#Slugging Alternatives for Oily Skin

[indnwitch]

With everything having chemicals in it, and everything either supporting a genocide or insanely expensive, here’s a list of natural beauty products that work better than chemicals imo;

Acne on face or body use African black soap -

Body moisturizing soap- use Aleppo olive oil soap -

Qusil powder used by African women for years as a naturally exfoliating deep cleansing hair and face wash. You mix the water with powder till it foams-

Rose water toner, it’s great for acne, anti aging, redness, sensitive, dry, and oily skin.

Hibiscus tea is a great vitamin C toner, you can dab it on your face as well as drink it for added benefits. Vitamin C evens and brightens the skin tone.

Pure pomegranate juice is another vitamin c alternative not the stuff you get at the store but the juice that comes out of the pomegranate seeds.

Fig seeds crushed and mixed with olive oil are a great natural exfoliating powder for your face -

Pure African shea butter is the BEST natural full body moisturizer you can get your hands on. It makes you so soft and silky. -

Argan oil is an amazing oil for your body face and hair, it promotes skin cell turn over acting as an anti aging agent for your skin, it deeply moisturizes your hair for long silky healthy strands-

Pomegranate and fig oils are amazing sleep masks if you have acne prone skin and breakouts. Slug with them instead of Vaseline.

Use pure Jamaican black castor oil for your eyelashes and eye brows to promote growth.

Use pure Virgin coconut oil as a natural makeup remover. Shea butter can also be used on the lips in place of lip balms.

Part two is up now

[cuppatea87]

May 2024 Empties.

Bit of an odd month this one for me personally. The highlight was definetly seeing Tenacious D live though!

10 out of 10 the gig & I would defintely recommend seeing them live.

Empties wise, I got through quite a lot of stuff, so we'll move onto them.

Some of them are rebuys, so as usual, they won't be mentioned:

Nivea Sun UV Face Shine Control SPF 50:

SPF is so important to use. Not only can it prevent sunburn & damage from the UV rays etc, it also helps prevent getting skin cancer. I've been using this for a while now- it's specifically formulated to be used on your face, it's not heavy & it hasn't broken me out. I have oily skin & this helps mattify it.

Dr Paw Paw Overnight Lip Mask:

This I've also been using for a while- it's the little tube of it & I'm surprised how long it's lasted considering I've used it every night! I tend to use this to 'slug' my lips at night (ie using a lip balm then putting this over the top of it). It's helped keep my lips soft. It is very thick so I wouldn't recommend if you have a problem with thick things on your lips. It claims its lip plumping, but I haven't noticed that but it is amazing.

Soap & Glory In the Glow How Exfoilating Tonic:

I love this stuff so so much! A bottle of this can last me a good few months- I use it once a week (it suggests daily but that's a bit too much for me) & it leaves my skin looking & feeling super clean. The smell is also very orangey so that's something to be aware of if you don't like scents in skin products. I will be replacing this with the Pixi Glow Tonic (which I also love) as I tend to alternate between the two.

Simple Micellar Water:

Just a simple Micellar water. Same as the Garnier & Sainsburys one. Not much else to add really.

Me+ by Superdrug Niacinamide & Zinc Booster:

I really like this- & the added zinc is a bonus. It's not sticky (it's quite runny), though it does have a strong chemical scent. It does what it says it's does on the bottle & leaves my skin feeling soft afterwards.

Boots Everyday Zesty Lemon Shower Gel:

This performs as well as the other two shower gels that I've used by the Everyday collection from Boots- however, this one smells super lemony.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub:

This smelt more sweet lime than the body butter did! It's very scrubby, but it doesn't foam (than get quite messy as well though not as bad as thr coffee body scrub I used a few months back). I really do like Soap & Glory products which I think is pretty obvious.

And that's that for May. No makeup stuff, though who knows if that will change next month?

[controlledcatastrophe]

Slugging Alternatives for Oily Skin

Slugging Alternatives for Oily Skin

Last week, I posted a blog all about slugging – what it is, what the benefits are, and who it’s good for. In the post, I mentioned that if you have oily skin, slugging may be a skincare technique you want to skip. Today, we’re going into a little more detail about why someone with oily skin may want to pass on slugging but also explore some slugging alternatives for oily skin. Because having oily…

[primrose-fr]

Wildlife of the Scarred Wastes

Hey I put together a list of all wildlife found in Plague, for writing purposes. Because it's pretty unique from the rest of Sornieth. Thus can be a bit difficult to write for.  It's also interesting to note that most of the creatures can be found in other locations too, I picture the varieties found in plague to be more...plague-y. I hope this is at least a good jumping off point for you writers/worldbuilders!

Includes little personal notes here and there about possible uses, ecology and real-life equivalents, and interesting notes from the items bio too.

