Euca-what? Euca-lyptus!

Farmers markets are places to find unique items.  You expect to buy vegetables or homemade items there but sometimes find other options such as bath salts. At one of the farmers markets I went to I found a small array of bath salts called Jeanne's Bath Salts. I'd never tried them before so I decided to buy a bottle.  I ended up buying Eucalyptus bath salts.  In the bottle they are particularly strong smelling, but I thought the smell would be less once they dissolved in water.  Bath salts are supposed to relax and smooth muscles through their scent.  
I filled a tub with hot water and took only a pinch of the Eucalyptus bath salts dropping them into the water.  The salts did give off a strong smell, but wasn't as strong as the smell of them in the bottle.  I stayed in the bath for about half an hour and had to get out because it was too strong of a smell and gave me a bit of a headache. It might have been the wrong kind of bath salts, homemade might have a more pungent smell than some of the manufactured salts, but that kind wasn't very relaxing.  I believe that some salts may work, but I'd be sure that you like the smell of the salts before you buy it.

Exploding Nail Effect

Start by using nail polish remover on your nails. Even if you don’t have nail polish on, still wipe on the remover to take off some of the natural oils that reside on your fingernails in order to let the polish apply in a more even way and allow the polish to stay on longer.

Since you want all your nails to be the same length, trim your nails to get rid of uneven edges.  Next take a nail file, (I like to use glass ones), to smooth or shape your nail.  You can file your nail to make a rounded or square finish. File your nail from the outside to the center, never using a sawing motion, but only filing in one direction, the sawing motion can break and/or weaken the nail.

Next I took a small, shallow bowl of warm water and added some dove soap to it.  Taking one hand and placing it in the bowl, I made sure to immerse all of fingertips. I left that hand soaking for about 5 minutes.  Doing this softens the nail bed which you then push back with a cuticle stick back to the edge of the nail.  This process is repeated with the other hand.

Once the nail beds are pushed back and the nails are completely dry, take a clear base coat such as Orly Base Coat and place a thin layer over all nails. This provides a better a smooth surface for the polish to stick to, helping the color last longer and protects nails from becoming stained by the colored polish.  Don’t paint any more until the clear coat has fully dried. 

The color I used is Essie’s Chubby Cheeks, a dark peach colored polish.  The best way I’ve found to apply polish is to first place a drop of paint at the bottom of the nail, just above the cuticle, directly in the center.  The drop of paint must be enough to cover your whole nail, let the drop pool slightly.  Next you use the three stripe rule.  Dip the brush in the drop of paint and brush upwards in a straight line through the center of the nail, all the way to the tip. For the second stroke return the brush to the paint at the bottom of the nail and follow the curve along the bottom of the nail to the left, all the way to the tip.  Do this stripe again to the right side of the nail. This should establish a thin coat of paint.  If you need to do another layer wait until the nail polish is fully dried. 

For the stripes on the nail I used Essie’s Haute As Hello and a brush from Mash nail brushes packet.  Carefully dip the thin brush into the nail polish, careful not to get too much on forming a droplet.  With just a little of the polish start at the right corner of the nail and drag the brush towards the left corner of the nail.  Repeat this process carefully, stopping to clean the brushes every two or three strokes in acetone, which can be found at practically any grocery store. When you continue the strokes drag them in all directions on the nail, still starting from the right bottom corner. This creates an effect I like to think of as an “explosion”. 

After the strokes fully dry use a top base coat to seal the nail polish in, and prevent chipping.  One option is to use Orly’s Polished three in one topcoat.

Mint Julep Face Mask

Sometimes face masks can be fairly expensive and not very effective. One of my favorites is Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. Its the type of mask that dries on your face, and smells good, a lot like mint.  I got mine from the Sally Hansen store, it is twelve ounces and cost only about four dollars.  It has a thick consistency, when I first tried it I found the masque very cooling as soon as I spread it around.  Since I have little desire to appear like a teal smurf in front of my peers, I will demonstrate how I apply the masque, and the effects of the masque by using my ten year old brother, Alex as an example (it actually wasn't that hard to convince him).  To prevent Alex's bangs from sticking in the masque I put a headband on him and clipped the rest of his hairs away from his face.

