How to eat Jicama
February 9, 2010
Jicama is rich in potassium and Vitamin C, iron and calcium, which is why filing up on this will help boost your immune system, not to mention it is also a natural diuretic.
The simplest way to eat jicama is to simply peel it and eat it. But if you chill the jicama it’s more thirst quenching because of its crunchy texture and juiciness. Jicama eaten place hardly has any flavor but a slight sweetness.
Eat it with sea salt. You can rub the sea salt on the slices prior to serving or you can just dip the jicama on the sea salt as you go. You can use regular table salt; I suggest sea salt just because it’s healthier and doesn’t do as much damage as regular table salt will to people with conditions that they have to stay away from salt.
Eat it with shrimp paste (bagoong). Shrimp paste or bagoong is a sauce that Orientals particularly Filipinos use. In the Philippines jicama is peels and poked in a barbecue stick and smothered with a layer of shrimp paste as a local snack sold in small canteens and on street vendors’ carts on the street. Here in the States you can find this sauce in most Oriental grocery stores and super markets for about $3 for a 16 ounce jar You can get it raw or fully cooked and ready to eat. They come in the flavors: sweet, spicy or even adobo.
Acne Regimen That Works
January 6, 2010
Ok, so As I was talking about acne, rosacea and blemishes, I did mention I used some products and I swear by these. I am about to share each product I do use ritually. I can’t say my face is flawless, but I can put my face forward and go out without makeup confidently. Keep in mind what works for me might not work for you due to allergies or certain medical conditions, environment and circumstance. I am not a doctor, I am a consumer sharing my experiences, hoping to share information to help you put together your own skin care regimen to solve your skin problems. Another thing, a healthy diet = healthy skin. When I am breaking out I do avoid sugary, oily and fatty foods. I drink plenty of water and snack fresh fruits and vegetables instead of french fries, potato chips, candy bars.
Ivory Bar Soap is readily available at your local drugstores like Walgreens, Wal-Mart, CVS, Sav-on, Target.
Mario Badescu Cream Soap is available at Ulta and online at mariobadescu.com
Mario Badescu Calma Mask is also available at Ulta and online at mariobadescu.com
Johnson’s Clean and Clear Spot Treatment is available at your local drugstores like Walgreens, Wal-Mart, CVS, Sav-on, Target or online at drugstore.com, walgreens.com.
Mario Badescu Control Cream available at Ulta and online at mariobadescu.com
Chanel Correcteur Prefection Long Lasting Concealer is available at fine department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, Macy’s. Be sure to check for product availability both when ordering in the store and online. Personally, I have encountered problems with Chanel not being available in certain Dillard’s or Macy’s retail stores but available online or vise versa. Just double check so you don’t waste time and effort.
My Face is Breaking Out Help!
January 6, 2010
There are many reasons for skin to break out, especially on the face. It’s also the worst place for blemishes and break outs and blemishes because it’s virtually impossible to hide these flaws. Women hide by caking on the concealer and makeup but in doing so, this irritates the problem further making either spread or multiply instead of heal.
Problem skin can be caused by hormonal changes such as pregnancy, pms; it can be caused by sun damage, aging, and poor hygiene and diet.
Sometimes when we try new skin care products, that seem promising, in the end it does more damage. I’ve read about people trying ‘rice water’ on their face but instead of getting beneficial results, it causes their skin to break out. I myself have tried changing facial soap, going from plain Ivory soap to some Bath and Body Seaweed face cleanser and that caused me to break out.
So to cure the blemishes I thought about trying Burt’s Bee’s, but the healing process just took soo long. Eventually, I made my way back to what I always have used as a teenager for my breakouts: Johnson’s Salicylic Acid (spot treatment). The pros about this product is it definitely works, and you see healing and a reduction in a day. You don’t need the other products, if your acne is mild, it works well with whatever mild soap you are using to clean your face. Cons, is application is painful as the acid feels like it is burning your skin, but hey, ‘no pain, no gain’, right. It is also drying to the skin, so make sure you only apply it on the problem areas, avoid the delicate eye areas and around the mouth.
Mario Badescu which is available online and at Ulta, is a new discovery I live by. It’s perfect for my more mature 30 year old skin as their products do contain collagen. It is mild, good for sensitive skin, non drying. I do recommend their products for rosacea which in a nutshell is a form of acne. Their product works, slowly but surely, without irritating, discomfort or drying the skin.
Happy Holidays!
December 24, 2009
I will be taking a break during Christmas and New Years. See you all after New Years!
