Wipe it off, wipe it off!

This is one of the stranger hauls I have done.

I suddenly had an urge to go and buy makeup remover wipes.  No idea why.

I used to use these frequently, my favourite was the Priceline Beauty Essentials Make-Up remover Wipes for Sensitive Skin and still have some stashed away, but once I was introduced to Micellar Water I lost interest in the wipes.  But these days I find that I come home from work and my skin feels really heavy and icky, and the micellar water is not enough to get rid of the "greasy-dirt" (oh how appealing) sensation.

Thus the face wipes.  They have a bit more heft than the micellar water so I wont need to rub away as much.  My plan is to use the micellar water in the morning as I have been doing - excellent for getting rid of the stuff that accumulates overnight and not too drying.  Then in the afternoon when I get home from work, use a wipe and finish up with a single cotton round (instead of 3 cotton rounds, I wear much makeup...) of micellar water.

I bought some micellar wipes to have in my handbag for days when I need to refresh/redo my makeup at work - such as long days with Parent Teacher Interviews and Info Evenings.

Not surpisingly these are all aimed at dry and/or sensitive skin. Some are from Woolworths (Safeway), some are from Chemist Warehouse.  This haul was driven by the sales/specials at both - if you wait, it'll be on sale at some point.


From Woolworths (Safeway)

Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Cleansing Wipes (25)

Simple Kind to Skin Micellar Cleansing Wipes (25)

Smartskin 25 Moisturising Facial Cleansing Wipes (25)

Woolworths Select Daily Balance Gentle Facial Wipes (25)

Chemist Warehouse
Nivea Pure and Natural Facial Cleansing Wipes (25)

Byphasse Micellar Make-up Remover Wipes (25)

So over the next few months or so I'll have a battle of the Make-up Remover Wipes and fill you in along the way!
What things have you randomly hauled for a specific item?

Any suggestions for other Makeup Remover wipes for dry and sensitive skin?

Changing my locks (of hair)

Hair Dye.
Scary stuff. (But pretty colours)
Even scarier when you have allergies.
(to be honest thought, lots of things are scary with allergies)

My natural colour is dark blonde - that nothing shade that sits between golden blonde and light brown. I didn't actually start playing around with my hair colour until university.
My first foray was using a gradual bleaching foam, I used it very sparingly and avoided getting in onto my hands (disposable gloves) and scalp.
I really did not enjoy being a blonde.  It lasted maybe a few months after I got to the colour I wanted.  Also high upkeep to maintain the roots.

So I allowed the blonde to grow out and went back to my normal colouring.

About 10 years ago, when I first started teaching I decided I wanted to go brown.  But I was terrified of using a chemical hair dye because of my allergies.  And I still am terrified of using a chemical hair dye.  Not going near that stuff!

So whats an allergy queen to do? Turn to henna.   But Rosie you say, henna makes your hair red!

I used Lush's CaCa bricks, which come in several tones from brown to black.
Initially I used 100% CaCa Brun, which uses a mix of indigo and henna to create a brown tone.
It was a lovely brown, but still I wanted more!

Now the thing with henna is it actually penetrates the hair follicles and so the natural highlights and tones of your hair is mimicked.  So it looks natural.  But the hairs get saturated and you cant just keep dying your hair, so it should be at minimum every 6 weeks or so.  I dye my hair every term holidays- every 3 months.  The regrowth only shows in the last fortnight or so because of how well it takes the hair tones on.

This shows the natural tones in my hair, it's not a flat colouration.

However because of this henna is a serious commitment.  You cant bleach your hair for at least 6 months after colouring your hair (preferably 12 months) because SCIENCE will happen and you may fry your hair off, or end up with lurid orange (as in, orange the fruit) coloured hair.  Damaged to hell hair.  So if you get sick of the henna color you have to let it grow out and cut off any ends that have henna so you are left with virgin hair.  You also have to be careful over-dyeing henna with artificial dyes - again, wait 3 to 6 months.  I have tried doing a reverse ombre with the Noir henna, but it never takes and I think this may be from the henna particles from previous layers filling the follicle.

