I’ve always appreciated my dark eyebrows (which happen to be a little on the thick side), and I even avoided plucking or waxing them for a while. Somewhere along the way, though, I did start plucking them, and this weekly ritual gradually evolved into a daily one. I’m worried that it’s well on it’s way to becoming a compulsion, since changing my pillowcase began and progressed similarly (I now have a days of the week set of pillowcases). Worst of all, I know very little about the correct way to shape eyebrows, so these sad little guys have slowly gotten thinner and less symmetrical. Fortunately, my bangs tend to cover at least one eyebrow at all times (so the lack of symmetry isn’t entirely obvious).

You might be wondering what the point of this post is, so I’ll get to it. In an attempt to remedy the damage I’ve done, I’m steering clear of tweezers for a couple of months. It’ll be tough, but having my eyebrows restored to their original shape will definitely be worth it.

My eyebrows, in their glory days. Also, this picture made me realize that I want to grow out my bangs.

Oh yeah, I finally compiled some information for the ingredients to avoid page, so you guys should totally go check it out! It’s a work in progress, and I’ll be adding new questionable ingredients as I come across them. I’ve got to start somewhere, though. Right?

Have you ever read the ingredients on a bottle of cheap nail polish? If you’re lucky enough to have them listed (and are capable of reading the tiniest words you’ll probably ever encounter), then you might be shocked by what you see. It wasn’t until just before throwing out my old polishes and remover that I forced myself to look at the ingredients. One of the few recognizable ingredients on each bottle was formaldehyde resin. The remover was no better. Think acetone, parabens, and artificial colors that hardly seem necessary in a polish remover.

I avoided doing research on the horrible ingredients hiding in popular polishes for a very long time; I knew my findings would cause me to make a possibly expensive change. I’ve had several natural polishes on wishlists in the past, but I was never able to justify the initial high cost on top of shipping. When I saw Piggy Paint* at Pink & Blue Avenue, a local gift shop for babies and new mothers, I took it as a sign that it might be time to make the switch. I thought it over for a few days, and when I returned to the store I bought a bottle of Piggy Paint in Sea-quin (which is free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone)  as well as a bottle of Piggy Paint acetone-free nail polish remover. My next move was getting rid of all my Sally Hansen, Petites, and Essie products.

I feel pretty great about my purchase, and I consider it $20 well spent. I’ll be heading to the beach for a week on Saturday, and my toes will look great without being covered in formaldehyde. A post on achieving beach-ready feet at home is on its way! I’ll talk more about the performance of these lovely products in said post.

*I know, I know. As the name suggests, this product was created for kids. However, as the website states, “Piggy Paint is a natural, eco-friendly nail polish designed for fancy girls.”

I was a fancy girl at 7, I’m a fancy girl at 21, and I’ll still be a fancy girl when I’m 50. Count on it!

Shampoo-free for five days, and my bangs still don't look wet. Amazing!

I’ve always longed for the kind of hair that never has to be washed but still looks great. Danielle was lucky enough to be born with such hair, but some people have to work for it. I’m one of those people, and I’m finally starting to work for it. For the past three weeks, I’ve been washing my hair only once a week, and I’m actually starting to see a difference in my hair! It’s shinier and it requires less heat styling to make presentable. You might be wondering how a greasy-headed girl like me could possibly get away with shampooing her hair only once a week, so I’ll let you guys in on a few haircare secrets below.

• After going two or three days without shampooing my hair, it starts to feel a little weighed down and dirty. I’ve found that rinsing my hair with either a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water or baking soda and water works wonders. When I’m feeling brave, I use cool or cold water to for extra shine.

• Surprising as it may be, conditioning daily with a light conditioner does not make my hair oily. My hair is healthier for it, and it keeps it smelling nice and minty.

• There are days when I cover my hair with a water resistant head wrap in the shower or simply wet my hair and forgo all rinses and conditioners (usually the day after shampooing), and my hair looks as clean as it ever does.

• I’ve been brushing my hair right before bed and before my morning shower with a boar bristle brush.  Not only does it help move the oil from the roots to the ends, but it also helps remove dirt and other nasty stuff from my hair (if you’re skeptical, then you should buy one and use it for a while without cleaning it…it gets pretty gross). Boar bristle brushes are also great for people with sensitive scalps. Translation: I don’t feel like I’m yanking all my hair out when I encounter tangles.

• When I do shampoo, I try to use as gentle a cleanser as possible. This ensures a minimal amount of damage and makes me feel better about myself.

Thinking of shampooing your hair less? I hope some of my tips encourage you to take the plunge! Or if healthier hair all around is what you’re after… here’s a Care2 article that suggests a few ways to achieve it.

After taking Clementine for a walk in the park yesterday, I wanted nothing more than a large and delicious snow cone. I briefly considered picking one up on the way home, but a Styrofoam cup filled with high fructose corn syrup didn’t sound entirely appetizing. I decided to make my own using ingredients we had around our kitchen, and it was probably the best snacky decision I’ve made since my recent smoothie-related one.