Simple Skin Care for Men
December 16, 2009
You ever wonder what to gift you dad, brother or spouse? Often I find it a challenge to shop for men, they just do not seem to need as many beauty’ products as us female species do. But I came to realize and discover that they too could use the pampering on tie skin. And as the weather gets cold they suffer the same dry skin and chapped lips we do, the sunburn, they have bad hair days, and they also get razor burn. The hardest part is the men in my life are not picky and are ‘cowboys’ that they do not seem to mind if their skin get damaged, neither can they hold up to a ‘beauty’ regimen. And machoism that my husband has makes it hard for him to even consider a professional spa facial, better yet having to apply moisturizer nightly or exfoliate once a week.
I have discretely been able to slip in skin care in my husband regimens by: leaving a mild exfoliating mask in the shower with his soap, and placing an odorless light water based face moisturizer by his shaver. I make sure there’s moisturizer with a light sunscreen and chap stick in his glove box.
For his weekly exfoliating mask, I recently discovered Gatsby Black Mega Scrub. This is available in tube form online and on ebay for roughly $8. The thing I really love about this scrub is that it doesn’t have a heavy scent, very very little goes a long long way and most importantly it gets the job done. After washing with this weekly scrub, it leaves te skin fresh and squeeky clean but never drying. I tend to cheat and use this product for myself every now and then.
For face moisturizer I do trust Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer with SPF 15. It is especially made for sensitive skin, it has a very light clean scent and it’s not sticky or heavy on the skin. It costs about $22 for a 2 ounce jar of product in the Mario Badescu website, but keep in mind when using this you just applying a very thin layer on the skin of your face. Indeed, less is more when it comes to this. This product does not clog the pores therefore, it doesn’t cause breakouts.
And lastly, for $2 a stick of chap stick in classic strawberry (that’s my favorite flavor) available almost everywhere, from grocery stores, to gas stations to drugstores, and now you can even get spf on your chap stick!
So remember the three things, chapstick, a weekly scrub and we chose Gatsby Black Mega Scrub and a practical moisturizer, in this case we are using Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer with SPF.
I know the Mario Badescu moisturizer is a little bit on the expensive side but keep in mind, men do not use many different products, they only need one product that works that they can stick to, pretty much for life. And it is hard to find a moisturizer you trust that won’t clog your pores, make you look oily and even worse cause skin damage and blemishes.
Easy Winter Hair Care
December 15, 2009
As much as the cold dry weather during winter can cause dryness and roughness to our skin, so can it do damage to our hair as well, both male and female. Here are some quick and easy regimens for winter hair care.
During the winter we tend to take hot showers or baths, but as drying as this is to our skin it also has the same effect on our hair. Avoid washing your hair every day. If you must wash your hair everyday, skip out on the shampoo and just use conditioner.
For the days that you do not wash your hair, to re freshen your hair or prep it for styling use a leave in conditioner. To avoid weighing down the hair by leave in products you can do a couple of things to fix that. One, water the leave in conditioner down, a 50/50 ratio will do just fine. Or make your own leave in conditioner by combining a few drops of essential oils, chamomile tea, coconut oil or aloe vera oil, and vitamin E.
it is recommended to do a deep conditioning or hot oil treatment once or every other week. VO5 will do just fine for an over the counter hot oil treatment. Or you can use quite a number of things to reset and rejuvenate your hair. There’s amla powder or oil, coconut oil, aloe vera extract.
Also, shielding your hair from the blistering cold air by wearing a hat or what not can help protect your hair too.
For leave in hair conditioner and deep conditioning recipes go to Sudsational.wordpress.com.
Perfume That Hydrates The Skin
December 13, 2009
Growing older and experimenting with different body and skin products, I have stopped buying department store perfumes.
Often commercial colognes and perfumes found in retail and department stores are overpriced and just come in a pretty bottle. They are endorsed by popular celebrities but its scent is made mostly of water and alcohol. And the worst part is putting it on and after a few minutes realizing the scent does more harm than good by making you smell bad.
Perfume or cologne shouldn’t reek the old cliche ‘baby prostitute.’ Like the proper application of make up it should not be over done but it should be there to accent and enhance.
It’s common knowledge to always try on perfume before buying to make sure it mixes well with your own scent.
It was a couple of years ago that I discovered hand made linen spray and hand made face misters, rosewater and lavender calming skin sprays. This is where the inspiration came about for a scented skin mister.
It’s definitely better to make your own perfume out of raw, organic, hand picked, natural botanical materials. This way you can personalize it yourself to match your own essence, and you know there isn’t anything in it that can irritate your skin or mess up your clothes.
You will need a small spray bottle, there are 1,2 and 4 ounce bottles available at Wal-Mart or Target. You will also need distilled water and the essential oil of your scent of choice. For this one we are going to make my favorite combination of scents, lavender, freesia and bergamot. We are making 2 ounces of spray.
Pour 1.5 ounces of distilled water in the bottle, add 5 drops of lavender, 3 drops of bergamot and 2 drops of freesia, shake the bottle and enjoy. I use this as car freshener, linen spray, pillow spray and on my skin.
