Saving My Skin Archives

Archive of ‘Saving My Skin’ category

03
May
2015

5 Skin Care Saviours

Skin care is a problem for me all year round, but the change of season can especially mess with my body and send my skin into self-destruct mode, much to my despair. I have a few products that are on my bedside currently because they are wondrous and do a better job taking care of my skin then I normally ever do. All 5 have a slightly different use or function, and together they make sure my skin is moisturised and supple, even during these transition seasons.

1. be good with your hands in bed – night time hand cream by anatomicals

anatomicals continue to sneak their way into my trolley each shop, and I continue to not mind because they consistently smell amazing and do the job well. This night time hand cream is technically my all the time hand cream because it absorbs quickly but gives me a long lasting sense of hydration for my hands. It also smells delicious and subtle of creamy, fragrant avocados. Its just another perfect hand cream (see my two other favourites on this post on anatomicals).

2. Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter cuticle cream

I have used this for years now, and it is still one of my favourite cuticle creams to carry around with me and use before bed. I slather this all over my nails and fingers to keep them soft and soothed (and keep dry cuticles at bay). Unlike my other favourite cuticle products, this balmy product doesn’t seem as oily/greasy and soaks into my skin fairly quick. This little classic is full of natural ingredients like almond oil, lemon oil, rosemary, vitamin E and other things that all look like they belong (if I can understand what it is and why its there, I’m happy). The subtle scent of lemon is an added bonus.

3. goodness certified organic chia seed oil

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this new brand goodness which hosts a range of 5 amazing skin care products featuring organic chia seed oil. I apply this at night and wake up with such radiant, moisturised skin that I already know this will be a new staple in my skin care routine (out goes my beloved rosehip oil). Lightly scented (earthy and nutty scent) and pleasant to use as it doesn’t just sit on my face, I find this does an amazing job of adding in some extra hydration for my face as well as reducing redness and overall just being a bit of a show off. The balance of alpha omega oils are perfect for dry or sensitive skin but can be used by pretty much anyone wanting to add some moisture and goodness to their skin. See the full range over at the goodness website (I have my eye on their beautiful pumice chia seed oil face scrub).

4. Aveeno intensive night cream

Another product that takes care of my face overnight (and often during the day because I am too lazy for two face creams most of the time) is this night cream from the positively radiant range by Aveeno. Another favourite skincare brand, I have never had my sensitive skin react to any Aveeno products, and this night cream is perfect for my difficult, dry skin. This night cream is surprisingly light (which is why it sometimes appears during the day too) but still lasts all night and leaves me waking up with soft, calm skin.

5. Lush Charity Pot – hand and body lotion

This is my perfect body moisturiser for slathering on after a shower before jumping into bed. Its not thick or heavy, and so this lotion soaks into my skin leaving it feeling amazing and smelling like chocolate. Its amazing. I use this generously every day and I don’t think my skin has ever been so uniformly moisturized and healthy. What’s even better about this lotion is that 100% of the profits from this product goes to various good causes like saving the Maui dolphins, aid for developping countries and other amazing work done all over the world. Lush uses the funds from this wee wonder (minus the GST) to help support organisations doing amazing things, so you can feel even more wonderful knowing that your hydrated skin is part of something much bigger and better. Read more over here.

These are my 5 current skin care saviours, what do you use during these season changes to take care of your skin?

03
Mar
2015

Anatomicals Skincare Review (and it smells like heaven)

categories: Saving My Skin

Its not everyday you blow your food budget on buying skin care at the supermarket, or at least it shouldn’t be. But when my flatmate bought home the lilac body lotion from the Anatomicals skin care range, I became a little obsessed. Flash forward to Edd’s shocked face when I loaded up our trolley with these beautiful items instead of our normal vegetables. Necessary purchases (promise).

Seriously though, after loving the scent and moisturising ability of the lilac lotion I wanted to try a few other products and then see how they fared with my sensitive and rather unreliable skin.

The Seven Deadly Skins Melon | Body Scrub NZ$10.99

This would be my least favourite of the 4, but still something I would happily repurchase. Although it doesn’t last too long, this scrub is scented pretty substantially with melon (I get a honeydew scent but my melon smelling abilities may leave a lot to be desired) so if you aren’t a big fan of those kind of scents…get another scrub. The reason I did enjoy this pumice body scrub was because although it does the job well it wasn’t too harsh on my skin and I find I can use it a couple of times a week to keep my skin smooth without it freaking out. I love to focus this on my legs where the skin can use a bit of extra help.

