A vintage guide to glamour

Hello everyone I hope you are all having an amazing day today!
If you have been reading my blog you will discover that I have a bit of  a vintage fascination. I truly respect and adore our grandmothers and their lifestyles and I actually feel they knew a great deal more about happiness than us despite having less luxury and means. That's why I believe we should look at them and learn from their lives and try to incorporate their knowledge in our modern lives.
The ladies or yesteryear all seemed to be, well, ladies and they were glamorous as well. So why is it that those women seemed to have that extra quality that is sadly lacking in so many women today?
This brings me to the first vintage tip: Embrace being a woman

Marilyn Monroe was an expert on embracing her femininity
[source:thewideeyed.wordpress.com ]

 It's true! Despite our view on women of the past as being oppressed and miserable, these women knew what it meant to embrace their femininity and womanhood, and I'm not talking about frilly pastel dresses with bows and flowers, those are personal taste but I'm talking about the joie de vivre that was common amongst women. I once read a quote that said: " Women understand the value of life, they give it " and this quote seemed to sum up the essence of femininity. Women are nurturers and givers of life, and to embrace your femininity is to give and have an abundance of love that overflows into every aspect of your life.

[source: lt-arts.deviantart.com ]

Not only were women of the past more nurturing, they also knew how to Keep it simple.

Today we live in a world of excess. We have an excess in everything, and that leads us to over indulge in things we don't really need. The solution to this problem: Keep it simple! Do you really need a 10th pair of pumps? even if they are in a "trendy color". Do you really need yet another cream/lotion/lipgloss? Does your body really need that extra large double cheeseburger meal that you will probably throw half of in the trash? Ask yourself questions like these and answer them honestly (no cheating girls!) You will be surprised at how little you actually need. Now, don't get me wrong, I for one adore luxury and we are talking about being glamorous here so I'm not saying throw away all your stuff and live in a cottage in the woods ( ok, maybe that was a bit extreme but you get my point ). All I'm saying is to keep the luxuries in your life, well, luxuries. This means they should be in small portions that you can truly enjoy and appreciate. So bottom line, a little bit of luxury = good, excess and over indulgence = bad.
This concept also goes hand in hand with giving and nurturing, because when you stop living in excess, you start having more to give to people who actually need things.

Now I don't like posting very long boring posts so I will keep it simple now and leave you to think about the above to tips :)
And now for a little indulgence: If you are like me, then you love everything beauty, fashion,skincare..etc related. Here's a really nice educational video (Sorry if the quality isn't exactly HD) from the 40s talking about good grooming habits, skincare, fashion and other things. I personally found it adorable to watch and hey, you might even pick up a tip or two :)

Well that's all for today's post I hope you enjoyed it and that it was helpful and I will talk to you soon.
lots of love
xoxo
Rue

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Beauty favourites of 2012

Hello my chocolate frosted cupcakes!!
How is everything going? I hope you are all doing amazing. So today I will be talking about my favourite beauty and skincare products of 2012. These are products that I have been obsessed with throughout 2012, and honestly I'm still obsessed with them now.
I'll put them in 3 main categories: Skin care, Makeup and Hair care to make things easier. So let's get started!!

Skincare:
My first skincare favourite of 2012 ( and all time actually ) is the one and only ROSE WATER!!!

This is my all-purpose go to skincare product. It's a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, skin tonic and brightener all in one. You may think that I'm exaggerating but seriously I am not!! I have been using it for literally years now and it always delivers. I first started using it at 14 and I never looked back since, and no toner could ever touch it. To be honest I have nothing bad to say about it and if I let myself go I'm gonna end up doing a whole post raving about how awesome rose water is ( I think I already did that actually ) so moving on to my next favourite..
My second beauty favourite of 2012 is Ponds cold cream

Yet another product I have raved about before, but what can I say? I fell in love.
Now before I get run away with my obsession I'll tell you about my skin type. I have combination/oily skin and this product has been very good to me. At first I was skeptic and felt like I might get breakouts from it but I was proved wrong. If anything it actually helped control my oiliness to some extent ( not completely, I repeat NOT completely ) .It also leaves a nice moisturizing film after I use it but I usually wash my face with a cleanser afterwards due to having oily skin.
And although I absolutely adore this product and will definitely continue using and recommending it I do have a few words of caution for you about it. First of all, it contains mineral oil, so if you allergic to it or have sensitive skin this is not the product for you. Second of all, to my fellow oily skinned girls, I have combination skin which tends to go on the oilier side but I do have dry patches on my skin. So I don't know if this would work for someone with full-blown oily skin, so if you are considering trying  it out do your research first and be careful with it. And as for my dry-skinned girls I think this would be an awesome makeup remover for you guys and I highly recommend you check it out, it's highly effective and as a bonus it's very cheap ( last time I checked it was 5 $ )

My next skincare favourite is well.. 2 products from the same line: The body shop vitamin E line
I only tried the vitamin E face mist and the SPF 15 lip balm and I have to say. This is one satisfied customer over here. They both work great and they deliver what they promise.

