Sparkling Beauty Secret : Olive Oil Is Your Best Friend This Coming Summer

I have been neglecting some of my posts series, so I decided to pick one up as I haven't really been blogging about it. Well, it is that time again to share with you all some lovely beauty secret. This secret is something that I recently learned. Personally, I haven't tried it out yet myself, but hopefully I can report back to you all soon.

Sparkling Beauty Secret is a blog post series where I share with my readers makeup tips, skincare secrets, or just any useful beauty related information. Some of these are self taught, but most of them are through learning from magazines, television programs, and other amazing ladies out there.

We all know that olive oil is a very good natural ingredient to be used in cosmetics. It is also commonly used in our every day beauty routines such as moisturizing our skin and removing makeups. But, did you know that olive oil actually has another benefit to us? It contains very strong anti-inflammatory property. Although olive oil can not be replaced as sunscreen and can not prevent your skin from darkening due to UV rays, it can be used in against of sun burns and other sun damages to our skin. So next time when you are at the beach but forgot your sunblock lotion, pour some olive oil (preferably extra virgin) on your back to prevent sun burns. However, you will still get a nice tan from it.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Hair Coloring Protection

We've all been told before that constantly dying our hair is unhealthy, but it is hard to follow that advice when everyone else is doing it.  Most of the time, I go to a salon to have my hair dyed by professionals. Occasionally, I do it myself because this is a faster and much economical alternative. Today, I want to share with you some of my own tips and a few I learned from the experts.

 

Tip 1 : What hair salons usually do before actually putting the color onto your hair is to give it a deep conditioning treatment. This not only conditions the hair, the treatment also contains ingredients that leave a protective layer on your hair, so the coloring chemicals can do less damages. Of course, most of us don't have the money and time to do expensive treatments at home but there is a solution. Before dying your hair, try to leave it unwashed for 1 day. This gets the hair a little bit greasy so the oil forms an natural coat to protect it from coloring chemicals. However, you don't want your hair to become too oily because then you will have a hard time getting the color to show up. I would suggest leaving your hair unwashed for 1-2 days but not much longer than that.

 

Tip 2 : Leave the hair dye on for about 15-30 minutes (depending on different kinds and brands). 30 minutes are even too long. A good hair dye should do its job in about 15 minutes and will avoid doing great damages to your hair. Anything longer than 30 minutes is probably not very effective and will kill your hair. Remember, longer doesn't mean better.


Tip 3 : Never (and I really mean it) let the hair dye touches your scalp. Use a toothbrush to achieve this because it gives you more control then your hands or hair brushes. Use a toothbrush to slowly apply the color onto your hair for an even spread and to avoid touching the scalp. Remember to always leave at least 0.5 cm untouched at the root.

 

Tip 4 : Our natural body heat speeds up the coloring process, so avoid putting on colors first at the root. Also, the end of our hair is drier and easier to absorb than the rest of our hair. I recommend starting the coloring application in the middle and work your way to the top and bottom.

 

Tip 5 : Always do a patch test beforehand. Put a little amount of the hair dye on the inside of your arm and the back of your ear. If you don't have any sensitive reactions in about 15 minutes, then you are good to go. This is very important because the last thing we want is to burn ourself.

We invest money in our hair so it can look beautiful. Of course then, we want to take good care of it. Remember, your hair is connected to the rest of your body, so what you put on your hair could have bigger effects than what you think. It is absolutely true when people say do not dye your hair that often. Try to leave a 2-3 months gap in between and always use a shampoo for colored hair to avoid stripping moisture and colors from your hair.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Do You Know Your Home Ingredients ?

I came across with this beauty tip that was shared on another blog. The tip is very helpful and is one that I have used on myself before. However, I want to share a little bit of my thought on it.

More about the tip : fresh lemon juice can help lighten acne scars.

