My Evening Skincare Routine (+ My First Youtube Video!)

MY SKIN

As I’ve written before, I have oily skin and have been dealing with acne since I was 11 years old. It started with small little bumps on my forehead (which I used to cover with a ridiculous emo fringe, haha), then slowly made its way to my cheeks. My acne hit an all time low when I was 14- my entire cheeks where covered in red, painful sores and I was too afraid to leave the house without any makeup on my face, in case people started laughing at me. I don’t think I’ve ever been so insecure about anything in my life. When you’re 14, life isn’t exactly easy, and even though this might sound a little bit over the top, I had to deal with a lot of things. My self-esteem was practically non-existent and in the evenings I used to cry because I felt so ugly- I felt like I was my acne. I remember thinking ‘I would be the happiest girl if my acne just went away’ and hoping that when I woke up the next day, it would have just magically disappeared. It didn’t.

So after about a year of having to deal with angry, red lumps on my skin, I literally begged my mum to put me on birth control. My doctor told me that it would clear up my acne a lot, and it did. I was so happy. It wasn’t completely gone, but it had calmed down and I was so grateful for that.

My skin cleared up but I still had a few breakouts every now and then. I was pretty content with my skin, until about two years ago. I had just finished high school and was getting ready to go to uni, when my skin started freaking out again. I don’t know if it was stress, hormonal changes or just being in a different environment (I moved to uni), but I started getting horrible hormonal breakouts on my cheeks. It was at its worst in November 2012- I kept telling myself that it wasn’t so bad, that it would go away and that there were people who have much worse acne, but looking back at pictures I took of my skin around that time, it was really, really bad. So I did what I always wanted to do: I went on acne medication. I started medication in February 2013 and had to take it for three months straight. I also got a prescription acne cream which totally burned off my skin, but it helped. After about a week I already started seeing results, and after two weeks, my skin was completely clear! I couldn’t believe it, because I couldn’t remember the last time my skin was completely clear. So a few months went by, and then in September, it came back. I think it was a combination of hormonal changes and using the wrong products (NEVER use Origins products if you have sensitive skin and suffer from acne- the essential oils in them will make your acne even worse. I know, I bought a lot of Origins products last summer and even posted about them and said that they were incredible –which they were, initially- but after a few weeks my skin went CRAZY). So I went on the same medication. It went away, again. My skin cleared up for a few months. So now I don’t really have acne anymore, just the casual breakouts that I try to keep in control with a simple skincare routine, targeted at sensitive skin.

My skin is also pretty oily. I used to use products that would dry my skin out, but those resulted in my skin producing even more oil. So now I opt for a mattifying product in the mornings, and restore the hydration in my skin with a more nourishing product at night, to balance things out.     

CLEANSING

I always double cleanse to make sure all of the makeup and dirt is removed, before I continue my skincare routine. I first use a micellar water to take off my lip and eye makeup. At the moment, I’m using Bioderma Sensibio H20, which is a true blogger favourite. I think most other micellar waters are the same though, I’m not really picky when it comes down to them. I really want to try the Garnier micellar water next though, since it’s much cheaper than the Bioderma one and they basically do the same thing.

After that, I remove my face makeup. For this step, I use an oil or a balm. I really like the feeling of cleansing your face with an oil. Even though my skin is oily, I find that using an oil or balm cleanser balances my skin out more and doesn’t make my skin feel dehydrated. My skin feels really nourished and soft afterwards, not dry like you get with some other makeup removers. At the moment, I’m using the Body Shop’s Camomille Silky Cleansing Oil. It’s really amazing and I couldn’t recommend it enough. It doesn’t irritate the skin, doesn’t leave an oily residue but still leaves the skin really soft, supple and hydrated. It doesn’t have a strong scent and as far as I know, doesn’t really contain any irritating ingredients.

I always follow up with a milk or gel cleanser. At the moment I’m using a cleansing milk, and I always tend to opt for cleansers targeted at sensitive skin. My current favourite milk cleanser is the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo Cleanser. It’s nothing really fancy- just a simple cleanser, which does the job really well and I love using it.

TONING

I always tone after cleansing, to restore the pH balance of my skin and to prepare it for any following treatments. I tend to avoid toners that really dry out the skin, and tend to look for toners that have a few extra properties, like a little bit of exfoliation or toners that give that extra boost of hydration. The current toner I’m using is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion with Micro-Exfoliating properties. This contains citric acid and salicylic acid, which exfoliate the skin and gets rid of dead skin cells. I’m not quite sure about this toner; it contains a lot of alcohol, which isn’t really good for the skin. It doesn’t dry out my skin, but I’m still looking for another toner.