First up, the face mist. I bought it just to try it out early last year and I was very happy with the results. It's very light textured ( watery ) and it absorbs quickly into my skin and gives it a quick boost of moisture, just like it says it would. When setting makeup with it, it gives you a very pretty dewy look but I usually skip that because I get shiny on my own.
I have nothing bad to say about it, maybe if you have dry skin you would need something a bit more heavy duty than this, but other than that, it's awesome. Seal of approval granted.

Next we have the lip balm. I absolutely love this lip balm and I always carry it around in my handbag. It is the ONLY lip balm that managed to fix my super stubborn dry flaky chapped lips. It beat Chapstick, Burt's bees lip balm and various others. It also managed to beat Vaseline! So obviously I highly approve this product and highly recommend it if you are like me and you have super dry, super stubborn lips which don't seem to respond to anything. Try it out and maybe it will help you like it helped me. And as a bonus it has SPF in it so you can wear it under your favourite lipstick when going out. Seal of approval granted.


Makeup:

Ok so my first makeup favourite is sort of rediscovering an old favourite. It's the Bourjois waterproof eye pencil. Mine is no. 41 black party. Black eyeliner is a staple in my day to day makeup, as it is for many girls, and a big struggle for me is to find an eye pencil that doesn't smudge, will stay on all day and at the same time is easily removed with makeup remover. Well, I have finally found it! I used to use this eyeliner all the time when I was around 16-17 then it started to become less available so I had to switch to other brands, but a couple of months ago I was makeup shopping with a friend and I saw it so I bought it and I fell in love with it all over again. My amazing smudge-less, stay put all day eyeliner.

My next makeup favourtie is the YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick. I have heard so many good reviews about this lipstick for the longest time and I was quite late to jump on the band wagon ( budget reasons ) but I have to say everything you hear about it is true!! It's a very richly pigmented, creamy lipstick that stays on for ages and doesn't dry your lips at all. They have a beautiful color selection as well. The color I got was no. 12 Forbidden Burgundy.
As the name suggests, it's a beautiful burgundy colour that can be lightened or darkened when wearing it depending on how light or heavy your hand is when applying it. I actually got a lot of compliments from strangers when I was trying it out in Sephora.

If you are on a budget like myself and would like to invest in one of these lipsticks ( I bought mine for 32$ ). I recommend a darker or richer colour because it can be used in so many different ways, it can be used as a stain or a lighter coloured lipstick , or a richer dark lipstick if you use a heavier hand in application. It can also be doubled up as a cream blush. I will be posting about how to make the most of your lipstick soon.



So these are my absolute favourite makeup products of 2012 but I have another product that I should give an honourable mention to which is Maybelline's Colossal mascara. This is another product that I heard raving reviews about from several people and after trying it I was in love. It gives so much volume and length I actually looked like I was wearing false lashes. But unfortunately I stopped using it because I noticed that after a couple of applications it started making my lashes fall off :( :(  So here's to a good product gone sour....

Hair care:
I don't really have absolute favourite products in this department but these are 2 products that have been good to my hair ( but not amazing ) and I believe they deserve honourable mentions. The first one is Organix coconut milk split ends mender. A good product that helps delay but not eliminate split ends.

The other product is CHI silk infusion, which always gives my hair a glossy finish after straightening, and makes my hair feel softer and reduces frizz. The only downside of this is that it can get a bit greasy if you put on too much.






So these are my beauty favourites of 2012. I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful to you. I'll talk to you next Wednesday!!

Lots of love
xoxoxo
Rue

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My new year's beauty resolutions

Hello my lovelies, I hope you are all doing well today!

