Get Beautiful and HEAL Yourself With Your Face!

You read it right. You can heal your body and get beautiful with your face! Yes, you. And how you might inquire? Well inquisitive one, it is through the ancient practice of ACCUPRESSURE that this is accomplished!

You see here, below, there are millions of nerve endings correlated with the body parts and organs of the body.

You have them in your face, hands and even your feet. Each runs from top to bottom of your body in energy meridians, and each point is connected with nerve endings of a specific organ. For instance, the tip of your nose- that's connected with your HEART. That's right. And on either side of your nose, is your lung nerve-ending points.

So how do you do this? Simply apply some pressure to those points with clean, dry hands, and gently massage. This will soothe the areas that you are looking to placate.

To cure acne and blemishes: touch and apply pressure 1 inch below your eyes, and this should be on your cheekbone. Massaging this area will soothe and alleviate skin ailments. Why? Because it is touching the liver and kidney area that purify and cleanse toxins away from your body, and is also touching the heart area, so you are circulating fresh oxygenated blood back to your face. 

Get a GLOW: Massage the area smack in between the eyebrows- also known in yoga as your 3rd eye, and the sixth chakra. This is also connected to the pituitary gland, that balances the hormone levels in the body via the endocrine system.

So get massaging, and heal your body! Visit our website for amazing gluten-free, vegan, and cruelty-free products that you will love. Always a good sale, and an amazing investment for your health, body, beauty and GETTING GLAM! And most definetly a great investment for the environment with our non-toxic, chemical free ingredients in our products!

Ciao bellas, until next, stay glamorous, stay healthy, stay beautifyl, and GET GLAM NATURALLY with Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics!

Gluten-Free Vegan Wrap- Protein Rich, Flavor-full and Delish!

I used to live by this great vegan place called Terri's NYC, and now that I don't, I had to come up with my delicious kind of vegan wrap!

I used my ingredients from Trader Joe's.

Ingredients:
1 Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Brown Rice Wrap
1 ounce Trader Joe's Firm Non-GMO Tofu
1 handful of Trader Joe's Baby Spinach
1 quarter of Trader Joe's Red Onion
1 quarter tomato chopped
1 1/2 Tb Trader Joe's Original Hummus(so yumm!)
1-2 Tb Trader Joe's Smokey Chipotle Salsa- use as much or as little as you like
1 oz of Feta
salt to taste
pepper to taste
red chilli (cayenne) to taste

Method:
Take your wrap, and lay on top of a sheet of aluminum foil. Spread over it your Hummus. Then add your spinach, and chopped up onion on top. Add next your tofu. Top with salt, pepper, cayenne, and the salsa. Carefully wrap up, and wrap the foil right around it. You will need it to toast and then hold all the juices in.

Toast in your toaster oven for a few minutes. You can also skip this and eat it cold. I like mine a little warm!

Take out, unwrap at the top, and ENJOY!!!

I like this because every component has nutritional value and is protein packed.

Summer Frizz

If you are like many out there who have naturally wavy hair, the summer heat and humidity can really do a number on your hair!!!!

I mean you can blow dry, flat iron, gloss on, and spray, but guess what--- go out in the heat and humidity and your hair is done! This topic even came up amongst friends who had the summer frizzies and she was asking whether keratin treatments were worth it.

I have had it done in the past and is definetly leaves your hair really straight and great for the summer, and lasts a while. However it does fade away wash after wash, and you are where you began-back to square one. :-(

Well I found this amazing product- Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy. I used the Anti-Breakage Serum and the Flat Iron Spray. Both have natural ingredients such as coconut oil(which is rich with antioxidants), keratin proteins(which strengthens and softens the hair), avacado oil and cocoa butter(both which smooth and the cuticle to hold straight. Plus all the ingredients contribute in giving your hair a brilliant glow and luminescent shine.

I started out after my hair was air dried, and sprayed my hair with the Flat Iron Spray. Then once I finished flat ironing, I sprayed again to hold(the bottle directions say to do this), and added the Anti-Breakage Serum at the ends, and lightly over all.

The results were great, and my hair frizz did NOT win this time! What I like best is that the properties that contribute to straightening and shining the hair, and keeping it straight, shiny and non-frizzy are natural.

I highly recommend! You can get this at your local drugstore.

Natural Nail Polish Remover by Karma Organics

Ok, it's back to fashion this week!

So we already talked about and know of all the dangerous and potentially harfmul/toxic chemicals and formaldehyde(known to cause cancer) found in NAIL POLISH. Thankfully, there are all natural choices that exist in nail polishes, and they come in the latest trendiest colors, classic colors and the like.  

