i'MASKing about Masks: A Short List of Homemade Mask Recipes

Is the title driving you nuts like it did to me? No pun intended but creating that was just so fun! Livelier than seeing a person with a fask mask on, right? Well, I dunno but I hope so (^.^)v 

Now that I've cheered you up, I hope that giving this article a short read will spark your curiosity about what the deal is about face masks. Of course for the short introduction, I thank efacialmasks.com for their wonderful video. Truth is, if you go to their website, you'll find tons of useful information about commercial facial masks. For this blog, however, I'll be placing homemade masks for most common types of skin and their problems.

As a general rule, asian skin care regimen goes around this order:

1. Cleanse - Cleaning means to pretty much remove any make-up and dirt that accumulated.

2. Tone - Toning is to clean off any excess dirt that might still be left after cleansing.

3. Exfoliate - Removes old skin cells but some facial masks. Not to be done everyday as it can be too harsh. This depends on the product you're applying but even then, some of these natural masks exfoliate.

3. Facial Mask - Use once or twice a week. Some of these already moisturize & exfoliate.

4. Moisturize - Locks in everything & makes the skin less dry.

Note that for all these items, the fresher, more organic is the safest way to go.

Dry Skin or Dull Texture

Dry skin is often associated with flakiness & lack of moisture. Dull texture may be part of it because of the buildup of dead cells on the surface of your skin.

What to do:

• Banana Mask: Mash up a banana and leaving it on for 10-15 minutes. If preferred, add honey for moisture. Rinse it off. (TFP)
• Egg Yolk Mask: Use the egg yolks, beat them and leave it on for 15-30 minutes. (RD)

Oily Skin
Oily skin can be seen when, after thirty minutes right after cleaning our face, we already have that oily sheen. Some other signs can be large pores, wet appearance & easily running make-up. When skin dries out, it produces more oil so these masks shouldn't dry out the skin completely.
What to do:

• Oatmeal Honey Mask: Cook some plain oats (instant is fine as long as there's no additives & flavoring). You can use it slightly warm but not hot - basically, allow it to cool. After that, add honey (for moisture) and create a paste that will stick to your face. Leave it on 10-15 minutes or until it dries. Rinse with tepid water. (TFS & About.com)
• Egg White Mask: If egg yolks are for dry skin then egg whites are for oily skin. Add a bit of honey if preferred. (RD)
• Chocolate Truffle Mask: Mix together 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 4 tablespoons of whole milk. It should look like thick pudding. Leave it on for 20 minutes then rinse it off. (HelloBeautiful.com)

Combination Skin
Combination skin is usually dry and oily in different areas of the skin.
What to do:

• Potato and Milk Mask: Boil and mash two tablespoons of potatoes. Mix together with one tablespoon of whole milk and leave it on the face for 20 minutes. Wash it off with cool water. (Eva Tornado)

Normal Skin
Normal skin says it all. Perfect skin with no blemishes.
What to do:

• Egg Mask: If egg yolk is to dry skin, egg white is to oily skin then you guessed it right! Beat the whole egg together then leave it on for 30 minutes. (RD)
• Chocolate Truffle Mask: Mix together 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 4 tablespoons of whole milk. It should look like thick pudding. Leave it on for 10 minutes then rinse it off. (HelloBeautiful.com)

Huge Pores
Huge pores may have a lot of contributing factors such as oily skin, age, genetic disposition and sex. Large pores cannot actually shrink so the aim here is to keep them clean.
What to do:

• Yoghurt Mask: Yoghurt has lactic acid that tightens pores and dissolves impurities. Take a tablespoon of plain yoghurt & leave it on your face for ten minutes. Rinse it off. (7BeautyTips.com)

Uneven Skin Tone
Hyperpigmentation, sun spots and uneven shades on the skin are signs of uneven skin tone.
What to do:

• Papaya & Honey Mask: Mash or blend a half cup of papaya and add two tablespoons of honey. Leave it on for 15 minutes or when you feel a tingly sensation. Rinse it off. (TFS)

