Emu Oil

If you wear eye makeup as religiously as I do, you're not doubt familiar with the following scene:

As you gently wipe away the mascara, the eyeliner, the eyeshadow that you carefully layered on your precious lids, you inevitably take away those fragile lashes along with all the gunk. Horror, the horror!

And if you're Asian like me, then this is even more frightening. We're just not genetically blessed with long, thick and full lashes and when a few goes missing, it really shows.

That was what happened to me this week. As I stood in front of my bathroom mirror frowning as I fret over the bald spot in my lashes over my right eye, I couldn't help but wonder if these lashes will ever come back. The answer is they probably will, but it'll take a while and I'm not prepared to wait a month.

So I went online and googled. I searched and searched and the best thing I could come up with was "Emu oil". This oil that I've never heard of is derived from an inedible part of an Australian bird species and people from everywhere claim it works. They say that if you use it continuously for 28 days it will give you stronger and thicker lashes. It supposedly works so well that if you accidentally rub it on some skin that has hair follicles, it'll sprout hair even if you didn't plan to have hair there. I thought: WOW. This is some serious stuff.

The next day, I purchased a little bottle of Kalaya Emu Oil from Choices Market. This oil is not transparent like some other oils; it has a whitish hue. I thought it would be very thick but when I squeezed the oil from the dispenser I realized it was surprisingly light. I went for the lashes right away...and it got into my eyes!  I taught myself another life lesson: if you're going to put something oily near your eyes, do it before you sleep...

I liked the oil. Although it's still too early to tell if it'll revive my lashes from the dead, it did keep the skin around my eyes very smooth the whole day and night. I also rubbed some on my eyebrows hoping to get that Audrey Hepburn look someday. Then I progressed to rub it into my hairline because I thought the left side of my forehead could use a little pick-me-up. 4 days later I'm happy to report that I see some furry little hairs sprouting from the hairline! I will keep using the oil and keep posting the progress!

the magic of dancing

When I was young, my mother like other enthusiastic mothers out there, tried to take me to all sorts of dance workshops in hopes of making a dancing princess out of her only daughter. Sadly, she was told by different instructors that my coordination was bad and that I was just too painfully shy and awkward to ever be the graceful ballerina that she envisioned. The experience haunted me. I couldn't dance for the longest time. Everytime I attempted to sway my body to a song or started moving my feet when eager friends yelled: "Dance! Dance, Sabrina!" I would remember those words and I'd stop and say: "I can't. I'm not meant to be a dancer."

Then I found myself staring at a wall of mirrors inside a dance classroom and I suddenly realized what I was about to do. The instructor turned on the music and as the exotic rhythms of Egyptian music filled the room , I thought I was going to pee in my pants. Before I could act on my growing self-doubt, the door swung shut and I was forced to take my place on a mat on the floor. 

Welcome to belly dance.

There's something magical about the whole dance. As soon as I wrapped a black hip scarf that was fully decorated with the jingling coins around my hips, I felt myself woven into the thread of music. Instead of being afraid of the rhythm, I felt, for the first time, a connection with it. My body begged to move, to make sounds of its own with the scarf tied around me. I extended my arms and imagined myself swimming in a warm lake. I felt my lungs expand with glorious oxygen and for the first time in almost a year since the transplant, I felt alive; I felt free.

I walked out into the dark night just beaming with joy. I felt like every cell in my body did a little dance of their own and I was already hungry for more. I even practiced the new shimmy I learned at the bus stop! (in my defense I wore black from head to toe and I was alone and it was raining hard so technically nobody could see) I'm so glad that I finally stepped outside my comfort zone and rediscovered myself all over again.

Exciting Giveaway!

Fellow organic skincare/beauty blogger Robin Adler is hosting an exciting giveaway for Real Purity Organic Skincare products!

The winner will receive full-size products from Real Purity, an established brand dedicated to making genuine organic products. The items are:

Milk Cleanser
Honey Almond Face Scrub
Facial Masque Dehydrated
Creme Supreme

YUM! The scrub sounds delicious.

You may enter the giveaway until April 10th, the giveaway ends on April 11th, 2010. ACT fast!!! 
Here's a link to Robin Adler's Real Purity Giveaway: toxicbeautyblog 
To enter this giveaway, just follow the simple rules and you might just be the winner to take all that great organic goodies home!