Struggling at a party
Words: Tomek Mossakowski
Most people enjoy summer for all it’s worth; festivals, suntans, heightened sex drives. I hate these people. Why? Because I’m allergic to pollen. I wake up every morning in fear. Thick, sweet- smelling, pollenated fear. For me, summer isn’t a time of joy. It’s a time of sniffling, about once every 30 seconds, especially when trying to sleep.
Last week I went to my friend’s exhibition in the countryside. On the train I had to stand by an open window. This was the equivalent of someone spooning pollen directly into my facial holes. I arrived with a face caked in mucus and when my friend saw me he said:
‘Hey! Wow…you look like shit dude!’
This isn’t the type of entrance I like to make. I take most of the daily antihistamines, spray a lot of chemicals up my nose and am subjected to my Polish mother’s herbal, voodoo remedies. After this drug binge, I’m usually so drowsy I can’t see. My friends look at me funny for being tired all the time, but you try walking around with enough antihistamines in your blood to slay a small pony. It isn’t fun.
No one really gets it either. People think I’m just a weak sniffler, an evolutionary mistake. Last night in bed, my boyfriend punched the pillow in frustration.
‘ARGH! I can’t sleep with you sniffling every other *@!% second!’
I lay perfectly still after that, despite the small, slow trickle of snot rolling down my cheek. I wiped it on his pillow though so that felt a bit like revenge.
With my cocktail of pills and frequent face baths (splashing water all over your face helps), I’m counting down the days until summer is over. It really is that bad. One day I might just rip off my face in frustration.
At the moment I’m trying Hay Max in my War Against Pollen. It’s beeswax that you smear under your shnoz. This gets pretty addictive. (Definitely uncool: mixing up your vaseline and Hay Max). It seems to be working. I’m sneezing less and rocking up to gallery openings without a clump of wet tissue in every pocket.
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Joshua
March 20, 2013
Hello,Dark circles and puffy eyes are one of the most fqtluenery asked how-to-cure skincare related questions. They may be caused by a variety of factors like hereditary, lack of sleep, not enough water, stress, age, lack of certain vitamins and minerals in the diet, overloading on alcohol, etc. However, there are natural ways you can dramatically reduce, if not eliminate them. The important aspect to remember is that most skincare problems are internal problems relating to the diet. There is no specific food that causes a skin problem in itself, but it may be certain ingredients in certain foods that cause the skin to erupt.Apply these techniques to the letter to see a difference in a short time.Puffy and baggy eyes First, make sure you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, drinking 8-10 glasses of water, eliminating alcohol, and are reducing stress as much as possible. To help with reducing stress, stretch for at least 10 minutes a day, exercise, and do something you enjoy. It is helpful to have a notebook by your bed to write 2 (or more) things you learned or cherished that day. This practice helps to put the day in a better perspective.Next, you should tweak your eating plan slightly to expedite results. If there is one thing you can do to expedite your results, avoid salty foods. Salty foods are a huge contributing factor to puffy and baggy eyes because they contribute to water retention. Water retention makes the body (as well as the skin) appear bloated and puffier. Under the eye region is very delicate, so the puffiness is more apparent there than on other parts of the face.For the natural solution: Purchase organic wheat germ oil from a health food store and apply under the eyes and around the eyes twice a day.Dark under eye circles You should follow the same criteria stated for puffy and baggy eyes to avoid salty foods. However, you may try these secrets.Secret 1: Mix turmeric powder with raw pineapple juice. The trick is pineapple juice must be taken from a raw pineapple, not a canned version. Mix them together until a paste-like formation forms. Gently spread this mixture under the eyes. Let it stay on the eyes for 15-20 minutes. Rinse it off with lukewarm water. Do this procedure at nighttime for a week. You should see visible results within that time frame.Secret 2: For serious dark circles, purchase almond oil (the wheat germ oil is more appropriate for puffy eyes) from a health food store. Gently pat the oil under the eyes and around the eye. Do this in the morning and evening to see fast results.Dietary change: Eat 2 cups (or more) of organic spinach everyday for either lunch or dinner. It’s convenient and best to buy frozen organic spinach or organic spinach leaves, as non-organic spinach is high in pesticide residuals. In addition, eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raw almonds (must not be roasted or salted) 3 hours after eating dinner. In addition to eliminating salty foods, doing these dietary changes will quickly speed up the results.I hope this helps.