Next I took a small amount of the masque and with two fingers spread the masque first on Alex's forehead, then cheeks, chin, and nose. I tried to make sure that all skin was covered, excluding eyebrows and general area around the eyes.
After 8 minutes the masque started to dry and crack around the edges of the mask, around the nose, edges of the eyes and forehead. As the masque starts to dry it becomes uncomfortable to smile, (as Alex noticed while we watched The Big Bang Theory and Despicable Me together).
It's important not to touch the masque when it is still wet, and you will be able to tell if the masque is wet if it has a smooth, darker teal color than the parts of the mask that are dry.  The thicker the layer of masque the longer it will take to dry, for Alex's sake I put a fairly thin layer on.


When the masque has all dried wash it off with warm water, it will be a bit harder to wash off.  I used our kitchen sink to wash off Alex's face, and some water got into his hair so that takes care of his weekly shower. Alex said that his face was "a little smoother, but still has bumps on it," so if you're a ten year old boy with bumps on your face, this might not be the product for you, unless of course, you want a smooth face.

half-up side braids

  French braids can be used in multiple ways. traditionally they pull all the hair together in the back, but today I am going to demonstrate how a side french braid can be extremely easy and something better than just pulling back your hair in a ponytail.

I started with the section of my hair that has part. taking the top layer of about half the hair I started a normal braid, then started adding small sections of hair back into the braid (normal french braid) this time i only used the hair from the section I started with, not pulling in hair from anywhere else so i got a continuous french braid down the left side of my face.  After I finished the section of the french braid I continued to braid normally until i had about 2 inches left of hair.  Before tying my hair off I made sure to include a little extra, allowing me to pull the braid a little loose. To do this I took the sides of the normal braid and pulled a little strand out, making the braid a little bigger, and the sides wider in diameter. Doing this just adds some more detail to a regular braid, making it more interesting.
After pulling out pieces from the regular braid I took both of my finger and thumbs and separated the stands in the french braid also, again just making a looser braid.
Once I have this braid done (which only took about 3 minutes to complete) I moved on to the other side of my hair, repeating my process on the first french braid. Again I pulled out strands from each side of the braid and french braid. Now with these two braids I pulled them to the back of my head and secured them with an elastic band, found in drugstores/grocery stores.
 To finish it off I used a 1 inch con air curling iron, and loosely wrapped strands around its barrel for about 10 sec each just creating small, loose waves. Since my hair is thick this took about half an hour to curl all my hair and make sure they stay.  After I finished curling I took Herbal essences tousling styling cream and only using a dime-sized amount, spread it over my hands and ran them through my hair, holding handfuls of hair at a time, then flipping it over and starting from the roots, scrunched my hair down to the ends.
All together this probably took about forty minutes (not including the time to stop and take pictures for the blog). One alternative to curling hair is using the tousling styling cream right after you shower and lightly towel dry your hair, you can take some of the cream and scrunch your hair, creating a wavy hair style in the morning that makes it a lot less time-consuming when you skip curling. Another use for the styling cream is for fixing stray hairs, especially the ones that tend to occur right around the front of the part.

