Rain. I am obsessed with it. I live for it. At night, I strain to hear it in my sleep. I love walking in it, don’t have sense enough to come in out of it, thrill to hear it forecast on the weather channel. My favorite foreign locations all have rainy reputations: Ireland, England, Germany.
Maybe moving to Oklahoma has intensified my obsession—craving what we don’t have. I moved to OK from what is billed as the rainiest city in America: Hilo, Hawaii. Unlike the most popular of the islands, the Hilo side of the Big Island, is the “rainy” side. It generally rains at least once a day. Sometimes these are only what we called “drive-by” downpours: literally a few seconds of hard rain; other times it rains all night but is sunny during the day—the perfect formula for most Hawaiians. When I first moved to Hilo in January…
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 370 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
The human heart has hidden treasures,
In secret kept, in silence sealed;
The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,
Whose charms were broken if revealed.
Charlotte Brontë, “Evening Solace”.
This is a video I did of me doing my make-up before going out and trying to get make-up jobs.
Beauty hacks, tips, tricks and treatments that help boost your immune system. Your beauty and your health are connected. Cold and flu season around the corner? Here some tips for a healthier more beautiful that can beat the cold season. When you think about your immune system most people do not think beauty tricks. How you feel reflects how you look. My last beauty hack that I saved for this post keep and eye on your posture. Having good posture makes you feel better about yourself and helps keep you healthy and lean looking. Do not forget to smile even when you do not want to
I recently was asked which cosmetics line do I use most on brides? I keep reaching for It Cosmetics. IT Cosmetics infuses the latest anti aging technology into its innovative products. How did It cosmetics come to be Former television news anchor Jamie Kern Lima noticed a need for makeup that looked natural on camera, yet still concealed under harsh HD lighting. Her solution was IT Cosmetics. Developed with leading plastic surgeons, this line of makeup infuses cutting-edge, anti-aging technology with innovative, high-performance color cosmetics. These anti-aging facial products stand the test of time and help fight free radicals while moisturizing with vitamin E. I want my brides to look beautiful in their make-up. People should notice your skin and this line will help you do that Using anti-aging makeup from IT Cosmetics simplifies your daily routine, saves you time, and helps you look and feel your most beautiful. I find with high quality make-up I use less of it to achieve my results and my results stay put. This make-up photographs like a dream. I think that this make-up line is in all of or most of my YouTube videos.If I am not demonstrating with it I have it on. Here are a few of my favorite things from this vegan line
xoxo #MakeupMaureen or tweet me @makeupmaureen
Make-up tutorial Fan film based on Elsa from ABC’s Once Upon a time #frozen. This is a really pretty look for Sunday brunches or work.
In this video I talk about why adding oil to your mascara is not a good idea.
I also demonstrate a way to make your eyes look bigger with products you already have
Two tone lip color and another way to wear bright lip color.
How you find true red or blue reds based on their names
I got my green Queen Maureen dress on to have a make-up class about the television show Reign on CW. This is the perfect class for beginners or people looking to brush up on their skills. Do you have a bunch of make-up you are not sure what to do with? If so you have come to the right place. This is a simple day time look that perfect for every age group out there. We also have a do it yourself bb and cc cream discussion. Long may she reignLong may this video Reign
Here is a list of all the beauty treatments or products you can make on your own using tea. If I find any extra ones on the web I will revise this list. One quick important note you can use white tea, or yerba mate to subsitute for green tea when ever needed
The master list to do it yourself today tea treatments
1 toners- My last post was about toners. If you have any questions about this post please, leave them on the comment section below. I also would like to add rose hips to the list of teas you can make toners into. Black tea can also be used to balance oily skin without drying the skin out.
2 hair rinses- Before you prepare for your shower, brew a weak cup of green or white tea. Let the tea sit overnight Use a color applicator bottle or spray bottle to apply the tea to your scalp.
Leave it on for at least 5 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Shampoo and condition as usual. Or use it after you condition Some schools of thought on this are ;use some tea rinses in spray bottles but most seem to just use them as a final rinse after washing the hair. Some rinse the tea out after massaging and letting it sit from 5 to 30 minutes while others leave it in and continue with a deep conditioner. Either way a good deep conditioner is necessary as many find the hair to feel rough after the tea rinse has been applied.Repeat the tea rinse 2 or 3 times a week. If you don’t see any results after 1-2 months it’s best to spend your efforts somewhere else. This rinse might help regrow eyebrows.