You know how you have an image of yourself in your head that you really want to be?
I wanted to be a red-head.  Life goals.  Seriously.

I gradually mixed the CaCa Brun with CaCa Marron, then 100% CaCa Marron (chestnut red/brown), mixed CaCa Marron with CaCa Rouge and now for the past 6 years I have been using 100% CaCa Rogue.  In sunlight is it LURID!  Not so shocking in artificial lighting or cloudy days, when it looks more auburn.
I have application down to 10 minutes.  Also because my hair gets repeated layerings of the henna I only use 1 square of the 6 in a brick and essentially focus the colour on my roots.  When my hair gets longer it may require 1.5.  With the full colour changes I would use 2 full blocks to do my waist length hair - my hair is now 6 inches below my shoulders.  The Lush North America forum has a veritable mine of information on how to tweak the blocks for different hair types and colours. 

Even though my application is fast, it needs to sit on the fair for at least 2 hours (some people leave it overnight, I haven't needed to).  To wash it our, I soak it with conditioner to loosen it up, rinse with warm water, wash properly with shampoo, rinse and repeat until all of the grains are out, so that you don't stain your towels or pillows. 

When people first meet me, they think my red hair is natural.  And they keep believing it until someone opens their big mouth (not me!).

The only downside is that I think the rosemary in the henna irritates my scalp, so for 2 or so days afterwards my scalp's itchy.  But 3 days every 3 months I can cope with.  I've not had swollen eyelids or any other major allergic flareups.

Ingredients:Red Henna (Lawsonia inermis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Fresh Organic Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum), Powdered Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryopyllus), *Citral (*Citral), *Eugenol (*Eugenol), *Geraniol (*Geraniol), *Limonene (*Limonene), *Linalool (*Linalool), Perfume (Perfume)   (from the LushAus website).  

I am wondering about trying pure henna so I can eliminate all of the items that aren't really helpful for my allergies but at the moment I have a stash of Henna blocks to use up.

What have your experiences with dying hair using henna?

Priceline 40% off Skincare Haul! (Jan 27-28 2016)

Back from Holidays with a Haul!
The time from Christmas to Australia is very busy for me because of family comittments.

Priceline.  Darling.  You set my heart a-flutter.

Also, I'm on a no-buy from now until April so I actually finish off items from my last haul and general collection.
I had a list this time I went to Priceline, and I kept to it.  I'm quite pleased with myself (smug maybe even).  I've been feeling a bit "meh" with my routine - both full routine and short routine, so this was an ideal time to get a few items to change up my routine (also why I hadn't posted for a while - meh feelings make meh posts).  I'll do a follow up post on my new routine, why its changed and how its changed in a month or so, giving me time to incorporate the new items and how they worked.

There was definitely a theme in my shopping this time.  I started off by looking at items I've thought about buying for a while (like the Ponds items).  I then did some proper research on items that have my three favourite ingredients : hyaluronic acid, ceramides and niacinamide.

I don't know if I'm better at reading ingredient lists OR Western Skincare companies have upped their game with skincare ingredients.  I think it might be a mix of both.

I know, shocking, no Nivea creme.  Because I still have tubs left and my mum gave me hers and I gave her my Restorderm.  I don't go through it so voraciously in summer.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Mains Barrier Repairing cream - This is very soothing and good for irrtated skin.  You can layer it thinly or heavily for a mask.  It feels somewhat siliconey but I like that, it also works well under makeup as a primer in a pinch.

Neutrogena Hydroboost Sheet Masks 5 pack - I've heard some pretty good reviews of these and I do like to try new sheet masks and if I can get them from Priceline on sale, even better.

Neutrogena Hydroboost Night Concentrate - Wanted to try something different for my night routine.  It doesn't feel super heavy and sinks in quickly from the patch testing I've done.

