For Your Eyes Only

It is said the “EYES ARE THE WINDOW TO THE SOUL”. Most mornings like this one, I awaken with a puffy soul.

So my first act in the morning is to spray my eyes with Organic Rose Hydrosol ( for more information on this product go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/files/products/skincare.html) . This shot of moisture helps to start draining the stagnant fluids while I prepare myself to meet the world.

My daughter, who inherited this sluggish circulation around the eyes applies a cooling hydrating mask like our Calming Cucumber Mask instead. ( for more information on this product go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/files/products/skincare.html).

What’s the difference? It is really personal preferences. My Vata nature is impatient and want to move quickly onto my day while she is Pitts and moves through her day with more purposefully and demands better results.

It could be multiuse products as I also use the Organic Rose Hydrosol as my hydrator throughout the day while Kristen uses the Calming Cucumber Mask weekly to alleviate her sensitive skin’s redness and inflammation.

No matter, we both end up with less puffy eyes.

In the middle of the day, as my skin dehydrates, my eyes look more aged I freshen up my eyes with a dab of Collagen Elastin Plus( for more information on this product go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/files/products/skincare.html). This is a great trick to freshen your whole face if you want to look your best for a special night out.

Now you may be perplexed when I also complain about being plagued with dry eyes.

You may want to scream, “MAKE UP YOUR MIND – Do you have dry eyes or puffy eyes!”.

But the two are not mutually exclusive. The swelling from accumulating liquid is caused by dehydration. The dehydration in turn is caused by a lack of circulation as the delivery of moist nutrients to the cells is being impeded by under functioning capillaries. Therefore dehydration makes your eyes look and feel dry and also leaves you suffering from puffiness. It’s a generous two for.

So keep the areas around the eyes beautiful and healthy by keeping them moist. See previous blog entry, “VANITY IS GOOD FOR YOU” to read about how moist skin maintains good circulation.

For the adventurous try Netra Basti. A few years ago I treated my dry eyes to Netra Basti, an Ayurvedic Eye Treatment at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico ( for more information about the Ayurvedic Institute and their Panchakarma program go to http://www.ayurveda.com/panchakarma/index.html ). This nourishing eye treatment is done by building a dam around the eye socket where warm ghee is poured over an open eye. For about fifteen minutes your therapist leads you through eye exercises which clean of pollution and other debris caught behind the eyes. This eye treatment relieved my chronic eye strain and rejuvenated my aging eye area. It was worth the day of looking like one who awoke from a major alcoholic binge as my eyes swelled up from greedily absorbing the ghee.

If after you have tried the serum and eye cream and even Netra Basti and you still have puffy eyes it may be due to aging organs. Chronic dehydration and water retention can reveal a weakening kidney. As we age our organs need some pampering. I take Banyan Botanicals Kidney Formula to give my kidneys a boost. If you are plagued with puffy eyes or dark circles ( also caused by circulatory problems or it could be warning you of an oveloaded liver) see a good Naturopath, Traditional Chinese Doctor or Ayurvedic Doctor to give a boost to overloaded or weakening organs. Look good; Feel good at its truest!

More about Naturopaths, Traditional Chinese Doctors ad Ayurvedic Doctors along with detoxing organs later. Please feel free to ask questions here or in person.

A Winning Experience

This journey began when our accountant Steven Chong surprised us by nominating Pure + simple for the Most Innovative Company Award 2009 to the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Awards committee just before Christmas. This is very telling of Steven’s exceptional talents as an accountant if you knew my unconventional approach to bookkeeping.

The vetting process was very formal and thorough as Pure + simple’s achievements and potentials were tested by the ACCE Selection committee of business owner members and outside professionals from the Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

When we became finalist, we were interviewed by Christine Lam of Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Vernon Tao of the Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services.

While Kristen and I did our best to win them over---- we, or at least I was not fazed by the opportunity. While Kristen took the day off to get her hair professionally done and had taken some time off to shop and put together a special outfit— I decided to work my shift at our Oakville shop and had not even thought of my outfit until it was time to dress.

Of course as a Mid-Ager, I have a collection of designer suits to comfortably choose from. I chose one that was evening’ish – black on black with sequins discreetly caught in mesh —conservative cut to help me look the part of an serius business woman ---and was old enough to be considered vintage to convey my philosophy of conservation and respect for the environment.