But taking the nail polish off can always be dangerous, toxic, smell of formaldehyde,  and just not the most pleasant nor healthy process!

Enter Karma Organics Natural Nail Polish Remover- with Soybean Oil and natural oil extracts- I used the lavender oil one! They come in three different scent/flavors- Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, and Unscented with Vitamin E Oil.

I thought I would have to rub with a cotton ball for a while to get the nail polish I used off. But I was pleasantly surprised when with two swipes/rubs the nailpolish was off! No running of nail polish color on my skin, no smell, and best off all, my skin felt moisturized.

The scent was really light lavender, nothing to crazy. At 4 ounces per bottle and $12 for the bottle, it is a little pricier than I would like, HOWEVER, you only have to use a little bit to get the nail polish off so that is a good thing!

Check them out on their site http://www.karmaorganicspa.com/products-2/nail-polish-remover/ , or buy it at Whole Foods!

Gluten Free Walnut Chocolate Chip Bars

One of my FAVORITE loves of life is cooking for my family and friends, and them enjoying what I make! I am going to start adding gluten-free and other fav dish recipes here so that you can try them out too, if you have a finesse for cooking!

I have included 2 recipes- 1 is the easy way to make them, and the 2nd is for when you want to take the time and make some gluten free chocolate chip cookies with some TLC!

I love Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. And so do my neices and nephew when I make them! I wanted to make cookie bars just to try something different, so I basically mixed all wet and dry ingredients per Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe instructions. For those of you who do not eat eggs, yogurt is a natural substitute- for one egg, instead use one tablespoon(Tb) yogurt. Any plain yogurt will do, or if you want more of a vanilla taste add vanilla flavored yogurt instead!

Once I have the dough ready, I lightly grease the a baking sheet with organic butter or a light olive oil. The thickness when you lay out the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet should be about half an inch. Press the dough onto the cookie sheet and press down and to the edges if it is smaller in size(the cookie sheet), if the sheet is larger, one of the sides will require you to make the edges into a straight line to form a rectangle.

Once you have that, get some Trader Joes Walnuts, or any fairtrade, organic walnut brand, and chop them so that they are little peanut sized peices. Sprinkle over the cookie dough, and press into dough so that they can cook evenly.

I think the cooking time is about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Once it's done, leave to cool, then cut when it is lukewarm or cooled down completely(if you can wait!), and cut into 2" x 2" peices, and ENJOY!

Here is the next choco chip cookie recipe, courtesy of Gluten Free On a ShoeString, a great blog for gluten-free cooking! 

Ingredients

2 cups (280 g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons (125 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg at room temperature, beaten
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
  
• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and whisk, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the butter and shortening, then the vanilla and egg, and mix to combine. The dough will be thick.
  
• In a separate small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with the cornstarch to coat. Add the chips and cornstarch to the cookie dough in the large bowl. Mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
  
• Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and close the plastic wrap tightly over the log. Place the dough log in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
  
• Remove the cookie dough from the freezer, unwrap, and slice with a large serrated or very sharp chef's knife thickly in cross-section into rounds that are nearly 3/4-inch thick. Place the rounds about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet, and bake, rotating once during baking, until the cookies are lightly golden brown and set, about 12 minutes.
  
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet until firm. Store any leftovers in the freezer, in a freezer-safe container or wrap.
  

I love both, have tried both, and am sure any chocolate chip cookie lover will not know the difference between these and the regular ones! And remember, use yogurt to substitute eggs, if you do not eat eggs!

Bon Appetite!

Kevin Murphy- Trendy Salon Quality Hair Care Products Using Mainly Natural Ingredients!

Yes, Yes, Yes! I found it recently on a visit to Soon Beauty Lab Salon at their west-side location. Kevin Murphy hair care uses mainly all natural ingredients in their products, and even use eco-friendly packaging!

I was surprised to find the Kevin Murphy line luxurious, pleasant-smelling, extensive haircare line being used on everybody(male/female/young/old/mixed hairtypes)  and was surprised even MORE when they told me this uniquely packaged hair product was mainly NATURAL! I was really, really happy when I heard this. Although most salons have product that apparently smells good and makes your hair look good when its all said and done, we still know all the pthalates, parabens, and other chemicals they are filled with.

Some of the main ingredients they use:
Immortelle
Produced from the flowers of the Helichrysum plant. It is rich in antioxidants to help stopthe onslaught of damage to hair.

Bur Oil
Improves hair strength, shine and body. Helps penetrate the scalp to relieve dry, flaky skin.
Horse Chestnut Seed Extract
Adds strength, shine and body.

Safflower Seed Oil
Acts as a lubricant to give the hair a soft and smooth appearance.

Apple Extracts
Help to remove dead cells from the hair’s surface.

