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Price: USD$17.95 (118 mL) Rating: (I took a star off for not being a natural product!) Website: http://www.cosmeticscop.com/
I’ve been using a new product for a few weeks now, and it’s been working miracles on my skin. I didn’t want to tell you about it too early in case it stopped working so well, or in case it was just a coincidence that my skin was doing better, but I think it’s time that I share my thoughts and my success with this product.
Actually I’ve already mentioned it a lot in the High on Health forum and in some of my blog comments. It’s Paula’s Choice 2% BHA gel.
First, a little warning …
It’s important to note that this is NOT a natural product. So if you want to stick to a natural routine, then this product is best avoided.
BHA stands for ‘Beta Hydroxy Acid’ and it works by exfoliating the pores from deep inside the pore itself, instead of just on the surface like ‘regular’ exfoliators do. The active ingredient in Paula’s Choice BHA is Salicylic Acid which you may already have seen in a ton of other acne treatment products. Paula’s BHA supposedly has its Salicylic Acid at the perfect pH level to work properly, I don’t know weather this is true, but it seems to work well for me, and this product has great reviews from others that have used it on makeupalley.com
The gel also comes as a lotion if you prefer, and as a 1% which is a little gentler on the skin.
After using the product for a few days I realized that I should have bought the 1% because the 2% seems to be quite strong for my very sensitive and very dry skin. I can only use a very small amount each time (about half the size of a pea, yes I’m not exaggerating that …the bottle is going to last me years) and only once a day when the recommended use is twice daily. I found that if I used it twice a day my skin went a little pink and too dry. I’ve read posts in forums from beauty therapists who say that it’s bad to use BHA’s on your skin every single day, so I’m happy to use just a teeny tiny amount.
The directions on the bottle also recommend to use it underneath your moisturizer, but I found this to be too difficult. For some reason my moisturizer didn’t go on too well after I’d applied the BHA, even if I’d wait ten minutes after I applied the BHA, and …I don’t know, I just didn’t like it. So after I cleanse my face, I moisturize, then wait about half an hour before I apply the BHA. I wait for half an hour so my moisturizer has properly settled into my skin. Any earlier and it seems to make a bit of a strange mix of moisturizer and BHA on my skin.
May 11th, 2008 — Food This post was written by Fran
I know I say that chocolate is good for your skin, and it is …but you need to be really careful with what chocolate you eat. It doesn’t mean that you can go to the grocery store and stock up on Cadbury and Hershey’s and eat it until you drop. It’s actually a lot more complicated than that.
Mmmmmm chocolate fondue!
The reason why regular chocolate is bad for you and will make your acne worse, is because of all the sugar and chemicals they add to it. It’s the cocoa in chocolate that is great for your skin. The sugar and chemicals they also add to the chocolate will unfortunately aggravate your acne. So what you need to do is find raw cold compressed cocoa, or buy chocolate that contains NO sugar and NO chemicals.
I’m a self-confessed chocoholic so I know a bit about chocolate. While I’ve been in Vancouver I’ve also been indulging in a lot more chocolate than I normally would. Usually I’ll only eat a very small amount of organic dark chocolate every now and again, but while I’ve been here, I’ve been feasting on Godiva (hey, they don’t have it in Brisbane), Rocky Mountain, chocolate fondue, hot chocolates …chocolate anything really, you name it and I’ve probably eaten it over the last week. I even lay in the bath the other night reading a chick-flick and eating dark chocolate truffles. I was in heaven.
Another yummy scrummy chocolate fondue. Yes, I tried TWO different fondues in Vancouver
These chocolate apples looked amazing
I’ve been extra relaxed because I’m on holidays and I’m giving myself a break. And even through I’ve always opted for the dark chocolate varieties while I’ve been here, I know the sugar is really bad for my skin. In fact, I’ve noticed that the couple of spots I do have, have been larger, more inflamed, deeper red in color and take longer to go away. My scars are also taking longer to heal. My friend that I’ve been travelling with (who’s probably a bigger chocoholic than me) has also got a couple of pimples too, and he VERY rarely gets a spot.
So there you go, we’ve decided to treat ourselves on holidays and we’re suffering for it, but hey ..I don’t feel bad because I know it’s only temporary, and sometimes you need to just chill out and do that. So I get a couple more pimples, I know it’s not forever, so be it. Next week we’ll be settling into Toronto for a few months and getting back into working, eating well and doing a lot of yoga …and I know my skin will love me for it But for now, pass me another chunk of rocky road please!
