1. My Beauty Diary Black Pearl Masks
"How do I love thee? let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach when feeling out of sight."
Liz Browning didn't have these in her days, but if they did, I wonder how they'd compare to her feelings for Bob Browning?
Seriously, I LOVE these. I'm on my upteenth box, they're dirt cheap, they're convenient and most importantly, they work.
Long time readers will recall the 10 day challenge that I did with these masks. For ease of reference, here are the photos from the challenge:
BEFORE: Dehydration, uneven skin tone, dullness, enlarged pores, redness, you name it I had it. My skin has pretty much been like this for as long as I remember, it's never been problem free, and the combination of indoor heat and freezing weather probably exacerbated it. I also scar really easily, so pimples usually leave behind a nice dark mark, which would be around long after it has healed.
AFTER: This is the closest to PERFECT skin I've ever been. I can actually go out without makeup, and children will not run from me screaming. The redness and swelling are gone, my skin tone has evened out, and my skin is also brighter and noticeably more plumped up than before. Scars from old break outs have also lightened considerably.
I've been using these masks on a regular basis for about 4 months now, and I've gone from a MAC NC25 to a NC20, so there is definitely some whitening effect to them.
I now use these masks about 2-3 nights a week, I'll wash my face as usual, slap the mask on, read a book for an hour, take it off, rub the excess serum into my face and then moisturise as usual. In the morning I'll wake up with baby skin.
The Beauty Diary Mask range is huge, however, the majority of their ingredients are the same, and would thus probably give the same effect. My own personal preference is for the the black pearl or the pearl powder ones as I feel they are more saturated with serum than say, the Bulgarian rose one, which dries up around the 10-15 min mark on my face. The apple one did sting my skin a tiny bit, apparently that means the AHA is working, but I find that it didn't give me any extra results that the black pearl wasn't giving me. My olfactory nerves did not agree with the Red Wine or the Sake ones, it reminds me of how I'd smell once the exams were out back in university.
I'm currently taking the premium masks for a test drive, I'll update on those soon. Also at some point, I'll take a photo of the current condition of my skin, just so you can see if there's been further improvements after prolonged use of the masks. I can't do that right now because the Pooker's mum has run off to the Olympics with our camera xD.
Btw, I have since noticed that the Black Pearl masks seem to be disappearing off the shelf faster than any of the other varieties. If any of you is the culprit, please refer to my 1st paragraph, and stop buying my stuffs. It'll make you ugly. xD
Damage: CAN$10.99 - CAN$19.99 for a box of 10
What would Kanye say?: "One of the best masks of all time"
2. The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream and Nourishing Night Cream
One day, during an "omg I've run out of moisturiser and I forgot to buy any!!" moment, I found a sample tub of The Body Shop's Vitamin E Intense Moisture cream that I'd received as a GWP and subsequently forgot about. In my desperation, I put it on, not expecting much, after all, I've tried their tea tree oil range before...
My skin practically sang hallelujah when I put it on.
It felt like I was rubbing...pure silky moisture onto my skin (omg so cliched!). My skin gets itchy, dry and flaky in the winter months, this cream left me with soft, completely moisturised skin. That moisturised feeling lasts all day even when I'm huddled next to the heater whimpering from the cold. It doesn't leave a greasy film, nor has it broken me out or clogged my pores.
Their website says that it contains organic olive oil, shea butter and vitamin E wheat germ oil, what do I know, I did law. I'll leave it up to people like
Russianfortunecookie to figure out the chemical side of these things. I do know that it contains Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone, which gives it that silky feeling and gel-like consistency, therefore people who are allergic to, or dislike silicone in their skincare products should probably skip this one. However, if you're friends with silicone, it means that this cream can double as a primer for foundation.
I use this in the morning after the Vitamin E serum, which I like but is not really a life changer.
I was so impressed with the day cream I went out n got me a tub of the night cream. The night cream is a lot richer and denser than the day cream. It's quick thick in the tub, probably as a result of the cocoa butter, but really melts once it's on your face. I am an absolute grease ball, but with this cream, I wake up with no visible oil on my face, it just feels soft and moisturised.
Damage: $20 for the intense moisture cream and $16 for the night cream
What would Chuck Norris say?: "Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table because he only recognises the element of surprise"
3. Vichy Normaderm Anti-Blemish Intensive Treatment Cream
This is honestly the only spot treatment I've tried that delivers noticeable results overnight. It contains 2% Salicylic Acid, and on top of controlling the breakout it also speeds up the healing process. I feel that the majority of acne treatments on the market are too strong, they actually burn your skin and that's why often times you're left with a dark mark where the spot used to be. The Vichy cream, on the other hand, is quite mild, but really does its job MINUS the dryness and dark marks that you'll get from other acne treatments. In my own use, I've found that if I catch the spot early enough in it's development, and put this on immediately, by the next day the skin will be flat again with little or no redness. If it's already a full blown mofo with it's own shadow n everything, applying this cream twice a day (it can be used under makeup with NO pilling!!!!), gives you less inflammation and redness in approx 2-3hours and total control within a day. By the 2nd day it should start healing, and you can use it less often and start using things like face masks to fade and heal the leftovers.
I know that it seems to be rather pricey for such a small amount but honestly it'll last you for frikken ever. It has a narrow, almost pin point opening, which allows you squeeze out a tiny amount just enough to pat onto the pimple.
Damage: CAN$14-$20 wait for the 3 for 2 specials!
What would Vichy say?: "Mario Badesco can bite my blue ass."
4. Lush Angels on Bare Skin
A cult item that needs no introduction. I braved the smell of the Lush store that threatened to assimilate me into part of the
Borg Lush collective. Resistance was indeed futile. Omg, ok I promise! no more Star Trek references!!!
I'd bought this on
Temptalia's and the
Muse's rave reviews, I proceeded to use it every day, and to my disgust it broke me out in a mass of white heads. I then banished it to the naughty corner of the bottomest drawer. However, as is the nature of things like this, I subsequently took it back out for round two, this time I used it only once a week. Success!!! no break out!!! just gorgeous, soft, smooth skin!!!
It contains ground almonds and kaolin clay, together they buff away all dead skin, lumps n bumps on your face, suck out all the muck from ur pores, and leaves your skin heavenly smoooooooth xD It's not a foaming cleanser, it's more of an exfoliator or scrub, however, unlike other scrubs, it doesn't leave your face taunt and dry. Actually, it almost feels like it leaves an oily film on your face, but once you dry your face off, all you'll feel is soft, smooth, skin that almost feels like you've applied moisturiser to it!
I now use this twice a week, it has not broken me out again, I've had less break outs, and on the days that I use it, I definitely notice my foundation going on MUCH smoother.
It IS a bit messy to use because, you have to break off a piece from the roll, and mix it with a bit of water to form a paste before you can apply it to your face. Also I'll recommend using this in the shower as bits of crushed almond and lavender seeds DO tend to get into your hair when you rinse, however, the results are just SO worth the extra schlep.
I believe Lush gives out quite generous samples at their free standing stores, so if you're curious, do try it out!
Damage: $10.50 per 100g
What would Robbie say: "So when I'm lying in my bed, thoughts running through my head, and I feel that love is dead, I'm loving angels instead."
So those are a few of my favourite things, what are yours? Do tell me, as I'm always on the look out for new things to love xD.