TREATMENTS + MOISTURISER

I always make sure to use an eye cream. I’m only 19 years old, but I’m terrified of getting little wrinkles underneath my eyes, so I always make sure to moisturize the under-eye area. I don’t use an anti aging treatment, just a cooling eye cream to reduce puffiness and give a little bit of hydration to the skin. I’m currently using the Lierac Dioptigel, which is really gentle and feels amazing.

My treatment/moisturizer is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. I really, really love this. It’s targeted at acne-prone skin and aims to declog the pores and purify the skin. At first I thought this was breaking me out even more, but now I’ve been using it for a few weeks I definitely see a difference in my skin. It really helps to keep my acne under control. Sometimes it does feel like it’s burning my skin a little though, but because I apply a soothing moisturizer afterwards it’s not too bad.

The moisturizer I use after that is the La Roche-Posay Toleriane moisturiser. It’s just a really simple moisturizer which doesn’t contain any fancy ingredients, but it’s super soothing and my skin feels really velvety and smooth after I’ve applied this. I just massage this into the skin. I really like this moisturizer, it helps to keep my skin in check and I will definitely repurchase it, like the most products in my skincare routine.

EXTRA’s

I thought I would include two little extra products I always use after completing my skincare routine. The first thing I use is a lip balm, and I always make sure to have a little pot of the Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm on hand. When I first started using this, I thought the texture was quite weird. It’s a really stiff lip balm, and you need to use the heat of your fingers to warm it up and make it melt. This might be a little bit weird at first, but after you’ve gotten used to that, it is literally amazing.  It is the best lip balm I’ve ever tried; I love the texture, the scent, the packaging, just everything about this product. My lips feel super hydrated in the morning and I will always, always repurchase this.

I also use a hand cream. I own a ton of hand creams, because my hands tend to get really dry at times. At the moment I’m loving the Body Shop Wild Rose hand cream. It’s actually aimed at mature skin, to help with wrinkles and sunspots on your hands. It contains SPF 15, which is really nice because we often forget to apply sunprotection to our hands, which can result in premature aging of the skin on our hands. I love rose scented products, and this hand cream sinks into the skin immediately. I hate having sticky hands after applying a hand cream, so that definitely makes this a winner.

I only filmed my evening skincare routine because in the morning, I use the same products- I just cleanse with the Bioderma micellar water, tone with the Effaclar toner, use the Lierac eye cream and moisturize with the Effaclar Duo treatment. I don’t use an extra moisturizer in the morning, because my skin can get really oily during the day. A lot of French pharmacy products, especially La Roche-Posay ones, but I just really like them. They're simple, targeted at sensitive skin and effective; what more could I possibly ask for?!

Thank you so much for watching my video and reading this enormous blog post. Please leave a comment with what you think of it so I can improve myself! What’s your skincare routine?

To the Dark Side

When buying makeup I don’t really gravitate toward Chanel. I love the sleek and elegant packaging of their products, but I’ve always considered buying something as an occasional treat to myself. I think a lot of their products are slightly overpriced, but they always come out with innovative colours and products and combined with the way they look (because come on, we all love an aesthetically pleasing product) I think a lot of women (like my mother) get drawn to the Chanel counter.

I decided to pick up some things myself a few weeks ago, as a little treat to myself. I wasn’t really feeling that well at the time so I did some retail therapy and came back home with two products that aren’t really that suitable for this time of the year, but absolutely gorgeous and timeless nonetheless.

The cream eyeshadows, or as Chanel like to call them ‘Illusion d’Ombre’, have always caught my eye. When having a swatching session at the counter I first wanted to go for ‘Emerveillé’, a gorgeous glittery champagne colour which looked lovely on my skin, but after lusting over and trying all the different shades in the range, I settled for ‘Ebloui’. ‘Ebloui’, which means ‘blinded’, is a gorgeous warm-toned burgundy brown. It has tiny, golden shimmer particles which really help to lighten up the eye. The colour is absolutely stunning and I expect this to suit every eye colour.

The texture of these cream eyeshadows is like nothing I have ever tried before. The texture reminds me a little bit of a mousse and feels quite bouncy. I apply it with my fingers then blend out the edges using a fluffy MAC 224 blending brush and it works a treat. This is the sort of eyeshadow you can wear on it’s own but still gives some depth to your eyes; an added smokiness which really makes your eyes stand out a lot. I also absolutely love the shimmer as it gives the eye even more dimension and definition. Without using an eyeshadow primer it lasts all day on me, but by the end of the day it starts creasing just a little- which is perfectly normal. I’m definitely looking into buying more of these as they are literally the best cream eyeshadows I have ever tried and Chanel has some amazing colours.