Everything under the cut. Long post ahead

Meat:

Panther Anole (Small, fool hardy, easy prey for hatchlings) Plague Bat (Bat that carries plagues?? Probably a small snack for adults and a meal for hatchlings) Satin Mouse (Magically charged mice, might have been introduced from Arcane) Java Sparrow (Small songbird, Nutritious) Shrew (Small and mole like, cannot be tamed) Marsh Rabbit (Oily water repellent fur, probably like a softer beaver pelt. Decent meal. Probably farmed for fur) Dappled Clucker (Chickens whose females brutally fight over males. Probably farmed for meat) Steppes Box Turtle (known for it's shell pattern) Musk Scrapper (Like a brown skunk, stinks but apparently the meat is incredible.) Flecked Bushrunner (Type of quail. males race each other to impress females. Proabably a common type of wild game) Wood Duck (Probably a common type of wild game) Silver-Laced Rooster (There was a play about a rooster trying to woo a dragon. Ended poorly.) Arroyo Toad (Most dragons are immune to it's toxin but Mirrors are allergic to it.) Plantain Poacher (Type of squirrel monkey. Common pest that raids produce stores.) Bush Rat Wallaby (Probably a decent sized meal) False Podid (Decent meal, cousin to common podid, tastes best when roasted in the shell) White-Eared Hummingbird Coral Snake (VENOMOUS. Rear-fanged. But edible to dragons if eaten carefully. Snakes store their venom in the head area. Body meat is generally fine.) White Squirrel (Cannot jump, probably easy prey. Most likely is native to Ice) Tokay Gecko (DEADLY. Covered in a potent poison from head to toe. (Note: real tokay geckos are not poisonous, just massive bitey assholes)) Bleeding Heart Crow (Only Males have the "Bleeding Heart" coloration) Ferret (a treat for most dragons, might also be kept as pets and for hunting small game) Sugarglider (Common pest in sugarmelon crops. might also be kept as pets.) Bar-Headed Goose (Might be farmed for meat/feathers) Hellbender (Massive salamander (one of the largest species on earth!)) Emerald Striker (VENOMOUS. Emeralds contain the toxin) Silver Raccoon (Known to steal and hoard silver.) Green Iguana (apparently very friendly and probably common pets (Important Note: Real green iguanas are NOT friendly and want nothing more than to whip you to shreds. Make terrible pets!)) Bog Canary (Song is apparently horrible, but plumage is pretty, might be kept as pets (Note: the art depicts a budgerigar not a canary)) Golden Reefprince (Regal and golden, best served to someone you're trying to impress. Probably farmed and marketed in the same vein as Valentine Roses) Black Swan (Probably farmed for Meat/Feathers) Green-throated Skink (More confident then it's cousin, probably more common to see skittering around in daylight) Dustrat (Seen as vermin, a sign to clean your lair) Banded Dart Frog (POISONOUS. However NOT deadly. Instead it's hallucinagenic. Probably farmed as an legal and/or illegal narcotic. Probably a big market for them.) Collared Lemming (Probably has a local superstition about it staring into your soul and knowing all your secrets) Webwing Alpha ( might be farmed for meat or plumage. Or kept as familiars) Yellow-Throated Sparrowmouse (kept as Familiars. Plumage might be used in crafts) Basilisk (Direct eye contact can turn dragons to stone. Probably Hunted as Big/trophy game. Also Kept as familiars) Clown Charger (Skin is poisonous. Might be hunted as Trophy Game but not eaten. Also Kept as familiars) Parasitic Fungus (Has mind controlling fungus, however fungus rarely takes. Also Kept as familiars) Fungalhoof Qiriq (Leaves a trail of fungus where ever it goes, easy to track dangerous to hunt. Might be hunted as big/Trophy game or as possible rites of passage . Also Kept as familiars) Roving Lionsnake (Large dangerous ambush predators that stalk long grasses. Might be hunter for trophy game or possible rights of passage. Also kept as familiars) Murkbottom Gull (Common seabirds, most likely a common sight at waterways. Also kept as familiars) Giant White Toridae (Large! Has Myths and urban legends surrounding it. Probably hunted as Trophy game or even rites of passage. Also Kept as familiars.) Ultramel Amphithere (Amphithere displaying the "Ultramel" color morph. Probably popular pets. Also kept as familiars) Auburn Woolly Walrus (Hostile due to chronic pain. Probably Farmed for meat and fur while also being hunted as big/trophy game. Also kept as familiars.) Hooded Dodo (Completely blind despite three sets of eyes. Probably farmed for meat and feather. Also kept as familiars) Infestation Hound (Wild ones are ambush predators, baiting and eating scavengers. Probably Domesticated by plague clans and bred then raised as hunting partners and companions. Kept as familiars) Heartred Croaker (Meat is uniquely brown and green in coloration. Kept as familiars) Mossy Cerdae (Healing magic-less Unicorns. Population is rising exponentially. Probably hunted for meat/fur/horns. Kept as familiars) Hippojay (Might be farmed for meat or hunted as big/trophy game. Or kept as familiars) Bluetail Skira (Blue algea clings to their tail fur causing the blue coloration. Might be farmed for meat or hunted like big game. Or kept as familiars) Paddyfowl (Common predator to smaller amphibians, might be farmed for meat or plumage. Or kept as familiars) Moordwelling Trunker (Displays are a lot like jousting. Probably farmed for meat. Or kept as familiars) Glowing Pocket Mouse ( A light snack. Or kept as familiars) Grey River Flight ( Probably farmed for meat and water resistant hide. Or kept as familiars) Brown River Flight ( Probably farmed for meat and water resistant hide. Or kept as familiars) Bearded Pupowl (Actually a vertebrate! Amphibian and probably distantly related to salamanders. Kept as familiars)

