Beauty

Beauty - How to Make Your Own Face Mask

12:22:00 pm

raspberry, honey, oats, cocoa powder,beauty, skincare, skincare for all skintypes, face masks, how to make your own fresh face masks, diy beauty, you are what you eat,

raspberries, oats, honey,beauty, skincare, skincare for all skintypes, face masks, how to make your own fresh face masks, diy beauty, you are what you eat,
beauty, skincare, skincare for all skintypes, face masks, how to make your own fresh face masks, diy beauty, you are what you eat, oats, honey, raspberries, blender
cocoa powder,beauty, skincare, skincare for all skintypes, face masks, how to make your own fresh face masks, diy beauty, you are what you eat,
raspberry, honey, oat, cocoa powder,beauty, skincare, skincare for all skintypes, face masks, how to make your own fresh face masks, diy beauty, you are what you eat,

In my time working for Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics one thing I am really thankful for is my increased knowledge of which fresh ingredients are most beneficial to my skin. I love so many of the Fresh Face Masks from Lush so I decided to come up with my own mask using a few of the ingredients from those, resulting in my ultimate fresh face mask.  My definition of the ultimate face mask would mean it was cleansing, exfoliating, soothing, anti aging, spot preventing whilst controlling oil but still allowing the skin to look radiant with a natural glow.  I know that seems like a lot to ask for in one mask but so many ingredients are known to help with more than one of these, so less ingredients are needed than you might think.

I decided on four ingredients known for their benefits to the skin,

Raspberries, rank among the fruits with the highest antioxidant strength great for anti aging properties when used topically.  They are also known for reducing inflammation, calming irritation and toning the skin.

Oats - an amazing natural beauty enhancer. They soothe and heal the skin, while reducing inflammation. Inflammation is one of the number one causes of premature aging, and while it all starts on the inside, reducing outer inflammation is also necessary for gorgeously radiant skin.  they are also very slightly exfoliating leaving the skin silky smooth without using something too harsh.

Honey - known as a natural cleanser which naturally exfoliates your skin to bring out a radiant and glowing complexion.  It is naturally antibacterial, so it's great for acne treatment and prevention, full of antioxidants which slow down the aging process whilst being super moisturising.

Cocoa Powder -contains antioxidants that work toward repairing damaged skin. This will make your skin softer, especially when paired with other ingredients including honey.  This also helps to absorb excess oil in the skin as it can be very subtly mattifying.

If you are reading this thinking it sounds good enough to eat, you would be correct.  Good for your skin and delicious, the best of both worlds.  I have been using this twice a week for two weeks now and love the way it makes my skin feel and more importantly look.  Immediately after use my skin definitely looks more radiant without being shiny.  This is by far my favourite DIY beauty product I have ever created, i love it even more than my DIY Hair Mask.

What would be the properties of your ultimate face mask?

Anti Blemish Lotion

Beauty - Skinetica Anti Blemish Lotion Review - Revisited

3:15:00 pm

Nearly a year ago I reviewed Skinetica, you can read that review here.  At the time it was popping up everywhere with mixed reviews, so I came to the conclusion that it definitely works better with some skin types better than others.
  I still really enjoy using Skinetica for when I experience breakouts.  I don't use it as an all over toner anymore, the only reason for this being I have enjoyed trying different toners.  Having enjoyed it so much I wanted to spread the word and had a bottle to spare.  I gifted my Auntie Sinead a bottle last April, as she was complaining that her skin wasn't at it's best.  This is what she had to say;

Hi Gemma,

I just wanted to write to say thank you so much for the gift of anti-blemish skinetica.

Being in my mid thirties and having a problem with spots for the past 5 years I am just delighted with the results after using this product.

I have used a variety of blemish treatments over the years and even used an anti biotic solution prescribed by the doctor, none if which cleared my skin and in fact probably made my skin look and feel worse!

For me anti-blemish skinetica does exactly what it claims on the bottle "soothes calms clears" it is reasonably fast acting and kind to my skin. After about 4 days applying the treatment, every 12 hours as directed, my spots have cleared up leaving no red marks or dry skin.

I am so pleased with the results and very grateful for you taking the time to provide me with a product that you thought would benefit my sensitive skin.

I will not hesitate to ask for any skin care advice in the future, thanks a million!!

Warmest regards,

Aunty Sinead xx

I wanted to share this with you as Sinead's point of view really surprised me.  With her skin being so sensitive I did have a slight worry she would react, but after explaining this she was still excited to try it, thank goodness she gave it a try.

Have you ever gifted somebody a product that dramatically changed their life?


Full of Grace Review

Beauty -Lush Full of Grace Solid Serum Review

11:09:00 am


Hello Everyone,

So last week I shared with you the first couple of things I use in preparation for using one of my favourite face masks, which you can read HERE.  Hopefully you enjoyed those and will be glad to know that today I will be telling you all about the next product I use

This stage in my routine is something really special and makes the whole experience more like an at home spa treatment, I find it really relaxing and slightly more pampering than just applying a mask on its own.

