SimplyMaggies

photo credit: quinn.anya

The amber liquid has been known for centuries to do wonders for one’s health and beauty since it has a number of properties and can be used in a variety of ways. It is an antimicrobial and a mild laxative; it can be used as a moisturizer or an antibacterial agent for cuts and infections, it helps your body retain calcium and it even helps with loosing weight.

It is said that consuming up to four tablespoons of honey a day can greatly improve your health. Moreover, a bit of honey before bed can help with longer and better quality sleep. Studies show that children who consumed honey before bed slept better and coughed less at night. Additionally, honey is packed with free-radicals-fighting antioxidants (combine with green or black tea for an antioxidant bomb) and has been a know beauty agent for a lot of women over the centuries.

Here are a few tips for using honey in your beauty regimen:

• Facial Moisturizer—apply honey to your face and leave on for a few minutes than rinse the excess with warm water. It works well with all skin types because it doesn’t clog pores and has antimicrobial properties, which prevents bacteria from growing thus helping with acne and breakouts. Its antibacterial properties also help with skin irritations.
• Facial Scrub—add rolled oats or sea salt to your honey, mix and massage into your skin. This type of scrub will exfoliate your skin without drying it out or over-exfoliating.
• Bath—add a tablespoon or two of honey to your bath for a moisturizing and skin softening effect.
• Hair Conditioner—squeeze a small amount of honey into your palm and apply to your hair (especially dry ends) after shampooing. Leave for a few minutes (depending on how damaged or dry your hair is) and thoroughly rinse off. It will keep frizz and fly-aways a bay.
• Hair Shine Serum—mix a tablespoon of honey with a cup of very warm water, put the mixture into a spray bottle, spray on damp hair and comb through to add shine to your tresses.
• Lip Balm—add a few drops of honey to a small amount of petroleum jelly and mix well and you’ve got a natural and moisturizing lip balm. You can also add essential oils of your choice for an additional effect.
• Shaving Balm—mix one part honey and two parts cream and apply to your legs instead of soap or your shaving cream. Not only does it hydrate and moisturize while shaving but also reduces razor burn and irritation.
• Manicure/Pedicure—rub some honey into the rough areas on your feet (hills, balls of your feet) as well as cuticles (both of your toes and fingers) before soaking them for your manicure/pedicure. It softens rough skin for an easier removal.

Keep in mind that the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it has and the best honey to get is the raw, unprocessed one you can get from your local farmers market.

photo credit: chad_k

I have recently found an interesting article about how to make your own skin care products, which I found quite useful. Considering the fact that my complexion is not only oily but sensitive as well, it is sometimes pretty difficult for me to find any type of products that would combat my problems and not irritate my skin. So I’ve decided to give it a try (I will let you know how it went in a while; need some time to see the results, right?).

And in meantime, here are some of the tips for making your own oily skin care products (such as masks, toners etc):

• Use fruit juice or milk to reduce oil production while retaining moisture. Juice from pineapples, cucumbers, tomatoes, limes, lemons or strawberries work well as a toner and mixing the juice with yoghurt or two egg whites works as a mask tightening pores (puree the ingredients and wash off after 10 minutes).
• Essential oils work well reducing oil (e.g. Ylang Ylang, lemon and cedarwood) ad fighting acne (e.g. camphor, juniper berry, lavender and tea tree oil).
• Blend milk or coconut milk with your cleaner for a gentler cleaning effect.
• Ground nuts are fantastic for scrubs to refine pores and fight blackheads.
• Clay or green clay are very good ingredients for purifying mask. Mix one part clay with two parts water, one teaspoon honey and a few drops of the essential oil of your choice and apply to face. Rinse with a hot washcloth after 15 minutes.

And one more little tip I had discovered by experimenting with food: honey works miracles if you have any skin infection or irritation (both outside and inside)… Sweet experimenting!

Finally, the show is here as well… I’m not sure if most of you are familiar with “Dexter” but it’s on its third season in the US. And because I happen to live in Italy, I finally get a chance to see its first season. And boy, isn’t that a treat!

The series could so easily be disturbing because the main character (Dexter) is a blood spatter analyst with a Miami Police Department during the day and at night he becomes a serial killer. Interesting… you say… However, Dexter only kills the bad people; the ones he deems are serious criminals, such as murderers. So in a way, his killings are justified and as much as you’d like to hate him, you find liking him instead.

The show is so much more than another criminal investigative TV series… The whole idea of the main character having this double identity gives it a different twist. Additionally, there is a level of psychological drama (or what have you) since Dexter is a very curious personality who is detached from both life and people in an unusual way… So while you’re watching the episodes you get glimpses of Dexter from his childhood, which may explain why he is the way he is (if you pay attention)…

I must admit I find the show extremely addictive. Mainly because it’s complex, challenging and intricate and portrays human nature from a totally different perspective than what we are used to in American TV (or TV in general, for that matter)… And as much as I’d like to dislike Dexter (because he is a killer, after all) I find myself having my fingers crossed for this oh-so-complicated man…