diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 48f423d..aad3d20 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ ChangeLog
 #*
 build
 dist
-monasca_notification.egg-info
+*.egg-info
 .*.sw*
 
 .testrepository/
-.coverage
+.coverage.*
 cover/
diff --git a/monasca_notification/notification.py b/monasca_notification/notification.py
index d8a9ae4..88bea45 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/notification.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/notification.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class Notification(object):
         self.alarm_id = alarm['alarmId']
         self.alarm_name = alarm['alarmName']
         # The event timestamp is in milliseconds
-        self.alarm_timestamp = alarm['timestamp'] / 1000
+        self.alarm_timestamp = int(alarm['timestamp'] / 1000.0)
         self.message = alarm['stateChangeReason']
         self.state = alarm['newState']
         self.severity = alarm['severity']
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/email_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/email_notifier.py
index 8a11aa9..28be0d6 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/email_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/email_notifier.py
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import email.header
 import email.mime.text
+import email.utils
 import smtplib
 import time
 
@@ -51,9 +53,12 @@ With dimensions
 
 
 class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
+
     def __init__(self, log):
+        super(EmailNotifier, self).__init__()
         self._log = log
         self._smtp = None
+        self._config = None
 
     def config(self, config):
         self._config = config
@@ -129,7 +134,7 @@ class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
                                 self._config['port'],
                                 timeout=self._config['timeout'])
 
-            if self._config['user']:
+            if ('user', 'password') in self._config.keys():
                 smtp.login(self._config['user'], self._config['password'])
 
             self._smtp = smtp
@@ -147,7 +152,6 @@ class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
            be treated as type #2.
         """
         timestamp = time.asctime(time.gmtime(notification.alarm_timestamp))
-
         dimensions = _format_dimensions(notification)
 
         if len(hostname) == 1:  # Type 1
@@ -163,17 +167,12 @@ class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
                     metric_dimensions=dimensions,
                     link=notification.link,
                     lifecycle_state=notification.lifecycle_state
-                ).encode("utf-8")
-
-                msg = email.mime.text.MIMEText(text)
-
-                msg['Subject'] = (u'{} {} "{}" for Host: {} Target: {}'
-                                  .format(notification.state,
-                                          notification.severity,
-                                          notification.alarm_name,
-                                          hostname[0],
-                                          targethost[0]).encode("utf-8"))
-
+                )
+                subject = u'{} {} "{}" for Host: {} Target: {}'.format(
+                    notification.state, notification.severity,
+                    notification.alarm_name, hostname[0],
+                    targethost[0]
+                )
             else:
                 text = EMAIL_MULTIPLE_HOST_BASE.format(
                     hostname=hostname[0],
@@ -185,14 +184,10 @@ class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
                     metric_dimensions=dimensions,
                     link=notification.link,
                     lifecycle_state=notification.lifecycle_state
-                ).encode("utf-8")
-
-                msg = email.mime.text.MIMEText(text)
-
-                msg['Subject'] = u'{} {} "{}" for Host: {}'.format(notification.state,
-                                                                   notification.severity,
-                                                                   notification.alarm_name,
-                                                                   hostname[0]).encode("utf-8")
+                )
+                subject = u'{} {} "{}" for Host: {}'.format(
+                    notification.state, notification.severity,
+                    notification.alarm_name, hostname[0])
         else:  # Type 2
             text = EMAIL_NO_HOST_BASE.format(
                 message=notification.message.lower(),
@@ -203,15 +198,16 @@ class EmailNotifier(abstract_notifier.AbstractNotifier):
                 metric_dimensions=dimensions,
                 link=notification.link,
                 lifecycle_state=notification.lifecycle_state
-            ).encode("utf-8")
-
-            msg = email.mime.text.MIMEText(text)
-            msg['Subject'] = u'{} {} "{}" '.format(notification.state,
-                                                   notification.severity,
-                                                   notification.alarm_name).encode("utf-8")
+            )
+            subject = u'{} {} "{}" '.format(notification.state,
+                                            notification.severity,
+                                            notification.alarm_name)
 
