Facial Friday: DIY Coffee, Cocoa Mask

 

Happy weekend all! The weekend is here and I still feel like crap... What fun! I initially had plans for today but my little butt here is still feeling ever under the weather. Oh wells, staying in is always nice too.

Being sick for the last couple of days has really made my face swell up. And guuurl, my face is already round as is, a swollen, round face is a big no, no. Since I was lazing around all day anyways, I decided to slather my face in a mask to help with the puffiness.

Today's mask recipe is not only delicious but it only requires a few staple ingredients that all of us should have in our kitchen.

Coffee is an amazing ingredient to help take down puffiness and swelling, it will also tighten your pores.

So let's get our mask on!

DIY Coffee, Cocoa Mask

What You'll Need:
- 2 Tablespoon Ground Coffee
- 2 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 3 Tablespoon Milk OR Yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon Honey

Sunday Mask: DIY Pumpkin Mask 2

Welcome back to another Sunday Mask recipe! Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend well. Last day of the weekend to get our pamper on! :P

Pumpkins are not only delicious to eat, they are also very helpful when it comes to beauty. Pumpkins are packed with certain enzymes that will brighten our skin, whether from dullness or pigmented. Furthermore, it is also packed with Vitamin A and C which will soothe and soften the skin, boost collagen level to prevent premature aging. Ya know, to give your skin that firm, bounciness.

So let’s get our mask on!

Sunday Mask: Lavender Mask

Hi all! Hope your Sunday is going well. :) Yet another start of the week, oh where oh where has the time gone to.

Here is another quick and easy recipe for a mask that will surely give you a quick picker-upper. Let's get our mask on!

LAVENDER MASK

What you'll need:
-2 Tablespoon Plain Yogurt
-1 Tablespoon Honey
-3 drops of Lavender Oil

Sunday Mask: Lavender Mask

Hi all! Hope your Sunday is going well. I am still here with the kiddies, just until tonight then I'll be back home.  We had a fun and productive day yesterday and they are pestering me to hurry up to spend more time with them. Haha. Out of all the board games we brought, they really, really enjoyed Scattergories.

Here is another quick and easy recipe for a mask that will surely give you a quick picker-upper. Let's get our mask on!

Saturday Facial: DIY Warm Oatmeal Mask

Hello, hello Saturday my pretty snowflakes. :) How are y'all doing on this very chilly day? Staying toasty I hope. I'm serious, it is a "toasty" 3o-ish degree today in the AZ. I would not have gotten out of bed if it wasn't necessary but I had too. Uncle and aunt went to Cali until Sunday so the bro and I babysitting the "kids" and house sitting.

Almost 2 whole days with these (not so) little kiddos, which are 15, 11 and 9 by the way, so not kids at all but they'll always be kids in my eyes. We have enough board games that will last us for 2 weeks. Haha. But kids do get bored quick so we gotta be prepared. They're actually pestering me to hurry up and blog so we can start. Ooooooppps. :roll:

I am all bundled, mug of hot cocoa in hand. All I am missing is a warm mask on my face. I crave for warmth!! Very easy mask recipe today, only 3 ingredients. So what are we waiting for, let's get our mask on!

WARM OATMEAL MASK

What You'll Need:
- 1/4 Cup Oatmeal (cooked)
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons Yogurt

Saturday Mask: DIY "Mud" Mask

Hello Saturday everyone. Here is another easy DIY face mask with handy ingredients you probably have in your fridge. Let's pull them out and whip up a little something for our skin to prep it for this upcoming week.

Do-It-Yourself "Mud" Mask

What you'll need:
-1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
-1 Teaspoon Honey
-1 Teaspoon of Cocoa Powder
-1 Teaspoon Soy Milk OR Almond Milk OR Buttermilk
-1/2 a Banana
-3 Tablespoon Plain Yogurt
**ADJUSTMENTS
Oily Skin, use less honey and more lemon juice
Dry Skin, use less lemon juice and more honey

What to do:
-Throw everything in a blender, food processor or anything like a Magic Bullet and mix well.
-The final product should be a thick paste.

How to use it:
-Apply the mask to your face and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
-Rinse in warm water then cold water to close up your pores.

This recipe will make about four masks. Pour the leftover mask into a Ziploc or container and put it in the fridge. The mask should be good for another three days.

