Thursday, April 5, 2012

Updates!

I have a few loose ends from things I was posting about that I kinda stopped posting about. lol. Let me tell you what's been going on!

The Flaxseed gel
 I last made a large batch, then forgot to refrigerate it and lost it.  I had run out of marshmallow root and went back to using commercial products. I decided to order more in a 1lb bag, rather than the "bulk by the scoop" purchase from Glut.  I also got some grapefruit seed extract, some aloe vera gel and some beeswax pellets to try making a super concoction of epic dopeness.  O_o We'll see how it goes. I got my Marshmallow root yesterday.

My PCOS
I stopped taking Metformin in November and had been pretty OK. But over the past months I have noted a resurgence of Acne, and my cycle has been shifting backwards and forwards by up to 5 days. Randomly. Back to the old way of life. So I am back on the attack with natural remedies.  I have been drinking green smoothies almost everyday, eliminating upwards of 80% of dairy and gluten, and made some drs appointments to get checked out again. I have been washing with raw honey and using grapeseed oil mixed with geranium and tea tree oils at night or in the morning, depending on how my skin looks. I have been on the hunt for a full coverage liquid or cream foundation to use under my mineral powder as well. I got a sample of Nars put on at Sephora.  NO GO!  breakout within the 4 hrs it took me to take it off.  But my hyper-pigmentation from the past few months is back bad enough to need daytime coverage. My Maybelline Mineral power foundation has been discontinued, and I had a few bottles left I found on Amazon, but my color, natural beige is getting harder to find.  I tried Revlon Color stay- which I found on the acne boards, but I have much more yellow in my skin than any of their colors.  I may try out Prescriptives.  Suggestions?  I am a yellow gal. Pinks and cools don't work for me :-/
Nars was a little warm for me but I was a Syracuse, med/deep shade in their line. I use Mode mineral powder in "honey amber" and it is like, dead on!  I'm hella yellow. lol But I don't get full coverage from it. Even when I stack it with a little water it's gone in a few hrs.

Coloring my hair
So I lied about coloring my hair again... lol. I have been obsessed with Orange makeup for about 6 months now.  I really like the fresh look I can create with it, but had been having trouble finding an orange I liked, that would not transfer onto my braces, that was not too red...
Then Sephora came out with their Pantone palate for the color of the year, tangerine tango. I saw swatches and fell in love.  Had to have it! Also... So there was a girl behind the counter of a fast food joint who had on pink eye makeup and hazel eyes close to my color.  And it looked DOPE lol. I was probably staring at her a little too hard lol. But it encouraged me to try makeup to enhance my eye color more.
Soooooo down the rabbit hole I went lol. I won't lie.  I did some crazy stuff to my hair over the past two weeks.  What had happened was I got the orange and was like yeahhhh... Love it.
Then I was like.. My hair shoooooo does look dark... I can tone it a little warmer with some selective permanent color. I choose Garnier Nutrisse Haircolor, 535 Medium Golden Mahogany Brown Chocolate Caramel and put it in about 8 places. But That sucker ONLY took on the roots!  So then I had light roots and dark ends in places.  The rinse I had used many moons ago did not budge at all and the color deposited on top of it, making my ends practically black. 

I let a day go by and then went and got Clairol's instant whip 5 shade lifter.  I had to leave that in for the full 30 min to even get some of the black out. I was left with slightly lighter hair, and still darker ends in most places.

I let 3 days go by lol. THEN I used some powder packet of color remover mixed with level 20 developer and attacked the dark ends once and for all.  In the process I lost some of the red hue I was going for- but I got that dark black off the ends!  And now I like it. It's not even a huge change but I think the orangeness will be fun for the summer.  It's not all over, maybe 50% of my hair, and so far it feels fine.  No texture change, not feeling dry... But I will make sure I pay close attention to my ends.
In other news I am gardening this year again.  So far I have gotten materials to prepare 5 small beds, and I am already growing onion, collards and parsley.  carrots are going in this weekend, and I have a few pepper plants and herbs for pots. It's been so warm I think it's safe for them to go outside now.

I am also going to start dating again this spring lol.  Maybe TMI for here, but hey. I plan to have fun and get back out there with some intent. Meaning I'll "try" to meet people and network rather than this happenstance state I've been in.

I'll have a braces update for you after my next appt on April 11.  Not going so well, I'm ending month 7 and still no bottom braces.  AND I will not be getting them next week either.

Ya'll Ready for spring/Summer?  What else are you up to?

11 comments:

  1. Hi Nisus,

    With regard to your skin, as for makeup, have you tried Prescriptives Custom Blend? If not, I would try it. And for your breakouts, I would suggest trying Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg's) diluted in distilled water, used as a toner - I use half and half. Your skin sounds like it's very sensitive, I would try testing it first, say wait a couple of days, just to see how you react to it. Hope this helps.

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  2. I want to try it! I was on their website though and they no longer have stores? only online? I need to figure out how to get matched.

    I use ACV in the clay when I do masks (seldom) but my skin does not freak out toooo badly. It may be fine. I am slowly making my way through a bottle of Aveda's Botanical Kinetics™ Exfoliant, which thus far -3 weeks in- seems to have made things worse. One more week before I give up, then I will try that. Thanks!

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  3. Have you tried Everday Minerals? Their combination of colors & finishes is crazy. AND you can order multiple samples, which I love & think many, many more companies should offer.

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  4. when i was a relaxed head, i literally changed my hair color with the seasons for YEARS. now, since i'm natural, i'm scared to death that i'll experience the same breakage i did way back when. my strands are thin. if you even LOOK at them wrong, they will break off. but i swear i want red hair so bad i can taste it. maybe i'll bite the bullet and just color it, though i will cry myself to sleep at night if i lose hair over it, literally.

    i am still on my benzefoam/tazorac regimine for my skin. sometimes i get cute and stop taking my meds, thinking adult acne is something i will "outgrow" and then my skin is all, "wrong...WRONG." it's a pain. i'm real lazy and sometimes i just don't feel like being bothered with my face...MAN that sounds lazy. but it's the truth.

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  5. i have hyperpigmentation and i hate it. it makes me look so much older until i started using raw honey to cleanse my face. it has softened the dark areas a lot. i slather on about a quarter size amount all over my face and rinse rinse rinse well it warm water. then i use avocado oil to handle the dry areas. i use makeup forever matte velvet and its full cover. they also have hd foundation which is full coverage. try these items out i think it will help. you can get the foundation from sephora

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  6. you could also try rhassoul clay or bentonite clay. they work wonders for sensitive and acne prone skin when used as a clay mask. you can get them from mountairoseherbs.com or fromnaturewithlove.com

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  7. LOL @ SweetBonita "wrong...WRONG" < Yes that is exactly what it says lol. I wish I didn't have to consider my skin all the time. I feel you.

    I used a "lift" on my hair a while back- a 5 shade lift by Clairol called instant wip- rather than color. It seems much safer to take some color out than to use a stinky, lightening permanent color. maybe. I dunno.

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  8. @Anonymous I have been using raw honey for about 2 months but have yet to see a difference because I keep getting brand new dark spots :-( But I will stick with it - this encourages me. It does seem to help with dryness and new outbreaks. It even exfoliates a little. Thanks for the makeup leads too!

    I have some bentonine clay and it does help, but I am so lazy lol. The other blogger, Nuri, swears by it too.

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  9. Wow sorry to hear about the relationship, but you won't be single for to long :). The hair looks good in both the black and the dyed hair as well.

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  10. What color lipstick is that? It looks great on you!

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  11. i hear bobby brown i good for a yellow undertone. good luck

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