I work at a café, which kind of means a lot of first impressions with a lot of no-nonsense people who just want their coffee. So, it means a lot when someone stops to actually talk to you, let alone compliment you. BUT THEY DID. I had like 3 people who complimented me on my skin in one shift. And I blame it on these products.
Moisturizer
The first thing I need to talk about is my moisturizer. After the whole face rash incident my skin was so dry and just messed up, my doctor was like... Maybe you should use something a little stronger. So he actually pretty much prescribed me the highest level of unscented Vaseline Intensive Care. It's literally the most moisturizing thing ever. It does the same thing that baby oil did back when I used it every night. If it wasn't so messy, I would still use it. (Basically after you shower, while you're still wet,you rub baby oil or coconut oil into your skin and then towel off the excess.) It makes your skin so soft for so long it's the best. That's what Vaseline intensive care does for me now haha.
Makeup
The next, and perhaps the biggest improvement to my skin is the Bare Minerals Original Foundation. I mean you can do everything for your skin, but even if its perfectly healthy, it won't be perfect everyday. This foundation is perfect for me, before this I'd been using the Neutrogena mineral foundation, there really is a difference.
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| Before |
The Bare Minerals Foundation is super fine and blends really well into my skin. So many people say that they can't really tell that I have makeup on my skin which is pretty crazy. Using a mineral foundation is also healthier for you're skin because it has SPF, and you aren't putting super heavy, unnatural product on your skin, which means you get great coverage for breakouts while also letting your skin breathe and heal.
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| After |
Honestly, before you get all "Mia, your skin's so nice you don't even need makeup," it may be true that I probably don't need makeup all the time. But I also think that my tablet's selfie skin-smoothing tech is a bit too good here. My skin is definitely not perfect. In the picture you can kind of tell a little bit on the left (your right) side of my face with a few bumps and discolorations. I wish I had better pictures to show you the real difference but I just don't have the tools yet. But hopefully soon!
This isn't strictly "skincare" it's actually from my February Birchbox post but I had to talk about it again because it makes me so happy. This lip balm is so good for so many reasons. First of all, it's vegan, paraben-free, gluten-free, and cruelty-free. I already told you about how it changes color to the pH of your body, to an actually pretty noticeable color difference. I love the color it gives me and it stays pretty surprisingly long, I almost wonder if it's also supposed to be a stain.
Masks
Ok, last one. So this product was also part of my Birchbox. It's the Hey Honey! Take It Off! Mask. It's a peeling mask that I wasn't too keen about because, I'm kind of an instant gratification girl and I didn't understand the effects of this mask much as the bubble clay mask. But, someone asked me about it so I decided to do some research and try again. The appeal (could have made a pun but I have a rule of not making puns past midnight... and it's past midnight when I'm writing this) of the product is in the honey, honey is a natural humectant, emollient, and exfoliant. In fact, my friend uses raw manuka Honey as a cleanser everynight. The mask also contains Jojoba oil, but more importantly Alpha Hydroxy Acids, which are part of the peeling process.
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Polyvinyl Alcohol, Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Honey Extract, Glycerin, Propanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil,
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Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Fragrance, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA.
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Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Fragrance, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA.
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| What an embarrassing face of concentration... |
The mask is very cooling on the skin and makes you feel really refreshed as the mask dries and tightens on your face. They say to use a light moisturizer beforehand 1) because the acids can be really drying on your skin and 2) because it softens your skin cells to be peeled off more easily? That second one is an educated guess but I think it makes sense.
I think one of the main reasons I had my doubts about the mask is because, while the mask does have its own fragrance that is actually quite nice. Once you actually start applying the mask to your face it just smells and feels like elmers glue. Which is kind of fun but also kind of not what you really want to think about with a mask. It also peels off like elmers glue which is just as satisfying as it used to be when I used to play with glue in elementary school.
Bottom line, I don't see any immediately noticeable results but I think it's just one of those products that need a little time to show its benefits.
Ok, Yayyyy! Congratulations, if you're reading this you made it to the end. This post was really long winded, I know I usually post like lots of pictures and not so many words but there's a lot to say about skincare and I didn't really want to divdie the post up again because I took the pictures of the products together. Okok, you've read enough, go get yourself a cookie or sommething.
If you have any products you'd like me to review just let me know in the comments or contact me through my email which should be in my blogger profile, as well as the "About Us" Tab!
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