Organix Moroccan Argan oil

While waiting for the pure Argan oil to arrive, I bought an inexpensive product that contained Argan oil.  I found a 3.3 fluid ounce bottle at Walmart for $5.99. I have used it for over a week and have to say I really like it!  Your hair smells like the Moroccan oil, (which is a smell I love), and makes it noticeable easier to untangle.  I use the oil every other day, so that my oil  won't look greasy from overuse of the oil.  Right after I shower I towel dry my hair thoroughly, then take a dime-sized amount of the Moroccan Argan Oil and rub all over the palms of my hands.  I then run my hands through my hair, scrunching my hair and moving towards the ends.  Next I flip my hair over and do the same as I did the first time, but I simply start from the back of my neck and move towards the ends.  To dry my hair off some more and take out some excess oil I take a warm towel and twist my hair in it for about a thirty minutes until i unravel my hair and go to bed.  I have thick hair, and even the small amount of Moroccan oil does a lot for me.  If you have thin hair, I wouldn't use as much, start with a little, then if you feel like you didn't get it all over your hair, add just a little more until you do. Don't overuse the Moroccan Argan oil, there's a reason that the bottle is small, a lot goes a long way.  I am very happy with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil, for such a small price it makes your hair smell great, and smoothes it a lot!

Moroccan Liquid Gold

Although Morocco has an environmentally harsh climate and experiences several droughts, it is perfect for the growth of the Argan tree. The Argan tree produces small, nut-sized fruits that are shaped like an oval. Inside these nuts are one to three Argan oil-rich kernels, this is where Argan oils are extracted. Extracting these oils is not a process that can be performed by machines, so the labor-intensive, time-consuming work is performed largely by Moroccan women.
The Berber people have lived in Northern Africa for thousands of years, (dating back to 3000 B.C.). They were the first to cultivate and use Argan oil for culinary, cosmetic, and medicinal benefits.
Argan oil is one of the few surviving species from the tertiary period, (sixty-five million to two million years ago).  This is probably due to the Argan tree's life span.  An Argan tree can live up to two hundred years withstanding long periods of drought.

 You can cook with Argan oil as a substitute for cooking oil. Argan oil is commonly used as dipping sauce for bread, or dressing on salad, providing a unique nutty flavor.
Argan oil's medicinal benefits are vast.  Since the oil is high in vitamin E, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants it helps to trap moisture into the skin and can be used as a treatment for eczema, chicken pox, scars, acne, and psoriasis.
What Argan oil is most commonly known for is its benefits for hair.  The oil captures moisture and forms a non-evaporating seal around it making your hair smoother and stronger, and preventing brittle, dull hair.  Argan oil also increases the amount of keratin you produce, which prolongs hair life and promotes hair growth. Argan oil is often found in shampoos and conditioners, but can be purchased in its pure form, which many say is the best way to use the oil.
Some popular shampoos that contain Argan oil are Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo (for 8.5 ounces the cost is $21.50), Organix shampoo renewing Moroccan Argan Oil, (for 13 ounces the cost is $7.99), and Agadir Argan Oil Daily Moisturizing Shampoo,($40.80 for 33.8 ounces). All of these have great reviews, and provide several price options. However, buying pure Argan oil is a lot more expensive than the shampoos with Argan oil.  Pura D'or Pure & Organic Argan Oil is a highly-recommended product that costs $31.00 and is 1 fluid ounce.  Arganic Argan Oil is less expensive,  1.7 ounces and costs $37.00 which means that one fluid ounce would only cost $21.77, almost a $10 difference between the two products.  Out of all the options for Argan oil, almost all of them come with glowing reviews.  When you're using Argan oil a little really does go a long way.  Since these pure Argan oil bottles are small, most reviews say to put a little on the ends of your damp hair, some on your nail beds, and smooth a few drops onto your face in order to get the best out of your oil.
The Argan tree was once seen all over Northern Africa, but due to over grazing and deforestation because of fuel.  In the last fifty years the tree has suffered a fifty percent reduction.  Because of its popularity and decline, an organization called UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) have designated an area of twenty-five thousand square miles between the Atlantic and Atlas Mountains as a reserve for the tree.
Because of its limited quantity and traditional production methods Argan oil is referred to as liquid gold from Morocco.  
I ordered Argan Oil from Piping Rock for 48% off, for $7.49 and will post about it sometime next week!

