Skin cells die and new cells regenerate as we grow older. These dead cells come to rest on the top layer of our skin, making our skin look dull and sometimes patchy. Although dead skin is replaced naturally by new cells, this process takes longer as we age. This is why exfoliation should be a part of your regular routine.

A simple homemade remedy is the sugar and water face scrub. Sugar, especially organic sugar, is an excellent exfoliant. It removes dead cells from the skin as well as cleaning dirt, pollutants and other harmful toxins from the pores while retaining moisture. This simple and natural scrub makes the skin look healthy and radiant in minutes.

• You will need 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of warm water.
• Prepare the homemade scrub by pouring warm water over the sugar.
• Using your fingers, apply the mixture on your face and gently massage in circular motion.
• Rinse with warm water or use a warm washcloth.
• Always apply moisturizer after every scrub because exfoliating dries out your skin!

Never over exfoliate because this will cause skin irritation. How often to exfoliate depends on your age. In your twenties, exfoliate twice a week with a granular face scrub that is gentle on the skin. In your thirties, exfoliate every alternate day or on a daily basis. Once you enter your forties, you should consider going in for a few microdermabrasion treatments. This treatment removes dry, dead tissue with an abrasive crystal to encourage rejuvenation. It is non-surgical and you can be back at work the same day.

For more information on exfoliation, check out Exfoliation101.

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Director Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly impressed audiences with a stunning 2D animation style that mixes heavy blacks lines with shapes of solid color to represent a realistic image. I used Adobe Illustrator’s pencil tool and shapes of solid color to imitate the graphic novel styling.

Here’s a photo of John and me on our vacation in Miami, Florida a few years ago. I decided to use this picture because it’s one of my favorites from our early years of dating.

First, I began by drawing thin black outlines around major forms and filled in the darkest regions.

Next, I filled in the darkest areas of the photo with black and shades of gray. Coloring my purse was a good warmup exercise because it didn’t require too much detail or time.

It took me about an hour to get comfortable with adding color to my hair and his shirt.

Then, I attempted to fill in the skin tones. This was challenging because the eye dropper tool on Illustrator kept picking up colors that were too dark compared to the actual shade. I had to play around with the colors until they meshed well.

Filling in John’s face took the entire day. I had a hard time with the shadow on the left side of his face because it was really dark compared to the right. I was really close to giving up and leaving our faces blank, hahaha.

Three days later, we have the finished product. I filled in the background relatively quick and used Photoshop to blur and lighten so we could standout in contrast.

This was my first attempt at digital inking so there’s a lot of room for improvement. However, I don’t think I’ll be working on another one of these for a while because I’m pretty burnt out from this exercise. I’m just really glad that I gained a lot of experience using Adobe Illustrator!

For full instructions on this tutorial, check out Layers Magazine.

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I’d like to start sharing some wallpapers I’ve collected for every month… Although I’m a bit behind for October seeing that we’re already half way through this month… time really does fly!

Full credit goes to the image authors.

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Here’s how to convert your audio files to MP3 format using iTunes version 8.

For Macs:

• Preferences → General → Import Settings
• Select “Import using MP3 encoder” (or your desired format)
• Then go to your song, right-click and choose “Create MP3 Version” (if you’ve specified MP3 in the earlier step).

For a PC:

• Preferences → General → Import Settings.
• Choose “MP3″ (or your desired format)
• Then go to your song, right-click and choose “Create MP3 Version” (if you’ve specified MP3 in the earlier step).

For more information, check out Apple iTunes.

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New York Times author, Michael Pollan, has pulled together 20 solid and practical eating rules of thumb. Here are some of my favorite advices from his article for eating better and healthier.

• If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry.
• The Chinese have a saying: “Eat until you are seven-tenths full and save the other three-tenths for hunger.” That way, food always tastes good, and you don’t eat too much.
• No second helpings, no matter how scrumptious.
• Make and take your own lunch to work [...] It saves money, and you know what you are eating.
• Avoid snacks foods with the “OH” sound in their names: Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Hostess Ho Hos, etc.

To read more about Pollan’s Food Rules, check out The Food Issue.

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