Acne Prone Skin
Pimples can usually caused by internal problems such as Polcystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), hormones or external factors such as pollution. Better to ask your dermatologist for these things
What to do:

• Green Tea Mask: Open up a tea bag and pour the contents in a container. Add 1 teaspoon of honey. Leave it on for 15 minutes then rinse it off with warm water. (Acne.org)
• Chocolate Truffle Mask: Mix together 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 4 tablespoons of whole milk. It should look like thick pudding. Leave it on for 20 minutes then rinse it off. (HelloBeautiful.com)

Wrinkly Skin
Aging is inevitable but we can slow down the signs. One thing's for sure however, smiling and having a happy lifestyle can be the best age buster.
What to do:

•  Yoghurt Mask: Yoghurt has lactic acid that tightens pores, lessens fine lines and dissolves impurities. Take a tablespoon of plain yoghurt & leave it on your face for ten minutes. Rinse it off. (7BeautyTips.com)

There you have it! My rundown of homemade masks. Of course each person has their own unique qualities and skin so best to explore masks on your own. As far as this list goes, I tried to write down those that have the cheapest ingredients that are readily available here in the Philippines.

If you're too busy to run to the grocery & mash up some gooey stuff, feel free to purchase commercially or visit my online shop and browse through the facial masks.

Sources:

* http://efacialmasks.com/index.html

* http://www.thefashionspot.com/life/179147-homemade-skin-masks/

* http://www.rd.com/slideshows/homemade-facial-masks-recipes/#slideshow=slide9

* http://hellobeautiful.com/2012/09/20/5-homemade-face-masks/2/

* http://multiculturalbeauty.about.com/od/Skincare/a/10-Oatmeal-Facial-Masks.htm

* http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/problems/treating/shrink-large-pores1.htm

* http://7beautytips.com/how-to-shrink-large-pores/

* http://tuesdaytips.blogspot.com/2011/06/papaya-and-honey-mask.html

For Your Information (FYI) - After that Fruit Purchase

Here's some FYIs regarding fruits that you might want to know:

1. How do I wash my fruits & vegetables?
The main issue that I just want to tackle is pesticides. Never fear, it's actually quite easy to get rid of it! You can do any of the following:
 
Tip # 1: Rub & rinse your fruits twice or three times using cold water washing.

• A 1997 study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station says that rubbing fruits helps remove more pesticide.
• 75-80% of pesticide reduces are removed by cold water washing.
• Some fruits & vegetables require two to three washings (grapes, apples, guava, plums, mangoes, peaches and pears and fruity vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal and okra).

Tip #2: Wash with 2% salt.

• Do the math! One percent salt solution means for every liter you use one gram so 2% means...
• This will remove most contact pesticide residues for surfaces of fruits and veggies!!
  

Tip #3: Wash with white vinegar and water.

• The white vinegar and water wash kills 98% of bacteria and removes pesticides.  
• Procedure
  
  1) Fill a bowl with water and add 1 teaspoon of vinegar for every liter of water in the pot or bowl.
  
  
  2) Place your fruits and veggies in the bowl.
  
  
  3) Soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
  
  
  4) Rinse with water.

Tip # 4: Pesticides can be eliminated from green leafy vegetables by washing blanching and cooking

• It's important to pre-wash before blanching. Blanching can be defined as a short treatment in hot water or steam.

Tips # 5: Peeling

Tip #6: If all else fails... Concentration, dehydration and extraction from the raw product can reduce pesticide residues.

Tip # 7: If all else REALLY fails... Dish washing liquid!

• Procedure
  
  1) Use a squirt of dish washing detergent and mix it in the bowl or pan full of water.
  
  
  2) Place your fruits in the bowl.
  
  
  3) Rub for a minute.
  
  
  4) Rinse with water.

• Based on DoctorYourSelf.com, pesticides being applied don't usually wash off during rainy season so it's really the safest to use dish washing liquid.

