How to keep looking fresh throughout the day!

Have you ever looked looked in a mirror come midday and suddenly see yourself looking very tired and dull and you find yourself wondering what happened to your freshly applied make up that looked oh so pretty in the morning? Happens to me all the time. 

As the day continues, your make up will inevitably start to wear off. Also pollution, air conditioning etc will draw out moisture so if you're not keeping yourself hydrated, this will also take part in making you look tired.

The best way to keep yourself looking presentable all day is, of course, by drinking lots of water and also by topping up your make up. I'm actually very lazy when it comes to reapplying my make up halfway through the day, I've already spent a good half an hour or so in the morning applying it so why should I spend MORE time on it? However, I finally decided that spending an extra five or ten minutes to make myself look brighter and perkier isn't actually that much effort...plus I want to look pretty all day, not just part of the day.

Of course this poses the question 'What should I carry with me to top up my make up?', and this post will answer exactly that question ^^

The kit!

These are all your essentials:

1) Blotting sheets

2) Concealer

3) Blush

4) Blush brush

5) Highlighter

6) Lip Colour

The two items shown in the photo above should always be available in a lady's bag!

It doesn't have to be those brands exactly (duh) but they do come in extremely useful.

Okay, here we go!

1) Sanitise your hands

Firstly, you should ALWAYS make sure your hands are clean. Nothing spells gross better than using dirty fingers to apply make up. The thought just makes me shudder ^^" Also, please use soap. Water alone isn't enough to cut through the grime that accumulates on your hands throughout the day. If there is no restroom near by, clean your hands using an antibacterial wipe instead. 

2) Blot away excess oil

Next, your skin will most probably have accumulated a little oil. You don't want to apply make up over that. Take an oil blotting sheet or simply a tissue if you like, and dab off the oil by rolling the sheet onto your skin to pick up oil but not move your base. I use the sheets by Boots simply because they were the only ones I could find when I wanted to buy these sheets, but they do contain salicylic acid to help prevent spots.

3) Rehydrate your skin

If your skin is looking dry and your fine lines are showing, use a little moisturiser. Take a small amount, rub it between your palms and press your palms onto your face. By pressing on the cream, you won't risk smudging your base and wasting your early morning efforts and your skin will immediately look more plump and fresh. I like to use Nivea's Soft moisturiser because it's suitable for every part of your body, smells fresh and doesn't irritate my skin.

4) Clean up any smudges

If you have a little smudging underneath your eyes, take a cotton bud (I forgot to photograph these but you all know what they are anyway. Always keep a few in your bag, they come in very handy!) and dip one end into your moisturiser, wipe off any excess and use to clean up any smudges. Then use the clean end to remove any greasiness that may be left behind. Voila! Bright eyes again!

5) Conceal your flaws

Now for the make up! First, take your concealer and apply it to your your under eye area to instantly brighten your eyes; use your finger to dab and blend the concealer. You can also apply the concealer to other areas such as the inner corner of your eyes, nose bridge, chin, laugh lines etc to brighten those areas too or onto any flaws that may have revealed themselves.

This Bourjois Touche Healthy Mix concealer pen is my favourite to carry around as it doesn't take up much room in my make up bag and does a decent job concealing any imperfections and brightening my complexion. Also it's built-in brush applicator make it easy to apply concealer where I want it.

6) Add some colour

Now take your blush and brush and apply it to your cheeks. I like to apply blush about an inch below my eye next to my nose in a circular motion before blending it out towards my temples.

This blush is by L'Occitane and was part of their peony range so it's probably not available anymore. The colour is actually a little more dusty in real life, but it adds a lovely pop of pink to instantly perk up my complexion. It also smells beautiful ^^

You can apply blush using your fingers, but I actually prefer a brush. Application is just less messy and more accurate and the results more pretty if you use a brush. I carry my Bare Ecsentuals tapered blush brush. It's soft and fluffy and it's size makes it a great space saver. I photographed it next to a Bourjois blush for a size comparison.

7) Add a little luminosity

Time for highlighter! Although it almost always appears invisible, highlighter adds a lovely glow to your skin, especially when the light hits your face.  I use Too Faced's Candlelight face powder which claims to 'softly illuminate' your complexion with it's shiny gold pearls. I use the same blush brush to apply my highlighter. I dust it onto my forehead, nose bridge, chin and under my eyes. 

