Six Beauty Tips To Live By in 2014

1. When testing out a new product, test it out on one part of your face only.  I typically test out new products on my forehead or half of my face.  This way, if something breaks me out, I can contain the breakout and know that it's the product that's causing the skin to act crazy.  Plus, you'll have to go into hiding for a lot longer if you breakout all over!

2. Read expiration dates on your cosmetics and throw them out if they are expired. There will typically be a jar symbol with "6m" or "12m" on it.  This means it expires 6 months or 12 months from the day you open it.  Especially with more natural cosmetics that don't use preservatives, you want to be careful that you don't push your luck and pay attention to the expiration dates--there may be a bacteria farm in there.  If there's no expiration indicator, ask the sales person or the company--they should have an answer for you.

3. More is not more.  If the directions say to "apply a thin layer," apply a thin layer.  I used to do the opposite with zit creams--I thought if i slathered it on thicker, it would destroy the bacteria quicker.  Actually not the case--the only thing it does is dry the skin surrounding the invader, and you don't want to dry out the skin that's doing fine.  You're also wasting product, because putting on more won't help get you there quicker. It's a shame, I know. 

4. When applying eye creams, use your fourth ring finger to apply the eye cream to tap on the eye cream.  The tapping should be so light, that you barely see your eye skin move.  Any sort of pulling to your eye area is bad, as the skin around your eye is extremely delicate.  I'm in my early thirties now and I'm definitely seeing the effects of how pulling/rubbing/daily use of eyeliner on my bottom lid can cause fine lines.  Prevention is key, as I haven't found any eye creams that miraculously make my eyes look younger….yet!  

5.  Take care of your neck and décolleté.  You don't want to have a wrinkly, saggy neck and a perfect complexion.  I've read several articles and all of them confirm that you don't need a special neck and décolleté moisturizer--just use the same moisturizer you use for your face and that should suffice.  Don't forget to put SPF on your neck and décolleté as well--this area needs as much sun protection as everything else!

6. Lastly, sample, sample, sample!  Try samples of things you want to try and test them out on your face for a week or two.  If you get good results, buy the full size item.  As good as Sephora's return policy is, you don't want to be the person who is constantly trying things and returning them.  This ends up becoming a time killer because you have to make another trip back to the store, and who doesn't need more hours back in their lives? :) Plus,  lot of organic, more natural cosmetic lines will offer small sample sizes for purchase at a reasonable price.  

My Favorite Facial Oil

Oils.  Have you noticed the advertising of facial oils has been blowing up over the past year??  I walked by Sephora and the big window advertisement is now focusing on oils--it is finally being given its 15 minutes of fame!  The funny thing is, the use of facial oils has been around for a long time.  I myself started looking into facial oils about a year ago, even though I was deathly afraid to try them--I have sensitive, acne-prone, dehydrated but oily skin (I know I'm painting a pretty picture for myself here) which I have to manage very carefully.  Putting oil on an already oily face seemed counterintuitive to me, and it was not something I was willing to do….until I started doing more research.  

Here are some of the things I learned about oils:

1. Some oils have antioxidants and can protect your healthy cells from damage caused by free-radicals. 

2. Oil can help re-balance your skin.  My oily skin was oily because it was dehydrated underneath.  I spent so much time trying to dry out my skin to stop the blemishes that my skin was trying to compensate by creating more oil.  When you apply oil to your skin, your skin won't feel as parched, thus decreasing oil production.

3. Oil allows for deeper penetration of skin care products into your skin.  

4.  If you chose the right oil for your skin type, it will NOT cause breakouts.  

I read 15 more articles on the benefits of oils before I decided to take the plunge and give it a try--the inner product junkie in me won out over my fear of breaking out and I started researching different brands.  I decided to start with Argan oil and  I noticed there was one brand of Argan oil that both consistently got good reviews AND all the reviewers indicated they didn't get a break out.  This was my first foray into face oils:  Kahina Giving Beauty Argan Oil.  I tried several different types of oils (Fresh's Seabuckthorn, Meadowfoam oil, and Rice Bran oil) and these all caused me to break out.  I'm trying out some One Love Organics oils as well, and the jury's still out on the results.  I'm giving it a few more tries before I write a review. 