I rush to pick up a couple of my staff and to get some help in make up. I had to put on enough make up as to not look washed out for the cameras but not so heavy handed as to scare onlookers in daylight as the cocktail reception was at six.

As a habitual late arriver, we enter with some of the dignitaries who arrived in Rolls Royce’s and dropped off elegantly and expensively dress women with jewelry that sparkled even in daylight. My first hint this not just any business as usual award.

The second hint was the parade of VIP’s, including Canada’s Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, entering the dining hall. My stomach closed as I took a bite of my smoked salmon appetizer. I could feel my heart beat faster and I blame the salt in the salmon and decide not to eat anymore. When the main course arrived I ate the sea bass which I ordered to substitute for the usual beef. An Ayurvedic aside --- I only eat beef if the weather is very damp and cold as it has a tendency to make me dull minded and sleepy otherwise. When ever I hear my voice on tape, I am shock at its high pitch so –it was no to bread, potatoes, dairy or sugar to keep my voice at its best squeaky best. And a big no to cold drinks as in times of nervous energy, it can stir up Vata and making me appear flakey and incoherent.

After dinner and a lengthy introduction of dignitary speeches about how important entrepreneurship and innovation were especially in these “recessionary time” the award announcements begin.

My petty nature gives me momentarily relief as we followed a “not too stellar” speaker as the second recipients. But it is not long before I experience the fleeting quality of confidence from the external sources as I walked across the stage and was overcome by the sea of lights from cameras that are there to objectively record my actions into oblivion.

Now I panic. I am to speak as my ADD mind is attracted to the lights and the reverberations of the microphone. Add to it my stage fright and my fear of looking foolish and I am filled with a feeling of jeopardy. I fight for my concentration, as I coach myself to talk slowly. I regret not having cue cards. So I decide to make it short by editing down the people to thank and to forget any attempts at humour.

Kristen is prepared with notes, which instead of looking robotic, she came off as a very articulate and confident. After we leave the stage I am calm but finally feel my hunger. There is no opportunity to eat as food is cleared from the tables and Kris and I are called to get photographed for the newspapers to publicize our win.

When I return I catch the lengthy speech of female winner—it was a great year for women as five of the seven winners were owned or c-owned by women. But at thirty minutes long, her acceptance speech it was longer than the audience’s attention span and reminiscent of the droning on’s of an old codger.

I met the talented designer my closet of black down coats as they announced the winner of the Most Progressive Company of 2009, Johnny Yui. I love his coats for their warmth, quality, design and because they did not make me look like the Michelin Man. I was truly honour to meet Johnny and his partner, Bessi Chow the VP of Everything. And of course it was a nice surprise she was already a client of Pure + simple’s.

Then to top off the evening Ann Hoy, director of the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services, came to congratulate me and asked if I would find time to meet with the Minister. Even though I have no idea who the Minister is – I did finally realize the importance of this award and the importance of the ethnic community that has generously accepted Pure + simple as one of their own.

Ayurvedic Doshas

For those unfamiliar with Pure + simple I have prepared a succinct description of Ayurveda, the science or study of life.

Ayurveda is based on the Indian concept of holistic healthy living which recognizes the three types of energy referred to as Doshas. Everything seen and unseen in our world has all three characteristics but in most one or two Doshas dominate. The Doshas are Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Vata : Air, Ether Energy

Vatas are slim, small boned people with chiseled features. Their skins are delicate, thin with small pores. Their complexions darken with age due to loss of moisture. They need to take care of their skin from a young age due to their skin’s natural dry dehydrated state.
Vatas are spiritual, creative, and innovative. They make good spiritual leaders, strategists and entrepreneurs as they invite change and are risk takers.

When Vata is in imbalance the afflicted person can appear fickle, indecisive, unpredictable, and confused and confusing. Their skin will be parched appearing dry, dull and with fine and or deep lines.
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Vata governs the nervous system so when nervous disorders, like mental illnesses or physical shaking appear there is usually a Vata imbalance whether Vata is the dominant Doshas or not.


Pitta : Fire, Water Energy

Pittas are of a medium, athletic build. Their skins have a golden hue with redness caused by dilated capillaries. Pittas can reveal themselves with their red toned hair and piercing eyes.

To avoid redness, rosacea, moles and hyper pigmentation, Pittas need to keep their skin hydrated and protect their skin from inflammation from excess sun, heat or wind. Pittas are prone to acne due to the heat caused by diet, toxins or stress.

