I typically have very dry skin, so you can imagine my horror when the weather in Toronto turned steaming hot and humid (literally overnight), and the skin on my face turned into a greasy mess.
It wasn’t so much that my entire face went oily, it was more the T-Zone area. If you’re not sure where the T-Zone is on your face, here is a pretty diagram I’ve made for you. Just imagine a T shape on your face. The top part of the T is your forehead, and the bottom is a line drawn down your nose and chin.
And it wasn’t just oily skin either, I broke out with some small pimples, with two on my nose, one on my chin and a small scattering on my forehead. Not a pretty site and very unfortunate after I’d only recently be celebrating completely clear skin.
I don’t think I helped matters much either by using my ‘usual’ amount of moisturizer on the first humid morning. I slathered on a decent amount of my Olay moisturizer which my skin usually needs in the cold and dry weather. On this very humid day it just made my skin greasy and shiny. So much so that my house mate even made a comment at how greasy my face was looking! Eww.
So the first thing I knew I needed to do was to use less moisturizer. In fact, I’m of the belief that if your skin is oily or you feel as though you don’t need any moisturizer, then why bother even putting it on. I’m sure there are beauty therapists out there groaning and shaking their heads, but I’m positive that moisturizers only work on the top layers of the skin, so they’re more for aesthetics and making your skin feel better rather than being a ‘cure all’. So if you already have plenty of natural moisture on your skin, why bother?
As soon as I started using significantly less moisturizer, and leaving my forehead out completely, my skin began to recover. I also used my Paula’s Choice 2% BHA once a day (at night), and used my Miessence Purifying Blemish gel on the small spots that I had. It took about a week for the blotchiness and pimples to go away, but they did! And now I’m happily pimple free again.
So for those of you with oily skin or oily t-zones, consider perhaps how much moisturizer you’re using on your skin. If it’s making your skin feel oilier or greasier then do you think you’d be better off with no moisturizer at all?
You Canadians are nuts for living here. Last week I was complaining about the cold weather, cowering inside the heated house wearing 3 pairs of socks and 2 sweaters. This week I’m complaining about the heat and humidity, yet again cowering inside the air conditioned house, or shops and cafes.
Yes, the temperature in Toronto, Canada has climbed by about 20 degrees celsius literally overnight. Madness! But, I can’t complain too much because I am a summer girl and I do love the warmth.
However, it has not been that great on my skin. Strangely, when I travelled from Brisbane to Fiji (from kind of dry to very humid), my skin loved it. That was when my skin finally started to clear to 100%. This time around my skin has kicked up a bit of a fuss! Mind you, the air has gone from extremely dry to extremely humid so of course it’s natural for my skin to have a little bit of a panic attack.
When we were initially hit by this intense humidity, the first mistake I made was to use the usual amount of facial moisturizer in the morning. I’ve been using one and a half pumps of my Olay moisturizer and it’s still only just been moisturizing enough. So I used the same amount this humid morning and regretted it! My face felt all sticky and greasy and remained that way for the rest of the day. My house mate even commented, saying “Eww, your face is all greasy and shiny today”. Grr. Continue reading →
Okay, so this post IS about natural bubble baths, but I found this not-so-natural product on the net from Me!Bath that I just had to show you first because it looks yummy enough to eat. It’s a bubble bath bomb, that looks exactly like ice cream!!! This is the most fabulous product I’ve seen in a long time.
I can’t believe this is not ice cream. I think I’d have to stop myself from taking a bite.
So this isn’t a natural product but I couldn’t find the ingredients listed anywhere so I can’t tell you exactly how bad it is. From what I’ve read so far though, it doesn’t seem that bad. It even contains jojoba oil, soybean (apparently quite hydrating to the skin) and Epson salts.
I love how pretty this is so much that I think it would be a fantastic birthday or Christmas present. Hmmm, friends and family, guess what you’re getting for your next birthday!
However, if you’re concerned about chemicals added to bubble baths and you don’t mind something that’s not quite as pretty, there are plenty of options available for toxic-free bubble baths.
If you remember my last post on chocolate, I talked about how I lay in the bath in our hotel in Vancouver reading a chickflik and eating chocolate truffles (HEAVEN!). What I didn’t tell you was that I had filled the bath with a natural bubble bath.
I’d like to say it was as good as the ‘real thing’, but unfortunately the bubbles were very weak. I definitely did not get that Pretty Woman bubble bath satisfaction. But I did have peace of mind knowing that I was enjoying a bubble bath without putting any chemicals or toxins into my body. I also enjoyed the gorgeous aromatherapy smell that the bubbles gave the bath water.
This particular bubble bath that I used (the one in the picture) was really cheap – only about CA$2.50 and I purchased it from Capers Whole Foods Store in Vancouver. I’ve since looked around on the net and found many other brands of natural bubble baths available. So if you enjoy a soak ever now and again have a look around next time you’re in your local health or whole foods store and I’m sure you’ll find a couple of great options.