Sugar Cane Extracts
Alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA’S) a gentile exfoliate to the hair prepares the hair to receive thenutrients and give a smooth shiny surface to the hair.

Citrus Limonium (Lemon Oil)
Antioxidant rich.

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Strengthening antioxidant that helps prevent breakage

Their hair care products range from their washes, to their rinses, to treatments, to styling, to even  tools. I was really impressed with the way my hair felt, and even smelled(so yummy) when they used the shampoo and rinse on my hair. They cut and styled, and used finishing serum and hairspray, and voila! My hair looked ultra-glam, well-styled, and even kept well in the humid heat! I am really happy with Kevin Murphy hair care products, and am excited to use this in my daily regiment, though it is pricey, I am convinced it makes for a good invenstment :-) !

Do They Have Natural Nail Polish?

The answer- YES!!! They do!! I just came across this great brand of nail polish, that is natural, hypo-allergenic, and of course, FREE of toxins called Go Natural Nailpolish.

What is so great about them? Go Natural Nail Polish is made from biodegradable ingredients which will dry hard, be chip-free, and have a durable finish! What's more, they do not have foul orders, do not damage your nails or the environment, and have no toxic chemicals- they are free of formaldehyde, toluene, acentone, BPA, DBP, and every other chemical normally found in "harmless looking" nailpolishes.

They also have a biodegradable, soy-based polish remover, along with a base and top coat. Available in 49 shades, I went with the hot pink, and loved it.

 I haven't tried their nailpolish remover but I am so GLAD they have come out wtih everything you would need to get that great manicure/pedicure. without all the chemicals!

A Few of My Favorite Things- Tom's of Maine

They went from a tiny company to being known pretty much all over the world, and found in the common grocery store or drug store, and not just at Whole Foods or specialty natural stores.

I first got introduced to them when my sister (who was already all about natural things) urged me to stop using my deodorant and to use more natural deodorants that didn't have the aluminum. There was the Alum stick, which looks like a crystal, and once dipped in water, you can apply it to the under arm area. I didn't find it to be really effective, so I decided to try Tom's deodorant, and I was pleasantly surprised by its long lasting capabilities!

It now can be found in the common stick form, or the roll-on form. Tom's deodorant comes in various scents, and even an unscented one. I like the Lavender scent best!

I recently got introduced to Tom's of Maine Toothpaste. Admittedly, it wasn't the normal and usual minty bubbly action of the normal fluoride-filled pastes. It had more of a dry, baking soda consistency, but as I brushed, foam build-up was happening and I could feel the mint kicking in. Once I rinsed, I found my mouth to be refreshingly clean! I think it took me a few days to get used to Tom's of Maine toothpaste,  but now that I am used to it, I don't mind the texture and initial taste at all. To top it, my normally sensitive gums are actually not as sensitive.

Not bad for a natural toothpaste!

 The latest great find in the Tom's of Maine line that I have found is their Natural Beauty Bar. It's smooth and moisturizing to the skin, and feels great when showering because you get a real nice lather going. They have a few different scents like lavender and apricot.

If you haven't checked out this line of natural toiletry and body products, you have to try them out. You can find them at most retail, grocery, and drug stores.

A Few of My Favorite Things: Alba Botanica Lotions, Creams, SunScreen, Lip Balm and More!

Well, I love all things natural, and this is the start of " A Few of My Favorite Things" series!

Alba Botanica is definetlely a brand this Glam Girl LOVES loves loves to use! I have been using this brand's products for 3 years now, and I started because I was looking for a natural, luxurious body cream that made my skin feel smooth as silk- naturally. I was so impressed!

This delicious brand has some amazing products. They have lotions, body creams, shampoos, conditioners, body scrubs, sunscreens, lip balm and lip gloss, cleansers, and so much more--- and their stuff smells and feels great!And then I found my new love- Alba Bontanica's Natural Hawaiian Body Cream. 

I have the body cream, it comes in a large tub, and let me tell you- this stuff feels luxe, luxurious, creamy, not too oily, and goes on and stays on to moisturize even the driest of dry skin. I currently have their 'Coconut Milk' scented body cream, though I used to use the papaya scent(equally amazing!)

Another great Alba Botanica product I own is the Natural Hawaiian Body Scrub. This great product is filled with natural essential oils, and course sea salt, that feels invigorating when you put it on your skin. It is great to smooth your skin and exfoliate.

Then they have their shampoos and conditioners labeled Natural Hawaiian Shampoo and Conditioner, and currently we are using the 'Drink It Up Coconut Milk"' scented for both. The quality is great, you still get that clean feeling after washing hair, and the conditioner works well too. It's great because they are free of the parabens and chemicals, which is the same stuff you will find in the "big and popular brands." If brands like this are good for you and work well, I think then THIS is the way to go! Try them out today! You can find them either at their actual website, or they have them at Whole Foods Markets, Wegmans, and other fine stores!