Pittas are intelligent, logical and love fairness. They make good leaders in Business, Politics and Law as they enjoy competition, power, order and status.

When Pitta is in imbalance, the person is irritable, petty, overly structured and overly competitive. Skin can appear red, acneic and congested, like it is swollen.

Pitta imbalances show in inflammatory disorders like hypertension and heat rashes and allergic disorders like intolerances, allergies and eczema

Kapha : Earth, Water
Kaphas have a large bone structure and can be fleshy, curvaceous. They have oily skin which if Kapha is in balance will have a healthy glow with even poring.

To avoid skin that appears deeply lined, orange peel texture and cystic acne, Kaphas need to make sure they keep their skins hydrated to prevent excess oil production.

Kaphas strength is physical. They have strong stamina and their bodies can maintain a youthful appearance into old age. Kahas are dependable, loyal, nurturing and work well with routine.

Kaphas make good bankers, accountants, administrators and for those who prefer physical work, tradesmen and craftsmen.

When Kapha is in imbalance, a person can appear to be overly possessive, greedy and dependent. There can be a tendency for depression.

Imbalances with Kapha can lead to cancer, hypothyroidism and diabetes.

For chart of the characteristics go to:
http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/files/products/ayurvedic.html

For a more complete description go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/ for information on BEAUTY 2.0 by Kristen Ma

Battling AGING

Marketers use the term “Anti-aging” to attract the attention of aging boomers and proactive Generation Xer and Yer’s. While aging is the process of life, we spend a great deal of effort and money fighting it. When we are young, we welcome the changes as a journey of growth.

Whether it is advertising or precociousness, our battle against aging is beginning at a younger age. Clients in their twenties realize their mortality and become consumers of anti-aging.

As a natural skincare specialist, I prefer sensible, healthy, non-risky strategies for both the boomers who are looking to turn back time and for the younger Xers + Yers who want to head into their wiser years with physical, youthful beauty. Our clients at Pure + simple’s clients are independent thinkers and healthy lifestylers who are cognoscente of the importance of natural products and a balanced and long term out look but they are no less compromising about looking their best and than any other market segment. Their vision of beauty includes health, character and individuality.

Therefore the solutions are innovative and vary with the individuality of our clients. The core criteria are healthy tested treatments, effective natural products and long term results.

The variations in treatments depend on the current condition of the client’s skin, the desired result, his/her budget, his/her time/effort commitment, treatment compatibility and personal beliefs and preferences.

Those of us who want easy solutions with little effort to gain youthfulness can become willingly duped. Effective anti-aging is a lifelong combination of good lifestyle habits and good genetics. Consistent adherence to good diet, proper exercise and healthy grooming/skincare can do much to a lifetime of increasing and deepening beauty. Magical or aggressive solutions are at best boosters or support to a healthy lifestyle.

My anti-aging solutions grew out of my professional experience of client needs, the results we got, along with my own aging experience and Ayurveda. Looking and being beautiful doesn’t need to be a struggle or a battle. It can come to you naturally as you flow with the energies of the universe

Beautiful Skin

The pursuit of beautiful skin has helped me mature more wisely as I become more connected to my universe and environment.

When Pure + simple first opened in 2000, I found that classic esthetics and the extensive experience of my estheticians did not adequately help about a third of our clients be rid of their acne, rosacea or lined skin.

I believed the long term benefits of Natural Products for beautiful skin. So I hired a local teacher of Ayurveda, to become better at using natural skincare to solve our clients skin problems. We got that and more as we started to treat each client as an individual and not merely common skin problem.

Our success rate increased to almost 100% as we started to customize our solutions to the client’s unique characteristics both physical and psychological.
From the results both Kristen , my daughter and I invested in learning Ayurveda from Dr. Vivek Shanbhag. You can learn about Ayurveda and Skincare from a book that my daughter, Kristen Ma, wrote by going to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/

The following advice for Beautiful Skin is based on Ayurveda.

Feeling and looking your best is quite simple. Follow a diet, lifestyle and skincare + grooming routine that promotes good health. Each of us is unique, but there are basically three major routines we can choose from. Which one is best for us depends on the quality or type of energy flowing through us and in Ayurveda they are called Doshas. I will be writing about Ayurveda but if you are impatient see a summary of the Doshas at http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/files/products/ayurvedic.html


The following advice is general advice for those of us in our Vata years (over 40 years old). As we age we become more spirit (less physical) while it depends on from where we start. Our skin shows this by becoming thinner and dryer.

