Beauty Stuff - 7

I am safely back in Kenai.......barely alive......in SOOOO much pain that I already took three Vicodin from my party stash. LOL. Just kidding.....
So let me tell all of you curious little monkeys about my Green Peel experience (so far).
At this moment, if you would ask me if I would do it again, I'd probably say NO. But ask me again in a week or two, hopefully the answer will be different.
So I went to where I always go for skincare in Anchorage, Anastassia's. First Anastassia washed my face and did some light extractions. Most of us have a few clogged pores, totally normal. But if you walk around with really noticeable blackheads, I advice you to squeeze them out. Really. Take my advice on that.
Then she applied the peel and started to massage it into my face. She told me that she would rub my face with the peel (circular motion) for about ten minutes and that the last two or three minutes would be quite painful. It started out feeling pleasant. The last two minutes were not really painful but very uncomfortable. It felt like having harsh sand rubbed hard in your face. My face started getting hot, it felt like a really, really bad sunburn. Anastassia also applied some to the neck and rubbed it a few times (maybe not a good idea but I'll return to that later). Then she had me lay with the Green Peel on my face (it has nutrients in it, all organic herbs smells grassy and nature-y kind of) with moisturizer infused layers of thin cloth on top for 25 minutes. At this point my face was pulsating and feeling warm. After that relaxing little repose it was time to wash of the gunk. Not that pleasant. The lukewarm water felt ice cold on my raw face, stinging my skin. I just wanted it to be over with. Then Anastassia covered my face with two kinds of lotions that I got to bring home with me.
Special instructions for the aftercare are as follows. No washing face with water for at least five days. Preferably no water until next Tuesday when I am going back for a moisturizing, nice facial. I have to clean my face with a special toner twice a day and then apply the two lotions after the toner and throughout the day.
The lotions combined on the skin look like a way too brown foundation. Reminds me of when I was 13 and 14 and caked my face and neck in a really dark brown powder every morning before school. It looked ridiculous but I thought I looked hot. My Mom begged me not to put that powder on, but who listens to their Mom at that age? I was the coolest and knew how to do MY make up. LOL. One morning one of my male classmates yelled that it looked like a cow had taken a crap on my face, sadly he was right. Anyways, I outgrew that faze. Now, no foundation and minimal use of powder.
But back to my Green Peel story. Cool wind on the face feels nice. Fanning it too. It is not burning anymore but feels kind of stiff. Mummy skin.
Upon coming home, I cleansed with the toner, took all the dark brown lotion mix off and TO MY HORROR, my neck has deep lines on it that I have never seen before. Not one or two......MANY. WTF!!!???? I am NOT at all happy with this. My neck was basically line free when I left home this morning at 7 am. Yes, I got up at 6 15 am to subject myself to this Green Peel. I do not want a wrinkly neck because of it, not nice at all. So tomorrow I am contacting Anastassia to see what she has to say. Hopefully it is normal and will go away. But those lines look really bad. She did mention that she only massages the peel lightly onto the neck, since the skin on the neck is different than the skin on the face. At this point I think the neck should had been avoided. The skin on my face looks slightly red. In a few days I will start peeling.
Like a snake.
Supposedly (according to Anastassia) the Green Peel is the best kind of peel that you can do for your skin, it has many benefits (I am too tired to rattle them off now in my sleep deprived state). If you have thin skin or severe hyperpigmentation you should avoid having the Green Peel.
Why did I do it? I have been thinking about it for a few years actually and I wanted to do something "nice" for my skin. Not that I had a bunch of wrinkles and acne to try to get rid of.
I don't think the Green Peel takes away deep wrinkles, maybe some small ones. It refreshes the skin and improves it. According to Anastassia, the results will be amazing. She liked how my skin looked after we washed the peel off. I just though it looked red and felt throbbing.
But enough about this peel now. I will report on the progress........in case you want to try a peel for yourself.......


Right before the "torture" started, relaxing on a heated table.....mmmmmm.....





I look like a burn victim at the ER. YOU NEED???!!!

Last night.
Lashes, Ardell NO 111. Eyeshadows MAC "Vanilla" and "Tempting".
No foundation, no powder.

Tatiana is ecstatic! She recently found out about the "V Steam". It's like a facial for the VAGINE! How interesting! Tatiana CAN'T WAIT to try one of these facials herself. It is an old Korean treatment, supposedly relaxing and beneficial too for health issues like fertility, rid the body of toxins, reduce stress, fight infections......yea.....the list goes on. This treatment is also called CHAI- YOK.
You squat, naked of course, over a steaming concoction made up of herbs such as mugwort and wormwood, about 14 different herbs mixed together. You squat for about 45 minutes and feel nice and fresh afterwards! DA NANG!
This is fascinating! Tatiana loves trying out different spa treatments. She much rather have a V Steam than a Brazilian. In case you have no idea what a Brazilian is, though it's 2011 and you should, that is when you get your hair down there waxed, some go totally bare and some opt for different designs. Tatiana thinks that waxing the VAGINE area results in ingrown hairs and she does not have time for those, ingrown hairs down there are for folks that keep their VAGINE area hidden and Tatiana doesn't. Also, the skin down there is sensitive, constantly ripping on it with a wax will, in Tatiana's opinion, make it leathery over time and saggy, like the sleeve of wizard. And that is not ok either for Tatiana, she wants it soft and taut. VERY NICE!!!!
The V Steam can be found in many spa's around California and probably in may of the Korean spa's around the country. It's amazing how some Asian people clean themselves, Tatiana is impressed. Like the Korean spa, Imperial Spa it's called, that she went to in Vegas. There were like 90 % Asian's there, scrubbing, steaming, lounging. It's a normal part of their life. Tatiana is all for a very well taken care of personal hygiene.
Tatiana doubt's that she can partake in a V Steam up here in Alaska, she should stroll into one of the local little places around here and ask if they offer any VAGINE facials just to see the the reactions of the staff. That wold be funny.
But as soon as she tries one, like when she is back in CA or NV, she will let you know, a full review and maybe even some pictures!
And there is a similar treatment for men too! Called A Steam. Yes, men too should keep their package area fresh, trimmed and clean. Of course!