This recipe is not only quick and easy, but the ingredients are also healthy and has many benefits for out skin. For instance, the cocoa is rich in antioxidant while lemon juice brightens and exfoliate our skin, ridding of the dead skin cells and yogurt can help clear out our skin and fight blemishes. This is only naming a few, but there are many many more to name.

I'd like to remind you that the skin on our faces are much, much more sensitive than the rest of our bodies. Before trying a new mask, make sure to give it a test on a small area on your hand or arm first. If you ever feel uncomfortable with the mask on, if it burns/stings, wash it off immediately.

I hope you enjoyed this little Saturday post. Take it easy. As always, thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. :)

Saturday Scrub: DIY Mint Scrub

Saturday greetings  my pretties!!

I bring you another recipe, this time, a scrub. This recipe, unlike the others I have present you is a little time consuming and have various steps but it is worth it at the end.

Pimples have been sprouting on my face like weeds. Ugh. I'll take care of one and in comes a new one the next day. This scrub recipe is natural and healthy.

MINT SCRUB

What You'll Need:
- 1/2 a cucumber (solids)
- 1 tablespoon instant milk powder
- 1 tablespoon oats
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 15 mint leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon (plain) yogurt (optional)

What To Do:
- Depending on how strong your food processor/blender is, you might need to cut up the cucumber to appropriate sizes; after it's cut up, put it in a blender/food processor to blend
- Strain the blended cucumbers and keep the solids and discard the juices
- With a blender/food processor OR a mortar and pestle OR finely chop the mint leaves
- In a bowl, add the oats and milk powder and mix well
- Add the cucumber solids and mix, mix, mix
- Add the mint leaves and mix 'em up
- Lastly, add the honey and mix that in, make sure everything is well mixed

How To Use It:
*Make sure you'll have about 10 minutes of free time because this scrub will fall crumble if you walk around so it is extremely important for you to sit or lay down.
- Apply the scrub to a clean face
- Leave it on for about 10 minutes
- Slowly walk yourself over to a sink, but be careful that the now dried up ingredients might drop all over your house
- Over the sink, use clean fingers to scrub the mask in circular motion until all of the mask have fall off
- Rinse off with cool water and pat to dry

I'll use this scrub again tomorrow and hopefully that will clear up or prevent the pimples.  I am crossing my fingers and hope that my face will clear out soon.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading everyone. Enjoy your weekend!! Come back soon! :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Pumpkin Mask

Welcome back to another Sunday Mask recipe! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend well. But man... was it a chaotic weekend or what? I had makeup on for long periods of time, I hate a lot of unhealthy foods, I didn't sleep for nearly 40-something hours; everything took a toll out of my skin. I can see how unflattering my face is today. Oh nossss!!!! Last day of the weekend and I am using it to my advantage. Housework and pampering time, simultaneously. :P

This week's recipe is very seasonal. LOL. One of the ingredient is pumpkin, and we all know how fresh the pumpkins are this time of year.

Pumpkins are not only delicious to eat, they are also very helpful when it comes to beauty. Pumpkins are packed with certain enzymes that will brighten our skin, whether from dullness or pigmented. Furthermore, it is also packed with Vitamin A and C which will soothe and soften the skin, boost collagen level to prevent premature aging. Ya know, to give your skin that firm, bounciness.

So let's get our mask on!

DIY PUMPKIN MASK

What you'll need:
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Coffee
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

** OPTIONAL**
- For folks with oily skin like myself, feel free to add a Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to the mask.
- For people with dry skin, a Teaspoon of Yogurt should do the trick.

What to do:
- In a small bowl, start by mixing the dry ingredients: cinnamon, ground coffee and brown sugar
- Slowly, bit by bit, add the pumpkin puree to the mix
- Add the honey last to ensure our mask to be clump free
- Using a spoon if you haven't already, smash the ingredients together until everything is well blended. Make sure the dry ingredients are infused with the honey and puree.
- The end result should be a thick-ish paste that you are able to spoon up without it slipping off

How to use it:
- Apply the mask onto a clean, bare face using your clean fingers or a spoon, or a brush if that's how you like it.
- Leave on for about 15-20 minutes, or until the mask is completely tightened.
- Splash your face with warm water to soften up the mask, work your fingers in circular motions to use the coffee ground as an exfoliation.
- Rinse off the rest of the mask in warm water and splash a final splash of cold water to close up the pores.
- Pat to dry with a towel.

