I'm not Single....

Amazing Murad!

A couple of days ago I went to visit my sister, and she complained about a rash and spots. She almost never get blemishes and has a pretty normal to dry skin.
I asked her if she had been eating something different than normal, or been adding new products to her skincare routine. And she did!
With a surscription to a magasine she got 3 free Murad products of the line Vitalic. The line is made for combination skin and should even out skin tone, blemishes and oiliness in the T-zone.
Of course it broke her out because she has the opposite skin type!! She didn't know this, but liked the products for their smell and texture.

The regiment consist of a foam cleanser, a pore refinening gel and a moisturizer with SPF 15. Furthermore you can get an exfoliating mask. 

I told her to stop using it immediately and to switch to a moisturizer from Vichy. She did and her skin is on its way back to normal.
But I thought, the Murad products shouldn't go to waste, so I started using them, and I have, honest to God, never try a product with that level of efficiency! Within 3 days of using it, I could see a significant change in my skin. The texture and color of the skin is more even and the amount of blemishes is reduced by a mile!
I'm super suprised about the speed of which I could see a change, and this in the couple of days leading up to my period - a critical phase!
The last couple of days I have only worn my Garnier BB cream, because foundation wasn't really needed!
I've been using it about a week now, and of course I will continue to! Murad is a pretty expensive brand, but if it fixes my skins problems, it is totally worth the money!

Murad also carries a range called Blemish Control, which I want to try out. If you have any experiences with this brand, please comment!

 


So, what have we learned from this? Don't just use products because they are free! Check the ingredients and what skin type it was made for. If not, you might end up with irritated skin and break outs, and no one want that.

Love, Christine

Sale on Missguided!

I just received a mail from Missguided, kindly telling me that they have a sale!
Unfortunately I'm fresh out of money to spend on cloths, so I won't be able to buy any of their amazing dresses :(

But maybe you are!

http://www.missguided.co.uk/

Take a look at it! I'm in love with their dresses and the overall feminine style-range they carry, and I'll soon make an order.

Here are some items I really like. There are so many more though!

Love, Christine

Lately I've been talking a lot about skin types, mine being oily, and what products could be used for this. 

This talk about skin types may be confusing for some, and you may not know what skin type you have. That is what this blog post is about. I want to clarify the skin types, and hopefully you will find yours amongst them. But remember. You can have a mixture of several of these depending on the time of year, and time of month. ;)

Womens skin can change a lot according to where they are in their menstrual cycle because of the hormonal changes in the body. The hormones doesn't only effect your mood, but also your skin, craving for specific foods and you can feel tired and bloated. 

Before we can take a look at the skin types, we need to know something basic about skin. First of all the skin consists of 7 layers and the tops layers make sure that the skin is moisturized and keeps a thin layer of fat. This is what a sebaceous gland is for. It is placed in every one of our pores and is where the fine hairs appears. It is the function of the sebaceous glands that causes the different skin types. Lazy glands = dry skin. Over-productive glands = oily skin. 

There are 4 overall types of skin: 

1. Dry skin

2. Combination/Normal skin

3. Oily skin

4. Sensitive skin

Dry skin

Dry skin is characterized by tight, flaky and somethings patchy skin with some redness. This happens because the skin has very small pores and the sebaceous glands don't manage to produce enough oil to lubricate the skin and it dries out. 

With age the skin gets dryer, and for people with already dry skin, this will cause more wrinkles than with other skin types. This is because the skin has difficulties moisturizing itself and tightens. 

Your living environment/temperature and genes play a big role in what type of skin you have, but there are some other things that can cause dry skin.

Products with alcohol, air-condition, low humidity - especially during autumn/winter, overuse of soap, too hot/long/frequent showers, acne treatment that strips the skin for its natural grease. 

For dry skin you need to help the skin moisturizing by using creams for this. For example: 

Combination/Normal skin:

This is probably the most common skin type. The pores are very medium sized and manages to hydrate the skin well by itself. Some people have combination skin, which means that they can have periods with very dry skin on their cheeks and oily skin in the T-zone. Forehead, nose and chin. 

Because the skin is combined that way, it is difficult to take care of it. For most people it works well to use products made for combination skin or to use products for dry skin on the cheeks and products for oily skin on the T-zone. 

Many brands make excellent moisturizers for combination skin, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to find something suitable:

Oily Skin:

This is the skin type I have. And I HATE it!!! Oily skin has an overproduction of the lubricant that keeps the skin healthy. This overproduction can lead to blemishes/acne and overall a greasy looking skin. 

HOWEVER! There is an upside to this! Because your skin produces a lot of moisture itself, your skin will keep up a young appearance much longer! Your skin won't age as fast as those who have dry skin. YAY!

Sadly, this is not a good comfort when your skin keeps breaking out and gets shinny after 5 min of applying your make-up. Luckily the cosmetic companies are getting better at fighting oily skin, and we know a lot more about skin now, than we did 10 years ago. 

Back then, doctors ordered exfoliators and creams that dry out your skin. But this is a problem. When you dry out your skin with these products, washing your face with soaps, using products with alcohol in it, your skin gets dry on the surface, because you stripped it for its natural oil. When the surface of your skin gets dry, it sends a message to the sebaceous glands, that they need to produce more oil, and we're back to square one, or maybe even worse!

So, what can you do if you have oily and acne prone skin? 

First of all. Drink a lot of water and watch what you eat. The overall health on the inside of the body, will show through your skin. So, be healthy!

If your acne is genetic or related to hormones, there is very little you can do. There is a lot of acne treatments out there, but the damage they can do to your skin, might not be worth it. 

