Showing posts with label BEAUTY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BEAUTY. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Take note, when you buy a perfume bottle most of the cost goes to the packaging, advertising, sales profit and tax. Only a small percentage, actually around ten percent, is dedicated to the costs of the scents.

So why buy when you can make your own perfume. Not only will you be able to save some money but you'll get a blast from the pursuit of the perfect perfume.

One of the greatest advantages of making your own perfume is that you don't have to worry about having chemicals and preservatives going onto your skin. Since you're more likely going to work with natural, you don't have to worry about the possible effects of synthetic materials on your body.

However, care should still be taken when using various essential oils. Some people might still have particular allergenic reactions to specific types of oils. It is therefore important to know or be familiar with your own body chemistry first before trying experimenting with blending perfumes.

First, let's differentiate between the various types of perfumes. Basically, a perfume is a mixture of aromatic compounds and diluted in alcohol and water. The amounts of aromatic oils dissolve in a blend determine if it can be called a perfume or a cologne. Arranged from highest concentration of oils to lowest the sequence would be: perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and body splash.

When we say perfume, the blend of aromatic oils is from 25 to 40%. Eau du parfum, meanwhile, are 15-30% aromatics. Eau du Cologne has even lighter aromatic oil contents. This type of scent usually has around 5-15% aromatic compounds. Toilet water or sometimes referred to as body splash has only 3-5% aromatics. Body splash are ideally used after you take a bath or shower.

When you make your own perfume, you get to choose which solvent you would use to dilute the blend. Available at your disposal are either jojoba or alcohol. Both have distinct differences and benefits. Jojoba is great for perfume blends because it never turns rancid.

When you have created your own perfume blend, it is best that you use the perfume only on your pulse points. Anywhere more and you might overdo the scent. For diluting the blend the traditional way, you use grain alcohol or a high grade proof of vodka. Alcohol makes the blend more volatile. The problem with alcohol is that you have to let the perfume blend evolve. If you don't the scent will smell more like an alcohol rather than a perfume. Usual proportions of alcohol and perfume blend is about three or four ml of the blend combined with five or 10 drops of alcohol.

Making your own perfume should be fun. Don't delve too much on the technicality of blending perfumes. Explore and try to make combinations that are unheard off. You never know, the resulting blend might be perfect to your body chemistry.

Scents and fragrances react differently when applied to your body. Choosing one that fits you is like choosing the right color of dress or the right pair of shoes to wear. Perfumes cannot just be worn arbitrarily. The resulting scent might be catastrophic. That's why you need to experiment more when making your own perfume. Try various combinations of scents until you find the perfect one for you.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Miss "Fat and Beautiful" 2009

Beersheba, Israel recently held its annual "Fat and Beautiful" beauty pageant with plus-size contestants coming from all over the country to compete in casual wear and evening gowns...but there was no swimsuit competition. Ladies had to be at least 176 lbs to enter.

Twenty-two-year old Moran Baranes, weighing in at 205 pounds, was crowned the winner. She works as a security guard and enjoys painting and dancing.

























Friday, December 25, 2009





Don't you just love the rich, vibrant colors of the holidays? Metallic Gold and Silver mixed with deep shades of purple, red, green, and blue. How lovely!



Dining Room Decorations ::: Christmas 2009


Welcome to our Dining Room!

This is our sideboard which serves as storage and an excellent surface to decorate.



I love this vintage ivory frame that has been made into a chalkboard! I found it at an antique store last year and just had to have it!









I just LOVE these silver cake stands that I blogged about purchasing at Target.


This year's decorating budget was $25 and went towards these white roses, red berries, and greens with faux snow. I loved these beautiful vintage green vases that I've thrifted over the past year. Since we don't have green in our apartment I wasn't quite sure what to do with them until I saw Christmas flower arrangements made in them on Etsy in floresdelsol's shop.



Our Cafe table.

This is our favorite place to eat meals. It's intimate and romantic. Our 1890s apartment building has a mosaic floor in the entranceway that reminds me of our cafe table. I like having our apartment reflect the era of the building.


Like this tablecloth? It's sheer burgandy fabric (purchased at JoAnns) over a red tablecloth (purchased at Target). The tablecloth wasn't fancy enough for the occasion (a dinner party!) so the fabric was the perfect solution!




Ribbon and Berry Tiebacks.





The framed chalkboards working their magic. I wanted to keep the dining room neutral, so I chose to make these magnetic chalkboards to decorate seasonally.



Mercury Glass LOVE.



Antique Podium decorated for Christmas with Mercury Glass Candleholders.





Here are a few pictures of the Living Room Christmas Decorations!

The Coffee Table in the foreground is decorated with a glass bowl full of pearl and crystal beads and gold and white glass ornaments. As soon as I saw it I knew that this would be the perfect task for this glass bowl.

Votive Candles and two crystal star dishes make the table festive. Imagine the candles lit at night!



And this is our $10 Christmas tree. Isn't it beautiful? The tree is 'flocked' to look like it has snow on the tips. It has a little sparkle to the flocking. I used wide burgandy satin ribbon and draped it about the tree. Small Vintage style balls and icicle ornaments adorn the branches. A large Vintage style tree topper perches on the highest branch.

The tree skirt is burgandy silk with intricate beadwork along the edges. Another Goodwill find. I scattered pearl and crystal beads around it and placed several ornaments, 2 glittering reindeer, and 3 glittering star boxes beneath the tree. (Hey, I just now realized that the stars are a theme in the living room Christmas decorations!)


Mantel Decorations

These Mercury Glass votive candle holders can be found at Target for $.99 each. I scattered pale champaigne, gold, and red berry picks amongst the votive holders. Two reindeer are reflected in the mirror.


Another shot of the Christmas tree!

It's so fun having a different Christmas tree than last year! I wouldn't want to decorate the same way twice!



I've been busily decorating for Christmas and cleaning our apartment. We're planning a Holiday Progressive Dinner for our apartment building that will take place next weekend. I'm really excited to get to know others who live in the building - we rarely see anyone. Since we live in a historical building it will also be fun to see other apartments. There are three floors and each one has its own character. The 3rd floor has lots of brickwork - even brick arches in the one apartment (so cool!), while the 1st floor is very traditional to the 1890s when the building was built.

Today I scored an amazing faux Christmas tree at Goodwill. It was in the window and I had seen it yesterday and asked if it was for sale and they said they didn't think so...but I loved it, so I stopped in again today and asked a different person and she said she'd sell it to me for $10!!! It even came with a strand of lights. I wasn't going to turn that down! I got it all decorated today to surprise Vince when he came home from school. It's the perfect little tree! I'll have lots of photos of our Christmas decorations to show soon!

Tonight was a fun "night on the town" with some of Vince's fellow PhD students. We went to a German 'Haufbrauhaus' together. I enjoyed talking to Vince's friends who are from other countries. Vince is one of the only American students in the program. On the drive home we saw a beautiful buck as we were driving through the park. It had such large antlers that it looked more like a reindeer than a deer. Perfect to get us in the Christmas spirit!




I love the colors of the table decorations! And the linen curtains with the wreaths in the windows look so beautiful!




I'm dreaming of a Glamorous Christmas...



 

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