Full of Grace Serum Bar

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics Full of Grace Serum Skincare Review

Full of Grace Serum Bar looks just like one of the Lush body massage bars but do not be confused, this little beauty is all for your face, it is about half the size of one of the solid shampoo bars . This was developed for using in the Lush Spa's during the Validation Facial Treatment. It was created to be very special and luxurious for use during facial massage, that could be worked into the skin with ease without it feeling too heavy or oily.

Packed into this product are so many amazing ingredients that help with so many different aspects of your skin. This was created by Helen one of the Lush founders. She started by taking fresh rose petals and soaked them in water, creating the calming rose water.  Mixing this rose water with murumuru butter, capuacu butter and almond oil, created the base of Full of Grace. These all work really well together and leave the face feeling moisturised and supple. You would think this bar couldn't get any better, well fortunately for us, it does. Helen also managed to work in some fresh portobello mushrooms for their vitamins and antioxidants and calamine powder to cool the skin whilst controlling excess oil. After adding a blend of only the best essential oils Full of Grace was completed and ready to take on the world.

I like to use Full of Grace prior to applying my chosen face mask for a number of reasons;
  • It makes the application of any face mask smooth and effortless, it just glides across the skin making for an even layer every time.
  • A serum helps other products work into the skin and go deeper, so this helps the ingredients in  face masks be even more effective, allowing you to get better results from face masks.
  • It makes the removal of your face mask a pleasure revealing moisturised, supple skin every single time.
  • It can also be used as a moisturiser and I love applying this underneith my night cream, when my skin is feeling particularly dry or irritated, allowing my skin to feed on the ingredients as I sleep.
Using Full of Grace could not be more simple, I just take the bar in one hand and glide it across the other, the heat of your body slightly melts the serum bar leaving the perfect amount of product on the palm of your hand. I then massage this into my skin in upward motions until my entire face is covered. As you only ever use a tiny amount this little bar last forever.

One initial concern was that it may be too oily for my oily/combination skin but the calamine powder actually helped to control the excess oil I experience on my t-zone area and it is easy to control than ever before. Serums I have tried before now all were basically a mix of water and silicone, Im delighted Helen managed to make one that was made entirely of natural ingredients that contains no preservatives. I have now been using Full of Grace since April 2013 and couldn't imagine my face mask routine without it.
Do you use any serum in your skincare routine, which one do you use and why?


Gemma

x


Elemis

Beauty - Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm Review

3:59:00 pm

I'm sure I've said many times before that until I started blogging and reading blogs I didn't have any kind of skincare routine, it consisted of  whatever baby wipes were on special offer in boots and that was it.  I always suffered with extremely oily skin and breakouts when using this one step routine which is not surprising and is now shocking to think I did this for such a long time.  I would say for the best part of two years I have really got into skincare and my skin has thanked me for it, I don't suffer with breakouts and my skin has balanced out dramatically. 

As much as I followed a routine I never really fell in love with a product until I found Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish .  I really liked this product and used it for months but the down side was I always went through the bottles quickly as I felt the need to double cleanse with it.

This is why, to me, the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is ,even better I simply ADORE every single thing about it.


Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm
Available at Time to Spa £39.50 105g




The Packaging looks good, feels nice and even on my travels has never leaked or unscrewed in my luggage.

The smooth, firm, balm smells incredible as soon as the lid is removed and intensifies while warming the balm between your fingertips pre-application.  The lavender, geranium, eucalyptus leaf  and clove leaf oils are the ingredients that I would say mingle together to create this calming spa like scent.

For me balms are the easiest kind of cleansers to use and this one is no different.  I start by warming the balm between my finger tips to ensure it is completely drag free on the skin.  Once I am happy with the consistency I massage onto my face avoiding the eyes.  While I do this a wash cloth is under hot running water - the hotter the water the better the results - but not to hot that it would burn, common sense folks!  I squeeze out any excess water in the wash cloth so that it is just damp and begin to remove the cleanser from my face, with the cleanser comes any make up or dirt from the day.

I just want to take a moment to appreciate the wash cloth, flannel, whatever you want to call it that comes in the pack, it is so good.  Soft but with enough oomph to give you a gentle exfoliation.  It was refreshing to see a quality wash cloth with a cleanser like this rather than the usual muslin cloth.

The blend of almond, jojoba and coconut oil, flower and bee waxes as well as shea butter meant that immediately my skin felt softer, looked brighter and pores were not as visible. I continued using this but only on nights when I wanted a really deep, pampering cleanse as at £39.50 it is out of my budget to use everyday.  Unlike previous cleansers I have used only one cleanse is neccesary with amazing results. 

The only thing I would change about this product would be to make it suitable for removing eye make up.  Unfortunately during my first use I found out that this is not comfortable for use on the eyes as it can sting slightly.  I combat this by removing any eye make up before cleansing.

Thank you Elemis for allowing me to really fall in love and appreciate something so beneficial for my skin.

Gemma
x



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