Yvonneverse: June 2013

Poetry

A Better Place

By Yvonne - June 26, 2013

2 Comments

Fashion

Closet 49 Feature!

By Yvonne - June 26, 2013

0 Comments

Beauty

Terrific Turmeric! {Best Beauty Product}

By Yvonne - June 20, 2013

If you enjoy Indian cuisine ~~or you happen to be a spice freak like myself~~ you're probably familiar with turmeric.

For a long time, until Tuesday, last week, I always thought it was just an ingredient that helps spice up curry dishes. I was surprised, okay... Shocked! To find out that it can be used as a beauty product.

See, I was pretty bored, surfing the net and so I randomly goggled "natural skin care products". I'm getting old, 7 months from now I will celebrate spending 2 decades on this earth... Where is the problem with that you ask? I have no skin regimen! I don't apply anything on my face and I only use Vaseline on my body, anyway, I read a few articles on the search results and found the one on turmeric the most interesting.

I believe that every woman should age gracefully and therefore it's very essential to have a skin, hair even nail and teeth regimen! I also believe, as women, we do not have to spend a fortune on beauty products / cosmetics to look good.

There is a long list of skin care benefits associated with turmeric, here are some of the many skin benefits of turmeric that can give you a flawless skin naturally :-

1. Treatment Of Acne

The best definition for acne should be "hell on a woman's face" lol!

Not only does turmeric take care of scars and inflammation but also reduces oil secretion by sebaceous glands.

To treat acne, you can prepare turmeric scrub. Add a few drops of water and lemon juice to turmeric powder. Apply the paste on the acne affected area and leave it for about 15 minutes. Gently scrub it off your face with plain water.

You can also use turmeric and sandalwood mixture as an acne face pack and wash it off in approximately 10 minutes.

For acne scars, dab a mixture of turmeric and plain water and leave it on the marks for 15 minutes.

To control oil secretion, prepare a paste of sandalwood powder and ground turmeric with orange juice. Leave the paste on your face for 10 minutes and rinse it with lukewarm water.

2. Stretch Marks

If you work for Bio-Oil, trust me, I have nothing against you.

A mixture of besan (gram flour) and turmeric in yoghurt/raw milk/water can help women lighten stretch marks.

3. Signs Of Aging

Turmeric is an excellent exfoliating agent and can help you defeat the signs of aging. Take besan (gram flour) and turmeric powder in equal proportions and prepare a paste by adding water. You may alternatively prepare this paste in raw milk or even yoghurt. Apply it evenly on your body and leave it till it dries off. Wash it off with lukewarm water and scrub your face gently in circular motion.

4. Managing Wrinkles

You can use turmeric in combination with other ingredients to manage your wrinkle woes.

Add raw milk and tomato juice to rice powder and turmeric powder. Apply the paste and let it stay until it dries. Lactic acid present in milk will help peel off the dead skin cells.

You can add turmeric powder in buttermilk and sugarcane juice. This will work the best for dark circles and wrinkles.

Turmeric-honey paste can be applied on the face and neck to help exfoliate skin and keep a check on pores.

5. Cracked Heels

Apply a mixture of coconut oil/castor oil and turmeric powder on cracked heels preferably 15 minutes before you head to take a bath.

6. Whitening Of Teeth

Weirdly, turmeric powder is a bright orange, you'd think it would turn your teeth yellow. It doesn't though. Rubbing turmeric powder on your teeth every day, either with your finger or a toothbrush, is an extremely efficient way to whiten and brighten your teeth.

I personally started sprinkling a little turmeric on my regular toothpaste before brushing my teeth as usual.

By the way, if you can't afford salon facials and fancy beauty products like me... Err... You should consider making turmeric your best friend, yeah :-). You can find and/or buy a packet of ground turmeric in any supermarket, price ranges from Kshs.20 to Kshs.60 depending on quantity.

