All the Vanity: April 2011

L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash (normal&combination skin): Review

By Tina A. - April 25, 2011

I deliberately skipped mentioning my thoughts on the L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash on my previous post, as I wanted to talk about it in a little more detail.

So, this cleanser is aimed at normal and combination skins and if used along with the detachable "cleanPod" (aka the "scrublet" among the beauty crowd), it's supposed to cleanse the pores, remove impurities and provide a smooth and soft result.

I've been using this cleanser a while now on its own and honestly, I can't see myself ever repurchasing it.

For one, it's quite a harsh cleanser. Not as harsh as to make your face feel tight though, but almost there. So, thinking that everything was a-ok, I kept on using it only to realise that my dry areas were progressively becoming even drier with time. I should add here that it does contain salicylic acid, but so does the Garnier Pure Foam Wash and I've used that for a long time without any problems.

Now in theory, it makes sense that an oily/combination skintype (even though this is for normal/combination skin) would need a stonger cleanser, but that doesn't actually work when put to the test: the stronger the cleanser, the more it will strip off the skin of its oils, causing it to produce even more oil to fight the unexpected dryness. In other words it fuels the imbalance instead of working against it.

As for the scrublet, I can only say one thing: hello gimmick! The rubber bristles are too flexible to provide a decent exfoliation, so even though you're rubbing something against your skin, you don't really see any results. Maybe it would work against dry skin as a "brushing" tool, but that's not something I'd be willing to do.

Luckily, I've almost finished this now (I use it as a body wash on occasion too). My next purchase will definitely be something much more gentle! Funny because I never thought that a cleanser that you rinse off after a few minutes can affect your skin that much. Clearly, I was wrong.

So what's your (foam) cleanser of choice?

What are your thoughts on this one if you've tried it?

22 Comments

BEAUTY

Current Skincare!

By Tina A. - April 25, 2011

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great Easter!

This post will be all about skincare: what I'm using at the moment, my philosophy behind it, plus a few thoughts on changes that I need to make. At this point, I should say that my skintype is the very definition of combination (dry&normal areas meet an oily t-zone), (severely) acne-prone and lightly sensitive. A pain, in other words.

So, let me take you through my current skincare routine:

First stop is cleansing.

- For the heavy duty daily makeup removal, I trust MAC Cleanse Off Oil completely. It melts off the makeup that I've piled on within a few seconds. I use it as is, without adding any water for maximum results.

- I don't use it to remove my eye makeup too though: for that, I use the Garnier (Fresh?) Essentials Eye Make-Up Remover. It doesn't sting or irritate my eyes at all, which is a huge deal for a contact lense wearer like myself. It removes all of my eyeshadow and if I leave it on my eyelashes for a while with the help of a soaked cotton pad, it will take off a good 70-80% of my mascara (I pile it on like nobody's business). I may repeat at the end of my cleansing routine to remove all mascara traces if needed. The reason that I use a cheaper eye makeup remover is that I don't see the point of splurging on sth that I need to repurchase that often. That said, I must admit I am curious to try the fancy Lancome Bi-Facil one.

- Last step is a liquid cleanser, usually a gel one. Right now it's the L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash for normal&combination skin (review to come soon). Usually it's the Garnier Pure Foam Wash. However, I'm starting to think that neither actually meets my needs: I always seem to have the best skin when I'm using the Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser (which is super gentle as it cleanses effectively without lathering at all). A change (*) is definitely needed here.

Moisturising and nighttime treatments.

- So, after I've removed all of my makeup, I'll apply the Effaclar Duo Anti-Imperfection treatment on areas that are broken out. It's a nice product, definitely better than the Vichy Normaderm moisturiser, but it's no miracle worker. However, I will continue to repurchase as it seems to work, is affordable and its serum formula allows me to layer it under another product.

- Namely....my moisturiser: the YSL Hydra Feel (the gel version instead of the cream), Holy Grail material for sure: it quenches and plumps up my dry skin immediately and it locks in the moisture for hours on end! The feeling that you get once you apply this is that of relieved and healthy skin. I use it day and night, all year long and it's never too much or inadequate.

- As for the eyes, I've only recently started to explore the numerous options out there. So, I'm testing out the Chanel Beaute Initiale Eye Energising Multi-Protection Eye Gel, which is supposed to work against puffiness and dark circles. Does it work? Not that much differently from the Garnier Nutritionist Eye Roll On I think. Still undecided though - so any effective eye treatment (*) recommendations are well welcome!