** This mask yields more than one servings, depending how thick or thinly you applied the mask. Tightly cover the leftover and put it in the fridge, the mask should still be good for a week.

As always, test out any new masks recipe onto the back of your hand first to see if it will give you an allergic reaction. If, for whatever reason, the mask does give you an allergic reaction, please do not hesitate and run to rinse the mask off immediately.

If you guys give this mask a go, please do share with me how it went with you. Hope y'all enjoyed this post and enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Please do some back soon for tomorrow's manicure post. :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Pumpkin Mask 2

Welcome back to another Sunday Mask recipe! Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend well. Last day of the weekend to get our pamper on! :P

This week’s recipe is very seasonal. LOL. One of the ingredient is pumpkin, and we all know how fresh the pumpkins are this time of year.

Pumpkins are not only delicious to eat, they are also very helpful when it comes to beauty. Pumpkins are packed with certain enzymes that will brighten our skin, whether from dullness or pigmented. Furthermore, it is also packed with Vitamin A and C which will soothe and soften the skin, boost collagen level to prevent premature aging. Ya know, to give your skin that firm, bounciness.

So let’s get our mask on!

PUMPKIN MASK 2

What you'll need:
- 1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Egg

**OPTIONAL ADDITIVE**

- Oily Skin - Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar OR a splash of Cranberry Juice
- Dry Skin - Teaspoon of Yogurt OR a Teaspoon of Honey

What to do:
- In a small bowl, start by beating up one whole egg
- Add in pumpkin puree and whisk ingredients together
- At this time, go ahead and add in the additive and continue to whisk away until everything is well blended.

How to use it:
– Apply the mask onto a clean, bare face using your clean fingers or a spoon, or a brush if that’s how you like it.
– Leave on for about 15-20 minutes.
– Rinse the mask off in warm water and splash a final splash of cold water to close up the pores.
– Pat to dry with a towel.

As always, test out any new masks recipe onto the back of your hand first to see if it will give you an allergic reaction. If, for whatever reason, the mask does give you an allergic reaction, please do not hesitate and run to rinse the mask off immediately.

If you guys give this mask a go, please do share with me how it went with you. Hope y’all enjoyed this post and enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Please do some back soon. Per usual, tomorrow's post will be manicure related. :)

DISCLAIMER: I found this recipe from an article on PopSugar. I altered the recipe a little to my liking, but if you'd like to see the original post, check the link out.

Sunday Mask: DIY Mask With Food

Sunday greetings to all my lovelies! Hope y'all had a a great weekend! Unfortunately it IS Sunday and the weekend is coming to an end, but let's not allow that to ruin our day!!

Let’s sit back and relax for a bit, maybe while pampering yourself a bit, maybe  with a facial? You don’t need to go far to give your skin a quick-picker-upper, you can easily make a DIY facial with ingredients in your fridge.

Yogurt – cleanse skin, tighten pores, revitalize skin
-1 teaspoon of plain yogurt
-juices from 1/4 slice of orange with some pulp
-1 teaspoon of aloe

Mix everything together thoroughly.
Leave the mask on for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Rinse in warm water.

Lemon – exfoliate, moisturize, brightens
-juice from one whole lemon
-1/4 cup olive oil

With a brush, apply solution to the face.
With the fingers, rub in circular motions.
Leave on for about 3 minutes before rinsing.

Egg – moisturize, firms
Use entire egg for normal skin
Use only the egg yolk for dry skin
Use only the egg white for oily skin

Beat the (part of) egg.
Apply the beaten egg to your face.
Leave it on for 30 minutes before rinsing.

Vinegar – tones skin
-1/4 cup cider vinegar
-1/4 cup water

Apply the solution and let dry before rinsing.

Banana – moisturize, firms

-1/4 cup plain yogurt
-2 tablespoons honey
-1 medium banana

Mash up the banana into a smooth paste before adding the yogurt and honey.
Stir into a smooth paste.
Gently apply it to the face and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Rinse in cold water.

These are simple do-it-yourselves recipes for a quick and easy face mask. Sometimes life is just too hectic, but never, ever forget to take some time to enjoy yourself, no matter how little time it is. One minute, ten minutes, 3o minutes, go ahead and take anything time gives you.

Enjoy the rest of your day pretties! Have a good day.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Please come back tomorrow for another Manicure Monday! :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Papaya Mask

Hi guys! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Hope you're all staying safe.

