Beauty Secrets of A French Gal - Winter Essentials

Hello Lovelies!

The following tips are a translation of my own "beauté froide" blog post originally published in French and which you can read here. The products mentioned in this post are available in France and are the ones I use personnally (this is not a sponsored post).


Here are my essentials when the weather becomes colder:

my shea butter - photo, my own.

As it is organic and very versatile, i use a lot of shea butter (and it lasts a long time too!), especially the one called "karité soft", by Melvita (see photo above). It smells faintly of orange essential oil, has shea butter in it of course, but also argan oil which nourishes the skin and is also anti-ageing). Use this shea butter mix on your dry lips, cold feet etc... and on any other very dry area of your body,  hair or face.

tip: with a clean spatula, i also fill a small round tin box with some "karité soft", so i can carry it easily around and apply it often on lips and nails. Plese note that nails are an especially dry and delicate area you'll want to nourish frequently.


on my face i apply... well my skin is oily but still needs moisture esp in winter so i use either organic creams as follows: "soin hydratant jour de monop' bio" or "fluide hydratant jour à l'iris de weleda", which can be found woldwide (look for an Iris scented moiturizing fluid by Weleda) . its a treat! but careful not to apply too close to the eyes, it has a lot of essential oils in it which might irritate your eyes.

my essential oils. photo, my own.

as for my natural health, i rely a lot on the careful use of essential oils

here you go, now you know everything about my beauty and health winter secrets!

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

French Beauty Tips for The Lazy Gal

Hello Lovelies,

Before I publish an e-book full of organic beauty tips with a French twist, here are my FREE beauty tips, all affordable and simple for you to enjoy.

 

Am I a French beauty or what?! image, my own.

French Beauty tips for the Lazy Gal -  read it here.

French Summer Beauty Tips - read it here.

French Fall Beauty Tips - read it here.

French Winter Beauty Tips - read it here.

Spring Tips read them here.

essential oils, image my own.

Enjoy!

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

 

 

Oh, and Happy, Happy Friday!

Hello Lovelies!

"Sagra Species" - new insect ink drawing. Lipson (c) 2012.

Spring is just around the corner, at last! I've bought myself hyacinths and daffodils at the farmers' market. This week, I also painted quite a lot... I tried my hand at acrylic, this time, and came up with this little trio:

I also tried my hand at making homemade yogurts... They turned out to be super easy to make and simply delicious! I also snapped pictures everyday, so as to go on with my photography  "2012 - 366" challenge. And, I started spring cleaning.

Now I need to sip some tea, slow down and relax. I hope you do that, too, this last weekend of February.

Check out my latest "doodles" & Enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Cozying Up - in the depth of winter.

Hello lovelies!

photo, my own.

This week has seen the last days of my struggle against the flu. It's finally over, hooray! So i have been eating macarons to celebrate (see above).

Even before I had fully recovered, I ventured outside (crazy, I know) because the depth of winter is so beautiful, and I wanted to take some pics of ice and snow before they melted.

photo, my own.

After going outside in the cold, here is a glimpse at what I come home to:

photo, my own.more here.

After much inner debate, I have discovered the virtues of Dr Bach's flower elixirs. They really work! Life has been good to me ever since I started taking them, from day one. Quite amazing!
I personnally use the hornbeam remedy, but you might want to read a book or two before you take the plunge and choose your own flower.

I am starting to think about and prepare an exhibition of my oil paintings this year. This is a very exciting project! I need to count, name and photograph all of my oil paintings, not just these three few you can find here. More to come about that.

In the meantime, I have tried the following "Joyful Simplicities" for February, as advised by Sarah Ban Breathnach:

wear perfume everyday,

try a "muddy rose" lipstick, (mine is called "ripe rose" by eyeslipsface.com)

treat myself to a single white flower for my desk

listen to the music of Cole Porter.

What are your pleasures in the depth of winter?