Create a face mist spray by adding 5 drops of aloe, 2 drops of lavender and 2 drops of tangerine into 1.5 ounces of distilled water, rose water or a mix of the two, refrigerate or use room temperature, use it after the gym or anytime you want to freshen or hydrate your face or skin.
Practical Review on Etsy.com
December 13, 2009
Why You Should Use Etsy…
Etsy.com, as the opening page states, is a place to buy, sell and trade all things handmade. The best thing about this notion is the fact you will learn a lot from other crafters no matter what you are making. With everything being handmade each item is unique, one of a kind and fresh.
Just looking at the pictures of the various handmade soaps that are created, there is so much to chose from, so much to learn, and to get inspiration from. Sometimes I just browse through handmade soaps to see what my next article will be based on their designs, color schemes and combination of oils.
Anyone health conscious and looking for natural products should definitely consider joining the Etsy community. It is free to join of course.
I strongly suggest this website to anyone who is into handmade, recycled, natural, homemade crafts and personal care products. At the same time, if you are an entrepreneur, starting small, this is where to begin. You can check out other products, meaning you have the latest trends available for you to know and you are checking out the competition.
If you are simply just passionate about the hand made organic, recycled and natural arts and crafts possibilities, Etsy.com is definitely a useful tool to use.
Most Thoughtful Christmas Gift
December 8, 2009
With Christmas around the corner and our budgets’ dwindling into hardly anything due to the current economic status, what do you gift your family and friends you love so much? I usually would buy them a luxury product like a Louis Vuitton bag, Coach accessories, diamond necklaces from Macy’s, baby gear from Juicy Couture, eye wear from Prada and Gucci, $300 day spa gift certificate, Chanel make up, David Yurman or Tiffany silver. All of these mentioned are really nice and desired. But in all honesty there s no effort in gifting these items but forking up the cash and spending a few days at a luxury mall shopping for gifts as well as personal items that may come across. Heck, I’ll even stop by Cheesecake Factory for lunch, eat some gelato for an afternoon snack and wind down with a glass of red wine with my dinner at Spago.
This year I am making something more thoughtful and more personal. And honestly I can’t make many of what I am about to create because it takes a lot of dedication from my end. I am going to knit scarves from scratch. There are many selections to chose from in arts and craft stores. These kits include thread, needle, pattern and instructions or different colors to chose from, different styles and different levels of difficulty to make. The best feature I saw is that there are kits made from 100% cashmere, and organic cotton, how wonderful is that?
I believe in the saying, “There’s nothing better than getting a handwritten letter or greeting card in the mail.” instead of an eCard, or a wall post in Face Book or a comment or testimonial in MySpace and Friendster respectively. With that principle in mind there is nothing better than a hand made or personalized gift, right? This year it’s going to be handmade cashmere scarves!
Overnight Relaxing Face Mask
November 24, 2009
I see people sleep with cucumbers or teabags on their eyes, and overnight face masks. I have never tried any overnight treatment, until I came up with this one. First of all this is very light and we are going to use the rule, that a little goes a long long way. It’s probably not good to leave anything on your skin on that long anyway, plus you don’t want anything too sticky because let’s face it, it’s uncomfortable. We are going to go for a convenient one this time around, minimal, not messy but meaningful to the skin and mild enough to be a nightly ritual.
First you will need an eye mask. We will skip out on tea bags and cucumbers. Ulta has a couple of types of eye masks for only $6. One is just a plain cooling eye mask with the liquid inside that you can chill before using it, and the other type is a lavender eye mask with removable lavender packets that you can warm or chill before using it. Either one is good, but I like the diversity of the lavender packets, plus if you are going to use this with your nightly regimen, might as well take advantage of the calming effects of lavender to help you wind down.
I don’t recommend heavy, thick creams or oils overnight because it could just do more harm by clogging your pores. I wouldn’t recommend using ingredients that have an astringent effect like honey, lemon, or citrus this can cause drying of the skin that can lead to blemishes as well. Essential oils shouldn’t be directly applied to the skin better yet left over night, so what do we have left? Water, nutrient infused water for our skin. We will make a simple light mister, and you can leave this on your bedside and apply as desired.
You will need one 8 ounce spray bottle, 4 ounces distilled water (or mineral water), 1 vitamin E capsule (for its contents), 4-6 organic rose petals, ½ teaspoon green tea (or chamomile or red tea), 1 tbsp Japanese sake (or red wine). In the spray bottle add the water, vitamin E, sake, rose petals, tea, and shake well before each spray. Simple as that! So when you go to bed tonight put on your eye mask and sprits your face with this natural face overnight rejuvenator. Use it as often as you desire or can remember, even a couple of times throughout the night. Remember to be cautious of food allergies or medical conditions. Discard any leftovers after 2 weeks.
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