SPRING 2016
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f there is one season which has the DIY-spirit written all over it - it is spring. A fresh new touch on everything around you, all done by nature itself.
We at Trigger are feeling it as well. This spring edition wants you to bring that glow inside your home and sweep out the winter blues. These pages are filled with ideas for you to take on and get some inspiration of how you can revamp your personal space. In my opinion, a Do-It-Yourself project should be simple and straight-forward to carry out, and most importantly the end product must be great. You want to create something which is just as good as a storebought item, if not better. We have worked on bringing you projects that you can personalize and incorporate into whatever room you want. Spring-clean the bedroom, bring in some seasonal flowers and get crafting! From all of us at Trigger, we hope you find lots of inspiration in our magazine.
Gordon has a passion for music and all things creative. He believes life should be about more than just surviving and should not be taken too seriously. “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing” - Oscar Wilde
Xenia is keen on music, photoshop and taking care really good at not sleeping at night and after it going at university for studying. Xenia loves to laugh a lot and be the centre of attention.
Simona spends her days between Adobe Illustrator and DIY projects for her home. Buzzing around without needing now really enthusiastic about growing her own strawberries. We might include that in the next publication!
Deyana is in her third year of Journalism. She’s interested in anything that secretly alters your mood. That’s why she’s prepared an article about the psychology of colours, as well as a bit about design over the centuries.
Erin is on exchange from the US, where she studies communication. She loves to create and design, and wants to travel the world when she’s all grown up.
Marta is a student and a writer that wreally enjoys cooking and recycling. Her motto is “slow down.” She works for the magazine so that she can keep the DIY projects at the end of the day.
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B e d r o o m
what makes a house a home
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ise and shine with a refurbished bedroom this spring. From money saving tips and simple mood altering tricks, to flowers and fragrances for your bedroom - we have it all . Our ‘Bedroom on a budget’ section will help you find the best way to spend your money wisely on furniture and decorations. You feel tired or grumpy when you wake up in the morning? Take a look at how different colours can affect your mood. The psychology of colours is as important as any other field of psychology, but few actually know about it and use it to our benefit. Combine this knowledge with what your hands can do – our DIY essential oil burner is easy to make and will turn your bedroom into your very own aromatherapy space. Learn how to properly choose flowers according to their meaning and effect during this season. Create your own indoor garden or just put a few plants around your bedroom – it is all up to you. One thing is certain – within these pages, you will find beautiful and cheap bedroom ideas in line with the season of new beginnings.
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B e d r o o m
by Deyana Spasova
Colour is all around us. Many
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by Xenia Romanenko
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by Xenia Romanenko
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flowers in bloom
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Sunflower are, of course, symbols of the sun, and can brighten any room. The large yellow petals are cheery and playful, and stand out in bouquets.
Colours: Yellow Meaning: Adoration, loyalty
Orchid Colours: Pink, yellow, red, white Meaning: Love, beauty
Orchids are one of the with over 27,000 species. Orchids were once very popular as corsages and romantic gifts, but have since been replaced by the rose and carnation. Since orchids are so dramatic, they tend to work bouquet.
Lily
Gerbera Colours: Yellow, pink, orange, white Meaning: Cheerfulness
Gerbera daisies are as simple as traditional daisies, but are much larger and more colorful.
Colours: Yellow, orange, white Meaning: Happiness, passion, purity
tend to draw the eye. While a bouquet of lilies is a stunning centerpiece, a single lily can make a statement as well.
are perfect for a simple bouquet, and are reminiscent of childhood.
Rose These well-known popular as romantic gifts, and red roses can make a dramatic and eye-catching centerpiece. However, orange or pink are more neutral colors that may be better-suited to display.
Lilies, with their pointed petals and bright colors, are
Carnation Colours: Red, yellow, orange, white Meaning: Love, purity, gratitude, friendship, desire
Colours: Red, yellow, green, blue, purple, white Meaning: Admiration, love, purity, impulsiveness, peace
are used in corsages and boutonnieres. Mix and match colors for a trendy arrangement, or stick to one color for a more traditional piece. Spring 2016 Spring 2016
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S e c t i o n
Light
up your
Life
by Erin Gilliland
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ne of the most-overlooked aspects of interior decorating is lighting. It’s easy to forget about lighting your home because light isn’t permanent. Light changes
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in your home. To get the full scoop on how to best use light to make your house a home, we spoke to Francesca, an interior design student. Francesca plans to become a lighting designer once she graduates.