2013 Eye Makeup Trends

The latest fashion craze found on the runways for this season as seen in Michael Kors, Stella McCartney, Rebecca Minkoff, Ferragamo, and the like is beautiful, colorful hues in the eyes. That's right- blues, purples, greens- all were found on the runways.

This was paired with a muted lip, or nude; something natural like soft corals, peaches, and pinks. This look can bring out and enhance any outfit during the evening, and if worn subtly, can even look good during the day for work.

Some brands are with the trend : Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics Gel Eye Liner with their liners, coming in colors like Ocean(ocean blue) and Raisin(plum). Even with Eyeshadows you can see these beautiful color palettes: Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics Matte Eyeshadow,  Glam Girl Naturals Cosmetics Shimmer Shadow.

These trends are classic, and can be worn well I feel in almost any season with the right outfit! So have you tried out these colors? Imagine a smokey eye with plums and blues! How hot would that be!? Be bold and get some more color in your eyes! You will love these classic, beautifully colored palettes, and perhaps find that they are not as crazy as you might have imagined!

Dealing With Stress Naturally!

Being in the middle of a move, I realized how stressful it can all be. Balancing work, moving, all the details, packing, a puppy, relationships, etc. can all get to you really fast! Stress from moving, work, emotional and relationship issues, life issues and many more things can cause us to feel drained, leaving us with less energy, irritable, angry, depressed and many other things!

I wanted to take a break this time from cruelty-free beauty, fashion, and makeup, and talk about natural ways to de-stress!

So what to do to eliminate the stress? There are some great natural remedies to help you feel de-stressed in no time!

1. Exercise- the release of endorphins once you get going on that run or walk, or whatever you choose to workout, will help to ease your mind in no time.

2. Drink Tea- tea has been shown to have soothing effects on anyone, even black tea, which has some amount of caffeine, though small. Any kind of tea, black, earl grey, chamomile, lemon, can all do the trick!

3. Bath/shower- taking a bath with some epsom salt, or a nice hot invigorating shower can help relieve muscular stress, thus helping you to loosen up. Plus feeling fresh always makes you feel good!

4. Yoga- yoga which means joining of the mind and body in Sanskrit, has been shown to help balance the mind and body, and this has even been shown scientifically.

5. Gardening- getting out in nature, and tending to plants along with weeding, digging, pulling, and lifting can get physical yet with a nurturing touch. This is a great way to be one with nature, and get some stress out!

6. Play with a pet!- dogs, cats, animals- they have been shown to help decrease depression, soothe stress, and in general make people feel happy. They usually have so much UNCONDITIONAL love, which requires very little. The loyalty, love and affection can take your mind off whatever happened at work, or whatever is on your mind, leaving you feeling more relaxed and happy! :-)

7. Do what you love- Have a hobby? Love to dance, sing, see movies? Do these things esPECially when you are stressed. Taking your mind off those stressors won't be so hard when you are doing what you love.



8. Journal- Sometimes its so easy to forget what we are even feeling, when we get that busy. Journaling will help us express our emotions in a safe outlet, and gives you a better understanding and perspective as to what happened, and what you can do about it.

9. Talk to an unbiased, non-judgemental, positive uplifting friend. And this could be a friend, your mother, your sister, brother, whoever you implicitly trust and feel you can let your guard down in front of. Having a good sounding board can help you let it all out, and feel better about yourself and not as stressed once you release it.

10. Pray/meditate- you may be agnostic, atheistic, somewhat or very religious, or spiritual. Whatever your orientation, reaching out to that higher energy, helps us to somehow feel we are one, and giving your stress to this power has been something people have done for centuries. It has a stress-releasing effect like no other.

11. Accupuncture- they really got it right in China with the art of accupuncture. Sure, just like you, I was doubtful that needles in my body would be anything but good for me, but BELIEVE me- this method of stress-relief is EXTREMELY effective. Not only does it relax you, your muscles, and entire body, but it has been known to CURE things like migraines, health issues, infertility, nerve problems and so on.

12. Massage- Ohhhhh yeah! You know it. Massage- for most of us, the very word feels good! This great thing called massage is not just fabulous and amazing- it is actually phenomenal for your musculus-skeletal system, the lymphatic system, the nervous system, your blood circulation, and your body's detoxification. Try to do this whenever you can. Its a luxury that's GREAT for you!

 


Naturally relieving stress can be easier than we may have thought!  These are some great things you can do to relieve stress! I hope this helps.