The other day Tatiana read somewhere that rice water is good for hair. Really, she thought. Interesting. And decided to try it.
So tonight after the shampoo, she poured two large mugs of rice water she had prepared by cooking some rice earlier, into her hair, put it up and sat with the rice water in her hair for about 30 minutes before rinsing it out. Meanwhile she also slathered on some of that clay mask on her face, the Aveda one.
Tatiana has also been putting on Latisse on her lashes for about a week now, mind as well use it up, since she got the Latisse......back in October.
So the rice water supposedly makes the hair really soft. Tatiana is going to see if this works. And if it does, she is going to repeat the process tomorrow.
The Latisse, after weeks of faithful application, supposedly makes the lashes longer, darker and thicker. Tatiana is already bored with the Latisse but she is going to use up the bottle, since it's miniscule anyways, but she does not think that she will invest in any more Latisse. Unless, of course, her lashes just become absolutely amazing or something. Then it might be worth the effort of putting on some weird chemical on your lash line every night.
Back in the day, in Sweden, Tatiana used to do all kinds of beauty rituals at home, tiredlessly. Steam baths for the face, infused with chamomile or other herbs. Masks for the face, at least twice a week. A favorite was beaten egg white. Now Tatiana slowed down on the rituals. Not as many as before. She has not done a face steam at home in forever but she should, that's really for cleaning the skin.........Tatiana got lazy!
Though she could easily go for a facial, pedicure and a massage about once a week. If somebody else performs the service on her.

Tatiana had to get up early today, lots to do.
First taxes. Then she had an appointment for a facial, at Anastassia Spa and Salon in Anchorage.
This is the place Tatiana goes for facials up here and Anastassia is really good. But sometimes she cuts out certain aspects from the facial (weird). Tatiana has been going here since 2008 now, always the same facial, so she knows what to expect. So when the facial is shortened (in time) or does not include whatever it did most of the other times, Tatiana notices. Anastassia seems a little moody sometimes, but she is THAT good at what she does, despite the at times moodiness, after all Tatiana is not there to socialize......and despite the changes to the routine, that if anything is the most important part. You don't want to pay $ 145 for a service and feel like you are not getting what you are supposed to. But Tatiana is still loyal to Anastassia and recommends her services to everyone. Yes, she is THAT good!

After that Tatiana had an appointment for a pedicure, an appointment she made like three weeks ago. Well, the people at the pedicure place were confused, they were not expecting Tatiana and yes, they could offer her a pedicure but not with the person that Tatiana only wants to give her a pedicure at that place. And the person she requested when she called. Tatiana has been going here since 2009 but this time around, she declined the services due to their mistake and she will not return to this place. There are plenty of places to get a pedicure at and this was maybe a sign that it is time to try a new place.

Then some boring errands like banking and post office.

After that Tatiana rushed to meet up with her friend Kennedy that she has not seen since July of last year. Savannah was invited too but couldn't make it.
They decided to dine at a place called Ginger and it was really yummy and the waiter was really good. It was non stop conversation for about 2 1/2 hours, lots of catching up to do. Kennedy is well on her way to become a pilot, Tatiana thinks that is really great.



Basically, that was Tatiana's day today, now she is going to read a little, turn off the light and go to sleep........

Hair products.....skin products.....all kinds of products........ She can't get enough of them. The problem is that she sometimes collects a bunch of products and then ends up not using some of them. They just collect dust in the bathroom and go to waste. And some of these creams and gels don't come cheap. So Tatiana decided that she is not getting any new shampoos, conditioners, deep conditioners, face creams, face masks, face serums etc etc until she uses up what she already has in her collection.
For example, back in October Tatiana got Latisse but she has not tried it yet. And what girl does not want longer lashes?
: )

Tatiana just got this perfume by DIOR, Miss Dior Cherie. Not as good as Viva La Juicy and Petite Cherie by Annick Goutal, Tatiana's faves. She loves those perfumes!!!!
Also, Creme de la Mer, considered "a legendary creme that has inspired a cult following".
Then this deep conditioning hair treatment by Kerastase, Tatiana is excited to try it out. She has used Kerastase shampoo before but never a deep conditioner.
Also two serums for the face. Tatiana will fist use up the Intelligent Nutrients Serum before she tries the Origins "Plantscription". First time for both, so far Tatiana really likes the serum by Intelligent Nutrients, it smells very fresh and it's organic. Both products are anti aging. Tatiana likes to be nice to her skin.
Fun stuff!
Tatiana's latest nail polish is OPI's "Panda-Monium Pink". Really pretty on.
And on top of the Creme de la Mer, is a small bottle of Biosilk, Tatiana really like this product. It's silky serum drops for the hair, makes your hair silky, shiny and very yummy smelling.

And then this, good old trusted NIVEA creme. Tatiana's Mom and Auntie use it, Angelica uses it, probably many Polish people use it, it's like a tradition or something. Tatiana uses it at night, she slathers it on her face and her hands and feet. She loves this creme!