Back to Kahina's Argan Oil--from the first time I used it, I got no breakouts, which is HUGE for me!  I'm pretty sensitive (read: breakout prone) to most products, but not the case with this oil.  It didn't cause any breakouts, and the next morning, my skin looked smoother and less oily.  I've been using this oil in the evenings about 2-3x/week for the past 8 months and I still love it!  It comes in a nice black, thick glass bottle with a dropper.

How I use the oil:
-Cleanse face
-Leave face damp with water or a misting spray (this step is ESSENTIAL, as oil does not spread well on dry skin and may cause you to break out).  The spray that I use is from 302 and it's called "Calming Mist Rx."
-Put 2-4 drops of oil on your palms and rub your palms together to warm the oil
-Pat oil on to face
-If you need additional moisture, feel free to add.  I don't use anything afterwards, but skin is individual and you know your skin best!  However, for the first week of use, I wouldn't recommend using anything on top of this oil, just to figure out if it works for your skin or causes a breakout. 

Additional things to note:
-I did get a small spot/zit or two when I first started using the oil.  Not a major breakout or crazy, angry pimples (the red giant ones).  This typically happens to me when I first start using any new product, so this didn't scare me.  Now if you break out all over, I would not continue using the product. 

Pros:
-does not clog pores
-skin tone seems improved
-less oil production (this may not apply to everyone, but this helped me because my skin type was on the oilier side)
-wake up to skin that seems better than it was the night before
-certified organic and fair trade 

Cons:
-some may find it to be pricey ($36 for a 30ml bottle)
-glass bottle may make it heavy for travel

Information from EWG/Skin-deep:
Hazard Score: 0; Data Available: Limited

Click here if you want to see the ingredient hazard information from EWG/Skindeep:  Argan Oil

If you want to read more about oils, here's an interesting link I found!

The GREEN Re-boot and Natural Chapstick!

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted, but I am coming back and re-booting my blog as a GREENER beauty blog (*insert applause sound effect*)!

Over the past two years, I have been trying tons of more "natural" products in an attempt to have cleaner makeup and skin care.  With all the research I've been doing on EWG.org, you realize how many chemicals there are in all the everyday products we use.  In the process of trying to go greener with my beauty products, I've tried things I love, and products I wanted to love (but didn't), which will all be blogged about soon!  

Don't get me wrong, I'm not 100% green--there are a few things in my make-up arsenal I can't manage to give up just yet, but I'm trying to limit my beauty vices.  Until I can find a good, more natural alternative that gives me similar results to the more chemical-y, mainstream counterparts, I'll keep them in my regiment.  You still have to live, right? :)  I'll be posting weekly--stay tuned for greener (and my not-as-green) beauty reviews!

Here is my first GREENER post for 2014:

My natural lip balm remedy:

Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Lip Balm!! 

I was lucky enough to purchase this on a whim at Target and am I glad I did!  My eyes were drawn to the word "organic" and who am I kidding, more often than not, I will buy any lip product if it feels right (which is way to often).  Most of the time, I'll try a new lip balm, use it a few times, find it doesn't hydrate my dry lips enough, and that's the end of it.  I have a graveyard of barely used lip balms (I know, not so green of me, tsk tsk).  This one was different--from the first time I used this Magic Organic Lip Balm, my lips felt very hydrated and my lips sighed in relief!  I felt this way not just with the first use, but every time thereafter--hence, it's been my lip balm of choice for the past 1.5 years--MAGIC!  I normally can't stay faithful to a lip balm for more than a month or two because it seems that lip balms just stop working for me, but Dr. Bronner's and I are going strong!  I've gone through 4 tubes of this stuff--I've tried the Lemon Lime, Naked and the Orange Ginger.  Lemon Lime and Naked are fabulous--Naked just smells like nothing (if you ever wondered what nothing smells like, purchase one of these).  Orange Ginger on the other hand--not so much--the ginger smell was too overpowering and I couldn't handle it.  I personally don't like to eat ginger, so the thought of having to smell it all day made me feel a bit queasy.  But if you're a ginger fan, you may LOVE it, and in that case, please purchase!  

The only downside to this lip balm is that it doesn't contain any SPF, so you may want to look into something else for when you're out in the sun.  Otherwise, it has managed to sneak it's way into my "staples" list--which is tough, considering how annoyingly dry my lips are!