While this is absolutely true, I would recommend everyone to be extremely careful when using lemon juice and many other ingredients in home made skincare products. Some natural ingredients, such as lemon, are actually light sensitive, and when exposed to sun light, they would tan the skin. If you are thinking about using lemon slices or juice on your skin, I suggest doing it at night time.

This goes true with most whitening products on the market, too. Many ingredients used in these products are also light sensitive, and using them at the wrong time of the day would actually produce opposite effect of what you want. To not have to worry about tanning my face with a whitening product, I only use whitening/brightening products in my night routine.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Emergency Mask Is A Last Minute Hero

Today's beauty secret is something that I find extremely useful during busy times such as this holiday season. It would be a last minute savior if you want to look polished and ready for that party or that important date. This home made recipe is easy to make and will reboot your skin instantly.

Ingredients you will need : cotton pads, toner

1. Take a cotton pad (preferably the kind that you can peel into several layers) and soak it completely with toner (preferably just a basic hydrating one). I suggest using a cheap toner because the cotton pad will eat up a lot of product.
2. Peel out the various layers of the cotton pad and spread them over your face. Repeat this process if you need to cover more areas.
3. Wait for about 5 - 10 minutes and take the cotton pad layers off. There is no rinsing required, and you can just massage the residue product into your skin.

Now you are done. Your skin should be hydrated and smooth. You are ready for makeups.

Angela's Tip : If you want to make this even more affordable, you can replaced the toner with distilled water.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Mini Talk About Anti-Aging

Anti-aging will be on your agenda sooner or later because we all age. It is the natural process that we all have to go through but proper skincare could delay this process. The first thing we have to remember when it comes to anti-aging is sun protection. Without proper and enough shield from harmful UV rays, our skin will be damaged and age rapidly no matter how much cream we slap on our face.

I was once told by a skincare expert that we need to and should start using sun protections when we were children. The idea behind this is that when we were born, our body was given a "quota" of how much self-repair abilities we can self produce against harmful outsiders such as sun damages caused by UV rays. However, as we age and use more of this "quota" to self-repair against the daily damages our skin gets, the less of this "quota" remains in our body. Unfortunately, this "quota" can not be refilled so whatever you used up is gone permanently. This is also why it takes adults much more time and effort to recover from skin damages than younger people. But, when we hit a certain age, simply relying on sun protections is not enough. We also need to start using anti-aging products, and here are some signs we can look for that may be warning us that we are hitting that anti-aging age spot.

• Extremely dry skin : our blood circulation decreases as we age, and as a result, surface impurities build up on our skin unhealthily, which leads to dryer skin problems. 
• Healing from acne scars and other cuts requires much longer time.
• Painful exfoliation : As we age and sometimes due to over exfoliation over the past years, our skin starts to get thin and makes even minor exfoliation much more painful.
• Saggy skin that lost elasticity.

Mid 20s is a good time to start thinking about anti-aging because our skin start loosing collagen around 25 years old in the speed of 1% per year. If we delay using anti-aging products too much, it will require much more time and effort later on to repair our skin.

And more importantly, I don't believe you have to be young to be beautiful. True beauty shines from within, and it is not just about the appearance. It is about how you feel of yourself and that self confidence that makes a person beautiful. You can be 80 or 18, if you love and care for your skin, everyone else will appreciate it too. Be happy, and you will be the best.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Cleansing Oil Good And Bad

Cleansing oil and oil based makeup removers are some of the most effective ways to take off makeups, but how much do you know about your cleansing oil? Today, I will share with you all some of my own tips at choosing the right one for you.

 
Personally, I don't usually use oil based products because I don't really enjoy oily feeling on my face. Plus, I have found other non-oil based makeup removers to be just as effective as cleansing oil. However, for heavy makeup girls out there, oil products can be your best friend and a shortcut to an ultra clean face.

Most people who face problems with oil products often encounter below :

• Acne
• Oily scent
• Sensitive reaction

There are a few tips that we can use when picking cleansing oil so we don't have to worry about negative consequences as the ones listed above.

