Birthday celebrations

On the 11th of January it was the 25th birthday of fellow wolverine Kimberley !!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMMY!

On the 11th we went on a fabulous boat cruise around the Auckland Harbor with a bunch of friends who could make it - It was a very eventful evening including ripping out a couple of moves on the disco dance floor.. photos below.

The weekend just passed, we decided to get away and celebrate Kimmys birthday outside of Auckland so we packed our bags & chilli bins and drove up on Friday evening to Kai iwi Lakes. We had a primo spot with a massive house looking over the lake. It was a perfect weekend full of fantastic food, sunshine, kayaking, golf and facials.

The ladies on the holiday were brave enough to try out some of my face masks! Photos and recipes below :)

Facials:

First of all the ladies all cleansed their faces with an almond and sunflower seed mix wetted to a paste with water, they then had a choice of 2 face masks depending on their skin type:

1. Banana smoothie face-mask

Skin type: Normal to dry/dehydrated skin

Ingredients: Buttermilk & Banana

Buttermilk helps to clear and brighten skin as it contains lactic acid which helps remove hyper-pigmented cells. And banana serves as a nourishing and moisturising ingredient, a non-abrasive exfoliant also with skin lightening action. It is good for all skin types especially dry skin :)

1. Deep cleanse mask

Skin type: Oily to normal skin

Ingredients: Almonds (crushed), sunflower seeds (crushed), rolled oats (crushed), almond oil & tomato flesh (seeds and skin removed). 

Almonds are high in emollients and work as a good exfoliant, also works as a gentle bleaching agent to even skin tone. Sunflower seeds are rich in essential fatty acids, emollients and nutrients - makes a good moisturiser and is very gentle, fantastic for exfoliation. Rolled oats are soothing to irritated skin and also makes a gentle abrasive base for the face mask. Almond oil (I use this religiously every day) is high in fatty acids and penetrates the skin well. Lastly tomatoes are high in anti-oxidants and are great on inflamed or blemished skin.

All ingredients used - the mixes can be prepared in advance!

Cleansing with an almond mix

Helping each other apply the mask

The girls relaxing as their masks work magic!

Even Porsche wanted to join in!  

Amazing meal prepared by Jess to top off a perfect day at the lake :)

More good food the next day

Thank you very much ladies! X

Beauty update - Turmeric & Coffee face mask

First of all I would like to warn all fair skinned women out there to probably not try this mask - As excellent as it is this mask because is has no oil base can stain your skin! I will be adding a special coffe & chocolate mask to the blog next week which can be used by you whiteys (me included).

Thank goodness you have me to try out these recipes and risk looking like I have cancer of the liver!

Anyway once again I am using Turmeric as my base ingredient - This time I made a heap of paste by combining 2 cups of water to half a cup of turmeric and boiled it on a medium heat. I gave some more to my Dad to try as he has told me he is seeing significant improvements in his skin tone and inflammation since trying my witch craft. I also have noticed a significant evening in skin tone and my cheeks are much less red - The ways of Turmeric, I love this spice!

So the Turmeric & Coffee mask is to be used no more than once a week as the coffee works as a strong exfoliant.

All I did was follow the recipe for making the paste above and add about 1/2 cup of paste to 1/2 cup of used ground coffee. I mixed this all together and applied to my skin. Leave this on for 10-15 minutes until the paste is dried and then proceed to remove with a hot face cloth. If you do try this and experience some staining then all you need to do is apply a little bit of coconut oil to your face and remove the staining gently with a cotton pad.

While I may not be running to try this mask again soon I can confirm that I am no longer yellow and it has been 5 hours since I applied the mask - Thank goodness I work from home!

Blogged by: Megan

Tumeric - My new Super Spice!

 So the last few days I have been experiencing dry skin on my upper cheeks and there is nothing that frustrates me more than having issues with my skin. So I did a bit of research on home remedies especially face masks and came across many articles that suggested Tumeric as a cure for not only dry skin but also (apparently) quote 'helps the treatment of acne blemishes, blackheads, dark spots and hyperpigmentation and other skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. It helps heal and prevent dry skin, and to slow the skin aging process, and is used to diminish wrinkles, keep skin supple and improve skin’s elasticity. Tumeric is also being used as an ingredient in sunscreens. It is used daily by East Indian women as a facial cleanser and exfoliant.' http://multiculturalbeauty.about.com.

I am convinced immediately! PLUS my latest fad in cooking is highly South East Asian inspired (my 'boss' is from Pakistan and this influences me everyday more), so I love the fact that I can bring this spice into other areas of my life LOL. Apparently Thandie Newton places a sprinkle of Tumeric in her daily moisturiser and works a treat for her! SO I ignored all the warnings for white woman trying these face masks may cause yellow staining to skin HAHA and produced the following:

Tumeric face mask for dry skin & colour lift:

1 Tbsp of Rice flour (because I have become a normal flour snob as of late)
1/4 tsp of Tumeric powder
2 Tbsp of Coconut Oil

Method:

1. Mix flour and Tumeric together
2. Chuck in the Coconut Oil, which at first is hard so you need to mix this well till it creates a thick paste.
3. Apply to the skin CAREFULLY! The paste may crumble a bit so make sure you are doing it in a suitable place ie. not infront of the mirror in the garage with a white carpet underneath = yellow stains hmm NOT GOOD!
4. Leave on for 15 minutes and then wash off with a DARK coloured hot face cloth.

NB: Excuse the rank photo but this is just after taking the mask off and with no make up ;)

FEELING GOOD?

Blogged by: Megan