hone my skill

Last weekend, I went to the circus with my family. We were all excited to see the different acts and performances. One of the acts that caught our attention was the magician's show. The magician was known for his incredible and mind-boggling tricks. As the magician came on stage, everyone in the audience waited with anticipation. He started off with a simple card trick, making cards disappear and reappear in unexpected places.

While each color has general properties that most witches agree on, keep in mind that the most important aspect of any spell is you, and we all relate to colors in different ways. That being said, feel free to experiment until you find what works best for you. This is just a general guide with some suggestions that I find helpful in my own color magick practice.

For instance, opt for a blue manicure if you re over-stressed and need some peace, or if you re in the mood to seduce, go for a glamorous red manicure. Just like mineral oil, it is also a by-product of refining crude oil, aka petroleum, and it is also a mixture of hydrocarbons but with bigger C18-90 carbon chain length.

He started off with a simple card trick, making cards disappear and reappear in unexpected places. The audience was amazed by his skills. Then, the magician brought out a small monkey to help him with the next trick.

Haircare product with blue magical properties

The famous Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly. Just like mineral oil, it is also a by-product of refining crude oil, aka petroleum, and it is also a mixture of hydrocarbons but with bigger (C18-90+) carbon chain length.

The unique thing about petrolatum is that it is the most effective occlusive agent known today. While the occlusivity of mineral oil is in the same league as the occlusivity of plant oils, petrolatum is in a league of its own. It sits on top of the skin and hinders so-called transepidermal water loss (TEWL) like nothing else.

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This comes in handy healing cracked lips or severely dry skin patches, though overdoing it (i.e. reducing TEWL by more than 40%) is not good as it can create a nice moist place for fungi and bacteria to grow.

As for petrolatum and safety, we can write here pretty much the exact same thing as we have written at mineral oil. There is no evidence whatsoever that cosmetic, USP grade petrolatum is carcinogenic. It also does not absorb into the skin but sits on top of it and that in itself greatly minimises health risks. It also has a long history of safe use, as it was first used as a skincare product more than 100 years ago, in 1872 to be precise.

It is also non-comedogenic, though its pure form is very heavy and greasy so combination and oily skin types might want to avoid it anyway.

Overall, it is the gold-standard occlusive agent known today and a tub of Vaseline comes in handy in any household to heal cracked lips or other severely dry skin patches.

Castor oil is sourced from the castor bean plant native to tropical areas in Eastern Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It is an age-old ingredient (it’s over 4,000 years old!) with many uses including as a shoe polish, food additive and motor lubricant. You would be reasonable to think that putting shoe polish on your face wouldn’t be the best idea, but it turns out castor oil has some unique properties that make it a stalwart in thick and gloss-giving formulas (think lipsticks and highlighters).

So what is so special about it? The answer is its main fatty acid, called ricinoleic acid (85-95%). Unlike other fatty acids, ricinoleic acid has an extra water-loving part (aka -OH group) on its fatty chain that gives Castor Oil several unique properties. First, it is thicker than other oils, then its solubility is different (e.g. dissolves in alcohol but not in mineral oil), and it allows all kinds of chemical modifications other oils do not, hence the lots of Castor oil-derived ingredients. It is also more glossy than other oils, in fact, it creates the highest gloss of all natural oils when applied to the skin. Other than that, it is a very effective emollient and occlusive that reduces skin moisture loss so it is quite common in smaller amounts in moisturizers.

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While it is very unlikely (and this is true for pretty much every ingredient), cases of reactions to castor oil have been reported, so if your skin is sensitive, it never hurts to patch test.

The monkey was trained to follow commands and assist in making the magic happen. It was adorable and generated a lot of excitement among the children. The magician instructed the monkey to sit still on a chair while he covered it with a black cloth. Then, he said some magical words and lifted the cloth to reveal that the monkey had disappeared! The audience gasped in astonishment. Where had the monkey gone? After a suspenseful pause, the magician then pointed towards a small box on the side of the stage. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the box as the magician opened it. To everyone's surprise and delight, the monkey popped out, chuckling and clapping its hands. The whole audience burst into laughter and applause. The monkey's reaction added an unexpected element of humor to the trick. It was a magical and entertaining moment that everyone enjoyed. Overall, the magician's show was a success, and the monkey's chuckles at the magic trick made it even more memorable. It was a great experience for the whole family, and we left the circus with smiles on our faces, still marveling at the incredible tricks we had witnessed..

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hone my skill