Brown Sugar Scrub Recipe

In my not-so-extensive experience, exfoliation seems to be the most widely skipped step in people's skincare regimen. I don't understand why... because it is most definitely the most rewarding step if you're looking for results of any kind (be it acne, dry skin, aging skin, etc.- it is essential for any skin type and any skin goals).

Why is exfoliation needed? Because at any given moment your skin has approximately 10-15 layers of dead, dull, lifeless skin just waiting to be sloughed off. "Scrub us! Scrub us all off! We are gross and we want you to be ugly!" those skin cells say. When you are only using a cleanser you are not extricating those pesky, pointless nasties. Unless your cleanser is a supercleanser, like mine.   

Some people say there are two kinds of exfoliation- physical and chemical, but I (and other estheticians) think enzymes should have their own category because they works a little differently. Physical exfoliants are your scrubs; yes, your apricot scrub (which you need to stop using because behind that scrubby goodness it's secretly evil for your skin). That isn't to say that all physical scrubs are bad, St. Ives just gives them a bad name (I'll tell you why in another post eventually I'm sure, this one will just be long enough as it is). As you can probably guess they have scrubby things in them that you can feel as they scrub your grossness off. Chemical exfoliants are your AHA's and BHA's, you can expect them to be a little (or a lot) stronger than physical exfoliants for the most part. They break up the stuff that glues your skin cells together (sounds unnerving but it's not scary) and then they basically escort your skin's crap out... and then enzymes. Enzymes break down keratin (protein in your skin, nails, hair, etc), they have a kind of dissolving effect on your icky skin leaving clear, bright, and fresh skin- except they're more amazing than I just made them sound.

Even among people who are good about exfoliating their faces, we find people (like me) who neglect the rest of the skin on their bodies. Exfoliating agents are not cheap though and treating your whole body with the same stuff that you use on your face would be extremely pricey and frankly quite wasteful. A cheap alternative to buying a body scrub (which are, in my opinion, grossly overpriced.), is to make your own.

...and now for the moment that you're actually reading this for...

Brown Sugar Scrub Recipe (Body Polish)

1 part brown sugar (may be substituted with white for a less-abrasive scrub)

1-2 parts olive oil (depending on how scrubby you like it) (olive oil is the closest in composition to our own natural oils, making our skin more receptive to it)

Rinse off body, scoop up mixture and scrub everywhere. Rinse. For gross feet, use in conjunction with pumice stone. Enjoy the effective/amazingness of this any-budget recipe. Can be stored in a jar although it is better just after it's mixed as the sugar does slowly dissolve and become less scrub-tastic). A great help on awful chappy mid-winter lips.

Brown Sugar Scrub is both a physical and chemical exfoliant. Physical because you can feel the amazing scrubbies, and chemical because it does have traces of glycolic acid in it; which, as I've stated in a previous post, is derived from sugarcane. Ta-da! Natural and awesome. You can expect softer skin and a nice glow. The oil will be pretty moisturizing but you may want to load your skin up with some good-quality lotion or body cream afterwards if you're feeling thorough.  

Happy Birthday from Sephora

This post will be short, I just want to make sure everyone knows that if you become a "beauty insider" member with Sephora (which is !FREE!, and you can sign up here or in stores) you get a free birthday present every year which is usually a deluxe sample (a sample that lasts longer than a normal sample).

Last year I missed a Philosophy Bubble Bath because I kept procrastinating but the year before it was eyeshadow and a mini mascara and THIS year it's a sugar lip treatment duo by Fresh (which is, in my opinion, a lovely brand). One of them is a tint in rose (just a tint, it brightens you up but it doesn't look like lipstick... great for indifferent days). The other stick in the duo is a clear lip conditioner and I absolutely love it. Yes, I've tried it because I went to Sephora on January 1st of this year and told them that I missed my birthmonth and they gave me this year's present (so I'll be getting a duplicate on my real birthday in December).

I would like you to note that it is now the end of September and I'm only about halfway through my lip treatments (not that I use them every day...but fairly often), Sephora's birthday gifts are legit. Even if you're not a Sephora person you might as well sign up and get something free in your birthmonth and then if you don't like it, it can become part of your emergency present supply for when that random person gets you a Christmas present and you don't have time to get them something without looking like you didn't get them something.

Anyway, thought I'd share with you all because there's nothing like free things.

