makeup review

today i am reviewing:

ALMAY'S smart shade anti-aging makeup

I know, I know.

What does a 21 year old need with supposedly anti-aging makeup? Well honestly, I was just fascinated with the fact that it comes out white and then blends to your skin tone. No joke, this stuff literally changes color before your eyes as you work it over your skin's surface. I have been looking around for a new foundation/cover up and I didn't think that this stuff would do what I needed it to. But alas, I am pleasantly surprised! I used my new pink applicator sponge to put this magical stuff on my face and WHABAM. I am SO satisfied with the immediate results. Of course I will do a follow up post for this stuff seeing as I have been sold on it so quickly. Not only did this perfectly blend into my skin, it also covered up my moderate adult acne in an excellent way with just a single, minimal layer! It also covered up my dark under eye circles flawlessly.

makeup follow up

this is a follow up for a makeup review post that I did!

Honestly... I was pretty disappointed with the foundation. The powder was alright.. The powder was a screw up on my behalf because it was way to light for my skin tone. Other than that, I liked the powder a lot; it blended very well with my skin and it was very matte! The foundation was less than up to par in my opinion. Not only did it break me out in a really bad way, but it also clumped up bad on my skin. My skin gets dry sometimes because of the spot treatment cream so I need a nice foundation that will smooth over in a nice way. This did not do that.

website feature

yesh to body modification jewelry websites.

Seeing as how I have been being careless about my posting a look for last week my sweet, sweet viewers... I present you with yet another grand website chalked full of excelente body jewelry. Feast thine eyes... And thy wallet on this babeh.

URBANBODYJEWELRY

epsom salt treatment

today i'm gonna talk about the wonder that is epsom salt.

I found out about Epsom Salts for the treatment of everyone's favorite pesky skin disorder through... THE INTERNET! I made myself a little concoction and am happy to say that coupled with Epsom Salt bath soaks, my skin has calmed down considerably. Therefore, I am sharing my creation process with those of you that are out there so that you too can find out if Epsom Salts can help your skin as well.

First, I began by boiling down equal parts Espom Salts and water. I also added a tiny bit of my favorite scented bath soaking salts from Bath And Body Works for the smell and for a better salty feel. Epsom Salts alone do not really taste salty at all!

Beforehand, I prepared a small spray bottle. After that I poured about a teaspoon and a half of tea tree oil into my bottle. I like Tea Tree Oil because of it's salicylic acid content and Josh also loves how it smells.

After the Tea Tree Oil, I poured in about half of a tablespoon of Hemp Seed Oil. I did this because Espom Salts can be very drying, so you really need some extra moisturizer when you are using the stuff.

Here is my finished product! Obviously because you have oils, water and salt in a bottle together the natural separation process is going to occur. Give them a hearty shake and you can spritz this all over your affected areas! Just make sure that you do not get this in your eye. Tea Tree Oil burns when it comes into contact with your eyes.

look#41

i got a pant suit!

I have been wanting to get myself a pant suit for ages now and I finally managed to score one from my local Ross. This pant suit is fashionable, cool and it looks like a "baby clown suit" or something like that.

Paired with my favorite glittery-gold flats, this outfit really does say something along the lines of "Hey, I am a disco queen."

I have also been wearing my hair pulled like this a lot more often here lately! It's cute, quick, easy and keep my headaches at bay. It also keeps the back of my hair from going way flat.

makeup review!

almay clear complexion makeup w/blemish heal technology

&

almay smart shade smart balance pressed powder

I have been struggling with my foundation/powder makeup for the past few weeks and I decided that it was high time that I try switching to a brand that is known for its hypoallergenic, no animal testing and non-comedogenic makeups. Enter, Almay.

I have read various praising reviews on Almay's products and I figured that it would be worth a shot to try some of their makeup seeing as how I tend to pick when I am not wearing any makeup. The makeup keeps me from picking, but most makeup out there causes breakouts to get worse... However, Almay's clear complexion line boasts that it can actually clear blemishes while helping to prevent future breakouts. While I can't test out that theory here and now, I can test out the daily wear and tear of the makeup today!

