across these products and whose faces completely belie their age....some of them have wrinkle free skin, but some of them have the wrinkle free skin and look extremely youthful and for this I am usually in awe. How do they manage to do it?

I've tried to observe because many of them are not even aware of what they do that makes them look so young but even that is difficult. It appears it is easier to pinpoint what it is that makes people look older....

I've observed so far that:
1. Bad body posture definitely ages. Hunched backs always remind me of Mr. Burns (a la The Simpsons) type characters who are completely set in their ways and whose inflexibility is evident in their bad posture.
2.Then there is bad facial posture...reading a book on beauty the author narrated a story about a friend who had plastic surgery because the perma-angry look on her face meant that she was constantly being told "smile...it might never happen".

These are the two things that I definitely need to work on - I haven't changed that much physically over the past few years, but getting an assessment on my age has changed drastically and I am so aware of the changes in my face and my perma-frown and my shoulders seems to be constantly slouched forward, smh.

But, and I don't know how much this applies to people out there - I know that my bad posture is linked to negative self talk and also lack of esteem (I worry that if I put my shoulders back and my chest shoots forward I'll be sending an altogether different message, lol)

I know that my bad facial posture can be linked to the fact that I seem to automatically tense up - it's such a subconscious thing I don't even notice...but I do notice when my throat tightens and my breathing gets shallow. Bad facial posture can stem from anything as innocent as a frown of concentration to a frown of annoyance and walking to work each morning the legendary 'cold' faces will be littered with expressions that are fixed in expressions of cynical thoughts, unvented anger, frustration and defensiveness and generally not taking time out when it all gets too much. I hate sounding so negative but that's what I see.

I believe that at the end of the day we have to reset the mind - that is get rid of all the information we get inundated, get philosophical about whatever incident may have annoyed or irritated and also learn from them where possible.

I know all of this, but it's getting my azz to sit down and do the stupid thing - I believe I need to see it as an important part of my beauty regime. I'll let you know it goes.....

Trying to tame my eating habits

I really want to loose about 14lbs, but it is sooo tough right now!

I keep overeating and it is a sure fire way to put on weight, obviously, if I'm eating more calories that I need I am going to be putting on weight, and as Arylon let me know in the 'How to eat..' article, one day can make a huge difference on the scale.

I'm going through a battle at the moment and now that so called diet buddy has clearly decided that she doesn't want one anymore this is clearly something I am going to have to work out on my own....so what am I going to do? not sure...but if I figure it out I'll get back here with the answer!

They say "the eyes have it"

Having been into h&b for such a long time I am more than familiar with this phrase, but never thought about what it meant other than someone had pretty eyes.... it's only now that I've started thinking about what parts of my face to accentuate when doing my make up and I've noticed that african and indian women tend to kohl line the eyes, it suddenly dawned on me that I should be making the most of mine...what I've started doing is making sure my eyebrows looks smooth - they are always 'clean' (free from stray hairs) but they seem to have that look...I can't explain it, but the eyebrows never look soft enough...

experimenting with pencils made me realise that if I use a soft pencil I can fill them in accentuating my eyes and softening the brows all at the same time.

The other thing that makes my eyes stand out is if I use mascara on both the lower and upper lashes... I did do this in the past and didn't like it, but trying it again recently I've decided it does suit me, finally to really bring out my eyes, in the most natural way, drawing a line along the lower lash helps, if I want to look even more natural I blend the line so it is very soft, but the colour is there contrasting with the whites of my eyes.

I finish with a little blush and lip gloss, sounds a lot, but being someone who cannot stand piles of make up on my face, it's not.

I overdosed on beauty products

Last month was just a crazy month - I went product mad and brought almost everything and anything that caught my fancy, the list goes

1. Two l'oreal shocking mascara's, because I have to have one for home and one to come out with me 'just in case'
2. one l'oreal architect mascara - it's an old favourite and what if they discontinue it?!
3. Mango Elasta QP hair butter - it smells good enough to eat, I loves it!
4. Rasta Locing gel resistant formula
5. Rasta mango and lime hair oil
6. Some indian hair oil to add to my hair the day before washing
7. Lancome juicy tube - I'd been telling myself I didn't need one for so long that it had to happen
8. Nexxus retexxtur curl vitalising shampoo - which I used with my phytospecific mask
9. eyebrow pencil - I've been studying my eyes for a long time now and I concluded that the brows need a little definiton
10. I finally graduated to the larger tubes of Dr. Hauschka Rose creme
11. As mentioned in a previous post - I bought the Dermologica firm boost serum, the vitamin intensive under eye creme, eye patches - of which I am half way through the packet.
12. More under eye patches - I found the same ones for cheaper
13. Tea trea oil - which I started out using for spots, but now I add to hair creme / oil to stimulate my scalp

I know there are many more, I'll just have to add them as I remember....

September's Links

http://www.lamasbeauty.com/blog/ - Health and beauty blog
http://bestofweightloss.com/ts/id9799.html - Dieting blog
http://www.style.com/
http://www.beautynewsletter.gq.nu/
http://www.hautezine.com/ - beauty newsletter
http://www.ubhpublications.com/HairTipsQ1.html - Ultra Black Hair website
http://www.lookfantastic.com/cgi-bin/lf.storefront - A UK site which sells beauty products at a cheaper price
http://www.thejanecartersolution.com/ - hair products as features in Essence Magazine
http://www.blackup.com/index.asp - Beauty products for black skin, French style
http://p069.ezboard.com/bblackbeautyblackhair86911 - black hair boards, especially good if you are looking for tips on how to get your hair to grow

Last edited 22nd September 2005

For the hirsute

okay, I'm not hirsute, but I do have very dark hair which means even the slightest amount causes a little shadow. Not good for certain areas... I'm going to look into electrolysis as a means of permanent hair removal, I need to do the usual check the reviews, find a reputable store - I do not want to end up with scarring ...no sireee!!

for legs, forearms, bikini line and underarms I considered getting some waxing done for a cleaner look than cremes or razors. But browsing through a drugstore one day I thought, why don't I just get an epilator - it's one off cost will cover the cost of lots of waxings and I can do it whenever I want.

