(Image: source)

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share with you a really easy and effective facial you can make right at home that can help you say bye-bye to large pores, uneven skin tone, dark spots/discolouration, and acne! The main ingredient of this magical and ancient beauty trick? Egg whites!

Why Egg Whites?

Egg whites contain powerful enzymes that prevent brown discolourations from blemishes and work to protect the red and pink colors in the skin. They also contain proteins that interact with the salts in your skin which help to tighten and firm it while loosening whiteheads/ blackheads.

How to Make the Egg White Facial:

You will need:
-1 egg white (or 1/4 cup of pasteurized egg whites in a carton)
-whisk/ fork
-bowl

You can customize your egg white facial to your specific needs with the optional ingredients below:
-paper towel strips (easy blackhead removal strips)
-1 tablespoon of melted honey (unpasteurized is best) to soothe skin
-a few drops of jojoba or extra virgin olive oil to moisturize skin
-1 tablespoon grated cucumbers or freshly squeezed tomato juice to refresh skin
-1/2 teaspoon of salt (non-iodized sea salt is best) to amplify the tightening effect
-1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten your skin
-1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to clarify

1. Beat your egg white in a bowl until it is light and fluffy. It will be easier to apply to your face as a merengue than as a "goopy" liquid. 
2. Whisk any additional ingredients into your merengue.
3. Gently wash your face with your regular facial cleanser with a gentle washcloth and pat dry.
4. Apply the merengue with your fingertips onto your face and neckline. Avoid your eye area.
5. If you wish to remove blackheads, now is the time to place your strips of paper towel into your nose or t-zone while the merengue is still wet.
6. Sit back or lie down and relax for 15-20 minutes. As the merengue dries, you will begin to feel a tightening of the skin, even if you did not add extra salt. 
7. When your time is up, gently rinse away the egg white face mask with your hands or a gentle washcloth using warm water. If you used the blackhead strips, gently peel them off before rinsing your face. (Go ahead and inspect your strips! Prepare to be disgusted!)
8. Moisturize your skin as usual.

I use this mask about 1-2 times a week and I love it! It helps my skin feel supple and soft and look brighter, too! My skin tends to be a tad on the oily side, so I like to put sea salt and lemon juice in my mask for that extra punch of effectiveness! 

I swear by it! It really works! And I hope it will work for you, too!

Let me know how your experience goes. I'd love to hear from you!

Love, 
Mish

Hi everyone!

We've missed you! Sorry for not hearing from us for a while! Jay and I have been really busy lately and the only explanation we can give is that life sometimes gets in the way... I recently moved to another city and was internet-less for a while, but I am happy to be settled in and to be back blogging again! :)

For this post, I wanted to focus on eyebrows. It's been said that your eyes are the window to your soul and I think eyebrows play an special role in framing these important facial features. I, like many women out there, have the bad habit of over-plucking my eyebrows by going tweezer-happy, along with paying a few visits to an over-zealous threading/ waxing beauty aesthetician. However, going back through older pictures of myself, I noticed that I looked my best when my brows were fuller. I figure the reason why is because when I tried plucking my eyebrows, I would try to force an arch that didn't complement my eye shape, leaving my eyebrows looking thin and sparse.

Recently, I've been trying something new. I've been growing them out and I have to admit: minimal maintenance looks best. If you think about it, it just makes sense. Why fight the features you were born with when you should just embrace them! I think that thicker brows not only frame your eyes more beautifully, but also make you look more youthful. Here are the steps you can take to grow out your eyebrows: 

(Image: source)

1. Make a commitment to not tweezing your eyebrows for at least 2 weeks. Depending on how often you tweeze your eyebrows, it may take you longer to grow out your eyebrows.

2. When you begin your tweeze "fasting", grow your brows out for 2-3 days. You will see the hairs you normally tweeze begin to grow. Use a razor to gently shave these hairs (not your whole eyebrow!) to encourage them to grow back thicker. I used a razor that I purchased while living in Japan, but you can use one like this at Sephora (click here). 

3. At night before bed, massage a thin layer of non-petroleum jelly onto your eyebrows (like #2 in this article). This will increase circulation and nourish your fine hairs, helping them grow back thicker and fuller. This product is great for treating fine/ brittle eyelashes, too!

4. As your grow out your brows for the first few days, you will reach a point when they resemble "stubble". If you are tempted to tweeze, stop, breathe, and put those tweezers down. Instead, you can use a concealer or a white or cream-coloured illuminating/ highlighting eyeshadow powder to hide it. 