Help the Paw | Vitamin Rich Hand Cream NZ$9.99

The hand creams I have tried are my favourite products in the brightly coloured offerings by Anatomicals and of the hand creams this fruity one is my absolute winner. Seriously, this ticks every single box for me with a hand cream. Apart from the fact that it smells like I washed my hands in fruit salad (in a delicious way…not a gross way), this absorbs super quickly into the skin making it perfect to apply during the day. Despite it being fragranced, it has never irritated my skin like some other hand creams. If you don’t like strong scents then you might prefer the next option, but for me its perfection and people around seem to become obsessed with the wonderful smell of fresh papaya.

The Cream of British Society | One’s Favourite Hand Cream NZ$9.99

This is another fabulous hand cream, again full of the good stuff (Vitamin E and shea butter) and not at all greasy. This one is the perfect option if you want something that is moisturising and rich without being fussy, but you also want something that doesn’t have a strong scent. This is very lightly fragranced with white tea (a little bit musky) which is pleasant but also really subtle. Other than the scent there isn’t much difference between the two hand creams and they are both amazing. I like having two because I almost always leave one somewhere weird. Now I just need the third one…

Not Another Rough Day Please | Vanilla Body Lotion NZ$10.99

Lastly, I grabbed a body lotion to try and get a bit of a feel for a few different products (just the essentials…). I was tempted to pick up the lilac lotion which I already know I love but chose to try this one instead and it was only partially because I love blue. The body lotion is good but didn’t blow me away as much as the hand creams. It’s a pretty light moisturiser but still gives my dry skin plenty of hydration. Again, because it’s not super thick it absorbs quick and doesn’t leave any greasy residue. The vanilla scent is delicious and to my pleasant surprise its not too overpowering and is quite subtle once it settles into the skin.

Overall Review

The products in the anatomicals range are priced between $9.99 to $11.99 which is not on the crazy cheap end (especially when paying $11 for a hand wash) but for me is pretty acceptable considering how much I love the quality of the product and the overall branding/packaging (I’m a sucker for good container, a delicious smell and a funny pun).

Apart from the fact that everything looks amazing, smells incredible and has hilarious little backstories, the products do the job well and nothing irritates my unreliable sensitive skin. This automatically gives them a giant tick in my book.

The hand creams are my pick of the products tried so far (and may be the only hand creams I buy from now on) but there was nothing disappointing and I’m already planning my next purchase.These can all be picked up at your local supermarket which is great because its so handy but also terrible because its so easily to accidentally chuck a whole heap into your trolley to hide amongst the cauliflower.

Check out Anatomicals over on their website or on the New Zealand Facebook page.

Have you tried any of the Anatomicals range? If so what did you think?

*This post was not sponsored and all of the products were (unfortunately) paid for in lieu of real groceries.

01
Apr
2014

Moisture Boost with Antipodes

categories: Beauty, Beauty Favorites, Saving My Skin

Hi All,

So lately my skin has been better than ever. My face is even in tone with no pesky redness, hydrated and radiant. I honestly can’t remember the last time my skin was this good without medication.

The reason why? A cheeky little duo that was released in stores today by one of my new favourite brands, Antipodes. Their new Moisture Boost Mini’s contain a duo of two miniature sized products that work together to create moisturized and hydrated skin.

My skin has been loving the combination of these two natural products and I can see this becoming my staple skin care routine for sure.

So what are these two products?

1. Divine Face Oil with Avocado and Rosehip (10mL) – the first step in this mini skincare regime is applying this organic face oil over the face and neck area. This oil absorbs really well into my skin and immediately hydrates it.

2. Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream (15mL) – Step two is to apply this beautifully scented vanilla day cream which contains manuka honey for helping prevent blemishes and anti ageing antioxidants. When this is applied over the top of a thin layer of the face oil the combination leaves my face deeply moisturized and radiant for the entire day.

Although these two products work great at as a combination I love each of these products by themselves as well. I often use the face oil at night before bed because I love waking up to skin that looks healthy and nourished. The day cream is a perfect moisturizer for my skin in the morning as it hydrates without feeling heavy or greasy and my skin stays smooth and moisturized for the entire day.