Aquatic Life:

Crawdads Wetland Vampire (Leech) Glass Minnows (maybe kept in dragon aquaria?) Mussels Clown Shrimp Warmouth (A mid sized bass/perch-like fish, probably decent eating) Wave Skippers (Flying fish?) Sea Hare (Sea slugs) Sunset Sea Dragon Dumpling Squid (bio implies they’re eaten and dipped in sauce.) True Rainbow Trout Green Corydoras Catfish (tiny bottom dwelling catfish, maybe kept in dragon aquaria?) Golden Cushionfish (Pufferfish) Seabed Pincher (Hermit crab) Blackwater Jester (Appears to be a cardinal fish of some sort) SeaHeart (Some kinda urchin) Aether Hermit Black Maiden (type of Black Guppy, possibly poisonous? maybe kept in dragon aquaria?) Ruby Tetras (possibly a red version of the blackskirt tetra, maybe kept in dragon aquaria?) Blue Ring Octopus (DEADLY. Venom can straight up kill smaller dragons. Considered an accomplishment to catch and eat properly. Probably equivalent to Fugu.) Striped biter (Similar to a cat shark in appearance. Apparently very common.) Devilsnap (Apparently an oyster that bites back) Blue Dragon Seaslug Cobra Snakehead (mid-sized carnivorous fish) Nebula Floaters (Jellyfish of some sort, very sweet may cause tooth decay) Pond Slip (Come from dirty water, VERY important to clean) Cinnamon Loach (Popular gift among the seafood eating dragons, may also be kept in dragon aquaria?) Deviant Darter (Covered in pustules, looks plague-y) Giant Isopod Billy Bass (Breaks into song when taken out of the water, mid-sized fish probably decent eating) Discus (Popular, beautiful, and challenging to care for in irl aquaria. Possibly kept as decorative fish for the upper class in dragon aquaria) Four-Eyed Butterflyfish Pincushion Urchin Gaseous Megashrimp (Big, kept as familiars. this is speculation but depending on the size it may also be used as a seafood alternative to whole roasts like pig) Skittering Megashrimp (See above) Longjaw Lurefish (Based on the jawfish, probably much bigger. preys on birds) Glow Star (glowing starfish. Glow fades when it leaves the water. Might make good underwater decoration) Wave Sweeper (Patrols shallow waterway. Probably hunted for meat or ignored, Kept as familiars) Plantation Pincher (Considered a rampant pest on farmland.)

Insect Life:

Fungus Cutter (Large fungivore ants) Glade Swarmer (Builds large hives and defend it fiercely, disturbing it will end in either a feast or a healers visit) Crop Cutter (Pests that can devour entire fields. Plant eater hate them while others feast on them.) Maggot (common on the many festering corpses of the scarred wastes) Harlequin Ladybug (perform intricate aerial acrobatics, can be challenging for hatchlings to catch) Salt-Marsh Mosquito (Carry many diseases, numbers swell in summer) Tachinid Fly (Their carapace can be ground into tincture and tonics with restorative capabilities. Valuable. Probably farmed for medicinal purposes) Redwing Hopper (Spend most of their time gliding. low-flying dragons end up with face fulls of them.) Greenworm (Blends in well and challenging to find) Land Snail Rainbow Grasshopper (Taste terrible. seems to be a common prank to tell younger dragons that they taste like rainbows.) Tinder Bug (Tastes good if properly cooked, also effective tinder) Earwig Craftsman Brightback (Crafts intricate nests around spherical fruit, to which the fruit inside is eaten leaving behind the dried structure.) Redknee Tarantula Dusty Cicada (Collecting their shells and placing them in unexpected places around your den is considered a fun pastime) Millipede Wasteland Pauper (In an event known as the Blue Harvest vast numbers of this butterfly go migrating.) Stinglash (DEADLY. Aposematic. Skull pattern on it's head is a threat display. When stinger is removed however it's considered a delicacy) Shale Skitter (Pillbug relative. Completely flatten themselves when threatened) Parasitic Grub Red and Black Froghopper Fever Fly (Ingesting this fly is fine. being bitten by this fly leads to fevers and muscle spasms (dancing!)) Two-Tone June Beetle (Best served lightly toasted) Blackshield Cockroach (Fae use rocks to crack it's shell for eating.) Yellow Jumper (Deadly? Very tasty apparently) False Veneer Moth (Pattern on it's wings shines to distract predators) Yellowtail Caterpillar (Commonly eaten in piles with pepper sauce, cucumber, rice, and wrapped in seaweed) Orchid Beetle (Native to the Starwood Strand. gets its coloration from the plants it eats) Water Bug Catocala Moth (Cryptic patterning on wings) Giant Prickly Stick Insect (Has a hard time find mates due to effective camouflage) Autumn Pennant (Dragonfly. Scarce, only appears towards the end of autumn) Sugarbee (Feeds on sugarcane. Popular as sweet treats. might be treated like candy to insectivores) Firefly (Probably native to Fire. Has a crisp, crunchy texture with an extremely spicy flavor.) Dead Leaf Mantis (Feeds entirely on brain matter. (braaains)) Hydra Scorpion (It's said that cutting off it's tail grows two more in it's place. Probably large and treated like big/trophy game. Kept as familiars) Triple-Sight Firebug (Dragons closely bonded to this bug can use it's sight for short periods of time. Possibly used for rough reconnaissance. Kept as familiars) Tufted Leaf Beetle (Pests. A swarm of these beetles can devour a field overnight. Kept as familiars.) Tender Larail (Consumes all parts of a plant except seeds, which it carefully buries. Might be a Keystone species. Kept as familiars.) Spoiling Scorpio (Probably large and treated like big/trophy game. Kept as familiars)