Vata’s strengths are in the emotional, spiritual and intuitive realm. Therefore we start to favour and benefit greatly from exercise that has a spiritual component. In my personal practice I have accepted my uniqueness and have left behind the guilt as I hear experts tell me that I need to do weight lifting or cardio. Every Morning I practice Chi Kung and Yoga.


Vatas can eat foods that are usually on the forbidden lists like red meat and carbs. But they need to avoid dry foods like popcorn and cold foods like ice cream. Another group are foods that promote gas like cabbage. But again that all depends on things like your base Dosha, the weather, what’s happening in your life and any imbalance in your health you are encountering. It sounds more complicated than it is. I find using Ayurveda in my life much like being a conductor in an orchestra.

Skincare for those of us Forty and Beyond needs to focus on keeping our skin moist and hydrated. Each morning skin needs to be cleansed gently. A hydrating serum packed nutrients should be applied to the face, neck and eye area. If the weather is dry and/or cold, most of us need to apply a fine layer of nourishing face oil. Then to keep the moisture in our skin cells we should apply a protective moisturizing cream. Men may prefer to leave out the oil, more because of personal preference than because of their skin’s needs.

To keep things simple you repeat it again at night.

To keep my mind body and spirit balance I have created a daily routine that I adjust according to the weather. For help in customizing your skincare and lifestyle routine go to http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=8597&post=45067&uid=2455286407#post45067 where I discuss the weather and the effects on your Doshas and your Skin daily.

If you need help in discovering your Dosha, you can take the test in Kristen’s book, BEAUTY 2.0 or make an appointment with me or any of our skincare specialists. Go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/2005/ for contact information

VANITY is good for YOU

At Pure + Simple, we use Ayurveda as one of the tools along with skincare science and holistic health to help clients attain the skin and look they want.

But as a client, Ayurveda is a great instrument to help you keep your skin beautiful while helping you feel more connected to your environment and yourself. I find it a great tool to keep my general health, mind body spirit, balanced.

In Ayurveda, nothing is innately right or wrong, good or bad. It depends. So our skincare advice for you at Pure + simple will not be the same as your fiend or your sister. It will not be the same in summer and winter and it may not be exactly the same day to day.

Our appearance has great impact on how we feel about aging. But not just in the end result of how we look to others.

Caring about your appearance includes caring for your skin. Skincare in turn supports a healthy youthful circulatory system which in turn maintains good health.

The circulatory system runs in the 3 layers of the skin. When one’s skin is dry the capillaries below become less elastic and function less efficiently to bring nutrition to cells and to remove cellular debris and toxins. Therefore being increasingly dry, pigmented and red skin affects the functioning of the circulatory system and the deterioration of the circulatory system results in drier skin.

Therefore VANITY can contribute to our wellbeing when we are wise and proactive. Keeping our skin moist will not only keep the surgeon’s knife at bay but it will also help us feel better. When capillaries function properly we feel the benefits of good blood flow. In the face it could mean better eye sight and better brain function. In the legs it could mean slimmer legs, less cellulite and dry skin.

So be vain and get moisturizing.

I will be discussing different strategies for keeping skin moist throughout the day and the year.

OUR METAMORPHOSIS

I invite you to leave behind the frenetic years of building, career and childrearing, to transform like a butterfly, a being of beauty, lightness and freedom.

We foolishly approach our middle age by engaging in "ANTI-AGING".

The fear of entering into a new stage in our life blinds us to the beautiful experience of the autumn of our life.

Simone de Beauvoir wisely titled a book of her later years, "When Things of the Spirit Come First".

In Ayurveda, the Vata Stage of our life is more spiritual.

The decline of our bodies can be complemented with the rise of our awareness of our connection to the universe. Wisdom gives us pleasure at all stages of our life.

I would like to share the unique experiences of my maturing friends and clients along with my own knowledge and experience. I hope they will enlighten you and that you will share your comments with us.

I will be discussing all sorts of issues that involve the maturing mind, body and spirit. There will be the joys of finally being the person we have always wanted to be along with healthy solutions for common physical concerns like cellulite, weakening eye sight, wrinkling skin.