2. How do I get rid of the waxy coating in grapes?
Grapes usually have a waxy coating on their skin. This wax is actually created by the grapes to prevent nature loss says Sarah UmmYusuf from Nature's Nurture blog. Some grape lovers find it hard to munch on their favorite treats because of the bitter taste of the waxy coating. From here on out, I'll compile some basic ingredients you can use to make the waxy stuff disappear~

Materials:
1 Colander (Makes the work less of a hassle. I mean, can you just imagine scrubbing each of them by hand?!)
1-2 tsp. salt, cornstarch or baking soda (Any one of them does the trick.)



Procedure:
Step 1: Makes sure the grapes are moist and rinsed well (so that step 2 works).
Step 2: Add 1-2 tsps. of salt, cornstarch or baking soda for approximately 2/3 of a kilo of grapes or just eyeball it.
Step 3: Rinse it off.

Have fun trying them out... I'm sure that we've heard the old saying that goes, "One fourth of what you eat keeps you alive. The other three-fourths keep your doctor alive." which isn't what we all want, right? So let's enjoy eating healthy~

Sources:
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/04/09/how-to-wash-grapes-the-right-way/
http://mydaysonearth.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/how-to-wash-grapes/
http://blog.melonoat.com/2010/03/how-to-wash-grapes/
http://www.ehow.com/how_8642293_remove-pesticides-grapes.html
http://www.cseindia.org/node/2681
http://goodgreenhabits.com/wash-your-fruits-veggies-with-vinegar/
http://www.doctoryourself.com/pesticides.html

Apple Cider Vinegar Toner

A toner that's all natural and affordable!


Topical Benefits: 

• Abundance of natural alpha hydroxy acids
• Reduces sun and age spots
• Dissolves dead skin cells
• Balances the skin's PH
• Lightens acne and acne scars
• Helps minimize appearance of pores

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother - "Mother of vinegar" is the naturally occurring strand-like enzymes that are only found in raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, you need this for the therapeutic benefits.
• Distilled water - Some other type of water might make the consistency slimy or gross.
• Glass container - Something not too big as you have to consider the shelf life.

 How to make:

1. Check what type of skin type you have as that determines the ratio of water to vinegar.
2. Mix in the container by diluting the ACV to three parts water and one part vinegar as basic standard but the exact ratio will vary depending on your skin type.

• Dry skin - more water
• Oily skin - more vinegar
   

How to apply:

1. Shake bottle before use. Apply to clean face using a cotton ball or pad by sweeping on you face in an upward and outward motion.
2. Let dry before applying moisturizer.

Shelf Life:
ACV itself has acidic properties keeping bacteria from forming thus keeping it from spoiling. I have a theory though... The more water, the earlier it will spoil.

• Shelf life of about two months - no need to refrigerate (but you can also, if preferred)
• Store in a cool, dry place (if not refrigerating)
  

Sources: 
* http://livinthecrunchylife.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-apple-cider-vinegar-facial-toner.html
* http://www.designmom.com/2012/02/diy-easy-skin-toner/
* http://www.homeacneremedies.us/apple-cider-vinegar-acne/

Image Source:
* http://foodmatters.tv/images/assets/apple-cider-vinegar.jpg

PhilKor Oriental Medicine Clinic

Can miracles actually happen? Reading through the Bible stories of how the lame walked and the how the deaf could hear after the Lord healed them was really fascinating. Even now, I find that a lot of miraculous stories of healing happened in my life and others as I shared testimonies with my brothers and sisters in faith.

Realistically speaking though, the Lord can also use science to work as his hands and feet. Enter my dearly beloved church mate who is currently studying acupuncture. She has finally dragged me off to her school after a lot of stories about her medical mission. I went to PhilKor Oriental Medicine Clinic as they they were offering 50% off for their diagnosis.

For the record, I wrote down all the diseases I was experiencing so that I can get properly treated. Here's the list:
1. PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
2. Mild dextroscoliosis
3. Myopia with astigmatism
4. Cough and sore throat

Honestly, I sort of knew what to expect as my friend has been trying her new found acupuncture knowledge on us but nevertheless, found nice surprises along the way...

I was really happy with the diagnosis because other than the conditions that I've listed down, they also mentioned some that I didn't know actually existed. (e.g. I get cold easily and I had sweaty palms - pasma in Tagalog). Plus, some more diseases I might encounter in the future. Of course, this took a little more effort as the doctor was Korean. Nevertheless, someone was translating beside him so it wasn't really a hassle.