Plant Life:

Highland Dryleaf (Hardy. Tastes awful. Plentiful) Marsh Choker (Named for it's choking pollen. probably grows in wetland areas.) Desert Scrub (Plentiful. Tastes like dirt) Diseased Fungus (Has a following that believe it tastes zestier than normal fungus. Probably cultivated or foraged for.) Carnaval Tulip (Pretty, often in bouquets. considered by plant eaters to be "edible arrangements" Probably cultivated for food and appearance) Crisp-leaf Amaranth (Seeds are edible and commonly eaten, while the leaves are eaten less commonly.) Wild Catsup (grows along cliff-sides in thin patches with bright red flowers. might also go well with wild mustard greens) Always-Autumn (Thistle. Blooms year-round with sun-dappled colors.) Canyon Ruffage (Staple for herbivorous animals and dragons alike, common in dry areas) Blood Acorn (Filled with nutrient rich nectar) Cinnamon (Probably cultivated for exportation in the spice trade) Chickweed (Used in herbal remedies to sooth itchy scales. Probably cultivated for medicinal purposes) Herbal Plantain (Leaves of this plant can be used as an effective anti-toxin. Probably cultivated for medicinal purposes) Peace Lily (Pretty and edible, it's petals are a favorite snack of peace doves. Probably cultivate for decoration and consumption.) Gryphon's Blood Sempervivum (Appears to be a type of succulent that grows in sandy red (clay rich?) earth near gryphon territory. does not actually use blood in cultivation.) Treasure Plant (Considered to bring good luck if kept in the lair. Possibly cultivated for decoration or as gifts.) Boxwood (Has a subtle flavor?) Winter's Delight (Sweet red berries that taste the best at the coldest point in winter, Most likely native to Ice) Bonebark Mold (Plentiful. grows on dead trees.) Ashfall Prickler (Nectar on the inside has a spicy flavor that oddly goes well with anything.) Honeycrisp Apple (Probably cultivated for food. Most likely food source to Craftsman Brightbacks) Turnip (Does not keep long and must be eaten immediately. Probably cultivated for food.) Wasteland Pear (Common. but finding an edible one is not.) Cindermint (crunchy texture with a  fiery kick. Often dried and crumbled up to help accent desserts or teas. Probably cultivated for this reason.) Butcher's Fig (Fruit has a crimson coloration, juice stains the mouth for days.) Leechroot Mushroom (Parasitic fungus native to the Scarred Wastes. Pests. Targets healthy plants.) Green Plantain (Has a tart flavor and can be stored in cool places for long periods of time. Probably cultivated and exported to other flights.) Daffodil (Can be boiled, mashed, and used in stews. Blooms are also pretty. Probably cultivated for these reasons.) Grassland Grain (Easy to spot and filling meals. Great for foraging on the road.) Water Lilies Crimson Jadevine (Extremely rare. ground up to make war-paint. Might be cultivated for this purpose and might also be treated as sacred.) Sour Strawberry (It's a strawberry, but sour) Wilting Rose (Its a rose, but wilting) Pompom Mums (Vibrant, cheerful petals. Very attention getting to pollinators. might be used to attract pollinators to fields. Also useful for decorative purposes) Sand Creeper (Type of ivy that spreads prolifically over sand. Might be a good crop for those in barren wastelands.) All Seeing Shroom (Disgusting looking, covered in veins and tumors. Unknown if edible but can be traded as currency in select venues.) Ancient Mushroom (Rumored to aid with a dragons growth) Over-ripe Cherries (Cherries that ripen then go bad at a break-neck pace. Probably not cultivated.) Melon Marzal (Behaves like a normal plant until it matures in which it will become more animalistic. Weird. Kept as familiars)

???:

River Muck (Goopy. probably common in or near waterways. Probably a pest/hazard) Poultrygeist (Ghost?? Probably some kind of urban legend. Kept as familiars) Undying Featherback (Undead and requires magic to kill permanently. Probably a serious threat to plague clans. Can be kept as familiar) White Rot Deer (An older wood ear deer, not hunted nor eaten. Cultivated by dryads for protection. Also Kept as familiars) Sanguine Multimist (Sentient mist?? Probably has urban legends surrounding it. Kept as familiars.) Creeping Tendril (Animal like?? Shy, only moves when no one is looking. Kept as Familiars) Blue Vein Pansy (??? Uproots and moves itself to more optimal locations when required.) Ancient Fungus (Has a cracked, stone hard outer shell. Kept as familiars)

[writinggeisha]

Your first mental image when thinking about lips or mouths might be a passionate kiss. Percy Bysshe Shelley said “Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.” However, lips and mouths are more than kissing (or eating) machines. This post provides hundreds of ways to describe them in creative writing and poetry.

