Good morning everyone! Meet Andreína and her Alaffia…she is a huge fan of this brand! She also has some great tips–check out her DIY mask recipe. She’s a recent transplant to California, and is certainly making the coast even more lovely with her presence. Read on!

Name: Andreína (but most people call me Andre)

Age: 29

Current weather: Port Hueneme, CA tends to have awesome breeze and chilly nights. It has not gotten too hot. Mostly fresh & easy (I’ve only been here for  2 1/2 months).

Hair: Dark brown, and a mix of 70% wavy, 15% kinky and 15% super-straight. Don’t ask me how I got there, I’m still trying to figure that out myself!

Skin: with a weird case of breakouts on my cheeks which I’m trying to control. It comes and goes. Used to be t-zone, all year round, and now I’m in a perfect medium.

Favorite star or icon from the past: Carolina Herrera, fashion designer with a super-simple style from my native country, Venezuela. She’s got everything I think of when it comes to elegance.

Also Diane Keaton. I just love her in every movie, I always like her jewelry (big rings!!!) and her style just comes across timeless. Image via.

In the shower…

Baking soda and apple cider vinegar are my go-to soaps. Even though I do not shower every day, I’m always able to clean my underarms with a mix of these two to really kill the smell and, believe it or not, help me with perspiration. I might use a bit of baking soda all over my body once a month, but when it comes to cleaning just the bare-essentials, I find that B.S. is all I need.

One thing I do not see here very often is people talking about their shaving abilities, and same as everything else, only 2 things have worked like a charm! 1. Dr. Bronner’s all-in-one baby mild and citrus liquid soap. I buy the 32 oz and dilute it 4 times, mix the two and keep it in the shower. I use this mix to shave my legs (warm or cold water) and the 2. preserve razor. I have always had such sensitive legs, with ingrown hairs and my hair gets really upset when it gets all shaved, so it grows really fast! which can be an issue. I also do not shave all the time, at times I let my hair grow real long and then try and shave up. My legs are happy.

My hair LOVES to be dirty, so I wash my hair only once x week. It is actually the third day that it starts to look amazing. With my textures and changes in product I’ve found that less is always more, and my hair has never looked better! My shampoo of choice is Alaffia’s Everyday Shea shampoo, unscented or in lavender (this is actually my 2nd bottle. They’re huge! one bottle went on for almost 2 years!). Right after I shampoo, I use Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, which really helps me de-tangle my hair. I never brush it because I want to keep my curls intact, so this is the, by far, less painful and most effective way for me to really soften all my hair and prevent the crazy nots. I also love to use Alaffia’s coconut & shea daily conditioner, and once a month I use Alaffia’s “beautiful curls” in Shea butter deep-conditioning treatment, super hydrating and gives my hair an extra shine that lasts long!

My face gets cleaned -almost- everyday. This might be the area I need improvement in, mostly because I hate keeping routines and I go as the day comes, so there are weeks that I’m really good at cleaning my face, and others not so much. I use a mix of almond, avocado, grapeseed, argan and tea tree oils and clean my face with a vegetable sponge. It is so easy! and I give my face a real nice massage with the oil, which tends to be an extremely awesome combo when there’s steam in the bathroom because it really cleanses my pores deeply. I do not rinse my face with water, as I find the sponge to be really helpful. I use the bronner’s liquid soap to clean the sponge.

Outside the shower…

No Skincare here. Whenever I feel I need a bit more of a dewey-texture, I apply more oil (mostly during winter). The choice are either the mix from above, or my ojio coconut oil. If there’s excess, I use the sponge to wipe it off. I also use these oils and sponge to wipe off any makeup too.

My hair gets more alaffia (I love this brand, can’t you tell? ;) with just a little bit of Beautiful Curls’ Curl activating cream and after their Curl Defining Gel. This is the perfect combo, and lasts me a whole week. My hair is also in love!

I don’t always use deodorant, but when I do I turn to Aubrey’s E plus High C, works like a charm!

I also apply a mask about once a month that I make with my mix of oils, bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar. It is rather painful and takes a while to dry, but really revives my skin every time! Clean pores, outstanding radiance, ultra-soft surface,

Finishing touches…

Makeup yes, everyday no.

