Skin worries and anti-aging

A couple of weeks ago, I had a really bad breakout. Like, REALLY bad. I can't overstate how bad it was. You couldn't find a square inch of my face that didn't have some really dreadful, Krakatoa-like pimple on it. Especially my nose. I looked like a cartoon witch. And no amount of careful makeup application could properly cover it all. The stranger part of the ordeal, though, was that ordinarily my skin is really nice. Often when I go to the day spa for a facial, the girls quiz me about what products I use, because they're jealous of how clear it is. (For the record: lots of water, the occasional glycolic peel, and really dumb genetic luck. My mum has incredible skin and I got her genes.)

Anyway, the point of this story is that I FREAKED OUT. I wasn't doing anything differently. I wasn't eating anything different. What was going on? I didn't know (and still don't) but I figured that I should go buy a foundation that was friendlier to my skin while it recovered. I went down to Mecca Cosmetica in Claremont and poured out my sob story to the sales assistant. She recommended something mineral based, so I left with Stila's One Step Makeup. And to begin with, I loved it. It went on smoothly, covered well without looking too heavy, and didn't aggrevate my skin any further. But as my skin improved, I found that the foundation wasn't really doing what I wanted it to. It looked great for the first couple of hours after application, but then it started to settle into my pores in a really unflattering way.

So yesterday, with my skin back to its normal self, I headed back to Mecca (the Karrinyup branch this time - now I've been to all the Perth Meccas) and explained my predicament to the sales girl. And she suggested this:



It's By Terry's Light Expert, by Terry Gunzberg, the lady who invented YSL Touche Eclat. And I LOVE IT. A few well-placed swipes, and I'm all glowy and well-rested. It's really hydrating and is also full of antioxidants, so it's like a treatment combined with a foundation. It's a fairly light coverage so I wouldn't recommend it for covering a multitude of sins, but to make me look like a better version of myself, it's PERFECT.

While I was with the salesgirl, I told her that I was thinking about changing skincare routines. I've decided that I should get serious about preserving my skin, rather than just hoping that my genes will do all the hard work. She asked me a few more questions about what I was hoping to achieve from my skincare etc. AND THEN, she told me, "At your age, in your late twenties, it's time to start worrying about fine lines and wrinkles." AT MY AGE??? GIRL, YOU MAY BE 19, BUT GOODNESS ME, I'M NOT A DOWAGER. I think she saw my laser death stare, because she quickly pressed on to telling me about two lines that would give me the glowy instant gratification I was after. And she gave me SO many samples, which went a really long way to buying my forgiveness. I think I'm going to go with the Darphin vitamin C line she recommended, but I'll have to try the samples for a little longer to be sure.

So in summary: Light Expert = good; 26 years = OLD. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to go blue-rinse my hair and watch The Bill.

-Hayley xoxo

Dark circles, a thing of the past!

So, I finally bought some concealer. I know it's taken me a while and I know you still can't believe I didn't have any already. The thing is, I really hate buying makeup and going to makeup counters. I feel like the assistants analise every tiny millimetre of my face, then once I leave I'm sure they then laugh and scorn at me behind my back! I also find it hard to say no to people, so when they try to sell me 5 different products I will probably walk away with all 5. I'm sure they know exactly what they're talking about and they wouldn't possibly want to rip me off and try make their daily sales quota.

The last couple of beauty products I have bought have been from Bobbi Brown. So this is probably the most familiar beauty counter to me at the moment so I decided to go there. I wasn't interested in shopping around or trying a few different products, I just wanted to get it and get out of there. Luckily when I got there I was the only customer so thankfully it took me precisely 8 minutes to make my purchase. I wouldn't say it was all smooth sailing and I'm still not entirely convinced I wasn't ripped off but my dark circles are a lot less noticeable.

I left with these 2 products, a corrector and a concealer. Apparently my dark circles were too dark just to use a concealer, hence the corrector. This is what I'm not 100% convinced about, I still think the assistant was having me on, but who am I to really know? Definitely not a makeup artist.

Both products are very easy to use, I only need to use my finger to gently apply first the corrector then the concealer. The concealer also has a little compartment on the bottom filled with loose powder. Both products blend easily into the skin and look quite natural.

I'm pretty happy with both products, I also have a foundation stick I got from Bobbi Brown a few months ago which I love. It's so easy to apply and it gives the right amount of coverage. I'm really liking BB at the moment, it is a little expensive in Australia so when I go to Singapore in a few months time I'll have to grab a few products I have my eye on.

Until next time.....

Ishia

XoX