• People with dry or sensitive skin should use cleansing oils with minimal amount of emulsifiers. Vise versa, oily girls like myself should pick the ones with high concentration of emulsifiers.
• High concentration of emulsifiers means that the cleansing oil will be easier to be mixed with water. The easier it is, the less oily feeling it will leave on your face so this is ideal for oily skin. Emulsifiers allow water to trap the oil inside and to carry away all the dirt and makeups on your skin. The more emulsifiers a cleansing oil contains, the better it is at removing products, but these stronger ones can also be more irritated to sensitive skin and may cause dry skin.
• Many cleansing oils contain Mineral Oil, which is a harmful ingredient, although the name sounds otherwise. Mineral Oil can stuck pores and cause canes and other problems for our skin. Instead, try using vegetable oil based products.

There are also a few ingredients we should try to avoid when purchasing a cleansing oil

Benzyle Alcohol, Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), Sodiu, hydroxide, Patassium Hydroxide, Triethanol Amine, Amino Methyl Propanol (AMP), Isopropyl Myristate (IPM), Isopropyl Isotearate, Octyl Stearate

And one last tip to remember, only use cleansing oil first on dry face and always remember to thoroughly emulsify it.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : Is Your Skin Thirsty ?

Hydration is the key to achieving that perfect skin no matter what type of skin you have. Here is just a quick list of some of the most popular hydration ingredients you can find in skincare products. Look out for these when you are shopping for a good moisturizer.

• Glycerub
• Hyaluronic Acid : The most popular and powerful hydration ingredient.
• Collagen : Widely used in facial masks. After we hit mid 20s, our body's collagen will start to decrease. Thus, it is very important that we use supplements such as masks or collagen powder to fill in what you lost.
• D-Penthenol
• NMF
• Urea : Another popular ingredient. It is commonly used in Asian cosmetic products. 
• Alpha Hydroxy Acid : Also known as AHA, which is widely used in peels. AHA is also beneficial if used at moderate level. Overdose can cause harmful damages to the skin.

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Sparkling Beauty Secret : How To Apply Base Makeup

When I first started wearing makeup, I had no idea what to put on my face. This is what I want to talk about in this post. I believe putting on base makeup in the right order is very important because it helps you achieve that perfect look.

Step 1: Sun Protection

Often, people get confuse about when they should put on sunblock. Some use it after primer and foundation, and some use it in between. Both ways are actually wrong. Sunblock should be the first step in your face makeup routine because you need to apply sunblock when there is NO powder products on your face. This way, the sunblock can stick to your skin to protect it. 

Step 2: Primer

This is optional because not everyone uses primers (but you should to help your makeup last longer). However, if you do, this should be the second step in your makeup routine. When applying primer, pat in the primer instead of rubbing it onto your face so it would not affect/destroy the previous layer of sunblock that you just put on. 

Step 3: Pore Minimizing Primer

This is also optional because many don't need it, but if you do, pore minimizing primer should come after the regular primer. When applying this, gently smooth it over the area where you need to cover your pores. You should NOT rub it back and forth because this actually just rubs the primer away. You should start with your nose area and gently move in an outward direction. 

Step 4: Foundation

If you use liquid foundation, this should be your next step after primer. I'm not going to go into details about applying foundation because there are many ways to do it. 

Step 5: Concealer

You can use concealer before or after your liquid foundation. There is no absolute correct way to apply it. However, I choose this as step 5 because I recommend using concealer after your liquid foundation. This way, you can see which area is not covered well with your foundation and conceal them with a concealer. This prevents you from putting on too much makeup so it won't look too heavy. 

Step 6: Powder

Powder products should always be your last step because whatever you put on after this will not really stick to your skin. I recommend using a setting powder as the last step to set your base makeup so it will last longer. If you really need some good coverage, you could also substitute the regular setting power with a powder foundation.

So that is the proper way of applying base makeup for your face. Of course, everyone is different so you could definitely change it a bit to fit your needs. But, this should be the general guideline. I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, please comment below or e-mail me.

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