Fruity Facts: Papaya, The Magical Fruit

Disclaimer: This photo is not mine

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and therefor the definition of beauty can be very different depending on where in the world you are. In Asia the belief of having white skin is seen as beautiful and that is why many Asians use lighter foundations, powders and even whitening remedies so they can become whiter. Papaya has been Mother Nature's answer to skin whitening for centuries and till this day, papaya is seen in many beauty skin whitening products around Asia. But what can this so called magical fruit really do for you?

Benefits: 

Compounds found in papaya helps break down and uses proteins properly. Papaya is known to help reduce inflammation for people with inflammatory medical conditions such as arthritis, asthma and can help prevent cancer. This magical fruit contains lots of enzymer and Vitamin C which is why it is often used to strengthen the blood for people who have a medical condition called Thrombocytopenia, which is a dangerous condition that can lead to internal bleeding. Due to high levels of Vitamin A, C and flavonoids, papaya is seen as a miracle or magical fruit. It helps keeping the skin healthy and wrinkle-free. And these nutrients work as antioxidants where they help to prevent free radical damage leading the cause of aging, and not to mention the fact that this amazing combo of Vitamins, antioxidants and enzymer is known to help whitening the skin.  

Papaya kicks acne mask:

Are you one of many who deals with pimples or acne scars? Then give this face mask a go. 

Papaya is a Vitamin C fruit which contains antibacterial properties that will kill off acne-causing bacteria from the skin. Papaya also has a deep-cleansing action that removes all the junk from clogged pores. 

What you need:

1/4 ripe Papaya, 1 tbs honey and 1/2 lemon juice.

Why?

The benefits:

Honey: Honey is known to hydrate and soften the skin. It gently exfoliates skin cells while preserving moisture. It contains antibacterial properties that kicks acne-causing bacterias, it helps fade blemishes and evens out discoloration. 

Lemon: Lemons is known to kill germs on the surface of the skin. It is also known to deep-clean the pores and refreshes the skin. It acts as a natural astrigent which will help tighten large pores. 

Directions:

Step 1. Mash the papaya into a lump free paste. 

Step 2. Add the honey and lemon juice and mix well.

Step 3. Apply the mask onto a clean face and let it sit for 15 mins.

Step 4. Rinse it off with warm water to loosen the mask and then rinse the face with cold water to close the pores. 

Papaya lightening and age-fighting mask

As soon as you enter your 20's, you should start protecting your skin for aging. Many things can affect your skin that can make you get pre-mature wrinkles and who really wants to be wrinkle? 

What you need:

1/4 ripe papaya, 1/4 cucumber and 1/2 banana. 

Why?

The benefits: 

Cucumber: Cucumbers are known to hydrate, moisturize, nourish and cleans the skin. It contains skin-lightening properties that helps fight against blemishes and acne scars. It is also known like Aloe vera to sooth and relieve inflamed acne and sunburns. 

Banana: Banana is known to smooth out the skin and reduce wrinkles. It also hydrates and moisturizes the skin plus it promotes glowing and youthful skin. 

Directions:

Step 1. Peel and blend all ingredients in a blender until you get a nice and smooth puree. 

Step 2. Apply it around your face though avoid the eyes and mouth. Let it then sink in for 10 - 15 mins.

Step 3. Then wash the mask off with warm water and then finish it off by washing your face with cold water to close the pores. Remember to pat your face dry with a clean towel.

Raw fruit Thai salad:

To freshen up a boring salad, try making a thai-inspired salad with fresh cut papayas, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, green beans and some red chili. Mix it all well and use coconut and fresh lime juice as a dressing. 

How to: 

Step 1. Cut the meat of the papaya in nice slices and mix it with two fresh tomatoes that have been sliced as well. 

Step 2. Peel one cucumber, 2 carrots, one little red onion and blanch some green beans and mix it all well with 1/2 red chili. 

Step 3. Make the salad dressing by mixing coconut milk with the juice from one lime and voila. 

Anyways that was all this time around. Do let me know if you tried one of the masks and hashtag me on Instragram with #FruityFactsWithShandra. So until next time - Ingat!

X❤️X❤️

Shandra.

October Favorites ♡

Another month has ended and we all know what that means.. Another monthly favorite! So here are a few stuff that I've been loving the month of October.

Beauty Favorites

1. Micellar Cleansing Water by Garnier. I'm pretty sure I have already mentioned this one in a previous monthly favorite of mine, but as I said before this bottle right here is amazing! If you have sensitive eyes then I really suggest you give this one a go. It removes the makeup so easily and leaves your skin feeling fresh. 