I was unfortunately involved in a car accident yesterday. I was able to walk away with minor injuries, everyone in the car was able to actually. The minor injuries I received were a torn blood vessel in my right eye, pulled a muscle in my neck from whiplash, cracked collarbone and dislocated shoulder, all to my right side because the accident occurred on the passenger side where I was sitting. Nothing too serious really but I was prescribed pain killers and told to "take it easy" for the next week or two. I didn't think pain killers were necessary so i haven't been taking them. That might be a mistake...

But anyways, spent a good chunk of yesterday at the hospital. Spending time in the hospital did my skin no good at all. It's no dried yet oily and I can feel pimples sprouting. I need a nourishing mask to pamper my skin with.

Super easy recipe today because I happened to have all three ingredients in my fridge today. My Mommy helped me out today because ya know.. can't lift my right arm at all.

Get your mask on guys! :P

PAPAYA MASK

What You’ll Need:
– 3 tablespoons papaya puree
– 1 tablespoon (plain) yogurt
– 1 teaspoon honey

What To Do:
– Use eye measurements to cut out a chunk of papaya that you think will be about 3 tablespoons when blended
– Mash using a spoon or blend with a blender to make a smooth paste
– In a clean bowl, add 3 tablespoons of pureed papaya and 1 tablespoon of yogurt; mix thoroughly
– Add the teaspoon of honey and stir until the honey is mixed out

How To Use It:
– Apply the mask to a clean face
*This mask is very watery and will run down your face and drip everywhere, I recommend you lay down and keep still
– Leave it on for about 20 minutes
– Rinse off with cool water and pat to dry

I'm off to go settle myself in. The slightest movement sends shooting sharp pains down my spine. Tomorrow's manicure might be an issue guys.. 

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading! Enjoy your Sunday!! Please come back soon. :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Turmeric Mask

Hello Sunday all! How has your weekend been? I really can't complain about mine I guess. LOL.

Yesterday, I used a mask to help control my oily skin. Today, I will use a turmeric mask to help fade the acne scars and brighten up my complexion. 

Turmeric is great for skin care. It is rich in antioxidants, it helps even out skin pigmentation anddiminish wrinkles among many others. I remember when I was little, back when I was a real tomboy and would come home with cuts everywhere. My Mom would smash turmeric roots up and apply it to my healed wound and/or scars to lighten it up. When I started puberty, my Mom would use the same smash turmeric root method and apply that all over my face to help even out my skin tone. And that’s how I’ve been using turmeric until I came across this recipe not long ago. Although my Mom thinks that the real thing is better, I still let her put that smash turmeric root on me so I can please her, I mean…nothing to complain about.

So here we go, this could get a tad messy guys so be careful!

TURMERIC MASK

What you’ll need:
-2 Tablespoon of Flour
-1 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
-3 Tablespoon of Milk (you can replace milk for plain yogurt if you like)
-1/2 Teaspoon of Honey
-1/4 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice

What to do:
-First, mix the flour and turmeric powder thoroughly.
-Add milk/yogurt to the mix.
-Add honey and lemon juice and mix, mix, mix!
-It should result in a creamy, thick paste.

How to use it:
-Apply the paste all over your face and neck.
-Let the mask dry, it’ll take about 20-25 minutes.
-Rinse off with warm water, gently scrubbing as you rinse.

I want to remind you again that this mask might stain, so please use with caution. It’s never happened to me before, though it did stain my hands but I can easily wash that off. The fresh turmeric root stains far worst than this and I was able to wash that off.

Thank you for visiting and thanks a bunches for reading. Please come back tomorrow for my manicure post. :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Mask for Oily Skin

Hi all! I'm back with an old but reliable mask recipe for all the oily skinned girls (or guys) out there. I actually posted this recipe not too far back, but I'll be using this mask today so might as well share 'em with y'all. 

Due to the humidity and all of the fried and oily foods I stuffed my face with yesterday without a care in the world, my skin is paying the price today. This recipe has helped me maintain oil control in the past so hopefully with a couple of uses, my skin will be back to its oily state and not excessively oily like it is now.

No regrets though because I had a BLAST last night. For dinner, we reserved a whole section from the buffet; when we walked in with like 40 people, everyone was looking at us really weird. Haha. Big family FTW! But yeah, caught up with my kid cousins and their first week back from school, caught up with my Aunt that will be leaving to Nebraska in two days and it was especially great to see those who flew in from Pennsylvania. Last time I saw them was probably 14 years ago in Vietnam. Speaking of Vietnam, I wanna go back! Someone come with me?! 

