25 Question Tag

I’d love to get to know you guys better, so please comment back answers or, even better,  do a video response on youtube!

1. do you have any pets?
2. name 3 things that are physically close to you.
3 whats the weather like right now?
4. Do you drive? if so have you crashed?
5. what time did you wake up this morning?
6. when was the last time you showered?
7. what was the last movie you saw?
8. what does your last text message say?
9. Whats your ringtone?
10. have you ever been to a different country?
11. do you like sushi?
12. where do you buy your groceries?
13. have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
14. how many siblings do you have?
15. do you have a desktop computer or laptop?
16. how old will you be turning on your next birthday?
17. do you wear contacts or glasses?
18. do you color your hair?
19. tell me something you are planning to do today.
20. when was the last time you cried?
21. what is your perfect pizza topping?
22. which do you prefer hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
23. have you ever had an all-nighter?
24. what is your eye color?
25. can you taste the difference between pepsi and coke?

Here are my answers:

Natural Skin care Routine

Hey Dolls!

Alright so wrapping up on this whole skin care bit.  Here it is all put together in one routine.  The lemon facial, green tea facial, and a moisturizer using honey and milk!

Start out exfoliating your face with lemon and sugar.  There’s various ways to do this.  I like to just mix lemon juice and sugar in a bowl, but you can also just dip a lemon half in sugar and scrub that on your face.  Whatever works for you!  Rinse that off and then apply the green tea facial.  Rub the ice cube on your face to cool it down and minimize pores.  Next just mix together honey and milk (more honey than milk) and then apply to the face.  Leave on for 10-20 minutes and then rinse with cool water and pat dry.  Viola!!  Beautiful, glowing skin.  Here is my video where I do the whole routine so you can see the methods.

XOXO,

Karma B.

Here's the video:

Lemon Exfoliator

Hey Dolls!  Exfoliating your skin is so important if you want healthy young looking skin.  Once you enlarge those pores, there is no turning back so it really helps if you start a regimen and stick to it.  Here’s a list of exfoliaters I have at home that I love.

My absolute favorite is St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub Invigorating!  I have a giant tub that I use in the shower every day.  It’s great for face and body to scrub away dead cells that tends to dull the appearance of your skin.  The one that I have has apricot, corn meal, and ground walnut shell.  All of these ingredients contribute to the exfoliation, but also add nutrients and antioxidants to the mix.  We all know how important antioxidants are!  St. Ives also makes another type that has 2% salicylic acid in it and it is called Blemish and Blackhead control.  I used to use this in my teens years to help battle acne.  It smells a little different, works harder, but feels the same.  Another I have at home is the Proactiv solution Renewing Cleanser.  I love this stuff.  I use it usually twice a day and alternate between this one and St. Ives.  Proactive has Benzoyl Peroxide in it which neutralizes bacteria and really helps clean out those pores.  There is 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide in the Renewing cleanser which is a low concentration.  There still might be slight irritation for those with sensitive skin, but keep at it because your body will become tolerant.  Sometimes it helps to build that tolerance then slide up to a higher concentration of Benzoyl peroxide, get used to that, and then come back down to the lower concentration.  It makes the cleanser much more effective because your tolerance has built up and your irritation will not interfere.  Neutrogena has a advanced solution set which comes with n exfoliater.  It’s much lighter and only contains .5% salicylic acid so it’s not as harsh.  It smells like bathroom cleaner, but does a sufficient job.  An option that is all natural is to use LEMONS!!  Lemons are a wonderful source for beauty!  You can squeeze a little bit of lemon juice into a bowl add some sugar and a little bit of water.  The consistency should be thick and grainy.  Rub it on your face and leave it on for a bit.  The lemon has Alpha hydroxy acid and beta hydroxy acid which is great for cleaning out and exfoliating your skin.  It also has Vitamin C which aids in repair and the lemon will lighten the skin, hair, and any dark spots on the face.  Beware of cuts and burns on the face because it will sting!  If you have some acne put some raw honey in the mixture and this will add an antibacterial component.  It will also moisturize the skin because using the lemon exfoliant or any exfoliant can tend to have a drying effect on the skin.  Hope this helps you guys!  Please let me know how it works out for you or if you suggest any other exfoliants.

XOXO

Karma B.