The nailpolish in ‘Taboo’ stood out to me the most. Not being a fan of the formula of Chanel nail varnishes I still couldn’t resist picking this up, as Chanel always comes out with such amazing colours. ‘Taboo’ is a new release and although it’s not the most summery nailpolish of them all, it’s a really gorgeous and classic shade. I couldn’t stop looking at my nails after application as it’s such a versatile and interesting shade which changes colour in different lighting. The galaxy on your fingertips.

Taboo is described as a “violine with red irredescence”. It’s opaque after only one coat, but I usually apply two purely out of habit and because it makes it last a little bit longer. As I said, the formula is quite poor- Chanel polishes tend to chip on me after only a day of wearing, but it has to be said that nearly all nail varnishes chip really quickly on my nails. I also don’t really like the brush; I prefer the brushes on my nailpolishes tob e a little bit wider, like the Essie diffusion line ones or the Rimmel ones.

‘Taboo’ is such an interesting nail shade to look at and the shimmer in it makes it all the more interesting. Mature but still edgy.

Have you tried the Chanel cream eyeshadows? What do you think of their nail polishes? 

Taking It Off

I’ve always been really thorough with my cleansing routine. Wipes have always been a no-no for me and I always made sure that I was removing my makeup properly. Double cleansing, however, is quite new to me. I ‘discovered’ the benefits of it around this time last year and since starting to incorporate two separate cleansers in my routine my skin has been looking and feeling a lot better.

With double cleansing, you use a first cleanser to remove your makeup and surface impurities, then follow up with a second cleanse to really get into your pores and deeply purify the skin. I used to use my beloved Bioderma as a second cleanse then use a milk/gel/etc. as a double cleanse, but that wasn’t really thorough enough so I decided to start using an oil as my first cleanse, and it has made all the difference.

My oil cleanser of choice is the Origins Clean Energy gentle cleansing oil (€21 for 200ml). I bought this somewhere last week (see this post) and I’ve been absolutely loving it. It contains a lot of beneficial ingredients like olive, sunflower, sesame and safflower oil which help to remove dirt, pollutants and makeup really well. It also contains a lot of protecting ingredients like macadamia and kukui nut as well as vitamin E.

I usually use one pump for my face and one pump for my eyes as you really only need the tiniest amount of this. I do tend to use a little bit too much though since I just simply adore the feeling of massaging an oil into your skin; it makes me feel so relaxed. The scent of this is absolutely unreal. After massaging it in for a while I add a little bit of water, which transorms the oil in a beautiful milk which helps remove the last traces of makeup.

Origins claims it smells like grapefruit, orange and lemon but I find that it smells a lot more like lavender and sandal wood, which are my two absolute favourite scents ever. I always look forward to using this at night and I will definitely repurchase this when it runs out. It breaks down the makeup and leaves me with a clean face ready for a second cleanse.

People with oily skin might be a little bit hesitant about using oil on their face whether it’s a cleanser or just a facial oil, but instead of just adding more oil to the face, facial oils dissolve the bulk of the natural sebum on your face thus being really beneficial. I have oily skin myself and I find that my skin has benefited a lot from using oils on my skin. I don’t really recommend Origins products if you’ve got really, really acne prone and sensitive skin because they do contain quite a lot of essential oils, which can be possible irritants.

I love Origins packaging, which might be slightly irrelevant but it always draws me in. It is slightly unconvenient that it doesn’t have a pump and you need to buy a separate one, but I really recommend buying one since otherwise you might be using too much product.

INGREDIENTS: Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, PEG-25 Glyceryl Trioleate, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Seed Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Sweet Orange) Peel Oil, Lavandula Hybrida (Lavandin) Oil, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Cedrus Atlantica (Cedarwood) Bark Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Fusanus Spicatus (Australian Sandalwood) Wood Oil, Amyris Balsamifera (Sandalwood) Bark Oil, Linalool, Limonene, Sorbitan Trioleate, Tocopheryl Acetate

For my second cleanse I’ve been using the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser (€17 for 150ml). I bought the cleanser, toner and moisturiser about a month ago (a review is in the making!) and so far, I’m really impressed. This is a gel cleanser which does also contain vitamin E as well as avocado oil and other beneficial ingredients. You’re supposed to massage it on to wet skin in upward circular motions, avoiding the eye area.