Before I start today's post I have an announcement to make, one of my general new year's resolutions was to blog more consistently so from now on I will be posting every Sunday and Wednesday.
Now for today's topic: My new year's beauty resolutions. These are bad habits I want to get rid of of new good ones I want to incorporate this year so I hope they could be helpful to you so let's get started!

Steve Hiett/Trunk Archive

1) Stop sleeping with make up on:

Okay this is a big one, and it's an especially huge problem for me because it is a very recently developed habit, mainly due to my overly busy schedule. I used to be very religious about removing my makeup but now owing to my crashing every night from exhaustion I don't, so that is something I have to start doing.



2) Be more consistent with my night routine:

studio 229

Another thing related to my overly busy schedule ( and maybe a bit of laziness ). On the days where, god forbid, I'm not so tired that I crash on my desk I actually do cleanse my makeup but that's as far as it goes... that's it. So I've decided to put an end to the laziness.



3) Get more sleep:

After the previous two resolutions I think this is self- explanatory....

4) Washing my makeup brushes more often:

spring jump

again... laziness

5) Pay attention to my lips:

I have the bad habit of biting my lips whenever I am nervous or stressed, so it would be obvious that my lips have taken a a bad beating during this last exams season, and usually I forget my lips in my skincare routine, so I have to start taking more care of them because now they are drier than ever. (and maybe stop biting them)

6) Start using eye cream:

beautiful with brains

This is a sad one for me because I have been getting a lot of comments about how my eyes always look tired/puffy :( :(  So now I think eye cream is becoming a necessity, but I don't where to start or what to use, so if you have any suggestions on any good eye creams please let me know.

7) Cut down on soda and caffinated drinks

They're bad for you, your skin included.. period

8) Apply sunblock on my hands: 

my favourite sunblock

A good habit of mine is that I am consistent with sunblock but it's only on my face. This made me end up with a regular colored face and tanned hands. So from now on I will start putting sunblock on ALL exposed areas of my body and not just my face.

9) Try new makeup colours:

I'm tired of the basic eyeliner and red lips and although they will always be my favourite makeup look of all time and I won't be stopping wearing that look anytime soon I thought I might change it up more and try different eye shadow colors and lipstick colors just to keep things fresh, and hey if I don't experiment with makeup now then when will I?? I'm not getting any younger.







10) Go natural more:

Birch Box

Okay this may seem contradictory with the previous resolution but I promise it's not. My point is it's nice to wear makeup and everything but it's bad to depend on it and make it into a mask to hide behind, so I have decided I will go makeup free when going out for a cup of coffee for example, shopping alone at the mall, or things of the like. My minimum is to go makeup-free at least one day a week. I have noticed that when I go makeup free for a while I get much less acne and blemishes and it feels awesome like my skin can breathe. Plus it is empowering being able to face the world without having to hide behind makeup.

So these are my new year's beauty resolutions.. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful.

I will talk to you next Sunday..

lots of love

xoxo 

Rue

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Vintage 40's week: Day 4: Skincare

We all have to admit the ladies of the 40s had amazing skin and it's probably due to the fact that they knew how to take care of their skin while at the same time not over doing it, so here's a simple authentic guide on 1940's skincare basics...

                         


So as you see, back then skincare was pretty simple and I'll tell you something else.. IT WORKED!
They did not have the need for 500 overpriced products and gadgets to have good skin, all they had was common sense and cold cream! Now I would like to take the liberty to gush about the awesomeness of cold cream... Did you know that Ponds cold cream still exists today? Actually it's what I use to take off my makeup and It. is. amazing.. It's very gentle and thoroughly cleansing and does NOT make me break out ( I have combination/oily skin btw ) although if you have the same skin type as me it's more beneficial in the winter time than summer, I usually switch to a lighter formula then.
So here's what it looks like:

So give it a try, you will not be disappointed..

So anyways back on topic [ I will be doing a full review on cold cream later on] as I was saying these girls kept things pretty simple, something that a LOT of girls nowadays need to take a hint from. And another thing that contributed to giving these women amazing skin was the fact that they did not tan, you see back then pale skin was very much "in" and so women were not obsessed with beaches, tanning beds, bronzers and the like, so they spent a lot of time away from the sun in order to maintain their pale complexions therefore less sun damage and less wrinkles, spots, oranginess, etc.

Bottom line: Keep it simple ladies! 

