Natural Mask for Soft Glowing Skin

If you're looking for a simple remedy to help with any minor skin ailments you might have because of the change in weather (I'm currently writing this post in front of the fire because it's too cold for my liking and I haven't adjusted yet T_T), why don't you try this mask out? A simple concoction of natural yoghurt, honey and oats may give your skin the boost it needs to look fresh and glowing again.

Firstly, I apologise for the rubbish quality of these photographs. I decided to use my ipod touch without realising just how crap the quality of the camera is.

The ingredients are very simple, as mentioned above. Of course always use the organic versions if you can, but here I'm simply using Tesco's own brand natural yoghurt, ASDA's acacia honey and some oats I found in the cupboard. 

Add half a tablespoon of ground oats, half a tablespoon of yoghurt and about half a teaspoon of honey. I didn't measure out the honey to be honest, it comes in a squeezy bottle.

Mix it all up and you'll end up with a porridge-like consistency. You can apply this mask straight to a cleansed face or leave it for a while to make sure the oats are softened. Leave for around 15 minutes or so then remove by using circular motions and some warm water before finally rinsing off. The mask should be good for two uses, so cover the rest and leave in the fridge for later.

After using this mask, my skin immediately looked a lot softer, pores less obvious and the texture was smoother. Heads up, my skin has broken out a little recently from a retinol cream hence the yoghurt stung my skin a little. If you have irritated skin like me, skip the yoghurt and honey, just soak the oats in a little warm water and apply the paste to your face.

Also, you may find you achieve better results if you used ground up oats. I used to use whole oats but the results were never as obvious as the results I saw today. It must be something to do with increasing the surface area and allowing more of the good stuff in oats to seep out. You can either buy ground up oats, use a food grinder or simply use a knife and a chopping board. I used a knife today, takes a little while but if you have nothing else better to do while watching TV...

Please try out this mask if your skin is looking a little flaky and dull, it costs hardly anything so you don't really have much to lose if it doesn't work out, but I'm pretty confident it will work a treat ^^

Jia

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Recent Haul!

Even though I shall soon be spending a couple of weeks in Hong Kong and spending all my money there, I just couldn't resist a few items I've seen recently in the shops. I did promise myself I wouldn't buy anymore make up till I arrive in HK but that didn't exactly go to plan...but it was only like four or five make up pieces...that's nothing, right?! :D (not shown in this post btw)

From left to right: The Body Shop's Strawberry Body Mist, Boot's Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover and Lacura's Concealer pen.

The Body Shop has added a range of new body mist fragrances to their collection recently and there are a range of different scents including mango, coconut (it smells delicious, I may actually go back and get it), vanilla and a couple others whose name I cannot remember. The strawberry one is absolutely amazing, it's fresh and light and although smells a little artificial, I still like it ^^

Boot's has recently revamped their entire Botanics range. The packaging looks a little more modern and focuses more on lighter plastic packaging rather than the bulky glass packaging they used to use. I've used a few of the items from this range before but nothing really impressed me apart from the well loved double phase eye make up remover. The new bottle also comes with a new formula, Boots has replaced the Icelandic moss ingredient in the old formula with Hibiscus and removed a lot of the parabens. I guess the brown colour of the oil phase looks a little more natural than the green oil in the older versions but I can't comment on how well this new one performs just yet. I need to finish my current bottles off first!

On a random internet search, I came across Lacura's concealer pen, otherwise known as Aldi's £3.59 answer to YSL's Touche Eclat. Obviously I had to buy it just because it's so darn cheap and also, concealer pens are fun to use ^^ To be honest, I don't see the fuss with the Touche Eclat, maybe I have the wrong shade or something? Who knows, maybe I'll have to try shade 1.5 or 2 for a better match.

I also purchased Garnier's new Dark Spot Corrector. I have a lot of patchy scarring from the odd spot and I also want to get of sun induced freckles so I decided to give this a try. It's contains vitamin C at 5% concentration so it sounds pretty promising! Will have to test this out for the next few weeks and will document any changes! ^^

And that's it for my mini haul! I'll review some items in more detail when I've tested them out :D 

Have a good weekend!

Jia

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Hada Labo UV Moist Emulsion SPF50 PA+++ Review

Gosh the names of these Japanese products are just too long. However as you can probably tell by the post title, today I am reviewing a Japanese sunscreen product.

I used to rely on the minimal SPF15 in my daily moisturisers to help protect my skin from the sun before I realised that these creams didn't indicate whether they protected me from UVA rays. I started looking into actual sunscreens that people would only normally purchase during summer but found them heavy and greasy. My online searches led me to Japanese sunscreens, specifically this one by Hada Labo and I'm glad I bought and tried it.

Just some quick info about Hada Labo: they're a Japanese-American collaboration brand whose philosophy is 'Perfect x Simple'. They don't use colourants, additives, mineral oil or fragrances in their products and only use ingredients of the highest and purest quality to ensure their products have the highest level of efficacy. 

I also use their oh-so-famous gokujyun lotion, face cream and milk and I must say, their whole gokujyun (moistursing) line is AMAZING. It's kept my face soft and spot free throughout the last two months. (Even during the days when hormones should be playing havoc with my skin!) 

When I bought this there seemed to be two different versions available, this 'moist' one and another suitable for oiler skins. I can't seem to find the other one now though so they've probably stopped it, afterall they have recently revamped their hyaluronic acid ingredient.

The bottle is very sleek and slim, perfect for travelling. Although it only contains 38ml, it's lasted me around 3 months or so. A little goes a long way! There's also a little chunk of plastic inside that rattles when you shake the bottle, I guess it helps distribute the sunscreen elements equally within the liquid. The bottle packaging means it's more hygienic too as you don't need to dip your fingers into a pot to get the sunscreen out.

The nozzle is very slim too and its little spout prevents too much sunscreen from spilling out at once.

The texture is very runny (I don't think the picture shows it) which is why a little goes a long way and it's incredibly easy to blend. 

Blurry pic! Sorry!

Above is the unblended sunscreen just to show its watery consistency.

Not forgetting that this is the moist version, the sunscreen leaves a layer or oil of your skin. (It's shown as a slightly sheeny layer on my hand). It's a very light oil which absorbs after a couple of minutes. The oil might be a little annoying for users with oiler skins as it can probably feel quite heavy. Occasionally the oil feels annoying on my own skin (which is primarily dry) but if you keep your hair clipped out of the way and let it absorb, the oil shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Of course one of the main things that attracted me to this sunscreen was that it provided protection against both UVA and UVB rays. I can't really vouch for the UVA protection yet, but I used this sunscreen in Spain and I didn't get any sunburn on my face. (Nor did I tan :D) Two thumbs up for that! ^^

The susncreen also contains hyaluronic acid, one of the best hydrating ingredients available, hence you can use this as your sole moisturiser if you so please. Hada Labo also likes to state that this sunscreen can also act an a make up base, so you can kill three birds with one stone: sun protection, moisturisation and make up base. Can't complain about that ^^

Overall, I love this sunscreen and will definitely repurchase (but of course I will try out other sunscreens that seem equally as amazing). The fact that it didn't break me out, stopped me from burning in the sun and kept my skin soft makes it a clear winner in my eyes.

Hope fully this review was helpful! Any questions and comments, please let me know ^^

Jia

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