stress relief

[#1]

I'v been so stressed lately so what i do is i eat some ginger as a snack then exfoliate it helps calm me down whats your beauty stress reliever?

[#2]

either cry, retail therapy, and/or a 'diy home spa': a bubble bath, a facial, mani/pedi, massage, and a nap and I always catch up on fashion magazines too I like a cooling eye compress for my nap and sometimes go for a run, depending on the weather. 

[#3]

Loving reading the conversation!

For stress relief I love going out to eat and indulging in a good meal and a good bottle of wine. I'm a wine geek-so I really get into learning about all that stuff and trying different things. I'm trying to lose weight though so I'm turning to my cosmetic addiction - less calories.

I love spas. I was just thinking I need to take a vacation day and spend a whole day of pampering. After reading this-I'm doing it!

I have auburn to brown hair. I tried the blonde thing and ended up orange. I didn't notice it at 1st! Then I wore a orange shirt and realized my hair matched! That was the last time I did mown hair.

[#4]

I give myself a pedicure and drink some chai tea. Being forced to do a small task and focus calms me down, plus chai tastes yummy!

[#5]

@mermadelove, I dye my hair at home too, but I use permanent hair color. My favorite is Garnier Nutrisse with the grapeseed and avacodo oil. My hair feels a million times softer after I do that weirdly enough haha. Thats definitely relaxing, dying my hair... its not relaxing when I'm putting the stuff in, but when I'm sitting around waiting for it to set and then washing out... thats the part that is relaxing haha. I use to go to salons to get my hair colored but its always costed me over 200 dollars every time.  I had hair down to my butt then though. Then one day I was like " I want to be blonde, but I don't want to spend a crap load of money to do it." So I did it myself hahaha... I know thats crazy, It didn't even turn out blonde cause unfortunately I forgot that I have red in my hair. I'm not exactly a red head, but I guess my natural brown hair has a red tint and red is one of the hardest colors to bleach out I guess. I don't know why I forgot that cause everytime I got blonde peek a boo highlights at a salon I had to sit there for 6 HOURS for it come out the blonde I wanted and I was told by different stylist its because of the red in my hair. So when I tried to make my self blonde it came out a strawberry blonde kind of, I guess you can say? it was ok though, I really like thats color, but it was too much up keep. Heres a pic... the blonde in my bangs was already there, I use to do peek a boo highlights in my bangs... I can't explain it, but I loved doing that too, but it was too much work as well. But this was after 2 hours of trying to dye my hair blonde...

[#6]

@sarithor Your hair looks gorgeous! My hair is black through and through so I can't colour it without damaging it quite a bit

I found my first white hair when I was in my first year of university. What was very odd is that when all my exams were over, it became black again. Obviously, it was stress induced. I noticed the engineers in my residence were particularly prone to white hairs!

[#7]

@sarithor: I have wicked dark hair that goes red, too. I had a friend that used to be a hair dresser and she told me that instead of trying to go blonde right away, to do it in progrssive steps. So what I did was to use SEMI permanent color but I left it in twice as long as they said to. I used the blonde color kit, but did it over a few months. It worked and didn't damage my hair as much as trying to do it with permanent color all at once. My hair also feels better after I dye it than befoe, but  I think it's because when your hair shaft is open and you condition it right after, it lets the conditioner go in deeper, if that makes any sense.

You look great as a blonde!

[#8]

Thanks everyone, I think I've decided that I've got the wanting to blonde out of my system... I think haha. Who knows one day I may try again, its just a pain, cause you have to keep up with it and then if you stop it takes FOREVER to get rid of. I wanted to get a perm (not like an 80's perm, but like a big curly/wavy one) and my cousin went to beauty school and she said, I can't until all the bleach blonde is out of my hair (which I don't know when that will be cause I dye brown over it so I can't tell anymore) So, I probably wont get the perm I want for another year... Its been a year since I dyed it blonde last, so I figure if I wait 2 years and then try I should be clear. I guess if you perm with hair that is bleach, the bleached hair will just break off. On average a person grows about 6 inches a year..so 2 years I'll have a foot of growth since the last time and I wack about that much off and try haha. It could be a disaster though.. oh well.. its just hair, it will grow back right?!?!

[#9]

Oh spas - I have been curious about a new Korean spa that has just opened in Toronto. They go all out, apparently!

And yes to baking! What can I say... when you are pissed off, there's nothing like kneading some dough and slapping it around the table for delicious glutineous bread

Making a mask is nice too. I always have some organic honey and yogurt kicking around to soothe my skin.

What i used to do that I try to avoid is just zonking out in front of the tv. It makes me feel more tired for some reason, instead of better. But it's ok if I am doing something at the same time, like sewing.

I think the biggest stress relief I do is preventative - building up my strength slowly day by day through yoga and mindful meditation. So that when I do run into a stressful situation, I have already built up all these internal reserves to help me cope. Obviously good sleep and diet play into that as well..

[#10]

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pocketvenus wrote:

Oh spas - I have been curious about a new Korean spa that has just opened in Toronto. They go all out, apparently!

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Umm... as a Korean and a Torontonian, I need to check out that spa!  Name please!

[#11]

@officegal It's called Seoul Zimzilbang. Not downtown (I must admit, my geography north of Bloor is hazy at best) which is why I haven't gone yet. In the winter, I stick pretty close to the TTC lines lol.