Let's do this!

I thought that rather than over load my skin with salicylic acid, that I would go with the Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder so that I could gauge how well it blends to the skin.

Here I am, sad face. You can see that I have a few healing spots. I just got over a major breakout on my forehead. Thank you Hempseed Oil and Teatree Oil. I would be lost without you. Note, crazy eyebrows that need to be combed. I made the photo extra-large so that you can get a good feeling about how my skin is. Also, I have been taking my Maca Root supplements religiously with many awesome results. I will leave that for another post, though.

As you can see this makeup gives a great first impression! It sits well on my skin, gives a really natural look, isn't cakey and the blending powder matches my skin to a T! I have such a good opinion of the combo right off the bat, but I will do a follow up post in the next few weeks. 

All of the makeup that I am wearing in this photo:

-Hempseed Oil as a base moisturizer

-Almay Clear Complexion Makeup w/Blemish Heal Technology

-Almay Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder

-Covergirl lashperfection Mascara in Very Black

-L'Oreal Wear Infinite' Eyeshadow in 826 Antique Brown

update on paleo diet/maca root/hemp seed oil

it feels like i just did a post on this...

Probably because I did! So, today I am doing an update on how my paleo diet is going, along with how taking maca root and hemp seed oil is affecting my body.

Let us begin.

First of all, changing to the paleo diet is probably one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Prior to this, I had no idea how much wheat that I (along with pretty much all of America) had been consuming. Literately, wheat based food product was taken at every single meal. Since I have been attempting the paleo diet, there are been a few hiccups... Mostly just going out to eat. But even then, I opt out for the healthiest choices rather than the burger with fries. I am also starting to notice a slight change in my skin as well as my emotions! My inflamed, acne prone skin is starting to calm down and I am slowly starting to feel more leveled out. However, I did begin to experience detox symptoms sometime last week that included mood swings, frequent urination and nausea. All of those symptoms have since passed. Also, I miss bread and pasta. :(

Next, the hemp seed oil. I have to say... I am in love. While hemp seed oil usually boasts rapid absorption, my skin is probably so confused that it is having a hard time thoroughly absorbing the nutty, green oil. Although, I have noticed that instead of loading up my sad, inflamed skin with hydrogen peroxide/salicylic acid and switching over to the hemp seed oil, my skin is healing much faster, the bumps are smoothing out and the green color of the oil helps to cancel out redness! Bonus!

Lastly, my Maca Root. Maca root is known for its' various naturopathic capabilities such as hormonal balancing in women and as an awesome libido booster... I also heard that it can make your butt and breasts larger, but I'll see how I feel about that in the long run. Really, it's been to short to report on how the Maca is affecting me quite yet since it has only been a week or two at this point. Although, I have a positive outlook and cannot wait to see the results!

acne cured?

i may not be entirely cured, but i have finally found some relief

For the past few months now, I have been seriously knuckling down on some serious ways to help with my adult acne. I have been doing major research on all sorts of different ways to cure this annoying affliction with little avail... Until now.

I should probably start by stating that I have not been seen by a physician about my acne. However, by utilizing various online resources, I have decided that seeing as I am an adult and that I am far past the pubescent acne stage, I can only conclude that my acne is either caused by one of two things, or a combination of both:

-Hormonal Acne

- Digestive Acne

I figure that I can solve the root of both of these problems with just a few diet changes, paired along with some much needed supplements and oils. Some of the steps that I have included in this regime are as follows:

-Drastically cutting out most of the wheat, dairy, trans fats, saturated fats and most unnatural sugars. (Loosely based on the paleo diet.)

- Using several different supplements/oils to add nutrients to my diet and to balance hormones such as Macaroot, Tea Tree Oil, Zinc and general multis.

- Drinking way more water and adding light exercise.

I have to say that I may be counting my eggs before they have fully hatched... But I have been noticing a grand change in my skin and I believe that it is all thanks to this new diet. I am experiencing way less cystic acne, blackheads and spots in general. My skin is brighter and my scars are healing.

I see that it has been said that diet cannot directly effect acne... Do not leave it at that. Diet directly effects both hormone levels and (duh) your digestive track. Obviously if your body is overloaded with hydrogenated/enriched/trans/saturated/GMO/pesticidal/MSG craaap, then it is probably going to show somehow through out your body that you are out of balance.

I will be updating about my experience with these new tactics as I go along for all of you to read. I hope that this can help someone out there that may be struggling with adult acne.

fading acne scars

the strawberries & yogurt method

For the last few months I have been on a rather unnatural regiment of medications in order to sooth my adult acne. My derm prescribed me a mix of antibiotics (!!!) and topical creams to stop the pesky little bumps in their tracks... However, the only thing about acne is that it is in fact technically incurable. So when my antibiotic scrip ran out I was left with skin that was yet again plagued by nasty, painful bumps.

Obviously, I refuse to go on the antibiotics again. I wasn't crazy about the idea in the first place. So I am trying natural remedies in order to calm my skin without harsh chemicals. Not only am I taking a few new health supplements that I found through avid research, but I am also going to experiment with a new face mask to see if I can try and reduce some of the dark spots left by acne scarring.

One really great ingredient that I personally love to use on my skin is sour cream. Most of the time you can find this in anyone's kitchen, so we always have some on hand. Sour cream is great for your skin for a few reasons. First of all, it contains lactic acid, which is great for when you are trying to break down old skin cells and encourage new growth. I also noticed that I had a few extra strawberries that were too mushy to eat leftover in my fridge. Strawberries are really awesome for your skin and teeth as well! Strawberries are known for their gentle lightening properties when used as a topical treatment, so I figured why not.

You can see here that my skin isn't nearly as bad as it could be, but it is still pocked with quite a few dark spots.

I started by taking my strawberries, removing the leaves and mushing them up into a fine pulp. After that, I added my sour cream in equal parts and mixed thoroughly.

It's pink!

After mixing up my two ingredients I gently applied the mix to my face and allowed it to dry.

This mask smelled so good and didn't feel harsh on my skin one bit. But I am not going to lie, after it was dry on my skin it looked like I had a nightmare case of sunburn, so try not to be shocked it you try this mask. It rinses off like wonder.

Here are the before and after pictures! I definitely saw an improvement, even if it was only slight. My skin tone evened out a good bit and many of the dark spots were faded considerably. This is a mask that I would recommend doing once a week for the best results.

Lauren Conrad?

It's super pink... And it's super girly.

But do I really care when this website offers up such awesome beauty advice? I think not.

I accidentally found this website one day when I was just lazily exploring the internet... Yet again. Although it seemed as if I had heard this name before, when I found the website it didn't ring a bell. However, this website definitely rang the winner's bell at giving young ladies really great beauty advice. Anywhere from hair, to skin, to nail, this website has pretty much everything. Plus some pretty unexpected beauty advice from the writers at Lauren Conrad. Behold, feast your eyes upon the wonder that is healthy skin:

Beauty 911 From Lauren Conrad

Bubbly Bubble Baths

Try saying that three times fast...

     I love to take a good hot bubble bath. And why shouldn't I? I know that sitting in a tub full of your own a$$ water doesn't sound like it would do anything near cleaning you, but I don't take baths to bathe, that's what showers are for. I take bubble baths to relax. 

     People have been using tubs to bathe in for hundreds of years... And it wasn't until just recently that showers were invented and we could stop worrying about "throwing the baby out with the bath water". Did you know that is a saying based on fact? When people still used bath tubs daily, they didn't really use them daily. Sometimes only once a month; And when they did use them the entire family had to share the same water. But of course Father went first, then mother, then the children oldest to youngest. Now I understand why so many small infants died back then... That water must have been filthy! The baby was washed last, hence the saying.