My makeup is not really clean, mostly because I became obsessed with Bare Mineral’s eyeshadows shortly after I came to this country. I spent about 3 years collecting and I still use them, still love them. I have a mix of Josie Maran’s eyeshadows, which I really enjoy too, and are the ones I take with me when I’m out of town. I use Jane Iredale’s Petal or Lemon’s eyelid primers, and some eyeliners from Bare Minerals & Josie Maran. For my lips, when color comes, just get red. LOVE Josie Maran’s  stains (flamenco & fox trot).

Mascara, (which is often talked about here) is always a subject on is own. It is often a girl’s fav makeup item, and for some the only go-to to lighten up and refresh the face! I’ve had issues with natural mascaras, but I’ve also not tried a ton! My fav natural mascara is Josie Maran’s GOGO, and I still use Bare Mineral’s flawless mascara because I’m a sucker for their brush!

I love larenim’s blushes, cherub and innocence. I also use Bare Minerals’ highlighter & well-rested eyeshadow, which I mix and place in the inner corner of my eye to illuminate. Again, part of a collection I’ve had for years.

I try to be real clean with my brushes, and clean then well with my all-in-one soap.

Thanks, Andre! Happy to hear you are happy :) Anyone else using Alaffia for the hair? Siobhan reviewed one of their conditioners awhile back here.

Meet Kate, a gal who has the type of happy-go-lucky attitude about failed DIY shampoos (no problem, she says, just re-purpose the ingredients!) that just makes her seem so nice and sunny. (Hence Audrey Hepburn in the sun hat here.) Read on for her very lavender-y routine; it’s nice!

Washing up…

Post-shower…

Told you she was sunny and wonderful! What other tricks have saved you all many pennies in the past year?

We present to you the gift that is Emma, whose routine is brilliant and stylish. Of course it is: she’s from Athens, Greece, and is clearly a clean, continental dream. Did you know you can use crushed strawberries to whiten you teeth? Apparently so! Read on:

Name: Emma
Age: 37
Current weather: Sunny and dry, around 20 Celcius
Hair: Thin and naturally wavy, double processed with blonde highlights and dye to cover the grays. The waves have lost their vitality a couple of years ago (maternity hormones?), they are thinning, dried and parched. Curls now are really limp unless I revive them with a curling iron. Overall, my nightmare…
Skin: Normal to dry, very few wrinkles around the eyes when I squint. Clear with very few cystic acne outbreaks on the chin around my period sometimes. Overall I am blessed with nice skin, sometimes lacking glow – which is what I value most, since I think it makes us look fresher and younger!

In the shower…

I have stopped using soap all over my body, just on the armpits and legs. I use soap that I order from Aleppo, Syria that is all natural and contains only olive oil, laurel oil and sea salt. That’s what I use on my toddler son too and it never dries out our skin. I wash my hair with Faith in Nature Aloe Vera shampoo, followed by the Pomegranate and Rooibos conditioner. Sometimes I do a final rinse with unfiltered organic ACV and water. I leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse it out again—I can’t tolerate the vinegar smell too much. Once a week I dry brush my whole body before I get in the shower.  I also try to do a weekly pure organic coconut oil hair mask—this seems to have helped restore moisture to my locks. I rub it all over my hair, put it in a low braid and then put a shower cap that I keep in place with a few pins. I then sleep on it and wash my hair in the morning.

In the shower I sometimes do a DIY sugar scrub, mixing brown sugar with vegetable glycerine or olive/jojoba/sweet almond oil.

Outside the shower…

After the shower I pat my skin dry and then put on a DIY moisturizing oil containing jojoba, argan and sweet almond oil, with a few drops of neroli and lavender essential oils. I have keratosis pilaris on some areas  so I rub some pure shea butter (which is the only thing that helps). I also make a DIY whipped shea butter moisturizer that I put on at night during the cold months, and then sleep on it with cotton pajamas. It gets the skin really soft!

I wrap my hair in an old t-shirt to dry, which I found keeps the waves smoother and fights frizz. I pass a wide-toothed comb and then rub some argan oil on the ends. Sometimes I’ll spray some not so clean Bumble and Bumble Thickening spray to give some volume, but I also want to try a home made sea salt spray. I dry them using a diffuser, or if I don’t’ have the time, I’ll just quickly dry them, and put them up in a tight high ponytail, twirling the remaining hair in a bun and securing it tightly. In a few hours when I let the ponytail down, my hair is wavy and smooth. If I wash my hair at night, I put it in a low tight braid and sleep on it – in the morning I have new curls!