Henna 1st try

Because of my previous post, "The art of Henna", I've decided to do a demonstration. I get Henna from an Indian restaurant called the Taj Mahal in Cedar Rapids. If you go into the restaurant and walk up to the counter in the back you can ask for cone Henna, I think it costs six dollars. When you first use the cone you have to cut the tip off of the wrapper, so first think how small/thin you want your design lines to be. Always cut a very small part of the tip off, because you can always make your lines larger by cutting more off.
Usually I just draw patterns of circles, dots, and lines, but there are many more intricate tutorials.
My Henna design didn't turn out very well, (probably because it has been open for two or three years), so I will continue practicing and blog about it throughout the year!

The art of Henna

Used for centuries (since 1200 BC) Henna has/isboth used for cosmetic and traditional purposes.  Henna was first used in India, Africa, and the Middle East where is is believed that Henna brings love and good fortune, and it is usually used in Hindu wedding ceremonies.  Before the wedding a bride's feet and palms are decorated with beautiful, intricate henna designs because the art of Henna signifies the strength of love in a marriage. It is said that the longer the Henna stays on the Bride's hand, the longer it is believed that her in-laws will treat her well, but if the Henna fades quickly, it is seen as a sign that the woman will not be happily married. In Saudi Arabia the Henna is applied to the bride by one of her female relatives, but she has to be happily married otherwise she will bring bad luck to the bride.
But before Henna was used for beauty it was used for cooling purposes.  Women used to create a Henna paste in which they soaked their hands and feet in.  Soaking themselves in Henna created a cooling effect which was extremely helpful in the hot climate.  After soaking in the Henna they noticed faint designs which provided the idea for using Henna to make these intricate designs.

The first time I used Henna was when I was at a friend's birthday party three years ago.  The Henna I used had an herbal smell that I won't forget.  I kept the Henna on for about 20 or 30 minutes until it was dry enough that I could brush it off.  It left a light brown design that stayed on for a week or two.  Since the Henna we used was the cone-designed dispenser, it was hard to create the thinner lines or to create a very intricate design.
Not only was/is Henna used for creating designs on the skin, but Henna is also used for hair.  In Ancient Egypt Henna has been used for six thousand years as a hair dye.  Usually the Egyptians used Henna to dye the hair of their mummies.  Popularity for Henna grew with the fashion for Orientalism, (refers to the East) which encouraged women to die their hair with Henna. French painters and impressionists popularized also popularized henna-dyed hair with their art.
Traditions of henna as body art are not limited to weddings, but are also very popular among young and pregnant women.  Between 1500 and 500 BCE young women would adorn their bodies for social and holiday celebrations.  There is also evidence of women marking themselves with Henna in preparation to meet their husbands.
Henna is still very popular in India, Africa, the Middle East, and recently, America.  Henna is very important to countries with women who are discouraged from working outside the home because they can perform the socially acceptable work of applying Henna.
Henna is a beautiful tradition that originated centuries ago, and never stopped being a very large part of the lives of millions of people.

Braided ponytail

First I french braided a small section of hair closest to the part of the hair as possible.  I took very small sections of hair each time, pulling tight each time and making sure that I braid in a straight line.  After the braid reaches all the way to the ear I pulled the braid to the side continuing with a simple braid.  I secured the braid with a Vidal Sassoon black elastic hair tie, which can be found at most drugstores.  I did a smaller french braid next to the first braid.  Again I pulled it to the side when it reached the ear and tied it off with another elastic hair tie.  on the other side i braided a very small section of hair, only about 4 centimeters wide.  I braided that tightly to the side making sure i didn't let any other strands of hair into the braid.  I did six of these small braids, securing each of them with an elastic hair tie.  Taking all six small braids, and the first, larger french braid with all other hair I tied it in a ponytail.  With the smaller french braid i wrapped it around the first larger french braid, then around the hair tie.  When the braid covered the hair tie i took it under the pony tail and secured it with bobby pins.  Using more bobby pins i tied back any loose pieces of hair since it was before cheer leading in the game, so it needed to be tight.  Luckily it stayed for over five hours without hairspray.