It's blue! The little specks disappear when you rub the cream in and don't irritate.

Nivea Pure and Natural Soothing Day cream - I'd tried and used an item from this range before which I really liked so thought I would grab this (so much hype about their Cellular Range that this seems to have been forgotten).  A nice rich cream, hopefully will keep my skin nice in the AirConditioned classrooms.

Typical thick white cream. Doesn't leave a white cast when rubbed in though.

Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream - I've waxed lyrical about this in a previous post and got some more.

Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Lotion - a lighter version (duh) which I bought in a smaller bottle to try after being impressed with the Intensive Cream.  This has become my daily morning moisturiser.  I much prefer it to Restoraderm.

Pond's Hydra Revital Aqua Collagen Serum - I keep on investigating Western Skincare serums as I feel that the Eastern serums tend to have too many botanicals in that have caused allergic reactions.

Pond's Hydra Revital Aqua Collagen Toner - Again wanting to try more readily accessible toners that I can use in different ways.  This has some different ingredients to other toners I looked at.

Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Toner - I bought the travel size on a whim in the last sale.  And its become my daily toner of choice, so decided to grab the full size.This has allantoin and niacinamides in very high on the ingredients list!  Really rare in drugstore/Priceline toners!

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil - I've nearly used up the rosehip oils I bought last year and there were many rave reviews for this particular one.
  (Side note - SO MANY Rosehip oils were blends of different oils!  Read the ingredients carefully!)

What did you get at the sale?  Did you freeform or have a list?

When Freebies are Besties : Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream

I've been on a bit of a mission to find moisturisers (both face and body) in Australia that contain ceramides. This has been more difficult than anticipated.  Why dammit?

So ceramides?  Ceramides are important in preventing water/moisture loss through the skin as the molecules hold onto water molecules.  Unsurprisingly people who have eczema have fewer ceramides in their skin, so using products that contain ceramides helps to refill these levels and also restore the skins barrier.  Now that my skin has stabilised from the Imuran I want to maintain my skin barrier as best I can so I don't have to go back onto Prednisolone.

I have Restoraderm in my collection, but that's on the pricier end of drugstore moisturisers ($25 for 250ml) and it does not rock my world.  I tend also to only buy this on special.  I know that Ego QV and Cetaphil are always recommended for dry/eczema/sensitive skin but my skin reacts badly to some of the QV creams and I didn't care much for Cetaphil, it was very "nothing".

One of my friends got the Priceline Skincare Goody bag several weeks ago and one of the items in the bag was the Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream.  My friend has the opposite skin type to me, so this was far to greasy for her.  Thus I acquired it.

So far I know that this is available in 100ml at Priceline for $14.  Which is on par for the Restoraderm.  However this has a much shorter list of ingredients and my skin liked this product more, there was something in the Restoraderm that made my skin feel uncomfortable.

Ingredients : Aqua, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butryospermum Parkii Butter, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Squalane, Carbomer, Sodium Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Ceramide 3

I like the fact there are very few "filler" items in this list.  There are several ingredients that are helpful for the skin - squalane is a component of our skin and when used in creams it acts as an emollient and keeps moisture on the skin.  Shea butter is also quite high on the list, shea is very good for dry skin and eczema prone skin. Glycerin helps to draw water further into the skin.

This cream is a medium weight (Nivea creme would be heavy weight, Restoraderm is light weight to me), spreads easily and sinks in very nicely without leaving a tacky feeling.  My skin feels softer after applying this and the fast absorption makes it idea for the morning.  This also layers nicely under Nivea creme for a night time treatment.  I've nearly finished the tube and am scraping all of it out!

I've done a bit of research and have found that nearly all the Physiogel products have ceramides in them so I plan to buy some different creams and see how they perform.

What ingredients have you been on missions for?

