Sleeping Beauty - Beauty Treatments while You Sleep

So, here's a secret: You don't actually have to have the time to get your beauty routine in during the day. In fact, most of it can be done in your sleep. Here are some night time beauty treatments to make you a sleeping beauty:


Skin :

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• Apply tea tree oil to any acne prone areas as a treatment to get rid of pimples and shrink pores
• Apply vitamin E oil to fade acne scars and dark marks
• Apply retinol A cream under your eyes to fight wrinkles, bags and sagging

Nails

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• For peeling, stripping nails rub some olive oil onto your nails before bed
• For dry cuticles you can rub argan oil into the cuticles before falling asleep
• Picked up a fungus from the nail salon? Tea tree oil under your fingernails will help in getting rid of the fungus

Hair

• The night before you go into the salon for a relaxer, colour or other chemical treatment, treat your hair to some moisture - apply coconut oil to the ends of your hair, fold them under and tie up your hair
• Have an event the next day but don't have time to wash your hair? Sprinkle some baking soda onto your scalp and massage it in gently. When you wake up brush it out and it will act like a dry shampoo getting rid of dirt and oil to make your hair easier to style
• Hair falling out like crazy? Strengthen it with argan oil overnight by applying a small amount to the roots and the ends.

Lips

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• Get rid of cracked lips by lathering up with your favourite chapstick or with olive oil before bed. When you wake up, your lips will be buttery smooth and hydrated
• Notice that your lips have been darkening because you play an instrument or live in lipstains? Apply eye cream to your lips every other night for two weeks (make sure you don't ingest it though). If you are a lip licker like me, then just use vitamin E oil.

Feet & Hands

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• Lather up with cream before bed to bring back softness. To amp up the results sleep with socks or mittens on.
• Seeing more wrinkles than anything on your hands? Apply a thick lotion with collagen or caffeine listed in the ingredients to help decrease the appearance of wrinkles or fine lines

Lashes

• Grow and strengthen your lashes by brushing olive oil onto them with a clean mascara wand every other night. Make sure to remove all mascara before you do this and apply only a tiny bit.

I really only like to use products that are all-natural or made specifically for the area I am applying the product to when I do so at night. I don't know the science behind it but I just feel like I don't want unnatural products soaking into my skin while I sleep. So, until you know how your skin responds to something I would suggest using only natural products for your night time beauty routine.

Do you have any night time beauty treatments you're crazy about? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Till later,
**Jane

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Pretty Feet - The Lazy Way

I will preface this by saying that talking about  feet makes me uncomfortable. I think they're gross. BUT that said, they still need to be presentable right? Especially since living on an island means you'll be seeing feet at least once a day. The title 'pretty feet' might be a bit of an oxymoron but nevertheless let's proceed.

Dry feet get cracked and crusty and flaky and just icky but if you don't walk around in socks all day your feet are bound to get dry. I was told once that your feet are the only place on your body that does not produce natural oils, meaning it doesn't moisturize itself. So if you don't add moisture to your feet then they will basically dry up and flake off, one step at a time. (I'm joking - kinda).

So, how do you keep your feet soft and smooth? This is a routine that works for me.

Coconut Oil ; Cocoa Butter Foot Magic 

Pumice/ Foot Files

Once a week, get rid of dead skin on your heel and the soles of your feet by gently filing the rough skin down with a foot file. Soak your feet in warm water for about fifteen minutes afterwards - make sure to rub extra oil into the cuticles of your toenails. Add coconut oil and something with antibacterial properties like tea tree oil. Then file again with a file that has a bigger grain like a hand held pumice stone file. Dry your feet and enjoy the smoothness!

For daily maintenance, keep a foot cream like Palmer's Cocoa butter formula Foot Magic by your night stand and moisturize your (clean) feet with this and slip on thick wool or silk socks to sleep in. Cotton socks tend to dry out moisture so stay away from those.

After about day 10 you should see a noticeable difference. Remember you don't need to fork out over $1000 weekly for a pedicure at the salon to have presentable feet. You can buy foot files pretty much off the street in Half Way Tree for $300 and coconut oil can be substituted with Olive Oil for $400 and these can be used several times.

Let me know how it works out for you and hopefully this will be the last foot post lol.

Till later

*Jane

                                        

  

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Take It Off! (Lazy Girl's Guide to Good Skin Part 1)

I've been guilty of being too lazy tired to wash my make up off when I come in from a night out, and that smear of cream blush on my pillow case always mocks me the next morning promising that I will almost certainly be seeing a new pimple by the end of the day. Without a doubt, putting on makeup is more fun than taking it off. BUT like, all other good hygienic habits, it must be done. So, of course I had to devise the laziest way to take it all off at the end of any kind of day. *Disclaimer - I'm not a dermatologist, skin specialist or medical professional. This is just what I think from my own experience*

Here we go:

Work Day :

Whether you're a super busy run-around person or you sit behind a desk all day, the optimum time to take off your makeup is as soon as you get home. Why? The longer your skin has to breathe with absolutely nothing on it, is the longer it has to recover on its own. Remember how it feels to take your shoes off and wiggle your toes? That's what you're doing for your face.