Trigger: What
is
some
basic advice for lighting a home? Francesca: If you want to plan the lighting for a home it is important which light colour you choose. Nobody wants cold-white light in there homes. Especially for a bedroom, where people want to calm down and relax you need warm-white or natural-white (ca 4000K) light. Can you list some basic rules to remember when thinking about light? Lighting always depends on the room. But my I’ve learned three important elements of light that always help when decorating. First is ambient luminescence, which is mainly used for general vision, and could be used as downlight in the ceiling. Secondly the focal glow, which is used for which could be anything that brings a bit of dynamic or sparkling in the room, like a design pendant. What is the best way to use natural light? Natural light, or better known as daylight, is the most important light for humans. The best way of using it is through large windows. Most architects try to avoid bigger windows because they causes other problems like higher heating bills, but for a lighting designer they are ideal. Today, there are daylight ceilings
What rules should decorators remember when trying to light a room? There are many things you should take into account when you want to light a room, but maybe the most important is to use light and shadow. Don’t exaggerate. Set the light precise, you need a play of both light and shadow. For more tips on how to light your decorator
Antonia
Burnett!
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own in In Dundee a house on Perth road is getting some special treatment. The old rustic two-story granite building is receiving a full makeover. Owner Antonia Burnett knows what she is doing with her house, and every room is a project.
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ntonia Saving Graces
urne
Interior D
by Alexandra Turku
As an interior designer who owns the design company Saving Graces, she has done rooms and houses up for many clients over the years. But there is something about getting free hands to do your own place.
Antonia says much of her early inspiration of interior design came through her mother. Growing up they would move houses every year. Her mother would do up the houses she bought and then sell them again, meaning a constant move-about for Antonia. By the age of eighteen she
nett
ior Design
had lived in equally as many houses. She describes her mother as a woman avant-garde and ahead of time with her bold designs. Growing up in such an inventive environment inspired Antonia to later study interior design at Chelsea School of Art.
The road down the designer path started with a job at The Rug Company in London. With designers such as Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood as inspiration, The Rug Company make
“luxury market� with a high-end style of interior. She later met her husband in
Aberdeen, which led to her spending ten years in the city.
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Antonia's home office is a cosy work room featuring some of her own designs.
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ntonia took on a job at RGU’s centre for entrepreneurship for a few years, as there were not as many design opportunities as readily available in Aberdeen compared to London. But soon enough, she decided design was still for her and opened up her own business. “I don’t see myself as a natural entrepreneur, I thought they had to be really artsy and ballsy and that wasn’t me. But I thought, we’ll see how it goes” Antonia says. “Interior design has changed from what it used to be like. People think you have to be loaded to hire an interior designer, it’s not like that anymore. It’s for people who are time-poor.”
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For many, hiring an interior designer is like hiring any other service. It can also be somewhat of an insurance for your house. There are many design aspects to consider when working with design and redoing a room - fabrics, paint, furniture and wallpaper just to name a few. “When I meet a client, I really try to understand their vision.” Antonia explains. “I want the rooms to last, not only physically but for them to stay stylish over time.” Every client has their own style of preference, whether it is classical or modern Scandinavian. Antonia comes up with different options for them and bring them examples of how she can style their rooms. In terms of how long a job can take, it can be anything from a month to a year. It can take a couple of times to get the idea of a style or a room the way the customer had in mind.
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“It’s your home, so it’s so important that you’re happy with it.”
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any of Antonia’s clients are newly started families with young children getting their first house. This makes it important that the house design is not only focused on being stylish or fashionable, but adapted to the practicalities of having young kids. When you first move into a new place, Antonia advises you to just live in it for six months to get to know it. See how the light affects the rooms and how you use your new space.
“It is really important to get used to how you’re going to use the space before you start living in it.” A good way to identify your own style is to group together images. By gathering magazine-pictures, or using tools such as Pinterest, you will see what styles appeal to you. Antonia goes by an ethos coined by William Morris: not to have anything in your house you don’t love, need or use. To get harmony in your house, you should ask yourself those questions about the things you own. “Even if you have a piece that doesn’t go with the rest of the room you should have it.” Antonia smiles. “Have a home that makes you happy.”
