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Abelard and HeloiseAbelard and HeloiseAbelard and HeloiseFebruary2010
Happy Valentine's Day
Chocolate Love Scrub
chocolate
Scrub your skin delicious this            Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Love Scrub makes a delicious gift for your sweetheart or a fabulous gift for your sweet self! 

Made with high quality chocolate, this scrub is high in antioxidants to reduce free radicals, and contains alkaloids that have fantastic physiological effects on the body. Use as a mask or gently scrub into your skin to remove old skin cells and reveal beautiful, delicious looking --- and tasting --- skin!  Skin that's vibrant, smo
oth, and soft.
 
    
Just like chocolate!
Our Price: $10 & $15
comes with attractive gift bag.
Eye Makeup Hygiene
makeup

1.Wash all your eye makeup brushes once a week with an antiseptic liquid soap, allow them to dry overnight, or use a blow-dryer.

2.Change the rubber pads on your eyelash curler every month.

3.Toss out mascara after 3 months. Remind yourself by dating tubes with permanent marker. Unopened mascara lasts indefinitely if you put it in the fridge.

4.Sharpen eye pencils before you use them - every time. A creamy pencil can harbor bacteria.

5.To discourage contamination, keep powder shadows tightly shut between use.

6.When you're shopping, don't try  testers at cosmetics counters unless disposable applicators are provided.


Remember: Practicing good hygiene is and essential part of any eye makeup routine

Walnut Crescent Recipe

From my good friend and client Melissa Green. She baked these cookies for Christmas and I was lucky to try them. They are really delicious.  I asked her for the recipe, to share  with you.

Melissa is a talented musician, composer and performer. Some of you who have kids probably have heard her in an outdoor concerts or event especially at the holiday season.

Parents definitely check her website: www.greencirclemusic.com

Here is the recipe from Melissa:

My Grandma Laura Szilagyi's  Walnut Crescent Recipe

1/2 lb. butter

5 T sugar

2 t vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 t salt

2 cups walnuts - finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together and shape into 24 balls then roll in crescents.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

(I have also made smaller balls - about 40) and baked them for less time)

 Enjoy!!

Have a great  month!
lilies

My favorite yellow concador lilies on my dining table.

I hope February is a wonderful month for you - filled with love and blessings.  Take a moment each day to focus on the amazing abundance in your life.

Much Love,

Karina Kara

www.FacialsByKarina.com

For apptm: (323) 663-8382

[email protected]

 

Greetings!



February is here and that means we will be celebrating Valentine's day.  I would love to share with you my favorite true stories - one of the most beautiful love stories you'll ever hear.


The Story of Abelard and Heloise


It has the power to resonate in every human heart.  It always makes me feel so sad, and yet fascinated by the power of love.   A power unlimited by geography, time or politics. Did these two lovers ever think that their love story would become part  of humanity's heritage, and would touch the deepest cords in the hearts of so many generations?

 

Here is my Valentine's Day present to you, as a token of my love and appreciation of knowing you.  What can be a higher expression of love than this enchanting and breathtaking music? Enjoy! 


Luigi Alva - Estrellita - Manuel Ponce



Valentine's Day specials: 


 With your facial get a FREE Chocolate Love Scrub!


Facial gift certificates - a steal at $50 (45 min)

Abelard and Heloise

The 12th-century story of

French philosopher Pierre Abelard and his gifted pupil, Heloise, remains one of the world's most dramatic and well-known love affairs. Their illicit love, secret marriage and the brutal vengeance that Heloise's family exacts when they castrate Abelard is told through the letters they exchanged.


The short version of Abelard and Heloise 's affair is that Abelard fell in love with Heloise while he was her teacher, and the two became lovers. The affair was discovered by her uncle, Canon Fulbert, not long before Heloise discovered that she was pregnant. Abelard assured Fulbert that he would marry Heloise. She opposed the idea because of the effect a marriage would have had on his position. The two then secretly married, and Abelard placed her with the nuns at Argenteuil. Fulbert, believing his niece had been abandoned, had Abelard castrated. He joined the church and insisted that Heloise become a nun, which she did. She stayed with the nuns at Argenteuil until they were evicted and Abelard established a convent at the Paraclete for them.

