Today's Pick: All Natural Mascara

- with Australian Black Clay

Hi All!

Today's Pick by Qi Qi Naturals is All Natural Mascara. Derived its color from Australian Black Clay and Australian Red Reef Clay, this mascara provides a nice dark brown color on your lashes. It doesn't clump and cause irritation while giving a bold look for your eyes. If you have sensitive eyes (especially from chemical ingredients) then this mascara would be a must-have item for your vanity. Why not? It is made of natural ingredients and the color looks very natural. It's a win-win solution!


Here's the link from the Qi Qi Naturals' Etsy store:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/199989337/all-natural-mascara-with-australian?ref=shop_home_active_6


All Natural Mascara

Because your lashes makes your eyes more beautiful; makes your eyes look more bright and lively; therefore, you need to be as close as All Natural Mascara by Qi Qi Naturals. Currently, featured in Dark Brown which darker on lashes than showed on pictures. It is dark so your lashes will look bold and longer, only with NO clumps. The color is derived from natural clays as I never use chemical colorants. This mascara is not waterproof but it stays on all day and doesn't flake off.
--------------------------------

Key Ingredients:

***Vegetable Glycerin***
It is believed to be skin-identical meaning that easily absorbed and prevents dryness. As for lashes, it softens but prevents them from breakage. It is also known as natural hair growth treatment.

***Australian Red Reef Clay***
It’s high iron content and essential minerals help to replenish and regenerate the epidermis of the skin to create soft and healthy glowing skin. The rich color from the Australian Reef Red Clay can also be used in organic hair coloring, giving a natural red color that is impermanent.

***Australian Black Clay***
It contains great iron and oxygen properties. It is a non-toxic mineral with cleansing and conditioning agents, which make it particularly for nourishing the skin.
---------------------------------

In a 8ml Mascara tube.

To use: Apply 1 coat for a natural look or use eye lash curler and 2 coats for dramatic eyes! This mascara can be taken off by warm water or any face cleanser.

Ingredients: Purified Oregon Rainwater, Australian Black Clay, Red Reef Clay, Guar Gum, Vegetable Glycerin & Optiphen Plus (Paraben-Free preservative)

For International customers, please contact me for the shipping fee!

Shelf life is 6-9 months
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Today's Pick: Pink Clay Blush & Rosy Clay Blush

- All natural blush made with clay & minerals

Hi All!

Today's Pick by Qi Qi Naturals is Pink Clay Blush and Rosy Clay Blush. The blush are made with all natural clay and minerals. Both colors are infused with jojoba oil which is rich in Vitamin E and promotes radiant looking for the skin.
The color is derived from natural clay either Australian Pink Clay or Australian Red Reef Clay. The blush are very pigmented, so a little goes a long way.
Available on Etsy for $6.

The look on my face: (my skin tone is light to medium). I am wearing Qi Qi Naturals' Pink Clay Blush, Bronzer, Coral Lipstick and Clay Eyeliner.

Xoxo, Dora.

Here's the link :

https://www.etsy.com/listing/187666981/pink-clay-blush-rosy-clay-blush-all?ref=shop_home_active_5

The product's description as from Etsy:

Pink Clay Blush & Rosy Clay Blush

Get yourself a natural-looking color with Pink Clay Blush/ Rosy Clay Blush that enhances your beauty by providing healthy youthful look on your cheeks. 

Our Clay Blushes contains Australian Pink Clay/Australian Red Reef Clay, Organic Jojoba Oil and Mineral powders that have antioxidant benefits for protecting the skin from free radicals. 

Pink or Rosy color, please choose the color you like! 

Direction: Apply on cheek using a blush until desired color popped. A little goes a long way!

*****Pink Clay Blush*****
Color: Coral with a slightly copper shimmer. It is bright and vivid! Ingredients: Australian pink clay, *Jojoba oil, Micas, Titanium dioxide, Sericite mica & Magnesium stearate (*Organic)

*****Rosy Clay Blush*****
Color: Matte Rosy color. It has slightly cool undertone. Great for night look! Ingredients: Zinc oxide, Sericite mica, Silk powder, Magnesium stearate, Australian Red Reef Clay, *Jojoba oil, Vitamin E oil, Mica (*Organic)

------------------------------
Key Ingredients:(*Organic)

Australian Pink Clay is perfect for balancing the most stressed and sensitive of skins, it’s hydrating properties help to refine delicate lines, moisturize, and improve the overall texture of the skin.

