Everything About Beautiful Skin

Check up

Olia — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:52:52 +0000

Well it has been 2 weeks since my check up. I wasn’t sure if I should be really writing about this - it may scare everyone who is going to do a sclerotherapy…

So I was due for my check up. I was so happy that I could finally take my stockings off - what a relief!

The doctor was looking for knots (blood knots) that could happen after sclerotherapy. For some reason I thought I wouldn’t have any. But I did. Fortunately for me - only 4 of them. And here it was again: needle piercing my skin… I was going to write it was very very very uncomfortable but I should really just say: it was painful. I mean this needle. I think I managed to forget how it was during the treatment…

And.. I can’ t really remember now how bad it was.

I was told to wait for full 6 weeks before coming to any conclusion about my treatment. And after all it gives 50-80% of improvement. So we will see…

Will write back soon.

Sclerotherapy - the truth

Olia — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:55:48 +0000

It has been two weeks since I have done what I wanted to do for quite a while – sclerotherapy.

This is a treatment for spider veins when a solution, called a sclerosing solution, is injected by the doctor with a short thin needle.

In my case it was more like broken capillaries but lots of them.

I had a consultation in June and couldn’t decide whether to do it or not.

The doctor said it is better than laser.

So about three weeks ago I went to book an appointment (I won’t name where it was just in case I won’t get a result I am after – it would be a bad advertising. ) but had to find out that everything booked for another two months! I was almost ready to give up but the a girl found an appointment that has been cancelled and I could get that time.

So it was done two weeks ago.

About procedure itself. It is described in Internet as uncomfortable. Not sure how to put it nicely…It was VERY VERY uncomfortable. From the second I had first injection I wanted it to finish.

It wasn’t nice at all. And the look after it is done – is not a really good look – all spots where the needle went into is swollen and bruised.

You get compression stocking to be put on right away. And you suppose to wear them all them (except when you have a shower or sleep).

So the best time of the year to do – winter of course.

My sclerotherapy took about an hour and it was done by around 3pm. When I took my stockings before bed that night – legs were not swollen any more but bruised.

The doctor said that it could get worse before it will get better.

I am glad it wasn’t my case. I don’t know how worse they can look other that after the treatment itself.

I can’t wait to get rid of the stockings. It was said on a letter I got before I had a treatment – to wear them for 2-3 weeks.

So I wonder should it be 2 or 3? If two – then today is my last day! J

Legs look ok. Bruising almost gone. I will have a checkup appointment on Monday.

Do I see a result? I am not sure myself. Sometimes I look and think – everything looks exactly the same. Then I look and think.. oh maybe it is less..

But the final result can be seen only in 6-9 weeks after the treatment. So I hope it will get a lot better.

So this is my story for today. Whoever decide to do this – be prepared be very patient.

I will let you know how my check up will go and then later if I will get results.

Surprise

Olia — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:34:33 +0000

I haven’t written for so long! I have had a few things going on at the same time.

I am working on my book (Skin Care During (and after) Pregnancy).

I was in a short film two weeks ago. I also got sick because it was so cold while we were filming.

I also moved and didn’t have Internet for a week. Now I finally have Internet but it is only a dial up (while I am waiting for my broadband to be connected).

It is really not very informative post but I just wanted to give an update.

And the most important - I found out that my blog has been actually read!!!!

I couldn’t be any happier! I saw Anna Field yesterday - and she said she read my blog!!! This post about my visit to the Paddington Room! It was pretty amazing to hear.

Over next four days I am doing my Pilates instructor course. I just had 3 hours tutorial on anatomy (that was an addition to my independent studying and filling in a workbook).

So these will be very busy four days. But It should be fantastic. I have been doing Pilates for over 5 years now. So this will be my next step.

I promise to post some useful information on my blog soon!

Kiehl’s Abyssine Moisturiser

Olia — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:14:19 +0000

Couple weeks ago I have bought a new moisturiser. I described in one of my post how was choosing a moisturiser for you - trust me - I try a lot of moisturisers before I get one.

I found Abyssine Moisturiser at Kiehl’s.

So now I can write my opinion. I usually would wait for about 2-3 weeks before I make up my final opinion about new product.

Verdict in short: I love it!

Just a few characteristics:

Colour: white

Texture: light, cream

Smell: pleasant, neutral

Key Ingredients: Abyssine 657, Apricot Kernel Oil, Corallina Extract. More information about ingredient you can find here.

I love Abyssine Moisturiser because it is light and easily absorbed. My skin feels hydrated. It seems that my skin is firmer. And it is very economical. What I mean is that you need only a little bit for one application.

I absolutely love the texture of Abyssine Moisturiser - so light, like it has been whipped to perfection.

I highly recommend to try Abyssine Moisturiser for yourself. Visit my blog for more interesting facts.

Paddington Beauty Room

Olia — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:25:36 +0000

I had a facial on Saturday at the Paddington Beauty Room.

I should tell you that this is the best place to get your facial. I absolutely love Anna Field who has incredible hands and also such a wonderful personality.

I have discovered Padington Beauty Room after I read an article in Harper Bazaar a few years ago. The article was about the best beauticians in Australia - they listed best in every state. So Anna Field was one of them.

There are two brands of products used at the salon: La Prairie and Dermalogica.

I had a Firming La Prairie treatment that goes for 90 minutes. 90 minutes of pure induglence.

