Hello again!
So, after 2 long long posts about skin care (here and here)…prepare for another one hahaha but also, the last one in this series. For now anyway!
I have a few more products in my skin care routine that have proven useful and I’d like to share my experience with them 🙂
Let’s go on with The Body Shop and their Vitamin C microdermabrasion:
This is basically a gentle face scrub. When applied on the skin, you feel many, many micro beads which gently exfoliate the skin without irritating it. Personally, I don’t have sensitive skin, so also the more “aggressive” scrubs do the job well for me.
That being said, I do enjoy the tender touch of this product a lot. I normally use it in the end of my shower, as a final cleansing step, and the frequency varies between 2-3 to 4-5 times a week…depending on whether I remember to exfoliate or not hehe.
I do like this scrub, despite the fact that for the most part, it’s just a generic cosmetic mash of ingredients:
FULL INGREDIENTS
Water (Solvent/Diluent), Solum Diatomeae (Abrasive), Glycerin (Humectant), Aluminum Silicate (Exfoliant), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Dimethicone (Skin Conditioning Agent), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) (Skin-Conditioning Agent/Emollient), Cetearyl Alcohol (Emulsifier), Glyceryl Stearate (Emulsifier), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), PEG-100 Stearate (Surfactant), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer (Stabiliser/Viscosity Modifier), Polysorbate 60 (Surfactant), Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Antioxidant), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Modifier), Fragrance (Fragrance), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Linalool (Fragrance Ingredient), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Citral (Fragrance Ingredient).
Again, much like with the tea tree lotion I discussed in part 2, the main component that is being marketed here, namely vitamin C, is standing somewhere in the middle of the ingredient list. I don’t know if they rely on the notion that most people will simply not know that magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is actually vitC, or that we won’t notice….No idea! Whatever the case, I would have liked vitC to me a more prominent ingredient in this exfoliant.
Also, I am not quite sure whether vitC can really penetrate the skin…I do remember getting this procedure at the beautician salon with vitC…ionophoresis, I think. She used a special technique to introduce vitC into my skin.
So, am I simply washing the vitC in this scrub off of my face under the shower? I don’t know…
In any case, this exfoliant doesn’t do harm, and it seems like my skin looks brighter lately, so I will give it the benefit of the doubt 😉
Once a week, and for me that’s always on Sunday (my beatifying day…do you have one too?), I treat myself with a face mask:
Discovering this brand – Montagne Jeunesse – was also a random event. I needed a face mask…wanted to try something new…and I saw chocolate on the package. Done deal!
After the chocolate one, I tried a number of other face masks from this brand and loved most of them. The only one I did not enjoy was the self-warming fudge mask, which irritated and prickled my skin.
Chocolate remains my favourite face mask, and not only because it smells divine :). It really does brighten up the complexion, tighten up the skin and rejuvenate it. Another favourite from the Montagne Jeunesse masks, are the ones you can peel off. Face off!!! So cool! Joke aside, those also refresh the skin very well.
Most of the masks are clay based, so I have been thinking of getting just a plain clay mask, as these are particularly recommended to people with blemish-prone skin.
What kind of masks do you use?
And, last, but perhaps first on my most-beloved-skin-care-products list at the moment: pure maracuja and argan oils:
Maracuja (aka passion fruit) oil and argan oil are both plant oils. Plant oils have been gaining loads of popularity recently. Pretty much every self-respecing skin or hair care product these days contains some plant oil…with argan being the current trend. These oils are rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins. Maracuja oil is rich in vitC, and argan oil in vitE.
My first experience with those oils, I owe to my dear friend Manuela (thank you Manuuuu!!! <3). As a birthday present this year, she gave me a holiday set from Tarte. Tarte is like the American answer to The Body Shop, as I see it. Perhaps even better! Or maybe the grass is just greener on the other side of the fence hehe. Anyway, a part of this set, was this sample baby bottle of the Tarte Pure Maracuja oil. Mostly due to my ignorance at the time and the fear of smearing oil on my face, I ignored this treasure for months. Then, 1.5 month ago I finally decided to give it a go.
The oil feels very light-weight and absorbs quickly.
Already the very first time I applied it, I thought “OMG!!!” And bear in mind, I hardly ever react like this to skin care products..most of the time I am extremely skeptical. My skin instantly looked brighter and just so fresh and alive. Unbelievable! No dullness, no redness, no large pores….no extra oiliness…just LIFE! I have been using it religiously ever since, mixing 2-3 drops with my Olaz Total effects 7 in 1 day cream.
I dread the day I will be out of this oil, because our local natural products store doesn’t carry maracuja (passion fruit) oil. I will have to figure something out to re-supply myself…If any of you knows how and where, please oh please!, leave a comment.
Anyhow, the day I was at the natural products store, there was sale on pure argan oil. Having heard so many good things about it, there was no way I’d pass on this deal 😉
I still don’t have much to say about it…I have been applying it around the eyes, where my skin can get very dry, but not so much on the rest of the face. What I do notice is, that compared to maracuja, argan oil is a bit more “heavy”. It’s not the right way to describe it, but I have not found a better word…Maybe richer in texture…I don’t know.
Argan oil is also very nice, very hydrating. I am very curious how it will compare to maracuja oil, when applied on the whole face.
I will keep you updated!
Do you also use plant oils in your skin care routine? Share your experience!
With this, I conclude my skin care series for the time being. There are new things on the horizon, but I will need more testing time before I can be a fair judge 🙂 I hope you will share you skin care secrets with me and found mine at least a bit useful.
See you soon!
XOXO
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