Pros:
-works on very dry lips
-inexpensive (I buy mine online or at Whole Foods)
-contains less than 10 ingredients
-I can pronounce every ingredient on the label

Cons:
-none so far

Information from EWG/Skin-deep:
Hazard Score: 1; Data Available: Limited

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/176372/Dr._Bronner%27s_Magic_Organic_Naked_Lip_Balm_%282008_formulation%29/

Buying this lip balm has opened the floodgates for me and the Dr. Bronner's line.  I'll be posting soon about the other products I use from his line and what my thoughts are on those too! 

More chapped lip remedies

**Edit: It's been a while since I posted this, I wanted to update this by adding a "greener" option from a more recent post, click here to read!**

Ever since I've cut out using my retinol product and my witch hazel toner, I've noticed my lips have gotten less cracked and dry!!  YAAAAY!!!  My skin is still adjusting to my new skin care regiment (which I will blog about soon), so I've decided to try some less crazay lip products and I picked up this nifty Nivea "A kiss of Milk and Honey" chap stick. It gives me just enough hydration without being too sticky.  Also has a mild scent that's not too overpowering.

My favorite Lip Balm with SPF though by FAAAR is my Jack Black Lip Balm with SPF 25.  This puppy is super moisturizing and I love that it provides me with sun protection!  I've been addicted to this for the past two years, and I still plan on keeping this one and not looking else where for lip SPF.  A great buy!!  They sell this at Sephora so go try it out first before you commit. :)  p.s. I really love the Lemon and Chamomile scent...smells yummy! 

Non-acid skin care regimen week 3

So....it's been about three weeks since I've gotten to use my beloved Retinol (Cosmedix's Define) treatment and I wanted to post about what's been going on with my skin.

First, let me state that my skin care philosophy has always been "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," for other people.  But being as how I am a skin care junkie myself, this adage was always really hard for me to stick with.  When I would notice something working, I'd stumble upon a forum where everyone is raving about a new product, so of course, I would have to check this puppy out myself.  Then I would try it, and it would either break me out, or it wouldn't do anything special to justify the price, so it would get returned.  Once in a while, I would find something I loved, and then I would be ALL about that product and try out more things in that product line.
Enter Cosmedix.

The minute I started using Cosmedix Define, I could see a difference in my complexion:  less breakouts and it just looked nicer in the mornings after I would use it at night.  I used this product for about 1.5 years before I stumbled upon the "non-acid based skin care system" 302.  
It was really REALLY hard for me to give up using my Define, but I had to.  I had to be off using any acid-based product for about 1-2 weeks before giving this non-acid line a try.  I crossed my fingers and took the plunge.


 
The first week I went without my Define,  my skin actually felt a little drier, but no new massive breakouts, so I was happy.

Week 2:  I started using the 302 Sensitive Skin Cleanser (PM) and the Face and Body Bar (AM).  Followed by Calming Mist and the Ointment.   My skin was super dry the first week, and even on some days now.  I read that weaning your skin off of acids can cause dryness, irritation and/or breakouts (eeeeek).  My skin was super dry for the first few days....but it didn't get crazy oily.  Normally, if my skin is dehydrated, it produces more oil to counteract the dryness, but not with this stuff.....iiiiiinteresting.  

Week 3:  I decided to try using some oil to hydrate my skin (Moisture Drops--consists of jojoba oil and avocado oil).  When ever I try something new, I limit the test area to only one area of my face--in this case, my forehead.  Turns out, my forehead didn't like this product so much, so I stopped using this after a few days.  I started breaking out, so that's out!!!! I also started using their Serum, which I like so far.  No new breakouts, and it actually seems to get rid of any existing breakouts/calms my skin.  We'll see what happens in the months to come--apparently it takes a good 3-6 months to really see results. :( Not good for the impatient skin care gal like me, but I'm trying!