5. After about a week, you will see the hairs that were meant to be a part of your arches grow in. Continue treating them at night. You may wish to pluck the small hairs growing well under your arches which you know will not grow into your new eyebrows. 

6. After about 2 weeks, you should see your eyebrows back to their natural fullness and shape. If your lashes are still not as full you'd like them to be, be patient. Consider taking biotin supplements or foods rich in vitamin b12 like eggs, fish and dark, leafy greens.

As your regain your brows, you will likely change how you fill them in. With thinner brows, women tend to use a pencil liner, often resulting in a "drawn on" effect (One of my biggest pet peeves!). With fuller ones, you won't need to fill them in as much, or at all. If you want to accentuate them or add a bit more shape, using a powder to fill them in will look more natural than a pencil. 

One technique that I like to use is the following:

1. Wet an angled brush with water.

2. Dip your angled brush into your pot of powder. (Read this article to find out which colour is best suited for you.) Gently brush the pigment onto your wet brush. 

3. Follow the contour of your eyebrows and fill them in using quick and outward sweeping motions. This will help groom your eyebrow hairs at the same time. 

4. After the pigment has dried, use a dry Q-tip to erase or blend any lines you may have created that go past your eyebrow hairs to help them looking natural instead of "tattooed on". 

Hope my tips helped! What do you think of the bolder eyebrow trend this year? Got any tricks up your sleeve to growing out and grooming your eyebrows? I'd love to hear from you!

Love, 
Mish

(Image: source)

Hi, everyone!

Pair your emerald pieces against light neutrals like cream, ivory, camel and black. For a bolder look, pair it with bright colors like yellow, pink, and royal blue.
 
Avoid dark neutrals like navy and brown as these colors will only muddy and darken the greens.

What do you think 2013's "Colour of the Year"? Do you own any or plan to buy any special pieces in this beautiful colour? I'd love to hear from you!

Love, 
Mish

Hi everyone!

I love experimenting with different makeup looks and gotta say that I love playing up my eyes! Using black eyeliner to create a slight wing-tip has always been my go-to but thankfully, 2013 trends are giving me different options to wear eyeliner and in an array of colours, too! White, blue, green, teal, yellow, orange, red, purple-- you name it! It's the year of "anything goes". 

I'd like to share with you 6 different ways you can rock the coloured eyeliner trend to help spice up your everyday makeup looks: 

Top to bottom row, from left to right:

(Image: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5, source 6)

Look 1: Black and colour duo eyeliner. Create a thicker wing-tip on your eyelid using the coloured eyeliner as your base. Use liquid black eyeliner to line your eye and complete your look.

Look 2: Bottom lash line. Use a pop of colour to line your lower lash line and finish with black mascara to coat your top and bottom lashes.

Look 3: Floating eyeliner. Use coloured eyeliner to sweep along your crease. Not your standard look, but it's the perfect way to complement an edgy outfit. 

Look 4: All over colour. Line your top and bottom lash line with coloured eyeliner and top it off with black mascara on both your top and bottom eyelashes. Amp up your look by creating a wingtip or cat-eye, too, if you please!

Look 5: Just the top. Use coloured eyeliner on just your top lid. Go subtle and create a gentle wingtip with no mascara, or go dramatic with a more pronounced wingtip and use mascara on just your top lashes.

Look 6: Different top and bottom colours. Use complementary colours, differing shades/ hues, or contrasting colours on your top and bottom lashes to create your desired look. You can also smudge your eyeliner to make it look more like eyeshadow.

I personally love using Look #2 with Shopper's Drug Mart's exclusive Essence brand, "Long Lasting Eye Pencil" in "Deep Purple". These twist-and-turn eyeliners allow for a precise application and, like the name says, last for hours and hours! They are available in 8 lovely colours are super-affordable-- less than 3 bucks apiece! 

Which looks and colours are you most excited about trying out? I'd love to hear from you!

Love, 
Mish

I'm a sucker for love poems. Reading, annotating, and writing poems of my own was my favourite part of taking English classes in both high school and university. There's just so much depth to them, the kind of depth that stimulates my mind and leaves an impression on my heart. With poetry, words are no longer just words. They are a symphony. The strokes in a painter's masterpiece. Food to nourish my soul.

I wanted to share with you one of my favourite love poems of all time, "The Good-Morrow" by John Donne. Hope it inspires you as much as it does for me.

Love,
Mish