I have stopped using soap or cleansers for my face, and make my own using natural ingredients. My favourite’s (that I alternate according to what I feel my skin needs most) just pure oils that I rub in and then rinse with a washcloth, oat flour with ACV/water, raw honey or baby milk powder mixed with some water to make a paste. Sometimes I grind some almonds or rice with a few drops of oil if I want something with more “buffing” properties. I bought the Clarisonic but after reading many controversial reviews from experts that it relaxes face muscles, I’m a bit reluctant to use it again. So it just sits there and I’ll sometimes use it to scrub the remaining oat/honey from the cleansing.

At least once I week I do a green clay mask (I mix it with ACV or milk and add a few drops of lavender essential oil). It really clears up everything and I found I don’t need to use any scrubs as I did before. All the blackheads, impurities and dullness come right off. I try to spread it up to my collarbones to get some of that goodness on my neck, which seems so neglected! I recently also started using rhassoul clay from Morocco, which is packed with minerals and supposedly better than plain old bentonite (green clay). On the rare nights I have a lot of makeup on, I use Bioderma Crealine Lotion before my cleansers. It is very popular here in Europe and all the make up artists use it. You put it on with a cotton ball, it’s like water and it rinses out everything without leaving any residue. I found that the less abrasive and more respectful I am of my skin (after using chemical peels, Retin A, harsh scrubs) the better it looks.

Then I do a few warm water compresses with a washcloth and spray a DIY hydrosol. I make hydrosols myself with rose petals or lavender or rosemary leaves. Sounds complicated but it’s really easy! While the skin is still damp from the hydrosol, I put on a few drops of my DIY face serum, which I make with a mix of carrier oils and essential oils. I found that argan oil and rosehip seed oil and super moisturizing and make my skin glow. I also add geranium, helichryssum and frankinsence essential oils. In the winter my skin needs some more moisture, so I slab some Weleda Skin Food or Korres Wild Rose moisturizing cream. I confess that I don’t wear sunscreen all year, even though I live in a country with 300 days of sunshine/year! I only wear it in the summer and I use Avene Tres Haute Protection with 50SPF or La Roche Posay Anthelios lotion. It’s not easy to find a nice, clean sunscreen here in Europe that does not leave your face looking white like a kabuki character. When I have time, I make my own whipped shea and cocoa butter cream. It is especially great to rub generously on my feet before I put on any socks. Shea butter is what dancers use to help them heal their over-worked toes and it really takes all the dryness and roughness out.

It might sound complicated to do all these DIY beauty things, but it actually is easy. I just keep all the ingredients in used glass jars, along with some spatulas and small cups and mix on the spot as needed. It’s fun, natural and cheap! For the face oils and creams I make a batch to last me 2 months, which takes me 30mins to make, so it’s not a big hassle.

I use Soapwalla deodorant, although recently it seems that it stopped working and I’m getting nervous with the summer approaching. It’s weird because in the beginning it worked like magic—is it my idea or has this happened to anyone else? When it’s a hot day and I know I’ll be active, I use my old Neutrogena, but I’m not happy about it and desperately looking for a reliable clean deodorant. I tried Tom’s but I still felt stinky.

I brush my teeth with Korres toothpaste using the Sonicare toothbrush (same company that makes Clarisonic). I can’t recommend that thing enough. It works like magic! When you’re done you feel like you just came back from a dentist deep clean. Sometimes I’ll make a baking soda and water paste if I want some whitening action, or rub some mashed strawberries on my teeth. Strawberries contain malic acid, which when combined with baking soda, act as an stringent and a buffing agent.

Due to the intense sunlight and endless summers sunbathing (can I turn back time?) I have a major hyper pigmentation problem on my face. I think the argan and rosehip seed oils will help in time, but I am trying to find a more potent natural recipe without resorting to hydroquinone. I might try a spot laser treatment and then maintain the results with religious sunscreen application all year round!

If I have a cystic acne pimple brewing, I dab a bit of raw honey before bed and then cut the sticky part of a band aid in half and place two layers on the pimple. Something about the anti-inflammatory qualities of the honey with the pressure from the band aid I guess makes it look better the next morning!