What I love about this compact is that it's golden pearls will brighten your skin without any obvious sparkle, and as it's actually supposed to be a face powder, I can also use it to set the concealer I previously applied. It also comes with a decent sized mirror so I can beautify myself when not in a restroom. The only downfall is that it's actually a rather chunky compact, but never mind. The chandelier motif more than makes up for that XD

Another viable highlighter is Bourjois's eyeshadow in Citron Givre (not shown in the main photo at the start though as I don't actually carry it with me). I know, what am I thinking right? Well it's small size makes it great for travel, also it offers more of a sheen on the skin than a sparkle which may be more suited to other people's tastes. Isn't it's lid design just so pretty? ^^ The pot also comes with a little mirror, points for that :D

I couldn't capture a very good picture of the eyeshadow but you can immediately spot its lack of sparkles compared to the Too Faced powder.

 Just a swatch of the highlighters. On the left is Bourjois and the right is Too Faced. Sheen or sparkle? Your choice : )

8) Colour your lips

Finally, lip colour! Apply as little or as much as you like to leave you looking polished. I love Sleek's Pout Polish in Scandal. I think it's a limited edition colour but check out their other colours from their permanent line. I actually want more of these but am forcing myself not to buy them as I already have too many lip products ^^" This one is extremely pigmented, moisturising and can leave a shiny finish depending on how thickly you apply it.

Sorry, gross picture! Just showing you how red it is in the pan! Even though its shockingly bright, I never apply it to the point where full pigmentation is achieved. A bright red lip is too extravagant for me but when you apply just a little to your lips with a fingertip, it leaves a beautiful, just-bitten red tint. Of course you won't all be using this, so please remember to use a lip balm before any lip colour, or if you're using a lip tint, make sure to use a balm after! (I do love lip tints but they have such an immediate drying effect ¬_¬)

Swatches! Buildable pigmentation = love this product! ^^

And now you have finished! Just eight simple steps to looking fresh and wide awake ^^ I know this is a very long winded post (just like all my posts ^^") but this really doesn't take more than five minutes. Even less if you're quick! I'm just a very slow person in general ^^" I hope you found it informative! Or if you already do this, I hope you had fun reading my rambles anyway...:D

Until next time!

Jia

x

Face Make up, Lesson 2: Foundations

It's been an extremely long time since I did my first post these 'lessons'! I decided I should stop slacking and get on with it. So here is my second installment to this series: foundations.

One of the first things a beginner to make up would consider purchasing would be a foundation, after eyeliner and a lip product of some kind of course. It's daunting enough knowing there are so many different formulations to choose from, but then you have to choose a correct shade as well. I've been buying make up for a good few years now and I must say that matching myself to the correct shade of foundation is still a pretty difficult job.

Today I will just be talking about the types of foundations available, I will cover shade matching in a different post.

There is no one popular foundation formulation, each person will have their own reasons, needs and skin types hence you will have to question yourself what you would like out of your foundation. Perhaps you'd like to cover up acne scars or uneven pigmentation? Maybe you have dry skin? Maybe you don't need any coverage but would like to try out foundation anyway. Here are the most common types of foundation and their pros and cons.

Liquid Foundations

Liquid foundation is usually packaged in a bottle fixed with a pump or a squeezable tube and although named as liquid, the viscosity of the foundation can vary. Some are runnier than others, and these generally have a lower coverage, and others are slightly thicker hence offering higher coverage. Due to the varying textures of liquid foundations, they are suitable for both dry, combination and oily skins. You just need to choose the right formulation. I would recommend you read the information on the bottle and search for reviews on the internet before purchasing.

Application techniques: pretty much anything! Foundation brushes, stippling brushes, fingers, sponges..whatever works best for you : ) Try a range of different methods until you are satisfied with the finish or a certain method. I actually prefer using a stippling brush or a damp sponge.

The two I have shown here are both by Bourjous (my favourite drugstore brand!) and both are very popular budget foundations that deliver. The 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation has a runny texture that offers low coverage, so you may need an extra layer of the foundation or a concealer on problem areas, however it does offer your skin a healthy glow. I guess the 10 hour sleep effect claim really is true!
The Healthy mix foundation is creamier and heavier and hence offers more coverage. This one also offers a dewy finish but I have noticed it tends to cling onto flaky patches of skin, so remember to exfoliate!

