Triggers and Flare-ups Part 2 - Taking the heat out of the burn

I think the most frustrating thing with allergies and wearing makeup is reacting to an unknown part of a product.
I don't get hives on my face but a beautiful red rash, sometimes called a "butterfly mask", because of the way it covers the cheeks and nose.
This rash is not only red but burning hot, even with 5 layers of makeup on the heat can be felt.
So I've tried various things to cool it down, apart from physically putting an icepack on my face.  That cools it down, but does not treat the damage done to my skin.

An old fashioned remedy is Calamine lotion.  I always have a bottle of this around for when I'm ridiculously itchy and creams just irritate it more.
Especially in summer - high body heat+eczema+cream = unbearable night.
Calamine lotion soothes the itch but also drys out the already dry skin so it has to followed up the next morning with heavy moisturisation.

Creams that contain Zinc Oxide are also very good for helping with hives. I have a large tub of SudoCrem which I use on an as-needed basis.  Its great as a mask on hot hives and will soothe and cool the hives. A little bit goes a long way and a thick layer wont actually completely sink into the skin, and it makes a barrier.

I recently got a sample of Paulas Choice Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask. I got two uses out of the 3ml sample. I used it once at night and left it on as a sleeping mask and the next day underneath my maskeup as a primer.  It did work well, but it has to be ordered online and is $30AUD for 113ml.  It was very thick when I applied it and did not sting my poor skin.  That in itself was promising.

I have five full sized masks that I am trying out and I put in a huge order of samples from RoseRoseShop which arrived recently and includes a few masks - sheet and cream types.  So I won't make a decision about purchasing the Paula's Choice one until all of my testing is complete.  I seem to be on the search for the Holy Grail of masks for my skin.

Recent in store purchases

Palmers Cocoa Butter Purifying Enzyme Mask.  I bought this from Chemist Warehouse, but I've also seen it in Priceline.  Retails for under $10.  Not sure about this one - this was from a "freak-out-shop" after going to the Doctors.  Thinking was not occurring in my brain.

Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask - For Red and Sensitive Skin.  I picked this up at Coles Supermarket, but its also available in Woolworths and Target.  Retails under $10.  Review coming soon.
Quick Fix Facials Mega Moisture Gel Mask - For Dry and Thirsty Skin.   I picked this up at Coles Supermarket, but its also available in Woolworths and Target.  It's under $10.

Dirty Works Rose & Glow Moisture Mask - With Rose and Vitamin E (and hyaluronic acid).  This I found at Target for $12.95.  Review here!.
Dirty Works Vitamin C Brightening Mask.  I picked this up also at Target for $12.95.

I don't expect a mask to perform absolute miracles, so what I expect from a mask is to remove a goodly amount of the redness and put some moisture back into my skin.  These are not regular treatments for my skin - in the case of calamine, its a last ditch effort before I turn to Prednisolone and corticosteroid creams.  I will go to these medications when the hives and inflammation start to spread down my body because that is indicative of a greater systematic problem.  Your skin's "turnover" can be anywhere from two to four weeks (*science time* technically a skin cell is around for 28 days before you shed the cell - going from the bottom of the epidermis to the top of the epidermis, but up to 48 days to replace the entire epidermis).  So it will take time for skin to recover from any trauma.  Skin will not recover overnight,

Corticosteroid creams/ointments will thin your skin over time, so avoiding these is a priority.  Also your skin can become used to these products and have a rebound if the corticosteroid cream is not used, which is just not fun.  Prednisolone has a plethora of side-effects which build up over time and mess with the immune system.  I have enough troubles with my immune system so I don't want to  damage it needlessly. I have also been taking Phenergan at night instead, but that also causes drowsiness and makes it hard to get going in the mornings.

It's really important to read labels to know what you are putting on your skin when you have allergies. What do you avoid in your skincare products?

Product Review : Dirty Works Rose&Glow Moisture Mask

I picked this up at Target about a month ago, just before Easter.  It retails for $12.95, but often can be included in 30% sales, which is when I bought it.
This particular mask is targeted as adding moisture back into the skin, seeing as my skin is quite dry overall and I get very dry patches on my cheeks I thought this would be good to help my skin while its recovering from allergies.  It's not meant to exfoliate the skin but has ingredients that will increase moisture in the upper layers of the skin.  It's applied onto the skin for 5 minutes and then washed off.

No roses were harmed in the making of this product.

