Posted by Olia | Under Face
Monday May 18, 2009
I was about to run out of my moisturiser so I went to the shops to have a look around.
I went to David Jones as it holds many brands on the same floor.
I was looking at quite a few moisturisers:
Lancome, Dr. Perricone, L’Occitane, Clarins, Kiehls and couple other brands in Mecca Cosmetics.
What I wanted from my moisturiser: I needed a night moisturiser, so without SPF (as I just ordered my daily moisturiser from Nu Skin). I wanted it to be a nice texture, not to heavy and not have very strong smell. Also it should have anti wrinkle ingredients and no mineral oil. I will have to write an article about mineral oil and why you should avoid products with mineral oil in it and that is not that easy to do as so many products do have mineral oil within their ingredients.
So I had to give a miss to Lancome moisturiser as I was disappointed to see mineral oil in the ingredients list. I love Lancome make up but with skin care… I still can’t find something that would suit my skin from Lancome.
I had a brief look at L’Occitane. I didn’t want to get a cream from Immortelle series that would be exactly what I wanted except the smell. I wasn’t a fan of that smell. They had an almond moisturiser which has an unbelievably plesant smell but I had a sample of it - and I can’t say that I thought that time that I would buy it. I tried their body cream (I mean I bought the whole jar with the cream. Oh it was amazing and really really nice on skin. Smells fantastic and it seemed that my skin go so smooth after I used the cream)
Then I went to Clarins stand. I used quite a few of their products. And I remember that I liked the night cream. But I just felt like trying something else.
I glanced at Shiseido and Shu Uemura (a bit irrelvant but I love Shu Uemura curler. I got it from Japan when we didn’t have a store here in Australia), walked by Guerlain tring to remember what I liked from their moisturisers when I got some samples. I wandered to Dior stand. I am fascinated with 60/80 range. I tried once a cream.. and yes - the line that I have in the mornings on my forehead - disappeared! well… but I think that was a temporary result. I am not sure if it actually works towards long term result… But I am so tempted to buy an eye cream from them.
I had to pass by La Prairie, Sisley and La Mer (and oh yes, I would love to have a moisturiser from them). These are fantastic products (I never tried La Mer but heard so many good things about it) but yes.. it was outside of my budget.
Dr Perricone was next. I used to have his
Face Finishing moisturiser and I think I liked it. To be completely honest I can’t remember how I felt about his moisturiser. I can’t remember what was a result. A girl was so nice at Mecca Cosmetics and gave me a small sample of the cream. And it feels nice on skin but I just was too curious about Kiehls.
My first visit to Kiehls was in Paddington (yes I love this area of Sydney). And I was so amazed by all these tubes and small jars with creams and tonics and all the rest of it.
I liked that it has the feeling of well established brand, proven… All these black and white photos throughout the store only strengthened my impression.
So I walked to the shelves with all the creams and a lovely lady asked if she can helped me. After I explained what I wanted she pointed me at Abyssine Cream.
I checked ingredients - no mineral oil! that was a good start. But that night I didnt buy anything as I had a sample of my Dr Perricone and I wanted to try it again and also I wanted to do a bit of research on Internet about Kiehl.
Well… I was happy with what I found out about Kiehl - I got my Abyssine Cream next day!
I am a great believer that you need a bit of time to actually decide what you think about your moisturiser. So I will wait for a week or two and then post on
my blog I think about my new moisturiser.
Posted by Olia | Under Face
Sunday Dec 21, 2008
How to whiten your skin naturally
I know for some people that may sounds strange but some people do want to whiten their skin. For different reasons: remove freckles, brown spots or simply to get that
First of all – always wear SPF+30! That is first and the most important step in achieving this porcelain skin you are after.
Cucumber, lemon juice and grapefruit juice help to whiten your skin naturally. But be careful with grapefruit juice and especially with lemon juice.
If you don’t have much time - try this: peel a cucumber (just with your knife, not peeler) longways, and then wipe your skin with these strips (the rest - you just can put in your salad). You won’t need many - two or three. Do this as often as you can.
Or you can apply slices of cucumber (they should be very thing - they will “hold” better) on your face and just lie down for about 10 minutes. Even 5 will do. Better than nothing. Very refreshing. Put couple on your eyes too - you eyes will look so much better.
Some other recipes to whiten your skin naturally:
Whitening Lotion: Mix one tablespoon of cucumber juice and a few drops of line juice. Apply on a face and neck and wash off after 30 minutes.
Cucumber Lotion: Mix one tablespoon each of cucumber juice and milk and a few drops of rose water. Apply on the face and neck. Remove after 15 minutes. This lotion is suitable for delicate skin.
”Freckles remover”: Blanch and grind two almonds. Mix it with white of an egg to which half teaspoon of lime juice has been added. Spread on the face and leave it on till the skin feels dry. Then, wash off first with warm water and then with cold water.
Here is a general advice for any masks:
The masks shouldn’t be applied if:
- the skin infection is present
- there are cuts, bites or small wounds
- your skin is hypersensitive
Exfoliate your skin regularly. At least 1-2 times a week (depends what type of skin you have). This will help to get better results.
Always apply masks on clean face.
Another natural whitener is chamomile.
The easiest way to use herbs on your facial skin is with an herbal steam. Bring water to the boil, add some dry chamomile (you don’t really need too much of water. Maybe one liter of water and add one tablespoon of the dry chamomile. You can use 2 chamomile teabags) Close with a lid and give it 1-2 to stand. Place a towel over your head, and sit over the bowl.