The only down side to this program (which I guess could also be a good side?), is that they're really against  using any form of liquid sunscreen on your face unless you know you'll be in the sun for a long period of time.  They believe putting on topical sunscreens will clog your pores, so they advocate using mineral powders as your sole form of SPF.  They do sell their own liquid face formulations for those who will be spending lots of time in the sun, but I haven't read rave reviews about them.  This is a down side for me because I've been using SPF topically for the past 8 years, I hate getting tan, and I want sun protection that doesn't involve wearing face makeup!  But, having said that, I'm going to try the mineral makeup thing and hope that doesn't clog me.  I'll keep you posted. :)

EDIT from 3/4/14: I'll be posting an update on my non-acid skin care regimen in the next few weeks. I've been continuing on the non-acid skin care regimen for over two years with really good results! Stay tuned.

Acid-Free Skin Care Regimen

Gentle skin care?  I stumbled upon an acid-free skin care regimen while I was lurking around on the forums at Essential Day Spa.  I read how long term acid use (Lactic, Salicylic, Retinols) actually damages your skin and will show signs of damage in your later years.  I'm not 100% sure if this is true, because I haven't actually researched this matter, but I like the idea of not using acids on my skin.  I've been using some form of acid for about the last decade (yikes, that just made me feel really old), and I've decided to take the plunge and try this acid-free stuff and see where it takes me!  I'm not sure it's going to work miracles like it has for some (and hasn't for others), so let's see what happens!  I'll keep posting updates, charting my progression!

 

My daily skin care regiment

**Update: I've updated my skincare to only use more natural products, so this regiment is null. Click here if you'd like to see my current regiment!**

I've gotten a request to blog about what my current skin care regiment is, so here it is.

**I did want to say that this regiment may be changing, as I'm currently looking into healthier, synthetic/preservative free cosmetics that score low on the EWG.org/skindeep website.  I'm doing lots of research, ordering samples of stuff and trying them out, and seeing what the effects will be before I write about them. =)

Morning:
-Cleanse with Benefit Clean by Cosmedix (I like this because it cleans well and doesn't irritate my skin)
-Tone with Mystic by Cosmedix (it's supposed to be a hydrating spray treatment, but i spritz a cotton pad 3-4x with this stuff and use it as a toner--has witch hazel in it which has some antibacterial properties!)
-Apply 3 drops of Obagi Vitamin C serum 10% all over face
-Moisturize with Emulsion by Cosmedix
-Apply DermaDoctor Wrinkle Revenge eye cream with your fourth finger (this actually has a lot of parabens in it, which is a preservative, but I already bought it and have been using it for a month. I'll have to find one with no preservatives very soon.)
-Apply Reflect SPF 30 sunscreen from Cosmedix.  This comes in a spray form so I spray it into my hand 3-4x and apply to my face.   **This sunscreen only contains Titanium Dioxide, and may not protect you from longer UVA rays.  I'm currently looking for a good sunscreen with Zinc Oxide in it to protect me from long UVA rays.  I'll let you know how that goes.)


Image from Graphicsfactory.com

Evening:
-If I wore face make up, I remove my makeup with a CVS makeup removing cloth prior to cleansing with Benefit Clean by Cosmedix.
-Tone with Mystic by Cosmedix
-Apply less than a pea size amount of Define by Cosmedix (this is my lactic acid and retinol over night treatment) on problem areas.
-Moisturize with Emulsion by Cosmedix
-Apply DermaDoctor Wrinkle Revenge eye cream

So you must be wondering....why is everything I use from Cosmedix?  I started off by purchasing a starter kit from them when I went to this esthetician in Newport Beach.  She convinced me into starting a retinol treatment at night instead of using my salicylic acid on blemishes at night (this left my skin really dry).  I was super scared to because I didn't want to deal with the purge period (where it brings out your zits before it starts making your skin better), but I never had that problem with Define.  Just make sure if you start it, you start slowly.  Apply 1x every 3 days for the first week, then apply 1x every 2 days for a week, then you can try applying it every evening.  But if your skin gets sensitive or reacts to it, I would lessen the number of days you use it.  I really liked Define and the Benefit Clean, so I tried the lotion and the sunscreen because none of it made me break out.  A lot of other products I've tried either broke me out or just weren't doing anything for me.  I've had this routine for about the past 1.5 years and it's really been working for me.  Benefit Clean scored a 3 on the website, which isn't that bad.  So I may keep that.  The define scored a 5 or 6, but any retinol product will get you at least that score, because retinols are a pretty strong chemical.

Healthier skin care product reviews to come!!