Treatments -Paula's Choice - Skin Perfecting 1% BHA Lotion Exfoliant (2012 formula with cucumber)
Misirlou1982 2/22/2013 10:27:00 AM
Because of my sensitive skin, I have to use very mild skin cleansers. Until last year, my skin didn't ask a lot, just some mild soap in t morning and the evening and it looked great. But since i'm not a twenty something anymore(hehe :)) i noticed my skin needed a little bit more. Because I developed rosacea, my skin became a lot more oilier, and i got more blackheads and pimples. So that's why i started searching for a product that was a bit stronger, to get rid of all the 'dirt', but still mild enough so it wouldn't aggravate my rosacea. So I first ordered a few samples of the BHA 1% lotion. I was a bit afraid to try it at first, but it didn't sting or cause any irritation. So now i've been using it for a few monts now and I must say my skin looks much better now. I have less blackheads and when I do get a pimple it's cured much faster. I also don't have those dry patches i mostly develop in winter time anymore. First I used it every 2-3 days, and now I use it every day in the evening. You can use it twice a day if necessary, but I think this will be a bit too much for my sensitive skin. I've also noticed that after i've cleansed my face, it can be a little bit red, but when I put this on it seems to calm down the redness. You also need a tiny bit of this, and it sinks in very fast. Like a lot of people, I don't like the smell, but it's vanished after a few minutes, so that's not a big issue for me. So yes, I will keep buying this product :)
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Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Uncover Skincare Moisturizer
Misirlou1982 2/22/2013 10:00:00 AM
I'v been using the moisturizer and sunscreen for a few months now and I'm pretty sure I will stick with these :) Because I have an oily skin I only use the sunscreen in the daytime (because combined with the moisturizer it will be too greasy). At first I used the sunscreen with SPF 30, but I found it hard to blend, left me with a white cast on my face and made my face too shiny. So I guess this is great for people with dry skin. Now i received a sample of the sunscreen with SPF 15 and this is super! No white cast and still a little bit greasy (but that's typical for sunscreens), but when i use my Jane Iredale pure pressed base on top, my face is all matte :) The filters used in this sunscreen are Tinosorb S and M, rather new sun filters, but very safe, photo stable and with a minimum risk of skin irritation. And indeed, it didn't irritated my rosacea skin at all! :) The moisturizer I moistly use at night or when i'm going out, in the evening as a (great!) make-up base for my jane iredale purepressed base. I have the one for normal to oily skin, but I found it leaves my skin still a bit too shiny to be used alone: but just like the sunscreen, put a little bit of powder on top of it and it looks great! :) Both products also, contain some great anti-oxidants which help to calm down, feed and restore the skin. And yes, my skin does look much healthier now :) The products aren't very cheap ( the moisturizer costs 49,95 euro and the sunscreen 35,95 euro), but they're worth every penny. I look at these skin products as a great investment, especially because of my very sensitive skin, so I'm not saving on this. You can only buy this online (http://www.uncover-skincare.nl), but they deliver very fast and if you want to give it a try at first: they sent free samples, which is also great. Update: I had to stop using the sunscreen, because it breaks me out :( I've noticed that when I use this a few days in a row, I always get bumps, mostly on my forehead. Too bad, because i know it's important to use sunscreen, but I guess it's just too heavy for my combination skin. Maybe people with drier and less acne-prone skin will have no problems with it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Estee Lauder - Double Wear Light SPF10
Misirlou1982 2/22/2013 8:48:00 AM
I didn't hate this foundation, but it just isn't ideal for my skin type. It didn't irritate my skin, which made me happy.But I found the finish a bit too matte, which was great for my oily skin...but not so for my large pores. This foundation really accentuated them, which wasn't very attractive :( Maybe I just put on too much, maybe it was the combination with the powder... I don't know.... It just didn't look pretty on my face... And it also didn't control my oil, because after a few hours my face looked all shiny again. I bought tis in the lightest shade, which was still a tiny bit too dark for my NC20 skin, and it had a slight hint of pink in it (so not a super match for my yellow based skin tone) But... I won't throw it away yet, because I do love the fact that (although it is hard to remove) it didn't clog my pores or irritated my skin, which is a big plus. Just have to experiment a little bit more with a primer, other way of apllicitations etc... But not right now, because I have my rosacea (almost/sort of) under control , so i just love to use a minimum of make-up and skincare products: rozex cream, sunscreen, mascara, Jane Iredale purepressed base and blush. I don't like the idea of putting to much products on my face, so if I don't need to hide/camouflage a lot of spots I go for a natural look :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Jane Iredale - Pure Pressed Base
Misirlou1982 2/21/2013 1:04:00 PM
