Favorite products of the month: July 2013

So, how did we already pass half summer? Time literally flies by!
But you know what the end of a month means, right? Yup, another listing of my favorite products of the passed month! :)

The month July hasn't been very nice to my skin at all. I had breakouts and I needed treatment, not just for the face, but for the entire body. It's been a while since my body was in such a bad condition...

Let's work from the top down and start with facial products:
Lately the oils in my skin have been going out like crazy. I know during summer my skin has the tendency to go all nuts, but I've been on the look out for good mattifying products to keep my oils at bay.
The Bioderma and the Shu Uemura Pureness mattifying moisturizer have been good to my skin, because they're very light moisturizers but they've been keeping my skin fairly matte.

Left:Bioderma Sébium moisturising mattifying fluid
Right: Shiseido Pureness mattifying moisturiser

Besides that, pimples had several parties on my face. Costume parties. As in, they were everywhere and in all forms. Whenever I'm need of a good zit killer, I take out the big guns: my Benzac Gel. This hydrogel contains 5% of benzoylperoxide. If you haven't heard of this chemical, it mainly dries out the zit causing it for it to DIE, mwoehahaha! Honestly, it's THE bomb diggity to get rid of any breakouts.

Benzac Gel

This passed month I had to go to the dentist, and I had to sit there for about 2 hours with my mouth open. This caused the sides of my mouth crack, and believe you me... it hurts like hell afterwards! I've done some research and I found out that Sudocrem appears to be a very good treatment for healing cracks. After walking around with those cracks for weeks, it healed after applying Sudocrem for just 1 day! Holy moly guacemole, right?
It's known to be a do-it-all for several things, such as soothing a baby's nappy rash, treat dry, cracked feet, get rid of red spots from acne, ... A big plus? It's hypoallergenic, so this will be fighting against those annoying allergic reactions!

Sudocrem

This month I've discovered my epilator and my tweezers again, because you know how we girls be, huh? :) I like to get rid of any excess hair that bothers me, and I have my Tweezerman to thank for. I used to use cheap tweezers and I must admit, nothing beats a Tweezerman. They're so sharp that they can get every hair out, yet they're not as sharp they can cut you. Great stuff!

Tweezerman

If you haven't read the recent last blog posts yet, I've been going on and on about how important SPF is. Recently I've discovered a sunscreen that can keep my face matte, and it has a high SPF factor. It's the Eucerin SPF 50. I'm not going into it too deep anymore, if you would like some more information on it, go ahead and give this one a read.

Eucerin sun fluid SPF 50

As for make up, since this is still a beauty blog, I have 2 drugstore eyeliners, and they're both from the brand Essence.
On the top you'll see the waterproof eye pencil that claims to be: waterproof, partyproof, lifeproof, lasts up to 16 hours and it's sharpenable. It's supposed to stay on NO MATTER WHAT. I must say that this does stay for quite some time.
The second eye pencil is a longlasting one. It's a supersoft eye pencil which is good for precise application.
They're both very good drugstore eye liners that's definitely worth the money! They're cheap (I only paid 1€ for each pencil), they're long lasting, they have a good pigmentation, they're easily accessible (drugstore). Worth giving a shot!

Top: Essence stays no matter what waterproof eye pencil: 01 midnight black
Down: Essence Longlasting eye pencil: 01 black fever

During the summer sales, I often have a peek through the sales boxes and this year I found a YSL cream blush. It's pretty pinkish color that will leave your skin dewy. You don't need too much of this: one or two swipes and hello healthy glow! I'm really glad I found this because I've been on the hunt for a good cream blush and I think I found my blush of the summer.

Yves Saint Laurent cream blush no6

As for lips, I have discovered Bourjois' Color Boost Peach on the Beach. It's a coral lipstick in a crayon form. A great color to wear for those who have been wearing lip balm forever and just started to wear lipstick :) A review of this goodie will be coming up soon!

Bourjois Color Boost: 04 Peach on the Beach

I like bright nail polish colors during the summer, especially for my toes! I've been rocking NYX's hot pink for the entire month of July. It's a fun color that will make your feet look more tanned than they're already are, 2 in 1, yeah baby!