Acupuncture diagnosis usually just takes a few minutes, less than 30. They have a machine that does it. What my friend raves about is this- it usually gives you a holistic view as some symptoms from the body might be the cause of something much more deeper.

After that, I had an acupuncture session and ventosa. Acupuncture is just like being bitten by a mosquito, it's nothing really. Okay, maybe for some it might be painful. Pain is actually subjective, right? But ventosa for me... Hrgh! It was a little more painful. Maybe add .5-1 level more than acupuncture. (Ventosa has different styles so I can't really describe it in detail). In this case though, they put some needles and vacuumed it up with the suction cups so that the bad blood comes out of your body. The concept is kinda like menstruation...

During the whole process, they were just suggesting I sleep 'cause you have to wait for the needle to work - 15 minutes minimum. I guess it's just really peaceful and quiet since they all left the room.

After that, they just rub the parts where the needles poked and one can walk out of there like nothing happened.

Oh! Wait a minute...?! Payment time... Haha... They were giving discounts that time as there was a promo so it was cheaper. =)

And, no... I suddenly didn't start having clearer eyesight and no miracle of Jesus' time happened to me. They honestly told me that if I wanted to get healed, I'd have to go through the process of continuing a lot of sessions because it depends on each bodies' reaction. My friend did tell me before that a paralyzed man was able to walk right then and there after an acupuncture treatment so I might be back... As for now, I'm just going to blog about this experience. =)

PhilKor Oriental Medicine Clinic:
273 Connecticut St., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City
(02) 723-22-71; 0921-454-3531
philkor2007@hotmail.com

Clinic hours:
Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm)
Saturday (9am to 1pm)

Plus, they also have acupuncture classes!!!

Oh, the Interesting Possibilities...

On Education
I was browsing through Quirky's Pricing Game when I came across the case for Raspberry Pi. Imagine my excitement, when I thought of the endless possibilities that we can do with it when it comes to nation building!!!

Okay, Raspberry Pi is not a food but a credit-card sized computer that costs almost similar to a textbook. It sells around $25-35 which would be around 1,000-1,400PHP. I think my finance book costed about 800PHP (which I bought for half a price because it was second hand). If you want to know more, you can check out their main website. It runs on Linux and is open-source... And, well, me not being the most techie person out there, I believe you can just search them out in Google for other specs.

I think that underdeveloped countries can really have a go at this. Back when I was in college, I had to do school profiling for some public schools and they were in dire need of computers. It's cheap and a great starter for any community that's interested in getting things started in the right direction~

On Trading
As we're on the topic of nation-building, an American news channel (I forgot which one) was also doing a feature on some fishermen in the States who were using the internet to directly target consumers to buy straight from the day's catch. Based on their data, 50-80% of seafood source are usually sent to repackaging sites (mostly to China) but possibly go bad by the time it gets to resellers or grocery stores-which means that it isn't as fresh and at the same time, isn't as sustainable.

What they do is try to eliminate the middle-men so that people can directly converse with the fishermen, know where they get it (which sea they get the catch, how they operate, etc...). A person who purchases from ilovebluesea.com can usually get the fish within 24-48 hours so it stays fresh.

I was conversing with my friend (her family farms) and she mentioned to me how difficult farming was in the Philippines since it involved some middle-men. I can see that we've a lot to go from here. I mean, we don't even have good infrastructure and great internet connection but I think we're off to a good start. I know a lot of NGOs are really working to get things to happen.

I'd just like to say, again... Oh! The interesting possibilities!!

New Find~ Lorenz: Naturals (Sea Salt & Pepper)

While I was grocery shopping with my dad last Thursday (May 16, 2013) in SM Savemore, I felt so happy to find a product called Naturals from Lorenz. In the Phillippines, it's distributed by Goodway Int'l Trading Corp. in Quezon City. The flavor was Sea Salt and Pepper- made with all natural ingredients. Well, the truth is, the reason why I was excited with it was because of the quality and its price. Imported goods usually cost 80-100PHP. This one only costs less than 30PHP even if it was made in Germany~ Similarly priced as artificially flavored local snacks in the market. Very competitive, right? I munched on it with my dad while paying at the cashier, it tasted very good!