@mermadelove I don't think they offer that, but maybe other places in TO have it? Are you in TO too?

[#12]

@pocketvenus: I'm not in TO but I live just over the border from QC. I'm going to winter carnavale in a few weeks with my hubby!

[#13]

@mermadelove Oo sounds like fun! Hope the weather will be nice and sunny for you!

[#14]

Are you Korean too, pocketvenus?  I'm laughing at "Zimzilbang" and it's scaring me now, so I might not go there.  I prefer Stillwater and Elmwood!

@mermadelove - I'm half curious about the fish pedicure but half disgusted!  I'd love to give that a try at some exotic locale, though!

[#15]

@officegal - I'm Chinese. I would love to visit Korea some day. My sister travelled there this summer and she came back with all these envy inducing stories about the Korean spas! She also brought back these serum masks that are so popular in E Asia, I should look for them at Pacific Mall.... I've actually never been to a spa in Toronto, except Sugarmoon which is more about aesthetics. I'll have to keep Elmwood and Stillwater in mind.

[#16]

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pocketvenus wrote:

@officegal - I'm Chinese. I would love to visit Korea some day. My sister travelled there this summer and she came back with all these envy inducing stories about the Korean spas! She also brought back these serum masks that are so popular in E Asia, I should look for them at Pacific Mall.... I've actually never been to a spa in Toronto, except Sugarmoon which is more about aesthetics. I'll have to keep Elmwood and Stillwater in mind.

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I am dying to travel and pick up beauty stuff that we have no access to here!  Koreans are really into that stuff, but so intense that they're almost scary about it.  I haven't gone back since I immigrated here when I was 9 years old and the most spa-like experience I had back then was at a "zimzilbang" where a lady would scrub you from head to toe with this scrubbing towel that felt like sandpaper and then douse you with scalding hot water!  Horror of horrors.  She was a woman to be feared.

Ahem... anyway, if you like to go for quiet zen time alone, Stillwater would be the place.  If you go with a bunch of gals to giggle and have fun with, Elmwood is better.  I think I might steer clear of the Koreans... lol.

[#17]

@officegal LOL. OK, I have to share one more extreme spa story! So I really enjoyed using the public baths in Japan and discovered that it's fairly common to have these "electric" water pools. I suppose there are some health benefits but it was too much of a buzz for me, esp feeling the electricity run out my palms into the metal rail I used to get out. I later saw a lady just hanging out in the strongest "zap" zone and was quite impressed. Wow, I'm not selling this well. Japanese public baths can be so wonderful and relaxing - just avoid the zapping pools! Thanks for the low-down on Elmwood/Stillwater

[#18]

Love ya, ladies! 

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pocketvenus wrote:

@officegal LOL. OK, I have to share one more extreme spa story! So I really enjoyed using the public baths in Japan and discovered that it's fairly common to have these "electric" water pools. I suppose there are some health benefits but it was too much of a buzz for me, esp feeling the electricity run out my palms into the metal rail I used to get out. I later saw a lady just hanging out in the strongest "zap" zone and was quite impressed. Wow, I'm not selling this well. Japanese public baths can be so wonderful and relaxing - just avoid the zapping pools! Thanks for the low-down on Elmwood/Stillwater

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Okay, drawing the line at electric shock therapy!  LOL  Wow at the lady - she must have started at a very young age.  Sometimes I think the Asians are completely insane.

[#19]

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officegal wrote:

Love ya, ladies! 

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pocketvenus wrote:

@officegal LOL. OK, I have to share one more extreme spa story! So I really enjoyed using the public baths in Japan and discovered that it's fairly common to have these "electric" water pools. I suppose there are some health benefits but it was too much of a buzz for me, esp feeling the electricity run out my palms into the metal rail I used to get out. I later saw a lady just hanging out in the strongest "zap" zone and was quite impressed. Wow, I'm not selling this well. Japanese public baths can be so wonderful and relaxing - just avoid the zapping pools! Thanks for the low-down on Elmwood/Stillwater

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Okay, drawing the line at electric shock therapy!  LOL  Wow at the lady - she must have started at a very young age.  Sometimes I think the Asians are completely insane.

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Electricity and WATER?????? Are they taking the whole ionic detox thing to the next level or something???

I think I would be a little scared to do that........

[#20]

You know, Electricity in water and scolding hot water does sound crazy, but I've always been in awe of how asians age so beautifully. Once I started a new job, and I made friends with this girl Cindy really quickly. For the longest time I thought she was around my age which at the time was 22-23 until one day she was totally depressed because her birthday was coming up. I asked her why? and she told me she was turning 39!! I couldn't believe it! I thought she was lying. She had to show me her I.D. to prove it lol.  She's not the first asian woman I believed to be younger than she is, she is just the most I've ever been off on an age lol. She looked almost 20 years younger than she actually was. She said it was probably her diet, and skin care routine, but really asians might know the true secrets to staying young lol. Maybe electricity in water and scolding hot water is where it is at lol.

[#21]

The diet is definitely much healthier. The kind of greasy takeout you find in many Chinese restaurants is nothing like what I ate at home! I also noticed that the Chinese who stayed in the country (even in high-stress, polluted Hong Kong), tend to look younger than the Chinese who immigrated to N. America.

edited to add:

Just wanted to add to what you wrote, mermadelove - everyone here has been so welcoming and I appreciate that. It is definitely a good stress-buster to chat about makeup and all manner of topics with you ladies, so thank you!