Emotion Beats

The way people move their lips and mouths reflects overt or hidden emotions.

Pouting might indicate agitation, aggravation, confusion, contemplation, disapproval, disbelief, dislike, exasperation, flirtatiousness, impatience, irritability, nervousness, pessimism, resentment, sadness, skepticism, suspicion, wariness, worry, et al.

In fact, pouting can imply so many emotions that it’s probably best to consider alternative body language.

A few more emotions mirrored by lips and mouths include:

Adulation, arousal, flirtatiousness Parted lips Running tongue over the lips

Anticipation of a delicious snack or entrée Smacking the lips Watering/salivating mouth

Determination Pressing lips into a thin line

Dislike Pressing lips into a thin line

Fear Bad taste in the mouth Chewing on lips Clenched mouth Dry mouth Gaping mouth Gulping huge mouthfuls of air Licking the lips Trembling lips

Impatience Pinched lips

Repressed hatred Pressing lips into a thin line

Shyness Pinched lips

Skepticism Biting the lips

Stubbornness Tight lips or mouth

Uncertainty Forceful exhalation through pursed lips

Adjectives (1)

Adjectives such as haughty save words by telling about a character’s motives or personality. Use sparingly. They function well in flash fiction or third-person omniscient point of view, and when you want to speed the pace.

Several adjectives, when describing lips, may suggest something different when describing mouths.

Provocative lips might indicate a seductive tone, but a provocative mouth might be aggravating.

Demanding lips evoke a sexual image, whereas a demanding mouth implies an overbearing character.

Generous lips might be large, or they might be yielding and responsive. Provide context if necessary.

Rather than modify lips or mouth, a number of the following words could refer to faces, expressions, or motivations.

Many skin attributes also perform well as lips and mouth descriptors.

A Active, adulterous, adventurous, affectionate, aflame, aggressive, alluring, amorous, amorphous, ample, appealing, ardent, audacious, avid, awkward

B Barbarous, belligerent, bewitching, bitchy, bitter, bloody, bone-dry, bony, Botoxed, boyish, brash, brutal, busy

C Cadaverous, callous, capable, capacious, careworn, carnivorous, caustic, cautious, cavernous, chaste, cheerful, cheery, childlike, clumsy, coarse, coherent, cold, complacent, conspicuous, contemptuous, corrugated, critical, crooked, cruel, crumpled, cynical

D Dainty, dead, delectable, delicate, delicious, demanding, demure, desirous, desiccated, determined, devilish, disdainful, dispirited, disrespectful, dissatisfied, doll-like, dour, downcast, droll, dry

E Eager, effeminate, elastic, electric, eloquent, energetic, enigmatic, enthusiastic, evil, expectant, experienced, expressionless, expressive, exquisite

F Fascinating, fevered, feverish, fine, firm, flaccid, flat, flawless, fleshy, flexible, flirtatious, foolish, forceful, formless, foul, fragile, fragrant, frigid, frothy, full, furrowed, furtive

G Generous, gentle, girlie, girlish, glassy, glib, glossy, gnomish, goofy, grave, greasy, greedy, grim, grotesque

H Hard, haughty, heartless, heavy, helpless, heretical, hesitant, honeyed, hungry

I Icy, impassioned, impassive, impatient, imperious, impertinent, impetuous, implacable, impudent, incoherent, inflamed, inflexible, innocent, insatiable, inscrutable, insubstantial, intractable, inviolate, irreverent

J Juicy

K Kissable

L Lax, leathery, lecherous, lewd, libelous, libidinous, licentious, lifeless, loathsome, loose, lopsided, lovable, luscious, lush, lustful

M Malicious, manly, masculine, masterful, meager, meaty, merciless, merry, mischievous, misshapen, moist, motionless, mute, mutinous

N Narrow, nasty, naughty, nervous, numb

O Obstinate, oily, oversized

P Passionate, pathetic, pebbly, perfect, perfumed, petulant, pinched, piquant, playful, pliable, pliant, plump, practiced, prim, prodigious, profane, proficient, prominent, proud, provocative, puffy, pugnacious

Q Querulous

R Randy, rapacious, ravenous, raw, relentless, reluctant, repulsive, resolute, responsive, restless, reticent, reverent, rigid, ripe, rough, rubbery, ruthless

S Sacrilegious, sad, sarcastic, sardonic, sassy, satirical, saucy, savage, scabrous, scaly, scornful, scurrilous, seductive, sensitive, sensuous, serious, sexy, shapeless, shrunken, silent, silky, sinful, skillful, slack, slick, slippery, sloppy, smooth, soft, sore, sour, spicy, stained, starving, stern, sticky, stiff, stony, strong, stubborn, submissive, succulent, sulky, sullen, sultry, sunken, sweet, swollen

T Talented, tense, tentative, thick, thin, thirsty, tight, timid, toothless, tough, traitorous, tremulous, truculent

U Uncertain, uncooperative, unrelenting, unresponsive, unsatisfied, unsmiling, unwilling, unyielding, upturned

V Vacuous, virgin, voluble, voluptuous, voracious, vulgar

W Wanton, warm, waspish, waxen, well-cut, wet, wide, willing, winsome, wistful, withered, witty, wormy, worshipful, wrinkled, wry

Y Yielding, youthful

Adjectives (2): Upper Lip

Although some of these adjectives might suit lips or mouth, they excel for describing the upper lip:

A to Z Bifurcated, bushy, clean-shaven, furry, hairless, hairy, long, mustachioed, naked, perspiring, short, stubbly, sweaty, whiskered

Adjectives (3): Lower Lip

Likewise for the lower lip:

A to Z Droopy, exaggerated, floppy, generous, missing, non-existent, pendulous, sagging, soul-patched, split, square-cut

Adjectives (Misc.)

