Sheet Mask : BeautyMate Hyaluronic Acid Intensive Moisturizing Mask

I do love me some Hyaluronic acid.

This is a mask from a Sasa haul I did last year - around June/July.  As part of my effort to use up more masks of my stash (cough: 120ish : no idea how that actually happened : cough) I'm alternating so I do two new masks for everyone old mask (so my last old mask was the 3W Clinic Collagen - which I still really like).  Also using a new mask on a Saturday night allows me time on Sunday to recover.  Normally I would have done this on Friday night but I was far to exhausted to do so (Conference that required 2 hours of Public Transport BOTH ways).

Back to the mask.

Heaps of ingredients.

Key ingredients
White Horehound - marrubium vulgare - one of the higher botanical ingredients.  This helps with skin repair and inflammation.
Hyaluronic acid - draws water into the skin.
Aloe - moisture and skin repair
Ginkgo bilbo - contains antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal compounds that help reduce redness and inflammation.  It has also been shown to help with skin firmness (wrinkles, sagging etc)
Arbutin - skin brightener - through a series of chemical processes helps to reduce melanin production in the skin.

This mask comes with a plastic backing and the fibre itself is very thin, but easy to take apart and apply.  As I still cant smell much so I have no idea if this has a fragrance.  Which makes sheet-masking a different experience if you're not being assulted by fragrance.  The mask is cut smaller than most of the other masks I have tried.  The eyeholes are a little too close together.  The mouth is a slit, and I thought it would be uncomfortable but it seems to make the mask fit better due to more tension around that area, also there are no slits around the edges for fit.  However I found it didn't move around and held onto the skin firmly despite its thinness.

3W Collagen on top, BeautyMate Hyaluronic bottom.  3W is one of the larger masks I have used.

This is supposed to hydrate and brighten your skin (as given by the ingredients like arbutin and white horehound).  Face looked brighter after I took it off and still looked really clear and bright the next day.  There was no visible irritation and no stinging during wear, there was a bit of tingling at the start.  I had this mask on for 20mins but easily could have left it for longer.

I dont know which ingredient was the star for me - seeing how far down the Hyaluronic acid is, I dont know if I would call it a straight up "hyaluronic acid" mask.  Definitely moisturising and brightening.

I've very glad I got this in a 5 pack, as I will definitely use up the rest of them.  maybe even repurchase if the results are consistent after I use the other four.  This for me, would be a good mask to use the night before an event or such.

Do you prefer the reviews when I go and do research on the ingredients, or a short and sweet "hey this made my skin bouncy/this made my skin burst into flames'?

Sheet Mask review - The Face Shop Kelp Real Nature Mask

Since going back to work I have been too tired to do sheet masks at night, which is sad.  I really should make more of an effort because I've hardly made a dent in my stash and my aim was to have a third of them gone by now.

But this morning - Saturday morning, french toast, coffee, I decided to do a sheet mask.  Dammit.  I usually prep my skin for a mask by cleanse, tone, eye cream, serum (Mizon Snail bae right now - we're back together), then mask.  After the mask has done its "thang" I follow up with however many moisturisers my skin wants (today it was two).

Rummaging through my box I decided to use the Face Shop Kelp Real Nature (TFSKRN) mask.  I've had this for a while when I did my massive sheet mask hauling way back last year.

Kelp - nori- sushi - I like sushi - I'll like this mask was essentially my initial thought process when buying these - not the best logic.  But I love the Aloe and Rice masks and there are some of my favourites.

Surprisingly the mask was not green. I fully expected a green tinted mask (a little bit sad it wasn't green I admit).  The mask was the usual heavy cotton fibre that my skin really likes because it does not irritate it.  This mask did not feel as heavily soaked as the Rice and Aloe ones usually are, but still quite generous, maybe 10ml still left in sachet that I will use a serum tonight, and soak some eye patches in it.

Ingredients - my skin likes the "base" forumla of the Face Shop Real Nature masks.

The kelp is Laminaria Japonica, there's also mung bean in there - this has vitamins and antioxidants that the skin is fond of for soothing and healing properties.  The Betula Playphylla Japonica is Asian White Birch which has even more anti-inflammatory properties to sooth red and sore skin.

Back to the Kelp - it has humectants and hydrocolloids which help to maintain moisture in the skin and reduce water evaoporating from the epidermis (proper term is transepidermal water loss - TEWL).  It traps water in the skin.  This is a great things for my poor parched skin.  Also as the kelp is third ingredient in the list this means there is quite a bit in there and it packs a punch.

I quite liked this mask, it soothed and plumped up my skin a bit.  My skin's a bit drier than it has been while on holidays because work has a more intense AC system and I have to bump up my skin routine (especially around my eyes).  I followed up with a medium routine and my skin feels nice and bouncy (this is about 1.5hrs after taking off the mask).  Also ZERO irritations, not tingly feeling or stinging when I first put it on.  I left this on for 30mins - I tend to find that this line of masks can be left on longer due to the generous amount of essence.  The mask was not drying out yet, but I was ready to move on. 