Although this isn't very cheap, it's more than worth the price. I've been using this for months now and I love it. I have a sensitive skin and this doesn't irritate at all. Right now I'm using it in the color Bisque, which is neutral, but a little bit too pale for my NC 20- skin . So now I've ordered Warm silk, and hope this will suit me more (I'll write an update soon). On lazy days when I don't have time to go for a full make-up look, i apply it with my mac 187 brush. This will give me light coverage, just enough to even out my skin tone and make it a little bit more matte after moisturizing. When I want more coverage I use my Sigma Flat Kabuki F80, but I always have to be careful that I don't apply to much because it may look to chalky. This way it will give medium coverage (you can still see some hard acne scars and red rosacea spots coming through). When I want to cover those spots I use a cotton swab, dip it in the powder and apply it on the spot. I can almost hide the spots that way, but I must also do this very carefully, because otherwise it' doesn't look naturally anymore (=you can obviously see in which places I wanted to "hide" a spot :)). I don't think this an ideal foundation for people with (very)dry skin. I have an oily T-zone with some dry spots and although I moisturize my skin well before applying it, it looks powdery on those dry spots if I go for a medium coverage and also on my nose it sometimes does look a bit chalky (so yes: less is more on drier spots). Does it last all day? On my oily skin= no, but then again : which make-up will? I'll still look better with this powder on, then without. Yes, after a day at work, my make-up doesn't look as fresh as in the morning and my pores are more visible, but I guess I just have to live with that... Or find a great primer that doesn't irritate my rosacea-skin (alle tips are welcome :)).
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sunscreen -Clinique - Super City Block SPF 25
Misirlou1982 1/18/2013 6:46:00 AM
In my search for "the holy mineral sunscreen" I'm always looking for one that a/doesn't irritate my sensitive skin, b/doesn't make me look like a ghost and C/isn't sticky and greasy. Because of the good rates on beautypedia I decided to give this one a try.So what do I think about it? First of all there's the color... A slightly tinted sunscreen: great idea, the only problem is that they only offer like 1 shade and I can imagine that this is the reason why a lot of people don't like....Like me... I'm a NC20 and I find this sunscreen slightly to dark for me. I do like that it evens out my skin tone, but it's just to yellow/orangy for me. I have also noiticed that it tends to oxidize during the day :( Second: this is not the ideal sunscreen for you if you have oily skin. I can use this when it's getting colder and my skin is getting slightly drier, but in summertime my skin is way to oily for this one. Not very attractive. Tried to put some powder on top of it, but omg, that was...not...a...good...idea. So i also must conclude that: This is also not great as a primer/makeup base for when u like to use powder foundation. It's just to sticky: you can't spread your powder foundation evenly, so it looks all blotchy . Haven't tried it with a liquid foundation though,so I can't say how it will perform with that type. But for my combination skin, I'm afraid it will be a greasy mess. Last but not least: did it irritate my skin? Well, it didn't itch of sting, or aggravate my rosacea, so that was good. The only thing i've noticed is that every time use this it give's me pimples. Even after just one day. It just clogs my pores. I've tried this a few times, with some weeks in between, just to be sure it wasn't something else.. But everytime, when I clean my face in the evening, there they are: some extra bumps :( So that's the main reason that it is a no no for me. So to conclude: is it a bad sunscreen? Well, if you have a normal to slightly dry skin, if you aren't acne-prone and not very or extreme pale and you have a perfect skin that doesn't need a lot of coverage, but just some kind of tinted moisturizer with SPF...Then I would give this one a try. If you're an NC15 and/or have an oily, acne prone, skin...Leave it!
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Olay - Total Effects-Fragrance Free
Misirlou1982 12/12/2012 5:34:00 AM
I've been using this moisturizer for a few weeks now and I really love it. I have oily combination AND sensitive (rosacea) skin.This is the first moisturizer i've tried that doesn't make my skin greasy. It sinks into my skin immediately and it evens out my skin tone. It doesn't sting, or make my rosacea flare up. I think the price is really reasonable. I bought this in the Netherlands (because in Belgium they don't sell the fragrance free version) and it was +- 20 euro. I've bought more expensive moisturizers in the past, that didn't perform as well as this one. Don't know how it will perform in summer time, because my skin is less oily in the winter. But then again, in summer time i will have to use a sunscreen (next to it)or moisturizer with spf. Should be wearing spf also in winter time, I know. But I haven't found one that i feel 100%comfortable with. The ones that contain Titanium and Zinc moistly are to heavy and make me look like a disco ball or even paler then I already am. So now i moistly use it with Jane Iredale Pure pressed base because it also contains spf 20.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No