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There are a few things to think about when doing up your home or room. Colour is an important feature when it comes to what a room looks like, but the orientation of the room is incredibly important when choosing what colours to decorate a room with. Which way the room faces will change how much natural light it gets. A south facing room is a joy to decorate as it gets the most light, making any colour vibrant. North
facing rooms are much more limited as the light will be cooler and harsh. Antonia’s advice is to avoid any blue colours in a north facing room. When choosing how to style your room, one way can be to pick the piece of furniture with the most colour in the room and draw inspiration from there. Let the room match or complement the bold piece and you will have a creative and stylish environment. Inspiration does not have to be hard to find, even just one piece of fabric can
be the starting point. Also when buying expensive pieces of furniture, such as a sofa, it is good to go with a neutral colour. This will make it easier to re-decorate if you want change. By getting new colourful cushions or changing the drapes will give your room a makeover but keeps the cost down, and it will also give you more design options to choose between. “Colour is the most transformative element of interior design” Antonia says. “It can change your perspective.” Spring 2016
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t is a well-known fact that fashion comes full circle. Remember last year it was all about the 80s? Highwaist Mom jeans, bright-coloured crop tops and massive platform sandals. Interior design was not left out either. Flame stitch patterned couches, Andy Warhol works hanging on bedroom walls and framed record albums were some of the top 80s trends in 2015. 2016 comes with a new obsession. The most recent interior design inspirations include lava lamps, bold patterned textures and a playful approach to space. The disco days of the 70s are once more here. Until this year, interior design had been more or less characterised by minimalism and functionalism. How many pictures of white or cream kitchens did you see in the last design magazine you read? Probably half of them had this so-called ‘Scandinavian’ neutrality – optimizing free space, but keeping everything pure in colour and simple in design. This year it has all changed, 360 degrees. The 70s inspiration brought back the feeling of change, radicalization and boldness, trapped between those ten years, mixed with elements from the chic bohemia flower power decade of 1960.
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However, it is important to remember that this year’s design trends are just inspired by the 1970s. So instead of transforming your whole home into the set of A Clockwork Orange, try adding some small details to remind you of the boldness of the decade. For example, why not experiment with colourful floral wallpapers? Geometric figures and basically everything repetitive will give your walls the modern look. House plants were also something people in the 70s had heaps of. Nature inside is always good and helps your mood, so do not be afraid to go a bit over the top with your flowers. The more colourful, the better. A kiss-shaped tomato red sofa? Why not! The 1970s were an era, which wanted to be seen, and heard. It was a time of change and resurrection, so whether you want to freshen up your home, or you are just a big fan of the decade, give it a try and give your home a bolder look in 2016.
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QUICK home FIXES
STAINED BATHTUB Are the stains on your bath becoming an eyesore? Combine equal amounts of cream of tartar and baking soda with enough lemon juice to make a paste. Rub the mixture into the stain with a soft cloth. Let it sit for half an hour then rinse well with water.
SLAMMING DOOR Soften the slam of your door by attaching a few pieces of peel-and-stick foam weather stripping around the doorstop. Or try getting a wide rubber band and wrapping it around the doorknob on either side, stretching across the edgeof the door.
CHAIRs WEARING FLOOR Hammer in pin tacks with felt pads attached to bottom of the chair legs or other furniture you move around a lot. Use rubber pads for couches and furniture that stays put.
SQUEAKY DOOR HINGES Grab some WD-40 and spray it on the hinges, moving the door back and forth to work in the lubricant. Petroleum jelly can also be used by rubbing it onto the hinges. If these tricks don’t work, try lifting the hinge pins gently and applying three-in-one oil.
WORN CANING Caning on chairs can sag over time but this can easily be reversed. To tighten it back up, wet the underside with warm water using a sponge. Let it dry overnight and repeat if necessary.
FLAT CUSHIONS Put them outside in the sun for a few hours, through. (Be careful - leave them in the sun too long and they fabric may fade.) The sun helps evaporate the moisture stored in help your cushions plump up nicely.
Stuck sLIDING WINDOWS Some silicone lubricant spray (available at hardware shops) will grease the sliders. Spray onto a rag, then wipe along the tracks whether they are metal, wood or plastic.
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Pick out any wood you would want to use for your new project, even scrap pieces can be used to breathe some life into your living room. We recycled an old cupboard door for our cupholder. Measure the lenght and width of the armrest of the desired chair and then mark out the pieces of wood.