Another cool free thing that is totally irrelevant is a free monthly chocolate from Godiva (even without purchase) when you join their customer rewards club, which is also free. So if your mall has one you might as well join it even if you don't like chocolate, because you do know someone that does. 

Good, Better, Best: Mineral Foundation

One thing I want to get clear about makeup in general is that it's not good for your skin, even if it's advertised as something that will help your condition in this way or that. No. Not even mineral makeup. It may have ingredients that target conditions and help in some ways, but the very weight of the makeup on your face likely counteracts any "good" it's doing. If you want to get rid of your acne don't wear makeup for a few weeks. Painful, I know, but your primer and foundation will only go so far and it's a faster solution than waiting for your makeup to magically improve your skin in real life. It's better for your skin AND your brushes if dedicate yourself to a makeup fast until you feel that any acne-ness is under control. Your skin wants to breathe, if you continuously pile stuff on it will likely get mad at you and retaliate with vicious breakouts to see if you'll learn your lesson.

Good: Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation (seriously, who named that?)

$10/ .28 oz

Pros: cheap, preservative free, talc free.

Mineral makeup on a budget. Don't bother with the brush (it's extremely coarse), I can't imagine it not irritating any skin type. 

Blendibility: Okay

Buildablitly: Meh

Cancer, allergen, and toxicity hazard (based off ingredients): moderate (don't let that scare you, everyone's going to die of cancer at this rate anyway).

Better: Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation

$18/ .28 oz

Pros: nice texture, non-comedogenic, long-wearing

Blendibility: good

Buildability: not as good and "effortless" as advertised. Still, not bad

Cancer, allergen, and toxicity hazard: moderate

Best: bareMinerals SPF 15 Original Foundation

$27/.21 oz

pros: lightweight, good coverage, good value (yes, I really think so), paraben free (don't know about preservative free...), non-drying

Blendability: the best

Buildability: very good

Cancer, allergen, and toxicity hazard: low

I know, it sucks when the best product is also the most expensive but I still feel like $27-30 is a good deal for how effective bareMinerals' foundation is. I was reluctant to like it and have avoided trying it for a long time because I prefer being cheap but I can't deny that this powder uses its power for good, not evil. This is definitely on the cheaper end of the foundation spectrum if you're a makeup counter shopper, but on the more expensive end of the spectrum if you're a drugstore foundation shopper (not that you're going to find this at Target, mind you). One thing I've noticed a TON with mineral makeup is how dry and irritated it can  make your skin feel after a couple hours, I would venture to guess that happens because some of them are formulated with certain sulfates, which bareMinerals is not. If you refuse to go on a makeup fast to clear your skin, I would recommend this foundation. Although I SWEAR the product itself won't improve your skin (as the advertisements suggest), it won't necessarily be bad for it and you may see improvement in your skin if you have a solid skincare regimen. 

P.S. if you are relying on the SPF that is advertised on your makeup, stop it. Get a real sunscreen. 

Push The Button/ Glycolic Acid

Even though my contest isn't working and you guys fully suck, I'm going to keep blogging. You will probably keep reading and not push the harmless blue button found at the right hand side of this screen. You see, I know you're reading. Not a lot of you, but over 50 a day. The cool thing about Blogger's newer format is the statistics tab that tells me my trends in readership. Someday, in like a couple years at this rate, I want to have enough readership to get sponsorship. You see, when makeup and skincare companies see that you have infinity followers they have no problem sending you a free thing or two to review on your blog. It's this innovative new thing called "cheap advertising." They are also sometimes open to sending their product to you for giveaways. As in, giving products away to readers. But I won't give anything to closet readers so you better push the button. Thank you Megan, Amie, and random person for pushing the button.

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One of my favorite skincare ingredients is Glycolic Acid.  Glycolic Acid is derived from sugarcane and, molecularly, is the smallest alpha-hydroxy acid. Because it's the smallest it penetrates deeper into your skin than any other acid can. It helps with aging and hyperpigmentation (everyone is aging...everyone. Always).

When you think acid, you probably get creepy thoughts of some obscure substance on the top shelf of an unknown shed tipping over and burning your face off, forever blinding you and robbing you of your beauty.  It should be self-explanatory that nobody would be allowed to formulate products with drain-o or something, but people seem to be too afraid of the prospect to really think it over. You're not going to find life-threatening acids in a professional cleanser.  So calm down.

