Farmgirl Beauty Secret #10: Remove mascara mistakes with a dry q-tip.

Before you attempt to rub or wipe away that freshy applied mascara smudge, simply wait for the smudge to dry (the longer you wait the better). When it’s completely dry, take a dry q-tip, place the very tip of the cotton directly over the smudge, twist the q-tip between your fingers. This “twirling” motion will cause the q-tip to pick up all of the residue!

Yogurt Pack Method: Miracle mask for all skin types.

I continued the Yogurt Pack Method for about 6 months on a daily basis and eventually lessen the usage to 2-3 time a week, which continued for another 3-4 months (my skin was getting consistently better and I became lazier). What’s great about this is that I never experienced any adverse reaction, it was a beauty treatment that never felt harsh and it ACTUALLY WORKS! I’ve since experimented with the full-fat yogurt and it worked beautifully in nourishing my weak, dehydrated skin (the full-fat version would be great for dry skin types!).

I would recommend yogurt pack to all skin types. Not only can it be left on for a period of time like a mask, it can also be used as a morning cleanser if you don’t have the time to enjoy a mask. Simply massage this onto dry skin in the morning and rinse. If you suffer from acne, I recommend the yogurt pack method above for a more intensifying treatment. Once skin improves, you can test out the cleanser method.

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #12: plain yogurt as a daily face pack.

After researching into yogurts and having excellent results with taking acidophilus internally, I realized the idea of applying it topically. Acidophilus, which is in yogurts, aids digestion by helping with break-down of food and I thought it might have similar reaction on dead skin cells, aiding in healthy cell-turnover. With that said, I wouldn’t recommend applying straight acidophilus from a supplement, yogurt contains much more nutrients than just acidophilus and undiluted Acidophilus may be too intense for skin.

What to buy: Trader Joe’s is great (think Whole Foods Jr.), they have plain yogurts that are non-fat to full fat. The non-fat no-hormone plain yogurt became my yogurt of choice. It was summer and I couldn’t fathom the thought of smearing on full-fat yogurt on my face. Do not buy flavored yogurt, it will contain unnecessary sugars that are not beneficial to acne-prone skin. I also think buying a plain yogurt that is hormone-free is beneficial.

Plain Yogurt Pack

Initial experience: Applied on a cleansed face. Has an instant calming effect. Scent is faint but yummy- like freshly made vanilla ice cream! I left it on for over 20 minutes because it was so comforting. When I rinsed it off, face was not oily or irritated at all, rather all the Rosacea redness was gone and inflammation from breakouts were 95% reduced- I had never seen my face this calm and healthy-looking before! I continued to use this daily for 10-15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

Within a week: Skin is consistently calmer and less stressed/red, it is also exfoliating very gently. Pimples were still there but the yogurt pack was having a detoxifying effect. My skin was purging but it did not exacerbate the acne.

Within 2 months: The yogurt was starting to draw out the impurities embedded in the pores. Skin continued to exfoliate, however it was also getting stronger/thicker. Acne scars began to fade.

Within 3 months: The yogurt continued to remove daily grime that gets embedded in pores. Pimples are lessening and blackheads reduced in number. Whiteheads are starting to reduce in number as well. Skin is stronger, more resilient. Acne scars reduced by 50%.

Within 6 months: All of the above continues. Acne scars reduced by 85%. White heads reduced by about 90%. Pimples reduced by 70%. Blackheads reduced by 50%

About my skin.

My skincare knowledge, collected over the past 10 years, saved my skin. For those that knew me 8, 9 years ago, they probably never saw how severely bad my skin was because I was constantly covering it up: make-up, hair, paper bag, etc. Acne had been a 4-letter word for me since freshmen year in high school and it plagued me to the end of college.

My break-outs were far from conventional. Pimples and blackheads of all sorts were surfacing on a weekly basis, each of them leaving acne scars that marked me for years. Beyond that, I had terribly dehydrated yet oily skin that was also lobster-red due to Rosacea. What really got me down were the hundreds of bumpy whiteheads that literally cast shadows on my forehead and cheeks. I didn’t have the thick, tough skin that many acne-sufferers had, my skin was hyper-sensitive and I constantly break my skin just from scratching my skin on accident. I was meticulously clean, I washed my pillowcases and makeup brushes daily, wiped my cellphone down w/ alcohol after usage and NEVER allowed anything to touch my face unless it was also meticulously clean. I was obsessed because caring for my skin was next to impossible.

Fast forward to now, my skin is clear and healthy. No one would suspect that I went through the skin disaster described above and I intend on keeping it that way. I also have way too much knowledge on skincare to not do something with it! I would love for my knowledge to help people survive through bad skin so they can get on with life. Might not sound like a big deal to people with “normal” skin but most of us know better!

Anyways, it’s about time I get off my soapbox so we can move on to the important stuff.

Brilliant Farmgirl, at your service.

Having grown up snacking on just-picked almonds and bathing in fresh goat milk supplied by our farm, I know there’s nothing better than living well through Mother Nature. Green-living is not about surviving on a raw food diet one sustains with daily trips to a posh West L.A. eatery. Nor is it about the complicated $90 “botanical” serum one slathers on religiously based on beauty magazine claims. Making the best of what nature provides is simpler than that.

True, you got to know what works and what doesn’t- Poison Ivy is natural, but we all know it wouldn’t be wise to incorporate that into your green beauty regimen! On the other hand, when it comes to other “all-natural” ingredients you know nothing about, how do you decipher what is good/bad?

Lucky for you, I am absolutely obsessed about skincare ingredients. Combining nature-respecting values and 10 years of self-motivated skincare research, I’ve accumulated a whole lot of beauty tips & secrets. Whether they are product reviews, unique beauty tricks or raves on must-have body/mind-healthy items, I’m prepared to reveal my head-to-toe health & beauty secrets, without the fillers and fluff.