Australian Red Reef Rich in essential minerals, and with a high iron content, Australian Red Reef Clay helps to replenish your skin, creating a soft and healthy glow.

*Jojoba OilOrganic Jojoba oil golden closely resembles the sebum of the skin, and is rich in vitamin E. This oil promotes a glowing complexion. 
------------------------------Store in a cool, dark, dry place.

In a 10g plastic jar with a sifter (pre-sealed with a clear label) 

Larger size is available on request.

Please choose the color you like!

Today's Pick: Coral Lipstick

- With Organic Raw Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter

Hi All!

Today's Pick by Qi Qi Naturals is Coral Lipstick, a beautiful coral color lipstick infused with raw Shea butter and Cocoa butter, meaning the lipstick makes lips feel soft and moist along with its benefit of antioxidant and Vitamin A. However, the most important is that it's made of all natural ingredients so that if you accidentally eat it when you eat/drink, there is no chemical ingredients that go into your digest system.
The color is derived from natural clay and is very pigmented, so a little goes a long way.
Available on Etsy for $6.

The look on my lips: (my skin tone is light to medium). I applied less than one swatch, using my ring finger to distribute the whole lips area.

Here's the link :

https://www.etsy.com/listing/189878780/coral-lipstick-with-organic-raw-shea?ref=shop_home_active_8

The product's description as from Etsy:

Coral Lipstick

Mineral Lipstick in pretty Coral colour. Zero worriness to harsh chemical ingredients.
Benefits: Vitamin A and C, antioxidants, rehydrating and soften dry lips. 

For limited time only, I am offering shipping and handling fee at $1 for all lip products.
----------------------------

Ingredients: (*Organic)
*Beeswax
Beeswax contains vitamin A and helps rehydrating dry and rough skin. 

*Shea butter
Well-known to assist cutaneous dryness. It soothes our skin by re-oxygenation. It contains vitamin A.

*Cocoa butter
Known as moisturizer and skin softener. It helps repairing damaged skin and as scar treatment. It contains antioxidants to protect our skin. 

Peppermint essential oil
Contains Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins A and C. It nourishes dull skin.

Other Ingredients: Avocado Oil, Magnesium Stearate, Titanium dioxide & Mica
---------------------------------

Store in a cool, dark, dry place. Don't put it in a car, it melts under the sun. 

Each tube is .15 oz

NEW!! Qi Qi Naturals' Clay Eyeliner

Vegan Mineral Eyeliner with Natural Clay

Hi there!!

Qi Qi Naturals just launched a new product! It's an all natural Clay Eyeliner. The color comes in Maroon (dark red) with a bit shimmer of gold. The product is available on Etsy. Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/189010283/clay-eyeliner-vegan-mineral-eyeliner?ref=shop_home_active_2

I've tried this and the color is not reddish. Though the eyeliner is made from red clay as main colorant, the result is not an overwhelming red. In fact, it's close to brown color. The application is relatively easy, just dip your angle/liner brush into water and tap the excess water and get the powder (I usually put onto the lid first a little amount of it). It will be creamy and then just glide on the desired area (lid liner).

-dora-

Some information I copied from Etsy page:

Vegan Mineral Eyeliner with Natural Clay from Qi Qi Naturals

Clay Eyeliner is a gorgeous dark red color with a tad bit gold shimmer. The red color is rich and lustrous which is from Australian Reef Red Clay. It is long lasting and easy to apply!

Color: Deep Red (brownish) with Gold shimmer.

Direction: Simply put a little eyeliner powder in the cap and wet an angled brush with a little water; then dip into the powder and line eyes. Taking caution not to get powder into the eyes.
-------------------------- 

Store in a cool, dry, dark place.

In a 5g plastic container.

Larger size is available on request.
--------------------------

Ingredients: Australian Red Reef Clay, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Guar Gum, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Jojoba Oil & Purified Water

DO and DON'Ts Part 4: Eye Makeup

Hi Lovelies!