May 9th, 2008 — Skin Care This post was written by Fran
“Rudolph the red-nosed Fran, had a very shiny nose ….”
Yep that’s me, Rudolph. I always remember getting a bright red nose in cold weather but NEVER this bad. I guess travelling from such beautiful warm weather in Australia, Fiji and Hawaii and then shocking my body into freezing weather in Vancouver has given my skin that lovely extra ‘glow’. Or rather, a bright fire-engine-red nose.
It’s important to note that I have not been blessed with one of those cute little button noses that girls should have. Instead I have a particularly prominent and sharp nose that I guess you could call more ‘large’ than ‘petite’. So this red nose problem that I’ve developed in Vancouver is particularly annoying because it is just so damn obvious. Continue reading →
May 8th, 2008 — Acne This post was written by Fran
I want to get to the bottom of this. I’ve been in Vancouver for the past five days and one thing I’ve noticed is Canadians have GREAT skin. In general, everyone’s skin in Vancouver is significantly better than where I’m from (Brisbane, Australia). I’d say almost one in five people (especially women) under the age of 30 in Brisbane get acne, but here it’s ridiculous, it’s like one in fifty or something.
To be fair, there is a massive hole in the ozone layer right above where I live in Australia, so our skin ages a lot faster, we get wrinkles earlier and we have more freckles and sunspots …but here in Vancouver, there is noticeably less acne.
Even my friend that I’m travelling with has noticed. He comes to Canada every couple of years or so, and he said he always notices that a lot of Canadians have beautiful clear porcelain white skin. Well, I definitely have to get to the bottom of this!!!
Are you from Canada? I’d love to hear from you. I’ve done a Google search and I’ve even found resources on the net that talk about how great Canadians skin is. Why is that!!?? I’ve got a few theories:
There’s not a lot of sun here. I know the sun aggravates acne rosacea, but I never though sun was a big cause of ‘general’ acne. Maybe I’m wrong.
Canadian air is very dry. Brisbane (where I’m from) is a tropical city so it’s often humid. This means more sweating and oilier skin. So perhaps the dry air in Canada means less oily skin and therefore less acne. This is the best theory I have so far I think.
People in Vancouver seem to be SUPER healthy. There are organic stores everywhere and a lot of vegetarians. Exercise and fitness also seems to be a huge thing here. People are also more open to alternative medicine. That’s got to make a difference.
That’s all I’ve got. If you’re Canadian and you know the secret, please pass it on. Honestly though it’s SO noticeable. I’ve seen Proactiv commercials on TV here too. I don’t think they’ll do as well in this country!!!
Philosophy Purity Made Simple, why didn’t I discover you earlier?? I’ve been using this facial cleanser for a few weeks now and it is without a doubt THE best cleanser I’ve ever used. In fact, I love it so much that I’m really excited that I can finally tell you about it, and sadly it’s going to sound like I work for the company even though I don’t
Honestly though, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to use anything else ever again. Hmm, maybe I should get a job with Philosophy.
I have dry skin so I’ve always had trouble with cleansers drying my skin out, or making my skin feel tight. This cleanser not only makes my skin feel cleansed, but it also hydrates my skin at the same time. Even better, it removes my makeup, including my waterproof mascara without me having to scrub at it.
Oh, and THE best best - it hasn’t made my skin break out, in fact …my skin has only been improving while I’ve been using it.
Here is a short video I recorded about this product:
Remember to always check a product out on makeupalley.com before you buy it (even if you’re a boy). That’s what I did, I find a great review of this product, so I checked it up on www.makeupalley.com and the awesome reviews from a ton of others that have tried the product was enough to convince me to try it myself.
Price: USD$17.95 (118 mL)
(I took a star off for not being a natural product!)
But for now, pass me another chunk of rocky road please!
“Rudolph the red-nosed Fran, had a very shiny nose ….”
I want to get to the bottom of this. I’ve been in Vancouver for the past five days and one thing I’ve noticed is Canadians have GREAT skin. In general, everyone’s skin in Vancouver is significantly better than where I’m from (Brisbane, Australia). I’d say almost one in five people (especially women) under the age of 30 in Brisbane get acne, but here it’s ridiculous, it’s like one in fifty or something.
Price: 16 ounce - US$32.00 