In Brisbane, Australia (where I’m from) there is only one vegan restaurant, and I was lucky enough to live down the road from it. Even though the decor of the restaurant was old and mouldy and the food was served out of a bain-marie, what intrigued me so much about The Forest were its patrons. Everyone that went into that resturant had fabulous skin! I’m talking about beautifully clear, radiant and naturally beautiful glowing skin. It made me wonder, do vegans have better skin?
I am not a vegan but I am vegetarian, and at the time I had really crap skin – a ton of pimples and a few cysts. But there was something different about me I guess, my acne was from stress, I had only recently become vegetarian, and well …I wasn’t really a vego because I did still eat seafood. I remember looking around at all The Forest’s patrons with their stunning healthy radiant skin and having this thought, that perhaps being vegetarian for like ..a long period of time gives you the reward of great skin. Or maybe I needed to become completely vegan. So all I had to do was eat no meat for longer and give up milk and eggs!
Well, knowing a little more about food now I don’t think that being vegetarian or vegan is the answer. So all of you acne prone meat eaters out there can breathe a sigh of relief. You don’t have to give up your chicken wings and ribs to get rid of your acne. So why did the patrons of The Forest all have geat skin? I think it was because in general, they ate better. The food at the Forrest was vegan, sure, but it was also super healthy. They even served brown rice instead of white rice! So my guess is that the patrons that prefered this restaurant also prefered looking after their health and watching what they put into their bodies. Continue reading →
When it comes to using prescription medications to treat acne, topical and oral antibiotics are one of the most common treatment options that a doctor or dermatologist will prescribe to you. But what do they do and how effective are they?
Acne is called ‘acne’ for a reason. The actual inflammation is a result of the Propionibacterium acnes (P.Acne) bacteria getting into the plugged hair follicle. This dangerous mix creates an inflammation, otherwise known as a pimple. So it’s actually the bacteria within a pimple that gives ‘acne’ its name. And it’s also this bacteria that antibiotics zero in on and destroy.
So antibiotics will not reduce your sebum production, unclog your pores or get rid of your comedonal acne. They simply work by destroying the acne bacteria in the skin.
In theory, this should work really well but it doesn’t work for everyone. I find that antibiotics either work really well or not at all. And, I’m speaking from experience. I’ve taken antibiotics twice in my life for acne and both results were completely different to each other. I’ll tell you both stories because of this difference.
My first antibiotics and acne experience
When I first took antibiotics for my skin I was about 18 years old. I’d had mild acne since I was a teenager, but it was mainly on my forehead. Styling my hair with bangs covered it up so it didn’t bother me that much.
I turned 17 shortly after finishing high school and travelled to Malaysia with my parents and little sister to live while my Dad worked there as an expatriate Architect. I had a great year off, my skin cleared up and I was really healthy and happy under my parents care. At the end of the year I travelled back to Australia to live with my two elder sisters and to begin my University studies. This is when my acne returned and got really bad. I no longer just had zits on my forehead, I started to get them all over my face. Continue reading →
It wasn’t so much that my entire face went oily, it was more the T-Zone area. If you’re not sure where the T-Zone is on your face, here is a pretty diagram I’ve made for you. Just imagine a T shape on your face. The top part of the T is your forehead, and the bottom is a line drawn down your nose and chin.
You Canadians are nuts for living here. Last week I was complaining about the cold weather, cowering inside the heated house wearing 3 pairs of socks and 2 sweaters. This week I’m complaining about the heat and humidity, yet again cowering inside the air conditioned house, or shops and cafes. 
Okay, so this post IS about natural bubble baths, but I found this not-so-natural product on the net from 
If you remember 
In Brisbane, Australia (where I’m from) there is only one vegan restaurant, and I was lucky enough to live down the road from it. Even though the decor of the restaurant was old and mouldy and the food was served out of a bain-marie, what intrigued me so much about The Forest were its patrons. Everyone that went into that resturant had fabulous skin! I’m talking about beautifully clear, radiant and naturally beautiful glowing skin. It made me wonder, do vegans have better skin? 
Acne is called ‘acne’ for a reason. The actual inflammation is a result of the Propionibacterium acnes (P.Acne) bacteria getting into the plugged hair follicle. This dangerous mix creates an inflammation, otherwise known as a pimple. So it’s actually the bacteria within a pimple that gives ‘acne’ its name. And it’s also this bacteria that antibiotics zero in on and destroy.
When I first took antibiotics for my skin I was about 18 years old. I’d had mild acne since I was a teenager, but it was mainly on my forehead. Styling my hair with bangs covered it up so it didn’t bother me that much.