Well I bought it, took it home and the very next day returned it to the shop. I found they wouldn't take it back though because *shameful blush* I had tried to test it on myself and the hairs showed up. So I took it back home and put it out of sight while I stopped seething for being lumbered with this thing I didn't want.

My next idea was to send this epilator to the charity shop but I always seemed to forget to bring it with me whenever I was passing, which is definitely a good thing because last Thursday I tried it and now I love it! it left me so smooth! Don't get me wrong it is painful. But if you hold the skin taut - like you would with waxing - it minimises the pain. The only area I won't be epilating any time too soon is my underarm - dang it hoits! That area will be strictly getting the creme treatment, but other than that happy with the results. The make of my epilator is Braun - it's not high tech, but it does the job.

August Edition!

As some of you will have noticed, I've been emailing and posting on websites all morning to let you folks know that this months Edition is currently being posted. It of course will be added to, but for those of who who are completely new to this blog (((Welcome))). Feel free to post comments where you want to and also there is the July edition to look at which will explain more detail behind the "part 2" stories in August's postings.

This Months Links

http://www.urbanbeautyonline.com/- lots of interesting information for black women (or women of colour)
http://beauty-care.blogspot.com - I've found a second beauty blog...
http://www.msn.handbag.com/beauty/askjohn/ - I am such a fan of this man! Ask him any question regarding beauty ...he is one of my unsung heros
http://www.fashionindia.net/beauty/index.htm - Beauty tips from an Indian perspective, be careful as a few references to skin lightening
http://motowngirl.com/transitioning.htm - excellent hair transitioning thread as well as hair routine and other useful information
http://naturallycurly2.com/curl411/types.php - another hair grading website but this time is has pictures on it

Phytospecific products

On a recent perusal through Covent Garden I came across a product aimed at black women called Phytospecific. It seems to be aimed at the "high-end" consumers with prices for each product ranging at around £10. I bought the intense mask for £18.50 and used it two weeks ago - it seems fine, my hair felt moisturised, but I will see how it progresses over the next few weeks. The cynic in me says to be careful that I am not being hoodwinked paying more money for a product that is much the same as everything else, but I won't know unless I give it a try. After a first use I would say it's good, it has a luxurious feel to it. I will be looking around for reviews on the shampoo and hair creme to see if they're worth the money.

for more information go to :-http://www.phytospecific.com/

Baggie Method : home hair treatment

I really need to do this as it's been an age since I have....basically this method of home hair care treatment means looking after the ends of your hair and is kind of like steaming your hair whilst you are asleep.

You get the hair cream or oil of your choice, put this on the ends of your hair. You then get a bag and wrap it around the hair and then cover your hair as normal and go to sleep. Apart from the crinkly sound of the carrier bag there is no discomfort at all and this conditions the ends of my hair which tend to suffer.

I usually vary doing the ends of my hair with my entire head. It can get quite steamed under the carrier bag, but I always think of the conditioning treatment it gives to my hair. I try not to do it so much as I'm not sure doing it often would be healthy for the hair.

Shocking Mascara!

I'm a fan of the l'Oreal Architect mascara so when I saw the L'Oreal Shocking Mascara I thought I would give it a try. I reminds me a product that Bourgous (sp.) brought out a few years ago, but thankfully when I opened this there seemed to be much more content.

it's a two step mascara so the silver side is a vitamin build up for the lashes and the black side is the black coating. It's not the usual mascara wand it's one of those combs, which I must admit I groaned when I first saw, but, as the directions say you only need to dip the comb in once and that is enough to comb through the lashes several times.

I have to say I like it, it's easy to use and it does what it is supposed to ...in fact normally I have a harder time getting the lashes on my left eye to look just as full as those on my right eye [strange, but true]. So it's great using the comb which I found enables me to thicken the lashes on both sides to an equal amount. The term 'shocking' my be a bit exaggerated though, lol.

Autumn Winter Beauty

I'm in London at the moment and this is the time of year I definitely find challenging...the days start to get shorter, it's gets drearier, I never want to get up out of bed in the morning because the dark morning sky is no challenge for my duvet....

I need to start thinking about ways to keep loosing weight especially as this is the time when I crave stodgey food, ways to keep motivated and exercise and also go into that transition period of skin care, I'll be updating with the specifics...

Office Beauty Kit

Of course most people have them and me being slow as usual to catch up I've just about got mine organised. Because our office is air conditioned and my throat ends up very dry at the end of the day I have a little bit of creme that I use to moisturise my face, my vaseline and my visine antistringent eye drops which are well needed! If I'm going out this grows to include my mascara (can't remember who makes it, but it's the bomb), my mac lipglass and my revlon blush.

More on Meditation....and Relaxation

To get rid of the stress that I have been through of late I thought I might, in addition to exercising, pay a visit to my local meditation centre in Covent Garden, London. A place called Innerspace, which I mentioned in one of my earlier posts which have a lovely meditation room that absolutely anyone can use. You don't even have to pay. Sometimes I just wander in there off the street, go down stairs to the room use the room and go straight back out. When I'm not so strapped for time I will stop on the way out and make a little donation and when I have even more time I will have a peruse through the books that provide food for the soul.

I used to work quite close to that place so it used to be a God send when work was getting far too difficult. But now I have to make do with the times when I finish work early or the saturdays that I happen to be around that area.

I tend to get stressed very easily and to counter this I take Bach Rescue Remedy. It's a little spritz that has an alcoholic flavour to it as that's what happens when they get the essences of the herbs that are used to make this. Apparently you are supposed to spritz your tongue three times, but I go right ahead and spritz from 4 - 8 times. I'm not sure whether it's the herbs of the alcoholic taste that calms me, for all I know it could be a placebo, but something seems to work.

