Recessionista Beauty Secrets

For those of you who have read my blog before you have likely read that I have issues with my complexion; it’s combination and acne-prone (ie, expensive to take care of). Over the last two years I have been working to reduce the number of products I use and looking for inexpensive, natural options to replace the plethora of expensive chemicals that I have been slathering on my face. I tried olive oil to replace my face wash with mixed results. It was definately inexpensive and natural, but it was also messy and dulled my complexion. It did turn out to be the best eye make-up remover that I’ve ever tried, and outshined even the most expensive products that I relied on to remove my hard working MAC eye-liner for pennies on the dollar in comparison. I would definately recommend rubbing on a bit of olive oil to remove eye-makeup and then wiping dry with a cotton cloth, because it moisturizes while it cleans and leaves my eyes looking fresh and wrinkle-free. As for the rest of my face, I now use differin acne medication by prescription, which has allowed me to eliminate a number of beauty products that I relied on previously. I now use Aveno face wash because it is gentle and non-drying and an astringent. I had been purchasing Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion for years, but it did nothing to control the oil production in my T-zone, which left me patting down my face several times a day and it doesn’t fall into the inexpensive category to be sure. Buying it in its largest 32 oz size brought the $/oz down to about $1.50 per oz. I began researching astringent/toner alternatives and decided to try Witch Hazel.

Also known as winterbloom, snapping hazel and spotted alder, Witch Hazel is indigenous to the woodland areas of the Northeastern United States. This unique plant bears delicate golden flowers and seed capsules in late autumn, after the leaves have fallen. The seed capsules mature one year later, at which time they burst open and scatter the seeds away from the mother plant to ensure propagation of the next generation. The twigs and bark contain the therapeutic and aromatic constituents that when distilled create the clear, fragrant, natural astringent Dickinson’s is famous for today.

Native Americans recognized Witch Hazel’s value, and would apply it topically to treat minor wounds, abrasions and skin irritations. Nineteenth century missionaries learned of the plant’s therapeutic qualities and produced the first commercial Witch Hazel Extracts as basic ingredients for a wide array of personal care products.

Today, the applications of Witch Hazel go beyond facial care where a mild but effective astringent is desired; other applications include cleansers, body washes, hair care, eye gels and personal hygiene products. Consumers and medical professionals alike recognize Witch Hazel as a naturally soothing and cost effective botanical extract.

Witch Hazel is recommended for:

• Excellent for sensitive skin
• Removes excess oil and sebum
• Controls oil production
• Reduces skin blemishes
• Cleanses and conditions skin
• Tones and tightens pores
• Soothes redness
• Refreshes and cools skin
• Does not over dry
• Hypoallergenic
• Dermatologist tested

I checked this information with “The Derm Doc” and he confirmed that it would be safe and effective as a toner for my face and I started using it nearly 3 weeks ago. I purchased the Up and Up brand from Target and have used it twice a day (morning and night) each day over the last three weeks. The oil production has greatly reduced down to normal levels, leaving my skin looking taught, dewy and fresh. I haven’t had any breakouts or irritation as a result of using it and I would recommend this product without hesitation as an inexpensive, natural toner/astringent. I do not exfoliate my skin because I am currently using the prescription acne treatment, but I’m certain that there are plenty of inexpensive, natural options out there.

What inexpensive, natural beauty secrets have you discovered?

A New Staple Cookbook: The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook

I’ve been looking to expand my cookbook selection and was lucky enough to stumble upon this little gem, The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson. The title appealed to me because my family isn’t fully vegetarian, but we do eat mostly vegetarian meals. By that I mean, that I cook vegetarian/vegan options on the weekdays and usually the weekends end up being a free-for-all. I can’t imagine a life without the occasional burger or sushi, so we just limit our meat intake to one or two meals a week. That being said, it’s been a tough road of trial and error learning to cook vegetarian/vegan meals. Some have been great, so good that I would take it over the juiciest steak any day, but unfortunately some have been so bad that I yearned for a nice cardboard box to chew on in exchange. I’ve had this book for a few weeks now and have the opportunity to read it cover to cover several times and have made quite a few dinners from it as well.  While the overwhelming majority have been good, there are a few bland ones and one that was actually dangerous. That’s right, I said dangerous. It was the Chipotle-Glazed Portobello Fajitas on page 154, where the recipe said to use “one 6-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce”.  Um..no, don’t do it! However, the happy ending to this story comes when I get all in a huff, track down this Robin Robertsons website and send her an email informing her of the severe gastro-intestinal distress this nightmare of a recipe caused. I did not expect her to return an email, it just made me feel better to give her what for.  Imagine my surprise, when just a few hours later I got a lovely, apologetic email with the recipe correction and the promise to notify her publisher. What a class act! So, it turns out you are only supposed to use 1, or 2 peppers if you are feeling really adventurous; never the whole can.  This being the first recipe that I had made I was fully ready to light this book afire until I received that email detailing the mistake and the correction (Thanks again Ms. Robertson!), but after that I felt a little better about diving back in. So, don’t let this experience put you off, just remember to update your copy on page 154.  Two of my very favorite recipes in the book are Vegetarian Scrapple (sheer genius!) and Oyster Mushroom Chowder. These healthy and delicious alternatives to my favorite country girl comfort foods have long made up for “the chipotle fajitas incident”.  I live in the city now, but these dishes take me right back to my roots in rural St. Mary’s County where Scrapple and Oyster stew are old-fashioned staples. There are at least two dozen more recipes that I intend to plow through and in the end, this book has some really great vegetarian alternatives for people who like to eat meat.