Not everything went peachy though. You know when someone who hasn't seen you in a so long, one of the first questions out of their mouth are "Are you married yet?" followed by "Boyfriend then?"...Ahhh...My aunts and Mom decided to bug and nag me about it for the rest of the night. Like literally nagging me about getting married ASAP. Like seriously...? I don't even have a boyfriend people. Of all the "children", I am the oldest at 24, followed by my brother who is 20, who is also single. This is where double standards kick in full swing, it's not okay for me to still be single or even have the idea of not getting married at all. However, it's totally fine for my brother to still be single or even wanting to hold off marriage for another ten years. Ooooi the headache! WHY AM I STILL SINGLE?!?!?!?!? The struggle is real and getting harder by the day. I'm probably gonna hear an earful of nags on my birthday in two months. "Lucky girls your age are already married with one or two kids, and what are you doing at 25?" Fun...

MASK FOR OILY SKIN

What you'll need:
- 8 ripe strawberries
- 1 teaspoon (plain) yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 egg white

What to do:
- Use a food processor/blender to puree the strawberries OR you can mash them up using a fork, just make sure the final product is lump free
- Add lemon juice and yogurt to the pureed strawberries and give it a quick mix
- Separately, beat the egg white to a foam
- Pour the foamy egg white into the bowl of pureed strawberries, yogurt and lemon juice
- Fold the egg white in and make sure everything is well mixed

How to use it:
- Apply the mask to a clean face
- Leave in for about 15-20 minutes
- Wash off with warm water
- Rinse with cool water
- Pat to dry

If you gave this mask a try, please do let me know how it worked for you. Hopefully all goes well.

Thank you for visiting and thanks a bunches for reading. Please make sure to come back tomorrow for the Manicure Monday! :)

Sunday Mask: DIY "Mud" Mask

Hello Sunday everyone. How have you been enjoying your weekend?

I had a blast last night, got a little emotional towards the end of the night though. Gonna miss them so much! Can't wait until the end of the year to see them again. That was yesterday, today is my Maternal Grandmother's memorial, which basically means it's been busy since early morning. Lots of food to make and need to be offered.

But here is another easy DIY face mask with handy ingredients you probably have in your fridge. Let's pull them out and whip up a little something for our skin to prep it for this upcoming week.

DIY "Mud" Mask

What you'll need:
-1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
-1 Teaspoon Honey
-1 Teaspoon of Cocoa Powder
-1 Teaspoon Soy Milk OR Almond Milk OR Buttermilk
-1/2 a Banana
-3 Tablespoon Plain Yogurt

**ADJUSTMENTS
Oily Skin, use less honey and more lemon juice
Dry Skin, use less lemon juice and more honey

What to do:
-Throw everything in a blender, food processor or anything like a Magic Bullet and mix well.
-The final product should be a thick paste.

How to use it:
-Apply the mask to your face and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
-Rinse in warm water then cold water to close up your pores.

This recipe will make about four masks. Pour the leftover mask into a Ziploc or container and put it in the fridge. The mask should be good for another three days.

This recipe is not only quick and easy, but the ingredients are also healthy and has many benefits for out skin. For instance, the cocoa is rich in antioxidant while lemon juice brightens and exfoliate our skin, ridding of the dead skin cells and yogurt can help clear out our skin and fight blemishes. This is only naming a few, but there are many many more to name.

I'd like to remind you that the skin on our faces are much, much more sensitive than the rest of our bodies. Before trying a new mask, make sure to give it a test on a small area on your hand or arm first. If you ever feel uncomfortable with the mask on, if it burns/stings, wash it off immediately.

I hope you enjoyed this little Sunday post. Take it easy. Remember tomorrow is Monday, which means another Manicure Monday will be up tomorrow. Please look forward to it.

As always, thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. :)

Sunday Mask: DIY Turmeric Mask

Heeeey guys! How is your Sunday?

It's been a crazy week and today is finally the "down" day, yet everyone is here and it's still nosier than ever. Yesterday's get together was a success, surprisingly we did not have any food left over. What am I talking about, we never do. Haha. So the relatives ended up staying for another week, so there will be a part 2 next weekend.