Now, though I've had a series of issues at work and to keep my calm and dodge all the sharks I have just started taking a tablet called Valerian. I actually had valerian tincture before. It does not smell good - but I used it to relax me. The side affect is that you feel drowsy so using the tincture during the day (when I need it) obviously does not work. I found these day tables and took them - on the way in to work I felt fine, when I normally start stressing out. Again, not sure if it is really the tablets or if it's a placebo, but I figure as long as it keeps me calm it's worth the money.

Meditating on beauty

I was supposed to meditate throughout my detox to clear the stress that tends to build up in the face.... I mean this week has been tough and it really shows... and if I leave it there it's going to be part of my look. I always see it on other peoples faces, when they have had some sort of bad experience and the tension shows in their face which means their face is stuck in an aggressive look or a victim look or something. It's so bad to see it so I know I need to get rid of mine!

I plan to do a long meditation this weekend and I mean long. I don't tend to meditate in the 'normal' way. I tend to go with the flow, sometimes I leave my eyes open and just sit in peace and quiet and this is because if I haven't had time to unwind a typical meditation is just not going to work. Sometimes I do close the eyes. But this time it's going to be about going inside and getting rid of the tensions in my face, throat, back and spine. I'm looking forward to it...

3D Lashes Part II

I didn't get the 3-D lashes done in the end!

No, instead I went to a local beauty salon run by an african lady who looks beautiful and looks like she had dined with all sorts of dignitaries. She behaves like that also which, to be honest is what kept me from walking back out of her shop because the premises are a dive. Beauty salon equipment backed up into every available space. Whenever I walked past I never failed to notice the extra long nail extensions and weaves styled in pineapple styles. I am much more for the cool, calm service in spacious surroundings.

But the thing is that once in there I slipped into voyeur mode taking note of every treatment being admniistered. The salon owner herself had fantastic eyebrows of the like you see in black american magazines, subtly done and well shaped. I asked her about them, she wouldn't say how they were done, but she said she would do them for me. I declined...one treatment at a time...but I did get my eye lashes done.

The extensions are stuck above my lashes with my head thrown back. Another woman, who apparently has very curly lashes had her's suck under her lashes. It didn't take long at all but after a while the eye lash line felt tight. I could have lived with it and to be honest I got used to the sensation. They really brought out my eyes, though I worried that I had a bit of a transvestite look to my face, but they were nice. To be honest I only realised how much they did for me after I managed to painfully pull them off. I pulled them off because I have this thing about me that automatically removes jewellery and these eyelashes... I just wanted them off. When they came off I realised I wasn't as blessed with eyelashes as I thought I was - I actually looked bald! lol and I'm not just being cruel to myself. When they finally came off I realised that longer thicker eyelashes can help to make ones eyes really soft and feminine. I would just love it if they felt so natural that yuo forgot about them being there. I wonder whether that is the difference between the £10 that I paid at the local salon and the £150 that the 3-D lashes would have cost. If I ever get the chance to compare I'll definitely grab it!

Beauty Additions

I've been too busy to blog lately :o( but that doesn't seem to have stopped from damaging my bank account and buying more beauty products.

Recent additions have been:
Dermalogica extra firming booster (serum)
Dermalogica multivitamin power firm for eye and lip area
Burt's Bees orange essence facial cleanser - which I found out later is award winning..
Some undereye patches - I haven't used yet, but they'll be good to use when I'm doing a relaxing home facial.

I've, of course road tested almost all of these and I definitely like the serum, and I think the orange facial cleanser is really good - it has a rich feel to it, yet it washes off very easily - it definitely ticks a lot of boxes! The jury is still out on the power firm serum - it reminds me of the Aveda under eye creme which also had that powdery texture to it and is very smooth. But the Dermalogica is a little drier and I'm not convinced about the level of absorption. So much so that after I put it on I went and got my cocoabutter oil (the scar serum - what I usually use at night for my under eye) and daubed that on. I felt it would be better to have the mix of the vitamins of one and the conditioning oil of the other at work.

Detox Over!!!

Like the girl in this picture I am jumping for joy - over a week ago I finished the detox. Like I planned I got to day 3 and decided to see how I felt. To be honest I felt like crap, tired as I hadn't been getting enough sleep, moody and I had a headache of the like I hadn't experienced in a long time. 'They' say that as your body starts having withdrawal symptoms from all the additives and preservatives you begin to experience headaches and tiredness. I would have given up, but I wanted to soldier on. I did the same assessment at six days and then after that it seems like one blur of salads, fruit, whole grain rice, vegetables and salmon sashimi.

Proudest moments on the detox have to have been managing to go out and not succumb to white wine, chocolates, chips etc. and obviously finishing it (yaaay!).

the result is that I lost weight - I fit into my 'skinny' trousers. To be honest I can't tell the difference, but my trousers, and the scales and my mom told me there is a difference. Someone commented the other day that I was glowing (yippee! - they didn't even know I'd been on a detox) and generally feeling very energetic, not so sluggish.

The only downside to this is that I'd love to be able to eat all the refined carbs in the world and still keep my insides healthy, but *shrug* that's not possible. It means you always have to go around with some/several fruit or raw nuts and dried fruit snacks in your bag.

I've been off the detox for a week or so, but I'm scared to go back to eating as normal - I've just started eating nigerian food (although I plan to stay away from white rice) and the other day i had my first piece of brown bread - yum!

Out of the way pharmacies....

I love going to pharmacies in areas where the racial make up is different. The reason being is because they tend to have beauty products which are not typically advertised in the west, but can add a whole dimension to your grooming process.

An example is many years ago in an indian pharmacy I came across a tonge scrapper. I asked the shop manager what it was for (it looked like a metal product of doom) and he explained what it was and how it work. I considered buying it, but it looked painful so I gave it a miss. Many, many years later and it's only now I am seeing tongue scrappers in mainstream stores.

Another product I have missed is the under eye patches. You can get them in Paris, and almost every other country but for some unknown reason they seem to have stopped doing them in mainstream stores in London. At least I thought so, until I went into the chinese pharmacy and spied them on the shelf. I, of course, grabbed a packet for myself straight away, but there are still many condiments for me to browse though and understand what they can be used for. Going to these places always gives me insight into other cultures as well. In both Indian and chinese stores there are bleaching products referred to euphemistically, sometimes, as whitening essences. I assumed this was something that only black people did, but of course whites themselves do this to maintain a porcelain complexion.