Here's the video:

Vegan Green Tea Facial

Hey Dolls!  So I want to share a beauty secret with you!  I’ve always been in love with green tea, it’s so wonderful for your skin and body!  It has antioxidants in it which battle free radicals.  If you aren’t familiar with these terms then here is a little lesson on what free radicals do to us.

The human body is made up of many different types of cells. The cells inside are different than the cells you see on the outside.  Cells are composed of many different types of molecules. Molecules have one or more atoms of one or more elements joined by chemical bonds.  Some of you might be familiar with the periodic table and all the different elements on there.  To keep it simple those elements have electrons which carry a negative charge, protons which carry a positive charge, and neutrons which carry no charge.  Every atom wants to be stable and so it hunts for a pairing that will make it stable.  Much like dating.  Atoms love when their electron shell is full so it will go out in search of an atom that it can fit with so that both end up with full shells.

Free radicals are formed when weak bonds split and a molecule is left with an odd number of electrons.  This isn’t normal.  Sometimes our body will actually create free radicals to combat viruses, but this type of free radical does not harm the cell’s function.  So, when weak bonds split and create these unwanted free radicals the molecule begins to attack other surrounding molecules that are just fine and stable and steals electrons to become stable.  Imagine this as the boyfriend stealer.  A girl who just can’t hang on to a man and steals your man to be happy.  So now the molecule that just had it’s electron stolen has become a free radical and there is the beginning of a vicious chain reaction.  Once this process gets going it can disrupt a living cell and cause damage.

So what causes this reaction?  Pollution, radiation (suns rays), cigarette smoke and herbicides can spawn these horrible unstable molecules.  You can combat these guys with antioxidants.  How does that work, you ask?  Simple!  Vitamin C and E are the most popular antioxidants.  These act like superheroes by giving up an electron to stop the chain reaction.  This is ok because the vitamin is stable in either form.  Here is the catch though!  Vitamin E and C are essential vitamins meaning that they are not naturally occurring in our body, which means we have to CONSUME them!   So if you’re not getting enough vitamins in your diet then you could be contributing to this chain reaction and there is damage happening all over in your body.  So eat your fruits and vegetables or take a daily vitamin!

Now with all that being said…here is my recipe for a facial that will combat those free radicals.  All you need is:

Green Tea

Water

Vitamin E oil

Ice cube tray (optional)

All you have to do is brew the green tea like normal.  Let it come down to room temperature, mainly because you don’t want to damage the vitamin E oil.  Add in about 5 drops or so of the oil, mix vigorously, and pour it into the ice cube tray.  You should fill it about half way and then let it freeze.  That’s it!  Just pop one out rub it on your face.  The cold will shrink pores while the Vitamin E and green tea together will fight free radicals.  The vitmain E also evens the skin tone and repairs damage.

Now I mentioned that the ice cube tray is optional.  You can brew some green tea for yourself and then put a little aside.  Drink your green tea to get those free radicals in your system and with what you put aside, put a little bit of Vitamin E oil in it, mix it up, and use a cotton ball to apply to your face.  It works the same.  That’s an option if you don’t want to make ice cubes.

If you want to put some toothpicks in it so that you can hold the cube like a popsicle, just set it to freeze and wait about an hour then go in and poke toothpicks through the top layer of ice.  Let it freeze all the way and they should be good to go!

Let me know how this works out for you.  You should see a noticeable difference in about a week or two.

Here’s the video I made related to it:

120 Manly Palette review

So I finally decided to get the 120 eyeshadow palette and I chose to go with the Manly version of it. It was the cheapest out of all of them! I bought it off ebay and it got to me in about 2 days. This palette is the same one the other companies like coastal scents and bh cosmetics are selling. Some guy basically came up with the formula for it and sold it to all these different companies to market it. So find the best deal and buy it. Don’t worry too much about the brand. Try your luck with ebay because the sellers throw in free gifts and free shipping.

The colors are highly pigmented but the shadows are extremely fragile. It’s basically pigment lightly pressed. I’m happy with it so far. I wouldn’t use it for professional clients, but for a little make up fun it hits the spot. I think it really helps to start with a primer. My favorite is Urban Decay Primer Potion (of course!) and like any other shadow it keeps it from creasing but it also helps get more color out of it. I will be working on some tutorials for some different looks as soon as I can get them up. Stay tuned dolls!

Here's my review video: