The Skincare Guide: Morning Routine

I know there are technically loads of blog posts on this very topic, but oddly enough, I've been getting many requests from close friends, asking me to break it down for them in my own words. So I've decided to upload a post every single day of this week, explaining all things skincare related, such as routines, ingredients, what to avoid, what to look for, product recommendations, etc. So let's get cracking!

Morning Routine

(steps from left to right)

1) Cleanse: after a night's sleep, gunk will have gathered up on your face (even if you can't see it). To name a few - sebum, dead skin cells, and sweat. So, naturally, it's best to wash it off before starting your day. Personally, I only use oil, balm, and milk cleansers. And if some product has the forbidden word "foaming" written on it, I run for the hills. Ain't nobody want stripped and irritated skin.

Recommendations: The Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel ($), Soap and Glory Ultimelt ($$), First Aid Beauty Milk Oil Conditioning Cleanser ($$), Ole Henriksen Melting Cleanser ($$$),  Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm ($$$$)

- (all recommendations are linked. $ stands for cheap, $$ stands for very affordable, $$$ stands for pricy, $$$$ stands for expensive)

2) Acid Tone: best form of non-physical exfoliation. They're gentler and more effective than any 'scrub'. Some benefits of using chemical exfoliation: prevents and helps clear up break outs, helps other products (like serums) penetrate better, quickens the rate of cell turnover, decrease fine lines, and potentially stimulates collagen production. Whereas as physical exfoliation (aka scrubs and beads) will more than likely just end up irritating your skin and give you broken capillaries.

Recommendations: Benton Aloe BHA Toner ($), First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads ($$), Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion ($), Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Treatment ($$$$)

3) Serum/Essence/Treatment: this is where your skin receives all the active ingredients. There are several different types of serums, not to much essences (more on that another time), and it all depends on what you want for you skin, e.g. anti-aging, evening out skin-tone/fading acne scars, reducing break outs, hydration, etc.

Recommendations: will be mentioned in a future post

4)Moisturizer: self-explanatory really. Your skin needs hydration, so moisturize it. Personally, I prefer to use mineral oil-free products (more on that in a future post).

Recommendations: will be mentioned in a future post

5) SPF: whenever people ask me for the best anti-aging product, I always reply with sunscreen. This tends to puzzle the heck out of them, most likely because they probably expected me to answer with some kind of amazing super-duper serum with mind-blowing anti-aging ingredients. However, 80% of skin aging is due to UVA exposure. Unlike UVB rays, UVA rays are constant/year round, regardless of season/weather.  So do your skin a favour, and put on some sunscreen!

Recommendations: will be mentioned in a future post

Next time on "The Skincare Guide": How to find the perfect sunscreen 

(side note: majority of recommended products are also available at Sephora). 

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Meet the new Vitamin C: Vitamin D

Anytime you have a cold, you're usually told two things: drink lots of fluid and consume lots of Vitamin C. Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but one of those two have been proven to be virtually 100% ineffective.

Research has proven within the past few years that Vitamin C does not help boost the immune system in any shape or form. However, one Vitamin luckily does.

Allow me to introduce you to Vitamin D. Most people know this vitamin as a way of boosting your mood during the cold, depressing winter days. However, it does SO much more than that.

When I was young and still in high school, I was essentially known as the girl who pretty much always had a cold. I got sick constantly and binging on oranges never helped. However, that all changed when I began regularly taking Vitamin D. At first I only took it because I lived in rainy Vancouver and therefore was rather deficient and needed to supplement. Then after a while, I began to notice two things: 1) I couldn't remember the last time I had a cold, and whenever I did get sick, the symptoms were no longer as harsh and would only last a few days rather than 2 weeks of being bed ridden, and 2) My skin had never been so clear.

Once I did my research and got some advice from doctors, it turned out that Vitamin D helps balance out hormones, as well as give a massive boost to your immune system. Talk about a win-win! Sadly, very few people are aware of this. Therefore I am writing this blog post to try and help spread the word. The majority of doctors still recommend high doses of Vitamin C because they haven't read up on research in years, but if you're lucky, you'll come across a well-informed doctor who doesn't believe in this nonsense that was based on one study in the 60's...

I personally take 2,000 IU a day, and when I feel a cold coming on or am having proper PMS mood swings, then I take 3,000 IU a day. Before I use to take just 1,000 IU a day but then I had a doctor tell me I can take up to a maximum of 3,000 a day and that 2,000 IU made much more of a difference than just 1,000.

If you're someone who spends a lot of time indoors or you live in a very grey climate, or you're just sick of, well, being sick all the time, then I would highly recommend supplementing with Vitamin D. As always, do your research and first consult your doctor, especially on dosage. Be cautious and aware.

Now go ahead and share this blog post if you want to see the number of flu cases go down ;). 

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Current Favourites

I realized I haven't done a favourites in a while, and there have been so many items that I've been loving lately, so I thought I'd do a little post with mini reviews.

First up, the Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Set. I know, everyone is probably so sick of seeing them on every second beauty blog (I know I am), but they really are so worth the hype. Besides looking gorgeous, they are honestly the best quality brushes I've ever had. I got them as a christmas present and I can finally say, these are in fact better than the Real Techniques brushes. My two absolute favourites from the set is the 102 Silk Finish foundation brush and the 127 Luxe Cheer Cheek blush brush. The foundation brush literally halves the time I need to blend out my foundation. The cheek brush is also a dream to use, it's the perfect size for my face and it picks up product really well. I personally use it for powder blush and bronzer.

Second thing I've been loving have been two minis I picked up from Antipodes: the Divine Face Oil (Avocado & Rosehip) and the Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream. These two together are gorgeous. I had been suffering from dehydrated skin for months and finally found something that, when I put them on, made my skin sigh in relief and go "Ahhhh..". Ever since I got these two, my skin hasn't been dry in the slightest and has been pretty darn clear too. I first apply the oil and then the cream on top. I highly recommend this set to anyone (it's for all skin types, mine is combination/oily) who wants to make their skin sing from joy.

The Mary Lou-Manizer, a blogger classic and rightly so. I had this highlighter on my wish list for years now and finally one of my good friends made this wish come true this winter. How much do I love it? Well, let's just say my boyfriend has caught me singing "You know I'm all about that glow, bout that glow..." ;). I mean, who doesn't want to glow like JLO??

The L'oreal Lumi Magique Concealer has been a staple in my kit ever since November. It's just the ideal highlighting concealer. It's perfect for under the eyes and wherever you want some glow. The finish of it is quite unique because it dries down matte (and therefore doesn't budge ALL day), but still looks glowing and fresh. Will forever keep repurchasing.

And my last two favourites are oldies that I have rediscovered. The Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in  Park Avenue Princess and NYX lipgloss in Tea Rose. For some reason, years ago I thought this bronzer was too orange/dark, but now it's the just right. Basically, I constantly fall in and out of love with certain bronzers and now I'm back to loving this one :P. I also have a goal to hit pan with this bronzer by the end of the year and I'm quite chuffed with the dent I've already made with it. And the NYX lipgloss is one of the prettiest pink shades I own. Looks amazing with some warm peachy cheeks, and golden eyeshadow.

And there you have it, my current favourites! Let me know in the comments what you've been loving lately :). 

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Review: GHD Style - Root Lift Spray

Living abroad in Germany occasionally has its downsides. One of them tends to be me wanting to  repurchase a beloved, trusted product that sadly is only sold in North America. And when times get tough (aka none of my relations or friends back home are visiting anytime soon), I am forced to find alternatives. Such an occasion arose a while back when I found myself with an empty bottle of my holy grail hair product, the Sally Hershberger Supreme Root Lift Spray.

How good of a product is it really, I hear you ask? So good, that it's the reason I started this blog in this first place. Just to tell the whole world how awesome it is... #firstblogpost. Now, moving the nostalgia aside, I realized that I needed to find a substitute for it during my time here in Europe. So I searched far and wide... on the web that is, and finally came across something that sounded like it had full potential of being a dupe. 

And that my friends is the GHD Style Root Lift Spray. Essentially, these were my expectations of the product: it would lift my hairs roots (thus giving me MUCH needed volume), and as a lovely consequence of lifting my hair slightly, increase the time my hair stayed clean/non greasy. Sadly, it did none of that. Made hardly a difference to my hair. It would give it a hint of lift for the first hour and then just fall back down, flat as an ironing board. But that's not even the worst of it. It completely dried out my hair. It became knotty and dry, and thus breaking a whole lot more easily and just made brushing an absolute nightmare. Oh, and when you spray it, the smell is so strong and chemically that you end up having a coughing fit and sounding like a grandpa. Lovely. 

Honestly, I feel a bit stupid for having bought it in the first place when I eventually realized what the second ingredient was. Alcohol Denat. *Face Palms*. I had hoped that it wouldn't be that strong/bad, but it really was. For those of you who are curious,  there is zero alcohol in my holy grail Sally Hershberger spray. Juuuust saying ;). Needless to say, the next time I'm in Canada, I'm stocking up. Sorry GHD, it simply wasn't meant to be. 

If you have any recommendations for a root lifting spray, let me know in the comments! :)

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Review: Yves Rocher - Nutritive Vegetal Repair Cream Mask

I thought I'd get back into the swing of reviews and start off with a brand that I've always been fascinated with: Yves Rocher. Hard to come by in North America, but fairly available in Europe. I have fond memories of my mother using their products when I was younger, their cleansers always smelled aaamazing.

I had been suffering from dry skin when I was browsing the store and therefore my eyes ended up landing on this product. It was labeled as a hydrating mask, the ingredients looked ok, and it was on sale, so I hurriedly placed it in my basket and went on my merry way.

I'll spare you the details and just cut to the chase here: it was a complete flop. Zero effect on my skin. I put it on, left it on for 20 minutes, washed it off, and bam! Same old dry skin. It was as if it was never on my face to begin with!

And I have tried leaving it on for much longer and it still had virtually no effect. My skin did feel softer, but it still felt very parched. To me, a good hydrating mask is one that leaves your skin feeling so quenched that you don't even need to put on a cream afterwards. With the Nutritive Vegetal Repair Cream Mask, I instantly bolted for my moisturizer. Ah yes, the woes of a disappointing product...

But don't worry, this hasn't deterred me from trying out other products from Yves Rocher in the future. I know they have some gems out there. If you have any recommendations yourself, please let me know in the comments! :)

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Recommendation of the Week: "It's Okay, That's Love"

If you're one of those people who are in to "Trash TV" like Keeping up with the Kardashians, the X Factor, The Vampire Diaries, etc, then this recommendation is most likely not for you. If, however, you are one of those people that enjoy a real work of art that makes you think and question things in life, then stick around and read till the end! :)

I know what you're all thinking: isn't this just another typical K-Drama? Hell to the no. This series is nothing like I have ever watched before. And thank god. It's rare to come across something unique and original these days. This show has everything you could ever want: humour (plenty of it in fact!), romance, drama, character building, the overcoming of issues, the relations between humans as a whole, and most importantly - the destigmatization of a topic that has plenty of misconceptions in our society today.

That topic happens to be Mental Illnesses. A very sore topic in many countries, undoubtedly. Thankfully, this show really opens up one's eyes and makes you look at it from a completely different view. 

Plot Summary: Jang Jae-yeol is a writer of bestselling mystery novels and a radio DJ. Playful and a bit arrogant, he also suffers from obsessive–compulsive disorder. Ji Hae-soo is a psychiatrist on her first year of fellowship. Driven and ambitious with her career yet compassionate towards her patients, Hae-soo has a negative attitude towards love and relationships in her personal life. Once Jae-yeol and Hae-soo meet, there is much contention between them caused by their strong personalities and refusal to give in to each other. But slowly their bickering turns into love and they begin to learn how compatible they are. Jae-yeol and Hae-soo attempt to heal each other's deep-seated wounds, but their fledgling relationship takes a blow when they learn that Jae-yeol's mental health issues are more serious than they initially suspected.

A quote from the show that really represents the message is this: "He's not crazy. He's sick". There are tons of more quotes from this show, some really beautiful ones in fact, but I'll let you watch it for yourself rather than list them all. 

If anyone feels like being enlightened and having a good laugh, and cry, then I couldn't recommend this show enough. It truly is an emotional roller coaster. Though I must say this: "It's Okay, That's Love" is very very raw. There's nothing unrealistic about this show. The writing reads off like real life. This series is the opposite of all things Hollywood; nothing is sugar coated, and the acting really portrays that. Meaning, when they cry, they will CRY (snot and wailing and all)- not have some pretty fake tears and a little sob. And it all feels incredibly refreshing.  

I would write more, but I don't want to give anything away. So to conclude: everything about this show is perfect to me - down from the writing, to the actors, to the soundtrack. It's very rare for me to not have a single complaint about a show. It's one of those series that as soon as you have finished it, you just want to instantly re-watch it all over again. And if you are reading this now and you have watched it already, let me know what your thoughts are in the comments!

till next time ;)

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Picturesque

“When the wind blows, let it come, stay, and leave.

When a feeling of longing comes, let it come, stay, and leave.

Pain will come. It will stay and live. It will live then leave.”

I thought I'd get back into the swing of blogging with a short and sweet post. I was going to originally write up a review on something, but then I realized it was already dark and not ideal for photo taking (damn you daylight savings!). Nonetheless, I wanted to post something. Just to confirm that I'm still alive. So here you are. Still alive. See you later then. 

P.S. whoever recognizes this poem/quote is awesome. 

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