6 posts tagged “skincare”
i was lurking through the australian vogue forum and stumbled upon the thread on dry brushing. some of the girls claimed it really worked in giving them really soft buttery flake-free skin and some improvements with their cellulite aka the dimples. i'm sold!
i've been battling flaky skin forever! no matter how much i moisturise, i don't seem to get that buttery glowing skin. plus in winter, dry skin is amped by 10 notches, despite moisturising religiously. i know there are scrubs etc, but i always feel scrubs just don't do the trick - in most instances, the beads are washed off in the shower before i got the chance to .. well, scrub!
so on saturday, i hauled my ass off to the body shop and bought their cactus brush. it is made of natural fibres (big tick) and it's pretty rough. that would depend on your preference though, i just felt softer brushes wouldn't work as well. logical? maybe not, but i like pain like that. hah! the brush does not not have a removable head though, so i'm stuck with its long handle, which is a bit of a bummer.
so what is dry brushing?
basically it is.. well, brushing your skin when it's dry! you start brushing from your legs, stroking upwards towards your heart and from your shoulder down, again towards your heart. apparently this also helps with lymphatic drainage and ridding your body of toxins. whatever, i just want smooth skin, dammit! but if you want more info, there are lots of links out there on google with more specific info and directions on dry brushing.
this is day 2 of dry brushing, i haven't noticed any difference yet, but i'm going to continue doing this everyday for sometime coz it's fairly simple, non-messy to incorporate into my routine and plus, it's inexpensive to boot. now i just need a good moisturising body butter, and i'm on my way to glow!
after all these years of battling dry skin, i have found a cure! huzzah!
my skin can be hard to manage particularly in winter, the areas around the nose and forehead just gets so dry and flaky.
so i understood from reading all skincare materials that my combination skin is dehydrated, but nothing seems to combat that. i have serums, oils (good oils), creams, balms, drinking heaps of water... my nose + forehead are still flaky and dry.
enter Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask (what's up with the super long name?)
i ordered a sample of this in summer, and i just decided to try it a few weeks ago. i applied this like a face cream overnight, instead of a mask. 3 days later, no more flaky skin. it feels gorgeous on, all creamy and soothing. and you know with paula's products, you get all the good stuff and none of the bad (fragrance, skin irritants, etc). i just purchased a full tube, which had arrived today. i lovesssss....
Gosh, this product has a super long name. And I don't get why they would call it Beblesh... what a weird name. But anyway, asian products have weird names usually, so why should this be any different? LOL..
I only have a mini size for this, as per picture, I love the hot pink mini tube, perfect for travelling.
Colour: closest match to my skintone - MAC NC30. No heavy pink undertones like SF Mushroom and not too light like SF Aloe.
Scent: very very faint scent - almost none. It's a shame because I'm beginning to get used to SF's scents. Although this is good for those allergic to fragrance.
Texture: somewhat thicker than SF's bb creams, and blending takes a wee bit more work. but payoff is that the colour matches better to skinton.
Wear: it is now 3pm and I applied this at 6AM - today I wore it under Rimmell's primer and my skin shows minimal shine.
All in all, I feel this is a bit better in oil control. It evens out my skintone as per the other bb creams. Long term effects/benefits yet to be seen. I've only worn this twice so far.
day 8:
well, lately i've noticed my skin has been behaving very well. less blemishes, less redness and the odd bumps here and there, less dry flakes. it appeared more translucent and clearer. or perhaps i have gone crazy and had become delusional.
i maaaaaaaaaaay have swayed from my initial opinion, maybe wearing this bb cream long term does produce some results. as it stands, using this on top of my sunscreen has helped to keep the oiliness at bay for longer than usual. plus it smells kinda nice.
day 2:
righty-o, next up for review is the Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream SPF20 PA+, that's right, it is possible for a product name fo be that long. I chose Shade #1 (Light) this time.
although this has SPF, i still applied my trusty Neutrogena sunblock underneath just because my skin can feel a bit tight in the morning after washing.
skinfood aloe to me felt slightly lighter in texture compared to the mushroom bb and it has sweet/herbally scent, somewhat stronger than what i'm used to in face products. but i think this whole scented thing is very typical of skinfood range (haven't they heard of sensitive skin, i wonder?).
the shade is significantly lighter than my skintone, but since this has very little pigmentation, it provides a sheer coverage and blends well with my colouring. it helped evened out my skin and makes it look a bit more polished than usual. in terms of oil-control, this performs better than mushroom bb cream. i noticed at 4pm today, my skin has just a sliiiight shine to it. so from 7pm in the morning, this baby fared pretty well. when i did blot with tissue, i noticed very slight colour transfer - so it is not transfer proof. so far, i'm liking this just a tad better than mushroom.
again, for reference, the low-down on my skin:
colour: medium asian tan with yellow/golden skintone. probably about NC30-35.
type: combination. i have dry patches on my nose during winter, but gets oily t-zones. my skin is not sensitive.
blemishes: my skin is not prone to breakouts of acnes, white/blackheads (thank you God!). but i do experience the occasional bumps here and there and there are slight redness around my nose and cheeks, most likely broken capillaries.
since bb cream has generated a lot of raves and sensation for improving skin condition, i am going to (try and) record any changes in my skin whilst using the skinfood bb creams i just purchased. i am going to use each over a period of 10 days, whilst keeping my routines the same.
the first to be trialled is Skinfood Mushroom Multi-care BB Cream SPF 20 PA+ (Shade: Natural #2). gosh.. can one product name get any longer???
since this product has SPF in it, i applied this in place of my sunscreen to clean face. depending on the weather, i applied some loose powder on top and then proceed to apply make up as per usual. today I thought was going to be sunny, so i added a layer of Ninna Ricci powder on top, but on colder/dryer days, i might forgo the powder lest I have chalky face.
day 1:
i applied the product after i cleansed my face in the morning. the texture is somewhat liquidy - not thick as I would've thought. there is fragrance, which i heard some described as a distinct 'mushroom' scent. well, i've never actually smelled mushroom before but thought this scent is quite pleasant, although stronger than most of my skincare products used.
i dotted the product on my forehead, nose, both cheeks and chin - and then use my fingers to blend all over. the cream blended effortlessly and sunk into my skin leaving a matt finish. although this shade - Natural #2 has a slightly pinkish cast to it, the colour blended well into my skin, however it left a whitish cast - perhaps because of the SPF. but it does made my skin appear brighter/fresher. freaky actually, to appear that bushy tailed in the morning.
by mid-day there is a slliiiiiiiiiiiiight shine to my skin - but less so than if I were to use my normal sunscreen. by the end of the day, I looked pretty much the same as every other day. no significant changes seen. will update again after 3 to 5 days.
for reference, the low-down on my skin:
colour: medium asian tan with yellow/golden skintone. probably about NC30-35.
type: combination. i have dry patches on my nose during winter, but gets oily t-zones. my skin is not sensitive.
blemishes: my skin is not prone to breakouts of acnes, white/blackheads (thank you God!). but i do experience the occasional bumps here and there and there are slight redness around my nose and cheeks, most likely broken capillaries.