Brand Review : Boe Cosmetics

Boe Cosmetics has been in my makeup periphery for a while now, it's exclusive to Big W and generally when I plan to make a makeup purchase its from Priceline points, give me allllll the points) or Chemist Warehouse (50% Off twice a year sales);

But you know, one does wander into Big W, and with a makeup sale on, the lure was strong.
Also there was a person at the makeup counter (need to purchase makeup items through that specific counter at my local BigW).

I'd inspected the Boe items before and decided with $3 off it would be a good day to sample.  They have two range - the older range is $2 per item, therefore only the newer range was $3 off.

So I had uploaded this post earlier today and was unhappy with my photos and it had been bugging me all day, so I've retaken the majority of them.  There's a few with the white background fr clarity - such as the ingredients list.   But I'm happier with these new photos, its amazing what a change in time and location can do to a photo.

From the new range - Boe Professional - I bought foundation, concealer and a lipstick
From the old range - matte lip paint, mascara and eyeshadow pencil.

Foundation - only 3 colours and I bought Fair.  Nice shade for "Fair" - I've found that some brands lightest tone is damn pale, but their second lightest tone is what I would call nearly tanned by my skin colour (looking at you Models Prefer and Savvy).  Also a nice feature of the bottle is that it is an airless pump, so the inner bottom pushes the foundation up and minimises waste.  Nice. Clever feature that more brands should incorporate.  Also this foundation has a tiny ingredients list and one of the main ingredients is shea butter which is great for dry, sensitive or eczema prone skin.  I really really like this foundation and have been reaching for it more than my Rimmel!

Seriously - for a liquid, heck even a powder, foundation this is a tiny list.
(I'm tempted to go and get the BB cream - if the colour shades are similar. And the ingredients play nice)

Concealer - again three tones, but the light is VERY light, might go back and try the medium shade.  Drier than the foundation.  Could be good for matte highlighting.

Even thought it has Mica it doesn't actually seem that shiny...

Quick comparison of the two shades - not blended, then blended.  The foundation looks almost too dark, but when blended out it matches my skin tone on my face/neck nicely.

Due to the high level of shea butter in the foundation this is very easy to blend, it looks shiny in the photo on the right above but it settles down as the shea butter sinks into your skin.  You can layer powder products over this foundation and they don't look clumpy - just allow a few minutes for the foundation to settle.

Lipstick - this is from the "Supershine" range (they also have a Matte, Diamond Finish and Colour Last). I chose the nude colour in "Empress". It spoke to me more than the others which were heavy in the reds and pinks which I have plenty of.  This shade I didn't actually have.  Also - "Empress", enough said.  Longevity isn't fabulous however - this requires maintenance throughout the day.

From the original range:

Matte Lip Paint - so tiny! Which is good because other ones are so big I doubt I'll finish them (like the Velourlips).  Fabulous pigmentation, stays on really well through drinking, but not eating.  Awkward to apply - its a plastic tip that you use to push the colour around - I will probably use a lipbrush from now.  It applies sticky but dries and mattes quite quickly.  And lasts and lasts and lasts - I tried micellar water to remove it, then cream cleanser, the oil cleanser.  This pigments is strong - so go for the oil cleanser (or even baby oil, olive oil) to remove it initially.

5 cm long tube!!

Eyeshadow stick - nicely pigmented, also can be sharped so you're not just getting the tip of colour (like on of the NYX eyeshadow pencils and Face of Australia Kohl's).  Very creamy but sets quickly after you apply so you need to work it immediately  It can be sheered out or applied thickly.

 

Mascara - the brush is a bit strange, chunky spiral bristles.  It applies really nicely though for a $2 product. I'm not 100% sold on this.  I've worn it twice and I think it may be irritating my eyes.  However its also peak hayfever season so I dont know.  I'll probably try it a few more times before I make a final judgement.

I've got swatches on my hand below so you can get a better idea of pigmentation and colour.