Think of your favorite scrub (and if it's an apricot scrub, throw it out as soon as you're done reading this).  Is your scrub scary and sinister? Is your scrub going to eat your face off and blind you while its at it? No. Your scrub is a mechanical exfoliant. Glycolic Acid is a chemical exfoliant. It does the same thing (except a little better in most cases).

My favorite cleanser (so far) with Glycolic Acid is by Image. It's the Ageless Total Facial Cleanser, and it's a better friend to me than all of my school friends who haven't pushed the "join this site" button yet. The cleanser has less than 15% acid in it, but believe me... its enough. You might expect a warm sensation when using it but I would actually describe it as very cold. My skin is pretty sensitive but I've heard many reviews from first-time Image users and its been described as almost uncomfortable for a lot of people the first few times using it. You're supposed to lather it in for at least 60 seconds, how many of you actually do that with your cleansers? Try it ONCE, it makes a happy difference.

Before using this cleanser I had some pretty heavy acne scaring, and the occasional acne freak-out flare-up. Granted, I've still got some ground to cover but my skin is healthier than its ever been after four or so months of using this AND I rarely have more than a few pustules (whiteheads) at a time (partially because I kill them at first sight) and I have almost no papules (the ones that don't come out as happily) at any given time. Plus my skin is generally much, much less inflamed which is nice because I already have enough of a pink tint to have irritation on top of that. That's a big deal my friends. I'm very acne prone and this cleanser keeps it under control. 

P.S. friends don't let friends use Proactiv, because it's overpriced (for a Benzoyl Peroxide product) and instructed to be overused in a way that will strip your skin and mess it up further. No skin care professional would have you use a Benzoyl Peroxide product morning and night FOR 3 TO 6 MONTHS WITH NO RESTING REGIMEN. Except Rodan and Fields, of course... because, you know, money is money. Do yourself a favor and get a reasonably priced product with Benzoyl Peroxide (or maybe Salicylic Acid) AND an inactive counterpart and switch off. It's much better for your skin. Unless you think it sounds like a blast to strip your skin; making it tight, itchy, inflamed, irritated, red, angry, and generally hating you. In that case Proactiv and their recommended regimen is right for you.

My First Giveaway, HIZZAH!!

Here's my thing, I LOVE samples. I recently went to an esthetics conference in Vegas just for the samples. The classes I took there were just a bonus. It's kind of silly that I spent all that money to get to and stay in Vegas that weekend just for what was probably under $20 worth in samples. I'm not a roller-coaster person, products are my thrill. I love the way they look, smell, and feel. I love dispensing product for a facial.  I look at it on the pallet and get super excited knowing that I get to touch it soon.

You know that cosmetic marketing technique where they cut up the lipstick or make a mess with the powder or spill the nail polish? I'm the target of those campaigns. Those pictures are so freaking exciting to me. Someday I want to be the lipstick chopper for those pictures. That would be the best job ever.

bare escentuals

This first giveaway, my friends, will be rather small. It will be a sample giveaway (very, very good samples), I'm hoping some of you guys like samples as much as I do and that they will be enough to motivate you. There will be five winners, and each winner will receive two samples from Sanitas, one of my favorite skincare lines. 

The first sample will be Sanitas' Rose Facial Scrub

You use it as a cleanser, but it also exfoliates with silica crystals which are round so they won't tear up your skin (microscopically) and cause problems (unlike apricot scrub, which isn't a good choice for anybody's skin because of this reason). It also has vitamin C which stimulates collagen production and vitamin E which is an antioxidant (fights free-radicals, aging prevention). 

The second sample, and yes, the even better sample... will be Sanitas' Cranberry Enzyme Mask