And your skin after that - like it has never been before (unless you had another treatment at Paddington Beauty Room). It looks (and feels) firm, and so glowing and so healthy. Even my boyfriend who didn’t know that I went for my facial noticed the difference (and what is even more surprisingly - his friend complimented my skin! I was a bit shocked to be honest). But yes, Anna does miracles.

Everythins started with a back massage (you wouldn’t expect that coming for a facial) then I had a 3 minute Cellular Peel that dissolved old cells, then I had numerous of different masks, I lost the count of what cream or mask has been applied on my face.

My favourite part is eye treatment. It is something everyone should try. The massage (yes, smooth, endless strokes around your eyes and on your lids with just a right pressure) - this is something that can’t be described in words. You should try it yourself.

In between of masks on my face and massage on my neck and shoulders I also got an exfoliation and moisturising of my decollete area and my arms and hands. Fantastic - I was in heaven!

Ok La Prairie is a bit pricey but the treatment worth every cent.

I am hoping to buy a La Prairie Age Management Eye Repair eye cream in the nearest future (which is cost $180!) but again worth it.

I am already looking forward to my next visit to the Paddington Beauty Room.

To read more about beauty secrets and beauty tips visit my blog.

Moisturiser - in search for the best one

Olia — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:58:18 +0000

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.

Antioxidants - why are they so good? (Part 2/2)

Olia — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:38:10 +0000

I will continue writing about antioxidants. In Part 1/2 of the ‘Antioxidants - why are they so good’ I explained what antioxidants really are. Today I would like to tell you what the most powerful antioxidants.

Types of Antioxidants

Antioxidant Nutrients
There are several antioxidants that we can get having a good diet.

They are vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, selenium and zinc and magnesium that are actually trace elements of various antioxidant enzymes.

Vitamin E is actually a combination of 8 entities called tocopherols and four corresponding tocotrienols. They are lipid soluble (soluble in fat only) vitamins with antioxidant properties that prevent the oxidation reaction from continuing. Our cell membranes are mostly composed of fatty acids. That is why vitamin E is so helpful in dealing with free radicals here.

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. Vitamin C scavenges free radicals in watery environment such as inside our cells.

As you can see vitamins E and C are one of the most important when it comes to beating free radicals.

Beta-carotene, which is also a water-soluble vitamin, is best known for its qualities to scavenge free radicals in low oxygen concentration.

Selenium is a trace element. It is a very important mineral. We need only a very small quantity of it but we can survive without it. People are more and more aware about this mineral nowdays.

Manganese and zinc (that are also minerals) are trace elements (the same as selenium) and form an essential part of various antioxidant enzymes.

Other Antioxidants

There are also other compounds and nutrients that have antioxidant qualities. Among them are coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, or ubiquinone) and uric acid.

In my next post on my blog I will tell about sources of the antioxidants.

Antioxidants - why are they so good? (Part 1/2)

Olia — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:19:18 +0000

I think everyone already knows that antioxidants are very good for us. But what antioxidants really are and why they are so good?

To understand why we need antioxidants we should first to know what are free radicals. And free radicals are bad guys. These are highly unstable molecular fragments or atoms because they have one or more unpaired electrons. They scavenge the cell and damage it by grabbing or donating electrons and therefore damaging the cell. The same oxidative process would cause a peeled apple to brown or iron to rust. Unfortunately we can not prevent appearance of these free radicals.

We are getting free radicals as from outside (exogenous) sources as well as from inside (endogenous sources).

Outside sources would be: pollution, sunlight, X-rays, alcohol and smoking. Endogenous sources are inflammation and metabolism. Bad diet causes the appearance of the free radicals as well.

Antioxidants are able to block the process of oxidation by neutralising free radicals. However when this happens antioxidants become oxidized themselves. Therefore we need a constant supply of the antioxidants.

In my next post on my blog I will tell about the sources of the antioxidants.

9 Top Skin Foods

Olia — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:32:53 +0000

I have previously wrote about Beauty Foods in one of my posts. But I am such a believer that what we eat is so important for our skin so I decided to put another list of Beauty Foods.

So bellow is The Skin Top 9

Dark Leafy Greens (attack acne)
Broccoli (keeps skin elastic)
Water (boosts moisture)
Olive Oil (defeats dryness)
Berries (fight wrinkles)
Rockmelon (foils flakiness)
Salmon (calms inflammation)
Oatmeal (slow cooked, not instant - ousts toxins)
Carrots (discourage wrinkling)

It is an easy list to remember so make sure you have all of these 9 Top Skin Foods included in your diet.

For more beauty tips visit my blog.

Firming Mask - The Proven Result

Olia — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:35:23 +0000

Yesterday I decided to make a mask for my face, neck and decollete area. I have known the recipe for this firming mask for a quite a while. It is very simple to prepare and it gives you fantastic results: you will feel and see your skin firmer and tighter.

I would like to share it with you.

Best Homemade Firming Mask Recipe:

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon of honey (make sure you don’t have allergy on honey)

a few drops of good olive oil

Warm up a little bit your honey and mix up all the ingredients.

Apply on your face, neck and decollete area with your hands or with the brush (that is a proper way of doing it). Ideally you should live it for 15-20 minutes. Or at least till when this firming mask will dry out.

The best way to wash it off is with a small face towel. Apply your favourite moisturiser after that.

You will definitely feel the difference after this firming mask - I guarantee.

For more tips and interesting information visit my blog.