I'm on the hunt now for a chinese pharmacy outside the zone one area that does beauty treatments so I can get some good facials that don't eat up half my monthly wage!

Natural Hair Products

It was after reading a book on Ayurvedic Beauty techniques that I felt inspired to engage in looking at natural alternatives wherever possible. What I love about hearing indians talk about beauty is that they seem to have their this whole thing down to an art form, especially when it comes to taking care of body to make it beautiful.

I had switched over to using olive and castor oil with essential oils for my body (I have since gone on to incorporate an SPF 30 nivea creme).

I realised I wouldn't able to do the same with my own hair - I wash my hair with Pantene (which I brought in New York and I bought as much as I could possibly manage because I love that stuff, I love the fact we have a mainstream hair company producing shampoo and conditioner specifically for black hair and both are very moisturing. It's a shame about the adverts though - real hair is better than a wig and weave which most of us can spot at ten paces!

Incidentally I do a conditioning wash which means I buy another conditioner which I mix with a little shampoo and wash my hair with. I then use the pantene conditioner or the Aussie 3 minute miracle conditioner to condition the hair afterwards. I first heard about washing the hair with conditioner in a newspaper snippet on Jerry Hall who was talking about her beauty secrets. Now I've never been a fan of Jerry Hall - I'd rather say I've been indifferent, but her 'secrets' were excellent!

Aside from washing the hair I try to keep the hair constantly hydrated through out the week - this relies on a mixture of products. Keracare by default as that is what my excellent hair stylist Phebean uses and the products have grown on me. I use the silken seal and the leave-in conditioner.

I also like to oil the scalp - I tend to mix the oil I use with a serum so I get the different properties working on my hair. The two products I use to do this are o-so-natural and I am absolutely in awe of the both of them. The first is Doogro product which contains amongst other ingrediants soya oil. The serum is produced by the Rasta group and it's the cactus serum. I went on to buy the cactus oil and use all the products mentioned here on rotation and as and when I need. Their both excellent and I love the whole ethical nature behind the rasta group products and also the totally natural attitude behind the products of Doogro.

for more information :-http://www.rastagroup.com/product.htm
http://www.doogro.com

Hair on the internet

Everyone knows that Afro hair comes in so many variations and varieties and that each head of ours requires different treatment if we are to maintain a healthy head of hair. For the first time ever I heard about hair grades where hair is graded according to it's texture and other forms of criteria. Apparently the person who invented this grading system was the stylist to Oprah Winfrey herself, Andre Walker. I still don't get how this system works, but it dawned on me the other day that it could help me understand my hair a little better and treat it better so I'll be getting my head down to cracking my hair code. Click on the link here to find out your own individual hair grade
http://ourhair.net/content/view/29/40/1/1/

Hair Transitions

A friend of mine is currently going through a hair transition. She has decided that she no longer wants to relax her hair as much as she was before and will now prefer to go back to her natural state but simply use heat to maintain the same hairstle that pretty much works for her.

I've gone through many a hair search and come across some great links which I have sent to her and thought I would share the one that stood out to me the most.
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/fatcat/30/id43.htm is a fantastic link which charts a womans progress from relaxed to natural hair over the course of a year I believe.

My friends method is slightly different from the examples stated above : she is simply going to have milder and milder relaxers used until it gets to the point that no relaxer is required at all. Thereby maintaining the same hairstyle and not having to make the 'big chop'. I think that's great.

I haven't asked her whether she would consider going back to relaxed hair in the future, but the great thing about afro hair is it can be very forgiving and allow quite a lot of styles to be administered to it.

A Beautiful Education

whenever I get to a bookshop my usual port of call is the health and beauty sections closely followed by the pop psychology section. I tend to have a love hate relationship with pop-psych, it always seems to be written by a whole load of people who state the obvious and very rarely give a decent practical answer for your issue.

To an extent Health and Beauty is the same. Full of lots of common sense information on how to wash you face, obvious things like add soap to face flannel, but instead of furiously rubbing move the flannel across your face in circular motions (duh!).

Of course there are those books which are at the pinacle of their game. Top of my list for the moment is Ultimate Health: 12 Keys to Abundant Health and Happiness by Dr. John Biffra. First off I had been a regular reader of his articles in a health magazine and one day there was an article in it which he refer to the 12 key steps - it's kind of like a little overview - I loved the article so much I cut it out and have it til this day, despite the fact that I have a copy of the book. It is just so practicle and it covers all areas of health, not just the physical aspects. Case to point : he talks about the benefits of eating well, of detoxing of exercise, then he takes it a step further by talking about breathing techniques, water (which for anyone who knows about alternative health these are pretty much the staples, but what he does is take it a step further by having easy to understand chapters which discuss how to honour ourselves (you know that feeling of when everything/one, but you, seems to come first and you end up forgetting what your basic needs are), and about trusting our intuition - it's a fantastic alrounder and great holistically. I started flipping through it again last night and couldn't put it down, right now, as I am detoxing I think it's a great idea for take care of spirit as well as the body.

3D Lashes : the weaves of the eyelash world, lol

Flicking through a magazine at the gym I came across an snippet on a new product (well I've never heard of it before) called 3-D lashes which involves synthetic eyelashes being used to extend what nature has managed to bless us with. Apparently they last for up to two months...amazing. I'm already trying to figure out whether my bank account can take the £150.00 (yes, that really is the price quoted in the magazine) beating to get this treatment.

for more practical information take a look at http://www.miamilivicky.com/lashes.html

Alternatively, if you are based in the UK you should be able to find your nearest supplier on tel: 01722 329 829

I called this number and found out that only one person has been trained in the London for this treatment so far (!!!) if you know you want this treatment contact the Naked Health, Beauty Salon in Wimbledon, London on 020 8 944 5454.

My appointment is all booked - I'll let you know whether it was all worth it!