Eye Makeup 

It's almost Spring! Sure thing we want to look fresh in Spring time when it's no longer so cold but not hot like Summer time. So, what colors are wonderful in Spring time? Any colors like flowers (nice bright color) such as pink, violet, light blue, mint, orange, gold and white will give us fresh look especially to be put on eye area. Yay!

Is Eye Makeup that important? Personally, I do believe 'eyes express one's beauty' because eyes can show people who the person is. So, yes, eye makeup is important as to emphasize a woman's beauty by giving a straight and bright look through her eyes. It sure does make a difference. Hence, let's talk about DO and DON'Ts for Eye Makeup!
(Please note that I'm not a Makeup Artist nor an expert, everything I do I learn by own experience or any tutorials/articles, so you might have a better way)

Eyebrow Filler (It could be eyebrow pencil/cake/powder)
Do
1. Choose natural color that looks like your eye brows'.
2. I usually use the cake type filler or powder on light brown/grey/taupe. Grey match with my skin since my skin is medium n yellowy.
3. I like powder that comes with brushes and wax. Usually one brush is for sort of combing my brow to make it neat in one direction and organized shape while the other one is for applying the wax and powder. The reason I don't like pencil is because my brows are wide but thin; it's hard to fill and shape my brows using pencil.
4. I haven't tried the eyebrow shaping kit and look forward to try it; however, in shaping my eyebrows, I only work on slightly giving extra color on where the hair is. I like to keep their natural shape. I don't work over or expand my eyebrows.
5. Check and choose products that are using natural ingredients if possible.
6. Eyebrow brush/comb is really recommended to fix eyebrow hair and stimulate growth.
Don't
1. Work over on your eyebrows, eyebrows that are too thick look ridiculous and people end up looking at your eyebrows, not to your eyes! Eyebrows that are too big/oversize (for example almost touching each other at the nose) make you look angry or scary. Err... yeah, really.
2. Forget to clean your brushes. When I'm lazy, acne will happily show up on my eyebrows!
3. Forget to clean your makeup when you're home.
4. Use if you have any skin problems.

Eyeliner (pencil/liquid/gel)
Do
1. Choose the form of eyeliner you're comfortable with. So far, I like the liquid eyeliner the most because it gives a bold look and it's easier to make cat eye. (I don't like smudgy look from pencil.)
2. Choose Waterproof type if you like to line your waterline.
3. When it comes to choosing color, I definitely like dark color such as black, dark brown, purple and dark jade. Since I'm Asian, I have single eyelid therefore dark eyeliner really helps to bigger my eyes.
4. I usually apply from inner corner to outer corner on my top lash line. As for bottom lash line, I apply by mood how do I want to look like on that day (sometimes I put all the way sometimes outer half while I use shimmery cream color eyeshadow for inner half or sometimes I use the shimmery cream color eyeshadow only. It depends).
5. Some products use natural ingredients to get their color from cocoa powder or charcoal. 
6. Clean your eye makeup with makeup cleaner once you're home. This is the most important to avoid red eye. 
Don't
1. Don't touch your eyes area too much while wearing eye makeup, either you mess up the makeup or you may get red eye.
2. Forget to clean especially if you're using waterproof eye makeup.
3. Don't use liquid eyeliner over three months to avoid irritation from the brush. (But honestly, I break this rule since I don't wear makeup everyday).

Eyeshadow
Do
1. It's nothing to worry about wearing eyeshadow. If you're a beginner like me, you are looking for natural colors, enough to make your eyes look brighter. Natural/nude/neutral colors are good for everyday look. 
2. Get a palette that has at least 3 colors. 3 is good number because we need bright color for inner corner and brow bone, medium for crease and lid and dark for lash line or as eyeliner. However, I'd rather to get a palette that has more colors in it. More is better! Why? Because you can mix and match to get a different look and create new colors. 
3. Read the ingredients. Since we are aware of makeup products may contain chemical ingredients that are harsh for our skin, go natural!
4. Learn and practice for application. It's fun, really! You can find a lot of tutorials over internet, on youtube, magazines. So, I don't need to teach you anything. Just spend some time at home to try! Experiment.. Experiment...!!
5. Use eyeshadow primer/eye balm before applying to make the color pop and optimizing the eyeshadow by avoiding using too much or wasting it. 
Don't
1. Overwork or use the whole colors in your palette if your palette has 6 colors or more.
2. Forget to clean your brushes. 
3. Forget to clean your makeup when you're home.
4. Use if you have any skin problems.

