Where have you been? + A Very Late August Loves

 

I keep disappearing and I am trying my best to keep my blog up to date, but the last month and a half have been MANIC, to say the least. My brother got married and preparing for it was hectic, crazy and very tiring, but the wedding day itself was amazing. Everyone looked amazing and we had a crazy reception party with everyone drunk (including me, first time in my life getting dunk- I drank everything under the sun). I also did a speech for my brother where I ripped him to shreds, which he deserves, haha! :)

 

Excuse the very poor pic, I took it from my Dad's iPad (the second one) and I did not know how poor the camera was, or is it just mine?

 

My favourites for this month are pretty simple.

 

1) La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo- After hearing alot of positives from this I decided to give it a go. I think it was around £13 from Boots and I really like it. It has helped with blemishes and helps to control my skin. When I bought it I thought 40ml is really small for  £13, but I have used for a month and a bit, but there is quite a bit left. I just apply it to the areas of my face that I am most prone to blemishes.

 

2) Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Body Oil- This stuff is sooo nice, I have been using this on and off for around 3 years and I rediscovered it. Apply this after a shower and it moisturises the skin so well and you look glowy *BONUS*

 

3) Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser for Normal/Combination skin- Even though my skin can break out, it is very dry, so I use this cream at night to inject some moisture in my skin. I love this cream, my skin is soft and looks healthy when I get up.

 

4) MAC 239- I have been wanting this for ages. It works at packing on the colour of eye shadows and even paint pots. I used to use my fingers to apply paint pots, which I didn't like because I thought it looked poo on me. This brush is something you have to own (along with the 217) they are amazing.

 

5) Real Techniques Stippling Brush- I use this to apply my blush (current choice- MAC Margin), and it gives control and stops me from looking like a extra from Geordie Shore. Funny enough, the RT blush brush is HUGE to apply blush, so I use it for bronzer or setting my make up.

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! :)

Devia xoxo

ATTENTION: Kiehl's Sale

I know what you are thinking, Kiehl's don't do sales (thought the exact same), but I went in to the Westfield in Stratford and they had 20% OFF!!!

You might want to check if your local store has the offer because I am not sure how long they are doing this sale and I couldn't see the sale online. FAIL!

As usual, I wanted to buy everything but I controlled myself and got the one product I wanted to try for ages (this was the perfect time, with 20% off and all).

I ended up buying the Midnight Recovery Eye Cream, which I tried a sample of a while ago and I really loved it.

RRP: £24.50

Sale price: £19.60



Excuse the poor picture, took it quickly on my phone, was excited to tell you all ;)

I am off to watch Revenge, my favourite show at the moment, so addicted.

Devia

xoxo

How I deal with an invasion of blemishes (Treatments)

WOOOO!!! My exams are finished *Beyonce booty shake* and I went out last night for my sister's birthday and got home at like 3am. Haha not used to it ;) Its 5.25pm, so I'm still in my pj's :)

Ok let's face it (no pun intended) we all have or have had spots/blemishes/zits, it happens. Luckily for me they are frequent visitors and enjoy a nice long stay with visible after affects.

I am trying to get clear skin and I was almost there until I got a heat rash on my face (seriously?!) and so all that went blah.

But I have found a few products which have helped me during my exams, where my face was SOO bad, like the worst ever (partly my fault, a combination of chocolate and stress do not work together, FYI).

I mainly use these products at night, but on the days I am home I apply them during the day as well.

At night, I use my cleanser (Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel) and then tone and then apply a face cream but miss out the areas where I intend to put the spot treatment. I have two different spot treatments I use:





1) Origins Super Spot Remover 10ml for £12- I tried the original one and I liked it, so I had really high expectations because it said it was 'super'. I do like it and it does reduce the size of the blemish. Depending on how stubborn the blemish is will obviously depend on how long/often you use it.

This product contains Salicylic Acid, a "blemish busting" ingredient. The product also claims to "minimise the appearance of post-blemish marks." I haven't found that much of a difference in the appearance of the scarring left behind, but it does a good job at reducing redness and blemish size. 

I do find that when I use it every day for like 3 days (it can be used 1-3 times a day) it dries the skin out around where the spot was, but make sure you apply to the spot, not to the surrounding skin aswell. And to deal with the flakiness I just use a gentle exfoliator :)

The only negative about this is that I think it is really expensive. The bottle is tiny. It has a strong herby/spicy smell too, which I'm sure some will not like. When you apply it to the skin it does tingle, but not to the extent where you want to rip your face off, but some people would find it quite strong. FYI- do NOT put it on a broken blemish, which I cleverly did and screamed my butt off. And that did hurt.





2) Tea tree oil 10ml for £2.99 and witch hazel gel £1.99 for 35ml- I use these together and they have really helped my skin to clear up. I found that it is most useful when I keep reapplying like every 4 hours, well for me anyway, because I had a few horrible spots which would not go alone with the Origins spot remover. I had to call in some reinforcement. I moisturise my face before bed but leave the areas where I have the blemish. I apply the tea tree oil using a cotton bud and allow the skin to absorb it. I then apply a layer of the witch hazel gel, leaving it on overnight.

There are some tea tree oils which are pure and can be used alone, but I haven't used them, so I can't really comment. So, try a blended one first, if this doesnt work then move onto a pure version. Pure tea tree oil I imagine to be quite drying so use sparingly.

(Tea Tree Oil not pictured)

This is a cheap alternative for a spot treatment, so I would try this method out, you do have to be persistent and if it doesn't work then have a look at other alternatives.

I have found that these work great for me, until my skin gets used to it and I will be back to square one finding another spot fighting regime.

I hope this was helpful. I did a blog post on another spot treatment for whiteheads a little while ago here.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

Devia xxx

P.S. You need to go and watch The Avengers :) I've seen it TWICE, I just cannot get enough of erm ...Captain America ;) Seriously obsessed!

Another Small Shopping Trip

I have been itching to get the Tangle Teezer for absolute ages, but I never really thought I need it. I mean £10 for a brush?! They all do the same thing! But how WRONG I was...

I tried the tangle teezer (which I got in my favourite colour- 'Tangerine Scream', very bright indeed) this week and I am in love once again with a beauty product, not a boy :) I was very excited to try it and I couldn't wait to wash my hair. Haha!
My hair is medium length and can get quite tangled, especially the hair near the nape of my neck- that is one area I have split ends and my hair horrible, so I "tangle teezered" it and my hair is little more content, not as frizzy but a bit more soft, I am impressed ;)

Here is the badboy himself...

I will do a full review on it when I have used it for a little while :)

I also managed to pick up a few other new products I wanted to try in the form of Figs & Rouge balm and a Good Things Face Mask. I am going kind crazy with organic/sulphate free products at the moment. So let's see how these work out for me, fingers crossed :)

Have you tried any of these products? Thoughts?

x

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

 My skin is weird and it is annoying me. I have started eating really well (I am eating mangoes as I blog!) and I don't see why my skin is still misbehaving. So introducing my new love 'Mario Badescu Drying Lotion'.

You may have heard of this skincare. It is very popular amongst celebrities in the USA. I researched a lot into this brand when I was looking for a new skincare venture and I have my eye on a few more products ;)

The product itself has two layers; pink and clear. But DO NOT shake it. All you need to do is use a cotton bud and poke it in the pink part of the solution, which you then dab on your face.

It only works best on whiteheads not really on red blemishes. It does  significantly  reduce the spot size. The first time I used it (before bed) I woke up the next morning and was like WOW! It does really work! It doesn't completely get rid of the blemish overnight but enough to make me happy! With a few days use, the blemish will disappear. You only need a dab on the spot, which does the job perfectly.

The packaging is a screw top bottle (which you can get in either glass or plastic- mine is glass) and I like the simplicity of the fuss free packaging.

 

It is suitable for all skin types.

The disadvantage of this product is the smell. It has sulphur in it and it really is an unpleasant smell. The price is another disadvantage, £14.50 for 29ml, which is a little expensive, but if it does the job I don't really mind to be honest. I purchased mine from BeautyBay. Also, expect the pink solution to be present on your pillowcase when you wake up...