I'm sure that the people who buy non-artificially flavored snacks are as gleeful as I am!

I'm really pleased yet at the same time, not surprised. The truth is, as some of us may know, some companies have to raise their prices when they can actually give it at a cheaper price. FYI to anyone who's interested... When Lacoste first opened, they lost sales because they didn't have a high price. After they started aiming for a higher price range and market, people started buying. Now, they are quite popular, aren't they? The reality is, some people associate price with quality more than actually reading the package and discerning what they buy. I hope we can really be more capable of getting quality goods at the right prices. (Oh, if anyone has tips and tricks about great bargains, I'd love to know~)

I'm optimistic that a little more into the future, these organic and safer food products will be priced for the masses. I mean, it's not even supposed to be a privilege to eat safe food. It's supposed to be basic. Of course, businesses can't really drive the prices down, consumers also have to cooperate because they might close down if they're not earning enough. Hopefully, people can be more active in spreading something great because when there's more demand, prices usually go down, as economics would say...

Last note! If you know great items at the right price, feel free to post it here~ <3

My Grandma Peanut Butters

I love food! Really, it's so amazing how the mouth just takes in that first bite and those blissful feelings of happiness come to me. That is, if I find it appealing!

Being a young old-minded person that I am, I'm crazily obsessed about looking for more natural products. A lot of people don't really seem to care if there's too much MSG, food coloring, preservatives and artificial flavoring thrown into what we put in our mouths since they come out anyway... But, well, they do have their consequences. Perhaps not now, but, maybe years after when we've got one leg amputated because of diabetes or something like that, maybe then we'd think things through and say, "Hmm... I think I shouldn't have eaten that too much, that one too & well, I guess that one also..."

I used to think that peanut butters that were oily were bad. I mean, in my house, we put tissue papers in pork-chops to get rid of the oil. I talked to one of my friends who made homemade peanut butters that finally confirmed that natural peanut butters in the market do no have the same consistency as theirs. Which means one thing, dum-dum-dum... Yes, we have to take out some of the oil before we eat it. For those who don't mind the oil, trick here is to mix it then place it in the fridge to stop the oil from settling on top.

Anyway, going to the real focus of the story, I'd just like to give the limelight to my two most favorite peanut butters as of this moment.

1) Lily's Peanut Butter

Ingredients: Peanuts, Cane Sugar & Iodized Salt. 

Price is also relatively affordable for Filipinos since it's a local product. This can be seen in Filipino stores in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Hongkong, UAE and more!

2) Laura Scudder's Old Fashioned Peanut Butter

Ingredients: Peanuts, Salt (1% or less).

I guess this one's a little expensive since it's imported. My dad bought it from S&R because it was on sale. Nevertheless, it says in Wikipedia that the owner "[A]t one point, [...] turned down a $9 million offer for the company because the buyer wouldn't guarantee her employees' jobs. In 1957 she finally accepted a $6 million offer from a buyer who guaranteed job security for her workforce."  Unfortunately, the owner of the company is already gone (a.k.a. she has passed away). As for how the story went on, it's still open ended!

I do hope that there will be more "inspiring" entrepreneurs that lead the generation~ No I'm off to grab a bite of peanut butter sandwich!

Image Source: 
* Lily's Peanut Butter
* Laura Scudder's Peanut Butter

Source:
Laura Scudder's and Lily's official websites.

Erratum:
Sept. 17, 2013: Updated the third paragraph with information regarding peanut butter's consistency.

For the Year's Kickstarter...

I've been meaning to write a blog since the first of January but I haven't been able to think of a good topic. Lately, I've been wanting to write about hopefully, something more insightful.

First off, I just opened up an online shop with the same name as my blog. Yay for me~ (If you click, I know, I know, it's not really the best but anyway, forgive me for my low graphics and HTML prowess.)