Eyeshadow Primer
Do
1. A good eyeshadow base usually have transparent/nude like color. Choose nude color or similar with your skin color or foundation that you use. If you like a hint of shimmer, some brands have those in shimmer.
2. Apply from inner corner, eyelids, all the way to brow bone (under eyebrows) and outer corner. I usually only need a tiny dot on each eye.

Don't
Generally it's same as Foundation and other eye makeups.

Mascara
(I'm not a mascara type girl and I don't like mascara because it makes my eyes feel heavy, but... here we go!)
Do
1. Choose the color like. Black and Dark Brown are my favorites.
2. You want to use just a little bit and get the excess tint out first before applying to avoid clumps or stickiness and moreover ruining your makeup!
3. Well, if it's too late and it ruined a bit of your makeup, grab a Q-tip and clean it. Put concealer when needed. Use face/powder brush to smear it. Blend it.
4. Choose the waterproof kind because eyes are sensitive and without you know it, tears come out!
5. You may use the eyelash curler first. When applying, try to push it to the top a little bit, it will help curling your eye lashes.
6. You may use paper to avoid ruining your eyeshadow. It saves time than ruining the makeup and dealing with it.

Don't
- refer to other eye makeups


Tips for All Makeup
# If it's hard to find natural ones, try to find some products that claim to not using certain chemical ingredients (for example: paraben free, sulfates free, phthalates free, GMOs free, fragrance free, etc). 
# The application should be 1. eyeshadow primer. 2. eyeshadow. 3. eyeliner. 4. mascara.
# If you like to use pencil eyeliner/eyebrow, use the good sharp eye pencil sharpener to sharpen it a little bit but not too sharp. As long as it's evenly sharpened. 

Personally, I don't wear makeup when I'm home. I don't have to. When I'm being lazy or don't feel like it, I would only put on my moisturizer/face oil, suncreen, BB cream, eyebrow filler (ergh, my weakness, super thin eyebrows) and sometimes just eyeliner. I try to avoid using too much chemical ingredients when possible and to choose natural skincare and makeup.


Have fun !! See ya'll on my next blog!!
Keep your natural beauty, love your body !! :-) 


-dora- 
 

DIY Natural Gel Eyeliner in Brown
Mix well: 1 part Aloe Vera Gel (upto 2 parts, optional), 1 part Coconut Oil, 1/4 upto 1/2 part Cocoa powder. 
As simple as that! Remember to use clean brush when applying and store in cool dark place.  

DO and DON'Ts Part 2: Cosmetics

Hi Beauties !!

Have you read my recent blog? What do you think? I hope it could be somewhat useful to encourage you living better and healthier! I think it's important to take care of our skin, not only caring of our diet or doing some physical activities.

Now that I listed Do and Don't for Skincare products, how about for cosmetics products or I would like to call it makeup. Again, all of these work for me, hopefully they work for you.

Any of AA, BB, CC, DD Cream Makeup
What are they?
Briefly, they mostly stand for: Anti Aging, Beauty Balm, Color Correction, Dynamic Do-All tinted moisturizers depend on the brands and each has different purposes from tinted moisturizer with sunscreen, brighten skin and even out complexion and so forth. However, they are less heavy than any makeup foundation (some of them may opaque-like). I think it's sort of all-in-one solution for everyday or fast makeup. The alphabet goes to meaning an improved formula from the previous ones. So, CC cream should be better than BB cream. BUT, keep in mind, due to all ingredients are combined in one product, the sunscreen may also be lighter and thus we need to put real sunblock to protect our skin.

Do
1. Read thoroughly all ingredients the product claims to have before buying. Make sure to get all benefits your skin really needs.
2. I recommend to get the one with sunscreen in the case you want all-in-one make up, otherwise, put a thin layer of sunscreen before you apply it for UV protection.
3. Choose the color that slightly darker than your skin color like one or two tone lighter because when you apply, it eventually will blend and look the same as your skin color.
4. Put a thin layer of your daily moisturizer after you clean your face. Leave it at least 5 minutes to absorb. (Apply thinly your sunscreen on sunny day, again allow 5-10mins to absorb). Apply evenly your BB/CC cream.
Don't
1. Apply when you have breakouts or any problems.
2. Get the color that is lighter than your skin tone, as you may end up looking like a ghost!
3. Forget to clean your make up once you're home from outside.