2. Hydrating shampoo by Bangstyle has become one of my best friends when it comes to my hair. Not that my hair really needs to be "hydrated" since I've been told by many hairdressers that I have nice and healthy hair, so I only use this baby maybe 2 - 3 times a week, just to give my hair a little bit of love. It leaves my hair feeling super smooth and the shampoo smells like candy and who doesn't love having their hair smelling like candy, right?

3. High Impact Curling Mascara by Clinique has been one of my favorite mascaras for years now and if you saw my lashes when I use it, you would totally understand why. I like many asians have short lashes and since I do not want to wear fake lashes all the time, I'm always on the hunt to find ways to make my lashes appear longer. This goodie not only makes my lashes appear longer but it helps make lashes to stay lifted and curled. 

4. Sally Hansen Gel Nailpolishes are a new way when it comes to nailpolishes that leaves your nailpolish to last for over 10 days. It contains on a 2-step program where you first apply the gel nailpolish of your choice and then finish it off with the Miracle Gel Top Coat. I have been loving three specific colours which are 120 Bare Dare, 450 Get Mod and 340 Hydro Electric. These colours are so gorgeous and perfect for Fall and best of all, they do not crack so fast compared to regular nailpolishes. They might be a bit pricy here in Denmark since they cost 120 kr in Denmark but Matas (our danish version of Sephora) do have deals where you can buy 2 for 1.  

Anyways so these were all my favorites for the month of October and until next time - Ingat!

X❤️X❤️

Shandra.

Unboxing: October's Goodie Box

Curiosity has always been a good trade of mine (According to myself), so when I saw that you can get a goodie box here in little Denmark, I could not resist to give it a go! If you are familiar with the Glam box from the US then let me tell ya, it's pretty much the same thing. If you don't know well then let me explain: A goodie box is a subscription where you get a box filled with beauty goodies monthly to try out with a little card that gives a description of each product.. 

The goodie box subscription cost 120 kr I believe but you also pay for the shipping, so it total you pay 150 kr. The good thing about this is if you for some reason are not satisfied then you can always unsubscribe. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, they shipped my GB in a cute pink box, and this time around the danish beauty store called Magasin contributed with some beauty goodies. So here are the little loves I received for the month of October:

Magasin Du Nord Eye Gel

An eye gel from Magasin's own beauty line. It contains creatin and cucumber extracts that helps rebuild and apply moist to the under eye. The tube has a rollerball applicator which makes it easier for you to apply the product onto your eyes, plus with the cooling effect helps your eyes from looking tired and puffy. 

L'Occitane Verbena Shower Gel

This little bottle of joy is a french shower gel for you to pamper yourself in the shower. It contains organic provenicale iron-extract and oils, which will make your bath smell heavenly and lemony. Your skin will be left feeling clean, super soft and just nice. 

Balance Me Restore And Replenish Face Creme

Balance Me is a prizewinning British brand that has a ton of beauty fans around the world. The creme contains hyaloron acids, peptides and omega acids which helps gives the skin a moisturizing boost and not to mention, it also helps to strengthen the skins ability to repair and rebuild itself. You can apply the creme day or night.

Real Technique Brush

I am sure most of you (if you watch beauty tutorials on youtube) know or heard about the brushes, but did you know who "invented" them? It was two sisters who had their own youtube channel and blog Pixiwoo.com that came with that idea to make this brushes, and now they are pretty much well known all over - the brushes I mean. This brush is a goodie since you can use it for either powder products, foundations, face powder or blushes. 

The Body Shop Oils Of Life Intensely Revitalising Face Oil

This is a new series from the Body Shop that came out a couple of months ago. The oil contains lots of seed oils which helps to make your skin silky soft and leaves your skin with a nice glow. You apply 1 - 2 drops of the oil and massage it onto your skin before you use any other moisturizer. By buying this product you help to plant seeds in the Cerro Blanco forrest in Ecuador. 

Karameju Konjac Sponge

Is a 100% natural sponge that helps balance the skin's pH-level and exfoliates and rebuild the skin. You use the sponge by letting it soak in water for a couple of mins and then rinse your face with it by using circular emotions, after use you rinse it clean and you should clean it properly once a month by letting it soak in hot water. 

Magasin Skønhedsserie All In One Cleaning Wipes

Cleaning wipes has always been one of my holy-grail since it helps remove makeup quickly when you're feeling too lazy to do it the proper way and let's face it, we sometimes do get too tired and lazy to do the long process of removing the make up, so cleaning wipes has pretty much been a gift from God for all people who are super busy or just lazy. And as many other cleaning wipes, Magasin's contain 3 steps since it acts like a cleansing milk, a toner and as a makeup remover. It contains extracts from chamomile tea and aloe vera, so your skin will be left feeling clean, fresh and soft. 

