Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Stopping acne picking
rileannas 3/22/2012 9:01:00 PM
As fans of skincare and cosmetics, we're always looking for a miracle product that will give us healthy and beautiful skin. I think I have found it. It costs $0, lasts forever, and is the most effective product I've ever tried: leaving my skin alone, rather than picking every spot in sight. We think this should be easy to stop, but it's not. Skin picking is truly an addiction. I have heard anecdotes from people who both smoke and pick, and say that quitting smoking was far easier than quitting picking. But just as quitting smoking is worth the trouble, quitting picking is a worthy endeavour. I have not completely quit, but I am getting better. I have kept a journal for about a month, where every day I write a few sentences about how much or little I picked, what I think is triggering my picking, and how my skin is responding. I give myself a score of 1 (near-zero picking), 2 (some picking but controlled), and 3 (unmitigated picking). After 27 days, I have twelve 1s, twelve 2s, and three 3s. The results of this informal data are clear: When I am stressed out, I pick at my skin. It starts with emptying just one clogged pore, but as I am leaning down close to the mirror, my gaze moves by one millimetre and finds another imperfection to "fix". Before long, my back gets tired, and I put my elbows down on the counter, my face an inch from the mirror, as I continue to pick. Once I get this far, it usually goes on for at least half an hour. Then I finally snap out of it, and notice how red and swollen and sore my face is, and feel guilty and unclean and regretful. It takes about a week for my skin to recover from one of these mirror sessions. I pay for the half hour of shallow satisfaction with days of worsened acne. When I manage to go a few days without picking - my current record is 4 days in a row - I quickly notice a dramatic improvement. My skin does a great job of healing itself. I just have to let it, and stop trying to step in and "help". There's also a cycle of positive reinforcement: the more I see the beneficial results of not picking, the more motivated I am to continue my efforts. The only downside, and I'm not even sure I would call it that, is that I need to exfoliate more because I'm not picking off any dry skin that's on my face. I am nearing the end of my teen years, and realize that I never actually had much natural acne - my skin would have been lovely if I had just left it alone. But from the age of 13 onwards, I couldn't resist trying to help my skin get all the bad stuff out, and causing more damage in the process. Even when I recognized this fact, I couldn't stop. I have tried dozens of strategies to stop this problem, for about two years now - everything from keeping a counter in my pocket that I increment each time I pick, to going to the bathroom with the lights off, to piling up towels and shampoo bottles on the counter so I physically can't lean close to the mirror. But keeping a journal with a three-point score seems to work best for me. I will continue this. Skin picking is truly an addiction, and I know I am not the only person with this problem, but we don't talk about it enough. So, ladies, please tell your stories below, and we can support each other and give each other ideas and strategies. Again, this is the best acne treatment I have ever tried. It's not easy, but it's worth the effort a hundred times over.
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -LUSH - Vanishing Cream
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:42:00 PM
I think this moisturizer would work really nicely on someone with oilier skin than me. It gives a lovely matte finish to my skin, and a little goes a long way. However, I feel that it's not quite strong enough, and leaves my skin feeling too dry, even if I apply extra. I'll use this tub up, but probably won't repurchase. Cosmetic Lad seems to be a better formulation for me.
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Moisturizers -LUSH - Cosmetic Lad
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:40:00 PM
I like this moisturizer. It seems to be the right strength for my combination skin, and isn't overly expensive. Will repurchase.
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Toners -LUSH - Breath of Fresh Air
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:39:00 PM
This is a very reliable toner. Nothing amazing, but toner is not intended to be a miracle product! The ingredients (sea salt, aloe) are very nice, and it does help to balance moisture on my face. I spray it on my face and then rub on moisturizer right away. This allows me to use a lot less of the moisturizer, which tends to be the pricier product.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -LUSH - Herbalism
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:36:00 PM
I really like this cleanser. I have acne-prone skin but also somewhat dry skin, and standard drugstore treatments for the first condition usually exacerbate the second condition, which can make the acne even worse. This is the first cleanser for acne-prone skin that doesn't make my face feel stripped of all moisture. After just a few days of using it, my skin had improved significantly. It might seem expensive ($10-15 a tub) but it lasts a long time, since you only need a tiny bit. There is a bit of a learning curve to using it, and it can be messy, but it's also fun to use. The smell isn't great but it doesn't really bother me. If you're not sure about this product, ask for a sample - Lush is really good about that.
