HOLY GUACAMOLE! Helping your hair recover from the sins and stresses of Summer

Do you find yourself in need of hair recovery from a summer-long binge of sun,wind, chlorine filled pools and salt water beaches? Beauty Wonkette surely does.  Before you head weeping to your stylist (and if you weren't weeping when you got there, you will be after you see the bill....hehe), try his totally natural, organic, CHEAP treatment.  Bottom line:  it can transform the driest, most damaged hair into glossy, “is that a mirror or your hair?” type shine.  Beauty Wonkette would not lie to you.  So what’s in it, you ask.  A laundry-list of never before heard of lotions and potions?  Nope. There are only two ingredients: avocado oil and aloe vera juice.  That’s it.  Aloe Vera juice, available at many organic and heath food stores, contains hair-loving amino acids and proteins, making it the prefect antidote to dry, frizzy, or damaged hair.   Avocado oil is high in anti-oxidants and hair-streghtening proteins, and is also a natural humectant, which keeps hair moisturized.  Buying tip: make sure to purchase the purest form of both, avoiding any added flavors, sugars or starches.   To apply, create a mixture using a ratio of one part avocado oil to two parts aloe vera juice, and saturate dry hair from root to tip.  The longer and thicker your hair, the more of the mixture you’ll need.  Comb through to ensure even distribution, and cover with a plastic cap. Let it sit on you hair for at least 30 minutes before shampooing as normal.   Warning: use of this mask may lead to girls standing behind you and applying lipstick.

Go ahead, bat those NATURALLY lush lashes....

These days, there seems to be a multitude of products and serums promising fuller, thicker eyelashes – many with harsh and unwanted side effects.  Many have turned to them, feeling they had no other choice in the quest for luscious lashes. Well, Beauty Wonkette is all about offering choices :D.  So, before you opt for the prescription pad, try something from your kitchen pantry (drum roll please) CASTOR OIL.  A common ingredient in 100s of beauty and skin care products, castor oil has been touted to aid in hair growth for centuries (it’s actually one of the top ingredients in lash growth treatments!). As with any new treatment, be sure to always test it on a small area to ensure there are no adverse reactions.  Once you’re sure there aren’t, following your nightly skin care routine ,take a clean mascara brush and give your eyelashes and eyebrows a light coating of castor oil – be sure to ONLY use organic cold-pressed castor oil – any other kind may have skin-irritating chemicals and additives.  Don’t worry about it causing blemishes – castor oil is well-known for being non-comedogenic.  Simply wash your face as normal in the morning, and be prepared to be amazed – some have reported a noticeable difference after only several days!

Recession Concession: DIY Olio Lusso

Unless you live under a rock, you have heard of this luxury facial oil.  It's enjoyed cult status for several years now.  Beauty Wonkette read about this stuff for a couple of years before trying it herself.  You've already heard the story.  Beauty Wonkette is an oily girl and until she learned to stop being an idiot, she was uber reluctant to use anything "oil" on her kisser.  It didn't take long to love this stuff.  It smells delicious and feels even better.  And, if it wasn't $150 an ounce, Beauty Wonkette would slather it all over her body.  But, it IS $150 an ounce.  True, the ounce goes a long way (if you use it on your face, that is).  And, it's a small price to pay for a totally natural face oil so loaded with goodies it acts like a wheat grass shot for the skin. After 40 years as a top stylist and beauty editor, Linda Rodin blended her favorite oils known for their nourishing, refreshing and soothing properties. The result was this luxurious, aromatic oil that feeds & balances skin whether it's dry, greasy or sensitive. It builds radiant, balanced skin, much less prone to breakouts and it makes you smell gorgeously of jasmine. Beauty Wonkette has been known to add a few drops to foundation for a deliciously dewy effect.  Most days, BW goes sans foundation and likes to rub a tiny drop or two (any more leaves behind a greasy residue) on cheekbones and under eyes for a beautiful, fresh glow.

Soooooo WHAT is inside this precious, pricey bottle?  Well, here are the ingredients:

Jasminum officinale (jasmine) oil, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil, simmondsia chinesis (jojoba) seed oil, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, rosa canina fruit oil, arnica montana flower extract, calendula officinalis flower oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) flower oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil


AND here’s what those natural ingredients provide your skin:

Jasmine Oil: Known for its calming effect on the skin and ability to help increase elasticity
Sweet Almond Oil: An excellent emollient infused with vitamins A, B and E as well as minerals and fatty acids
Apricot Seed Oil: Keeps skin supple with oleic and linoleic acids as well as vitamins A and E
Jojoba Oil: The best carrier oil (at least in BW's humble opinion) for all skin types, replete with vitamin E and magic.
Evening Primrose Oil: Can ease swelling/puffiness and increase blood flow
Rose Hip Oil: High in vitamin C and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) which helps smooth fine lines around the eyes and mouth
Arnica Oil: Another great oil for keeping swelling and puffiness at bay; it’s also a natural healing oil for cuts and scrapes
Calendula Oil: Super-moisturizing oil rich in antioxidants that fight free radicals
Neroli Oil: Loaded with vitamin C and minerals to help improve elasticity and circulation, stimulate cell growth and soften the appearance of wrinkles
Sunflower Oil: Rich in fatty acids that moisturize and protect the skin
Argan Oil: Loaded with essential fatty acids and antioxidants that improve skin’s overall vitality

Obviously, some of these are carrier oils and some are essential oils.  The only one that is fabulously expensive is Jasmine.  Beauty Wonkette went to work to try to recreate a comparable mix - one that she CAN slather all over her body :D  She combed the internet, looked at what others had done, and played around.

Here's a recipe you can try at home:

Sunflower 2 tablespoons
Rice bran 1 tablespoon
Sweet almond 2 Tablespoons
Apricot 2 Tablespoons
Jojoba 2 tsp
Argan 1/2 tsp
Camellia 1 tsp
Jasmine e.o 1 /2 tsp
Sweet orange e.o 1/2 tsp

Neroli absolute 3 drops

BW subbed out the Calendula, Evening Primrose, Rose Hip and Arnica because they're a little too rich for her skin, but don't hesitate to play around with variations.  This version is very smooth, and when applied on barely damp skin, it seals in the moisture and makes it soft as silk. It isn't oily when you use just a couple drops warmed in the hands for the entire face and neck. Smells nice too!

Forgive me Father (or facialist, or dermatologist, WHATEVAH) for I have sinned........hehe

If you are anything like Beauty Wonkette, no matter how hard you try to be good,  you KNOW you are guilty of a few beauty sins. (BW isn't religious but is guessing the confessional booth is one of the busiest spots in your local Catholic church).  Or, at least that's the thinking behind this new Australian beauty line. Aptly named Sin Care, it focuses on your skin-wrecking sins — too much sugar, overindulging on the alcohol, smoking — rather than promoting benefits like brightening, clarifying, etc. that conventional products tout.

The brand is focusing on the so-called "extrinsic" agers, a.k.a. those lifestyle choices we make that cause our skin to age faster. These vary from "intrinsic" aging (chronological) in that they aren't the same in everyone — they will differ based on your location, hobbies, and diet. This lifestyle-based approach to anti-aging makes it easy to know which super-concentrated serum is right for you — no more staring at a bottle of skin cream and wondering if your complexion needs to be brightened or evened out. 

With Sin Care, you pick a "sin" — Party Girl, for the drinkers; Urban Renewal, for city dwellers; Sun Goddess, for the UV worshippers; Line Rewind, for those that have neglected their skin over the years; Relaxation Sensation, for the stressed; Sleep Doctor, for the insomniacs; Sugar Hit, for those with a serious sweet tooth; Smoker's Secret, for the nicotine (ewwww) addicts; and Skin Coach, for fitness freaks (because working out too much causes you to lose vital minerals, apparently). Guilty of multiple sins? Hehe......weg. The good news is these serums are designed to be layered and combined, so you can customize for your specific issues.

While Beauty Wonkette highly doubts any topical product is going to erase the damage done by something as harmful (and, sorry ladies, DISGUSTING) as smoking, we do like the fact that the brand has made it easy to pick the right product. I mean, Beauty Wonkette is your resident expertsover here and even we have our fair share of head-scratching in the beauty aisles when faced with some of these crafty marketing claims and wording. By pinpointing lifestyle aging factors, it makes it easier for us to zero in on what we actually need, rather than what we think we maybe might need.

If you need enticement, Lovelyskin.com has a special offer going on RIGHT NOW.....  You know you love free stuff - follow this link :D

An End-Of-Summer Skin Savior

Certain beauty products — think NARS blush in Orgasm, Clinique's Black Honey lipstick — are so good, they're practically famous. And, while Beauty Wonkette does love so many of those well-known, well-loved products with a loyal following, we've been wondering why others have been quietly flying under the radar. With that in mind, you know you can count on Beauty Wonkette to introduce you to the products you really, truly should know about (and try, like, right now). They're not brand-new, but trust Beauty Wonkette: they've got some MAJOR staying power going on....

Perhaps you've never heard of Hungarian beauty brand Éminence Organics. If so, tis a shame, because this under-the-radar organic skin-care line has got it!  Oh yeah - talk about going on... Beloved by spa professionals, the expansive collection of pure masks, cleansers, treatments, and serums are some of the most efficacious and downright pleasurable products to use. 

It doesn't hurt that many of the treatments smell and sound good enough to eat: Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant, Pumpkin Latte Hydration Masque, Mimosa Champagne Sugar Scrub, Coconut Milk Cleanser, and Quince & Ice Wine Masque. You can actually see pieces of the plants that the products are named after, which is why this ultra-green line is a favorite of eco-beauty enthusiasts.