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Now get to the sawing. Smoothen out the sides with sandpaper. Depending on the wood, you may want to put a couple of layers of paint on the sides. Some types of wood only need to have the edges smoothened, having its natural colour blend in with the piece.
A couple of nails will keep it in place, hammered through where the pieces meet to make a table-shape.
And that is all it takes to make yourself a sturdy little table to put your cup or plate for cozy nights on the couch.
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iking is an ever-growing movement, with people riding to work, uni or just to do their grocery shopping. This is where bike workshops come into the equation as a saviour for any broken bike. In 2006, despite Aberdeen’s notoriously grey weather, two Aberdeen University students decided to open a bike workshop called Becycle. After six years they moved to Don Street right in front of King’s College. They are now the biggest society at Aberdeen University and their shop is also the only bike workshop in Aberdeen run entirely on small donations and the work of volunteers. We visited them on a rainy day and wondered if anyone would show up at all. The only room with a roof was small and clogged by tools, brakes, seats, chains and other bits and pieces stored in boxes, shelves and on tables. The dim light and the smell of oil gave it a weird cozy atmosphere like you were in the right place, but the right place was not big enough for more than three people. Just a few minutes after the workshop was
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open, a couple of people came in with their bikes and started doing them up with the help of the volunteers. In a matter of seconds the bringing old bikes in the garage outside. The workshop has a bike-landing scheme, which means you can take a bike for a small deposit (usually £40) and then return it after six months. There is plenty of choice with more than 300 bikes (and counting) stored in the workshop for everyone to use. Fortunately the limited space does not stop volunteers and ing, chatting and having fun. The president of the society Kevin Mathew says it is all about the community spirit. Everyone is welcome and everyone will get the help they need. If you come here you will surely meet someone new. Mathew is a student at the University of Aberdeen who decided to join because you get to have lovely conversations all the time, free food and bike rides in company. What could be better? “Most people do it because
they love bikes but also the environment and the community,” he said. Becycle is a new way of uniting people and saving the environment. According to volunteers and bike-enthusiasts, biking is more than what meets the eye. It is exercise (which releases endorphins and makes you happy), it saves the environment (I don’t have to explain this right?) and it keeps the money in your pockets. Transport is not cheap, especially in Aberdeen, and there is no competition when you can buy a used bike from just £20 or borrow one for £40. The active community brings a refreshing vibe to a relatively small part of town. Aberdeen is known for its industrialization, oil and big investments but Becycle shows how it can be more than that. Biking presents a new way to live in the city and give back while saving the environment and meeting new people.
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By Simona Bisiani
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unlight makes its way undisturbed in this cool Monday morning, brightening up all the colours of the tidy gardens in the back of the semi-detached homes of Woodside, Aberdeen. One of the lawns differentiates from the others for its components, a multi-colour shed and three rustic benches, do not seem to fit in with the general fashion of the neighbourhood, where B&Q or other industrial brand wooden sheds and mini-glass houses dominate the scene. The garden belongs to a Filipino man called Neuvar Villa, 37, who reached the shores of Scotland nearly nine years ago. Neuvar skips around the garden enthusiastically, telling me of how all those unique and different pieces of furniture have
been made by himself, some months before, one year ago and even a few good years back. “Building things myself is my passion. I started back when I was young in the Philippines, and continued here. Everything in the garden is made by me, as well as the flooring inside the house and just a few days ago I built two bed frames, for me and my wife and for my mother-in-law. One day I had some pallets and thought – why not make a garden shed? My neighbour mocks me because I painted it with many colours. His one comes from B&Q.” We both look at the neighbour’s shed, a polished wooden shed, and then at Neuvar’s one, all rustic, each part of it being right in its imperfection, as if a puzzle maker had managed to put togeth er the wrong pieces of a puzzle and still been able to finish it.
“I work as a concierge in a hotel here in Aberdeen but I hope to find a more creative job that could allow me to create and build – prove myself I can produce what I need with my intelligence and my strength. I am interested in everything related to human life, from gardening, to plumbing, tiling and all sorts of mechanical jobs�, -he says, while showing me all his toolboxes that he keeps in the garden shed. It does not take much to manage to grasp the energy and motivation that Neuvar finds within himself that lead him to shape his own surroundings. It pervades from his buzzy movements, it lies in the gentle touch he gives the upside-down handle bar of the shed, in the proud tone in which he tells how everything in his garden has come out from his mind and his hand. It surrounds him like an aura, and I cannot help but feel a bit jealous of the power of his passion.
