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(Apologies for backdating this post; I've been recovering from a nasty flu.)
I remember leafing through a Paula Begoun book when I was about ten, and reading the following sentence: "In general, the fewer products you use on your skin the better for your skin." I'm not convinced this holds true for everyone, but for me it seems more or less accurate: while complicated skincare routines don't do my skin any harm, they don't seem to do any good either. My skin is pale and freckles rapidly in the sun, but it's not sensitive; for example, it barely responds to chemical exfoliants that would burn Dain's skin. It seems that no matter what I put on my skin, I always have the same issues with it: tightness after cleansing, clogged pores, minor breakouts, shininess. As a result, while I might dabble in eye creams or toners (I've become a big fan of DHC's Acerola lotion), I generally stick to the basics: cleanser, sunscreen, and moisturizer.
I grew up using Cetaphil, but I find it leaves behind eye makeup and a slimy film on the face, whereas DHC Deep Cleansing Oil removes almost all makeup and leaves no residue at all. Sorry to harp, but it truly is a great product. I've been wearing sunscreen almost daily since high school, and I've yet to find a sunscreen that I really like, but Olay's sensitive skin formula is odorless, relatively non-greasy, and cheap. Lastly, as I get older I find I need to moisturize my face after showering: DHC's Q10 cream is my current favourite -- light yet rich, and a little goes a long way.
I grew up using Cetaphil, but I find it leaves behind eye makeup and a slimy film on the face, whereas DHC Deep Cleansing Oil removes almost all makeup and leaves no residue at all. Sorry to harp, but it truly is a great product. I've been wearing sunscreen almost daily since high school, and I've yet to find a sunscreen that I really like, but Olay's sensitive skin formula is odorless, relatively non-greasy, and cheap. Lastly, as I get older I find I need to moisturize my face after showering: DHC's Q10 cream is my current favourite -- light yet rich, and a little goes a long way.
Aside from the DHC products, I tend to stick to cheap drugstore products for skincare: Glysomed hand cream is readily available and absorbs quickly. I scatter lip balms around my apartment and in my bags, which means I tend to buy cheap ones, as impulse purchases. I like fairly thick, waxy stick balms, as the thinner kind don't seem to help with my perennially chapped lips: The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter lip balm might be my favourite.
Lastly, although it's an indulgence, I love fancy body butters: my skin gets very tight and uncomfortable after showering, particularly in winter, and scented moisturizers are a wonderful, fleeting way to experience scents that would wear out their welcome as perfumes. My current tub is from the L'Occitane spinoff brand Le Couvent des Minimes: a sweet, fruity take on orange blossom, perfect for a fifteen-minute acquaintance.
Labels: beauty notes, dhc, glysomed, le couvent des minimes, olay, the body shop
10/21/2009 [1]
For the longest time, I was under the impression that I had the stereotypical "dry" skin, yet, sometimes my skin takes on the characteristics of stereotypically oily skin, as I often get oil slicks and clogged pores on my cheekbones and nose, even as my skin tightens after a wash and chaps to rawness in winter. "Dehydrated" better describes the state of my skin, where it is constantly thirsting for water but not necessarily oil, and therefore the most important part of caring for my skin is to make sure that it gets the hydration it needs.
Cleansing is the first and most crucial step of any skincare regime. For a time I used DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, which is second-to-none when it comes to removing makeup, and it's always marvelous to see an oily film on your face wash off. It also seemed to improve the texture of my skin; however, it seemed to make clogged pores worse, so I always use soap afterwards to rinse away any remaining residue, or skip the oil entirely on days when I'm not wearing makeup. Happy Bath Lavender soap is good, but during winter, I use the classic Dove soap, which moisturizes slightly. A wipe with a muslin cloth exfoliates and cleanses, and feels purifying for a nice finish to the cleansing routine.
Toners are a necessity in my routine, to provide my thirsting skin with the extra moisture it needs. I'm currently using The Face Shop's Arsainte Eco-Therapy Extreme Moisture toner, which is pleasant, though not indispensable: in my experience, all toners are pretty much similar, and are only really differentiated by other factors such as scent, packaging (i.e., how pretty it looks on your dresser table) and price.
Otherwise, I favor common drugstore brands, partly because their wide distribution means I'll never have to worry about running out. The moisturizer of my childhood was the ubiquitous Johnson&Johnson's Baby, but now most moisturizers are too emulsive and oily for my skin, so I have to be pickier about which products I use. Vichy Aqualia Thermale Concentré Hydratant is the rare product that hits the perfect pitch: its texture is not so much creamy (usually a bad sign for me) as gel-like, and soaks into parched skin instantly.