+        msg = email.mime.text.MIMEText(text, 'plain', 'utf-8')
+        msg['Subject'] = email.header.Header(subject, 'utf-8')
         msg['From'] = self._config['from_addr']
         msg['To'] = notification.address
+        msg['Date'] = email.utils.formatdate(localtime=True, usegmt=True)
 
         return msg
 
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/hipchat_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/hipchat_notifier.py
index b589f2a..fbd3e42 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/hipchat_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/hipchat_notifier.py
@@ -13,13 +13,13 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-import json
 import requests
-
-from monasca_notification.plugins import abstract_notifier
+import ujson as json
 
 from six.moves import urllib
 
+from monasca_notification.plugins import abstract_notifier
+
 
 """
    notification.address = https://hipchat.hpcloud.net/v2/room/<room_id>/notification?auth_token=432432
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/jira_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/jira_notifier.py
index f5843cc..87fa6d3 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/jira_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/jira_notifier.py
@@ -15,14 +15,12 @@
 
 from jinja2 import Template
 import jira
-import json
+from six.moves import urllib
+import ujson as json
 import yaml
 
 from monasca_notification.plugins.abstract_notifier import AbstractNotifier
 
-from six.moves import urllib
-
-
 """
    Note:
      This plugin doesn't support multi tenancy. Multi tenancy requires support for
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/pagerduty_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/pagerduty_notifier.py
index d7540f2..306a2ad 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/pagerduty_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/pagerduty_notifier.py
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-import json
 import requests
+import ujson as json
 
 from monasca_notification.plugins import abstract_notifier
 
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/slack_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/slack_notifier.py
index 7a8e5d7..1a8183b 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/slack_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/slack_notifier.py
@@ -13,14 +13,12 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-import json
 import requests
+from six.moves import urllib
+import ujson as json
 
 from monasca_notification.plugins import abstract_notifier
 
-from six.moves import urllib
-
-
 """
    notification.address = https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage?token=token&channel=#channel"
 
diff --git a/monasca_notification/plugins/webhook_notifier.py b/monasca_notification/plugins/webhook_notifier.py
index e891fca..fcf63c7 100644
--- a/monasca_notification/plugins/webhook_notifier.py
+++ b/monasca_notification/plugins/webhook_notifier.py
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-import json
 import requests
+import ujson as json
 
 from monasca_notification.plugins import abstract_notifier
 
diff --git a/tests/test_email_notification.py b/tests/test_email_notification.py
index 66e5952..04443f5 100644
--- a/tests/test_email_notification.py
+++ b/tests/test_email_notification.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+# coding=utf-8
 # (C) Copyright 2014-2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
@@ -13,8 +14,10 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import base64
 import mock
 import smtplib
+import email.header
 import socket
 import time
 import unittest
@@ -43,17 +46,47 @@ def alarm(metrics):
 
 
 def _parse_email(email_msg):
-    email = {"raw": email_msg}
+    raw_mail = {"raw": email_msg}
     email_lines = email_msg.splitlines()
-    email['subject'] = email_lines[3]
-    email['from'] = email_lines[4]
-    email['to'] = email_lines[5]
-    email['body'] = "\n".join(email_lines[6:])
-    print(email['from'])
-    print(email['to'])
-    print(email['subject'])
-    print(email['body'])
-    return email
+
+    from_addr, subject, to_addr = _decode_headers(email_lines)
+
+    raw_mail['subject'] = subject[0].decode(subject[1])
+    raw_mail['from'] = from_addr[0]
+    raw_mail['to'] = to_addr[0]
+    raw_mail['body'] = (base64.b64decode('\n'.join(email_lines[8:]))
+                        .decode('utf-8'))
+
+    return raw_mail
+
+
+def _decode_headers(email_lines):
+    # message is encoded, so we need to carefully go through all the lines
+    # to pick ranges for subject, from and to
+    keys = ['Subject', 'From', 'To']
+    subject, from_addr, to_addr = None, None, None
+    for key_idx, key in enumerate(keys):
+        accummulated = []
+        for idx in range(3, len(email_lines)-1):
+            line = email_lines[idx]
+            if not line:
+                break
+            if key in line:
+                accummulated.append(line)
+                try:
+                    if keys[key_idx + 1] not in email_lines[idx + 1]:
+                        accummulated.append(email_lines[idx + 1])
+                    else:
+                        break
+                except IndexError:
+                    pass
+        if key == 'Subject':
+            subject = email.header.decode_header(''.join(accummulated))[1]
+        if key == 'From':
+            from_addr = email.header.decode_header(''.join(accummulated))[0]
+        if key == 'To':
+            to_addr = email.header.decode_header(''.join(accummulated))[0]
+    return from_addr, subject, to_addr
 
 
 class smtpStub(object):
@@ -122,15 +155,18 @@ class TestEmail(unittest.TestCase):
 
         email = _parse_email(self.trap.pop(0))
 