Part of me is begging myself to keep the cranberry mask samples for myself because words can not describe my love for this mask and it will be hard for me to send them out to my five lucky winners. I love enzyme masks in general. Pumpkin enzyme masks are common because pumpkin does awesome stuff for your skin, but this is the first cranberry mask I've come in contact with and I love it more than any other so far.  In school I learned an easy way to think of enzymes, they're like little tiny pacmen (apparently they're shaped like pacmen) eating and digesting your dead/gross/ready-to-slough-off skin. After 15 minutes of this mask (which is slightly active, mind you) your skin will be brighter, softer, and your skin-tone will be more even (if you're uneven, like myself).  You can think of this mask as a very light chemical peel, it does as much as some peels that I've performed (no, your skin will not actually peel, the enzymes dissolve your dead layers and leave newer, brighter tissue. Therefore there is nothing leftover to be peeled) (p.s. chemical peels are nothing to be afraid of, they promote good cell turnover). This mask is also formulated with hyaluronic acid which literally holds 1000x its weight in water. So if your skin is dehydrated (which most people's skin is), you will find this very beneficial (especially if you have a good moisturizer that you can pair it with). After using this mask make SURE you wear your spf because you won't have extra, dull, and useless skin layers to protect your true skin from the nasty, evil sun (who acts like he's your friend but really just wants to ruin your skin in any number of ways) for a while and you may find it easier to burn (but really with fall coming this probably won't be an issue... but you REALLY should wear an spf of at LEAST 30 EVERY DAY with physical sunscreen ingredients, NOT chemical spfs... or never leave your house except at night... or get skin cancer, your choice). 

All Sanitas products are paraben and preservative free, they are also kosher.  I like to get preservative free products when I can but I am also not a no-preservatives freak.  It would be extremely difficult to live a 100% preservative free life these days. 

anyway...

HOW TO ENTER:

ONE entry for becoming a follower of this blog

(thank you Megan, you're a good friend)

ONE entry for pushing this button (found just under Followers)

TWO entries for sharing this blog on Facebook as your Status, or on your own blog (ONE if your blog has less than 50 followers, TWO if your blog has more), or on twitter for ONE entry (found at the bottom of this post)

Leave me a comment on this post letting me know which entries you've done. Obviously I'm doing this contest to grow my readership, so if you have another mode of communication that will make me famous don't hesitate to tell me about it and I will reward entries as I see fit. 

This giveaway will close NEXT WEEK on September 22, 2012 OR when this blog reaches 25 followers WHICHEVER COMES SECOND. So if I don't have 25 followers by next Saturday I will just keep the contest open until I do, but if I get those followers say, tomorrow, then of course I will close the contest to be fair to my contestants (if everyone does all of the entries, you will have a one in five chance of winning, if you do more entries than everyone else, your chances go up). Remember, there will be FIVE winners. It's also a comment race, so if you do some entries but are the 26th to comment saying that you did your entries, you're out of luck (but I will still like you for doing it, not that you will care because you just want these magical Narnian samples).

Good Luck :)

The Best Primer of All Time/ Parabens & Preservatives

...and it's not even a primer...technically.

Philosophy The Present Clear Makeup. $28/2 oz.

This product is formulated and intended to be a "skin perfecter" which gives it qualities that go above and beyond your everyday primer. It has silicone in it which sounds threatening if you don't know your ingredients, but silicone does amazing things for the skin like:

-improves texture

-helps with dry and flaky skin. So if you're sick of putting on your powder foundation just to look like a gross peeling/chafing/molting monster, try this underneath.

-acts lightly as an occlusive (keeps moisture in, keeps crap out...like a skin shield)

        "But don't silicones suffocate the skin?" Ha! No. You have been misinformed my friends. Silicone products may feel heavy going on but the heaviness evaporates and leaves a smooth and breathable surface, "filling in" your imperfections. But it doesn't actually penetrate into your pores at all, it creates a sort of protective sheath and a perfect canvas for your foundation- liquid or powder. If you're not a makeup person you could wear this product alone and still see an improvement in the texture and tone of your skin. 

Is it paraben free? No, and you're probably thinking like a dumb bucket. If a product doesn't have parabens it almost certainly has another kind of preservative that is just as likely to give you cancer if your water bottles or hairspray doesn't first. So stop wasting your time with caring or abandon all products with preservatives (yeah, have fun with that). How often do you see products that say, "paraben free"... and how often do you see products that say, "preservative free"?  Not as often, but they're out there. Next time you read, "paraben free", revise it in your head to, "I want to take advantage of the fact that you haven't done your research." I'm all for preservative free products, oh yes, but I'm not all for the price tags that they frequently come with. 

New Blog

Here's to a new blog.

I will probably change the title of this blog 20 times. I don't really know where I'm trying to go with this blog except that I want to do makeup reviews and talk about my clients (when they exist, so far its just been friends and family).