As for today, I am done with my role of helping out. I get to have time to myself today. Since it's the Summer and I am spending quite some time out in the sun whether swimming or just outside. My face has gotten like a couple shades darker and unevenly at that. Do you know what I'm talking about? Like my forehead, nose and cheekbones seem to be a tad darker than the rest of my face.

Today's mask recipe is not a new one. I am going back to a trustworthy whitening mask to help brighten up my skin a bit. The main ingredient in this recipe is turmeric. If you don't know, turmerics are used in skincare products to help brighten skin and fade dark spots, acne scars and other blemishes. After treating my acne problem, I am now left with many acne scars so hopefully by using this mask will help.

If you're interested in this DIY Turmeric Mask, please visit the link provided.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Please come back tomorrow for a Manicure Monday! See ya. :)

By the way, check this video out. You'll laugh out loud for sure. Haha.

Sunday Mask: DIY Mask for Oily Skin

Happy Sunday everyone! How was your three-day weekend? Did ya'll have a great time celebrating America's birthday?

It was one heck of a weekend for me, parties and gatherings, food and more food. Food galore every gathering, every where, every time; it was great but man...my diet.

Besides my ruined diet, there's also my poor skin. Swimming, long hours in the sun, excessive makeup wearing, salty, greasy, fried foods, everything that took part in my current horrible skin condition. If you keep up with my blog daily, you'd see that I've been doing steams, scrubs, masks, facials like crazy. Just when my skin seems to improve, something comes up and everything just goes south again. 

So that brings us here today, yet another mask recipe, specializing in oily skin. It says that I should do this everyday for a week. And that is what I'll do this next week to see if it'll improve anything.

MASK FOR OILY SKIN

What you'll need:
- 8 ripe strawberries
- 1 teaspoon (plain) yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 egg white

What to do:
- Use a food processor/blender to puree the strawberries OR you can mash them up using a fork, just make sure the final product is lump free
- Add lemon juice and yogurt to the pureed strawberries and give it a quick mix
- Separately, beat the egg white to a foam
- Pour the foamy egg white into the bowl of pureed strawberries, yogurt and lemon juice
- Fold the egg white in and make sure everything is well mixed

How to use it:
- Apply the mask to a clean face
- Leave in for about 15-20 minutes
- Wash off with warm water
- Rinse with cool water
- Pat to dry

This mask seemed to have helped control the oil for the next 4 or 5 hours. I think this might work for me. Please give this mask a try with me if you also suffer from excessive oily skin. Let me know how it went for you if you do give it a try.

Thank you for visiting and thanks for reading. Please come back soon. :)

Skincare Saturday: Skin Preparation for 20+ Hours Makeup (DIY Steam Facial & Moisturizing Mask)

Helllllo Saturday everyone! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

It's been one long week for me and unfortunately it doesn't end there. Although it is the weekend, I am crazy busy today. Reason? Answer, one day trip to Cali tomorrow.
We leave at 5 and there are endless of things to do before that. I gotta sleep early tonight also because I for the life of me cannot sleep in the car. What's worst, I get car sick easily. So it's like death for me to travel in a car for more than an hour at a time. Nooooot looking forward to it at all. But on the upside, we're going to Cali to stock up on food, I think it's currently fruit season right now. Mmhmm, fresh jackfruit, longan, rambutan, dragon fruit, durian...gahh! I also get to stock up on my beloved banana milk when we stop at H-Mart. They seriously need to have an H-Mart in Arizona. Making us drive six dang hours to Cali just to visit them.

Besides food we can take back to Arizona, are the endless restaurant choices at Little Saigon. Haha.
Intensive diet can be tucked aside for a day or two. Yummy food comes first. Also super ecstatic we get to stop by Banh Mi Che Cali (I prefer this over Lee's Sandwich if you're wondering) before leaving Cali. Thirty banh mi to-go please!

So tomorrow's blog will be posted early in the morning before I leave. By the time anyone reads it, I will probably be on my way or Cali-bound already. It'll be my "Today's Make Up" on super long lasting. I will have my makeup on for about...20 hours? So if you're interested in what I will use, please come visit tomorrow.

Which brings me to today's post. Maybe because I've been
stressing out or something, but my face has recently become a minefield. I take care of one and up sprouts another. I tried out a Mint Scrub yesterday; it seems to work? No new pimples today and the old ones seem to be losing the battle and will disappear soon. I had some left over from yesterday and used the remaining this morning when I got up.

