My View in 360°

Let's not dwell on and dramatise the metaphorical meaning of the title, because you're not getting it!!! hahahah!

When Christopher Colombus discovered the Earth was a spherical mass (based on mainstream history, not going to argue about that now), I don't think many people, besides the obvious super gung-ho existentialists and pantheists, think about this enough times to fully absorb the meaning of 360. Honestly, I haven't even tried. After all, what each of us see through our eyes is a matter of perspective, isn't it?

Sri Lanka has given me a taste on what it's like to experience the 360 limit of our perspective. Okay, maybe not "limit", it makes it sound like I'm putting a cap on the human ability, even though it's true. Let's try... magnitude. Yes, the 360 magnitude of our perspective.

So apparently, you get blue whales in Sri Lanka. DID YOU KNOW THAT???? Good. Nor did we. On our third day here, we were invited to go whale watching by our neighbours, the nature conservationists - Daya and Chamila. Still not convinced we were going to see any whales, off we went on this whale escapade at 6 in the bloody morning.

Sunrise in Trincomalee

We got in a boat and as it started scooting towards the horizon, the land we left behind got smaller and smaller, and eventually it disappeared. Looking around, you only got the same frame as the last - blue water, blue water and more blue water. It was then that I fully absorbed the magnificence around me, where I stood amongst all the other things on this planet, and most of all I was given the chance to admire the beautiful curvature of the Earth in its full natural colour that we sometimes neglect to see.

Before I could go on daydreaming further about what was spherical and what was not, this little pup popped up to the surface. (Only that it wasn't really a pup, it was a full-fledged water-spouting, tail-flapping, krill-eating blue whale.)

Trincomalee, where we're based right now, has been a very nice surprise so far, especially for its heart-warming people with heart-warming smiles, and of course, the amazing food. Besides the lack of jellybeans, this wonderful little place will always mean something special to me because this was where Michael and I began a new chapter in our lives.

Make-up for the Soul

Happy New Year!!!

As promised here's the homemade make-up recipe. It doesn't provide much coverage, but it's enough.

The cosmetic industry uses thousands of synthetic chemicals in their products, which I thought, can't be that good for you if it's used to clean industrial equipment, stabalise pesticides and grease gears. As we all know, there are many loopholes in the federal law everywhere, so the consumers end up having to deal with cancer causing ingredients in things that they think are harmless to them, something as simple as a bottle of hand wash.

Here's a more friendly foundation/bronzer you can use to substitute the nasty stuff.

- Arrowroot powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cocoa powder
- Jojoba oil (optional for making the mix a compact)

In a big bowl, start with a tablespoon of arrowroot powder if you have dark/tanned skin like me, and 3 tablespoons of it if you're fairer.
Cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa are three different shades of brown, so just mix them into the arrowroot powder, adding one or the other until you get the right tone. SIMPLE!

If you prefer compact, while stirring the mixture of powders, slowly drop in 5 drops of jojoba oil. When it's well mixed, pour everything into a container and press it down hard with a spoon. VOILA!

Pressed to a compact.

Body Chow

I wouldn't call this an epiphany, but I guess it is. On Wednesday last week, 18th December 2013, I decided to ditch all body, hair and beauty products that contained chemicals in it. My dad thinks I am now insane after he witnessed me cracking an egg over my head.

It all started with an annoying and painful battle with dandruff that led to a sensitive scalp. I had always subconsciously wanted to be chemical free, but never really thought it through or gave it any whacks. So maybe a year a go, I decided to make this a conscious effort and stop using conditioner. It was good for a while, and then, it all went downhill when I switched to the Satan of ALL hair products, Himalaya Protein Shampoo, obviously by none other than The Himalayan Drug Company. My scalp was in ruins.

I only realised after reading other healthcare blogs that shampoo, conditioner and all these other products actually aren't very good for you. So from then on, I began on my journey of discovering what I should be giving my body, instead of what I should be force feeding it with.

DISCOVERY 1 :
Yahoo to No 'Poo!
It's been 8 days, which means, my second installment of the Egg and Lemon combo. I'll be keeping this to a weekly routine (Wednesdays, if anyone wants to join in), just so I can have a clean scalp throughout the working week, and leave the intensive oil treatments for the weekends. At least this way, the oils have a day or two to soak in, and my hair won't look stringy and gross at the office.

Le egg mon recipe :
Simpler than beating a drum. Beat in an egg and juice of 1 lemon, pour over hair and massage into scalp. I usually leave it in for an hour, then wash it off with water.

On days that are not Wednesdays, I just rinse and massage my scalp with water and on the weekends, COCONUT OIL!!! I also keep a bottle of Argan oil in my bag to apply daily during the day.

Now, the trick about coconut oil, is getting rid of it. I leave it in for an hour, then do the first HOT WATER rinse. Rinse twice daily with hot water for 2 days and it should almost be out of your hair. It must be hot water so that the oil doesn't harden. I have to say, after these 7 days, my dandruff has completely disappeared!!!

DISCOVERY 2 :
Aging with Grace.
I only started this yesterday, but my face is already feeling radiant and fresh. Be it a psychological or physical improvement in my complexion, I'm pretty sure the natural stuff is better in the long run than the clinical bottled products I used to use.

The curer of them all, saviour of acne, and the protector from all baddies, COCONUT OIL. I use just a tiny bit everyday to remove my makeup (I will be writing another post on homemade makeup). I've also made this paste-like facial scrub, for my face to be exfoliated 3 times a week.

Cinna-comb recipe :
It's just a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. You may adjust the consistency of either ingredients depending on the smell and the feel you want. Take a step further and add a teaspoon or two of coconut oil for those of you with dry skin for moisture.

Recipe taken from this site.

So far so good, I smell like a walking dessert and my pug, Eva, won't stopping licking my face after a wash.


Next post will be about making homemade makeup and a touch of coconut oil pulling.
Keeping it real.