Fall oh Fall !

    Technically  fall starts in few days, but it still over 33° and trees are still green and bright, and since i'm not a big fan of the heat and the summer to me is only the few days i spent at the beach, i like to think that it's already fall !

   And what a better way to start fall than a "vanity organizing" session ?! ( i know, there are  better ways but i Enjoy organizing !)

    I've been cleaning and ditching "too chemical" stuff from my beauty and skincare shelves since last spring, but it has been a "very slow" proccess because i simply couldn't find "cleaner" alternatives that realy work for me in here, the only "mostly clean" beauty and skincare brand available is Yves Rocher, wich is good but not all items are great, specialy makeup.
 
      I rarely wear makeup, mostly when i go out, wich is once or twice a week, and even when i do, it's a "no makeup" look, so i dont care much about how long it lasts or the makeup trends that are going on,( i do genuinely hate anything that the kardashians started though ..) but i do care if it's good for the skin or not,  and since online shopping is a catastrophy from here i asked my lovely brother to bring some stuff that i read great reviews on  from Germany : LaveraKosmetics, Dr.hauschka, Bareminerals, Isadora, and a Zoeva vegan brush set. i still have "regular" items and "not so clean" brands but most of my stuff are cruelty free now ( wich is very important to me)  except some body lotions and fragrances, wich i'm not proud to use but cant get rid of them as they're gifts. now that my Minimalist skincare and makeup set is completed, i organized my vanity !


the vanity table is a DIY . the mirror is vintage, the star is a candle holder but turned it into accessory holder.

 the lidded candle jar hold cotton rounds and q-tips. toners and facial oils are homemade :)

i keep my makeup kit in this box , i dont reach for it everyday so it's good to keep it safe from sun rays and dust.

the "chair" is a case too, it holds some extra skincare bits, hair straightener that i barely use, ladies stuff, and toilettery bags.

 hope i inspired you in some way :) enjoy the rest of your summer !

xoxo

Imen.

the week in photos: food diary

I was in a"Nigella Lawson" mood this week ,so i had few "homemade gourmet" dishes:

Tusday:

i tried "oeuf en cocotte" Rachel khoo style, substitue the salmon eggs with chilli flakes and it was yumy :p

Wednesday: 

with warm weather comes tomato soup ! the classic, with herbs and garlic olive oil.

Thursday:

turkey breast , lemon and veggies kebobs with potato salad ! no need t tell you how delicious it was ;)

 if you're interested in the recipes please ask ! and if you got some interesting ideas please tell me .

hope you had a delicious week 

Imen xoxo

Sweet oranges maremelade

       Before last friday, i didnt know the difference between Jam and Marmelade ! turns out any citrus preseves are called Maremelade ! i love Google :)

       A useless information: i only eat sweet oranges, the regular ones are too sour for me, knowing that i LOVE lemons and add them to almost every thing i eat or drink , it's pretty strange.

       so i decided to do a maremelade as it's the end of oranges season soon and i love them for breackfast :

       for one medium jar :
-zest of 4 sweet oranges
-juice and seedless pulp of 4 sweet oranges and 2 lemons
-3 tbsp orange blossom water ( zhar)
-5 to 6 tbsp white sugar
-1 tsp corn starch ( you can add any vegeterian pectin if you dont do corn starch)


mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and stir until sugar is disolved, then cook on a very low heat for 90 mn , let cool before puting it in a sterilized jar. and put in  the fridge, to consume in 1 to 2 month.

hope you find this useful :) enjoy your weekend

Imen xoxo

Quick lunch: Tuna meatballs

     In my pescetarian phase, few years ago, i started cooking for myself, since my family love all kind of meat, and one of the first recipes that i've learned to master is Tuna meatballs. it's a traditional dish, and  i've simplified it because i'm a very lazy person.

you can substitue Tuna with any other kind or ground meat, sardines..

Ingredient : for 2 persons (6 meatballs)

-1 cup of bread crumbs

-I can of tuna (drained and squeezed)

-1egg

-1/3 cup of parmesan cheese

-1/2 cup of frozen spinach( squeezed perfectly)

-1 spring onion, minced

-1 tbsp of harissa

-2 tsp mixed spices( cumin,black pepper, coriander seeds..)

-2 tsp salt

-2 tsp sweet chili powder

-4 tbsp olive oil

-3 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp honey

- 4 to 5  cups of water

Preparation:

In a medium cooking pot, put 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp spices, 1tsp chili powder, olive oil, half tsp harissa, the honey, 1 tsp salt, half the onion and the water, stir and bring to boil on a medium to high heat and let simmer for 10 mn. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a glass bowl,( bread crumbs, tuna, the squeezd spinach, onion, parmesan cheese, harissa, spices and the egg,) preferably with clean hands. Form 6 meatballs and let them dry for 5 minutes so they wont break .  Put them gently in the sauce, and cook for about half an hour on medium heat, serve hot and bon apetit !

Natural 2

hello beauties, i talked a few posts  back about my skincare routine, the cleansing, toning part , and today i'll talk moisturising and treating part.

 Facial mask:

i've learned about this recipe in a korean reality show! the honey garlic mask.

in a small container cut 3 to 4 big garlic gloves, pour over a natural honey, and put in the fridge for at least one week before use. twice a week, during bath or shower ( that's when the pores are open) apply for 10 to 15 mn, it will smell a tiny bit funny but it's worth every second :)
it's moisturising, acne treating and excelent for wrincles and skin texture.