Make it easy by putting a pack of makeup remover wipes close to where you put down your bag or take off your jewellery when you get in, and you're less likely to forget to do it. After you've wiped it all off, on your next trip to the bathroom splash your face with some water.

Gym/Workout:

Always always always sweat make-up free. Makeup and sweat is a horrible combination for your pores and will leave you super clogged. Yes, I know you still need to look presentable at the gym, but for the sake of your skin, please wipe off your face make up (foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter) at least. If you don't want to go completely bare leave on your eye makeup, make sure you're wearing waterproof mascara and that your eyeliner is on your top lid only, otherwise you will end up with raccoon eyes. Plus, foundation on your gym towel just looks like dirt, or worse...skid marks.

Make it easy by slipping a pack of makeup remover wipes into your gym bag. Reduce smears by wiping off your foundation and blush before you change your clothes. Never mind if you look like you're missing a little colour. Working up a good sweat will make you flushed and glowing naturally.

Night out on the Town:

You're finally home and your feet ache and you can barely stand but you slathered on the makeup earlier and you need to wipe it off. Typically, we go heavier with the makeup at night and are even more lackadaisical about taking it off when we get in.But this is exactly why we need to do it. Heavier makeup requires a two-step process especially if you're gonna be too lazy tired to wash your face.

Take a makeup remover wipe or two and wipe everything off as best as you can. Wipes can end up leaving your face slightly sticky so you can always substitute the second wipe for witch hazel on a cotton pad. The second step is a face oil. Didn't see that coming did you? An oil, in its virgin form like tea tree oil or argan oil will do alot for your skin. The moisturizing properties will help to combat the dehydration from any alcohol you consumed or any smoke that was in the air while the anti-bacterial properties will nix any remaining dirt that could be clogging your pores. Get your oils here if you live in Kingston, Jamaica.

My favourite make-up removers are:

  

Neutrogena                                        Simple                                                   Ponds

                                                                                                                     (Keep this in the fridge)

DIY- Makeup Removers I like:

- Witch Hazel & Rose Water

- Olive Oil and Witch Hazel

Fave Eye Make-up Remover:

Neutrogena Oil-free Eye Makeup Remover

Remember ladies, just washing your face doesn't remove your makeup. Your best bet is to use a make-up remover (store bought or DIY) and then to wash your face. I don't recommend using an exfoliating scrub after you've used a makeup remover. A cream cleanser or other regular cleanser will do the job without irritating your skin.

If you want a step-by-step breakdown on how to make your own makeup remover leave me a comment and I'll get right on it. 

Till later,

**Jane

PS - Can we take a minute to just swoon at the loveliness of cream blush at night? Especially in candlelit areas? Swoooooon!

P PS - Yes, I'm starting a new series of posts, and aren't you a smarty pants for noticing.

  

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Grooming Series: At-Home DIY Moisturizing Hair Mask

Hate to break it to you but your hair is dead. All of it except the very roots. Yup, dead. Go ahead, have a cry. But this is good news, because acknowledging that your hair is dead allows you to make more informed decisions about how you treat it.



Dead hair is dry, damaged, weak, in need of moisture and nutrients. So we need to find ways to constantly recharge it and revive it. Your hair has two basic needs - moisture and protein- to keep it shiny and strong. Today I will show you one way to give it a well-needed shot of moisture.


Honey Banana Oil Hair Mask
This is a deep conditioning moisturizing mask that will help revive dry hair for all hair-types. Its ingredients are all natural so unless you have a specific allergy they should not cause any bad reactions. Honey is a known moisturizer that leaves the hair feeling soft yet bouncy; extra virgin olive oil does a fabulous job of smoothing frizzy damaged hair - and any smoothing element also reduces the appearance of split ends; while banana acts as the emollient and does double duty of softening and smoothing. Mixed together they create the perfect hair mask to remedy dry hair.




Making this at home is easy and quick. You will need:

  1. A bowl and a fork
2. A ripe banana - the riper the better
3. Natural honey
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (got mine at Pricesmart)
5. Plastic Wrap

Step 1: Peel the banana and cut it into manageable chunks in the bowl. Add about one and a half table spoons of the olive oil and two tablespoons of the honey.

Step 2: Mash the banana and mix with the honey and olive oil until it gets to a creamy texture. (Think of the texture of a thick conditioner). If its too thin and runny try  popping it into the freezer for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Comb through your hair and divide into manageable sections. (I usually do two or four sections). It doesn't matter if your hair is wet or dry, it works on both. Scoop some of the mixture into one palm and rub it up between both hands. Apply mid-shaft to the ends of your hair. When all your ends are done apply to your roots.

Step 4: Tuck under your ends in a bun or something equally insulating and wrap your head with plastic wrap, or use a steam cap or tight shower cap if you have one. The mask should stay on your hair for at least fifteen minutes, however if you applied it to dry hair it is safe to keep it on all night. When you're done, wash it out and enjoy soft, shiny hair. :)




(Try this mask every two weeks and you should start seeing a difference in your hair. If you use heat alot then try it every five days)

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