I stuck to a few, simple ingredients, since my main goal was to achieve a healthier snow cone. Grape juice, Blood Orange Star Fruit Green Tea, and ice seemed like a tasty enough combination for my first attempt. The final product was a treat that was both refreshing and guilt-free, albeit a little tart.

I learned a few important lessons while making these snow cones, and I’ll put them to good use the next time I’m craving one:

• When using a food processor to make a homemade snow cone, it’s best to crush the ice by itself. Add the juice/tea mixture to the cups full of ice just before consuming to avoid a big mess.
• More juice and less tea is the way to go if the goal is a sweeter snow cone. It seems obvious because it is, but sometimes the obvious is still a mystery to me. Adding a little honey can only help matters.
• The longer you blend/crush/shave the ice, the better. Tinier ice makes a more authentic-tasting snow cone.
• Experimentation isn’t a bad thing. My next batch of snow cones will probably have completely different (but still healthy) ingredients. I’m thinking mango juice and/or coconut milk?

Happy Saint Patty’s Day, guys!

I put Lavanila Laboratories Vanilla Coconut Perfume on my bigger Christmas list because it seemed like something that I would love. At around $60 a bottle, though, I didn’t get my hopes too high. Imagine my surprise when I actually got it, and imagine my disappointment when I didn’t care for the scent at all. I should’ve known better than to ask for a perfume that I’d never even smelled before. Lesson learned.

Ingredients (provided at lavanila.com)- “Alcohol Denat. (from Organic sugar cane), Botanical Fragrance Blend (Cocos Nucifera & Gardenia Taitensis - Coconut Oil & Tiare Flower), Deionized Water, Lycium Barabrum (Goji) Powder, Terminalia Ferdinandiana (Kakadu Plum) Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium (Canadian Willowherb) Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive Leaf) Extract, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Chrysanthellum Indicum (Chamomile) Extract, Oat Amino Acids, Glycerin (Vegetable), Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Oil.”

This product is not in the Cosmetic Safety Database, and guessing an accurate hazard score would be pretty difficult considering all of the data gaps. I’ve linked to each ingredient’s hazard score page so you can see for yourself.

Some great things about this product:

1. It’s formulated without Synthetic Fragrances, Synthetic Dyes, Phthalates, GMOs, Triclosan, Petro-Chemicals, Propylene Glycol, Parabens, Silicone, Mineral Oils, and Sulfates.

2. This product is cruelty-free.

Product Description (provided at sephora.com)- “Sweet Paradise Found.

Escape with Vanilla Coconut filled with an indulgent blend of young coconut, hints of monoi Tiare (a Tahitian white flower), and a warm sensual base of Madagascar vanilla bean. You’ll instantly be transported to an island of healthy delights.

LAVANILA carefully infuses pure essential oils with 100 percent active botanicals for natural fragrances that are fresh, clean, and nurturing. With each spray, proprietary natural technology wraps the skin with super antioxidants goji berry and kakadu plum, soothing willowherb, and hydrating olive leaf for a healthy dose of 30 essential vitamins and minerals and 19 amino acids. Imagine, a fragrance that not only smells good but also is good for you!”

Price-$19.00 for 0.32 fl oz, $39.00 for 1 fl oz, or $58.00 for 1.7 fl oz.

Performance- This perfume has serious staying power; a couple of spritzes in the morning are still detectable as I am getting ready for bed.

Scent- I was really hoping that this perfume would smell more like coconut than it does, but the scent is so overwhelmingly vanilla that I honestly can’t smell anything else. It’s not an altogether unpleasant scent, but it’s not what I was expecting and it’s certainly not something  that I want to smell like. It’s very heavy and rich, and it seems like it would be better suited for an older woman. Maybe I was expecting something a little more tropical? I guess I only have myself to blame; I shouldn’t have presumed to know what it would smell like. Also, the problem could be that it just doesn’t work with my body chemistry. Perfumes are weird like that sometimes, you know? I used to have a friend who wore Body By Victoria, and she always radiated this lovely, warm scent. I bought a bottle and eventually gave it away because it smelled very soapy and kind of weird when I wore it. Another thing that bothers me about this perfume (and I know that it’s a ridiculous complaint) is that my bottle isn’t filled with the clear liquid that is pictured online. The bottle that I received (which is pictured above) contains an amber-tinted liquid, and I find this off-putting for reasons that I cannot explain.

Rating- I’m gonna go with a 5 out of 10.  The scent lasts all day and the ingredients could be worse, but I’m not a fan of the way that I smell and feel when I wear it (and that’s obviously a deal breaker when it comes to perfume).

Would I purchase this item again?-  I would not, but I’m not suggesting that this perfume isn’t right for you. In fact, you might love it! What I am suggesting is that buying a bottle of perfume (or asking for one for Christmas) without ever having smelled it is a horrible idea.

The ingredients:

about 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

around 4 tables spoons of lemon juice

contents of one bag of chamomile tea

roughly 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

nearly 4 tablespoons of my current favorite conditioner

I wet my hair, applied the concoction, and allowed it to sit for 25 minutes. When the time was up, I blow-dried my hair for good measure before rinsing. I’m not sure why; it just felt right. After rinsing, I blow-dried  my hair again (yaaaay heat-styling).