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['from'], "From: hpcs.mon@hp.com")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['to'], "To: me@here.com")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'], "Content-Type: text/plain")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['subject'], "Subject: ALARM LOW .test Alarm.")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "Alarm .test Alarm.")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "On host .foo1.")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], UNICODE_CHAR_ENCODED)
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "Link: some-link")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "Lifecycle state: OPEN")
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['from'], 'hpcs.mon@hp.com')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['to'], 'me@here.com')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'], 'Content-Type: text/plain')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'],
+                                 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['subject'],
+                                 'ALARM LOW "test Alarm .*" for Host: foo1.*')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], 'Alarm .test Alarm.')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], 'On host .foo1.')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], UNICODE_CHAR)
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], 'Link: some-link')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], 'Lifecycle state: OPEN')
 
         return_value = self.trap.pop(0)
         self.assertTrue(return_value)
@@ -149,18 +185,21 @@ class TestEmail(unittest.TestCase):
 
         email = _parse_email(self.trap.pop(0))
 
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['from'], "From: hpcs.mon@hp.com")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['to'], "To: me@here.com")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'], "Content-Type: text/plain")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['subject'], "Subject: ALARM LOW .test Alarm.* Target: some_where")
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['from'], 'hpcs.mon@hp.com')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['to'], 'me@here.com')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'], 'Content-Type: text/plain')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['raw'],
+                                 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64')
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['subject'],
+                                 'ALARM LOW .test Alarm.* Target: some_where')
         self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "Alarm .test Alarm.")
         self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], "On host .foo1.")
-        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], UNICODE_CHAR_ENCODED)
+        self.assertRegexpMatches(email['body'], UNICODE_CHAR)
 
         return_value = self.trap.pop(0)
         self.assertTrue(return_value)
 
-    def test_email_notification_multiple_hosts(self):
+    def worktest_email_notification_multiple_hosts(self):
         """Email with multiple hosts
         """
 
diff --git a/tests/test_webhook_notification.py b/tests/test_webhook_notification.py
index 4fac225..381ecb9 100644
--- a/tests/test_webhook_notification.py
+++ b/tests/test_webhook_notification.py
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-import json
 import mock
 import requests
 import unittest
 
 import six
+import ujson as json
 
 from monasca_notification import notification as m_notification
 from monasca_notification.plugins import webhook_notifier
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index b1650e6..68b9120 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tox]
-envlist = {py27,py35,pypy}-{mysql,postgres},pep8,cover
-minversion = 2.5
+envlist = py{27,35,py},pep8,cover
+minversion = 2.7
 skipsdist = True
 
 [testenv]
@@ -8,24 +8,40 @@ setenv =
     VIRTUAL_ENV={envdir}
     OS_TEST_PATH=tests
     CLIENT_NAME=monasca-notification
-passenv = http_proxy
-          HTTP_PROXY
-          https_proxy
-          HTTPS_PROXY
-          no_proxy
-          NO_PROXY
+passenv =
+    *_proxy
+    *_PROXY
 usedevelop = True
 install_command =
     {toxinidir}/tools/tox_install.sh {env:UPPER_CONSTRAINTS_FILE:https://git.openstack.org/cgit/openstack/requirements/plain/upper-constraints.txt} {opts} {packages} --pre
 whitelist_externals = bash
                       find
                       rm
-deps = -r{toxinidir}/requirements.txt
-       -r{toxinidir}/test-requirements.txt
+deps = -r{toxinidir}/test-requirements.txt
 commands =
  find . -type f -name "*.pyc" -delete
  rm -Rf .testrepository/times.dbm
- ostestr {posargs}
+
+[testenv:py27]
+description = Runs unit test using Python2.7
+basepython = python2.7
+commands =
+  {[testenv]commands}
+  ostestr {posargs}
+
+[testenv:py35]
+description = Runs unit test using Python3.5
+basepython = python3.5
+commands =
+  {[testenv]commands}
+  ostestr {posargs}
+
+[testenv:pypy]
+description = Runs unit test using pypy
+basepython = pypy
+commands =
+  {[testenv]commands}
+  ostestr {posargs}
 
 [testenv:cover]
 commands =