On the left side top: Eyeshadow stick #225

                    middle: Velvet matte lips (no name or number)

                    bottom: Super shine lipstick in Empress

On the right side : top half is blended out Foundation in Fair (now looks dewy as it has set)

                            : bottom half is blended out Concealer in Fair

Overall the products are nice for daily wear, or for keeping in your handbag as touch-up items.  The foundation is a win - I could possibly repurchase.  The matte lips is fabulous and will last for ages, I will look at the other colours as well because for $2 its a bargain for the quality.  

What Boe Products have you used and been impressed by?  Or have been let down by?

Shampoo and sneaky allergens

Shampoo was a difficult area for me to find something that worked and I didn't react to.  I used to be a huge fan of Lush Shampoos, in particular Daddy-O (cos its purple and smells of violets).  But the reality is that they have far too many allergens in that I am sensitive to.  When I started the strict RPAH Elimination Allergy Diet I had to change many aspects of my routine that you wouldn't think of.  It took my 4 weeks to figure out that my toothpaste was the cause of the rash around my mouth. I spent a fair chunk of time and money buying hair products and I thought I would talk about the items I keep repurchasing because they are safe for me.

I should say first that I am very lucky with my hair.  Its not excessively dry - I do heat-style it frequently during term time when teaching, which is why I look for "moisture replenishing" products, I can get away without conditioning if I'm not styling.  It takes a few days for me to get greasy.  My hair is dead straight but I dont have issue with static and it grows quickly.  So I dont look for major help with my haircare products (unlike my skin). Therefore I tend to keep things simple. 

I tried the no-shampoo routine with Bicarb and Vinegar (cept I had to use Citric acid because of the amines in vinegar).  Yeah, no. Didn't care for it too much.  I worked through massively greasy bit and my scalp had adjusted, but I didn't find the "wow" factor that many people rave about.  And when it came time to re-dye my hair, I needed a shampoo and conditioner to get the henna out and couldn't be bothered going through all that again.

The shampoo and conditioner I am currently using is Tresemme Moisture Rich Shampoo and Conditioner (light blue label below). 

Why do the new bottle crumple?  Why?!

Shampoo Ingredients : Aqua (Water), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Ammonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Tocopheryl Acetate, HelianthusAnnuus (Sunflower) Extract, Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Leaf Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract, FoeniculumVulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl, Hydrolyzed WheatProtein, Dicaprylyl Ether, Lauryl Alcohol, Quaternium-22 Polyquaternium-39, Polyquaternium-10 Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, ButyleneGlycol, Citric Acid, Hexylene Glycol, Triethanolamine Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone Methylisothiazolinone,Butylphenyl Methyl Propional Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool Parfum (Fragrance)

Conditioner Ingredients : Aqua (Water, Eau), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, AsparticAcid, Quaternium-18, Parfum (Fragrance), Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Isostearamidopropyl Ethyldimonium Ethosulfate, Linalool, HexylCinnamal, Limonene, Panthenol, Geraniol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, PEG-9, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Amyl Cinnamal,Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Methylisothiazolinone, Butylene Glycol,Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract, Propylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Epilobium AngustifoliumFlower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (SweetAlmond) Seed Extract, Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Leaf Extract

The ingredient list isn't short, but there are some good things in there such as the camellia sinesis oil which is well known in AB for its excellent hair conditioning abilities.  Both have some keratin in as well, but I'm not too sure how much of a true benefit they provide at the levels they sit at.  on the plus side the scent is very mild and you cant detect it the next day apart from smelling "clean" so I dont get a headache from it.

Once a week I use the clarifying Tresemme Deep Cleansing Shampoo (green label above).  This helps greatly with product build up, this was an issue I had because I am very fond of styling my hair. 

Ingredients:
Water (Aqua, Eau), Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Ammonium Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum), Disodium EDTA,Dicaprylyl Ether, Lauryl Alcohol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Geraniol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone,Propylene Glycol, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Green 5 (CI 61570), Methylisothiazolinone, Ascorbic Acid,Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Triethanolamine,Hexylene Glycol

I was concerned about the Grapefruit and Lemon extract but they are very low on the list and as I use this once a week I think that reduces the risk of allergen build up.  I have not noticed an increase in hives or such after using this product.
I tend to focus the conditioner on the lower 10 cms of my hair. I tend to use 2 full bottles of shampoo to one bottle of conditioner - no matter the brand.  You can see that the Moisture Shampoo is the new bottle and the conditioner is still the old bottle!

