64 Arts

Magic Elixir, Aisle 3!

64 Arts

So, the other part of this art alluded to beauty enhancers. Let’s chat about that a bit, shall we?

A lot of time is spent by a lot of women looking for that magic bullet–that one thing that will clear our skin, slim our hips and boost our energy levels. That bit of magic probably doesn’t exist (never say never, right?) but there are things that we can do–our own magic potions–that could improve our appearance and our life that’s not quite so mystical.

Beauty In, Beauty Out

Okay, so we don’t actually want to eat most of the health-care products on the market today. But the fact remains that what we put in our bodies can affect what we see on the outside. It’s not just about what other people see, but also what we see staring back at us in the mirror that affects our outlook on the day.

Water, for instance, is essential for supple skin as well as preventing headaches, so always be sure to stay hydrated. And eating the right food is a good idea, too–the better the food we eat, the better our bodies function.  Green smoothies are quite popular these days–even if I prefer my smoothies packed with peanut butter and cocoa powder–but eating the whole fruits and vegetables is just as healthy and maybe a smidgen tastier.

And before you blame chocolate, pizza or other maligned foods for that recent acne flare-up; there’s no real evidence that links those food to blemishes (thank goodness!). Even so, everyone is different and can experience various food triggers, so if you know that a certain food irritates your body (inside or out), it’s wiser to avoid it.

Once We’re on the Outside

There is a huge industry surrounding the potions and lotions to dry over-moist skin, moisturize the dry and fix everything in between. If you have sensitive skin, most of those products aren’t even worth trying because they’ll irritate your skin more than it already was.

Seriously, I’ve tried a lot of them with disastrous results. Even the so-called sensitive-skin moisturizers made my forehead drier, flakier and more broken-out than they were to start! About the only product line that consistently works for my skin is Bare Minerals though the cost does make my frugal heart quail at times.

If you do decide to experiment with a new product, test out only one at a time (and buy sample sizes whenever possible). Or, if you’d like to get back to basics, why not invest in simple glycerin soap as a cleanser, witch hazel as a toner/astringent (good for blemishes but can be drying), and extra virgin olive oil as a moisturizer. I haven’t quite gotten to that level but it’s tempting.

And if you can spare an avocado, I’ve heard very good things about this avocado face mask. Have you tried it?

Putting on a Brave Face

And then there’s makeup. Some people consider it camouflage or “war paint.” And the way some women wear it, I can see the resemblance! Still, I always remember what a good friend’s mom once said about herself:

“You paint the barn when it needs it, right? Well, this barn needs a coat of paint!”

Make-up, I think, works best when it highlights one wonderful feature and helps the rest step out of the limelight. I love to spend time on my eye make-up when I’m getting ready to go out, but wearing glasses tends to hide a lot of the hard work. So, most days, I just keep it to some eyeliner, maybe mascara, and let me lips play center stage in a deep red or slick, glossy pink.

I had friends in high school who were involved with theater and I was always impressed with the way a few strokes of eyeliner could transfer a young face into an old one. (There’s a tip, there, for over-doing it, I’m sure.) How bronzer and blush can be used to add shadows or highlights. While stage make-up isn’t appropriate for everyday, judicious use of shade and shadow can enhance a wobbly jaw-line or add cheekbone definition for those crucial days when we need a little extra bit of courage.

A Simple Request:

What beauty tricks do you have up your sleeve? Anything you’ve tried and wish you hadn’t? Help a girl (or several) out, and share with your sisters in the comments!

I still say, though, the best thing a woman can put on in the morning is confidence!

Do You Believe in Magic?

64 Arts

Because that’s our next art!

21 Magic (kuchumara)

Methods taught in the Kuchumara Tantra to increase sexual prowess and to enhance beauty.

I think this art (or at least the description of it) is what most people expect when they learn that the 64 Arts is a list found in the Kama Sutra. It’s actually one of the very few mentions of anything overtly sexual in the whole list. The rest of the source material? Obviously full of it, but here not so much.

Since I prefer to keep this blog a little more on the G-rated–okay, PG, PG-13?–I don’t want to get all graphic with the details of spicing things up in the bedroom. Instead, let’s consider magic in a large context–you know what I mean, let’s discuss that spark we feel with others: the catch in your throat when you see him across the room, the trill in your voice when you talk about him, and the ache when he’s away.