The downside: My hair is exactly the same color.

The upside: None of it fell out, it’s super soft, and it smells like a minty, spicy dessert. Usually olive oil makes my hair look super greasy, but not this time! I guess the trick is to just use a little.

Lesson learned: This mixture will not lighten your hair with just one use (since my impulsive behavior, I’ve read several sources that suggest leaving cinnamon in hair overnight to lighten it), but it will make hair soft and hunger-inducing.  I’ll definitely be replacing the lemon juice with apple cider vinegar and trying this again as a deep conditioner.

Dessert hair is something to get excited about, right?

Image Courtesy of Snackaisle.com

I just finished a Care2 article that listed 5 Dangerous Eating Habits, and I felt a more than a little ashamed of myself a couple of times while reading it.

I’ll give you guys a very brief overview of the article, by listing the 5 bad habits and sharing which ones I frequently practice, in case you don’t feel like reading the whole thing. I’d recommend reading it, though, since it explains why each habit is actually bad…interesting stuff!

1. Eating too fast- Don’t we all? I usually try to savor my food, but sometimes I get caught up in the moment.

2. Eating secretly- This is one thing that I can honestly say I never do. It seems like too much work.

3. Eating very little during the day and then overeating at night- I am so guilty of this. Lately I’ve been waking up at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, skipping breakfast and sometimes lunch, eating two or more servings of dinner, and then late-night snacking the night away. It’s horrible; I know.

4. Stress-eating-  Usually, stress suppresses my appetite (which I guess is kind of fortunate considering how often I needlessly stress myself out).

5. Mindless Munching- I do this daily, usually with Kettle Brand Sea Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips. I justify it by telling myself that the ingredients are much better than Lay’s, when deep down I know that they’re still fried potatoes. However, I’ve recently decided that I will not allow myself to buy these bad boys more often than once every other month.

I enjoyed this article about healthy veganism, and I thought I’d share it.  Articles like this bring me closer and closer becoming a full-fledged vegan. I’m sure that I’ll take the big step soon enough.

I’m training at a new job that I just got (at a hibachi restaurant, oh boy!), and I’ll probably be pretty busy for the next few days. I might not have time for lengthy posts, but I’ll post what I can when I can.  Sacrificing now will hopefully pay off later; one of the main reasons for me getting a job is to save money for ingredients, bottles, and other homemade health and beauty product necessities.

Who could be stressed out after looking at that?! I wanna squish that little guy. (Photo courtesy of Brent Howe)

As someone who refuses to watch the news, who abhors meeting new people, and who cringes at the mention of 2012, I can honestly say that I’m one of the most fearful people that I know. I’ve never cared for that flaw in my personality, and I’ve recently started to hate it.  So, logically, I’m going to something about it.  I’d guess that about 97% of the things that I worry about cannot be prevented, changed or stopped by me. That’s ridiculous, and it’s also really bad for my health. Did you know that people who worry about things that  they can’t control have very low numbers of antibodies in their blood?! —>  (Quick Steps to Stop Stress). Anyone without too much time on their hands would not even consider the things that I worry myself sick over, and this tells me that I desperately need to get a hobby. This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned needing a hobby in a post, but I tend to drop the ball when it comes to actually searching out things that I like. I also feel like I’ve been putting off any big changes in my routine until we move.  We’re moving on Thursday, and I’m no longer allowing procrastination to happen. Jogging while listening to my ipod sounds cooler than sitting on a couch and thinking about the economy any day of the week.  Stitching, yoga, biking, baking,  playing fetch with my dogs, and even looking at adorable pictures of puppies and kittens can and will become avenues for using excess energy in a positive way. As for meeting and making conversations with new people, that’s a fear that I’ll have to overcome the old fashioned way: by facing it.  Being in an entirely new place should definitely facilitate that, since I’ll be forced to make my own friends. I’m gonna have to overcome my social anxiety disorder eventually. I’m going to make myself talk to people first, regardless of how unnatural it may seem. Besides, I’m a pretty damn interesting and worthwhile person.

To ensure that this post isn’t entirely worthless:

I scrubbed my face with oatmeal last night. I poured a couple of tablespoons of it into my hands, mixed it with some water, and it made a slimy paste. I rubbed it all over my face until it dissolved/fell in the sink. It was messy, but it made my skin enviably soft. If your face is feeling kinda dull, then I totally recommend it.

What a fox! (photo courtesy of nylonmag.com)

Looking at pictures of Kristen Stewart with blonde hair has convinced me that I may also need blonde hair.  It’s one of those things that I’ll probably never do, but it’s fun to pretend. Now would be the perfect time to radically alter my physical appearance, too, since I’m moving and I won’t have to deal with all the surprised/disappointed faces.  I’m currently scouring the internet for ways to safely lighten my hair.  My conclusion: There aren’t many. Surprise, surprise.

I haven’t given up yet, though. I’m gonna talk to all the hairstylists/colorists that I know and see what they say. Any thoughts on the matter?