I can’t think of anything negative about these two products and I am 100% sure I will be purchasing another mini duo to take travelling as well as the full size products to use as part of my daily skin care routine.

These mini duo packs are a great way to try out these products without committing to something new that might not be perfect for you.

At $19.90 the price is very reasonable and despite their size, go a long way. I have been using mine daily for almost a month now and am only about half way through. They are also limited edition so get in there and try them while you can!

You can buy these directly from the website or from stores like Farmers and selected pharmacies or health stores.

Disclaimer- I was kindly given these to try by Antipodes however I was under no obligations and all of the above opinions are 100% mine after enjoying them for the last few weeks. My skin is extremely difficult to please so when I find skin care that doesn’t make it worse and instead works exactly how it claims I couldn’t be happier to share my opinions

25
Nov
2013

Saving My Skin: An Introduction

categories: Saving My Skin

Hi All!

While I sit here drinking tea there are brownies baking in the oven so forgive me if I get a little distracted.

This is a post I keep meaning to do but was a little intimidated with tackling it. I have mentioned this previously but I have pretty awful skin and this post is a prelude/introduction to a small project of mine related to that. I know that having bad skin might seem pretty minimal (and in a lot of ways it definitely is) but this doesn’t mean I can’t try to deal with it or talk about it in an honest way. I’m not looking to complain specifically but more just provide a perspective that is mine and perhaps may be similar to some other people out there and that will help explain why I am starting this series of posts.

I get a lot of eczema and just generally dry, angry, resentful skin issues. I have had skin issues since before I can remember although there has always been periods where it was fine and then where it got bad. Now it just seems to be barely manageable (at a stretch) and has become part of how I define myself. I choose outfits based on how well they are going to cover my skin. I wear tights and scarves to hide redness which is fine in Winter but becomes a little challenging in the Summer. I can only wear makeup on the rare days where my skin feels mostly normal (it seems cruel that when my skin is at its worst it is too dry to try and attempt to hide with makeup, or my super-sensitive buddy just decides to react to the makeup and get even worse. Awesome). I shy away from any cameras because I hate the way my skin looks and seeing it just makes me angry. I sleep terribly and although it is not just my skin feeling sore and uncomfortable 24/7 can become frustrating.

The only thing that controls my skin is bursts of prednisone/hyrdrocortisone and other things that are great but not really beneficial or healthy for my skin/body in the long term. I should warn you that I have done zero research for this post because my goal isn’t to create a new Wikipedia page or act like I know what I am talking about, I just want to describe how it seems to me personally. I’m not a dermatologist and all I know is that my skin feels like it is slowly getting worse in the long term not better. It reacts to more things more easily and is just generally less controllable. Hydrocortisone creams and short bursts of prednisone are great (and usually necessary) when my skin flies out of control but they really just treat the symptom at the surface and don’t do anything in the long term at making my skin and overall health better, in fact it is more likely doing damage over time and overuse.

photo 1 (2)

One thing I have learnt is that we are responsible for our emotions so for me it was a decision to stop wallowing in these kinds of thoughts and try and actually deal with it. So after a slightly negative and rambly intro (sorry) here is my project for the foreseeable future.

The plan is to choose different trials/experiments and run them for two weeks whilst keeping a diary to monitor as best as I can how certain changes I make affect my skin as well as my general health. Types of trials include diet related ones like no dairy products as well as more lifestyle focused changes like going to the gym more often or focusing on improving my mental state. Obviously there are so many factors involved it can be close to impossible to know what factors are causing what outcomes but there is no harm trying. This is a way I can try and proactively find a better solution that medication and take some control of my skin. If two weeks of a certain change has an effect than a longer trial may help confirm the effects. I have just finished my first fortnight trial of going gluten free and will be posting about how I found it as well as some restaurant/cafe/meal tips that I found but I thought an introduction may be in order first. I also thought that in this series I could talk about some skin care options that have worked well for me (though they are few and far between).

I know a lot of people won’t be interested in this but I started a blog to focus on things that are important to me and trying to improve my skin is definitely something I think about a lot. If anyone reading has any tips for sensitive skin/eczema or something similar than please share. Likewise if you have any tips for changes to my lifestyle/diet that I should try let me know.

Hope you guys are having a great week See you soon with a going gluten free post!