Category Archives: General
Make-up wipes, a waste of money
Wasn’t quite sure whether I should share this or not, it’s not that interesting I think!
However it has been a life saver (well, skin saver) for me this past weekend.
I hadn’t seen my Dutch family for ages and ages, and wanted to spend every minute with them.
As you can imagine, when it came around to bedtime I was too tired for a thorough cleanse.
Anyway the point is I didn’t feel like spending too much time in the bathroom.
My favorite way to get all of the dirt off of my face anyway then?
Wet wipes!
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Baking soda, the miracle in your cupboard!
On my last scrub review soooo many of you commented how much you love baking soda as an exfoliant!
It got me thinking, what else is there to this product?
Well what not is the better question apparenly!
I found a ton of uses for this multitasking powder, it’s insane!
Scrubbing face wash
Had to include this one right, thanks to you I found out just how great it is to add this to my cleanser.
Scrub and face wash in one!
As with that Hema scrub, the beads are round and soft enough to not do any harm, and there are a ton of them.
Just the way I like it!
Deodorant
No i’m not crazy, they do this at Lush even!
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How I entomb my oily face.
Hellooo WordPress!
First of all let me start off with some good news, because of these migraines all week i’ve been put on medication for the first time.
All should be better soon. ^_^
Then!
Because I seem to’ve been a walking oil-machine ever since I turned 13, and there wasn’t any decent interwebs around at that time to just google solutions: i’d like to now share what i’ve found works for me!
Maybe it’ll work for others as well.
Even when I clean my skin perfectly, when I wear no make up I will have slippery skin some 5 hours after I get up.
However here’s how I keep that in check as much as I can:
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Clean your skin
Obviously you’ll want to get the dirt off every day to keep it in good condition. Especially if you live in the city like me.
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But not too much!
As with your hair, sebum will turn up on your skin as much as your skin THINKS it needs it.
So cleaning your skin with a harsh cleanser, or cleaning it too much, will only make you produce more of it.
Make sure your skin feels smooth after showering, pull weird faces to check this if needed!
It shouldn’t feel tight, a toner does that, it should feel elastic and smooth but dirtless.
I actually like using cleansing milk for sensitive skin even during the colder months.
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Tone & moisturize
You don’t have to use toner, but it is nice to close up the pores. It’ll make sure you have less blackspots by not letting any oxygen reach the sebum!
Then as for moisturizer, don’t be afraid to moisturize good during the night after your shower.
In the morning you can use something really light, just to give your skin a boost.
But the fact that you have oily skin doesn’t mean your skin can’t be nourished during the night!
Give it a richer night cream, and wash your skin in the morning to get rid of any excess.
I like using a toner to clean my skin in the morning, before my moisturizer.
That way it won’t be deprived of nutrients/moisture and won’t overcompensate, like I said with the cleanser.
I get a LOT of blackspots when my skin is malnourished!
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Scrub
When your skin is really thick, which happens with oily-skinned people, it sometimes needs help getting rid of the dirt and dead skin cells.
Get rid of that top layer of skin once a week by scrubbing, I even dare use a light scrub 2-3 times a week, depends on how scruffy my skin feels.
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Mask
If I really can’t do anything with my skin, as in blackspots, but also uneven and flaky skin, I use a green clay mask.
Clay masks are your best friend with oily skin, to draw out all that’s obsolete once a week!
When I really feel like a couch potato, I like to clear my face (and mind) with a hot shower, scrub, and then a green clay mask.
Smooth like a peach!
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Water based vs oil based moisturizer
For daytime wear, you’ll want to keep your skin clear of oils as long as possible right?
You don’t need any more..
The best way i’ve found to do that is to use a lightwear moisturizer that’s based on water, with as little oil in it as possible.
Check the ingredients list for this, and remember what’s first on the list is the main ingredient, the last one is the tinest amount.
Or just feel the substance if you can’t make out the ingredients. If it feels thick, instead of lightweight, it’s probably not water based based.
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Water based vs oil based foundation
Then the same goes for foundation, oil based foundations are your nemesis.
Especially if you’re putting an foundation with water on top of a moisturizer with oil, or vice versa.
Those two clash and they’ll slip ‘n’ slide!
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Powder down
Even the stars do it!
I do think that’s face powder at least.. hehe.
Get some powder onto your t-zone to absorb oil wanting to get through, and take some with you on the way if you like.
There’s special blotting papers and powders that don’t cake, however the Kryolan anti-shine works all day long for me!!
That’s it! ^_^
Let me know if there’s anything I forgot!
What’s your daily routine?
Aaaa this is exciting!!
I officially enrolled in the Make-up artist pro I-course!
Coming from very theoretical studies, this is the first time i’m going to be learning something creative and practical.
Who knows, maybe i’ll be creating a hobbit one day as a friend suggested a few days back! (can’t hurt to dream..)
I read a post from a Dutch blogger yesterday, asking her readers how many products they use in their daily routine.
She made a poll for that, however I couldn’t see the results of it!
Sad because I really wondered!
However I have my own blog to do the same ha!
