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Beauty April 4, 2014

How To Apply Eye Care

Eye’s are beautiful and come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors. They’re the most fragile part of your face. I remember learning this the hard way at an early age. I was 16 and just started as a Beauty Adviser. We had the opportunity to try all of the old and new beauty products from all sorts of brands. Cheap to luxury, all natural to anti-aging.. any brand you can think of, I’ve most likely tried it.

One day after work we went to a seminar for NeoStrata. I love their products and know that there is no other like it. The fact that they state the percentage of Glycolic Acid it contains and that you can purchase it from a drug store is a bonus! (Let me know if you want me to do a post about Glycolic Acid in the comments below)

Everyone who attended the seminar went home with lots of new NeoStrata products. This one eye cream really stood out to me. So I tried it that night and put it on vigorously, thinking it would penetrate better and work faster. To my dismay, I woke up the next day with sore and puffy eyes. They looked horrendous! That was when I learnt the right way to apply skin care around or near the eyes.

The skin around the eyes is ten times thinner than the skin on the face. One of the many reasons why you should be extra gentle around the eyes.

[Tweet “Steps to ensure you’re applying your eye cream in the most gentle manner possible.”]:

1. Dot on your eye cream in the areas needed. Don’t get too close to the eyes.

2. Gently spread the eye cream with your ring finger. The ring finger is suggested because you naturally won’t use as much pressure.

3. Anything left on your finger spread under your brow bone. End with a circular motion, as seen in image above.

It takes time getting use to applying your eye cream this way, especially if you don’t have time and want to just smear it on. You’ll see a difference with this method, especially for those who have dark circles.

Would you use this method? How do you apply your eye cream? Let me know in the comments below.

Beauty January 30, 2014

How to Prevent The First Signs of Aging

Wouldn’t you love to just walk out the door sans make up? Let your skin breath, touch your face without make up coming off…ah the possibilities. And there you have it! The first step to preventing the first signs of aging is giving your skin a break. Toss your make up for a day and just give your skin a treat.

I remember the day I started giving my skin a break schedule. My cosmetics manager at the time had told me about a story she read.There was a lady in her 40’s who went for plastic surgery and the surgeon found foundation under her skin. Whether it’s true or not- UGH! Gross. You know all those days where you were too tired to take off your make up before bed? Thought it transferred to your pillow only? It didn’t. It lives under your skin and stops oxygen from getting to your skin cells. Click here for some more information about sleeping with make-up and how it can speed up the skin aging process.

Sunglasses aren’t only for fashion statements. They protect your eyes from harsh UVA/UVB rays. Also, prevent you from squinting, which causes wrinkles around the eyes. Do you wear prescription glasses? Try wearing them more often or get contact lenses. Because squinting is often done to see better as well. I’m guilty of this. Rubbing your eyes is also another damaging culprit. I would always tell my clients, the skin around your eyes is about as thin as a tissue paper. Handle with care.

Changing your diet and incorporating exercise into your life makes a wonder of a difference in how you feel and the way you look. Eat healthy and try your best to work up a sweat, at least for 30 mins each day. I find the 30 day challenges are motivating and work great as a quick workout for someone with a busy schedule.

I love skin care products! Reading about them, learning the technologies behind each product and packaging sells to me. Yes, even marketers get caught up with packaging. Your skin care routine is going to be your ninja fighting against those first signs of aging. I started a skin care routine when I was 16 and I only started to see results in my early 20’s. So that goes to show, that it does take time to see major results. Same goes for seeing damage in your skin, when you lack in caring for it. Sun damage, age spots, wrinkles, pigmentation. You see most of these signs over time. We all tend to forget that the damage is happening now, you just can’t see it yet. Start with your basics: Cleanser and moisturizer.

Lastly, prevent aging by being young at heart. Smile, laugh and just have fun.
Life is beautiful, enjoy it!

Marketing January 16, 2014

Instagram for beginners: How To

You’ve decided to jump on the Instagram bandwagon and don’t know where to start. You’re wondering alright, another application to add to the rest. I’m sure you’ve come across at least one Insta picture without actually downloading the app or even knowing it. It’s everywhere!

Your Instagram account can be whatever you want it to be.

Just put in thought to your posts and you’ll see your followers grow. If you’re not sure what to post on Instagram, try doing A/B testing. Post different pictures and see what your fans prefer. Whichever images get the most likes, that is your category to target.

Keep in mind not everyone on Instagram has the goal to gain followers or likes. Some are on Instagram to promote their products, brand, post their opinions, speak out for a cause or a place to be recognized for their awesome food pictures. What ever it may be, you’ll need to know how to use this application. Check out the below youtube tutorials. On a side note I finished recording these videos right before the Instagram update. So add this to your learnings from the videos:

Instagram direct is Instagram’s new update. It allows you to choose if you want to share your photo with all your followers or just a few. Click on the “Direct” tab, and select the followers you would like to share them with. The picture will not show up in your public feed, and just the users you selected will be able to see your photo.

Desserts December 27, 2013

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

My obsession for chocolate chip banana bread believe it or not was purchasing a loaf from the Forest Hill Shoppers Drug Mart. It was the perfect balance of sweet, yet salty and moist. My advice for this recipe is tweak it where you need to in order to get to perfection. Your perfection could differ from mine by a 1/2 teaspoon of more salt or less. On that note, take risks and enjoy! :”)

Prep Time: 2hrs

Ingredients
1 cup of granulated sugar (or regular sugar)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted based on your preference. I used salted once.)
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas (1 cup of mashed bananas)
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (as many as desired or 1/3 cup is what I put)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray/Butter/Oil up a 9×5 inch loaf pan with a non-stick spray coating preferably.

Mix or blend together the eggs, butter, buttermilk, mashed bananas and milk.

Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add this to the mixture above and stir in desired pecans and/or chocolate chips. Mix well.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes. However, check up on the bread after an hour and do the toothpick test. If it comes out clean, it’s ready. From my experience sometimes it’s 1 hr 14mins or 1 hr based on maybe a miss-measurement of ingredients or the oven you use.