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Unplanned Sharing

Hello Lovelies,

photo via OhOceane's blog

And Happy New Month! February is knocking at our doors, and I wanted to welcome it, just like Paula did, and beautifully, too. Especially as January has been tough and well, ugly.

Now I want February to be a winter wonderland of creativity and fun and warmth. After all, this is the time of year we got the first snow here in the south of France where I live.

My cold is still on... Since January the 18th. I'm seeing the doctor again this afternoon, because it just can't go on like this. I had plans for this blog this week, beautiful plans. On Tuesday, I wanted to share a new "Tuesday's butterfly" with you, via oeuf NYC.

"oeuf NYC"'s embroidered and framed butterflies.

On Wednesday, I wanted to welcome February's first day, sharing some exciting new photography challenges (challenge one & challenge two) that could let our creative juices flowing. I'm in!

contest photo via pinterest

On Thursday, I wanted  to share some February pleasures with you, along with some pics of corners of my house. I use fresh white flowers and a bowl of citruses for that punch of color in an otherwise neutral living-room.

bowl of fruit. photo, my own.

I believe February is meant for paper whites and other forced bulbs, to bring in some living, growing greenery inside.

via pinterest

 
February is extra cold and we all need everything to be extra warm and soft to soothen our bodies & souls. This is the time my cat's fur gets super soft and fluffy, I love stroking it! I drink lots of hot chocolate, too, while watching the snow falling... Winter pleasures!


Here, I did share after all... :-)

So what are your plans for this new month? Any news worth sharing?

Pray, tell!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Monday Moodboard

Hello Lovelies!

from pinterest - I love the winter look of this!

As you may have noticed, I'm in the middle of re-designing this blog of mine (all by myself for now, maybe I'll hire a webdesigner someday), trying to reach a more cohesive look, and including more of my own drawings of tea and insect art in the banner, for instance.

spices that warm up the harsh winter months - via imagine childhood

The flu is still there (who would have known a flu could last for over two weeks?!). So I'm back with my Winter Essentials, simple remedies such as fresh grated ginger root, lemon juice and lots of lavender honey...

fresh ginger - lovely taste!

I love the look of seeds and pods all bare by this time of year, so this sets the mood for today's flickr mosaic. Don't forget to have a look at the original photographs, they sure are worth a visit!

this Monday Winter Moodboard, via flickr: don't forget to visit each photo in person, they're well worth it. Hooray for talented Flickr members! 1. matchstick skiers, 2. bubbles, 3. white on white, 4. tag teapot, 5. Kerri & Kenneth - invite detail, 6. maple

During this upcoming week, I'll also be adding some photographs of my own on my flickr photostream today, so you'll see what my face looks like of late, where I have been this past week-end, and probably where I'll spend the next one! I also love this kind of moodboard...

I have important news to share with you this week, concerning my art, both old and new projects to share...
What are your plans for this coming week? Pray tell!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Oh, and Happy, Happy Friday, y'all!

Hello Lovelies!

 Artist: Paul Thurlby

Hooray, it's Friday! Beware of the January blues, though... To go through those tough winter times, how about some spicy chai tea to warm us all up?

hot, spicy chai

try this :
first choose some unflavored black tea, preferably from India

then add to your hot broiled tea
1 clover
1 cinnamon stick
a bit of fresh grated ginger
1 cardamom pod, opened and crushed
a cloud of milk

You can play around with the spices, add star anise, more or less ginger etc...

Sip while very hot!

Vic from TeaButterfly.

Hello December!

Hello Lovelies, how are in this beginning of a new month?

 Wow! What a lovely "December fog"! found here.

"I'm so glad I live ina world where there are Octobers." OK, and Decembers, too!

I'm re-reading my list of Winter Essentials, so I won't loose courage and won't forget what I'm thankful for!

Life has been really tough for me and my family the last couple of months and I'm just recovering... But I'm glad and happy for this new season of merriness.

So I'm sharing with you my ideas for a simple, lovely white handmade Christmas, just here!

Have a great time decorating your house!

-Vic, from TeaButterfly.