Day one of the detox

I didn't want to post yesterday because I thought I might jinx myself so I waited until today when the pressure of finishing day one would be off.

I had agreed wih a colleague, last week, to buy salads with a colleague of mine but I had to tell her I wouldn't be able to do this anymore because I was going to be watching every ingrediant that passed my lips for the next 10 days or so.

Because I haven't done a detox in over two years I've decided to be sensibe and lenient with myself as that's the only way I seem to get anything done. So I've kinda backed up on the number of days I need to do. I've decided to aim to do three days instead of ten, then if I manage to get the three days done I will see how I feel, if I can go on to day four through to day six I am going to give myself a treat of Salmon Sashimi which I absolutely adore.

The good thing about telling my colleague about doing the detox is that she watches what she eats too - I mean if she overeats on chocolate we will ALL know about it (she's slim too so she is obviously doing something right). Anyway, when I told her I wanted chocolate it was like having my very own diet coach. She countered everything I said by saying "no you don't want chocolate, you just think you do" which coming from her in her stern voice was exactly what I needed. But doesn't explain why she started talking about chocolate chip cookies later on with me in ear shot, lol!

I didn't manage to exercise for as long as I wanted to, but I'm not going to beat myself over the head for it - I know what I am like and I always push myself when I know I physically can do the exercise.

Anyway, this is what I consumed on day one, plus exercise, although I had a lot more water than is shown on the list below :

Meal - Contents - Portions - Time eaten - hunger rating at the start of the meal 1 = not full 10 = very full Rating at the end- hunger rating at the end of the meal

Breakfast
Pumkin and sunflower seeds and raisons lots of lime water - About 25 g or each and about 50 g of raisons - 10.00 – 11.00am -1 -1

Snack
Orange / tangerine - 1 medium - noon - 1 -2

Lunch
Large salad and cup of lime water -1 tub (as sold in Zest café) -13.37 -1 -4

Snack
Strawberries, blueberries, redgrapes and baby carrot -Half of a medium plastic container - 14.57 - 3 -3

15.00 I crave chocolate!!! But don’t have any!!!

Snack
Mixed seeds and raisons -About 40 g - 15.40 - 2 - 2

Snack
Banana - Medium small - 17.00 - 2 - 2

Snack
Mixed berries - The other half of the medium container - 20.45 - 2 - 3

Dinner
2 soya yoghurts with cashews - 22.15 - 2 - 5

Exercise
Reclining bike ride for 40 minutes, steps for 10 minutes and ski-master for 10 minutes, skipping for 2 minutes followed by 10 minutes in the steam room.

Dermalogica come true

Whilst I was paying up in the hairdressers I turned to look at the products on display for sale and noticed that they supplied Dermalogica!

I didn't waste a second looking through all the products. My eyes latched onto the serums - which I have been looking for a decent one ever since The Body Shop discontinued their brilliant plant extract serum (I've forgotten the official name for it). But given that it's coming the end of the month and I knew I hardly had a shekel to my name I decided to go for Dermalogica Multi-vitamin Power Recovery Mask.

Of course I tried it first thing the following day and it is good. 'Good' is quite a high compliment coming from me. It's rich and it disappeared into my skin after a while (according to a beauty consultant disappearing mask means thirsty skin) I don't know whether it sank into my skin because my skin was dry (which is strange as I always keep it moisturised) or because I left it on a lot longer than the recommended 15 minutes.

Anyhoo, happy with the end result and will definitely try the serum to see if it is any good. What I need to check though, is I thought that their products were 'natural' which always adds value in my book!

Japanese Silk Booster Facial

I heard about the Elemis Japanese Silk Booster Facial several times before I actually tried it - once in Vogue UK I think it was, then I heard about it in an evening paper and I read what it was all about and decided I would love something like that for my skin. Then finally I came across it once again in another magazine when a celebrity talked of it being her choice treatment. Methinks they either have excellent PR or there is something to all the talk - I had been lax, believe it or not on keeping to my one beauty treatment a month, at least, rule, so I decided that this would be the treatment for me.

I called the number as per the article, and made my appointment.

The day of my appointment I went to the gym first and worked out and then went to look forward to my treatment. The thing is that with beauty treatments it's definitely about the person giving it to you. There was nothing wrong with the person who gave me the treatment per se.... she probably sensed that I was shattered and kept quiet for that reason, but before and after there was this nervousness - It made me wonder whether she knew what she was doing.

The treatment in itself was not what it was cracked up to be. And at this point it's not about the person administering it - I believe, despite her nerves, she was capable. It was more the product. It was about a facial, but the products were just not up to par - I didn't feel anything like the reports in the newspapers and the fact that I had had faaar cheaper treatments which were more effective elsewhere got this bad mood festering in me once I had finished.

I loved the treatment room and I discovered as I was getting changed that there was a lovely bath area next door and the decor was clearly influenced by eastern religious themes - lovely. The service in the waiting room area was very deceptive and I mean that in a good way. The receptionist there was just so nice - which definitely relaxed me, and no matter how many times I asked for glasses of water she obliged (well I should say she asked me and I said "yes."). Even where the Elemis Day Spa is located puts you in the mood for pampering; in a little yard area which is cobbled and filled with shops that definitely add to the setting of life being all about you.

What a shame the treatment didn't match!

My Beauty Wish List

Every so often (like once a month and usually very close to pay day) I crave things. Beauty products that will promise gorgeous glowing skin. Smells that tantalise and give that feeling of treating one-self with absolute love. Treatments that get me into what I call the "princess mode" (which is not arrogant - just special :o)).

My current wish list is :


1. To try Dermalogica - I keep hearing about it and it sounds amazing
2. Buy more Dr. Hauschka products - I'd like to try the rose creme
3. I want my acrylic nails back!!!! Apart from not being able to scratch properly they were so easy!
4. An aromatherapy massage at the Sanctuary with Karen (I think her name is)
5. A slobbing weekend away - to get the city tension out of my body
6. Hair 'reconstruct' treatment (apparently this is a deep condition)


Actually not sure if 6 should be on the list as that is supposed to be happening tomorrow morning so I guess I don't have to worry about that!