If I don't condition I will use Schwartzkopf Extra Care 6 Miracles Oil Essence.  
Cyclomethicone, Dimethiconol, Caryocar Brasiliense Fruit Oil, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, GardeniaTahitensis Flower Extract, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Oil, Octocrylene, Parfum, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool,Limonene, Coumarin.

This is the second hair oil I have tried. The first one was Aldi's Lacura Argan Oil.  Didn't really like that - was too heavy for normal wear so I tend to use that as a hair treatment.  To be honest - I only bought this was because it was 50% off at Woolworths.  But I do like it and have found it to be light enough to use frequently, I can also use it as longer treatment if I apply more.  Also no irritation from this one.

Schwartzkopf can be a bit hit-and-miss for me.  I cant use their hair-sprays, but I haven't been able to pinpoint what it the trigger for me, so I just avoid all of them.  I tend to use Tresemme hairsprays or VO5 (blue cans - never ever the pink cans) hairsprays.  

What I trialled along the way was Schwartzkopf Extra Care Nutri-Protect with Rose Oil, but this provided too much moisture for my hair and my hair would look sad and lank the very next day, but did not irritate my skin.  I wash my hair every 2 to 3 days, and have a collection of dry shampoo's that I rotate and use when the urge strikes.  Typically I go for Klorane but have also started branching out into Batiste.  One important thing I have to do is check to see what the main powder - Corn Starch (Maize) or Rice (Oryza Sativa).  I avoid any dry shampoo that has corn starch.  Made that mistake once.

Overall I tend to get for Tresemme products because I've not had a bad reaction to any of them.  that for me is the main selling point for buying hair products.
What do you look for when buying hair products?

Updated Face Routine!! (Epic Post)

Somewhat Longer now....But my skin loves it!

Warning - Epic Post.

My basket of face-stuff....

Basket is from Daiso (AUS$2.80) 

- chose this because its plastic and can be washed if there's a spillage

Everything.Just,Fits.

I like having it all together because when I do my routine I can carry it to my lounge room and watch tv/multitask while I wait for products to sink it.

1. Cleanse with Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser Lotion (nearly used up I bought it in mid-March and its been used daily so lasts for ages, but I will be trying other cream cleansers after this finishes)

2. Wipe down with Garnier Micellar Water just to make sure its all gone (this is my only morning cleanser as well - I'm onto my 3rd bottle of this Micellar Water, I haven't tried other brands yet)

3. Tone with Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner (used to use Nivea Visage Natural Cleansing Toner but I think it has too much alcohol for my skin currently)

4. Holika Holika 3 Seconds Starter - Collagen (not sure if it works, but will use it up anyway - half way through.
5. Some form of Hyaluronic Acid - using leftover serum from a mask from the other night, usually Indeed Labs Serum

6. Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule (love yooooou sooo much) Review here

7. A new serum from DermaVeen - Intense Moisturising Facial Serum ($17 from Chemist Warehouse), Contains Sodium Hyaluronate and Colloidial Oatmeal - this is very new I've only used it for a few days. *

8. Eye Cream - Ego QV Face Revitalising Eye Cream OR Mizon Collagen Power Firming Eye Cream (this is great for the dry skin under my eyes and on the bridge of my nose...).  The Mizon is more gel like.  It was the first eye cream that I really got hooked on.

9. Mizon Collagen Power Lifting Emulsion - this is a new player in town for me and so far I'm liking it but I've only used it for a little over two weeks

10. SkinFood Lettuce and Cucumber Emulsion  (review here).  Not sure if I will repurchase as I am planning on trialling new products.