I can tolerate thick moisturizers better when it turns cold, and body lotion becomes a necessity. I used The Body Shop's Moroccan Rose Body Butter briefly, but after a while the smell of it became too strong, to the point of giving me headaches. Thereafter, I began to really appreciate non-scented or minimally scented formulae for lotions. I recently got a tube of Nivea Soft, which penetrates deeply to moisturize dry hands, legs, and feet. It's still a bit too rich to use on the face, but I have a feeling it will serve me well come winter. Atrix Strong Protection Cream (not pictured) also works well.
For the bleakest, darkest depths of winter, however, my hands, feet, and lips will need something a bit richer. Nivea Soft may not suffice for chapped hands in January, so I will probably revert to Nivea cream in the classic blue tin, or to Neutrogena's famous hand cream (both companies also make excellent lip balms). The formulae are thick and take forever to absorb, but in winter, I can't afford to be picky: the only thing that matters is that the products leave my hands soft and moist and happy, which they do.
Yet, while dryness can be moisturized away to some degree, there's little one can do about oil slicks. While this does not fall under the label of "skincare," strictly speaking, I use Innisfree Mint No Sebum powder (basically a scented cornstarch and talc base) to control shine.
All products aside, however, the best I can do for my skin is to drink plenty of water to hydrate it from the inside), eat lots of fruits and vegetables (well, there are any number of reasons I should eat fruit and vegetables, including benefits to the skin), to avoid salt and alcohol (which puffs my eyes up), and get plenty of exercise to get blood flowing to the surface capillaries that nourish the skin. I should probably also wear sunscreen to protect against external damage, but I dislike it's texture, not to mention that most formulae aggravate my oil slicks and even contribute to breakouts. The skin's needs are surprisingly simple. It's odd how difficult they are to meet at times.
Labels: atrix, beauty notes, dhc, neutrogena, nivea, the body shop, the face shop, vichy
10/21/2009 [1]
Yeah, Anne Taintor is overexposed, but I couldn't resist.
2008: the year I learned to stop worrying and love being high maintenance. Seriously, while I'm absent-minded, untidy, don't wear foundation, avoid wearing a bra whenever I can, and can easily go a winter week in the same ratty jeans and flat boots, by the standards of those around me, I am pretty high maintenance; I love pretty, impractical things, proper perfumes, visible makeup, and clothes that have to be delicately handled. My hair is not wash-and-go. I have a skincare routine, albeit a fairly minimalist one. I have more pairs of shoes than I need.
It's been my observation that, fashion magazines to the contrary, this is not a great way to attract a man. Overall, men my age (27) seem to prefer that women look minimally made up, smell of soap or shampoo, and not make highly visible efforts at dressing and grooming, which is not to say that those of us with different preferences ought to change our habits; only that -- just as there is no perfume guaranteed to "drive a man wild" -- attracting a mate is no reason to put yourself to an effort you don't feel like making. Neither does there seem to be any other practical benefit to making that effort; the magazines aside, most women don't seem to suffer socially or professionally for not being beauty addicts.
But I get genuine pleasure out of my routines. While blogging about fashion, beauty, and perfume feels a bit odd -- we're at the intersection of intensely personal habits and a very impersonal market -- I can write about it because I enjoy it; as Naomi Wolf put it in The Beauty Myth -- hardly a pro-cosmetics screed -- there's genuine pleasure to be had in shapes, colours, the game of referencing that is fashion. Anyway, here are some of my staple items:
A good flat-iron. I have decided, for the new year, to be less reliant on the straightening iron; when I put aside neuroses carried over from high school, I know there's nothing wrong with my natural waves. But I have bangs, and if they haven't been straightened, they stick up in all sorts of funny directions. I recently had to go more than a week without my flat-iron due to a luggage mix-up, which confirmed my dependence on the thing. (Mine is a few years old, from Hot Styler, but Sedu flat irons have become something of a cult item in the meantime.) Handled correctly, this can straighten and curl; with a bit of styling creme (I like Kiehl's Creme with Silk Groom or Rusk Phyto-Marine Lusterizer) it makes hair shiny and smooth. I do recommend spending a bit more on flat-irons; the $20 ones from Conair will do in a pinch, but really they don't get hot enough.
Besame Souffle Foundation. Hard to imagine using this as a foundation, as it's rather thick and high coverage for my liking, but that's what makes it a fantastic concealer for my perennial dark circles: it's light, creamy, and stays put. Alas, Besame no longer offers this on their website and are noncommittal about when they will carry it again.
Pressed powder. I don't wear foundation, but I have very shiny skin. I've just finished a container of Besame's loose powder, but I am too messy to deal with loose powder. I'm partial to Physicians Formula's mineral-based powders; they aren't glamorous, but they work.