When it came to narrowing down which product Beauty Wonkette wanted to highlight, we had a really hard time.  In all honesty, after being an avid user of Eminence treatments for years, Beauty Wonkette thinks the brand itself deserves Cult Classic status. There's just too much great, amazing, healthy stuff to choose from for us to call out just one. After some research, we found celebrity aesthetician Joanna Vargas' (an organic-beauty advocate and the woman responsible for giving Michelle Williams her enviable glow) take. Vargas has been using Éminence products at her NYC salon for ages and is a true superfan. Her pick for the best of the brand? The Seven Herb Treatment.

"It's not one of their sexy, new products — in fact, it's been around as long as the company has," says Vargas. "I love it, because it’s both hydrating and healing, so I can use it on dull, dry skin at the end of summer, and it’s great for acne as well. It's loaded with antioxidants, plus red clover and peppermint, and it contains ground ivy to tighten pores, honey for hydration, and balances the skin with zinc. I can't imagine life without it!!" 

Are you sold yet Wonkettes?  Seriously, though, if you haven't checked out this line yet, Beauty Wonkette HIGHLY encourages you to do so. It's got products for every skin type and concern imaginable, and it really is just an all-around outstanding organic line. 

Éminence Organic Skin Care Seven Herb Treatment, $34.97, available at Amazon. 

This facial is some kinda good, clean, fun!!!

If you had  told Beauty Wonkette last week that she should be taking a spray can to her face, chances are pretty good that she would have slapped yours!  But, that was before Beauty Wonkette read about Clayspray on Daily Candy.

Now we can’t get enough. The aptly named Clayspray packs mineral-rich masks into airtight, aluminum bottles so they stay fresh with every pump. Each package is color coded and labeled with active ingredients that fight specific skin problems.

Mattifying helps balance oil; Glow boosts cell turnover with cocoa seeds. Pore Refining sucks out toxins while retaining moisture. Toning uses aloe vera to calm redness and treat hyperpigmentation.

Brightening, one of Beauty Wonkette's favorites, infuses ginseng into its exfoliating formula. After fifteen minutes, our skin radiated with the afterglow of an hour-long oxygen facial.

Two types of water mists — mineral and green tea — quench the dermis before and after treatment.

Ready, aim, fire.

Available at beautyhabit.com, $24-$60.

Time to undo the damaging effects of summer....

Beauty Wonkette had an awesome summer (and hopes you did too).  The weather was the best it's been in years; perfect for playing in the sun, swimming, boating, beach stuff in general.  But now, Fall is almost upon us.  Beauty Wonkette has always loved Fall; loved going back to school, loved the colors, the crispness in the air.  You too?  No doubt, it helped if you were one of those kids wh got straight A's during your years schooling :D.   BUT nothing could have prepared you for the distressing post-summer strands we all see every Fall.  Loaded with chlorine, over-exposed to the sun and washed one too many times in hard water, your hair screams for so much more than a clarifying shampoo—it cries for a major makeover.  The summer months also sabotage the hair by blocking haircolor penetration.  Well my fellow wonkettes, NOW is the perfect time to start undoing the damage we did over the summer (Beauty Wonkette will address other "summer damage" issues in future posts, too, so DO stay tuned).

Do not despair!  Beauty Wonkette is here to help you make magic on even the most hard-hit of hair.  Malibu MakeOver is a 100% vegan wellness treatment from health-based beauty brand, Malibu C.  In just two simple steps, Malibu MakeOver’s all-age appropriate formula works on damaged, discolored locks, turning them into swingy, shiny strands.  With this safe, gentle hair helper in your arsenal, back-to-school season can be one when you look GORGEOUS.
 
The professional but uber-easy to do at home treatment starts with a Crystal Gel Normalizer, a mix of freshly activated, antioxidant vitamin crystals which gently pull cloying pool chemicals, malicious H20 mineral deposits and perturbing product buildup to the scalp’s surface where they can be rinsed clean away.  The second step in your MakeOver kit is Miracle Repair Power Protein Builder, a gentle gel which uses plant proteins to restore the inner hair structure only in the places it has been damaged, strengthening strands against further harm.  The healthy hair that’s left behind is “totally transformed in terms of tone, texture, vibrancy and health,” attests Malibu founder and CEO, Tom Porter.  “It’s truly an amazing difference in hair!”
 
Malibu C’s two-part Malibu MakeOver treatment is free of chelators, parabens, propylene glycol and is full of food-grade, 100% vegan, natural ingredients.  So what are you waiting for?  Malibu Makeover is readily available with a quick Google search.  Even if you haven't seen a classroom in decades, you'll be ready to move to the head of the class!