Weekly treatments.

- Two times a week I'll give my face a good scrub using the Korres Pomegranate Cleansing Scrub (the Apivita one with Olive is lovely as well) or the completely homemade oil&sugar special scrub mix. My conclusion: nothing beats sugar when we're talking about exfoliation!

- As for masks, I'm a huge fan of the Apivita Express Mask satchets with the Revitalizing and Radiance Mask with pomegranate and the Moisturizing and Nourishing Mask with honey being my favourites. They go on smoothly, are light and gentle on the skin and they do restore the moisture and shine of a dry and dull complexion.

As you can see, my approach is pretty basic and simple and favours the more natural and gentle products when possible. I think that works best for my skin - I remember trying out my mother's Lancaster (or was it Clinique?) hydrating mask once and it turned my face red within minutes! :/

But I'm still far from being happy with my routine. Along with finding a good cleanser and eye treatment, I feel like it's time to add an anti-wrinkle product into my routine as well. I know that the Korres Quercetin&Oak Night Cream actually works (rarely has a skincare product impressed me this much), but I don't really want to change my trusted Hydra Feel for anything else. So it would probably have to be a serum. I've tested the Caudalie Vinexpert one and quite enjoyed it, now I'm using the Lancaster 365 Cellular Elixir serum - not that majorly impressed, we shall see how that goes.

Obviously coming up with a good skincare routine is equal to solving a puzzle!!!

If you've tried any of these products or have some to recommend for my skintype, please comment below! I'd love to read that, plus your thoughts on skincare!

How do you choose the products to suit your needs?

15 Comments

BEAUTY

Essie French Affair...the nudes (incl. swatches)!

By Tina A. - April 07, 2011

Time for the...more literal beauty blog posts to resume! :)

This will be my little review on 3 of the 6 nail polishes featured in Essie's "French Affair" spring collection - the 3 lighter colours (or non-colours) to be more specific.

Now, as some of you may already know, I've been looking for a good nude nail polish for ages, a task which has proven to be much lengthier than anticipated - you see there are as many definitions of "nude" as there are skintones. And naturally, when I saw that Essie was offering a couple of new fleshy toned nail polishes for spring, I simply couldn't resist! As for the rest of the collection, I decided against them - you see, I'm not usually one for pinks and lilacs and the blue one seemed fairly dupable in my eyes.

So, let me present you with Sand Tropez, Kisses&Bises and Topless&Barefoot from left to right respectively. Let's take a closer look:

Essie Sand Tropez is described as a soft sandy beige, and while that works, I'd say it's more of a light grey beige creme to me (read: greige). Those types of shades are a bit tricky to pull off (especially on my skintone), as they can wash one out (that's if they don't make your nails look dirty), but I feel that this is just the right level of interesting without being offensive. Swatch taken after 2 coats, application was perfect at the second one.

Essie Kisses&Bises is a pearlescent pink duochrome. The pink shimmer in it is less cool (purple) toned than it appears in the photo and provides a metallic effect. It's definitely only a top coat though, the swatch above was after 3 coats and still nowhere near achieving opaqueness. But good for layering, if that's what you're looking for.

Essie Topless&Barefoot needs no references, as I'm sure many of you are already well familiar with it. It's a nude pink beige shade and is probably the closest "fleshy" toned nude I've seen in a while! But while the colour is perfectly executed, the application could have been a little better: it was just a tiny bit streakier than Sand Tropez, to the point that I was tempted to add a third coat, but decided to leave it at 2 for the swatches (nothing like the mess of last year's Van D' Go though, that's for sure)! You can certainly go with 2 coats if you're careful while painting your nails, so all's well! ;)

So, did I find my ideal nude in this collection? Well, no, but that's only because I'm looking for a light jelly finish in a nude nail polish! The two neutral shades are great light cremes and the shimmery dual toned pink makes for a great finishing coat! Overall very pleased with what I purchased and I'll be surely wearing these a lot this spring, since those shades are all the rage right now!

So, have you shopped from this collection?

And what is your go-to "nude" nail polish?

35 Comments

LIFE(STYLE)

Spa experience & a few useful tips!

By Tina A. - April 05, 2011

So, as promised, this post will be all about the actual spa experience on my previous little mountain trip!