I will definitely use up the others I have of this mask and this may go on my "repurchase" list for my next RRS haul.

What Kelp masks have pleased you?  What to avoid!?

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?

Sheet Mask Review : The Face Shop Real Nature Red Ginseng

Its been a while since I've done a mask post, to be honest I haven't used a mask in ages because my nose has been blocked and masks just felt too smothering.  

This mask is from a mid-year haul I did from RoseRoseShop.  I have had samples of Red Ginseng creams that I really liked, however the creams were quite expensive (I think around $58 for 30ml) so I thought I would try these from The Face Shop - I generally like their masks and haven't had any allergic reactions or major irritations from them so far.

This mask came in a 3 pack and worked out to AUS$3.74 - so $1.25 a mask.  Which even with shipping is a third of what you might pay for a single Face Shop mask in some shops here in Australia.

I didn't have a plan for which mask to wear - it was a spur of the moment idea and thought I might as well try something I haven't before whilst my skin is in a happy place.  The mask is means to be a hydrating mask so better for normal to dry skin.

Red ginseng itself has compounds in it (ginsenosides) that are anti-inflammatory and have some anti-oxidants in them.  This makes red ginseng useful for dermatitis, dry, inflamed skin.  Wooo! Because of these ginsenosides the collagen levels in skin are also boosted, which makes the skin have more moisture and look smoother.

The mask itself is the usual heavy cotton but this time instead of being plain old white, it was a pale rusty colour.  My understanding is that this is from the red ginseng and the cocoa present.  I cant tell you if there was any smell to this because I have lost 95% of my sense of smell from Imuran.

The mask in the packet did not come out sopping wet like the Aloe and Rice masks do, however there was still a good 10ml of essence in the bottom of the packet after I took the mask out.  I spread the rest of the essence on my arms and legs and they seem to have benefited from it.

The mask was nice and easy to wear and did not tear when I unfolded it.  It also did not make my face tingle, sting, itch or burn during wearing - I had patch tested it earlier and that seemed fine but I have had masks that are ok in patch tests and then with the mask itself, irritate my skin.  Around the 20min mark it started to feel dried out and I took it off.  Its summer over here and I had the Air Con blasting so that might be a reason why it didn't last 30mins like the Aloe and Rice masks tend to do.

The next morning my skin was not in any way inflamed or such, in fact it looked the opposite, clear and smooth.  Not dewy or brightened - I didn't expect that because that was not the purpose of the mask.  However when I cleaned my face with micellar water I noticed the cotton pad came away with some of the same colour as the essence!  Not overly disturbing, and nice to know that the colour didn't sink into my skin.

I have two left of these and there not a mask that has "wowed" me, so I dont have it on my list to repurchase.  But I do plan on looking for more Red Ginseng masks to try - what ones would you recommend? 

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?

Reddit made me do it. Covergirl ClumpCrusher Mascara

I value reviews from other people and while on the AustralianMakeup reddit forum I kept on seeing positive reviews of ClumpCrusher from Covergir.

Then Woolworths had 50% off Covergirl.  Seriously the AusMakeup forum is damn good at finding and announcing sales.  Good times to be had!  Many dollars to be spent!

Reader.  I bought the mascara.

Now you ask why is that a big deal?
Well I've never really liked Covergirl after some incidents (allergic reactions) with their foundations many years ago and they just seemed to be a "no-go-zone".  This is the ONLY Covergirl product I own.

But this mascara is awesome.  The brush is the rubber bristle type that I favour and this stuff layers really well.  Its not an overly wet formula and dries quickly so that the layers don't clump (der).

I reach for this most often now and it can be a light day time look or a heavier night look depending on the layers.

The photo below shows naked lashes (right) and double coat of the ClumpCrusher (how I normally wear it).  This is a really light-weight mascara and my lashes don't feel heavy or sink down from multiple layers.  Nor do I feel my lashes underneath my eyebrows - if you've never experienced it, it is a seriously weird sensation.

It also helps blend my real lashes and false lashes when I wear them (another phase I'm going through - Daiso lashes.  Yes.  Many many Daiso lashes have been bought).

I was worried that I was allergic to it but realised that it was my sunscreen when it got into my eyes (science experiment - wear mascara on a day when you don't wear sunscreen.  See if eyes get itchy.  Such Science. Many variable. Wow.).  Results in - not allergic to it, which is a bonus.
Would I repurchase?  Yep. But only on sale.  I've yet to find a mascara that I'm willing to spend more than $10 on.  I've yet to find a mascara that beats my all time favourite from Essence.