Beauty Tips - The Oil Cleansing Method

you want me to use oil on my face to clear it up?  what are you crazy?

NOPE...ITS SCIENCE

sorry that was a bit cheesy....but whatevs

yesterday i was catching up on some reading on notmartha.org and nestled in one of her beauty tips link posts i spotted a blurb about this natural method to get acne-free and healthy looking skin.....ok i'll bite.  The link took me to "The Oil Cleansing Method" webpage.

Go and read it....i know its long but its got lots of good info in it.  But until you have time to read all of it I will give you a brief summary. 

This method says that all the face cleansers, toners, and dirt blasting products we use are actually causing more harm than good.  I know most of us know this...but what else are we supposed to do...right?  This method states mesaging a combination of Castor Oil and Sunflower Oil (can be subbed for EVOO) and then steaming your face with a hot washcloth will help your skin expel all the nasty stuff and allow your natural oil factories to unplug and work properly.  Once your face is doing what its supposed to do your acne will clear up and you will be left with happy skin (yes please)!

So last night after reading this article i marched my self down to the Whole Foods and bought Castor Oil and Sunflower Oil.  Total for the smaller bottle of Castor (you only use a little of this-see article for ratios) and the only size i could find of Sunflower Oil (in the Olive Oil section) was right at $10 give or take a few cents.  These two bottles will last a long time because you only use a nickle size amount or your mix for each application.  So i followed the instructions - mixed my oils per my skin type ratio and oiled up.  Kinda weird at first, but I gotta say....

I LOVE THIS!! 

Once you wipe your face off it's soft and supple....not greasy or oily.  I was able to clean out pores that I normally cant.... and when i woke up this morning my skin looked brighter and was still soft....but not greasy.  Please keep in mind I have only tried this once, but I will work this into my normal routine.

I wanted to pass it on just in case someone else out there can benefit from it.  Please go read the article all the way through....there are alot of details that i left out that you should read.

Let me know how it works out for you!

now playing:tuesday.....2Cellos

Dave sent me this YouTube video this morning and i about wet myself from the shear awesomeness of this video.  its of 2CELLOS - Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser playing Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal"

 i love love love string remixes of popular music....i have a pandora station just for that.  maybe one of these days when i can devote more time to my violin i will put a group together to do something similar.  

happy hair....finally

i finally got a haircut this weekend!! why is that such a big deal? well....i have really long hair and i usually try and get a trim every 3 months just to keep the ends healthy and not dried out and ugly.  but with being busy and broke....its been about 6 months.....and my hair was looking bad!  i take good care of my hair.....use a sulfate-free shampoo, only blow dry once a week, limit how much its washed (2x a week only), use Moroccan Oil daily, and limit the amount i use heat tools.  the fact of the matter is....no matter how well you take care of your hair.....you need to get it trimmed regularly! So after 2 inches (which should have been 3 to 4in) and the BIG bottle of Moroccan Oil (my treat to myself).....my hair is happy.....not dry....not crunchy....but shiny and healthy.

if you havent tried Morocan Oil for your hair.....do it.  its a kinda pricey but its worth it. (dont use the knock-offs!!)

Free Music Download: Making Movies

remember how a couple of weeks ago i featured the band Making Movies?

well i was informed that there is a free music download of some of their songs available here:

http://makingmovies.bandcamp.com/album/in-deo-speramus

again.....i love this band so please check them out.  if you live in the houston area they will be coming to town on May 15 i believe.....and hopefully La Sien (Dave's Spanish band) will once again have the opportunity to play with them.  ill keep you posted on the time and venue so you can come out and visit and enjoy some rad spanish rock.

alieums.....what do you think?

dave and i talk about aliens all the time.  he is a firm believer that they are out there.....i believe that something exists out there (other than GOD), but im not prepared to say what it/they are.  we also both really like cheesy sci-fi stuff.....im a big geek for Doctor Who if you didnt already know that.

this video is crazy....i didnt realize that there had been this many sightings....who knows if video had been touch up/doctored..etc...but everything in this video is really hard to deny.....its there in that footage.  what is it....military? special ops? military covering for UFOs?  

your thoughts?

Magda Sayeg you are brilliant

magda sayeg....is nothing but brilliant - plus she is a fellow texas girl!

her latest project is a MINI Countryman.  how awesome is that?

all images are from knittaporfavor.wordpress.com - click link for her blog and more information about other projects.

design love:home

im a sucker for home design blogs...which you probably already know from my previous mentions of Design*Sponge.  here are some of my latest home crushes

i would love to do something like this to my stairs when i put in hard wood floors...like use color planks only on the rise of the stair

since i knit and do yarn bombing...im naturally drawn to this. sorry dave, but this will happen when i get my studio together.

i love love love this DIY from Design*Sponge - done with strips of paper glued in layers on a simple round paper lantern.  how cool does this look lit or not lit.

this vintage remake fridge is nothing but brilliant - $2000 Smeg in pastel green.  this is the same color as my Kitchen Aid mixer.  ive been wanting to redo my kitchen in white and this mint green color....but i dont think it is big enough to hold my cake orders....bummer.

 im also in love with these chest of drawers painted with the Union Jack.  I kind of want to do this to my chest of drawers at home, but it wont match the green, cream, and brown motiff ive got going on in my house....maybe in the studio...hmmm

old signage is so pretty.  This "e" is from yet another DIY from Design*Sponge of which im going to have to make a few....which will probably double as wedding decor.

i just need like 3 houses to decorate and live in on alternate days.

now playing:tuesday

This weeks band is

Making Movies

Dave and his spanish band La Sien had the privilage of playing a show with these guys a few weeks ago here in Houston.  I didnt actually get to stay and listen to their set...because it was already 2am and i was exhausted, but we did buy a cd of 'em.....and its been playing in my car nonstop for the past couple of weeks.

As you can tell they are a spanish band....however, their cd has both spanish and english songs.  regardless of language they are great!!!  their cd is available for purchase ($10) on cdbaby .  If you like Cafe Tacuba, Mars Volta, or Ozomatli you will like these guys. 

Dave has informed me that they will be coming back to Houston to play another show with La Sien soon so if you like them and you are in the Houston area I will keep you posted on when to come out!!

fishtail braid video - from Free People

have i mentioned how much i like Free People?  i love most of their clothing - even though i would never be able to afford it - and their blog is always full of fun pics, tutorials, and inspiration.  here in houston its heating up and if you have long thick hair like me you know that it can feel like you have an easy bake oven on your head.  so once again i am posting one of their hair tutorials!!

source

one cool thing that they did...maybe for their fall catolog shoot?.....they clipped in different color hair extentions and then did a fishtail braid.

source

  what a fun way to add a pop of color and texture to your hair.....plus its out of your way and cute.  enjoy!