Facial oil:

    i'm sure you've all heard about the rosehip oil, i gave it a try first with the famous Trilogy one. and i wasnt disapointed, but it was expensive, and so hard to get in here (Tunisia) so i searched for a cheaper but not less good, alternative, and found this one.i have lovely friends in the UK who helped me get it . i apply 3 to 4 drops  just after the toner and proceed with an easy facial massage, you can look up your favorite on youtube, there's thousands of them .
i dont use an eye cream as i put it on my eye area as well and it's doing wonders!

i sometimes alternate with sweet almond oil, and it's never less good, but it's a slightly thicker oil so i recomand it for night time routines.

Moisturiser:

   this Trilogy one is perfect for almost  balenced skin, normal skin and  very oily combination skin types, but if you have a dry and sensitive skin i dont recomand it as it wont give you the proper moist. i dont apply it everyday, as i found the oil massage is enough moisterising in most times, unless i'm in my dry phase or it's too cold outside.

a last advice: keep your routine easy and simple so you wont get lazy and skip it . it will never be said enough : Never sleep with makeup, and always keep hydrated !

hope you have a lovely week !

Imen xoxo

Brown crêpes

              When it's sunny enough for me i like to spoil myself with a real breakfast. i find it Very hard to do it everyday as i'm an extremely moody person. i've had this idea of "dark crêpes" last week, mainly because i like adding Cocoa powder and chocolate to almost everything in my breakfast.

for 8 crêpes(2 persons)

    

  -1cup of all purpose flour

  -1 1/2 cups of milk

  -2 tbsp of vanilla sugar

  -1/4 tspof  salt

  - 2 tbsp of vegetable oil( or melted butter)

  - 2 eggs

  -1 tbsp of cocoa powder

in a glass bowl, mix the flour and the cocoa , add the sugar,salt, milk,egg and mix well. add the oil and mix again. in a hot crêpes pan pour a soup ladles and cook for half a minute on each side. serve hot with your topping of choice. cream cheese and/or hony  are  lovely with the cocoa flavor!

  if you try this please let me know what you think :)

enjoy your weekend!!

  Imen xoxo

Natural

       This is certainly not a beauty blog, but i'm a lady, and beauty is a big part of my life, so it's a big part of my blog too !

       i started giving attention to what i put on my skin about a year ago, a close family member suffered from cancer. i realised that i did not care about what i use on daily basis and if it's realy doing me good, so i started taking off complex and very long named ingredients from my skin care, it wasnt easy as most of my beauty/care product are either from the drugstore or reasonably priced brands, and both are far from being "clean" and less chimicaly complex. i started searching for simple, more natural alternatives, and Thank God for Pinterest ! i found lots and lots of easy recipes.

         As you will notice with time, i'm a very lazy person, i hate routine and i forget most of my daily tasks if i dont write them down , so to not mess with my skin's well being i keep a simple 3,4 steps skincare : cleanse,exfoliate (twice a week), tone and moisturise.

 
                    

Cleanser.

   when i first read about the Oil Cleansing Method i said "WHAT? oil to cleanse??" , but i kept reading about it, and searched for testimonials, and most of it was very positive, so i decided to give it a try , and i'm hooked! been cleansing my face almost daily , every night, for a year now, and my skin cant feel any better!. i have a combination skin , it break out usuly in that time of the month , for the last 6 months or so, i get less pimples and it last only 2 to 3 days, i have less black heads, a less oily Tzone and less dry cheeks.

   you'll find lots of recipes for oil cleansers online , mine is tested only on my skin so it might not work for you, i suggest you try it for 1 to 2 weeks.

Lavender oil cleanser:

  1 part lavender infused olive oil
  1 part casto oil

if you have oily skin try 1 part olive oil and 2 part castor oil
for dry skin 2 part olive oil and 1 part castor oil

you can try other oils, jojoba, sweet almond..

                  
 Exfoliation. 

     I've read somewhere that chemical and enzimes exfoliator are banned in some places of the world as they're extreamly harmful for the environment, imagine what they're doing to your skin!!

    i exfoliate twice a week because it's good for blood circulation and skin texture, i use the Coffee ground recipe:

      2 tbsp used coffe ground ( the used one is softer ), 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp olive oil. 

mix and put in a tight container. the honey works as a preservatif also, so this is good for a month.

Use it on a makeup free skin, preferably in a hot bath or shower , when the pores are open.

               

    Toner.

       some ladies skip this part , i say dont, it's very important to balance the PH of your skin after cleansing, specialy whe the water in your part of the world is rough . it's easy and simple , 

spray it on your skin and pat it gently.

        Rose and vinegar toner : 1/4 orange blossom hydrosol,  ¼ rose hydrosol , 1/4 apple cider vinegar and ¼ distilled water. i use it as a toner or soft cleanser when i feel that i need it during the day.

i just realised how long is this blog post ! so i'll be leaving the Facial Mask and Moisturiser for the next post :)

   hope i've been helpful ! enjoy your weekend and if you try some or all of my recipes please tell me what you think, also if you got your own recipes i'll be glad if you share them with me .

    Imen xxx