Your face needs to be about a foot (30 cm) away from the fresh steam, but still close enough that the steam is drifting to your skin. Stay over the steam, with your eyes closed for around 15 minutes (adjust time for your skin time. If your skin is too sensitive 5 minutes will be enough). Afterwards, splash your face with cool water (or rub with a cube of ice - that is what I like to do).
You can do facial steams about six times a month if you have oily skin. If you have normal or really dry skin don’t steam more than once a week, if that; every two weeks is likely better.
These were tips on how to whiten your skin. And once again, to achieve porcelain skin you always has to wear sunscreen. For more beauty tips click here.
Posted by Olia | Under Face
Thursday Dec 18, 2008
Some more tips on how to get rid of dark circles under eyes.
- You can apply crushed mint leaves under your eyes for 20 minutes. That is one of the most effective remedies as some people tell (wash the mint leaves first!).
- Drinking tomato juice can help to diminish dark circles. Add a dash of lemon juice and some mint. Make sure that your tomato juice doesn’t contain too much sodium (in other words – salt).
- Some claim that after two weeks of drinking 2 glasses of cranberry juice a day you will see that your dark circles are darker. If you are taking any medicines for your heart you should not drink cranberry juice as it can interfere with your medicines (the same as grapefruit juice).
- In case of allergies – avoid artificial colours and other artificial ingredients. This will be beneficial not only for your eyes but for your general health as a whole.
- Try to understand what you have allergy to and eliminate this from you diet.
- Eat fruit and vegetables rich in vitamin E for healthy eyes.
- After applying all these remedies use a cloth soaked in cold water. Cold water helps to constrict blood vessels under the eye area.
Try some of these recipes to diminish dark circles under eyes and see what works best for you. If you would like more beauty tips you can find them on my blog.
Posted by Olia | Under Face
Monday Dec 15, 2008
Dark Circles Under Eyes – how to cure
- Get your blood tested. You need to make sure that your dark circles are not caused by any serious illness.
- Get enough sleep and rest.
- Keep your body hydrated. To calculate the necessary water intake you can use this calculator.
- Make sure you are getting enough vitamin C. If you are pregnant and would like to take vitamin C as a supplement make sure this is a lower than normal. Avoid taking vitamin C (as a supplement) during first trimester, as you go into second and third trimester – take 500 mg twice a day. That should be enough.
- You can try to apply creams with vitamin K. Creams that consist vitamin C and E can also help reduce circles around eye area.
- Most commonly recommended treatments are tea bags and cucumber slices. Do that as often as you would like. Make sure to use tea bags as herbs are not as effective. Camomile (even though it is good for your eyes as well) - can trigger allergy for some and as a result you will end up with swollen eyes. Be very careful what herbs you decide to apply.
- How to use tea bags:
After you had your tea let the bag cool down and then apply on your eyes for around 10 minutes. Another way of doing that is to dip in two round cotton pads into the tea, cool down (you even can put them on a plate and leave in a freezer for minute or so – don’t forget about them!) – and apply on your eyes and relax.
- How to use cucumber slices:
Cut off thin slices of cucumber (you will need probably two slices if a cucumber is small) and apply then on the eyes for ten minutes. You can turn over the slices half way through.
- Always apply SPF 30+ under your eye area and wear sunglasses. This will protect you under eye skin area from wrinkles and from becoming even thinner.
- Another remedy would be almond oil. It will not only help to lighten up dark circles but also help reduce wrinkles around the eye area. Apply almond oil on the area at night before you go to bed. Do not do this or any other cream application right before you go to bed. Do it at least 30 minutes in advance.
- Apply vitamin E oil. Apply it the same way as almond oil.
I will post more tips on how to cure dark circles under eyes in my next post.
Posted by Olia | Under Face
Thursday Dec 11, 2008
Dark circles do not look nice and everyone who has them wishes to get rid of them.
There are few reasons why we get dark circles and depending on the reason there are some treatments available.
Reasons why we get dark circles
- It could be just genetics. You should be prepared that even you will be following advices that are given bellow – you may get only minimum success in diminishing your dark circles. However it is always best to do something about that other than do nothing.
- Another reason could be diet that is high in sodium – this can cause fluid retention in your body. Blood vessels under the eyes can become dilated and that can contribute to the appearance of the dark circles.
- Smoking has the same impact on the eye area.
- You always should be aware that fluid retention can be caused by some diseases like heart, thyroid, kidney and liver diseases. If you suspect one of those you should consult with your doctor. Some of the medicines can also course dilated blood. If you concern speak to your doctor.
- The skin under the eye area is very thin – the thinnest on our face (and body). As we age the fat pad under the eye becomes even thinner and blood vessels can be more visible.
- Dark circles can be a result of lack of sleep and tiredness. Some people say that dark circles are not caused by lack of sleep and maybe they are right but if we don’t sleep enough our skin looks paler and that can highlight our dark circles.
- Another common reason is dehydration.
- Along with that goes inadequate intake of vitamin C (that helps strengthen blood vessels walls) and vitamin K.
- Sometimes our body can’t process protein completely due to lack of vitamin B6 and folic acids and that can cause dark circles as well.
- Allergies and hay fevers can be a cause for dark circles as well. Allergies on pollen, dust, pets or even milk.
These were “why”s we can have dark circles under the eyes. In the next post I will tell you how to diminish these dark circles if you have them.
For more interesting information click here.