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  • Skin non-sense

    Summer’s brought out my elephantine pores. The ones on my nose are especially heinous. And I officially now know what a blackhead is. Because I have them. By the truckload. ARGH!

    Hereby, my skincare wish list:

    Body Shop pore perfector

    Cetaphil gentle cleanser – the HG for many people; I’m wary given that it actually contains sodium lauryl sulfate, but it’s fairly cheap and given all the success people have had with it, sure it’s worth a try!

    Trilogy balancing gel cleanser

    Neutrogena pore refining cream and extra gentle cleanser

    St Ives apricot scrub

    I have the most difficult skin imaginable. It’s super sensitive, so I am paranoid as hell about what I put on it. I don’t want to blow money on something that’s going to burn my poor cheeks. Hence, pretty much everything I use has somewhat natural ingredients, but my pore problems and blackhead bane is pushing me to look at trying other things for my T zone.

    It’s also super oily. This varies from day to day, depending on the season and on the humidity (if it’s dry, my skin oils up to make up for the lack of moisture). I love my Body Shop powdered blotting papers. So I can’t really use dry/sensitive moisturizers, because they leave me shiny and looking like a grease pan. I want matte! But I also want moisture. It’s a paradox in the world of skincare. Right now I’m using Nivea Young mattifying moisturiser. It’s great – thick and nourishing but leaves me matte at promised. However, I’m starting to worry that it’s keeping my cheeks red and doing me no favours. I’m thinking of asking for a sample of the Body Shop seaweed matte day cream.

    Third problem. I’m fairly sure I have mild rosacea. I get flushes like no one else. They flare up randomly, usually when I’m feeling nervous, self conscious or under pressure. I resemble a tomato after half a drink, and a beet after one. And in terms of day to day life, my cheeks and chin are always pink and fairly blotchy. I think a lot of the sensitivity is due to using harsh crap (Clean and Clear, I’m looking at you) when young. It’s much, much worse in extreme weather.

    My skin is also really thin and delicate. And like I said, I have massive pores, at least during the summer. It’s mainly on my nose and cheeks, less so on my forehead.

    I’m keen to revamp my whole skin routine. Right now I’m just using a cheap cleanser (Sukin, an organic  line – used to use Body SHop Vit. E wash, but this is probably about as effective for half the price and far, far more natural), my Nivea for day and Body Shop aloe night cream. I occasionally use my Dr Hauschka calming mask, but to be honest I don’t think it does anything for me, apart from make me feel like I’m pampering my face.

    Oh, to have an unlimited budget…

  • product fiend

    Being a poor, tightwad student I spend next to nothing on myself. I don’t hardly drink, I don’t buy makeup, I buy sukin cleanser (fairly cheap “natural” face wash from Farmers), though I do splurge on Body Shop moisturiser, and hardly ever buy clothes (and never at full price). I’d say my one vice is food, and by that I mean we’re not eating toast and noodles every day and we drink a lot of milk. We actually eat meat almost every day and usually buy ice cream or biscuits or chocolate for a treat every week.

    Anywho, the point I’m getting to is that a lot of the best stuff is insanely expensive. $30 nail polish, $100, 200 and 300 cleansers and moisturisers, eye creams and masks from $40… Of course not all of it is worth it, but some are real gems worth every penny.

    My favourite products (none of which I paid for, but got to try out through work, thankfully)

    denny

    Leighton Denny nail polish. $29, I think. Beautiful colours and amazing staying power (almost a week, minimal chips). Great texture, easy to go on, just the right thickness and amount, just looks effortlessly amazing – even with my clumsy application. I only use about two cheap nail polishes which work just fine, so I’ve never understood who buys expensive stuff. But now I can understand why.

    asmvtwb

    Dermalogical multivitamin thermafoliant (over $100). It’s a bit gimmicky, meant to combat the ‘chemical reactions’ taht start the ageing process, BEFORE they start. Bollocks I say. Plus it heats upon contact with skin, and apparently can be used dry, convinced? It is indeed self warming, which is a bit weird but I quickly got used to it and found it quite comforting – kinda like feeling the sun on your face or getting a nice warm cuddle. It’s quite gentle and immediately my skin felt plumper, smoother, hydrated and just superduper awesome. Not keen to try it dry, but whatever floats your boat. Probably good to use once or twice a week.

    aaa-drhauschka-soothing-mask-2

    Dr Hauschka soothing mask. It’s the first product from this line I’ve ever tried. They’re quite famous and meant to be wonderful for sensitive skin. Shit yeah. This mask is a godsend. You’re meant to leave it on for 20min after cleansing, or alternatively apply a thin layer under moisturiser. I slathered it on, but it quickly sunk into my skin leaving very little to wipe off after 20min. I just left it as is without putting moisturiser on over the top. My face drunk it in, I tell you, and while I don’t know if my skin looks much different today, it certainly feels better. Less dry and irritated and not itchy at all.

    Now….to find something to shrink my humongous pores…