So if you feel like it, please do share the warpaint you need to feel at your best on the frontlines!
How many products are in your 10-minute morning routine?
Let me see.. everything included I use
- toner
- face moisturizer
- eye moisturizer
- concealer
- eye-brightener
- foundation
- setting powder
- brow powder
- quick wash of an eyeshadow
- blush
- lippie
- mascara
That’s 12 for me! Holy crap..
DIY shaving help!
Ah man you know what feeling I love? Having razor burns and then showering.
NO. NO I don’t.
The main reason for razor burns is the hair being too rough, and the skin being too dry. Imagine dragging a blade over dry earth, you get stuck behind the uneven parts, and take some of the surface with you. Not healthy for your skin and not comfortable either!
Aka we need an emolient, something to soften up the skin before we shave, and to make the razor glide over or skin as we shave!
I love just getting a shaving cream sometimes, it’s handy, stays good for ages, and is easy to store. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean they’re as good for your skin as their completely natural DIY counterparts. There’s tons of crap in commercial creams, plain and simple. Sorbitol for example, because natural glycerin is “too expensive”.
Well here’s some recipes to try out for yourself! Oils and creams galore, depends on what you like!
I enjoy the infused oil, and wax recipes the most. They’re easy and do their job!
Scrub
First of all, scrubbing is essential for a really close shave without razor burns! Especially for a beard! There are tons of natural DIY scrubs, or just get one at your local drugstore.
If you use something like my sugar scrub though, with oil in it, you can double it up as a lubricant for shaving as well!
Rinse your skin with water (warm if you can, that softens your skin up even more) to remove the sugar, and shave!
Normal oil
You can use grapeseed, castor, almond, sunflower, coconut, baby, extra virgin olive oil, any oil you like! Natural oils work great for softening up the skin, and making your razor glide right over.
Infused oil
There’s different ways of doing this, let’s do the “hard” one first:
- Dried herbs (they make your oil stay fresh longer)
- Olive oil (or any other oil, I love using olive oil though because it’s been used since early times, even in bath water in Greece!)
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees, pour everything into a bowl, turn off the oven and place it in there for a couple of hours.
When everything is soaked up nicely, get the oil into a jar by pushing it out of the herbs.
Then the easy way:
- Essential oils
- Olive oil (or again any other oils)
Mix them up, done!
Keep it in the refridgerator, and it’ll stay good for months on end! (if you used an oil that became hard in the fridge, just warm it up in your hands before using it)
Oils are so nice and economical to use, just wet the area where you need to shave, add a few drops of oil, let it sink in for a couple of minutes, shave, and rinse!
You’ll smell good too, hmmm…
Soothing lotion
Your normal moisturizer works great, one with aloe or roses in it would be even better, those soothe the skin even more. Works just the same as oils, let it soak in and ready to razor!
Another thing you can try, is hair conditioner!
Shaving cream
First of all, you can use soap. However that’s not as moisturising, this is:
- 8 ounces grated castile soap
- 8 ounces rose water
- 2 ounces cocoa butter
- 4 ounces of liquid vegetable glycerin (available at drugstores and pharmacies)
Add essential oils to this as well if you like!
Soak the soap in the rose water overnight. Heat the cocoa butter and glyerin so that they melt, then remove from the heat and add the soap mixture. Blend those all together with a mixer and done!
As with all fresh products, store in your refrigerator.
What herbs/essential oils to add
Anything you like really, but here are some suggestions:
- Rose: soothes, antiseptic
- Helichrysum: strong anti-inflammatory, pain relief, heals bruises
- Jojoba: soothes, balances
- Calendula: wound healing
- Rosemary: healing scars
If you have problems with acne, try adding some of these to your face-treatments:
- Tamanu oil: heal skin damage
- Rosehip: healing, reduce wrinkles, fights redness
- Emu oil: healing, pain, anti-infammatory
- Lavender: balances, great for combination skin, heals
- Neroli oil: against scarring
- Sage oil (don’t use when pregnant, dilute it, and look up if it’s suited for you first): anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, you name it. Extremely potent oil.
- Tea tree: anti-bacterial, great for face oils or underarms (no bacteria = no smell!)
- Olive oil: vitamin e, antioxidants
- Peppermint oil: vitamin a, against irritation
- Green tea: powerful antioxidant
- Aloe vera: soothes, cooling, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial
- Camomile oil: calm skin, tissue regeneration
- Mandarin oil: helps heal, improves circulation (and smells great!)
- Sandalwood oil: natural remedy for scars (expensive though)
- Frankincense oil: disinfectant, astingent
These can be found in organic stores! You can add them to millions of things, but i’ll keep that for another post haha!
Making your own wax
One more thing, for those of us who don’t like to shave, I make my wax myself!
It’s a sugar wax, i’m sure a lot of people are familiar with this recipe:
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
Put this on the stove and let it simmer for 45 minutes to make the sugar caramelize.
This washes off so easily as well, unlike hard wax!
Learning about essential oils is a passion of mine, tell me your favorites below! 