My Mommy, being the all-knowing Mother that she is, asked me why I haven't done steam facial in a while. She was right, I have not done a steam facial since maybe January, back during the Winter. Ever since I can remember, my Mom would have me face steam to clear my pores and what not. I'm using this "recipe" as a facial steam but it was actually initially a sauna type steam for when you're sick, used by most Asians. Like say you caught a cold or flu and you feel weak, sluggish, unwell. They'll just brew this up and cover themselves tightly with a blanket or sheet with the hot pot inside and use the steam to sweat out the "bad sweat". I've actually been
forced to do this when I was younger and while I don't do this now as a cure for sickness, I will do it to clear my pores. I'll probably do this once or twice a year but for my face, I'll do it more frequently. Somehow, I  just blanked out and forgot about this.

I have to go to bed super early today because I'll have to be up by 3 at the latest. But before that, I'll whip up a quick face mask to help hydrate my face for tomorrow. I mentioned earlier that my makeup will be on for a good 20-ish hours so I already know my face will hate it for it. Giving it some attention for about 15 minutes will greatly make a difference tomorrow.

Now check out the recipes below. :)

DIY STEAM FACIAL - ASIAN STYLE (Family Recipe)

What You'll Need:
- 20 to 30 leaves of lemongrass (tied up into a knot)
- 10 leaves from a grapefruit tree
- 10 leaves from a lemon tree
- 1/2 ginger (smashed)
- water

What To Do:
- In a pot, throw in all of the ingredients at once.
- Fill the pot with water so that all of the ingredients are covered
- Place the lid on and bring to a boil on high
- Do check up on it every now and then because it might cause an overflow if it continues to boil

How To Use It:
Option 1 - Take the pot off of the stove, lid on and set aside. Hunch yourself over the pot, face directly over the pot and drape a large towel over your head to completely cover the pot. Slowly open the lid bit by bit to let the steam out. Be careful to not open the lid too much at a time or you might risk burning yourself. Continue until there are no longer no more steam OR until you feel like you've had enough. Pat to dry.
**Please, please, pleeeeease be extremely cautious because this is boiling water and hot steam we're dealing with. This could cause burns and/or injuries. I do not recommend this option for beginners or people with sensitive skin. I myself use this option because I have been doing this for years so I know the timing and limits.

Option 2 - Do not take the pot off of the stove but instead turn it to medium-low heat. Set it so that the water is continuously heated so there will be steam but not to the point of boiling. Completely remove the lid. Put your face directly over the pot and let the steam work its magic. Do this for 10-15 minutes OR until you feel like you've had enough. Pat to dry.
**I do recommend this for beginners but still, please be very careful!

Option 3 - If you're still uncomfortable with the idea of hunching over the stove, just pick the pot off the stove, take the lid off and put your face over it (without the towel) until there is no longer steam. Pat to dry.

This can actually be used for a few more times, three at least. Just leave it out on the counter and reheat it when you want to use it again. Don't worry about it going bad, I've done it before, maybe five days or so and it did not spoil.

My face feels super clean afterward, it's just an amazing feeling. One so hard to describe. I cannot believe I forgot about this facial. Mothers does know best. :P I will do this again tonight, before I go to bed.

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DIY MOISTURIZING FACE MASK

What You'll Need:
- 1/4 avocado
- 1 teaspoon (plain) yogurt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

What To Do:
- In a clean bowl, with a fork or spoon, mash up the avocado until it is lump and chunk free
- Add the yogurt and stir well
- Add the olive oil and give it one final good stir

How To Use It:
- Apply to a clean face
- Leave on for 30 minutes
- Rinse with warm water and pat dry

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Alrighty guys, hope you enjoyed these recipes. Check out other recipes I have posted before, here. Give 'em a try, most are super easy to prepare. Pamper your skin now, they'll repay you in 10 years.

Annnnd I'm off to finish preparing, among other things. Only a few hours before I need to head off to bed. Ugh, one day trips are so stressful. Hopefully the abundant of food will be worth it... :roll: haha, oh who am I kidding. OF COURSE it'll be WORTH it.

Final reminder guys, tomorrow's blog will go up super early tomorrow morning before I leave. I will compose the blog later so just a heads up.

Thank you for joining me again guys. I really appreciate each and every one of your visits. Thank you for reading and please come back soon! :)