Therefore I use less harsh products on my skin, to keep the oil under control. Unfortunately I have yet to find the perfect product that will give me better skin. I'm going to keep looking, and I will let you know if I find something. 

For now I use these products:

La Roche-Posay line for oily skin. Effaclar

Vichy Normaderm for oily skin

Sensitive skin: 

Sensitive skin can be hard to handle because it has tendencies to flush and get redness and dry patches. Also, many people with sensitive skin has allergic reactions to skin treatment, foods, temperature etc. 

This skin type is prone to pustules, skin bumps and tightness. It can be extremely difficult to find cosmetics and treatments for this skin type. A good idea, is to avoid products with a lot of ingredients in it, products with alcohol, parabens and acids. Buy organic and natural products with few ingredients. 

Change of climate can cause tightness, and if you have sensitive skin, you should stay clear of the sun as it damages your skins natural protection layer, the same goes for overheating of your house in the wintertime. 

Furthermore you should be aware that your skin might be reacting on a certain food you are allergic to, and if you cut that out your skin may feel a lot better. 

I hope you found this helpful and now know more about what skin type you have. It is important to know, when you buy your facial care products. If you still don't know what you have, go see a dermatologist :)

If you have questions or comment, don't hold back. And remember, I'm not a beautician, but have researched a lot on the subject because of my own problems with skin. A dermatologist will always know more than I do! 

Love, Christine

Forever21

Have you ever heard of Forever21? If you live outside of Denmark, you probably have, but here no one knows about the store. Luckily they have a webstore. Unfortunately they don't ship to Denmark! FUCK!

Forever21 Website

I'm not madly in love with their clothing range, but I can find some pieces that I really like. HOWEVER! I love their jewelry!!! They sell the most amazing jewelry at very affordable prices. Here are some of my favorites:

As soon as I get some money between my hands again, I'm definitely going to order some of them and have them shipped to friends of my in Germany!

It sucks that they don't deliver to Denmark!? WHY, GOD, WHY!?

On a sidenote I have recently discovered a Tumblr that I really like for fashion and overall inspiration.

http://w-asted-youths.tumblr.com/#25

Have a look at it for yourself! :D

That's all for today. Soon I'll be uploading a blogpost on skin types, but there goes a lot of research into it, so it will take a while for me to write. 

Love, Christine

Makeup Store Review

Last week I went to a local "mall" and I saw a 40% sale in the Makeup Store, which is a Swedish make up brand that has several shops in Denmark and pretty much all over the world. However, I have never owned any of their products before or having heard much about them. Quality and price-wise it resembles MAC. Even the packaging is similar.
The prices listed is the normal retail price and not with the 40 % discount.
This is what I bought:

Black kohl eyeliner pencil. I have been using my ELF eyeliner for a while now. It works, but I'm not super excited about it. This one however, is great!! It is very easy to apply and is super pigmented. It stays on my waterline a lot longer than any other eyeliner I've used. I definitely recommend this one! It doesn't smudge and it is also good for making a winged out liner on top of your lashes. 130 DKK (13 Pounds)

 I know it seems silly to be buying a new foundation so shortly after buying the MAC one, but it was 40% off, so what can you do?
It's called the Matt Foundation and is also oil-free for combination to oily skin. I bought the color Tender, which is the fourth lightest. It matches my skin pretty well and it has neutral undertones. So no yellow face! YAY!
I almost like this one better than the MAC one, but they are pretty similar and none of them really needs setting. Great foundation! 245 DKK (24,50 Pounds)

Care and Cover concealer in Light. I've got to say that I might have bought this a shade too light. It is almost white, and it takes a lot of blending in, to make it match my skin. Hereby it loses a lot of the coverage that you would have gotten otherwise. A shame, but if you find a match for your skin, it can cover up ANYTHING!

Still it is very soft and because it has moisturizing ingredients and vitamins, it doesn't dry out your skin throughout the day, as many other concealers. This is a great asset! I also like the packaging it comes in. It is in a retractable case and is therefore easy to carry on the go!

220 DKK (22 Pounds)

Blending brush of pony hair (I hate that!). It is a great brush that I use for blending in my MAC concealer. This is pretty much the same quality of a MAC brush and the price is almost the same too. 295 DKK (29,50 Pounds)

Overall I'm totally satisfied with the products! The brand can be compared to MAC in many ways and is a good - if not even better in some ways - alternative.

Comment if you want more reviews or tips and tricks for your make-up.

Love, Christine

Mac Review

It has almost been a month since I bought two Mac products. The Studio Fix Foundation and the Prolong Wear Concealer.

There are both good and bad points to them, but I prefer starting with the good news ;)

The formula of both the foundation and the concealer is really nice, and because the color was professionally match to my skin tone, there is no problem in that area. It is so nice to have a foundation, where you don't need to worry about lines or having a yellow face. It blends really well into the skin and gives a mat finish, because it is a powder foundation. I like this because my skin has oily tendencies and this fixes it. Also it has great coverage and will take care of all spots and red areas.
The packaging is very professional looking and that really appeals to me.

However! I think the product might have broken me out. I'm not quite sure, as the spots came at the time where they normally appear. Just before my period. Hopefully they were only caused by the hormonal changes in my body and not the Mac products. Still, I have heard about some people who had this experience with the Studio Fix. But everyones skin is different, and what breaks someone out, may not have any influence on your skin. What causes the break-outs are clogging of the pores, because of the powder finish.

I'll keep using the products to determine whether or not it was the foundation. Otherwise I recommend these products. Especially the concealer that covers really well and lasts a long time!

Love, Christine

Tv Stand

So I finally got around to painting my "new" Tv stand, and this is the result:

I think it is adorable, and it brightens up my living room a lot!


Love, Christine