     Anyway, I didn't make this post to tell you about our dirty ancestors. I made it to tell you about the new bath stuff I got for my birthday at Bath & Body Works! :D 

(The goodies never end...)

     Here you see that I have two bubble bath mixes, some bath salts, and some body spray! The bubble bath on the left is supposed to relax you and to help you ease into sleep, I haven't tried it yet, but I am looking forward to it. The bubble bath on the right is my favorite scent, eucalyptus and spearmint. I have use this before and it may just be a placebo, but I find it's effects very relaxing. The Eucalyptus and Spearmint bath salts also add wonderful aromas and the salts help detoxify your body. The Sensual Amber body spray has a very nice warm scent, but still sweet at the same time.

     Speaking of detoxifying, did you know that you can make your bath have the sole purpose of detoxing your body? You may not know what detoxifying is for in the first place, so allow me to explain. Say you have a cold, or maybe just feel kind bleh, or maybe you just want to feel on top and invigorated, while at the same time removing toxins from your body. That's what a detox bath is for.

     First off you have to prepare the water. Most people have city water, and city water has chlorine in it, so in order to purify the chlorine you should use a water filter, or purchase some Bentonite Clay, this helps absorb harmful chemicals.

     Now, you can use a combination of different minerals, salts, oils and also Hydrogen peroxide! To keep this post short, I'm going to include some great links on Detox baths!

http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Detox-Bath

http://wellnessmama.com/8331/3-natural-detox-bath-recipes/

Thanks for reading

Day 13: Fitness!

Homemade Face wash?

     I love making homemade face washes and scrubs. To be honest... Homemade solutions are one of the few products that actually work on calming my skin down. I have been struggling with acne for the past two years and it has calmed down considerably... But I do still have battles with it. In combination with prescription treatments from my dermatologist and homemade remedies I am finding a happy balance in my skin.

     Two of my favorite homemade washes are a honey and brown sugar scrub that is SUPER easy to make. The second wash I actually use for as a face mask. It is made up of sour cream and salt. Also super easy to make.

     I have found that the honey scrub, when used once a day can moisturize the skin gently without over doing it and it is great at easily but effectively removing old dead layers of skin. I have also not only used this scrub on my face, but on my legs, chest, back and arms as well. I love using it after shaving so that I can uncover blocked hair follicles. People have told me that my face wash looks like vomit in a jar... But it is just honey and brown sugar, so to be honest, if you added some rolled oats (which I have in fact done) to it you could probably make delicious granola bars.

     This recipe is really easy and only contains two ingredients:

• Brown Sugar
• Honey

     As far as portions go I have found that I like a more soupy mix with less brown sugar, but it really all depends on how abrasive that you want the scrub factor to be. Also, if you're not careful the brown sugar and the honey tend to separate and the brown sugar becomes very hard and cement like if it sinks to the bottom of the container.

     The sour cream mask is one of my favorites. With this magic mixture I usually see results immediately after use. Because sour cream contains a compound called lactic acid when applied to areas of the skin affected by black heads the lactic acid loosens up the plug and draws out the comedone.

     This recipe only contains 2-3 ingredients. The lemon juice is optional, but I find that it adds a nice healthy glow to your skin after the mask is applied.

• Sour Cream
• Salt
• Lemon Juice

     All you need is a small bowl or cup to mix and a spoon. I put a dollop of sour cream in my container and add salt. Again, like the brown sugar scrub it's in your hands to decide how thick or grainy you want your scrub. I usually do about two parts sour cream and one part salt because a like a nice thick scrubby. If I have lemon juice I'll add two or three droplets. Now, I mix thoroughly and apply to my face gently exfoliating as I go. Normally I leave the mask on for about 15-20 minutes, but sometimes less.