I tried using this on dry skin because I don’t really believe in applying products on wet skin, but it just doesn’t work. This gel cleanser needs a little bit of water to lather up and really work. I usually dampen my skin a little, then add a few drops of water to the cleanser and apply it to my skin. My second cleanse is where I try to do a little bit of facial massage, since it’s really beneficial to the skin and one of the best things you can do to achieve healthy, glowy looking skin. It improves circulation and muscle strength and therefore delays wrinkles, and don’t we all want that?

I really, really like this cleanser- it makes my skin feel really clean without stripping it too much. Sometimes my skin does feel a little bit dry after using it, but then I just use a heavier moisturiser.

I don’t really know if I’m going to repurchase this, though; it does contain parabens and sulfates, which are quite nasty ingredients and possible irritants to the skin. I don’t really mind, because after all it’s a cleanser and and you wash it off your face, but I prefer more natural ingredients in my skincare.

INGREDIENTS: Aqua / Water / Eau, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Acrylates Copolymer, Peg-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Pentylene Glycol, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Distearyl Ether, Behenyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Laureth-2, Propylparaben, Sodium Methylparaben, Squalane, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil / Sweet Almond Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil / Apricot Kernel Oil, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Persea Gratissima Oil / Avocado Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid

So after using these two products, my skin feels clean and ready for my evening skincare routine. I'm trying to make my reviews etc. a little bit more in depth and to add ingredients as much as I can since I'm quite big on ingredients myself, and I like to know what I'm using.

Have you tried any of these cleansers? What products do you use to double cleanse?

Review: the Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I find writing book reviews one of the most difficult tasks ever, just because so many other people have already explained their feelings and thoughts about a book extremely well. Since this is such a popular and much raved about book, so many people have discussed this book so much better than I ever can, but I still wanted to share my own thoughts and feelings about this book.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is John Green’s fifth book. Like ‘Looking for Alaska’, this is another super-hyped book which is really popular on tumblr and amongst a lot of young adults, but now that I’ve read it I can totally see why. Reading ‘Looking for Alaska’ about three years ago made me really eager to read more of John Green’s work; I think he’s a literary genius.

John is part of thevlogbrothers on YouTube, and if you haven’t checked them out, make sure you do. I’ve been following them for quite a while and I really, really enjoy their videos. Their subjects are just really appealing to me and the humour is just plain fantastic. If you’re looking for more channels that aren’t beauty related, definitely check them out. There’s also a video on there in which Johnreads the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars, and I definitely recommend checking that out. If you’ve known and been following the vlogbrothers for a while you can even hear John’s voice whilst reading all of his books, which might be a little bit weird considering this book tells the story of a 16-year old girl but amusing nonetheless.

The book tells the story of Hazel. Hazel has terminal cancer for so long that she doesn’t even remember not being terminal. Upon going to a Cancer Kid Support Group, she meets the gorgeous and smart Augustus Waters, who will change her life- for the better, but alsof or the worse. The book ‘An Imperial Affliction’ plays a huge role in the book, bot hmetaphorical and literal. The book is the foundation of all of Hazel’s and Augustus’ opiions, even though they don’t always agree with each other. Eventually, the book carves out the path they’re going. I’m not going to tell you every detail about what happens in the book; I think that line was enough, since it’s not about how it ends but about what happens. It’s that what’s the most important in this book.

First off, it’s a cancer book. Not a cliché one. A quirky, philosophical and unbelievably well written but still heartbreaking cancer book. Because yes, it’s a modern tragedy, but a really funny one.

What strikes me the most about this book is that it has some really deep thoughts, but they aren’t too difficult to understand. This is quite hard to explain so I think you’ll need to see for yourself, but I think that’s what makes it so appealing to young adults. It’s so touching, but not cliché and it doesn’t romanticize cancer at all. In fact, there are quite a lot of funny bits.

This book is about understanding life, but most of all about understanding death. Hazel has accepted that she’s going to die eventually, but that doesn’t mean she’s not scared.

What I really, really like about this book is that John isn’t afraid to clash some stereotupes. He’s not afraid to laugh with cancer and terminal diseases (ofcourse he doesn’t do it in a tasteless way, but more in a refreshing, quirky kind of way). For example, Hazel, the antagonist, doesn’t like tob e called a hero. She’s also not one of those cliché teenage girls; she loves her parents, doesn’t try to be though or a hero. This is the first time John has ever used a female antagonist and he’s done such a great job, considering he’s a thirty-something male.

The book is all about the characters and he has really thought them out so well. Hazel and Augustus are really smart fort heir age. I’m going to end this review with a quote written on the back of this book: ‘A novel of life and death and the people caught in between’.

I think the fact that I’ve read this in less than 24 hours says it all, I think. If you can’t make sense of this severe case of word vomit (which I can totally understand), I suggest you read this review on theGuardian. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?