NYX - Dance in Havana

Last but not least, I've been using an oil spray to tame those fly aways down and to make my hair more shiny. I spritz this oil in my damp hair and this makes my hair softer and gives it some shine which my hair has been lacking of. I'm not a fan of the scent, although a lot of those beauty bloggers love the Macadamia scent, but I'll keep on using this because it does the job.

Macadamia - Healing Oil Spray

These were my favorite goodies of the month. Mind sharing yours with me?

I ♥ Summer TAG

Hi everrrybody!

I saw the fun tag and decided to do a Q&A, so let's jump right into it :)

1. Favorite bronzer?
Well, I'm getting off with a good start since I don't use bronzer! It's just one of those makeup steps that doesn't excite me.
2. Favorite summer drink?
I like drinking a safe sex on the beach mocktail, since I don't enjoy drinking alcohol.
3. Favorite summer lip product?
That would probably be my Rosebudsalve. Whatever lip balm I use (and I have A LOT), I always go back to this baby!
4. Pool or beach?
I prefer the beach. You have sand, sun and sea! What more can you ask for? I don't go swimming in the sea that often anymore, but it's just more fun than going to the plain ol' pool.
5. Summer = crazy hair! What's your must-have styling product?
Wella Professionals Lifetex sun vitamin shake preps my hair before getting those UV-rays on my hair.
6. Sun bathing or fake tan?
I should be ashamed of answering this, but sun bathing... I've tried the fake tan before, but I'm not a huge fan of having a tanned skin. I happen to have skin that gets tanned quite easily. I just like sun bathing because I think it's relaxing to lie on the beach with my friends, doing nothing.
7. Favorite summer nail polish?
NYX's in 241 Dance in Havana is a hot pink color that just screams summer.
8. Any summer traditions?
I don't have a true summer tradition, but I think I do get together with my friends more often to catch up on everything.
9. Favorite summer scent?
I especially like the scent of my Dove Go Fresh in pomegranate.
10. Favorite BBQ food?
Sausages covered with honey!
11. Favorite summer-proof product?
I'd go with blotting sheets. They're my friends for the entire year, but during summer they become my bff for a while, haha!
12. Summer vacation plans?
I've postponed my summer vacation plans to October-November. I'll be going to Thailand with a friend of mine. I'm really looking forward to it and can't wait for my true summer vacation to begin :)

That was it for the day! I enjoyed doing this tag. You're tagged if you read this, and don't be shy to put your URL in the comments down below. Have fun! :)

Review Bioderma moisturising mattifying fluid

I'd like to speak in the name of most oily-faces girls out there that we're constantly looking for a good matte moisturizer. It's not because we have oily faces that we don't need moisturizer. Au contraire, we need to moisturize our skin as well.We just need to make sure we don't use products that will add oil to out face since we produce enough of our own, but we cannot use too harsh face products that will totally strip the oils of our face. This will cause your skin to dry out for a while, and it may look good for about an hour, but you're giving your skin the message: Oh oh, dry skin? Need to product oil to make it balanced! Do make sure to read the labels very carefully before buying or applying it to your face. I'd say: try, try and try! It's not because a certain product works for your friend that it will work for you as well. Everyone has a different skin type. AND, it's not because one product for person A with oily skin will work for person B as well.

As for my rambling introduction to this blog post, I'd like to give you my opinion on this Bioderma moisturizer:

Bioderma sébium mat moisturising mattifying fluid

If you haven't heard of Bioderma before, it stands for Biology at the service of Dermatology. They have a wide variety of skin range, color accorded. Check out their website to see what colour range you're in.
The first time I've heard of Bioderma was when I was in Hong Kong. I saw these translucent bottles with a red detail (indicates sensitive skin) pretty much everywhere. When I came back to Belgium, I did some research to check out what the fuss was about. Turned out they were micellar solutions that cleanses, removes make up from and soothes the skin. I won't get too much into it, but if you'd like to read some more on it, click here.

During the summer I'm mostly on the look for a gel-like moisturizer because it's lighter for my skin to absorb. But when I saw this, I just had to try it, and I must say...I actually really like this :)

It has the green detail on it which is for those with combination or oily skin. On the bottle it claims to neutralize areas which are prone to shine. Long lasting moisturizing and anti-shine skin care for combination or oily skin. Its fluid texture is quickly absorbed. Does not flake off. The skin remains clear, soft and perfectly matte all day long.