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Tools -Unlisted Brand - Seacret - nail buffer
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:33:00 PM
Revlon makes a similar product that works just as well, lasts longer, only costs $6 CAD (probably cheaper in the US), and doesn't involve pushy salespeople that dupe you into overpriced products by making you think you're getting a deal. I do not recommend anything made by Seacret.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Revlon - Crazy Shine nail buffer
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:31:00 PM
I love this product. It is quick to use, and gives results that look as good as clear nail polish but don't smell weird or chip. It lasts longer than the 3 days the package says, too - about a week on my fingernails and 2 weeks on my toenails. My only complaint is that the block disintegrates quickly - about a month after I bought it, I'm starting to see signs of wear along the sides. For $6, though, it's not a big deal to replace it every few months.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Marcelle - Wet & Dry Eyeshadow
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:28:00 PM
I wasn't a huge fan of this eyeshadow. The colours are more intense than most drugstore brands, but it creases like crazy, even when I prime and powder my eyelids first. Will not repurchase.
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Blush -The Body Shop - Natures Minerals Cheek Colour
rileannas 3/22/2012 8:21:00 PM
I got this blush on sale because they seem to be phasing out the Nature's Minerals line, and I'm very happy I went for it. I have never been a big fan of blush, particularly when it's too garish and obvious, but I am a fan of this product. It is very buildable but never stops looking natural. It's also a little bit luminescent, which looks lovely. The packaging is great, too.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Length
rileannas 3/22/2012 5:43:00 PM
I used this for less than a week then got rid of it and switched to the regular Lash Blast, which is more lengthening and actually holds a curl. This mascara is not worth your money! It is subtle to the point of being invisible, and made my lashes droop within an hour after curling them.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast
rileannas 3/22/2012 5:40:00 PM
I am very happy with this mascara. I usually prefer lengthening to volumizing, so I was a bit skeptical when I saw that the full name was "lash blast volume", but many of the reviews I read said that it had very good lengthening effects. I decided to go for it, and am glad I did! I love the rubber CG mascara wands - they have them in all their products now - since they give such a clean and clump-free look. This one is very chunky, as others have said, but I'm getting used to it. It's very difficult to keep my eyelids clean when I apply this mascara - specks of black always end up *behind* my eyelashes even if I don't feel the wand touch my skin - so I think I will have to try Michelle Phan's business card trick. Once it's applied, though, the effect is awesome. Very dramatic while still looking natural and clean. It lasts really well throughout the day, and doesn't smudge below my eyelids like Lash Exact tended to. The tradeoff is that it's a little harder to get off - it doesn't totally wash off on its own on in the shower like I'm used to - but that's not a deal breaker. Overall, great buy, and I will be purchasing again.
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Concealers -The Body Shop - Flawless Skin Protecting Concealer
rileannas 7/2/2010 2:38:00 PM
I am very happy with this concealer. It's not good for under-eye coverage (all dry and chalky-looking) but that wasn't what I wanted it for anyway. For covering blemishes and post-blemish marks, it can't be beat. I have always preferred stick concealer for blemishes, due to its great coverage, but the drugstore brands are usually greasy-feeling, and with a very strange pink or orange tone that is noticeable on my face. The shade of this concealer is much better, and blends into my skin flawlessly. It is worth noting that application of this concealer needs to be different than you would use for a drugstore stick concealer. Usually, with CoverGirl or Maybelline sticks, you can just slather it on and rub it in with your fingers. If you do that with this concealer, it will look really bad - I think that is the problem that the previous review had. A little goes a very long way, so a tiny stroke of the concealer on your face is all you need. Don't blend it in with your fingers - use a little brush, like Quo's concealer brush, it works great. Once you get used to the application technique, it is fantastic. Will definitely buy again! My only regrets is that it isn't a multipurpose concealer - good for both undereyes and blemishes - but I'm not sure that those exist :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -St. Ives - Clear Pore Cleanser [DISCONTINUED]
rileannas 7/2/2010 2:32:00 PM
This is a lovely, reliable cleanser for acne-prone skin. No extra bells and whistles, and nothing amazing, but you can rely on it. Non-irritating, smells nice, inexpensive, and effective. Will repurchase as long as I can find it again!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Quo - Concealer Brush
rileannas 4/24/2010 6:15:00 PM
This is a fantastic concealer brush. I use mineral makeup and had tried using a larger concealer brush (EcoTools) as well as little art brushes to cover my blemishes with it, but it didn't work so well. Then I bought this one and it was great. Sturdy but soft, fine-tipped and easy to work with, covers and blends perfectly. Definitely worth it! Update: Unfortunately this brush is poorly constructed - the metal part is starting to get loose and jiggle around.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Telescopic: Clean Definition
rileannas 4/24/2010 6:13:00 PM
At first, I hated this mascara. It made my lashes stick together into triangles and it shedded little bits of dried mascara everywhere. But then I tried it with a different brush - CoverGirl LashExact - and it was absolutely perfect. I like long, separated, clump-free lashes, and LashExact was good on the last two but not on the first. Telescopic Clean Definition was good on the first but not on the last two. So I tried the LashExact brush in the tube of Telescopic, and it was fantastic. Incredibly long and curly, perfectly clean and defined, separated and clump-free, no shedding any more. Buy this one just for the formula, and LashExact just for the brush!
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