Hope you are well :)

Have you tried this skincare range?

x

Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask

I used Simple skincare for around 2 years because it was really gentle on my skinand the results were reasonable so if you have sensitive skin, this is perfect for you.

I discovered this product around 2 years ago when I started getting blemishes and I thought Simple is 'kind to skin' (like what I did there ;) ) so I tried it and I love it. I do have hormonal acne, which sucks because when the spots surface they are HUGE and they leave scars. So I don't want to use harsh products, so this was perfect. It doesn't contain any harsh chemicals, perfume or colour and you only have to leave it on for 3 minutes!

It claims to: "draw out deep down dirt and elimate dead cells." and contains Vitamin B5, natural clay, seaweed extract and bisabolol.

It doesn't do anything crazy dramatic, but it helps to slightly dry up the spots and leaves my skin smoother, brighter with no tightness :) The texture is creamy and thick and unlike other clay based face masks, it is easier to work with and you can easily spread it around your face :)

Excuse the pooey look of the face mask :/

I use this around 2 or 3 times a week depending on how naughty my skin is being! At the moment I got a breakout mainly because my diet sucks, with all the drinking and eating I did at Xmas time, oops!

Price: £4 for 75 ml- which is AMAZING value for money! You can purchase this from Boots, Superdrug or any other drugstore.


What are you loving at the moment?

xxx

Review: Dermalogica 'Skin Refining Masque'

I am obsessed with skincare. I am always trying to find products that actually do what they claim to do (because we all know, some of it can be a hoo-ha!) So, after trying a sample, I decided to buy a face mask (with my own money) from Dermalogica and here is what I thought.

Dermalogica 'Skin Refining Masque' This is for individuals who have excess oil production. Even though my skin is not oily, its combo, I do get spots! :(  so I thought why not give it shot to zap those little devils on my face! So I tried this and I LOVE it... Its got Kaolin and Bentonite clays (which absorb oils), Zinc Oxide (to remove impurities and refine the skin surface), Arnica and Cucumber to soothe whilst Watercress to purify and Lemon to revive dull skin.

I like that this product comes in a tube, so that it you can control how much comes out. Also, I don't have to dip my fingers in the mask to get some out as that can be quite unhygienic (even if they are clean!).

The consistency of the masque is of white thick consistency, but it has to be applied thinly over the face and throat (so spread, spread, spread!) I leave it on for about 10 mins and when I take it off, my face feels smooth and generally nicer. It does dry up spots and does not leave your skin that dry or tight (as I would of thought!) *thumbs up!*
It is easy to wash off, unlike other masks which are a nightmare!


TIP: Exfoliate before you do the masque- Well, Dermalogica recommends it! ;)


Note: Make sure that when you buy Dermalogica products they have that silver shiny seal thingy at the top as it shows that the product is a real Dermalogica product, as there are fakes. Weird, but true :) It should look something like this:

Make sure the seal is sealed... just sayin' :)


Price: £22.40 for 75 ml- which is the only downfall of the product as it is a little pricey, but you do not need a huge amount.


But before you run out to go and buy this, go to a Dermalogica counter or a salon that stock the products and ask for a Face Mapping Analysis which will allow them to customise products for your skin type. Remember, what might work for me may not work for you and vice versa :) Oh and im using their "Special Cleansing Gel' for a while now and will do a review on it soon.

Oh and something random... I LOVE Transformers and Mr Shia Labeouf ;) I have been hooked since the first one! And I know some people are like "its a boy's film".. but SO WHAT!!! You HAVE to see the latest one (Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon)...Its AMAZING, especially in 3D!!! The action, the fight scenes, the cars (beautiful) the one liners (its actually hilarious)...ahh the joy :) I am going to see it a second time.. (I know, that is quite sad right?!). And btw Josh Duhamel = HOTTIE!!!
I just want to have a yellow Camaro that transforms, is that too much to ask??? ;) one day, one day...


Have you tried any Dermalogica products and let me know if you like Transformers...
 x