Oyster Mushroom Chowder

The creamy oyster mushroom has a slightly “seafood” taste and a texture similar to oysters. Kelp flakes, or ground kelp, are available in shaker containers in natural food stores. Sprinkled on the chowder, it makes a lovely garnish while adding a nutritious taste of the sea.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or l/8 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• Kelp flakes (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, stock, thyme, salt, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the potato is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer 1 cup of the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the soup and stir in the soy milk. Heat to a simmer and stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring to thicken. Slice or quarter any larger mushrooms, leaving the smaller ones whole or halved. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with the Old Bay seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the soup, taste to adjust seasonings, and serve. Garnish with kelp flakes if desired.

Serves 4

Grab a copy for yourself here:

DIY Green Cleaning Products

I recently read a great article from WebMD titled, “The Best Non-toxic Ways to Clean Your Home” which talks about the rise of green cleaning products and the cheap, old-fashioned green cleaning products that were used by generations before. I was familiar with some of these already, but some are new to me and I wanted to share these with you:

For more great tips and advice on how to clean in an inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way, pick-up Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing by Michael Dejong. This book is currently new to my library, but it’s really a great buy; here is the description from Amazon:

Rich Hippie: Organic, wildcrafted perfume that sounds yummy

I love finding new earth-friendly products to try and review. The health and beauty industry is practically bursting with new, organic alternatives to mass-produced synthetics that can contain nasty things like petrochemicals and “hormone disruptors”; yikes! Today I found a very intriguing product online, Rich Hippie perfume. They make yummy perfumes from all natural ingredients extracted from flowers and plants combined with wine alcohol distilled from grapes with exciting names like “Brown Sugar”, “Maharishi”, “Rock Star”. While these are sold in a limited number of retail stores worldwide you can purchase their organic perfume right on the website. Best yet, you can order samples of each fragrance if you like to mix it up (like I do) or try it before you commit to just one. So take note friends and family, this is a bit out of my budget, but it would make a lovely gift.

Onion Goggles: Yeah, I rock em…

I cook meals at least 5 nights a week in our household and many of those meals involve onions. I also wear eye make-up 7 days a week, which when combined unfortunately leaves a colorful mash-up on my face. I had been eyeballing these RSVP Onion Goggles at Amazon for some time, but as I already own a number of single-purpose kitchen gadgets I felt a bit guilty about purchasing them, so like any good mom, I guilted my family into buying them for me for mother’s day. For once, my plan worked! Now that I’ve been using them for about a month I have to say that, although my family laughs at me every time, they are so awesome. I haven’t shed a single tear and I used them 2 or 3x a week.  Never has another $20 been better spent.  I may look like a doofus, but underneath my nerdy onion goggles my eye make-up stays just as fresh as when I put it on in the morning and I don’t have to walk around looking like I have pink eye, so I’m a happy girl.  If black and lime green isn’t your taste they also come in pink and white.

T-shirt Madness: Megan Nicolay has a new book!

Everyone who knows me knows that I love, love, love making things out of old t-shirts. It’s the most comfortable fabric that I can think of and everyone looks good in a t-shirt.  We get so many freebies, and buy so many that remind us of places we’ve visited, bands we’ve seen, and other great memories that I always seem to have piles of them laying around. I also have a habit of destroying my clothing in any number of creative ways, so I love refashioning them into all sorts of things like skirts, tote bags, etc.  Luckily for me, my favorite t-shirt recycling queen has a new book out called Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt
which I purchased from Amazon and has already arrived in the mail. I’ve begun to skim through and noted that even though there are a few similar pieces to her first book, many of the ideas are fresh and inspiring.  I’m most excited about making a shrug and a necklace based on her ideas; I’ll of course post my attempt to recreate some of the projects in the book.

Preserve: Ultrasoft

I try very hard to completely recycle the things that I use by purchasing goods made from previously recycled products. It’s great that we all try to recycle more, but unless these recyclables are actually made into something that we purchase it doesn’t really help the environment. One thing that I purchase and throw away every 3- 6 months is made from plastic (i.e., petroleum-based product), will take forever to degrade, and makes me feel bad every time I buy and toss a new one is… my toothbrush. Not this time! I was on a mission to find a recycled replacement for my toothbrush that was comfortable and affordable. My dentist has always urged me to use the softest bristles available to prevent my gum line from receding after years of brushing too hard. I was stoked to find toothbrushes made from 100% recycled plastics (25% of those from yogurt cups!) and with ultrasoft bristles too! Amazon carries the Preserve Toothbrushes, Ultra Soft Bristles, 6-Count Package for about $16.00 with free shipping. At about $2.50 each they don’t even cost more than the old toothbrushes that I used to buy. When they arrived I looked at the “reusable travel case with ventilation holes” that was super cheesy and hoped that I had not made a bad decision. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the brush was a good weight with a balanced feel and the perfect size to maneuver even in those hard to reach places. Most importantly, the bristles were as promised, ultra soft. My teeth are happy and I did something good for the environment without blowing my budget, which always makes me feel good. The best part is that when I’m finished I can mail my brush back to the company with a postage paid envelope and they promise to recycle it into something else made from plastic lumber, like park benches. According to their website they have also teamed up with Whole Foods to provide convenient drop-off locations mean that you can reycle your toothbrush and any other #5 plastics while picking up new earth-friendly products at the store. Find out more about the company, their recycling efforts, and their other preserve products on their website http://www.preserveproducts.com/. This eco-friendly company is based just outside of Boston and all of their products are made in the U.S.A which means that purchasing their products is good for the environment, your wallet, and the economy.