That, my friends, is magic.

Sometimes it seems like magic just finding someone in this world. And when you do, after a while it takes some effort to keep that magic–that spark of something special–alive!  What can you do?

We, Todd and I, have a few strategies for keeping things fun and taking time for each other. Because, really, what kills the spark (I think) is the mundane–we get too comfortable and forget to work on things, you know?

So what do we do?

  • We always try to have dinner together. While this can be monotonous, just the act of sitting down to supper at the table together reminds us to slow down and talk about whatever’s on our minds.
  • Friday night is Date Night. Even if we’re just hanging out at home for supper and our DVRed shows, it’s the one night a week where we put away the laptops and I put away whatever project(s) I’m working on and we spend time together without distractions. And if something interferes with a regularly scheduled Date Night, we make it up on Saturday, because those nights apart really are important.
  • Once a month we have a Saturday Away. This is a recent addition to our schedule and it stems from the good time we had on my birthday trip. We had such a fabulous day and it really all boiled down to just spending the day together, away from the usual obligations and distractions. Because of this, we’ve decided to recreate that feeling once a month. We ignore household chores, plan something either in town or maybe a day trip somewhere, and just spend time together.

That’s our big 3: daily, weekly and monthly actions. Sounds kinda like a business plan but I swear it’s more fun than that! But that’s all just the planned stuff, the unplanned bits are just as important and just as magical.

Like when Todd makes one of the stuffed monkeys peek around the corner and wave at me–it always catches me off guard and never fails to make me laugh. Or this weekend when Todd had to go out of town for work and we exchanged newsy little emails each day–something we haven’t done since we were first dating, long distance. Seeing his name pop up in my in-box gave me a happy little thrill.

Question for the Comments:

What do you do to keep the spark–the magic–in your life and relationships?

Putting it Out to the Universe

64 Arts

In last week’s introduction to conjuring, I mentioned the Law of Attraction–that concept that The Secret made mainstream a few years back–as one way of looking at bringing ideas into reality in your life.

Back in my church days, my friend’s mom used to say “You gotta put feet to prayers.” Prayer is, after all, asking a higher power to intervene on your behalf, right? And what I, and plenty of others, call putting something out to the Universe.

Whatever you want to call it, here’s what I think it all boils down to:

Stating a desire or intention in a meaningful way–aloud, in public, on paper or something other than just a passing thought–is a way of being mindful of our desires. In turn, being aware of these desires helps us achieve them by both make choices in support of those desires and being open and on the lookout for opportunities that we might have otherwise passed up.

But the real question is not HOW we get what we want, but WHAT do we want?

No, seriously, think about it for a minute.

If you say “I want a million dollars” that’s all well and good, but is that really what you want?

Think about it a little more–dig a little deeper–what would that $1 million do for you? Would it

  • give you financial security?
  • allow you to work less and spend more time with your family?
  • enable you to give more to charity?
  • help you start your own business?

And it might, but maybe what you really want is NOT the cool mil in the bank, it’s those things that you think the money would give you. So, instead of asking for the quick fix, put out the beacon for what you’re really after and maybe, just maybe, you’ll actually get it.

It’s kind of how when you’re thinking of buying a blue car and all you see, everywhere you look, are blue cars? You’re tuned in, paying attention, and suddenly you’re seeing the possibilities.

Project Time!

Values Cards

My Values Cards, "laminated" with clear shelf paper and on a binder ring for easy flipping.

Earlier this year a friend of mine, Tori Deaux of the Circus Serene, introduced me to Emmit–her anthropomorphized circus clown of a business plan. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Turns out, Emmit was her take on Jennifer Lee’s Right Brain Business Plan.

One of the many wonderful, creative exercises is a values exercise. First you brainstorm some concepts that mean a lot to you–this works for life as well as business, folks–and then you collage each onto index cards or some other small materials. Click over to Miranda & Queen Bitty’s recent tutorial if you need some collage tips.

The great thing about these cards is that they’re portable and they make you think about the ideas that are important to you, that will enrich your life and help you get what you want out of it. So I encourage you to give a collage a try–either making your own version of the value cards or to figure out your dream life–and then put whatever comes of it out into the Universe.