Ingredients:
We can see that it has good ol' hyaluronic acid in (sodium hyaluronate) and collagen amino acids, both of these help to hold moisture in the upper skin layers, but glycerin is much higher in the list. Panthenol is another humectant which can also be useful in helping with skin irritations. 

I do admit when I first applied it, there was a bit of tingling (I always panic with a tingle!) but that settled after a minute and the rest of the time it was very comfortable.  I did not apply a thick layer and focused most of the product on my cheeks and forehead (being the driest areas).  Because it was only on for 5 minutes it did not have a chance to dry out and was very easy to remove.  I used a microfibre cloth and warm water.*
I then followed up with my usual layers of Indeed Labs Hyaluron serum and Avene Recovery Cream. But I did notice after I washed it off that my skin did look plumper and less dry.  However I haven't yet just washed it off and not followed up with moisturiser.  I seem to be stuck too much in a routine that I moisturise any time I wash my face.

*I've used this a couple of times and have increase the wear time.  I've actually kept this on for nearly 30mins once and it didn't go crunchy or dry, so it might have potential as a sleep mask.

There is a definite fragrance of rose (turkish delight-esque), but I happen to like it, so it was not too intrusive nor did it give me a headache.

I am definitely keep using this product and with the cold months now arrived I plan to use this more frequently through the week instead of a now-and-then treatment.  I might use this as a hand-treatment as well seeing as its so affordable (and easy to find!).

What masks do you use to keep dry skin at bay?

Hype Train: Asian Skin Care Haul

All aboard!

In my quest for skincare help during the beginning of this year, I stumbled across the Skincare Addiction Reddit Forum. Which then in turn lead me on the path to Asian Beauty Reddit Forum. Both of these forums have helped incredibly with improving my skincare routine.  Overall I have noticed that the SCA forum is more oily/acne based advice, whereas the Asian Beauty seems to have a greater variety of skin types and good advice for them.

However there is a *dark side*, they enabled the shopping!  I am still hunting down products that will stablise my skin.  I still love my Nivea Cream, but my dryness was getting worse.

So I eventually put in an order at RoseRoseShop, which is based in Korea and bought samples.  Do you know how excited I was to be able to buy samples?!
Just be aware that they charge shipping based on weight - so work out if it's more cost-efficient overall and keep an eye on products that have free shipping (I used that to my advantage in my second haul from there which-i-may-have-just-ordered-days-after-getting-this....).  I know here in Australia there is a considerable mark-up on products.  One item I bought from RoseRoseShop was ~AUS$8 (including the shipping cost share), if I bought that from a physical shop in Melbourne I would easily be looking at AUS$24 to AUS$30.  So this was very cost-efficient.  Its also difficult to source face masks, unless you regularly go to the CBD.
The Face Shop masks can retail for ~AUS$4 instore.  I could buy a pack of 3 masks for AUS$4 (again adding in the shipping cost share) via RRS, so this is a much more viable option.

I am trying to boost the amount moisture in my skin, when my skin is hydrated and smooth I look in my early 20's, but when its dry or recovering from allergies I can look late 30's (for reference I am 31, and I've been mistaken for a student in a class, not the teacher).

So here are some shots of my haul.  I've only *just* started trialling them because of a nasty allergic reaction which really ruined my skin.  Did not want to apply anything new until I was in the safe zone.

- [MIZON] Original Skin Energy Hyaluronic Acid 100 Samples 
- [MIZON] Multi Function Formula Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule Samples - started trialling on this
- [ETUDE HOUSE] Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule Essence Samples 
- [MISSHA] Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence Samples
- [It's Skin] Pure Moisture Gel Samples
- [TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL] Pumpkin Sleeping Pack Samples (damn cute, damn damn cute samples)
- [THE FACE SHOP] Rice & Ceramide Moisture Emulsion - 150ml
- [LANEIGE] New Basic Trial Sample Kit - Normal To Dry Skin (the lids aren't all the same blue >_<)

I will be putting up a review on the Snail Repair Ampoule as soon as I finish all the samples.  I get 2-3 uses from one sachet as I only apply it in the evenings.

Mask part of the haul

-[3W CLINIC] Fresh Mask Sheet - Collagen
-[THE FACE SHOP] Real Nature Mask Sheets - Aloe
-[THE FACE SHOP] Real Nature Mask Sheets - Rice (I've tried this one already, so this was a repurchase)
-[MISSHA] 3D Bamboo Sheet Mask

So there we finally have my first Asian Skincare Haul,
Now my immune system needs to play fair...

What are you loving from your most recent hauls?