On the left is the Healthy Mix foundation and on the right is the 10 Hour Sleep Effect.

You can clearly tell the 10 hour foundation is much runnier as it's already seeping into my skin lines.

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Cream Foundations

These can either be quite light in coverage or have a decent amount of coverage depending on the formula. Cream foundations generally are considered more moisturising for drier complexions, so these may be unsuitable for oiler complexions.

Application techniques: just like liquid foundations, you can use anything to apply cream foundations. All depends on your preference. I like to use a damp sponge or my fingers with creams.

Again, I have shown two cream foundations. The Maybelline Dream Creamy foundation is actually one of my favourites to use. It has a very smooth texture, blends easily and feels cooling on upon application to the skin. As it has a thinner texture, coverage is slightly lower but is buildable.

The Lancome Ideal compact is a little dark for me so I prefer to use it as a contouring shade. Nonetheless, it isn't a bad foundation. Its texture is much thicker than the Maybelline foundation so its coverage is higher but it also feels heavier on the skin. I wouldn't say it's worth the price tag, luckily I bought it during a sale for half the original price : )

I'm sure you've noticed the Maybelline foundation pulling away from the edges of the pot a little. The terrible thing about these cream foundations that have a higher water content is that they tend to dry up faster in the pan, especially if you're exposing it to the air everyday when you use it. I can't speak for other cream foundations but the Maybelline one has stayed creamy even though the edges are pulling away a little : )

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Powder Foundations

Powder foundations are not your loose mineral foundations. They are pressed into cake form and are applied using a flat brush layer by layer. Its powder formulation makes it more suitable for oiler skins to help absorb excess oil and often offer buildable coverage. Take care not to apply too much though, as with all powder formulas, too much can look cakey.

Application techniques: As mentioned above, these are usually applied with a flat brush. I see no problem with using a kabuki brush to buff it into the skin in circular motion though.
Traditional foundation brushes, stippling brushes, finers and sponges won't work quite as well with powder formulas as they will apply the foundation like a setting powder, so you won't get very much coverage out of them.

I don't own any of these powder foundations, but I have included my RMK pressed powder which basically shares the same appearance as the powder foundation from the same brand.

It isn't very clear but the bottom two thirds is a matte powder whereas at top third is a shimmery powder. You apply the powder version and foundation version using the same method: use the brush to apply the matte powder over your skin then layer the pearly powder over areas that you would normally highlight.

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Mineral Foundations

These were all the rave a few years ago. The whole idea of using foundation made from literally ground rocks was pumped up to its maximum potential through adverts and hype, and you'll notice that pretty much every brand offers its own mineral foundation. Again, it's powder formula means it's suitable for oily skin, but I have one by Collection 2000 that doesn't dry out my skin. In fact it offers a lovely glow when buffed into my skin with a kabuki brush. Just goes to show really that what society says isn't always true, only you will know what works for your skin through trial and error.
The Maybelline one isn't actually very good in my opinion, whenever applied it makes my skin feel extra tight and I can see a layer of foundation just lying on my skin. I'd say give this a miss ^^"

Just a quick swatch of these mineral foundations. Collection 2000's Perfecting minerals is on the left and the Maybelline mineral powder on the right.

Application technique: kabuki brush to buff in circular motions, it'll offer better coverage. I do sometimes use a small eyeshadow brush with natural bristles to apply the foundation in more concentrated layers on problem areas such as my under eye circles. This method stops other areas of your face from looking too made up.

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I've come to the end of this second installment of make up 'lessons'. Ehhh I feel this post isn't that great but maybe it'll be of some use to make up newbies :3

Word of wisdom from someone who has been using foundation for too many years though, if you haven't started using foundation and don't actually need it, please don't bother with it. If anything skin make up has caused me more problems than I had before I started using them. I'll talk about this in more detail in another post but for now, really think about if you actually need foundation : )    
(I know me saying this probably won't do very much anyway in stopping you from buying foundation, I know the feeling of wanting to try some new piece of make up really badly and the happiness from finally buying it XD)

Have a good night!

