I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Konjac sponge by now. I first learned about it online last year and was curious to try it. While browsing at TheFaceShop, I came across their version, retailing for $5 so I decided to give it a go. Never did I think that I would come to love it, and in honour of Earth Day today, I thought I’d share with you a little more information on this little natural beauty wonder.
So it was suggested that I put my skincare routine up for scrutiny since I was so ruthless in my grading of my friends’ skincare routines. No problem, I’ve not nothing to hide!
Skin type: combination (slightly oily t-zone, normal cheeks), with hormonal breakout on chin. I also have skin sensitivity and tend to break out in hives randomly (allergies, cold/hot weather). My skin also doesn’t tolerate too much manual manipulation (ie scrubs) I’m a delicate flower, what can I say? Continue reading
I’ve been accumulating a bunch of cosmetic items that I’ve received for free recently. Here’s what I’ve been given in the past month or so:
I have what I describe as, “meh”, lashes. They’re short and wimpy, but they do have a bit of a curl. I’m forever trying new products to help them grow or make them look fuller. Now, I’m not one to use hardcore lash growth serums like Latisse or its generic version, Careprost, for fear of the potential side effects (they state that approx 4% of clinical trial patients reported darkening of skin, redness, dry eyes – with my luck, I would be in that 4%).
A couple of years ago, I started using Cargo’s LashActivator Night ($29 for 11ml, select Rexall, online):
Cargo describes it as:
…a revolutionary nighttime elixir clinically proven to stimulate lashes at the lash bed for visibly longer, fuller and more lush lashes. This safe, non-irritating formula shows a 169% improvement over natural growth rates.
I’ve embraced using oils for just about every part of my body – from head to toe – for some years now. I was using oils way before this whole argan oil rage, let me tell ya! Before argan oil was readily availalbe, I was routinely using rosehip oil on my face (I still mourn the discontinuation of Burt’s Bee Repair Serum in Canada).
So what do I use oils for?
A couple of weeks ago I posted a snippet from the book, “Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?” As mentioned in that post, the authors are behind the blog The Beauty Brains.
Today I’ll share another gem from the book for discussion here. The question:
My grandmother always told me that putting saliva on my pimples before going to sleep was the best way to get rid of them. Although a lot of people said it was an old wives’ tale, it always worked for me. Is there any science to back this up or was I experiencing a placebo effect?
Can saliva cure acne?
I was scolding one of my friends via email last week after she confessed that she has recently been sleeping in her makeup. I know, right? Horrific.
Then the discussion turned into said friend (Let’s call her A) asking for me to provide her with a skincare regimen. I turned the table around and asked my friends to provide me with their current skincare routines so that I can critique and also provide recommendations based on their skin type. Without further ado, here are my friends’ current routines and my recommendations.*
Happy Easter!
Today I thought I would share with you my eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balm collection, since they look like little Easter eggs!
I own 16 of the eos spheres, listed here roughly in the order of my preference:
1) Honeysuckle Honeydew (light turquoise)
2) Sweet Mint (light green)
3) Coconut Cream (light pink swirl)
4) Watermelon Wonderland (red)
5) St. Bart’s Sunrise / Pink Grapefruit (coral pink)
6) Blueberry Potion (blue)
7) Sweet Vanilla Nonsense (ivory)
8) Passion Fruit (purple)
9) Pomegranate Raspberry (plum)
10) Barbados Heat / Wildberry (berry)
11) Summer Fruit (deep pink)
12) Indian Summer / Orange Blossom (dark orange)
13) Vanilla Mint (light blue swirl)
14) Aloha Hawaii / Strawberry Kiwi (crimson)
15) Lemon Drop (yellow)
16) Medicated Tangerine (orange)
Continue reading
Let’s preface this post by saying that I’m not an expert on skincare – my opinions are just my anecdotal, personal experience. I also don’t battle with too many skin concerns in terms of deep wrinkles or loss of firmness – I would say that I’m in more of a preventative and maintenance mode.
My current primary concerns are:
• Fine lines: laugh lines, forehead, and under eye area
• Sun spots, aka my freckles – I get comments on them [from mostly Asian sales associates] but I’ve had my freckles since I was young, so I’m not sure if they really are a sign of aging?
• Sallow / dull appearance
I mainly use targeted anti-aging products at night before bed, for a few of reasons: typically these products are richer and I’d rather not have greasy skin during the day. Also, when sleeping, the skin goes through a renewal process which lends itself to better absorb and utilize the anti-aging skincare ingredients. Lastly, some anti-aging ingredients, such as retinods, cause sun sensitivity so I would rather avoid that if possible. During the day time my primary focus is sun protection.
A few weeks ago I came across this book at a used book store: Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?
I couldn’t resist and bought it. I’ve read most of it now and while there’s a lot of just common sense advice “Do curling shampoos really work?” (no) or “Is it safe to use lipstick on your cheeks?” (yes), I also learned a few things. Today I’m sharing this one about the infamous Aspirin mask.
stash matters 