Makeup Foundation/Primer
- refer to Alphabetical Cream Makeup 
You can wear them separately, Face Primer usually opaque-like or nude color and use the Foundation that suits your skin color.

Makeup Powder (Foundation, Compact/Loose, Finishing, etc)
Do
1. Get mineral powder that is formulated for your skin type. They usually say whether good for oily/normal/dry skin.
2. Put a thin layer after your foundation/BB cream.
3. Use powder brush or sponge to apply evenly. Slightly dab/press the brush/sponge onto your skin to make the powder stay. If you swipe it back and forth you will end up wasting your powder.
4. If you want to skip foundation/BB cream, put sunscreen first before applying powder and also choose powder that contains SPF.
5. Choosing the color is almost the same as choosing foundation. Pick a slight darker color than your skin tone or the transparent one. They will blend perfectly with your natural skin color.
6. If you have dry-combination skin (like me), you can skip the whole face and only on T-zone or oily area only.
Don't
1. Use if the texture are not smooth or hard to apply. Texture is important when applying makeup powder to get a flawless look.
2. Apply the powder by swiping back and forth, you will waste your powder.
3. Use if you find any breakouts/pimples/dryness. Listen to whatever your skin says.

Lipstick
Do
1. Get the ones that claim have natural ingredients. Why? As we may accidentally eat some lipstick with our diet. Avoiding unwanted chemical ingredients into your body won't hurt, right?
2. Choose the colors that suit your skin. For example I'm Asian so Coral colors suit better while pink makes me look dull, if you're white, pink and red are good ones though mostly all colors fit you.
3. Put a thin layer of your lip balm before applying to avoid dryness.
4. To get a fully look lips, you can use lip liner before applying lipstick.
Don't
1. Use if it makes your lips dry and chapped.
2. Forget to remove make up when you're home. (I'd rather to put lip balm at home).

Important Note for Buying Healthy Lipstick:
Coloring ingredients. Usually regular brands use dyes or chemical coloring. We are trying to avoid that. So get the ones with coloring like beets powder, alkanet root powder, reef clay, or any fruits powder as they are natural ingredients.

Foundation/Powder and Lipstick are the most common must have items that every woman has in her purse. However, more items are also important for makeup junkies: eye shadows, blush, bronzer, mascara and more. I will continue to work on writing about them soon!

to be continued........

-dora-

DO and DON'Ts Part 1: Skincare

DOs and DON'Ts by me


Facial Cleanser
Do
1. I clean my face twice a day. Tips: in the morning if I stay home whole day, I rinsed my face with cold water only. I know friends who have been doing this since teenagers and their face never have any problems. In the morning, we have good face oil that is useful for our face, our natural oil.
2. Whenever I have make up on, I use DIY eye make up remover (recipe in the bottom of page) before I use my cleanser.
3. Use cleanser with scrubs/grains/beads as they clean pores thoroughly.
Don't
1. Don't be lazy to clean our face. In my own experience, when I was busy and skipped morning rinsing once, acne started to come out. Uh-oh.
2. I read somewhere, since I have dry skin, to avoid foam type cleanser.
3. Don't let your makeup stay for too long, especially when you plan to stay home.

Face Moisturizers
Do
1. Make sure to clean the face before applying.
2. Thin layer should be enough for the whole face. Applying too much will probably make your skin overwhelmed.
3. Make sure you're comfortable with the product; your skin should feel supple, smooth, better. I love my Face Oil since the ingredients are all natural. Thanks to Qi Qi Naturals, my face feels improved.
4. Choose the one with SPF/Suncreen for daytime (preferably SPF 30) and more antioxidant agents for night time.
Don't
1. Don't apply before cleaning your face! Why? because, we never know if the moisturizers will trap bacteria/dirt onto your skin and guess what? pimples start coming out. Oh no!
2. Don't use products that give you breakout, rashes or any problems. I tried ROC Retinol and hey, it's not cheap! $23 or so. Well, I had breakout, either I put too much or what, I don't understand. I tried to rotate with my other face cream, well, my face started to get used to, but, not too long after using it, dry skin. So, I stopped. Really, believe what your skin says.
3. Don't be lazy to apply moisturizers especially if you have dry skin. Moisturizer should help you from dryness and flakiness.