Years later, Heloise reads Abélard's Historia Calamitatum (History of my Misfortunes), originally a letter of consolation sent to a friend, and her passion for him reawakens. This leads to the exchange of four letters between them, in which they explore the nature of human and divine love in an effort to make sense of their personal tragedy, their incompatible male and female perspectives making the dialogue painful for both. You can read their letters here: The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

Through their impassioned writings unfolds the story of a romance, from its reckless, ecstatic beginnings to the public scandal, enforced secret marriage and devastating consequences that followed. These eloquent and intimate letters express a vast range of emotions from adoration and devotion to reproach, indignation and grief, and offer a fascinating insight into religious life in the Middle Ages.

Published in 1717, Eloisa to Abelard is a poem by Alexander Pope(1688-1744). In Pope's poem, Eloisa is in anguish over the powerful feelings she still has for Abélard, especially in her dreams, and by the realization that, now a eunuch - something he regards as a mercy that freed him from the "contagion of carnal impurity" - he could not return her feelings even if he wanted to. And so she begs, not for forgiveness, but for forgetfulness


No, fly me, fly me, far as poke from pole;

Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll!

Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me,

Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee.


An ancient chronicle of Tours records that when they deposited (1164) the body of the Abbess Eloisa in the tomb of her lover Peter Abelard, who had been there interred twenty years, this faithful husband raised his arms, stretched them and closely embraced his beloved Eloisa. This poetic fiction was invented to sanctify, by a miracle, the frailties of their youthful days.

                                                                                 winter skin picture

WinterSeason Skin Care Tips


Our skin is the largest organ of the

body that protects us from various microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. There are many contributing elements to dry skin in the winter. The main contributor being environmental change. This not only includes cold, dry air outdoors but indoor environments controlled by air conditioning units and heaters. Moisture is vital  to the skin because water and essential fatty acids keep our skin supple, elastic and functioning properly. Other contributing elements to skin damage include alcohol, smoking, diuretics and antihistamines. Alcohol and smoking contributes to a lack of blood flow to the skin capillaries, which creates poor skin nutrition and less oxygen to the cells and results in dull, dry skin and the loss of elasticity.

Men retain more moisture  in their skin than women but eventually oil production slows as both sexes mature. There are also several skin conditions that can be caused by changing environmental conditions.  For example, mild eczema, ichthyosis and psoriasis can be aggravated by weather conditions. Diuretics can be damaging in the winter months because they cause your body to release vital fluids that are necessary in keeping your skin healthy.  Antihistamines, cold medications and certain types of oral acne medications dry the mucous membranes of the skin, reducing oil production.

And last but not least, water is damaging to the skin surface, 

yet vital for skin cells to thrive.  Drinking plenty of water and nutritious fluids in the winter month helps improve skin health while long, hot showers damages your skin further by stripping away moisture.

My first recommendation is to feed the cells from the inside out. Diets that include plenty of water, fish, fruits and vegetables nourish and detoxify the body while maintaining hydration and improving circulation.

Moisturizing daily, especially after showering, helps maintain hydration in the skin.

Not only do our bodies need a sufficient amount of sleep, so does our skin. Sleep in general allows the body to rejuvenate and repair. Without enough sleep, the skin will grow haggard and dry.  Six to eight hours of restful sleep can and will improve the look and condition of the skin, as well as all other body functions.

Our skin naturally sheds layers constantly. Due to the low humidity levels during winter months, this shedding becomes more prevalent and noticeable. While this is not harmful to the skin, it can lead to scaly and pealing patches, especially on the face. A weekly exfoliation of the top layer of facial skin, will help to bring back the radiance and luster that winter months take away.