Jia

x

Bourjois Volume Glamour Mascara Reviews

It's finally time for me to search through my make up stash and actually get rid of some of the stuff that I've kept for too long. When I started this today I thought I should spread my views on the products that I have previously bought, so here are two reviews in one post :D 

Mascara is probably the first make up item I became obsessed with so of course I have quite an extensive collection when  it comes to naming mascaras I have tried. However lots of these mascaras have failed me, my straight lashes need the help of an eyelash curler to ensure they are slightly noticeable but many mascara formulas like to drop my curl in a matter of seconds. NOT FUN AND WHAT A WASTE OF EFFORT.

To this date I have only found four mascaras that will hold a curl, more on those later though : )

Back to the main topic (why do I always digress?), today I'm reviewing Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Care and Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl mascaras.

They're basically the same mascara with slight differences, the Ultra Curl appeared first with claims of curling your lashes and giving twice the volume. The Ultra Care claims to offer double the volume too but also contains cotton and sweet almond oils to condition lashes and is suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lenses wearers.

 Just the back of the tubes.

They both come with traditional bristle applicators but hold differences in their shapes. The Ultra Care mascara has a shorter, denser brush that tapers at the end, whereas the Ultra Curl brush is slightly curved, longer and the bristles take a spiral shape.

Upper :Ultra Curl   Lower: Ultra Care

Application wise, I  much prefer the Ultra Care brush. I felt it offered a softer application to my lashes, probably because the bristles are softer themselves although densely packed. Also due to its shorter shape it was also easier to use. The Ultra Curl brush shape offered a sort of 'perfect fit' to the curve of my eye so it can apply mascara to a lot of my lashes at once, but to be honest it didn't come in very useful as I have to use the brush at all sorts of angles anyway to coat my lashes without getting mascara on my skin.

Now to see what it actually looks like on the lashes! Bearing in mind that my lashes are naturally sparse, I reckon the mascaras did an okay job at making them more noticeable. I applied a couple of coats of each mascara on each eye. Note: Eye on your left (my right) is Ultra Care, and the eye on your right (my left) is Ultra Curl. Note 2: Let's not even bother commenting on my lower lashes XD

Straight on, the lashes are actually not very noticeable. Both of these mascaras dropped my curled lashes. I had to recurl them with an electric curler (which I don't like doing. It makes me think my lashes will get split ends?!) before reapplying the mascara and even then the mascara didn't want to hold a heat induced curl.

From below, the mascara separates my lashes very nicely (minus the two clumps on my right eye due to careless application). As for adding double the volume, I don't agree with this quite so much when viewed at this angle. However I do like how Bourjois didn't blow their claims out of proportion. Some mascaras claim to offer 10x the volume: a clear lie.

Ultra Curl

Ultra Care

From these side angles, the double volume claims seem a little more plausible. It does look as though I have more lashes! I have now realised this post would be more informative if I had included a shot of my naked lashes ^^" I will include one soon!

Obviously this mascara wasn't designed to lengthen which is why my lashes still look short. As for their longevity, I noticed some smearing underneath my eyes at the outer corner after around 6 hours of wear (That's just an estimate, as vain as I am I don't actually look in the mirror very often after I leave the house).

I can't really vouch for the Ultra Care mascara being suitable for sensitive eyes though as I don't have sensitive eyes myself, but I have worn it with lenses and it worked just fine. As for it's regenerating and nourishing claims, I don't think I used the mascara often enough to see any real effect.

Overall verdict: Both mascaras are nice but I wouldn't repurchase solely because they don't hold my curl when I use a traditional curler. I definitely wouldn't say these mascaras offer a glamorous level of volume but they do offer a nice and natural daytime look, so if you have naturally curly lashes or don't have a problem with mascaras dropping your curls, you could always check these out.

Hope you found this review useful!

Jia

x

EXTRA GIANT SQUISHINESS!

Two posts in two days, I really am on a roll...even though none of them are make up related which is really the whole point of why I started this blog ^^" I do have some posts written up though, it's just the pictures that need to be taken now : )

Anyway! Not sure how much you lot love squishy things, but I have some strange sort of love for them..especially if its food related! Probably why I love mochi and pearl tea pearls so much...

The other day I found something which made me jump up and down with excitement...