I’ll be you start to notice things around you real soon.

~~~oOo~~~

Question of the Week: Do you know what you want out of life? Share it in the comments and let’s inspire each other to find it!

Swinging pocket-watch

20th Art: Conjuring

64 Arts

Have you ever been hypnotized? Was it in front of a group of people on a stage? To stop a habit like smoking or help you lose weight? Or was it in a clinical setting, to help you recover memories or remember facts for an important reason?

Conjuring (indrajala)
To hypnotize and make people see armies or heavenly dwellings.

Swinging pocket-watch
I’ve never been hypnotized–I don’t think I’m a very good candidate for it since I like to be in control and find it difficult to relax–and it’s only been relatively recently that I’ve been able to meditate with any sort of effectiveness. We’ve talked about meditation in the past, so I won’t rehash that topic, but we can explore some other avenues of conjuring that might be out there.

Like what? The power of positive thinking (or, as my high school band director liked to harp on: Positive Mental Attitude), is one. The Law of Attraction–a version of which was popularized in The Secret–is another. Some might even say karma–though the ‘what goes around, comes around’ idea is a little broad (karma generally refers to repercussions from one life to another, as opposed to moments in a single incarnation).

And then there’s the more whimsical variety of conjuring: stage magic, slight of hand, misdirection and other feats of prestidigitation.

But really, conjuring is–at it’s essence–creating. Whether you’re creating images in other people’s minds (storytellers, I’m looking at you) or spinning a web of ideas that gets others to create something tangible, conjuring is the first step in creativity.

Question of the week: What have you conjured lately?

Scents-able Applications

64 Arts

Have you ever made your own perfume? Do you know how simple it is, really, to create your own signature scents?

If you did last week’s scent exploration exercise then you’re totally prepared for this week’s project, just grab your scents notes and your car keys (or your computer mouse if you prefer to shop online) and gather a few simple ingredients.

What you’ll need:

Carrier oil–sweet almond it very common and very popular, you can also use pharmacy grade olive oil, as well as others on the market
Essential oils or Fragrance oils
Decorative bottle

What’s the difference between essential and fragrance oils?

Some would say cost, others would say quality, still others say availability–it all comes down to personal preference. Essential oils are distilled from the scent-giving item in question (rose petals, sandalwood, oranges, etc.) and are the concentrated essence of that fragrance. Fragrance oils, on the other hand, are created chemically to mimic natural scents.

The upside is that fragrance oils are generally cheaper and more widely available since they don’t have to worry about scarcity of the original item (which is why sandalwood essential oil, for instance, can be harder to find and more expensive than it’s chemical counterpart). Essential oils, however, lend a connection to nature and a purity that you may find more desirable. And since so little is used in each application, a small bottle can go a long way, making the cost less prohibitive over time.

Regardless, neither fragrance oils nor essential oils should be applied directly to the skin! Not only could these concentrated scents cause skin irritation, in the case of essential oils certain ones can cause very bad things to happen–seriously, do your homework if you’re going to really get into them!

To make your perfume of choice, add the essential or fragrance oils (a few drops at a time) to your carrier oil and place in a pretty glass bottle.

Added to small, stoppered vials, these would make lovely gifts for a group of new moms on Mothers’ Day, wedding gifts to your attendants or a sweet anytime gift to your girls night out pals. (Of course you could also make some personalized cologne for the men in your life, too.)

You can also buy refillable atomizers and spritz to your hearts content rather than dab on your chosen perfume.

Thinking Beyond the Bottle

  • Citrus essential oils make great additions to homemade lotions and toners.
  • Citrus, again, works great in homemade household cleaners (depending on your ingredients, of course–it might take quite a bit to overcome the scent of a vinegar-based cleaner).
  • A few drops of scented oils on a handkerchief or scrap of fabric and tucked into a drawer make a wonderful sachet. (Care should be taken that the oil itself doesn’t come in contact with your clothing–it could leave an oily residue.)
  • Use some of the leftover oils to make your own reed diffuser.
  • Scent your own soaps or candles with the combination of your choice.

Question of the Day:

What other ways do you use perfumes, essential oils or fragrance oils around the house?