Banana Avocado Nourishing Facial Mask

Bananas are a power fruit, did you know one banana provides enough energy to power a 45-minute cardio workout? Pretty neat eh? Loaded with nutrients, vitamins and minerals bananas are a vital part of homemade beauty recipes, especially for facial masks, as they are cleansers and moisturizers. Use the following for a face mask that is nourishing and works great as an exfoliate. I especially like to make this mask during times when I feel like I need some extra energy, like before the start of my work week.

Banana Avocado Nourishing Facial Mask

1/2 ripe banana
1/2 avocado
2 tablespoons of yogourt (try to use full fat if possible)
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Mash up the ripe banana, avocado, yogourt and olive oil together. I like to use a blender on a low setting so that it doesn't become too runny but you want to make it into a soft pulp. Apply to a freshly cleansed face and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water and pat dry.
While relaxing with my face mask on I use a "cool" trick (sorry I couldn't resist the play on words) to help my eyes after a tired day. Before mixing your ingredients for your mask, place two metal spoons into the freezer so that they are cold. When waiting for your 15 minutes to be up, take the spoons out of the freezer and place them on your eyes. The coolness will reduce any swelling or puffyness and is a wonderful way to relax and revive yourself.

Email Me

You can email me at pinkmoneytree@gmail.com or leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
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About Me

Thanks for stopping by my beauty blog! My name is Kim, I'm 25 years old and live, work, play and beautify in the city of Toronto. After visiting a spa for the first time to receive a facial I was surprised to know that at the age of 23, I was already behind when it came to taking proper and preventative care of my skin to keep it healthy, clear and free of any signs of future aging. Although there are several products on the market that can assist with having beautiful skin, I wanted to use organic and natural foods from my kitchen to make homemade beauty products. I've always loved the idea of connecting with other people over the internet (heck, it's been a part of my life since I was in grade 6!) so I wanted to start a blog and I've compiled a list of my favourite (tried, tested and approved) recipes for homemade and organic beauty secrets for women (and men!) of all ages and skin types. Try them...I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do! Happy Beauty!

How to Prevent Sun Damage

Summertime is pretty much here and along with everyone is looking forward to adding some colour to their skin that has been paled out by winter. But before you jump into your bikini and hit the beach for a major tanning session, it's important to protect your most important asset-your skin. We've often heard of the health benefits attached to cooking with extra virgin olive oil but there's another major benefit of this amazing oil--prevention of skin cancer. Across many cultures and countries, olive oil is known to be a miracle food. Popular for its endless healing powers (my sister just recently had a baby and the midwife recommended to massage her with olive oil as a solution to her peeling skin), olive oil is a staple in organic beauty and should be available in every natural beauties' house. As we head into summertime with lots of sun exposure, it's so important to protect your skin now against the long term damages of UV rays and to keep your skin beautiful and youthful in the future. As well all know, too much sun exposure can lead to unattractive results--premature wrinkles, unattractive sun spots and can even be fatal with cancer. Although we all like a little glow to our skin (I'll admit I'm guilty of tanning at times too!), the following recipe can lessen the harm that the sun causes to your most important beauty tool--your skin!

Homemade and Organic Beauty Secret-How to Prevent Sun Damage

Apply extra virgin olive oil to your skin before and after exposure to the sun. The type of olive oil you decide to use is up to you. I have a friend who grew up in Greece and swears by the Costco Melle/Kirkland brand of olive oil which is a good econ option for about $14+. If you're looking for a more luxe brand, I'd recommend Silver Leaf which is about $21 for a large bottle (and can be purchased at The Big Carrot located at 348 Danforth Avenue in Toronto). I usually oil myself up and dry up as much as possible before I slather on my sunblock (and yes, there is a difference between suntanning oil and sunblock, make sure you use sunblock with minimum SPF of 30). Also, I find it a lot easier to put the olive oil in a mister spray bottle (often used to spray cooking pans with to minimize the oil usage) instead of tugging along a glass bottle of the oil to the beach for application after sun exposure. These handy bottles can be purchased from any kitchen/cooking store such as Kitchen Stuff Plus for about $12. Remember, if you're unable to put on sunblock, the least you should be doing is applying olive oil in order to prevent some serious sun damage to that beautiful skin.

Secrets Unveiled

I decided to start this blog since I a huge advocate of natural beauty and am always giving my sisters and girlfriends (and sometimes my guy friends too!) advice on organic homemade recipes for beauty and skincare problems. My mom was a beauty esthetician and growing up always give my sisters and I advice on how to properly care for our skin. The secret behind natural beauty, that she often told us, lied in having a good foundation-- natural, clear, glowing skin. So I figured, why not share this knowledge with others?
Instead of going to your local drug store or beauty kiosk at a department store to drop your hard earned dollars on products that are full of ingredients that you can't even pronounce, why not do it yourself for a fraction of the cost? It can all be made in the comfort of your kitchen with ingredients right from your fridge and local grocery store.

With all of the pesticides that we put into bodies these days, either through food or pollution in the air, I think it's important for us to take the time to really be aware of what we put on/in our largest organ, our skin. Therefore, I've complied a list of homemade and organic beauty secrets that are not only a better option for your body, but have amazing results (as they've all been tested out by myself and my team of volunteers who have different skin issues), are natural, organic and best of all--are much cheaper any other option. I've also included various secrets that have been used throughout ancient types by several different cultures with healing and natural beautifying powers when turning to harsh chemicals as a quick fix was not an option. But let's be realistic--there are times when we're pressed for time, need a convenient product that we throw in our purse and use it on the go, or simply can't resist picking up a new product that catches our eye while shopping. To combat that problem, I'll also be reviewing organic beauty products produced by "green" health and beauty companies and let you know which ones are PIU ("pick-it-up") worthy and and the PIBOTS ("put-it-back-on-the-shelf") ones that I'd recommend to avoid. I'll also let you know where you can find these products online or in and around Toronto (since I'm from the GTA area).

If you have a particular beauty problem that you would like a solution for, do not hesitate to leave a comment or email me and I will do my best in finding the most organic solution. I hope you enjoy your stay and here's to natural beauty--inside and out! :)