It comes out as a white cream, but it's very light and it sinks into the skin rather fast. I apply it on my T-zone every morning and I have to say that I do stay matte for half the day, not for the entire day as it claims to do. I have to admit I'm quite satisfied with it staying matte for half the day, because most moisturizers force me to blot after 2 hours or so.

Since this product is only available in certain stores, it's quite difficult to get a hold of it in Belgium. If you don't have very oily skin, give this one a try.

I'm quite happy with this, but will continue my search for my HG moisturizer to combat my combination skin to oily skin :)

NOTW Naked Pink

And I'm back with another NOTW!
This week I've been rocking Naked Pink, which is perfect for summer!

NYX - Naked Pink

Unfortunately the picture doesn't do the nail polish color justice. It's a real bright, in your face, kind of color. Since this does apply a little bit sheer, I did have to put on 3 coats for it to look like the color in the bottle. For the money I spent on this nail polish (which was practically nothing), I don't mind putting on several coats. Luckily my Sally Hansen's top coat makes the polish procedure a lot faster!

It's a very fun color to put on your nails and will look great with pretty much every outfit in the summer. A bright polish that truly screams SUMMER! :)

Me against UV rays

Hi there everyone!

If you've read my last blog post, you know I'm whined over and over on UV rays and how it's important that you should protect your skin from any damage.

Today I'll be talking about a couple of items I've been using this year to protect myself from those evil rays!

First off, the face!
If you've read this blog for a while, you may know by now that I have a combination to oily skin type. In other words: the kind where you can fry your fish and chips in!
During the summer the oils decide to have a party in my face and stay there for a about the entire season.

Eucerin sun fluid mattifying face - SPF50

When applying a sunscreen on the face, the oils are dying to come out. That's why I've been on the look out for a mattifying sunscreen. Believe me, I never knew about its existence until I accidentally bumped into one when I was in the doctor's waiting room. It's the Eucerin sun fluid mattifying for the face.

Turns out this sample is a pretty darn good sunscreen for me :)

It leaves a semi-matte finish on my skin and it has a high SPF of 50. What more can my skin ask for?

And yes, I'm planning on getting a full size bottle!





Before discovering this baby, I actually did some research on a good sunscreen and I heard/read several good reviews on the following:

 

Shiseido Expert Sun Aging Protection Lotion - SPF30

The Shiseido sunscreen is known for its blue bottle and the orange cap. This sunscreen is meant to be applied for the face as well as the body. When going to the beach, I thought it would come in handy to get a 2 in 1 and one which is very water resistant and sand-proof.

It's a light, non-sticky sun protection lotion that will fight against the UVA and UVB rays. Don't give those wrinkles and sunburns any chance by protecting you against both rays!

I did try to apply this on my face, but my face became rather greasy after a few hours. I prefer this sunscreen for my body and will be using the Eucerin one for my face :)




And something you often forget to protect from UV rays as well: your hair!
I have black hair, but after getting a perm the sun damage has caused my hair to turn slightly dark brown. I must admit that I like the brownish hints of colour, but honestly... I know that the discoloration is merely a sign of sun damage.

Wella Professionals Lifetex vitamin shake

When going on a sunny holiday I make sure to bring along my hair protecting vitamin shake!
This is a vitamin shake that will nourish and protect your hair from sun damage. As you can see on the picture, it has a milk base and an oily base which you should shake up (hence the name vitamin shake) before spritzing it into your hair.

The milk base has sun protection ingredients, while the macadamia seed oil protects your from damage from the sun, sea and chlorine.

It gives a lot of moisture to the hair so the hair doesn't dry out. Do keep in mind that this shake contains a UV filter, to make sure it combats those UV rays!
 




These were my 3 essentials that I'll be rocking this summer.
Tell me, what are your must haves for the scorching hot season?

I can see the sun coming up!