Here is a little D.I.Y guide. I made turmeric face mask this morning and awww! My face looks and feels super amazing! Yeiy!

Make Your Own Turmeric Face Mask

1. Mix flour, turmeric, honey and milk to make a paste

2 tablespoons of flour will do, you can use maize floor which I believe never misses in a Kenyan kitchen.

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoons milk. You can also use yogurt.

A few drops of honey (optional)

2. Apply a thin layer to your face and let it dry for 20 minutes

3. Rinse off using warm water scrubbing gently to remove.

4. Apply your favorite moisturizer.

I hope you enjoyed today's post, you can also visit, I highly recommend this blog to learn more ways in which you can use turmeric and other ingredients to bring out the beautiful you.

See you tomorrow!

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xoxo

7 Comments

Poetry

Imperfectly Impeccable

By Yvonne - June 17, 2013

0 Comments

Lifestyle

Let's Go Thrifting! ;-)

By Yvonne - June 15, 2013

I'm a thrift shopper all day 'er day! Ha huh! I mean, I can't remember the last time I bought a cloth, shoe, bag... In a boutique.

Today's post puts a spotlight on thrifting. I get a lot questions about my cloths, where exactly I shop for them and how I manage to find myself second-hand steals, so I have decided to give y'all a few tips... Yeah, they're definitely tips.

Ditto!

First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with second-hand cloth markets. We have a good number of them here in Nairobi, I'll just list the ones I have visited and liked :-

> Ngara

> Toi Market

> Gikomba

> Muthurwa

> Kawangware

I mostly shop at Gikomba, it's evident from my personal style posts. I like it the most because I usually end up loving the stuff I buy from there, also, it's a walking distance from the C.B.D so it cuts down on my transport expenses.

Let me assume that you have chosen the market you will be heading to.

1. Set A Budget

You don't want to end up spending more than you were meant to. If for example, on your list of priorities, you want to buy 2 dresses, 6 blouses and a pair of shoes, you'll need to have about Kshs. 500. This will ensure you buy stuff you really need and remain with a good amount of money to buy other stuff you may come across and like.

2. Wear Simple Clothes

T-shirt, jeans and sandals will do. This will help you to try on clothes and shoes comfortably... Duh! Our markets don't have dressing rooms lol!

3. Carry A Re-Usable Bag

This will prevent you from buying what we Kenyans like to call "paper bags" :-D... They're plastic bags! And of course it will save your 10 bob ha huh!

4. Bring A Friend

Shopping with your a friend is a treat. A good friend will help you to keep perspective of what's a great find and what will look really nice on you.

5. Keep Calm

It's very important, thrifting can be nerve wreaking! Why you ask, the market space is usually hectic and disorganized *sigh!*

6. Be Patient

Be willing to look for a long time, through a lot of stuff. Hunting diligently is what I call it. In order to get great finds you need patience darling.

7.Try It On

This is the fun part!!! You've grabbed something you like, you can either try it on or at least do a rough measurement, make sure what you have decided to buy fits you or can be tailored to fit you.

8. Your Personal Style

Keep your personal style in mind, since it's easy to forget what you actually wear and get excited about an item you have bumped in to on those piles of clothes. Make sure you buy something you'll be happy with when you get home.

9. Brand Names

Look for brand names as these are items that are usually of high quality and made to last. I personally love, just to name but a few, Old Navy, Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein and H & M.

10. Examine The Item

Look at what you are going to buy carefully, check for stains, missing buttons, holes... Any defect. This doesn't necessarily rule out the item but it helps you to know what you might need to repair.

~ END~

I have to admit that I don't know much about thrift shopping, I just pretend to ha huh! I do hope my two cents in thrift shopping will assist you in a way... :-) Oh! How could I forget this, be open to bargaining/haggling, don't always be ready to give a seller his/her mentioned price, you might be lucky and get an item for a better deal.

Thanks for stopping by, welcome again, if you have any questions or more tips, please leave a comment below.

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xoxo