Anyways I will do a prober review of the products in the future so until next time - Ingat!

X❤️X❤️

Shandra.

Fruity Facts: Vitamin C and Anti-ageing

Disclaimer: This photo is not mine

Nobody wants to grow old or at least look old but instead of using plastic surgery, there are actually things you can use to help your skin looking young from Mother Nature herself and I'm talking about the fabulous Vitamin C. 

Vitamin C is one of the most powerful vitamins that helps with the anti-aging process because it helps stimulate the skin's elastic fibers, which pretty much means it helps the skin stay tight and helps fight those wrinkles and pigmentation. Vitamin C also helps healing wounds on the skin. 

You can get Vitamin C though fruits and vegetables, especially trough fruits such as lemons, orange, pomelo, grape, lime, mangoes, kiwi, berries but also in tomatoes, potatoes and green vegetables. So if you want a tighter looking skin, then make sure to eat lots of food that contains Vitamin C.

Lemon juice manicure:
If you're tired of nails looking yellowish because of all the nail polish you have used or because of smooking, try to dip your nails in a littlw bowl filled with lemon juice. It will help remove the yellowness from your nails and will make them stronger. 

Anti-age smoothie:
What you will need: 1 dl soya milk (or coconut or almund milk), 1/4 cup of chupped pineapples, 1/2 mango, 1 kiwi and 1 handful of berries (your own choice), 1 dl orange juice and 1 tsp green tea. You mix all the ingridients and blend away until you have a rich and smooth smoothie. 
The benefits: This drink is rich with enzymes, antioxidants, vitamin A and vitamin C which means it will help your skin stay young and smooth. 

Lemon marinade:
Use the juice from a lemon over your salad, fish or even use it as a dressing or apply it in your water or tea. 


Anyways that was all Mother Nature and I had to share for today so until next time - Ingat!

X❤️X❤️

Shandra.

Fruity Facts: Vitamin B and stronger hair and nails

Disclaimer: This photo is not mine

Are you having problems with damaged/thinned out hair and nails that keep on cracking? Well then it's probably because you are lacking one of Mother Nature's beauty secrets - Vitamin B! Vitamin B is a group of vitamins that dissolves through water, meaning you need to take them on a daily basis through what you eat for your body to stay healthy (especially your hair and nails). Every single vitamin that is in that little group is also important for your brain to function properly.

Vitamin B:
Benefits: But what does these suckers do? Vitamin B repairs and rebuilds the skin and strengthens hair and nails. Vitamin B is also important because they help create DNA and is therefore very important for pregnant women! You can get Vitamin B though fish, nuts like almonds, vegetables such as potatoes, oats and in some fruits.
Lack of Vitamin B: A lack of Vitamin B can cause headaches, sleepiness, congestion problems, depression, skin diseases, lose/thinning hair and even weakening the nails. So ladies, we all know men are attracted to girls with pretty hair so make sure to get your Vitamin B. 

Green diet:
Try to have a green day once a week where you only eat veggies and fruits. Your body will be re-loaded with energy and your body will thank you for it. 

Green juices:
Green smoothies and juices have become very popular these couple of years but have you ever wondered why? Let me tell you, green smoothies and juices stimulates the lever and helps it rinse out any toxic you might have in your body. Drink the juice between 6 am to 12, since that's the time where the lever releases all the toxic the most. 

Detox Cosmo:
What you need: Blender, spinach, cucumber, iceberg lettuce, celeriac, one lemon and 10 grapes, ice cubes and ginger.
Step by step: Blend a handful of spinach with iceberg lettuce, add 1/3 cup of cucumbers and 2 celeriac, then add 10 pieces of grapes and add a bit of lemon juice. After that you add a bit of ginger and blend it all with a handful of ice cubes until you get a nice consistency. 
- This juice will help stimulate the cells and remove all the toxic you might have. 

Anyways, so that was all this time around. I hope you enjoyed another of Mother Nature's secrets and until next time - Ingat!

X❤️X❤️

Shandra.

Fruity Facts: Berries

Hi again, lovely!
If you haven't read my first Fruity Facts post (then I suggest you go and check it out hihi) then let me tell you that I am doing a series called Fruity Facts, where I will share with you all of Mother Natures beauty secrets. In my previous FF post, I talked about the benefits of Vitamin A and what type of food that contains it. Today I will be talking about some fruits that are pretty small but yet have a big impact on our bodies.. You guessed it, berries!
Now I am talking about all the types of berries you can think of (strawberries, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, elderberies and even the more tropical berries like goji berries, inca and acai), they all contain a thing we call anti-age antioxidants. A fancy term that pretty much means it contains something that helps with anti-ageing as in it will help you looking young.