Besides describing lips and mouths, writers can:

Describe the teeth, or mention missing teeth

Describe a person’s smile.

Similes and Metaphors

When creating comparisons, familiar animals are a good place to start. Readers know what they look like and will conjure an immediate image of the lips so compared.

Some of the following act as adjectives, while others function best in as or like similes. For example:

Fred had horse lips.

Fred had lips that looked like they belonged on a horse.

A to Z Angel fish, apish, baboon, baboon’s butt, bestial, bovine, camel, Cheshire cat, chimpanzee, chipmunk, dead fish, duck, frog, giraffe, goldfish, horse, largemouth bass, leeches, lizard, porcupine’s back, raw oysters, reptilian, serpentine, simian, squirrel, toad, twin slugs, zebra

Other comparisons could include:

A to Z Ancient prunes, angel’s cheek, blow-up doll’s maw, bread dough, cherries, embers, glue, lily petals, overstuffed sausages, pincushion, pinecone, plum, pomegranate blossoms, raspberries, raw liver, rose petals, rosebuds, rubies, sandpaper, satin, suction cups, twin cacti, velvet, vise grips

And here are a few more thought starters:

Awkward as a newborn trying to find his mama’s nipple

Bigger than his ego

Deader than a slab of cement

Dry as the Sahara

Foul as an overflowing cesspit

Fragile as butterfly wings

Large as Texas

Like a cow chewing its cud

Moist like morning dew

More brutal than a pounding sledgehammer

Smelly as an old sock

Colors

Foods excel as color substitutes. Words such as cherry, bubble-gum, and tangerine capture color, scent, and taste.

In a modern novel, lipstick and stage makeup allow lips to be almost any color. Not so much in a Victorian-era piece.

A to F Anemone-pink, ashen, bloodless, bubble-gum, burgundy, carnelian, cherry, colorless, coral, coralline-red, cotton-candy, crimson, flamingo, florid, freckled

G to Z Golden, grey/gray, licorice-twist, pale, pallid, pasty, peach, pink, purple, red, rosy, ruddy, seashell-pink, sunburnt, sunset-scarlet, swarthy, tangerine, vermillion, wan, wine-red

See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors.

Shapes

Many of the following words function well in similes or can be converted to adjectives by adding suffixes such as –like, -ish, or –esque.

A to Z Apical, asymmetrical, bleeding heart, blimp, bow, cherry pie, cinnamon roll, cinnamon-heart, doughnut, fishy, goldfish, heart, inner tube, O-ring, peaked, petal (name specific flower), shapeless, shapely, sharp, stop sign, unsymmetrical, toilet boil, urinal, watermelon, wedding ring, yield sign

Verbs

Some verbs relay feelings or senses of the POV character, while others are appropriate for secondary players.

Consider antonyms. Rather than belittle, a mother’s lips might praise her child. Instead of relaxing his lips, an uptight worrywart might tense them.

You might prefer to pair many of these verbs with characters themselves rather than their body parts. Listen to your writer’s voice and choose what works best for you.

A to F Belittle, blister, burn, caress, clamp, clench, close, coax, coerce, compress, contort, crack, crimp, criticize, curl, denounce, deprecate, dribble, drool, entice, force, fuse

G to R Gossip, graze, heal, insult, kiss, loosen, lure, meld, open, perspire, practice, press, pucker, purse, quirk, relax, respond

S Salivate, scrunch, seal, slaver, slide, slither, slobber, smart, smooch, sparkle, spasm, spit, squirm, squish together, sting, stretch, suck, sweat, swell

T to Z Tempt, throb, tighten, tingle, turn down, turn up, twist, ulcerate, unlock, yield

Nouns

Inventing nouns to replace lips or mouth can lead to silent snickers while you hunch over your keyboard or pore through your favorite thesaurus. Try some of these:

A to L Bazoo, blower, bragger, cakehole, chops, doughnut disposal, doughnut hole, flycatcher, flytrap, food vacuum, gob, hatch, hot-air vent, jabberjaw, kisser, laughing gear

M to Z Maw, motormouth, mug slit, mush, muzzle, nagger, oral cavity, oral orifice, phiz slit, pie hole, puss, skull cave, soup sucker, trap, woofer, word hole, yap, yapper, yodeler

Props

Add humor, suspense, or atmosphere with well-chosen props.

Does your protagonist notice a roll of duct tape on the counter in his apartment—then whip around to see a face-masked intruder with a gag in hand? Duct tape + gag = kidnapping. Or maybe an amorous encounter. Or__________?