See Me

I've been umming and aahing about whether to post a picture of myself and at some point I am sure I will delete this picture, but this blog is supposed to be all about practical beauty and I know that when it comes to practical health and beauty I loves to see me some good pictures. This picture is of me in New York last January flashing my crest stripped teefus, lol.

The make up I have on is my beauty speedy routine. Going around New York so I wanted to look decent so contact lenses in - mascara, blush and lip gloss. I have just had my hair texturised and parted it to the side and held it with a clip to make it easy. About 20 minutes in the mornnig and I was ready to go!

How to eat when you are on a diet

I'm always on diets. I don't like it but hey I have a goal to achieve and I am constantly learning. sometimes on the odd occasion, I feel inspired to ask the right questions to find out what I need to know to get to slim-body heaven. On one such occasion I started a thread on www.blackvoices.com where I lurk from time to time and asked what people d0 to maintain their weight loss.

'Arylon' responded to me with the much needed advice - I've posted her unedited reply here for the benefit of others who are in the same position as me:
"Hi, I could write for days on your question, but I'm supposed to be studying....
So, I'll make it short. Lost 70 lbs. NOT ABOUT A DIET. It was about changing the way I eat. I learned about it the hard way.
I started off by losing 10 lbs, then eat fried chicken and macaroni or even just too much for a couple of days. It'd come rights back on.
Do's (that have worked for me):
-Weigh yourself frequently (twice a week) OR count your calories to make sure you're not overeating
-Find what your magic calorie number is. Every person has one. If it eat 1600 cals a day, I maintain. If I eat 2000, i gain. If i eat 1200, weight falls off, but I'm tired and irritable.
- exercise- do something everyday. go for a walk. if anything, run up and down a flight of stairs a few times. Join a fitness club. Just get some physical exercise everyday aside from walking to the refrigerator or walking to your car
- drink lots of water. don't waste your calories on sodas or high sugar juice. i love to eat. so, i don't waste my calories on drinks. they aren't as good for you anyway.
- eat healthy. Eat frequently (six small meals a day is recommended). I used to LOVE peach cobbler, biscuits, pizza, french fries. But, I've given all that up. I eat something like that maybe once every two weeks. I was raised on the wrong foods. I can't believe some of the stuff I used to eat. Now a typical day:
breakfast- oatmeal and maybe a fruit smoothie/ or Kashi cereal
snack- some kind of energy bar or fruit
lunch- turkey burger/ baked items (i hate salads, no matter what you say. By the time i make it taste good enough to eat, i might as well have eaten a hamburger)/ chicken salad w/ lowfat mayonnaise/ baked fish
snack- fruit or small sandwich- something around 200 calories
dinner- meat/ grilled or baked, vegetables, a light wheat bread
snack- fruit or small 200 cal snack
Don't
- beat up on yourself.
-think that b/c you lost 5 pounds that you can go on a binge.
-starve yourself
-do diet pills
- think there is a quick fix for losing weight. it's a life-changing thing.
-EAT SUGAR!! PLEASE STOP EATING TONS of sugar. that was my biggest downfall. i got into this fat-free kick. sugar has no fat, so i was snacking on candies all day, and wondering why i wasn't losing weight. SUGAR IN EXCESS IS REALLY BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH. Not only did I have a root canal, but it was hindering all my weight loss efforts. check out this article. it's kind of scary...
http://www.alternativehealth.co.nz/articles/sugar.htm This article is extracted and edited from the book, Sugar Blues.
And, it's all about self-control. I have heard people say that they can never lose weight b/c their body just won't agree with them. Don't get me wrong, everyone has a different body and you do have minimum weight loss points. But, some of these people have undergone gastric bypass surgery and lost 50-100 lbs...which lets you know that they were simply eating too much.
I've gotten to the point where I can control how much a weigh, which is a great thing! My husband (i've been married for two years) taught me how b/c he does the same.
As he always says...Don't get hung up on your weight. It's not a reflection of who you are. It's just a measure of how much your eating versus how much energy you are burning off everyday.
OK, well that's all the advice I have for now. I gottat go study. forgive me for any typos.
Arylon"

quite simply an excellent reply. The type of practicle Health and Beauty tips that this blog is all about.

In addition I recently read that Liz Hurley goes to bed eating a very miniscule dinner - I must admit that when I eat late at night dinner is in my stomach in the morning and when I eat on top of that my breakfast I can feel the weight adding on - most mornings I delay breakfast or eat breakfast and miss my mid-morning snack. I am trying to train myself over this dinner thing because it is my biggest pitfall at the moment (along with portion sizes). I have a detox next week which usually gets me on good behaviour. I'll let you know how this goes....

My Retreat (Oxonhoath)

I found out about Oxonhoath www.oxonhoath.co.uk in about 2000 - I'd seen the adverts consistently in all the health magazines and I regularly read from cover to cover but never actually acted on it. Until I came back to live in the city and away from the country air and the slow life I had fallen in love with at my university.

The first time I contacted them I never applied and the application more than likely ended up in the bin. The second time I decided to book it - pay the 50% deposit required months in advance and then save up the remainder during the 6 months that my weekend would come up.

The day I left the office to go I couldn't believe it was finally happening - I'd taken half day vacation and had brought my rucksack in with me - it was so easy to get to the area - I couldn't believe it was finally on my way to being rejuvenated! Alls I had to do was turn up. Perhaps my only reservation was the short time.

When I arrived I had to sign up for what I wanted to attend- with out a doubt an aromatherapy massage was on there - that is my top beauty treatment and when done well sets the body all the way back to zero-state. I was a little uncertain about what else I should take - there seemed so much - but in the end I went for 'Nature's Rhythm' and then finally a facial.

All meals were vegetarian and were all edible - some extremely so especially the Laska Soup - which I am definitely not a soup person but that got me!

First day I had my massage which was good - as I said they have to be excellent. I felt relaxed after and went straight to my room to allow the relaxation to deepen (read, slept like a baby).