Turn gray hairs darker – Rosemary and Sage
Brightening the hair – chamomile for blondes; rooibos, rose hips hibiscus for redheads; or black tea for dark hair
Reduces shedding hair – Green tea, black tea, lavender
Stimulate hair growth – Green tea, white or yerba mate
Strengthens and thickens the hair – Black tea
Helps with dandruff and psorasis – Green tea, Nettle
Promote hair growth – Hibiscus, rooibos and yerba mate
Black tea can stain lighter hair colors.
3 hair masks- tea, olive oil or coconut oil, egg, and brewed tea. Shampoo let it sit on your hair for at least ten minutes (with saran wrap or a shower cap) rinse and condition. You can add heat with a hair dryer or warm towel to rep the benefits of this mask.
4 black tea foot soak- black tea helps neutralize the pH of skin and helps reduce odor causing bacteria.
5 tea for henna similar to the hair rinse idea adding tea to henna can enhance the color. Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add tea bag and simmer for 15 minutes. Use 1 black tea bag for dark brown to black hair, or 1 green tea bag for blonde to light brown hair. For even better results, after letting the tea simmer, squeeze in the juice from half of a fresh lemon, a pinch of sea salt, and a teaspoon of plain, unflavored yogurt. Let the water sit until it is warm before mixing with henna. I have also seen people add turmeric to henna but turmeric is bright yellow in color. The rules for tea rinse colors apply to henna even clear henna. HENNA IS A STAIN and a pain to color correct. All henna is red because, henna is a red plant. Henna was used in ancient Egypt and still throw out the world for hair treatments.
6 Black tea self tanner- . Take 10 black tea bags (the tea brand does not matter) and boil in hot water.
Let the tea bags sit in the water for about 10-15 minutes steeping.
Remove the tea bags and then let the tea cool to room temperature or less! It may be refreshing to put it in the fridge for a bit, especially in the hot summer months!
Pour into a spray bottle and spray your skin. Air dry and reapply if you want a deeper, darker color. You can also soak in a bathtub and try to fake tan that way. If you do the bath soak your feet will benefit. Hint, hint number 4.
7 you can make your own serums and moisturizers using tea. I do not do this and I do not have tips on this.
8 add tea to a homemade or ready made facial masks. rice powder or flour powder, tea (green, white, hibiscus, rooibos ) honey, oatmeal, yogurt, baking soda and what ever else you have in your home. I have a Youtube video on making leftovers into beauty treatments. <sp> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTNZO44DZ_4 <sp>
9 give an oatmeal bath a boost with skin calming green tea bags. Any tea know for soothing properties also works on dry itchy skin. Green tea, white, chamomile, calendula extra.
10. Tea bags work for sunburn. You can use the tea bag or rag dampen with tea. Green, Earl Grey, black,
chamomile all work for this. I recommend using a cool tea press.
11 use your tea bags on puffy eyes. I swear by this during allergy and cold season. You can use old tea bags just wet them. Cold or warm or which type if tea is a personal preference.
12 body scrubs add it to homemade or store bought for a boost
13 make-up setting sprays just like toners but you want to add vegetable glycerine
14 facial cleanser add tea to them or make your own. Green tea powder, rice flour or oat flour, licorices powder, or vitamin c powder. Will make a non foaming cleanser safe for taking off make-up.
15 steam open your pores with tea. Bring the tea to the point where the pot starts to bubble let it sit and steam clean skin. You can also layer a mask while you steam. This is no where near as strong as a salon facial steamer. This is helpful for when you are sick or blah feeling
16 body sprays
17 some teas work for minor cuts, bruises, and bug bites
18. Black tea bags can help with stinky shoes and bags. Just leave a tea bag in the affected area overnight and it will take the stink out.
You might already have items in your home that will make fabulous toners. One item not mention in the video:Sake. The Geisha’s skincare back in the day included sake. Most Japanese skincare lines still use sake in their toners. Sake contains B Vitamins, active enzymes and a pure form of Kojic Acid. Kojic Acid is beloved by many an esthetician as a safer alternative to hydroquinone for lightening dark pigment spots on the skin, and increasing overall brightness.
Orange is the new black. Today’s make-up study is taking a color like Orange using it in nude neutral make-up. Some colors are viewed as garish but can be really useable.
makeupmaureen 