Blueberries: Blueberries are rich in antioxidants. They are believed to lower cholesterol, prevent urinary tract infections  and improve memory, eyesight, balance and coordination. It also helps to slowing down the signs of aging and reduces the risks of heart disease and diabetes. 

Strawberries: Strawberries contains a thing called Carbolic acid, a fancy term for anti-inflammatory properties. They can protect your heart and fight cancer. According to research cited on WHFoods.org, “Those eating the most strawberries were three times less likely to develop cancer compared to those eating few or no strawberries.”

Raspberries: Raspberries contain Ellagitannins, which is a group of cancer-fighting compounds that are almost exclusive to this fruit. The berry's antimicrobial properties are also known to help prevent the multiplication of certain bacteria and fungi in the body.  

Blackberries: These berries are believed to protect the body against esophageal cancer. They are also believed to protect the body against heart disease, diabetes and memory loss, and will help prevent several types of cancer, endotoxin shock and blood clotting. 

Cranberries: Cranberries are famouse antidotes to urinary tract infections. It is also known to aid gastrointestinal and oral health. They can prevent kidney stones, lower your low-density lipoprotein and cholesterol, and can even help with recovery from a stroke. A perfect fruit for the elderly. 

Berry ice cream - the healthy way:
Pick the berries you want to blend, add a bit of vanilla powder, a bit of fresh mint leaves and some yogurt. Blend 2 dl of berries and add 1 tsb. of vanilla powder, then put 10 mint leaves in the mix and add 1,5 dl yogurt. You can add dried prudence to make it sweeter and blend away. When the mix is done, you simply put it in the freezer and a few hours later you got a healthy alternative to icecream that contains lots of Vitamin C that will protect your body. If you're smart you could also add some mango or carrots to the mix to add some Vitamin A to make sure you keep your skin looking fresh ;)

Whiter teeth:
One of Mother Nature's beauty secrets for keeping your teeth white is by scrubbing your teeth with a toothbrush and one mashed strawberry. The strawberry contains acids that helps your teeth while the stones in the berry helps as an exfoliater to remove the dirt from your teeth. Catherine Zeta Jones are one of the women who uses this method to keep her teeth white instead of always going to the dentist.  

Anyways these were only some few facts about the amazing berries but hopefully you learned something new from Mother Nature and might have inspired you to eat more fruits (especially berries)? So until next time - Ingat!  


X❤️X❤️
Shandra.

Fruity Facts: Vitamin A and keeping your skin young

Disclaimer: This picture is not mine

Hellew again, lovely!
Okay so I have always been a fan of Mother Nature and her beauty secrets so I thought why not share her secrets with you? Many people think that beauty is something that you buy - all kinds of cosmetic companies claims that their products will make you beautiful and look younger and we are all guilty in falling for their traps and buying their products but .. Beauty is something that starts on the inside of us (yes I know that sounded very cliche but it's true). If we eat well and treat our bodies well, our beauty will shine through and we will get prettier skin and feel better about ourselves. So I will from now on be posting a series called Fruity Facts that tells you which food products that will help you enhance your beauty. All from which which food contains what vitamins and it's benefits, what you can do with the specific food wether is creating a delish meal for yourself or a drink and beauty tips and tricks where you can use that specific products and hopefully it will inspire you to eat and treat yourself better. Remember; It's not all about the make up, ladies. 

I am sure many of you don't really know much about the Vitamins that we are told by our parents and doctors that we should take on a daily basis and most of you probably don't even know the benefits each Vitamin contains, so I am here to sit you guys down and tell you and who knows? Maybe this will inspire you?

Vitamin A:
Benefits: Vitamin A is very important to our body in general, it helps to improve our vision, our immune system, our DNA, our skin and helps us to grow. Vitamin A helps our skin to improve and helps our skin to be elastic and staying firm. It pretty much helps us to keep looking young.
Lack of Vitamin A: If you lack of Vitamin A it can cause you night blindness and blindness.
Food with lots of Vitamin A: Food such as fat fishes like salmon and makral and lever but also in vegetables like broccoli, carrots, white cabbage, cabbage, tomatoes, spinach but you will also find Vitamin A in egg yolks and mango.   

Skin Glow Smoothie:
Take a piece of mango and chop if off and blend it in a blender with goji berries. Add a pinch of salt, some milk or soya-milk and a bit of vanilla powder it you want it to be a bit sweeter and lastly add some ice cubes and blend away. There you have it, a smoothie that will help your skin to keep on looking young. 

Anyways so that was all for today's post. Hopefully you learned something new and please do take a picture and #Fruityfactswithshandra if you decide to try out the smoothie. I would love to see it ❤️


X❤️X❤️
Shandra.