Next day I had my nature's rhythm which was held by Lianne Campbell. We were all worried - I didn't have to ask I sensed it - that this class would be slightly embarrasing, everyone watching each other dancing and moving with the mood and moment seemed strange but Lianne is an excellent teacher and you soon stopped thinking about being self-conscious. Especially as everyone started with closed eyes. Eventually, the more confident we grew the more we opened our eyes. This was perfect - I like my body to move - dancing in a club, walking to work allows one to move, but really moving means arms flailing about and just leaping - doing all those movements that we did as kids but we unlearn because we don't usually need them as adults - I like my body to move and throw off the cobwebs and this class offered the medicine I needed!

The mood was set with tea light candles in a room with floor to ceiling doors that opened onto a acres of land. The night was clear and the moon was high and it looked so beautiful, the absolute antithesis of the city which is what I needed to balance my city-wired mind. To say I relaxed was an understatement. I knew I wasn't alone because afterwards I sat with absolute strangers and talked in that same mood, about life and it's avenues.

I loved the retreat and loved the move away from home and appreciated getting home even more it's nice when we have that inner power and peace (which often reflects and adds to our beauty) when we get home. The only down side about the retreat was though I have no qualms about talking to absolute strangers I felt obligated to do so because all 30 or so of us had to sit at the 4 tables and do the usual small talk - which in all honesty I could have done without, the house could have done with a gooooood clean - dead flies in the light shades is not a cool look (lol), but I'd definitely do this again :o)

Going deep within : looking after the skin

Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated (read obsessed) with beauty products and taking care of the skin. It started with this advert for soap which had the model rubbing soap onto her cheeks and lovingly washing it away. I have no idea why but at the age of six that ad intriguied me.

Then a couple of years later I remember my mum having these regular moods were she would have a long luxurious bath, moisturise her entire body and get dressed do her hair in the middle of the afternoon. She would finish up by bringing her make up bag to the front room and pulling out her glass bottles of cleanser and toner and bag of cotton wool.

One day I asked her where she was going and she said with an enigmatic smile "nowhere, it's good to take care of yourself". I don't do the dressing up part, but I admit that got me hooked. What sealed it was a program regarding Oprah Winfrey - I can't for the life of me remember what is was about, but it must have been geared towards beauty because one of the guests mentioned she had been looking after her skin since she was 16 years old. I was younger than that at the time and thinking about the amount of times I had taken time to pour over my skin I snorted inwardly at how late this person was in starting but that definitely sealed it for me.

I never try one particular thing because I believe that the skin can get used to a product and one stops seeing the benefits. But I only like to use stuff that I am comfortable with. My products always match my mood right now it's all about the natural Ayurvedic type products so olive oil mixed with essential oil, but I also mix castor oil in winter with olive oil and essential oils for a nice smell. I heard neem oil was a good sunblock and I used a little of that for a while (the one where the smell has been toned a whole lot down!) but now I've got back to my good ole Nivea anti-aging sun block. On my under eye I use palmers cocobutter scar oil I think it's called- I like it's consistency and I use a tiny amount and my under eyes seem happy. Else I use another eye cream which I think is called "fade out" or I use Aveda's under eye creme - all three of these I use on rotation.

I used to use a serum but have stopped because there will NEVER [use I capitulate this!] never be a serum like the Body Shops plant serum - which you put on under your moisturiser. On the nights I used this I would go to bed and wake up in the morning with the skin of a 5 year old! I kid you not - and it urks me this was discontinued.

For cleaning my skin I use L'oreal cleanser and toner and I mix the cream cleanser with tea tree oil and add rose water to the toner - I somehow imagine this breaks down the synthetic products or something. I've been all around the world when it comes to cleansers and toners, and up to the very expensive ones - but L'oreal's is the only one my skin responds to. For exfoliation am loving L'oreals Dermabrasion (I do believe I need commision, lol) but I wish they sold this independantly of that cream - I can use my own creme thank you very much! Else I use origins body polish which is EXCELLENT. I also use Dr. Hauschka ( I love it! I love it! I love it!) Rose Mask and clay mask which you mix with water. For a natural glycolic peel you can use lemon or lime and just rub it on your skin - be careful if you have just exfoliated before hand because it can sting a little.

for deep down care I love using the steam room to sweat out the toxins and and I try to take the right vitamins. I haven't been taking my vitamins like I ought to, but I generally take cod liver oil, collagen, antioxidents, multivitamins and calcium and many many more - but all on rotation and I tend to go according to my mood or what I feel I need.

I don't believe taking care of skin limits itself to the face - oh no, it goes over every piece of skin. So sometimes I like my all over body masks - I apply all over me and sit in the bath until it's dried. Or I do a microdermabrasion on my ass [lol, I'm being honest here!] and on my thighs and tummy to smooth out the skin there.

I remember I went through this phase of using a body toner all over me - so after I washed I'd get some home made toner water ( I'd soak a camomile tea bag in lots of water) and rinse my body with it - I don't know if it actually did anything for me, but it made me feel special and self-loved which everyone knows we all need.

Getting my nails did!

the first time I got my nails done was after I saw the results of my mothers when she got them for her imminent trip to see her relatives and family 'back home'. I couldn't keep my eyes of her nails.

What'smore everytime I saw my nails I cringed at how chewed up they were, weak they felt and mainly my hands were (it doesn't help they are so big). I'd never even considered getting them done before but here I was coming around slowly but surely until I got to the point where I couldn't see why I'd never got them done before.

So one cold saturday I took my dry and manly hands to my local shop (I don't usually do local stores, but the woman seemed very nice when I spoke to her) and sat down while she got on with things. She had one of those hospital mouth thingies that covered her nose and mouth which got me worried and thinking about toxins - especially remembering the smell of when my friend used to get her nails done. But I really wanted these nails done she first of all used her whizzy machine on top of my nails - I think this is what makes the nails weak after the acrylic comes off because at the end of the day you only have half the thickness of the nails. then she puts these tips on the end of my nails with a glue and smooths that down.