If you're American, you won't be very impressed by this post, but us British peeps who have never set foot in the US will have never seen anything like this before!

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Rocky Mountain Mega Marshmallows!

^_____^

There are only a few left in the pack...I started eating them before

taking a picture :D

I swear it takes about 4 or 5 normal sized marshmallows to make one of these, and they actually taste really good! Just like the pink and white marshmallows we have here :D I was actually expecting these to have a really strong gelatine smell and not be very nice at all because normally things that have a novelty value don't taste very good, but I was wrong and I'm very glad ^^ They have a nice and soft texture and a good amount of stickiness, awesome to eat as a snack but I wouldn't suggest eating more than two in one sitting XD

These are just so soft and squishy I want to hollow one out and sleep in it!!!!!! ^^

Just a photo to show the size of the mallows.

It's a one pence piece next to them.

I haven't had a chance to roast these yet but I will at some point! Roasted marshmallows are soooo good, crispy on the outside and melty on the inside :D 

I did make my own version of a s'more though, I toasted some bread, spread it with nutella, cut the bread in half and sandwiched a slightly microwaved marshmallow in between the halves. Simply put, it was amazing ^^

I'll probably need to stop talking about these marshmallows now, it's too late to have another one and this post isn't exactly helping my craving lol

They sell these at ASDA for £2, very reasonable price IMO! If you want to try these out, hopefully they'll sell them at your ASDA too because I have realised that different ASDAs stock different things ^^"

Happy munching!

Jia

x

Microwave chocolate cake?

On a random search on soompi I found I recipe for cake you can prepare and cook in five minutes, using a microwave! I'm a lover of all things sweet so naturally I was very excited when I found this. I decided to try it today for lunch and here are the results! I've also included the recipe and some pictures to accompany the steps. To be honest it doesn't look very appealing and the texture was a little inconsistent throughout with some parts being softer, some denser, some chewy...yeahh the cake can DEFINITELY be improved XD BUT! It did taste like chocolate cake ^^ I'm one of those people who will eat pretty much anything, even if it looks gross. As long as it tastes okay-ish, I will eat it :D

WHAT I USED

4 tablespoons self raising flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons semi skimmed milk

3 tablespoons coconut oil

WHAT I DID

First mix together all the dry ingredients in a mug.

I chose a larger sized mug.

The original soompi post showed a cake that was spilling out of the cup

(upwards though, might I add!)

So yeah I wanted to avoid a messy end, just in case XD

Crack in your egg and mix.

mmm...yummy XD

Yeahh the mixture is a little dry so it's time to add your milk and oil!

I didn't take a picture of this step, I'm very aware of how clumsy I am plus the oil was going all over the table and my hands so I didn't dare bring my phone near XD 

Words of warning, it's very disgusting when you try to incorporate the oil into the mix. There's a LOT of oil but keep mixing and eventually the batter will come together :3 I would suggest adding less oil but I'm not sure how it will affect the cake, trial and error eh? : )

Soooo mix it all up and you'll get this!

I switched to a bigger spoon. Using a teaspoon proved too difficult.

Now just bung it in the microwave, set it to high and blast it for about 3 to 4 minutes.

I actually left mine in for 4 minutes, stabbed it with a knife and found the batter 

around the edges of the cup still slimy so I cooked it for another 30 seconds.

And the results!

The upper surface actually looked quite nice, but turn it upside down..

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Why the hell is it so cratered?! XD

Last step, NOM ON IT :D

I actually enjoyed the whole process of making the cake, it's definitely a fun activity to do when you're bored or want something sweet to nom on but can't find anything suitable ^^ It does take a littlemore than five minutes to prepare and cook though considering you have to spoon everything into the cup and mix it all up. I made my life easier and used measuring spoons. Those things are amazing, you must get a set!

Also, I'm not sure if this cake will taste good when it's cold. I ate all of mine in one sitting :D

I actually think this cake MIGHT carry some health benefits too...cocoa powder contains antioxidants after all and I used coconut oil because of all its amazing health benefits (such as helping digestion and metabolism and maintaining cholesterol levels).