Eyebrow definition. I rarely have to tweeze my brows; I've received compliments on their natural shape. (I have to say the whole notion of a proper arch kind of escapes me; I get that they shouldn't look like tadpoles, beyond that it's a mystery.) The downside of this is that they are fairly sparse. For a long time I just used MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown and an angle brush. I have Anastasia's pencil in Ash Blonde now, which works well (it has a small brush at the end to blur overly sharp pencil lines), but am not convinced it's worth the expense. Still, I've come to rely on having some definition; all that magazine pablum about framing your face is true.
MAC Fluidline in Macroviolet. I love the retro liquid-liner look, I love gel liners, and I especially love this one: it's easy to apply (I use an angle brush), dark enough to pass for black, but less harsh, and more flattering to green eyes. It can be sheered out for more colour.
NARS eyeshadow in Cairo. Looks boring in the pan, but on me, it's the perfect neutral eyeshadow: a softly shimmering taupe with a hint of rose.
Peachy blush. MAC Tenderling is my standby, NARS South Beach a bronzier alternative; I'm eager to get my hands on NARS Amour. I still have enough of a natural flush -- not to mention a natural concentration of freckles on my cheeks -- that I can go without blush, particularly when I plan to have a couple of drinks; still, a good blush makes one look healthier and better rested, instantly.
NARS lipstick in Niagara. An obsession, but this really is fantastic, applied lightly for a soft blush or full-on for 1950s good-girl pink. (This was apparently inspired by the film with Marilyn Monroe, but I don't recall Marilyn wearing anything but red lipstick in that film. Perhaps it was the colour of her femme-fatale dress -- but that looks like magenta, while Niagara is a bright coral-pink. Or perhaps it was inspired by the other female lead, the unmemorable one who almost dies going over the Falls?)
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Forbidden Red. Yes, two lipsticks; I love lipstick. I especially love red lipsticks, I hate to commit to just one, but if I had to it'd be this one: intensely pigmented, stays on for hours, bright without being overpowering, wearable all year round.
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil. It has been said already, on this blog, today, even; this stuff is great. Cetaphil never quite feels rinsed off to me, and this does; it dissolves eye makeup; it's even reasonably priced, considering it takes me only one pump to wash my face. I haven't settled on a moisturizer yet; right now I'm using Complex 15, which is good and inexpensive, but not quite rich enough for me.
And lastly, something not so pleasurable, but necessary: sunscreen. Mind you, there's a lot of silly nonsense written about sunscreen: I recall a recent Lucky issue that informed us that even indoors with the curtains drawn, we are constantly being "bombarded" with terrible! aging! solar rays!...which strikes me as just a little phobic. I dislike sunscreen, always find it a little occlusive, rarely reapply, and often skip it in the winter, rationalizing that I won't be outside for very long -- but I see the difference when I do. I no longer have the bright orange hair I had as a small child, but I still have pale, freckled, easily sunburnt skin. Sunscreen has been part of my daily routine since I was 16, and I have no doubt that my skin is healthier -- and looks younger -- for it.
1/22/2009 [0]
Yes, pace Eliot, it is.
It is pretty much endless stress, is what it is, endless paper-writing and exam panicking and what on earth did I do with my October, I swear I saw it somewhere, and also it's cold and grey and it rains too damn much and did someone say it was snowing yesterday? Goddammit, not yet.
Accordingly, since I lack the mental space to come up with a coherent post, here are a few unrelated things I've gone nuts for lately:
I tried DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil in the summer and thought "hmm, nice, but I could probably just as well use regular olive oil." Except...not. Regular oil is so much messier, is the problem, and doesn't rinse clean the way this does (yes, this goes on like olive oil, but rinses very clean; such a great gimmick). I gave in and bought a full-size bottle; it takes 1-2 pumps to wash my face and the 70ml bottle ($11) lasted me about three months, so the 200ml bottle ($24) should last me quite some time. It does not "deep cleanse", but it cleanses, much better than Cetaphil in my opinion, and without stripping. This is a cult beauty product that deserves a bigger cult.
Dain sent me a sample of Frédéric Malle's Vétiver Extraordinaire, and I have a crush. It's clean, warm, dusky, fresh, without the citrusy-sweet topnotes of Guerlain's Vetiver. I am happy to wear it myself, but if I smelled it on a good-looking man, I think I might swoon. Alas, it costs the earth and I lack a man to whom I might apply it. Another time.
I bought NARS's Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Forbidden Red a while back and then didn't wear it, since I lack the courage to wear red lipstick all the time. Also, it smudges easily on first application, which led me to think it was a smudgy product. No. Once it sets, it stays put for hours, through multiple alcoholic drinks (ahem), through pretty much anything except excessive lip-licking or greasy food. It is fantastic.
Forbidden Red is a brick red, best suited to people with warm undertones like mine, but of course NARS makes other colours. I need another red like...well, I don't need another red, but I kind of have my eye on Walkyrie.
Labels: dhc, frederic malle, nars, notes
11/18/2008 [3]
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