fashion and beauty

Pic Me up Scrub

Coffee grinds? Say wha? But hell yes! Coffee actually is great for the skin and hair (for coffee and hair, click here)! It's been rumoured that caffeine is the hottest ingredient in all the best beatuy products of the world. For this nifty little trick, all you'll need are some ground coffee beans, some olive oil, and maybe a pretty jar or two.
The best part of this DIY, is the fact that you get a great cup of joe as well. Now all you have to do is grab some coffee grinds, now how much you use depends on where you want to use it.

For the body/face: you'll want about 3 cups, 1 and a half for each leg and arm, and the rest for your torso, as well as about 1/2 to 1 cup of olive oil

For your lips: you'll want a small jar, one that holds about .25 grams. Dump some into a jar, and the ratio you want for coffee grinds to olive oil will be about 1: 1/3, if that makes sense.

I suck at math.

So then you simply take a handful and rub gently in circular motions all over your body (or small amount, if you're doing this for your lips. For more on how to exfoliate your lips specifically, click here).

The benefits of coffee is that this is fantastic especially during the summer. Coffee has anti imflammatory properties that help soothe the skin and reduce swelling, which is fantastic for summer irritation. Also, since coffee is so dark, it can give you a beautiful subtle tan and keep you awake by the smell!

Now I know we are getting into winter, but this is also great because it gets rid of dry patches and is a great pick me up in the morning.

xox

Bluebird

Much Ado About Lips

So lips. Why are they almost always so undermined in comparison to eyes, hair,
boobs and body? They are so important to us, we talk with them, eat with them,
show our emotions with them! So I'm here to show you how to take care of your
lovely lips.

First of all, you MUST remember
that the skin on the lips are much thinner (the average skin has 12 layers,
while lips only have 6 skin cell layers). It's how lips look so much more red
than our skin anywhere else. You must also remember that skin cells overlap in
diamond/square shapes (think of scales on a lizard or other reptile), so when
exfoliating, you want to go in gentle circular motions, focusing on the drier,
flakier, dead-skinnier areas of your lips. I love the Mint Julips from LUSH. 

 

But before you want to do that, I recommend that you use a thick balm like
Blistex or Vaseline beforehand. This softens the dead skin cells, and helps for
you to exfoliate them and get rid of them much,much easier.
Applying this afterwards helps get rid of those devastating lip lines, allowing
for much easier and a smoother application of other lip products.

 

Once you're done, lipsticks, glosses and tints will go on so much smoother and
so beautifully afterwards. I love this one by Freshin
Rose.

Have fun and stay happy!