Dear blog readers,

Recently I had a skin scan to determine my skin age, and I must say... the shock did me well. It made me realize I should take care of skin much better. It made me think about all those years I didn't put any SPF (sun protection factor) on my face. *looks disappointed to myself*

The UV scan is called 'Smarter in the sun' and it was an initiative of the Cancer foundation in Belgium. Basically you answer some questions such as 'Do you go to tanning beds?', 'Do you smoke?', ... Afterwards you get in to have the scan taken. The portrait, which is taken with UV light, will determine what your skin age is.
I'm 26 years old, and my skin age is 33.
My wrinkles show up on my face: 3/10 (which is very thin, yay!) The lady told me Asian people don't get bothered with premature aging, so I'm glad I'm scoring good on something.
My pigmentation on my skin got a score of 4/10, which is pretty bad.

As I can't go back anymore, I can only prevent my skin from getting worse.
About a month ago I was "already" determined to take better care of my skin from now on. I bought a couple of sunscreens to protect my skin, but here's a little explanation on the ABC's of UV, abbreviations I'm sure you've heard of before:
UVA = Ultraviolet A, this is also known as a long wave. This will cause the aging of the skin (cause less elastin of the skin, darker melanin, more pigmentation
UVB = Ultraviolet B, or known as the medium wave. This will harm the superficial layers of the skin and mostly causing burning of the skin. (cause the typical sunburn symptoms such as redness and itching)
UVC = Ultraviolet C, or short wave, for which sunscreens doesn't provide any protection. (apparently these rays are so strong they can even kill small organisms)

If you have any trouble remembering what UV stands for, here's a good mnemonic:

UVA = aging, UVB = burning and UVC = carcinoma (common type of cancer) 

Next to UV's, nowadays most sunscreens have an indication of a PA (Protection Grade of UVA). PA rankings are listed as PA+, PA++ or PA+++ with the more plus symbols the more protection from UVA rays. This doesn't protect you from any of the UVB rays. 

SPF rating, on the other hand, offers protection against UVB rays, the rays that causes those nasty sunburns.

Now for the factor.

Do you wonder what the number stands for after SPF?
Well, just apply the '*10-rule' and bye bye to standing clueless at the drugstore! Don't know what the '*10-rule is'? Let me set a few examples for you:
SPF 15: 15*10 = 150 -> This equals 2,5 hours (150/60 minutes) of protection
SPF 30: 30*10 = 300 -> This equals 5 hours of protection
SPF 50: 50*10 = 500 -> This equals about 8 hours of protection

It's recommended that you daily use a minimum SPF of 15, so let's slather on some sunscreen like you've never done before :)

Toxic ingredient, oxybenzone:

I've heard a lot of contradictions when it comes to oxybenzone. Is it good? Is it bad? Frankly, I still don't know...

Some sunscreens contain the chemical oxybenzone. This should absorb UV light, but some research show the chemical can be absorbed through the skin. Apparently it is linked to hormone disruption and can cause cell damage leading to skin cancer.
Others say it is safe because it provides an effective briad spectrum protection from UV rays.

I'm afraid we just have to wait until scientific experiments to show whether oxybenzone  is harmful or not. Until then, I wouldn't use it...

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and tell you one shouldn't go outside and enjoy the sun, but just be careful. Keep on enjoying the sun, just be smart about it. Make sure you put on sunscreen before leaving the house (preferably 30 minutes before getting exposed to the sun) and stay away from those tanning beds! Have fun and make those wonderful summer memories, just be nice to your skin. Your skin will be grateful to you on a long term :)

Mini-review Bio-Oil

Well hello there!

Today you'll be reading all about this little bottle called bio-oil.
About a month ago, I had a fresh scar and since I heard a few things on the bio oil, I decided to give this baby a go.
I realize I need to use this product for way longer than a month, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on this product with you anyways.

Apparently it shouldn't only handle scars, but it's supposed to take care of stretch marks, uneven skin tone, aging skin and dehydrated skin as well.

This oil contains plant extracts and vitamins.

On the bottle you'll see it has PurCellin Oil, this means that the oil's consistency makes it light and non-greasy when applying.

I dab some oil on my finger and massage it where I need it for a few minutes.

You'll notice it's not as a greasy as you've first applied it. This is where the PurCellin Oil comes in :)






As for every products, you have lovers and haters.
I'm still in the middle. I still haven't seen any results (which is normal, since I haven't been using this for long), but I'll come back to this review after using it for a few more months.
For now, I've been using, not only on my scar but also on some of my hyper pigmentation. After only using Bio oil for 2 weeks I already noticed that this clogged up my pores :(
I won't be using this for any of my hyper pigmentation, but I will continue using the oil for my scar. We'll just have to wait and see!