I hope this was somewhat useful and entertaining and next time we will be talking about 1940's makeup

( if you have any questions/special requests plz let me know)

Bye

Rue

 

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Introducing Vintage 40's week

Hi everyone I hope you are all doing well...
So first of all let me apologize for my disappearance the last couple of days but I have been cooking up something exciting for you guys and I wanted it to be the best quality
Initially this was going to be one article but then I thought It's not enough.. so I've decided this week will be
      Vintage 40's week

Let me start by telling you one of the things that you guys don't know about me which is that I absolutely ADORE vintage fashion and vintage makeup, skincare.. etc. I think back then looking good was much simpler and realistic (see: No plastic surgery or duck faces) and actually I think these women looked BETTER than a lot of women today because back then, looking good was not about being "a hot mama" or looking like barbie, it actually came to women naturally as a way to express self-respect, meaning they respect themselves enough to actually take the time to groom and take care of themselves, and it was also a form of common courtesy or politeness because no one wants to see you with a bird's nest of greasy hair and your clown striped pajama pants.
And for these reasons, they stuck to the basics, meaning they did not apply 500 pounds of makeup on their faces or paint on a new face like some women do today yet they managed to balance simplicity with glamour ALL while having amazing skin (correct me if I'm wrong but our grandmothers had incredible soft skin)



What inspired me to do this "event" was that the other day I was hanging out with a friend of mine and we were watching the movie "Captain America", which by the way is a great movie, I highly recommend you watch it.
And as I was watching the movie, two things impressed me the most:

1) Captain America himself *wink*

Run captain, run!!

2) Peggy Carter's makeup

Chapeau to her makeup artist

and I was inspired by this movie to incorporate 40's inspired looks in my day-to-day wardrobe and I thought I might share some tips and tricks with you so you can get that vintage 1940's vibe in your looks without looking dated or costume-y.

So I did some digging and I gathered some tips and tricks and authentic 1940's style, makeup and skincare guides which I am very excited to be sharing with you over the next week so you can have an all-round peek into what it was like to be a 1940's gal...

So tomorrow I will be giving you a brief look at the 1940's and how life was like back then and what is was like to be a girl in that era so stay tuned and I hope you will enjoy it

See you tomorrow...

Rue

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Three tips for happier skin

Hi everyone I hope you are all having a great day..
Today I will be giving you 3 tips to consider when taking care of your skin and I will be refuting a couple of skincare myths as well so I hope you enjoy..

Tip # 1: Just because it's "natural" does NOT mean it's good for you:

When we said: "Go green" this is NOT what we had in mind

So one of my (many) pet peeves is the current "all natural" product trend. And what's worse is that people are falling for it!! You have to realize that not ALL natural ingredients are mild or hypoallergenic, and even if they are not all of them will have the properties your skin needs (remember? NOT every skin is the same) and if someone tries telling you:"It's natural. It's what god created, and it comes from the ground so it's good for you" Well, yes it's natural but so are weed and tobacco, it doesn't mean they're good for you.....
Plus, beware of the fake "all natural" labels that SO many companies use. The regulations of the cosmetic industry do not require a product to actually BE all natural in order to claim it is, so a product may contain some natural extract or something but with it a half-dozen other chemicals that do go knows what.

Tip #2: There is such a thing as overdoing it:

Overdoing it.. you're doing it right

What can I say? You do NOT need to use 3 cleansers, 2 toners, 4 moisturizers, 2 eye creams, 5 different serums, twice a day exfoliations, daily masks, 3 times a week microdermabrasions or a special sponge or gadget to keep your skin healthy DESPITE what the girls on youtube and the internet say. Overdoing it is just as bad as doing nothing (in some cases, worse) because you are still harming your skin but in a different way.. end result: the same damaged skin. For example: too much exfoliation would irritate your skin and leave it raw and more susceptible to bacterial and fungal attacks than normal skin, as well as it being highly vulnerable to harmful sun rays, there is a reason the outermost layer of our skin is dead. So take it easy and be nice to your skin and your skin will be nice to you in return, wouldn't that make everyone happy? Good... so don't overdo it.


Tip #3: Relax!

Take it easy!

When you are stressed out, your body releases Cortisol, a stress hormone. This hormone can be useful in actual situations that require the body to respond to stress or danger but one of it's drawbacks is that it prevents the production of collagen, and as we all know our skin stays plump and toned due to collagen and elastin. So chronic stress will lead to constant production of Cortisol which leads to, you guessed it, premature wrinkles.... So take it easy and just relax, it will help you in so many ways, not just skincare- wise.