After a little further reading on the forum, someone suggested adding 3 tablespoons of nutella to the mix and cooking it for 1.5 minutes. Need to try this one out ^^

End of post! Hope you had fun reading it, and please let me know if you do try it! ^^

Here's the link to the original soompi forum if you want to check it out, click here : )

Jia

x

Geisha Skin Secrets

I cannot be bothered with centralising my posts anymore. It's too much effort and I have to press enter everytime a line looks full enough. So I shall just justify my text now :3

I've recently taken an interest in the skin care secrets of Geishas. Achieving flawless skin is one of the things on my highest-priority-to-do list (as you probably already know). My jaw line has recently broken out with a series of small lumps which don't want to go away. I've put it down to using too many products that contain fragrances and just too many products in general. After stumbling across a blog, it opened my eyes to the fact that we don't need fragrance in skincare. Our skin doesn't really care if it smells like lavender or bergamot. All it wants is to be healthy. The blog also showed that fragrant essential oils are actually phototoxic to our skin cells, meaning that the application of these oils can increase the sensitivity of our skin to the sun. Here is an article on pubmed studying the effects of these oils. Although the concentration of and solvent that the oils are suspended in will play a part in how harmful it is to the skin, I'd rather not go with the risk.

I digress again. On a random google for perfect skin, I came across rice flour. Plain, ground rice flour. It seems to have a rather good reputation in helping to brighten and whiten the skin, reducing blemishes and pigmentation and helping to treat wrinkles. Rice is used in many brands of skincare, such as L'Occitane and even SK-II.

Rice apparently has amazing sun protection benefits, it contains paraaminobenzoic acid (a sunscreen), ferulic acid (an antioxidant which helps stabilise and increase the potency of vitamins C and E), gamma oryzanol, an antioxidant to help regulate collagen production, and allantoin which helps soothe and repair skin. Many people in Asia also use the water from washing rice as a toner so help keep their skin soft and bright. It was then I found that Geisha's use rice flour in their daily skincare routines. So I thought 'If rice is good enough for a geisha who has flawless skin despite the heavy amounts of make up they wear, then it's good enough for me.'

My internet research led to me a series of sites documenting the skincare secrets of Geishas. The main products they use are:

• camellia oil
• rice
• persimmon
• sea salt

Camellia oil is very popular in Japan, derived from the seeds of the camellia plant, it has antioxidant and antibacterial properties and increases skins elasticity. It's used in a variety of hair care products (such as the ever popular Shiseido Tsubaki haircare range) and geisha's use it to moisturise their skin and eyelashes.

Rice, as mentioned above, seems to have a multitude of benefits for the skin. Tyrosinase is an enzyme that speeds up the production of melanin in the skin, not exactly good news when you want luminous, even coloured skin; and unfortunately it is written in our DNA for us to naturally produce tyrosinase. This is where rice comes to the rescue! Applied as a paste, rice is said to inhibit tyrosinase. I haven't found a study to back it up (I haven't looked yet, doesn't mean that there isnt one available), but there is probably some truth to it considering Asians have been using rice for years to achieve a fairer complexion.

Persimmon contains a whole lot of minerals and vitamins, all helping to create a smooth and healthy complexion. Geisha's used persimmon in mask form to prevent aging, regulate oil production and keep it bright and supple. Persimmons contain compounds called catechins which have anti-infection and anti-inflammatory properties, their numerous amounts of antioxidants, such as vitamin C and lycopene, help to delay ageing, and its mineral content can increase the potency of antioxidant function in the body. Persimmons sound pretty amazing, huh? Although using it as a mask does sound appealing, I think I'd rather eat my persimmon. They're just so delicious :3

Sea salt is used by geishas to exfoliate the skin on their body, keeping it smooth and flawless. Sea salt is made from the evaporation of the water from sea water, meaning the salt contains a bunch of minerals that are beneficial to the skin and can actually hydrate the skin, keeping it plump and smooth, unlike ordinary sodium chloride. Skin can become dry, blotchy, itchy, dull and irritable when it doesn't receive the minerals it needs to stay healthy, and as skin starts to age, its cell to cell communication abilities become slower and less effective. By upping the level of minerals available to the skin cells, cell communication can function at the rate that keeps skin youthful.  Even without scrubbing sea salt manages to slough off dead skin cells, leaving smooth and glowing skin ready to absorb moisture and minerals. Sea salt works best when used in combination with warm water to increase circulation to the skin so the nutrients can be taken to other skin cells via the blood at a faster rate.