After that she cut the tips to the length that I wanted. I work in an office so it was so important that they looked as natural as possible and the length was not too exaggerated so I went for a middling length. Then the acrylic goes on top - it's amazing how a daub of water in that powder creates that plastic and moulds it so perfectly over my nail and the added tip. Then she adds the colour I want - always a pinkish colour which made the false nail look natural and that was it.

The first time I got them done I couldn't get over the fact that they looked slightly fake, too perfect and colour was slightly weird, but after a while they seemed to work and the colour did too. Also I can't scratch - I found myself picking up things with a slightly sharper edge to get a decent scratch - weird I know, but you miss your natural nails when the scratch you give yourself feels smooth instead of slightly sharp.

Not sure how many times I got these nails refilled, but I had them from November last year to February this year and I used to get them refilled every 17 days - If I could much more extravagent it would have been ever 14 - but I had to make the money stretch and the three days do make a difference! I was very pleased with them in the main, but one day I used some substance - I think it must have gotten under or on top of the nail - either way it got into the acrylic and onto my actual nail (yeuch!). I asked Jamie - my nail technician if she could take of the layer and put another on top but as her whizz machine went through and through we realised it had discoloured my nail.

I hated it and it had to come off so I told her to take them off. Now taking this mofo's off is a nightmare - they cut everything off and then soak the rest of it off and I had my hands in this liquid which was soaking all the moisture out of my skin and turning it white. When they finally removed the acrylic my nails sure were long, but they looked a hot mess! plus they were weak, so I asked her to cut them and give me the basic manicure, which she did.

It took my nails about 8 weeks to get back to normal thickness and suprisingly they appear to grow now. My left hand nails are almost the same length as the acrylics I had, however the right hand ones haven't fared so well - which I believe is what normally happens when you don't protect your nails, carry an emery board and that hand is your dominant hand.

Going on a Detox

it's been aaaages, since I went on my last detox so this is more than over due. I always think of it as getting rid of the cobwebs and giving my stomach a break from having to break down all those chemicals and preservatives with the added bonus of having glowing skin and ideally loosing weight.

Kewl Links

I sometimes come across some really links which I love referring to when I feel dispair and want information on dieting or looking good etc. I'll be adding to these in future :
www.models.com - head for the health and beauty forums, unless you are a model you will permanently be in lurk mode
http://www.cocoachic.com/cocoachic.php - for the black beauties of the world. http://www.thebroadroom.net/lp/blogs/index.html - the Lipstick Pages - beauty blog...I finally found one!
www.vogue.com
http://motowngirl.com/ - Motowngirl's person journey from transitional hair from chemical to natural
http://haircare.aldrea.com/haircare2.htm - my personal favourite hair site
BLACK_LIFEandBEAUTY - search under yahoo groups
http://www.carolsdaughter.com/home.asp - beauty products

Getting my style right Part I

I know what I do and don't like when I see other people styling but I never seem to do anything other than the plain and boring myself. I do take care of the canvass but I need to sign up to a module 101 on how to style myself so that I can try and look good not just when I go out for the evening but during the day and at work too everything goes out the window.

The good thing is I obviously know what I like but now I gotta find a good hairstyle and how to maintain it and then totally go over my clothes and accessories which I don't even think about to be honest!

I'll let you know how it goes....

Colonic Hydrotherapy II

I have to say my second experience with Colonic Hydrotherapy was not as tantalising. I revealed [honesty!] that I had been using substances to purge the body and I felt this may have had an effect on me. The consultant I spoke to was very calm and spoke about having my insides built up to their normal strength (or something to that tune) and then how I would have my meridian lines rectified.

She prescribed a course of acupuncture first to work on the meridian lines and, at the same time I was to take psyllium husks mixed with pineapple juice everyday along with some other pills and this all had to be done before the colonic hydrotherapy.

all I wanted was the colonic hydrotherapy but I had discovered about her treatments almost a year prior to booking her and had given her details to a friend of mine who had used her and ended up looking absolutely fantastic afterwards (glowing skin and everything).

So my motivation had been seeing my friend looking fantastic.

I did all she asked and eventually got to the day when I got my colonic hydrotherapy and nothing happens, nothing even comes out - okay a few buttons come out (urrgh) but nothing significant. I was such an anti climax and to top it all off - I didn't even get the glowing skin. My bank account definitely felt it though. I spent so much money - In fact I noted that everytime I went there my bank suffered an assault of up to £40 -80...what a waste!

Colonic Hydrotherapy

I'd had no idea at the 'controversy' of colonic irrigation until after I had my first experience with it. I'd been detoxing and successfully eating a diet of no preservatives, additives, caffeine or basically anything that was processed / came in a tin when I decided to go the whole hog and get the treatment done. It would be the icing on the cake, I thought, in being able to create the glow.

I was nervous and the long trek to the house didn't help, when I got there I had to wait a while for Dr. Brewer (who wore black leather shorts, lol) to take his mum to an appointment, whilst he was gone I read one of his leaflets. He was an ex-dentist who decided to go down the route of Alternative medicine. His large home doubled up as a treatment area - so I sat in the bath and was given a tube, etc. etc. ETC. (hint hint). Doing it myself cost a lot less and I had the benefit of his partner being there who was able to come in and assist me.

When I finished I was expecting to feel a lot lighter - which is what I heard someone say on a tv program, but no, I didn't I felt the same as before.

His partner (I've forgotten her name) took me to her treatment room and gave me a sample treatment of colour therapy, which was actually very relaxing. Especially when I found the colour (a deep slightly darker sky blue colour) that made me relax. She then showed me a de-stressing centre-ing technique - which I'm not sure I could do justice in explaining.

Before leaving I handed over £25, £20 for the colonic hydrotherapy, £3 for a HUGE bag of dead sea salts and £2 for a book on the different types of detoxing. Not bad at all.

I wasn't sure about the colonic hydrotherapy as I wasn't feeling lighter, however I knew it had done me good when I got home and saw my skin positively glowing. I was really amazed by that. I'd never heard of that side effect before.

Read Colonic Hydrotherapy II to find out about my second experience...