Cara Main Website

The first thing I uploaded there was my friend's cosmetic line Cara. (She acquired exclusive distributorship this Oct. 2012). Just a side note, type Cara on search engines & you'll get many brands with the same name. I tried searching it online & nothing that I wanted to see actually matches up. Cara Cosmetics usually pops up in search engines as an American brand. Looking into it a bit more, their main page is actually called http://carecara.com. Unfortunately, for now, the English site is kinda sparse that's why I decided to look for more info about the company itself.

Now to bore you in great detail, here's some interesting stuff ;) Well, to start off Cara is part of SK Group of Companies. Right now, they're the third largest cheabol (a.k.a. conglomerate) in South Korea. They are mostly known for their telecommunication holdings, among others. This video is one ad about a cellphone from SK.

Their cosmetics part is under some umbrella branch so in some countries, the name of the brand is SK Cara. Under that are some umbrella brands such as The Face Shop*. Side note here (^.^), some reviews were not really great about The Face Shop. I was a little surprised to find out that in America it was a little bit pricey for some. Note, however, that for Koreans, local Korean cosmetics like Skinfood or Faceshop is like Ever Bilena or Careline here in the Philippines (basically speaking, it's a local brand, not imported & relatively cheap).

Now, Cara on the other hand, as my distributor friend claims, has HIGHER natural ingredients than The Face Shop and Skinfood. Can you believe that? HIGHER!! The down side, on the other hand, is that pigmentation is not as great as, say, Nyx? It's around the same quality range as La Neige which I think justifies itself. 

Just to pull up my friend's leg though, (which I believe is blushing right now), AND NO... for everyone's sake, she did not pay me to do this. I just wrote this because I like the marketing concept of the whole thing. 

I'd say she picked a very good brand. Why? Mostly because it's not as popular. It relies on word of mouth to market itself. Cara doesn't usually do radio or TV commercials in Korea, as what is the trend there, in order to save consumers the expense of their product. In effect it's not as well known as some other local cosmetic brands. Also, it decided to be more pro-active in exporting itself to find bigger markets. At present, it's being sold to 16 countries (Philippines being the 17th, Canada, Portugal, Spain, China, etc...) & has been selling abroad for 10 years.  It wants to be more consumer friendly for the price of it's quality.

One thing to note though, make-up is really not about what looks great on other people. It's really about trying on the product for yourself. Truth is, I can't really recommend it to everyone because I'm not sure how the make-up matches with every skin. For example, my friend, Monique, has really dry skin so all she does is wash her face with water. I on the other hand, just do what my dermatologist recommends me. Hahaha.. I had to take medication & now I have clearer skin.

As an ender, one can say this: the more beautiful you become inside, the better you look on the outside. That, a rephrased version, based on  a true and tested adage of my dear Teacher.

Sources:

* http://samily0710.blogspot.com/2011/05/old-sk-cara-haul-short-little.html

Images:
- http://carecara.com

For Love of Books...

I'm a book lover myself so when I came across this one in Solar Channel, I couldn't help but share...

Inquirer Lifestyle mentioned that there is a Republic Act-RA 7743 that provides for the establishment of libraries for barangay, municipal, city and congressional levels but this isn’t being implemented properly. Gunlao says he does what he can.

As for me, I think it's a great way to serve the community but like drinking, sometimes books can also be very addictive. I kinda got into trouble because of my hobby. Hahaha... Looking back, I think that proper timing and introduction of books is important. Knowing personal maturity for a reader is also a must. As I was too hardheaded, I insisted on reading novels that were too mature for me. Later on I realized that it has made me lost a sense of innocence. I hope that in addition to creating more libraries, taking care of what is placed inside our minds, that lead to what can generate our interests, can also be given some importance.

Cheers to these types of people! They allowing us to gain inspirations through what they are doing!! As for those interested, The Reading Club 2000 is located at 1454 Balagtas St., Barangay La Paz, Makati City. Their contact details are 0915-7291526 or one can e-mail them via readingclub2000@yahoo.com*

Fight, Philippines!

Sources:
* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/hernando-guanlao-_n_1902323.html
* http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/50687/ex-libris-2