Ehh...this post is getting rather long. I shall finish with a few geisha-inspired recipes you can make from ingredients in your kitchen cupboards.

Gentle Face Cleanser/Mask/Scrub

Mix one tablespoon of rice flour with either milk or yoghurt till it forms a smooth paste. Apply this to warm, freshly cleansed skin and leave on for at least 10 minutes or till dry. When you're ready to wash it off, use warm water and remove the mask using your fingertips in circular motions. Pat dry and apply your usual skincare.

The yoghurt/milk contains lactic acid and has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, meaning it is useful for cleansing skin, unblocking pores and hydrating skin. The rice flour, although crushed to a fine flour, is still slightly grainy. This makes it a very gentle exfoliator, but don't use too much pressure!

This concoction can be used as a face cleanser, not a make up remover. So after removing your make up, feel free to use this as your last step to your cleansing routine to leave skin soft and bouncy.

Persimmon Mask

Mix one tablespoon of mashed persimmon with one teaspoon of honey and one egg yolk. Apply to clean, warm skin and leave for around 15 to 20 minutes before washing off with warm water.

Honey has anti-microbial properties and can rejuvenate skin after a day in the sun. It's also a humectant, making it great to keep dry skin moisturised.

Egg yolks contain vitamin A which can regulate skin cell growth. It is very common in skincare creams and serums in the form of retinol or retinoids to help unblock pores, support collagen production to help smooth wrinkles and fine lines, and even out pigmentation and skin texture by increasing the rate of cell turnover.

Sea Salt Body Scrub

Mix two tablespoons of sea salt with a little yoghurt to create an exfoliating cream. Massage in circular motions over warm skin, preferably halfway through a shower, then rinse off and finish with body lotion.

I haven't included a specific recipe for camellia oil, but you can always add a little to either of the recipes above and anything you care to concoct for yourself. Camellia oil is rather pricey so I prefer to use it as a moisturiser when I won't need to wash it off for at least the next few hours.

I have finally come to the end of this post.

If you have managed to reach the end, then I would like to congratulate you! :D

I hope you found it informative and have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ^^

Until next time!

Jia 

x

Dusty Old Blog

It's been a while since I've written a blogpost!

I'm actually rather lazy, writing a post that I would consider worth reading 

takes time, energy, and creativity; these don't always come to me at the right 

time in the right does T_T

However I shall try my best!

I will continue my series of blogposts on various make up items,

please be patient! I will get round to it :D

I've recently decided to change my style a little.

I have a very simple fashion style: striped tops, jeans,

booties, converse, t-shirts, occasionally dresses.

The simple yet clean cuts make for a comfortable, well put-together look,

but it can get a little boring at times.

Hence the change!

I've decided to settle for mode gyaru style.

I've been following Popteen gyaru styles for a while now,

the fashion always looks so cute and their eyes look so big and doe-like.

However, I'm not exactly a teenager anymore and although I'm only in my early 20s,

I just don't think I want to carry a sweetly adorable style.

That's when I found Mode gyaru fashion!

It's edgy, monochromatic, colourful yet simple, all at the same time!

It's also more mature and sleek, perfect for standing out amongst the

more common fashion that people sport in this city without

being overly extravagant.

Ena Mastumoto is probably the most popular gyaru who sports mode fashion

effortlessly. I'll leave you with a few of her outfits and make up looks,

I would show some of my own but I haven't had time to go shopping

and put together some outfits that are even remotely mode.

Gosh I love this look.

Mode make up generally includes a heavier eye, brighter lenses

and a brighter lip.

However there is a more natural version like the one below.

Just as pretty, just a little more suitable for daytime wear.

Flowy shirt, distressed shorts, hot booties and a purse that stands out <3

Although I personally wouldn't wear the trousers (a little too bright for me)

or the shoes (I'm a little iffy when it comes to transparent shoes), 

I do love how the pattern and colour of the trousers jazz up a simple

black top and cardigan. That splash of sparkle from the necklace is just 

perfect, too.

Elegantly simple but the chain adds edge.

This one is great when you don't have time to put something

elaborate together but still want to look sharp.

That's all for now!

I'll be back!

Jia

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