Did you know this?

Bio-Oil has won 134 skincare awards and has become the No.1 selling scar and stretch mark
products in 16 countries since its global launch in 2002.

See you in a few months for a more in depth review :)

My makeup story

Hi my beloved blog readers!

This blog post will not be a regular 'here's-what-I-like-to-share-with-you post, but be aware that this will be a text post on how I fell in love with makeup.

Growing up with 2 older brothers didn't exactly encourage my femininity to come out of me. I often played with the typical boys' toys such as lego, cars and action figures even after being spoiled with Barbies, dolls and all that jazz.
My mom and my aunties used to bought me dresses to dress me up. I never actually REALLY enjoyed wearing dresses, but being an '80 girl, I had to work with what I got!
One of my first makeup memories was - like most girls - going through my mom's make up collection. I remember pulling out a dark red nail polish out of it and asked my mom to help me painting my nails because I couldn't. It made me feel so proud... If only I knew it was ugly as heck :D

Until the age of 19 I didn't act much of a girl...
I liked my baggy pants and never thought about acting ladylike or whatsoever. So I'm sure you get it that makeup didn't interest me at all.
When I was in college I remember seeing these doll like girls who were more occupied by their makeup than by their studies. The only makeup thing I was interested in was my performing well at school (and my lip balm because I didn't like the feeling of dry lips, haha!)
I do have to admit that by seeing these girls doing their make up, wearing sexy dresses, talking about what new make up items they bought, ... it lit a little fire inside of me. I didn't act like them, but I did start to pay attention to what I looked like: getting a new hair cut every year, looking for what clothing suits me, learning about my skin type, ...

During my college years I discovered the following (in that exact order!):

• eyelash curler (drugstore one which broke off the majority of my lashes, causing me to walk around lash less for weeks!)
• moisturizer (Nivea moisturizer which turned out to be way too greasy for me)
• concealer (drugstore one as well and was way too pink for my skin tone)

After graduating I was finally prepped to take a step into the grown up world: to get a job.
That's when I did some research on 'how to become presentable for dummies', haha!
I finally got my hands on a Shu Uemura eye lash curler, an Olaz (Olay in the States) moisturizer targeted for combination to oily skin and a concealer with a yellow undertone. I was good to go folks!
It wasn't until the age of 22 I actually started to act like a true girly girl.
I wore dresses and skirts (voluntarily!) and wore a teeny tiny bit of makeup (as in moisturized, curled my lashes, concealed and put on some lip balm). 

But now the interesting part you've been waiting for:
I discovered makeup when I was 24 (knowing that I'm 26 for the moment, that hasn't been long at all!)
It all started when I got unemployed for quite a while. Spending all those hours on your computer was very tiring and you know how it goes: whenever you need to spend your time doing something useful, you start finding all sorts of distraction. My distraction was Youtube.
I accidentally bumped into makeup video's and saw these girls talking about how they put their makeup on, how they did their hair, what new makeup items they bought, ... I got sucked into it LIKE A FOOL, hahaha!

That's when I started to collect makeup items as well. I'm lucky enough to get to travel to Hong Kong every few years and buying makeup there was so exciting, because they're Asian items that Europe and the States don't have. I'd have the best of ... three worlds, right?
It was confusing seeing the brands' name change depending on which continent you are. I started recognizing product which were performing the same, but had a different name.
As I watch a lot of American beauty gurus on Youtube, I know what the name is in the States. Living in Belgium makes it easy for me to find out what the European name is and being able to travel to HK, allows me to compare those with the ones I've heard about from the other side of the world. That's why I started this blog, to introduce the people to all makeup items from 3 continents!

By now my makeup routine has changed tremendously, but I'm sure this beauty blog proves it all. I truly hope this blog post doesn't push you to put makeup on, because it has just become something that happens to interests me. I'm glad to share my knowledge with my friends, but I do have to admit that I still don't wear a ton of makeup as some of my friends do... Let's just say that I'm still digging the natural look, and let's keep it that way for the upcoming years, shall we? :)