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GROW your own
SCRAPS
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Do not let your kitchen scraps go to waste. Loads of vegetables and plants can be potted and will grow to a full edible version of itself. It makes a great kitchen experiment and you get to watch your dinner grow in front of you. Put a couple of stems of any fresh herb in a glass of water and it will grow roots after a few days. In no time you will have a basil or coriander sprout ready to be planted. They make great kitchen plants who love the sun and will add zing to any dish.
If you have some leftover ginger you can moist it and keep it in the fridge or out on a plate. It will soon grow a bud and you will be able to plant it. Put the ginger halfway down in soil and you can enjoy fresh ginger at home.
Many types of lettuce, including vegetables such as celery, can completely regrow them-
the most part of the leaves, put the heart (the thick and inedible part of the vegetable) in a glass of water. Only let the bottom touch the water. After a To grow your own mush- few days it will begin to sprout rooms, all you need is the stem from the top and be ready for of it. Put it in a pot, with only planting. These plants will the very top of the mushroom grow just as big as the original stem visible. Soon it will grow and it tastes great - especially an entirely new mushroom. since you have done it yourself.
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arbling is of the easiest and prettiest ways to get creative with All you need to make a unique pattern is a bottle of nailpolish, water and a basin. Terracotta pots work best whenever you paint or polish will stick to most surfaces. Just make sure to protect the surface you are using, you wouldn’t want to get nail polish everywhere. Fill your water basin as deep as you want to colour your pot. Pour the entire bottle of nail polish into the water, making patterns as you go. Good ways to make pretty patterns are to make a web-shape or circles with the nail polish. Dip the pot and spin it slightly, making sure you get polish on the surface you want coloured. Let dry for a few minutes and enjoy your new marbled pot.
POUR. DIP. DRY. Spring 2016
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SPRING FAVOURITES IN THE KITCHEN
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Best ever HOME-MADE HUMMUS Get ready for a mind-blowing recipe! Probably the easiest, cremiest and ridiculously tasty hummus. Eat with Pita bread or a spoon, doesn’t matter.
Ingredients: 200g canned chickpeas 2tbsp lemon juice 2 garlic gloves, crushed Salt 100ml tahini 4tbsp water 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1tsp paprika Instructions: Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, tahini and water in a food processor and blend to a creamy puree. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and serve!!
You can use fresh chickpeas instead! Simply soak them the night before, boil them and then follow the same process!
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Red Lentils Chili make 2 big bowls 2 Tbsp coconut or olive oil 1 white onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper Garlic powder or 2 garlic gloves 3 Tbsp chili powder 2 Tbsp ground cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 can of diced tomatoes 3 Tbsp tomato paste 3/4 cup dry red lentils, thoroughly rinsed in cold water + drained 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, slightly drained 1 15-ounce can black beans, slightly drained 1 15-ounce can corn, drained
Instructions Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion, and red pepper. Season with a healthy pinch each salt and pepper and stir. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 2 Tbsp chili powder, 1 Tbsp cumin, paprika, diced tomatoes and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a low boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, add lentils and reduce heat to medium-low or low, so it’s at a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until lentils are mostly tender. As it’s cooking you may need to add more water if the mixture is looking too dry and the lentils aren’t submerged. Next add kidney beans, black beans, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, and remaining 1 Tbsp cumin, and 1 Tbsp chili powder, and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat slightly to low (or medium-low), occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more chili powder or cumin for smokiness, salt for saltiness, or a little coconut sugar to balance the heat and draw out the
whipped body butter feel the flavour
For this nutrient rich body butter you will need: • • • •
Coconut oil Shea butter Cocoa butter Sweet almond oil
Use equal parts of all the ingredients, we suggest 10g each as that will give 80g of butter. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then use a double boiler to melt them. the same results.
Once the ingredients are totally melted leave the pot in the fridge so the new product will become solid. Once the butter is solid you can get on the last step. With an electric mixer simply whip the ingredients same way you would with cream. Don’t worry if you do not have a mixer, you can still use the butter as it is. it will melt under the pressure of your results. Spring 2016
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Burning hot NEW LOOK
mond! Just be careful, take the almonds between some tweezers and burn it until it becomes charcoal. Then just chop it as
Now mix all the ingredients together. For a good amount of eyeliner use two almonds, 1tbsp of coconut oil and 1tsp of aloe vera gel and you are all set!
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