11. Face Shop Rice Ceramide Moisture Emulsion - I now love the old lady perfume scent of it and will repurchase this, looking into other items in the line as well.  Ceramides seem to be hard to source in non AB products unless you want to pay a fortune (Elizabeth Arden).

12 (sometimes) It's Skin Pure Moisture Gel.  I go off and on with this depending on how my skin feels.  Not planning on repurchaisng this item.

13. Nivea Creme in the blue tub, this is my Bae.  I have a serious stockpile of this because I use it for face and body.  With my current flareup this is the only thing my skin on my body can cope with and it drinks it up (#desertskinlifestyle).  I can go through a 200ml tub in two weeks when my skin is very bad.

Sometimes I put a mask after the Snail Ampoule - snails, rice, aloe, hyaluronic acid are my preferred flavours.  If my face is really bad I will Dermeeze (occlusive) over the Nivea - at least an hour before bed so its not sooooo greasy  - Dermeeze is an ointment formulated for severe psoriasis and eczema.  I have some sleeping masks but I tend to just go for the Dermeeze because its automatic.
In the morning I will wait 15mins or so before I apply my sunscreen.  I bought 3 new face sunscreens recently and use 1/4tspn (I measure it into an actual measuring spoon to make sure)

If my skin is horrendous I only use the Micellar Water, Toner, Ampoule and Nivea until it calms down.

I did a LOT of research into ingredients because of my allergies.  You will see no Bee products or BHA's in my list!  Both are linked to Salicylic acid which is an absolute no-go for me.

Yes it's a lot of steps.  This is a full routine and I find it very relaxing to have each step and I love the results I get from these steps.  Before this I never had dewy/bouncy skin and this routine really contributes to keeping my skin hydrated.  I have extraneous variables in terms of my immune system that causes issues with my skin which means I do change up my routine in terms of how many steps I will have.  I have to pay attention to my diet and medications and the changes they cause to my skin.

* I've been researching over the past month products that are readily available in Australia (so for me - Priceline, Target, Chemist Warehouse etc) which are similar to AB products in terms of price-point and ingredients.  Some brands are binging out somewhat comparable items, but prices vary.  Some I'm waiting for sales before I buy them to try.

How has your skincare routine evolved?

Random Hauls - the Sunscreen Edition

I've recently been put on an Immunosuppressant for my eczema/allergies, due to my eczema in particular has been off-the-scales bad this year (since the beginning of March that I can recall the first seriously bad flare-up - I actually cant remember when it was this bad before I did my allergy testing in 2013).

Whilst this is going to help my eczema it can cause other issues such as an increased risk of skin-cancers developing from skin exposure.
I already have a family history of relatives developing skin-cancers, which when compiled with my pale-northern European-complexion and the aggressive Australian sun has made me even more afeared of being burnt (I cant walk across the school yard in summer and get burnt.  That's 5 minutes. 5 damned minutes).

So I took myself off on a mission to Chemist Warehouse (not that it is ever a chore to go to CWH) to acquire some new face-sunscreens (I have plenty of body sunscreens, but needed NEW face sunscreens).  I know I could have done research into AB sunscreens - many have rave reviews, but it will be nice to be have a sunscreen that I can go and buy from Chemist Warehouse easily.
I acquired these three.

I had done some research about the different brands, but I also know that it really will be trial and error, so I went for a brand I am fond of (Nivea)

Nivea Sun Light Feel Daily Face Veil SPF 30 

a brand that has a long following (Olay) 

Olay Complete Defence Moisturising Lotion SPF 30+

and a brand that I used when I was younger (Hamiltons).

Hamilton Sunscreen SPF 50+ Everyday Face Cream

Over the next few weeks I will try all three (I will aim for a week each) and report back on what they were like.  At this stage I have no expectations that one will be better than the other, I will just be basing my judgement on what I like in a sunscreen (not greasy, doesn't sting/irritate, doesn't pill with makeup, stops the sunburn).

What is your go-to sunscreen?