My Top 10 Skincare Tips and Secrets

In my last post I shared my skincare routine with you and today I thought I'd follow that up with some tips and secrets for healthy skin that have really helped me : ). Some of these you may have heard of before but I think they're all worth repeating!

1. First tip: Always take your makeup off before you go to bed and wash your face. Always. Even if you've been out partying all night, had too much to drink, can't really walk in a straight line and it's the last thing you want to do. If you don't, your makeup will sink into your skin and clog your pores and make you more prone to pimples the next day. Even if you can't wash your face, at least use makeup wipes to get that gunk off.

2. Always use a moisturizer or better yet - a sunblock - on your face with an SPF of 15 or higher when you're out in the sun. And if your body is exposed, slather it up, too. You don't want to end up looking like this.

3. Stay away from tanning beds. They will age you considerably. I don't care how nice you look with a tan, how are you going to feel when you turn 30 and people think you're forty? Or when the doctor tells you you have skin cancer? And hey, I understand the allure of tanning beds and looking all beach-y and sun-kissed, I used tanning beds to get ready for my Grade 12 prom and for a few months in my early twenties and I really regret it now. I'll take my paste-y white skin over premature wrinkles any day.

4. Use eye cream around your lips to prevent fine lines from forming.

 

Turmeric

5. Add a bit of turmeric to any homemade face mask (I add it to my manuka honey and lemon one). Turmeric (which you can get at the grocery store) has anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and helps to clear acne scars, nourishes the skin and gives your face a natural glow. Just be careful when you use it, it can be messy and can stain.

6. Make sure when you put moisturizer, creams and serums on your face that you apply them to your neck, too. It needs just as much love as your mug ; ).

 Fruits and veggies are so good for our skin!

7. You are what you eat and what we put into our bodies will show on our skin. Beauty really does start from within. So eat a healthy, balanced diet and drink green juice. Juicing is a great way to get that natural glow! 

8. Drink more water. Drinking 8 or more glasses a day will help rid the body and skin of toxins. Hydration affects the skin, in a good way. (It will help with that glow!)

9. Did you know olive oil is a great, all-natural makeup remover? It can also be used as a moisturizer. My Aunt has only used olive oil on her face for the past 50 years and she has amazing skin!

10. Use Vick's Vapo Rub on pimples to help reduce the size and inflammation and get rid of them faster. Works like a charm!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Have a great weekend!

xo

Juice Cleanse With GLOW Juicery

About a week and a half ago I embarked on a one-day juice cleanse with GLOW Juicery. Since juice cleanses are all the rage right now and you may be contemplating participating in one yourself, I thought I'd share my experience with you here on my blog. I've been juicing for awhile now (click here if you're unfamiliar with the process) and was so happy to hear that Edmonton's first juice bar, GLOW Juicery will be opening October 1st at Whitemud Crossing! It's about TIME Edmonton set up shop! (They were everywhere when I was in California.) I was a little intimidated to start out with a 3-day cleanse, which is a pretty normal length for a juice cleanse so I thought I'd begin with a 1-day one, since I'd never done a cleanse before. The night before I started, the lovely Marnie Ashcroft, owner of GLOW, delivered 6 fresh and unique juices right to my door with a guide outlining which juice I should drink and when and how to prepare my body before beginning my cleanse and how to treat it afterwards. Even though I was allowed a salad for lunch (no dressings allowed, other than Apple Cider Vinegar or fresh lemon) I had a lot of hunger pains throughout the day, which is totally normal but were a bit uncomfortable for me. Fortunately that was the only negative side effect I had. I also had to pee a lot. Like, a lot, which was really good because I felt like I was ridding my body of toxins, which I was doing! I loved that. The juices were delicious, too. My favorite was the Earthly Glow which consisted of apples, beets, carrots, cucumbers and ginger. The 1-day cleanse was a nice glimpse into how a juice cleanse can de-toxify your body and bring it back to optimal health. I would do one again but next time I'd push myself with a 2 or 3-day cleanse. Meanwhile, I am happy to purchase bottles of fresh GLOW juices to drink daily when I don't have time to juice myself. GLOW makes it easy and convenient for me to do so with their new store opening up! For more information on juice cleanses and about purchasing bottles from GLOW you can click here. They are also on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Juicing

A few weeks ago when I shared my health journey on my blog, some of you had questions about juicing, which I've been doing almost every day for a couple of months now so I thought I'd answer them in this post : ). I started juicing after watching a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (which is very inspiring, everyone should watch it!) and after reading about all the benefits of juicing. I knew I wasn't getting enough fruits and vegetables in my diet each day and juicing is an easy way to make sure I'm getting the vitamins and nutrients I need in one glass. When you juice, all the enzymes, amino acids, chlorophyll and live energy goes straight to your bloodstream, it's like an instant shot of goodness!

Above are the veggies and fruits I am typically juicing at the moment: beets (including the stems), swiss chard, kale, green apples, lemon, cucumber, carrots and celery. The beets and swiss chard came from D.'s Grandmother's vegetable garden, so they're organic as well as the kale but the rest of the produce isn't. It's best if you use all organic fruits and vegetables but of course that's not in everyone's budget, including mine ; ).

So first I wash and then chop (or peel, if needed) everything up 

so it will fit into the top of my juicer, which is a Breville, below.

Then I juice! It's pretty simple, you feed the fruits and vegetables into the top, and the juice comes out of the spout, into a pitcher (that comes with the juicer) and anything that isn't juiced, shoots into the black container on the side. To see a demo, click here. This juicer cost me $200.00 if you were wondering and I got it on Amazon. It was recommended to me as a ''starter' juicer by my friend who is a Juicing Queen ; ). There are fancier and more expensive juicers out there, but this one works just fine for me, for now.

This is all the pulp that's leftover after you juice. There is fiber in this but all the nutrients are actually in the juice itself. If you feel bad for "wasting food" there are lots of ways to use juicer pulp, like using it in soups or stews, or for making crackers.

Here's what the juice looks like. I love being able to drink my vegetables! I made enough for two servings. Someone asked me how much I spend on juicing per week and it's really hard to say because it depends on what I juice. And sometimes I get my produce from a grocery store, other times I go to a discounted produce market and sometimes I buy organic or I am given a ton of vegetables from D.'s Grandma (which we are grateful for!) but if I had to guesstimate I'd say I'm spending anywhere from $20 to maybe $40-$50.00 juicing for both D. and I, per week, and I juice about 5-6 times a week. Typically it's best to juice in the morning but I drink my super smoothie in the a.m. and juice in the afternoon or early evening when I get home from work. I don't have a lot of time in the morning to juice, for me it takes about 20 minutes to wash, chop, juice and clean up and smoothie-making is less time-consuming!

If you have any questions about juicing, please leave a comment in the comment section below and I'll do my best to answer them!

Oh, and if you live in Edmonton, we are getting our first juice bar in September! Yayyyy! It's called Glow Juicery, you can read all about it here!