A to O Acne, asthma inhaler, baby bottle, blueberries, chewing tobacco, cigar, cigarette, coughing fit, dirt, duct tape, electric razor, facemask, flute, gag, glitter, handkerchief, intubation tube, kazoo, lipstick, mouth guard, mouth organ, mud pie, mustache, muzzle, nebulizer, oboe

P to Z Piercings, pimples, pipe, razor, scar, scuba regulator, sneezing, snorkel, soot, soother, spit, spit up, stain, straw, teeth, thumb, tic, tissue, tongue, toothpaste, toothpick, trumpet, veil, wart, whistle

Clichés and Idioms

Some narrators might warrant trite phrases, but it’s usually best to avoid them—except in dialogue.

All mouth and trousers: arrogant, brash, brazen

Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth: born privileged or wealthy

Button one’s lip: hush, keep quiet, shut up, stop talking

By word of mouth: orally, verbally, via gossip

Down in the mouth: dejected, depressed, glum, sad

Foam at the mouth: fume, rage, rant, seethe

Give some lip: disrespect, sass, speak rudely

Have a stiff upper lip: display fortitude, exercise restraint, remain resolute (in the face of adversity)

Have one’s heart in one’s mouth: be afraid, alarmed, apprehensive, or terrified

Leave a bad taste in one’s mouth: nauseate, repulse, disgust

Live hand to mouth: barely get by, eke out an existence, subsist

Lock lips: French kiss, kiss, smooch

Look a gift horse in the mouth: be ungrateful, find fault with a gift

Mouth off: rant, sass, sound off, spout

On everyone’s lips: popular topic of conversation, trending, widely discussed

Pay lip service: agree in public while personally dissenting, pretend to agree

Put one’s foot in one’s mouth: blurt, say something tactless; blunder

Seal one’s lips: keep a secret, keep classified

Shoot one’s mouth off: boast, brag, talk indiscreetly

Slip of the lip: inadvertent mistake (while speaking)

Stiff upper lip: fortitude, resignation, stoicism

Straight from the horse’s mouth: from a reliable source

Talk out of both sides of one’s mouth: contradict oneself, lie (usually to please the most people)

Through word of mouth: orally, person to person, verbally

Zip one’s lip: hush, say nothing, shut up, stop talking

[livingcorner]

How to Keep Snakes Out of Your Garden – Gardening Channel

by Matt Gibson

You're reading: How to Keep Snakes Out of Your Garden – Gardening Channel

If you’re trying to keep snakes out of your garden, we certainly don’t blame you. Unfortunately snakes love to hang out in areas that are covered in a dense array of plants. They are drawn to spots where there is plenty of foliage that can serve as camouflage while they sneak up close enough to their prey to strike. They also prefer densely canopied areas because the coverage provides shade to cool their skins while the weather is warm. Snakes love a location that is an abundant source of food.

Unfortunately, these preferences mean that your garden is most likely a paradise to the eye of both venomous and non-venomous snakes alike. This article will cover the best strategies for keeping these reptilian rascals from making your garden their home.

So what makes your garden such a perfect habitat for snakes? Gardens are usually packed full of plants that cover the ground and provide both shade and plenty of hiding places. Most gardens also have at least one or two beds that are devoted to food production, whether that means fruits or vegetables, and some also have an herb garden. Even gardens that are completely devoted to blossoms and blooms still most likely contain plenty of plants that would make a great meal for a snake. In addition, gardens are usually a hotspot for rodents and other small prey that a snake can add to their feast on if they are not in the mood for simply a light salad.

Luckily, there are steps that gardeners can take to make their yards less attractive to serpents. There are even plants you can grow that will make snakes think twice about making your garden their home—or even just a comfortable place to spend an afternoon.

Read on to learn all about how to keep snakes out of your garden, and you’ll also pick up a few steps you can take to deter these pests before they become an issue. If you’ve already spotted snakes in your garden beds, this article will teach you a few tricks to send them packing quickly in search of a friendlier place to set up shop.

Tips to Keep Snakes Out of the Garden

Mow and Tidy Up the Lawn

Snakes love nothing more than to slither through tall grass undetected. Piles of rocks, wood, and other debris have lots of crevices and crannies that make a perfect place for snakes to hide between or underneath. Eliminate this allure by cleaning up the ground in your yard, removing any and all unneeded debris, and mowing the grass regularly. Snakes are not likely to stick around your yard when every spot they can find exposes them to the elements. If they were safe and sound under a blanket of grass and debris, and find one day it’s all of a sudden clean and tidy, snakes will pack up and leave in a hurry.

Read more: Foxes, cats and squirrels: how to deter them from your garden – Which? News

Keep Hedges and Bushes Clean, Too

Small prey, such as mice and frogs, tend to seek out the shelter of hedges, shrubs, or bushes to hide from predators and relax in the shaded areas that these small, ornamental garden fixtures provide. To make these spots less of an all-you-can-eat prey buffet for snakes, clean out the dead leaves and other debris that tends to accumulate underneath bushes and shrubs. If the small prey have no place to hide, they will move on. Once your garden area is lacking small prey for snakes to devour, they will search out places that are more accommodating to their appetites.