Now, I'll have to admit that it was my very first time in a spa, so I really didn't know what to expect, which of course meant that I had to try everything!!! The facilities included a heated pool, a jacuzzi, a hammam, a sauna and there were also massage sessions available as extra treatments.

Obviously, this isn't your average women's spa with the fancy mud baths and (overpriced) facials, but rather the more basic approach, which is a lot more fitting to the surroundings and the activities that those offer (who wouldn't want to relax in a sauna after hiking or rafting anyway)!

The very first thing that I tried was the heated exercise pool. The water was set at a comfortable 27 degrees Celsius, which seemed little at first, but only took a few seconds to get used to. Being an exercise pool meant that you had the option of swimming against the push of a water current created by a pump at one end - now this proved to be a little too demanding for my build, so I just went the old school way. You can use the pool before the rest of the relaxing facilities, if you want a bit of an exercise first, or after a round in the steam room or sauna as a way to relax - I would do a bit of both.

The jacuzzi was pretty basic and honestly did not impress me by itself. Out of everything, it was the most obvious relaxing choice, no doubt about it, but I didn't really notice see any of its benefits on my body other than a general feeling of relaxation, almost enough to fall asleep to! The placement of the jacuzzi in the room added to that effect: it was right under a huge window with a direct view of the high rock mountains right across (rough idea on the last photo on my previous post)!

The hammam (or steam room) was an interesting experience: you sit in a room filled with steam of high temperature - the second time I went in, I noticed it was set at 44-45 degrees Celsius (about 112 F). Steam baths are particularly beneficial to the respiratory system and the added eucalyptus scent (apparently frequent in steam rooms) aids to that effect. What I can personally say about them, is that it might take a bit getting used to (hey, you're in a small fogged up room), but you can relax and stay longer in it compared to the sauna.

Now, the sauna, is exactly the opposite: an extremely hot (I'd estimate the temperature was in the 70's?) but dry atmosphere, yet oddly pleasant and addictive! Now, you will sweat in the steam room too, but if you're looking for an extreme detox, then the sauna is your obvious choice, simply because the extreme heat will completely open up your pores and the sweat will rid your body of many nasty toxins - your skin will feel younger too! Hands down, my most favourite thing to do out of what's mentioned so far!

Another thing that impressed me was the muscle massage. Now I was lucky since my masseur guy was a trained chiropractor too, so I was obviously in excellent hands, but even if that wasn't the case, I know I would still see a huge difference in my body, especially my back. I would strongly suggest if anyone is suffering from bad posture or sore muscles to go book an appointment now - you'll thank me later. Makes one think that with our crazy rhythms, such treatments aren't really a luxury, but more of a neccessity, really...

Now, if you're going to visit a spa with similar facilities, here's a few important things to keep in mind!

You need to:

- start with a shower (it's pretty standard procedure anyways).

- have a warm shower before entering the sauna or steam room to make the transition to the hot environment easier for your body and to get rid of the chlorinated water sitting on your skin.

- relax in the sauna and steam room and take slow, controlled breaths - otherwise the heat will burn your nostrils and the humidity will put a bit of stress in your respiratory system respectively.

- don't just sit anywhere in the sauna: remember that the lower benches are generally not as hot as the higher ones.

- take note of the time! Don't sit in the sauna for more than 10-12 minutes at a time, unless you know very well what you're doing and been doing it for a long time. It's not a competition!!! In the steam room you can generally sit in for a bit longer, but still, listen to your body: if you're starting to feel lightheaded, it's time to get out!

- finish with a cold shower. This is key, as it will help close your open pores, cool down your body and decrease your elevated heart rate. It will also give an extra kick to your neuroendocrine and immune systems and will reduce muscle recovery time.

- lie down for a few minutes before you do anything else. You're probably feeling a bit tired by now, and your body is still warm, so give yourself some time to just relax and help your body settle into normal temperatures again!

And lastly, don't treat the spa as a...water park or the beach - it is meant for relaxation, so respect that it should be a fairly quiet place for everyone (cos, yeah, I witnessed that too).

I know guys, bit lengthy, but hopefully informative - kudos if you made it this far!!! So now, if you're a first timer like I was, you'll have an idea of what to expect and how to make everything work for you in the best possible way!

Sooo, have you been in a spa and what was your favourite thing to do/felt the most beneficial to your body? :) Do share!

14 Comments

L'oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash (normal&combination skin): Review

Current Skincare!

Essie French Affair...the nudes (incl. swatches)!

Spa experience & a few useful tips!

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