Finishing touches…

I don’t do much for makeup, I like a fresh look. I have very sparse eyebrows and the one thing that makes my face more framed and put-together is filling them in with some eye shadow from the Body Shop special eyebrow kit. Don’t underestimate the power of eyebrows to make your face look more balanced. I only recently found out about that tip and it literally changed the way I look, judging from pictures – without looking made up or unnatural.

Then I use MAC eyeliner rubbed and smudged on the bottom lashes in Olive and some Guerlain Bronzing powder or Korres blush. I curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura curler and when I go out at night put on Blinc mascara (it’s great, goes on like tubes and does not smudge even if you cry!). If I feel I need some more coverage, I use Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and in the summer the Body Shop gel bronzer for a hint of shimmer. On my lips I use Hurraw in Vanilla Bean or Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmers. I have thin lips and don’t like them colored. If I look especially tired I put on the YSL Touche Eclat under eye concealer, but I feel it draws more attention to the problem.  It’s hard finding good clean makeup products in Europe, but since I don’t put too much on, it’s not that bad for me.

After a couple of years obsessed with weekly manicures, I go all natural, with very short clean nails, and just rub Egyptian Magic cream every night on my cuticles. I even keep a jar on my desk and rub some in during the day. I have super dry cuticles that look dry and white after one day if I don’t cut them. Now I have stopped cutting them completely (you must resist the temptation, but it’s the only way they will stop growing) and this cream is the only thing that makes them soft and invisible. I just push them back with a wooden stick with some wet cotton or argan oil once in a while.

Comments on the deodorant question? Maybe if we answer, she will grace us with another amazing food-as-beauty-product tip we never would have guessed!

Favorite star or icon from the past:  Lauren Bacall (via)

Every time someone new comes over, I wonder if they’ll be alarmed by the magnum of apple cider vinegar that sits next to my tub. The salad-dressing staple, most of us know, is amazing for use on our hair, in part because its pH is similar to that of most conditioners—making it an easy nontoxic way to get smooth strands without forking over the big bucks for a fancy conditioner.

(Not that I don’t love forking over for fancy conditioner. Because I do.)

What’s fun about ACV is that there seems to be no end to the different ways people will use it. I’ve tried it as a stand-alone conditioner, and as a treatment—heck I also used to drink the stuff every night before bed—but here’s what works best for me:

About once a week, after I shampoo (with shampoo, not ACV), I pour a little of the stuff on the top of my head. Then I put conditioner on my ends, and wait a few minutes. Maybe I shave my legs, or exfoliate with a washcloth or something. After a few minutes, I rinse it all off, and voila! Silky shiny tresses. Mmmmm. Well, sort of.

There’s a slight issue of smell.

A couple of months ago, Virginia from Beauty Schooled and I met for a glass of wine at Eataly and she relayed a very funny story about going for a hair cut and having her stylist catch a whiff of vinegar on her still-damp hair. (Read her laugh-out-loud post about it here.) I’ve had this problem too, and I’m big on smell, so it bugs me.

So the other day, when Tricia from Yourjoyologist.com tweeted at us about using ACV as her shampoo, I had to ask her: What do you do about the smell??

Well, Tricia wrote us a letter:

I have been washing my hair with just the water and Apple Cider Vinegar for almost a month now and loving it.  I was wary at first, but since none of the shampoos I have been trying lately have been to my liking I figured why not?

I am quite active and sweat a lot.  I did notice that in some of the hot yoga classes I take I can smell vinegar, but its not too bad.  One time, my sweat went into my eyes, and stung a bit, but that only happened once.

I have been putting Argan oil on the ends while it is still damp and that is it.  I have not needed any styling products at all.

Two days ago out of laziness, I used my Kiss my Face shampoo and conditioner, which I bought because Alicia Silverstone and her site recommended it, and I had to seriously load on the products after and it still didn’t look as good as it has been with just the ACV and argan oil. Also, I have always battled dry scalp dandruff and using the ACV I have not had any scalp issues. The day I washed with shampoo last week my scalp Immediately started to itch like crazy.

Quite the endorsement! So we want to know: Have you used ACV on your hair? If so, how? Conditioner? Shampoo? And what on earth do you do (or think about) the smell?

Image of vintage French apple cider poster via