Additional Tips for Facial Skincare:
1. Toner. I believe it helps skin to adapt the application of moisturizer. I use Apple Cider Vinegar as toner after I clean my face. I leave it on for up to 2 hours before rinsing and putting on moisturizer.
2. Facial Brush. If you have Electric Facial Brush (Clarisonic/Olay/Conair), I encourage you to use it maybe at least every week. It helps cleaning and relaxing your face. I usually use my facial scrub while using my brush. Remember, pimples are scared of cleanliness.

Eye Cream/Gel/Serum
Do
1. Make sure you have removed all eye makeup before applying.
2. Apply every night before going to bed. Especially if you are lack of sleep or very tired. A little bit is enough to prevent dark circles, puffiness and hopefully from aging/wrinkles :)
Don't
1. Just like moisturizers, don't apply it if you're not comfortable or the product causes any skin reactions.

Body Lotion, Hand Cream, Foot Cream
- refer to Face Moisturizers

Shower Gel/Soap or Body Wash
- refer to Facial Cleanser

Lip Balm/Gloss
Do
1. Apply as often as possible when you have dry or chapped lips.
2. Find Natural products as lip balm may also be eaten involuntarily.  Nothing could be worse than having unclear chemical ingredients into your body.
3. Apply overnight each day for supple lips.
Don't
1. Don't use a product that's too greasy. My experience,  a good lip balm doesn't need to be greasy. They just don't work on me.
2. Don't be lazy to apply on your lips especially if you have dry lips like me.
3. Stop using the product when you don't see any improvement in few days to a week. I usually see the result within 4 days. But it depends on how often you apply it.

Additional Tips:
1. Butter/Oil. Use Body Butter/Oil for dry skin or during winter time. And most lotions use fragrance which sometimes could cause allergic reaction. Therefore, applying butter/oil is a better way for dry skin. Choose products that contain Vitamin E or Cocoa Butter/Coconut Oil/Olive Oil.
2. Sulfur. It's believed to fight acne. Get facial bar soap that has sulfur in it.
3. Natural. I recommend to use (if possible 100%) natural products. The reason is simply to not putting too much unnecessary chemical ingredients onto our skin. Our skin will always absorb anything we apply, so it's like feeding our skin with the skincare.

DIY My Makeup Remover
1. Cotton
2. Water
3. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Damp cotton with just enough water (not too wet), put a little bit of melted EVCO.
Tadaaaa. It's ready to go!!

See you in my next blog!
Keep healthy. Be natural :)


xoxo
-dora-

Skincare vs Cosmetics

Hi Beauties !

I was blogging about Essential Oil and this came into my mind: put together skincare and cosmetics. Firstly, to me, a skincare product is literally a product to take care of our skin. What are they? It could be any moisturizers in forms of liquid/oil, lotion, cream, it could be powder, it could be sunscreen, cleanser, vitamins, anything. As long as we use it to help our skin. From what? dryness, aging, wrinkles, pimples, rashes, eczema, scars or simply to prevent aging in the future. The purpose: a better and healthier skin; a natural beauty.

Cosmetic product is a product that is applied to help a better look. Yes, it's all about 'the look'. What are they? make up foundation, eye shadow, eye liner, blush, bronzer, mascara, lipstick and the gank. I admit, I do apply these to look better. Honestly, I like the way I look with make up on. I could make my eyes look bigger and hide some dark spots on my face. The purpose: a better looking; hiding or improving natural beauty? (I agree with both). Well, that's my opinion.

I summarize some tips (DOs and DON'Ts) about Skincare and Cosmetics from my own experience, so.. if you find a different way, you can do it with your way. Also I'm still learning so maybe I will also change my opinion in the future.

To Be Continued ........ Find it on my next blog!

-dora-

"We, people, live with other people in this world. As spouse, a wife will be forever learning about her husband and vice versa. That's life. It's all about learning." ~ anonymous