So these are three tips for having healthy, happy skin. I hope you all enjoyed this article and I will talk to you soon..

xoxo


[ Note: This article is meant to be complementary to the basics of skincare.. To read about that check out my article How to develop a skincare routine ]

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How to develop a skincare routine

skincare for beautiful skin

Hello ladies hope you are all having a wonderful day! :D

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting earlier but I have been quite busy.

Now that we have that out of the way, I thought I’d post about a lighter topic today which is “how to develop a skincare routine”. We all know that a feminine woman takes good care of herself and is keen on maintaining good hygiene and grooming. An important part of that is skincare!

Your skin is the largest organ of your body. It’s your body’s first lie of defense against harmful substances and microorganisms. It also plays an important part in how others perceive you [the degree varies depending on the person but everyone is influenced by appearances one way or another, sad but true] so it is only logical that you thank your ever so loyal skin by taking good care of it, and that’s what I will be helping you with today.

Whether you are starting to newly form a routine or want to change up your old one I will give you a couple of guidelines in order to reach a perfect customized routine that works for YOU so you can have soft and clear skin. Okay so before I start I would like to clarify that I am not a dermatologist, but I have reached the tips I will tell you through trial and error, lots of research and my knowledge of chemicals.

The second thing I want you to know and consider this a golden rule:

Every skin is different.

This means that if your friend tries a product and it works does not necessarily mean that it’s perfect for you. You have a fifty- fifty chance, unless you are trying that product with knowledge of what you’re doing, which you hopefully will to some extent after reading these tips 

So let’s start shall we? Now I will give you four important rules to keep in mind when trying to develop a skincare routine… here we go!!

Rule #1: start your routine from inside out:

As the saying goes: “you are what you eat” and if you are experiencing for example a dull, sallow complexion think about what you’re eating. Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating your veggies and fruits? What about proteins? Are you eating too much sugary foods or junk? Are you exercising as you should? Be honest with yourself and answer these questions and don’t fret if you’re guilty of bad eating habits, we all are at some point. What you should do is move on and IMPROVE. Now I won’t tell you to go cold turkey on chocolate (heaven forbid!) but a good tip would be to eat everything in moderation, having healthy beautiful skin shouldn’t be a chore and you shouldn’t deprive yourself. A rule that I personally go by is the 80:20 rule… basically it means that my diet is 80% healthy and 20% indulging, and hey it works well just do NOT neglect exercise which by the way does wonders for your skin since it stimulates blood flow allowing nutrients and oxygen to reach your skin better and it helps get rid of wastes and toxins through sweat.

Rule #2: know your skin type:

What is your skin type? Does it feel tight in the morning? Is it prone to flaking? Maybe you have dry skin… or does it get shiny throughout the day and easily develops white heads? This could mean you have oily skin. Are you more prone to acne? Is your skin sensitive?

Once you have determined your skin type, you will know what specific problems you want to target. This will make choosing products SO much easier since you will be able to pick things that target your specific skin type.

Rule #3: go back to the basics:

When in doubt go back to the basics… have you ever noticed how our grandmothers had (and still have) amazing supple skin? It’s because their skincare routines were so basic and consisted of only what they needed. I have seen some women on youtube slap on as many as 12 products on their face!! Excluding makeup!! (no joke). That is just waaay too much. Now let’s think together, in order for skin to be healthy it needs to be: a) clean b) hydrated… which means you only need a good cleanser, toner and moisturizer [toner can be excluded with some skin types] and a bit of sunscreen when you go out, and that is ALL you need for your everyday routine! Only 3-4 products….ok maybe 5 if you throw in a spot treatment for the occasional zit but that doesn’t count because you won’t use it daily.

Rule#4: know your ingrdients:

Do not go out and buy a product which contains 500 chemicals which you cannot pronounce, please… the less ingredients, the better. Also, the shorter the names, the better. If you can’t find anything worth your while on the market? Make your own (I will be posting some recipes in the future). And please, for the love of god, do not get fooled by fancy expensive products. You can find cheaper ones containing the same active ingredients that work just as well…

That’s all for now… I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope it was of some help to you :D

If I remember any other tips I will definitely let you know and I will talk to you soon 

p.s. if you have any questions or suggestions for the next article please let me know in the comments or e-mail me if you’re shy ;) I’m open to any discussion and almost every topic you can think of…. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated

lots of love….

Rue 

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