Check Structures for Gaps or Holes

Check the foundation around your home for small openings and gaps where snakes and other tiny reptiles can slide in and start setting up homes for their families. Also check for cracks underneath the doors of your garage, tool shed, storm shelter, or other structures on your property. When cleaning up the lawn, pay special attention to clearing debris away from structures as well. Inspect the outside of your home for small holes and cracks, then seal them up for protection against any unwanted houseguests—especially the snakes that are so attracted to these nooks and crannies.

Collect Eggs Before Snakes Have a Chance

Snakes thoroughly enjoy chicken eggs, and they have often been spotted lurking around chicken coops, waiting for the chance to fill up on their favorite protein source. Once snakes have already found your chicken coop and successfully snagged a meal or two made of your chickens’ prized eggs, the snakes will keep returning to see whether another treat is on the menu. If snakes have already infiltrated your chicken house, you may want to move the coop entirely to throw them off course. Alternatively, you can be sure to always collect your eggs regularly and never give a snake the opportunity to feed again. They will eventually get tired of striking out and lose interest in hunting around your chickens and their eggs.

Mulch With Rough, Jagged Materials

No one likes stepping on broken glass or rolling around in a bed of sharp rocks or thorns—and snakes are no different. Their sensitive scales do not like to travel over sharp surfaces. Therefore, one great way to deter garden snakes is to add a top layer of a rough, sharp mulch to your garden beds that they’ll find uninviting. Use natural materials, such as pine cones, sharp rocks, eggshells, or holly leaves, and lay out a surface that no snake would choose to slither across.

Use a Nontoxic Snake Repellent

Repellents are often packed full of potentially harmful chemicals that you don’t want anywhere near the garden where you grow your food. These chemical repellents can also be a problem if you have pets, who are susceptible to harm due to exposure to toxic chemicals because of their small size and tendency to eat whatever they find on the ground. Luckily, there are some nontoxic snake repellents available on the market that will effectively deter snakes from your garden—while at the same time keeping your pets, friends, family, and yourself safe from exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins.

Granular snake repellent can be sprinkled all around the garden, along the sidewalk, and around the foundation of the house. It can also be used to create a barrier around any structure that you want to deter snakes from entering. Treat your garden and other high-traffic areas on your property with granular snake repellent once every two to three weeks until your yard has been free of snake sightings for a while.

Target Other Pests

Most snakes are predators. They survive off of small prey, such as mice, moles and rats, as well as an array of insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, snails and slugs. If your garden area is free from the small prey and insects that snakes love to eat, they will have no reason to stick around and starve. Once you get rid of their food sources, the snakes in your garden will go somewhere else in search of more abundant sources of food.

Cultivate Plants That Deter Snakes Naturally

Luckily, gardeners have access to some of the best weapons out there when it comes to fighting unwanted garden visitors. We’re talking about the plants that have evolved to repel pests on their own in various ways, such as with strong odors or sharp thorns and leaves. The four plants we’ve listed below are great choices to keep snakes moving along past your garden. Choosing one or two of these may do the trick to prevent a snake infestation from occurring, but growing all four of these plants should do the trick to keep snakes away and send any current reptilian garden occupants slithering away in search of some new digs.

Lemongrass:

West Indian lemongrass produces a strong citrus smell that deters snakes. The pungent aroma that lemongrass creates (similar to lemon) doesn’t just ward off serpents, though. It can also drive away pesky mosquitoes and even disease-carrying ticks. As if you needed any more reasons to add lemongrass to your garden arsenal, it’s also drought resistant, easy to grow, and its foliage makes it a pleasant addition to any garden.

Onions and Garlic:

Onion and garlic plants emit a smell that is not only unpleasant to snakes, it also disorients them. Garlic, especially, is effective at fending off snakes. As they slide over a clove’s papery husk, the oily residue of the garlic gets on their skin, and this oil affects the snake in the same way slicing an onion affects a sensitive-eyed chef. Snakes react to garlic oil as if it were pepper spray. They will leave your property quickly, and likely take the memory with them as a lasting reminder of why they should not return.

Snake Plant:

Read more: 5 Ways to Keep Snakes Out of Your Garden

Also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, the snake plant is a great garden addition as a way to keep snakes away. Just the sight of this plant’s sharp leaves and striking appearance is actually said to frighten snakes away from the general vicinity where it grows.

Marigolds:

The marigold has a deep-growing and aggressive root system that emits a smell that keeps snakes moving along, and it has the same effect on many other garden pests, such as gophers and moles. The brightly colored flowers and pungent aroma attract beneficial insects and pollinators, like birds, butterflies, and bees, while driving away pests large and small.

Videos about deterring snakes from your garden?

Check out this informative list of plants that deter snakes:

This video reviews several popular snake repellents and lets you know which ones actually work to keep snakes and other reptiles out of your yard:

Want to learn more about deterring snakes from your garden?

Gardening Know How covers Getting Rid Of Garden Snakes – How To Keep Snakes Out Of Garden For GoodHGTV covers How to Keep Snakes Out of Your Garden Huffington Post Life covers 5 Ways to Keep Snakes Out of the House and Yard this Spring I Must Garden covers How to Repel Snakes Pests.org covers Best Plants to Naturally Repel Snakes The Spruce covers How to Get Rid of Snakes Naturally

Related

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-to-keep-snakes-out-of-your-garden-gardening-channel/